REVIEW

Dragon Quest XI Review

by Jake Stewart, December 7th, 2018

Dragon Quest has been and still is a great representation of a classic JRPG, and this formula can still be seen in Dragon Quest XI. As a result, XI becomes a strange mishmash of extremely old cliché plot pieces and some genuinely neat advancements.

Starting from the story, it’s hard to say that this isn’t something you’ve already seen before. Your character is a nameless silent protagonist who was sent down the river as a baby and found by a small village. Your character becomes of age only to find out that he is the Luminary (Chosen One.) Even the idea of the Luminary is pretty standard, as their whole existence is a being of light, whose sole purpose to destroy all darkness and save the land of Erdrea. This isn’t to say that there aren’t some enjoyable twists and turns in the story, but the plot is definitely not gaining points in the uniqueness department. Your character is informed that the Luminary was a hero of old, who is only reincarnated when the world needs him. As your protagonist leaves his hometown and his childhood friends, he sets off to the kingdoms of Erdrea to enlist in the help of kings and spread the word that the Luminary has arrived.

Following a similar RPG protocol, you’ll amass your party full of interesting and colorful characters and journey across the lands of Erdrea. Throughout your journey you’ll uncover the interesting backstories of the people who have joined you, making them one of the highest points in DQXI’s narrative. With your character being somewhat of a blank slate and a general “chosen one” backstory, the other party members take the spotlight. The colorful yet deeply saddened bard Sylvando, The elderly, mischievous Rab, or the mysterious rogue prisoner, Erik. Every character comes from a wildly

With all that in mind, I didn’t necessarily dislike DQXI’s story, but I find it is important to mention just how cliché it is in terms of JRPG nature. In fact, the entire game doesn’t steer too far from the JRPG formula, including in the combat areas. As a result, players who have been turned off from JRPGs likely aren’t going to find anything here that will be changing their mind.

A very nice addition for those who might be on the fence is the combat options. Combat takes the form of your classic turn-based battles and owns the retro-vibe. The usual options of Attack, Magic, Item, and Abilities are here and don’t necessarily add much new to the formula here. However, DQXI has the option to turn the turn-based style camera into a more action-combat oriented version. Your party members will still have cooldowns and turns just like before, but with the added ability to dodge and move around the enemies. While this may be more for show than anything, it definitely added an extra layer of comfort for somebody like me who prefers action systems to turn-based.

Truthfully, that’s all there really is to touch on the combat. Monsters and Bosses don’t have much of anything for different mechanics, and the only real variable is the “Pep Attack” system, where one of your party members will have a boost of energy every so often, allowing them to perform a more powerful attack. Occasionally, there will be the unavoidable boss fight but rather than introduce new mechanics, they’re often just a bigger enemy capable of taking more hits.

Progression is handled through a skill tree system, where every character has their own skill tree and areas of expertise. Certain characters can be guided through their trees to use different weapons, become more offensive, supportive, or defensive.. This allows for some nice experimentation with both your playable character and the members who make up your party to create the most optimal group for your playstyle. Healer members can be tweaked to become more offensive, while your defensive tank characters can be tweaked to deal as much damage as some of your heavy-hitters. The protagonist will remain a general “all arounder” type character, but the skill tree will allow some choices regarding weapon choice, speed over attack, defense over offense, etc.

For me personally, one of the most enjoyable parts of DQXI is the art style and the overall aesthetic. Colors are beautiful and vibrant; the characters are varied and unique and every single monster has a very unique design and personality to the others. Monster designs can range from goofy cactuses, sneaky mice, giant rabbits, chubby dragons, and wobbly robots. Every single monster screams creativity, and monsters of familiar species still have interesting twists on their design that makes them feel truly unique. DQXI is by no means a short game, but your treks across the many different sights, biomes, and towns will be well padded with gorgeous views.

As usual, Akira Toriyama (Most well-known for his work on Dragon Ball) handles the character designs, and it can clearly be seen in the faces of the characters. Toriyama has been the artist for Dragon Quest as long as the series has been around, and has become an absolute master at creating a wonderfully unique art style, blending 3d models and manga-inspired artwork perfectly.

As a JRPG, there is certainly a level of grinding found within DQXI. Luckily, I wouldn’t say that it is necessarily as imperative of a mechanic, and players who just defeat most of the monsters along their journey will likely not have to steer too far off the path to grind for hours.

Along with the visuals, the world of DQXI feels very well balanced and thought out as well. Very rarely will there be long stretches with nothing to see, as each area is just the length it needs to be, with plenty of unique views. However, chasing down every monster and exploring every nook doesn’t go without its reward. When traversing the open world, checking in every bush, behind every waterfall, and inside every cave will net gold, or even better, crafting materials and recipes. These materials can be brought back to the forges in towns to make some fancy new weapons for your party. Also, monsters can be viewed on the overworld rather than the older styled random encounters, making it easier to avoid or seek out fights.

The nearly nostalgic JRPG blanket around DQXI brings something out within me, something that craves following every questline, exploring each unique town, speaking to every NPC just to hear their short backstories and insights. While DQXI may not steer too far from what has been done before, it manages to perfect nearly every aspect of what we’ve seen in previous Dragon Quest or JRPG franchises to create a truly immersive world and cast of characters. Along with another stellar orchestral soundtrack from Koichi Sugiyama, every single moment is composed perfectly, and the use of the orchestra helps extenuate the feeling of this being a grand adventure.

All in all, Dragon Quest XI has a lot of fantastic points that are worth loving it for. Its biggest flaw would be playing things too safe, and sticking to the beaten path for the most part. JRPG fans are almost sure to love this fantastic world and interesting characters, but those who are opposed to the genre are almost certain to be turned off by this title as a result.