Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition for every platform! (including Xbox Game Pass)

[Mr. Gerbik]

1 hour ago, Ste Pickford said:

Yeah, it doesn't do anything different later on, there's just more of it.  It's not a game (or a series) that's about wowing you with new ideas or concepts or mechanics.  It's about doing the familiar things so, so well, with the highest levels of care and attention.

Exactly this. It's not exactly like the SNES era JRPG's you like so much, but rather it's like how you *remember* them. All the good bits, implemented perfectly with care, polish, and loads of quality of life improvements. It's a joy to play, and a fantastic modern interpretation of that era of the genre. 

 

I loved playing through this and will gladly pay full price for the next one the moment the pre-order page appears.

[Garwoofoo]

I played through Act 1 on Switch when it first came out, really enjoyed it but it felt like I'd played a whole game by the time that Act had finished. I thought I'd put it to one side for a bit while I played other stuff, of course never went back to it and now I can hardly remember what happened.

 

Very tempted to restart on Series X if Acts 2 and 3 are as good. Though I can't decide on Stronger Monsters or not, the base game was very very easy but then again do I really want a load more frustration in the battles anyway?

[Ste Pickford]

The games does give you nice little story updates every time you start a new session, to remind you what has happened and where you're up to.

[Triple A]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that I think it's the best JRPG ever made - it really is an absolute all-timer.  Everything is just so well considered - a very generous game, with a great deal of emotional intelligence toward the user, and battle & progression mechanics that are perfectly balanced.  I used to prefer some earlier games in the DQ series, but this one has stuck with me more.

Reading these lovely recent posts is making me want to do another playthrough with the 2D mode... although I would ideally want a nice scanlines mod for that.  Off to Nexus Mods I go!

[BitterToad]

On 18/05/2022 at 10:35, Ste Pickford said:

The games does give you nice little story updates every time you start a new session, to remind you what has happened and where you're up to.

The simplicity of its systems and the above touch is exactly why I know I will finish Dragon Quest XI and that it will enter my top 20. It’s brilliant and a wonderful game to spend ten hours on here and there and come back to every so often. 

[Jamie John]

I'm still chipping away at this, about 12 hours in and up to the Slayer of the Sands boss fight. It's perfectly enjoyable and nice to dip into every now and again, but it's not the sort of game that grabs you by the balls and doesn't let you go. Well, not so far at least - perhaps that will change later. At the moment, it feels like an excellent second game, one that you can always have on the back burner to play before bed, or on the bog, or while you're half paying attention to something else. I've never felt the urge to devote an entire evening to it, but that's ok.

[dizogg]

21 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

I'm still chipping away at this, about 12 hours in and up to the Slayer of the Sands boss fight. It's perfectly enjoyable and nice to dip into every now and again, but it's not the sort of game that grabs you by the balls and doesn't let you go. Well, not so far at least - perhaps that will change later. At the moment, it feels like an excellent second game, one that you can always have on the back burner to play before bed, or on the bog, or while you're half paying attention to something else. I've never felt the urge to devote an entire evening to it, but that's ok.

It’s long as fuck, I played for about 16 hours then just gave up. It’s great at what it does though. I’m just impatient. 

[b00dles]

Can you play the 2d old school mode on the ps4 version? Did it get an update or is that dlc/ a switch only version?

[Paulando]

9 minutes ago, b00dles said:

Can you play the 2d old school mode on the ps4 version? Did it get an update or is that dlc/ a switch only version?

Only the Definitive Edition, which is on PS4 too. It’s not available as an upgrade.

[b00dles]

1 minute ago, Paulando said:

Only the Definitive Edition, which is on PS4 too. It’s not available as an upgrade.

That's a shame. I bloody loved it when it came out and playing it through in 2d mode could be quite fun but don't know about buying it all over again just for that (and presumably some other additions to this definitive version).

[Benny]

I didn't get the appeal of the 2D mode myself. It looks nice enough, but it doesn't have the flair of a game specifically designed only in 2D like Chrono Trigger or something.

[Paulando]

Yeah, I was excited about the 2D mode until I played it, then quickly switched back.

 

For some reason I thought you could just switch back and forth between them at will, but I was getting it mixed up with another game (Wonderboy, maybe?).

[b00dles]

19 hours ago, Benny said:

I didn't get the appeal of the 2D mode myself. It looks nice enough, but it doesn't have the flair of a game specifically designed only in 2D like Chrono Trigger or something.

Fair point but I've completed chrono trigger twice already over the years and I thought doing this again in 2d might give me another good jrpg to play again. 

 

Maybe I'll just reinstall it on the ps5 and see how much I've forgotten in normal 3d mode 🤔

[meatbin]

Played some of the demo tonight on Switch with the intention of buying... 

 

Loved it so far, but wow the music is awful so far. 

[Sane]

Doesn't the switch version have the orchestral soundtrack? 

[iwubcode]

10 minutes ago, Sane said:

Doesn't the switch version have the orchestral soundtrack? 

 

It does, including the DQ8 orchestral soundtrack that can be toggled from the options menu if you want some variety.

[Calashnikov]

I finally went back and mopped up the third act / epilogue of this over the weekend, playing it pretty solidly in that time having abandoned it in February to make way for Elden Ring (I’d gotten it for Christmas and aimed to have it wrapped by New Year, lol).

 

Fucking loved it all over again. Got into some amazin’ game-breakin’, Pep-abusin’, EXP-grindin’, levellin’ up action in order to nail the trials and the final final final (I guess, maybe, who knows?) boss, I married my favourite waifu, took a note of some sizeable side quests that need done, bolted out to Tesco to nail a bottle of bank holiday fuel to get them done in the wee hours tonight, and I got on the internet to spunk £80-odd on one or two 3DS DQ ports that I don’t own and will never play. Fucking yesssss.

[carlospie]

This is the only DQ game iv ever played and I love it. Def in my top 5 games ever. I also have all the 3ds ones totally untouched after I finished this last year🤣

[Calashnikov]

Over 100 hours played, incidentally, with a good few quests, trials and bosses I still want to do.

[ZOK]

Is this game any good? I thought I’d give the Switch demo a go after listening to Tim Rogers suggesting everyone should try Dragon Quest, and I must admit I’ve not found it thrilling. I’ve hardly played it mind - just reached the top of the Tor and seen the mark on the main dude’s hand go off…but it all seems really old fashioned. Are there wonders to be found or is the game just about fighting bosses with more XP as you increase EXP?

 

The only other Dragon Quest game I’ve played is Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime on the DS which I loved, but obviously a completely different kind of game.

[Kayin Amoh]

It's fantastic. Great characters and writing and a real sense of heading off on an adventure.

 

It is old fashioned though, deliberately so. If you're done with turn based it might not be for you... or maybe the abundant charm will win you over? Who knows?

[Mogster]

11 minutes ago, ZOK said:

Is this game any good? I thought I’d give the Switch demo a go after listening to Tim Rogers suggesting everyone should try Dragon Quest, and I must admit I’ve not found it thrilling. I’ve hardly played it mind - just reached the top of the Tor and seen the mark on the main dude’s hand go off…but it all seems really old fashioned. Are there wonders to be found or is the game just about fighting bosses with more XP as you increase EXP?

 

The only other Dragon Quest game I’ve played is Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime on the DS which I loved, but obviously a completely different kind of game.

It's an odd one. It didn't really click with me for quite a few hours, but after a while I found myself really enjoying it. I couldn't even tell you what changed my mind. It is incredibly old fashioned in many ways though, and very deliberately so, but it's also very modern when it comes to quality of life stuff. 

 

The story is quite episodic, and also quite traditional so far. It all feels very low stakes for quite a long time, and often quite fairy tale-like in tone. It does eventually turn into something more though.

 

The soundtrack is unfortunately a bit limited and feels rather repetitive, especially early on. The overworld theme is the worst offender, but you can switch this to the DQVIII overworld theme after loading in one of the free bonus outfits. I would highly recommend doing this as soon as possible.

[ZOK]

Hmm, I’m only on the demo so not sure if I can do that, but yes the music was getting on my tits.

 

I’ve no idea how long the demo is but I’ll finish that at least and see what I think.

[metallicfrodo]

The demo is pretty generous, at around 10 hours long I seem to remember. The main thing being that if you do decide to get the full game it carries over your progress from the demo.

 

I'd also echo the comments saying that it is fantastic. It's got a great cast of characters and a fun story, and while much of it is old fashioned and quite traditional from a gameplay perspective there are so many improvements to quality of life that have been added that really elevate it.

[PaB]

1 hour ago, ZOK said:

Is this game any good? I thought I’d give the Switch demo a go after listening to Tim Rogers suggesting everyone should try Dragon Quest, and I must admit I’ve not found it thrilling. I’ve hardly played it mind - just reached the top of the Tor and seen the mark on the main dude’s hand go off…but it all seems really old fashioned. Are there wonders to be found or is the game just about fighting bosses with more XP as you increase EXP?

 

The only other Dragon Quest game I’ve played is Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime on the DS which I loved, but obviously a completely different kind of game.

Stick with it . You’ll love it. Some great characters and decent story with a few twists. 
i mean ultimately yes it’s an xp grind , but what Jrpg isn’t? Honestly it’s pretty much the perfect switch game. 

[Calashnikov]

@ZOKI’ve mentioned this a few times, but I mistakenly tried to cram it into a couple of months between getting it for Christmas and clearing the decks in time for Elden Ring coming out. This is not the best way to play it, despite enjoying the two thirds of game that I managed in that time (about 80 hours).
 

I much preferred mopping up the final third / epilogue (another 20 hours) whenever I did circle back round to it the other month, following a lengthy bit of time away from it, just grazing here and there. It does a good job of story recap and all that, which means you can dip in and out.
 

Take a leaf out of your man Tim Rogers’ book, and play a little bit per evening as though it were a cozy wee bedtime story ☺️ 

[Calashnikov]

After falling back in love with XI, I’ve since been on a mission to burn money while trying to track down all the DS and 3DS versions of earlier games in the series 🤦🏻‍♂️💸

[Calashnikov]

Also, you’ve probably already seen them, but if not (and for anyone else who may have missed them), Tim Rogers’ Kotaku “reviews” for both versions of the game are fantastic:

 

 

 

[ryodi]

2 minutes ago, Calashnikov said:

I’ve since been on a mission to burn money while trying to track down all the DS and 3DS versions of earlier games in the series 🤦🏻‍♂️💸

They reprinted the 3DS games last year which is why they are sold by Amazon at full price. 
 

I also fell off DQ XI when I first tried to play it and starting again on Switch with the Definitive Edition  it finally got its hooks into me. It was a slog to get there because the start is slower than Persona 5.

[Calashnikov]

Yeah, I’ve managed to get the 3DS games for not silly money (RRP, essentially).

 

Those DS ones though… 💸