OP
OP
Yeah, this one always got a chuckle out of me (though, the in game MIDI sample is so so so bland)
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Dragon Quest 11 is a JRPG masterpiece, and all fans of the genre owe it to themselves to play it
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Yeah, this one always got a chuckle out of me (though, the in game MIDI sample is so so so bland)
I've been on the fence about buying it since it released and I just finished RDR 2 and have been thinking of buying it the last 24 hours.
Heard the same "must play" recommendations when DQVIII came out for the PS2, jumped on it Day 1, and found that game very dull.
I might check this out on sale down the road, but I think I just find the batshit, melodramatic craziness of Final Fantasy and the hyper-style of Persona more to my liking.
I might check this out on sale down the road, but I think I just find the batshit, melodramatic craziness of Final Fantasy and the hyper-style of Persona more to my liking.
It's on my Christmas list. Though I've been craving a long ass JRPG with my time off work this week.
Yeah, it's a once in a decade JRPG, a masterpiece. In the age when most other JRPG devs trying to innovate their franchises, DQXI still stays true to its roots. The system and mechanics, as well as the story telling are all still charming as ever.
Whaaat...even if it was that bad....you can mod it the orchestral music in =[
The quality of this game, and the amount of content is contains is insane (I'm 71 hours into it and I haven't beat the game yet, and I haven't been screwing around). JRPGs with budgets like this just don't come around very often.
After playing games like "Tales of" and Star Ocean this game just looks like a big budget summer blockbuster movie, it's fantastic.
I will admit the combat hasn't blown my mind, but I enjoy it for the most part.
After playing games like "Tales of" and Star Ocean this game just looks like a big budget summer blockbuster movie, it's fantastic.
I will admit the combat hasn't blown my mind, but I enjoy it for the most part.
I like the game a lot, but also think that there's a big flaw that you didn't mention. The game has kind of an weird difficulty balance, where if you don't know to turn on Draconian Quest, you're stuck with enemies who can hardly challenge the player unless they explicitly avoid as many battles as possible (which is actually all too easy but I'll get to that later). The bosses are a bit more challenging/interesting to fight in the base difficulty, but if you're keeping your gear up and engaging in random battles semi-regularly they're still a bit too easy.
If the player happened to know about Draconian Quest difficulty (and knew it could only be turned on in the beginning), then they're treated instead to random enemies that can regularly wipe a party if they're not careful. Now, this is actually IMO a good "hard" difficulty balance since it makes random fights actually threatening. The problem comes when fighting the bosses, because they become extremely tough on the hard difficulty, especially if you're trying to avoid over leveling by using the exp limiter.
Now of course, this naturally begs the question, "why not remove the exp limiter and grind out a few levels"? The problem I found (when I came to the first desert boss and was getting consistently wrecked), was that I did not feel I had enough time to bother grinding for levels considering my busy schedule, and I had already reached the max recommended level in the desert at the time, so logically the game should be balanced enough for this fight to be beatable at that level, right?
I eventually chose to sacrifice the game's challenge to preserve my limited time by disabling the hard mode difficulty, but I really wish the game was balanced so that on hard mode a player like me, who regularly engaged in random battles and kept themselves at the recommended level could defeat the game's bosses without extra grinding before each one. Since then, I've avoided about 80% of the random battles and I still find the bosses (and especially the random enemies) too easy.
For me, the difficulty modes were far too polarized in their difficulty, with "normal" being so easy it can prevent the player from even engaging properly with the various strategies available to them (since the battle is usually over before they're of any use), and "hard" being mostly a reasonable challenge with random fights but with bosses the game becomes a brickwall that much of the time can only be climbed by grinding long enough.
I really wish there was a medium difficulty between the two, or at least a way for the hard difficulty to be turned back on after turning it off once. Ideally there'd even be a way to tune the bosses down or the random enemies up so that the huge difficulty gap between the two could be shortened a bit.
As it is, it's comical that after meeting the last character in the game their default level is about 8 levels above my MC, and we're still wiping out mandatory world map enemies (for mounts) in like 2-3 normal weapon attacks. Also, this is a little bit spoilery so beware but
Oh yeah and the music ain't that swell yeah, but you went over that. I got used to it, but urgh I wish it at least had more variety/longer loops.
If the player happened to know about Draconian Quest difficulty (and knew it could only be turned on in the beginning), then they're treated instead to random enemies that can regularly wipe a party if they're not careful. Now, this is actually IMO a good "hard" difficulty balance since it makes random fights actually threatening. The problem comes when fighting the bosses, because they become extremely tough on the hard difficulty, especially if you're trying to avoid over leveling by using the exp limiter.
Now of course, this naturally begs the question, "why not remove the exp limiter and grind out a few levels"? The problem I found (when I came to the first desert boss and was getting consistently wrecked), was that I did not feel I had enough time to bother grinding for levels considering my busy schedule, and I had already reached the max recommended level in the desert at the time, so logically the game should be balanced enough for this fight to be beatable at that level, right?
I eventually chose to sacrifice the game's challenge to preserve my limited time by disabling the hard mode difficulty, but I really wish the game was balanced so that on hard mode a player like me, who regularly engaged in random battles and kept themselves at the recommended level could defeat the game's bosses without extra grinding before each one. Since then, I've avoided about 80% of the random battles and I still find the bosses (and especially the random enemies) too easy.
For me, the difficulty modes were far too polarized in their difficulty, with "normal" being so easy it can prevent the player from even engaging properly with the various strategies available to them (since the battle is usually over before they're of any use), and "hard" being mostly a reasonable challenge with random fights but with bosses the game becomes a brickwall that much of the time can only be climbed by grinding long enough.
I really wish there was a medium difficulty between the two, or at least a way for the hard difficulty to be turned back on after turning it off once. Ideally there'd even be a way to tune the bosses down or the random enemies up so that the huge difficulty gap between the two could be shortened a bit.
As it is, it's comical that after meeting the last character in the game their default level is about 8 levels above my MC, and we're still wiping out mandatory world map enemies (for mounts) in like 2-3 normal weapon attacks. Also, this is a little bit spoilery so beware but
in the 2nd act, even though I'd become under leveled enough for the random fights to become at least somewhat engaging beforehand, as soon as the MC is fighting alone or just with the last party member, the game has dumbed itself down even more so that the aforementioned 2-3 hits to win scenario has occured.
I think it's because the available options for fighting and number of backup party members is so significantly cut down, but it doesn't feel like a welcome accommodation, it feels like the game is draining out the fun of the battle system because the story demands the player lose his party and go collect them all again. This is why despite people hyping up act 2, I'm actually way less engaged by the right now.
I think it's because the available options for fighting and number of backup party members is so significantly cut down, but it doesn't feel like a welcome accommodation, it feels like the game is draining out the fun of the battle system because the story demands the player lose his party and go collect them all again. This is why despite people hyping up act 2, I'm actually way less engaged by the right now.
Oh yeah and the music ain't that swell yeah, but you went over that. I got used to it, but urgh I wish it at least had more variety/longer loops.
Enjoying it immensely, like I do most DQs. I have some complaints, but they're not enough to overshadow the good times I'm having.
Of all DQs I've played, it's the one that feels the most like a direct spiritual sequel to DQVIII on PS2/3DS. One of my complaints is that they kind of have similar story beats and outside of presentation, I think DQVIII did 'em better.
But that's a minor thing, ultimately. And they REALLY upped their presentation game over VIII. I don't just mean visuals. Cutscene direction is pretty stellar. And the setups and emotional pay-offs... well, they pay off. Big time.
Only real disappointment is the music. I think it flat-out sucks. And no a symphonic suite mod won't help me. I just don't like the original compositions. Best part of the OST is the new takes on classics songs.
And it feels, at times, like half of the game's OST are remixes instead of original compositions. Sadly, the O/G tunes are what you'll be hearing incessantly until much later, though.
But the original stuff is just not good, IMO. It's about time Sugiyama retires. He's a piece of shit human being, but also creatively bankrupt.
But I also feel that Sugiyama peaked around DQIII and DQIV, and it's been more or less steadily downhill since then for the franchise.
I'm almost 218 hours into my adventure, and slowly moseying my way through what I suppose I could call the game's third act. At least, going by the bestiary and item compendium, I HAVE to be approaching the end.
It's pretty narratively obvious too, though.
Great game. Highly recommend it to anyone with an even passing interest in DQ games or JRPGs in general.
I have mild OCD when it comes to JRPGs, so don't expect it to take you 200+ hours to get to the end.
Edit - Game is stupidly easy, though. I didn't touch the Draconian stuff because I didn't really want to fudge with the balance in a first playthrough. Probably a mistake, as the game's a yawnfest from a combat standpoint. Granted, because of my completionism, I'm also typically obscenely overpowered and over-geared for whatever point of the story I'm in.
Of all DQs I've played, it's the one that feels the most like a direct spiritual sequel to DQVIII on PS2/3DS. One of my complaints is that they kind of have similar story beats and outside of presentation, I think DQVIII did 'em better.
But that's a minor thing, ultimately. And they REALLY upped their presentation game over VIII. I don't just mean visuals. Cutscene direction is pretty stellar. And the setups and emotional pay-offs... well, they pay off. Big time.
Only real disappointment is the music. I think it flat-out sucks. And no a symphonic suite mod won't help me. I just don't like the original compositions. Best part of the OST is the new takes on classics songs.
And it feels, at times, like half of the game's OST are remixes instead of original compositions. Sadly, the O/G tunes are what you'll be hearing incessantly until much later, though.
But the original stuff is just not good, IMO. It's about time Sugiyama retires. He's a piece of shit human being, but also creatively bankrupt.
But I also feel that Sugiyama peaked around DQIII and DQIV, and it's been more or less steadily downhill since then for the franchise.
I'm almost 218 hours into my adventure, and slowly moseying my way through what I suppose I could call the game's third act. At least, going by the bestiary and item compendium, I HAVE to be approaching the end.
It's pretty narratively obvious too, though.
Great game. Highly recommend it to anyone with an even passing interest in DQ games or JRPGs in general.
I have mild OCD when it comes to JRPGs, so don't expect it to take you 200+ hours to get to the end.
Edit - Game is stupidly easy, though. I didn't touch the Draconian stuff because I didn't really want to fudge with the balance in a first playthrough. Probably a mistake, as the game's a yawnfest from a combat standpoint. Granted, because of my completionism, I'm also typically obscenely overpowered and over-geared for whatever point of the story I'm in.
Patiently waiting for the Switch version.
A game this long, the only way I can play it is on the go, since I travel a lot and Im only at home few days a week.
A game this long, the only way I can play it is on the go, since I travel a lot and Im only at home few days a week.
The game has been a real treat. It's a bit of a struggle to get things smoothly on my PC but the graphics+orchestra mod make it worth the trouble.
Leaving Gallopolis for the first time. I have the "Tough enemies" Draconian Quest option added. Adds a nice "NES tough" feel to the game.
Also, can I just say I love love LOVE the recap feature. Such a delightful, understated feature that should be in more games.
Leaving Gallopolis for the first time. I have the "Tough enemies" Draconian Quest option added. Adds a nice "NES tough" feel to the game.
Also, can I just say I love love LOVE the recap feature. Such a delightful, understated feature that should be in more games.
OP
OP
Hey, like I said, I just moved from best Persona girl to best Dragon Quest girl
It's pretty terrific. I'm about 60 hours in and I'm amazed how much post game content there is. This truly is the JRPG perfected in terms of gameplay and scope.
There are some minor things I wished they would have done, including more development for some of cast, but on whole it's my GOTY.
There are some minor things I wished they would have done, including more development for some of cast, but on whole it's my GOTY.
Best game of the year, one of the best RPG of history and my favorite DQ. I loved it. Disagree with the music tho, I like many of them even in midi.
Great choice for Martina in the avatar tho :P
Great choice for Martina in the avatar tho :P
OP
OP
This is not happening. A future release, like a DQ11 Director's Cut, or maybe the Switch version, may address this, but the current PS4 release is what it is
This one should change that!
She is best girl
Nah, not for me. The "post-game" arc combined with the abysmally shitty music over 120+ hours kinda killed it for me. There's crazy narrative problems there that I have issues, which really sunk the how I felt about the characters and their growth, plus one of the "rewards" you get in a Trial thing is one of the most unearned and miserably idiotic things I've seen recently.
I was really, really into the story and character arcs and then... THAT happened. Just, yeah, I'm not going to remember this game fondly - especially since the insanely bland and repetitive music just blurs so much of the game together over the course of completing it.
How they deal with the characters when you go back-in-time and completely erase major character arcs is addressed fucking horribly and the "Now you're suddenly married!" Wish just bugged the shit out of me.
I was really, really into the story and character arcs and then... THAT happened. Just, yeah, I'm not going to remember this game fondly - especially since the insanely bland and repetitive music just blurs so much of the game together over the course of completing it.
The game is not perfect. There are significant flaws such as the soundtrack that stop this being a GOTY contender and a solid 10/10 game.
But it has the charm and magic I have not experienced in a turn-based JRPG since playing the PS1 FF trilogy. If you're a fan of JRPGs, this one is a must-buy.
Hard mode is legitimately challenging too.
But it has the charm and magic I have not experienced in a turn-based JRPG since playing the PS1 FF trilogy. If you're a fan of JRPGs, this one is a must-buy.
Hard mode is legitimately challenging too.
I just thought of another complaint. And I'd like to preface it by saying that I'm fine with silent protags. They've never bothered me.
This one though. Man. This one sucks. He's not just a silent protag, he's incredibly passive. To a fault.
Without going into spoiler territory, there are moments in the narrative where he has really critical knowledge of things that not only he fails to divulge to his boon companions, but fails to take appropriate action.
HE FUCKING KNOWS SOME BAD SHIT ABOUT KEY CHARACTERS and lets events take their course without doing absolutely anything with the knowledge he has.
This shit drove me up the wall when it happened. Huge narrative misstep, IMO. Sadly, one key moment happens in a part of the game filled with narrative issues. (Mainly, the third act).
DQVIII is hardly perfect, but I don't remember anything quite as egregious there.
Shame, because most of the game's writing is rather strong. But when the plot gets hit by the stupid stick, it's a fucking crit. Every time.
This one though. Man. This one sucks. He's not just a silent protag, he's incredibly passive. To a fault.
Without going into spoiler territory, there are moments in the narrative where he has really critical knowledge of things that not only he fails to divulge to his boon companions, but fails to take appropriate action.
HE FUCKING KNOWS SOME BAD SHIT ABOUT KEY CHARACTERS and lets events take their course without doing absolutely anything with the knowledge he has.
This shit drove me up the wall when it happened. Huge narrative misstep, IMO. Sadly, one key moment happens in a part of the game filled with narrative issues. (Mainly, the third act).
DQVIII is hardly perfect, but I don't remember anything quite as egregious there.
Shame, because most of the game's writing is rather strong. But when the plot gets hit by the stupid stick, it's a fucking crit. Every time.
Will definitely be picking up a copy on Black Friday if it hits the $30 mark but knowing SE, it probably won't.
The music mod for PC really saved the game for me, I picked it up a few days ago and have only played a couple of hours but DAMN the original soundtrack and it's midi sound is terrible!! It really does the game such a disservice, when it's so beautiful to look at you want the music and soundtrack to match up with the rest of the game. A big thank you to the mod community that totally saved the game for me.
It's definitely one of the best jrpg I've played, perhaps even slightly greater P5 and Xenoblade 2. But I'm not even halfway through the game yet so.