Square Enix gave its deepest look yet into Dragon Quest XI during the game’s release date presentation last night in Japan. According to the company, the game’s story will last roughly 50 hours, and that doesn’t account for all the extra goodies which could drag it out to 100.
50 hours is quite steep, but given the 100+ hour adventures, even without extras, that both Dragon Quest VII and Dragon Quest VIII provided on the Nintendo 3DS recently, I’ll take this as a sign of reprieve!
Gameplay videos from the presentation also emerged with Square Enix showing off new elements of the game, most noticeably the ability to change the protagonist’s wardrobe and several different looks at the combat system.
A second video also emerged which shows the Nintendo 3DS version switching between the 3D combat and the classic 2D sprite combat.
A full-blown 3D adventure awaits!
It’s hard to believe that the last time Dragon Quest provided a full 3D adventure for players to blast through was way back in 2004 with the release of Dragon Quest VIII. 13 years is a long time to be paddling between retro JRPGs, MMORPGs, and handheld RPGs that try their darndest to look 3D. I’ve always leaned towards the classic style found in Dragon Quest III and V, but I’m ready to give a 3D world a spin again.
Dragon Quest XI promises a huge world, dark dungeons, and brilliant visuals the likes of which the aging series has never seen. We’re about to see how 30 years of tradition holds up in the modern world, and so far, I like what Square Enix has to show.
Dragon Quest XI will be released for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo 3DS on July 29 in Japan. A Nintendo Switch version is also in the works. No mention was made of an English release.
