Don Rodrigo
| Don Rodrigo | |
| Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age | |
| Japanese name | ジエーゴ |
| Romaji | Jiēgo |
| Race | Human |
| Family | Wife (deceased) Sylvando (son) |
| Voice actor | Akio Otsuka (Japanese) Joseph Balderrama (English) |
Don Rodrigo is a character who appears in Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. He is a veteran knight from Puerto Valor who has trained the warriors of Heliodor for years, with his students including the mighty Sir Hendrik. He is the estranged father of Sylvando and an old friend of Rab's.
Appearances[edit]
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age[edit]
Don Rodrigo is a gruff older man with a bushy mustache, renowned worldwide as a knight. His late wife (ガーベラ Gerbera in Japanese with the stage name "Sylvia", unnamed in English) was an entertainer from Zwaardsrust.
Don Rodrigo trained his son Norberto to follow in his footsteps as a knight, and the lad proved quite capable, even able to best the mighty Hendrik in practice duels. After catching a glimpse of a travelling circus, however, young Norberto decided to abandon his training and become a performer. The boy and his father had a bitter fight and Norberto left home to become the circus performer Sylvando. The two have not spoken in the many years since.
The party visits Don Rodrigo's manor in Puerto Valor in the first act, but Rodrigo himself is not present, having gone to Heliodor to provide training to its soldiers. His butler Servantes happily obliges Rab's request to open the sea gates to allow the Salty Stallion to pass through. Sylvando, not wanting to encounter his father, splits off from the party when they enter the town, and later tries in vain to hide his face from Servantes as the party sails past the sea gates.
After the fall of Yggdrasil, the party eventually encounters Sylvando's parade and helps him end Avarith's torment of the people of Phnom Nonh. Afterwards, Sylvando decides that before he can fully return to the party, he needs to ensure the safety of his "soldiers of smile" by leaving them in his father's capable hands. The parade makes its final journey to Puerto Valor, where Sylvando braces himself to finally confront his father.
When the parade arrives at Puerto Valor, the Don is recovering from an injury and is still bedridden. The terrified Sylvando is uncharacteristically meek and apologetic, but Don Rodrigo admonishes him only for not having fulfilled his youthful boast that he would make the whole world smile. Sylvando declares his intent to rid the world of Mordegon in order to make that promise a reality, and asks his father to support him in this endeavor by taking care of the boys who were part of his parade. Ever the perfect knight, Don Rodrigo happily agrees, but the energetic crowd bursting into his bedroom and Sylvando's subsequent insistence that he don parade garb takes him aback.
After Mordegon is defeated, if the player visits Don Rodrigo's manor, the old knight can be found practicing dance moves with the soldiers of smile in hopes of surprising his son with a performance.
In the third act, Sylvando must confront his father once again, to similar results. Afterwards, the Don tasks his son and Hendrik with visiting the Kingsbarrow in the Heliodor Region and using the Executioner pep power to defeat Tweedledoom and Tweedledeath, a pair of golden goliaths. Upon returning to Don Rodrigo, Sylvando gains access to Chivalry skill panels, including Whipping Boy, and Hendrik gains access to Fraternity skills, including Forbearance.
Trivia[edit]
- Though Don Rodrigo and Rab are old friends, Rab does not appear in the cutscenes involving Don Rodrigo in Act 2 because it is possible to complete Sylvando's story before visiting Angri-La and recruiting him.
- The Don's Japanese voice actor Akio Otsuka is perhaps most famous for portraying Solid Snake in the Metal Gear series. He has also voiced Zoma since his appearance in Dragon Quest Rivals.