I first played through the majority of Dragon Quest 11 when it came out in North America for the PS4. I don’t remember exactly how I got distracted, but I ended up moving on to a different game, and I never came back to the PS4 version.

Recently, I learned that the newer version, Dragon Quest 11 S, includes the ability to play it in 2D, similar to the 2D in the 3DS version that was only released in Japan. This encouraged me to play the newer version and at the time of this writing, I’ve played almost all the way through with just the final boss as my main quest. This is my short review of DQ11S, which has become one of my top games of all time, up there with FF6, Chrono Trigger, EarthBound, Zelda 3, etc. Not something to be said lightly.

First off, one great thing about the newest main-line Dragon Quest game is that it stays true to the main series in the sense that it’s still a menu-driven, turn-based JRPG, unlike the sad direction of all FF games after FFX. DQ11 is hard proof that the formula still works. There are many re-occurring things from past games in the series; character and monster designs, item names and their icon art, attacks, and there are many recognizable music tracks from previous games.

The newer version adds quite a lot to the original.

• You can also play basically the entire game in 2D. It’s optional and you can switch between 2D and 3D. It’s recommended to play through 3D on your first playthrough, though.
• More optional quests that take place in the various previous game series’ worlds. It’s also in a 16-bit 2D art style, but with NES style music. You unlock these quests throughout the game.
• There’s some expanded content that fleshes out characters more.
• The ability to listen to (by default) the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra version of the soundtrack.
• Some quality-of-life improvements such as the ability to speed up battle animations.
• And more.

The newly added orchestra soundtrack is really good. You can also select the original synthesized version to compare. I found myself always going back to the newer orchestra version though.

The story is superb. I won’t spoil anything though. I’ll just say the main quest-line with no side-quests makes for a very long game. There’s also many optional stories that can take place if you’re exploring areas, especially near end-game. You really feel for the characters and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t tear up a few times.

Nothing is missable in the game, which is a pretty amazing feat, considering just how large and long the game is.

My first JRPG was Dragon Warrior 1 on the NES. It blew me away and I’ve loved the series ever since. After playing through DQ11S, I’m really looking forward to 12, as well as the upcoming HD-2D remakes of the Erdrick trilogy.