Game Review: Dragon Quest XI S - Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition

If you ask most Western audiences what the most famous JRPG franchise they’ve played would be, I imagine the likely response would be Final Fantasy. Yes, it’s no secret how popular this franchise has become for a lot of audiences with its unique turn-based adventures in which you explore an imaginative world with a memorable cast of characters. That format of gameplay is synonymous with nearly any type of RPG these days and it could be argued that Final Fantasy helped to define that genre. While Final Fantasy’s contribution cannot be understated, there is in fact another JRPG franchise which beat Final Fantasy to the punch just one year prior from the original games release. That franchise is none other than Dragon Quest. 

Developed and originally released back in 1986, the Dragon Quest series has spanned over 36 years with a multitude of main line entries as well as spin off titles. Yuji Horii, Akira Toriyama and Koichi Sugiyama are credited as the main trio responsible for the creation and continued development of the series as the years have gone by. While I admittingly haven’t had as much of a relationship with the series as most fans out there, I can at least attest I caught onto the allure of the franchise at least once before. Yes, my first time experiencing this series was with it’s ninth entry; Sentinels of the Starry Skies on the Nintendo DS. I remember being drawn in by the games inherent charm and technical design from the offset. Despite having such fond memories of that game, I sadly never took the time or effort to experience any of the prior or future titles in the series since then. That is no longer the case however, as I recently played and finished up the definitive edition of Dragon Quest XI; Echoes of an Elusive Age on the Nintendo Switch.

Developed and published by Square Enix, the 11th mainline entry in the Dragon Quest series was originally released back in 2017 in Japan and then 2018 in the West. The definitive edition then followed in 2019 on Nintendo Switch and other mainline consoles. It’s interesting to note that the director of this entry, Takeshi Uchikawa; actually had prior credits behind Sentinels of the Starry Skies as a scenario designer. The main line entries of Dragon Quest while improving and iterating with each entry often follows a set of core principles which you’ll fine in many turn-based JRPG’s. You play a central character who ventures out on a journey in the  world, fighting monsters in turn-based combat all the while recruiting a memorable cast of companions to your cause. What generates a lot of charm in these games is often found in the art design in which famed manga artist Akira Toriyama contributes a lot of his work to the franchises character and monster design. Dragon Quest XI retains all of those core elements, all the while bringing the series forward by utilizing the latest generation of hardware as it’s next foundation.

The narrative of Dragon Quest XI is set in the world of Erdrea, a fantastical world in which all life is tied to the mighty world tree Yggdrasil. You play the Luminary, a young man who discovers he has a magical tie to the world tree and he is destined to save the world from a great darkness. The Luminary ventures forth on a quest to reach the world tree in hopes of ensuring it’s protected from the forces of darkness. As he travels out across the vast regions, he recruits a number of companions to his cause. These companions have their own defining characteristics and sub plots which tie into the Luminary’s journey in some notable ways too. Not everyone is out to aid The Luminary however, as the kingdom of Heliodor perceives the child to be an omen of destruction and labels him The Darkspawn. The King of Heliodor thus sends all of his forces out to stop your blight across the land along with two noble knights called Sir Hendrik and Sir Jasper. Your journey across Erdtrea will have you aiding many towns and communities with their own personal situations, as there is a plethora of side plots which serve as the foundation of your adventure with your companions to save the world from darkness.

On the surface this plot may come off as a bit generic for a high fantasy story but contrary to that point I feel there’s a lot of depth behind the games narrative that you really come to appreciate. Part of what makes the narrative so engrossing to follow I feel is the pacing and voice acting. With the storyline proceeding at a very gradual rate, it allows the player to truly immerse themselves within the world and form proper connections with it’s characters. Each major individual you meet on your journey sets a clear impression with their character design and voice work. The companions especially, present a major amount of substance to the narrative in ways I never expected. It’s common-case with JRPG’s in which you build up a family of companions who you develop a deep connection to, but in this games case it felt even more notable. Whether it’s Erik the wise-cracking thief, Sylvando the eccentric acrobat, Jade the hard-hitting martial artist or Serena and Veronica the twin sister mages; you will find yourself really falling for these people as they develop and grow alongside you on your quest. The subplots which you encounter along your journeys all have some level of unique quality to present too. I enjoyed just how much variation there was in these stories and the enemies you would come across within them. They’re all distinct in their own right but they are all smartly tied to the overall plot of the Lord of Shadows and the darkness he seeks to spread across the world.  It’s a very stacked narrative, filled with extended arcs with a plethora of twists and turns. All of the writing and structuring works out brilliantly in the end though and the top-notch voice acting from the English dub cast really stood out to me and helped reinforce my engagement in the story right up to the end.

Dragon Quest XI has more going for it than just the storyline however, as the gameplay functionality behind this game has layers of depth all of its own. As with any traditional JRPG, you can control your main character and three other companions at any one time within an active battle scenario. You take turns to deploy your moves against the games wide catalogue of enemies. Each enemy you face has their own distinct set of skills and tactics you will need to work around in order to overcome them. While this sounds very typical of the genre, what makes this gameplay all the more memorable is its variation. You have the ability to switch up the battle modes within this game to allow you to roam and position yourself in the vicinity of your enemy; helping you feel more actively present in the scale of the fight. You can also tune your allies tactically to allow the AI to determine how they fight if you wish. The way battles can be done often comes down to your damage abilities. You can attack with practical weapons, use spells to damage, buff and de-buff and utilize unique abilities associated to the characters you control. One added feature which stands out pretty nicely in the combat for me is the Pep powers. When your characters are ‘Pepped’ they are put into a unique state in which they can perform special moves which have unique functions to them. If other characters in the team are ‘Pepped’ at the same time they can perform a special move together, each one with their own special abilities.  All of these factors combine together to present the player with a very easy, yet all together immersive combat system to engage with. 

You can also further define you and your companion’s prowess in battle through the use of functions like the skill trees and the Fun-Sized Forge. Each character in this game has well mapped skill tree in which you can tailor their build to a play style of your choice.  There’s a whole layer of choice in these skill trees with how you might be able to focus a certain character to use certain weapons or abilities. For example, Erik as a thief is capable of using both boomerangs and knives; you can devote skill points to help build him up with skills which will make him able to duel wield knives and do extra damage with them if enemies are under the condition of certain status ailments.  Each companion’s skill tree expands too as the game unfolds, giving you even more choice on how to build your crew up to help fight against the game’s multitude of enemies. The Fun-Sized Forge offers you the means to craft weapons, armor and accessories which you can then equip to your crew to help make them more powerful. The way in which this system works is you are provided a minigame in which you hammer the forge and help mold these items. The better you are at molding the items, the better the quality they will come out of the forge at. The minigame expands over time too, offering you more ways to help temper your forged items with different skills and focus. 

Exploration is also rewarded quite richly within the confines of the game’s environments. The scale of this game’s world design is insanely huge and you are encouraged at all opportunities to explore it. Within each of the games wonderfully varied locations you will find a multitude of side quests and treasures to locate if you’re smart enough to seek them out. When the game encourages exploration in a way that feels simple yet engrossing it allows helps motivate the player to get lost in the world and enjoy it’s contents. I love how nothing ever feels menial in this worlds design, you’re rewarded at every opportunity for your engagement within its environments and that to me is a true achievement. While not a true open world game, the number of biomes in this game is incredible; each with their own distinct visual beauty and added elements to admire. 

The added charm to the world’s design also comes in the form of its monsters. Akira Toriyama does an absolutely incredible job in designing such visually distinct enemies to fill up every corner of the game’s locations. Whether it’s the standard environmental enemies or the dedicated boss enemies, there’s no limit to the number of individual variations this man can conjure up. I love how much life there is behind not just their design but the way they’re animated in the game as well. The whole visual arts team deserve top praise for giving these enemies so much life in the way they move and attack. It’s the trademark of a memorable game when the enemies don’t all blur into one and you can recall so many of their distinctive designs even after the fifty-hour mark. 

After so much time devoted to the world of Erdrea it’s fair to ask did I feel satisfied by the end of my time with Dragon Quest XI? Well, if everything I’ve written prior to this closing paragraph is anything to go by, my opinion on this game is it’s nothing short of phenomenal. Dragon Quest XI personifies everything a JRPG should be and even more. The series knows by this point its own strengths and it plays to them with utmost ease. What stands out to me though is the many added variations which help make the experience you have with this game all the more memorable. There’s so much packed into every corner of this games offerings which reward you plentifully for your investment. Dragon Quest XI recognizes all the core principles which make a good JRPG but doesn’t settle on delivering just those aspects, it adds to it with a multitude of added improvements; all of this combines to deliver an experience which only reinforces why Dragon Quest has been going strong now for more than thirty five years.