Dragon Quest XI: Review

Because I tend to play the long game, additions to this blog are always few and far between. This also means I've scoured the game inside and out and, in this rare case, I also Platinumed this bitch on my PS4.

First, I'll get the bad out of the way, since you don't dump 120 hours into a game you hate, the bad clearly didn't override the experience. The dialogue, as is the case with a lot of JRPGs, is corny. Even for a game that is clearly infested with puns, this is an annoyance. All attempts to be dramatic or emotional fell flat for me. Then there is the 'post game' division. It's hard not to spoil their attempt to be mysterious, but let's just say this is a three part game. Three, not two. You can sandwich unavoidable ending credits after part two all you want, but the story isn't concluded by far and there's enough of the plot unresolved and hours to play that it's not really fooling anyone. However, I can't say I was that enchanted by the story at all, even as a nostalgic player of the series. Last, I'll throw this in: the battles letting you move your characters around doesn't fool anyone into it feeling less like turn-based battle and it's actually a pretty pointless mechanic. It doesn't really make much of a difference in enemy accuracy and later in the game, it's completely redundant.

Okay, one more gripe. The main character's design was dorky. The brown bob cut though. I almost always made sure he was in one of those fashion armory that disguised his default design. 

That being said, where gameplay is concerned, it's very solid. Jumping and movement wasn't clunky. I had zero incidents of glitchy movement, no getting trapped in walls, no slipping into areas I'm not supposed to be. I like that they took advantage of the map to block certain areas, to let me explore openly but strategize how to return to areas after the big bads blocked roads and opened new areas. The level and map design was well-done and the fast travel was limited but effective. I enjoyed the side quests. They were varied enough to be interesting with the most challenging being to kill an enemy with a specific Pep power or combo. The animations were skippable, which is always a plus.

Now, as for the Pep and crafting systems. The Pep one can be a bit tedious, but does come in handy here and there. It seems like there are more afflictions that limit your ability to use anything, even with accessories equipped, that make it even more difficult to work with the Pep timing. While your hero eventually gets Pep Up, your party is reduced to acquiring Pep Pips to get there. As for crafting, the little forge recipes aren't as abundant as I'd like and some are just a pain in the ass to get the materials for. You acquire skills that can make your blows more effective, but the five star ones are still sketchy as hell to not 'fail' at, let alone level up, even when maxed out. This is yet another game that uses systems either mindnumbingly simple or bafflingly impossible, but then I got spoiled with Dragon Age's more rewarding take on crafting.

I found this game to be well worth the time, even though I like to see more depth in my fantasy titles. The predictability of the story was high, but I wasn't expecting gymnastics in the story telling. It's a light hearted game that is at least worth whatever you paid for it. Give this one a try if you're an RPG fan that doesn't need the action element! However, I find Witcher 3 to be the best choice for those action lovers.