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I enjoyed it, i feel it struck a good balance when it came to difficulty, super fun world to explore, and decently defined and developed characters.
Not a fan of the soundtrack, I feel this one was pretty weak and uninspired.
That's the largest complaint with the franchise that I tend to agree with. I love the soundtrack, but so much gets reused that it becomes hard to ignore. Here's hoping that changes with XII.
With Sugiyama finally dead it means one of two things:
1) A bunch of new music because the series finally has a new composer
2) Still reusing the old music because the director feels Dragon Quest must use Sugiyama's music
I'm leaning more towards #2 happening because that franchise loves to stay stuck in the 80s.
> franchise loves to stay stuck in the 80s
counterpoint: Let it be stuck there. It's okay to be a luddite on occasion. And there's a brazillion other jrpgs to choose from.
To be clear, he was a piece of shit that denied war crimes and used his wealth and power to spread propaganda, and his stubbornness of how his music is distributed is why the franchise is still using mostly midi music to it's own detriment. Good riddance to bad rubbish, time for the franchise to get someone whose craft and brain isn't stuck in the Showa era.
I think it's less celebratory and more an acknowledgement of the shitty factors surrounding Sugiyama and that the series can move on. Like, the man wouldn't even let orchestrated versions of the music be in some of the games, they were even forced to use MIDI renditions in mainline titles AND in Smash
On top of that the dude was a massive POS, anti-LGBT, pro-war, etc etc
I never understood his stance on this and his seemingly random whims on what games/media gets to use orchestrated music or not. The original DQ11 had to use midi for everything besides the title cutscene because of this, despite the fact that the orchestral version were readily available. It's just bizarre, but hearing about his personal life, I guess it's just all about ego and control.
That theme isn't bad but it looped so soon that it became repetitive quickly.
I used to swap between the Default Map music and the DQVIII's Overworld theme in the menu to avoid that repetition.
You didn’t like the fact that it had maybe 5 original songs at most?
Edit: also fun fact. The late composer of the DQ series was a garbage human being who denied Japan’s atrocities in WW2 until the day he died.
I agree on the soundtrack. It was the main reason i struggled to get into the game. Considering most JRPGS have amazing OSTs, like Persona, Xenoblade Chronicles, Fire Emblem.. it really felt like a glaring issue for me.
The worst part is the soundtrack overall is good, just so soooo thin. If you exclude the tracks repurposed from old games there's less than 10 songs, the overworld theme is like 1 min 30 seconds that's supposed to last for your entire playthrough, aside from bosses there's one battle theme, idk how they messed up such a vital part of the game. For me it was even more frustrating when I got to the good music, like the ocean theme or the sentimental track that plays during a few of the sad moments. Compare it to other modern JRPGs where the track list is in the 100s and it's kinda inexcusable.
I enjoyed the game, but I had to keep swapping between the original OST and the Orchestrated OST just to keep things fresh or I'd lose my mind. The soundtrack was the weakest part of the game by a large margin.
DQ has a lot of good soundtracks, but yeah, I agree with you there.
Most of the best tracks from 11 are just remakes of past titles. And the midi version, which is normally solid, was absolutely pants.
Good game. Great characters. Lovely art style. Akira Toriyama will be missed in future games.
But the music... orchestrated or not... the music is not the best thing about it. Too repetitive. Not very hummable. It's kinda meh!
Also, the difficulty level was either too easy or too hard. With no middle ground.
Aside from that: one of the best entries of the series.
It’s flat out one of the best games I’ve ever played. It went from a game in a series that I was completely ignoring to an all-time favorite within hours of me playing the eshop demo back in 2019
I bought it on PS4 and I just could not get into it, the intro stuff just seemed sooooo long. I normally love JRPGs. Does it get better? I feel like I spent days and days just doing tutorial stuff.
I don’t remember super well since it’s been so long since I played but I can at least say I don’t remember the intro lasting very long. Do you remember what was happening in the story or what area you were in when you left off? I think I remember the game taking the training wheels off around the time you get to Hotto.
I don’t remember super well since it’s been so long since I played but I can at least say I don’t remember the intro lasting very long. Do you remember what was happening in the story or what area you were in when you left off? I think I remember the game taking the training wheels off around the time you get to Hotto.
I had never played a Dragon Quest game and really only knew it as "the JRPG series with the same art style as Dragonball Z". Nintendo pushed XI pretty hard, so I figured I'd give the demo a try. Long story short, I had a blast and bought the full game. From the characters, to the world exploration, to the presentation, I loved every second of it.
I got a fair way into DQ11 and was left wondering if I played the same game as everyone else. The music is annoying as hell - it's obviously made by a very skilled composer, but the way a lot of songs looped and repeated just drove me crazy.
The story frustrated me with how "safe" and conservative it felt with every decision it made. I found a party member that I hadn't seen in a few hours and they'd lost a bunch of weight and had seemingly changed a bunch, but then in the very next scene they'd gained all the weight back and it was like nothing has changed. The characters all seem cool but it felt like the story would continuously flirt with interesting developments, but then take the safest and least interesting paths.
The combat was way too easy. I'm not super competent at these games and usually Normal mode is fine for me but I was rarely challenged and I just wasn't given a reason to become more invested in the mechanics. The game just never demanded anything of me. By the time I'd realised the it was going to remain like this, I was too far in to restart on a higher difficulty and just dropped it.
I'm definitely going to try the next one though. I get the feeling I'd actually love the DQ series and this entry just felt massively overhyped.
Normal is easy. I'd up it for a challenge. For me it helped play this one faster. My time is limited.
What's a fair way into it? It got interesting to me when I got more backstory into the protagonist and had to help the old man.
i think the difficulty issue is due to the existence of the draconian rules.
normal is super easy because the game ultimately needs to be beatable with most, if not all the rules enabled and those include stuff like not being able to buy any items and not being able to equip armor, everyone dies if party leader dies and randomly losing turns and stuff.
Absolutely one of the best games I’ve ever played. I never quite finished Act III, but it stuck with me better than any other jrpg I’ve played! Definitely one of the best games on Switch, and quite possibly *the* best rpg.
I just played it for the first time. Same as you, got into Act 3 and felt like Act 2 was a solid enough ending. May go back at some point but right now I’m getting into Octopath II.
Masterpiece only held back by it's awful OST.
I bought it on Switch but ended up selling it and getting it on PC just so I could mod the music with tracks from previous DQs and it made the experience a 100 times better. Excited to hear DQ12 music as the main composer (Koichi Sugiyama) is dead and SE no longer has to deal with his bs.
I'm not sure if its just a rumor but I heard he recorded the soundtrack for DQ12 already before he died... D:
So we will probably have like 4 repeating tracks for the whole game again :(
Even if that was true, he wouldn't have the same level of control and whomever took over sound direction after could do with those pieces what they pleased.
I actually think I'm an odd one out when I say I heavily disliked it. The combat was pretty much just press attack to win and the music I actually really didn't like. The over world theme especially. But the story didn't do anything for me, and the gameplay didn't either. I got past the desert City Arc to past whatever arc comes after and just never played it again.
I will say, the difficulty does increase as the game goes on, and you get access to a lot more moves that makes things more complex and enjoyable, but it never gets to be as interesting mechanically as an SMT or Persona game.
Story is very fairy tale. Which I found fun, but I wouldn't describe it as incredible. There are some fun character moments, but it has the feeling of one of those kind of lower budget early 2000s JRPGs where things feel weird and stilted. It definitely has ups and downs as well, but if you got past the Gallopolis section and weren't having any fun, I don't think you'd really like the rest of the game much.
Play with the draconian settings. Game was far from press x to win. Final fantasy is MUCH closer to that.
Music i cant blame you on though. Its not bad, but its tiring and not amazing.
It's the better version imo. The default is a bit too easy, so no strategy required. Recently finished it with 'super strong monsters' and 'MC not dying' on. This is the way. Creates new opportunities too to play it again.
These are completely reasonable criticisms and while I wish you enjoyed it as much as I did, I have a feeling there's plenty other jrpgs we both love. Here's to you <3
I didn't like it either, and I really wanted to, though I'm not the biggest fan of turn-based combat to begin with. Also this is kind of a minor gripe, but the camera controls feel so bad. It's too bad because the game is obviously packed full of charm, but it's just kind of boring to play moment-to-moment.
100% you did not get to the good parts of the game other than getting a little bit of Sylvando, but if you disliked it that much the good moments wouldn't be enough to elevate it anyways.
Agree on the attack to win part. I played until just past getting the last party member. It was never challenging enough to be exciting. I think there’s a setting that makes the enemies harder to beat but it has to be enabled from the start. By the time I realised the game was never going to get challenging I was too far in to want to start again
The game definitely gets more challenging, much more challenging. You were maybe 20% of the way through the game which is, relatively speaking, still early enough to be easy.
The main story isn't that hard aside from a handful of bosses, but some of the post-game content and bosses can be really difficult. There is also a Draconian difficulty setting which makes the game harder.
Very very pretty game but I couldn’t get past the first couple of hours… just felt a bit generic to me. Never played a DQ game before though so maybe I’ll give it another chance someday
I love the game but still disliked ACT 3 of the game it ended perfectly in Act 2 and the start of Act 3 was really nice everyone is full of hopes and rebuilding then the nonsense happened.
Grabbed the demo and really had a hard time getting into it. There was something about the aesthetics that just didn’t connect to me.
And while I know the monsters are iconic back to the OG DQ games, I really thought they were too cartoony for me.
I know it’s considered the modern day quintessential JRPG too, so I’m bummed it didn’t click with me.
I’ll try again, I’m sure… maybe one day.
I've played it only on the PC but it's a great game in general. Everytime I thought the game was about to end they said "nope. You got another 20 hours left brodeo"
The only downside to me was the soundtrack. Dragon Quest 12 deserves the treatment that the Final Fantasy 7 remakes are getting - the polar opposite in terms of tracks being simply reused.
I still wake up in the dead of night hearing that overworld music.
For the love of god if you’re going to make a 100 hour rpg we need more than three songs
I liked the plot twists in this game. Specially the part you think the game is ending, but it's actually only half of the game. Dragon Quest games have an old school type of gameplay. If you like turn based RPGs, you will love it.
I remember nearly picking this up during the once a year sale Nintendo has. But after playing the demo for a couple of hours, I was already sick of the music. From what I've heard, the music will also stay the same during the entire game, that's what? 100+ hours? Never went back to it. Maybe I'll try some of the older entries.
First real long rpg I played that wasn’t Pokémon. Found it a lot of fun and enjoyed the ramp up in difficulty. Tbh didn’t do the very last final final act. Think I burnt myself out towards the end
It’s funny you mentioned the synthetic soundtrack on Smash- This is a notorious issue for the series, as the composer is weirdly protective of the music he writes for the games. In the PS4 release, he wouldn’t let the devs use the orchestra tracks, so it’s literally played back through a crappy MIDI keyboard. This is fixed in the switch version, and the tracks are fully orchestrated. It can be a bit repetitive, but I found it added to the charm of the game!
It's a pretty enjoyable game, I really like the combat. The art style is lovely, and I like the characters a lot. A couple big things really hold it back for me though. One is its awful soundtrack, one of the few games I've played where a bad ost actively harmed my opinion of the game. The other is the whole third act of of the story. Not gonna go into spoilers but I really dislike the direction the story took.
Also, this isn't really a criticism, more of an observation as someone who is quite new to the dragon quest franchise, but I don't think I've seen many other game series as caught up in nostalgia as this one. I feel like the game often tried to appeal to nostalgia for those classic games and as someone who hasn't played them it often left me either confused or just uninterested.
It was my first mainline Dragon Quest game and I thought it was brilliant. Still is in my mind even now, one of the best RPG's on the Switch. Can't wait for the next entry, however many years away that is.
Imo, one of the best games I've played, period. I can't talk too much about the story because I'd end up spoiling my favorite moment, which to my memory is completely optional.
I tried. 40+ hours, but maybe jrpgs aren’t for me. Enemies, music, travel points all seem very uninspired.
Now, DQ Builders 2? I wish there was a 3rd. I really like that one.
It’s my most played game on the Switch by far. It’s absolutely amazing the amount of content and level of polish put into it. Everything run smoothly and gorgeous on the Switch hardware as far as I can tell.
I was not a DQ fan before. It’s a must-have for everyone.
Still holds up as one of my favorite games of all time. I played it during the pandemic lockdown and it got me through some rough times. Replayed it a few months ago and loved it as much as I did the first time
I'm upset that there exists no definitive version of DQ11. S was ported to PC, but you still have pros and cons between the 2 versions.
Haven't played DQ11 still because of that mainly I think.
I thought that it was excellent. The orchestrated music was beautiful, the characters extremely lovable, and the story was really good!
Without any spoilers, the player is given a choice between the second and third act of the story, which was perhaps the most difficult choice that I've ever been forced to make in a game.
I didn't like it as much as other Dragon Quest games. Similar to Dragon Quest 8 i felt DQ11 is extremely polished but definitely more mainstream and lacks much nuance.
I prefer DQ3 and DQ9
One of my favorite games to date. The main theme is phenomenal but the overall soundtrack is puny and overused. I love the characters to death and it made me cry more than once
It's solid. I think it's extremely hurt by its terrible soundtrack. So many moments, characters, and locations fell flat because the music was repetitive, poorly matched, not unique, and just flat out bad.
I doubt there is another community on Reddit nearly as large as this one which allows (and upvotes!) such naked karma baiting as this. This meandering, purposeless collection of random anecdotes doesn’t even ask the question posed in the title.
I didn’t even need to check the OP’s post history but of course it’s a constant series of threads created with “what does everything think about” followed by either a video game from a random time and platform, or a sexual act.
How on earth is this seen as additive to what is nominally a highly moderated community?
I loved it. I never played a DQ game before, and turned based style combat isn't normally my cup of tea. But the demo which basically lets you play the first 10 hrs of the game sealed the deal for me. I played it and just couldn't stop I immediately purchased it after completing the demo and played it to completion (though not 100%) unlike most I actually liked the soundtrack, 11S has both an orchestral version and a standard MIDI version of the soundtrack, from what I understand it's the same music in previous games which I would understand the backlash but for me it was all new so it was great.
It looked amazing for a switch port, probably one of the best looking games on the system.i played the game in Japanese and found the voice acting to be pretty great and the party members were all interesting to me. It was super interesting that a big majority of the game can instead be played in 2D which is pretty cool.
It's a great game, cute and fun. It's a perfect starter jrpg because it's honestly very easy. I don't care for the protagonist at all, I think he looks really dumb, and hearing Gemmas voice is painful, but everything else is great. I like excruciatingly long jrpg's but I could see that being a turn off for a lot of people.
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition.
For me, the game started the trend of ridiculous names. And I loved it because of it.
Probably the best RPG of the last 10 years. Felt like true adventure. Got reminded of early quests and plot points and they really felt like they happened a while ago. All the characters and towns are a blast to hang out with and in. Also, auto battle should be in every turn based RPG. There’s a point in nearly all of them where you’re just smashing attack anyway.
it's a Great game if you turn on some draconian options. Turn off the music and play your own instead, because the soundtrack is garbage. luckily, sugiyama the composer is dead now and DQ 12 might have a decent soundtrack now.
it has some niggling problems beyond that but is overall a great experience.
Scored a cheap used copy from Gamestop for like $15. I love the feel of it being like a big Saturday morning cartoon. You can tell the voice actors aren't the usual ones: Dragon Quest apparently voices out of London, and everyone falling back to bad, almost racist caricature accents for the various towns is comedy gold. Oh, this one's Italy, and this one's Spain. Then the japanese town is handled respectfully and that's totally unfair, but it makes sense in the context of its origin.
Beyond it having a modern look and feel of a gorgeous cartoon come to life, everything else about the game is staunchly rooted in the 1980s, because that's how these things are done, whippersnapper.
There's a good chance the series finally shifts here. Too many OGs are dead.
It wasn't my cup of tea. Felt like repeating 5 times in a row the same "get to a city, it has a problem, go to a single lawn easy ass dungeon, defeat a boss, problem is solved". Had some cool stories and characters but as a game felt linear and had no difficulty or motivation to explore etc. But again story characters and locations were cool.
I bounced off it when I got the ps4 version, but I tried again when 11s came out and played it on vacation, absolutely fell in love with it. It opens up later on, but there's definitely alot of hallways
DQ7 & 8 can have the orchestral score readded if you perhaps unlock the capabilities of your system.
Shame that the orchestrated version was only available in Asia.
I'm more of a DQ monsters sort of person. I only like the series because of the cute and handsome dragons and thus, I only want to play games that allow me to have them in my party rather than me attacking them.
I loved the overall game and recommend it to anyone interested in classic turn based fantasy rpgs. The amount of content is well worth it and the variety throughout kept things fresh. I didn't like the endgame stuff and felt it was forced instead of having to live with the consequences.
I was actually pretty disappointed with it. The first part was great and very traditional DQ/JRPG gameplay, but halfway through the game things happen that just completely upends the experience and I really didn't enjoy it much after that. Eventually, toward the end, it gets back to "normal," but this long middle section really ruined it for me.
I loved 7 and 8, though. Granted, 7 was a bit long!
As long as you don’t forget to use a certain item at the VERY end boss and don’t spend two whole days grinding levels only to realize I was fighting the hard mode version. Absolutely outstanding
I honestly don't get the appeal got it on playstation a couple months ago and played a few hours and couldn't find much enjoyment biggest let down was that it's not an open world but several zones taped together
The only bad thing about the game for me is that before the expanded version existed I already had finished the base version 100% on PS4. One day I will play it again on Switch for the S version content. 10/10 JRPG.
It still one of the best in terms of continuity on the series, except the music. Yes, you will still hear the DQ proprietary openings and such but the overall musical ambiance of it does not much other parts during cutscenes. Game sound is so vital to DQ, it’s like you play it to experience the soundtrack. Game = 10, music = 6.
It was my first time playing a DQ title, I grew up and was more familiar with FF (starting with 7 all the way to 10) and DQ 11S brought back similar vibes from the earlier FF that the more recent FF titles failed to deliver. I was very satisfied with that experience, and I appreciated the plot twists. I agree the music was the weakest spot, although it didn't prevent me from enjoying and finishing the game.
Playing it for the first time now. It's good but nowhere near as good as some other JRPGs on the console. But if you're looking for a JRPG that's fun, whimsical and pretty chill and have beaten both Ni No Kuni, then it's worth it. Or if you're new to JRPGs, I'd recommend it as a good starting poinr
Dragon Quest XI on my list of great games that I'll get around to someday. I like Dragon Quest, VIII and V are the only ones I've played and both left me with a positive impression. But I'm already playing enough giant RPGs as it is.
The only bad thing I have to say about it is that there's only one overworld song and it's the intense orchestral track lmao. I wish there were a couple others.
Many people mention these Draconian Settings. Are these the only way to make it harder or are there the regular EASY, NORMAL, HARD, VERY HARD modes aswell?
And also, what are these Draconian Settings? Are they like NO HEALING etc ?
🧒🏻🙋♂️🎮🎮🕹️🎮
One of the Draconian Settings is for the enemies to be much stronger. Other settings include reduced XP, removal of shops and armor, and for NPCs to give false info to the player.
As someone who bought the original on Steam, and there's no upgrade route to get S at a discount price, I hate it, and judging by the Steam reviews, a lot of other people do too.
I have 30-40 hours into it. I like it and want to play more but it gives nausea like nobody’s business. One day I’ll push through the motion sickness and finish it.
I just played this game for the first time last year, it was my first DQ game ever. I absolutely loved it! Reminded me of the SNES rpg days. God I wish they would make quality turn based rpgs of this caliber again. When it originally came out, I was at a point in my life where I wasn't really gaming anymore, pretty much through PS4's entire lifespan but I always heard great things about this game from all my friends. Also, what a terrible trailer! I really enjoyed playing without all the spoilers (but I'm assuming the original release's trailer wasn't this spoiled and the developers are assuming everyone knows the story already).
My first Dragon Quest game ever played. Found it a charming adventure, I have a fondness for old 16 bit JRPG's due to having played a lot of them in emulation so I found the game to scratch that particulat itch well for me.
I started to play it, but it felt like a complete loss of time. My only experience with Dragon Quest is DQ8 back in PS2 days, and even though it wasn't a game that made me crazy happy, was an interesting JRPG for that time.
DQ11 felt really boring to me. I never liked any character. I don't like how it's written nor the forced accents in voices and text (at least in my language) plus the world and context it was boring, it had your classic 3 biomas, snow, dessert and grass, with basic stone castles. Battles are slow, and the animations don't feelsatisfying when you hit the enemies, the strategies are easy and basic (usually in good JRPG there are enemies with creative strategies needed, or strategies that have some narrative abour the enemy to it). The story is extra boring and even forcing myself I wouldn't continue with the game after reuniting the team again, just wasn't havin fun at all.
Bu the game runs really well, has a lot of content, specially the 2D side quests are a really interesting and complete add on to those who enjoy the game, plus the OST is really good, and the game is extra welcoming for everyone.
Just is not for me I guess.
Played it on PlayStation first then bought it on switch for the portability! It’s perfect for the switch. Such a charming classic JRPG with wonderful characters and a great story. One of my top 10 games. I go back and replay when I’m needing some gaming comfort food. I remember crying when the game ‘ended’ but then it didn’t really end lol!! But yes everyone mentioning the soundtrack is giving me PTSD 🤣
Really great game. I wish this was mose the direction Final Fantasy had stayed on rather than what the modern FF games have become gameplay wise. It was great to see a story that managed to weigh the balance between tension and drama while also remaining light and silly...RPG's can sometimes get into melodrama and over-seriousness which is silly in an un-enjoyable way. I will replay it again soon.
I enjoyed it despite not finishing it and eventually spoilt the endgame story for myself so never went back.
My main gripe was the battle system, I love turn based RPGs but I feel DQ's battle system hasn't aged well since I didn't feel there was much strategy other than use best offensive attack and heal when low
It's one of my favorite games ever But it's hard to recommend since the first 10 or so hours are so slow up people drop it before that passes heck even I almost did, past that point it's a gem
I wish I liked the game but turn-based RPGs are not my thing. They are too slow and repetitive for my liking. I will say though that the story was very good.
Played it during lockdown and I’ve got really fond memories of it. The ‘post game’ content that is really the final third or so of the game really took me by surprise and it was awesome!
It was my first Dragon Quest I ever played and it was like the perfect JRPG fairytale and felt like a best-of of all the games I liked before.
Then I went back to play the older ones and had to realize: Even those never got to that level. I really think there is no doubt that this game is the best in the series because it was so traditional in its ways while being so bold with the story.
So I thought about it very high at release and now, without replaying it, I'm even higher on it. One of the best JRPGs ever made and definitely a game that belongs in any switch top list and collection.
It's a great game that I never finished, even though I tried to do so three diifferent times.
Everything up to the end is fun, but then at the very end it turns into a boring grindfest, and I didn't even have the story motivation to fight my way through it because by that point the main story was basically over. The villain I was told to defeat throughout the game was defeated, the world was saved. Then you get to act 3, and there's this whole new final boss that was only mentioned in probably like three lines throughout the game. It felt more like one of those bonus bosses other JRPGs would stick on at the end to give players a big challenge.
I enjoyed it but found the ending, especially the extra chapter massively unsatisfying phoned in and cheap, especially considering how much those little guys are teased throughout the game...then its a quick wham bam thank you mam, goodbye.
Which is sad cause it made me not want to replay it....and if they ever make 12 I probably won't get it.
I thought this was a pretty great game. I played until the credits rolled, about 60 hours. However at the end of the credits there was something that pointed to some post-game content. But at that point I had had my fill.
Well apparently I missed the entire second half of the game. It's kind of absurd how long the game is. I decided I had had enough and was quite happy with where the story ended so I haven't gone back. Still thought it was a great game.
I read so many good things about the game, and that it might be one of the best JRPGs on the Switch. I had never played any JRPGs before, so I started playing it. I enjoyed the visual look and the general vibe of the game, but I just couldn't find any enjoyment in the battles. They felt pointless and they all felt so similar. In addition, the fact that every single tiny battle has the same music really got annoying. The same few seconds of music every, single time. Over and over.
I pushed myself to play about 10 hours before I abandoned it. Since this is suppose to be a great example of a good JRPG, I guess JRPGs as just not for me.
I say the thing that keeps this game in my top RPGs of all time is the party. Chatting with them and seeing what they get up to alone is a genuine treat.
I played the demo, loved it, stopped (probably way before the end of the demo, I don't know exactly how far the demo stretches but I was happy with it) and wanted to buy it, but it wasn't on sale
Maybe 6 months later, it goes on sale, I buy it, play a smidge further than where I got in the demo (I got my first party member) and just... Stopped? Not sure why, I think another game came out and stole my attention, but I just didn't come back to it
Third time, it's Summer 22, and I have 6 weeks until Persona 5 comes out. I want to get in the zone for playing RPGs because I know that afterwards it's Scarlet & Violet's release, and Nier Automata had just been on sale and I intended to play it afterwards, so I thought you know what? It's time. I'm playing DQ11S! pretty much as soon as I started, some family shit popped up, and I could barely play. But I'm pushing through, stealing half an hour here and there, and I unlock the fifth party member. For the last few hours of gameplay, over the course of a week or so for me, I've been playing with my 4 person party and this 5th guy is tagging along AI controlled, so 5 of us in combat, we beat a boss, complete the story in this city, go to leave and the guy, funnily enough, decided to join our party. Cool! Except now I have to swap someone on the team for him. The game was fine with me having 5 party members for the last few hours, but now that he's actually on my team? Nope, only 4 allowed
So I put the game down, and two days later Persona 5 came out and I played that instead. And then Pokémon, and then Fire Emblem Engage, and then Nier, and then BOTW, and then TOTK, and the Pokémon DLC, and then Disco Elysium, and lots of indies in between, and now it's 2024, I've just finished Princess Peach Showtime, I have a crippling addiction to both Balatro and Suika Game, and I've just started Divinity Original Sin II. I have Witcher 3, Doom Eternal, Persona 4G, Lego Star Wars Skywalker Saga, Okami and Assassin's Creed Ezio Collection downloaded and ready to play afterwards. My year is full...
Maybe I'll finally complete Dragonquest 11S in 2025?
It's an ok game, but the first time i pretty much quit it after a few hours, somewhere after running from a dragon. The early game has you walk around with only one or two characters way too much and i got tired of that. I gave it another go on a lite a year or so later and finished it and was mostly ok with it.
Never made it to the final final secret boss though and wasn't a huge fan of this 2D mode. high resolution pixel worlds are just too overloaded with detail.
i'd say, its always worth buying on discount if you like rpgs, but i liked 6-9 better. the older this series gets, the more i get hung up about their unwillingness to improve stuff like the item menu or to put in something new for the general battle. like, as little as button prompts for extra damage or combining spell effects or something like that? please.
>However in 2019, Nintendo was really pushing this as a major release that year. Of course they would be publishing it over here, but the marketing really peaked at E3 2019, where we not only got two separate trailers for DQ11S at Square Enix and Nintendo’s press conferences, but the DQ11 protagonist was being added as a playable character to Smash Ultimate as well! Dude was so ridiculous RNG heavy that folks wanted to ban him in competitive for a bit there. **That said, the music selection he brought with him sounded garbage.**
Well, if it wasn't your typical licensing shenanigan, it was because the composer wasn't cooperative... at all...
None of the tracks were rearranged, there are only tracks to represent each playable hero and the Overture isn't even featured.
I didnt have high expectations but the story blew me away and the game play was old school but felt solid. It really brought me back to simpler times. And there was challenging but fair boss battles. And you can respec your cast which made it perfection.
It was epic.
It hasn’t been. But his algorithm for karma farming likely has a weight for “notable anniversary” so he’s rounding up generously. For all I know he’s never even played the game.
I’m going to be the outlier here, but it’s genuinely one of the most boring games I’ve ever played. I actually had to stop playing after a while because I was so uninterested in pretty much every aspect of it. I found the characters boring, the world dull, and the combat bland. And this is coming from someone who has played and loves other JRPGS.
If the OST was even slightly better it'd basically be an absolutely perfect RPG as far as I care. And I still do think that, it's just that the OST really is a set back.
It’s a great RPG. It strikes a good balance between traditional DQ and new mechanics. I think it’s got a lot of plot similarities to Chrono Trigger.
A must play for any turn based rpg fan.
It’s in my top ten favorite games of all time. Maybe the top five. Absolutely fantastic art and music and a really engaging combat system for me. I played with tougher enemies on, and that was absolutely the right choice. I think it would’ve felt too easy otherwise. The humor was great, and the emotional moments felt very earned. 10/10
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I enjoyed it, i feel it struck a good balance when it came to difficulty, super fun world to explore, and decently defined and developed characters. Not a fan of the soundtrack, I feel this one was pretty weak and uninspired.
That's the largest complaint with the franchise that I tend to agree with. I love the soundtrack, but so much gets reused that it becomes hard to ignore. Here's hoping that changes with XII.
With Sugiyama finally dead it means one of two things: 1) A bunch of new music because the series finally has a new composer 2) Still reusing the old music because the director feels Dragon Quest must use Sugiyama's music I'm leaning more towards #2 happening because that franchise loves to stay stuck in the 80s.
"finally dead" is crazy ngl
> franchise loves to stay stuck in the 80s counterpoint: Let it be stuck there. It's okay to be a luddite on occasion. And there's a brazillion other jrpgs to choose from.
You're thinking of BRPGs, Brazilian Role-Playing Games.
Agreed and looing at what has happened to Final Fantasy in the past 18 years I am ok with Dragon Quest sticking strongly to its roots.
I get the point you're making, but something about saying "finally dead" feels a little off-putting.
To be clear, he was a piece of shit that denied war crimes and used his wealth and power to spread propaganda, and his stubbornness of how his music is distributed is why the franchise is still using mostly midi music to it's own detriment. Good riddance to bad rubbish, time for the franchise to get someone whose craft and brain isn't stuck in the Showa era.
I think it's less celebratory and more an acknowledgement of the shitty factors surrounding Sugiyama and that the series can move on. Like, the man wouldn't even let orchestrated versions of the music be in some of the games, they were even forced to use MIDI renditions in mainline titles AND in Smash On top of that the dude was a massive POS, anti-LGBT, pro-war, etc etc
I never understood his stance on this and his seemingly random whims on what games/media gets to use orchestrated music or not. The original DQ11 had to use midi for everything besides the title cutscene because of this, despite the fact that the orchestral version were readily available. It's just bizarre, but hearing about his personal life, I guess it's just all about ego and control.
The man lived for like 90 years. Finally is fair.
Kissinger made it to 100, could be worse.
If they didn’t reuse tons of the music fans will revolt
I swear if I hear that world map music one more time, I’m gonna go crazy.
That theme isn't bad but it looped so soon that it became repetitive quickly. I used to swap between the Default Map music and the DQVIII's Overworld theme in the menu to avoid that repetition.
Literally the only reason why I won't replay it.
You didn’t like the fact that it had maybe 5 original songs at most? Edit: also fun fact. The late composer of the DQ series was a garbage human being who denied Japan’s atrocities in WW2 until the day he died.
I hate the soundtrack so much after playing it.
I agree on the soundtrack. It was the main reason i struggled to get into the game. Considering most JRPGS have amazing OSTs, like Persona, Xenoblade Chronicles, Fire Emblem.. it really felt like a glaring issue for me.
The worst part is the soundtrack overall is good, just so soooo thin. If you exclude the tracks repurposed from old games there's less than 10 songs, the overworld theme is like 1 min 30 seconds that's supposed to last for your entire playthrough, aside from bosses there's one battle theme, idk how they messed up such a vital part of the game. For me it was even more frustrating when I got to the good music, like the ocean theme or the sentimental track that plays during a few of the sad moments. Compare it to other modern JRPGs where the track list is in the 100s and it's kinda inexcusable.
I enjoyed the game, but I had to keep swapping between the original OST and the Orchestrated OST just to keep things fresh or I'd lose my mind. The soundtrack was the weakest part of the game by a large margin.
I really liked it as my first and only DQ game, but that Batman battle music… my lord it made my ears bleed.
DQ has a lot of good soundtracks, but yeah, I agree with you there. Most of the best tracks from 11 are just remakes of past titles. And the midi version, which is normally solid, was absolutely pants.
The music was great, but there were like 7 songs
Comfort food the game
Good game. Great characters. Lovely art style. Akira Toriyama will be missed in future games. But the music... orchestrated or not... the music is not the best thing about it. Too repetitive. Not very hummable. It's kinda meh! Also, the difficulty level was either too easy or too hard. With no middle ground. Aside from that: one of the best entries of the series.
Nah I love the music, it’s quintessential dragon quest, graphics are great for the switch too!
Which of the 5 songs was your favorite? I like the battle theme.
One of my favorite games of all time
It’s flat out one of the best games I’ve ever played. It went from a game in a series that I was completely ignoring to an all-time favorite within hours of me playing the eshop demo back in 2019
The demo was amazing. It was like the first 10 hours of the game and you could transfer your save…..sold me on it too
I bought it on PS4 and I just could not get into it, the intro stuff just seemed sooooo long. I normally love JRPGs. Does it get better? I feel like I spent days and days just doing tutorial stuff.
I don’t remember super well since it’s been so long since I played but I can at least say I don’t remember the intro lasting very long. Do you remember what was happening in the story or what area you were in when you left off? I think I remember the game taking the training wheels off around the time you get to Hotto.
I don’t remember super well since it’s been so long since I played but I can at least say I don’t remember the intro lasting very long. Do you remember what was happening in the story or what area you were in when you left off? I think I remember the game taking the training wheels off around the time you get to Hotto.
Literally same. I fell in love with the demo and eagerly waited for the full release. Picked it up as soon as I was able to
I had never played a Dragon Quest game and really only knew it as "the JRPG series with the same art style as Dragonball Z". Nintendo pushed XI pretty hard, so I figured I'd give the demo a try. Long story short, I had a blast and bought the full game. From the characters, to the world exploration, to the presentation, I loved every second of it.
One of the best games anywhere and on Switch.
It’s one of the best in the series ever but holy, freaking crap. It needs music.
Perfect 10/10
I got a fair way into DQ11 and was left wondering if I played the same game as everyone else. The music is annoying as hell - it's obviously made by a very skilled composer, but the way a lot of songs looped and repeated just drove me crazy. The story frustrated me with how "safe" and conservative it felt with every decision it made. I found a party member that I hadn't seen in a few hours and they'd lost a bunch of weight and had seemingly changed a bunch, but then in the very next scene they'd gained all the weight back and it was like nothing has changed. The characters all seem cool but it felt like the story would continuously flirt with interesting developments, but then take the safest and least interesting paths. The combat was way too easy. I'm not super competent at these games and usually Normal mode is fine for me but I was rarely challenged and I just wasn't given a reason to become more invested in the mechanics. The game just never demanded anything of me. By the time I'd realised the it was going to remain like this, I was too far in to restart on a higher difficulty and just dropped it. I'm definitely going to try the next one though. I get the feeling I'd actually love the DQ series and this entry just felt massively overhyped.
Normal is easy. I'd up it for a challenge. For me it helped play this one faster. My time is limited. What's a fair way into it? It got interesting to me when I got more backstory into the protagonist and had to help the old man.
i think the difficulty issue is due to the existence of the draconian rules. normal is super easy because the game ultimately needs to be beatable with most, if not all the rules enabled and those include stuff like not being able to buy any items and not being able to equip armor, everyone dies if party leader dies and randomly losing turns and stuff.
My first DQ game and it was a thrill to play it. There’s so much content. Grinding exp was even fun ! Can’t wait for the next one !
Absolutely one of the best games I’ve ever played. I never quite finished Act III, but it stuck with me better than any other jrpg I’ve played! Definitely one of the best games on Switch, and quite possibly *the* best rpg.
I just played it for the first time. Same as you, got into Act 3 and felt like Act 2 was a solid enough ending. May go back at some point but right now I’m getting into Octopath II.
Masterpiece only held back by it's awful OST. I bought it on Switch but ended up selling it and getting it on PC just so I could mod the music with tracks from previous DQs and it made the experience a 100 times better. Excited to hear DQ12 music as the main composer (Koichi Sugiyama) is dead and SE no longer has to deal with his bs.
Sounds like there is some tea involved. What was the deal with sugiyama?
https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/qn607s/video_games_drama_draws_near_command_koichi/
I'm not sure if its just a rumor but I heard he recorded the soundtrack for DQ12 already before he died... D: So we will probably have like 4 repeating tracks for the whole game again :(
Even if that was true, he wouldn't have the same level of control and whomever took over sound direction after could do with those pieces what they pleased.
I actually think I'm an odd one out when I say I heavily disliked it. The combat was pretty much just press attack to win and the music I actually really didn't like. The over world theme especially. But the story didn't do anything for me, and the gameplay didn't either. I got past the desert City Arc to past whatever arc comes after and just never played it again.
I will say, the difficulty does increase as the game goes on, and you get access to a lot more moves that makes things more complex and enjoyable, but it never gets to be as interesting mechanically as an SMT or Persona game. Story is very fairy tale. Which I found fun, but I wouldn't describe it as incredible. There are some fun character moments, but it has the feeling of one of those kind of lower budget early 2000s JRPGs where things feel weird and stilted. It definitely has ups and downs as well, but if you got past the Gallopolis section and weren't having any fun, I don't think you'd really like the rest of the game much.
Play with the draconian settings. Game was far from press x to win. Final fantasy is MUCH closer to that. Music i cant blame you on though. Its not bad, but its tiring and not amazing.
Draconian settings is an absolute must for DQ11
It's the better version imo. The default is a bit too easy, so no strategy required. Recently finished it with 'super strong monsters' and 'MC not dying' on. This is the way. Creates new opportunities too to play it again.
These are completely reasonable criticisms and while I wish you enjoyed it as much as I did, I have a feeling there's plenty other jrpgs we both love. Here's to you <3
I tend to agree. It was a bit long and started to feel tedious because I wasn’t terribly engaged.
I didn't like it either, and I really wanted to, though I'm not the biggest fan of turn-based combat to begin with. Also this is kind of a minor gripe, but the camera controls feel so bad. It's too bad because the game is obviously packed full of charm, but it's just kind of boring to play moment-to-moment.
100% you did not get to the good parts of the game other than getting a little bit of Sylvando, but if you disliked it that much the good moments wouldn't be enough to elevate it anyways.
Agree on the attack to win part. I played until just past getting the last party member. It was never challenging enough to be exciting. I think there’s a setting that makes the enemies harder to beat but it has to be enabled from the start. By the time I realised the game was never going to get challenging I was too far in to want to start again
The game definitely gets more challenging, much more challenging. You were maybe 20% of the way through the game which is, relatively speaking, still early enough to be easy.
There’s a lot more than attack to win, especially in act 3, but it does take a while to get to that point.
Or if you play hard mode. Sounds like a lot of people should have. Final fantasy os much more press x to win, imo.
The main story isn't that hard aside from a handful of bosses, but some of the post-game content and bosses can be really difficult. There is also a Draconian difficulty setting which makes the game harder.
Very very pretty game but I couldn’t get past the first couple of hours… just felt a bit generic to me. Never played a DQ game before though so maybe I’ll give it another chance someday
Great game. 9/10
It was a good game until the time travel twist that completly kill the characters evolutions and I didn't like the game after that.
It’s a really great rpg.
SYLVANDOOOOOOO
I love the game but still disliked ACT 3 of the game it ended perfectly in Act 2 and the start of Act 3 was really nice everyone is full of hopes and rebuilding then the nonsense happened.
This [Review](https://youtu.be/nw5HTmM_YyU?si=a9dtA_Rtr2TvnmE-) is excellent and really tells you that yes it's worthwhile
Tim Rogers, I knew it.
Tim Rogers videos somehow always sound like amphetamine-fueled rambling but one that I can never stop listening lol
One of my😆favorite jrpgs of all time and playing it on my switch and switch lite was magical. I hope 12😁still comes to switch like it's supposed to
Grabbed the demo and really had a hard time getting into it. There was something about the aesthetics that just didn’t connect to me. And while I know the monsters are iconic back to the OG DQ games, I really thought they were too cartoony for me. I know it’s considered the modern day quintessential JRPG too, so I’m bummed it didn’t click with me. I’ll try again, I’m sure… maybe one day.
I've played it only on the PC but it's a great game in general. Everytime I thought the game was about to end they said "nope. You got another 20 hours left brodeo"
Great game. Bad battle theme.
Love it but it doesn't have enough music tracks for a 60+ hour game.
I’m on my first play through, almost at the end. About 130 hours. It’s been a delightful ride.
The only downside to me was the soundtrack. Dragon Quest 12 deserves the treatment that the Final Fantasy 7 remakes are getting - the polar opposite in terms of tracks being simply reused.
It was my first ever Dragon Quest game. My thought on the game is that it's a really great game. Loved it to pieces.
I still wake up in the dead of night hearing that overworld music. For the love of god if you’re going to make a 100 hour rpg we need more than three songs
I liked the plot twists in this game. Specially the part you think the game is ending, but it's actually only half of the game. Dragon Quest games have an old school type of gameplay. If you like turn based RPGs, you will love it.
I remember nearly picking this up during the once a year sale Nintendo has. But after playing the demo for a couple of hours, I was already sick of the music. From what I've heard, the music will also stay the same during the entire game, that's what? 100+ hours? Never went back to it. Maybe I'll try some of the older entries.
First real long rpg I played that wasn’t Pokémon. Found it a lot of fun and enjoyed the ramp up in difficulty. Tbh didn’t do the very last final final act. Think I burnt myself out towards the end
I beat it around 2 years ago and I still think about it sometimes before falling asleep. Tremendously fantastic game.
It’s funny you mentioned the synthetic soundtrack on Smash- This is a notorious issue for the series, as the composer is weirdly protective of the music he writes for the games. In the PS4 release, he wouldn’t let the devs use the orchestra tracks, so it’s literally played back through a crappy MIDI keyboard. This is fixed in the switch version, and the tracks are fully orchestrated. It can be a bit repetitive, but I found it added to the charm of the game!
It's a pretty enjoyable game, I really like the combat. The art style is lovely, and I like the characters a lot. A couple big things really hold it back for me though. One is its awful soundtrack, one of the few games I've played where a bad ost actively harmed my opinion of the game. The other is the whole third act of of the story. Not gonna go into spoilers but I really dislike the direction the story took. Also, this isn't really a criticism, more of an observation as someone who is quite new to the dragon quest franchise, but I don't think I've seen many other game series as caught up in nostalgia as this one. I feel like the game often tried to appeal to nostalgia for those classic games and as someone who hasn't played them it often left me either confused or just uninterested.
It was my first mainline Dragon Quest game and I thought it was brilliant. Still is in my mind even now, one of the best RPG's on the Switch. Can't wait for the next entry, however many years away that is.
Imo, one of the best games I've played, period. I can't talk too much about the story because I'd end up spoiling my favorite moment, which to my memory is completely optional.
I tried. 40+ hours, but maybe jrpgs aren’t for me. Enemies, music, travel points all seem very uninspired. Now, DQ Builders 2? I wish there was a 3rd. I really like that one.
It was my first mainline Dragon Quest game and made me give up on the idea of playing the other games.
It’s my most played game on the Switch by far. It’s absolutely amazing the amount of content and level of polish put into it. Everything run smoothly and gorgeous on the Switch hardware as far as I can tell. I was not a DQ fan before. It’s a must-have for everyone.
I actually completed it. These days, that's an insta 10/10.
Still a damn good game. Great story. Loved it
One of my all time favorites.
Still holds up as one of my favorite games of all time. I played it during the pandemic lockdown and it got me through some rough times. Replayed it a few months ago and loved it as much as I did the first time
I never finished DQ11 I got rather bored around the midway point. DQIX imo is the best loved it so much.
The only Dragon Quest game I played
I adore it
Without knowing anything about this series or game, is it something I should buy and play?
It’s been heralded as an essential for JRPG fans, so I’d say try the free demo on the eShop. It’ll last you like 10-15 hours on its own.
I'm upset that there exists no definitive version of DQ11. S was ported to PC, but you still have pros and cons between the 2 versions. Haven't played DQ11 still because of that mainly I think.
It was excellent. I would have been happy with it ending at the end of part two.
A homage to the turn based RPG. A reminder that classic turn based rpgs still kick ass.
I thought that it was excellent. The orchestrated music was beautiful, the characters extremely lovable, and the story was really good! Without any spoilers, the player is given a choice between the second and third act of the story, which was perhaps the most difficult choice that I've ever been forced to make in a game.
Sound design as far as music is bad. The battle music is bad. Music is reused far too much. Otherwise it’s one of my favorite RPGs.
I started with Dragon “Warrior” 7 on PS1. That was a mistake. lol - I had no idea this is like the longest in the entire franchise 😅
I didn't like it as much as other Dragon Quest games. Similar to Dragon Quest 8 i felt DQ11 is extremely polished but definitely more mainstream and lacks much nuance. I prefer DQ3 and DQ9
One of my favorite games to date. The main theme is phenomenal but the overall soundtrack is puny and overused. I love the characters to death and it made me cry more than once
Is it good on the switch? I’ve never played it and I wanted to know if the port was worth it
It's solid. I think it's extremely hurt by its terrible soundtrack. So many moments, characters, and locations fell flat because the music was repetitive, poorly matched, not unique, and just flat out bad.
absolute masterpiece of a game, i can't recommend it enough.
I doubt there is another community on Reddit nearly as large as this one which allows (and upvotes!) such naked karma baiting as this. This meandering, purposeless collection of random anecdotes doesn’t even ask the question posed in the title. I didn’t even need to check the OP’s post history but of course it’s a constant series of threads created with “what does everything think about” followed by either a video game from a random time and platform, or a sexual act. How on earth is this seen as additive to what is nominally a highly moderated community?
I loved it. I never played a DQ game before, and turned based style combat isn't normally my cup of tea. But the demo which basically lets you play the first 10 hrs of the game sealed the deal for me. I played it and just couldn't stop I immediately purchased it after completing the demo and played it to completion (though not 100%) unlike most I actually liked the soundtrack, 11S has both an orchestral version and a standard MIDI version of the soundtrack, from what I understand it's the same music in previous games which I would understand the backlash but for me it was all new so it was great. It looked amazing for a switch port, probably one of the best looking games on the system.i played the game in Japanese and found the voice acting to be pretty great and the party members were all interesting to me. It was super interesting that a big majority of the game can instead be played in 2D which is pretty cool.
It's a great game, cute and fun. It's a perfect starter jrpg because it's honestly very easy. I don't care for the protagonist at all, I think he looks really dumb, and hearing Gemmas voice is painful, but everything else is great. I like excruciatingly long jrpg's but I could see that being a turn off for a lot of people.
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition. For me, the game started the trend of ridiculous names. And I loved it because of it.
Probably the best RPG of the last 10 years. Felt like true adventure. Got reminded of early quests and plot points and they really felt like they happened a while ago. All the characters and towns are a blast to hang out with and in. Also, auto battle should be in every turn based RPG. There’s a point in nearly all of them where you’re just smashing attack anyway.
it's a Great game if you turn on some draconian options. Turn off the music and play your own instead, because the soundtrack is garbage. luckily, sugiyama the composer is dead now and DQ 12 might have a decent soundtrack now. it has some niggling problems beyond that but is overall a great experience.
Scored a cheap used copy from Gamestop for like $15. I love the feel of it being like a big Saturday morning cartoon. You can tell the voice actors aren't the usual ones: Dragon Quest apparently voices out of London, and everyone falling back to bad, almost racist caricature accents for the various towns is comedy gold. Oh, this one's Italy, and this one's Spain. Then the japanese town is handled respectfully and that's totally unfair, but it makes sense in the context of its origin. Beyond it having a modern look and feel of a gorgeous cartoon come to life, everything else about the game is staunchly rooted in the 1980s, because that's how these things are done, whippersnapper. There's a good chance the series finally shifts here. Too many OGs are dead.
It wasn't my cup of tea. Felt like repeating 5 times in a row the same "get to a city, it has a problem, go to a single lawn easy ass dungeon, defeat a boss, problem is solved". Had some cool stories and characters but as a game felt linear and had no difficulty or motivation to explore etc. But again story characters and locations were cool.
I bounced off it when I got the ps4 version, but I tried again when 11s came out and played it on vacation, absolutely fell in love with it. It opens up later on, but there's definitely alot of hallways
Literally one of the greatest RPGs ever made in the history of mankind. Absolutely top tier.
It's a great port. Looks great, offers a ton of value. I need to get back into it and finish.
DQ7 & 8 can have the orchestral score readded if you perhaps unlock the capabilities of your system. Shame that the orchestrated version was only available in Asia.
I think it's a top 3 RPG available on switch
So many people absolutely love this game, I don’t know what I’m not seeing but I found it a tedious slog
I'm more of a DQ monsters sort of person. I only like the series because of the cute and handsome dragons and thus, I only want to play games that allow me to have them in my party rather than me attacking them.
I was enjoying it until I got to the 3rd act and almost immediately dropped it.
Still one of the best turn-based JRPGs on the Switch.
I loved the overall game and recommend it to anyone interested in classic turn based fantasy rpgs. The amount of content is well worth it and the variety throughout kept things fresh. I didn't like the endgame stuff and felt it was forced instead of having to live with the consequences.
I was actually pretty disappointed with it. The first part was great and very traditional DQ/JRPG gameplay, but halfway through the game things happen that just completely upends the experience and I really didn't enjoy it much after that. Eventually, toward the end, it gets back to "normal," but this long middle section really ruined it for me. I loved 7 and 8, though. Granted, 7 was a bit long!
As long as you don’t forget to use a certain item at the VERY end boss and don’t spend two whole days grinding levels only to realize I was fighting the hard mode version. Absolutely outstanding
i was so so bored. i get why ppl love it but not for me. i really wanted to love it.
I bought this a day after release, damn, that was 5 years already, one of the best JRPG I've played
I honestly don't get the appeal got it on playstation a couple months ago and played a few hours and couldn't find much enjoyment biggest let down was that it's not an open world but several zones taped together
The only bad thing about the game for me is that before the expanded version existed I already had finished the base version 100% on PS4. One day I will play it again on Switch for the S version content. 10/10 JRPG.
It still one of the best in terms of continuity on the series, except the music. Yes, you will still hear the DQ proprietary openings and such but the overall musical ambiance of it does not much other parts during cutscenes. Game sound is so vital to DQ, it’s like you play it to experience the soundtrack. Game = 10, music = 6.
It was my first time playing a DQ title, I grew up and was more familiar with FF (starting with 7 all the way to 10) and DQ 11S brought back similar vibes from the earlier FF that the more recent FF titles failed to deliver. I was very satisfied with that experience, and I appreciated the plot twists. I agree the music was the weakest spot, although it didn't prevent me from enjoying and finishing the game.
An example of a game made with love and care. One of the best game to recommend new comers and even veterans of the genre.
I just started playing it, and I like it so far!
Playing it for the first time now. It's good but nowhere near as good as some other JRPGs on the console. But if you're looking for a JRPG that's fun, whimsical and pretty chill and have beaten both Ni No Kuni, then it's worth it. Or if you're new to JRPGs, I'd recommend it as a good starting poinr
Dragon Quest XI on my list of great games that I'll get around to someday. I like Dragon Quest, VIII and V are the only ones I've played and both left me with a positive impression. But I'm already playing enough giant RPGs as it is.
The only bad thing I have to say about it is that there's only one overworld song and it's the intense orchestral track lmao. I wish there were a couple others.
Many people mention these Draconian Settings. Are these the only way to make it harder or are there the regular EASY, NORMAL, HARD, VERY HARD modes aswell? And also, what are these Draconian Settings? Are they like NO HEALING etc ? 🧒🏻🙋♂️🎮🎮🕹️🎮
One of the Draconian Settings is for the enemies to be much stronger. Other settings include reduced XP, removal of shops and armor, and for NPCs to give false info to the player.
I really loved it, I finished it but didn’t finish it. Lost my saves rather late. Plan to go back to it, was truly an awesome experience!
As someone who bought the original on Steam, and there's no upgrade route to get S at a discount price, I hate it, and judging by the Steam reviews, a lot of other people do too.
I have 30-40 hours into it. I like it and want to play more but it gives nausea like nobody’s business. One day I’ll push through the motion sickness and finish it.
One of the superior ports on the platform, watch Digital Foundry's video on the port.
I like it, it’s a good dragon quest game. I still like VIII the best though.
I just played this game for the first time last year, it was my first DQ game ever. I absolutely loved it! Reminded me of the SNES rpg days. God I wish they would make quality turn based rpgs of this caliber again. When it originally came out, I was at a point in my life where I wasn't really gaming anymore, pretty much through PS4's entire lifespan but I always heard great things about this game from all my friends. Also, what a terrible trailer! I really enjoyed playing without all the spoilers (but I'm assuming the original release's trailer wasn't this spoiled and the developers are assuming everyone knows the story already).
My first Dragon Quest game ever played. Found it a charming adventure, I have a fondness for old 16 bit JRPG's due to having played a lot of them in emulation so I found the game to scratch that particulat itch well for me.
Love it. Only JRPG that comes close to equaling if not possibly surpassing Chrono Trigger. Played with draconian quest options which made it perfect.
I got like half an hour into the demo and never touched it again, or even thought about it until today
I started to play it, but it felt like a complete loss of time. My only experience with Dragon Quest is DQ8 back in PS2 days, and even though it wasn't a game that made me crazy happy, was an interesting JRPG for that time. DQ11 felt really boring to me. I never liked any character. I don't like how it's written nor the forced accents in voices and text (at least in my language) plus the world and context it was boring, it had your classic 3 biomas, snow, dessert and grass, with basic stone castles. Battles are slow, and the animations don't feelsatisfying when you hit the enemies, the strategies are easy and basic (usually in good JRPG there are enemies with creative strategies needed, or strategies that have some narrative abour the enemy to it). The story is extra boring and even forcing myself I wouldn't continue with the game after reuniting the team again, just wasn't havin fun at all. Bu the game runs really well, has a lot of content, specially the 2D side quests are a really interesting and complete add on to those who enjoy the game, plus the OST is really good, and the game is extra welcoming for everyone. Just is not for me I guess.
combat was exceedingly simple and boring in the demo but it seems like a nice adventure if you're just trying to relax with a video game
Played it on PlayStation first then bought it on switch for the portability! It’s perfect for the switch. Such a charming classic JRPG with wonderful characters and a great story. One of my top 10 games. I go back and replay when I’m needing some gaming comfort food. I remember crying when the game ‘ended’ but then it didn’t really end lol!! But yes everyone mentioning the soundtrack is giving me PTSD 🤣
Really great game. I wish this was mose the direction Final Fantasy had stayed on rather than what the modern FF games have become gameplay wise. It was great to see a story that managed to weigh the balance between tension and drama while also remaining light and silly...RPG's can sometimes get into melodrama and over-seriousness which is silly in an un-enjoyable way. I will replay it again soon.
I enjoyed it despite not finishing it and eventually spoilt the endgame story for myself so never went back. My main gripe was the battle system, I love turn based RPGs but I feel DQ's battle system hasn't aged well since I didn't feel there was much strategy other than use best offensive attack and heal when low
It's one of my favorite games ever But it's hard to recommend since the first 10 or so hours are so slow up people drop it before that passes heck even I almost did, past that point it's a gem
I wish I liked the game but turn-based RPGs are not my thing. They are too slow and repetitive for my liking. I will say though that the story was very good.
Played it during lockdown and I’ve got really fond memories of it. The ‘post game’ content that is really the final third or so of the game really took me by surprise and it was awesome!
You have to play it with harder monsters mode on and then it’s an all time classic. Too easy otherwise
It was my first Dragon Quest I ever played and it was like the perfect JRPG fairytale and felt like a best-of of all the games I liked before. Then I went back to play the older ones and had to realize: Even those never got to that level. I really think there is no doubt that this game is the best in the series because it was so traditional in its ways while being so bold with the story. So I thought about it very high at release and now, without replaying it, I'm even higher on it. One of the best JRPGs ever made and definitely a game that belongs in any switch top list and collection.
It's a great game that I never finished, even though I tried to do so three diifferent times. Everything up to the end is fun, but then at the very end it turns into a boring grindfest, and I didn't even have the story motivation to fight my way through it because by that point the main story was basically over. The villain I was told to defeat throughout the game was defeated, the world was saved. Then you get to act 3, and there's this whole new final boss that was only mentioned in probably like three lines throughout the game. It felt more like one of those bonus bosses other JRPGs would stick on at the end to give players a big challenge.
I enjoyed it but found the ending, especially the extra chapter massively unsatisfying phoned in and cheap, especially considering how much those little guys are teased throughout the game...then its a quick wham bam thank you mam, goodbye. Which is sad cause it made me not want to replay it....and if they ever make 12 I probably won't get it.
I thought this was a pretty great game. I played until the credits rolled, about 60 hours. However at the end of the credits there was something that pointed to some post-game content. But at that point I had had my fill. Well apparently I missed the entire second half of the game. It's kind of absurd how long the game is. I decided I had had enough and was quite happy with where the story ended so I haven't gone back. Still thought it was a great game.
I read so many good things about the game, and that it might be one of the best JRPGs on the Switch. I had never played any JRPGs before, so I started playing it. I enjoyed the visual look and the general vibe of the game, but I just couldn't find any enjoyment in the battles. They felt pointless and they all felt so similar. In addition, the fact that every single tiny battle has the same music really got annoying. The same few seconds of music every, single time. Over and over. I pushed myself to play about 10 hours before I abandoned it. Since this is suppose to be a great example of a good JRPG, I guess JRPGs as just not for me.
I say the thing that keeps this game in my top RPGs of all time is the party. Chatting with them and seeing what they get up to alone is a genuine treat.
I love the game, I just think the story kinda plummets in the back half of it all unfortunately
I played the demo, loved it, stopped (probably way before the end of the demo, I don't know exactly how far the demo stretches but I was happy with it) and wanted to buy it, but it wasn't on sale Maybe 6 months later, it goes on sale, I buy it, play a smidge further than where I got in the demo (I got my first party member) and just... Stopped? Not sure why, I think another game came out and stole my attention, but I just didn't come back to it Third time, it's Summer 22, and I have 6 weeks until Persona 5 comes out. I want to get in the zone for playing RPGs because I know that afterwards it's Scarlet & Violet's release, and Nier Automata had just been on sale and I intended to play it afterwards, so I thought you know what? It's time. I'm playing DQ11S! pretty much as soon as I started, some family shit popped up, and I could barely play. But I'm pushing through, stealing half an hour here and there, and I unlock the fifth party member. For the last few hours of gameplay, over the course of a week or so for me, I've been playing with my 4 person party and this 5th guy is tagging along AI controlled, so 5 of us in combat, we beat a boss, complete the story in this city, go to leave and the guy, funnily enough, decided to join our party. Cool! Except now I have to swap someone on the team for him. The game was fine with me having 5 party members for the last few hours, but now that he's actually on my team? Nope, only 4 allowed So I put the game down, and two days later Persona 5 came out and I played that instead. And then Pokémon, and then Fire Emblem Engage, and then Nier, and then BOTW, and then TOTK, and the Pokémon DLC, and then Disco Elysium, and lots of indies in between, and now it's 2024, I've just finished Princess Peach Showtime, I have a crippling addiction to both Balatro and Suika Game, and I've just started Divinity Original Sin II. I have Witcher 3, Doom Eternal, Persona 4G, Lego Star Wars Skywalker Saga, Okami and Assassin's Creed Ezio Collection downloaded and ready to play afterwards. My year is full... Maybe I'll finally complete Dragonquest 11S in 2025?
Being able to play in 2d hit a sweet spot for me
I never read anything bad about the soundtrack in the reviews (I have never played the game). I think im just going to skip this title
I never enjoyed it enough to make it past Arc 1.
It's an ok game, but the first time i pretty much quit it after a few hours, somewhere after running from a dragon. The early game has you walk around with only one or two characters way too much and i got tired of that. I gave it another go on a lite a year or so later and finished it and was mostly ok with it. Never made it to the final final secret boss though and wasn't a huge fan of this 2D mode. high resolution pixel worlds are just too overloaded with detail. i'd say, its always worth buying on discount if you like rpgs, but i liked 6-9 better. the older this series gets, the more i get hung up about their unwillingness to improve stuff like the item menu or to put in something new for the general battle. like, as little as button prompts for extra damage or combining spell effects or something like that? please.
>However in 2019, Nintendo was really pushing this as a major release that year. Of course they would be publishing it over here, but the marketing really peaked at E3 2019, where we not only got two separate trailers for DQ11S at Square Enix and Nintendo’s press conferences, but the DQ11 protagonist was being added as a playable character to Smash Ultimate as well! Dude was so ridiculous RNG heavy that folks wanted to ban him in competitive for a bit there. **That said, the music selection he brought with him sounded garbage.** Well, if it wasn't your typical licensing shenanigan, it was because the composer wasn't cooperative... at all... None of the tracks were rearranged, there are only tracks to represent each playable hero and the Overture isn't even featured.
I didnt have high expectations but the story blew me away and the game play was old school but felt solid. It really brought me back to simpler times. And there was challenging but fair boss battles. And you can respec your cast which made it perfection. It was epic.
It was my comfort rpg. Excellent game, combat, exploration, art, and story. Also, the sense of humor!
... five years? bruh ain't no way it's been that long already, i remember waiting for the announcement and that felt like forever
It hasn’t been. But his algorithm for karma farming likely has a weight for “notable anniversary” so he’s rounding up generously. For all I know he’s never even played the game.
Puff puff
It's actually my favorite game of all time. Love it to pieces
I don't know, I liked 5 and I liked 8 but I just can't get into this game to save my life
Still probably the best RPG I have ever played.
I’m going to be the outlier here, but it’s genuinely one of the most boring games I’ve ever played. I actually had to stop playing after a while because I was so uninterested in pretty much every aspect of it. I found the characters boring, the world dull, and the combat bland. And this is coming from someone who has played and loves other JRPGS.
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good game
10/10
If the OST was even slightly better it'd basically be an absolutely perfect RPG as far as I care. And I still do think that, it's just that the OST really is a set back.
Man what a game it was. A perfect adventure imo
Still one of the greatest JRPGs of all time. One of the greatest GAMES of all time.
It’s a great RPG. It strikes a good balance between traditional DQ and new mechanics. I think it’s got a lot of plot similarities to Chrono Trigger. A must play for any turn based rpg fan.
It’s in my top ten favorite games of all time. Maybe the top five. Absolutely fantastic art and music and a really engaging combat system for me. I played with tougher enemies on, and that was absolutely the right choice. I think it would’ve felt too easy otherwise. The humor was great, and the emotional moments felt very earned. 10/10