Side Stories have been touted one of the leading ways Dragon Quest XI S will separate itself from the original, and Square Enix has finally detailed what will make this new content so special: they’ll bridge the gap between the game’s first two arcs.
***Potential Spoilers***
Dragon Quest XI is split up into three separate arcs, with the first one ending after your party’s defeat at the hands of Mordegon at Yggdrasil. Following their defeat, the tree collapses and brings forth a worldwide cataclysm, forcing the party to split up now that the Luminary has lost his power.
These side stories will reveal what happened to each character during that time prior to reuniting with the Luminary. For example, Erik’s story will explain why he lost memory, Jade’s will detail her journey to Octogonia and how she wound up being mind controlled by Booga, while Sylvando’s will reveal how he became the leader of a performance troupe.
***End Spoilers***
But even though the other party members will be the stars during these moments, the game will play identically as when the Luminary is the one behind the wheel — they’ll talk to NPCs, find treasure and come across challenging foes to overcome.
One interesting aspect is that certain characters will even have new allies to team up with during their story, such as Erik pairing with a healslime or Sylvando with the crew of his ship.
All in all, this new content will certainly help to flesh out the more murky parts in the game’s plot that seemed random or poorly-handled, all while adequately leading in to when the Luminary joins up with his allies again.
At this point, the only question is whether the PlayStation 4 and PC versions will get this content at a later date.
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition is due out for Switch worldwide on September 27.
