Dragon Quest XI S on Switch 2 Ships as a Game Key Card With No Upgrade Path
The Definitive Edition finally delivers the uncompromised version fans waited for, but Square Enix is charging returning owners full price for it while leaving their save files behind.
Reporting from 1 source: Anime News Network.
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition is out on Nintendo Switch 2, and the Switch version's compromises are gone. The release is a Game Key Card, so a physical copy still requires a download, and owners of the Switch version cannot upgrade: the Switch 2 edition is a separate SKU, and saves do not carry over.
The Switch 2 version of Dragon Quest XI S is the one the Switch release could not be: the visual compromises are gone, and the content from previous releases carries over. The packaging is where it stalls. A physical copy is a Game Key Card, meaning the cartridge still requires a download to play.
Prior owners have no route in. The Switch 2 edition is a separate SKU, so there is no upgrade price and no way to bring a save file across. For a game built on dozens of hours of progress, that means starting over.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network Game Review