User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 971 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 79 out of 971
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  1. May 8, 2023
    8
    A very enjoyable game but my god is it long, i might try some of the older games next
  2. May 8, 2023
    9
    One of the best modern JRPGs, very chill, but entertaining to play with traditional JRPG combat.
  3. Mar 31, 2023
    9
    Never have I ever experienced such an engaging adventure, with such endearing characters and greatly structured story, one of the longest also. The soundtrack is amazing. The gameplay is really simple and turn-based but provides you with enough evolution and variety to keep you going for 100 hours of gameplay, since there are so many enemies and ways to defeat them. The only aspect I didntNever have I ever experienced such an engaging adventure, with such endearing characters and greatly structured story, one of the longest also. The soundtrack is amazing. The gameplay is really simple and turn-based but provides you with enough evolution and variety to keep you going for 100 hours of gameplay, since there are so many enemies and ways to defeat them. The only aspect I didnt like was the fact that your protagonist doesnt talk at all, no voice acting to give him some semblance of personality. When a NPC would talk to him with great voice acting, your protagonist would simply nod while smiling like an idiot. And also, I wish the game was not so "grindy" in the end in order to defeat the final boss. Expand
  4. Nov 19, 2022
    8
    It's the same JRPG comfort food you come to crave after while, just as with the previous installments. Nothing groundbreaking, but it's a well put together world and cast that makes it way thru the typical RPG plot. All the usual creatures and gear is there, but with the current gen upgrade, everything has a colorful charm to it. It'd be hard to hate something like this, but you won't haveIt's the same JRPG comfort food you come to crave after while, just as with the previous installments. Nothing groundbreaking, but it's a well put together world and cast that makes it way thru the typical RPG plot. All the usual creatures and gear is there, but with the current gen upgrade, everything has a colorful charm to it. It'd be hard to hate something like this, but you won't have your mind blown either. It's still the same RPG experience from twenty years ago. I give the western PS4 release a downgraded score since we apparently only got the lower grade music, not the orchestral version. Expand
  5. Nov 16, 2022
    9
    Agradezco tanto a Square Enix que me diese una experiencia JRPG clásica de toda la vida, con turnos y todo, que ahora solo pido que traigan el X Offline y saber algo más de XII.
  6. Aug 29, 2022
    9
    I kind of understand why people can say this game is the best JRPG besides Persona 5 or even Fire Emblem Three Houses (which a bit different in genre).

    Dragon Quest XI has a massive world (probably the biggest out there), not like Persona which you only play on the deck of your house and Fire Emblem that only play around in the monastery. So you can explore the world and find lot of
    I kind of understand why people can say this game is the best JRPG besides Persona 5 or even Fire Emblem Three Houses (which a bit different in genre).

    Dragon Quest XI has a massive world (probably the biggest out there), not like Persona which you only play on the deck of your house and Fire Emblem that only play around in the monastery. So you can explore the world and find lot of things which some of them are jaw-dropping due to the beauty of it. The Academy and Octagonia are my favorite place in DQ XI.

    The music, OST or BGM (whatever you call it) is heavenly. It's the truth, I play the game mostly only to dive into the world of DQ XI with the majestic yet soothing music. Japanese musicians truly never fails to set the tone for a game.

    Besides that, DQ XI is truly the default of JRPG. When we talk about JRPG, DQ XI is the closest game that can completely reflect what JRPG is which a good thing IMO but at the same time, they are lacking some unique selling point from big hit JRPG like Persona 5 and Fire Emblem Three Houses as well as the 1st Ni No Kuni.

    Besides that, the characters is DQ XI is perfect. I love Sylvando, Veronica and Rab due to their quirkiness. On top of that, you can play as your party member because all the party member will get separated in some point in the game which becomes my favorite part of the game because they tried to explore and do things their own after getting separated.

    The craziest thing is the post-content which act more like DLC for me rather than post-content and it's a big chunk of post content which basically it's equal to 1/2 of the main game. Completely loving the post-content.

    Overall I do enjoy the game as a die hard JRPG fans and I can say that DQ XI offer the best and the most beautiful scenery out of all JRPG game out there with another one of the best heavenly music to complement that.
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  7. Jul 24, 2022
    9
    Un jrpg muy divertido y largo. Aventura es la palabra que mejor lo define. Desprende alegría, gusto, buen rollo a lo largo de toda la aventura. Lo recomiendo muchísimo incluso si nunca has jugado a rol por turnos.
  8. Jun 9, 2022
    8
    Dragon Quest ist so ein Sache für sich. Ein Spielkonzept, dass sich einfach sträubt zu altern. Im Kern spielen sich Dragon Quest Games heute immer noch so, wie vor zwanzig Jahren, auch wenn der neue Ableger der Serie in schickem 3D Look daher kommt. Das Kampfsystem ist rundenbasiert und klassisch im besten Sinne. Die Story ist der typische Heldentruppen Epos, der durch zwei, dreiDragon Quest ist so ein Sache für sich. Ein Spielkonzept, dass sich einfach sträubt zu altern. Im Kern spielen sich Dragon Quest Games heute immer noch so, wie vor zwanzig Jahren, auch wenn der neue Ableger der Serie in schickem 3D Look daher kommt. Das Kampfsystem ist rundenbasiert und klassisch im besten Sinne. Die Story ist der typische Heldentruppen Epos, der durch zwei, drei geschickte Wendungen im Laufe der Geschichte immer mal wieder reanimiert wird. Das klingt alles nicht sehr spannend? Die besondere Stärke von Dragon Quest waren seit jeher die charmanten Charaktere. Auch hier hat man wieder mit dem Autor des Dragon Ball Universums zusammen gearbeitet. Das ists was dem Spiel das gewisse extra gibt und heraus holt aus dem Einerlei der klassischen JRPGs. Daher nicht nur zu empfehlen für Fans des Genres. Die werden den Titel sowieso suchten. Expand
  9. May 23, 2022
    9
    To me, this game goes directly in my top 3 JRPGs of all time, together with Chrono Trigger and Tales of Synphonia, I loved this game to death and did the platinum trophy, looking for everything to do until there wasn't anything left, 160 hours of pure fun.
  10. Mar 27, 2022
    10
    graphic and story are beautiful
    music is perfect
    story and citys 12/10

    realy good game
  11. Feb 28, 2022
    9
    What a grand adventure this game was! A total gem, I'd never played a Dragon Quest game before, I'd heard it was good, but was always skeptical about that. I was in for a wonderful surprise this game was a breath of fresh air in the JRPG scene. It's very tried and true, but it had just enough QOL features to show what a JRPG should be striving for in this day and age.
  12. Feb 7, 2022
    8
    Not one of the better Dragon Quest games but it's still Dragon Quest so I love the traditional turn based battling
  13. Nov 13, 2021
    10
    A masterpiece. Story a little bit for children, but the game is a 10.

    More than a hundred hours. This was my game during pandemic.
  14. May 22, 2021
    10
    Best japanese role playing game of the generation, without any possible doubt.
  15. May 6, 2021
    10
    DQ XI is an ridiculously cute, happy, uplifting, fairy-tale like game. The world is so charming and the art is amazing. Sylvando was my favourite character. But yeah, what a fantastic story and the old school rpg roots are pretty fun as well. Highly recommend this game.
  16. Apr 24, 2021
    9
    I've finished the first part of the game so here comes my impressions. Graphics are awesome. If in Dragon Quest VIII you felt like living in an anime serie now it just got better. At first I didn't like the soundtrack because I think it was made with a synthesizer but then I got used to it. I guess that make a game so long with real instruments (like in the opening) would have been tooI've finished the first part of the game so here comes my impressions. Graphics are awesome. If in Dragon Quest VIII you felt like living in an anime serie now it just got better. At first I didn't like the soundtrack because I think it was made with a synthesizer but then I got used to it. I guess that make a game so long with real instruments (like in the opening) would have been too expensive. As I said, graphics are great, soundtrack is good as well, about gameplay it's turn-based so you can think everything. My main complaints would be: there's no autosave or a place to save when you are going to fight a boss after having been in a temple and this is a very big problem because bosses are very very strong compared with the normal enemies. I died twice: once at the begining of the game and another time in like a golden temple so I recommend you that when you find a chest with normally 4 PM potions teleport to a place to save the game and then go to fight the boss. I got so so mad when I died in that temple that l stopped playing that game that day because I spent two hours in that temple leveling up my team for nothing. Another complaint is that there are too many spells. I mean, is it realy necessary? I don't think so. About the gameplay you can use the auto mode in the battles against normal enemies but with bosses, unless your team level is very high I recommend you to take control of your team although to be honest I was so upset with the golden temple thing that before the final battle of the first part of the game I grinded my team exploring new places so I end up beating the final boss with the auto mode because the machine knows more than me about what to do (although from time to time they use some attacks that I wouldn't have done) because if I take control I'd lose turns casting spells for nothing. My team with this final boss was: The main character (level 56) and H, R, and S (I don't want to spoil) and I only took control of some characters at the end of the battle to use PM potions. My recommendations: spend all the money and potions that you want (damn I have so many that I didn't use!). Although keep at least 200.000-300.000 to buy some stuff for the second part of the game. Also, use the forge and improve your items. And one last thing: when you find a place where you can save the game and heal and the enemies give you a good deal of experience take your time to rise a couple of levels. The first part of the game took me 82 hours.

    Ok. After almost 120 hours I've beaten the second part of the game. After reaching the first ending I recommend you to take a guide so you don't miss anything because there are many optional things that you can easily miss and also to not waste time visiting places. Before the final battle and having done almost all the optional things I had the hero at level 70 and then I decided to rise the hero a couple of levels (although I ended up leveling him to 75 in a place easy to farm) and I beat the final boss the first time only taking control to fill PM and doing somethings. The rest I left it to the autoplay. To sum up it's a good long game with great graphics although I must say that I was eager to finish everything of the second part of the game and finish it. I hope the next one be shorter.
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  17. Dec 19, 2020
    8
    Great jrpg game , maybe not best graphics and sometimes music to repetitive but ig you like the jrpgs this is a must play game
  18. Dec 13, 2020
    9
    One of the best JRPG of all times.

    Graphics: 9/10 - Beautiful, always nice to see Toriyama´s monster and character designs.
    Story:9/10 - Long story, good characters, twists, nice cut scenes. What an adventure must be.
    Music: 8/10 - Even if the music is really good, it can get repetitive at times.
    Gameplay: 9/10 - Classical Turn-based JRPG with touch of modernity. Tons of things to do.
  19. Nov 25, 2020
    10
    no conocia nada de dragon quest xi, pero este juego es hermoso, entretenido, visualmente bien cuidado, si extrañas los viejos JRPGs, especialmente los viejos FF, esta es una de las mejores opciones a dia de hoy, vale la pena
  20. Nov 12, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A great fantastic RPG that ruins its best mechanic in getting peppered up (using super flashy animations) by making the cost stupidly high to get pip pop or pip up items (one of them requires you to waste time gambling in a casino for hours on end as do other items in game) That or you need to steal 18 shields to do a farming combo once. Late game your forced to waste 10 to 20 minutes defending to get prepared up to use flashy attacks etc by the late game every character should have an ability to enter this state immediately like the main character does. (5% bonus to pep state?) also there is no set indication how long it will take to enter the state. Peppered up is basically a worse trance at least with trance in FF9 you could see how much gauge etc is needed to pepper up and makes it consistent and fair. Then to top it off they release the game on switch with more content then make a release for ps4 with the switch content instead of just releasing DLC. This is fine with certain companies who have always done it but it not welcome when new companies do it. Most encounters award low exp , low items and low amounts of money. Casino made me ill kept going past by 1 number for over 2 hours , stopped me getting 1 million casino tokens for 7[-8 items I need? . Basing the games economy by hard to find enemy that drops an expensive shield and casino gambling is crap. A great RPG with many quests and emotional moments ruined by not being allowed to enter pep pip state more. Finally trials and bosses that require you to beat them in a certain move limit and or with certain moves is super annoying too as most often they require "the pep juice garbage". --- Game should not really include stuff like f poker , roullete and slot machines in its game or at least it should warn players about it in advance as some people have problems in real life with such gambling machines. The game is realistically a 10 but the gambling mechanics and being sore about not enough pip boosts and not having the full experience drops this to an 8 and I don't feel bad about putting it there due to how annoying the roullete game is the game designers did not think to ask the player if they would like to save there bet as a template and it forces you to put down tokens on 36 squares over and over again requiring about 200 inputs each try only to fail for 2 hours without paying out jackpot. When you have already played the game 110 hours and just want a few pip pops to finish its just stupid and annoying. -- in the end it would have been faster to sell equipment. I didn't need to get to 99 oh well. The game had a good ending with partner of ancestor doing something , books where displayed indicating 2 volumes in the tale, and they showed off a first person mode for possibly dq 12 or the mothers perspective in dq 12 and introducing a character named coole??. Wheels of Harma easier than expected, overwhelming pride was the real difficult boss and the true last boss, The Big bad Aka " true last boss" was blasted to death with multiple shots from dark mage and spamming effin exlixers to win fast , after using sword of light to make it even easier. I mostly used a pure mage team (Oldman, Young girl, twin, Main hero) - as most of them have healing magic.

    Whale/ narwhal smashing barrier to final was cool , game has a lot of great moments in the end I skipped (The quest to make legeate sword +3) , The hotto quest for specific monster, I didn't bother to free phan from endless dancing from the old welsh man in the painting , I didn't face dragon in snefield for second time and finally I didn't bother doing kings quest in barrow's to upgrade 8th (hero) and The circus man) and stlll had 120 hours played in game I just wanted it done and finished. So I skipped the optional remaining stuff (like 20 more mini medals for max medals, horse races and those quest/mini bosses).
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  21. Nov 12, 2020
    9
    Spent around 100+ hours on DQ11, never played a DQ game before but was thoroughly impressed. Part 1 of the game didn't have anything new to offer to the turn-based JRPJ landscape but was great at telling its story with a lovable cast of characters, it set up a strong foundation of the themes and setting of the world, meeting new monsters to encounter was a treat. Part 2 and 3 take a darkerSpent around 100+ hours on DQ11, never played a DQ game before but was thoroughly impressed. Part 1 of the game didn't have anything new to offer to the turn-based JRPJ landscape but was great at telling its story with a lovable cast of characters, it set up a strong foundation of the themes and setting of the world, meeting new monsters to encounter was a treat. Part 2 and 3 take a darker tone and it is a little hard to get used to at the start but is worth it in the end. If you are a fan of turn based combat then you don't want to miss DQ11. Expand
  22. Nov 5, 2020
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is certainly way better than the average. Basically, this is a traditional JRPG made in 2018 by Square Enix. On almost all aspects, this game shines. We quickly see, as we start the game, that this is a high quality polished product. The story is good, the graphics are great and we have a game that will last around 100 hours (I spent 90 hours on my playthrough)

    I give 8,5/10 for this game. I don't have a lot of experience for JRPG in this category but last year, i have played Persona 5. I think those games are really different and I would definitely recommend both. Dragon Quest XI seems more targeted for a younger audience though...

    My only little complaint for this game was the difficulty level. I started with the draconian settings on (Stronger monsters) and I've been able to battle until the Octopus boss on this harder difficulty. For me, that was just too hard. Then, I turned down the diffuculty level to normal and the game became way too easy...After a couple of bosses, the normal difficulty became more balanced and I could benefit from some challenge.

    In term of story, it is generally good despite a slow start and a few holes in the middle. I think the different characters are well developed.

    I recommend this game especially for those who want to try JRPG's and see if it is for them. Don't expect anything really innovative but you will get a strong turn-based JRPG.
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  23. Oct 3, 2020
    10
    One of the best RPGs in years. They transferred a classic turn based RPG from the nineties in our times keeping all that is / was great while avoiding the parts that would not work well today. It is the kind of RPG what fans wanted for years from Square Enix. While I must admit that they use tropes or staples of the genre they also made twists, challenge your expectations in a good way andOne of the best RPGs in years. They transferred a classic turn based RPG from the nineties in our times keeping all that is / was great while avoiding the parts that would not work well today. It is the kind of RPG what fans wanted for years from Square Enix. While I must admit that they use tropes or staples of the genre they also made twists, challenge your expectations in a good way and have some unique ideas. The story is really good. Your hero / protagonist did survive an attack that destroyed his hometown as infant and was adopted and raised in a small village. He bears the mark of the chosen one and after participating in the coming of age ritual the truth is revealed to him. Like I said it sounds pretty generic but you will soon get the first surprising twist. As the story progresses you get new party members, explore a fascinating world full of good characters and with enjoyable stories. The twists are good and I was always engaged in the story. What impressed me the most is what comes after you thought you finished the story. Be careful this is considered by many as spoilers! “Spoiler starts here”: You get a chance do undo the past. While you won the world suffered heavily. Basically you return to the half-point of the game and experience a new scenario, story and events. It felt like a second game for free. “End of spoilers”. Then there are the team members. One of the best cast in years because I struggled to pick my favorite team. All have their own stories, baggage and goals. Be it Erik the thief with a troubled hearth of gold, the twins Veronica and Serena, Sylvando the all should follow their hearths and everyone should be happy guy, Jade the female martial artist with depth and character and Rab the old man who is more than meets the eye. There is a character that I cant name because of spoilers. Then there is the graphic. As recommended by Dragon Quest standard the artworks are from Akira Toriyama who is most famous for Dragonball. The characters, monsters and world look gorgeous. They go for the anime look and I think it is fitting. The soundtrack however is a mixed back. They did not made an orchestral soundtrack and sometimes the music does not fit. However I will still say it is good but less than expected or what could be. There is a system to develop your characters. As you level up you get skill points that can be used to learn new abilities on an ability grid. You have often multiple approaches per character and you should not mix except for synergies or you have learned everything in your current role. For example Jade can use spears that are really strong weapons or claws that are weaker but have two attacks per action. Both variants have unique abilities and effects. Mostly it depends on preferences but there are of cause abilities that are more useful and if you are lucky you get some bonus skill points for unlocking abilities on the grid. Side note: Some abilities are locked on the grid until you acquired enough skills around them. There are a lot of side quest and some optional mini games. You can participate in horse races, collect medals for the academy, find weather cows, play casino games and more. I like the humor and some quirks for the characters. There is a robust crafting system in the game where you can make new equipment and / or improve your current once. What I felt is a missed opportunity are the pep powers. Your characters power up Super Saiyan style from time to time. However it is too unpredictable to use except you switch them out immediately and stop using them until you need them (Even this is not that usable). There are pep powered team combos with some good effect. I think the most useful is a combo from the protagonist, Jade and Sylvando. You can summon metal slimes for immense amounts of experience points from defeat (Erik has one attack that instant kills one because it has a guaranteed critical hit). Overall this was a surprisingly good game with lots of nostalgia and a world I liked to explored filled with good content / stories. Bonus: The Switch version is even better. Expand
  24. Sep 10, 2020
    8
    It harkens back to 80s JRPGs and the combat should be familiar but it never really feels like it's holding it back, if anything this is the boldest Dragon Quest game ever. The graphics are very good for its cartoony aesthetic and you'll be drawn into it not for the thrill of battle but for the cute monsters with dumb pun names. The music is okay, it gets repetitive. The combat is easy toIt harkens back to 80s JRPGs and the combat should be familiar but it never really feels like it's holding it back, if anything this is the boldest Dragon Quest game ever. The graphics are very good for its cartoony aesthetic and you'll be drawn into it not for the thrill of battle but for the cute monsters with dumb pun names. The music is okay, it gets repetitive. The combat is easy to understand. On normal mode as long as you face any enemies that look unique to you, you'll be fine, there are no random encounters. I love the versatility of equipment swapping and character swapping in battle. Every character fills just the right niche and you'll use all of them of your own volition probably. It's a bit buff and debuff heavy once you start to understand the game, with dedicated support characters. It doesn't punish being experimental with its skill tree as you can easily reallocate skill points. I guess my biggest criticism of the combat is the turn order being completely random with a dash of it being influenced by the agility stat. The generic set up of the story can be a turn off but you get in a episodic groove once the story really takes off. And then it goes really full gear in what I consider the 2nd act. The character development in that part of the game is great and it really shows how hard the developers tried to make every detail matter. The post-game has a storyline which is interesting lore wise but honestly I do take issue with some of the basic premise of it. But it does offer some more difficult combat trials. I think the main party of characters is great, I initially had negative perceptions of some of them but they all reveal themselves to be far more wholesome and troubled people than you initially believed. How I felt about characters such as Erik and Veronica drastically changed, I honestly thought Veronica was awful at first. It's a light-hearted affair but there are a couple moments that get a tad depressing in the game. One thing I thought was really cool about the North American version was some of the liberties they took with town dialogue. Every city featured some type of caricature like Spain, Italy, Hawaii, etc. but it's all very cute, the VAs are accented and have much more elaborate lines than the JP VAs, and there's this village where everyone speaks in haiku and then sometimes the kids break haiku for effect before stopping themselves. This is the kind of thing that happens when a localization team actually loves the product they're translating.

    It's easy to make a big massive JRPG map and just have it be point A to point B but Dragon Quest doesn't half ass any areas of the map. It has small but noteable flaws but I remember it as an endearing experience and that's what matters.
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  25. Sep 10, 2020
    10
    This game is one of the best games I have ever played. I am in love with JRPG thanks to DQ 11.
  26. Sep 7, 2020
    8
    Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the game. It introduced my to the franchise and I was surprised by how much good quality content it has, will be a fan for all next releases.

    Now the low score is because of 2 things; combat system can be improved and Im nore of a action RPG kind of guy AND MAINLY because of the totally broken casino system which doesnt work and it requores you to
    Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the game. It introduced my to the franchise and I was surprised by how much good quality content it has, will be a fan for all next releases.

    Now the low score is because of 2 things; combat system can be improved and Im nore of a action RPG kind of guy AND MAINLY because of the totally broken casino system which doesnt work and it requores you to deal with it to complete centain secondary missions (not even cheating exploits helped the 6+ horrible hours I had to struggle with that)
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  27. Sep 1, 2020
    10
    Un excellent jrpg qui vous occupera pendant des dizaines d'heures un must have si on aime les jrpg !!
  28. Aug 24, 2020
    10
    DQ XI is the most beautiful JRPG so far. The only bad thing is the hair style of the main character.
  29. Aug 8, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It’s my first dq game and im love it the story is deep and amazing the characters are funny and reliable Expand
  30. Aug 2, 2020
    10
    Nowadays, while RPG now shifting toward action based, this game redefines and states that turn-based RPG can still be brilliant! What a masterpiece!
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 86 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 80 out of 86
  2. Negative: 0 out of 86
  1. Mar 11, 2019
    85
    Might not be the greatest game of all time, but it probably is the best game in the most quality maintaining JRPG series of all time. Is that even better? Could be! Do not miss this gorgeous yet pretty nostalgic game set in a well known universe of the Dragon Quest franchise.
  2. CD-Action
    Jan 9, 2019
    85
    Dragon Quest XI clings to tradition, but when you buy a DQ game, you don’t expect a revolution. You expect vibrant characters and thrilling adventures and that’s exactly what you get, amplified by the level of execution unparalleled not only in the series, but in the whole genre. [11/2018, p.66]
  3. Jan 2, 2019
    100
    Dragon Quest XI: Echoes Of An Elusive Age is a perfect game, it sticks to with traditional JRPG roots while still bringing in a few new mechanics to freshen it up a bit.