At E3 I had the chance to play Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, the latest mainline Dragon Quest game. I’ve made no secret of my love for Dragon Quest, so my excitement for Echoes of an Elusive Age was (and still is) immeasurable. Somehow the demo I played managed to meet my ridiculously high expectations, which is no small feat.
Press was given two distinct demos to choose from: one set in Cobblestone, the first town in the game, and the other set in Gallopolis, a desert city from halfway through the game. Each demo featured different parties, environments, enemies, and questlines, so I ended up going with the Gallopolis demo. Having a full party and plenty of midgame abilities sounded more appealing to me, especially since I desperately wanted to get a peek at the party members of Dragon Quest XI.
The demo picks up with the main character and his party pursuing the Sand Slayer, a large fiendish scorpion who terrorizes Gallopolis’s surrounding desert. Though the Prince of the land is supposed to slay it, his cowardice in the face of battle leaves only the main characters to slay the fearsome foe. I didn’t have to take the creature on immediately though, so I wandered the desert a bit, challenging the occasional foe and talking to a few random citizens. This is made far easier than in many of the previous titles because of the removal of random battles, as you can actually see and avoid/confront foes at your leisure on the world map. Though this isn’t new to the series, it’s a welcome feature to have in such a large and sprawling world.
The charm of Dragon Quest’s writing is as present as ever, as every character, from party members to townspeople, is full of personality. The impressive voice acting certainly compliments the writing, carrying on the tradition that has been present in Western Dragon Quest titles for quite some time. I can understand why some fans aren’t into the European medieval fantasy voices that are often chosen, but I can’t help but love it.
One of the most interesting things about Dragon Quest XI is that it has two different combat styles: Classic and Free-Form. Classic is exactly as the title implies: the same straightforward, static, turn-based Dragon Quest combat that many (myself included) know and love. Free-Form turns the game into something more akin to Final Fantasy XII, as it lets you control each character’s movement in battle. The theater presentation I saw said that it doesn’t make a difference it terms of dodging or accuracy, so it’s essentially a nice way to give antsy players the ability to run around during a fight. If anything, it’s a great way to get new players into Dragon Quest, especially those turned off by it’s wonderfully antiquated combat system. I found both styles to be perfectly fine, though, as something of a purist, I’ll be sticking to Classic for my playthrough.
Battling the Sand Slayer was thrilling, and though the difficulty was likely turned down for the demo, there was a rewarding sense of strategy present throughout the battle. Each party member had their own spells and abilities that gave them very distinct roles, all of which fit their visual design perfectly. Erik, the dashing thief, is a fast damage-dealer who can steal from foes, while the short but stubborn mage Veronica was best at weakening foes with stat debuffs and offensive magic. Each character was distinct enough to warrant their spot on the team, which I hope is true for the rest of the party that wasn’t present in the demo.
Akira Toriyama’s artstyle just looks better and better with every console generation, as the colorful world of Dragon Quest XI looks gorgeous and full of life. There’s an unending charm to the way Toriyama designs monsters and characters; a charm that is very much alive and well in Dragon Quest XI. The music is also of high quality, though this is likely no surprise to series fans. I’d go so far as to say that Dragon Quest XI might boast the best main battle theme in the series.
As my demo ended, I wanted nothing more than to keep playing Dragon Quest XI. I would describe the newest entry (or at least what I’ve played of it) as peak Dragon Quest, as every aspect of the game is at its absolute best. Dragon Quest XI is definitely my most anticipated game this year, and if you have any interest in JRPGs, it should be yours too.
