Dragon Warrior, as the Dragon Quest series was once known in the States, was my very first introduction to the JRPG genre. This simple tale of a single hero venturing out into a quest to save the world from the Dragonlord was something that forever shaped my impressionable taste in NES games for years to come. As I grew up, so too did the adventures. These quests quickly expanded to feature a full party of like-minded adventurers and so too did my small circle of friends as I grew of age. When I was at the peak of my junior high days, Dragon Quest VII was there to keep me company when I fell sick for a week. Then, shortly before I left my home state of Colorado and headed out East, I played dozens of hours of Dragon Quest IX with friends at the local game store and perfected my fan waving skills while everyone else went with swords and spears. Needless to say, it’s been a series that has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Now, just after my thirty-first birthday, a new chapter of my life has begun anew and so too has the first new Dragon Quest title to be translated into English in so many years: Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age.