User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 971 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 79 out of 971
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
  1. Sep 5, 2018
    10
    This is one of the best JRPG's of the year, adding to the PS4's great library of JRPG's.
  2. Sep 4, 2018
    10
    It has been a long long time since we met...but hopefully you're finally here again. This is simply the real JRPG game for real RPG gamers! There is no way round it: You just love it or hate it...on my opinion this is a piece of classic game history and it is wonderful!
  3. Sep 9, 2018
    10
    A gem amongst a sea of stones.
    Never did i know,a game could feel like home.
    Ive been searching for a game to truly captivate me like this one has. Ive put countless hours into countless titles, games that have been given high praise yet not once did i find my heart put into these games until now.dragon quest does something a tad bit different from the rest. Theres so much heart and
    A gem amongst a sea of stones.
    Never did i know,a game could feel like home.
    Ive been searching for a game to truly captivate me like this one has. Ive put countless hours into countless titles, games that have been given high praise yet not once did i find my heart put into these games until now.dragon quest does something a tad bit different from the rest. Theres so much heart and innocence put into it and examples of this shine with every step taken in this beautiful world.there are games that are made to sell,and there are very few games where the creators ideas and real world beliefs are put into its creation,this is one of those very few examples where the body of work is made to express the very creators being in hopes to shine a light within the players dimmed soul. Play this game with an open mind and heart, take the journey slow and steady and i promise youll enjoy every step of the way
    Expand
  4. Sep 5, 2018
    10
    Great JRPG with turn based combat that reminds me of the gold old time rpgs. The art and graphics are really good and the vintage sound effects are nice and respect the fans of the franchise.
  5. Sep 4, 2018
    10
    Finally a true jrpg that reminds me of the golden age of rpg's (1990 ish, ps1/ps2 era)

    After many years of mostly terrible games that all felt short on either story, gameplay, or mechanics i am glad to be playing dragon quest XI. The game looks amazing, next to also having a great story, and amazing cutscenes. As a big fan of these old school rpg's ( ff 4-10, grandia, legend of
    Finally a true jrpg that reminds me of the golden age of rpg's (1990 ish, ps1/ps2 era)

    After many years of mostly terrible games that all felt short on either story, gameplay, or mechanics i am glad to be playing dragon quest XI.
    The game looks amazing, next to also having a great story, and amazing cutscenes.

    As a big fan of these old school rpg's ( ff 4-10, grandia, legend of legaia, legend of dragoons etc) i am very glad to see that the concept of these games has not been forgotten yet.
    Expand
  6. Sep 4, 2018
    10
    Dragon Warrior on the NES was the game that made me fall in love with RPG's so i bought this game thinking it would be worth it based on nostalgia alone and it is. On top of that the look of the game, the turn based combat, the level up and skill system and the story are fantastic. 5 hours in and I'm hooked, I can't wait to get out of work so i can fire up my PS4. 10/10
  7. Sep 8, 2018
    10
    I really have to give this game a perfect score. It's absolutely gorgeous, has great voice acting, and is paced perfectly. I really love the art style of kind of cell shaded mixed with conventional textures. It really looks phenomenal blended together. I personally think this is the best looking JRPG made in a long time.

    I'm so sick of RPGs branching out too much before you even get
    I really have to give this game a perfect score. It's absolutely gorgeous, has great voice acting, and is paced perfectly. I really love the art style of kind of cell shaded mixed with conventional textures. It really looks phenomenal blended together. I personally think this is the best looking JRPG made in a long time.

    I'm so sick of RPGs branching out too much before you even get started, but this game does a great job at keeping you focused while still giving you a lot of meat to chew on. The turn based combat is quick when it needs to be and complex enough for boss battles.

    If there are any faults to Dragon Quest XI, they are greatly outweighed by its charms to the point of being forgivable.
    Expand
  8. Sep 17, 2018
    10
    A masterpiece of video games. It made me feel something special again that I had not felt with a video game for years.
    Dragon Quest XI is at the height of the VIII, reaching to exceed it in certain points, it has certainly become one of my favorite games and for sure it is a game that will mark a before and after in the RPG and in the Dragon Quest Saga.
    Excellent music, exceptional story
    A masterpiece of video games. It made me feel something special again that I had not felt with a video game for years.
    Dragon Quest XI is at the height of the VIII, reaching to exceed it in certain points, it has certainly become one of my favorite games and for sure it is a game that will mark a before and after in the RPG and in the Dragon Quest Saga.
    Excellent music, exceptional story plot, sublime graphics.
    Honestly I can not speak badly about this game in anything. A perfect game for my liking.
    Expand
  9. Sep 8, 2018
    10
    Let me preface this review by saying: Do not let the large amount of negative user scores dissuade you from giving this game a shot. I understand that users can't always be bothered to justify their score with a written review, but I did the math and found that approximately 1 review per 10 negative ratings is about what you should normally expect on average. Yet here we are with 45Let me preface this review by saying: Do not let the large amount of negative user scores dissuade you from giving this game a shot. I understand that users can't always be bothered to justify their score with a written review, but I did the math and found that approximately 1 review per 10 negative ratings is about what you should normally expect on average. Yet here we are with 45 negative scores and not even a single review to back it up... not even a half-baked one. Something's clearly fishy here, and if I had to wager a guess, it's probably the work of people who are fanboys of a certain other IP that also recently got a prominent game release. The type of person who would make a huge fuss about minor graphical "downgrades" and "low" high-80s review scores would probably also be liable to get jealous/angry when a very different game reviews comparably to their darling.

    Enough about that though, the game is absolutely fantastic. If you've ever been even remotely curious to give Dragon Quest (or JRPGs in general) a try, this game is an excellent place to finally dive in. It's absolutely gorgeous, has the robust turn-based gameplay that the series is known for, is overflowing with charm at every turn, has a colorful cast of lovable characters starring in a satisfying traditional story told with a refreshing amount of skill and cleverness, has a top-notch localization featuring mostly excellent voice acting, and is just overall an extremely joyful, cozy game to spend dozens of hours with. Some people say it's old school to a fault, but I couldn't disagree more. Its way of doing things are different than other major JRPG releases of the decade, such as Persona 5, but it's no less valid. It's absolutely not just tradition for tradition's sake.

    My single biggest criticism would have to be the soundtrack. I personally enjoy it, but in this instance, nostalgia is definitely helping prop it up. It's playful and fun, but fairly repetitive... and the fact it's MIDI is undoubtedly a disappointment. The obnoxiously heavy-handed copyright enforcement is also a bummer. That said, I do think some people are overblowing the music issue a bit... it's not ear-bleedingly bad. The default audio balance has the music too loud relative to sounds and voices though, which might be why some people are finding it so grating. I think turning music volume down to 6 is the sweet spot.

    To sum up: Fantastic game... One of the best JRPGs of the last decade, if not all time. Give it a chance.
    Expand
  10. Sep 4, 2018
    10
    Absolutely amazing - after a decade of the gaming media trying to force action battles down our throats telling everyone no one likes turn based anymore, here we have a game that tops all of them.
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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.
  14. 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
  15. Jul 27, 2019
    10
    Almost perfect in every way. The best Dragon Quest game to date. Every bit the masterpiece 8 was and more. If Turn Based RPGs are your thing, this is the game to get. Absolutely classic JRPG, and one of the top 5 games for the PS4, and the best Dragon Quest to date.
  16. Sep 9, 2018
    10
    Best J-rpg of the last 10 years together with Persona 5, old school full of charisma, amazing fantasy world, depth, challenging if you play hard mode, insane graphics and scenario, great story write and plot, lovely music, every city has it's own way of speaking ,personality and accent simulating different places of the world... could continue all day.

    For me its goty by far.
  17. Sep 24, 2018
    10
    I have been waiting 14 years for another single player console Dragon Quest game! I am not in the least disappointed, this game is EVERYTHING I was hoping it would be and more. Infinitely more playable and more fun than FFXV. Please fellow gamers, buy this masterpiece so Squeenix localizes future installments! They say that if it does not sell well the localization is in jeopardy.I have been waiting 14 years for another single player console Dragon Quest game! I am not in the least disappointed, this game is EVERYTHING I was hoping it would be and more. Infinitely more playable and more fun than FFXV. Please fellow gamers, buy this masterpiece so Squeenix localizes future installments! They say that if it does not sell well the localization is in jeopardy. Although if they are concerned about sales I am not sure why they'd make it a PlayStation exclusive, but regardless, this is a MUST PLAY game! Expand
  18. Sep 25, 2018
    10
    I came into this game a little hesitant. I grew up playing many of the old Dragon Quest games, but I always preferred Final Fantasy. I have to say the Final Fantasy franchise has left me disappointed in recent years, but Dragon Quest VIII was a pleasure to play and now 100+ hours into Dragon Quest XI I can say the same for this game. I was pleasantly surprised at the bits of nostalgiaI came into this game a little hesitant. I grew up playing many of the old Dragon Quest games, but I always preferred Final Fantasy. I have to say the Final Fantasy franchise has left me disappointed in recent years, but Dragon Quest VIII was a pleasure to play and now 100+ hours into Dragon Quest XI I can say the same for this game. I was pleasantly surprised at the bits of nostalgia that are sprinkled into this game, but not too much so that it becomes a negative thing. The story really gets good as you play through the game. The characters are great. I was not particularly entertained by some characters at first, but the game completely changed my mind later as their stories developed. I can't remember the last time a game was able to do that. The combat is nothing really new for a Dragon Quest game, but the simplicity is part of that nostalgia and for me it was just fine as it was. The character designs and visuals were superb, and the music was enjoyable as well. I plan on continuing to play this game well past the 100 hours as there are still things I have yet to discover. Expand
  19. 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
  20. Oct 8, 2018
    10
    My first dragon quest experience and one that had turned me into a lifelong fan. Easily the best JRPG I've played. In my opinion this is better than any final fantasy.
  21. Jan 3, 2019
    10
    As a classic RPG gamer I found DQ11 refreshing. Brought me back to days of Ultima on C64, Original Dragon Warrior on NES and Phantasy Star on Genisis.
  22. 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
  23. 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
  24. Sep 10, 2020
    8
    It harkens back to 80s JRPGs and the combat should be familiar but it never really feels like it's holding it back, if anything this is the boldest Dragon Quest game ever. The graphics are very good for its cartoony aesthetic and you'll be drawn into it not for the thrill of battle but for the cute monsters with dumb pun names. The music is okay, it gets repetitive. The combat is easy toIt harkens back to 80s JRPGs and the combat should be familiar but it never really feels like it's holding it back, if anything this is the boldest Dragon Quest game ever. The graphics are very good for its cartoony aesthetic and you'll be drawn into it not for the thrill of battle but for the cute monsters with dumb pun names. The music is okay, it gets repetitive. The combat is easy to understand. On normal mode as long as you face any enemies that look unique to you, you'll be fine, there are no random encounters. I love the versatility of equipment swapping and character swapping in battle. Every character fills just the right niche and you'll use all of them of your own volition probably. It's a bit buff and debuff heavy once you start to understand the game, with dedicated support characters. It doesn't punish being experimental with its skill tree as you can easily reallocate skill points. I guess my biggest criticism of the combat is the turn order being completely random with a dash of it being influenced by the agility stat. The generic set up of the story can be a turn off but you get in a episodic groove once the story really takes off. And then it goes really full gear in what I consider the 2nd act. The character development in that part of the game is great and it really shows how hard the developers tried to make every detail matter. The post-game has a storyline which is interesting lore wise but honestly I do take issue with some of the basic premise of it. But it does offer some more difficult combat trials. I think the main party of characters is great, I initially had negative perceptions of some of them but they all reveal themselves to be far more wholesome and troubled people than you initially believed. How I felt about characters such as Erik and Veronica drastically changed, I honestly thought Veronica was awful at first. It's a light-hearted affair but there are a couple moments that get a tad depressing in the game. One thing I thought was really cool about the North American version was some of the liberties they took with town dialogue. Every city featured some type of caricature like Spain, Italy, Hawaii, etc. but it's all very cute, the VAs are accented and have much more elaborate lines than the JP VAs, and there's this village where everyone speaks in haiku and then sometimes the kids break haiku for effect before stopping themselves. This is the kind of thing that happens when a localization team actually loves the product they're translating.

    It's easy to make a big massive JRPG map and just have it be point A to point B but Dragon Quest doesn't half ass any areas of the map. It has small but noteable flaws but I remember it as an endearing experience and that's what matters.
    Expand
  25. Jan 8, 2019
    4
    I'm an old JRPG fan.
    I loved all the old FF, Suikoden, and I also love some modern RPGs, such as Skyrim, and Mass Effect.
    I thought I'd love DQ11. It got a lot of love from critics and users alike. But 10 hours in, I'd have enough. Here is an overview of why: Pros: -Colorful -Interesting enough forge mechanics -There are skill trees (albeit very simple ones) Cons:
    I'm an old JRPG fan.
    I loved all the old FF, Suikoden, and I also love some modern RPGs, such as Skyrim, and Mass Effect.
    I thought I'd love DQ11. It got a lot of love from critics and users alike.
    But 10 hours in, I'd have enough. Here is an overview of why:

    Pros:

    -Colorful

    -Interesting enough forge mechanics

    -There are skill trees (albeit very simple ones)

    Cons:

    -User-friendliness: it seems every time you try to do something in DQ11, you need to acknowledge 13 times. Would you like to rest? Are you SURE? Do you confirm that you are SURE? Another example: why in the WORLD does a game still give characters separate bags? You need to have items equipped on different characters, and it's mostly manual. It seems half the game is navigating menus to TRY to do what you want to do.

    -Difficulty: very easy without draconian settings... with "monsters are very strong", you can get wiped out by chance without getting a turn when monsters get first strike (if you don't grind like your life depends on it.. because it does!)

    -Exploration: the world feels... empty and flat. It doesn't feel lived in, and doesn't feel like is has much of a personally. Apart from running around getting treasure chests that seem way out of place (why are they chilling in the middle of the plains in plain view??)

    -Character and monster design looks terrible (ymmv)

    All in all, I hadn't played Dragon Quest since the first one on NES, and I thought it might be time to revisit this serie. I was wrong. If you ARE a fan of the series, perhaps there is something for you there. If not, stay away, there are better JRPGs out there that deserve your time before this one.
    Expand
  26. Sep 4, 2018
    10
    This is a modern classic it's a old friend returned a comfort a familiarity that's lasted like no other in gaming.....it's Dragon Quest at it's finest ♥️
  27. Sep 6, 2018
    10
    finally a Dragon Quest! great game. a masterpiece! this genre is difficult to come by
  28. Sep 5, 2018
    10
    Dragon Quest XI is a throwback to the golden era of JRPG. The modern day graphics, beautiful art style, amazing soundtrack and detail are everything that long-term fans (such as myself) were waiting for. The story is simple, straightforward and captivating. The characters are remarkable and charismatic. The battle system is fast, smooth and fun. The progression, pace and personal reward isDragon Quest XI is a throwback to the golden era of JRPG. The modern day graphics, beautiful art style, amazing soundtrack and detail are everything that long-term fans (such as myself) were waiting for. The story is simple, straightforward and captivating. The characters are remarkable and charismatic. The battle system is fast, smooth and fun. The progression, pace and personal reward is well balanced. I recognize it is not a game for everyone. I would not recommend to people who love action-packed games. Dragon Quest is a rather contemplative series. My final score is 10 (masterpiece)! And game of the year for me! Expand
  29. Sep 19, 2018
    10
    I am going to start this review off by saying I might be a bit biased, considering how I really enjoy the Dragon Quest games.

    Dragon Quest XI starts off like most Dragon Quest games. You are a village boy of sixteen years old who goes to meet the king and eventually you have to fight a demonic overlord. It does throw some curve balls, of course. But the big storypoints mostly stay the
    I am going to start this review off by saying I might be a bit biased, considering how I really enjoy the Dragon Quest games.

    Dragon Quest XI starts off like most Dragon Quest games. You are a village boy of sixteen years old who goes to meet the king and eventually you have to fight a demonic overlord. It does throw some curve balls, of course. But the big storypoints mostly stay the same.

    Now, first of all, the game looks beautiful. It's so colourful and the music is fantastic. Again the character designs are done by Akira Toriyama and your protagonist resembles Android 17 quite a bit. Combat is much unchanged. You can walk around, but your position on the field doesn't really seem to matter.

    Overall, the game always kept me entertained and it never felt like a chore playing. Well, almost never. There is some content after the main game that requirers you to go through some Trials that puts you through areas you've already visited. It mainly seems to be used as a fun way to grind to defeat the True Final Boss and it gives you the chance to get better equipment and recipes, so I didn't mind it THAT much. Another thing I disliked was the voice acting, but you can turn that off if you prefer.

    In any case, I'd recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of JRPGs. You need no knowledge of the other Dragon Quest games.
    Expand
  30. Sep 4, 2018
    10
    It´s a great game, the best dragon quest ever, amazing soundtrack, im a nintendo fan.
  31. 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
  32. Feb 1, 2019
    10
    정통 턴제 rpg의 미래.
    점점 시대에서 밀려나고 있는 현실이지만, 분명 턴제만이 줄수 있는 매력이 있다.
    그 매력을 얼마나 현대적 관점에서도 살려낼수 있느냐가 쉽지 않은 일이지만,
    드퀘11은 굉장히 멋지게 턴제의 매력을 보여주는데 성공했다.
  33. Mar 7, 2019
    10
    Delightful! Captures the essence of the series with the new art direction seen in the heroes series and some nice new touches such as using enemies as vehicles. So many charming locations and people/monsters. A lot of fun with plenty of quests and mini games. A must play for any fan of the series or JRPG lovers.
  34. Apr 14, 2019
    10
    I haven't played an turnbased RPG this good since persona 5. The story aldo not very original, is very likeable. I did wish they showed the bad guy a bit more because most of the game you only see his lackeys. The combat has been fleshed out with new weapons, mechanics and skills. The graphics are amazing and so is the artstyle. If only the soundtrack was this good. This is the only badI haven't played an turnbased RPG this good since persona 5. The story aldo not very original, is very likeable. I did wish they showed the bad guy a bit more because most of the game you only see his lackeys. The combat has been fleshed out with new weapons, mechanics and skills. The graphics are amazing and so is the artstyle. If only the soundtrack was this good. This is the only bad thing I can say about the game. It felt like an stepdown from Octopath traveler who used orchastrated music. Overal this is one of the best turnbased RPG's I have ever played! Expand
  35. Mar 8, 2019
    10
    Best JRPG on the PS4 and one of the best games I have played, I love the characters and the game!
  36. 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
  37. 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
  38. Sep 4, 2018
    10
    This game is like going back to the time of ps2, I am very happy to be able to play again in a new installment after so many years!
  39. 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
  40. 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
  41. 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
  42. Sep 13, 2018
    10
    The game-play is great. The story is phenomenal. The music is legendary. The art is beautiful. The progression is perfect. This series is one of the most underrated of all time over here in America, I say no more. Play this game immediately people, it will be the best 100-140 hours of your gaming life
  43. 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.
  44. Sep 23, 2018
    10
    I am loving this game brilliant story. Got me back into JRPGs again best one since persona 5. I would recommend this hands down
  45. Apr 5, 2019
    1
    Unfortunately on the Ps4 Pro there is insane motion blur which causes nausea within a few minutes. They don't seem to intend to do anything about it, my complaint was answered with "sit further away from your television and use the smallest screen possible. I'll never be able to finish, a colossal waste of money.
  46. Jan 30, 2020
    4
    Huge waste of time for everyone who have played previous Dragon Quest games. Empty world, boring side quests, faceless characters and boring combat if you play on normal difficulty. And guess what? Hours of pointless grind if you play with draconian settings. This game suffers from lack of new ideas and it seems like critics who give this game 10 ratings didn't play more than a couple of hours.
  47. Sep 25, 2018
    10
    Best game in years. DQ XI whipes the floor with BotW, that crap doesn't deserves a 10, this game does.
  48. 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
  49. Nov 25, 2018
    10
    Great game, i loved it sooo much ! This is how i love a JRPG turn-based game. Worth all the money i invested in.
  50. Nov 25, 2018
    10
    Best JRPG I have played in a long time. You just don't see turn-based combat done well anymore. Glad I bought this well worth it. I have spent a few hundred hours on it and there is still more to do.
  51. 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
  52. Jan 7, 2019
    10
    Easely one of the best j-rpg's in years, the game looks stunning and the world is made brilliantly.
    The old-school turn based combat system combined with a great story make this game a must have for all jrpg lovers.
  53. Mar 1, 2019
    10
    I really love the Dragon Quest franchise. And this is game is one of the reasons why I love Dragon Quest. But I think the story really need to be more engaged just like the V.
  54. 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
  55. 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
  56. Feb 15, 2020
    10
    I love the atmosphere and the chance to go into old times like that. all the adventures. The decisions you can chose. The temple missions. The game is just outstanding. id give it a 20 if it were possible.
  57. 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!
  58. Sep 4, 2018
    10
    I've never played a dragon quest game, but this game looks incredibly intriguing and I'm willing to give it a shot. Everything that I've seen so far makes this game a must have in my opinion
  59. Feb 5, 2019
    2
    I wanted to like this game, but the graphics were not very interesting to me, the battle system was boring (note that I only made it 5 hours in), the side quests that I saw were inconsequential, and I did not see any cool spells, choices matter mechanics, or anything of interest. Though it appears polished, I was pretty disappointed.
  60. Sep 10, 2018
    10
    totemo ii game. totemo iiyo... korezo old school na rpg de music mo graphics mo iine.
  61. 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
  62. Sep 5, 2018
    10
    Absolutely amazing - I feel like a kid again playing the first time final fantasy. now so many years later it great to have nice old school jrpgs again.
  63. Jun 7, 2019
    10
    DQXI is the perfect JRPG. Its long, has great characters, lovely stories, simple and super fun combat, tons of stuff to do and gorgeous visuals.

    If you compare this game to other games, this is 6/10 - its slow, weirdly paced, filled with odd things, silly things and the combat system is limited. This is a JRPG for JRPG lovers and purists. Are you replaying Final Fantasy IV and Golden
    DQXI is the perfect JRPG. Its long, has great characters, lovely stories, simple and super fun combat, tons of stuff to do and gorgeous visuals.

    If you compare this game to other games, this is 6/10 - its slow, weirdly paced, filled with odd things, silly things and the combat system is limited. This is a JRPG for JRPG lovers and purists. Are you replaying Final Fantasy IV and Golden Sun? DQXI is for you. Do you play God of War and Red Dead Redemption 2? Then you will be bored and die of that boredom.
    Expand
  64. 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
  65. Sep 4, 2018
    10
    simply a dream come true i would never taught that we will one day have a better DQ the DQ8 and 11 just did it im not far unto the game but waw this game is worth a 10
  66. Sep 27, 2019
    0
    Cuidado!!! Si adquieres está versión altamente recortada, sin un montón de contenido restringido que está reservado en NS y además de comerte más de 100 horas sentado en el mismo lugar eres un completo tarado e insulto a la inteligencia humana.
  67. 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
  68. 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
  69. Jul 6, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Dragon Quest 11Review
    The Story: Really good, up to a point. Enter Sylvando, the flamboyant token character! Then the propaganda starts. Fruit Suits & Pride Parades. All kinds of innuendo. This cringe-worthy plot development will offend normal people. It's over-the top. It's agenda driven. WOKE themes are becoming the point of these games, it seems. LAME!!!

    Game Play: All-in-all, it's far too easy!! Players can see & avoid foes altogether! You can preemptively strike before battle which seems unnecessary and superfluous. Dual wield is really awesome, especially with falcon swords. But monsters are easier to defeat, in general, and rare metal monsters are now a joke. The monster catalogue gives item drop info before drops occur. And the crossbow target game was just time consuming and a real nuisance. Often, the crossbow targeted monsters off-screen while attempting other actions. And invisible walls were everywhere. I've never seen it this bad. Why couldn't they just modify the environment to bar passage? Furthermore, the map was too small!! Man, you'd think for a PS 4 game it would be at least as large as DQ8 on PS2, but it isn't. The Casino has improved, but you are still only allowed a choice of slots or poker. Could've added more. The Forge is nice. It makes items & upgrades, but game play is easy anyway. So you can skip bothering with it. The graphics are traditionally DQ design and looks great. And finally the music scores. Classic DQ, but does not change with location. It's the same music from place-to-place, over and over again. It get s very old...Anyway, given the very small map and easy difficulty setting, I would say this game was suitable for novices with low standards and no expectations. this is definitely not DQ8.

    My Review: Save yourself some money and skip this one if you don't drink soy milk or loiter around public restrooms late night in Central Park. If you already own it, do as I did. Lament your purchase at GameStop while taking a pair of scissors to it. Wokeness ruined the story and game play is for amateurs with no skills.
    Expand
  70. 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.
  71. 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
  72. Sep 21, 2018
    4
    The music is horrible. It sounds like it's from 1990 and there's not much of it.

    It really clashes with the other aspects of the game, too. It's like playing Mario Odyssey while listening to the music from NES Mario Bros.

    The game is very slow and repetitive otherwise. Skip it.
  73. 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
  74. 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?
  75. Feb 28, 2020
    0
    Dragon Quest 11 is the worst RPG ever made, with its Grindy gameplay horrible battles boring story and characters. The game does look beautiful so are the enemy’s, but that’s pretty much it for good things. The game is boring they made exploring worlds so meaningless, also the actual battles are super lame. And let’s not forget the main problem of the game, the damn grind. The grind justDragon Quest 11 is the worst RPG ever made, with its Grindy gameplay horrible battles boring story and characters. The game does look beautiful so are the enemy’s, but that’s pretty much it for good things. The game is boring they made exploring worlds so meaningless, also the actual battles are super lame. And let’s not forget the main problem of the game, the damn grind. The grind just destroys this game the most, leveling up is so hard that the only enemy in the game that gives you a lot of experience points is a random metal **** The rest of the enemy’s give u around 1-10 experience points, while the metal slime gives you 1000-3000 experience points wtf. Also all the characters are easily hatable not to forget the terrible boring ass story. Dragon Quest 11 is an embarrassment to the RPG series of games, this game seriously needs to be removed from any site so people can actually play good RPGs. (Terrible 0/5) Belongs In The Trash! Expand
  76. Sep 22, 2018
    3
    Meh. I did expect so much more out of this title. It has got part of its old charm but honestly there are so many ways it could have been improved compared to its predecessors (other than the graphics). It still does a terrible job at explaining how things work (I often found myself googling stuff) and so far the story and character development have not been so interesting as to push meMeh. I did expect so much more out of this title. It has got part of its old charm but honestly there are so many ways it could have been improved compared to its predecessors (other than the graphics). It still does a terrible job at explaining how things work (I often found myself googling stuff) and so far the story and character development have not been so interesting as to push me forward into the game. Unfortunately it's too late to get a refund so I'll keep playing it but if I could switch it with some other title I would. Expand
  77. Sep 28, 2018
    0
    WoW, this game is not more then the worse game I ever played.
    random combat systen
    really bad balanced boss fights
    much to easy in the normal fights
    backtracking
    boring grinding
    horrible story (after 40 h)
  78. Oct 28, 2018
    2
    Game is slow.
    You don't get to attribute points to unlock skill every level because each cap requires several points, which make the gameplay feels linear.
    The combat gets boring, music repetitive, no character creation like old DQ, no monster capturing like old DQ either from first 20 hours so I guess it's not in the game as well.
    Just a banal game, would be a seven if it costs $5.
  79. Jun 19, 2019
    0
    Супер унылое рандомное казино, очень быстро надоедающая рандомная боевка, очень долгие бессмысленные повторяющиеся анимации (типа там прыгает что-то или тому подобное), которые нельзя пропустить, много репетатитва и сюжет поначалу достаточно интересный сливается просто в ж.Супер унылое рандомное казино, очень быстро надоедающая рандомная боевка, очень долгие бессмысленные повторяющиеся анимации (типа там прыгает что-то или тому подобное), которые нельзя пропустить, много репетатитва и сюжет поначалу достаточно интересный сливается просто в ж.
  80. Sep 10, 2020
    3
    Beautiful, but a slog.

    + Really pretty graphics + decent story + interesting characters - that MIDI music holy f*ck! (you, can mod it in the steam version, but I rate the vanilla stuff here) - extremly slow game. Everything is slow. The story, the combat, even fights against low level monsters take forever, due to long a*s animations - dumb menus, almost everthing is hidden under
    Beautiful, but a slog.

    + Really pretty graphics
    + decent story
    + interesting characters

    - that MIDI music holy f*ck! (you, can mod it in the steam version, but I rate the vanilla stuff here)
    - extremly slow game. Everything is slow. The story, the combat, even fights against low level monsters take forever, due to long a*s animations
    - dumb menus, almost everthing is hidden under Misc. So click, click, click, click until you get to see what you want
    - You lose all your fast travel points after a certrain event. Sea and land. Biggest joke ever. And you won't regain them, You'll need to revisit them. Serioulsy f*ck that.
    - Played it through and it took about 80 hours. At least 10-20 hours taken by the weak menu and inventory system and revisting all the places I have been before.
    - No idea how this game got such high scores. Besides from a tiny amount of mountable monsters there no new features and improvement compared to the last main games. Everything is the same! Critics are m*rons, cause that means we will get another PS2 game with nice graphics. Thanks for that, I guess!
    Expand
  81. 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
  82. 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
  83. 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
  84. 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
  85. 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
  86. 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
  87. 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
  88. Jul 16, 2019
    8
    Un gran juego que te hará farmear experiencia hasta sangrar en el post game (Nivel 70 recomendado XD)...
  89. 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
  90. May 13, 2021
    0
    This game is really well designed. Each part of the gameplay is rewarding and exciting. The only downside is that the game overstays its welcome. I am about 60 - 70 hours into the campaign and am well into "Act 2" of the game, and its starting to feel like a slog. A lot of overworld content is reused, but it fails to strike the same sense of awe and change that Ocarina of Time achieved.This game is really well designed. Each part of the gameplay is rewarding and exciting. The only downside is that the game overstays its welcome. I am about 60 - 70 hours into the campaign and am well into "Act 2" of the game, and its starting to feel like a slog. A lot of overworld content is reused, but it fails to strike the same sense of awe and change that Ocarina of Time achieved. You do revisit an area or two that changed drastically, but the vast majority of areas are exactly the same your second time around. The game kept me heartily entertained for about 70 hours, though, so Id recommend it. Unfortunately, I dont think I will see the story to its thrilling conclusion. Expand
  91. Nov 19, 2019
    0
    A game in 2017/07
    SE sold DQ11S, new version with voice support on Switch for 1+ month since 2019/09/27
    But still no voice update on PS4
    I bought PS4 version for a long time, but do not start to play it yet.
  92. Jan 20, 2020
    5
    I can’t get past the main character being so silent and deadpan. He doesn’t talk, and when he’s in danger he has zero reaction. He’s basically a hollow shell. A lifeless avatar. The cutscenes feel awkward and I find myself wishing he’d just do or say something other than just stand there!!! I don’t particularly like the battle style either it feels very boring. I can’t speak for the storyI can’t get past the main character being so silent and deadpan. He doesn’t talk, and when he’s in danger he has zero reaction. He’s basically a hollow shell. A lifeless avatar. The cutscenes feel awkward and I find myself wishing he’d just do or say something other than just stand there!!! I don’t particularly like the battle style either it feels very boring. I can’t speak for the story because I can’t bear to keep watching the MC behave so lifelessly. Really disappointing. I regret buying this game. Also the music is terrible, grates on the ears. Idk what Square Enix was thinking... Expand
  93. 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
  94. 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.
  95. 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.
  96. Sep 2, 2020
    0
    Awful! Its forcing you to play longer for levels up. The game is like no ending also, mechanics are awful
  97. Jul 24, 2020
    0
    No free upgrade to XI S, it feels so greedy from SQEX.
    Don't buy this game anymore and wait XI S if you really want it.
  98. 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
  99. 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
  100. 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.
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 86 Critic Reviews

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