Current Events > I really want to like Dragon Quest XI but it just seems so... meh

(+) Yeah! (+)

I don't know what it is but it's just not clicking for me.

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Could it be the fact that Dragon Quest has been dragging out the same tired formula for literal decades with a fresh coat of paint and you've finally hit that wall where you realize they're all the same?

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weird, probably the best jrpg in the last decade

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Agreed. I quit about half way. It was the first DQ game where I quit that early. I stopped playing VII, and IX, near the end. I loved V though. Story, and music were tops.

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ultimate reaver posted...

weird, probably the best jrpg in the last decade

That would be Persona 5.

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s0nicfan posted...

Could it be the fact that Dragon Quest has been dragging out the same tired formula for literal decades with a fresh coat of paint and you've finally hit that wall where you realize they're all the same?

s0nicfan posted...

Could it be the fact that Dragon Quest has been dragging out the same tired formula for literal decades with a fresh coat of paint and you've finally hit that wall where you realize they're all the same?

I don't typically play JRPGs tho

And this is the first DQ game I've played

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i love 9

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What about it are you enjoying/why do you say you "want to like" it?

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Doom_Art posted...

I don't typically play JRPGs tho

And this is the first DQ game I've played

Oh, well then a bit of context: DQ is famous for being the most "pure" JRPG on the market. Each game follow pretty much identical story beats with the same types of characters, designed by Akira Toriyama, the same enemies, and the combat itself is extremely old school (by design). The result is you probably feel like you're playing a SNES game filled with tired cliche characters. Over the decades they've added some trivial mechanics like alchemy, but the franchise prides itself on not rocking the boat.

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Spiritlittle posted...

That would be Persona 5.

Xenoblade

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I tried playing it and just didnt care for it. It looks nice but its boring to me and I also dont like silent protags very much

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Godnorgosh posted...

Not sure why people hold Dragon Quest to higher standards than Pokemon and <insert subseries of Mega Man games here> when it's clearly more varied than those in terms of story and gameplay

I don't hold it to a higher standard than Pokemon, which is ALSO a tired formula that refuses to innovate. At least Mega Man mixed it up by franchise (MM vs MMX vs MMZ vs Battle Network). DQ having that musou was a good start, to its credit.

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s0nicfan posted...

Could it be the fact that Dragon Quest has been dragging out the same tired formula for literal decades with a fresh coat of paint and you've finally hit that wall where you realize they're all the same?

While they do share similar themes they're all very different takes on turn based Jrpgs.
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It's basic stale and it knows it. The only reason it's still around is because Japan is absolutely obsessed with anything DQ

ultimate reaver posted...

weird, probably the best jrpg in the last decade

That would be Tactics Ogre for the PSP. God, I probably have 600 hours on that over the years, and still haven't 100% it.

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There were some parts that definitely dragged but glad I stuck with it, the second half of the game is far better than the first. Also don't know what version you're playing but the orchestrated music makes a world of difference between the game becoming tiresome or not. The midi soundtrack sucks.
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i'm a big DQ fan and yeah i just wasn't feeling it all that much. but my epectations were also really high because DQ8 is one of my favorite games

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Could've sworn the hype for this game was unreal when it came out, though!

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I got like 60-80 hours in, to the Library, stopped and never went back lol

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Every single battle feels like a chore, IMO. You want to charge up and get optimal attacks to avoid taking damage, so you can't just mash that attack button. It gets so repetitive without letting you completely turn off your brain, you end up dreading encounters. Most of the characters kind of suck, too.

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wackyteen posted...

I got like 60-80 hours in, to the Library, stopped and never went back lol

Similar case for me too. I hit around the 50 hour mark and though I had been enjoying the game a good amount, I was getting ready for it to end.

But I looked it up and was only like halfway. I was too burned out and just stopped, I'm not against the idea of going back to it, but I'll be surprised if I do.

It was all very charming and the battle system was nostalgic and kinda refreshing in a "I've missed this" kind of way but nothing in there was really intricate enough (especially plot and character development wise) to justify between another 30-50 more hours than I'd already done.

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The thing is, I've put way more hours into Dragon Quest IX.

In 30 days I put 168 hours into DQIX and that wasn't even my first playthrough <_<

Just something about XI... Dragged?

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It's probably the worst mainline game after 9 and not counting 10

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Delirious_Beard posted...

i'm a big DQ fan and yeah i just wasn't feeling it all that much. but my epectations were also really high because DQ8 is one of my favorite games

Vavavoom!

Dragon Quest is strictly for people who enjoy oldschool RPGs. They're designed to give you that warm, charming feel of a nice long fantasy story with fun characters that you don't need to think you hard about. They're like comfort food in video game form.

How far are you in it? Do you generally like oldschool JRPGs?

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LostForest posted...

How far are you in it?

I just got back to the starting village for the first time to find it all wrecked.

LostForest posted...

Do you generally like oldschool JRPGs?

Eh not typically no

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Why didn't you answer my questions? What is Doom Art hiding?

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Doom_Art posted...

I just got back to the starting village for the first time to find it all wrecked.

Eh not typically no

I mean, in that case, this is kinda like disliking seafood, then going to a fancy restaurant and ordering the salmon and then being bummed out that you don't like it lol.

FWIW, you're basically like 5% into the story, and things do get a little more interesting eventually. (Though, don't expect it to get deep or profound or reinvent the wheel if you keep going)

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Antifar posted...

What about it are you enjoying/why do you say you "want to like" it?

I just typically enjoy more longer form "grand adventure" sorta games with lots of sidequests and whatnot.

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I had the same issue. Also the atrocious OST did a number on me. Like you really gonna have just the same few shitty MIDI songs play throughout the whole fuckin game?

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MC_BatCommander posted...

I had the same issue. Also the atrocious OST did a number on me. Like you really gonna have just the same few shitty MIDI songs play throughout the whole fuckin game?

Were you playing the PS4 version? Cuz the Switch version has orchestrated music.

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DQXI starts out slow but it definitely grows on you.

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LostForest posted...

Were you playing the PS4 version? Cuz the Switch version has orchestrated music.

And can easily be modded in on PC
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i'm 33 hours in and i'm having a great time, but it's pretty slow until not long after where you are

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i liked it quite a bit, but it didn't hit like 8 did for me.

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For me the Music and the story until the big plot twist were terrible and so so BORING! Also I hate crafting.

After that twist and the post game was when I got in the mood to want to finish it instead of just trying to.

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Doom_Art posted...

I just got back to the starting village for the first time to find it all wrecked.

Isn't that only like six hours in? Or am I insane

It does take a while to get your third or fourth party member, but that's typically when a normal JRPG picks up -- when you have a maxed out combat party

The soundtrack thing is legit though. Same OST for all the towns and most of the overworld? God damn what a miss

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Doom_Art posted...

I just typically enjoy more longer form "grand adventure" sorta games with lots of sidequests and whatnot.

i feel like one of the reasons DQXI lacks that big adventure feel is the scope of the world, everything is segmented and nothing feels cohesive. playing any other game in the series walking from one town to another really feels like you're going somewhere with a good idea of where you are in the world, XI just feels like you're running between a series of linear areas with no connection. i think i really realized this when you get the world map transportation and i had absolutely no fucking idea where everything was relative to one another.

it's firmly in the bottom half of the series for me.

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PatrickMahomes posted...

The soundtrack thing is legit though. Same OST for all the towns and most of the overworld? God damn what a miss

Not only that, but the music wasn't that good and it sounded like it loop after less than a minute.

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s0nicfan posted...

Could it be the fact that Dragon Quest has been dragging out the same tired formula for literal decades with a fresh coat of paint and you've finally hit that wall where you realize they're all the same?

Funny, that's exactly what I love about Dragon Quest. I put in a main line DQ game and I know I'm playing a turn-based JRPG, there will be slimes, it will be cheesy, there will be Puff-Puff jokes, and it'll keep me busy for a hundred hours.

No gambits, no action segments, no relationship-building, no paradigms shifting and no junctions.

DQ XI S was no DQVI - still my favorite - and the music could've had more variety, but it's solid for me.

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i love it, replaying it right now and i'm still enjoying it

but the music is the weakest part by far, they need to fucking dump that racist fuck Sugiyama already

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rwbonesy posted...

i love it, replaying it right now and i'm still enjoying it

but the music is the weakest part by far, they need to fucking dump that racist fuck Sugiyama already

IIRC, his understudy has been working on spinoffs a lot and is being groomed to take over soon.

With some luck, DQXI might be Sugiyama's last big game.

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I went on a forum dedicated primarily for JRPG's and when I asked people to list their top JRPG's Most of them said DQXI, follow by Persona 5 and Octopath Traveler. Octopath Traveler story was bleh, but the gameplay was enough to engage me. Persona 5 battle system could've been good if they allowed me to customize my partners, but sadly the only one that could play any different was Joker, but the characters and story kept me engaged. I put in 23 hours into the game and it didn't get any better. Nothing in the game gave me a reason to continue playing it, both the story or gameplay. The only characters from the cast with any personality was Raab, Slyvando, and Veronica. Everyone else was just flat out boring with almost no personality. I really gave this game a try, but dropped it because I lost interest in continuing.

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