Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition - Nintendo Switch

Dragon Quest XI must be played by anyone who loves traditional turn-based JRPGs. And since it is traditional, it's also a good game for people who want to dive into the genre for the first time. Like Final Fantasy games, you don't need to know anything about the previous titles in the franchise because the stories are for the most part disconnected. If you're deciding between the Switch version and the PS4 version, the Switch is the way to go. The ability to speed up battles, call your horse anywhere on the field, and craft items anywhere besides just a save point saves you so much time playing the game. You also get the new 2D-mode if you prefer a retro-styled playthrough, orchestrated versions of in-game music, more story content, and more. This game will last you over 100 hours if you're also looking for a good beefy game to sink into. The visuals are well-preserved in this game as well. I definitely recommend this to anyone!

I picked this up on PS4 last year but held off playing it because of it coming to the switch. I have played a few of the games in the series but never finished any. This one will be the one that I play through to completion. If you are hesitant on whether or not you will like it, there is a demo that you can download for free. Your progress save transfers to the main game if you plan on purchasing after playing the demo. Highly recommended.

Dragon Quest 11 is the first mainline Dragon Quest game to hit a home console since Dragon Quest 8 in 2004. While Dragon Quest 9 on the DS was a lot of fun, it didn't have a set cast of characters and as a result it's story wasn't as complex or emotionally resonant. Dragon Quest 11 is a return to the style of the classic games with a fixed cast of characters, all of which get meaningful development over the course of the game. The combat system isn't revolutionary but all the attacks are wonderfully animated, especially the multi-character team attacks. The amount of game is also astounding, featuring several distinct acts, each with major plot and character progression. If anything there's almost too much game. The Switch version is also the definitive version of the game for the addition of new content and replacing the lack luster MIDI music of other versions of the game with mostly live orchestrations. If your a fan of RPGs and own a Switch you should definitely give Dragon Quest 11 a shot. If your unsure you can always try out the free and lengthy demo available on the Nintendo eShop.

Graphics: 5/5. Akira Toriyama's character designs are gorgeous as always, with expressive faces for the human characters and monsters that alternate perfectly between scary and cute. From a technical aspect, it's about as good as you can expect on the Switch; the graphics are slightly blurry, but still look great and perform stably for the most part (I've had about 2 crashes in 90 hours of gameplay, that I recall). Sound: 5/5. The orchestral score is AMAZING. I feel sorry for the people who played the earlier versions and had to settle for the synthesized music. (I understand that this was due to legal issues with the composer. I'm very glad that got settled!) Story: 4.5/5. I've heard the story described as "restrained" and I think that's a good word. It doesn't try to do too much outside of what you'd expect; you're a silent protagonist, raised in a peasant village, but you find out you're the destined hero, chosen to save the world, etc. Within the constraints of the heroic fantasy/chosen one framework, though, the story is very well executed. A couple of warnings, though: if you don't like tearjerkers, you might want to avoid this one. I'm a grown man, and I cried at a couple of points in the story. Also, if you're offended by homosexuals, or extremely stereotypical depictions of homosexuals, you also might want to stay away. One of the characters is the most flamboyant gay stereotype I've ever seen. Some will find him hilarious, some will find him obnoxious, I think he manages to be both at once most of the time. (There aren't any sexually explicit parts in this game, hetero or homo, just a lot of what the ESRB calls "suggestive themes.") Gameplay: 4/5. In gameplay terms, this game makes a couple of superficial gestures towards innovation, but largely stays within the Dragon Quest classic turn-based RPG formula. The one improvement that I most appreciate is its adoption of non-random encounters; you actually see monsters walking around in the world, and you go into battle with them if you touch them. The crafting system is also quite addictive, although somewhat basic; you have to find crafting recipes in the world (check ALL of the bookshelves!) and then make items from those recipes with crafting materials dropped from monsters or found in regenerating harvesting locations. If you try to make an item and don't have all the needed materials, then the game will let you automatically purchase all the missing materials for whatever their gold cost is, even if the place that sells it is on the other side of the world in a place you haven't visited yet. (There are some rare materials that cannot be purchased.) I have mixed feelings about this, it does save time tromping around gathering ingredients, but it kind of feels like cheating, and makes the whole system seem pointless. Overall, Dragon Quest 11 S is a fantastic JRPG, even with a few nitpicks, it's worth 5 stars all the way.

I purchased this on release for the PS4 as well. I played that version and while its a bit crisper I felt like the camera rotation was hard to get dialed in on the PS4 and it made me a bit dizzy to play it. On top of that I can't take my PS4 with me. Enter the Switch version. I decided to give this another try on the Switch since I love DQ games and I felt like my experience on the PS4 was not so much the game as it was the hardware. Sure enough I tuned the camera rotation on the switch to make it faster and it felt just right. Add to this the portability of the Switch and I have not made it through the whole game satisfactorily. This game has some extra feature too since it is the definitive edition. The big plus over the PS4 is the upgraded audio. Instead of crappy midi on PS4 you get full symphony tracks. HUGE UPGRADE. I was unable to play and enjoy this game on the PS4, but the Switch version fixed all of my issues and its a better version of the game at the same time. If you have the option for both, but this one. You won't regret it.

Between the demo and the game today on release I am over twenty hours into this already, and I've barely scratched the surface. A masterpiece of a game with traditional turn-based combat and an amazing orchestrated soundtrack. Highly recommend to any fans of JRPGs; if you are on the fence, try out the free demo!

The portability is always a welcome addition with ports of games but the entire experience of Dragon Quest 11 is here and available for the Nintendo Switch console. One of the best parts of this rendition of Dragon Quest 11 is that it uses the symphonic version of the soundtrack making it the experience worthwhile and on top of that the entire game can be experienced in a nostalgic 2D format if you choose to do so.

Dragon Quest XI is a very traditional Dragon Quest game. Making fewer changes between entries than the average Final Fantasy, the series has certainly grown into modern consoles while respecting its NES roots. If you're new to Dragon Quest, it's one of the original Japanese RPGs with art by Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball Z). It plays exactly as you'd expect a classic JRPG to play. This is a port of the original PS4/3DS release, and it's kind of the best of both worlds. The graphics are downgraded (but hold up surprisingly well) on the Switch—light maps and textures are of a lower resolution, LoD settings have been tuned way down, and even world and character geometry has been simplified in comparison to the PS4 version. But this version has the additional 2D, "16-bit" mode, which is basically a whole new game with crossover points and the same story as the 3D mode. It's a solid port of an exceptional entry in one of the best and most important video game series ever. Probably worth getting.