Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 971 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 822 out of 971
  2. Mixed: 70 out of 971
  3. Negative: 79 out of 971
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  1. GlennLimos
    Nov 23, 2018
    9
    For what it is, it is close to perfect, a classic JRPG. The auto combat (which I never did use) makes combat less tedious for those who feel this way about classic JRPG combat. The game has an engaging story and it gets better and better. The characters grow on you, but to warn people, they are extremely anime, and the game gets pretty silly and close to cringy at times.

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

    My biggest complaint is the music during gameplay, it's midi, and a little less memorable than DQ8s soundtrack because of it. DQ8 still sits with me after all these years, the overworld theme there is fantastic and the orchestration of the music there made the whole game so much better. So the first thing you should do is turn down the music volume in the menu.    … Expand
  2. bonsai
    May 23, 2022
    9
    To me, this game goes directly in my top 3 JRPGs of all time, together with Chrono Trigger and Tales of Synphonia, I loved this game to death and did the platinum trophy, looking for everything to do until there wasn't anything left, 160 hours of pure fun.
  3. dramatickid
    Dec 30, 2018
    8
    A captivating plot and amazing characters are what make this game truly enjoyable despite its very linear structure and"classic" (not to say OLD) mechanics. Something a true JRPG fan would totally love but not for everyone.
  4. DinoBeam
    Mar 27, 2022
    5
    WARNING! This game is too easy, and the only other option is Very Hard mode, and you can't change difficulty after starting. This is a huge core flaw that really sucks, and is hard to understand the existence of. I don't know why this isn't talked about more, though it is talked about. I'm over half way through the game and I have to stop. While at first the characters were charming andWARNING! This game is too easy, and the only other option is Very Hard mode, and you can't change difficulty after starting. This is a huge core flaw that really sucks, and is hard to understand the existence of. I don't know why this isn't talked about more, though it is talked about. I'm over half way through the game and I have to stop. While at first the characters were charming and the quest fairly interesting, the story is just meandering from reason for it to keep going to reason for it to keep going using anime power up tricks and such. In addition, Akira Toriyama's art design of monsters is extremely hit or miss here, with half or more of the monsters looking like off-brand toys for very young children.

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

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

    Dragon Quest IV for the Nintendo DS
    Pokemon Blue or the updated Leaf Green version
    Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest 1
    Radiata Stories    … Expand
  5. DigitalCaffeine
    Dec 2, 2021
    3
    Oof, I was really looking forward to this game after seeing so many critics say it was one of the best JRPGs they've ever played, but after dozens of hours into it, I'm not sure we were playing the same thing. This is my first time playing a Dragon Quest game, and I doubt I'll return for another unless it was made by a different team. I have played other RPGs and JRPGs through the years,Oof, I was really looking forward to this game after seeing so many critics say it was one of the best JRPGs they've ever played, but after dozens of hours into it, I'm not sure we were playing the same thing. This is my first time playing a Dragon Quest game, and I doubt I'll return for another unless it was made by a different team. I have played other RPGs and JRPGs through the years, but even older ones tower over what is being offered here. The pacing is incredibly slow, mostly due to drawn-out conversations and cutscenes with the production value of something from the early 2000s. In fact, if you handed me this game and told me it was from 2005 I would have believed you.

    I didn't know exactly how many songs there are in the game, but you'll mostly hear the same 2 or 3 for the entire time you play. This includes the thousands of battles you'll get into. How did nobody see this as a problem?

    The monsters are cute, but it feels like that's where 90% of the art budget went. The towns look all have unique themes, but once you leave them it's the most generic open spaces with few interesting things to look at over and over. Seriously, it feels like there was a lack of inspiration in the overall art vision for this game. Everything is generic in the worst way possible. I finally called it quits about 30 hours in and can't in good faith recommend this for anyone to play.    … Expand
  6. danistorm
    Nov 7, 2018
    9
    Dragon Quest XI is already a "modern classic" of the RPG genre. It has everything a Rpg player wants to find in a game. The dream team of Yuji, Toriyama and Koichi made it again.

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

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

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

    This game will be remembered, as other gems of the genre are, as a must play. Let the legend of Dragon Quest continue!    … Expand
  7. Charlybs
    Jul 24, 2022
    9
    Un jrpg muy divertido y largo. Aventura es la palabra que mejor lo define. Desprende alegría, gusto, buen rollo a lo largo de toda la aventura. Lo recomiendo muchísimo incluso si nunca has jugado a rol por turnos.
  8. Neatqt
    Feb 25, 2019
    9
    Cast: 10/10
    Story: 9/10
    Fun: 9/10
    Gameplay: 10/10

    Recommended
    ----------------------
  9. chrisdan23
    Jun 9, 2022
    8
    Dragon Quest ist so ein Sache für sich. Ein Spielkonzept, dass sich einfach sträubt zu altern. Im Kern spielen sich Dragon Quest Games heute immer noch so, wie vor zwanzig Jahren, auch wenn der neue Ableger der Serie in schickem 3D Look daher kommt. Das Kampfsystem ist rundenbasiert und klassisch im besten Sinne. Die Story ist der typische Heldentruppen Epos, der durch zwei, dreiDragon Quest ist so ein Sache für sich. Ein Spielkonzept, dass sich einfach sträubt zu altern. Im Kern spielen sich Dragon Quest Games heute immer noch so, wie vor zwanzig Jahren, auch wenn der neue Ableger der Serie in schickem 3D Look daher kommt. Das Kampfsystem ist rundenbasiert und klassisch im besten Sinne. Die Story ist der typische Heldentruppen Epos, der durch zwei, drei geschickte Wendungen im Laufe der Geschichte immer mal wieder reanimiert wird. Das klingt alles nicht sehr spannend? Die besondere Stärke von Dragon Quest waren seit jeher die charmanten Charaktere. Auch hier hat man wieder mit dem Autor des Dragon Ball Universums zusammen gearbeitet. Das ists was dem Spiel das gewisse extra gibt und heraus holt aus dem Einerlei der klassischen JRPGs. Daher nicht nur zu empfehlen für Fans des Genres. Die werden den Titel sowieso suchten.… Expand
  10. hector_bcn98
    Nov 16, 2022
    9
    Agradezco tanto a Square Enix que me diese una experiencia JRPG clásica de toda la vida, con turnos y todo, que ahora solo pido que traigan el X Offline y saber algo más de XII.
  11. GoodSelf
    Nov 8, 2021
    7
    While a good game in it's own right, I felt like this was a generic RPG experience. There were certainly those "wow" moments, and a handful of great characters, but for me personally, it was harder to connect with them and their journey.

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

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

    Overall, this is worthwhile game to play, just don't go in expecting the greatest RPG of all time.    … Expand
  12. NoLameGames
    Feb 28, 2022
    9
    What a grand adventure this game was! A total gem, I'd never played a Dragon Quest game before, I'd heard it was good, but was always skeptical about that. I was in for a wonderful surprise this game was a breath of fresh air in the JRPG scene. It's very tried and true, but it had just enough QOL features to show what a JRPG should be striving for in this day and age.
  13. Sensou
    Aug 29, 2022
    9
    I kind of understand why people can say this game is the best JRPG besides Persona 5 or even Fire Emblem Three Houses (which a bit different in genre).

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Overall I do enjoy the game as a die hard JRPG fans and I can say that DQ XI offer the best and the most beautiful scenery out of all JRPG game out there with another one of the best heavenly music to complement that.    … Expand
  14. Haannss
    Nov 17, 2022
    3
    Absurdly boring and long game that repeats enemies and scenearies once and again just to add hours and hours of never ending torture, just when it seems to end, when you are already thinking of choosing a better game for the next few weeks, it goes on and on. And not in an enjoyable way. The story is ridiculously childish and the game mechanics are just dumb. At some point of theAbsurdly boring and long game that repeats enemies and scenearies once and again just to add hours and hours of never ending torture, just when it seems to end, when you are already thinking of choosing a better game for the next few weeks, it goes on and on. And not in an enjoyable way. The story is ridiculously childish and the game mechanics are just dumb. At some point of the development, somebody decided that introducing NON DEFENDABLE altered status would be a good idea to artificially make the game harder, and nobody stopped him/her. The only good thing are the designs of Akira Toriyama, a gift for those longing for Dragon Ball. That alone, and nothing else. Very few games were less enjoyable to me in all the PS4 catalogue. Can't even figure out why it has a so ridiculously high score. RUN AWAY FROM IT.… Expand
  15. MoniWhite
    Feb 7, 2022
    8
    Not one of the better Dragon Quest games but it's still Dragon Quest so I love the traditional turn based battling
  16. Ginger_Avenger
    Nov 19, 2022
    8
    It's the same JRPG comfort food you come to crave after while, just as with the previous installments. Nothing groundbreaking, but it's a well put together world and cast that makes it way thru the typical RPG plot. All the usual creatures and gear is there, but with the current gen upgrade, everything has a colorful charm to it. It'd be hard to hate something like this, but you won't haveIt's the same JRPG comfort food you come to crave after while, just as with the previous installments. Nothing groundbreaking, but it's a well put together world and cast that makes it way thru the typical RPG plot. All the usual creatures and gear is there, but with the current gen upgrade, everything has a colorful charm to it. It'd be hard to hate something like this, but you won't have your mind blown either. It's still the same RPG experience from twenty years ago. I give the western PS4 release a downgraded score since we apparently only got the lower grade music, not the orchestral version.… Expand
  17. Eddyy
    Mar 27, 2022
    10
    graphic and story are beautiful
    music is perfect
    story and citys 12/10

    realy good game
  18. Edenscott
    May 8, 2023
    9
    One of the best modern JRPGs, very chill, but entertaining to play with traditional JRPG combat.
  19. TianLong1
    Mar 31, 2023
    9
    Never have I ever experienced such an engaging adventure, with such endearing characters and greatly structured story, one of the longest also. The soundtrack is amazing. The gameplay is really simple and turn-based but provides you with enough evolution and variety to keep you going for 100 hours of gameplay, since there are so many enemies and ways to defeat them. The only aspect I didntNever have I ever experienced such an engaging adventure, with such endearing characters and greatly structured story, one of the longest also. The soundtrack is amazing. The gameplay is really simple and turn-based but provides you with enough evolution and variety to keep you going for 100 hours of gameplay, since there are so many enemies and ways to defeat them. The only aspect I didnt like was the fact that your protagonist doesnt talk at all, no voice acting to give him some semblance of personality. When a NPC would talk to him with great voice acting, your protagonist would simply nod while smiling like an idiot. And also, I wish the game was not so "grindy" in the end in order to defeat the final boss.… Expand
  20. sawduck
    May 8, 2023
    8
    A very enjoyable game but my god is it long, i might try some of the older games next
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 86 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 80 out of 86
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 86
  3. Negative: 0 out of 86
  1. PLAY! Zine
    Mar 11, 2019
    85
    Might not be the greatest game of all time, but it probably is the best game in the most quality maintaining JRPG series of all time. Is that even better? Could be! Do not miss this gorgeous yet pretty nostalgic game set in a well known universe of the Dragon Quest franchise.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Jan 9, 2019
    85
    Dragon Quest XI clings to tradition, but when you buy a DQ game, you don’t expect a revolution. You expect vibrant characters and thrilling adventures and that’s exactly what you get, amplified by the level of execution unparalleled not only in the series, but in the whole genre. [11/2018, p.66]
  3. GameGrin
    Jan 2, 2019
    100
    Dragon Quest XI: Echoes Of An Elusive Age is a perfect game, it sticks to with traditional JRPG roots while still bringing in a few new mechanics to freshen it up a bit.
    Read full review
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