just Dragon Quest XI

We in the west don't get the 3DS version but I do think the Switch version looks just as good or better than the PS4 version. Specifically the water at 1:45 or so.

Dragon Quest XI | Switch vs PS4 vs 3DS | Graphics & FPS Comparison | Comparativa

Have they said if the new features like improved soundtrack will come to the PS4 version?

farley3k wrote:

We in the west don't get the 3DS version but I do think the Switch version looks just as good or better than the PS4 version. Specifically the water at 1:45 or so.

Dragon Quest XI | Switch vs PS4 vs 3DS | Graphics & FPS Comparison | Comparativa

I have to disagree there, PS4 looks so much better. Not to say the Switch looks bad, but the landscape is more barren and gets muddy the farther out you look. Also the water in the PS4 version has a lot more effects going on.

EvilDead wrote:
farley3k wrote:

We in the west don't get the 3DS version but I do think the Switch version looks just as good or better than the PS4 version. Specifically the water at 1:45 or so.

Dragon Quest XI | Switch vs PS4 vs 3DS | Graphics & FPS Comparison | Comparativa

I have to disagree there, PS4 looks so much better. Not to say the Switch looks bad, but the landscape is more barren and gets muddy the farther out you look. Also the water in the PS4 version has a lot more effects going on.

This is what I saw as well. I probably put around 20 or so hours on PC but stopped due to shiny. I already preordered this. Will try the demo and see how it is.

beanman101283 wrote:

Have they said if the new features like improved soundtrack will come to the PS4 version?

They have not. Unfortunately Koichi Sugiyama the composer has some weird stipulations in his contract where the first release of DQ games cannot have orchestral tracks in them (he is also a terrible person from the sounds of it). Which is why the Japanese version of 8 sucked so bad compared to the American. And why short of a re-release of 11 on PS4 I doubt they will add it as dlc or a patch.

I think Nintendo is also playing a pretty significant roll in bringing this version to NA so not sure what they have invested in the new content. It seems like a pretty significant upgrade. I know they have got me double dipping (shocking I know).

I downloaded the demo yesterday and actually got to try it last night. The opening sequence before the title screen was awesome! I don't know if the Dragon Quest games all have open sequences like that, but I enjoyed it! I think the music put it over the top for me, since I found myself paying attention to the music more than I usually do. I only played through the very first mission (climbing the Tor) and ran around the village a little (looting everything!) before I started to nod and decided to call it a night. I will be playing more of this tonight, if I can stay awake long enough...

Rave wrote:

Unfortunately Koichi Sugiyama the composer has some weird stipulations in his contract where the first release of DQ games cannot have orchestral tracks in them (he is also a terrible person from the sounds of it).

It's too bad that the composer seems to be a terrible person because the soundtrack helped me to get into the game, right from the start.

Overall, I enjoyed the hour I messed around with the demo. I spent way too much time sight-seeing and poking around in every corner, but I am looking forward to spending more time with the game! I'm glad there is more to the demo though. I don't know if I would buy the game based on what I'v played so far. It's good, but I just haven't gotten far enough yet to make a decision.

DQXI never gets much more complicated than the beginning 10 hours. Party members join, you get more skills and Pep Powers and that's about the extent of it. It's never meant to be an overly taxing gameplay system, but a well worn, straightforward one which is why it's so easy to pick up and play. It slowly adds more stuff in but never turns into one of those "I have no idea what I'm doing" JRPGs that is dependent upon multiple gameplay systems to be interesting.

The recaps are phenomenal when you've been away. All games need this much care put into things like that.

Been messing around with the switch version. Just some quick impressions compared to the PS4 version.

The music is a game changer there is such a richness to the tracks now the brass has some real depth of sound it's so pleasant. I know DQ isn't exactly the pinnacle for JRPG music (Ff14 is my front runner at this point) but it sounds wondeful. It was really missing from the PS4 and it's noticible immediately. There is a toggle in options for the synth track if someone wanted it, or atleast we can use it as comparrison once the full game releases (it's disabled in demo).

There is also options for Japanese language tracks, I can't remember if that was in the first version or not. The English is so charming I wouldn't have switched. There is also an option to toggle the protagonists voice (who was a silent protagonist) so I'm not sure if that just means battle grunts or if he will actually speak selected lines now.

Graphics are pretty comparable, looks like maybe AA is a little lower character faces are less sharp with noticible jaggies. Both on tv and handheld. Id say it's a pretty obvious downgrade. It still looks great of course but characters are rough looking.

Draconian quest has atleast one new option townsfolk talking Tripe, which has NPCs telling you lies for some reason. They seed a few in really early on in the demo and it's obvious when you are being lied to. Not sure the point yet but it's still charming, speaking to them again has them repeat the proper original dialog. Might just be a funny thing they added like weird wasteland in fallout.

2d mode is unavailable in the demo I'm pretty sure I heard we can toggle modes during play but the way the option is presented it seemed like a choice you made up front. Hopefully that's not the case.

Also seems like they added a photo mode like the 3DS version of 8 I'm really struggling to remember one in the pS4 version so I think this is also new. It seems cool with some options for arranging characters and having them pose.

Seems great can't wait for the full release!

Rave wrote:

2d mode is unavailable in the demo I'm pretty sure I heard we can toggle modes during play but the way the option is presented it seemed like a choice you made up front. Hopefully that's not the case.

Apparently you can switch at any church or camp, but when you do it "send[s] you back to the start of a chapter in the story."

I'm not sure what it means by "chapter"; I hope that doesn't mean "Act," because that would mean there are effectively only two opportunities to switch modes mid-playthrough without losing progress.

Maybe each chapter is denoted by a different recap, so it sends you back to the beginning of that area?

Hmm disappointing that it's not on the fly, although I understand why. I'm guessing it would be similar to however they did it on 3ds so it's not like it would be impossible to figure out.

Might warrent it's own playthrough if sprite animations are half decent, I'm guessing it's more of a novelty though.

LastSurprise wrote:

Maybe each chapter is denoted by a different recap, so it sends you back to the beginning of that area?

That would make sense.

Rave wrote:

(...) Koichi Sugiyama [...] is also a terrible person from the sounds of it. (...)

Sadly, the original 1UP-article is not available anymore, but for those of you who are curious, you should check this out:
https://kotaku.com/the-sad-story-of-...

On a different note, I have been playing the XI S demo for four hours and for the first time since VIII, I am actually hooked on a Dragon Quest game.

Geez. The author made a salient point when he wrote, “History is, quite literally, our story. It can be both the catalogue of our actions as a species and a reflection of our interpretation of those events“. Negationists are dangerous individuals, imho. We may not like our story sometimes, but it’s ours. We’ve got to own it, learn from it, strive to do better where we failed, and continue to do good where we can.

Sorry for the off-topic comment. I’m just a little frustrated because I just discovered this series and it’s wonderfully orchestrated soundtrack!

I'm just grateful to live in America, where we have nothing morally compromising to wrestle with in our collective past.

In the post-game, I am definitely feeling the effects of the Enemies are Super Strong setting, and am thinking of turning it off. All the optional boss fights seem to go the same way: with my characters barely hanging in, and quickly overwhelmed by the bosses’ multiple, party-wide attacks. Most bosses get 3 turns, too, which piles on the damage and makes rebuffs practically useless. I don’t think I’m going to give up on it, but I’m probably in serious need of some more levels and better gear.

Rave wrote:
LastSurprise wrote:

I think you'll like it, especially if you like that aspect of SMT / Persona.

Fair warning, there are a couple of early boss fights that are made very difficult by this setting. When Rave said he turned it off before getting the third character, I can picture where this might have been.

Spoiler:

The two gryphons at the bottom of the crypt, right? That was a rough one.

Lol you are correct. I could see how to beat them, it felt like a little bit of a stat check. The way I always played the old games was grind until I could buy the best gear in the town I was at and move on. I just couldn't do it this time unfortunately. It's not even like I don't have the time to invest in the grind, I just couldnt be bothered this time.

I can see it maybe being a bit more tactical later on though I really didn't play long enough with the settings on before I turned them off.

I didn't even beat the game I got about 90hrs into act 2 (completionist so I had to clear everything up till that point so maybe took a little longer then normal) and then that switch version was announced.

I just got to the Slayer in Gallopolis and am now considering turning off the hard enemies. The thing is, if it uses a couple attacks in a row that hit multiple characters and your buffs/debuffs aren't up yet you're basically screwed as there is a strong likelihood the squishier characters will already be dead. A bad round can easily drop 2 characters without a chance for retaliation. The only solution would be to grind for better spells and maybe tweak character points for specific strategies. Not sure it's worth the trouble...

The Slayer is definitely one of the big difficulty gates. I think if you can get past it, the difficulty is manageable until that one boss, where I almost turned off the Enemies are Super Strong setting...

Spoiler:

Dora in Gray. F*** that boss.

LastSurprise wrote:

The Slayer is definitely one of the big difficulty gates. I think if you can get past it, the difficulty is manageable until that one boss, where I almost turned off the Enemies are Super Strong setting...

Spoiler:

Dora in Gray. F*** that boss.

Update: I got lucky with an overconfident metal slime and made it to level 17. That and reworking a couple armor items to +2/+3 gave me the edge.

It's amazing what difference some levels and equipment can make!

A word of unsolicited advice, if you want it:

Spoiler:

As soon as you get Sylvando as a fully controllable party member, you should make a beeline for Hustle Dance. If you haven't played a DQ game featuring the "dancer" class or its equivalent, before, it's a group heal. I think you will get it long before any other character gets the Multiheal spell. And, it scales heavily off Sylvando's charm stat, and most of his unique gear will buff that stat, so it will remain useful throughout the game, and even into the postgame.

LastSurprise wrote:

The Slayer is definitely one of the big difficulty gates. I think if you can get past it, the difficulty is manageable until that one boss, where I almost turned off the Enemies are Super Strong setting...

Spoiler:

Dora in Gray. F*** that boss.

That boss was the worst. I think it was the only one I died against on normal enemies.

I ended up turning off the harder enemies settings around the Jasper fight. That was another very frustrating boss battle and with the palette swapped monsters becoming more frequent, grinding was getting a bit boring. I do have a save at where I gave up in case I want to pick back up again. Without the hard enemies setting the game becomes almost effortless. Whether in a few hours that effortlessness will be considered 'breezy' or 'mind-numbing' is yet to be decided.

Unlock Dragon Quest VIII's Overworld Music in DQ XI S Definitive Edition!
*I am posting so I can find it again when I try to do it at home.

It's just the over world theme for 8 but it's great I can listen to it for a longer period of time then 11s theme. I bounce between them pretty regularly though.

I tried the download above and indeed I do have the music and my hero is dressed in the much snazzier outfit from DQ8!

farley3k wrote:

Unlock Dragon Quest VIII's Overworld Music in DQ XI S Definitive Edition!
*I am posting so I can find it again when I try to do it at home.

What's up with the annoying voice though...

I had no idea Tim Rogers did another DQXI video for the Switch release. This 30 min video is entirely about the Switch release.

If you haven't seen anything else he's done his delivery is ... odd. Stick with it though, he's usually got some great points to make.

garion333 wrote:

I had no idea Tim Rogers did another DQXI video for the Switch release. This 30 min video is entirely about the Switch release.

If you haven't seen anything else he's done his delivery is ... odd. Stick with it though, he's usually got some great points to make.

He's a little much for me with the over exaggerated delivery, but folks seems to like him.

To me, his delivery sounds robotic, like a text-to-speech app. I've liked the videos of his that I've seen (I really liked his take on Kingdom Hearts III, which I haven't played), but I'd almost always rather just read his reviews.

I have been sporadically playing the postgame, and am absolutely loving it. Most recently, I defeated

Spoiler:

the Crystalotl, an optional boss at the bottom of the Battleground. It was pretty hard! It had three attacks per turn, including a heavy-hitting, party-wide physical attack that inflicted paralysis, and also a pretty strong wind attack. This is one of the first battles in which I made regular use of Serena's hymns. As is often the case, you can't muscle through these battles, even at around level 80. Buffs and debuffs matter a lot.

One of the things I really enjoy in the postgame is a new skill of Sylvando's [just a skill spoiler, not a story spoiler]:

Spoiler:

Ladies First, which allows you to pass his turn to Veronica, Serena, or Jade. At first I thought this was a silly gimmick, but I've used it a lot. Each of these characters has a claim at being the best in their particular combat role, so an extra turn for any of them can be a big help, and makes Sylv more versatile.

I know some people here didn't want to play the postgame because of how it takes away some of the stakes of the main story. I felt that way at first too, but I'm really glad I stuck with it. Once you get past that point, the story is really a nice continuation from both Act 1 and Act 2, ties up loose ends well, and results in some major payoff for early-game forshadowing. It also provides the most robust high-level content I've ever seen in a Dragon Quest. I already loved this game, but with this additional stuff added in, DQ XI is easily my favorite DQ ever.

Just started last night and I’m curious — is anybody playing in 2D mode?