Square Enix is bringing Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition to Switch 2 on September 24, but the port comes with a catch: save data from the original Switch version won't transfer. Players who spent dozens of hours on the 2019 Switch release will have to start from scratch. The game, priced at £34.99 in the UK via the Square Enix store, includes new story chapters focused on party members, the ability to switch between 3D and 2D modes, an orchestral score, and performance/visual toggles. But these features already existed in the original Definitive Edition for Switch. The Switch 2 version adds little beyond optimization modes for the new hardware.
Physical copies will be game-key cards rather than fully loaded cartridges, matching a trend Square Enix has embraced for recent Switch releases. The announcement arrived during Square Enix's Dragon Quest 40th anniversary livestream on Wednesday, a 10-minute presentation that also delivered sobering news for fans waiting on the next mainline entry.
Dragon Quest 12 has been retitled from "The Flames of Fate" to "Beyond Dreams," and producer Yosuke Saito confirmed the team restarted development from scratch. "Due to a reshuffle of the team and a restart of development, it's going to be a bit longer till it's in your hands," Saito said. The game was first revealed in 2021, meaning fans are approaching a decade since Dragon Quest XI originally launched in 2017. The timing explains why Square Enix is double-dipping on a nearly decade-old RPG. With Dragon Quest 12 years away, the publisher needs something to fill the gap. A Switch 2 port of the best-selling entry in the series fits that bill, even if the value proposition is harder to swallow for existing owners who can't carry their progress forward.
