Squenix, really, what are you thinking?

It's a "wait until it goes on sale" purchase, and given how quickly the other S2 titles caught up in discounts (FFVII is now matching lowest on other platforms, Octopath 1+2 are as well), it won't be that long

This is very unfair of Square. I enjoy many of their games and I bought quite a lot for the Switch, mostly day one. And now I am being forced to play the infernal versions or double dip. This is not a way to treat fans and consumers!

Square Enix should be ashamed of themselves. They’ve put out a lot of NS2 editions recently and none have an upgrade path. I’ll not be buying any of them on sheer principle and, unfortunately, that includes the excellent DQXI.

I own the Switch versions of this and the Octopath Traveler games, and if they’d have offered, say, a £10 upgrade path, I’d have happily paid for the improvements to resolution and performance. Shame on you Square.

Meanwhile CDPR giving the upgraded version of Witcher 3 away for free (with a bunch of new stuff).

At least the advantage with SE is that they will heavily discount their games later this year during various sales.

No save transfer, no upgrade path and GKC. The perfect combo for not having to spend a single dime. Thank you so much Square Enix for all these savings.

1440p 30fps for a 7 years old game that's SE suppose to call it an improvement ?!
What a joke... And asking 40€... !
As I see it SE just snobs switch 2 and nintendo overall or the board are out of mind if they believe with those moves will make us buy 2-3 times the same game.
Greedy at least.

Hmmm, I get we're mad about no upgrade path but it feels like this rating is because of that and not really the merits of the game.

Of course I won't argue the value is there if you own the game on Switch (because it isn't) but if you don't, I'd add 2 points to the score. Yes, SE made an a-hole move with no upgrade path, but that doesn't make this a 6/10.

Why disregard that group of +2 million Switch players that already have the game but might be interested in PAYING for the upgrade path? It makes zero sense to me, even from a business perspective. Are there technical constraints that hold them from doing that?

Docking this down from a 9/10 (original Switch version) to a 6/10 is wild.

I get the value proposition is not there but the game itself is still considered a top RPG. This should be an 8/10 at worst. Its still £35 for a 100 hour fantastic RPG so great bang for your buck.

@Kid_Sickarus

"If we offer an upgrade path, people might buy the Switch 1 version rather than the keycard version. And that would make the execs pushing keycards look bad, so we can't have that!"

I absolutely hate that there's no save transfer. I would've actually picked it up otherwise (on sale). However the actual score this game should get is a 10/10. As stated in the review the 6/10 is purely reflective of what this means for current Switch owners, not newcomers or people who own it on other platforms. The game itself is incredible.

Square Enix, your upgrade path? Woof!

@NielsNL Square have been making anti-consumer moves for years now, so this is nothing new.

They'll then go through a period of financial hardship. Start doing what they should be doing, turn it around financially and then slip back into their anti-consumer ways.

I love their IP, but I really wish someone else owned it.

Simple math. No save carryover + no upgrade path = I save money.

Even more importantly, the original Switch game included the game on the cartridge. The Switch 2 version is just a Game-Key Card.

Practices like this are not worth spending any money on.

@Kiz3000 it's not being judged as a new title, it's being judged as a rerelease of a game on a console that can play the original.

@NielsNL Even so they could do what many other publisher's have done and had a back door upgrade path by offering a discount version on the eshop...

Haven't finished the game on Switch 1. If I see a sale, I'll get it for the Switch 2 eventually. But because it has no upgrade path, it's not at the top of my list of games to get.

Ex: Just got Tales of Symphonia Switch, one of my favorite RPG from the GameCube era, for $10 bucks. Looking forward to playing this game again. ^^

Such a sad state of affairs with this one, I put in 80 hours in the first release and LOVED the game but these lame "improved graphics and performance" updates from Square Enix (and others) are not consumer friendly at all. I mean it's making a paid upgrade path look like a good thing when it should be a free update like CD Project Red provides. No chance I'll pick it up again new, I still have New Game Plus waiting for me on the original playthrough to get the "true ending". But for just a little more resolution, it's not worth buying it again AND replaying it all again when saves don't transfer, very disappointed

@Kiz3000 It's a 10 point scale, and a 6 is still above average, which is about right for a great game that's years old with minimal new improvements at $40.

We need to start using the whole 10 point scale more. It's insane that 8-10 is considered good, 6-7 is average and 5 below is awful. Wonderful use of a scale that is.

its stuff like this that makes me wonder why nintendo isn't more picky about how companies release things like this. they themselves are fairly decent about it, why can't they hold everyone to "some form of upgrade path must be available" at the very least!?

...and the cherry on top? A Game Key Card...

I've literally got no reason to purchase this... I'll stick to SW1...

@FlyingDunsparce agreed. I might have spent 20-30 dollars to finish my most recent playthrough at 60fps. But I'm not replaying the first 30-40 hours or however long again this soon, even if it was a $10 upgrade, which it isn't. They really don't want any money from existing customers on this one it seems.

@FlyingDunsparce @Kiz3000 I concur, this should’ve gotten two scores - the actual score based on the game itself, and a parody score for not having an upgrade path.

I learned the no upgrade path lesson the hard way when I pre-ordered FFX1-2 S2 edition and paid $50. From that moment I stopped pre-ordering SE titles and started just wishlisting. Worked well with Star Ocean Second as that had the same issue of being full price / no upgrade. Only took 2-3 months for it to drop to half price which was more acceptable. Still not ideal, but I’ll accept that over full price a second time.

Gonna do the same here and for the OP1&2 S2 versions.

I get SE has the old Japanese philosophy of “if we worked on it, we should get paid full value”, but we’re not talking about the same amount of work that went into creating it. We’re talking about polishing and optimizing. Plus more often than not no real new features, just minor features.

I could not resist. Grabbed my Switch 2 copy an hour ago and cant wait to dive in again this evening after playing through it years ago!

the game is a 10/10 for anyone reading this far.
*I will buy it when it reaches 50% off though. I've already bought 4 copies of this game.

@Haruki_NLI I don't disagree with your scale at all. People dismiss games rated a 6 or even a 7 as "bad games" which is just absurd.

The average person just does not how to scale. Either its a 1 and it somehow offended me or its a 10 and its the best thing since Kim Kardashian. Anything in between is not worth their time, for some reason.

Back to your other point though, does this mean the rereleases of PS5 games on the Switch 2 should equally be scored low as they are "older games, rereleased, and costing more". Looking at thibgs such as Cyberpunk and Indians Jones that both scored highly on here.

Sony and Square Enix are competing against each other to be the greediest most anti-consumer gaming corporation on the planet. Disgusting lack of ethics from these companies. Be better Square Enix.

@MJF I did the same with FFX. I wasnt prepared to pay £45 for the S2 version. It has a 40% off sale this week and so I grabbed it for £27 instead. (I do however love FFX so my resistance was pretty weak)

What a ridiculous score. How does a game the scores 9/10 in 2019 at full price, become at 6/10 game in 2026 at like half that price with better visuals? I feel Mario Galaxy was about this price when that came to switch like 15 years later with barely any improvements, I bet that didn't get a 6/10

I would've actually considered replaying this if I was able to upgrade AND keep my old save for $10, heck even $20. No upgrade path is absolutely ridiculous.

@The_Pixel_King Not even that, a mere performance patch isn't worth any money
"Runs a bit better now" shouldn't have a cost

It's easily a 10/10 game. Scoring this lower because you're mad about no upgrade paths or discounts is a terrible way to review something.

For anyone who hasn't played the game, please do not think this is a 6/10 experience.

Objectively this should be a free update for the original as well as a standalone release for people that don't have it
Witcher 3 did things the way they're SUPPOSED TO be done
Square Enix and Nintendo are doing it wrong.

I don’t want to buy this or any other Square Enix game and it’s going to be a while before that changes…

Is it fair to get mad at Square Enix for ripping off gamers when it's pretty much their entire business model?

As for this review, I think rating the Switch 2 version based on value over the original release is a fair approach. People are welcome to pull up the original review of the Switch version.

On one hand i get that the scummy upgrade practice (or the lack of one) deserves to be called out

And the other hand the game isn't a 6/10

Score is not really justified, the game still holds up and by all accounts is the better performing and upscaled version that most other platforms have.

I agree that GKC’s can stink, and no upgrade path is ridiculous. But we judge the game based on value, not on how it’s shipped.

Good review, give them hell. For me the game will be worth it at some point, never played any version of it, but I still see the problem with SE behavior.

"If you were hoping this version could be a good excuse to return to your half-finished save to wrap things up, you'll unfortunately have to start all over."

That's my position! So a pass from me, unfortunately. The saves not transfering is more the issue than price for me, as unless I fancy starting again I'd probably skip on a sale too, and the graphics difference doesn't sound like that much of an upgrade. Plus I've got way too much now to play on Switch even just fantasy RPG wise (RuneScape Dragonwilds, FF7 Rebirth/Revelation, Witcher III Remake, DQ Monsters, DQ7 and II remakes to finish, Mordor games, Kingdom Come next year and DQ XII at some point too!)

@Kiz3000 I've bought that game so many times. gotta get trophies on my ps4 version before I buy it again.

Getting sick of the landslide of remasters and ports. I’m just going to stick with original versions on older platforms and wait if new platforms will ever offer the kind of value that would inspire me to buy them. Until then, I’m perfectly happy playing on my PS4 Pro and OG Switch.

@Kiz3000 Probably yes, because the general feel I see online is "Neat but I've played it elsewhere where it looks/runs/plays better".

I can accept not being able to transfer save data, but this whole "no upgrade path" thing is irksome. It's not like when a Gamecube game got released on the Wii - Resident Evil or Mario Power Tennis, for example - where it makes sense that you just had to rebuy the whole game. This is a different era when download patches are par for the course and ubiquitous. There's literally no reason not to release an upgrade pack, especially given how minimal the changes are. I could see trying to get people to rebuy the game at full cost if they added a bunch of content, but if all they did was improve performance on a game that, by and large, already looks and performs just fine, then I can't see anyone rational going and rebuying the game just for that unless they've got enviable discretionary income.

@IronMan30

This is tricky - It honestly depends on the reviewer - who had valid points. I had a major beef with the review of Skyrim - which came with a FREE upgrade (with those who had the game) and it still got knocked. I was one person who never played the game. Can't win.

They are trying to separate this version with the Switch 1 version so yeah I agree maybe at the bottom of these types of reviews in the Pros and Cons - do a "Pro - add two (or whatever) points to this review IF you have never played the game before"

However I think the reviewer is right about the Switch 2 version of the game simply being unfriendly to existing owners - no upgrade path sucks and Square needs to fix this. Also, other than looking better, there is nothing NEW to offer here. Score reflects that.

I have the original and absolutely love it. I'm not bothered about transferring my save as I'd want to start from scratch, but not enough time has passed since I played it so I will just wait a couple of years for a big discount.

Still haven't played this game so, I may pick this version up in many years when it gets a good salw

I have been wanting to start a new playthrough, since I didn’t play Act 3 the first time. But I’ll wait for it to be at least 50% off on the eShop.

I would give this lazy port a 4/10 (the Final Fantasy X/X-2: Lazy Port gets a 3/10). As amazing as Dragon Quest XI S is, not giving consumers any qol features, upgrade path, or pack in any exclusive contents at the same time being a fake game as well means it doesn't deserve to be praise any longer.

The game can have whatever review it gets on its own merits. But I will likely think twice about purchasing future titles from Squenix based on this behavior.

@IronMan30 I agree. Same with how they rank switch 2 editions, like is animal crossing really a 6/10 all of a sudden just bc the newest version doesn’t add enough content?

Feel like Nintendolife needs to revisit how they score re-releases.

Though I do agree with the negatives and perhaps giving the lower score is the way to let the devs know we are not happy with how they’re treating consumers with these greedy practices…are you listening SE?!?

@Sonicka How it's shipped is part of the value proposition. It's why so many people are up in arms over the physical release of Final Fantasy VII: Revelation on PS5 and Series X requiring a download instead of shipping complete on multiple discs.

Thanks for reviewing this! I'm glad it's at least a good upgrade, if a paltry one. But yeah, the no upgrade, save transfer, discount, etc. stuff is rather unfortunate. Particularly as this system is somewhat seen as a next-generation "upgrade" from the last. Same infrastructure, backwards compatibility, plenty of other upgrade examples. They're probably just shooting themselves in the foot, really. That being said, I haven't bought this but loved the demo - though that save data won't transfer! - so if or when I get this, I may as well get the S2 copy.

Nah, I've done everything except for the last super boss, so if that progress can't be transferred, then there's no way in hell I'm buying this!

Square Enix needs to realize they would make more money by offering a $5-$10 upgrade path. Their SW1 games now on SW2 sold very well. There are a lot of people who would pay the upgrade price but will not double dip. They need to wake up.

I’m as frustrated as everybody else about how this release has been handled for those who already own the game but I do think it’s unfair to score it lower as a result. Score it on its own merits and air those frustrations in a section written specifically for those who it affects- this isn’t a 6/10 no matter how much it sucks that there isn’t an upgrade path/incompatibility with Switch 1 saves.

@InJeffable I don’t disagree, but we’re hopscotching onto a bit of a narrow road if we start lowering review scores for games based on distribution value.

I want physical to remain more than ever, but the idea that we’re moving away from the prospect and towards a digital future is horribly inevitable.

This, piled on with bad upgrade paths doesn’t make the actual game content terrible - which is what should be judged overall. If we start scoring based on lack of physical media (as an extreme example) then every digital title would review pretty poor (unless you’re on steam)

@dwayne91 It's a shame that there's no save transfers. This release doesn't make any sense. Who's buying it? Maybe a few would ignore the inconvenience of the save transfer and pay $10 upgrade, but I'm sure a lot of people who didn't have it would buy the original if it was a free upgrade too. Seems like it would have been a cheaper option for Square with a better profit. But what do I know?

Happy to see this score. Perhaps they'll rethink what sort of value they're providing with these "Switch 2 editions" if their Metacritic scores tank.

Reviews should serve the consumer, not the developers/publisher. Alerting potential buyers to the fact that this is a lazy release, a poor value, and freaky a big middle finger at their existing fan base, is absolutely appropriate for a review.

I'll probably get this someday, based on the strength of the original game, the fact that I prefer digital, and because I haven't played the game on any system. Having inspected the scores and the reviews themselves gives me the information to make that decision.

@Smerd true, but I don't think it warrants a huge knock down in the score. Maybe dock 2 points total? Again, I understand the value for people wanting a new version is not there but as you said they treated Skyrim (a free upgrade) as if it was somehow a slight. Sure, different ppl have different opinions but there has to be a better way to score these editions.

@larryisaman Even if the game is good, the fact that it's a late port with nothing spectacle to show and cost more than the vanilla version will also be a factor to why it deserve that lower score. The fact that it isn't a native on the cartridge game is another factor since the original Switch 1 version could be included on cartridge, for this version to purposely not do that also affect the score. It can't keep the same score by offering nothing new on a more better device. Also it is not unfair, it is deserve. When Square Enix refuse to even do the simple of offering for the game, offering that they had done before for their other games and could still continue to do it means this game totally deserve that low score. This as well as the Final Fantasy X/X-2 port and many of their other Switch 2 ports that came with the same scummy tactics.

@Kiz3000 "I did the same with FFX"

Also been looking at this. Aye major differences for the OG switch version that makes it alot better?

@larryisaman No, cost should be factor in on the review. This should have been a free upgrade for current owners.

I really liked DQ11, even if I only consider it an 8/10 game (still means it's good!). But to ask full price to upgrade and no save transfer is beyond moronic.

The score should have been at least 1 point lower, Square Enix is pathetic for not providing free upgrades for Switch 1 owners of their games, or at least an upgrade option.

Yeah, I see the logic of them saying, "No. You have to pick." for their new games. They want their sales to actually represent the system that people are buying for. Not the number of people who opted to go with the non-key card version and upgrade. Sure.

But DQ11 has been out for years. There was no "Choice" when this was released. We bought our copies because we wanted the game and that was how you got it. Making us pay for the full version and THEN making us start the game over is looney-tunes.

TO BE FAIR, though, the $40 they're asking isn't exactly "full price." It's not "Upgrade patch" price either, but at least they're not pretending like this is worth $79.99.

Frustrating release. No upgrade path is some real nonsense; I would've paid the $10 or whatever for the boost. Now I'm paying nothing.

Silver lining, I'm happy to see so many people in agreement that DQXI is a top-shelf JRPG. I absolutely love this game!

Seriously Square needs to take a page from THQ with Epic Mickey

Squeenix continues to disappoint with their GKC and no upgrade paths other than DQ3 and FF Tactics.

Utterly ridiculous.