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Dragon Quest XI Opening and Gameplay, 2017 for PS4 and 3DS

Danny Dudekisser

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Oh man, I want this so bad. I'm actually tempted to get both the PS4 and 3DS versions.


Good timing for this, too... I literally just finished DQVII, and I know the withdrawal's about to set in.
 
F

Fou-Lu

Member
I want DQ to do well in the west and it makes me really sad that it doesn't. I think a lot more people would be interested if there weren't so many negative myths floating around about the series. Maybe I lend too much credence to internet vibes though.

BTW, how does DQ sell compared to FF in Japan?
 
R

Ridley327

Member
Fou-Lu said:
I want DQ to do well in the west and it makes me really sad that it doesn't. I think a lot more people would be interested if there weren't so many negative myths floating around about the series. Maybe I lend too much credence to internet vibes though.

BTW, how does DQ sell compared to FF in Japan?
Click to expand...

DQ is bigger by far in Japan, though the situation with consoles in Japan right now is going to make for an interesting comparison.
 
Thabass

Thabass

Member
The CG trailer makes the art style look so good. The gameplay does not. At least for me.

But I do wanna get this game for the Switch. It'll probably be my first RPG for the console.


.....if it comes to America. It's confirmed here, right?
 
M

Meffer

Member
Piers said:
It rubs me the wrong way how the games rarely try to give each world a distinct look. It's the same exact monster designs, typical green grass + blue skies, and style of music.

Hazarding a guess that this is what the Japanese fan base specifically like the franchise for, but it just seems really boring to me.
Click to expand...

That's the appeal of DQ.
 
G

GunBR

Member
Fou-Lu said:
I want DQ to do well in the west and it makes me really sad that it doesn't. I think a lot more people would be interested if there weren't so many negative myths floating around about the series. Maybe I lend too much credence to internet vibes though.

BTW, how does DQ sell compared to FF in Japan?
Click to expand...
Dragon Quest VIII (2004) sold ~1m more than Final Fantasy XII (2006)
Dragon Quest VII sold 1.5m more than Final Fantasy IX (both in 2000)

And Dragon Quest is a traditional RPG. I don't know how you can sell to the west a game with a cliche storyline (good vs evil), turn based battle system and the same structure since the 80's
And I say this as a huge DQ fan
 
Bitanator

Bitanator

Member
Peeps don't even want the superior monster catching game over in the states, cannot make them love everything, though I wish they did, those sales for DQ VII 3DS were beyond depressing as an American who wants DQ to do well over here
 
A

AmyS

Member
KingBroly said:
PS4 version doesn't have cel-shading anymore. It makes it look really off.
Click to expand...

atbigelow said:
Yeah it's really negatively impacting the look.
Click to expand...

So is that what I am noticing ?

My question was this:

AmyS said:
regarding the PS4 version using Unreal Engine 4, would you guys say the graphical style has changed between the first reveal footage in July 2015 and the new footage today, or remained consistent ?

Here's what the PS4 version looked like almost a year and a half ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBaE0mNexTs
Click to expand...

So the cel-shading from the 2015 footage really is gone. While I think the new footage looks very good, I think I perfer the 2015 cel-shaded (or semi-cel shaded) look a bit better.
 
P

Piers

Member
Meffer said:
That's the appeal of DQ.
Click to expand...

Even NSMB has suffered for being so strict in its look. Hell, look at what happened to Sticker Star. People loved the older Mario RPGs for branching away into unique and dynamic worlds.

If it's a very gameplay orientated title, I'd probably understand. But when turning to RPGs, people surely look for an interesting world and design. That's why I can't wrap my head around people liking an RPG franchise for being so conservative, other than the Japanese enjoying tradition.

The comparison has been thrown around before but the footage so far does look like the "90's 3D game but on UE4!!!", as a roundabout stance on my beef with its style.

Saying that, it does remain solid in story telling and at least its stuck to its guns on classic battle systems, hasn't it?
 
A

Aeana

Member
Piers said:
Even NSMB has suffered for being so strict in its look. Hell, look at what happened to Sticker Star. People loved the older Mario RPGs for branching away into unique and dynamic worlds.

If it's a very gameplay orientated title, I'd probably understand. But when turning to RPGs, people surely look for an interesting world and design. That's why I can't wrap my head around people liking an RPG franchise for being so conservative, other than the Japanese enjoying tradition.

The comparison has been thrown around before but the footage so far does look like the "90's 3D game but on UE4!!!", as a roundabout stance on my beef with its style.

Saying that, it does remain solid in story telling and at least its stuck to its guns on classic battle systems, hasn't it?
Click to expand...

There are other series out there that do the things you're talking about. It's nice to have a constant in the gaming world that you can rely on. It's the equivalent of comfort food.
 
M

Megalosaro

Banned
Piers said:
Even NSMB has suffered for being so strict in its look. Hell, look at what happened to Sticker Star. People loved the older Mario RPGs for branching away into unique and dynamic worlds?
Click to expand...

There is a very big difference in what Dragon Quest does versus what NSMB does. Contrary to your belief the world design does change between games. The only games that look similar are the DS remakes of 4-6, and even then the original releases were very different looking.

VII, VIII, IX,X and now XI all look very different from each other.

With regards to the music, NSMB uses the exact same music in each game. Dragon Quest doesnt. Other than a recycled theme here and there, each game has an entirely new soundtrack. And Sugiyama is able to give each soundtrack it's own unique... font (for lack of a better word). His style is distinct, but also pretty varied and each soundtrack has a pretty different tone.

Personally though, I think his best work was Ideon: Be Invoked, but that's neither here nor there.
 
K

Kenzodielocke

Banned
Did you know, that DQB and DQH are the only games on EU PSN?

Also, they didn't even bother to put up Chrono Trigger or Cross on EU PSN. Talk about builing an IP here. Dragon Ball characters don't release here, SE fucked up, badly.
 
G

GreenMonkey

Member
Aeana said:
There are other series out there that do the things you're talking about. It's nice to have a constant in the gaming world that you can rely on. It's the equivalent of comfort food.
Click to expand...

DQ is one of the few series I can count on not to totally screw up the basics of a good JRPG.

Tactical-ness of combat (lost IMO in the autopilot, control 1 character style of modern JRPGs). And doesn't take itself so seriously / not super angsty.

I'm actually a little worried about DQ11 diverging too much from the solid turn based combat.
 
M

Megalosaro

Banned
GreenMonkey said:
DQ is one of the few series I can count on not to totally screw up the basics of a good JRPG.

Tactical-ness of combat (lost IMO in the autopilot, control 1 character style of modern JRPGs). And doesn't take itself so seriously / not super angsty.

I'm actually a little worried about DQ11 diverging too much from the solid turn based combat.
Click to expand...

If it uses dqx as a base, I wouldn't be worried too much. That played like s dq through and through
 
S

Skittzo0413

Member
Megalosaro said:
If it uses dqx as a base, I wouldn't be worried too much. That played like s dq through and through
Click to expand...

Even without direct control of your party? That's something I've tried in various DQ's with the AI option but it's never felt nearly as good as when you have direct control over everyone. I hope they at least have that option for DQXI, although judging from the 3DS version I imagine they have that system worked out.

It'll be interesting if those two versions play all that differently, as far as combat is concerned.
 
T

Tanston

Member
We get new Dragon Quest games so rarely that I really don't mind them having the same basic monster designs/setting. If they were coming out every year and looked the same every time maybe I'd get bored with it. But not at this rate. Especially since it's been since ps2 era that we got a proper console Dragon Quest in the west (assuming we get this one).
 
M

MoonFrog

Member
Chacranajxy said:
Oh man, I want this so bad. I'm actually tempted to get both the PS4 and 3DS versions.


Good timing for this, too... I literally just finished DQVII, and I know the withdrawal's about to set in.
Click to expand...
Yeah I played III iOS immediately after playing VII 3DS. VIII 3DS is around the corner and I'm increasingly curious about going back to it after I've played the rest of the series, save X.

I really hope this comes west next year. I think I'll go 3DS/Switch (assuming UE4). I want them both.
 
Å

Ōkami

Member
PSY・S;226807372 said:
Are DQ games self-contained like FF?
Click to expand...
Some games are story connected but they're never direct sequels, you can play them in any way.
PSY・S;226807372 said:
Is there a character creator or is what you see here what you get?
Click to expand...
Some let you choose the gender of the MC but apart from that not much character customization.
 
R

Ran rp

Member
Ōkami;226807528 said:
Some games are story connected but they're never direct sequels, you can play them in any way.
Click to expand...

Awesome. Thanks.

Some let you choose the gender of the MC but apart from that not much character customization.
Click to expand...

Well shoot. For some reason the lack of diversity is bugging me more than usual here.
 
G

Gloam

Member
PSY・S;226807814 said:
Awesome. Thanks.



Well shoot. For some reason the lack of diversity is bugging me more than usual here.
Click to expand...

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the variety of characters and party members throughout the series.
 
M

MoonFrog

Member
Skittzo0413 said:
Even without direct control of your party? That's something I've tried in various DQ's with the AI option but it's never felt nearly as good as when you have direct control over everyone. I hope they at least have that option for DQXI, although judging from the 3DS version I imagine they have that system worked out.

It'll be interesting if those two versions play all that differently, as far as combat is concerned.
Click to expand...

Quoting myself from the previous page as to my thoughts on tactics, especially in the case the game is 'like' DQX. As Shouta's reply brought to my attention, this may seem less hypothetical than I intend it to seem. DQXI could be like X, without having some of the important systems of X. I'm taking maximally similar as a starting point for the hypothetical. Also bear in mind, I haven't played X, so these thoughts occurred while I was going about the business of asking people how it worked. As such they are very much about the general sort of system, i.e. what sort of game X was coming across as to me, rather than X in particular. In any case, my thoughts:

If this is the route DQXI (UE4--3DS seems like it need be traditional for the 2D version) takes, I hope there is good party play. Things like movement mattering really make me leery of leaving things up to AI and that is part of what holds back MMO-lite single-player JRPG in my mind, thinking Xenoblade. I'm actually fond of the systems in a good MMO, but they're made with other people in mind and that is always a hurdle to jump in making these systems. And it is not a hurdle I much like stumbling through at the cost of greater party control, even when the things you do with that control are fairly simple.

Tactics are fine, and lovely for grinding out, say, class levels in DQ VII EG, but I get a bit dubious of them being able to handle movement very well. I'd hope they'd try and address that though, so that the gameplay systems aren't bogged down by dumb AI that can't handle them.

The ATB wrinkle is interesting, and the menu system perhaps preserves the range of actions present in classic DQ while also setting it up to not be directly comparable to a CD-based MMO system with a rotation and situational abilities to perform, which would be another thing I'd be leery of AI about.

DQ Tactics can get characters to buff and debuff and heal, but it lacks situational awareness and that becomes an issue with complicated nests of abilities and cases where it is not just, say, "heal, if ally is hurt this much," but "heal rather this ally because he's the one taking damage" or "burst through the final bit of the boss hp."

I guess, when it comes to these quasi-action systems, I feel the push to RTS style control, pausing, etc. and it becomes "how do you make good party play without doing that, because I know you aren't going to do that."
Click to expand...

In general, I prefer full party control to be available. I like using my characters and growing fond of them that way, and that is one of the core reasons I love turn-based games.

This is a separate issue from AI competence and how the game need be structured to allow for silly AI. DQ doesn't tend to be tightly tuned and there is potential for grinding, so in a normal DQ the sillyness that can come about through tactics isn't too big a deal. I think it is a bigger deal when you start throwing more action into the gameplay, like with MMO-lite games, which is the problem I'm describing above.

...

One thought that a DQX-like system in DQXI (UE4) gives me, is the potential for multiplayer? Not sure how well it would work on one screen, but it could (think Secret of Mana). Perhaps Switch LAN could be cool too (or PS4 LAN, but that's more involved than portable LAN). Doubt we see this feature, but it'd be cool.

...

On another note, I am happy the cast is so big. I want a party of characters with a class, a la DQ I, II, IV, V, VIII, rather than a class system, and I think such a large class lends itself to this and the unique weapons all the characters are advertised with gives me hope in this regard.

I'd also love it if they did some experimentation with story structure, as seen in IV, V, VII. I really liked the 'collection of tales' approach of IV and the 'life story' approach of V, in particular. Mind immediately went to IV with the large cast :p. Just a random hype dream.
 
K

Kilrogg

paid requisite penance
Piers said:
Even NSMB has suffered for being so strict in its look. Hell, look at what happened to Sticker Star. People loved the older Mario RPGs for branching away into unique and dynamic worlds.

If it's a very gameplay orientated title, I'd probably understand. But when turning to RPGs, people surely look for an interesting world and design. That's why I can't wrap my head around people liking an RPG franchise for being so conservative, other than the Japanese enjoying tradition.

The comparison has been thrown around before but the footage so far does look like the "90's 3D game but on UE4!!!", as a roundabout stance on my beef with its style.

Saying that, it does remain solid in story telling and at least its stuck to its guns on classic battle systems, hasn't it?
Click to expand...

I know you're talking specifically about artstyle, modeling and shading, but it's really hard to ignore all the little things in that UE4 Zelda video you posted that make it a much more unappealing proposition. The wobbly camera, the motion blur, the crappy footstep sound FX, the more realistic colors, the generic texture work - e.g. the rocks and tree trunks -, the realistic grass, the overly shiny lighting... What I call the "survival game look" (as in, "it looks like Rust and similar survival games"). On top of looking much more professional, DQXI still retains a cartoony/idyllic fantasy look, with eye-popping colors, an actually appealing blue sky, beautiful flowing grass, etc. The shading and model textures look a bit more realistic than in previous games, that's true, but it's still far from looking as bland and boring as that UE4 demo.

To me, it looks a bit like a more realistic take on Zelda Breath of the Wild, without the painterly esthetic. It doesn't have that clean, lifeless look you'll find in generic UE4 environments.
 
H

hongcha

Member
In the Nintendo article they only show footage of the 3DS version and then say it is also coming to Switch, which may imply the Switch version will be a port of the 3DS version with upscaled and cleaned up graphics. Maybe you'll be able to "switch" between 3d and 2d on the fly.
 
M

MatrixMan.EXE

Member
hongcha said:
In the Nintendo article they only show footage of the 3DS version and then say it is also coming to Switch, which may imply the Switch version will be a port of the 3DS version with upscaled and cleaned up graphics. Maybe you'll be able to "switch" between 3d and 2d on the fly.
Click to expand...

I find it incredibly hard to believe that the Switch version will be an up-port of the 3DS version. But crazier things have happened, I guess.
 
S

ShockingAlberto

Member
hongcha said:
In the Nintendo article they only show footage of the 3DS version and then say it is also coming to Switch, which may imply the Switch version will be a port of the 3DS version with upscaled and cleaned up graphics. Maybe you'll be able to "switch" between 3d and 2d on the fly.
Click to expand...
Switch supports UE4, I would be real surprised if it's not that version.

Certainly either version requires compromise, but you seem to be losing more by trying to make the 3DS version work on the Switch.
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
At first I was like "wow this looks really nice, how is this gonna turn out on 3DS?"

Then it turns out the 3DS version is like a completely different game.

Fascinating.

Kind of weird that there's no Vita or Switch versions of their respective counterparts. (Because a ton of SE games are on Vita)

Not impressed with the music from the gameplay video.

I'm also not finding any of the character designs very interesting. They are all rather bland and generic. Something about the MC's design is especially unappealing.

Game looks cute, though.

"Everything was open world."
 
K

Kanann

Member
About delay, I really trust my man Saito Yosuke. While he's 1st priority DQXI, he still heavily involved in DQX and oversee Nier Automata keeping Yoko Taro sanity (and liver) in check.

That's super producer at work.

Still, latest December 2017.
 
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