Dragon Quest XI S Is Out on Switch 2 at $39.99, No Save Transfer

Seven years after it first arrived on Switch, Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age, Definitive Edition, is back today as a native Nintendo Switch 2 release. Square Enix has it on the eShop at $39.99, and a physical Standard Edition is listed at the same price on the publisher's own store. The launch lands in the middle of the series' 40th anniversary year, which Square Enix has been leaning on in its announcement.

If you never played it, this is one of the friendliest big JRPGs of the last decade, a long turn based adventure that goes out of its way to be welcoming. If you did play it in 2019, the honest question is whether a sharper version of a game you already own is worth another $39.99, and we will get to that.

Video: Square Enix on YouTube

What the Switch 2 edition actually contains

The pitch is straightforward. Everything the original Definitive Edition added is here: the extra story chapters that put each party member in the spotlight, Japanese voices alongside the expanded English cast, the orchestral score, and the ability to flip the whole game between 3D and a retro 2D presentation. On top of that, Square Enix says this edition introduces new optimisation modes that let you prioritise either graphics or performance, which is the one thing the 2019 Switch version could never offer. That release ran at a modest resolution and dipped in busy towns, so the option to push frame rate is the real upgrade for anyone who found the handheld experience a little soft.

The download is listed at 23.2 GB, it supports TV, tabletop and handheld play, and it is rated T for Teen. Buyers also get three bonus item sets from the start: the Trodain Set, which changes the hero's look, the Baby Boar Set for Veronica, and the Happy Adventurer Set with five pep pops and five seeds of skill. Those are starter conveniences rather than new content, so do not weigh them too heavily. Square Enix's launch announcement also notes that Dragon Quest XI S has shipped close to 9 million units worldwide across every platform it has visited.

The catch: no upgrade, no save transfer

Here is the part that will decide most purchases. Nintendo's own listing states plainly that save data is incompatible between the Switch and Switch 2 versions, and there is no upgrade offer attached to the new release. If you own the 2019 cartridge or download, you are buying the game again at full price and starting from the opening cutscene. The new edition also only runs on Switch 2, so the old version is the only option for anyone still on original hardware.

This is the same approach Square Enix took when it brought Octopath Traveler I and II to Switch 2 without an upgrade path, and it mirrors the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster Switch 2 release earlier this year. The company has clearly settled on a policy of selling its back catalogue as fresh Switch 2 products rather than offering paid or free upgrades, and this is the highest profile example yet.

Our take is simple. At $39.99 for a newcomer, this is an easy recommendation. Dragon Quest XI S is a generous, warm, beautifully paced RPG, and the performance mode should finally make the handheld version feel as good as the console ones. For returning players, it is a much harder sell. You get a cleaner image and a smoother frame rate, but you also lose your save and pay full price for a game you already finished. Unless you have been itching for a replay anyway, we would wait for a sale.