Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (NSW) Review
It is now the 4th consecutive month that I have been playing a JRPG game. This game has been in my collection for more than 3 years. It took me quite some time but let’s dive in to Dragon Quest XI.
STORY
You mainly play as the Luminary (also known as the Hero in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate), a chosen champion by the World Tree Yggdrasil to purge the darkness threatening the world of Erdrea. As you travel across Erdrea in search of the Sword of Light in order to beat the evil lord Mordegon, you also gain allies along the way and help cities with any problems that they have.
Later on in Act 2 of the story, you will be able to control your party members in their own side stories, before all of you group back together an continue your quest. It is also here in Act 2 where the story introduced its major twist which I honestly did not expect.
GAMEPLAY
Same with all mainline Dragon Quest games, XI is also a JPRG which means combat is turn-based. Each character has a couple of weapons that they can use, and several spells and unique abilities that can be unlocked via the Character Builder. The are also various Pep Powers that can be executed. Pep Powers are combination attacks by some or all of the party members when characters are pepped up.
MUSIC
I think the soundtrack in this game is beautiful. Whether you are playing in 2D or in 3D, you’ll be able to hear the orchestral soundtrack, including orchestrated versions of OSTs from previous games. But there are only a few songs available and in a game where there are a lot of exploration and going back and forth between towns, the music tends to get a bit repetitive.
CHARACTERS
Along your journey you will meet Erik the thief, Serena and Veronica the twin Keepers who serve the Luminary, Sylvando the circus performer, and Rab and Jade the travelling warriors. These people will become the members of your party, at least in Act 1. Who knows what happens in Act 2.
Each of these characters have a lot of personality, especially Sylvando. He kinda grew on me while I was playing the game. Act 2 added more backstory, cutscenes, and purpose to these characters which elevated them to no longer be just side characters to the Luminary.
WORLD
There are a lot of places to travel to in Erdrea. At first you can only travel on foot or using your horse, but later on you can sail the seas via the Salty Stallion ship, or soar the skies while you ride on the great flying whale Cetacea.
Although exploration is a bit limited since you can’t climb and jumping power is weak, the sceneries are amazing especially when first arriving in a town/city since you are given a slideshow of a few places of interest within the city.
VISUALS
The graphics in this game when in 3D are beautiful, especially the cutscenes. I think the graphics were on point for the entirety of the game.
REPLAYABILITY
The post-game, also considered as Act 3, is HUGE. I spent 78 hours in the main game, then finished Act 3 at a total of around 130 hours of playtime, and there are still things I haven’t finished grinding at that point!
EXTRAS
Aside from the usual Casino, Mini Medal collection, and Puff Puff sessions which are present in other Dragon Quest games, various outfits/costumes are available which will change your characters appearance in game. The free Trodain outfit from Dragon Quest VIII was a very great gift to have. It is also the only Dragon Quest game I have played before this recent one.
The major extra content included in the Switch version is the addition of Tickington. In Tickington, you can go to various worlds from previous games and gain additional side quests. These worlds can be unlocked by exploring every nook and cranny in the Erdrean map to find creatures called Tockles.
VERDICT
Rating: 9/10
Dragon Quest XI is considered as the best game in the series. I had a great time with this game and regretted not playing it 3 years ago when I first bought the game.
My only issue with the game is that the boss enemies near the end were very difficult that I felt like I really needed to reach max level on all characters, and even then the fights still proved to be very challenging and I have to heal or revive characters on every turn. Grinding is present in RPGs, but I think this is the only game in recent memory where I really need to spend a few hours just for grinding.
