And that was Dragon Quest XI's Act 3. Our mission: to take Act 2 and set things right. All over, Act 2 Town Stories are occurring, but in a state where we can either put a stop to them before they do actual damage, or are better prepared to suppress the harm and reap greater success from doing so. And in some cases, especially where the Spectral Sentinels were concerned, there was no harm in the first place. There are extra quests in places where this is an issue (eg Phnom Nonh), and also a bonus dungeon with multiple legs. There's plenty to do and plenty to see no matter what you're in for.
As far as the exclusive plot is concerned, the concept is very well-chosen: We meddled with business we didn't understand, and the result is we got surprised by something we really should've seen coming had we more of the facts, as well as some recontextualisation of some previous characters- Mordegon, the Timekeeper, and the relationship between them and Erdwin. The concept is, in some way, better than the execution: Since both characters get about one scene of screentime, the audience is left to fill in the blanks on these relationships more than they get elaborated. Which is probably the wiser call for Morcant, but it leaves poor Serenica with virtually nothing to go on other than her crush on Erdwin. Not a particularly great look for the only woman in the party.
The main judgement applied to Act 3 is, of course, whether undoing the events of Act 2 ruins the emotional stakes. It's a common reaction, and I can see where it comes from. To take the massive stakes placed upon Act 2 and then completely undo the suffering and adversity they offered robs them of some of its emotional impact in the complete package. I have less problems with it, for two main reasons: the emotional upheavals are strong enough that I feel that even knowing the game isn't planning on committing to it isn't enough to fully rob them of their power (this is something you sorta pick up if you're widely versed in stories with alternate paths like time travel or route splits, but it is definitely a weaker version of letting them stick permanently), and Dragon Quest is a game that works much better by taking on an optimistic tone. The message of Dragon Quest is "humanity is good and everything works out well if you put in the effort", and having an uplifting result to such a disastrous end fits right in with the series.
Mechanically, is this a postgame or a continuation of the story? Narratively, it's definitely the latter, but mechanically, it's probably a postgame. There's a good comparison to be made here with Chrono Trigger- where the overworld is filled with sidequests and extended characterisation opportunities, and the player can either go diving into it or go fight Lavos Calasmos. In addition to this, Drustan's Trials are a strong parallel to post-game areas in DQ history, but because all these powerful pieces of equipment and experience opportunities, it's much easier for just anyone to go into the dungeon. When it comes to the Fungeons of older games, the EXP curve is tightly manageable at best and grindy at worst, and the superbosses waiting at the end are even moreso. DQ11's approach may be interesting narratively, but it is far more approachable from a mechanical perspective- helped because the game has the chance to add scenes virtually for free because of the nature of Act 3 repeating Act 2. Sure, one can do something similar without time travel, but you need to write an additional layer of content.
No comments:
Post a Comment