Fortunately, Square-Enix introduced Dragon Quest XI on multiple platforms to a massive new audience, making it the first mainline, localized single-player Dragon Quest ever to be introduced on a Windows-based PC as well, giving the series a much-needed boost of visibility outside of Japan.

As with most other episodes in the franchise, Dragon Quest XI is largely a stand-alone adventure, and a perfect entry point for new audiences, who at first might be taken aback by the overly colourful presentation and the constantly blaring orchestra, two key features of the series.

The game follows the story of the orphaned Luminary, who bears the mark of a chosen one and must save the land from an ever-growing evil – this formulaic premise sets up a highly detailed and nuanced adventure on a very large scale.

As tradition goes, the main hero is a nameless, voiceless character without any real personality to speak of, serving as a sort of blank canvas for the player (there's no customization, though). As he travels the world of Erdrea towards Yggdrasil to obtain the Sword of Light, he encounters colourful characters, eventually assembling a team of eight companions. These characters are a wide range of personalities, each having their unique storylines and a matching preset class.

This translates into the turn-based combat rather well, each character having equipment and a distinct set of abilities that reflect their personalities, and the team is always well balanced. During combat, four active combatants can be switched freely for a passive member, even while they are dead.

Traversal is done in a third-person view, either on foot or mounted, visiting easily recognizable – and to an extent, video-gamey – locales from grasslands, through deserts and frozen kingdoms, to lava-soaked hellscapes.