Not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but, man, this series used to challenge the boundaries of the medium with multi-perspective, multi-generational stories with innovative systems that changed the landscape of the industry. And now it just sort of...wallows in itself, rolling around in the muck of its past glories and sniffing its own farts.

Again, it isn't bad. It looks wonderful, it's very charming, and the dialogue is witty. It's a nice time. And if this was 20 or 30 hours, that'd be just fine. But it isn't. It's 80, 90, even 100 hours long. For a game that demands that much time investment, I want it to do something, to say something, and Dragon Quest XI just...doesn't.

Not only is the battle system too simplistic and shallow for a tale of this length, but the story itself takes a massive nosedive in the final act, chickening out of almost every theme it touches on, reversing character arcs and plot points, all for the sake of more Fanservice. Because Dragon Quest doesn't care about anything anymore, except itself.

Oh, and the soundtrack fucking sucks. Sugiyama isn't even good at his job, Square, why are you keeping this decrepit fascist around?

This is gonna be just an analysis of differences I noticed between the original version and S versions, and how I feel they actually effect the experience of the game.

I now own 3 different versions of this game (vanilla PS4, S Switch, and S PS4). I played a bit of it in 2018 before leaving it shelved to finish other games in the series before returning to it. I did the same thing with the switch version when it came out, but I felt something was fundamentally different about the experience of playing it on Switch, so I had decided to finish my file on PS4 before returning to the extra stuff on Switch. Now that the S version is on PS4, it makes everything a lot more complicated.

Anyway, here is some of the magic of the original vanilla version I felt that you won't find on either S version:

Dynamic lighting on nearly every light source, as well as global dynamic lighting: It seems like every light, bright spot, and torch can cast large and even strong shadows, which was really surprising to me at how real and tangible it made the environments feel. The ladder in starting village to the right of the entrance will cast a large shadow from the torch near that moves quickly and angularly away from it as you go up it, stretching it across the length of the cave. As well as the sun causing flares with the camera, the stone surfaces picking up specular lighting in the houses. I'm not usually one to prioritize graphics, but DQ environments are so memorable, minimal, and striking that I think it really added to the atmosphere of all the locations I remember. I'm led to believe that the mentioned ladder in that starting village was placed there in order to show off lighting capability with the dynamic shadow casting.

Foliage and foliage motion: Grass is thicker and lusher in vanilla, and it sways much more to the simulated wind effects. Some people have complained about this actually because it tends to come off strangely on higher resolutions. I liked it though.

The Midi effect: The use of synthesized tracks over symphonic tracks was controversial in 2018, but I think it allowed for a really interesting effect. Here you had the highest fidelity Dragon Quest and possibly JRPG, presented in the most cinematic fashion possible regarding event choreography , blocking, and lighting, and the heart of the picture, the sound, was playing harsh, boisterous, synthetic music in a way that some found irritating but I thought was pretty confident in expressing a core theme: that at the end of the day, all the dressing, nuance, lighting, modeling, and fidelity on display here is still an extension of the simplest possible stuff; the same stuff that began in the 80s, and I mean that mechanically, artistically, conceptually. I haven't finished the game yet, but it's like even after 30 years, games are all based on the same foundations: actions, roles, and mechanics working together in a system to convey a feeling, and even in 200 years that won't change, and the ability to convey a really affecting story through a game can still be based on the simplest possible techniques-given grandiosity, weight, gesture, context, and theme.

I think the switch version loses that subtle feeling completely because the intense "fidelity-ness" of it is lost, so the music doesn't have anything to be a contrast with. Instead, with the S version, you have a 2D mode running parallel to the chapters of the 3D mode, conveying the same kind of idea in an alternate mode, rather than taking advantage of modern technical specs. I think the PS4 S version comes closer to that feeling when combining the sharpened 3D with the synthesized track, but like I said, with the loss of foliage motion and dynamic lighting, it's not all there yet.

A nice parallel to that effect is the combination of 2D mode with the symphonic soundtrack, highlighting instead the emotional power capable even in scenes made of the simplest ingredients, sprites, menus, text, and X and Y movement. The fidelity of the soundtrack adds a layer to those old but never out-of-date techniques and styles.

There are some things to mention about the updated S version on PS4: the lighting change to baked lighting although creating a more uniform look to environments, allows for some more color and less over-blooming in certain spots. The new models reflect less light than before, and the effect in the original version where character's skins will literally glow in the sunlight is gone (it always looked plasticy and unnatural to me), some surfaces and areas have actually been updated from vanilla to look better overall, and the new draconian options are nice. I think adding randomness to NPC interactions is a really good place for Dragon Quest to do more Dragon quest-type stuff. I think Dragon quest has always been about re-exploring the familiar in order to transform it once again to the unfamiliar, making you see something you think is standard as if it's your first time all over again. Seeing NPC's lie to me or my characters fumble in awkwardness through what should be routine overworld conversations was really unexpected and hilarious, and added a dynamic aspect to an otherwise overlooked motion of speaking to even the most basic of characters. I think it also adds some of the charm and humor I felt was somewhat missing from NPCs of the original version.

The one thing I do miss though is first person mode. I just really liked going around and sometimes just standing still to gawk at the environment design or the warm people doing their thing. The photo mode just doesn't cut the same feeling for me. Not sure why they removed it or didn't restore it on the PS4 version of S.

All that said and done, I'm probably gonna switch over to the S version on PS4 and finish it there. I was gonna play both versions, but when hearing about how long this game actually is, and given how much I really like the extra draconian NPC interaction based modes, as well as all the other extra story content, I'll play the S version through to the end, and probably keep the switch version as an airplane 2D mode game.

Dragon Quest is an under appreciated gem of a series. So much so that it really hasn't had a present in the west since Dragon Quest 9, thankfully though, not only did we get Dragon Quest 11, but voice acting attached to that. Yep, Dragon Quest 11 had an English dub first, and not only is the voice acting top notch, the gameplay is as fine tuned as ever, and the story is just the bees knees.

The story starts out with our plucky hero, default named Eleven, as he goes on a journey to figure out what the symbol on his hand means, and to find out his past. As he travels around he meets up with a bunch of different characters that are all well developed in their own right. Erik is an absolute ride or die friend that is with you since the very beginning of your journey. Veronica and Selena are two twins on a mission to help you out and bring peace to the world. Slyvando is here to have a good time and is one of the best gay reps from Japanese developers. Not only a shining knight, but someone who is beloved by all. Jade is a wonderful older sister type that kicks ass, and Rab is the prevy grandpa of the group. Together they go around solving world problems, getting along, and basically helping each other out. While there are certainly times that are bleak, in the end, a lot of what makes Dragon Quest 11 is the friends we made along the way. This is especially turn during the 2nd and 3rd act of the game where things take some drastic turns.

For those unfamiliar with this games structure, Dragon Quest 11 has 3 acts. While the first 2 acts are considered the main story, the 3rd act aka post game, is still given the same kind of treatment that the other two acts get. There is plenty left to do and say when it comes to 11 after the second act, so even when you beat the game, you still have roughly 20-30 hrs left of the true story. That isn't to say that the other two acts don't have enough to tell, and in all honesty the first 2 acts are quite self contained and fill a nice 60 hr slot. And if you happen to get Dragon Quest 11 S, you also get additional quests mid and late game that add onto the overall play time. Enough to say that Dragon Quest 11 has plenty to chew on.

While the combat and skill system is as fine tuned as ever, allowing you to redo your points at any time as well as giving you plenty of customization options; the sad truth is the soundtrack does not live up to the rest of the game. Koichi Sugiyama is simply a terrible man, and unless you have the DQ11 S, you're not going to have a proper soundtrack. Comparatively tho, this isn't the worst thing Sugiyama has done, but consider that homework after this review is over.

Overall Dragon Quest 11 delivered on my hopes of having a grand adventure that I wouldn't forget. The voice actors for both English and Japanese did a wonderful job, the game is meaty as heck, and there is just so much good to cover about DQ11 that it really isn't worth repeating if you can just experience it yourself. Please if you have never played or have been buy curious about the series the demo for it is 10 hrs. long and gives you plenty of an idea if you'd like the rest of it. Play Dragon Quest 11, it's worth it.

Great game, marred by a bad final act and a horrendous final boss fight.

edit

Okay now that I've calmed down let's talk about this game a little.

Dragon Quest XI is a really Stellar game most of the way. While the story isn't incredible it tells a solid story with good characters. It's charm and atmosphere is delightful and has some of the best combat I've ever played in a JRPG. Seriously it made grinding fun for me.

Where this games loses the plot is act 3 for me. I don't like the story choices, and the final boss, for my taste, was incredibly difficult and unfair unless you do bunch of grinding to get specific weapons/powers and pep, which, already 60 hours into a game is a gigantic ass (and one too much for me).

It's not enough to spoil my time with this game, I'm considering it finished after act 2. I like the story that told more anyways. Great game.

I was originally quite dismissive of Dragon Quest as a series being that i don't love jrpgs and dq, apart from it's adorable style, appears to be the milquetoastiest variant. But, it's the originator and if any series can go on for more than 5 sequels and still remain relevant, it has to do something good right?

Dragon Quest does a great job of trimming the fat from traditional tabletop and crpgs while understanding what makes rpgs compelling. every character stat and item feels important and specialized, RNG can change the trajectory of ANY battle, and saving is contextualized as praying at churches spread throughout the map; this combats the save scumming that usually plagues computer games and rpgs especially. The lack of random encounters does a great job of staving off the fatigue of combat i usually experience in jrpgs. It needs to be said just how surprisingly fleshed out the world of dragon quest xi is, npcs are always providing hints to their relations to others and imply the history of each location.

"Accessibility" in games used to mean options like colorblind modes subtitles etc. But thanks to gaming journos it's recently shifted to just be a blanket term for "how badly does this game want you to finish it". It's a very broad topic but i feel like dragon quest xi is a really great example of accessibility. This game really lets you fine tune your experience however you'd like. Think the game is too easy? enable draconian quests and kite enemies, grinding is for manchildren. Think the combat is too slow? turn up the gamespeed. Hate the super long 3d attack animations and sometimes barren world? there's an option to play the entire game in a 2d sprite mode. Can't suspend your disbelief seeing 3 gokus stand single file to wack on a blue slime? you can enable free movement during battles and manually reposition party members around the battlefield. As an aside, I grew up mostly playing nintendo games so i got used to their unique right button confirm standard (a on nintendo, b on xbox, circle on playstation), pc games usually just copy the xbox button layout but dq xi provides the option to change the confirm button. Contemporary connotations aside, I think Dragon Quest XI is remarkably accessible for anyone with difficulty hearing or performing fine motor skills. Dragon Quest is for the people man

TLDR: i love Tim Rogers as much as the next guy but gaht damn this game drags. probably gonna revisit next time a world changing event happens. dq xi > witcher 3 and s/o toriyama

Update 9/21/2023: It's been a little over a year since I finished Dragon Quest XI and it's still difficult for me to sum up my thoughts.

There is so much I love about it, from its charming characters to its ambitious scale to its unbelievable post-game content. It has moments that are up there with some of my favorite in the medium. The combat is also easily the best I've experienced in any turn-based JRPG.

But it's also filled with a lot of tedium, and unfortunately, I don't think its world grew much on me. Its traditional approach to old-school JRPG fantasy aesthetics offered few surprises.

Even when I believed parts of it looked pretty, I'm not sure if I ever felt wholehearted adoration for it. That style is what people love about Dragon Quest and I understand that, especially since it cannot be found much anywhere nowadays.

Inside me there is a constant battle reflecting on its most exhausting moments and trying to unravel my true feelings on its visual style. I'm completely comfortable saying I loved this game, yet I also don't know how to feel about it as a whole.

So yeah, I'm still uncertain on my final thoughts. I'm not sure when or if I ever will. It's already been a whole year since completion. When will this game stop haunting me?

Original review is as follows:

It's difficult to assign the entirety of Dragon Quest XI a single score. I've been playing this game on and off over the last three years, and according to my final playtime, that comes out to 113 hours.

DQXI hasn't been an insignificant part of those three years either, and all three acts have come to represent a sort-of lifelong saga for me. When I finally reached end credits, I felt lost.

DQXI had always been there for me, in the background, wanting to be played. Its world and its characters were a part of me, and although I was desperate to finally get the game over with, now that it's actually done, I've come out with mixed feelings.

Am I really ready to say goodbye to this world? To these characters? What does my life look like without Dragon Quest XI sitting in the back of my mind?

It's hard to say. I have plenty of criticisms and there's a good chunk of it that didn't work for me, but there are very few experiences in this medium that I can walk away from and feel this lost.

I think it'll take many months of reflection for me to fully understand my own feelings on it. For now, all I know is that this game is truly special.

many in recent years have clamored for the end of the japanese rpg as we have come to know it ever since the first dragon quest got its release and spawned a whole genealogical tree of videogames more or less inspired by it. a person as influential currently to jrpgs, and at the same time as level-headed, such as naoki yoshida tells us that this kind of games are simply not sought after anymore. even yuji horii, the very father of the series the game i am writing about is part of and one who has stuck to the traditional formula all throughout the years he's worked on the series, seems to have caved in to this apparent sentiment and has already announced that the latest iteration in the dragon quest series, in the singular teaser we have seen of the game thus far, will have in fact action elements in it.

i am not sure if it is just me not seeing the bigger picture and simply not understanding a simple fact about the industry today. people like naoki yoshida and yuji horii are many lifetimes-worth more knowledgeable about the game industry than me, i realize the fact that they must have consulted the numbers thoroughly before making statements such as the ones they have come to make. it would be strange that one of the current producers of dragon quest, yosuke saito (known also for producing various yoko taro joints), also embraces this transition when dragon quest xi has had a massive success but allows the sequel to depart from the formula that has made the series famous in the first place.

what i am getting at is that this game has perfected the classic jrpg formula and i believe that because of this it has been rewarded with an incredible, well-deserved, success. it should have been the one game that would have changed everyone's minds about the destiny of jrpgs. and apparently it didn't. i wonder what people would attribute this success of the game to then. would they say it is due to the strong cast of playable characters? well, they wouldn't come to meet most of them if they didn't like the gameplay loop enough to play long enough to meet them in the first place. is it the exploration aspect? as with many jrpgs, the game is very much streamlined before truly opening up to the player with world map mobility options. i really cannot stress enough how much it all sounds like excuses to my ears and how much i feel i am missing something very obvious that everyone else can see.

maybe it is simply the fact that, as yoshida said, a more direct control of a character's actions has a greater appeal to newer generations because that's what they've grown with, and if that crowd starts crossing over to their products then they have to adapt the next ones to this new public's expectations. but it just goes against what these games are truly about. dragon quest is successful because it is earnest, it wears its identity as a badge on its chest. the hero's journey plot. the wacky dinos and robots and gokus and trunkses. the shining sword of legend. the ultimate evil wanting to destroy the world as they know it. the casinos. the stereotypical representation of various world populations. and many more. people come to respect all that. or maybe they do not?

Ele não tem tanto estilo quanto Persona, não é tão popular quanto Pokémon, nem tão realista quanto Final Fantasy. Ele é Dragon Ball... com espadas. Dragon Quest não traz inovações na história, nem no gameplay. Ele não tenta te surpreender, porém funciona. Simples assim, você é o Luminary, o escolhido (Wow), e tem que salvar o mundo do mal (Quem diria?). A gameplay é o bate e espera padrão, mas sem random encounters, o que é muito bom.
Tratando-se da dificuldade, tudo nos Atos 1 e 2 é ridiculamente fácil, enquanto o Ato 3 é difícil até você grindar um pouco, aí torna tudo fácil. Incluindo o boss final do jogo, que morreu em incríveis 4 turnos.
A soundtrack não é tão boa quanto a de outros JRPGs, mas certas músicas se destacam, quando estão orquestradas. O velho nazista não deixou usarem a versão boa das músicas na versão que eu joguei, então eu sofri escutando as versões horríveis em MIDI. (Isso foi corrigido na versão definitiva).
Em resumo, DQ11 é um jogo bom demais para se deixar passar, e recomendo demais para qualquer um que queira perder várias horas em um bom RPG.

É o RPG mais genérico de todos e por bom motivo, já que Dragon Quest basicamente inventou o gênero de RPG como conhecemos. O que mais me surpreendeu no jogo - e na saga toda, i guess - é a honestidade. Ele não tenta ser nada além do que é: um RPG longo e gerérico, mas é por isso que consegue refinar tão bem uma fórmula anciã. Tudo é extremamente bem feito e carinhosamente trabalhado, a única exceção sendo a música que está presa em forma MIDI graças ao compositor do jogo, ironicamente também antiquado, para dizer o mínimo. Apesar disso, dá pra ver que os devs tem muito amor e respeito pela série, e é difícil não apreciar e, se estiver disposto, também se apaixonar por esse RPG genérico.