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Brace yourself, as you’re about to feel old. Almost 10 years after its Japanese 3DS and PS4 debut, Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age comes to the Switch 2 via a port of the Definitive Edition. No Upgrade Pack for the 2019 Switch version, which continues Square Enix’s streak for these releases. But like the FFX | X-2 HD Remaster, this port feels valuable for a number of reasons.
As a quick refresher, Dragon Quest XI is a pretty standard take on the series’ staples and story. After being chased and attacked by monsters, a baby prince from Dundrasil established as a prophesied Luminary is found by people in a small town of Cobblestone and raised as one of their own. When he comes of age, he’s sent to meet with the king of the kingdom of Heliodor. However, said king banishes him as a dungeon. The Luminary then gathers a crew of allies like Erik, Jade, Sylvando, Serena, and Veronica and heads out on a quest to reach Yggdrasil and save Erdrea. It’s standard JRPG fare with turn-based combat, with the Definitive Edition also adding the 3DS’ 2D mode, a more comprehensive story, quality of life features, and an updated soundtrack.
Okay, so the first reason I’m okay with the Dragon Quest XI Switch 2 release has to do with accessibility at what could be a critical time. This is a fantastic entry in the series! I’m not sure I’d call it my absolute favorite Dragon Quest, but it is probably in my top five. It’s been nine years since the original release and seven since the Switch debut, so it feels like a justifiable amount of time passed ahead of this revival.
Which I also like because we know that Dragon Quest XII is eventually on the way. Not anytime really soon, due to the name shift and the other decisions. But I find it helpful to have this again while the wait continues. Part of that is due to my personal concerns about how it might turn out due to the extended development cycle and team opting to “start over from scratch.” But it’s a reminder of what sort of story and experience we could expect.
But another thing about Dragon Quest XI Switch 2 is that we get the Performance and Quality options. Now, the former is the one that felt genuinely worth the time for me. The original Switch release was 720p in handheld mode and 30fps. Fine, but the frame rate didn’t feel very stable! While I did find again some 30fps issues with the 1440p Quality option, perhaps due to the higher textures and focus on graphics, Performance feels fantastic. The game looks amazing in handheld mode and seems to be around 1080p. It does feel like it’s really sticking around the 60fps frame rate. I will say that sometimes I felt like the PS4 version looked a bit better when I played it there, but this is very comparable!
Given its age and the promise of the next mainline entry, Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition is a welcome kind of Switch 2 release. An Upgrade Pack would have been even better. But the performance update here is appreciated. As is it being preserved and made even more widely available.
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition is on the Switch, Switch 2, PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and the original game also appeared on the 3DS in Japan.
