The mash-up of the symphonic instrumental score accompanied by subtle eight-bit sound effects works startlingly well, functioning as more than just a gimmick, but rather a thoughtful, resonant musical connection between past and present. But I could have thoroughly enjoyed Dragon Quest without any context from previous games whatsoever. Mini medals, familiar spells, metal slimes, and sprawling casinos are all back, as well as some other more spoilery winks. For long-time Dragon Quest fans, there’s plenty to like, with nods and homages to past games scattered all over the landscape. DQ11's characters were designed by Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball. But while townspeople have a lot to say, very little of it is vital, so I wasted little time getting back to stabbing and searching. A town where residents spoke in haiku was an especially impressive feat of creativity. The text localization is excellent, with the most impressive collection of clever English puns I’ve ever encountered in a translated video game. I prefer to speed through conversations in any RPG I play, but in this case, the liberal application of accents was distracting. Lots and Lots of Accents.The voice work in Dragon Quest XI generally high quality, but I chose early on to mute character dialogue in favor of subtitles. I could have just sold all my valuable crafting discoveries to purchase equipment in shops good enough to get the job done, but crafting was fun, and it allowed me to indulge my perfectionist personality, absolutely maximizing the stats of every character. The crafting element of Dragon Quest XI starts out beguilingly simple, but as I leveled up, the forging minigames grew complex and engaging, yet crafting remained entirely optional. Many of these hidden items were rare crafting materials and recipes I could weave together into an array of powerful equipment. There's always something awesome behind a waterfall. My curiosity was generously and consistently rewarded. Odds were that if I spotted an out-of-the-way corner, there was useful loot concealed nearby. One of Dragon Quest XI’s true joys is the sheer magnitude of useful gear scattered around waiting to be discovered. The Loot’s The ThingDragon Quest XI is really just one vast, beautiful treasure-stuffed dungeon stretching off near-endlessly in every direction, all set against a stirring orchestral backdrop. None of these could be used outside of pre-defined areas, but I enjoyed using their special abilities to root out hidden treasures. Less fun but more useful were monster mounts I captured after winning battles with riders which I could use to scale sheer walls, leap over obstacles, and fly through the air. I had a blast on horseback bowling over monsters who bounced of my thundering hooves like rubbery tennis balls. I appreciated the return of the powerful Zoom spell which allowed me to move between locations at my leisure, but I often choose to ride my speedy horse, take in the scenery, fight some monsters, and hunt for crafting resources. This monster was having a great day and then this happened. Weaker groups of enemies fled when they saw me, which made me feel powerful and also kept me from stumbling into time-wasting encounters with monsters well below my level. It was also easy to evade foes I didn’t feel like fighting thanks to a visual indicator and alarm that sounded when I got too close. There are hundreds of the suckers, and while some are simple color variations, their abilities change up enough to keep things tense and surprising. The best parts of Dragon Quest are the moments where I’m battling the wonderful beasties. Every enemy is lavishly depicted in the open world, and the Akira Toriyama-designed monsters spring to life with gorgeously fluid animations on my stock PS4. With the exception of a few stints on the high seas, there are no random encounters in Dragon Quest XI. Boss battles get downright tense, and my entire party was wiped out more than once, though never often enough to feel frustrating. The vast menagerie of monsters presents unique challenges in every fight, and I found myself eagerly rushing toward new types of enemies just to see what new twists they threw my way. Combat is snappy, tactically satisfying, and full of surprises. Stabby StabbyDragon Quest XI battles prove that turn-based battles can be absolutely nail-biting. Check out a large chunk of the latest Dragon Quest XI footage from last week at Gamescom 2018 above.
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