'Dragon Quest XI' News: Lengthy Gameplay Video Features a Dungeon Crawl, Also Introduces Some New Enemies
"Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age" is the latest mainline installment in the long-running RPG series.
Fans in the west will finally be able to play this game later this year, but they do not have to wait until then to enjoy a pretty lengthy look at it.
A new video posted by PlayStation Underground features the aforementioned game and it reveals some interesting things as well.
The video formally begins with the protagonist and some other characters standing around inside a dimly lit dungeon known as The Cryptic Crypt.
The reason why the other two characters — who are named Serena and Veronica — are shown alongside the protagonist is because they are not official party members yet. Instead, they are just guest characters who will still help out in battle, but the AI will be the one to dictate which actions they perform.
Because the portion of the game shown in the video is still very early on in the adventure, only one official party member has joined the protagonist, and he is named Erik.
Per the Dragon Quest XI, Erik is a thief who appears unapproachable at first, but he is someone who will gradually turn into a true confidant for the protagonist.
The protagonist, Erik, Serena and Veronica then proceed to get into battles as they progress through The Cryptic Crypt. There's a good chance that fans are seeing these enemies for the first time in "Dragon Quest XI," but variations of these creatures have been featured previously in the RPG series.
Near the middle of the video, the protagonist and his friends are shown squaring off against a giant, lizard-like boss named Jarvis. Something of note shown during the boss fight is the protagonist and Erik combining for an attack after they both entered Pep Mode.
It seems like more powerful abilities will be made available to the playable characters once they enter Pep Mode.
The fight ends with the protagonist and his group emerging victorious, though that may not be the most notable thing shown in the gameplay video.
At around the 5:13 mark of the video, the Character Builder is shown and for just a few seconds, viewers are allowed to see a preview of the protagonist's skill trees.
What's worth noting here is that there may be four different skill trees available to the protagonist.
The first is the Swords skill tree, and this one features abilities and buffs that will come in handy when the protagonist is wielding a one-handed sword. Another skill tree is dedicated to skills that players will need if they decide to use greatswords.
Then there's the Swordmastery skill tree that will grant players access to special skills and buffs that are designed to increase the damage output of the protagonist.
Finally, there's the Luminary skill tree, and this one features skills and stat boosts available only to the "Yggdrasil's chosen."
It's unclear if those will be the only skill trees for the protagonist or if others may be unlocked later in the game.
Fans will be able to start filling out their own skill trees as soon as "Dragon Quest XI" is released for the PC and PS4 on Sept. 4.