Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age (opens in new tab) was the first mainline game in the Dragon Quest series to arrive on Steam—part of a move intended to broaden its appeal in the west. It's a traditional JRPG with, as our reviewer noted at the time (opens in new tab), a "slightly tinny MIDI soundtrack", though a mod that replaced it with orchestral versions of the same tracks soon appeared (opens in new tab).
That version, the "Digital Edition of Light", is no longer available for sale. Owners can still download it, and its Steam page still exists (opens in new tab), though it notes, "At the request of the publisher, DRAGON QUEST® XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age™ - Digital Edition of Light is unlisted on the Steam store and will not appear in search."
Instead, customers are directed toward the page for the newly released Dragon Quest 11 S: Definitive Edition (opens in new tab). It adds more companion-related quests, a photo mode, and a host of other changes including the option to choose Japanese voice acting, play in 16-bit 2D rather than 3D, speed up battles, and hear a full orchestral version of the soundtrack. It's also a port of the Switch version, which means it's a bit of a graphical downgrade. It'll run at a higher resolution than the Switch version, and at a higher framerate, so it comes down to how much it bothers you that things like water don't look as nice.
The real kicker is that there's no way for owners of the original version to upgrade to the new one, with no discount for them on its $US40 price. As a result, Steam user reviews for the original PC version (opens in new tab) have dropped from Very Positive to Mixed, with comments like, "Fantastic game, but offering no upgrade path for people who bought this version is absolutely ridiculous" and "I think that the developer should be ashamed of this tactic".
Dragon Quest 11 S is also available on Humble (opens in new tab), Epic (opens in new tab), and Game Pass for PC (opens in new tab).
