'Dragon Quest XI' News: How Is the Upcoming Game Being Made More Accessible and Appealing to Western Players
When "Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age" journeys west later this year, it will arrive with new additions designed to make it a title that is more accessible and appealing to gamers outside of Japan.
These additions are elements of the game that players will notice as they proceed with their journey.
Among the additional features included in the western version are voice-overs.
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During an interview with DualShockers, producer Hokuto Okamoto revealed more about how the inclusion of voice-overs for the western version of the RPG should help make it more enticing.
According to Okamoto, the voice overs are going to help make the in-game world more interesting to players. Because the in-game world known as Erdrea is quite large, the developers have opted to divide it into specific regions. That's where the voice-overs come in.
When players visit a certain region of the world, they should be able to pick up on the accent spoken with by the people living there. The same thing should happen when players reach a different part of Erdrea, but the accent will obviously be different.
These regional differences are expected to make players feel as though they are traveling through a fully lived-in world.
Voice-overs will also be heard during the cinematics and cutscenes. Even certain instances in battle will feature voice-overs. There are also some scenes where the members of the party will be conversing with one another, and portions of these will be voiced.
It is worth noting that the voice overs are only going to be featured in the western version of "Dragon Quest XI."
Okamoto revealed that because series creator Yuji Horii and the other developers needed plenty of time to finish the script, there was simply no time left to add voice acting.
The recording of the voice tracks for the western version of the game is also completed, so fans do not need to worry about this potentially slowing down the development process.
Voice overs will not be the only additional features designed to enhance the game's appeal to western players.
In an earlier post on the PlayStation Blog, Okamoto shared that they are including new user interface elements that should help players understand the information being displayed onscreen even better.
Okamoto specifically cited the in-game menu as something that varies between the Japanese and western versions. Whereas the Japanese version of the game primarily utilizes text to convey information inside the menu, the western version will make use of icons so that players can quickly pick up on the important details.
It is currently unclear if there will be other significant different between the Japanese and western versions of the RPG.
Fans in the west will not have to wait that much longer for the game, as it is already due out on Sept. 4. Fans can also opt to pre-order the game either via PSN or Steam to receive bonus items, including ones that can be used in the game.
More news about "Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age" should be made available soon.
