I noticed there was no active thread about this game and was a little shocked. I've only played to to the point of leaving the initial village, but I feel the way that Dan describes Link to the Past. It's twelve year old me, with an SNES controller in my hands, playing my first JRPG all over again. I realize it's just a really pretty Dragon Quest-ass Dragon Quest game, that doesn't really break any new ground, but it's really doing it for me for me right now. Am I just a dinosaur stuck in his love of turned based combat or does anybody else think this game seems kind of great?

I haven't played it yet, but I'm way into what I've seen. Kinda from that same nostalgia level, where a solid JRPG with some gorgeous modern visuals sounds pretty great to me right now. It doesn't seem like it's getting a lot of excitement, but it is getting a lot of praise critically from what I've seen. I think we're getting to that time of the year where stuff starts relentlessly coming out, so it might be a game people are holding off until there's a better opening in their calendar for it.

But yeah, it looks real good to me.

@mcbisquick: It's probably just a time and place thing, but I've never had a game hit me right in the nostalgia bone like this.

I haven't had the chance to play my copy yet but I'm really excited to jump into it. I'm not an OG Dragon Quest fan, I got into the series with the remakes of IV and V on the DS, but I'm getting some powerful nostalgia vibes from this game as well.

For people that have never played a Dragon Quest game before and want to know why people love the series, I would highly recommend Tim Rogers' video review of DQXI. He is obviously a hardcore fan of the series so his opinion is a little bias but he makes a lot of really great points about the series and what makes it so great. Plus it is just a real funny review.

Funny, I don't have any nostalgic feelings toward the series, I just think they are rock solid examples of that style of game. It's really gosh darn cozy so far though!

I'm about an hour into it so far. Just stepped into the big city. Visuals are impressive. Disappointed there is no japanese voice acting. I see that the japanese release had no voice acting at all. English stuff is.. eh about standard for JRPGs with english voices I'd say. Something about it is just weird/corny to me. All the british-y english stuff. The music so far isn't quite my style either, but I understand its pretty much the classic songs/soundtrack style.

Other than that, not much to say. It feels very.. classic. Never really played a DQ game myself except for a few hours into DQ7 a couple weeks ago. Not sure if playing a bunch of Dragon Quest Builders counts. Maybe my tastes are changing but so far it feels slow. Like my eyes are getting heavy from a lack of engagement.

Wish FF hadn't gone the way of the dodo ever since 13. Would love to see an FF game done like this.

That main character looks awfully like older Trunks.

So, I feel like the answer must be no but I'm an American and have only been to London so maybe I just don't know what the hell is going on but like: do people really say Bob's your uncle this much?

Crikey this game's bloody good

Seeing as how Dragon Quest VIII is my favorite RPG of all time, I was pretty much sold the instant the march started playing on the title screen. Plus the game is gorgeous, even if my PS4 Pro sounds like it's going to explode when playing it. Having said that, there are definitely some UI areas where I can't help but thing "We should be past this."

For example, why on God's green earth do I need to move items to storage one at a time? I pick all this crap up to clutter my character's inventory and need to spend 10 minutes moving shit one item at a time to my inventory bag. Just give me some damn checkboxes already!

I'm early, and I'm enjoying myself so far, but I think it still has work to do to unseat VIII. The voice acting seems to have taken a noticeable step down for one. Erik's voice actor really needs to pick an accent and stick with it - I don't know where his Brooklyn-Cockney combination came from, but no part of it is good.

@therealturk I just keep thinking Erik sounds like Billy Crystal and I am having a hard time un-hearing it.

I'm going to probably get this damn thing. And here I was holding out for the Switch version if anything.

Erik's accent is tragic, but the game is real good.

What are your thoughts on the difficulty? Because I keep hearing it's easy and that's holding me off on buying this. I love turn-based combat but I also like it when there's somewhat of a challenge to the fights.

@bson: Normal is pretty easy. There's a higher difficulty mode called Draconian Quest, which comprises six independent difficulty options: stronger monsters, less XP from weak monsters, no purchasing from shops, no fleeing from battle, no using armor, and no talking to NPCs. You can pick any combination of these options you want at the start of the game. You can disable any option at any time, but once disabled, it cannot be re-enabled. I'd recommend at least starting with stronger monsters, as well as as any other options you think would give you an interesting challenge. You can always shed options later on if the weight is too much.

I played a bit of the Japanese 3ds version, now playing it on PC just the intro screen is amazing the way the music kicks in "all the feels". I like the Unreal engine version so far great art work!

@savage: Ok thanks! I've heard no mention of a higher difficulty option before, I think the first option and maybe second would suit me, yeah this might tip the balance toward me getting the game for sure :)

This old relic is digging it too.

First impressions are that this game is gorgeous! I was blown away by the art style and how good it looks on PC at max settings. I have only played Dragon Warrior and a small amount of DQ8 recently in the lead up to this release, so nostalgia isn't that big a draw for me, but I immediately recognized the main theme and the level up fanfare I think from the first game which was surprising because last time I played that was likely ~20 years ago. I am playing on normal, and I have been dodging most fights just because I wanted to get to the main story faster. I am at a place in life where I was really wanting something chill and relatively non-violent to play and this has hit the spot wonderfully so far. I think the accents add a level of goofy fun to the game which I also enjoy. Final Fantasy can often take itself too seriously and the recent ones haven't landed with me at all, but so far DQ11 is perfect.

One thing I did notice was that the music was overpoweringly loud, thankfully you can turn it down and manage your own volume levels to your liking which was nice. I have seen people criticize the "hallway" like world design, but I personally prefer that compared to an open world for this type of game. I'm here for the characters, the art and the story. I don't want to have to wander around in search of the correct area in order to progress the story. Once I beat this on normal, I think I might come back to it and try the draconian mode.

I got some preorder bonus skill seeds and cards(?) but I think I will save them until I know what they do. I'm only level 4 so I imagine I have a lot to learn about the skill progression and characters before using those seeds.

TLDR; game looks amazing and is a fun chill time so far. Happy I purchased.

I usually don't play too much on weeknights, brain is just fried after work, but I put several hours into this game last night and enjoyed every second. This game is great.

I've played but never finished DQ 5 (English fan translation), 7, and 8. Actually going to finish this one, dammit.

The Tim Rogers review is great, but TL;DR - DQ 11 is basically the video game equivalent of comfort food. If that's what you're in the mood for, it's perfect.

About 5 hours in after last night and luckily the story/gameplay did start to pick up once you hit that first castle/town. Visuals are certainly the best part. Looks good on the Pro, only thing I notice that semi-bothers me is a certain like.. haze/blur effect as you move your character or the camera? I'd describe it as a refresh issue maybe? Or its just an effect they've used to help mask issues. It's mostly noticeable in the grassy areas that have lots of fine detail. I'd like to see if Digital Foundry does some coverage on it just to see if they mention it and I'll know I'm not crazy. Framerate seems fine, everything runs well at "4K". Curious if anything is different at 1080p on a Pro.

Voices continue to be a mixed bag. Some seem fine and fit the character design well enough. Others don't mesh as well. Luckily they don't seem to have given everyone a fake british-y accent.

Funny to see others mention the music volume as that was the first thing I did. Wasn't sure if it was just me but yea.. Overpowering is the best description. Knocked it down a few notches.

Edit: I just realized the voice overs remind me of Fable. At least with Gemma. "Are yew a chicken chaysa?"

I have now played a little over 3 hours of DQXI and it is indeed fantastic. The detail of the towns is something I've been really appreciating. I've been exploring the towns thoroughly and they are full of fun little details and expressive NPCs. I saved a cat that was trapped on a roof. It was nice. Just having a great time overall with this game so far.

I got the cat too. Any idea where the book is that dude wanted? Something about 2 heroes.

@marcsman: I found that book. It is in the eastmost part of town on a bookshelf in the only house that you can enter on the very edge of the map I believe.

@lentfilms: Thanks man.

I'm 35 hours in and loving it. Little on the easy side, so I'm already planning a second run with all Draconian Rules turned on. Should be fun.

I've played DQ I-V to completion and bits of all the rest. I love the series, but the thing that has always fascinated me the most is the unique cross culture exchange that the lore of the series is built on.

Yuji Hori was originally inspired by western CRPGs like Wizardry and Ultima, which use the common trappings of western and Tolkien style fantasy worlds. The character archetypes, settings and monsters of those worlds were then reinterpreted in the unique manga style of Akira Toriyama. When the early games were released in the US as the Dragon Warrior series the box and manual art was changed to better appeal the sensibilities of fans of western style fantasy, which the series was inspired by originally. The look of the game (at least the one implied by the box art) was much more in line with high fantasy novel book covers; think Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell and Mike Whelan. While I'm glad that the Dragon Quest branding and Toriyama's art have become universal in all territories, I still love that old Dragon Warrior art as weird bit of double cultural re-imagining.

With that in mind I've started to mess around a bit with designing a Dragon Warrior XI box. Only have a concept for the Luminary/Hero so far, but I'm eager to dive into the rest of the cast.

@mcbisquick: that’s exactly what it is for me. I played just past the intro village to get a small taste of it but want to wait until there’s a gaming lull so I can devote 100% of my game playing time to it. It’s been a long time since the last proper DQ game so I can wait a bit more.

There’s too many games out right now and on the horizon that I’m giving a priority to so I can possibly sell back at their maximum price if they’re not worth holding onto after completing/getting my fill of.

This and Destiny have been my two time sinks recently. I wasn't sure if I was going to love DQ XI, but it has hooks in me in a way that I wasn't expecting. The whole vibe of it is just perfect for what I want right now. I'm about 6 hours in and I've loved it so far. Shame about the MIDI music but it lends a certain charm to the game sometimes that makes it feel like a PS2 game, which I love.

Ironically, DQ8 has much better music.

I eventually just had to turn the music volume down to almost zero. It's my one complaint with this otherwise great game.

@frytup: Yeah, I totally agree that 8 had way better music. And I'm only 8 hours in. We'll see if it gets grating, since the world map theme is already making me turn on music or podcasts while I grind.

I'm with you in that I'm loving everything else though.

I honestly wish the music would just stop half the time I'm playing it. I don't want to turn it off completely because then I won't get any music and that's not what I want. On the other hand, these tunes are driving me nuts. They're jaunty and super-cheery and such and that's fine, but I want something that's meant to be more atmospheric and in the background most of the time. I did turn the music way down and that helped a lot, but an option to have overworld music just automatically blank out completely for a little while would do wonders for me.

The other solid complaint I have is that the text is too small on the PC version. I can read it, but I've found myself leaning forward and squinting more often than I'd like. This is when playing on a TV, when I'm right in front of my monitor it's fine.

Otherwise? It seems like a fine game, but it's not really hitting me... anywhere, actually. Its design is, from top-to-bottom, classic SNES-era JRPG, for good or ill. They've basically taken "one of those" and put the camera behind you and made a very, very pretty 3D world for you to run around in. It's good! Thus far, the only permanent party member I've met is Erik and he seems like a pretty great friendly rogue-ish type. I saw Veronica in the QL and she seemed all right as well, but she could easily become an annoying character if mishandled.

Nothing about it is really pulling me in like Octopath Traveler did earlier this year, though. I really need to go turn on the stronger monsters difficulty thing, see if some extra difficulty and mechanics will do something for me.

@justin258: I'd recommend fighting the urge to fight every bad guy from A to B. That can be tedious. Instead make your way to the next story beat as fast as you can. There is always a save or super forgiving autosaves outside of the dungeon areas needed for most quests, so being slightly underleveled can be solved easily by grinding outside if you find it too hard. I've done this and the dungeons have been just the right amount of challenging. The game is chill is the best way to say it. There aren't any penalties for taking your time or rushing through. I will say the game picks up and gets more interesting soon, so stick in there.

If Sylvando doesn't get at least an honorable mention for Best New Character then the system is rigged and we must take to the streets in anger.

@justin258: Have you gotten to the part where you return to your home village? That was the moment for me where I really got invested in the game. DQXI is a slow burn and very traditional but I'm loving it so far.

I did get to the home village the second time, where at first it was doing a time jump thing, which I thought was really interesting before the game went "it was all just a vision". That's fine as a plot point, but it didn't do much for me. I'm actually about to enter the Kingsbarrow.

As far as encounters go, I have been skipping a lot of them.

I don't want to sound like I think the game's bad. It seems really good, actually, and there may come a day in the future where I really like it. Right now, I'm going to give it another hour or two and if it doesn't grab me, I'll try it again at a later date. I bought the game on impulse at 3AM after seeing Jeff and Ben having so much fun with it, and I enjoyed what I played of Dragon Quest VIII on the 3DS.

I tried Octopath Traveler and came to the conclusion that I'm not a big JRPG fan unless it's Chrono Trigger or FFVI. Games that tout the phrase 'classic JRPG gameplay' really need a world and story to back it up and Octopath Traveler was a bad game because of its poor story telling. It just isn't a genre that can be dormant on old tropes to get by. I have a feeling this will be a skip for me. My 2 cents on the matter.

Restarted the game with the harder monsters modifier and been enjoying it more, but now that I'm having to forge a lot in order to scrape by, it really highlights some of the little annoyances with the system. You can check the exact location of every material-gathering spot on the map screen, so WHY THE HECK couldn't they just put them on the mini-map? The forging menu is also needlessly obnoxious. An option to show everything I have the materials for would be great, or even just letting me R1 through the different categories instead of having to back out every time. Not dealbreakers by any means, still loving the game, but they get under my skin every time and they seem like such easy fixes.

@justin258: I thought it was a vision at first too but after you read the letter from Chalky in the present he mentions meeting your future self, so you really did travel back in time. Got me excited to see what other time travel shenanigans might come later in the story. Plus the emotional meeting with your dead grandfather and the the reveal that your village is actually destroyed really did it for me.

@shivermetimbers: Well Dragon Quest isn't really a throwback like Octopath, it is "old-school" because it is literally the oldest JRPG franchise out there. Plus the creator of the DQ series is also one of the guys that helped create Chrono Trigger and wrote a majority of its story, Yuji Horii. So if you like JRPGs like Chrono Trigger than you may also enjoy the Dragon Quest series, especially XI. I wouldn't use Octopath as a measuring stick for if you will like the genre as a whole since, despite the hype around it, the game is kind of a B-tier JRPG that does a few things really well, like its battle system and presentation, but is lacking in terms of its overall narrative, exploration and world building. At least that is what I think based on my time with the game.