I have never chronicled my progress through a game before in an article like this. However, I feel that Dragon Quest XI, and my experience with it is worthy of a write up before I finish the game and deliver the official review for the website.
I Was Never A Fan of the Dragon Quest Series Before DQXI
I never quite understood Japan’s fascination with Dragon Quest. The games were too archaic, and too pedestrian in terms of presentation. It was hard for me to elevate the series above Final Fantasy, and other JRPGs during the 1990s. During that decade, Final Fantasy outgrew Dragon Quest in popularity (sales) and Critical acclaim everywhere in the world outside of Japan.
Final Fantasy had better visuals, engaging stories, and simpler systems that required much less grinding in order to attain success. Dragon Quest VII (PlayStation 1) holds the lowest score of any JRPG that I have ever reviewed. I will quote one of our readers (Hello Nick!), in saying that “DQVII is one of my worst memories.”
DQVII was so bad that I lost interest in the entire franchise. I have avoided the remakes, and even the updated earlier entries on Switch (even when the games are on sale). I cringed at the mere mention of the series’ name for the better part of two decades.
Then Came Dragon Quest VIII and Dragon Quest: Your Story (2019 Film)
DQVIII redeemed the series in my eyes to a degree. The game, developed in conjunction with Level-5 and featured visuals up to par with the rest of the modern JRPG world at the time (2004).
The Visuals were enough to help ease me into the game. The large world made me overlook the slow-paced combat and somewhat pedestrian tale just enough for me to enjoy the experience. Not enough, however, to spark interest in me for subsequent entries.
Then, as if destined by fate, a decade and half later I found myself scrolling down my Netflix library and found a ‘Dragon Quest’ movie in the streaming service. I have a toddler, and I was already bored to death with “Oddbuds”. So, despite my skepticism to anything Dragon Quest related, I dove in.
The film started with 2-D footage from the game that it is based on (Dragon Quest V). I was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable when the film finally switched to modern style 3D CG visuals. I was immediately captured by the film’s artwork – which ditched some of Toriyama’s influence for the character models – and how stunning it looked. But perhaps, most of all, I was captured by the fact that the film got me interested in the struggles of its characters.
Luca was a likable hero with a voice (strengthening my theory that the series would be better off by ditching its silent protagonist tradition). Luca’s relationship with Bianca, and his son, Alus, even managed to get me emotional during a few scenes at different points of the film’s story.
Needless to say, Dragon Quest: Your Story managed to become my favorite animated movie in years, despite its weird – and somewhat disappointing – ‘Matrix Inspired’ ending.
I loved the film’s story so much, that I have been tempted to track down a copy of Dragon Quest V’s DS remake. But perhaps, the film’s biggest accomplishment is that it got me interested in the Switch version of Dragon Quest XI.
Basically, Dragon Quest: Your Story made the “Dragon Quest” universe accessible to me after 20 years of consciously avoiding much of it.
Enter Dragon Quest XI and its First 12 hours
My mindset when going into the store to purchase a physical copy of Dragon Quest XI was this: “The film was good. Perhaps Enix can finally tell a good story in this series, and if the game ends up stinking the joint, no biggie. At least I can keep it somewhere, gathering dust as part of my JRPG collection.” So basically, apart from the $44 (Walmart) hit to my wallet, I had nothing to lose.
Thankfully, I am pleased to say that without a doubt, through its first 12 hours, Dragon Quest XI is the best time that I have had with a JRPG since Tales of Vesperia all the way back to 2008.
The series retains a ‘silent’ protagonist who I named after myself. I am not as bothered by this as I was in the previous entries that I played. The protagonist is the reincarnation of the Luminary. He is the legendary hero chosen by the Yggdrasil Tree to defeat the Dark One. The story is cliched, and simple enough.
That said, the game’s wonderfully crafted CG intro helped immerse me into the proceedings. I have not developed a great affinity for the main character as the silent protagonist curse is strong. But, at least, I do care about his friends. As a result, I want payback for some of the ills perpetrated by some of game’s villains during the story’s first few hours.
In terms of storytelling and the underlying complexity of the game’s tale, Dragon Quest XI is not beating – or even coming close to – something like Horizon Zero Dawn. To be fair, the game does not try to do so either. There is beauty in simplicity, after all.
Instead, Dragon Quest XI embraces its JRPG roots. It focuses on delivering an enjoyable romp filled with charismatic (if at times hilarious) supporting characters that meet and accompany (some of them at least) our silent hero during his world saving quest.
The turn-based system has been streamlined a bit. The option to speed things up during battle is available from the get-go. Consequently, grinding is not the pain in the rear end that it used to be in previous entries. Even the crafting system is enjoyable thanks to the simple and straight to the point way in which it works.
The Good Kind of Old School
My opinion might change 50 hours from now. If that proves to be the case, I will make sure to let you know in the official review. So far, however, Dragon Quest XI everything that I wanted in a traditional JRPG. The game is a nice break from the breathtaking complexities of modern western RPGs like Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla.
Unlike Final Fantasy in its post Sakaguchi era, Dragon Quest XI doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. Enix’s long running series sticks firmly to its traditional roots. So far, it is better than Square’s more popular franchise for it.
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