Dragon Quest 11 takes the player to the fantasy world of Erdria, where he undergoes a rite of passage with his childhood friend Sandra in a small village. But the freely named hero is, how could it be otherwise, destined for greater things. The villagers know this too, having once fished the mysteriously drawn protagonist out of the river as a foundling, and now sending the young man to their king with a heavy heart.
At the royal court, however, you are anything but welcomed with open arms and even insulted and imprisoned as a descendant of darkness. Soon after, you manage to escape with another inmate from the dungeon, but to find out more about the sign and people's reactions to it, you'll have to overcome many more obstacles and master the dangers.
But at least you won't be alone in your quest for answers, for in addition to your cellmate Erik, other companions will soon join you on your cross-country adventure. You'll be on foot, horseback, or boat, visiting strange villages, towns, and ruins to learn more about his origins and fate.
Of course, this time it's the battle between light and darkness - a classic story of heroes and chosen ones. Yet you never lose the desire to be part of this incredibly charmingly staged adventure story. For the Western version, Square Enix even gave voice to many characters and hired English dubbing actors. In the final edition, you can also enjoy the Japanese voices.
Unfortunately, only the protagonist remains almost silent and therefore always appears like a foreign body or an oddball in the dialogues.
Conclusion
Dragon Quest 11 S offers old-school Japanese role-playing game entertainment with immense charm: from the classic turn-based battles with no adjustable difficulty level, which can at least be sped up in the final edition, to the dusty storage and inventory system, to the almost completely silent protagonist. Veterans will be satisfied, but younger players may be put off at first. However, those who get involved in this time travel will experience a lovingly staged role-playing adventure that is rarely found today. But it's not just the internal values like the individual character maintenance, the interactive crafting system, or the varied side quests that inspire, the cute, cartoon-like graphics with their great animations are still impressive, despite some minor drawbacks. Above all, players of the definitive edition will enjoy additional stories and monsters, can activate a nostalgic 2D mode and choose between orchestral and synthetic soundtracks as well as English and Japanese voice actors.
