Meanwhile, the Character Builder is essentially a grid that allows each character to learn more even more abilities beyond the ones gained by leveling up. The Pep state will automatically expire when a Pep Power is used, so while your immediate inclination might be to hold on to the skill until the last moment, you’d be surprised at how many times you’ll be tempted into doing otherwise. However, with each activation comes an important decision: when to actually use your Pep Power. Once active, a character will receive various stat boosts (like Final Fantasy IX’s Trance) and a new command called Pep Power which allows them to launch a special technique provided that both they and their teammate(s) have the appropriate skill (like Chrono Trigger’s Double/Triple Techs), allowing them to turn the tide of battle. Pep is a powered-up state that characters can attain once they receive enough damage or are subjected to other unfavorable situations for an extended period of time. I don’t want to give their character arcs away, but I promise at least one will be among your favorite characters once they’re complete - assuming they weren’t one of them already. Among them, my favorites were Veronica, a tiny, loud-mouthed mage who always seems to forget about her small stature, tries to enter a bar or other place for adults and then become enraged when they treat her like a child and Sylvando, a travelling performer who usually comes off as camp (or possibly gay), but has many scenes where his words or actions belie his usual demeanor. They’re all relatable and each have depth, possessing an arc that sees them grow as individuals by the time your journey reaches its end. The Dragon Quest franchise has played host to some memorable characters over the years (Jessica and Yangus from VIII Ruff, Maribel and Kiefer from VII and Bianca and Nera from V, to name a few), but this might be the first time that I found myself liking all the characters in my party. This level of storytelling is consistent throughout the entire game and helps elevate what would have been an otherwise generic story to a level that JRPGs rarely reach.Īnd the other reason why the story works so well? The characters. A run-of-the-mill cursed painting is more than just a cursed painting, and it turns out that an out-of-place lesson on fishing is worth listening to. Nothing that happens during the course of your journey is meaningless and even the most innocuous of scenes or conversations can wind up being of major significance later on - in the end, everything is closely tied together. Yet, Dragon Quest XI manages to avoid falling victim to common tropes due in part to tight storytelling. Hell, the very premise of your adventure is an echo of an event that took place ages ago. And now that this evil has resurfaced, it’s up to you and a handful of trusted companions to set out into the world, discover the identity of this threat and defeat it before it can succeed in what it failed to do in ages past.Īs I’ve mentioned before, there is nothing new here. Specifically, you are the Luminary, the reincarnation of an ancient hero who defeated an evil, demonic being ages ago. There is no guesswork, confusion or any of that mess.ĭragon Quest XI tells the timeless tale of a young man and his merry band of cohorts as they work together to defeat an ancient evil who seeks to destroy the world. Crafting gear is a simple process that can never fail, but takes effort and know-how to perfect there are many quests (both main and side) that you can embark on, but the game will always tell you where to go in fact, there are many mechanics you’ll need to get a grasp of, but everything is adequately explained to you. Everything it offers is simple in concept, but they always have a layer depth to them that doesn’t conflict with anything else. All too often do their components and features get cluttered and confused, conflicting with one another and leaving the final products in varying states of disrepairįortunately, this is something that Dragon Quest XI completely avoids. No doubt, this is an endeavor that I deeply appreciate, but it’s not one that always works. As suggested before, they often try to reinvent the wheel in a bid to separate themselves from the crowd. Among the many JRPGs that populate the market nowadays, the one thing they have in common is complexity.
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