Now that Dragon Quest XI is out on Switch in its ‘definitive version’ it comes complete with some bonus features. One of the most exciting ones is the ability to play the game in either 2D or 3D modes. Sadly, the ability to switch between the two modes is severely restrictive and not at all something you can switch between at will.
When you begin a new adventure in Dragon Quest XI on Switch, you can choose whether you want to play in 2D or 3D. A message is also displayed that reads;
Don’t worry – you can achange the way the world looks whenever you like by visiting a church
This isn’t entirely correct.
Dragon Quest 11 2D Mode
It’s true that you can visit the churches in-game to switch between 2D and 3D modes, however, the game doesn’t just change visuals and allow you to continue.
Instead, you must select a chapter to play from and when you do, you’ll have to start from the beginning of that chapter, with the new visuals. This means that if you want to switch to 2D at any point you can but you’ll need to replay everything up until the point you were currently at.
The only way to really, properly switch between 2D and 3D is to do so as you reach a new chapter. This kind of defeats the purpose of having the ability to switch though since you’re locked in until you reach a new chapter.
The Dragon Quest 11 2D mode seemed like an exciting new way to play the game. And it is, but only if you choose to play from 2D in the beginning and stick with it. There’s sadly no easy way to switch from 2D to 3D and so you’ll be stuck changing from one style to the other at various chapters or, you’ll just play the entire game in one style of the other.
Dragon Quest XI is available now on Switch. You can read our review of the Switch version here.
