Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 971 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 822 out of 971
  2. Mixed: 70 out of 971
  3. Negative: 79 out of 971
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  1. squall13
    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
  2. Marsbarista
    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.
  3. Tiziown
    May 22, 2021
    10
    Best japanese role playing game of the generation, without any possible doubt.
  4. Eddyy
    Mar 27, 2022
    10
    graphic and story are beautiful
    music is perfect
    story and citys 12/10

    realy good game
  5. Ermaster
    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.
  6. GrumpyReviewer
    Oct 29, 2018
    9
    This is one AMAZING, unforgettable game. I can't find any issues or problems or anything, actually. Maybe the soundtrack could be better, so there you go: the main problem with Dragon Quest XI is the soundtrack. Because the rest is perfection.

    It's your typical JRPG; very warmhearted and filled with love and joy, just like Ni no Kuni. The graphics are astounding, it's almost like you    This is one AMAZING, unforgettable game. I can't find any issues or problems or anything, actually. Maybe the soundtrack could be better, so there you go: the main problem with Dragon Quest XI is the soundtrack. Because the rest is perfection.

    It's your typical JRPG; very warmhearted and filled with love and joy, just like Ni no Kuni. The graphics are astounding, it's almost like you are playing a cartoon. There is so much detail, so much love put into this game, it's ridiculous.

    The gameplay is very old school, turn-based. Simple and fast to master but not necessarily easy, especially later on. The cast of characters is lovely, with distinct personalities (expect from the silent protagonist, who unfortunately is impossible to create any sense of empathy with, since he has zero personality).

    The game might seem a bit easy during its first hours, but don't let that fool you. The last act of the game can be incredibly hard (almost frustrating) and some level grinding will be necessary.

    I spent 100 hours in this game and I enjoyed every second of it. Any RPG enthusiast will have a blast with DQXI. It's a no brainer. This game is a must.    … Expand
  7. Black-Templar
    Sep 7, 2018
    9
    The game is almost perfect, but the Midi soundtracks along with the voice acting is preventing the game to get a perfect score.
    I know the Japan version does not have voice acting, but the Eng Dub is absolutely horrible.
    You feel no passion at all, it's like they ask their own Devs Employees to do overtime by forcing them to do the voice acting of the characters... But yep, almost a    The game is almost perfect, but the Midi soundtracks along with the voice acting is preventing the game to get a perfect score.
    I know the Japan version does not have voice acting, but the Eng Dub is absolutely horrible.

    You feel no passion at all, it's like they ask their own Devs Employees to do overtime by forcing them to do the voice acting of the characters...

    But yep, almost a perfect score! Still giving the game a solid 8.5 out of 10 for the exquisite gameplay and level design, along with the storytelling.

    Hopefully they will also add the option to buy the orchestrated soundtracks!    … Expand
  8. GlennLimos
    Nov 23, 2018
    9
    For what it is, it is close to perfect, a classic JRPG. The auto combat (which I never did use) makes combat less tedious for those who feel this way about classic JRPG combat. The game has an engaging story and it gets better and better. The characters grow on you, but to warn people, they are extremely anime, and the game gets pretty silly and close to cringy at times.

    My biggest    For what it is, it is close to perfect, a classic JRPG. The auto combat (which I never did use) makes combat less tedious for those who feel this way about classic JRPG combat. The game has an engaging story and it gets better and better. The characters grow on you, but to warn people, they are extremely anime, and the game gets pretty silly and close to cringy at times.

    My biggest complaint is the music during gameplay, it's midi, and a little less memorable than DQ8s soundtrack because of it. DQ8 still sits with me after all these years, the overworld theme there is fantastic and the orchestration of the music there made the whole game so much better. So the first thing you should do is turn down the music volume in the menu.    … Expand
  9. bonsai
    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. FogCityRoller
    Sep 9, 2018
    9
    Sad to see this title get rating bombed. This is a top 10 PS4 title without a doubt. The art style is fantastic. I even give it an edge over Ni No Kuni and Breath of the Wild, which have art styles that are somewhat similar.

    The gameplay is intuitive. Whenever necessary mechanics will be explained as you progress. When you load a save it gives you a briefing about where you are at in    Sad to see this title get rating bombed. This is a top 10 PS4 title without a doubt. The art style is fantastic. I even give it an edge over Ni No Kuni and Breath of the Wild, which have art styles that are somewhat similar.

    The gameplay is intuitive. Whenever necessary mechanics will be explained as you progress. When you load a save it gives you a briefing about where you are at in the storyline, which as an older gamer with a not-so-perfect memory I friggin' love that they did this. It is classic JRPG structure at its best. Movement is fluid and responsive. For those familiar with JRPGs I will summarize what they have changed that I think are MAJOR bonuses:
    -Being able to customize hardmode difficulties without some blanket configuration that leaves you guessing what they changed.
    -No more random battles. YAY! You can see enemies on the screen and running away from them is extremely easy. The worst part of old school JRPGs was being out of items and MP and praying you get back into town in time before losing hours of progress.
    -Fast travel via spells including dungeons. Ropes were expensive and annoying to manage. Not anymore. 8)
    -Save points have all sorts of services including ailment curing and resurrections (downside: they cost currency)

    The combat is SO good. It has incredible depth and rewards strategy. The one downside is you don't get to truly experience how great it can be without going into hardmode settings, because the base version of the game is a bit too easy to fully flesh this out. The story isn't original by any means and Norse mythology is getting played out very quickly, but the characters are hilarious even if the way they get introduced makes them seem a bit irritating initially. The accents are all over the place and even mismatched with vernacular but I find this gives it a campy feeling that I personally love.

    The game is almost fully voiced except for the mute protagonist, non-storyline characters, and some minor dialogue. The mute protagonist is not unusual for JRPGs but it's an "immersion" technique that has not aged well at all. I really wish RPG developers would stop doing this.

    My primary complaint is the button mapping cannot be changed except for camera movement (ironic since the camera defaults are the only mappings that feel natural). The mapping is easy to get used to but initially counterintuitive by modern standards, and at times utterly baffling. Accessing the map is bound to square instead of the touchpad, and the options button toggles autorun (wtf?). L2 & R2 can skip/progress dialogue which is a real pain for anyone who puts the controller down. It's EXTREMELY sensitive too. The most minimal contact with L2/R2 can skip an entire screen's worth of dialogue.

    I know JRPGs are more popular with older gamers, especially those of us who grew up on the SNES and PS1/2. That said, many of the traditional JRPG elements might not bode well with younger gamers. The repetitive MIDI music, the grinding (necessary for harder modes, not necessary at all for the base gameplay), the "princess is in another castle" plot device, the intentionally cheesy dialogue. Many of us love this stuff though because it's familiar. It will be divisive but these aspects being present are not objectively negative.    … Expand
  11. Eibon
    Mar 2, 2019
    9
    The game is good, don't get me wrong. But the music is painful - just a few highly pitched tracks repeated over and over and over and over and over and over and over again... And those taunts after almost every combat as soon as you get first party member... -3 score only for music/voice yelling(after battles).

    Sound design is ruining this game. --- update --- Now when i finished    The game is good, don't get me wrong. But the music is painful - just a few highly pitched tracks repeated over and over and over and over and over and over and over again... And those taunts after almost every combat as soon as you get first party member... -3 score only for music/voice yelling(after battles).

    Sound design is ruining this game.

    --- update ---

    Now when i finished a WHOLE game(post-game included) i changing my score to solid 9(-1 for music). It's a GREAT game where you MUST see rolling credits twice to claim you finished it.    … Expand
  12. pongkrit03
    Oct 21, 2018
    9
    Absolutely one of the greatest JRPG out there ! Dragon Quest XI is my first DQ here and I fell in love with it. 90 hrs+ for me to complete the whole package. The game started slow then become so addicted to the point I could not stop playing on my weekend. However, it is not perfect yet in my sense, since I have played many JRPG ,like FF series for exp, so I could compare them a bit. LetAbsolutely one of the greatest JRPG out there ! Dragon Quest XI is my first DQ here and I fell in love with it. 90 hrs+ for me to complete the whole package. The game started slow then become so addicted to the point I could not stop playing on my weekend. However, it is not perfect yet in my sense, since I have played many JRPG ,like FF series for exp, so I could compare them a bit. Let see pro and cons here

    Graphic - Very Beautiful. Animation looks awesome. Arguably the best in JRPG right now, if not on par with Persona 5. The art clearly got inspiration from Dragon BallZ

    Story - Overall well done. but there are some parts that I would like more explanation, some parts I feel disagree with the way story goes, (such as the villains have very light punishment). Nevertheless, I enjoy most of story throughout the game. I even shed tear in few occasions. They did very good job here.

    Combat - Old school, which is expected but I would love if the devs could implement something new, something more tactical. Right now RNG plays too big roll. Every character has their own skill charts but they also get new spells based on level. Let's just say devs give us freedom but limited one. Skill are not balanced also. I would say combat is good but not perfect to my liking. Luckily, the game is not grinding feast, you rarely need to grind, except final true boss, you may have to.

    Music - Very amusing. I heard many complained about music in DQXI, I don't know why. For me, I think music in this game is classically beautiful. I also heard that they reused many music from previous DQ games but since this is my first DQ game so I have no problem.

    Honorable mentioning - Fun sized forge is fun :) The ones who design this mini game are worth praise.

    Notable flaw - the game starts very slow until you get 4 guys in party, (approximately 7-8 hrs). In my opinion, it takes too long and on early game you have very few skills, thus it makes combat in early game boring. some people may stop playing before they get in good part, which is sad actually.

    ....

    Conclusion -- DQXI got solid 9/10 for me. Of course, the game still has many little things that I hope they would be better, but with the sheer amount of content, that is why I give a 9. I would love to see more of DQ franchise in PS4 and I hope they improve gameplay further. For those who want to try the game, be warned about slow start, you need to wait until you get 4 players to get real fun (7-8 hrs, so don't give up before then)    … Expand
  13. GameHunter
    Sep 16, 2018
    9
    If you’re craving an old school turn based RPG; then look no further because no one does it better. JRPG’s have always lost me with their nonsensical stories. Even the legendary Final Fantasy games praised for their storytelling have never added up for me story-wise. I’d always get the basics of the story, but they’d lose me somewhere along the way. Not DQXI. This ability to keep meIf you’re craving an old school turn based RPG; then look no further because no one does it better. JRPG’s have always lost me with their nonsensical stories. Even the legendary Final Fantasy games praised for their storytelling have never added up for me story-wise. I’d always get the basics of the story, but they’d lose me somewhere along the way. Not DQXI. This ability to keep me interested, to keep me moving forward is what makes this one so special.
    The turn based battle system is full of strategy. Rarely can you coast on simple “attack attack attack” motions go get through an area. Thinking ahead, and learning the flow of each areas battles is essential and extremely satisfying once you’ve got it figured out.
    So we’ve got a great, easy to follow story, and great combat. The characters are all great and have their own personalities. Nothing seems tacked on.
    My only complaint is the crafting system. It’s too difficult to find recipes, and many of the items required are so rare that I never want to use them incase a find a better recipe down the road. To get around that I’ve just been level grinding so I can afford to buy most weapons and armour from the store. You can be a rare item hunter or a grinder. The choice is yours, but a strategy involving both techniques is recommended.
    I really could write so much more, but I think you get the idea. You probably already understand this is a turn based classic style RPG. And I’m just here to tell you all the elements that make that genre of game special are all here, and accounted for. And don’t worry the game will always give you hints on your next stop, rarely being vague in the process. It’s these modern sensibilities sprinkled through the games presentation and functionality that bring the old school into the new.    … Expand
  14. Rockboss
    May 21, 2020
    9
    In the beginning a little slow but it grows and in the end I was just blown away.
  15. thaesino
    Oct 5, 2018
    9
    This game is the first game in YEARS that has made me miss what I consider the true JRPG genre.

    To clarify on that, I personally do not find games like HyperSuperMegaDimension Neptunia and Disgaea to be the true JRPG genre... at least not for audiences in the West. I grew up with games like Chrono (T&C), FF, Secret of Mana, Breath of Fire (I-IV), Tales Series (most of them), etc etc    This game is the first game in YEARS that has made me miss what I consider the true JRPG genre.

    To clarify on that, I personally do not find games like HyperSuperMegaDimension Neptunia and Disgaea to be the true JRPG genre... at least not for audiences in the West. I grew up with games like Chrono (T&C), FF, Secret of Mana, Breath of Fire (I-IV), Tales Series (most of them), etc etc etc... games that don't make their sales off of silly comedy and cheap fan-service for grown men (which is why I had my last straw with Star Ocean 5 the moment Fiore walked in, and traded back the game).

    BIG BREATH now. So coming into DQ11 after having played through Zelda BotW, FFXV, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and Witcher 3 multiple times - all very different kinds of games - I can honestly say I rank it higher than FFXV, and only compare it to BotW because of some... eh... decisions in similarity.

    The game is beautiful. And it moves smoothly even in the bigger maps, thanks to short draw distances for enemies. (10/10)

    The music isn't as great as that of other jRPGs, or even some other DQ games, but it's certainly at the level of a Tales or Xenoblade games (NOT Xenogears; that's a masterpiece). It's just... fun music. Even the "sad music" doesn't quite get there. But it's pretty enough. (8/10)

    Battles are fun. Grinding is mostly very easy. Pep Mode feels like a mini DBZ Fusion dance. Enemy responses are comical sometimes. Nothing too complicated or in-depth. This isn't FFXV. (9.5/10)

    Story is, well, this is one of the things that takes me back. The characters and the stories - the silent protagonist, whose reactions to everything are shown through his friend's reactions - are reminiscent of games like Chrono Trigger. I love it, even the predictable bits. I don't get most people who require unpredictability these days. I mean... Chrono Trigger was REALLY predictable. Ciri not actually being dead in Witcher 3 was REALLY predictable, but I still got really sad at the way the scene was done, and the same for Vesimir. As for DQ11... you are NOT supposed to take this as seriously as FFXV... and that was a sad hack of a story in comparison to other FF games. (10/10)

    Customization systems are fun. The smithing is fun. It's almost impossible not to have something like that these days in a game, and they found a way to make it completely un-serious. I mean... the damn forge is called the "Fun-Size Forge," and I felt like I was playing Cooking Mama while using it. If that's not fun, I don't know what is. (10/10)

    Overall impression - If it wasn't for the fact that I always look for great music in all RPGs in general, Western or japanese, this game would be a 10/10 for me... not because it's perfect, but because it arrives at a time when the genre of JRPGs is full of mostly utter sh*t, and the best JRPG we got before this was probably Persona 5 (originally released 2 years ago in Japan)... with Ni no Kuni 2 following as a far second. (Unfortunatly, BotW doesn't count, and Xenoblades Chronicles 2 was a bit of a disappointment.. ditto on the silly and unnecessary fan-service for that one).    … Expand
  16. Empyrea
    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.    … Expand
  17. setuis
    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).    … Expand
  18. Calandria
    Oct 26, 2019
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Dragon quest XI has been ,by me, an amazing experience, because the story, the characters, the ancient for turns in a RPG(I miss it a lot),many points that I'm going to try to explain now.

    First the game starts with a cinematic about the castle destruccion and the only survivol is a baby that is the main character, and 20 years after, we discovered that he is the luminary and we rid our house and went out the adventure.
    In our adventure we met with other 7 characters, everybody with a personality amazing, in muy case my favourites are Erik, Veronica, Sylvano and Henry.
    The story is very fluid and a little complex, and i must mark the change the second time, because it wars a good surprise, and almost this story got that i cried in some parts.
    -The graphiqs are very good, but i have to wonder the draw designer is great, bit i'm not surprarsing because in this proyect has worked Akira Toriyama, so Dragón Ball's fans i recommed a lot this game for your.
    Although is a classic RPG, the combat system feels fresh and the most important is a real time, you can move for the scenary as you think the next attack.
    In conclusion is a good game with many interesting elements and very adictive(I was playing more of 100 hours and also i got the platinium)
    But it has two issues that it provides that it doesn't have a 10, it is the soundtrack that it is not bad, but recycling many melodies of dragon quest games(Many of 8), and in this version doesn't exist second stories after to finish the main story.    … Expand
  19. SOLIDSNAKEN64
    Jun 17, 2019
    9
    Pros
    -environments look amazing
    -enemies animations look amazing -turn based fighting with customizable settings -lots of loot -mini forge is a fun mini game -story kept me interested through Act 3 -pleny of sidequests -music is really well done -80+ hours of gameplay - main characters are all rememberable and have unique play styles Cons -semi open world -fighting can start    Pros
    -environments look amazing
    -enemies animations look amazing
    -turn based fighting with customizable settings
    -lots of loot
    -mini forge is a fun mini game
    -story kept me interested through Act 3
    -pleny of sidequests
    -music is really well done
    -80+ hours of gameplay
    - main characters are all rememberable and have unique play styles

    Cons
    -semi open world
    -fighting can start to get a little repetitive once you get to endgame stuff
    -wish all equipment can be seen when equipped
    -music gets repetitive by act 3    … Expand
  20. danistorm
    Nov 7, 2018
    9
    Dragon Quest XI is already a "modern classic" of the RPG genre. It has everything a Rpg player wants to find in a game. The dream team of Yuji, Toriyama and Koichi made it again.

    The story is deep, interesting and complex, and it is a tribute to the whole Dragon Quest saga, the character design is superb and the music (despite no being so powerful like in V,VI or VIII) is really good.    Dragon Quest XI is already a "modern classic" of the RPG genre. It has everything a Rpg player wants to find in a game. The dream team of Yuji, Toriyama and Koichi made it again.

    The story is deep, interesting and complex, and it is a tribute to the whole Dragon Quest saga, the character design is superb and the music (despite no being so powerful like in V,VI or VIII) is really good.

    The game play is the classic one even more polished, with a talent system which allow players to have tons of combat and party settings and variations.

    This game will be remembered, as other gems of the genre are, as a must play. Let the legend of Dragon Quest continue!    … Expand
  21. OneLifeLeft
    Nov 1, 2018
    9
    Dragon Quest XI ingeniously delivers an engaging and whimsical fantasy, that captured my heart, without ever having to take itself too seriously.
    Long-time fans of the series will undoubtedly enjoy a refreshing take on the traditional Dragon Quest formula, that has endured for 30 years.
    For newcomers, this is excellent starting point, from which to explore the charming narrative and    Dragon Quest XI ingeniously delivers an engaging and whimsical fantasy, that captured my heart, without ever having to take itself too seriously.
    Long-time fans of the series will undoubtedly enjoy a refreshing take on the traditional Dragon Quest formula, that has endured for 30 years.
    For newcomers, this is excellent starting point, from which to explore the charming narrative and captivating combat that Dragon Quest has always embodied.    … Expand
  22. Charlybs
    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.
  23. Neatqt
    Feb 25, 2019
    9
    Cast: 10/10
    Story: 9/10
    Fun: 9/10
    Gameplay: 10/10

    Recommended
    ----------------------
  24. RiddipRidippo
    Sep 4, 2018
    9
    An almost perfect throwback to the old days of JRPG awesomeness. Dragon Quest XI is a classic DQ game in new-gen clothing. The same bones and soul of DQ is here, updated with absolutely stunning graphics on the PS4. If you are a series veteran, you're already on board, and if you are new to the series, this is a perfect starting point. This is JRPG at its finest.
  25. Lestatman
    Sep 14, 2018
    9
    This is my first Dragon Quest game I've played and so far I'm loving it. Love the art style, characters, voice acting (with accents), story and the turn based combat which I so missed. For me it's one of those games once you start you simply don't want to stop playing. I'm not Square's biggest fan but thank you for this.
  26. Stonewallish
    Oct 20, 2018
    9
    Dragon Quest XI is a gift to jrpg lovers. It’s magical and fantastic, and its world majestic. The characters are extremely well developed, and venturing with them has been a pleasure from beginning to end. This holds true for every single important npc as well, which is rare these days. The story is simple, but extremely well crafted and thought out, and even then, i promise that it willDragon Quest XI is a gift to jrpg lovers. It’s magical and fantastic, and its world majestic. The characters are extremely well developed, and venturing with them has been a pleasure from beginning to end. This holds true for every single important npc as well, which is rare these days. The story is simple, but extremely well crafted and thought out, and even then, i promise that it will not fail to surprise you from time to time. The turn based combat is as classic as it gets, which means you’ll either love it or hate it.

    Artistically speaking, this game is phenomenal through and through. Everything from its character design, to the green fields, dungeons, beautiful towns and the monsters surrounding them, looks and feels magical. The music is extremely good, but also the reason why I’m giving this game a 9 instead of a 10. I really wish we could have gotten an orchestrated version, but as it stands, it’s still really really good.

    It took me almost 150 hours to platinum this game on PS4. I seriously found myself wishing this game would never end, but alas, it did. And what an ending. I honestly cannot wait for it to come out on Switch, so I can experience it all over again (and this time in portable mode too!).

    Dragon quest XI’s beauty goes beyond words, but if I somehow have to put it shortly, it’s simply one of the best games I’ve ever played, and already found its place in my top 10 games ever.

    If you have even the slightest interest in the game, do yourself a favor and get it right now.    … Expand
  27. DestanyZero
    Nov 5, 2018
    9
    I am new to the franchise. May i say what a privilege it was to be introduced to this series with this game. the game does not require you to know about the other Dragon Quests game. it does start off very slow but after you get down the basics and progress further into the story, it becomes something to behold. The graphics are beautiful,there will be many times where you will be in aweI am new to the franchise. May i say what a privilege it was to be introduced to this series with this game. the game does not require you to know about the other Dragon Quests game. it does start off very slow but after you get down the basics and progress further into the story, it becomes something to behold. The graphics are beautiful,there will be many times where you will be in awe from your surroundings,the combat is smooth, while having a leveling system similar to Final Fantasy X, it does suits it very well and is unique in its own way. i sunk in a good 120 hours or so before finishing the game,it is one of those games where you wish it kept going just because of how amazing the story and world is. If you love the Dragon Quest series or just love a good JRPG Dragon Quest 11 will not disappoint. the more hours you put into this game, the more attached to both the world and the characters you meet will get with just about every character being unique and memorable in their own way. JRPG fans you owe it to yourself to buy this game, although it does have some minor flaws, the positives far outweigh the negatives.… Expand
  28. budlightlime
    Apr 10, 2019
    9
    I have played many RPGs and a few JRPGS. This is my first in the series of Dragon Quest and it has taken me on an unforgettable journey through the 110 hours it has taken me to completely finish this game.

    Pros - Great old school turn based combat - in-depth story - lovable characters - plenty of quests and challenges - over 100 hours of gameplay - colour and creative enemy    I have played many RPGs and a few JRPGS. This is my first in the series of Dragon Quest and it has taken me on an unforgettable journey through the 110 hours it has taken me to completely finish this game.

    Pros
    - Great old school turn based combat
    - in-depth story
    - lovable characters
    - plenty of quests and challenges
    - over 100 hours of gameplay
    - colour and creative enemy designs

    Cons
    - Poor music, considering you are playing the game for so long, it gets repetitive very quickly
    - The forge system was frustrating until late game
    - Random spikes in difficulty but generally quite easy    … Expand
  29. xSelene89
    Sep 15, 2019
    9
    The best JRPG of the last years! Visuals are beautiful and the World feels alive. Its a bit too easy at the start but gets more challenging after the first half of the Story
  30. ScarecrowFTW
    Feb 19, 2019
    9
    I’m a bit late to the party but man am I glad I came this game has become my second favorite in the series behind number 8 the art and graphics a beautiful and the gameplay although a bit easy on the beginning becomes more difficult around the middle of the game. Love the character skill trees with just enough variance to make each unique. The only place it loses a point for me is theI’m a bit late to the party but man am I glad I came this game has become my second favorite in the series behind number 8 the art and graphics a beautiful and the gameplay although a bit easy on the beginning becomes more difficult around the middle of the game. Love the character skill trees with just enough variance to make each unique. The only place it loses a point for me is the music not bieng fully orchestrated doesn’t mean it’s bad just sounds a bit off. Akira Toriyamas art design has never looked or felt more unique than in this game. A must buy for any rpg fan.… Expand
  31. TimNotSam
    Mar 6, 2019
    9
    For me, this game is perfect (first time playing dq). It captures my imagination and is a perfect escape to a fantasy realm. The graphics are lively and fun- I personally get bored of drab colour. The gameplay is repitive but also fun as there is a keen sense of reward and investment. You never know what is going to happen and you find your party in different scenarios challenged withFor me, this game is perfect (first time playing dq). It captures my imagination and is a perfect escape to a fantasy realm. The graphics are lively and fun- I personally get bored of drab colour. The gameplay is repitive but also fun as there is a keen sense of reward and investment. You never know what is going to happen and you find your party in different scenarios challenged with truly fun events. This game by all means follows a formula and isn't deep, but for someone who is stressed a lot and doesn't play games to relive this stress, it is perfect.

    EDIT: I stand by my earlier claims, however I have come to be a little pestered at the recycled assets, music, extended and needless travelling at times (I mean the rediscovering/revisiting/back& forth -trying to not give any spoilers away) and finally, the side quests. These are mostly fetch/search quests or battles where you have to use some form of pep. Very pointless copy and paste sort of things that reward well enough that if you do not do them, youre missing out on useful items. I don't think they are needed, except for the people that want 100% completion    … Expand
  32. Modest
    Apr 28, 2019
    9
    The dragon quest series is kinda big in Japan, just to throw an understatement out there. The "people calling in sick" the day after the release quote reminds me of when i was a teenager and bought ff7. I was enamored by it, and it changed a simple likening of videogames into a full blown passion. Once i grew up, gotta a little older i realized that that feeling would probably never returnThe dragon quest series is kinda big in Japan, just to throw an understatement out there. The "people calling in sick" the day after the release quote reminds me of when i was a teenager and bought ff7. I was enamored by it, and it changed a simple likening of videogames into a full blown passion. Once i grew up, gotta a little older i realized that that feeling would probably never return as intens as it felt like when i was younger, but Dragon Quest 11 made me feel like that kid again. The feeling of going on a grand adventure in a fantasy land where you get to know your  party of heroes and the world they live in. It has all the fundementals that made Jrpgs my favorite kind of games.

    Amazingly well written and voice acted story, characters backstory are handled with care and attention and the world is visually stunning, also the battle system is as oldskool as you can get and i love it for it.

    As for the music... yes there are issues, the sound quality is not top notch as they were going for a more retro sounding soundtrack to me me personally it didn't bother me as much as it did other fans of the series. It definitely could have used a couple of more variety in tracks though the ones that are there are good in there own right.

    So are you one of those guys that fell in love with games like final fantasy 7 and are longing for a similar kind of feel.. this is a must buy. Its 70 to 80 hours of pure interesting jrpg goodness for ya. So enjoy!  I am thankful it's finally here in the west hope it sticks around for a while.    … Expand
  33. simopoz
    Mar 29, 2020
    9
    Un ottimo jrpg vecchio stile finalmente. Unica pecca la colonna sonora stucchevole, altrimenti meriterebbe il 10
  34. GreenMenace
    Jun 12, 2020
    9
    This isn’t new per se, but it is the definitive edition of a really good game. Dragon Quest XI tells a fantastic story full of twists and turns with a common theme of how light shines through the darkness.

    Pros Great story led by good characters Definitive Edition Clean Great Cinematics Cons The story takes its time The interface It took me awhile to get into the game    This isn’t new per se, but it is the definitive edition of a really good game. Dragon Quest XI tells a fantastic story full of twists and turns with a common theme of how light shines through the darkness.

    Pros

    Great story led by good characters
    Definitive Edition
    Clean
    Great Cinematics

    Cons

    The story takes its time
    The interface

    It took me awhile to get into the game and to understand its humor. It’s full of puns. I really started to enjoy the game once I unlocked most of the characters. At first, the art design appeared “kiddy” to me, but I gradually warmed up to it. My seven year old nephew enjoyed watching me play the game, and it was clean enough to where I felt comfortable with him watching.

    Even though the characters were simple, they worked well together to contribute to the overall experience. As I progressed, I felt rewarded by both the satisfaction from beating difficult challenges and the unfolding of the next part of the story. This game contains the most enjoyable cinematics I have ever seen in a game.

    This is the best edition available as it’s like there’s a dlc packed into the game that grants additional costumes and a little more story. This was my first experience with Dragon Quest, and it didn’t disappoint. It might be the eleventh title, but it was very friendly to those who were not familiar with the story.
    The only thing not friendly about the game is the interface. It doesn’t feel natural, and it looks ugly. Even though I played the game for dozens of hours, I still had difficulties figuring out which screen to navigate to. Some modes are utterly pointless (I’m looking at you picture mode and party talk mode). After awhile, I got used to it.

    This is a renowned series. If you want to try a new JRPG, I would highly recommend this one. If you aren’t familiar with JRPGs, this one would be a great one to introduce you to the genre (although I would recommend looking up a guide to avoid frustration with the game interface).    … Expand
  35. Mazhi
    Dec 17, 2019
    9
    Platinado casi sin querer. Es uno de esos juegos que te absorbe hasta que te lo terminas. Un plus que venga subtitulado a castellano, pero que venga con voces exclusivas en inglés me parece una cagada.

    Tampoco me gusta que el personaje principal sea completamente genérico, incapaz de comunicarse en ningún momento; pero eso ya es marca de la casa.
  36. lapiz
    Sep 13, 2019
    9
    Un muy buen jrpg con un combate por turnos clasico, la historia sin ser una obra maestra esta muy bien y los persanajes cumplen perfectamente, lo peor es el protagonista que es tipico sin personalidad que no habla
  37. deletedflame
    Dec 4, 2019
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A very good game with a length that is definitely worth the price. While there is a graphical downgrade from the other versions and the crossbow quest was removed, there are tons more quests added, as well as extra chapters where you play as various party members. You can also choose from any of your party members as someone you want to settle down with instead of just Gemma. The switch version also includes the Orchestral Soundtrack and not just Midi sounds… Expand
  38. Awarehippo
    Feb 10, 2020
    9
    Amazing classic JRPG. What you see is what you get. Very relaxing to play with a nice story to go along with it. Loved all the characters
  39. abYss123
    Mar 13, 2020
    9
    I absolutely love this game. The only thing that gives it down a point is the lack of character in hero. Every other character is very well developed. The turned based gameplay is fluid. Everything in this game is amazing.
  40. AndreKobe
    Mar 14, 2020
    9
    Personally the best JRPG of the decade. Great plot devices, great characters and a massive world to explore multiple times. Time flies without noticing when you play Dragon Quest XI, I reached the platinum trophy in something like 130 hours and I didn't even get tired. Technically speaking the game manage to be what it wants to be, a colorful journey with enjoyable graphics although thePersonally the best JRPG of the decade. Great plot devices, great characters and a massive world to explore multiple times. Time flies without noticing when you play Dragon Quest XI, I reached the platinum trophy in something like 130 hours and I didn't even get tired. Technically speaking the game manage to be what it wants to be, a colorful journey with enjoyable graphics although the music is a utter disaster. Not for the soundtrack per se but the sound quality is too bad for a game this good in 2018. The combat system is the classic turn based DQ system and it does a wonderful job in every aspect of its style. The world is huge and divided in macro sections, showing once again that this is the right way to build a full explorable continent. Not too big and shallow as an open world nor too linear and simple as the FFXIII big corridor. There are tons of treasures and side quests in every inch of the map and you can even cross the lands with a fair number of "vehicles" which will help you to find extra secrets. The main story is a lot longer than I expected and it uses really good devices to make you continue playing for hours. It is a great adventure that every RPG fan should experience.… Expand
  41. Jackets
    Apr 17, 2020
    9
    A true epic of a JRPG, with the story alone lasting well over 100+ hours. Playing the game is more akin to watching an entire movie series or binging several seasons of your favourite TV show. Combat is fun and engaging, with great high-quality animations and a large cast of characters introduces a lot of variety in combat spells/abilities.

    If you were looking for that one game to sink    A true epic of a JRPG, with the story alone lasting well over 100+ hours. Playing the game is more akin to watching an entire movie series or binging several seasons of your favourite TV show. Combat is fun and engaging, with great high-quality animations and a large cast of characters introduces a lot of variety in combat spells/abilities.

    If you were looking for that one game to sink countless hours into, this is it.    … Expand
  42. Roberoquer
    Jun 19, 2020
    9
    This is a traditional JRPG so if oyu are into the genre you already know what it´s about. That being said, the game is outstanding on almost every level. The gaphics are cartoonish but kind of fit perfectly the tone of the game overall, the turn-based combat system is one of the best and most fun to play I´ve ever seen and the story is not particularly new but it´s very well executed, theThis is a traditional JRPG so if oyu are into the genre you already know what it´s about. That being said, the game is outstanding on almost every level. The gaphics are cartoonish but kind of fit perfectly the tone of the game overall, the turn-based combat system is one of the best and most fun to play I´ve ever seen and the story is not particularly new but it´s very well executed, the plot has some interesting twists here and there that will keep you into the story at all times (and the final part is quite intense and exciting plotwise I must add) and the characters are really deep and fun to spend time with. The only negative thing is that at least for me the second part of the game was hard as hell since the difficulty levek skyrockets a bit and you may have to grind a lot to beat the final bosses, otherwise it´s a great game.… Expand
  43. venture77
    Jun 23, 2020
    9
    This game is a traditional turn based rpg with modern graphics. This game has a ton of content and I highly recommend it to any classic rpg fans.
  44. Jumpinjackflash
    Jul 31, 2020
    9
    Really great game. Does everything you ask for in a JRPG really well and had a beautiful game world to explore. Definitely worth it!
  45. Elite_Soldier
    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
  46. hector_bcn98
    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.
  47. NoLameGames
    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.
  48. Sensou
    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.    … Expand
  49. Edenscott
    May 8, 2023
    9
    One of the best modern JRPGs, very chill, but entertaining to play with traditional JRPG combat.
  50. TianLong1
    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
  51. dramatickid
    Dec 30, 2018
    8
    A captivating plot and amazing characters are what make this game truly enjoyable despite its very linear structure and"classic" (not to say OLD) mechanics. Something a true JRPG fan would totally love but not for everyone.
  52. Markolius
    Oct 20, 2018
    8
    A classic-style turn-based JRPG fully optimized for the modern day. Good art-style, characters, music, cut scenes, UI, and story. Vast towns and dungeons to explore. *Battles are a bit too easy
  53. Orichalcon
    Oct 10, 2018
    8
    A really fantastic experience all round, and tour de force of old school nostalgia sprinkled everywhere.

    If you (like me) are a fan of the golden age of JRPGS throughout the 90's, then you'll absolutely love this title. It's filled with classics JRPG nuance throughout, complete with fairytale storytelling and big on character development. If I had to give the game one negative, and    A really fantastic experience all round, and tour de force of old school nostalgia sprinkled everywhere.

    If you (like me) are a fan of the golden age of JRPGS throughout the 90's, then you'll absolutely love this title. It's filled with classics JRPG nuance throughout, complete with fairytale storytelling and big on character development.

    If I had to give the game one negative, and the reason this is not a 9, but rather an 8, is the music is awfully repetitive. They have the same music for towns, and the same music for outside town in a number of places, and it repeats throughout the game. If they'd been a little less lazy and created a slightly more varied soundtrack then this would have been a magical 9/10 (I don't believe in 10/10 as this means it's flawless, and I don't believe any game is without a least a few smattering of flaws).#

    Either way, the simple summary is this. If you like 90's JRPGs, and like strong, comical characters, with a fun loving, but also quite in depth fairytale storyline, then you'll absolutely love Dragon Questi XI.    … Expand
  54. The_BlueRose
    Mar 16, 2020
    8
    Que decir de Dragon Quest, uno de los JRPG´s más clásicos.
    En esta entrega sigue manteniendo esa esencia clásica de diseño, historia de la luz contra la oscuridad y el periplo del héroe. Diseños de Toriyama que aunque muy vistosos pueden pecar de repetitivos y una jugabilidad clásica que podría implementar algunas mejoras un poco más modernas.
    La experiencia en general es muy    Que decir de Dragon Quest, uno de los JRPG´s más clásicos.
    En esta entrega sigue manteniendo esa esencia clásica de diseño, historia de la luz contra la oscuridad y el periplo del héroe. Diseños de Toriyama que aunque muy vistosos pueden pecar de repetitivos y una jugabilidad clásica que podría implementar algunas mejoras un poco más modernas.

    La experiencia en general es muy disfrutable, aunque personalmente el segundo acto flojea bastante por se redundancia con respecto al primero y una dificultad bastante baja, a excepción del post game que te obliga a farmear para tener algún tipo de posibilidad.    … Expand
  55. Dubeau
    Sep 14, 2018
    8
    Review: Review at 35 hours gameplay. This is not my first Dragon Quest. I play the first one, one on the PS3, I tried one on the PC. This one does carry all the classic game play but with a more dynamic combat then those old JRPG. The story is generic but there is some very emotional twists, that make you really appreciate it more. The combat is fun and sometimes very strategic. It isReview: Review at 35 hours gameplay. This is not my first Dragon Quest. I play the first one, one on the PS3, I tried one on the PC. This one does carry all the classic game play but with a more dynamic combat then those old JRPG. The story is generic but there is some very emotional twists, that make you really appreciate it more. The combat is fun and sometimes very strategic. It is base turned, but not too slow in terms of pace. The graphics are very good. The movies are a slide show and takes too much time to get going. The music is ok. The sounds are classic and nostalgic. The crafting is very fun and upgrading your character powers is very intuitive. I give it an 80%. There are some annoyance but as far as PC port goes, it is one of the best. And I recommend anyone that never played a Dragon Quest game to give it a go. It's a nice introduction to JRPG and one of the better console port out there.… Expand
  56. NouZeM
    Nov 7, 2018
    8
    De los mejores RPG que tiene actualmente PS4. No puedes dejar escapar esta oportunidad.
    Las pegas son principalmente la banda sonora, se hace muy (EXTREMADAMENTE) monótona y se lleva mal al ser MIDI.
  57. superpyro296
    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.    … Expand
  58. TheFirm34
    Sep 11, 2018
    8
    30 hours in: The game is vibrant, the graphics are crisp and the animation is top notch. This game might remind people of Ni No Kuni in the look and feel of the combat. This is also my first Draggon Quest game, and so far I am liking it.
  59. killshia12
    Oct 13, 2018
    8
    super mastapeece super mastapeecesuper mastapeecesuper mastapeecesuper mastapeece
  60. flappybantam
    Nov 3, 2018
    8
    If you're looking for a well crafted traditional jrpg, then this i the game you've been waiting for...

    PROs - AAA production values - art direction amongst the best i've seen in any game, or any entertainment medium for that matter - battle animations and character design look superb, especially later in the game - tons of side quests, final fantasy esque character builder -    If you're looking for a well crafted traditional jrpg, then this i the game you've been waiting for...

    PROs
    - AAA production values
    - art direction amongst the best i've seen in any game, or any entertainment medium for that matter
    - battle animations and character design look superb, especially later in the game
    - tons of side quests, final fantasy esque character builder
    - postgame quest after defeating final boss adds longevity
    - 70hrs + gameplay

    CONS
    - turn based combat not everyones cup of tea
    - not a true open world.
    - moving around the map can feel clunky. Invisible walls and barriers are a bit jarring
    - too easy on normal difficulty. Towns are a bit overkill and feel a little redundant considering the numerous campsites dotted around the world map. You only seem to visit them for story progression and side quests    … Expand
  61. Oldschooldrewc
    Nov 27, 2018
    8
    This was a fun game and at first you find the idea of using the old school music and sound effects as charming but it quickly wears thin after 8-10 hours. The gameplay itself is your standard classic turn based JRPG which is not a bad thing. Too many companies now try to over complicate RPG's now so it is nice to have a straight forward system. Part of the reason I have given this an 8This was a fun game and at first you find the idea of using the old school music and sound effects as charming but it quickly wears thin after 8-10 hours. The gameplay itself is your standard classic turn based JRPG which is not a bad thing. Too many companies now try to over complicate RPG's now so it is nice to have a straight forward system. Part of the reason I have given this an 8 instead of higher is because of the end of part two that leads into part three. I won't spoil it but I just felt like the whole "resolve everything with altering time" is played out. It didn't even feel necessary when it first happens as the reason revolves around characters you barely ever deal with. Second is the voice acting which is absolutely AWFUL. It seriously is one of the worst voice acted games I've ever heard. If They put the Japanese voice over work into this, I'd probably bump this to a 9 but thankfully the gameplay is so enjoyable I only knocked it down to an 8. Still this is worth playing but play knowing you'll probably mute or turn down the volume many times while playing.… Expand
  62. MegaPlayboy
    Jul 16, 2019
    8
    Un gran juego que te hará farmear experiencia hasta sangrar en el post game (Nivel 70 recomendado XD)...
  63. FlowserGames
    Jun 10, 2020
    8
    This is a game which is simple on the surface and deep when you get into it. The incredible art design from Akira Toriyama mixed with the unique design of each area and the cringe-inducing puns that are in nearly every town really make the game something special. Its a true testament to the Dragon Quest series as a whole and is the best JRPG of 2018:
    Pros
    -Amazing art design    This is a game which is simple on the surface and deep when you get into it. The incredible art design from Akira Toriyama mixed with the unique design of each area and the cringe-inducing puns that are in nearly every town really make the game something special. Its a true testament to the Dragon Quest series as a whole and is the best JRPG of 2018:
    Pros
    -Amazing art design
    -Interesting story
    -Good characters
    -Streamlined combat, but also very experimental
    -Painfully good puns
    Cons:
    -Little quality-of-life features (no skipping cutscenes, no battle speed toggle)
    -Sometimes bad or overexaggerated voice acting and animations
    -Some lacking character development with Jade
    -How Act 3 (spoiler) essentially reverses all character development made throughout the game

    Overall score: 8 or 8.5/10    … Expand
  64. GothmogAngband
    Feb 5, 2020
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Buen juego de rol estilo clasico combates por turnos ,como su antecesor ,pero con la diferencia que el de playstation 2 la historia es mejor… Expand
  65. ThePSButton
    Apr 4, 2020
    8
    Delicioso RPG con sabor clásico. Entre lo mejor de la franquicia y muy accesible para los que empiezan su aventura en los Dragon Quest.
  66. Jmart8
    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)    … Expand
  67. chrisdan23
    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
  68. JWil
    Jul 23, 2020
    8
    I give it a 8 only because the music wasn’t the best it could be and hampered the experience of a masterpiece. Will Yuji Horii, Koichi Sugiyama, and Akira Toriyama outdo themselves again?! I really hope and pray so! This game shouldn’t be missed! But if possible get the definitive version on the Nintendo Switch!
  69. JGar453
    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.    … Expand
  70. Vitalick
    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
  71. MoniWhite
    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
  72. Ginger_Avenger
    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
  73. sawduck
    May 8, 2023
    8
    A very enjoyable game but my god is it long, i might try some of the older games next
  74. Gfunk839
    Oct 11, 2018
    7
    This is a NES game with 8th gen graphics ...

    I watched several glowing reviews and was sold on the game..
    Sadly this is mechanically a NES game with pretty trimmings ..It's a perfectly fine game but wildly over-rated by review and critic scores, since it plays it so safe and does nothing to further the medium of gaming.
  75. OwtDaft
    Apr 12, 2019
    7
    + Story in places is really really good.
    + Default difficulty is good, if you don't do or like doing any grinding.
    + The game has a world map. + I liked the characters Veronica, Rab and Jade. - I hate silent protagonists. - Lots of locations in the game look very simlar. - Typical DQ game, many short stories as you reach new places with a slower paced main story. - I got fed up of    + Story in places is really really good.
    + Default difficulty is good, if you don't do or like doing any grinding.
    + The game has a world map.
    + I liked the characters Veronica, Rab and Jade.
    - I hate silent protagonists.
    - Lots of locations in the game look very simlar.
    - Typical DQ game, many short stories as you reach new places with a slower paced main story.
    - I got fed up of looking around for items for smelting.
    - You may like that DQ games look and sound simlar. For me it's starting to feel uninspired.
    - The rest of the characters were a bit dull or super annoying (Sylvando).    … Expand
  76. Topfpflanze
    Jan 14, 2020
    7
    Hey fans, first: This game is really fun. The cons are, it is an exact copy of DQ8 with mutated story elements. Many features are newly introduced, but if you know DQ8, the structures, arts, jokes and events appear very familiar. Even the music has been recycled. Instead of a 4 people group, you have now 8 which doesn't fit on the screen. Things leaving you speechless the first time areHey fans, first: This game is really fun. The cons are, it is an exact copy of DQ8 with mutated story elements. Many features are newly introduced, but if you know DQ8, the structures, arts, jokes and events appear very familiar. Even the music has been recycled. Instead of a 4 people group, you have now 8 which doesn't fit on the screen. Things leaving you speechless the first time are just boring 13 years later. DQ11 is much easier and more tolerating. You should make it without even being interested. It's smooth and fun, and it's no more that turn based as it was before, but still quite old-school. Combat AI of your group is more intelligent than you, most of the time, and there is no reason and few possibility to do differently. After all, you could say this game is rather a visual novel, because in about 2/3 of the game it's near impossible to lose a fight, and the game takes you by the hand and doesn't leave you much choice, if at all. If you encounter a puzzle, there will be big flashing arrows telling you what to do in order to solve it. If it isn't marked on the map, everybody you ask will send you there. What became worse that in DQ8 is the alchemy pot which creates less useful or interesting things and the missing arena (which is replaced with a usual fighting event). The combo actions in DQ11 are superfluous. The better graphics of DQ11 do not outweigh the better and multiply twisted story of DQ8.… Expand
  77. tomvs123
    Jan 5, 2020
    7
    Excellent JRPG, though aimed at kids.

    I played the original Dragon Warrior games on the NES back when they were new. Dragon Quest XI is a near direct evolution of those games, retaining the same overall feel. The series didn't grow up with me though, with its story and themes still best experienced by children and early teens. I've long since gotten tired of gameplay for gameplay's    Excellent JRPG, though aimed at kids.

    I played the original Dragon Warrior games on the NES back when they were new. Dragon Quest XI is a near direct evolution of those games, retaining the same overall feel. The series didn't grow up with me though, with its story and themes still best experienced by children and early teens.

    I've long since gotten tired of gameplay for gameplay's sake in video games and have instead been looking for amazing stories and compelling/mature narratives to keep me playing a game. This game reaches the bare minimum required, having a basic quest to save the world, and not containing major plot holes (when considering the target audience).

    The story consists of bad guys who are bad for no particular reason, and an adventure to get objects and powers to defeat those bad guys. The plot unfolds nicely, but nothing happens that an adult or JRPG veteran will be surprised by. Characters are basic. The ones who join you are understandable and have their own background sections in the game, but they're not amazing, and they don't experience any growth that I'd consider mature. Though the story and characters are great at teaching kids basic morals, honor, and responsibility.

    Combat is basic, but incredibly well-balanced. They've basically used the exact same combat system and difficulty from earlier Dragon Quest games without dumbing it down, like other JRPG series have done. This means that it's hard and will require thought and planning to get though most battles (which is more than I can say for other recent JRPGs). Though when compared to earlier Dragon Quest games, combat is overall easier since you can avoid most enemies and go straight to the bosses of sections. So you no longer need to fight conservatively to make sure you have enough hit points, magic, and items to fight the dungeon boss.

    Leveling doesn't have much affect on character power, so if you do decide to skip most battles, you'll still be able to beat the game as long as you play strategically . Also, it seemed like metal slimes (which give lots of experience) always showed up after I skipped loads of battles, so the game seemed like it was intentionally giving me experience points when it think I needed them.

    As for the other things to do in the game, there are things to collect, things to find, things to craft, sidequests, and even random things that work like sidequests that don't show up in your sidequest list (I love the old-school feel of these where you just have to remember what someone said or write it down). All of these give useful in-game rewards, so there's incentive to do them. Crafting in particular is simple, but fun, and you can go through the whole game only crafting your equipment instead of buying it from stores.

    The typical Zelda fan will like the game due to the exploration and treasure finding possibilities. I long thought that exploration for exploration's sake was no longer entertaining to me, but this game proved me wrong, and I had a bit of fun exploring the world and finding treasure in remote locations.

    If the game were 40 hours, I'd rate it a 5 (average) or 6 (slightly above average) based on its story and mechanics. But I spent 120 hours in the game, with it consistently giving me a goal or things to do, all without DLC. Yes, this is one of those games that truly goes old-school by having no DLC, and instead having costumes and other things unlockable in-game. Because of this, its value proposition cannot be denied. But in the end, this is a game for kids and not necessarily for me. My kids are going to have a blast playing through it.    … Expand
  78. Looser
    Sep 8, 2018
    7
    It an okay game. It definitely has its fun factor. I really do not hold Dragon Quest in high regard personally.

    Graphics: 8/10
    Story/Lore: 6/10
    Battle System: 8/10
    Character Development: 5/10
    Music: 4/10
    World: 6/10
    Quests: 6/10
    Voice acting: 6/10

    Overall Score: 7/10
  79. dr0nzer
    Sep 22, 2018
    7
    clocked 65 hrs on the game and I'm not sure if this lives up to the hype, it is a very traditional jrpg, turn based combat, but feels very.. unrefined.. almost like ps1 era gameplay on the ps4, story and pacing is pretty slow, combat also falls into this category and at times i found it uninteresting... the voice acting is pretty good (if UK accents is your thing) I didn't find it cheap atclocked 65 hrs on the game and I'm not sure if this lives up to the hype, it is a very traditional jrpg, turn based combat, but feels very.. unrefined.. almost like ps1 era gameplay on the ps4, story and pacing is pretty slow, combat also falls into this category and at times i found it uninteresting... the voice acting is pretty good (if UK accents is your thing) I didn't find it cheap at all and enjoyed it, this is what really kept me coming back to the game., progression is zoned off, not open world as i expected but thats okay, combat is not random and can be avoided.. makes exploring easy and you can choose when to battle.
    The worse part I found about the game is the music... mainly the high pitched tones straight to low pitch that cycle when you're travelling the world, I found it very annoying and had to turn the music volume to 1!
    The way they implemented the post game (or newgame+?) is smart and interesting.
    overall it's a decent title.    … Expand
  80. Ryuail
    Feb 1, 2020
    7
    I was hoping to play DQ11 with a nostalgic glint in my eye, but two things held it back.
    The lame midi music, and the go nowhere plot.
    I tried to like this game, I really did. But it's just kinda boring. There are little to no stakes, for instance the main character is on the run from an kingdom can just stroll into said kingdom's township with no consequences? Oh, he put a brown hood    I was hoping to play DQ11 with a nostalgic glint in my eye, but two things held it back.
    The lame midi music, and the go nowhere plot.

    I tried to like this game, I really did. But it's just kinda boring. There are little to no stakes, for instance the main character is on the run from an kingdom can just stroll into said kingdom's township with no consequences? Oh, he put a brown hood on, gotcha.
    The game felt more like it just wanted to introduce party members which completely unrelated problems to the hero, than build a central driving force as to why I should bother to finish.

    The positives are in the fun monsters designs, and the party banter.    … Expand
  81. bersi84
    Sep 15, 2018
    7
    Short up: Too much praise for a decent back-to-the-roots JRPG without being outstanding at anything but still amongst the best of its genre. Read on for more details.

    [UPDATE AFTER 50hrs OF GAMEPLAY] After ~50hrs, a lot of questing and being nearly to the end I want to change or specify some of my original thoughts. The story gets a lot better after a while. A while which is a whole    Short up: Too much praise for a decent back-to-the-roots JRPG without being outstanding at anything but still amongst the best of its genre. Read on for more details.

    [UPDATE AFTER 50hrs OF GAMEPLAY]
    After ~50hrs, a lot of questing and being nearly to the end I want to change or specify some of my original thoughts. The story gets a lot better after a while. A while which is a whole gametime for other games. The story becoming better still has the downside to me that the game as whole feels slow and repetitive. There is a ton of backtracking. Sometimes you run up to the same place like 7 times to finish one quest. Also there is quite an intense change to the game mid ways which makes you re-visit nearly every single place. I found this a bad design choice. Also I didnt remember where a lot places where and you dont see the names on the map or can zoom anymore. That was really frustrating to me. I still recommend this game. Still keepig a rate of 7-8.

    [ORIGINAL REVIEW]
    I love RPGs in general and I dont care whether it is more dungeon crawli
    [ng, rpg based or JRPG styled approach. After all I was pretty hyped for this latest episode of Dragon Quest. I havent played one of the series spin-offs before but got in touch with the franchise when playing Dragon Quest Builders which hooked me up instantly.

    The story: 5/10
    I found the story to be somewhat interesting but to be totally honest it is the simple standard approach mixed with a bit of drama and fantasy. Nothing that makes this game unique, appealing or outstanding at all. After all I found the presentation good but the story pretty boring. Everyone who ever played RPGs before wont be shocked or surprised by the developments.

    The sound: 3/10
    The sound and atmosphere the game generates is to me one of the weaker points in DQ11 especially in comparison to other games that are released nowadays. I know that the sounds and effects used are re-used throughout the series but I still find them lackluster. Other genre candidates took a more appealing approach that forces the music to generate the adequate atmosphere in scenes no matter whether it is drama, sadness or being pumped up. I found it weak but I think fans of the series will appreciate to get handed over what they are used to.

    The graphics: 9.0/10
    Gfx displayed in DQ11 are really good. They might not be topnotch in comparison to the console kings but it has a remarkably high state and runs perfectly smooth on the PS 4 Pro I ve been using. There is no single clunkiness, no drops and my PS4 overall keeps pretty cool. I have to admit they did great work on that one.

    The gameplay 8/10:
    Gameplay is pretty much JRPG oldschool standard. It is turnbased fighting while navigating on a big world map entering battles or cities on the go. Others might disagree but I like the turnbased approach over real fighting. The complexity of fighting and characters are okay. You have a nice set of weapons and skills. Some might be a little bit overwhelmed on what works well and also I feel that picking the sword is never a wrong one. It feels well rounded after all and the powerup concept is kind of entertaining but a little bit too RNG based to my liking (when it comes to triggering the right combinations). You can even smithy your own weapons and armors with a really cool approach. I liked that a lot although it is something you can do but not have to besides of 1-2 quests.

    Questing and other stuff: 6/10
    The quests are mediocre. There are not that many quests in comparison to other games. You might have 2-3 in each town and thats it. More disappointingly most of these quests arent even much elaborate. They are lack luster and backtracking is always a thing. For the small number of quests the game delivers they could ve been polished a bit more. Also there are quests where you have to combine powers of certain characters that are triggered RNG based and to make it worse you have to KILL certain enemies with its final blow. That makes certain quests really grindy, frustrating and unappealing (to me).

    The skill system is okay. Can be confusing, but the DEVs implemented a fair reset system. Thumbs up on that end! The controls after all are good, the world design is okay and mounting enemies can be fun at times but is mostly underused and optional.

    Resume:
    DQ11 is a very well made JRPG that will draw in fans of that genre or series. I dont think its a milestone and think it becomes too much of praise for the sore standards it delivers. Many hours are lost through to pointless backtracking which I dont find to be something I want to have in 2018. The graphics are AMAZING and the style is unique. I can still only rate it 7-8. Grabbing it for release price is still worth it but I d say if you are not hardcore into it you might want to look out for a small drop in price then its absolutely worth the adventure. I d ve wished for more uniqueness and innovation, at core it is still a very good ga    … Expand
  82. DrFriendless
    Mar 2, 2019
    7
    Goodness me, what a long game! It just keeps going and going and going.

    By the end, I was quite sick of it. I turned the music off after about a hundred hours because it was annoying me and everyone else in the house. I would like to say that the story was gripping, but it became less so as the weeks wore on. In the end I was just glad it was over. I almost liked the turn-based    Goodness me, what a long game! It just keeps going and going and going.

    By the end, I was quite sick of it. I turned the music off after about a hundred hours because it was annoying me and everyone else in the house. I would like to say that the story was gripping, but it became less so as the weeks wore on. In the end I was just glad it was over.

    I almost liked the turn-based combat - it was a change from button-mashing - but Child of Light did a far superior job. The graphics in DQXI were magnificent, but so much of the animation was just cut scenes, and cut scenes can look as pretty as the designer chooses.

    I finished the game due to sheer stubbornness, but I may avoid coming back for more. The music wore me down, so many features of the game were underdone (e.g. the Forge), and so much of the play felt like downtime. Pretty good, but not great.    … Expand
  83. Xsenigma
    Sep 14, 2018
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A frustratingly beautiful game. If you were a fan of previous Dragon Quest titles the newest entry should do wonders to scratch your decade old itch. However, the newest entry same as the previous has failed to deliver any changes that might draw out sales from a historically uninterested western market. Everything here will feel familiar to the seasoned dragon quest adventurer with the addition of minor quality of life changes that should be appreciated by even the most diehard of fans. The glaring issue with this newest title is the gameplay impact the story constantly has on your hero and his merry band of misfit adventurers. Expect to spend no more than 25% of your adventure with all of your companions at your disposal. A huge turn off to completionist gamers who would prefer not to be punished for doing too much content while an ally is absent from the party temporairily. True to dragon quest roots members join at set levels and rejoin at the level they left making the impact the story has on ones willingness to go off the beaten path a large one. Overall the good outweighs the bad, fans should feel right home here while strangers to the series might want to hold off on picking this one up.… Expand
  84. DimaFidel
    Jan 23, 2019
    7
    Долго ждали и дождались. Радует что серия не отошла от канонов за которые ее любят, но по сравнению с 8й частью с точки зрения сюжета, эта послабее. В плане прохождения проще той же 8й.
  85. gqmasters3
    Jun 5, 2019
    7
    I have beaten every single DQ game released in America i.e DQ 1-9 (and yes DQ1-4 as "Dragon Warrior" on the original NES) and I'd say this game is "solid". It, unfortunately, is mind-numbingly easy, but still fun. I would say DQ7 & DQ8 are superior titles, but that doesn't mean this one is bad.
    My biggest knock on this game is that it is, in essence, the series follow up to DQ8 (as DQ9    I have beaten every single DQ game released in America i.e DQ 1-9 (and yes DQ1-4 as "Dragon Warrior" on the original NES) and I'd say this game is "solid". It, unfortunately, is mind-numbingly easy, but still fun. I would say DQ7 & DQ8 are superior titles, but that doesn't mean this one is bad.
    My biggest knock on this game is that it is, in essence, the series follow up to DQ8 (as DQ9 was a totally different type of game) and it adds almost nothing new from its predecessor; yes there's an ability tree, but thats pretty much the same deal as the weapon proficiencies in DQ8 and after 10+ years I would have liked to have seen a lot more.    … Expand
  86. Orthodoxist
    Oct 8, 2019
    7
    This has been easily my disappointment of the year, and the game which made me create a Metacritic account.

    Pros: + A lot of content, from missions to crafting tools, customizable skills, and characters. It's nice to be playing the game how you want to play it + Characters are cute and it feels like a fairy tale, it has a feel-good vibe + Enemies are original and don't have the    This has been easily my disappointment of the year, and the game which made me create a Metacritic account.

    Pros:
    + A lot of content, from missions to crafting tools, customizable skills, and characters. It's nice to be playing the game how you want to play it
    + Characters are cute and it feels like a fairy tale, it has a feel-good vibe
    + Enemies are original and don't have the typical abilities you have seen a thousand times in other games
    + The 2D additions feels nice, it's not an exact replica of the 3D world but it's a good complement. I wouldn't play the entire game on 2D, though.
    + I like the map system and the integration of fast travel and mounts early in the game.

    Cons:
    - MUSIC: it's not about whether it is the MIDI version or instrumental. Music is just repetitive and out of context. There is way too much brass which does not pair well with many of the scenes. Battle theme becomes old very quickly, and you are going to hear it a lot
    - Maps are huge but empty. There is some reward to exploration, but you won't find much. Sometimes you find a really good weapon, but most of the time are crafting materials
    - Fake open world. It gives you a false sense of freedom. It is a pretty linear game (at least the 15h I have played). In addition, there are some invisible walls around cliffs, rivers etc where one feels you should be able to jump or cross, but you simply can't
    - Combat is completely secondary. You can avoid most enemies. For the ones you face, you can put the characters to play automatically at a high speed. It's very difficult to get killed when using the AI. In addition, you receive very little loot from fighting.
    - A lot of cutscenes which do not provide meaningful information. I just played a part where I had to go down after a cutscene, then after some running watch another cutscene, try to go up, run a bit more, watch another cutscene... And the battle is not playable, it is another cutscene. Most of them are skippable.
    - Some side missions are not very original (hey deliver this love letter and then bring back the response), and some side missions are just annoying (kill this monster with this ultimate skill which only happens once in a blue moon)    … Expand
  87. Szntax
    May 22, 2021
    7
    This game ist great, I cant wait to see how a sequel in this huge franchise would turn out. I must admit that I stopped playing after a fair amount of time. I wonder what they could have done differently to keep me playing until the end.
  88. Montef
    Nov 29, 2020
    7
    The game was good enough for me to go for full platinum playthrough, I liked it, but objectively it's absolutely generic cookie-cutter rpg like houndreds before. Hero saving world, strong woman, pervy old man, delicate healer girl, it's full of cliches and typical jrpg tropes. It's enjoyable for fans of the genre, but if you hate typical stuff from jrpgs stay away. I also think it couldThe game was good enough for me to go for full platinum playthrough, I liked it, but objectively it's absolutely generic cookie-cutter rpg like houndreds before. Hero saving world, strong woman, pervy old man, delicate healer girl, it's full of cliches and typical jrpg tropes. It's enjoyable for fans of the genre, but if you hate typical stuff from jrpgs stay away. I also think it could have been around 15-20 hours shorter, at the end I was pushing myself to finish it… Expand
  89. GoodSelf
    Nov 8, 2021
    7
    While a good game in it's own right, I felt like this was a generic RPG experience. There were certainly those "wow" moments, and a handful of great characters, but for me personally, it was harder to connect with them and their journey.

    The strongest aspect of DQ11 for me was the combat - classic turn based goodness with great decisions to be made in mind battles, especially when    While a good game in it's own right, I felt like this was a generic RPG experience. There were certainly those "wow" moments, and a handful of great characters, but for me personally, it was harder to connect with them and their journey.

    The strongest aspect of DQ11 for me was the combat - classic turn based goodness with great decisions to be made in mind battles, especially when fighting some of the the harder status inflicting bosses. The weakest aspect for me was the music - while there were a few standout tracks, I don't even think the orchestra version can lift some of these songs out of the mud (looking at you, Casino Theme).

    Overall, this is worthwhile game to play, just don't go in expecting the greatest RPG of all time.    … Expand
  90. SplitMind
    Jan 3, 2021
    6
    I don’t know how this game has received such stellar reviews. I can only presume that reviewers are either biased due to nostalgia or have only played the earliest hours for the best impression.

    The graphics in this game can be a mixed bag. Many of the backgrounds and environments are very colourful and vibrant, although nothing really pushes the PS4 to the limit. The game suffers from    I don’t know how this game has received such stellar reviews. I can only presume that reviewers are either biased due to nostalgia or have only played the earliest hours for the best impression.

    The graphics in this game can be a mixed bag. Many of the backgrounds and environments are very colourful and vibrant, although nothing really pushes the PS4 to the limit. The game suffers from a bit of blandness, as enemy sprites become very repetitive and you can see swapping of colour palettes. The game could have benefitted massively from more customisation, including seeing the armour you equip cosmetically change the character’s appearance. Speaking of which, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more bland protagonist devoid of character and personality, making him quite unrelatable.

    Dragon Quest 11 also dropped the ball a lot more when it comes to story. It falls on the old cliché of the chosen one who sets out to save the world and bands together a pack of misfits whose narratives become intertwined with predictable tropes such as ‘she’s actually your long-lost cousin’ etc. There are two problems here. Firstly, the story is incredibly generic, much like the game in general. Secondly, the story and game are simply far too bloody long. Coming up to 30 hours I didn’t even seem to be at the midpoint of the game and found it hard to justify going any further as the game had been quite generic thus far. Being a long game isn't a problem when it's compelling, but Dragon Quest would have held my interest knowing I had a shorter time left.

    One thing of note is the severe banality of the side-quests. Most resort to tired mechanics such as delivering or fetching, which is quite sad to see in a game released post-2016. If the previous 10 instalments are like this then I’m glad I missed them.

    The gameplay is potentially the best aspect of Dragon Quest, however this brings with it some questionable design choices. I loved the choices for combat to proceed automatically, however this also highlights the heavy grinding necessary. There is a mechanic where you can gallop into weaker enemies on your horse, defeating them immediately. This would have been better served by accumulating experience points for this to save on grinding.

    The game unfortunately repeats the same basic cycles found in JRPGs of old; go to a place, get sucked into a mini-story, conclude it, forget it and move on. Each town is hard to distinguish from the last. Despite boasting a wide open map, the game is essentially a series of small sandboxes and the sailing aspect is as irritating as it is liberating.

    The skill tree is an interesting concept but the execution is limited, gating off too many skills behind obsolete skills. Contemporaneously this is also a rather basic skill tree, superseded by games like FF12, which was released in 2006. Throughout the game, this theme of being outdated becomes more prominent.

    What is quite bewildering about this game is that there are at least ten games that came before it, yet Dragon Quest 11 feels more like the first JRPG a company makes. Everything is basic, generic and cliched. We have the Yakuza series, Zelda, Nier Automata and Trails of Cold Steel that have all shown evolution into modern expeditions, while Dragon Quest 11 feels like I’m playing a remaster of an old game or a trip down memory lane. It is a difficult game to recommend amongst the aforementioned company.    … Expand
  91. BTScorpion
    Nov 6, 2019
    6
    This is my first JRPG. It will probably be my last going on my experience with this game. There are some serious failings, mainly with game design.

    I cannot remember, in 30+ years of playing computer games, not finishing a game due to boredom. It truely is that bad. I found myself reading my phone during the combats! So just for clarification I played for probably 10+ hours. I was at    This is my first JRPG. It will probably be my last going on my experience with this game. There are some serious failings, mainly with game design.

    I cannot remember, in 30+ years of playing computer games, not finishing a game due to boredom. It truely is that bad. I found myself reading my phone during the combats! So just for clarification I played for probably 10+ hours. I was at levels 14. I only had 3 companions and was looking to get the 4th in the next part - I believe.

    Good points.
    it looks great. The scenery is great. The monsters definately are cute and names are quite funny. The style takes a bit of getting used to - every character is cross-eyed? The companions are ok. Interesting enough I guess. Voice acting comes across great. An interesting crafting mini-game let down by a tiresome collection system.

    Okay thats what gets it to a 6 in my rating. Not the bad news.

    Interface design is appalling. Now I know inventory management can be difficult on console but effort has to be made. Perhaps it is easier with a keyboard and mouse but I'm not going to try this game again on any other platform. Its just terrible. The amount of clicks to get anything done. Some many better ways that could have been done.

    Also, I wonder if anyone from the design team has ever played this game on the console. The button set up is just awful. Perhaps there is a way to customise controls but again I'm not playing it again. Its not worth it. Who puts auto-run on the options button! Jump stops pretty much any forward momentum and you jump up, possible a step forward, even when dashing.

    Combat, now I am new to this "each side has a go in turn" type combat. it seems interesting at first with various options and looked like it was going somewhere but once you set it to fight for itself you realise its all fairly pointless as the tactics are so irrelevant. The reason why is you can flee almost any point, you can avoid most monsters so can return to a save point to rest and recuperate. Monsters spawn back in almost instantly. several times I fought and defeated some critters, turned around, looked at the map, turned back and there they were again. Pointless. purely for grinding xp...not good game design. why bother with a lovely map if you could literally just be in a square box, fighting again and again and again.

    Mapping, is terrible. The mini-map is virtually worthless. You can see a fraction more than you can actually see but possible the worst part is the lack of any markers for ANYTHING on the map...you have to then delve into the map proper for see collectables that you then have to scroll though. Sheesh. It was just so cumbersome. If you leave and area and come back all the resources are reset. Ok this makes it 'easy' to collect things but really it just makes it grindy again.

    Quest management, now I only did a few quests so perhaps they got better but they were just collect/make/come back stuff. Just for the sake of collect/make/come back. Zero reasons behind the quests.

    Silent protagonist. now I've played the old GTA 3. I did the whole game not speaking but the character did not speak! In this game every one speaks, the kids in the street, the cats, even the cows gave a weather report. Why does not the 'hero' talk. The interactions say he is saying stuff. Say stuff. This was just frustrating.

    Unskippable cut-scenes. Long ones. ones where for a good few seconds you think the game may have actually frozen because nothing is happening. Oh dear.

    Okay I am going to stop there as I feel like I am trashiing this a lot and its really not THAT bad. It didn't crash, the graphics were ok, if a little dated. Load times were well hidden but it has an awful lot of downsides that just reaked of lazy development. Considering this is version 11, this should be as smooth as ice. I really do not understand how there are so many 10/10s for this game. I can only assume that other, earlier JRPGs must be truly bad and buggy. I really wanted to like this game buts its design frustrations and gameplay was just boring. Sorry JRPG fans - I know now I am not one.    … Expand
  92. HotCheeto
    Jul 10, 2019
    6
    I love RPG’s like Persona and Final Fantasy, bur this game isn’t quite up there with those. It’s fine, but that’s it, just fine. It’s annoying that it’s the same battle song throughout the game and your “limit” moves are whatever. I’d only get this game if you are all about RPG games and looking for something new.
  93. SudFlameWord
    Mar 5, 2020
    6
    A decent 2010s game until you realize it's a 90s game. It almost feels like, instead of designing a 3D game with a 2D, they designed a 2D game and realized it wouldn't survive in today's game ecosystem. Even then the characters were never updated to 3D, including the quirky gay-coded stereotype that was a tired trope in 2006 when Enchanted Arms discovered the series finale of Will & Grace.A decent 2010s game until you realize it's a 90s game. It almost feels like, instead of designing a 3D game with a 2D, they designed a 2D game and realized it wouldn't survive in today's game ecosystem. Even then the characters were never updated to 3D, including the quirky gay-coded stereotype that was a tired trope in 2006 when Enchanted Arms discovered the series finale of Will & Grace.

    Overall DQ XI coasts by on accrued sentiment for the brand, largely unconscious of itself, without doing anything fundamentally interesting in its own right. The instances where the cousin of risk is taken near the end of the game are too few and too late to make it anything. Just another DQ installment and the kind of game you play through numbly not because you hate or like it, but because it gives you the vague comfort of predictability.    … Expand
  94. onslaught1584
    Aug 6, 2020
    6
    This is one of those games that I loved the first 40 hours of, but by about 100 hours in, when the story and gameplay started becoming tedious and repetitive, after I had fought the same re skinned enemies for the 8th or 9th time, all of its flaws became overwhelming. The game employees a lot of unnecessary padding, and takes the idea of grinding in a JRPG and cranks it up to 11. TheThis is one of those games that I loved the first 40 hours of, but by about 100 hours in, when the story and gameplay started becoming tedious and repetitive, after I had fought the same re skinned enemies for the 8th or 9th time, all of its flaws became overwhelming. The game employees a lot of unnecessary padding, and takes the idea of grinding in a JRPG and cranks it up to 11. The characters are shallow and boring and their voice acting is what I would expect from a 4kids anime dub in the early to mid 90s. The music is also repetative and becomes obnoxious after several hours in. My playthrough of this game was the definition of a sunk cost fallacy. I was just ready for it to be over, but progression is hard locked behind mindless tedious grinding. This game is why so many people actively avoid JRPGs. Every trope is there.… Expand
  95. Mogmog000
    Jan 24, 2023
    6
    The difficulty is normal and the monsters are cute.
    The map is large. Opening skills is tedious.
    Story is too long.
  96. DinoBeam
    Mar 27, 2022
    5
    WARNING! This game is too easy, and the only other option is Very Hard mode, and you can't change difficulty after starting. This is a huge core flaw that really sucks, and is hard to understand the existence of. I don't know why this isn't talked about more, though it is talked about. I'm over half way through the game and I have to stop. While at first the characters were charming andWARNING! This game is too easy, and the only other option is Very Hard mode, and you can't change difficulty after starting. This is a huge core flaw that really sucks, and is hard to understand the existence of. I don't know why this isn't talked about more, though it is talked about. I'm over half way through the game and I have to stop. While at first the characters were charming and the quest fairly interesting, the story is just meandering from reason for it to keep going to reason for it to keep going using anime power up tricks and such. In addition, Akira Toriyama's art design of monsters is extremely hit or miss here, with half or more of the monsters looking like off-brand toys for very young children.

    The game also feels very cheap in a number of other ways, for instance you get to a cool new area only to hear the same exact music for every other area, then you go in a cave and hear the exact same music for every other cave and dungeon. This game is doing as little as it can to make a profit, making sure to extend the playtime so people don't complain. This game is very disappointing, and I am appalled at the praise it has received by players and critics alike.

    If you are looking for a good JRPG experience, I recommend these;

    Dragon Quest IV for the Nintendo DS
    Pokemon Blue or the updated Leaf Green version
    Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest 1
    Radiata Stories    … Expand
  97. EmilyMonster
    Sep 23, 2018
    5
    I had never played a Dragon Quest game before, but I wanted too. I played 1 and 2 on my phone and it was what I expected a JRPG from the NES would be. Just picked up XI and besides the graphics, THERE ARE NO IMPROVEMENTS AT ALL. Same archaic battle system with nothing interesting to mix it up, still need to go to specific places to do simple things like check your exp (which was annoyingI had never played a Dragon Quest game before, but I wanted too. I played 1 and 2 on my phone and it was what I expected a JRPG from the NES would be. Just picked up XI and besides the graphics, THERE ARE NO IMPROVEMENTS AT ALL. Same archaic battle system with nothing interesting to mix it up, still need to go to specific places to do simple things like check your exp (which was annoying in 1 and 2 already), and the story is basically the same as 1 and 2. Protag is born to rid the world of darkness. Boring. You can play the first 2 games and get THE EXACT SAME STORY.… Expand
  98. AsaZimbabwe
    Apr 24, 2019
    5
    No disrespect for the nostalgic DQ, and fans of traditional JRPGs. But in 2019 this game is hard to enjoy. It is about as linear as an RPG can get while still qualifying as an RPG. With cumbersome menus that fight you every step of the way for basic tasks; painful inventory management; archaic systems that do not hold up well; seemingly endless, childish cut scenes that cannot be skippedNo disrespect for the nostalgic DQ, and fans of traditional JRPGs. But in 2019 this game is hard to enjoy. It is about as linear as an RPG can get while still qualifying as an RPG. With cumbersome menus that fight you every step of the way for basic tasks; painful inventory management; archaic systems that do not hold up well; seemingly endless, childish cut scenes that cannot be skipped (the first time around); 'random' battles that can be easily avoided, but which are actually necessary grinding to level up for generic level-gated story progression; battles which you generally don't actually have much control over; tricky-to-access settings which include auto-move the camera or not, which doesn't seem to really work, and either way has no real impact; an awkward jump button, but you can't actually jump over anything including myriad invisible fences in the world, except for ridiculously obvious crates stacked next to a roof, which you can jump on to find a treasure chest for 5 gold???; or in the stealth missions where you are lead to believe you should walk around the boxes, but actually you have to jump them, surprise! it does include a run button, but which is oddly too fast and clumsy for its own good; half your inventory can't be sold; supposedly great voice acting which is often quite annoying (in the first half hour pseudo British accents are all over the place, some words are mispronounced, punctuation seems misplaced); the art style is occasionally gorgeous but often awkward and dated; "stealth" missions where your NPC teammate actually misleads you when he shows you how to accomplish it, if you follow his lead you'll be instantly caught (is that intentional or a mistake? either way, not fun); loads of backtracking... It's even missing many features that earlier DQ games had on more primitive consoles; the map is virtually useless, as is the HUD mini-map, since practically nothing is labelled on either, including quest markers, and you can't zoom in enough to see good detail even on huge 4k tvs.... I just don't get all the rave reviews, even considering nostalgia. The original 8-bit Final Fantasy 1 on any platform is more intuitive, customizable, and fun to play that this on many levels; the same could be said for many earlier iterations of Dragon Quest too. I'm not opposed to fan service, and throwback games by any means, but this is really baffling, the rave reviews? the game is quite simply boring and annoying.… Expand
  99. SZJX
    Jan 11, 2019
    5
    (Minor spoilers, if this simple plotline could ever be "spoiled" at all)

    I really expected a lot more from the plot after seeing the Engadget review calling the post-game "a huge surprise", and seeing the beginning CG. After meeting the king it was obvious that the king was abnormal, but I had always hoped that the protagonist could turn out to be a complicated character instead of a    (Minor spoilers, if this simple plotline could ever be "spoiled" at all)

    I really expected a lot more from the plot after seeing the Engadget review calling the post-game "a huge surprise", and seeing the beginning CG. After meeting the king it was obvious that the king was abnormal, but I had always hoped that the protagonist could turn out to be a complicated character instead of a bland hero as well (I thought some "seed of evil" was planted in him at the beginning), and maybe after the end-game he'll actually become the demon king.

    Nope. Absolutely none of it happened, the hero was simply persecuted and wronged by a man just "possessed" by a great evil out of nowhere (one of the worst and most unconvincing cliches IMO), and he went on being "the greatest of all", as usual, guided and protected by some unassailable divine force. Guess I just had too high a hope for a RPG series known for its conservative plot after having read some really deep and innovative Japanese VNs which throw punches left and right and take no cliched stances at all. DQ just as Zelda is certainly not a place to look for narrative creativeness. I've got that.

    If you really think about the plot there are really too many holes to count and everything is just dramatic and childish as hell for the sake of narrating a cliched drama. Just don't think too deep about it and enjoy the scenery and the battles that's it, if those are your thing.    … Expand
  100. NEDM64
    Sep 14, 2018
    5
    Good game spoiled by the GAMBLING parts, who is the idiot at Square Enix that thought making gambling a part of the game that you need to do in order to complete it was a good idea?
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Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Best PS4 Game of 2018
19
#19 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018
29
#29 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 86 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 80 out of 86
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 86
  3. Negative: 0 out of 86
  1. PLAY! Zine
    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.
    Read full review
  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. GameGrin
    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.
    Read full review
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