In the brief time they've been around, many video game genres have flourished, stagnated, died, and been reborn repeatedly. There are a few institutions, though, that stood no matter what.

Beautiful scenery and location design continuously make Erdrea visually engaging; The slimes are smiling and it is still super cute; Gotta love that Toriyama character design; All the traditional JRPG tropes are here at their best

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The Dragon Quest series has always been a sort of comfort food for RPG enthusiasts - since its inception, it has changed, but never drastically, always with incremental improvements and additions that built upon a core gameplay design, one that has almost always been the same (spin off titles...

Lots of quality of life improvements; item crafting/improvement adds suprising depth to equipment system; the best-looking Dragon Quest game to date; good combat AI; good characterization

Same basic gameplay from the past couple of decades; towns start feeling far too similar, except for visual flair; skill system is a little bland

If you've been waiting for a true follow up to Dragon Quest VIII or just have been craving a massive JRPG with a gorgeous world, this is definitely the game for you.

Superb cast of memorable characters; Wonderful world to explore; Additions for the West are ace; Great pacing and fun combat all the way; No compromise true JRPG

Music but not for the reason you're thinking of; Some visual issues; Few gameplay annoyances

"In Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, Square Enix has delivered to us the grandest Dragon Quest of them all." © 2018 Square Enix. All rights reserved.

Gorgeous; epic; fun; wonderful world to explore

Pacing falters at times; uneven voice acting; repetitive soundtrack

Dragon Quest XI excels when it emphasizes fighting bad guys, exploring dungeons, and finding treasure. It's a visual feast populated by a cast of colorful monsters more engrossing than its main characters.

Dragon Quest XI continues the gameplay of previous games in the series, in which players explore worlds and fight against various monsters, including the ability to explore high areas.

As the longest-running Japanese RPG series, Dragon Quest has never strayed too far from its classic roots. If you're a fan, you know what to expect: turn-based combat, a silent protagonist, and a grand adventure to save the world. In some ways, this franchise shows its age.

It would be legitimate to complain that Dragon Quest XI and the franchise as a whole has not evolved much, and less patient players may balk at the game's grind-heavy, deliberate pace and missing features like save-anywhere systems, tactical positioning or even character models that don't reflect...

Square-Enix has delivered many children unto us across the decades, but the world takes special interest in two of its offspring: Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Though he's over 30 years old, Final Fantasy never settled down. He probably never will.

If you've read any of my past reviews, then you know I'm a huge fan of JRPGs. But I'm not just a fan of the mainstream titles that everyone and their mother plays, I'll happily play the niche , quirky and the downright bizarre .