Dragon Quest XI

[Sheikah]

Dragon Quest XI has been reviewing very well across the board, and currently sits at 88% on Metacritic. The only negative reviews that I’ve read for the game just don’t seem to get that it was trying to be a traditional JRPG in the first place, albeit one with plenty of QoL benefits as stated in other reviews,as opposed to “failing to push the genre forwards”. Because that’s clearly what every game in every genre should do, and does do...riiiiiight? 
Also, Kotaku have put up one of the best video game reviews that I’ve ever watched for this game. It’s a meaty one, but it never seems to drag:
 

I thought the very same when I watched their review the other day. Probably one of the most enjoyable video reviews I've ever watched.

[Choze]

The timing for this release is amazing.

[Hero-of-Time]

Simply Games delivered the goods early. Just cranked up the volume and watched the opening sequence. Dat theme. 

Nice to see the game has a reversible cover. I changed it as the one on the back is a more traditional DQ cover art.

[Sheikah]

What are your thoughts on this game Hero?

[Hero-of-Time]

10 minutes ago, Sheikah said:

What are your thoughts on this game Hero?

I have none. Apart from a little bit of grinding that I done in the early areas I haven't touched the game. Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate has taken all of my gaming time. 

[Ike]

Edition of Lost Time just got delivered!

 

Steam version should be unlocking in a couple of minutes.

[drahkon]

5 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

 Apart from a little bit of grinding that I done in the early areas I haven't touched the game. 

Oh good, ready to beat the final boss already...  

[Ike]

@Hero of Time you might not want to turn on the "No EXP from weaker enemies" as this basically means you can't grind EXP in one area too long, it kicks in really quick.

[Hero-of-Time]

4 hours ago, Ike said:

@Hero of Time you might not want to turn on the "No EXP from weaker enemies" as this basically means you can't grind EXP in one area too long, it kicks in really quick.

I didn't touch any of the extra settings/options, so I should be fine.

[Grazza]

12 hours ago, Ike said:

@Hero of Time you might not want to turn on the "No EXP from weaker enemies" as this basically means you can't grind EXP in one area too long, it kicks in really quick.

 

That reminds me, does this game have the "Intimidate" feature?  Also, don't the enemies run away from you if you're too strong?

Edited September 5, 2018 by Grazza

[Ike]

24 minutes ago, Grazza said:

 

That reminds me, does this game have the "Intimidate" feature?  Also, don't the enemies run away from you if you're too strong?

No. It has the Poof spell, but I don't think it gives enemy drops. If there's an Skill that has the same effect then I'm not aware of it, but the feature isn't there the same as DQVIII.

On the overworld? Yeah. You can also dash into them when riding a horse and knock them away.

Also the game is purrty.

Spoiler

 

 

[S.C.G]

Oh wow, from those screens alone the game looks like it has a world you just want to jump right into and play.

I have my copy but, I'll resist for a while longer for there are still many monsters to hunt... but soon.

[Ike]

1 hour ago, S.C.G said:

Oh wow, from those screens alone the game looks like it has a world you just want to jump right into and play.

I have my copy but, I'll resist for a while longer for there are still many monsters to hunt... but soon.

The animations on the monsters and NPCs are really good, really gives a lot of personality.

[S.C.G]

Oh wow, what a review!

I won't be jumping into the game right awayas I'm playing other titles but... this really makes me want to start playing it.

[Hero-of-Time]

Yay! A sewer section in a JRPG!  It also happens to be a stealth section just to make it even more fun. 

[S.C.G]

10 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Yay! A sewer section in a JRPG!  It also happens to be a stealth section just to make it even more fun. 

Sewers AND stealth in the same section?!?

Damn! This just jumped to being the next PS4 game on my list to play after Spider-Man!

[Hero-of-Time]

I've only had him in my party for a couple of hours but I love him already. His whole character is great and the voice acting for him is top notch. 

It's crazy how good the game looks. The art style used, as well as the animations, really bring the game to life. I find with everything being so bright and colourful it's a world I enjoy running around in. Whenever I see new enemies on the map I instantly run over to them and start a battle because I want to see what little animations they have.  

 

 

 

[martinist]

Been playing this everyday since I got it.

Just got the boat and headed straight to the casino.

Last boss gave me a little trouble and as such one of my characters is a level or two above the others.

Edited September 12, 2018 by martinist
on > one

[Ike]

10 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I've only had him in my party for a couple of hours but I love him already. His whole character is great and the voice acting for him is top notch. 

It's crazy how good the game looks. The art style used, as well as the animations, really bring the game to life. I find with everything being so bright and colourful it's a world I enjoy running around in. Whenever I see new enemies on the map I instantly run over to them and start a battle because I want to see what little animations they have.  

 

 

 

He's no Yangus but I like him. You're not too far off from, meeting the best character though.

[Hero-of-Time]

12 hours ago, Ike said:

He's no Yangus but I like him. You're not too far off from, meeting the best character though.

I've still not met them, despite putting a few hours into the game yesterday evening. Saying that, I spent a lot of time just grinding a few levels as I wanted to reach level 10 in an area before I moved on to the next.

Spoiler

I was confused when I went back to Cobblestone and the guy near the start of the village was talking to me as if I had never lived there. When I went home and had that weird Back to the Future moment where nobody knew who I was it dawned on me that some time travel shenanigans were going on. It was great to meet the kid version of the main character and he actually talked. He's not a silent protagonist after all!  

One thing i'm not a fan of is having to press a button to get to the next bit of dialogue. I'd much prefer characters to carry on talking as normal without me having to press X to skip to the next part. It's really jarring when this happens when a character is actually voice acted. I tried looking in the options to see if I could change it but sadly there doesn't seem to be any settings to alter this.

[Ike]

Erik figuarts is up for preorder.

 

https://store.eu.square-enix-games.com/en_GB/product/500867/dragon-quest-xi-echoes-of-an-elusive-age-bring-arts-erik

[Ike]

30 hours in and finally killed my first Metal Slime! 

They seem to be a bit rarer in this version, although it might be down the Draconian Quest actually deters you fighting monsters in the same area for too long...

[Hero-of-Time]

I finished and platinumed this last week. Absolutely fantastic experience and one of the best JRPGs I have played this generation. I hold Persona 5 as the cream of the crop this gen but this may have toppled it.

What I love about Dragon Quest XI is that it doesn't try to do anything fancy when it comes to it's battle system. The series knows exactly what it wants to be and it plays to this strength. There is no overly complicated systems in place, no combos to learn, you just pick your move and your character executes it. What's also great is you can automate your actions. You can make all of your team go all out attack, concentrate on healing or something in the middle of those options. This makes grinding for levels much easier and more enjoyable than usual JRPGs. It reminds me of the auto battle system from Bravely Default, something that I very much enjoy from those games.

The story in the game is fantastic. It's essentially split into 3 acts. You get an ending and the credits roll after act 2 but the true ending comes during the post game. I'm hesitant to call it post game because it really is the 3^rd act of the game and if you were to call it quits after the first set of credits then you really would miss out on some great twists and cracking revelations. I know a few people aren't happy with certain things that transpire during the 3^rd act but I loved what they pulled and it was interesting to see things from a certain perspective. The story can be slow at the start but it certainly picks up as you progress. There is also some hilarious scenes involving a porn mag that keep cropping up during the adventure.

Outside of the story there is plenty of things to tackle. You can visit one of the two casinos in the game which allows you to play the slot machines or a spot of roulette. Saving up your winnings and you will be able to afford some amazing gear. If you don't want to spend your coins on gear then you could just make your own armour and weapons. You can find recipes scattered throughout the game and this allows you to make your own stuff at a camp, providing you have the materials on hand. These can be farmed from enemy encounters and are quite plentiful. If you manage to do well in the mini game that occurs when making equipment you will get an extra stats boost to whatever you make. While you can just buy gear with normal money, it's far better to make your own.

I LOVE the characters that are in your team. Erik is a cool character with a tragic back story. Veronica is just flat out hilarious, especially when she goes off on one with you. Sylvando is a wonderfully flamboyant. Rab is an old warrior who is also a bit of a perv....classic Japanese trope. There are more and all of them are brought to life by some amazing voice acting. The voice actors for Jade and Veronica in particular do an amazing job. It goes to show just how important good voice acting is in games and how it can elevate the game, whereas bad voice acting can really bring a game down. ( points to BOTW Zelda )

The enemy design in the Dragon Quest games have always been colourful and vibrant but in this game they have been taken to another level due to the animation that has been added to each of them. Each of them have little quirks that I couldn't help but crack a smile whenever I seen them. Add to the fact that a lot of them have some great puns for their names, a common thing in DQ games, and it makes encountering enemies an absolute joy.

The end game offers a great challenge to those who wanted something a little extra. There are challenging fights that will require you to get some of the best gear the game has to offer and level up your team to the max. Luckily the levelling up part is pretty simple thanks to to Metal Slime hunting and a special move that raises the exp you get after a battle. It makes a little prep to pull off but once you get in the swing of things you can level up super fast. My team went from something like level 70 to level 99 in the space of an hour.

I think the only flaw I have in the game is the music. It's not the lack of orchestrated music that is in question but more the actual quality of the songs. The songs seem to repeat a lot of the time and some of them just don't fit the tone of what is happening on the screen. From the very start this is an issue. There is a chase scene right at the beginning of the game and the whole thing is very dark and very dramatic but the music used seemed far to playful and it just mesh well with what was happening. This kind of thing happens throughout the game.

This is one of those games where once I had finished it I felt really empty. Even after 80 hours of gameplay I just wanted the game to continue. It's funny, S-E have stated how they need the game to sell in order to continue to translate and release the games over in the West but they seem to treat it like a red headed step child in comparison to the Final Fantasy series. Final Fantasy XV, beside the soundtrack, was a mess of a game that didn't know what it wanted to be, whereas this knows exactly what it wants to be and was far better for it. If S-E released the Dragon Quest games worldwide at the same time and give it a release date so that it could breathe ( releasing next to Spider-Man was suicide ) I think the game would have been far more successful.

@Grazza you need this game.

[Julius]

Great write-up @Hero-of-Time!

I actually picked this up last Tuesday after finishing Spider-Man, and I’m quickly closing in on 30 hours of gameplay (I’ve just completed the events in Phnom Nom, for anyone wondering), and I’ve actually been taking notes as I’ve gone along of my experience with the game. As my first Dragon Quest game, I’m having an absolute blast — and to hear that there’s the potential for another 50 hours (probably more for someone like me!) of gameplay excites me a lot! It’s just so charming and fun!

I agree with many of the points that you raised - at least as much as I can at this point in the game - but the point that I agree with most, and want to talk a little bit about, certainly has to be your point about the music. As someone who has not played Dragon Quest before, I have to imagine that a few themes or musical nods have returned from previous games which I’m missing out on the nostalgia for, which I have to admit is a shame — this is my favourite thing to listen out for in franchises that I have a long history with, like Pokémon or Star Wars — but even then, the music has started to grate on me a little bit with how many times some of the themes are repeated, and for the most mundane things.

Going into the game, as a big fan of music but by no means a music buff, I was worried much more about the actual quality of the music itself, what with everyone complaining about the audio quality of the MIDI soundtrack online. Whilst I love orchestral music, and think it adds a nuance which MIDI simply can’t offer, the music in this game sounds great (if a little loud at times), and many of the themes are great, but the repetition that comes with having a theme specifically for cities/“bustling towns”, for example, without any nuance added to distinguish cities musically...it’s probably the biggest letdown of the game for me so far (and this is me being somewhat picky at that). It could have been as simple as rearranging the piece at different tempos and location-related instruments to keep it fresh, and I think it’s only made worse by the fact that the evening theme for these places is in fact already a rearrangement of this particular piece at a lower tempo and with softer-sounding instruments.

[Hero-of-Time]

Yeah, the music is pretty disappointing. I'd love it if the game had an epic soundtrack like heard in Final Fantasy XV but I imagine a lot of the core DQ fans would be against such a move.

@Ike you're probably the biggest DQ fan on here. What's your take on the music in DQXI?