Topic: Dragon Quest XI

@kyleforrester87 It really brings the game to life.

Listen to this sweeping bit of overworld music. Sounds epic. I feel like I'm on an adventure.

Now compare it to the MIDI version in the original release.

LOL

I know I said I thought the DE content should stay exclusive, and I still broadly think that, but I wish they'd patch the symphonic suite into the PS4 version. Nobody should have to listen to this when playing such an otherwise lovely game.

The battle theme is obviously better in the DE as well, but at least the MIDI version of that isn't quite as bad.

Here's the symphonic version:

Played a bit more of the demo tonight, this time I tried it on docked mode and it looks just as good on the big screen. Again, I can't compare it to the PS4 version since I never played that version.

I got to met Erik's old partner and am slowing making my way back to my home village. I also learned how to craft which I admit is a bit interesting. I am use to games like WoW or Skyrim where you just have to have the crafting mats hit a button and BAM you're done. It took me a bit to figure out the mini game when it came to crafting but I think I have the idea of it now.

@Tasuki Think I'm about 15 hours on the PS4 version. It obviously looks sharper and stuff on the PS4. The music does sound better on Switch, but both versions I dislike and I've turned the music down to lowest volume. The music whenever you are in a town/village really begins to grate after a while. The only other difference I've noticed is the Switch version you can set it to auto advance the dialogue and text. I doubt I would ever use the top down 2D mode so I can't say that is a feature I'm craving after.

As for the game, I'm not actually sure I'm enjoying it a great deal so far. It's been quite easy so far and only one of my guys has died and that was cos I forgot to heal him lol. I've heard it is a bit of a slow burn but unless it clicks with me soon I might knock it on the head and move on.

The voice cast are excellent though and I like the crafting mini game.

@JohnnyShoulder Yeah I noticed that too about the music, especially in the overworld. For someone like me who likes to explore everywhere rather then ok let's get from A to B as fast as I can, the music can get grating after awhile. Still my biggest thing is the silent protagonist. It bugs me when an NPC asks the hero a question to answer yet they don't answer it's like why ask why write the story like that if you want me to go left then send me left. I guess RPGs like Fallout spoiled me on being able to make.choices, still there is a bit of old school charm to the game and except for those minor gripes I am enjoying it alot.

Between this, Borderlands 3 and The Outer Worlds next month, I will have plenty to do RPG wise for awhile.

@JohnnyShoulder it doesn’t get a whole lot better after another 15 hours in my opinion. I was quite interested for the first 5 but it’s all a bit too.. simple for my liking. Not so bad for a short experience, but I wasn’t going to give it the 60+ hours it demanded.

Veronica is cool, though.

@Tasuki Oh silent protags annoy me too. In this there are even parts where the hero explains the stuff to other characters, yet all you too see is some arm movements and a line of text describing what the hero is doing.

@kyleforrester87 Yeah Veronica is ace, so brutal.

Whilst it's not the same game, I played Dragon Quest: Journey of the Cursed King for PS2 (which I think was the first one in europe?) and basically thought the same @JohnnyShoulder

The cel shaded style does mean that it holds up graphically fairly well despite being two generations ago. But I thought it was quite slow and rather simple in plot too.

Not quite sure what the fuss surrounding the series is about...

The voice work was pretty good though then as well with the British voice acting, Yungus' cockney was actually fairly normal sounding and not hugely exaggerated. Though he did say Guv' a lot

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy I think it is mahoosive over in Japan, I read somewhere it outsells the Final Fantasy games over there.

@Tasuki You unlock some advanced techniques later with crafting. I say advanced they are just things like a double bang and a softer bang, but they are well handy for tying to get a perfect rating.

Oh yeah it's absolutely crazy popular in japan @JohnnyShoulder

I think the fact it's Akira Toriyama (the DragonBall guy among other things) artwork has something to do with it (Not that I understand his popularity either)

On one hand it's nice that the series managed to keep it's sense of identity despite being over 30 years old and while they do a bit more experimental stuff with the offshoots, it's a bit odd to see a game basically be just a cel shaded Final Fantasy I in terms of go to random towns and do stuff before eventually beating the big bad with nary any narrative twists or turns (Least that was my experience with Dragon Quest VIII)

Though I thought Dragon Quest Builders demo was actually a pretty decent minecraft knock off and his certain artstyle worked better for it 😅

It is pretty much the same in XI @Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy, in fact i think you have just nailed it why it's not clicking with me. Everything that happens just feels insubstantial and a bit low key. I've taken a break from it for a day or two, so I'll either be itching to go back to it or never play it again lol.

Continued playing this last night after taking a break from it over the weekend. It still not engaging me as I would like. I'm gonna play a bit more this week, as there is something about that keeps me coming back. I've decided not speak to every villager and going in every house looking for trinkets/recipes.

I've got Veronica an adorable cat suit to wear. And it's not one like catwoman would wear, it's like she dressed up as Garfield. It's so funny watching her be so brutally honest in cut scenes dressed up in a cute cat suit! 😅

@JohnnyShoulder where you up to exactly?

@kyleforrester87 I've just arrived at Zwaardsrust.

The games almost had me with the sea monster, but then the game bottled it and didn't let me fight it.

It's a quite an undemanding experience to play, probs why I've stuck with it as I can just chuck it on after work and not think about it too much.