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LTTP: Dragon Quest XI S is the finest JRPG I've played in 15 years, the absolute best "classic" fantasy adventure you can have in today's consoles IMO
- Thread starter jett
- Start date
I love everything about this. One of the greatest stories ever told in a video game. Absolute perfection.
I'm 40 hours into it on Switch and I'm enjoying my time with it, but it's far from greatest of all time tier imo.
Everything is just basic af, and apart from Veronica and Sylvando (and the big baddie voiced by Kiryu), none of the characters are interesting.
It's a comfort blanket game, but I can't put it high up there with the Persona 5s, the Suikoden IIs, the SMTs and the like.
I enjoyed my small time with DQ VIII more than XI, also.
Everything is just basic af, and apart from Veronica and Sylvando (and the big baddie voiced by Kiryu), none of the characters are interesting.
It's a comfort blanket game, but I can't put it high up there with the Persona 5s, the Suikoden IIs, the SMTs and the like.
I enjoyed my small time with DQ VIII more than XI, also.
WTF?! Thankfully it is turn based.
It's great to see franchises like DQ sticking to it's roots unlike the Final Fantasy series. We need more turn based RPG's.
Yes, it is excellent. The only critique I have is act 3, and mainly because I felt like I already got a fully satisfying conclusion in act 2, and act 3 has some choices I wasn't super fond of. The pacing was also immaculate up to that point (which is impressive since it was already an 80+ hour game by then), but act 3 does slow to a crawl.
Still, I can't recommend it enough.
Still, I can't recommend it enough.
When it comes to classic fantasy and classic turn based RPG on current consoles I can't think of many.
But it's great. Great cast, some twists, great towns, and loved the battle system.
Wished I played S. The orchestral soundtrack must be nice.
But it's great. Great cast, some twists, great towns, and loved the battle system.
Wished I played S. The orchestral soundtrack must be nice.
I agree. A lot of the characters are kind of generic and boiler template too. Sylvando is an exception though.
They've been trying to incorporate action-based combat into FF as far back as IV. It's fine if people don't like it but I feel like people act like the series changing from turned based to action is out of nowhere when it's not.
Yup. Everything is true. So glad I put over 250 hours into it. Had to experience every nook and cranny the game had to offer. Excellent game.
Always confused when I see this take. The blandness of the MC + perceived jankiness of the entire dungeon escape sequence near the beginning turned me off the game entirely.
Looked into more clips of gameplay from later sections before deciding it wasn't for me 🤷♂️
Looked into more clips of gameplay from later sections before deciding it wasn't for me 🤷♂️
We won't be, but for such a progressive forum, everyone sure seems willing to overlook that inconvenient fact.
OP
OP
The beginning is the worst part of the game easily. It's really slow as you said and also it's not the most fun to play with only one character (and Gemma's repetitive one-liners during battle get grating). It most definitely gets better. :P
I set my game to classic camera and "fast" battle speed which sped things up along considerably.
I found the game more enjoyable without any difficulty settings. I've never looked for challenge in DQ games - they're long but chill adventures for me. The series is played by children and casual gamers in short bursts so the creators want everyone to get through this very long game.
That said I like the idea of the no exp from weaker monsters option since it lets you fill in bestiary and farm for items without getting overleveled. And of course everyone can play the game how they want.
That said I like the idea of the no exp from weaker monsters option since it lets you fill in bestiary and farm for items without getting overleveled. And of course everyone can play the game how they want.
I played the old PC version. I found it nice but it got boring after a while, it's very "vanilla", there is nothing exciting about it. There is no amazing gameplay progression, the story is uninteresting, the characters are very plain, I didn't find any compelling reason to keep going after about 10 hours when I realized there was nothing to see beyond discovering new areas, and those weren't that interesting to begin with.
While it's a nice game, it's far from the best imo. I would rather say it's pretty average, but it was also my first Dragon Quest, so maybe i expected too much?
My top 5 JRPGs (in no particular order) are:
Bravely Default
Dragon Quest XI
Final Fantasy IX
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Xenogears
At a glance, all very different games. Some traditional in its storytelling and battle systems, others not so much. The thing they all have in common however is the sense of adventure you experience in each. Each of these worlds feel much bigger than what is actually presented to the player, and all have a history, sense of culture and life to it that feels like these worlds existed well before you even press the start button. That's what makes DQXI special.
I'll take the bait; why should it be anything BUT turn based? This is Dragon Quest. Plenty of other JRPG series have diluted themselves for western gamers, let this one be.
this game is perfect. I did not expect to like it that much but it feels so comfortable and cozy, like spending time with your old friend. There is nothing revolutionary about DQXI, but it doesnt have to be. I'm always comparing DQ franchise to Final Fantasy, which has similar roots but is evolving with every game. Final Fantasy now is almost unrecognizable and i am liking it less with every game. DQ was always stable and reliable and i like it for it. But DQXI is not just old-school, its also really well made. You can see ridiculous amounts of work has gone into the game. Characters, the world, side-quests, story
. Everything is top notch about this game and it took the first place on my RPG list.
Btw, i played it with the "hard enemies" option, and it felt just right.
it ended twice and then just kept going...
Btw, i played it with the "hard enemies" option, and it felt just right.
OP
OP
Ah well that's unfortunate. The 10 hour mark is when the demo ends and the game had its hooks in me at that point
The intro with the girl takes all of 15 minutes though, you won't have to hear it after that. Most Dragon Quest games take a while to take off, I really didn't find the beginning all that slow or annoying. Gave me some time to bond with Erik and it felt like two best friends on an adventure, before more party members showed up.
I disagree OP, I was honestly extremely disappointed after I beat it on PC. I may go back and play through the S version to see if it fixes the issues I had with it, but I've never had any desire to replay the base game.
Jett being positive about a game... this is quite a thing. Hell, I am downloading the demo today .
Unfortunately I decided to start Hades yesterday and I am hooked, so it may take a while.
Unfortunately I decided to start Hades yesterday and I am hooked, so it may take a while.
Okay. This thread has sold me on finally playing it. Those environments look wonderful and I haven't played a Dragon's Quest in a decade.
Yeah. I started Hades and Kentucky Route Zero last night on the switch. Dragon's Quest might be right after them.
Yes, ATB has been around since IV, but at least it still slow enough where it felt turn-based at that point and X went back to fully turn-based. In later entries it went to hell and FF XVI is supposed to be completely action. So I see where he is coming from and I agree with him.
So count me as another one that is glad DQ has stuck to it's roots.
I'm trying to force my way through it waiting on it to click. Its the turned based thing, I just don't get it. I'll keep going though.
The music is so garbo tho. I played about twenty hours on base PS4 and gave up, it's just insufferable. Hope to have another crack at it soon. The combat is chill and the art style is extremely my shit. But for a JRPG to have bad music... that's like the eighth deadly sin.
Maybe next time I'll have a 100-hour playlist of JRPG-appropriate music I can play with the game's score on mute.
Maybe next time I'll have a 100-hour playlist of JRPG-appropriate music I can play with the game's score on mute.
Started this with the demo version convinced I don't have the time to play, but decided to do it Tim Rogers style and not stress about "completing" it any time soon and, wouldn't you know it, the game is just a gem. I play 30-45 a few nights a week, and imagine I'll take a few weeks or months off at the chapter breaks and treat it more as an anthology series.
Also LOVE how easy it is. Still have to think a little bit, but after Demons Souls and Hades and a bunch of deep systems driven games, skipping along the overworld and exploring little towns, all stress free, is the BEST.
Also LOVE how easy it is. Still have to think a little bit, but after Demons Souls and Hades and a bunch of deep systems driven games, skipping along the overworld and exploring little towns, all stress free, is the BEST.
I enjoyed it for the most part but I feel like it didn't quite push things enough. The story and characters were likable but predictable, the combat and exploration was well done but rather standard, the music was passable, and the pacing could have been better. It felt like comfort food essentially, which is fine, but it never challenged or surprised me. I think it is the definition of an 8 out of 10 for me. Kind of like how most Tales of games are the definition of a 7 out of 10.
My favorite parts were definitely that sequence with Sylvando and Mount Pang Lai.
Edit: I think V and VIII are better Dragon Quest games still but XI slots in front of VI and VII from the ones I have played.
My favorite parts were definitely that sequence with Sylvando and Mount Pang Lai.
Edit: I think V and VIII are better Dragon Quest games still but XI slots in front of VI and VII from the ones I have played.
Cannot bring myself to finish this game. It really is pretty good, just nothing outstanding for me. I am thinking about giving the Cold Steel series a shot since I liked the battle system from the 1st game.
The game is amazing. I'm currently playing through it right now on Switch. It's flooring me every step of the way.
I really wanted to like this one, but unfortunately found it to be completely insipid. The horrible and repetitive music making it all the worse experience.
I think V has the best story and VIII has the best characters simply due to Yangus and Trode.