Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age is the latest mainline title in the long-running Dragon Quest series. It presented itself as a return to form - an expansive single-player JRPG after Dragon Quest 9 and Dragon Quest 10 experimented with online multiplayer.
One recurring aspect of the series that Dragon Quest 11 faithfully follows is the game's liberal use of locked doors. The designers will litter the world map, from the starting area onwards, with special doors that can't be opened until much later in the game to encourage revisiting old areas of the world map.
Dragon Quest 11 has two types of these doors: red doors and silver doors. The former can be opened with the magic key, which players will get as part of the game's main story. The latter are opened with the Ultimate Key, and getting that is both optional and harder.
Dragon Quest 11's Post-Game Reward
Before going further, it needs to be noted that the Ultimate Key is a post-game reward, only accessible after reaching the game's ending. If the player hasn't reached there yet, there's no need to worry. Those who want to avoid spoilers should wait until that point to read this.
The game ends as most players would expect. In the end, the destined Luminary defeats the dark lord Mordegon, but it's not a clean victory. Multiple towns were destroyed, and countless lives were lost, including the party's main caster, Veronica. All hope is not lost, however. The Luminary is called to the Tower of Lost Time and is offered a chance to go back in time and change fate, leading to Dragon Quest 11's lengthy post-game third act: In Search of Lost Time.
One area that's doing much better in the new timeline is the floating islands of Heaven's Above. The player initially finds it in ruins during the main story, but now all of its structures are restored. Players can find the Ultimate Key in a treasure chest on a circular island in the northwest corner of the map, where they meet the elder.
From there, the player is free to open every silver door in the game. Thankfully, they don't have to scour every map for them or meticulously note their locations. Once a player has encountered a locked door, it stays marked on their in-game map, which they can check at any time.
Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age is available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
