226: Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (with Andre - Fine Time)

Support my work on Patreon- https://patreon.com/realdavejackson Discord, Socials and more- https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog Join Dave and special guest Andre (Fine Time, Neo Geo Go!, The Silent Discographer) as they discuss Square Enix's latest entry in the main Dragon Quest series, Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. For a certain style of RPG (that Dragon Quest arguably pioneered), it doesn't get better than this. Dragon Quest XI doesn't reinvent any part of its genre, but executes at top level throughout, though we still have some questions about directions that the story goes. This is a masterpiece, and we hope you enjoy the conversation. As always, no spoilers for a while- enjoy! Guest info: Andre (he/him) Check out Fine Time https://fineti.me/ Check out Neo Geo Go! https://neogeogo.show/ Check out The Silent Discographer https://the-silent-discographer.simplecast.com/ Follow on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/pizzadinosaur.fineti.me TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Title Card 0:31 Introductions 6:06 Our Histories with Dragon Quest 10:19 Top-Level Thoughts 18:16 Story Setup and Thoughts 32:59 Feels Like Coming Home- Art & Music 51:03 Tickington 54:46 Combat and The Fun-Sized Forge 1:10:14 Thoughts on the Silent Protagonist 1:18:36 Lightning Round Thoughts 1:23:32 Who Should Play? 1:28:35 Andre's Podcasts 1:34:12 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous 1:37:07 Spoilers- Some Early-Ish Story Talk 1:50:18 Spoilers- Act 2 Story 2:00:33 Spoilers- Act 3 Story Music used in the episode is credited to Koichi Sugiyama. Tracks used: Overture, The Hero Goes Forth with Determination, Olé! Sylvando!, Unflinchable Courage, Bustling Town, Rab the Wizard, Light Though the Leaves of Love, Echoes of an Elusive Age Check out Dave on Nostalgium Arcanum talking about our favorite video game soundtracks: https://nostalgiumarcanum.fireside.fm/ Check out Dave on The Rookie Run talking about Ocarina of Time https://www.youtube.com/@TheRookieRunVideoGamePodcast Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures