I know that there are tons of video game reviewing sites out on the web and in a way this specific post could be added into the plethora of articles but this is my opinion on one of my favorite series.
A bit of back story, I didn't start from the beginning of the Dragon Quest series. I began the series by playing Dragon Quest VIII for the PlayStation 2, back then this is when PS2 games had demo discs and booklets inside of them
Nowadays, you'd be lucky to find a booklet related to the game inside.
Pulled in by the art which had been beautifully drawn by the world-renowned artist, Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball series, Blue Dragon, etc.) In addition to the art, the fact that the game was an RPG were the type of games that I grew up on so it was a no brainer that I needed to play this.
Dragon Quest began as Dragon Warrior and was released for the Famicom & Nintendo systems in Japan and the United States. The title of "Dragon Warrior" held strong until the release of Dragon Quest V and continued to hold as the other games continued to be released into the United States Market via Nintendo DS.
Although there are 11 Dragon Quest games in total, the United States did not receive all of them until the mid-00s and with the release of the Nintendo DS.
These games were released in the mid 00's:- Dragon Quest IV
- Dragon Quest VI
- Dragon Quest VII
On the other hand, the United States get Dragon Quest V: The Hand of the Heavenly Bride & Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King for the PlayStation 2 and thus began the continuation of the release of DQ games in the US market.
Following the release of the Nintendo DS majority of the games that were released after DQ VIII was released on the Nintendo DS systems including all of the side games and spin-offs. I've never played any of the spin-offs (none of them seem to catch my interest) BUT I started with DQ VIII and let's jump to present time aka PlayStation 4
When Dragon Quest XI was announced for the PlayStation 4 I already planned to pick up the game, I was already invested in the series and the screenshots, character reveals did nothing but to fuel the desire to pick up the game.
Let me mention something first - I stopped researching, listening, etc. to video game focused websites after I stopped working at GameStop years ago. I picked up the habit of searching for reviews/articles about gamed and tech for a podcast a couple of years back but since then I have not looked for anything of the sort.
My motto for video games which I stuck to since I worked at GameStop - "If you are genuinely interested in the game, purchase it. Don't let others talk you out of the game that you want to play,"
I still stand by this and this review is not meant to change how you feel about this game.
This is my op-ed.
For this review and the ones in the future, I will focus on these categories:
- Story
- Gameplay
- Graphics/Art
Story:
As soon as I saw the trailer for the DQ XI I was hoping they would change it up a bit allow the players to play as a female ( that is secretly my hope for all games nowadays) but in this specific story you are a prince that was whisked away from death by a relative looking to seek power and grew up in a smaller quaint village. Upon your coming of age, the truth about your background is revealed and it's suggested that you go to the king and let them know you are indeed alive.
Long story short, you're imprisoned and the village you came from is pretty much wiped off the map.
and your journey begins there. Doing a bit of generalizing and bypassing the side missions, I felt as if the story was short. I fully expected a marathon run of the story but it was short (unless I just played smart but I'm not tooting my horn or anything)
DQ XI still had the same plot line in terms of - you travel to one place, discover an issue, learn that this issue has another issue, and to get back to issue one you have to fix the second issue so that you can get back to fixing issue #1
Gameplay:
The gameplay was straightforward but they did add one new feature into the game, you can jump, and you can jump without having to be prompted to do so. Besides the jumping aspect, the game plays the same as the majority of all of the Dragon Quest games.
When in battle, the options and layout are the same except for three things, there's an option to have more dynamic camera angles while in battle. All of the options are the same - Fight, Attack, Abilities, Skills, Tactics, etc.
The second feature they added to the battle system is the automatic psyching system. I was introduced to this in Dragon Quest VIII, where I could basically pump the character up to deal more damage/healing. In Dragon Quest XI this is now automatic. Also, when your character is 'psyched up' you can actually do a double/triple team attack with other members of the team. I thought that this feature was really cool but also frustrating as well. Frustrating because there were several times where one character was psyched up and you 'wanted/needed' to do a double team attack and the other teammate wasn't psyched up.
You couldn't use the ability.
The state of being psyched up, wasted. Kinda.
Graphics/Art
The one everlasting and eye capturing feature about the Dragon Quest series is the art. The art, of course, looks familiar if you have watched any anime drawn by Akira Toriyama. Honestly, the art style the same to the point where sometimes there are characters that look similar to Goku, Gohan, to Trunks basically characters that you have seen in any anime/movie drawn by the legend.
Of course, this art style is what Akira Toriyama is known for.
Because I have only played Dragon Quest 8, I could clearly see a huge jump in graphics let's not forget to mention that there is a huge technology jump between the two games as well.
As soon as the game begins you can see how realistically (but still anime-ish) the graphics are by looking at the characters and then to the environment - water, trees, stars in the sky, the magic spells, weapons, etc.
I personally think that how the water is animated is amazing, even if it is a gif repeating itself. It looks so realistic.
The graphics are smooth and crisp and the art maintains the feel of Akira Toriyama
Rating Section:
☆: Could be better
☆☆: Ok
☆☆☆: Decent
☆☆☆☆: Great!
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age Review:
Story:☆☆- Although, I felt like the story was a bit short and a bit behind times but also the story included some great plot twists.
Gameplay:☆☆☆ - Smooth and familiar!
Graphics/Art: ☆☆☆ - The technology boost provides smooth, crisp, and beautifully animated characters, creatures and environment.
Dragon Quest will always be one of my favorite RPG series next to Final Fantasy and I hope as they continue to make them they will include a female lead (PLEASE) in the future games.
Is Dragon Quest XI on your list of games to play?
Have you played a previous Dragon Quest game?
The second feature they added to the battle system is the automatic psyching system. I was introduced to this in Dragon Quest VIII, where I could basically pump the character up to deal more damage/healing. In Dragon Quest XI this is now automatic. Also, when your character is 'psyched up' you can actually do a double/triple team attack with other members of the team. I thought that this feature was really cool but also frustrating as well. Frustrating because there were several times where one character was psyched up and you 'wanted/needed' to do a double team attack and the other teammate wasn't psyched up.
You couldn't use the ability.
The state of being psyched up, wasted. Kinda.
Graphics/Art
The one everlasting and eye capturing feature about the Dragon Quest series is the art. The art, of course, looks familiar if you have watched any anime drawn by Akira Toriyama. Honestly, the art style the same to the point where sometimes there are characters that look similar to Goku, Gohan, to Trunks basically characters that you have seen in any anime/movie drawn by the legend.
Of course, this art style is what Akira Toriyama is known for.
Because I have only played Dragon Quest 8, I could clearly see a huge jump in graphics let's not forget to mention that there is a huge technology jump between the two games as well.
As soon as the game begins you can see how realistically (but still anime-ish) the graphics are by looking at the characters and then to the environment - water, trees, stars in the sky, the magic spells, weapons, etc.
I personally think that how the water is animated is amazing, even if it is a gif repeating itself. It looks so realistic.
The graphics are smooth and crisp and the art maintains the feel of Akira Toriyama
Rating Section:
☆: Could be better
☆☆: Ok
☆☆☆: Decent
☆☆☆☆: Great!
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age Review:
Story:☆☆- Although, I felt like the story was a bit short and a bit behind times but also the story included some great plot twists.
Gameplay:☆☆☆ - Smooth and familiar!
Graphics/Art: ☆☆☆ - The technology boost provides smooth, crisp, and beautifully animated characters, creatures and environment.
Dragon Quest will always be one of my favorite RPG series next to Final Fantasy and I hope as they continue to make them they will include a female lead (PLEASE) in the future games.
Is Dragon Quest XI on your list of games to play?
Have you played a previous Dragon Quest game?
- Which was your favorite?
- What did you think of the new addition to the series?
Are you new to the series?
- What drew you to the series?
- What are you most excited for in Dragon Quest XI?
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