History Fridge / DragonQuestXI

** Hendrik is a Warrior, and even gets a modified version of the original costume. His healing spell indicate that he spent some time as a Priest, which is a common method for giving the Warrior some utility. His full spell list, along with his great shield affinity, however, is hallmarks of the Paladin class.

* The rematch with Mordegon in the postgame is much harder than the fight against him at the end of the story, despite now being in a much weaker form. The difference between them, however, is one of ''tactics'': having originally been a human mage, it's only logical that he would be more talented and more experienced at fighting with magic and trickery, rather than the physically-oriented brute he became upon powering up.

* As noted above, Hendrik is a Warrior who spent time as a Priest to give himself some utility skills. By the same token, Jasper is a Warrior who spent time as a Mage to diversify his offensive options. Now, the Warrior/Mage parh is a reasonably common practice among players, but less popular than its counterpart because the Mage's spells still had to run off the Warrior's low Intelligence/Magical Might growth, while healing and status spells were unaffected by the user's stats in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII''. The fact that Hendrik's route meshes better with his base class's stat growths while Jasper's depends entirely on his second class's growths is yet another layer of Jasper's AlwaysSecondBest complex

* When one finally gains the Sword of Light, it's obvious to longstanding series fans that it's the '''Sword of Kings,''' aka [[VideoGame/DragonQuestIII Erdrick's legendary sword.]] But it is later on upgraded even further to the Supreme Sword of Light… which the design. One might think this creates a plothole, how the final iteration in a StealthPrequel would have a differing design from the one of Dragon Quest I-III, but then one remembers that the ''original'' Sword of Kings was broken by Zoma, so Erdrick had a new one forged. Evidently, the succeeding sword was fashioned after the blade's ''penultimate'' state.

* It seems odd at first that the Sword of Light Eleven forges is so inferior statwise to the Superior Sword of Light that Erdwin forged... and then you get to the postgame, where Drustan gives you instructions on how to forge a better one. Erdwin had Drustan helping him from the start, and so had a more professionally made blade, while Eleven party had Hendrik, who only knew the basics of forging. He didn't do as well with the same materials as his crew simply did not have the knowledge to make a superior blade.

* As part of this game's status as a [[StealthSequel Stealth Prequel]] to ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'', the entire party acts as a reference to the original job classes, to the point of being [[{{Reconstruction}} reconstructed]] with a dash of modernized elements from other classes, with some commentary on how players used them.
** The Luminary, obviously, has the Hero class and even gets a modified version of the original costume.

** Sylvando is a Gadabout redesigned to [[LethalJokeCharacter actually be useful]], with elements from the future class Luminary. Though he never changes class, his remarkable versatility reflects the fact that Gadabouts eventually became Sages on their own.

* As noted above, Hendrik is a Warrior who spent time as a Priest to give himself some utility skills. By the same token, Jasper is a Warrior who spent time as a Mage to diversify his offensive options. A reasonably common practice among players, but less popular than its counterpart because the Mage's spells still had to run off the Warrior's low Intelligence growth, while healing and status spells were unaffected by the user's stats in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII''. The fact that Hendrik's route meshes better with his base class's stat growths while Jasper's depends entirely on his second class's growths is yet another layer of Jasper's AlwaysSecondBest complex
* At the start of Act 3, the Luminary's actions shatter both the sphere and the sword. However, at the end of Act 3, the Timekeeper... does not end up shattering the sphere and sword with what they do. This leads to an easily missed realization -- the Timeline in Act 3 ''replaces'' the Timeline in Act 2, whereas the Timekeeper's actions ''create an alternate history'' (or a tragic StableTimeLoop, based on how optimistic you find their chances).

** Erik having such high strength for a thief makes sense as he was raised a Viking, a culture that prides itself on strength. He was also put to work a lot and any slacking off would mean punishment.

** Serena having such poor strength suits her gentle personality, and practicing as a healer means she never had to train for heavy battle. A woman in Arboria even states that she chose to be a healer like Serena so she wouldn't have to do any actual fighting.

** Hendrik trained tirelessly as a knight explains his titanic bulk, but his reliance on brute force means that he has the worst deftness of the party.

* From the beginning of the change in events that lead to the third act of the game, while everyone else seems placated, Rab is still onto Carnelian from the word go, continuously voicing his unabated concerns, and the reason why is because "Carnelian" made a fatal error. In his haste to cover his hide, he passed the buck to Jasper, claiming he was the one who spread the Darkspawn idea in the first place...except that would be impossible, because the notion of the Luminary being a harbinger of darkness was discussed privately among Erdrea's kings the night Dundrasil fell. Jasper ''couldn't'' have known it, Carnelian ''would'' know it-- but Mordegon, who'd had no knowledge of these things, wouldn't realize he was basically telling an incredibly obvious lie to the '''one man left in the world ''' who would know it right away and realize something was amiss.

** Rab is a Sage redesigned to be balanced with the other classes. His ability to use claws suggests that his starting class was Martial Artist. Despite physical classes as a whole being much less popular than Priests and Mages for the class change, a LightningBruiser like a Martial Artist was better in the long term due to the Sage's stat growths. Interestingly, his default design evokes the Merchant as well, since wandering merchants in this game have a vest, fez, and backpack as well.

* As noted above, Hendrik is a Warrior who spent time as a Priest to give himself some utility skills. By the same token, Jasper is a Warrior who spent time as a Mage to diversify his offensive options. A reasonably common practice among players, but less popular than its counterpart because the Mage's spells still had to run off the Warrior's low Intelligence growth, while healing and status spells were unaffected by the user's stats in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII''. The fact that Hendrik's route meshes better with his base class's stat growths while Jasper's depends entirely on his second class's growths is yet another layer of Jasper's AlwaysSecondBest complex.

* Vince drinking Arachtagon's erm...potions causes him some ill effects. Rab even mentions that its eating him from the inside out and he's lucky to be alive. Vince no longer drinking the potions doesn't undo the potions he drank earlier. They could very well have a delayed effect and eventually kill him sooner than expected.
* In the Eerie Eyrie, or in battle with Hades Condors, Elysium Birds and Garudas, Sylv will make comment about how the place/those monsters give him the creeps, In a party talk comment in the Eyrie, he mentions how they always try to peck his eyes out. If you read the book in the mini medal academy's library, "All That Glitters Is Soon Gone", you learn of what happened to the Silver Orb. That manor house mentioned in the book? That's Sylv's family home. He was there the day the villa got attacked, and nearly lost his eyes over the treasure. What's more, at the end of the party talk comment, Sylv ''laughs'' about it - though that may be more him trying not to think too hard on that day.

** Erik having such high strength for a thief makes sense as he was raised a Viking, a culture that prides itself on strength.
** Veronica having such low health and defense make sense as she has been de-aged into a child. Children tend to be more vulnerable than adults.

** When encountered in the main game, Tatsunaga has essentially gone insane and you're doing a MercyKill. However, in the postgame, Tatsunaga is still able to be calmed by Miko - of course. Because you're at least a few months in the past - before he lost his mind.
* When one finally gains the Sword of Light, it's obvious to longstanding series fans that it's the '''Sword of Kings,''' aka [[VideoGame/DragonQuestIII Erdrick's legendary sword.]] That is very ''obviously'' the Sword of Kings; But it is later on upgraded even further to the Supreme Sword of Light, which... Changes the design. One might think this creates a plothole, how the final iteration in a StealthPrequel would have a differing design from the one of Dragon Quest I-III, but then one remembers that the ''original'' Sword of Kings was ''broken by Zoma'' before Erdrick had a new one forged. Evidently, the succeeding sword was fashioned after the blade's ''penultimate'' state.
** Adding to this, the Supreme Sword of Light is essentially a fusion of the regular Sword of Light and another powerful blade that also happens to be called the Sword of Kings. Its probable that the names of the two swords became synonymous or otherwise misappropriated as history descended into legend.

** There's also the fact that by the time he's fought in the postgame, all of his plans have been ruined and he's been backed into a corner. The fight is harder because he is fighting harder, pulling out all the stops as he desperately tries to salvage his situation.
* An easily-missed bit of brilliance in the fight against Jasper Unbound - look at the Bahlib, an enemy he'll summon for backup. Purple hair, wields an axe? He's essentially made a monster equivalent of [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter Hendrik]] his subordinate!

* Serena's ImportantHaircut in Act 2 can look like just a simple case of letting go of one's old self. In the context of Arboria's customs however, it takes on another level of meaning. During Veronica's funeral, Serena asks the Arborians to offer up locks of hair to the flames so that their light can guide Veronica back to the World Tree. However, she herself isn't shown to offer up any. If you talk to a few [=NPCs=] in Arboria after the funeral, you learn that the custom comes from the idea that a person's memories are intertwined with their hair, and giving up that hair to the flames was like giving the departed a piece of yourself. More hair indicates more feelings so people closer to the departed usually offer more hair. Serena describes her life as having lived in Veronica's shadow, so giving up her hair at the funeral would've been like showing Veronica that she hadn't grown or matured at all. So instead, she cuts off most of her hair and lets it blow off and disintegrate into the wind. Veronica's spirit, contained in her staff, recognizes this act (Serena letting her old self go) and transfers all her powers to Serena, knowing now that the promise she gave to Serena, to continue in her stead if something happened to her, has been fulfilled.
* From the beginning of the change in events that lead to the third act of the game, while everyone else seems placated, Rab is still onto Carnelian from the word go, continuously voicing his unabated concerns, and the reason why is because "Carnelian" made a fatal error. In his haste to cover his hide, he passed the buck to Jasper, claiming he was the one who spread the Darkspawn idea in the first place...except that would be impossible, because the notion of the Luminary being a harbinger of darkness was discussed privately among Erdrea's kings the night Dundrasil fell. Jasper ''couldn't'' have known it, Carnelian ''would'' know it-- but Mordegon, who'd had no knowledge of these things, wouldn't realize he was basically telling an incredibly obvious lie to the one man left in the world who would know it right away and realize something was amiss.
* As part of this game's status as a [[StealthSequel Stealth Prequel]] to ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'', the entire party acts as a reference to the original job classes, to the point of being [[{{Reconstruction}} reconstructed]], with some commentary on how players used them.

** Sylvando is a Gadabout redesigned to [[LethalJokeCharacter actually be useful]]. Though he never changes class, his remarkable versatility reflects the fact that Gadabouts eventually became Sages on their own.
** Jade is a standard Martial Artist, though her Sex Appeal skill tree [[note]] Called Allure in this entry [[/note]] and her bunny costume indicate that she may have spent some time as a Gadabout.
** Rab is a Sage redesigned to be balanced with the other classes. His ability to use claws suggests that his starting class was Martial Artist. Despite physical classes as a whole being much less popular than Priests and Mages for the class change, a LightningBruiser like a Martial Artist was better in the long term due to the Sage's stat growths. Interestingly, his design evokes the Merchant as well, since wandering merchants in this game have a vest, fez, and backpack as well.
** Hendrik is a Warrior, and even gets a modified version of the original costume. His healing spells indicate that he spent some time as a Priest, which is a common method for giving the Warrior some utility.

* It's a small thing, but the instrument Sylvando plays -a dolçaina- is more than just a way for him to entertain people and use certain abilities. Playing a dolçaina requires endurance and great breath control, both of which would be necessary for his fire-breathing skills.

* Master Pang's strict training (especially with Rab) but playful mannerisms (including using ''Puff-Puff'' of all things) makes sense when you think about some of the more unusual entries in her trope page. Her strict training makes sense for a grand master, but the big reason for this was likely because of her experience as a naive bunny-girl in her youth and learning her potential as a monk, meaning she has the experience to teach others. The ''puff-puff''? She easily could have learned that as a bunny-girl and never forgot, since she aged '''''extremely''''' well.

* When one finally gains the Sword of Light, it's obvious to longstanding series fans that it's the '''Sword of Kings,''' aka [[VideoGame/DragonQuestIII Roto's legendary sword.]] That is very ''obviously'' the Sword of Kings; But it is later on upgraded even further to the Supreme Sword of Light, which... Changes the design. One might think this creates a plothole, how the final iteration in a StealthPrequel would have a differing design from the one of Dragon Quest I-III, but then one remembers that the ''original'' Sword of Kings was ''broken by Zoma'' before Erdrick/Roto had a new one forged. Evidently, the succeeding sword was fashioned after the blade's ''penultimate'' state.

* An easily-missed bit of brilliance in the fight against Jasper Unbound - look at the bahlib, an enemy he'll summon for backup. Purple hair, wields an axe? He's essentially made a monster equivalent of [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter Hendrik]] his subordinate!

** Veronica is the Mage. The fact that she is the one absent for Act 2 reflects the fact that players typically preferred Clerics for the class change over mages.
** Serena is a Cleric who upgrades to a Sage in Act 2 and even gets a modified version of the original costume in Act 3, reflecting the fact that Clerics were typically the player's first choice.
** Sylvando is a Jester redesigned to [[LethalJokeCharacter actually be useful]]. Though he never changes class, his remarkable versatility reflects the fact that Jesters eventually became Sages on their own.
** Jade is a standard martial artist, though her Sex Appeal skill tree and her bunny costume indicate that she may have spent some time as a Jester.
** Rab is a Sage redesigned to be balanced with the other classes. His ability to use claws suggests that his starting class was Martial Artist. Despite physical classes as a whole being much less popular than Clerics and Mages for the class change, a LightningBruiser like a Martial Artist was better in the long term due to the Sage's stat growths. Interestingly, his design evokes the Merchant as well, since wandering merchants in this game have a vest, fez, and backpack as well.
** Hendrik is a Warrior, and even gets a modified version of the original costume. His healing spells indicate that he spent some time as a Cleric, which is a common method for giving the Warrior some utility.

* As noted above, Hendrik is a Warrior who spent time as a Cleric to give himself some utility skills. By the same token, Jasper is a Warrior who spent time as a Mage to diversify his offensive options. A reasonably common practice among players, but less popular than its counterpart because the Mage's spells still had to run off the Warrior's low Intelligence growth, while healing and status spells were unaffected by the user's stats in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII''. The fact that Hendrik's route meshes better with his base class's stat growths while Jasper's depends entirely on his second class's growths is yet another layer of Jasper's AlwaysSecondBest complex.

** On a related note, Rab and Jade likely found out about Mordegon's existence because he ''deliberately fed them that information'' to make it clear that it's not just the king being a dick, there is legitimately an ultimate evil involved.

* Master Pang's strict training (especially with Rab) but playful mannerisms (including using ''puff-puff'' of all things) makes sense when you think about some of the more unusual entries in her trope page. Her strict training makes sense for a grand master, but the big reason for this was likely because of her experience as a naive bunny-girl in her youth and learning her potential as a monk, meaning she has the experience to teach others. The ''puff-puff''? She easily could have learned that as a bunny-girl and never forgot, since she aged '''''extremely''''' well.

* When Sylv and Erik wake in their respective side stories, they're both seen in pain; the rest of the party may have gone through the same thing. This is all down to one of the spells Veronica used at the end of act one; Zing Stick. It absolutely guarantees a person be revived with a portion of their HP back - and when Yggdrasil fell, she had to do that for ''eight people at the same time'', with her abysmal magical mending stat. No wonder poor Sylv passed-out shortly after coming-to.

* In the Eerie Eyrie, or in battle with Hades condors, elysium birds and garudas, Sylv will make comment about how the place/those monsters give him the creeps, In a party talk comment in the Eyrie, he mentions how they always try to peck his eyes out. If you read the book in the mini medal academy's library, "All That Glitters Is Soon Gone", you learn of what happened to the Silver Orb. That manor house mentioned in the book? That's Sylv's family home. He was there the day the villa got attacked, and nearly lost his eyes over the treasure. What's more, at the end of the party talk comment, Sylv ''laughs'' about it - though that may be more him trying not to think too hard on that day.

** Serena having such poor strength suits her gentle personality, and practicing as a healer means she never had to train for heavy battle.

* The Hero and Rab are basically JackOfAllStats type characters who almost end up becoming MasterOfNone while not quite getting there in practice - always outclassed by the specialists (Jade, Veronica, Serena) but still very reliable characters. However, it seems quite obvious as to why they both end up as this - they're related by blood. It runs in the family! Who's to say that if the Hero ''did'' train on Angri-La like Rab, he would know more magic.

* Master Pang's strict training (especially with Rab) but playful mannerisms (including using ''puff-puff'' of all things) makes sense when you think about some of the more unusual entries in her trope page. Her strict training makes sense for a grand master, but the big reason is that she was likely her experience as a naive bunny-girl in her youth and learning her potential as a monk, meaning she has the experience to teach others. The ''puff-puff''? She easily could have learned that as a bunny-girl and never forgot, since she aged '''''extremely''''' well.

* In the Eerie Eyrie, or in battle with Hades condors, elysium birds and garudas, Sylv will make comment about how the place/those monsters give him the creeps, In a party talk comment in the Eyrie, he mentions how they always try to peck his eyes out. If you read the book in the mini medal academy's library, "All That Glitters Is Soon Gone", you learn of what happened to the Silver Orb. That manor house mentioned in the book? That's Sylv's family home. He was there the day the villa got attacked, and nearly lost his eyes over the treasure. What's more, at the end of the party talk comment, Sylv ''laughs'' about it - though that may be more him trying not to think too hard on that day.

** Master Pang's strict training (especially with Rab) but playful mannerisms (including using ''puff-puff'' of all things) makes sense when you think about some of the more unusual entries in her trope page. Her strict training makes sense for a grand master, but the big reason is that she was likely her experience as a naive bunny-girl in her youth and learning her potential as a monk, meaning she has the experience to teach others. The ''puff-puff''? She easily could have learned that as a bunny-girl and never forgot, since she aged '''''extremely''''' well.