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Xenoblade Chronicles (3D)

Started by Maelstrom, March 25, 2015, 10:42:34 AM

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Maelstrom

Because we totally need a Xenoblade thread. Please, use spoiler tags with a little hint as to what part of the game they are in.

It releases on April 2nd in PAL regions, and on the 10th in the US. The review embargo just lifted and it's sitting on an 88 on Metacritic right now.

Here's a launch trailer. But be warned. Major early game spoilers and very brief spoiler scenes are present, but so brief that not much can be discerned.
If you have already decided to get the game, skip it. If you are still undecided or have already beaten the Wii version, give it a look.

SlowPokemon

I'm not watching the trailer because I'm buying the game, but I'm still excited :o
Quote from: Tobbeh99 on April 21, 2016, 02:56:11 PM
Fuck logic, that shit is boring, lame and does not always support my opinions.

Maelstrom


Maelstrom

Xenoblade Chronicles releases in the US tomorrow. Just a friendly reminder.  ;)

SlowPokemon

I've played Xenoblade Chronicles 3D for maybe five hours or so total. The more I play it, the more I like it. Some first impressions:

I'm still not totally sold on the combat system, but I'm the sort of person who doesn't really understand the nuances of a combat system in a JRPG until I'm at least halfway through the game. And I have to admit that the combination of real time and turn based elements makes for a very exciting sort of game.

The music is lovely, the locales are lovely, the quests and exploration aspects are lovely; overall it's just a lovely game.

The characters and story are really cliché so far, so I'm kind of wondering when the great story I've been hearing about will kick in. I'm sure it will, though; I know this game is about as long as a Persona title which means I'm maybe 1/12th of the way into it at the most.

The voice acting is mixed for me. I've played enough Professor Layton to tell when I'm hearing a bad British accent, and most of it is good here (Fiora's voice actor has worked on Layton before playing characters like Kira in PLVAA if it's who I think it is), but you still have some strange work in parts. That might be the dialogue too, though. I heard that the Wii version gives you the option of the Japanese audio, but had to be sacrificed for the 3D remake due to cartridge space. That would have been a nice option, but it's not really a big deal.

I know I said the music was lovely already, but *damn* the music is lovely. I wasn't aware Shimomura worked on this game at all, but from the moment the title theme started playing I recognized her style immediately. Turns out she didn't compose much for this game, but even the non-Shimomura tracks I've heard so far are absolutely breathtaking. I'm not usually a fan of guitar, but *god* it feels so right in this title.

I'll post more thoughts after the next five hours or so probably.
Quote from: Tobbeh99 on April 21, 2016, 02:56:11 PM
Fuck logic, that shit is boring, lame and does not always support my opinions.

Maelstrom

I guess now you can totally see why I've been campaigning for an arrangement project.  :P

As for the voice acting, it is hit and miss. The battle voices start to get annoying after a bit, but then something cracks and you smile every time you hear "Now it's Ryen time" or "I'm really feeling it."

As for the story, it really takes off once you get to Colony 6 and Prison Island. There are so many good twists on the way for you.

And, as for the combat, it takes a bit to get used to, especially the idea of using the revive mechanic to do more damage. As time goes on, and you get more party members and unlock all the arts, it becomes much more enjoyable.

K-NiGhT

Man I really want this game ;_;
Quote from: NocturneOfShadow on April 28, 2015, 06:48:06 PM
what are you doing stop making nsm a better place by spreading happiness

fingerz

Well, this game is apparently rarer than amiibos out here, so I thought I'd grab the only copy I've seen to date so far!

I usually switch myself off from anything remotely JRPG-like, so the fact that I bought it was a huge thing. Seriously, I got the demo of Bravely Default and once I realised it was a JRPG, I was like "OH GOD NO!" and deleted it... If anyone here mentions Square Enix, I will skin them alive. There's not a company in the whole gaming industry I hate more than them...  >:(

Anyways, I do happen to like Pokemon and the Mario & Luigi RPG series, so I don't dislike everything. Just nearly everything. So yeah, I pulled it out and started playing it... 'WOW' would be my first impression. It seems like a pretty heavy game and I never play anything remotely heavy unless it's Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, so we'll see how this goes.

I'd have an instant hate relationship to this game if the battle style was the good old turn-based, but it's not, so I was thrilled! I don't really have a clue how battles work except for BACKSLASHBACKSLASHBACKSLASH. And I realised how pathetic Shulk is without someone else as he can be defeated by a bat...

Aside from that, the overworld is AMAZING!! I think I've had this deep passion to play an open-world game since forever. I don't play PC and I'm not a huge fan of console games, so now that something portable has that, I'M SUCKED IN!! I've only been playing it for just over an hour, but I'm getting a good vibe from it! :D

I just wish RPGs in general weren't so damn complicated. I can never get my head around them and they freak me out 'cause there's SO MUCH MENU. This one freaked me out too, but I hope at some point down the track I can figure everything out. Now you see why I stick with Pokemon and Mario & Luigi; they're simple! :P

But yeah, I'm sure I'll enjoy this. I'll actually start to understand why Shulk's a worthy character to be in Smash Bros. :P
Classical / Jazz / Contemporary
Performer / Arranger / Educator
Bb, A, C & Bass Clarinet / Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone Saxophone / Basset Horn

Maelstrom

Quote from: fingerz on April 14, 2015, 12:04:24 AMI usually switch myself off from anything remotely JRPG-like, so the fact that I bought it was a huge thing. Seriously, I got the demo of Bravely Default and once I realised it was a JRPG, I was like "OH GOD NO!" and deleted it... If anyone here mentions Square Enix, I will skin them alive. There's not a company in the whole gaming industry I hate more than them...  >:(
Apparently you are not aware that Bravely Default is exactly like the games Squaresoft used to make, before they became Square Enix. I don't understand in the least why you hate JRPGs. Is it because they have some complexity that other games lack? Because there is often strategy involved instead of wildly jamming buttons?

Quote from: fingerz on April 14, 2015, 12:04:24 AMNow you see why I stick with Pokemon and Mario & Luigi; they're simple! :P
*Pokemon*
*Simple*
Ok.......

fingerz

I just have a very passionate hate to most RPG's in general, that's all. They require WAY too much of my brain-power to call it a fun experience. They're usually incredibly difficult and require hours of grinding to make any progress... So yeah, my motto is I play games to enjoy them, not to think. :P

Hahaha! Believe me, if you saw the way I play Pokemon, you'd see how simple I make it. One Pokemon = every trainer in the game beaten. I'm a slugger, you could say. Make a team of super-strong Pokemon and kill everything with offensive power! HOO-HA!!  ;D

I'm a collector, not a battler, so the game isn't even really an RPG for me. XD
Classical / Jazz / Contemporary
Performer / Arranger / Educator
Bb, A, C & Bass Clarinet / Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone Saxophone / Basset Horn

SlowPokemon

Continued impressions (my play time is a little over 10.5 hours). I'll start to put them in spoiler tags since I'm not at the very beginning of the game anymore.

Spoiler
Quick story update. Shulk acquires the Monado to fight the Mechon attacking Colony 9, turns out to be the chosen one who can see into the future, Fiora's dead, they head through Tephra Cave a second time (this time with horrific spider attacks), reach Gaur Plain, meet Juju and Sharla, and I last saved before getting on the Raguel Bridge, where Juju is about to have his shit wrecked apparently. This story still isn't very impressive and it's my least favorite part of the game. It's at the point where when a story event happens I want to skip it to get back to the gameplay, and I've never felt that way about a game's story before, ever. The characters are just so dull, especially Shulk, Reyn, Fiora, Juju, Sharla, and now that I think about it, literally all of them are incredibly dull personalities. I feel like Fiora's death was supposed to shock or horrify me but as I didn't even really care about Fiora there was no impact. The only reaction it really elicited was mild annoyance at the fact that I'd spent so much time leveling her up for no reason. The "seeing into the future" thing is already getting incredibly tiresome as well and I feel like I've seen all of this in other games that I enjoyed more. Supposedly I'm right at the part before the story gets good, but it's still a disappointing first ten hours (is this seriously all that's happened in ten hours?) in that regard.

Where the first ten hours are NOT a disappointment, however, is just about everything else, starting with the combat system, which grows increasingly complex and hard to figure out, but somehow easy to just jump into and have fun with. It all feels very frantic, and I feel like I understand the combat less and less with every new tutorial given to me, but I find that it's fun to just sort of try and match the quirky rhythm of the game with my strategy. I don't think I've felt any sort of annoyance at any enemy or battle encounter so far in the game, which is almost UNHEARD of with me playing JRPGs, so I'm pretty sure this game won't be troublesome to play.

I mentioned that the major characters are largely really dull so far, but the minor NPC-like characters are quite fun. In my impressions of the first five hours I mentioned that the majority of those five hours were spent fulfilling quests for NPCs in Colony 9 and getting involved in their various bits of drama. Well, the next few hours are mostly progressing through the story without much downtime to do that. However, in the last hour or two of gameplay, reaching the Refugee Camp and doing the same for the small cast of characters there has proved once again to be my favorite part of the gameplay. I haven't been avidly completing every single quest, but the brilliance of this game's quest system is that there seems to be no penalty for accepting as many quests as you like and then taking your time to complete them. I find that most of them are tasks that I would have completed anyway, so it's a lovely bonus and makes me feel like my unnecessary exploring and grinding habits are recognized and appreciated by the game. Compared to, say, last year's Pokémon Omega Ruby, where my obsessive collecting, battling, and capturing on each route and in each town were for no other reason than my personal satisfaction, it's refreshing in Xenoblade to see features such as a "Collectopaedia," a totally optional scavenger hunt in each area that seems to be for the express purpose of giving the player a reason to explore and hunt around a little. And of course I've been obsessively collecting those damn little blue orbs because I sure as hell want a complete Collectopaedia.

As a final note, even though the game's textures aren't the most high quality graphically on the New Nintendo 3DS--and I can't imagine that the Wii's 480p display would do it much more justice--the world that Monolith Soft and Nintendo have created here is just awe-inspiring. These characters' entire worlds exist on Bionis and Mechonis, and that's already a hell of a design concept. But it wasn't until I was looking up at the massive star-filled night sky with a vague silhouette of Mechonis looming in the background, totally in awe of the gorgeous digital scenery, that I realized how special this game is. Even the background music had the good sense to back off for a moment so I could appreciate this beautiful world existing on my little screen. It was my favorite moment of the game so far.

As in all JRPGs, I can't shake the feeling that I'm doing something--be it to do with items, ether crystals, equipment, or grinding--wrong, but I haven't gotten stuck once yet, so I'm sure everything will be fine. The first chunk of this game has been very nice and--aside from the story--very unique. I've never played a JRPG quite like this one. I'm so glad Nintendo ported this to Nintendo 3DS because I would never have the patience to play a game this big on a television screen. It feels so at home on my 3DS.
[close]
Quote from: Tobbeh99 on April 21, 2016, 02:56:11 PM
Fuck logic, that shit is boring, lame and does not always support my opinions.

Maelstrom

Trust me. The story gets much, much better.

As for the graphics, I recommend you read this short piece. It sums up my thoughts pretty much exactly.

mikey

Quote from: Maelstrom on April 14, 2015, 09:22:57 AM*Pokemon*
*Simple*
Ok.......
it is
I mean granted the first one was hard but all the other ones are very simple
unmotivated

Nebbles

The story improves vastly, don't you worry.
Quote from: Dudeman on April 13, 2016, 04:54:04 PM
- Nebbles, the beauty with the heart of frozen steel

SlowPokemon

Quote from: NocturneOfShadow on April 19, 2015, 03:55:21 PMit is
I mean granted the first one was hard but all the other ones are very simple

The first one is actually the most simple? Each one has gotten more complex in the battle mechanics.
Quote from: Tobbeh99 on April 21, 2016, 02:56:11 PM
Fuck logic, that shit is boring, lame and does not always support my opinions.