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.