My hit points are full thanks to Family Friendly Gaming purchasing a copy of Dragon Quest XI Echoes of an Elusive Age on the Playstation 4. The PR and Marketing human beings representing this game failed Family Friendly Gaming Universe like attacking a boss when your char has one hit point.

As much as I've nitpicked this game for refusing to evolve, I absolutely love all the dumb little side quests and content that Dragon Quest XI comes with. Hunting for mini medals, gambling, crafting and scavenging is a blast.

Character models are gorgeous; Combat is fast and fluid; Leveling/progression feels excellent

Draconian Quest should be default; Pep Powers felt superfluous; Occasionally cringey voice acting

It's not an exaggeration to say the release of a new Dragon Quest game is enough to send Japan into fervor. Capturing the quintessential elements of traditional JRPGs, Dragon Quest is crafted by legendary series creator Yuji Horii, character designer Akira Toriyama and composer Koichi Sugiyama.

One day, Dragon Quest may succumb and drop turn-based combat. Thankfully, that is not today. Echoes of an Elusive Age may play it very safe, but the carefully balanced combat and wealth of ways to build the characters keeps things from getting boring.

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.

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.

After the last several Dragon Quest games have either been on 3DS or became an MMO (as was the case in Dragon Quest X), Dragon Quest XI is a return to the large single-player formula the series is known for.

Vibrant and lively world to explore; A fun party of characters; Little to no grinding is necessary; Bold story choices..

...That are recycled from another series; Overcomplicated inventory system; Lengthy story cutscenes

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.

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