Made for RPG enthusiasts
Dragon Quest XI is a thinking man’s game, with a more open-ended feel, writes Aiman Maulana
WE haven’t seen many roleplaying games (RPGs) recently aside from indie games, so when one pop sup, expectations can be rather high. Inthecaseof Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, the expectation is even higher given how Japanese RPG is essentially synonymous with the series.
Is the latest entry in the Dragon Quest series worth your money? Let’s find out.
WHAT IS DRAGON QUEST XI: ECHOES OF AN ELUSIVE AGE ABOUT?
Where there is light, there is bound to be darkness. Such is the belief in the world of Erdrea, a land once enveloped by darkness, thanks to the Lord of Shadows.
However, a man with the power of light put a stop to it and thus began the Age of Eternal Peace. It also resulted in the tale of The Luminary being born.
Sometime later, the Prince of Dundrasil is born bearing the mark of the Luminary, signifying that the Age of Eternal Peace is about to end. Not long after, the Kingdom of Dundrasil is destroyed by evil monsters, courtesy of the Lord of Shadows.
To save the world, the royal family of Dundrasil sacrifice themselves to ensure the prince’s survival. The prince is found by a kind old man named Chalky in the village of Cobblestone.
During his coming of age ceremony, the Prince discovers that he is The Luminary reborn and that his goal is to restore the Age of Eternal Peace by vanquishing the Lord of Shadows.
He sets out on a journey to take down the forces of evil once and for all. However, little does the prince know that the Lord of Shadows is more than prepared to face his nemesis.
IT CAN BE DAUNTING FOR NEWCOMERS
At its core, Dragon Quest XI is a Japanese RPG. This means you’ll be going from place to place, accomplishing a number of main objectives and side quests. You will also continuously go into combat to strengthen your characters.
The game still retains its signature Akira Toriyama-style aesthetics, so if you think that the visuals and characters seem familiar, that’s because it’s made in the same style as the Dragon Ball anime.
For the most part, you’ll be travelling the world and fulfilling the main quest to further the storyline. This is actually quite simple as the game will give you plenty of pointers as to what to do. Worst case scenario, players can just look at the pink balloon on the map which could either be where you need to go, or let another person
tell you what to do.
This may sound easy but, at times, the game will force you to think for yourself as to what you should do next.
In this sense, Dragon Quest XI is a thinking man’s game with a more open-ended feel. However, the side quests, which are denoted by a purple balloon, are usually more straightforward, albeit troublesome at times. It’s usually just fetch quests and subduing monsters which can feel a little dry but the rewards are usually worth it.
Early in the game when you gain your first companion, you will be introduced to the new forging system. Whenever you camp, you will have the option to use the forge to create new equipment. However, you will need recipes and ingredients which can be found all over Erdrea in books and by finishing certain quests. This is a great alternative to simply purchasing new equipment with money.
Forging your own equipment can yield a number of benefits. You can get better equipment at an earlier point in the game, and you can also get a better version of the equipment compared to simply buying it.
This will depend on the forging minigame, where your success will yield you equipment with up to a “+3” bonus.
Forging in itself is a simple task as you only need to bash it until it reaches the green bar in the meter. If you’re lucky, a critical hit will land you on the sweet spot, ensuring maximum success.
Going over the green bar will lead to failure, but it will at least yield the normal version of the equipment. Along the way, you will grow and learn new techniques that will make forging rare equipment even easier.
BEST TO USE CLASSIC COMBAT SYSTEM
Dragon Quest XI utilises a classic turnbased combat system where your party and the enemies will take turns to execute actions. This could be anything from direct attacks, using unique abilities, casting magic, using items, and defending.
At times, your party members will glow blue and enter into a state known as “Pepped Up”. This will cause the character to have improved parameters and access to special “Pep Power” abilities, which can be used together with other party members.
Generally, the combat system is straightforward and easy to comprehend.
At default, however, the game will use a free roam-style combat where you are able to move around freely in combat, but will still need to take turns to execute action.
You can switch to the classic-style combat which will only allow you to dictate the actions, which I believe is where the true essence of the game lies.
As usual, you will gain experience points after each battle which can result in your characters levelling up. Not only do your characters become stronger with every level, you also gain Skill Points which can be used to further strengthen your characters the way you like via the Skill Tree.
The Skill Tree will have a number of panels consisting of parameter upgrades as well as new skills, each with their own Skill Point requirements. This is a more interactive way of powering up your characters. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is a great RPG. I took more than 100 hours to complete it, and it was worth every minute. However, it is not a perfect game by any means.
The game can feel rather slow and repetitive at times. Players who are not familiar with Dragon Quest may also feel lost at certain points in the game.
However, if you’re willing to look past that, you will experience colourful characters, an enthralling storyline, and an RPG that faithfully reproduces the feel of old games with technological advancements.
As Dragon Quest XI allows you to play with higher difficulty and no shopping, it adds replay value to the game. I give Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age