Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

2025-11-15
I used to think JRPGs were cringe, old, slow games for people who lacked skill and imagination. "Oh you need a story told to you? You need the computer to wait for you to go? Do you need a party of characters made for you? [Chuckles autistically] Idiots." And like so many other people I played Persona 5 in 2017 and was bathed in the light of hot Japanese teenagers (nothing sexual) and saw the error of my ways. And against Persona's wild innovation and flashy style, Dragon Quest XI seems like Steve Buscemi showing up to high school: stodgy, by-the-numbers, out of place. And yet it uses its well-trodden structure and mechanics to create one of those most engrossing epics I've ever played.

Engrossing to the tune of me spending 99 hours playing it back in 2018. That's because, as I discovered with Persona and even more with DQXI, the joy of a JRPG is a great story paired with the pleasant repetition of turn-based battles. The best JRPGs either make these battles dynamically engaging in their own right (SMT's "press turn", Clair Obscur's dodge/parry) or slowly evolve in options and complexity as you play. DQXI is firmly in the latter. There is nothing extravagant about any part of the combat here. Some people use swords, some people cast spells and uh...you can defend? And it rules. Largely because in this simplicity there is a zen nature to each encounter. You know all the tools at your disposal so just do the thing, man. That and the pacing with the semi-linear "open world" is honed such that you are always getting new characters, new equipment, new abilities, and, really, getting stronger.

The last piece of the puzzle is the story. It's largely a trad tale of a hero of the light's predestined faceoff against evil. But it is suffuse with heart due to a cast of characters that you will love as they join, overcome personal challenges, or are tragically lost. My favorite, of course, is the fabulous Sylvando. Besides being a nonstop force of energy, positivity, and comedy he was also successfully written to be so much more than the one-dimensional "gay guy" trope I thought they were going to pin him down as. Besides the characters, my favorite part of the story is that due to its trad structure it can sneak in a delightful twist around the midpoint in the game. Even 7 years later I still remember being in disbelief.

If I’m thankful to Persona 5 for opening my eyes to the possibility of JRPGs being fun then I'll be forever thankful for DQXI instilling a love in me for the more classical JRPG. (Even if playing it at release meant I got stuck listening to the MIDI-ass version of the soundtrack instead of the beautiful full orchestral soundtrack later editions would get.)