Dragon Quest XI

[Fred]

The PS4 version has a "new" (new for DQ) system, you don't input all your 4 chars commands at once, but each its turn. The 3DS uses the usual mode.

Can you freely change between these input modes on the PS4?

See above, I don't think so but I didn't have a translation of the options screen so I'm not certain. I don't think so because it happens that a character has several (well, 2) turns between the enemy turns if your agility is higher, so I think they just changed the combat system and I doubt you can reverse this. But again, I'm not 100% sure.

Also now you have icons to visualize your buffs and debuffs, it's a small thing but for a game where (de)buffs are so important, it was really strange they didn't implement that earlier.

To your 2nd point, yeah the faster animation and the autobattle system make the trash encounters a lot more smooth.

I forgot to say, there's a full day/night and weather cycle, with different mobs when it rains for instance.

 

[Hyperion]

The PS4 version has a "new" (new for DQ) system, you don't input all your 4 chars commands at once, but each its turn.

This is why the game is probably considered much easier. Losing a character because of an unfortunate sequence of events is commonplace in all DQ games. Plus 'lapping' enemies...yeah, Agility was always important, but Meteorite Bracer (if it exists) is pretty much the best item in the game now, hah.

 

[Fred]

Another thing I forgot to mention, the tension system is replaced by something that could translate to "in the zone" system. It doesn't exactly works like a limit break, there is no visible gauge, I think it's activated when you take a big hit relative to your max HP. Then the character becomes like a max tension character in DQ8. Then you can use a special move (you can unlock a lot of those in the skill trees). The thing is everyone can combine with everyone. So if you have 2 chars in the zone, they have a special move. Same with 3 or 4. It's moves like a DBZ anime, like a 3 chars combo, one cut a stadium sized slice of the earth under the mob, another launch it in the air and the 3rd throw a moon sized rock on it. Some other multibuffs the whole party (I found those the most useful)
With 8 chars and each possible 2, 3 or 4 combo having a special effect, that's a a lot. I found this less strategic than the simple tension system, but I'm sure I underused the system due to the number of combos plus my japanese illiteracy.

There are also quests now (well there were in DQ9 but I keep comparing it to DQ8). There were quests in DQ8 but no quest log or "official" quests, you had to remember who talked to you about something. Now you have a quest log.

And another, you can't throw random items in the alchemy pot hoping to find a formula anymore, you have to find the formula first, which makes recipes very important to find.

More controversial, there's now a minimap. It shows a marker only for the main quest objectives. I have to say without it I don't think I could have finished the game.

I loved the boss battles from mid game to the end. Most were hard and felt "special". When I see the amount of mobs, bosses, clothes, everything, I imagine the amount of work that was put in this game must have been colossal.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Another thing I forgot to mention, the tension system is replaced by something that could translate to "in the zone" system. It doesn't exactly works like a limit break, there is no visible gauge, I think it's activated when you take a big hit relative to your max HP. Then the character becomes like a max tension character in DQ8. Then you can use a special move (you can unlock a lot of those in the skill trees). The thing is everyone can combine with everyone. So if you have 2 chars in the zone, they have a special move. Same with 3 or 4. It's moves like a DBZ anime, like a 3 chars combo, one cut a stadium sized slice of the earth under the mob, another launch it in the air and the 3rd throw a moon sized rock on it. Some other multibuffs the whole party (I found those the most useful)
With 8 chars and each possible 2, 3 or 4 combo having a special effect, that's a a lot. I found this less strategic than the simple tension system, but I'm sure I underused the system due to the number of combos plus my japanese illiteracy.

There are also quests now (well there were in DQ9 but I keep comparing it to DQ8). There were quests in DQ8 but no quest log or "official" quests, you had to remember who talked to you about something. Now you have a quest log.

And another, you can't throw random items in the alchemy pot hoping to find a formula anymore, you have to find the formula first, which makes recipes very important to find.

More controversial, there's now a minimap. It shows a marker only for the main quest objectives. I have to say without it I don't think I could have finished the game.

I loved the boss battles from mid game to the end. Most were hard and felt "special". When I see the amount of mobs, bosses, clothes, everything, I imagine the amount of work that was put in this game must have been colossal.

Indeed, from all the videos this looks like the highest production value jrpg released so far. Everything screams polish and attention to detail.

FF games might get the press attention in the west, but there is a reason DQ is such a beloved franchise.

 

[LESS T_T]

 

[Kem0sabe]

Those graphics, that character design... perfection. The voice overs on the other hand, shit.

 

[aweigh]

I seriously can't express how happy I am I'm alive to play this.

 

[Viata]

Why is this having a VO when Japanese version didn't have it?

 

[Hyperion]

If it's the same quality as the voice acting from DQ8, I'll gladly welcome it. Still some of the best VA I've heard in a JRPG. Whoever did Yangus was a dead ringer for Bob Hoskins. Real question should be, is this already a contender for Codex GOTY. Seems almost impossible to fuck the game up from what we've seen.

 

[aweigh]

Viata

Enix said that they were making DQ11 specifically for "the West", and that they decided not to allocate resources for things like VO to the japanese release.

The exact same scenario played out with DQ8, btw, with exactly the same reasons and execution. It worked for them that time and it'll work for them again: the japanese version is guaranteed to sell so they have no reason to make it fully-featured.

(Plus, although this is purely conjecture, I don't think japanese care much for video game VO? Zelda/Nintendo games never have VO and they're the best-selling).

 

[Sentinel]

Is Akira Toriyama still the art director for this project?

I'm going through DQ8 again and his art is just so charming. I fucking love it.

 

[Doktor Best]

My biggest wish is that they improve the aggro system of enemy spawns. DQ 8 on 3DS feels a little odd since enemies are so narrowsighted that you can just run past 90% of all encounters, even in a dungeon. Engaging in a random encounter and getting your ass handed to you has this feeling of awkwardness attached to it since most likely you were the one who chose to fight.

I think the best way would be to add a timer that goes up with every step you take, increasing the aggro range of enemies up to a certain max range. This way, you would still be able to avoid fights with careful navigation, but not all of them.

 

[Great Deceiver]

Zelda/Nintendo games never have VO and they're the best-selling).

Although that has been true historically, there's a lot of voice acting in Breath of the Wild and some of it in Mario Odyssey.

 

[Makabb]

Zelda/Nintendo games never have VO and they're the best-selling).

Although that has been true historically, there's a lot of voice acting in Breath of the Wild and some of it in Mario Odyssey.

Only in main story cutscenes, rest is w/o VO, and it is the best approach.
Nintendo is one few last companies who understands how to make games.

 

[Vorark]

My biggest wish is that they improve the aggro system of enemy spawns. DQ 8 on 3DS feels a little odd since enemies are so narrowsighted that you can just run past 90% of all encounters, even in a dungeon. Engaging in a random encounter and getting your ass handed to you has this feeling of awkwardness attached to it since most likely you were the one who chose to fight.

Better than DQ VII 3DS, in which I had monsters spawning almost on top of my character, leaving no room to flee.

 

[LESS T_T]

 

[LESS T_T]

E3 trailer:

 

[aweigh]

lul they've been keeping their gay character under wraps!!!

i can already see the Kotaku articles... haha

 

[Vorark]

Dragon Quest XI Devs Talk Monsters, Hidden Secrets, And Why The West Is Getting More
http://www.siliconera.com/2018/07/1...den-secrets-and-why-the-west-is-getting-more/


Siliconera recently got to hang out with Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii along with the director and producer of Dragon Quest XI to talk about its cute monsters, hidden secrets, and why the West is getting more.

Our interview features Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii, Director Takeshi Uchikawa, and Producer Hokuto Okamoto:

Siliconera: Dragon Quest games typically have a silent protagonist with other JRPGs have you step into a character. What makes a silent protagonist interesting?
Yuji Horii, designer and series creator: The connection is the main protagonist is essentially the player. If we create words for the protagonist to say then we feel there would be a disconnect since the silent protagonist is the player. The game is created in a way so players would imagine what the protagonist would say at any given moment. The main character doesn’t have much of a personality since he represents the player and the way I create party characters is to make them unique characters so that stand by themselves.



Can you tell us about how you created the party member characters in Dragon Quest XI?
Yuji Horii: Erik, one of the characters you encounter first in the game and the rogue character, he meets the hero in the story and identifies him as the Luminary. Erik was told a prophecy that he will save the Luminary and it creates this unexpected moment. Later in this storyline, they need to jump off a cliff and Erik believes in the Luminary’s powers and follows him to jump off the cliff.

Why did you want to make the hero a chosen one archetype?
Yuji Horii: Looking back, this is meant to be culmination of the past 30 years of Dragon Quest. We wanted to go back to the roots and origins which came down to making the main character the Luminary.

Yeah, there are throwbacks to the entire series like Roto’s Sword in the game too.
Yuji Horii: You’re right there are homages to the past Dragon Quest games. Anyone who hasn’t experienced the past Dragon Quest games can still experience these as episodes within this game and enjoy with these characters. These are something everyone can enjoy without knowing about the past games.

While Slimes and Drackys have been around since the first game, the world in Dragon Quest XI is a living world where we’ll see monsters interacting with each other. Can you tell us about how you designed this?
Yuji Horii: If you look back at the original games there were quite a lot of limitations. You would encounter monsters and that would be it. Given the advancements in hardware and animated monsters we were able to dive into what kind of habitats they would live in and what kind of mannerisms they have. The development team put a lot of thought into what these monsters may be doing and brought them to life.

Takeshi Uchikawa, Director: We also hope players look at the monster compendium in game. This has little tidbits about the monsters and how they behave. We wrote these tidbits for all of the monsters in the game.



Hokuto Okamoto, Producer: After the game came out in Japan, there was quite a bit of buzz about a baby panther-like monster. Since it is a baby it plays in the world and with other monsters too. There is a particular monster the baby panther shows interest in and the other monster is surprised when the baby panther finds it and the baby panther squirms away. Other times its rolling around and having fun. It’s very cute. In Dragon Quest XI, you can do a field attack to strike it and we saw online some players were tweeting that they felt bad about it and it created conversation because the monster was so cute.

The Dragon Quest monsters always have been quite cute compared to other RPGs. Why did you want to create cute monsters for players to fight?
Yuji Horii: It’s because we wanted Toriyama-san to design the monsters. When I was originally developing the original Japanese version, we didn’t say we wanted to kill a monster. We said we defeated the monster and left the impression this monster may have ran away. We left it open to a player’s imagination.

[Okamoto shows a photo on his phone of two Dragon Quest Slimes, one drawn by Horii-san which was a more monster-like blob of slime and a pink one drawn by Toriyama-san.]

Dragon Quest XI changes the combat system too. Could you tell us why you switched to individual turns for characters?
Yuji Horii: We felt it would be a little more realistic and it would be easier to think through. Also, we have pep powers for combo attacks.



Discovering hidden treasures was a big part of Dragon Quest. With a bigger world in Dragon Quest XI, how did you hide secrets for players to discover?
Yuji Horii: We spent time to think this through. When you’re walking around world and if you got lost we want to ensure that getting lost wasn’t a waste. You might find something at a dead end of a dungeon. We went out of our way to place things in locations that some players may never discover.

Takeshi Uchikawa: Given that we have a more expansive world compared to some of our past games, we considered different kinds of players and what they want to do within this world. We thought about this when we placed treasure chests or shining spots with items. We want players to enjoy getting lost in this world.

Hokuto Okamoto: [Laughs] Originally, these items were placed on the path and served as a marker. This didn’t allow players to go to the far ends of the world, but it developed into what we have in the game now.

Are there any secrets that players haven’t discovered or found in the Japanese version yet?
Hokuto Okamoto: [Laughs] There is something! It’s not an item, but there is something that hasn’t been discovered yet. It’s a spell of restoration, though, so it’s not in the overseas version.

Yuji Horii: Unfortunately, the spell of restoration is not included in the overseas version, but rest assured any items you can receive through the spell of restoration you can receive in a different manner within the game itself.
If I did say there was an item or something in the world that has not been discovered would that fire up overseas fans?

Hmm… I think players all over the world like searching for secrets and Easter Eggs developers may have hidden in their games.
Yuji Horii: In the overseas version, the spell of restoration never existed so we couldn’t incorporate it in a meaningful way in Dragon Quest XI’s overseas version.



Are you thinking about hiding another secret?
Yuji Horii: [Laughs]. If there is a next installment, we would like to do it.

Hokuto Okamoto: Way back, in one of the earlier Dragon Quest games, there was a certain monster that wouldn’t appear. You would encounter it, but it wouldn’t appear in the game. [Laughs]
Yes, for the next game we’ll definitely include a secret for players in it.

The overseas version does have new content though like voice acting and Draconian Quest difficulty mode.
Yuji Horii: English is different from Japanese and comparatively it’s simple. To get the nuances from Japanese across we needed voiceovers to get those language differences across to players. Because we have to localize the game, our overseas fans get the game a little later than our Japanese fans. [The extra content] is kind of our form of an apology so overseas fans have something new to look forward to as well.

Where do you want to take the Dragon Quest series next?
Yuji Horii: Games are entertainment and when you define entertainment it is to enjoy a life that isn’t your own, something that is a different life. That is something I’ve been creating and something I will continue to create.

Such a heartwarming interview.

I agree with Horii's stance on silent protagonists, never understood the hate. Better than ending up with some cringy teenager.

 

[aweigh]

i'm so fucking stoked for this.

 

[Hyperion]

What makes a silent protagonist interesting?

The connection is the main protagonist is essentially the player. If we create words for the protagonist to say then we feel there would be a disconnect since the silent protagonist is the player.

Can't believe this question even needs to be asked anymore.

 

[HoboForEternity]

But in linear jrpg it is usually just the character agreeing or disagreeing depending on the storyline. Honestly for jrpg most of the time I prefer characterized protagonist like estelle fron tits.

Edit: maybe tits is an execption of an abnormally high standard of writing, but yeah, most jrpg protagonist suck, and rather than another leon fron ff viii (gosh i hate that game, just typing its name makes me cringe) i'd rather take most DQ silent protag.

 

[Kem0sabe]

What makes a silent protagonist interesting?

The connection is the main protagonist is essentially the player. If we create words for the protagonist to say then we feel there would be a disconnect since the silent protagonist is the player.

Can't believe this question even needs to be asked anymore.

I dislike silent protagonists because there is zero roleplay. You agree with absolutely everything everyone asks you to do, you are just a silent observer of the story and the drama of your group of companions.

 

[Jinn]

Someone needs to update the title of this thread to include the PC release.

Crooked Bee ?

 

[Grampy_Bone]

The DQ8 hero has some personality even if he doesn't talk. The perfect example is when he rescues Yangus from the bridge after King Trode leaves him for dead. It reveals a general sense of honor and compassion that shows through much of the game.

There's a heroic archetype of being unfailingly just, honest, and moral while still being an ass-kicker that only seems to pop up in jRPGs anymore. In the west, goodness is always associated with weakness or non-violence.

Not that jRPGs can't do dark, tortured, or flawed characters well too. Fei from Xenogears, Yuri from Tales of Vesperia, or Yuri from Shadow Hearts (what is it with Yuri's?)