Game Review: Dragon Quest XI

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This month’s game review will be: Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age This is not the latest “S” iteration, that version of the same title came out September 2019… I am playing the non-S variety, non-definitive edition that was released a year prior to that – September of 2018. The nice part about that is that it is older, so it is more likely to be on the budget end of games. Links at the bottom for both options. ↓

Let’s get the publishing details sorted out and then we’ll dive into my thoughts on this game.

Title	Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
# of Players	1
Release Date	September 3, 2018 (latest releases were on 12-2020)
Publisher	Square-Enix
ESRB Rating	Teen
Rating Details	Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Simulated Gambling, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol
Genre	RPG / JRPG
Platform	(reviewed on) PS4, (other available) XBOX, PC, Steam

I’ve spent a good amount of time in the game – it is one that I can put aside for a little bit and come back to it and pick up pretty much right where I left off. I would say that is a benefit for someone like me. No, that is not in reference to my A.D.D. behavior to the way I play games – I would compare it to the draw of mobile games. They allow you to take the game in bite sized chunks and at a more relaxed and casual pace. With Dragon Quest XI when you reload a saved game it does a story re-cap for you, so if you only really get around to playing once your chores are done on the weekend – this can help you remember where you are and what characters are in your party.

One of the first things I noticed when playing this game is the graphics – they are completely in line with the Dragon Quest franchise. The characters fit the environment very well. The colors are bright, the characters themselves have a very anime look to them. They did a great job with animating the character movements and interactions. From a graphics perspective – they know what they want to go for and they remain committed to it. I did not find my cartoon styled character sneaking through an ultra-realistic, gritty battlefield. And even the monsters fit the environment. Here’s an example – These guys just look thrilled to be here!

The story of the game is one that we’ve probably all heard at some point or another. A hero is destined to return and vanquish a dark evil. The hero must overcome many challenges, and there is a sword. There is always a sword. This one plays along those lines. Though the way it does it is really fun to see unfold. While I haven’t finished the game yet (gotta finish my chores, remember?) there really have not been any moments where the story felt like it really threw a curve at you. It was easy to follow and that may help lead into the point I made earlier about it being easy to pick up and put down.

In your journey through the game you will have few different characters who will join your party. While you can only have three characters in battle at a time, you can switch party members out during battle. One more feature I appreciate in the game. Some enemies are weak against certain attacks, and being able to swap out your heroes as needed helps a lot. Plus it is fun to see the different attacks and skills.

The combat in the game is pretty easy as well. It is menu driven, like many JRPG – but it is not an “active” battle system. If I want to scroll through my inventory during battle I am free to do so. And when I am done counting how many healing herbs I have left I can step right in where I left off. I think that really lends itself to keeping that bar of entry low enough to not intimidate people away from the game.

Let’s talk game sound – I enjoy it and I do not enjoy it. The music is very engaging, in most instances it has a very upbeat feel. Same in the battles. And I do enjoy the various nods to the classic game sounds. I thought it was very interesting that they paid such attention to detail in the footstep sounds. There is a distinct difference for when your character is running on the dirt or grass vs running on wooden planks, or stone floor. It is clear that attention to detail was employed in trying to surround the player in the world they built. The voice acting is pretty good too – extremely fun accents. One note – The version S “Definitive Edition” does allow you to switch to the Japanese voice-overs. Not sure if that is a selling point for anyone. I think I am so accustomed to hearing the characters sound one way that hearing a different voice might take me out of the engagement. The reason I say that I do not enjoy it is that after a time it becomes repetitive. Not necessarily a bad thing – but it is a thing.

One thing that may be either good or bad – depending on how you want to view it. This is a very story heavy game, and while I feel there are a good number of cut-scenes that play out with voice acting, there is a large portion that is all text based. So that means there is a LOT of reading. Especially if you try to chat up every NPC in each town you come across. There are benefits to doing that, but just to be aware, if all you want to do is mash buttons and not really read what is happening – might set this back on the shelf until after next weeks chores and pick up something more mash-worthy.

The other way to look at that is it IS a lot of reading – so while I know there are better ways to help encouraging kids to read (and us adults that behave like kids). This is not a bad one. Get some reading in while playing a game and then check back for some fun enjoyable books that fit in nicely with the magic and fantasy this game brings.

This game is not open world in the sense that you can tackle any challenge right out of the gate. In fact there is definitely a linear progression to it. But the maps themselves are pretty nice for exploration. As I pointed out, there are a lot of townsfolk looking for you to assist with their side quests. While you could just rush through and focus on only completing the main story, doing nice things for others definitely feels like you are filling out the world and getting to explore more of what is in the game.

That large quest pool and the fact that so many of them are optional can leave a lot of things undiscovered. It can be easy to miss things in the game, even with the sparkly icons and map markers. It is a game that rewards the player that is naturally exploring the environment.

One last thing to bring up – again it could be taken as good or bad – it can be a bit cheesy at times. I personally think that adds to the charm, but I know my teenage son doesn’t like cheesy. He feels like that cheesy games are too young for him. Despite the Teen rating and I’d say it is there for a reason, the content can sometimes seem more mature than the cute cartoon graphics might lead you to believe.

Overall – I found it to be a fun game. There are parts that do not fit in the “casual game” category, but it has been easy to pick up and put back down with gaps of time between a session. So it has aspects that lend itself to those that enjoy a more relaxed and casual game experience.

If you are so inclined – it is available on a wide variety of game platforms, I will include Amazon links below. Left to right → Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Steam download.