Official NA site.http://xenobladechronicles.nintendo.com/ (http://xenobladechronicles.nintendo.com/) Ways to preorder Go down to your local gamestop and do it that way right now Order from http://www.gamestop.com/wii/games/xenoblade-chronicles/98535 (http://www.gamestop.com/wii/games/xenoblade-chronicles/98535) now or wait till the 19th of December 2011 and order from here http://store.nintendo.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Xenoblade?storeId=10001 (http://store.nintendo.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Xenoblade?storeId=10001) Here is a link to all the ways you can preorder the game. http://operationrainfall.com/full-list-of-retailers-you-can-pre-order-xenoblade-chronicles-from/ (http://operationrainfall.com/full-list-of-retailers-you-can-pre-order-xenoblade-chronicles-from/)
Videos of game play http://www.gametrailers.com/video/japanese-wii-xenoblade/100574 (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/japanese-wii-xenoblade/100574) http://www.gametrailers.com/video/japanese-field-xenoblade/701262 (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/japanese-field-xenoblade/701262) http://www.gametrailers.com/video/japanese-spider-xenoblade/701229 (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/japanese-spider-xenoblade/701229)
Details and information: http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/iwata/iwata_asks_xenoblade_chronicles_32883_32884.html (http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/iwata/iwata_asks_xenoblade_chronicles_32883_32884.html)
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: Adrock on June 02, 2009, 06:21:26 PM
Who is developing this? Looks pretty good.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: BeautifulShy on June 02, 2009, 06:27:18 PM
Looked around and couldn't find who is developing it.In the mean time below is a small preview of the game.
http://wii.ign.com/articles/989/989567p1.html
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: ShyGuy on June 02, 2009, 06:32:05 PM
Cloud got a new haircut and a new sword.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on June 02, 2009, 06:38:28 PM
Cloud got a new haircut and a new giant light saber.
fixed
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: vudu on June 02, 2009, 08:40:59 PM
I saw this video on the Nintendo Channel a few minutes ago and was totally confused. It's listed along side Nintendo first-party games, which hints that it'll be published by Nintendo. Maybe Monolith is developing it?
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: BeautifulShy on June 02, 2009, 09:42:34 PM
I saw this video on the Nintendo Channel a few minutes ago and was totally confused. It's listed along side Nintendo first-party games, which hints that it'll be published by Nintendo. Maybe Monolith is developing it?
You are right Vudu.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: BeautifulShy on June 03, 2009, 04:55:32 AM
Any impressions of the game from the staff yet?
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: NovaQ on June 03, 2009, 10:40:30 AM
Holy crap, this game looks like it could be great! Why would Nintendo slip this announcement out so quietly?
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: KDR_11k on June 03, 2009, 10:59:04 AM
Doesn't fit into their strategy?
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on June 03, 2009, 11:07:17 AM
maybe they will focus more on it & MH3 at the post E3 conference in Japan.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: NovaQ on June 03, 2009, 12:09:16 PM
Well, it looks like we finally know what they bought Monolith for.
Hmm, it doesn't start with Xeno-, so who's gonna buy it?
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: BeautifulShy on June 04, 2009, 04:15:40 AM
I'll get it. I plan on getting lots of RPG's for the Wii.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: Dirk Temporo on June 04, 2009, 01:41:28 PM
Blargh JRPGs.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: KDR_11k on June 04, 2009, 02:18:42 PM
Look for something else then.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: broodwars on June 04, 2009, 02:28:29 PM
Looks very promising. I'm a little concerned about the battle system, because the footage reminds me a little of Final Fantasy XII and I hated that game. Still, always great to see a JRPG on the Wii (with a good-looking art style, no less), and I really liked the two Baten Kaitos games on the Cube. Here's hoping we see more of this game very soon.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on June 07, 2009, 03:32:14 PM
I just looked at larger versions of the screen shots and Nintendo need to modify the Galaxy engine for this game. What are they using to program this? this looks like an early GC game.
It looks decent in motion & I can only guess that this game is still early since they never bothered to mentioned it @ E3. But the graphics look basic and lazy, even though the art style looks ok.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: broodwars on June 07, 2009, 04:58:50 PM
I just looked at larger versions of the screen shots and Nintendo need to modify the Galaxy engine for this game. What are they using to program this? this looks like an early GC game.
It looks decent in motion & I can only guess that this game is still early since they never bothered to mentioned it @ E3. But the graphics look basic and lazy, even though the art style looks ok.
This is really early footage but I'll take it looking like an early GC game over looking like an early PS2 game, which so many games in the Wii library resemble. Hell, most Wii games don't even look as good artistically as FF X on the PS2, and that game came out in 2001.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: KDR_11k on June 08, 2009, 10:46:19 AM
I just looked at larger versions of the screen shots and Nintendo need to modify the Galaxy engine for this game. What are they using to program this? this looks like an early GC game.
What the hell is with this engine talk? An engine doesn't magically make the art assets look great.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on June 08, 2009, 11:28:58 AM
But the engine is what will allow for a higher poly count, better textures & more effects while maintaining a smooth frame rate of 60 frames per sec.
And like I said, I figured the game was still early by looking at the pics, but if they are still using the engine from BK on GC then its no wonder their game looks like a GC game.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on June 08, 2009, 11:59:31 AM
Maybe it looks bad cuz it's not about cutscenes, so they're in new territory?
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: NWR_Neal on June 08, 2009, 12:35:57 PM
FYI, this wasn't playable on the E3 show floor. Also, no one at Nintendo seemed to know anything about it.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on June 08, 2009, 12:39:08 PM
FYI, this wasn't playable on the E3 show floor. Also, no one at Nintendo seemed to know anything about it.
Well they didn't even bother to mention it at the Conference , and I don't think it was ever formally announced, so its not surprising that it wasn't playable and no one actually knew about it.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: Stogi on June 08, 2009, 01:27:35 PM
This game doesn't look as good as Crystal Bearers, but it has a certain charm. I especially like the locals.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: KDR_11k on June 08, 2009, 01:29:56 PM
But the engine is what will allow for a higher poly count, better textures & more effects while maintaining a smooth frame rate of 60 frames per sec.
And like I said, I figured the game was still early by looking at the pics, but if they are still using the engine from BK on GC then its no wonder their game looks like a GC game.
The engine may reduce the overhead but the bigger limiter is the hardware. A GC engine on the Wii will still scale to the Wii's increased power.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on June 08, 2009, 01:53:41 PM
but its not optimized to take advantage of the increase in power. I really don't want to get too deep into an engine discussion though.
My point was that the game looks like a GC game, and the fact that you are owned by the console manufacturer, you should have access to the latest and most advanced tools and internally produced engines to work with. Its unacceptable as a 1st party dev to use a last gen engine this late into the game on new gen hardware when you have so much new gen tech at your disposal.
The game is early enough to not really be mentioned by Nintendo, so maybe they are just using last gen placeholder assets while they work on gameplay. But just looking at screenshots is not leaving the best of impressions.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: Stogi on June 08, 2009, 01:58:35 PM
Did it really look that bad?
I thought it looked pretty good.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on June 08, 2009, 02:11:09 PM
Its not that its really ugly, but it looks more like a 3rd party effort in some screens then a 1st party effort. Just look at the pic with the fruit, it doens't look like a whole lot of effort has gone into making that look like a Wii game and not a GC game. Even though the game is still early and it does look pretty good in motion, this is their first game since full aquisition and its time for them to step up and WOW us with whatever game they are putting out, especially since its a new IP.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: Stogi on June 08, 2009, 02:15:05 PM
Ya, the game is really early, and that's why it didn't bother me. Hell there were clipping issues everywhere; particle effects looked terrible; and the overall polygon count and texture resolution was low, but you know what? The art direction looked nice, the animation was solid, and the landscapes looked sprawling and huge.
So while I understand what your saying, I think we should hold off from the "graphix sux" comments.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: broodwars on June 08, 2009, 02:19:29 PM
And like I said, I figured the game was still early by looking at the pics, but if they are still using the engine from BK on GC then its no wonder their game looks like a GC game.
There's no way that's the Baten Kaitos engine, either from the original or Origins. The Baten Kaitos engine used pre-rendered FMV backgrounds and was only actually 3D in the quasi turn-based battle sequences (which still didn't allow player movement). This game is obviously full 3D in towns; exploring; and battles with full player interaction in all modes. It looks more like the Skies of Arcadia 3D engine combined with the FF 12 battle system, which would be a whole new engine from stuff they'd done before. Like it or not, this engine is likely to stay. As for the graphics...well, one can hope that they'll improve, though they're still far from bad right now.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on June 08, 2009, 02:27:26 PM
Nowhere did I say the grafix sux, I just said that for someone that has access to all the tricks the system can do and access to program down to the metal, this game doesn't seem to be taking full advantage of the systems hardware and looks more like a GC game than a Wii game. More of a mid-budget 3rd party effort than a high-budget 1st party effort.
I also implied that I was reserving judgment since the game does appear to be early, but the screenshots are not making the best 1st impression for a game Nintendo showed off at E3 when they have a policy of "don't show it till its ready".
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: Stogi on June 08, 2009, 02:30:34 PM
It honestly looks like Crystal Bearers in terms of graphics (although Crystal Bearers is more polished).
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on August 17, 2009, 12:33:40 PM
Even tho the press trailers are moderately high quality, the game still looked like ass.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: broodwars on January 29, 2010, 11:14:44 AM
A bit of an update here: apparently, the game has a new name: "Xenoblade" along with a new teaser website (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/sx4j/index.html).
Moderators, if you would be so kind as to update the topic title.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on January 29, 2010, 11:56:05 AM
Let me guess, the sword is some kind of key and is related to some giant tree.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: broodwars on January 29, 2010, 11:57:40 AM
I wouldn't change the name of the thread until we know what the non Japanese name is.
Perhaps that's wise. I'm seeing conflicting reports on various websites whether the North American name will change to Xenoblades or if it'll stay Monado. They'd be wise to go with the new name (especially if the game actually ends up linking to the Xenosaga games, but I doubt it), but whatever.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 29, 2010, 02:31:20 PM
But if you really wanted a topic title change, you could've just asked the topic creator. He is still around, and most of the mods admit to not visiting this part of the forum very often, so you would have better luck asking Maxi himself.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: noname2200 on January 29, 2010, 03:08:51 PM
Looks like they changed direction quite a bit. Of course, they're also not showing much here.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on January 29, 2010, 03:11:12 PM
Bonanza
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: Caterkiller on January 29, 2010, 03:16:26 PM
Looks fun can't wait to see how the graphics have improved.
Title: Re: Monado Beginning of The World
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 29, 2010, 03:37:09 PM
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World
Post by: BeautifulShy on January 29, 2010, 05:59:53 PM
Just woke up a little while ago. I'll update the first post in a min.
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World
Post by: BeautifulShy on January 29, 2010, 06:36:51 PM
There I updated it. I am going to keep the name of the thread the same. If we get a North American announcement I'll change the topic title and add that first picture that you linked to. I really need to get my CPU fixed.Takes to long to update the first post
Anyway the game looks to of improved alot visually.
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 29, 2010, 07:20:48 PM
I'm pretty sure the name will change for the US since Xenoblade will sound attached to XenoSaga (and it looks like it might be) and that will generate hype all on it's own.
I'm just really hoping Nintendo puts the AAA budget behind squeezing FF like visuals out of this title and TLS. They both need to succeed and set the stage not just for DQX, but for sequels of their own.
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World
Post by: BeautifulShy on January 29, 2010, 07:44:25 PM
Agreed BlackNMild.
There has been a few RPGs for the Wii that standout as good.
I'm a bit unfamiliar with the Xenosaga series. Anybody here play those games?
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World
Post by: broodwars on January 29, 2010, 07:52:58 PM
There has been a few RPGs for the Wii that standout as good.
I'm a bit unfamiliar with the Xenosaga series. Anybody here play those games?
I've played a little bit of Xenosaga (as in "I played the opening tutorial mission and stopped playing out of disinterest in the dull-as-hell story"), and I didn't like it much. It has its fans, but apparently you have to really enjoy the fiction to sit through it.
And yes, if these are good games both Monado/Xenoblade and The Last Story need to sell well, as RPGs are my favorite genre and they have a pitiful representation on the Wii.
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World
Post by: noname2200 on January 30, 2010, 04:55:16 PM
There has been a few RPGs for the Wii that standout as good.
I'm a bit unfamiliar with the Xenosaga series. Anybody here play those games?
Long cutscenes. Approaching Metal Gear Solid territory here. Hopefully, someone at Nintendo will have the grace to make them edit the things to under 2 minutes each, max.
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World
Post by: Adrock on January 31, 2010, 10:07:00 AM
Xenosaga got progressively better in that regard. The first 6 hours of the first one was like 90% cutscenes. Still, the series gave us KOS-MOS. Worth it.
The only series that really got it right in term of cutscenes is Uncharted. Most of the cutscenes are under 2-3 minutes.
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World (Xenoblade)
Post by: vudu on February 01, 2010, 04:37:34 PM
Sounds pretty impressive so far, hopefully the final product will deliver.
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World (Xenoblade)
Post by: Peachylala on February 17, 2010, 10:47:33 AM
I was very impressed by BK: Origins, so color me intrigued by this game.
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World (Xenoblade)
Post by: Caliban on February 17, 2010, 11:16:46 AM
Open fields, areas to explore, the premise of this game, and it's visually appealing. Yup, I'm interested.
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World (Xenoblade)
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on February 17, 2010, 11:52:28 AM
The graphics on this look much much better than original unveiling.
Here is what I found most interesting in the interview
Quote
Enemies in Xenoblade roam the fields alongside you. Encounter an enemy, and the game will transition seamlessly into battle. Takahashi explained that he didn't want make the game transition from field to battle in typical RPG style.
Since battles take place on the same fields across which you and the enemies roam, you'll find that nearby enemies will join in on the battle. As a strategy, you'll want to engage in battle in areas where there aren't any other enemies.
Your main character will adventure alongside two AI-controlled party members. Your character performs his attacks automatically while you watch the action and select special skills, known as "arts." Arts include attack skills, recovery skills and so forth, and are learned as you progress through the game.
The game will offer an adventure of around 50 to 60 hours, said Takahashi. This time will not consist of endless leveling up. It also, he made sure to note, won't consist of endless event scenes.
This first major feature on Xenoblade consisted almost entirely of the interview with Takahashi, with Famitsu getting its hands on just a few pieces of artwork and screens from the game. Xenoblade is set for a Spring release, so the wait for a more solid look shouldn't be too long.
So battle plays like a traditional RPG but visually looks like an Action RPG? I also like that extra enemies might wander into your battle, but that could be a little annoying later on when enemies are tougher and you are low on energy.
I also liked this quote
Quote
Your movement through the world will be seamless. "We've put effort into this," said Takahashi, "because we felt that in order to show a living world, we needed an overwhelming sense of scale, like that of an MMORPG."
Exploration of the world looks like it could be one of the game's charms. Takahashi said that he hopes players will simply walk around in search of special unexplored areas which have beautiful settings. You'll get experience for just finding these. Some areas include monsters that can't be defeated at first. Once you've powered your character up, you'll want to return to take on those beasts.
so not only are there side quest, but there are hidden areas and reasons to backtrack and wander around aimlessly.
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World (Xenoblade)
Post by: KDR_11k on February 17, 2010, 01:52:04 PM
Smells more like MMORPG combat. I still like most of the descriptions though.
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World (Xenoblade)
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on February 17, 2010, 02:00:00 PM
I've never played an MMO so I wouldn't catch the similarity.
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World (Xenoblade)
Post by: Adrock on February 17, 2010, 05:09:36 PM
Wow, I know those are just screenshots, but the game looks significantly better than it did last year.
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World (Xenoblade)
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on February 17, 2010, 05:10:50 PM
I think the name change is pretty much official. and now that we've seen updated screen, it would be best to forget that monado even existed at this point.
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World (Xenoblade)
Post by: Caterkiller on February 17, 2010, 05:13:40 PM
Hey this game doesn't look worse than a GC game! But the concept of the inhabitants living on the gods is just too cool pass up regardless of the graphics.
Title: Re: Monondo:Begining of the World (Xenoblade)
Post by: BeautifulShy on February 17, 2010, 05:15:38 PM
I think the name change is pretty much official. and now that we've seen updated screen, it would be best to forget that monado even existed at this point.
Alright I'll change the title.
Anyway the game looks nice. I like the fact that this will be a more open world.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on February 17, 2010, 05:33:24 PM
NOt to mention that this game is supposedly HUGE
Quote
Takahashi actually gave a pretty specific size to the world. From one end of the corpse to the other (I'm not sure if he's referring to just one corpse or both combined), the world is about the size of Japan.
But it may be larger than it looks. Areas of the world will open up as you progress through the story, and you'll eventually enter the body of one of the gods.
I wonder if he meant that literally or figuratively. Because that is HUGE if he meant it literally (Japan is ~146k sq. mi).
he must mean that the entire world is the size of Japan and not just the land mass you can explore. It is 2 giant deceased Gods surrounded by ocean afterall.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Peachylala on February 17, 2010, 06:33:43 PM
So with this and The Last Story, Nintendo might make RPGs that don't bore me.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Stogi on February 17, 2010, 11:35:29 PM
Call me skeptical, but can the Wii even output the aspect of those screenshots? They look gorgeous and I'm hoping they are real.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: broodwars on February 18, 2010, 12:29:42 AM
So with this and The Last Story, Nintendo might make RPGs that don't bore me.
Depending on how the gameplay will look to have changed from the E3 trailer, I doubt it. That E3 trailer gave me bad flashbacks to my time with Final Fantasy XII, which the battle system looked exactly like. The new setting looks interesting, though, and the visuals look very nice (about on par with Crystal Bearers, from the looks of it).
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: SixthAngel on February 18, 2010, 03:36:19 AM
This looks amazing.
I love how in the screen shots you can tell where you are by looking at the land and seeing what part of the god it is. The entire game is going to be beautiful simply because it is going to have this unique direction. I can already tell it is going to be awesome to start climbing a mountain only to realize its a kneecap or something.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Ymeegod on February 24, 2010, 01:26:24 AM
Some new info and screenshots (http://www.the-magicbox.com/1002/game100222a.shtml)--
It's on my wish list now. And the battle system looks like any other turnbased JRPG. And I'm just taking a guess but the battles with still be random but that can still change though.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on February 24, 2010, 02:46:59 AM
Some new info and screenshots (http://www.the-magicbox.com/1002/game100222a.shtml)--
It's on my wish list now. And the battle system looks like any other turnbased JRPG. And I'm just taking a guess but the battles with still be random but that can still change though.
Post #59: http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=28408.msg586557#msg586557
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Stratos on February 24, 2010, 03:06:26 AM
Seeing the new shots has me even more interested.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on March 31, 2010, 02:45:42 AM
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Stratos on March 31, 2010, 02:53:02 AM
Nice. I like the looks of it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on April 01, 2010, 12:28:35 PM
(http://i39.tinypic.com/35avxj6.jpg)
Xenoblade website is updated http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/sx4j/
and the trailer is now posted on the official site http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/sx4j/trailers/index.html
(http://i40.tinypic.com/1zpr7vd.jpg)
Now is someone with some photoshop skills could use the logo at the top and the image on the main page of the official site and create a larger boxart, then we are good to go.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mannypon on April 01, 2010, 09:09:33 PM
Looks like this game has now become officially the spiritiual Episode IV of the Zeno saga. It seems the Gods in the games are Gears from the previous installments. What I don't get is that this in fact would make all the characters in the game insanely small as the gears in the previous games were not too much larger than the main characters, if I remember correctly.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on April 01, 2010, 09:29:26 PM
Xenogods
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mannypon on April 01, 2010, 10:50:48 PM
lol, if this turns out to really be true, I don't know how I feel about it. It just weirds me out to think these people living on these gods are the size of ants or something lol.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Adrock on April 01, 2010, 11:42:11 PM
The title of that article is "AFD: Xenoblade Ties to Xeno Series Revealed." AFD = April Fools Day. The best April Fools jokes are either so absurd they're funny or too good to be true. This falls into the latter for Xeno fans, but means next to nothing to everyone else. It might garner a "Oh, neat" at best.
Quote
One is Brigandier, the gear of Bart Fatima from Xenogears and the other is E.S. Dinah from Xenosaga. Since these prior games were published by another developer, the names will be changed to avoid any potential conflict.
1. This would mean Nintendo didn't get the rights to Xenosaga like a lot of people thought which would have been the most intriguing news in the article (if this wasn't fake). As far as I know, ownership of the rights to Xenosaga haven't been made clear. In any case, it'd be nice if Nintendo obtained the rights to Xenogears from Square Enix and Xengosaga from Namco Bandai so Tetsuya Takahashi could have full access to the entire universe he created. It's not like either company is doing anything with those series. 2. "...published by another developer..." What?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Ymeegod on April 02, 2010, 01:39:32 AM
Xenosaga was trilogy and they did end it. Xeno isn't a copyright name, that would be like saying you can't have the word "Final" in a title. Xenogears is still owned by the publisher.
And I really wouldn't see the tie-in to those other games working anyhow. Sure you might throw in some names/faces (like FF does with CID) but with the story ane events I think youre better off starting with something new and fresh.
Though I love seeing another xeno game I going miss Baten's orginal card-combat system (I taking about the first one, Orgins sucked with that sharing deck crap).
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Adrock on April 02, 2010, 03:14:38 AM
Xenosaga was supposed to be six games, the first 3 being a trilogy in that it featured the same cast. I think the plan was for Xenosaga IV to take places several hundreds of years after III but Namco stopped the series after III apparently due to not meeting sales expectations. From what I understand, Xenosaga basically rebooted Xenogears which, strangely enough, was episode V in that series. Okay, it's not really a series since it's only one game, but it was planned as a series.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Stratos on April 04, 2010, 04:46:36 AM
I don't think it's been noted here yet, but Classic Controller support has been confirmed (http://www.destructoid.com/xenoblade-gets-artwork-music-classic-controller-options-169788.phtml) for the game.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: KisakiProject on April 05, 2010, 02:38:52 PM
I'm a huge Xenogears/Xenosaga fan. I'm pretty excited about this.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on April 06, 2010, 11:01:03 PM
Do you feel nostalgia for early PS2-level graphics?
Are you actually blind but like to express your opinions on graphics in games as though you weren't?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on April 08, 2010, 11:30:02 AM
We have a Japanese Release date and Price for this game from the Nintendo Retailer Meeting last night:
Xenoblade (Wii, Nintendo) - June 10th - 6,800 yen
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on April 08, 2010, 02:05:22 PM
Also a vid with some new scenes up on the official site http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/sx4j/world/index.html (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/sx4j/world/index.html)
some animation looks a little weird, but the backgrounds look good.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: noname2200 on April 08, 2010, 05:14:21 PM
Do you feel nostalgia for early PS2-level graphics?
Are you actually blind but like to express your opinions on graphics in games as though you weren't?
Ooh, Ice Burn!
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on April 09, 2010, 03:31:57 AM
(http://i42.tinypic.com/6ep74i.jpg)
(http://i43.tinypic.com/219yjxl.jpg)
(http://i41.tinypic.com/21bj3fl.jpg)
Quote from: Duckroll @ NeoGAF
Some additional info about Xenoblade from retailer listings and the retailer meeting yesterday:
- Monolithsoft estimates the game to be 70-80 hours long, over 100 hours if you decide to enjoy all the optional content
- The entire world in Xenoblade is "seamless" and all areas flow naturally and continuously. But there are loading breaks when you travel between major areas. Major areas are defined as different body parts of the two gods. So travelling from the region of the lower leg up to the knee area, there will be loading.
- The battles are all in realtime and seamless as well. No transitions or break, and you can see enemies roaming on the fields. When you attack enemies normally, you use auto-attack which makes the character automatically attack the targeted enemy continuously with regular attacks. If you manage to move behind an enemy or to the enemy's sides, you can trigger special attacks called Arts.
- Xenoblade's soundtrack is composed by Yoko Shimomura, and she's the only one mentioned in relation to the pre-order "special soundtrack" bonus. If there are other composers involved, they haven't been mentioned, but it's clear she's the main composer.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mop it up on April 09, 2010, 03:57:54 AM
I'm not a fan of RPGs, but this one looks to hold some promise. I don't know if I'm going to follow its development though, I'll probably just wait for some reviews and see how it turns out.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: KDR_11k on April 09, 2010, 02:02:32 PM
Yay realtime combat!
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Stratos on April 09, 2010, 02:03:13 PM
Yay! No random battles!
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mop it up on April 09, 2010, 05:54:19 PM
There are an awful lot of things going on in that screenshot.
That's usually what turns me off to RPGs. Even Zelda started getting a little nuts with all of the on-screen indicators. I don't like a lot of screen clutter.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on April 15, 2010, 04:30:32 PM
Official Site Updated: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/sx4j/characters/index.html (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/sx4j/characters/index.html)
Here's the primary cast of characters and their background stories:
Shulk The main character, an orphan. He's shown holding a book, suggesting that he may be a big fan of literature. Shulk heads off on a journey with his friends to defeat the Kishin troops who attacked his village. Race: Homs, Age: 18, Height: 171cm, Voice: Shintaro Asanuma
Fiorun The heroine. She looks after others and is very active. She's the childhood friend of Shulk and little sister of Dunban (below). Race: Homs, Age: 18, Height: 160cm, Voice: Eri Nakao
Dunban Hero of the Homs people, he used the Monado sword and defeated many Kishin army troops. He was injured during a major confrontation 1 year back and is now healing. Race: Homs, Age: 30, Height 180cm, Voice: Ryo Horikawa
Dickson Dunban's war friend from a long time back. He watches over Shulk like a parent. Race: Homs, Age: 44, Height: 181cm, Voice: Tsuyoshi Koyama
Mumuca A warrior of great skill. He once fought Dunban for the right to be the person who would use Monado. Race: Homs, Age: 30, Height: 195cm, Voice: Norio Wakamoto
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Adrock on April 15, 2010, 05:21:56 PM
The main character is an orphan who looks like a girl and is trying to avenge his village which was attacked by evil forces. I just described 239865287561892 JRPGs. I'm sure this journey of vengeance will somehow lead the main character (in this case, Shulk) to a quest to save the world from destruction.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: noname2200 on April 19, 2010, 10:13:45 PM
The main character is an orphan who looks like a girl and is trying to avenge his village which was attacked by evil forces. I just described 239865287561892 JRPGs. I'm sure this journey of vengeance will somehow lead the main character (in this case, Shulk) to a quest to save the world from destruction.
You forgot how he will also learn the true meaning of friendship, and how a hero's journey isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Stratos on April 20, 2010, 04:15:27 AM
The main character is an orphan who looks like a girl and is trying to avenge his village which was attacked by evil forces. I just described 239865287561892 JRPGs. I'm sure this journey of vengeance will somehow lead the main character (in this case, Shulk) to a quest to save the world from destruction.
You forgot how he will also learn the true meaning of friendship, and how a hero's journey isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Don't forget when he learns that the power to overcome and win was inside him all along or with him in the form of an old artifact or trinket that was mysteriously left to him by his missing parents.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: KDR_11k on April 20, 2010, 07:55:51 AM
Isn't that trinket/power usually attached to the female lead?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Stratos on April 20, 2010, 06:12:33 PM
True, it is more a female lead thing. Though it does seem to always end up being given blindly to the male lead before a 'reasonable level of trust' is built up (IMO) or the lead villain just takes it, thus giving the game a 'plot'.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on April 21, 2010, 04:24:22 AM
Xenoblade Trailer #3: The Foreshadow (low quality) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAXDj6FAF-s
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: noname2200 on April 21, 2010, 01:45:44 PM
What a horribly indefensible place to build a city! Really, they had it coming.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Louieturkey on April 21, 2010, 01:54:32 PM
Well, it looks like we finally know what they bought Monolith for.
Hmm, it doesn't start with Xeno-, so who's gonna buy it?
I think Nintendo heard you. :)
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on April 27, 2010, 03:45:41 PM
Brand New Xenoblade scans too
http://www.nintendoeverything.com/38038/
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on April 27, 2010, 03:51:00 PM
The last JRPG I played that had automated combat (and worthless animations) was a localized DOS game not suitable for children. But the girlies were sexy.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on April 27, 2010, 03:54:15 PM
I wonder how big of a tea table had to be up-ended to make these visual improvements since last E3.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on April 28, 2010, 09:27:15 PM
Catalog Number DERP-10008~11 Release Date Jun 23, 2010 Publish Format Commercial Release Price 3500 JPY Media Format 4 CD Classification Original Soundtrack Published by Dog Ear Records / Dog Ear Records Composed by Yoko Shimomura / 下村陽子, Yasunori Mitsuda / 光田康典 Arranged by Performed by ACE+, Manami Kiyota
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: KDR_11k on April 29, 2010, 02:00:51 AM
Derp derp
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: SixthAngel on April 29, 2010, 04:52:09 AM
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mannypon on May 06, 2010, 12:04:14 AM
New trailer people, this game is looking Fing HUUUUGEEEE and I'm loving it. Here's the the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtTlUcjtqTY&fmt=18 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtTlUcjtqTY&fmt=18)
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Caliban on May 06, 2010, 12:28:32 AM
Oh wow. I hope that later in the game there will be warp points.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mannypon on May 06, 2010, 12:39:44 AM
Oh wow. I hope that later in the game there will be warp points.
lol I was just thinking of that too but I tend to try and refrain from using them as taking the long way usually leads to hidden goodies lol. I just hope this game has tons of side quests to encourage exploration.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on May 06, 2010, 02:02:03 AM
New trailer people, this game is looking Fing HUUUUGEEEE and I'm loving it. Here's the the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtTlUcjtqTY&fmt=18 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtTlUcjtqTY&fmt=18)
That trailer just moved this game up on my list.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Stratos on May 06, 2010, 02:10:39 AM
I like how it shows you where you are on the 'god world' when you enter a new area. Nice touch.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: ShyGuy on May 06, 2010, 03:57:02 AM
How does gravity work on the god world?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Stratos on May 06, 2010, 04:10:44 AM
Imagine if places on one world that are in close proximity to the other world have altered gravity because of the closeness to each other. So it could be like Mario Galaxy where if you jump high enough you could get caught in the other planets gravitational pull.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on May 06, 2010, 01:12:19 PM
Don't tell me Cloud Luigi is in this game, too.
If anything, this game knows how to render grass unlike FF13.
I dub this game, Xenograss.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on May 06, 2010, 01:14:17 PM
Xenoblade(s of grass)?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: ShyGuy on May 06, 2010, 01:23:14 PM
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on May 06, 2010, 01:29:18 PM
That game needs to make it's way to VC Arcade ASAP.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: vudu on May 06, 2010, 01:58:53 PM
Does he ever actually use the big ol' sword of his or does he just like to run around with it on his back everywhere he goes?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on May 06, 2010, 02:08:00 PM
That's right. There's no fighting in this RPG. You battle by showing off different hairstyles.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BeautifulShy on May 07, 2010, 01:54:19 PM
Wow! Great trailer.
Here are some details.
Large Map. Move seamlessly through the world. Loading only happens when you enter a new part of the map. Lots of secrets to find.
Support features. Warp to areas you have been to previously. Freely change the in game time of the day. Save anywhere. Target area is the place with a arrow on map.
Unique personalities NPC changes personalities depending on what time it is
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: ShyGuy on May 07, 2010, 08:39:21 PM
So the NPC personality changes on an hourly basis, or is it a, uh, monthly basis?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BeautifulShy on May 07, 2010, 08:43:16 PM
Not really sure but I would imagine that it would be an hourly basis.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mannypon on May 08, 2010, 03:38:46 PM
I have to run off to work but here's a quick link to a Japanese blog which has basically the same info Maxi just posted above but with the addition of screenshots to support the details.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: MaryJane on May 18, 2010, 11:12:14 PM
Looks awesome, I'm working on getting a rough translation, but it looks like they're focusing on how you can control all 3 character during battle like a turn-based RPG despite it obviously being an ARPG, hopefully it's an improvement over the Tales of series.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on May 19, 2010, 12:01:51 AM
That did not make sense.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: MaryJane on May 19, 2010, 01:41:12 AM
Awesome is a word that means inspiring wonder or terror in the degree of something divine, otherworldly, or of royalty. Sometime before the 80's it became a slang term that took on a lesser form of its original meaning; i.e exciting or good.
The audio in the video is in the Japanese language. I do not understand it well enough to know what the narrator said, but I know someone who does, and is also interested in this game. He is not a Japanese linguist, so the translation may not be 100% accurate, hence the term "rough" before the word "translation".
During the video there are places where they single out each character separately and the enemy in a dual-flashlight-like highlight , each character does an individual action that acts together with the other party members, or turns into a bigger simultaneous attack, kinda like Tales of Symphonia for the GC, other games in that series and other Action Role Playing Games*. To me however it seems like the battle system is a significant upgrade allowing a much more seamless use of all characters and their skills all at once. This reminds me of the how in turn-based Role Playing Games--in which each side, and each character takes separate turns selecting attacks, defenses, and other actions--battling is done with all the characters fluidly. In those types of games it is much easier to coordinate characters moves and do "super" moves because the action is paused while you are strategizing and implementing your attacks/actions, yet this games seems (from the video) to do it very well despite being an Action Role Playing Game*
*Action Role Playing Game is usually abbreviated to ARPG
edit: used a $ instead of a %
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on May 19, 2010, 03:46:35 AM
The world does not wait for "super", I shall run up to things and hit them, with FRIENDS, as Tales multiplayer allows me to.
Menus that control mere animations that take turns does not improve a real-time co-op combo mania experience.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on May 19, 2010, 11:06:07 AM
Did they just peek into the future see what was about to happen to the guy on the right, then changed that future by making him block instead?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on May 19, 2010, 12:40:14 PM
Yes.
No.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: MaryJane on May 19, 2010, 03:42:25 PM
actually yes and yes
The first thing guy really says is no random battles. You choose to attack the monster and then your character attacks automatically but while he is attacking you can move around him to attack from behind and weakspots, and to dodge his attacks. Then he talks about "arts" or attacks and fighting styles(maybe) that you can use while attacking. In the menu he is setting options and trading(maybe) them between characters and setting them as needed. Then he says the other characters can be set on auto-attack for their arts and if you do it properly you can get a basic combo attack that does a lot of damage. (That's the first pause) Then he says you can do the arts yourself time it out properly and do an even more powerful combo. (Second pause) When you execute that kind of combo you get a glimpse into the future, and then you have a few seconds to defend yourself before it happens with the proper "art" and change the future.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: noname2200 on May 20, 2010, 01:09:56 PM
That's certainly different. Not sure what to think though.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Dirk Temporo on May 20, 2010, 10:02:16 PM
If they're going to be yelling out things in battle the whole time I hope there's an option for Japanese language track, just because bad voice acting grates so much more when you can actually understand the language.
Also, the combat animations still look like ass. The problem with huge weapons is that in order to make them look effective, they have to be used with wide swings to make them look powerful. You can't get away with small, confined swings like you can with a small weapon. All the swings look stiff and like they cut off before they should, like they lack power and oomph. Can't say I'm a fan.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: MysticGohan on May 23, 2010, 11:19:15 PM
Is this continuing the series of Xenogears? I really liked that game, I hope mechs are involved, Fei's/ID's were awesome among others.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BeautifulShy on May 23, 2010, 11:26:18 PM
I think it is a spiritual successor MysticGohan. I believe the people that made the Xenogears series is making this.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: MysticGohan on May 24, 2010, 12:29:53 AM
Long time no see Maxi, Yeah. I hope we see more connections with the name like Xeno, heh.
I wish we could get a real Sequel to Chrono Trigger, Cross just made no sense to me and I really like Crono and Crew, and I would like to know more of Magus/Janus and the events after.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on May 31, 2010, 01:08:13 AM
What more could you want from Xenoblade, because it has so much to give already... http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/05/27/xenoblade_yarikomi_and_kizuna/
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mannypon on May 31, 2010, 01:51:50 AM
This game just gets better the more I hear of it. Anyone can say that I'm hyping this game up too much but I think this is going to be an instant classic for me, up there with Suikoden 2, Xenogears, and Skies of Arcadia to name a few. There has been more info in the past week but I've lost track of the links. Here is a new 6 min trailer though for those that haven't seen it. Enjoy.
Quick note about the trailer... loving the music and the icing on the cake for me with this game is when I saw in the video that all the equipement you purchase will be visible on your characters and the in game cinematics. I love that and wish it is used more in JRPGs.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: MaryJane on May 31, 2010, 08:23:59 AM
Great info and great trailer!! The city building is very interesting element in a game already full of interesting elements. Maybe it will be better if this game doesn't come to the U.S then I would be forced to learn Japanese... but then I'd also be forced to buy a Japanese Wii so maybe not.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mannypon on June 02, 2010, 01:32:49 AM
A new trailer and the first review is up. Famitsu gave the game straight 9s for a total of 36 out of 40. Good score in my book. Hopefully a translated summary pops up soon so we can get more details. Here's the new trailer too.
Almost forgot the link to the score... here it is also with a reveal for what seems to be yet another rpg for the wii. Looks good from what I can see but that's a discussion for another thread lol.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Adrock on June 02, 2010, 01:49:41 AM
I hate Japanese voice acting. It's technically better than bad English voice acting, but still annoying in its own way. It always sounds over the top and there's always so much grunting and gasping. Like, who gasps that much in real life? And why does everyone gasp over everything?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Stratos on June 02, 2010, 04:30:06 AM
Earth Seeker...hmm. Interesting.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BeautifulShy on June 10, 2010, 12:47:14 PM
With the game releasing in Japan this week andriasang did a feature encompasing all the info about the game. Good read if you haven't been keeping track of the game ir if you want more detailed info.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Dirk Temporo on June 10, 2010, 03:09:29 PM
I hate when companies make trailers that use cinematics that obviously use gameplay models and resources, but don't include gameplay in the trailer.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on September 28, 2010, 04:27:04 PM
14 minutes of in-game footage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAYBui5ghJ0
I haven't watched it yet, but I hear it's gorgeous.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Adrock on September 28, 2010, 06:35:00 PM
I'm sure most people think Xenoblade "looks good for a Wii game" but I'm actually pretty impressed all around. The scope is simply astounding. I'm definitely liking the art design too. /impressed
EDIT: The character designs are a little blah, but I can get past that.
Now, if we could only see more of The Last Story....
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: KisakiProject on September 29, 2010, 05:01:12 PM
Man this needs to come to the US.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: broodwars on September 29, 2010, 05:15:21 PM
14 minutes of in-game footage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAYBui5ghJ0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAYBui5ghJ0)
I haven't watched it yet, but I hear it's gorgeous.
Hmm...there's a bit of a mixed-bag to that trailer:
Pros:
-The environments have really good art design and there's usually some smart lighting that goes with them that really makes them shine. -The music is also very well-done. -It looks like exploration might be something more akin to a Zelda game than Final Fantasy, as you can see the player character jumping off (really) high ledges a couple of times.
Cons:
-The character models are pretty poor. -The environments look great...so long as the user doesn't get too close and the lighting is fairly dark (proportional to how far away the user is from an object). There are a couple shots in that trailer where you can see objects really up-close, and the geometry is pretty simple and looks bad. Likewise, there are a couple shots where you see characters and environments in brighter light, and they look pretty poor. -No battle footage? One of my main problems with this game is that the combat system sounds a lot like Final Fantasy XII, and nothing good comes of being like Final Fantasy XII. I'd like to see more of the combat to get a better feel for it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Stratos on September 29, 2010, 10:53:17 PM
I really want a confirmation of a Western release. :@
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: noname2200 on March 31, 2011, 11:26:53 AM
According to some NeoGAF users NoE's confirmed via e-mail that it's coming out in Europe as "Xenoblade Chronicles," and the game now has its own page and video on Nintendo's UK website. http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/wii/xenoblade_chronicles_32583.html (http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/wii/xenoblade_chronicles_32583.html)
We can't be too far behind. Put those two big balls down and get us this game, Reggie!
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: broodwars on March 31, 2011, 11:28:27 AM
According to some NeoGAF users NoE's confirmed via e-mail that it's coming out in Europe, and the game now has its own page and video on Nintendo's UK website. http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/wii/xenoblade_chronicles_32583.html (http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/wii/xenoblade_chronicles_32583.html)
We can't be too far behind. Put those two big balls down and get us this game, Reggie!
Considering Reggie has failed to bring us Fatal Frame IV (yes, I know why), the Trace Memory sequel, Disaster: Day of Crisis, etc., I have a feeling this is going to be yet another game that NoE localizes and NoA does not.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: noname2200 on March 31, 2011, 11:32:03 AM
According to some NeoGAF users NoE's confirmed via e-mail that it's coming out in Europe, and the game now has its own page and video on Nintendo's UK website. http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/wii/xenoblade_chronicles_32583.html (http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/wii/xenoblade_chronicles_32583.html)
We can't be too far behind. Put those two big balls down and get us this game, Reggie!
Considering Reggie has failed to bring us Fatal Frame IV (yes, I know why), the Trace Memory sequel, Disaster: Day of Crisis, etc., I have a feeling this is going to be yet another game that NoE localizes and NoA does not.
Stop spoiling my dreams... :'(
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Retro Deckades on March 31, 2011, 12:32:31 PM
I will remain cautiously optimistic because Iwata said that they could fill the sparse NA Wii release schedule by localizing games.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BeautifulShy on March 31, 2011, 04:28:08 PM
Considering Reggie has failed to bring us Fatal Frame IV (yes, I know why), the Trace Memory sequel, Disaster: Day of Crisis, etc., I have a feeling this is going to be yet another game that NoE localizes and NoA does not.
Like I've said before, those were all lower budget titles that Reggie had a choice not to release because they cost Nintendo hardly anything to make. For a big budget title like Xenoblade, he has no choice in the matter and has to release the game because this actually cost something to make.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Retro Deckades on March 31, 2011, 05:02:00 PM
I will remain cautiously optimistic because Iwata said that they could fill the sparse NA Wii release schedule by localizing games.
I keep seeing this mentioned on here. Anybody got a link to this quote?
Here is the quote from IGN, but if you want an actual link I will have to track it down a little later as I am currently pressed for time:
According to IGN, "In an interview last month [Iwata] let it slip that the immediate future for Nintendo's American release calendar could be made up of products that have already been out in Japan for a while -- but just haven't been translated and localized for [the North American] market yet."
Keep in mind that by now, that quote is a month or two old.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: NeoStar9X on March 31, 2011, 05:58:20 PM
According to some NeoGAF users NoE's confirmed via e-mail that it's coming out in Europe, and the game now has its own page and video on Nintendo's UK website. http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/wii/xenoblade_chronicles_32583.html (http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/wii/xenoblade_chronicles_32583.html)
We can't be too far behind. Put those two big balls down and get us this game, Reggie!
Considering Reggie has failed to bring us Fatal Frame IV (yes, I know why), the Trace Memory sequel, Disaster: Day of Crisis, etc., I have a feeling this is going to be yet another game that NoE localizes and NoA does not.
Until there is something that says and shows otherwise this is the train of thought I'm working with.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 31, 2011, 06:40:36 PM
It's not hard to make it so your Wii can play imported games. In the event that NoA doesn't bring it here, there will be an English version of the game that can be easily made to work.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: NeoStar9X on March 31, 2011, 09:13:42 PM
I know. I hate having to do that but I really want to play this game and if NoA doesn't want to play ball so be it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BeautifulShy on March 31, 2011, 10:01:26 PM
Just want to jump in here and post that Nintendo of America has registed a Domain name for xenobladechronicles.com and that it redirects to Nintendo's home page. Here is the link http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/03/xenoblade-chronicles/ Check at the bottom of the story for the details.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: broodwars on March 31, 2011, 10:09:23 PM
Just want to jump in here and post that Nintendo of America has registed a Domain name for xenobladechronicles.com and that it redirects to Nintendo's home page. Here is the link http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/03/xenoblade-chronicles/ (http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/03/xenoblade-chronicles/) Check at the bottom of the story for the details.
Nice. That's promising, though I wish it was paired with a domain registration for a site representing Last Story. ;)
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: MegaByte on April 01, 2011, 01:19:15 AM
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: ymeegod on April 01, 2011, 01:57:45 AM
It really did show up on NoE site. Keep thinking this is another April Fool's joke but at least it's on the official site which means more than likely the US is getting it after all. No sense not too considering it's already going be in English with english voice acting (though I'm glad for Japanese voices option).
Hopefully we'll hear about a release date soon.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Luigi Dude on April 01, 2011, 03:00:38 AM
No sense not too considering it's already going be in English with english voice acting (though I'm glad for Japanese voices option).
This is another reason why it's guaranteed for a North American release. This is a huge RPG with a lot of voice work that's more then any other title Nintendo has published until The Last Story. Since NCL approves everything NOA and NOE do, there is no way they would spend money on a huge English dub unless that dub was planned on being used in both North America and Europe.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: KDR_11k on April 01, 2011, 10:06:00 AM
The big problem with the 1. April is that it's also the beginning of the fiscal year.
Also I think shareholders don't like jokes about this kind of thing.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: NeoStar9X on April 02, 2011, 10:54:51 PM
Just want to jump in here and post that Nintendo of America has registed a Domain name for xenobladechronicles.com and that it redirects to Nintendo's home page. Here is the link http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/03/xenoblade-chronicles/ (http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/03/xenoblade-chronicles/) Check at the bottom of the story for the details.
As said before that means nothing in the end. They've done this before and nothing came of it. It could easily be them just stopping anyone else from taking the domain name. It cost for them to just sit on it is insignificant.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: noname2200 on April 03, 2011, 01:10:09 PM
I'll be buying this game whether it's localized for the U.S. or not, thanks to the easy Wii homebrew system, but I'm still quite confident that it will reach U.S. shores. Shoot, didn't Cammie spontaneously bring this title up in interviews once or twice? It's almost certainly coming.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Luigi Dude on April 03, 2011, 09:08:50 PM
Oh and it should also be noted that last fall, Super Mario All-Stars: 25th Anniversary Collection was announced for release by NOE about a few weeks before NOA announced it. Even though there ended up only being a little more then a weeks difference between the Europe and American release dates, NOE still announced the game for release in Europe several weeks before NOA announced it was coming to America.
So keep this in mind everyone in the coming weeks. Just because we might not here anything, doesn't mean NOA isn't going to bring it over. If it took them a few weeks to announce a Mario game out of all thing after NOE announced it, then I wouldn't be surprise if we might even have to wait until E3 to hear about the American release. Of course hopefully it will be much sooner then that.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Retro Deckades on April 03, 2011, 11:46:42 PM
If it took them a few weeks to announce a Mario game out of all thing after NOE announced it, then I wouldn't be surprise if we might even have to wait until E3 to hear about the American release. Of course hopefully it will be much sooner then that.
I just hope this game is part of the content that Reggie said would be coming before E3.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: noname2200 on April 04, 2011, 04:53:59 PM
If it took them a few weeks to announce a Mario game out of all thing after NOE announced it, then I wouldn't be surprise if we might even have to wait until E3 to hear about the American release. Of course hopefully it will be much sooner then that.
I just hope this game is part of the content that Reggie said would be coming before E3.
Well something has to be! In all seriousness, I can't think of any first-party Wii games coming out this year before E3 right now. I can't think of any third-party ones either. Hmm... :-\
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: NeoStar9X on April 04, 2011, 08:29:20 PM
If it took them a few weeks to announce a Mario game out of all thing after NOE announced it, then I wouldn't be surprise if we might even have to wait until E3 to hear about the American release. Of course hopefully it will be much sooner then that.
I just hope this game is part of the content that Reggie said would be coming before E3.
Not getting my hopes up. Perhaps I'm becoming to jaded but Nintendo tends to disappoint in situations like this outside of their core franchises.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on May 13, 2011, 12:17:57 PM
You lucky Europeans get to choose your Alternative Back Cover for Xenoblade http://microsite.nintendo-europe.com/xenoblade_cover/index.php?locale=enGB (http://microsite.nintendo-europe.com/xenoblade_cover/index.php?locale=enGB)
It appears that today that Nintendo Europe has launched an Official "Alternative Cover Art" contest where anyone with a Facebook or Twitter account can Vote on which alternative cover art will be on the reverse side of the official front cover. They have provided 4 choices for fans to chose from, and here they are listed below.
1: (http://i.imgur.com/aAOGy.png)
2: (http://i.imgur.com/mWmSH.png)
3: (http://i.imgur.com/uhpGz.png)
4: (http://i.imgur.com/ODiv4.png)
You can vote as often as you like until the ending date of May 25th.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Ceric on May 13, 2011, 12:30:17 PM
I voted for the Second one. Even though the first one is pretty cool.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on May 13, 2011, 12:41:07 PM
That was my favorite, and the 1st one was my second choice. (I hid my commentary behind the pictures)
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Quadran on May 13, 2011, 01:48:14 PM
Although I like the first one a lot, I prefer the second picture as the reverse cover.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: broodwars on May 13, 2011, 01:49:11 PM
If I were in Europe, I'd definitely pick the first image. There's just something off about the lighting and coloring on the second image.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mop it up on May 13, 2011, 05:13:34 PM
I'd go with either 1 or 2. 4 looks kind of bland and 3 is just... no.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Ceric on May 13, 2011, 05:14:49 PM
You know Three could be cool if that huge robot was over his shoulder as the background. The head and chest portion.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: noname2200 on May 19, 2011, 01:16:58 AM
The first one screams "grand adventure" more than the other three, although the second one does feature better artwork.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BeautifulShy on May 19, 2011, 03:14:55 PM
I personally would go with the first one. The third one would be better if it had some background.Maybe the main enemy in the background looking evil like staring at the guy in the foreground.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Stogi on May 20, 2011, 03:21:36 PM
The first one is better because it evokes an emotion. It is begging you to take a step forward.
The second one looks like you just completed that quest - you got the girl, you got your buddies and you're watching something from a distance - but it doesn't offer that emotion of accomplishment, making it pretty confusing to look at despite its better art style.
Title: Xenoblade 9/2/11 - Red CCPro in the box
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on June 28, 2011, 08:21:42 AM
Xenoblade release is Sept. 2nd 2011 http://www.nintendo.gr/el-gr/News.aspx?ElementID=5438e43f-754c-42a3-90ea-b0c6f1d984d5 There is a pre-order bonus depending on your location (1 of 3 posters signed by Tetsuya Takahashi) Available in: Europe, South Africa, Russia, New Zealand and Australia Not Available in: United States, Canada and Mexico Limited Edition Red CCPro Alternative Cover (that fans voted on)
(http://i.imgur.com/CaGMX.jpg)
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BeautifulShy on June 28, 2011, 08:31:32 AM
I guess I better update the first post with this info. I'm going to update it late once I can get on the computer and can make a nicer first post then what is there now.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Ceric on June 28, 2011, 09:21:46 AM
That's an awesome box.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Shaymin on June 28, 2011, 07:02:37 PM
Quote
Not available in: United States, Canada, and Mexico
Twist the knife a little harder...
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: grantimus on June 28, 2011, 11:37:58 PM
Do your part to help get this game, plus The Last Story and Pandora's Tower, released in North America!
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: MegaByte on June 28, 2011, 11:39:15 PM
Dude, you're preaching to the choir here. Stop the spamming. I suggest looking for sites where you can expand the audience.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Shaymin on June 29, 2011, 08:41:12 PM
Quote
NintendoAmerica (https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica) @OpRainfall (https://twitter.com/OpRainfall) Thanks for being such incredible fans! Unfortunately, there continues to be no plans for NOA to release these 3 games right now. 7 minutes ago via web
dotdotdot
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Drizzt on June 29, 2011, 09:11:30 PM
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Dasmos on June 29, 2011, 09:14:46 PM
lol
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Drizzt on June 29, 2011, 09:22:12 PM
Nintendo has had over 1000 facebook comments in response to this in under 40 minutes. ::)
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: AV on June 29, 2011, 09:27:43 PM
I hope this causes Nintendo's stock to fall.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Dasmos on June 29, 2011, 09:46:50 PM
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Sundoulos on June 29, 2011, 09:48:11 PM
Sigh...not unforseen, but still terribly disappointing.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Ceric on June 29, 2011, 09:57:43 PM
So now we are the only region not getting it. How fun is that. Man I really hate NoA. They're getting the worse branch award at this years company Picnic.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BeautifulShy on June 29, 2011, 09:58:01 PM
You guys are going to give up on this after a few days?You guys have got to be the most pessimistic people I have ever know. If anything I know think this response from Nintendo would make people more enthusiastic about getting the title in the states. Its like you guys are are willing to take a beating and just take it without doing anything to stop it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Ceric on June 29, 2011, 10:07:50 PM
I shouldn't have to wage a war to get someone to take my money.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Drizzt on June 29, 2011, 10:18:23 PM
I have my letter ready to send and will send emails and make phone calls on the designated days.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Sarail on June 29, 2011, 11:02:55 PM
I shouldn't have to wage a war to get someone to take my money.
QFT, man.
Maybe we're sending all of the letters/emails/tweets/messages to the wrong branch? Maybe light a fire under NCL's arse? NCL's big daddy, after all. They tell NoA what they can and can't do.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Drizzt on June 29, 2011, 11:50:34 PM
It's now operation downpour and they have fliers. http://oprainfall.blogspot.com/ (http://oprainfall.blogspot.com/)
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Sundoulos on June 30, 2011, 08:36:20 AM
I still plan to send my letters for at least two of the games as well, regardless of the outcome. No one said anything about giving up, but NoA's response was, as I said, somewhat expected, but still disappointing.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BeautifulShy on July 08, 2011, 02:09:58 AM
Well as you might have heard on Operation Rainfalls blog. Xenoblade and The Last Story might be heading to North America. Also the European of this game might have been bumped up to August 19th according to a Nintendo rep.
Here is some footage of the game in the meantime from the Italian version of the game. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WzO3Ogr_kaQ
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Ceric on July 08, 2011, 09:55:35 AM
Interesting but, the combat looks like Tales of Symphonia combat but at a much more leisurely pace. Like the combatants are at a picnic. I don't know how I like that.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Tanatoes on July 10, 2011, 09:36:57 AM
I do hope that this is finally coming to North America, but as an alternative is there a way they can just release a region-free version in the UK? Then I could just import it and play it here. (I don't even know if region-free is an option when they're manufacturing the disks, I'm just asking.) Sort of like importing Tingle's DS game.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Shaymin on July 10, 2011, 09:38:12 AM
I believe the region lock on the Wii is at the system level, so it may not be possible to do a region-free disc like the 360 or PS3 would have.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: NWR_insanolord on July 10, 2011, 05:08:20 PM
Again, it's really not hard to set up homebrew on a Wii to let it play import games.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: MegaByte on July 10, 2011, 06:13:25 PM
I believe the region lock on the Wii is at the system level, so it may not be possible to do a region-free disc like the 360 or PS3 would have.
Actually, there is a region-free flag for Wii software.
has it ever been used?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Stogi on July 10, 2011, 07:26:40 PM
So have their even been any reviews for this game? For all you know, it could suck.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Ceric on July 10, 2011, 07:50:57 PM
Theirs an impression. (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressions/26347) Would be neat to get the Japanese crew to do a full proper review on each of these games. I mean they are coming everywhere but North America.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: SixthAngel on July 15, 2011, 03:18:01 AM
What is your go to site to import games?
With a NA release unlikely the game will still be available in English for about $10 more for anyone who wants to play it. I know a lot of people never import things and it can be a bit scary when you read about compatiblilty but nowadays it is very easy, especially with the Wii.
We can all keep bitching about it not coming to North America later, but right now realize that you can still get this game in English if you are really looking forward to it. Modding your US Wii is trivially easy, all you need is an SD card. There are people on this very forum who can help you if you pm them. If you really do want to play this game don't be scared and import it.
edit: I can't believe I forgot to put in where I import stuff from. I've ordered quite a few things through Amazon but its my understanding that everywhere can't do that. I'd like to help people who are interested in importing so if you import put down the site or the store.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Killer_Man_Jaro on August 01, 2011, 11:11:14 AM
I don't wish to rub salt into wounds. However, the first review of Xenoblade Chronicles arrived today in the UK Official Nintendo Magazine. They awarded it with a 92% score and had many nice things to say, going so far as, to quote the closing line, calling it "a genre-reviving blaze of wonder, immense scale and smart design."
Now I ought to throw out the caveat that this magazine has been known to be quite generous in the past for certain reviews, but in this case, it may be justified. To give a brief overview...
* Reviewer says that in this generation of console JRPGs being on the decline, Xenoblade is one of the best to come out of Japan in the last decade * Playtime is mentioned: roughly 60 hours from start to finish * Reviewer enjoys the story of war between two lands and the cast of characters involved * Game world is apparently huge, gorgeous to look at with amazing draw distances, easy to travel through thanks to quick travel system, worth exploring as you are rewarded with XP and full of optional quests * Graphical disparity - while the world looks great, character models do not, especially in cut-scenes * Music is given high praise, and apparently is reminiscent of Chrono Trigger (unsurprising, given the composer) * Battle system gets high praise too, as although all the stats and icons on-screen seems intimidating, the system is accessible and tactical * Only drawback is that, presumably because of how the game is structured, the reviewer felt he was sometimes underpowered compared to the enemies when he entered a new area * Conclusion: in the words of the guy who wrote it, "the result is a game that is far more than the sum of its parts, and whose parts are golden"
I think I'll probably get this. Good luck, America.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: noname2200 on August 01, 2011, 03:55:52 PM
edit: I can't believe I forgot to put in where I import stuff from. I've ordered quite a few things through Amazon but its my understanding that everywhere can't do that. I'd like to help people who are interested in importing so if you import put down the site or the store.
Does Amazon UK ship to the US? I'm looking at their Delivery Destinations page, and games aren't included in that section, but is there some workaround that you know of? If not, can you (or anyone) suggest a viable alternative?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 01, 2011, 05:35:07 PM
I have the same question. Plus...uh...do I have to pay in pounds? I just need someone to explain the importing process from beginning to end.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: TJ Spyke on August 01, 2011, 06:51:32 PM
Basically if you use a Visa or MasterCard it will tell you on much your order is in your local currency when you get to the checkout, but before you place the order.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 01, 2011, 11:33:12 PM
Thanks TJ. And the sure-fire way to play with a US Wii is use Gecko OS on the homebrew channel? I want to make sure before I preorder the game. My Wii is already hacked so I don't need too much direction.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mop it up on August 02, 2011, 01:31:36 AM
Thanks TJ. And the sure-fire way to play with a US Wii is use Gecko OS on the homebrew channel? I want to make sure before I preorder the game. My Wii is already hacked so I don't need too much direction.
Yep that's right. After that, the only other thing you need to do is make sure that your system is connected via component cables and set to run in 480p mode, otherwise the image will not display properly.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 02, 2011, 03:28:34 AM
What? ****. I have go buy component cables? And how do I get it to "480p mode"?
Hell, a better question is why I have do that in the first place. What's wrong with the display with normal cables?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 02, 2011, 03:56:16 AM
You know what? Screw Xenoblade. I'm not paying $15-$30 for a cable for a view mode my tv may not even support, for a Wii game that I'll pay over $60. Too much risk involved. I was really looking forward to the game. Oh well... :\
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mop it up on August 02, 2011, 04:33:25 AM
Europe uses the PAL standard of televisions, and the resolution of standard definition is different between PAL and what America uses, NTSC. However, 480p is the same in both standards, so that's why it will display without issue. Otherwise, the image could have borders, it could "bounce", it could be in black and white, or it may not show up at all. It seems to be different per game.
If your television has a component input (red, blue, green) then it should support 480p. Go into the Wii settings and select Screen Resolution to change it, though if you don't have component cables then the option will not be selectable.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 02, 2011, 04:40:11 AM
Like I said, it's too much work. I would completely enjoy the game, but it isn't worth it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Luigi Dude on August 02, 2011, 05:04:50 AM
Like I said, it's too much work. I would completely enjoy the game, but it isn't worth it.
Don't worry. In a decade from now when the Wii U's successor has Wii games as part of it's Virtual Console, Xenoblade will finally reach North America and probably cost between 10-15 dollars which will be an amazing deal for a game of this size and quality. So we'll all eventually be able to play this game, it's just that us North American fans will have to wait a few more years for it to happen.
Yes that's how badly NOA has broken me down. I'm waiting for the Virtual Console release for a system that won't come out until about 2018.
:'(
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on August 02, 2011, 05:13:57 AM
What? ****. I have go buy component cables? And how do I get it to "480p mode"?
Hell, a better question is why I have do that in the first place. What's wrong with the display with normal cables?
if you do feel the need to buy some component cables, go to monoprice.com No where else is likely to have them cheaper, and the shipping is pretty dam quick.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Adrock on August 02, 2011, 08:38:41 AM
@Oblivion - I'm amazed that the component cables were the deal breaker and not the actual importing of the game. If it will help you reconsider, Wii games look noticeably better with component cables so if you ever plan on owning a television capable of 480P (and you will eventually by default when you buy a new television), I'd recommend getting the cables anyway. I bought Nintendo's official component cables almost 4 years ago (I think) and I haven't looked back since. They were $30 but I'm sure any brand will do.
Without getting into the whole I-shouldn't-have-to-import-Xenoblade thing, if you really want to play the game and were willing to import anyway, don't let the component cables stop you. Unless you plan on getting rid of your Wii in the future, the cables are a worthwhile investment.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 02, 2011, 11:21:15 AM
Hm...I'll think about it. The reason it's a deal breaker is that I barely enough to buy the game itself. The importing isn't a big deal. But I had to lie to my mom and say the Wii is region free. Or else she wouldn't have allowed it. XD
The cheapest cables I found were $15 and had pretty shitty reviews. I could technically buy the official Nintendo ones at Gamestop since I have $123 in store credit. But I don't know how rare they are.
Anyone know if you can use store credit on their website?
EDIT: Woah. I made this post before checking out BnM's post about Monoprice. $2.24 for a $30 cable and it can ship the same day? That's like a dream come true. I defintely going that route.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on August 02, 2011, 12:44:10 PM
I own 2 of them, works perfectly.
I buy all of my cables there. If you by your cables in the store, you've been suckered into a fools purchase. There are 600+% mark ups on most of the cables you would find in a store like Best Buy, but that is where they make alot of their profit, so I ain't mad at them, but www.monoprice.com has the same quality cables for so cheap you'd be stupid to not consider them first.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 02, 2011, 02:11:40 PM
Thanks for the recommendation.
Also, I heard Gecko OS doesn't work with all games. I know the game isn't our in Europe yet, but is it even compatible with Gecko?
I apologize for the annoying amount of questions but I want to make sure this all works before I pay for a game that I'd be stuck with.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: TJ Spyke on August 02, 2011, 02:27:16 PM
If it will help you reconsider, Wii games look noticeably better with component cables so if you ever plan on owning a television capable of 480P (and you will eventually by default when you buy a new television),
Maybe I had shitty cables, but when I had component cables for my Wii they did not help at all. If anything, the picture looked a little worse than it had with the composite cables Nintendo included wiht it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Stogi on August 02, 2011, 04:53:51 PM
I agree with BnM. Monoprice is where I got my 30 ft HDMI cable and 30 ft Optical cable for dirt cheap. This is the first time I'm hearing them have Nintendo products in stock though. That's legit.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Caterkiller on August 02, 2011, 06:28:52 PM
Man I am the biggest dope in the world. I paid for component cables very soon after the Wii was released. I hooked them up and noticed absolutely no difference. After reading this thread I understand now I was supposed to go into Wii settings and change it to the 480p thing. Just changed it right now, looked at some games but can't really see any difference. I think only Smash Bros and Zelda are the only things I can notice differences in, since I played both for so long. I'll try it later.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Retro Deckades on August 02, 2011, 09:32:20 PM
Hey thanks for the info on monoprice. I now have a Wii component cable on the way, and all I paid was $8.60!
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 02, 2011, 11:06:11 PM
Monoprice is awesome, but I tend to buy HDMI cables on Amazon as you can get them almost as cheap there and I get free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime. Actually, when I was buying a 20 foot cable Amazon had one cheaper than Monoprice.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 06, 2011, 01:39:17 AM
This is fucking stupid. Xenoblade can't be imported from Amazon UK...I guess they don't ship video games to anywhere outside the UK. So why is everyone assuming that you CAN? This is pissing me off. This game is staring to become not worth the trouble.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: TJ Spyke on August 06, 2011, 02:00:29 AM
Amazon UK won't ship video games to the US? Because they specifically say they do ship other stuff to US (like CDs and DVDs).
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 06, 2011, 02:31:02 AM
Amazon UK won't ship video games to the US? Because they specifically say they do ship other stuff to US (like CDs and DVDs).
I went to order it and it came up with a red flag saying they don't ship video games outside the UK. With a bit more google searching many people had the same discovery as me. I'm pissed off. The next best place to order it is Game.co.uk, but is priced ten USD more with 8 dollar shipping. FUUUUUUUUUUUUU-
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Scatt-Man on August 06, 2011, 04:21:57 AM
I ordered mine through Zavvi.com. Yeah, they don't do the bundle, but us Aussies won't get the controller regardless--only the CD, which I'm not all that interested in. Yeah, yeah, the music is epic, but I have the internet, hurr durr. The price Game are charging for the bundle is a bit redunkudunk if you ask me. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to find a CCPro for cheaper than that. >_>
30GBP for the game on its own, which converts to $50AU/$52US. Pretty bloody nice, considering they're charging $100 for the game when it release here in September. I was under the impression that Wii games don't hit that $50US/$100AU barrier anymore... :Q
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: TJ Spyke on August 06, 2011, 04:25:58 AM
Not sure about Australia's prices, but most Wii games are still $50 US when they come out (unless they are budget games).
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: SixthAngel on August 06, 2011, 10:38:32 AM
I said that it doesn't work for everybody in the first post that brought up importing. I'll need to check it out now too since most of my imported stuff is from the US.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 06, 2011, 11:43:33 AM
Well Zavvi won't ship electronics outside the US. So that's out.
My only real option is from Game.co.uk. *sigh*
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Scatt-Man on August 06, 2011, 01:20:44 PM
Not sure about Australia's prices, but most Wii games are still $50 US when they come out (unless they are budget games).
Strange. I figured the majority of games were at the $80AU/$40US mark for the Wii. Maybe we were getting less kicked in the balls 'ere in Australia than usual. $80AU/$50US? THE SAVINGS!! :Q
Wait, wait...Zavvi's a U.K. store, yeah? They have no problems shipping to Australia, as I ordered Galaxy 2 through 'em. Sure, they took longer than expected, but I still got it in the end...in Australia. And still right before our release date, too! Where be you located, Oblivs?
*EDIT*
Ah! I now see that "Please note that we are unable to ship Books and Electronics outside of the UK." dealy. I wasn't sure if that policy is only new and my Galaxy 2 order came before it was implemented, or if games don't count as electronics...or books. A little bit of Googling later, and I found another forum mentioning this topic with about five replies saying that they've had absolutely no problems importing games through Zavvi. It's not the best confirmation, but it's something. And my order went through alright, too, buddy...and I'm from Mars Australia. Just try not to make shifty eyes too much when ordering, and you might just sneak a copy through. GOOD LUCK!
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mop it up on August 06, 2011, 03:28:15 PM
Yeah, I also tried ordering the game from Amazon UK out of curiosity since it was equal to around $50 USD, and was disappointed that they wouldn't ship here. Oh well, I wasn't terribly interested in the game, so unless it gets released here in the future then I don't think I'll be buying it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: noname2200 on August 07, 2011, 01:40:51 PM
Well Zavvi won't ship electronics outside the US. So that's out.
My only real option is from Game.co.uk. *sigh*
I've heard talk about 365games.com being a decent replacement. The price is lower, and the shipping if free, even to the U.S. The only complaint I heard is that games sometimes take a week or two to ship. But even if that's true, it'll arrive infinitely earlier than NoA's release. :'(
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: n-phage on August 08, 2011, 08:52:32 PM
I had to dig a bit to find this again, but here is a link to a discussion at CAG about places to import the game from in case anyone is having issues still.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: FZeroBoyo on August 10, 2011, 09:07:25 AM
Well, IGN posted an article last night about one of their staff asking Reggie about these games again. While it wasn't an official confirmation, Reggie did say that they're "waiting to see how they do in Europe".
I would post a link, but IGN is not loading and putting me into an infinite ad for some reason...
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on August 10, 2011, 12:54:20 PM
http://wii.ign.com/articles/118/1187097p1.html
Quote from: Reggie
"We will be watching very closely what happens in Europe," Fils-Aime told me. "Certainly if there are business opportunities and positive consumer uptake from some of those titles, that will be great data for us to consider as we look at what to do with these titles."
But for those that don't want to wait and take that chance, and would rather help Reggie release Xenoblade, TLS & Pandora in the U.S.(import) only to for it bomb (since most everyone already imported it from EUR), HackMii has made hacking your Wii so easy a Cave Man could do it.... Seriously, it takes almost no effort (no game required), it's ridiculously easy now(just need an SD card) and I'm tempted to spend a few minutes just to see what the HomeBrew Channel is all about. http://hackmii.com/2011/08/letterbomb/
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: KDR_11k on August 15, 2011, 07:40:37 AM
Importing can cost more than buying locally (especially in the US where games are dirt cheap), get used to it. We paid around 60-70€ to get Zangeki no Reginleiv.
365games has been reliable for me so far, they have a few NTSC imports which I made use of before and they're WAY cheaper than retail stores in mainland Europe for HD games though my copy of Prototype was apparently from Korea (ran fine and the game itself was in English, just the cover was odd).
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Adrock on August 15, 2011, 08:29:18 AM
A matter of perspective. I certainly wouldn't call a $60 game "dirt cheap." Those shits are expensive. Games may be "cheaper" in the US, but I'd hardly call them "cheap." Unless they're big name Nintendo titles which normally take years to drop in price, I usually wait for sales or price drops.
And at least you had the option to buy Zangeki no Reginliev. Sure, it was pricey but at least you had the option.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: KDR_11k on August 15, 2011, 03:54:29 PM
Yeah but with eBay you can buy practically anything if you have enough money so that option isn't exactly unexpected.
Games are cheaper in the US than pretty much everywhere else, the US dollar has dropped a LOT since the prices for games got set in the various currencies. Back when the Euro was new the 60€ price for a console game WAS on par with the 50$ price in the US but since then it has gone completely in the other direction, your 60$ games are 70€ (100$) here. Prices in Japan are roughly in line with those of mainland Europe, as are those in Australia. I'm not sure if Canada is still getting screwed on prices. Of course game prices reach ridiculous heights in countries that aren't the primary gaming markets (e.g. Brazil). And hell, you guys only pay thirty bucks for a DS game, that's cheap as hell (they're 40€, 57$ here). 3DS games? 40$ turn into 45€ (65$). For comparison most major Wii games are 40€ so because of the stupid pricing disparity we pay more for 3DS games than Wii games!
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Adrock on August 15, 2011, 04:46:44 PM
Duly noted. However, you missed my point. Of course, I'm grateful that new PS3 games are $60 instead of $100. I'd still rather pay less than $60 and I often wait until the price drops because I consider $60 expensive for a leisure product. I have the money but I weigh my options. If I don't think something is worth X, Y, or Z, I don't pay it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Ymeegod on August 15, 2011, 11:43:02 PM
The game's getting mid 8's though 9's for a score. Thanks NOA for not bringing it here. :(
I have to wait for a few weeks but I be damned if I'm going miss this one.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on August 16, 2011, 01:23:04 AM
They will announce it with special pre-order goodies 5 minutes after your copy arrives.
just you wait and see.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: KDR_11k on August 16, 2011, 04:11:16 AM
The game's getting mid 8's though 9's for a score.
I haven't even seen any 8s, the critical consensus is that Xenoblade is the best JRPG of the last five years.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Ymeegod on August 16, 2011, 04:38:32 AM
Cubed3 (M): 100% -"highest calibre on Wii, it is time for RPG fans to take a stand and show their appreciation for this sublime classic" -"the main story can last up to 60 hours, even when rushing through" -"no loading between areas" -"a battle mechanic that offers both simplicity on the surface, with lots of added depth for those looking to tailor enemy encounters to their own style"
Hobbynews (Spain): 93% -long, deep story -Interesting fighting system
Official Nintendo Magazine (M): 92%
M! Games (Germany): 91%
IGN (M): 90% -"Beautiful design makes up for Xenoblade's graphical shortcomings - but it's disappointing that the dialogue isn't lip-synced" -"literally hundreds of optional quests" -"There's so much of Xenoblade Chronicles that you can't even tell when the end is in sight. A true epic." -"A super, varied score with generally excellent localised voice acting."
Metro: 90% -"Huge adventure and game world that's a pleasure to play and explore" -"Superb graphics and music" -"Dialogue and voice-acting is mediocre" -"Steep learning curve"
Games TM (M): 90% -"arguably the most competent and refreshing example of the genre this generation" -flat voice acting "ludicrously expansive game world" -"progressive and imaginative solutions to JRPG's most common pitfalls"
Spielewiese (Germany): 90% -Next to no loading times -Combat System is dynamic and complex -Control over party members is restricted -Camera in combat is no perfect
Game Reactor (M): 90% -Great Fighting System -Lengthy -Not always polished technically -Frustrating Difficulty
Famitsu (Japan): 90% -Large number of side quests -"MMORPG-style in the way it plainly defines every character's role in the fight"
GamePro (Germany): 87%
CONSOL.AT/Plus (Germany/Austria): 86%
Average: 90.8% after 12 reviews
*all scores adjusted to fit 100% scale *(M) means included in metacritic score
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Killer_Man_Jaro on August 16, 2011, 06:33:20 AM
Another glowing review posted this morning from Eurogamer @ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-08-15-xenoblade-chronicles-review (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-08-15-xenoblade-chronicles-review)
Yet another 9/10, with the sentiment echoing that which has been expressed by numerous reviews. To quote the final paragraph:
Quote from: Eurogamer
No Japanese RPG has more successfully married its various components this hardware generation. It's a game that invites us to reassess an entire genre, pointing to a bold future while nodding its respect towards the past. It's a towering triumph.
Multiple sites have now referred to Xenoblade as 'genre-defining', 'the best JRPG in the past five years' or something to that effect. It's not just one really positive guy, it's unanimous. That's astounding. And the reports that say it streamlines so many of those archaic trappings are the best news for people like me, who are usually lukewarm on RPGs as a whole.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Caterkiller on August 16, 2011, 02:52:02 PM
Man these reviews sound amazing! If it does get released stateside all this worldwide praise can only help its sales.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: mr_lakitu on August 16, 2011, 06:57:00 PM
Pre-ordered this today :) I've gone from having burnt through all my games like a good boy to becoming a Lindy.
I even bought a smaller 22" tv for my room because the Wii on the big telly in the living room looked pretty awful for some games (not all). Galaxy and most 1st party games are fine. Older ones like Twilight Princess looked a mess. Yes I have all the right leads.
Anyway, yeh.. Xenoblade ftw etc.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 16, 2011, 07:18:11 PM
Okay, so I tried preordering the game on one of the European online stores. It worked, but apparently I have to pay US customs a fee for it to get here in America? WTF is going on? Anyone else who've imported before have this problem?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Scatt-Man on August 17, 2011, 01:21:30 AM
Sounds like you just can't get a break, buddy. :<
Well, my Zavvi order is on the way! :-X
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mop it up on August 17, 2011, 01:24:03 AM
That red Classic Controller is what really needs to come here...
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 17, 2011, 01:36:21 AM
What did you have to pay for? The game, tax, and what else? How much did it come out to be in total?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mannypon on August 17, 2011, 02:13:41 AM
I'll like to know also how much some of you are paying for it. I've only ordered something out of country once and I used Game.co.uk. which worked out fine for me.
Quick question though, hopefully someone can help me here. If I rig my Wii to play this game will I still be able to go online and use Netflix or will Nintendo see that my Wii has been modified?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mop it up on August 17, 2011, 02:26:50 AM
You can still use all online functions, so there is nothing to worry about there. The only thing that would happen is that if Nintendo releases another system update, performing it will remove the modifications. But that isn't too big a deal, as someone will always find a way to install homebrew again.
It will also void your warranty, if you happen to be a newer Wii owner.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mannypon on August 17, 2011, 02:41:21 AM
Thanks for the heads up, thats great news becuase I like having access to my Netflix regardless of what room or system I'm using. I guess there's nothing holding me back now..preorder here I come. This game should hold me off nicely until Elder's Scroll V and Zelda drop (among many other gamers of course lol)
And if by some chance this game does come out in the US, I'll just man up and buy the game again to make sure I don't have a negative affect on it's US sales. I'll probably sell my UK copy on ebay for whatever I can get for it and cut my losses. From everything I'm reading and seeing of this game for the past year or so, this game deserves to have some success (so Nintendo can green lite a sequal on WiiU which I would love to see what MonoSoft can do with that level of hardware)
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Scatt-Man on August 17, 2011, 02:45:10 AM
What did you have to pay for? The game, tax, and what else? How much did it come out to be in total?
Paying tax AFTER the stickered price is just an American thing I think. There was no extra charge for shipping or anything like that with these Zavvi guys, so that was neat. It came to ~30 GBP / ~50 USD.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: TJ Spyke on August 17, 2011, 03:03:10 AM
I think that is part of the reason EU prices tend to be so high, they add that "Value Added Tax" right into the price. Here in the US, sales tax can vary by state and even county. It makes it funny to see those old McDonald's commercial where someone would put four quarters down and try to get something from the $1 menu since there is a 8% sales tax where I live (so a $1 menu item would cost $1.08).
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mannypon on August 17, 2011, 03:16:46 AM
Looking around for the best deal and I think Zavvi so far has the lowest price whereas Games.co.uk has it a couple of cents more but also have the red controller bundle for sale. 365 games has it for around 4 dollars more and to my suprise, its out of stock already and it hasn't even released lol. Hopefully this means good sales to come for this game.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: KDR_11k on August 17, 2011, 04:52:30 AM
Okay, so I tried preordering the game on one of the European online stores. It worked, but apparently I have to pay US customs a fee for it to get here in America? WTF is going on? Anyone else who've imported before have this problem?
Yes, that's how customs work. You may need to look into the exact customs rules for your country to see what fees you're looking at (here in Europe we pay VAT plus 3.5% on goods valued higher than 22€, i.e. pretty much any videogame but I'm absolutely sure the US customs charge way less).
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: ejamer on August 17, 2011, 10:03:37 AM
With Disaster Day of Crisis, Nintendo of America (NoA) made a good choice not to bring the game across. Not that it's a terrible game, but it's certainly not good enough one to really capture the core audience. Reviews for Xenoblade have been telling a very different story though. Will that critical success translate into sales? And will NoA even care if it does?
Not holding my breath on either front at the moment, but this certainly isn't making me any more happy with NoA for choosing to ignore these games when there has been a months-long drought of releases here without much relief on the horizon.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 17, 2011, 12:29:32 PM
Okay, so I tried preordering the game on one of the European online stores. It worked, but apparently I have to pay US customs a fee for it to get here in America? WTF is going on? Anyone else who've imported before have this problem?
Yes, that's how customs work. You may need to look into the exact customs rules for your country to see what fees you're looking at (here in Europe we pay VAT plus 3.5% on goods valued higher than 22€, i.e. pretty much any videogame but I'm absolutely sure the US customs charge way less).
I've been trying. All I can find it exporting rules.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: TJ Spyke on August 17, 2011, 01:59:11 PM
Last night I tried to find the info for you, all I could find were rules regarding importing from Canada and Mexico, or explaining how they determine the customs fee.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 17, 2011, 02:07:49 PM
This sucks. *sigh*
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: TJ Spyke on August 17, 2011, 02:23:13 PM
Maybe you could try calling the customs office and asking?
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 17, 2011, 03:16:26 PM
If there's a number I can find.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: MegaByte on August 17, 2011, 03:20:07 PM
I have never been charged customs duties, and I've done a ridiculous amount of importing.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 17, 2011, 03:35:37 PM
How did you order from Zavvi? It says right here that they won't ship books or electronics outside the UK. http://help.zavvi.com/index.php?action=artikel&cat=7&id=40&artlang=en (http://help.zavvi.com/index.php?action=artikel&cat=7&id=40&artlang=en)
@MB: Hmm...okay. I'll talk to my mom about ordering the game. I just hope it doesn't sell out soon. I'm talking with US customs right now.
EDIT: US customs wasn't any help. They didn't have a department for general questions. *sigh* They do, I'm just stupid.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 17, 2011, 04:21:07 PM
Seeing as my call is dropped 5 minutes into my call, I'm giving up calling the customs office. Now I'm getting a busy signal. I'll call the office later on a landline if I can. I sent an email to Zavvi about whether they allow the importing of video game titles.
I don't know why the universe is trying so damn hard to prevent me from getting this game.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 17, 2011, 05:23:10 PM
In the lastest of my crusade to obtain this game, I was on hold for 45 minutes at US customs to tell them my question. Finally, I got through. They said I need to contact the import department for the right answer to my question, as they didn't know the duties rate/fee. I was sent through to the local import office, where the woman who answered thought I was physically buying the game in the UK then physically bringing with me to Washington State. She finally understood me after many minutes of explaining, and sent me to her supervisor. I explained my question and how much rotten luck I've had, only for him to apologize and say that this was the wrong department. In turn, he gave me a number to call for more info, which I did. However, when I was finally put through on this new line, I got a damn voicemail message. Apparently either the line was busy or they were away from their desk. I'm sitting at my desk typing this post with so much rage in myself I feel the need to punch myself in the face to dissipate my anger.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Mannypon on August 18, 2011, 02:03:18 AM
wow man, your going through a mission to get this game lol. I finally put my order through with Zavvi becuase of the free shipping. I'm off of work for 2 weeks because of a minor finger operation so hopefully this gets in before my time is up so I can put in some serious hours into it lol. Its been a long time since I've played a really good JRPG, its long overdue.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Oblivion on August 18, 2011, 02:38:17 AM
Well, it's gonna be all for naught. I have an inkling that NoA will release the game the second I place my order for the European version. I'll wait until around Jan-Feb next year. If it hasn't shown up in the release schedule by then, I'll cave in and buy it.
Damn, I need to just make up my mind. I'm worse than a woman.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Scatt-Man on August 18, 2011, 04:44:24 AM
I'm certain Zavvi don't classify games as books or electronics, buddy. I saw the same warning, but have never had any problems with 'em. There are other forums out there who also note the same warning, along with confirming that they too have never had problems.
Just go the Zavvi route, buddy. :>
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: ejamer on August 18, 2011, 01:28:30 PM
Damn you NoA. I'd love to have this game and The Last Story without having to resort to homebrew.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Killer_Man_Jaro on August 18, 2011, 05:16:55 PM
Another positive review incoming, this time from stringent UK magazine Edge (http://www.next-gen.biz/reviews/xenoblade-chronicles-review). They awarded the game a 9. The abstract says it all:
Quote from: Edge
A glowing return to form for the JRPG that boasts one of the strongest battle systems in the genre.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: mr_lakitu on August 18, 2011, 06:07:54 PM
Damn you NoA. I'd love to have this game and The Last Story without having to resort to homebrew.
I really don't blame them for keeping volumes of the game low. Displays in GAME and Gamestation (owned by GAME) for anything other than Modern warfare, Battlefield or WoW is little to none existent. I hunted for Endless Ocean 2 on the day of release and was met with "No"'s and "What's that?". When I bought Galaxy 2 from GAME (yes I normally order online but I had trades so shoot me) They'd not even put it on the shelf yet. It was lunch time.
It really gets my goat.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: Sundoulos on August 18, 2011, 09:37:51 PM
Well, if it's true that demand is exceeding supply, I suppose it might work out in the long run...NOA might actually take notice.
At any rate, it's good for NOE and Monolith. If I hadn't just unloaded a lot of money on a 3DS, I'd be importing the game, too.
Title: Re: Xenoblade-New RPG from Monolith
Post by: KDR_11k on August 20, 2011, 05:34:19 PM
Just got the game today. Already died a few times, mostly to aggressive named monsters that I didn't see quickly enough. Those bastards are tough even when they're at a lower level.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 2nd 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on December 19, 2011, 02:43:37 PM
For those that have been waiting for Nintendo to offer Xenoblade Chronicles for Preorder it is now avalable to do so here. http://store.nintendo.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Xenoblade?storeId=10001 Also OPRainfall has link so you can find out if Xenoblade Chronicles is heading to Canada, Mexico, Latin America and South America. Here is their post on that. http://oprainfall.blogspot.com/2011/12/phase-iv-mission-2-operation-reynfall.html
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 2nd 2012
Post by: ejamer on December 19, 2011, 08:13:17 PM
Interesting note:
The April 2nd release date for North America might not correct. Looking at the preorder page on the Nintendo online store (either Canada or US), you see this note prominently displayed:
"We expect to begin by the end of April 2012. A confirmation email will be sent when your order ships."
They don't specify what will begin by the end of April, but if it's not talking about shipping dates then I don't know what the message is there for. Maybe GameStop gets the game early, maybe this message is just giving Nintendo a buffer in case anything goes wrong between now and then.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 2nd 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on December 19, 2011, 09:38:23 PM
I'm guessing that that is the latest they expect all the orders to be sent out from the April 2nd release date.Meaning that from all the orders they get the last of the shipments will be shiped out at the end of April 2012. Until I hear otherwise I am keeping the release date as April 2nd 2012. Nintendo did confirm themselves the April 2nd release date.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 2nd 2012
Post by: NeoStar9X on December 19, 2011, 11:34:33 PM
Normally I don't like to go to shop at GameStop but it's going to be cheaper for me to get it there instead of Nintendo.com (sure it's a few dollars but that is a few extra dollars that can go toward something else I might need or want.). I would love to get this from Amazon.com but oh well. I'll be in the area when this game comes out so it's not going to cost me anything extra in terms of gas. Plus I'll get it on the day it comes out.
Same goes for the Circle Pad Pro if I ever decide to get it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 2nd 2012
Post by: leahsdad on December 22, 2011, 05:12:06 PM
Walked into gamestop and preordered Xenoblade today. Hilarious how when I told the guy "I'd like to preorder Xenoblade Chronicles" he says "on PS3?"
Which not only indicates that this kid knows nothing about Nintendo, but on top of that, I'm probably the only customer to have walked into that gamestop and pre-ordered Xenoblade. Considering that I live smack-dab in the middle of Los Angeles, that is not a good sign.
Or maybe he thought I was preordering Xenosaga. Oh yeah, I wanna preorder a 7 year old PS2 JRPG. Sure.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on February 01, 2012, 03:51:28 PM
Made a slight edit to the title to show that it has been pushed back slightly from its original April 2nd date so for North America it is now April 6th. There is also a new NA site that you can look at. http://xenobladechronicles.nintendo.com/
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on February 01, 2012, 06:04:30 PM
From a Monday to a Friday? Hm, I wonder what that's all about. It could be due to GameStop's stocking days, since they seem to have trouble having Nintendo's Monday releases available on the release date.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Chozo Ghost on February 01, 2012, 09:05:56 PM
Maybe they needed more time for production because demand may have been higher than they expected.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Kytim89 on February 01, 2012, 11:06:17 PM
Maybe they needed more time for production because demand may have been higher than they expected.
I hope they sell every copy.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Chozo Ghost on February 01, 2012, 11:08:31 PM
Well, each of us can do our part by preordering at least one copy. If you can afford it, preordering multiple copies would be even better. The more copies of Xenoblade that sell the more likely it will be for the other Rainfall games to be released.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: TJ Spyke on February 01, 2012, 11:11:59 PM
Pre-ordering won't help much unless you also buy them. Pre-ordering, then canceling could backfire since they may overstock the game and have unsold copies just sitting on shelves for awhile.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Chozo Ghost on February 01, 2012, 11:16:10 PM
Pre-ordering won't help much unless you also buy them. Pre-ordering, then canceling could backfire since they may overstock the game and have unsold copies just sitting on shelves for awhile.
Who said anything about canceling? Of course you shouldn't do that. Why would you even think that?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: TJ Spyke on February 01, 2012, 11:45:59 PM
LOL, because I don't see too many people buying more than one copy of the game unless you are planning to give them out as gifts (or are UncleBob).
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Chozo Ghost on February 02, 2012, 12:31:37 AM
I can see buying multiple copies because with such a very limited production I would expect it to be a collector's item which would go up in value over time. So you would want one copy to play and keep and another to be able to sell later on when the price goes up to like $100 or more just like what happened with Metroid Prime Trilogy. Look on ebay at what copies of that game are going for now and you will see what I mean. So buying multiple copies of Xenoblade can be looked at as an investment.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: nickmitch on February 02, 2012, 12:53:47 AM
Pre-ordering won't help much unless you also buy them. Pre-ordering, then canceling will backfire since they will overstock the game and have many unsold copies just sitting on shelves for awhile and lose money.
Fixed. ;)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Kytim89 on February 02, 2012, 01:08:12 AM
I would buy two copies of both Last Story and Xenoblade if it meant I could buy one copy of Pandora's Tower.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on February 02, 2012, 09:50:43 AM
Great news everyone: you can buy The Last Story and Pandora's Tower. Thanks to the web, importing is easy... and then the company that took all the risks to localize these games for an English-speaking market actually gets rewarded for that effort.
I'm still strongly considering a Xenoblade preorder in North America. It will probably be a semi-rare collector's item in a few years along the lines of Pikmin 2, Cubivore, or Skies of Arcadia on GameCube. It might even become more sought after thanks to Wii U backwards compatibility - although I personally don't expect to see Metroid Trilogy prices. Buying an extra copy might not net you any notable benefits and probably won't have any effect on NoA with respect to releasing other games... but collectors could do a lot worse.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Chozo Ghost on February 02, 2012, 10:35:22 AM
Buying an extra copy won't make much difference in persuading NOA in an of itself, but if a large number of people bought multiple copies then it could have an effect.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on February 02, 2012, 11:44:45 AM
Buying an extra copy won't make much difference in persuading NOA in an of itself, but if a large number of people bought multiple copies then it could have an effect.
"Large enough" being the key words here. Just how large does the number of total sales need to be for NoA to take note? More to the point, assuming it would take at least a couple of months and a handful of red tape to bring the next rainfall game (that is, The Last Story) over, how much profit will it take for NoA to commit to making that effort when Xenoblade sales can't be judged for months and Nintendo has already turned their gaze away from Wii and towards the future market for 3DS and Wii U in 2012?
I don't think Xenoblade is going to be a million seller regardless of how many copies Nintendo's core fans buy. People interested in a copy should buy because they want the game and buy because it's worth playing - but they shouldn't be buying as a "statement". NoA has put this game in a position where meaningful success isn't really possible*, and their decision to release other games will certainly not depend on a relatively** small number of people buying two copies. If you really do want to make a statement with your dollars, then import and support the company (NoE) that actually took the risk to localize, advertise, and support these games coming to an English-speaking market.
* Unless you count "getting released" as a meaningful success. That argument certainly could be made...
** Remember that relative numbers and expectations for a Nintendo-published games are higher than average.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: staticmouse749 on February 03, 2012, 01:44:28 AM
I can't wait for this game. Been hearing about it on a few podcasts, and it sounds so up my alley.I going to try and pre-order it next week.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: nickmitch on February 03, 2012, 12:01:01 PM
If you really do want to make a statement with your dollars, then import and support the company (NoE) that actually took the risk to localize, advertise, and support these games coming to an English-speaking market.
But you might be making the wrong statement. I don't know if NOE can distinguish between import and domestic sales, but if they can't then you're just transferring sales numbers over there. All that would do is help justify that NOE releasing the games and NOA not putting them out was a good idea. Buying multiple NA copies would be better since that pushes NOA closer to breaking even on the whole deal, possibly convincing them to bring over the other two rainfall games.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on February 03, 2012, 01:40:58 PM
If you really do want to make a statement with your dollars, then import and support the company (NoE) that actually took the risk to localize, advertise, and support these games coming to an English-speaking market.
But you might be making the wrong statement. I don't know if NOE can distinguish between import and domestic sales, but if they can't then you're just transferring sales numbers over there. All that would do is help justify that NOE releasing the games and NOA not putting them out was a good idea. Buying multiple NA copies would be better since that pushes NOA closer to breaking even on the whole deal, possibly convincing them to bring over the other two rainfall games.
The problem is that messages from "statement buys" are always fuzzy.
If Xenoblade doesn't sell well in North America, there is no single reason why. Is there no market for JRPGs that are critical darlings in this region? Or is releasing games - especially new IPs - without adequate marketing and support a bad idea? Would poor sales mean that whatever core audience the Wii once had has moved on after the painfully barren year that was 2011? Or that limiting a release to GameStop and online preorders directly from Nintendo isn't a good idea? Maybe being the last region to release the game (by 7 or 8 months) and repeatedly stating that there are no plans for release in this region actually affects buyer interest?
I still think that: (a) the company that actually made a real effort and took the financial risk to translate and release this game in English (without grassroots efforts showing support, and GameStop subsidizing the production costs) deserves to be rewarded. Remember that if we do see any of the other rainfall trilogy games, it will be directly attributable to NoE's commitment to making them available and not any action from NoA. (b) there is no reasonable way that NoA will be interested in releasing the other rainfall games after a new Nintendo console has hit the market. Given an eight month delay between when Xenoblade was released in North America, and assuming that Wii U really is launching in 2012, that makes me very skeptical that The Last Story or Pandora's Tower will be released here. (c) people should buy Xenoblade because they want to enjoy the game, and not for any other reason. Having played the game, I can assure you that it's worth owning for any RPG fan.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on February 06, 2012, 11:23:52 PM
NOA is having a Vote for Xenoblade Reversible Cover thing on Facebook
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Caliban on February 06, 2012, 11:41:13 PM
The first cover is gorgeous.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Kytim89 on February 06, 2012, 11:48:15 PM
I like the fourth one.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Lithium on February 07, 2012, 01:05:13 AM
first one for sure
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: TJ Spyke on February 07, 2012, 01:07:48 AM
I think the fourth is the best.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on February 07, 2012, 09:14:46 AM
Tough choice since they all look good, but I prefer option #3. It's the least spoiler-ish and just a sweet looking cover for the game.
Interesting to note that the European choice for an alternative cover isn't even an option here.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on February 07, 2012, 01:06:34 PM
Fourth one, definitely.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: xcwarrior on February 15, 2012, 07:45:09 AM
I prefer the first one, but has anyone else noticed that the Nintendo store says they won't ship this game until the end of April, even though it's coming at Gamestop on April 6?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 2nd 2012
Post by: ejamer on February 15, 2012, 09:44:55 AM
The April 2nd release date for North America might not correct. Looking at the preorder page on the Nintendo online store (either Canada or US), you see this note prominently displayed:
"We expect to begin by the end of April 2012. A confirmation email will be sent when your order ships."
They don't specify what will begin by the end of April, but if it's not talking about shipping dates then I don't know what the message is there for. Maybe GameStop gets the game early, maybe this message is just giving Nintendo a buffer in case anything goes wrong between now and then.
Yep. Someone noticed.
I think the Nintendo store was just being cautious about the release date and will ship at the same time as GameStop gets the game. There was an announcement or email or something suggesting that was the case at least, and the release date was already changed slightly from what was originally planned.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on February 15, 2012, 10:06:22 PM
Yeah, that notice, along with them charging both tax and shipping, are the reasons I have opted to pre-order from GameStop w/store pickup instead.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on February 16, 2012, 08:58:41 AM
Yeah, that notice, along with them charging both tax and shipping, are the reasons I have opted to pre-order from GameStop w/store pickup instead.
I'm kind of miffed about GameStop. Was planning to do a "Trade 2" deal to preorder Xenoblade a couple weeks back, but their available deals changed and Xenoblade isn't available that way now. Not sure if I want to actually pay for the game again (since I already imported) so am waiting and hoping that another trade opportunity comes up between now and release. The good news is that there is plenty of time for a deal to be offered... hopefully the value of games I was going to trade doesn't bottom out in that time.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Lithium on February 16, 2012, 10:52:01 AM
I'll still be ordering with nintendo instead of gamestop/eb. Mainly because im scrambling to finish my backlog before it comes out so it'll buy me some extra time haha.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on February 22, 2012, 08:29:58 PM
So I am checking OPRainfall's Facebook page right now and I came across something it seems that Nintendo Power will be covering Xenoblade Chronicles in their March issue. I really have to get another subscription again soon but I'll pick up the issue if I see it on news stands. My sis has a camera and I can upload it to my photobucket account so yeah.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: King of Twitch on February 22, 2012, 08:43:09 PM
Just upload your sis to photobucket, no one cares about RPGs.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on February 22, 2012, 09:08:27 PM
................
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: King of Twitch on February 22, 2012, 10:32:36 PM
:evil;
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: MegaByte on February 22, 2012, 10:55:40 PM
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on February 24, 2012, 03:42:35 PM
This was just tweeted by @NintendoAmerica.
Every pre-order of #Xenoblade (https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23Xenoblade) Chronicles from @Gamestop (https://twitter.com/#%21/Gamestop) will include an exclusive artbook! Get yours today. US Only http://bit.ly/tVhkS5 (http://t.co/9q6SbSWK)
I'm getting an artbook yay!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on February 24, 2012, 04:02:14 PM
Every pre-order of #Xenoblade (https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23Xenoblade) Chronicles from @Gamestop (https://twitter.com/#%21/Gamestop) will include an exclusive artbook! Get yours today. US Only http://bit.ly/tVhkS5 (http://t.co/9q6SbSWK)
I'm getting an artbook yay!
Too bad there is no soundtrack. An artbook is cool and all, but the music in Xenoblade is fantastic. Maybe a Club Nintendo reward down the road if we are really lucky?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on February 24, 2012, 06:05:38 PM
Every pre-order of #Xenoblade (https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23Xenoblade) Chronicles from @Gamestop (https://twitter.com/#%21/Gamestop) will include an exclusive artbook! Get yours today. US Only http://bit.ly/tVhkS5 (http://t.co/9q6SbSWK)
I'm getting an artbook yay!
Too bad there is no soundtrack. An artbook is cool and all, but the music in Xenoblade is fantastic. Maybe a Club Nintendo reward down the road if we are really lucky?
Here is the thing with preorder bonuses unless you do one of those "super duper include everything and the kitchen sink" preorder bonuses then not everyone is going to be happy with the bonuses since everyone is going to have different choices. I would imagine that the artbook was the most popular choice so that's what they went with.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on February 24, 2012, 10:14:13 PM
Someone got the pictures posted up on Facebook first so these are those pictures. I'll link them and put them in the thread here. I think I know the guy that uploaded the pictures online.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on February 26, 2012, 05:56:46 PM
I guess I will start dropping these tidbits of the day here that OPRainfall has been posting on their site for a long while. So here goes.
☆ Xenoblade Chronicles Tidbit of the Day #35 ☆╮
Live Quests. On very rare occasions in Xenoblade, you might stumble upon a live occurring quest while exploring the world. What this means is that if you are at the right place, at the right time, in the right conditions, you might trigger a quest. It will pop up and tell you the details and has to do with a situation occurring close by such as you have to save somebody being attacked by a monster. These appear to be quite rare but none the less, are a nice touch.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Dasmos on February 27, 2012, 02:07:43 AM
Fortunately the game has been out in English speaking countries for a while now. So all of these tidbits have will also have been known about for a while.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on February 28, 2012, 05:01:35 AM
I guess so.
For those in Canada that may want to switch preorders from Nintendo to Gamestop or if you have one with Gamestop and you are in that country Canada is also offering the artbook as well.
Just tweeted by @gamestopcanada @ImDaveSchofield (https://twitter.com/#%21/ImDaveSchofield) @ytchung (https://twitter.com/#%21/ytchung) Yes, we will be offering the Art Book with pre-orders of Xenoblade Chronicles
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on February 28, 2012, 12:16:33 PM
For those in Canada that may want to switch preorders from Nintendo to Gamestop or if you have one with Gamestop and you are in that country Canada is also offering the artbook as well.
Just tweeted by @gamestopcanada @ImDaveSchofield (https://twitter.com/#%21/ImDaveSchofield) @ytchung (https://twitter.com/#%21/ytchung) Yes, we will be offering the Art Book with pre-orders of Xenoblade Chronicles
Sweeeeet! Thanks for the info, maxi. Love the tidbits, too.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Ian Sane on February 28, 2012, 01:37:44 PM
I'm so glad Nintendo rewarded me for pre-ordering with THEM by NOT giving me the artbook. That is so nice.
Seriously, there are only TWO places that one can pre-order from. Why the hell don't they offer the pre-order incentive to BOTH of them?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on February 28, 2012, 01:42:03 PM
Ian the game isn't out yet. They could still offer a bonus.It was your choice to order with them.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Ian Sane on February 28, 2012, 02:25:04 PM
Yeah, but I made my choice prior to this being revealed. That's kind of changing the conditions after the fact. It isn't like I pre-ordered years ahead of time or anything like that. Nintendo started taking pre-orders, so I pre-ordered. Maybe they should have told me about this first so I could have taken it into account beforehand. Hell, at the time I pre-ordered I wasn't even sure if GameStop Canada was even in on this. NOA seemed like the only safe choice.
Just seems like typical NOA bungling the easy stuff.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on February 28, 2012, 02:29:13 PM
I'm so glad Nintendo rewarded me for pre-ordering with THEM by NOT giving me the artbook. That is so nice.
Seriously, there are only TWO places that one can pre-order from. Why the hell don't they offer the pre-order incentive to BOTH of them?
Totally possible Nintendo will offer the same bonus but not announce it until much later. NoA isn't exactly leading the pack when it comes to announcements and communicating with their core fanbase.
Also possible that GameStop has full say over how extras will be distributed with this exclusive release, since they took financial risk off Nintendo by offering to cover at least some of the publishing costs for the game in North America. If it's coming out of their pocket, why not limit exclusive goods to their stores?
That said, you have LOTS of time to cancel your preorder and switch to GameStop if it really matters to you.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Adrock on February 28, 2012, 02:35:39 PM
I was going to try to buy this from Nintendo's website but then I reconsidered. Despite the numerous crummy experiences I've had over the years at various GameStop locations, the company as a whole is largely responsible for Xenoblade being released here. They deserve my money. It feels weird to even type that and meant it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on February 28, 2012, 03:15:49 PM
Yeah, but I made my choice prior to this being revealed. That's kind of changing the conditions after the fact. It isn't like I pre-ordered years ahead of time or anything like that. Nintendo started taking pre-orders, so I pre-ordered. Maybe they should have told me about this first so I could have taken it into account beforehand. Hell, at the time I pre-ordered I wasn't even sure if GameStop Canada was even in on this. NOA seemed like the only safe choice.
Just seems like typical NOA bungling the easy stuff.
When exactly did you preorder from Nintendo? If you preordered from Nintendo the day it was put up for preorder then that was way back in December It was also confirmed to come to Gamestop as well that day.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: nickmitch on February 28, 2012, 03:55:42 PM
The pre-order went up for NOA's site and Gamestop on or around the same day, but the art book wasn't announced until recently. Ian's saying he pre-ordered before that extra bit of consideration surfaced.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on February 28, 2012, 06:20:22 PM
The pre-order went up for NOA's site and Gamestop on or around the same day, but the art book wasn't announced until recently. Ian's saying he pre-ordered before that extra bit of consideration surfaced.
I get that and I am saying that the extra consideration could happen for the online store from Nintendo as well. Ian just needs to exercise some patience thats all or if he doesn't want to do that he can get active with Nintendo and call them up and talk to them in a calm and rational manor that they should announce a bonus as well.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: NWR_insanolord on February 28, 2012, 06:52:58 PM
Or, you know, he could cancel his preorder from Nintendo and go preorder it from GameStop, seeing as there's still over a month before it comes out. I'm not usually a big fan of GameStop, but this game probably wouldn't have come here without them so I think they deserve people's money in this case.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on February 28, 2012, 07:32:40 PM
Yep. That was kinda my point Insanolord. I think others mentioned it as well. Point being is that he could change his mind instead of sitting on his preorder. We are dancing around in an agreement guys.:)
(http://i.imgur.com/4ZwOM.jpg)
╰☆ Xenoblade Chronicles Tidbit of the Day #33 ☆╮
Character Profile – Sharla
Sharla is a 21-year-old playable character in Xenoblade Chronicles. She wields a rifle that uses ether energy, which she uses to great effect for defensive and healing purposes. She is sometimes referred to as “medic” in-game.
When you first meet her, Sharla lives in Colony 6 with her younger brother Juju. Sharla is a clear thinker, able to keep a cool head in a bad situation. She hates the Mechon for everything they've done in the past, vowing to “scrap each and every last one” of them.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: nickmitch on February 28, 2012, 07:34:51 PM
But cancelling a pre-order is like breaking a promise! It's akin to lying.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Chozo Ghost on February 28, 2012, 08:31:07 PM
But cancelling a pre-order is like breaking a promise! It's akin to lying.
But its more like shifting the preorder over to another site rather than canceling it.
Anyway, the Nintendo site will probably have the artbook as well. I don't see why they would make two separate product runs for a game which is having a very small release anyway.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on February 28, 2012, 09:00:57 PM
It is possible that the artbook is being produced by GameStop.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: TJ Spyke on February 28, 2012, 09:13:43 PM
I don't see why they would make two separate product runs for a game which is having a very small release anyway.
I think it's safe to assume that the artbook will not be in the same package as the game, but separate from it. So the same copies could be stored in Nintendo's warehouses or sent to GameStop.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: noname2200 on February 28, 2012, 09:42:20 PM
Sharla is a 21-year-old playable character in Xenoblade Chronicles. She wields a rifle that uses ether energy, which she uses to great effect for defensive and healing purposes. She is sometimes referred to as “medic” in-game.
When you first meet her, Sharla lives in Colony 6 with her younger brother Juju. Sharla is a clear thinker, able to keep a cool head in a bad situation. She hates the Mechon for everything they've done in the past, vowing to “scrap each and every last one” of them.
Bonus tidbit: the developers consulted the Dead or Alive physics team during development of this game. The reason is unknown, and I have no idea why I'm bringing it up now. ;)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: nickmitch on February 29, 2012, 12:37:18 AM
But cancelling a pre-order is like breaking a promise! It's akin to lying.
But its more like shifting the preorder over to another site rather than canceling it.
Anyway, the Nintendo site will probably have the artbook as well. I don't see why they would make two separate product runs for a game which is having a very small release anyway.
Wow, that actually reminds me of this really great joke I once heard (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=16688.msg721384#msg721384).
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Chozo Ghost on February 29, 2012, 02:56:55 AM
It is possible that the artbook is being produced by GameStop.
If that's true, I wonder if Gamestop will just slip it into their copies of the games. We all know Gamestop loves to open up shrinkwrapped games and then sell them as "new", but usually when they unshrinkwrap a game they end up taking something away (vouchers). It would be a refreshing change if they actually slipped something extra in for once.
Although you may get an artbook by buying it from Gamestop, this may come at the price of you getting an opened copy and possibly having one of their horrible retail stickers adhered to it as well. Maybe it would be better to just get it directly from Nintendo and forget about the artbook, because at least then your brand new game will actually be brand new.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: TJ Spyke on February 29, 2012, 06:15:11 PM
but usually when they unshrinkwrap a game they end up taking something away (vouchers).
Doing that once is hardly "usually". Anyways, in the past when they offered artbooks as a bonus, they just hand you the artbook, they don't package it with the game.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Stratos on February 29, 2012, 06:47:56 PM
It is possible that the artbook is being produced by GameStop.
If that's true, I wonder if Gamestop will just slip it into their copies of the games. We all know Gamestop loves to open up shrinkwrapped games and then sell them as "new", but usually when they unshrinkwrap a game they end up taking something away (vouchers). It would be a refreshing change if they actually slipped something extra in for once.
Although you may get an artbook by buying it from Gamestop, this may come at the price of you getting an opened copy and possibly having one of their horrible retail stickers adhered to it as well. Maybe it would be better to just get it directly from Nintendo and forget about the artbook, because at least then your brand new game will actually be brand new.
Then don't tend to give opened copies of games that are pre-ordered. They set those aside. It's the unfortunate people who walk in and spontaneously buy that get the opened copies. And the only time I have gotten a new game that was opened at Gamestop was when I was buying the last copy so I had to get the display box off the shelf.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on March 08, 2012, 06:40:05 AM
I wouldn't worry too much over the art book. It will most likely be a forgettable little thing of a dozen or two pages. The art books I got with Demon's Souls and Fate/Extra amounted to that much (I still love them though). Speaking of Fate/Extra, pre-ordering it from GameStop netted me an exclusive booklet. The art book that is being packed in with Xenoblade Chronicles is most likely a GameStop exclusive as well. Though, it doesn't make sense since the whole game is practically a GameStop exclusive.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on March 13, 2012, 06:13:40 PM
I tried posting this the other day but I had some issues with the copy and paste from a site so I had to post it on another forum and then copy and post it from that forum to this forum. So here it is.
I got this from OPRainfalls site.
Gem Crafting 101 Part 1
Each material has a value for certain stats enhancers. Say, Agility Up or Poison Defense. To gain a Gem from materials, you need to raise the stat above 100. This will ensure a Gem will be created. The trick is to select Crystals and Cylinders until you reach a 100+ value on the stat of your preference. This is a delicate proccess, as when the value is over 100 you can not add any more to it. So it's imporant to keep materials for crafting in order.
Thankfully the game helps you, with highlighting the material compatiable with another material. This means they enhance at least one of the stats of your chosen material. Continue until you’ve reached a 100+ stat and try to not have more than 3 or 4 stat enhancement affected in total.
Gem Crafting 101 Part 2
This is probably the most confusing part as it involves Flames, Fever and whatnot. This is where is get's really confusing, but in short: during crafting the Shooter and the Engineer will boost the stat values of the enhancements chosen through your materials and will fill the Cylinder gauge respectively. How many times they will boost and fill is dependent upon the Affinity of the chosen characters.
A good exmaple would be to put Reyn in Shooter and Shulk in Engineer roles, but this may vary depending upon your personal game. Then select a balanced approach of the best boost of the Shooter and the most stable Flames of the Engineer (with a high Affinity of course)
Now the animation will start. You can fast-forward through it by holding the A button. Depending upon the selection of your Shooter and Engineer (and just plain luck) your enhancements will be boosted and your Cylinder Gauge (the green gauge right of the ehancements list) will fill up. When they are done, all enhancements with values above 100 will be converted into Gems. If you have values above 200 these will display as ‘Heat’ and will generate a higher Rank Gem instead (as a bonus it also boosts other values)!
Gem Crafting 101 Part 3
Now comes the crucial part: any enhancement values under 100 will be up for Cylindration. This is where the Cylinder Gauge comes into play. Depending upon the Cylinder number on top, you can select just as many enhancement values. Each selected value will be ‘recycled’ into a Cylinder, to be used as a future material in adifferent crafting session. Once your Cylinder amount is empty, all remaining enhancement values will be lost.
This is why you should aim for 3 to 4 enhancement values while selecting materials as mentioned earlier. If you go overboard with 5-7 values, you might lose materials in the end as they cannot be Cylindrized. Of course, you can still hit an unlucky crafting streak and only generate 2 Cylinders even with a great character couple, but that’s the luck of the draw. What works best in terms of the amount of values chosen is wholly dependent upon the characters’ ability as a Shooter or Engineer and their Affinity.
Once you’ve selected all values for Cylindration, the game will hand you the resulting Cylinders and Gems to put into your inventory. As space is limited, be sure you have enough space left before starting the process. You’ll then be asked to continue for another session or quit crafting.
These are the basics of Gem Crafting, there is so much to this mechanic that we can't even keep it all in parts. We hope this info was beneficial to you, and help's you all on your adventure in the world of Xenoblade.
Also the game is 24 days away from release in North America do you have it preordered?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Stratos on March 14, 2012, 03:35:54 AM
Thanks for the reminder, Maxi. I convinced my wife that this could be our 'game purchase' for the first half of the year (it's all our budget allows until debts are paid) but I keep forgetting to pre-order it. I'll do it tomorrow at the local GameStop. Figure I may as well grab the free art book.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on March 14, 2012, 09:17:28 AM
Glad I could remind you. I need to go down to Gamestop and recheck on my preorder. I have it preordered but I need to get a recipt for my preorder. I think I may have misplaced it somewhere in my room. Also you got some new followers on your twitter account.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Stratos on March 14, 2012, 05:06:47 PM
My twitter? I haven't tweeted in a while. Suppose I should start that up again... as soon as I reactivate my facebook page ;)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: MegaByte on March 16, 2012, 08:23:16 PM
I just got a response back from Nintendo, and the pre-order art book is indeed a GameStop exclusive.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Shaymin on March 21, 2012, 07:14:47 PM
Nintendo's now offering a bundle of Xenoblade + CCPro (black, unfortunately) for $65. Source (http://store.nintendo.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&langId=-1¤cy=USD&ignoreCrumbs=N&crumb1=&crumb1Ignore=&crumb2=&crumb2Ignore=&crumb3=&crumb3Ignore=&translateFrom=%C3%88%C3%89%C3%87&translateTo=EEC&usrSearchText=Xenoblade&searchText=XENOBLADE&selSrchType=&page=&view=&productId=193208&categoryId=&lastAction=ProductDisplay&orderTotal=null&tranId=0&jktranid=&rpComment=&dropOff=)
Heard it controls just as well with WiiChuck, but if you need a Pro...
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on March 22, 2012, 11:27:11 AM
Nintendo's now offering a bundle of Xenoblade + CCPro (black, unfortunately) for $65. Source (http://store.nintendo.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&langId=-1¤cy=USD&ignoreCrumbs=N&crumb1=&crumb1Ignore=&crumb2=&crumb2Ignore=&crumb3=&crumb3Ignore=&translateFrom=%C3%88%C3%89%C3%87&translateTo=EEC&usrSearchText=Xenoblade&searchText=XENOBLADE&selSrchType=&page=&view=&productId=193208&categoryId=&lastAction=ProductDisplay&orderTotal=null&tranId=0&jktranid=&rpComment=&dropOff=)
Heard it controls just as well with WiiChuck, but if you need a Pro...
The game does work well with the nunchuck, but some people will invariably prefer the familiar layout of a Classic Controller.
Hmm... for a "Special Bundle Version", it's really not very special though. A $5 discount doesn't go far when you have to pay shipping charges - especially when the competing retailer (without whom the game wouldn't have been released in North America) offers free shipping and an art book with all preorders. Too bad that NoA couldn't offer some type of schwag or at least a custom controller design/color... you know, like the red one released by NoE.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on March 22, 2012, 08:48:26 PM
If it were the red controller, I'd definitely snag it. But since it isn't, I'll take the art book instead.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on March 23, 2012, 08:59:08 AM
If it were the red controller, I'd definitely snag it. But since it isn't, I'll take the art book instead.
(Exactly my feeling!)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on March 27, 2012, 03:38:32 AM
10 days till the launch of the game. OPRainfall will be doing a media blitz on their new site. http://operationrainfall.com/countdown-to-xenoblade/
I'll keep this topic updated with things from there as they post it up there.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on March 27, 2012, 04:17:48 PM
For those that missed some of the tidbits of the day you can find them here. There is 83 of them. Happy reading. http://operationrainfall.com/83-things-to-know-about-xenoblade-chronicles/
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on March 27, 2012, 07:42:11 PM
Updated the OP post with a link that goes to all the ways you can preorder the game.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: broodwars on March 28, 2012, 02:32:02 AM
GameTrailers.com has awarded this game a 9.3 (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-hd-xenoblade-chronicles/728549), gave it a pretty fair review noting its strengths and weaknesses, and even more surprisingly they managed to put together a video review with minimal spoilers. Compared to their abysmal recent Tales of Graces F review (an excellent game I feel was judged unfairly and had some pretty nasty spoilers in the review), that's a pretty big step up.
Now, note that I said "minimal spoilers." The only major things spoiled are events that happen in the first 5 or so hours of the game, and if you've followed this game at all you likely already know them. Still, watch the review at your own risk.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Stratos on March 28, 2012, 02:44:52 AM
Truth be told I've read and seen very little of this game so I'm happy to know to steer away from any video reviews.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on March 28, 2012, 04:01:35 AM
Nice to see GameTrailers liking the Xenoblade Chronicles.
and even more surprisingly they managed to put together a video review with minimal spoilers. Compared to their abysmal recent Tales of Graces F review (an excellent game I feel was judged unfairly and had some pretty nasty spoilers in the review), that's a pretty big step up.
Hmm, I watched the Tales of Graces f review as well. I wonder if this is being a case me being horribly inattentive or very ignorant of Graces f's story but I didn't feel spoiled too much from watching the review. Maybe some of what they spoiled isn't much of a spoiler for someone who has yet to play the game? Hmm, perhaps I'm just trying to forget the review in case I happen to play Graces f some day.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: KDR_11k on March 28, 2012, 04:51:43 AM
Now, note that I said "minimal spoilers." The only major things spoiled are events that happen in the first 5 or so hours of the game, and if you've followed this game at all you likely already know them. Still, watch the review at your own risk.
Or events that happen in the first 15 hours, depending on how carried away you get with exploration and side quests. (Yes, I'm exaggerating. No, not by that much.) Remember that the game is extensive - GameTrailers claimed 70+ hours in the review, but if your playing style is anything like mine then expect it to last much longer than that.
But I agree with you: they did a nice job with the video and the review. Watching it made me want to go play right now.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: broodwars on March 28, 2012, 09:05:04 AM
Hmm, I watched the Tales of Graces f review as well. I wonder if this is being a case me being horribly inattentive or very ignorant of Graces f's story but I didn't feel spoiled too much from watching the review. Maybe some of what they spoiled isn't much of a spoiler for someone who has yet to play the game? Hmm, perhaps I'm just trying to forget the review in case I happen to play Graces f some day.
The review spoils the identity of the game's main villain (as well as their plan), who isn't revealed until 1/3 of the way through the game and is one of the game's main playable characters up until that point. It's a major spoiler.
More than that, though, that review just obsesses over minutia like how Asbel's father is portrayed, a character who has maybe 3 scenes in the 1st 5 hours of the game and has one minor scene afterwards. There's so much emphasis on the prologue "childhood arc" that I wonder how much of the 80+ hour game the reviewer actually played. It also complains that the visuals aren't top-end PS3 (instead of examining whether the visuals are aesthetically-pleasing and suit the story) despite it being an upgraded port of a Wii game. Then, of course, there's its complaint that the game "hasn't changed much from all the other Tales games", despite the game having a brand-new-to-NA combat system and new features like the Eleth Mixer (which is both a radical shift on the series' cooking system and a major component of the new crafting feature).
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on March 28, 2012, 02:31:51 PM
Any thoughts on the rumor (via GoNintendo) that GameStop has run out of art books for preorders and that some people might not receive one when their game arrives?
Must mean sales are exceeding expectations... but that doesn't mean much to the empty-handed people who were expecting some schwag.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Ymeegod on March 28, 2012, 05:59:09 PM
Right now the preorders numbers is 160K so I'm expecting 200K or so sold within the first week or so. And they can reprint art books and they have time yet so I don't think that's going be an issue with those that preorder.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Stratos on March 28, 2012, 07:15:47 PM
I pre-ordered online for in-store pickup. Think I can go into that store and ask for the book early if they have it? I know often pre-order bonuses come in early sometimes.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on March 28, 2012, 07:23:23 PM
You could do that if you want Stratos. I think that you could call them up and see what is up.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: TJ Spyke on March 28, 2012, 07:32:16 PM
They tend to now not give the pre-order bonuses out until you pick up the game, it's to stop people from getting the pre-order bonus and then canceling the order.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on March 28, 2012, 11:40:58 PM
Hey everyone I just found this out. It seems that EB Games Canada is out of stock for art books.However Gamestop.com still has some avalable. Basically any preorders that took place on EB Games Canada site before today will get the art book. If you want the art book and have been dragging your feet about it then Gamestop.com is the best place to get it or in store.
Right now the preorders numbers is 160K so I'm expecting 200K or so sold within the first week or so. And they can reprint art books and they have time yet so I don't think that's going be an issue with those that preorder.
Where are you getting those numbers from? I'd consider it a miracle for a game like this, on the Wii, at this point in time to sell even 50k when all is said and done.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on March 29, 2012, 03:22:42 AM
Right now the preorders numbers is 160K so I'm expecting 200K or so sold within the first week or so. And they can reprint art books and they have time yet so I don't think that's going be an issue with those that preorder.
Where are you getting those numbers from? I'd consider it a miracle for a game like this, on the Wii, at this point in time to sell even 50k when all is said and done.
I am sure some late preorders are going to come in with a 8 days till it releases.
Since it's from VGChartz it means the numbers are made up and most likely not even close to the real pre-order numbers.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on March 29, 2012, 04:07:43 AM
Look I am going to quote someone. "Until there is some other source other then VG Chartz and there is some other source that is very open with their numbers then it is the best we have."
Also I want to mention that NPD ever since they stopped posting the real numbers for each game and began grouping the systems together then the numbers are really messed up because they are being grouped together based on what console the said game is on.
If you really care about sales numbers then I suggest to wait until Nintendo puts out numbers themselves and just enjoy the game instead of worring about preorder numbers.
Also want to say that the movement to get this game here in the West has been going on for a long while and at one point in time this game was Number 1 on Amazon when it was known as Monado:Begining of the World when the movement was gaining momentium so I don't doubt those numbers.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: millerball on March 29, 2012, 04:42:46 AM
If you really care about sales numbers then I suggest to wait until Nintendo puts out numbers themselves and just enjoy the game instead of worring about preorder numbers.
Exactly. Let's wait for Nintendo numbers before we declare this game a success.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on March 29, 2012, 05:19:47 AM
Just wanted to mention that today Nintendo Week will be covering the game for those interested in watching more info about the game.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on March 29, 2012, 07:06:50 AM
Yeah, the VGChartz numbers for this game are completely made up, so don't take them too seriously. But it appears to be pre-selling pretty well based on early indicators (showing up as a top item on GameStop and now starting to run out of the preorder bonus materials).
Success? It's unlikely we'll ever know how much of a success the game is unless GameStop releases numbers or a reprint takes place. I sure wouldn't count on NoA to release any numbers that suggest they made a bad choice not bringing out this game earlier.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Chozo Ghost on March 29, 2012, 07:19:35 AM
I hope this goes so successfully that Nintendo is compelled to give the game a proper release and ship it to ALL retailers such as Walmart, Amazon, etc. So that the game has the potential to be a million or even multi-million seller.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: KDR_11k on March 29, 2012, 08:11:55 AM
Look I am going to quote someone. "Until there is some other source other then VG Chartz and there is some other source that is very open with their numbers then it is the best we have."
Is believing a lie better than knowing that you don't know the truth? Socrates didn't think so.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on March 29, 2012, 10:08:26 AM
Regarding VGChartz, I think that their "data" tends to become more accurate over time as other sources leak numbers and they are able to correct and adjust early guesses. That isn't without merit, but means their estimates are completely useless early on during a games release.
Even NPD doesn't have real numbers and has to extrapolate and interpret before making their guesses - and they are a business that sells the data instead of just giving it away. (Of course the difference is in what methods are used to reach a final number: there is a reason NPD doesn't freely share data.) Unfortunately any sales figure that NPD gives for Xenoblade Chronicles will also be of questionable use since Nintendo - one of the two retailers selling the game - doesn't share data with them.
In both cases, pre-order numbers would be unconfirmed guesswork that have absolutely no meaning.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: noname2200 on March 29, 2012, 10:41:06 PM
Regarding VGChartz, I think that their "data" tends to become more accurate over time as other sources leak numbers and they are able to correct and adjust early guesses. That isn't without merit, but means their estimates are completely useless early on during a games release.
Sadly, their system has the tendency to give games massive legs as well, so even the long-term numbers can be highly inaccurate. Maxi's right in that it's better than absolutely nothing...but I don't think it's "better enough" to use in any serious fashion.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 29, 2012, 11:10:28 PM
I would argue that wrong data is actually worse than no data.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on March 30, 2012, 08:42:12 AM
I would argue that wrong data is actually worse than no data.
It certainly can be in many cases. Depends on how "wrong" the data is, what you intend to use that data for, and how clear you are about the sources being used.
(NPD numbers are wrong, but are close enough to be useful estimates for a lot of situations. VGChartz would need to prove their numbers have any meaning before they can make a similar claim.)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on March 30, 2012, 10:58:32 AM
Just want to note for any Canadians here that EB Games has changed the time that they are selling it to April 5th so lucky Canadians can grab the game a day before the rest of the US.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: leahsdad on March 30, 2012, 01:14:57 PM
I wonder how many people pre-ordered it from my stupid area Gamestop. When I stopped in a few months ago to plunk down my money and said "I want to preorder Xenoblade Chronicles" the clerk asked me "Is that on PS3 or 360?"
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on March 30, 2012, 04:08:44 PM
Hey everyone I just found this out. It seems that EB Games Canada is out of stock for art books.However Gamestop.com still has some avalable. Basically any preorders that took place on EB Games Canada site before today will get the art book. If you want the art book and have been dragging your feet about it then Gamestop.com is the best place to get it or in store.
Well now two days after EB Canada ran out of art books it seems that Gamestop.com has run out as well for the artbooks.
I hope you guys preordered from Gamestop.com if you hadn't already done so two days ago. So if you preordered in the past 2 days from Gamestop.com then you likely will get an art book.
I wonder how many people pre-ordered it from my stupid area Gamestop. When I stopped in a few months ago to plunk down my money and said "I want to preorder Xenoblade Chronicles" the clerk asked me "Is that on PS3 or 360?"
How lame! When I preordered the game, I was asked if I was going to pick up The Last Story, too.
I'm glad I preordered the game while ago - I should be getting an art book. Less than a week away!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: noname2200 on March 31, 2012, 11:58:05 AM
So we've gone from "is that a PS3 game?" to "Sorry, no more artbooks."
I wish I knew whether that meant that preorders have become great, or if it just means they didn't print many artbooks. My eternal pessimism is screaming "Number Two! Number Two!"
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on March 31, 2012, 02:46:21 PM
My guess is, the number of art books produced was based on the number of pre-orders received for the game. They probably looked at how many pre-orders were taken, then calculated how many more they would get at that rate, and produced that many art books. However, I imagine that pre-orders increase when it gets near the release date of a game, so now they didn't make enough books.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Chozo Ghost on March 31, 2012, 04:23:37 PM
Anyone preordering at this point might as well just get it from Nintendo, since there is no guarantee that Gamestop will give them an art book anyway, and at this late point its probably unlikely.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on April 02, 2012, 10:50:10 AM
Certainly nothing wrong with ordering from Nintendo, but GameStop offers free shipping even without the bonus artbook if that matters to anyone.
More notable (at least for Canadians interested in the game) is their current trade-in offer: get $20 credit per qualifying* game traded towards Xenoblade. If you happen to have a couple of old games sitting at home to take advantage of this deal, you could end up getting Xenoblade very cheap - that's how I'm planning on paying for the lion's share of my preorder.
*Qualifying games need to be worth $8 or more. Calling ahead to confirm value is best, but this website might also help: [size=78%]http://www.tivs.ca (http://www.tivs.ca)[/size]
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 04, 2012, 05:43:06 PM
New video is out from Nintendo's Wii youtube channel.
Also remember for those in Canada and that reserved from EB Games you can pick up the game on the 5th at 2 pm EST. Everyone else can pick it up on the 6th. Also for those that have it from Nintendo's online store they are sending it out on the 6th.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Cyrian on April 04, 2012, 06:31:37 PM
Looks like it's not a Nintendo/Gamestop exclusive after all...
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 04, 2012, 07:09:25 PM
Yeah there is other retailers offering preorders for the game. I have them in the OP post.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 05, 2012, 05:28:31 AM
If you are up in Canada and for some reason don't have it preordered from EB Games or missed preordering it from there then you can preorder this game from Video Games Plus.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on April 05, 2012, 08:01:41 AM
Yeah, not going to videogamesplus.ca after all my personal data was stolen from there last time. Too bad: they would've had my sale otherwise for being one of the first sites in Canada to support Op.Rainfall.
Interesting to see other retailers selling the game. Has anyone heard why that happened, after all the "GameStop exclusive" chatter? Has the game done well enough in pre-sales that they want to expand the market? Is it just a coincidence that this change happened quickly after GameStop ran out of preorder bonus materials? Or were there too many copies printed and Nintendo/GameStop are selling to other retailers to get rid of them quickly?
Regardless, nice to know that the game is getting a slightly wider distribution. Hopefully more people get the chance to play this game.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 05, 2012, 04:11:22 PM
Well here is my theory. The game maybe had a certain amount of time it was exclusive with Gamestop and Nintendo because the other retailers did show up selling the game before for preorder before Gamestop ran out of artbooks it is just that they were more international.Chile,Brazil,Mexico and Canada for example so it may have gone unnoticed to any here because it may not matter to them. In the end it shouldn't matter too much and we should just enjoy the game and the journey it takes us on.
Here is the second video from Nintendo from their Wii youtube channel.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 05, 2012, 04:26:04 PM
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on April 05, 2012, 04:28:21 PM
Will be picking up my copy in approx 1.5 hours. I may just have to break down and get Kid Icarus too. It's Easter! Backlog be damned!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 05, 2012, 04:34:15 PM
That is great to hear Fatty_The_Hutt. Enjoy your game and can't wait to hear from you with some thoughts on the game when you can pull yourself away from the game.
Also here is a word from Reggie.
(http://i.imgur.com/tbC85.jpg)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on April 05, 2012, 06:56:21 PM
So happy. Got my North American copy of Xenoblade today. It's gorgeous. (Ok, it's almost the same as the PAL release already on my shelf... but that one is gorgeous too.)
The art book was a nice surprise. Nothing truly special, but the quality was higher than I expected with am embossed cover, thick paper, and some shimmery overlays inside. Purty!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 06, 2012, 05:03:51 AM
If for some odd reason you are on the fence about the game here is a pretty good article about it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Soren on April 06, 2012, 05:57:58 PM
So it's Friday April 6. I was very excited to go to my local Gamestop, pick up my copy of Xenoblade and play it the rest of the day.
But I can't.
Because the local Gamestop is closed.
Because it's Good Friday.
-sigh- One more day I guess...
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Shaymin on April 06, 2012, 06:00:53 PM
My local boutique of electronics is closed today, but they let me pick up the game/artbook yesterday.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 06, 2012, 06:03:34 PM
Wait, I got my copy at my Gamestop?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 06, 2012, 06:16:18 PM
Well I have my copy in my Wii I got the last art book from my local gamestop. I am glad I woke up when I did. I was up late last night and fell asleep and then woke up around noonish and I remembered and rushed over there and I went and picked it up. I am testing to see if it works on my Wii since it may not but I am on the options menu currently. Had some issues with it earlier in the week.... And there it went back to the title screen.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Evan_B on April 07, 2012, 03:06:47 AM
Wow.
I'm about four hours in- and this game has me effin' HOOKED. It took me about an hour to get a hang of the quest and battle systems... but damn, this game's delivering hardcore. Like, I got a little choked up already. I know I'm in this one for the long run.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 07, 2012, 04:13:40 AM
Here is part 3 of their video series on the game for Xenoblade.
They talk about the Affinity system.
Also I took the liberty of posting my art book up over here (http://nintemple.blogspot.com/2012/04/xenoblade-chronicle-artbook-photos.html) Have a look at them.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Sarail on April 07, 2012, 11:23:31 AM
The affinity system is one of the most interesting and entertaining aspects of the game... it's probably the main thing that drives me to grind EXP with differing party members. So fun.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: nickmitch on April 08, 2012, 01:49:12 PM
Got a new card from the bank and forgot to update my pre-order, so it got cancelled. Just put in a new order yesterday. Now, I gotta play the waiting game. At least I get to use this as an excuse to get a CCP.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Retro Deckades on April 08, 2012, 08:06:04 PM
Did everyone get shipping confirmations from Nintendo prior to receiving the game? I'm in Canada and haven't received any indication that my copy is on the way. No shipping confimation, no charge to my credit card -- nothing. I preordered the game almost the day the website went up. Unfortunately, I can't find any receipts in my e-mail, either, which is making me start to wonder if they even got my order in the first place.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on April 09, 2012, 08:29:44 AM
Argh!
Had to wait until last night to finally get enough free time to pop in Xenoblade, only to find that my Wii can't read the disc. (Single-layer discs like A Boy and His Blob seem to read fine though.) :Q
Not such a big deal assuming it works in our other Wii (normally used exclusively for NetFlix and imports) but totally defeats the purpose of buying the North American release if I can't play it on our main TV without pulling a hardware switch at the same time. *FRUSTRATION*
Anyone else experience this problem? Any way to fix the issue without dropping $80 to get it fixed properly?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 09, 2012, 10:20:11 AM
It's because it's dual layered. Some Wiis have trouble reading them - Brawl was a big issue for some.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Lithium on April 09, 2012, 10:31:40 AM
Did everyone get shipping confirmations from Nintendo prior to receiving the game? I'm in Canada and haven't received any indication that my copy is on the way. No shipping confimation, no charge to my credit card -- nothing. I preordered the game almost the day the website went up. Unfortunately, I can't find any receipts in my e-mail, either, which is making me start to wonder if they even got my order in the first place.
same issue here (also ordering from Canada), im waiting until the easter holiday is over before i start worrying about it though, i think the post service is closed anyways
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on April 09, 2012, 11:09:31 AM
It's because it's dual layered. Some Wiis have trouble reading them - Brawl was a big issue for some.
I understand that part, but was hoping there is an easy fix. The best suggestion I've seen online is to either send the system away (costly and time-consuming) or get a cleaning kit and hope that cleaning the laser will fix the issue. Cleaning kit results seem to be hit-and-miss based on reports I've read...
That said, I decided to try Metroid Prime Trilogy in the Wii just to confirm it was a dual-layer problem. That game worked fine, and when I put Xenoblade back in it also worked. So maybe my Wii is just being a bit finicky? Keeping my fingers crossed as I've got a handful of games that are dual layered waiting to get played.
I know I've said I'm not upgrading to a Wii U... but if Nintendo makes it possible to transfer all digital purchases across then getting some new hardware that doesn't show signs of age and overuse would be awfully tempting.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 09, 2012, 02:28:05 PM
It's because it's dual layered. Some Wiis have trouble reading them - Brawl was a big issue for some.
I understand that part, but was hoping there is an easy fix. The best suggestion I've seen online is to either send the system away (costly and time-consuming) or get a cleaning kit and hope that cleaning the laser will fix the issue. Cleaning kit results seem to be hit-and-miss based on reports I've read...
That said, I decided to try Metroid Prime Trilogy in the Wii just to confirm it was a dual-layer problem. That game worked fine, and when I put Xenoblade back in it also worked. So maybe my Wii is just being a bit finicky? Keeping my fingers crossed as I've got a handful of games that are dual layered waiting to get played.
I know I've said I'm not upgrading to a Wii U... but if Nintendo makes it possible to transfer all digital purchases across then getting some new hardware that doesn't show signs of age and overuse would be awfully tempting.
Actually if you happen to be under warrenty it isn't costly and you will get it back in 3 days. That is how long it took for me for my Brawl problem to get it back once I shipped it out. If you have another system something else to keep you busy then the wait isn't long.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on April 09, 2012, 03:05:15 PM
Unfortunately I haven't been under warranty for a long, long time. :)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: MegaByte on April 09, 2012, 03:13:58 PM
You don't need to be under warranty to get the dual-layer issue fixed: http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/repair/dld_repair_home.jsp?problem=DLDIMAGE&gameCode=SSBB (http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/repair/dld_repair_home.jsp?problem=DLDIMAGE&gameCode=SSBB)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Retro Deckades on April 09, 2012, 03:51:37 PM
Hey all, quick update regarding my order from Nintendo.com. I just received a shipping confirmation e-mail. As Lithium had thought, I assume the holiday weekend interfered a little bit. Seems that everything is moving along smoothly now though.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on April 09, 2012, 04:55:40 PM
You don't need to be under warranty to get the dual-layer issue fixed: http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/repair/dld_repair_home.jsp?problem=DLDIMAGE&gameCode=SSBB (http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/repair/dld_repair_home.jsp?problem=DLDIMAGE&gameCode=SSBB)
Brilliant! This is easily the best-case scenario: get it fixed right at no cost. Thanks for the link!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on April 09, 2012, 06:22:41 PM
So here I go to finally get the game, now that I finally have the cash, at the Nintendo Online Store, and the website is down. Maybe that is a sign I shouldn't get it. ::)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 09, 2012, 06:45:40 PM
They have it at Gamestop's Online store again or are you getting it for the Bundle? Hmm I don't know if this is possible or likely but call Nintendo and see if it is possible if they can order it over the phone.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on April 09, 2012, 06:48:17 PM
You don't need to be under warranty to get the dual-layer issue fixed: http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/repair/dld_repair_home.jsp?problem=DLDIMAGE&gameCode=SSBB (http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/repair/dld_repair_home.jsp?problem=DLDIMAGE&gameCode=SSBB)
Brilliant! This is easily the best-case scenario: get it fixed right at no cost. Thanks for the link!
You will need to call Nintendo though. If you aren't under warranty, it gives you a number to call and says you will have to handle the repair that way. Kind of annoying, but I need to do it since I miss playing Smash Bros. (Metroid Prime Trilogy works fine though).
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on April 09, 2012, 09:19:14 PM
This game has triggered my horrible obsessive compulsions with MMORPGs or open-world games. I spent the first three hours of the game walking around Colony 9 and the surrounding area gathering collectibles and speaking to every named non-player character in the town. I think I've only completed about 3 story quests! The last thing I did was deliver a lunch and return home. And by "return home" I mean swim to the opposite shore, walk around an island, and get my party knocked out by a high level monster that suddenly appeared when night time set.
I'm loving this game.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mannypon on April 10, 2012, 01:44:18 AM
This game has triggered my horrible obsessive compulsions with MMORPGs or open-world games. I spent the first three hours of the game walking around Colony 9 and the surrounding area gathering collectibles and speaking to every named non-player character in the town. I think I've only completed about 3 story quests! The last thing I did was deliver a lunch and return home. And by "return home" I mean swim to the opposite show, walk around an island, and get my party knocked out by a high level monster that suddenly appeared when night time set.
I'm loving this game.
Oh don't remind me lol. Back when I played the game, my obsession started to become a problem near the end lol. It was almost like I couldn't control myself. Whenever I got to a new map, I HAD to check every nook and cranny. It wasn't whether I wanted to or not, I HAD to do it. It was pleasure and torture all at the same time. You'll see as you get farther. The world is just Fing HUGE.
Anyway, the game is a classic through and through. Oh, and you know a jrpg is the sh*t when the obligatory "cute" animal character is actually a bad ass. In most jrpgs, these characters are of the teeth grinding kind, throw aways, the characters that you never have in your party and only see during cutscenes because you have to.
You can see how much I loved said character just be looking at my screenname :).
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on April 10, 2012, 08:53:43 AM
This game has triggered my horrible obsessive compulsions with MMORPGs or open-world games. I spent the first three hours of the game walking around Colony 9 and the surrounding area gathering collectibles and speaking to every named non-player character in the town. I think I've only completed about 3 story quests! The last thing I did was deliver a lunch and return home. And by "return home" I mean swim to the opposite shore, walk around an island, and get my party knocked out by a high level monster that suddenly appeared when night time set.
I'm loving this game.
This sounds exactly like my first 3 hours playing.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on April 10, 2012, 10:51:40 AM
This game has triggered my horrible obsessive compulsions with MMORPGs or open-world games. I spent the first three hours of the game walking around Colony 9 and the surrounding area gathering collectibles and speaking to every named non-player character in the town. I think I've only completed about 3 story quests! The last thing I did was deliver a lunch and return home. And by "return home" I mean swim to the opposite shore, walk around an island, and get my party knocked out by a high level monster that suddenly appeared when night time set.
I'm loving this game.
This sounds exactly like my first 3 hours playing.
Ha! This is exactly my experience so far. I'm now about 5.5 hours in and just about to enter a cave with three party members. I can actually find my way around colony 9 now and have done a LOT of swimming. On the plus side, I am pretty comofortable with most of the game's systems now and can settle in more without going "wtf was that?" all the time. I am definitely hooked now but it did take awhile. I am disappointed that only one of the heart-to-hearts has been unlocked so far. I find those to be one of the more "J" parts of the JRPG and I want more of them.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on April 10, 2012, 11:59:37 AM
I'm around 10 hours in I think, and loving it. Recently found a secret area called Believer's Paradise which I think offers the most impressive view I've ever seen in a game world, at least outside of a cutscene. (To be fair, I don't have an HD console or Skyrim :P)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mannypon on April 10, 2012, 12:03:08 PM
I have hd consoles and nothing on there can touch some of the views you get later in the game. It really drives me crazy how some reviews knock the graphics. I think they were great during my play through especially with how big everything is and whats going on.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on April 10, 2012, 12:07:47 PM
Yeah, the graphics and art style are beautiful, outside of some of the character models in the cutscenes.
For some reason, I really fucking love gem crafting - at some point last night, I decided to go through the 6 pages of crystals and cylinders I had acquired and craft all of them I could, which took a silly amount of time. Loved it. It's like weapon fusion in Kid Icarus, which I also love.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on April 10, 2012, 03:40:29 PM
Well my order was placed for it, I am getting really excited to play the game!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 10, 2012, 03:52:30 PM
Well my order was placed for it, I am getting really excited to play the game!
Very nice. Glad that worked out for you.
Oh gonna sneak in here and mention if you preordered from Gamestop and they didn't have an art book when you went and picked up your game then you can do so now.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on April 12, 2012, 09:58:43 PM
Got the game today and played it for a couple of hours. So far I am impressed with the game, the battle system is actually fun and interactive, which I prefer to the more traditional battle systems in RPGs. Visuals seem to be a mixed bag, the character models are kind of hideous, but the scenery and art style already look promising. Voice acting is pretty good and it has an interesting story. Like I said though, I'm not too far into it, but so far I like what I've seen.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 12, 2012, 11:17:43 PM
It's hard to explain, but it feels like the character models get "better" the longer the game goes on. That may be me just getting used to it, however.
I've honestly never had this much fun with a game since Demon's and Dark Souls. And heck, before that, I haven't had that much fun with a game since Bioshock.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on April 13, 2012, 02:37:19 PM
Looks like Xenoblade is now BACKORDERED on gamestop.com! Looks like people really put their money where their mouth was for this game. Glad I managed to get my copy.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on April 17, 2012, 06:24:19 PM
So, I have played a few hours more and I find I am having trouble with the battle system. Battles just seem to tick along and I don't seem to be fast enough to instinctively know which arts (or "special moves" or whatever they are called) are best to use at what time. I just sort of wing it and experiment a lot. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. There seems to be a lot to keep track of, what with arts guages filling and affinities and a party guage and and aggro and moving around the creature, checking if you can string attacks yet, etc. Lower level monsters just seem to take care of themselves, sometimes faster than I know what's happened. Higher level ones are hit and miss. There have been a few monsters I have tried to tackle multiple times without success. Maybe I am just not leveled high enough? But skill should play a role. The monsters I am thinking of were the same level as my party, or maybe one level higher. But they are "unique" monsters that seem to dish out more weird damage effects that I can't seem to keep track of in the heat of battle.
So far, I hav experimented with controlling Shulk sometimes and his pal, the "tank" guy (forget his name) at others. I get that they attack differently and all that so I use them differently. I just don't feel like I am mastering it all yet.
I am holding out hope that I may be using the wrong controller. Part of my confusin factor may have to do with the camera which is difficult to control at the best of times with the wii remote and nunchuk, and extra difficult during battles. I am going to try out the classic controller one of these days, but I don't relish re-learning the controls. I am hopeful the camera is easier to contol during battles with two sticks. Then maybe I can manouver around monsters better and set up attacks more strategically. Right now, i just seem to plow at them as best I can. If I stop to fart around with the camera, I can easily die in the time it takes.
Well, glad I got all that off my chest. If anyone has tips or suggestions, I'd be glad to read them.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Caterkiller on April 17, 2012, 06:31:48 PM
Yeah im with you to Fatty. Thought it wasn't until that big battle to save that kid did I know to enchant everyone elses weapons to hurt the mechons more. I don't know how I beat them all until that point.
I've understood break, and topple and all that. Or at least to make it happen which is always helpful, but only during team combo attacks, what ever they are called.
Still I am in the swamp trying to defeat some lizard man tribe leader, I can not kill his butt!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Sarail on April 17, 2012, 06:34:53 PM
Still I am in the swamp trying to defeat some lizard man tribe leader, I can not kill his butt!
Oooh! That fight was fun. Took me quite a few tries experimenting with various party members, but I finally smoked his arse. Felt awesome when I finally took him down, too. You'll get there. Keep partying! :)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 17, 2012, 09:27:42 PM
Hmm from these impressions it seems there isn't one particular way to go about the fights in the game so I welcome that. It also seems that there is a bit of challenge to the game.
I should have my Wii back soon since it is being repaired right now.Nintendo has it right now.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Evan_B on April 17, 2012, 09:40:35 PM
The wonderful thing about the game is that, depending on how in-depth you want your RPG experience to be, you can level arts and change your party leader so that you can end up with a multitude of play styles. Shulk is obviously the easiest to control and possesses a number of battle techniques that make him very accessible. However, the other characters can be leveled in ways to make their abilities benefit the team far more. Sharla sucks when controlled by AI, but proper leveling of her abilities makes her an AMAZING character to lead the party.
I could play this game as each character.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mannypon on April 17, 2012, 10:47:58 PM
Still I am in the swamp trying to defeat some lizard man tribe leader, I can not kill his butt!
Oooh! That fight was fun. Took me quite a few tries experimenting with various party members, but I finally smoked his arse. Felt awesome when I finally took him down, too. You'll get there. Keep partying! :)
oh man do I remember that bastard. I eventually put him on my back burner and counted the days till I leveled up enough to come back and wipe the floor with him. In the end, it felt great to come back decked out in new gear and smack the group up left and right. I don't even remember what I got for beating him but at that point it didn't even matter. It was the ass wooping that mattered :).
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on April 18, 2012, 12:09:45 AM
I am holding out hope that I may be using the wrong controller. Part of my confusin factor may have to do with the camera which is difficult to control at the best of times with the wii remote and nunchuk, and extra difficult during battles. I am going to try out the classic controller one of these days, but I don't relish re-learning the controls. I am hopeful the camera is easier to contol during battles with two sticks. Then maybe I can manouver around monsters better and set up attacks more strategically. Right now, i just seem to plow at them as best I can. If I stop to fart around with the camera, I can easily die in the time it takes.
Oh Christ, you GOTTA use the classic controller. The camera controls with the Wiimote+nunchuk are a goddamn tragedy. Switch to the CC, you'll be so glad you did.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on April 19, 2012, 04:12:30 PM
This has been the only game I've played since I got it, I don't think I've been this into an RPG since Chrono Trigger. I like the fast-paced combat, though it isn't as deep as it could be if you could control the other party members. There's lots to see and do in each area, exploring is fun even if there aren't any sidequests currently active. The graphics aren't great, but the only time they are distracting is in cutscenes when the camera zooms in way too close to the characters. I'd have taken a scale down of areas if it meant more visual clarity, though that may change the game... so instead, I'd have accepted fogging if it meant smoother graphics.
However, I'm not quite getting what makes this game revolutionary. I recall talk about it progressing or "modernizing" the genre, but I have yet to see anything of the sort. It's certainly a well-made game in most respects, and has nifty features like skipping to landmarks, but I don't see any new concepts here. Can someone explain to me what I'm missing?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 19, 2012, 04:27:36 PM
Perhaps the affinity system?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on April 19, 2012, 04:31:30 PM
You can save anywhere and checkpoints are generous. That's a huge plus for me. Grinding seems minimal (or is well masked by encouraging exploration?)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on April 19, 2012, 04:35:20 PM
Tales of Symphonia has an affinity system so that's nothing new, although in that game I believe it was only with your party members and not with townsfolk. So far, the only thing I've noticed is that having more affinity to an area lets you trade for different items with the townsfolk, but I've still got a ways to go. Maybe it'll evolve into something less minor later on.
You can save anywhere and checkpoints are generous. That's a huge plus for me. Grinding seems minimal (or is well masked by encouraging exploration?)
While these are nice features, they've been in games before. And yeah, since I always explore areas and try to do most of the sidequests when I get them, I haven't needed to stop specifically for building up experience to get past a tough enemy. But, if someone were to try to follow the story and didn't do any of the side things, they may need to grind some.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on April 19, 2012, 04:38:11 PM
Well, game set n' match. It ain't original or revolutionary. But at least its fun ;D
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on April 19, 2012, 04:40:27 PM
Oh, yeah, I'm not trying to detract from this game in any way. It's still great. If anything, I think it's an insult to other RPGs to state that XenoBlade revitalized the genre, because it isn't the only RPG out there that has broken away from the Dragon Quest mold (and I say this as someone who even still likes Dragon Quest).
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Evan_B on April 19, 2012, 07:07:54 PM
It's one of the only current-gen RPG's to implement these features, and pull it off with grace. It's also not a piece of **** like most current-gen RPGs.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mannypon on April 19, 2012, 10:57:46 PM
Well I think what they meant when they said revolutionizing the genre is that its revolutionized the jrpg genre, not the rpgs as a whole. A lot of the features in this game have been done before but more so in western rpgs. Japanese rpgs haven't really changed much since the 90s. A lot of the complaints many people have with jrpgs have been remedied here to an extant. Grinding and exploration has been made easier by the quick travel, checkpoints, and little penalty for dieing. Its almost a perfect mix of western and eastern rpg qualities.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on April 19, 2012, 11:45:22 PM
Mannypon has it right. The praise for Xenoblade Chronicles being revolutionary is relative to JRPGs of the past five or so years.
Some annoyances and frustrations I have for this game are the quests for the unique NPCs and the looting system. With the looting system, killing a whole mess of monsters leave a whole mess of treasure chests to button through. The loot isn't automatically picked up or collected in a single chest. The quests for the unique NPCs are the only quests that you need to report back to specific NPCs to turn in (the more generic kill, gather, and search quests are turned in automatically once you fulfill them). Unfortunately, the unique NPCs move around in their respective towns and are only available during certain times. In addition, they don't appear on the main map, don't show up on the mini map until a certain distance, and their affinity chart entry does not detail their exact location (presumably due to them moving around). This makes turning in quests for unique NPCs a time-consuming experience.
These are minor grievances, but they really stick out when other aspects of the game are so streamlined and forgiving.
Anyway, one of my favorite things to do in this game is to find high places with a beautiful view. Once I find them, I promptly leap off and hope to land in to a pool of deep water. Ah, the thrill of the virtual BASE jump is so sweet.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on April 20, 2012, 01:27:39 AM
I've seen a lot of people point to the "seeing the future" bit as being innovative. Anyway, I think trying to point to individual details as being revolutionary is usually a mistake. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Chozo Ghost on April 20, 2012, 07:54:16 AM
Looks like Xenoblade is now BACKORDERED on gamestop.com! Looks like people really put their money where their mouth was for this game. Glad I managed to get my copy.
I wonder if now Reggie regrets dragging his feet for so long on releasing this game. Imagine how huge it would have been if this game had seen a FULL (not just Gamestop) release during the holidays 2011 and with a major advertising push. This game would have been a beast in terms of sales, but Reggie blew it and instead it just gets this limited release which is still very impressive, but with only Gamestop selling it there's no way it can be the hit that it deserves to be.
I hope if nothing else Reggie learned a lesson from this that hardcore gamers do matter and should not be ignored.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 20, 2012, 03:11:24 PM
So I got my Wii back yesterday and I am going to start the game now. I will report my findings in a few hours.The opening is so cool! I'm hooked. Playing with Japanese and then subtitles.
Really liking it so far. I like the battle system and I think that given my time with the game so far I am just going to spend most of my time just running around and doing side quests and fighting monsters and not doing the main quest.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Caterkiller on April 21, 2012, 01:53:31 AM
The english track is so good Maxi! At least for a few hours you've got to try it.
Ok so what should I be doing to gain affinity between party members? I feel like it grows sooo slow. Any tips on speeding things up?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on April 21, 2012, 03:38:42 AM
Having them as party members while accepting and turning in quests gets the hearts going up. Also, make sure to hit those Burst Affinity triggers when a party member has landed a critical hit, missed an attack, or dodged an attack.
One system that is totally not explained or mentioned in the manual or in-game tutorials (as far as I know) is sending collectibles as gifts between party members. Browsing the inventory usually brings a "Discard" option except in the collectibles tab. In the collectibles tab, pressing 'a' brings the option to send the collectible as a gift between two specific party members. Sending the right gift will raise affinity and sending the wrong one will lower it. There are even achievements/trials associated to gift sending.
I haven't messed with it much, but it seems like a quicker way to raise affinity. For the moment, I just like switching party members around and fighting monsters.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Caterkiller on April 21, 2012, 11:29:57 AM
Awesome Enner thanks! Going to look that up now.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Ryadin91 on April 21, 2012, 10:01:31 PM
This game hasme hooked! I can't stop playing it, and I have a research paper due date fastly approaching!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 22, 2012, 01:38:03 AM
How far are you guys in the story? In the least spoiler-riffic way to tell you all where I am:
I'm on Mechonis.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on April 22, 2012, 03:14:45 AM
Ooo, I feel like I'm close to that point as I clock in at the 66-70 hour mark. I'm at the end of Valak Mountain and nearing Sword Valley.
Many have criticized the story and characters of Xenoblade to be relatively simple and flat compared to Monolith Soft's other Xeno- games. I have no points to compare, sad to say. Still, I'm entertained by the plot of this grand adventure and mission so far. While the characters haven't developed significantly/drastically, I can't help but like everyone in this varied party.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 22, 2012, 01:31:42 PM
70 hours? I'm way past that point an I have only about 45 hours under my belt. Now granted, I'm not going too crazy with the side quests.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on April 22, 2012, 03:02:16 PM
With some regret, I have been going crazy with the side quests. As I detailed above, they can be time-consuming affairs. Also, they have the side-effect of over leveling my party. For the entirety of Valak Mountain, nearly all of the aggressive monsters did not bother me.
I don't think I'm ruining the game for myself by taking on so many side quests. I feel I've been good so far at continuing the story whenever I am bored by the side quests.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 22, 2012, 03:39:48 PM
What level is your party? I had a semi hard time with Valak. At where I am now, my party just hit level 60.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on April 23, 2012, 05:47:02 AM
I'm at the bottom of Valak Mountain with my party at level 50-52. Also, the timer reads 72.05 on a System Save. Whoa!
So, I seem to be very ahead of the experience curve of the game.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 23, 2012, 10:00:29 AM
That's what my levels were at the time so...maybe I just suck?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: NWR_Neal on April 23, 2012, 10:32:45 AM
I finally put some time into this and my mind was freaking blown by the end of the opening sequence. This game has me. I'm totally on board with it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on April 23, 2012, 11:51:51 AM
Yeah, great opening. Have you gotten to Bionis' Leg yet? That's where I got really hooked.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: NWR_Neal on April 23, 2012, 12:49:59 PM
I stopped right after that part, so no, I haven't. I just need to carve out some time, hopefully tonight, to play more.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 23, 2012, 01:09:18 PM
Thought I'd chime in with my experience:
Was initially overwhelmed by all of the different systems introduced (arts, Monado arts, gems, inventory, quests, collectibles, premonition battle events, team attacks, status effects, affinity, skill trees, etc.) having not having played a JRPG since the SNES, but after getting ruined by the tentacle boss on Bionis' Leg I spent three and a half hours going back, doing side quests, leveling up, and generally figuring out how the game actually worked (you can level up your specials! you're supposed to use your arts in battle non-stop, not just wait for one or two to refill!), and got completely hooked. I returned to the Mechanis tentacle boss and proceeded to wipe the floor with him, and anticipated forty more hours of a JRPG good time unmatched since the Final Fantasy 6/Chrono Trigger days. Then, right as the boss was on its last tentacles, the game froze and my Wii went to the black screen disc read error.
It now won't read any discs at all. I have a first gen Wii, which has been getting louder and louder over time, but it finally kicked the optical bucket. This is particularly troublesome, as I had no plans on playing any other retail games after Xenoblade. This was to be the swan song, and I now I'm in the position of paying to get it repaired to finish the game or just letting it die. $50 on Xenoblade lost (- resale potential - experience of playing game) or and addition $70+ to resurrect my senescent Wii long enough to finish it?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on April 23, 2012, 01:23:05 PM
That sucks! If you plan on getting the WiiU, you could just wait till then to finish Xenoblade. I don't know if I would be that patient though.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on April 23, 2012, 01:23:33 PM
Or, borrow a friend's Wii. I'm sure plenty of people you know have Wiis gathering dust in their entertainment centers.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Lithium on April 24, 2012, 07:08:41 AM
I've been completely overwhelmed with this game. i dont know whats going on or what does what in terms of combat etc...
Granted this is my first modern Jrpg (the only modern rpgs i've played have been from western studios) but now i know what old people feel like when they try to play video games.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 24, 2012, 08:01:52 AM
You do realize that you can reread any tutorial at any time right?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 24, 2012, 12:43:15 PM
Yeah, this might be a wait for WiiU situation. (Don't think anyone I know who has a Wii laying around at this point.)
Lithium: I feel you on the overwhelming factor. I also don't find the tutorials all that useful. It took a couple of hours of determined trial and error for things to click all the way, as I kept getting my ass kicked by mild groups of same-level enemies. I still don't understand how the gem crafting system works, nor do I understand the skill tree linking thing between characters. I'm hoping I can ignore about 10-20% of the game's complexity and still blunder through (at some point in the future).
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Caterkiller on April 24, 2012, 01:36:08 PM
Ok someone help me out. I'm finally running out of space for little items. How do I know what to keep, and what to sell?
Some items have a red "!" mark on them others have a white "!" on them. Some items have this white X on them and some don't. I can imagine the "!" mark is for story purposes but what about everything else?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on April 24, 2012, 01:44:33 PM
Was initially overwhelmed by all of the different systems introduced (arts, Monado arts, gems, inventory, quests, collectibles, premonition battle events, team attacks, status effects, affinity, skill trees, etc.) having not having played a JRPG since the SNES, but after getting ruined by the tentacle boss on Bionis' Leg I spent three and a half hours going back, doing side quests, leveling up, and generally figuring out how the game actually worked (you can level up your specials! you're supposed to use your arts in battle non-stop, not just wait for one or two to refill!), and got completely hooked. I returned to the Mechanis tentacle boss and proceeded to wipe the floor with him, and anticipated forty more hours of a JRPG good time unmatched since the Final Fantasy 6/Chrono Trigger days. Then, right as the boss was on its last tentacles, the game froze and my Wii went to the black screen disc read error.
It now won't read any discs at all. I have a first gen Wii, which has been getting louder and louder over time, but it finally kicked the optical bucket. This is particularly troublesome, as I had no plans on playing any other retail games after Xenoblade. This was to be the swan song, and I now I'm in the position of paying to get it repaired to finish the game or just letting it die. $50 on Xenoblade lost (- resale potential - experience of playing game) or and addition $70+ to resurrect my senescent Wii long enough to finish it?
That is horrible, sorry to hear that :( .
In regards to Lithium being a bit overwhelmed, I have to agree, it has been challenging to play an RPG after several years. At least it resembles a MMO in battles, and I have played those more recently, but still it can be confusing since I'm completely out of practice with traditional RPGs.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on April 24, 2012, 03:47:30 PM
MagicCow/Lithium, I'm at around level 36 and doing fine I think, and I haven't touched the skill trees at all, if that makes you feel any better.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 24, 2012, 03:58:12 PM
Magic Cow that sounds like the problem that I had. Not this more recent time but the time before. It is basically a disk drive issue so you shouldn't lose any data. I got mine back in 3 days. It would be better to send it in now and and get it repaired and get a year warrenty. Plus since yours is a backwards compatablity system it is better to keep it.
I haven't done much with this game lately it is just because I have been trying to play another game as well. Probably play some this afternoon and later tonight.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on April 24, 2012, 04:47:22 PM
Some items have a red "!" mark on them others have a white "!" on them. Some items have this white X on them and some don't. I can imagine the "!" mark is for story purposes but what about everything else?
The exclamation marks denotes that material or collectible will be used for a quest. Red for a quest you have undertaken and white for a quest you have yet to take. If you are at the point where you have the maximum amount of materials (happened to me after 40-50 hours) or collectibles (that hasn't happened to me yet), then it is probably safe to sort by price and sell a page or so of the lowest valued items.
If you're thinking of selling collectibles, consider using them as gifts between party members to raise affinity. It takes a lot of gifting to raise affinity through collectibles gifting.
Lithium: I feel you on the overwhelming factor. I also don't find the tutorials all that useful. It took a couple of hours of determined trial and error for things to click all the way, as I kept getting my ass kicked by mild groups of same-level enemies. I still don't understand how the gem crafting system works, nor do I understand the skill tree linking thing between characters. I'm hoping I can ignore about 10-20% of the game's complexity and still blunder through (at some point in the future).
I am very familiar with the MMORPG/World of Warcraft combat system that Xenoblade Chronicles is highly reminiscent of. The tutorials made a lot of sense to me when I read them, and I'm sad that I can't imagine how they aren't making sense to you.
Gem crafting isn't immediately obvious, but pretty fun once you get the hang of it. In order to start the process, you need at least two crystals, cylinders, or a combination of them. You don't need to get the qualities to 100% so you can start crafting to generate stronger cylinders. If you do reach or exceed 100% in any quality, then you must start the crafting process.
When you start the crafting process, you will choose one party member to be a shooter and another to be the engineer. The shooter has a character-specific affect to the crafting such as Shulk having a higher chance to go in to a crafting fever or Reyn generating higher percentage gains when the engineer produces a strong flame. The engineer produces one of three flames (strong, medium, and gentle) during a turn. The descriptors of "Strong Flame: average" and "medium flame: good" refer to the odds of that particular flame being used for a crafting turn. For example, Reyn as an engineer is great in strong flames and poor in medium and gentle flames. That means he is more likely to produce a strong flame for a crafting turn than a medium or gentle flame.
Once you select a shooter and engineer, the crafting process essentially turns in to a gambling machine as you watch the gem qualities or green cylinder rise. How many crafting turns you get depend on the affinity level (yellow, green, blue, purple, magenta) between the shooter and the engineer. At the maximum affinity level, a pair can have 10-15 crafting turns.
What happens during the crafting turn: The shooter will shoot... something in to the furnace and the engineer will produce a flame. A strong flame will greatly raise the percentage of one gem quality. This is very useful in pushing a quality over 100% (where it will produce a gem), 200% HEAT, (where it will produce a gem one rank higher than the materials your are using), and 300% MEGA HEAT (where it will produce two gems that are one rank higher). The strategy to take advantage of the strong flame is to select materials in an order that will get gem qualities as close to 200% as possible, to have as few gem qualities being crafted as possible, and to have a crafting pair that will raise the percentages the highest (this pair is Reyn's Strong Bonus and Dunban's Strong Flame: Good).
A medium flame will raise the percentages of all gem qualities. The percentage gains aren't as high as with a strong flame, but you do have the medium flame raising the percentage of all qualities in the mix.
A gentle flame raises the green cylinder gauge located to the right of the gem quality readout. At the start of the crafting process, the cylinder gauge result with be at one. The number represents the number of cylinders you can create out of gem qualities that failed to reach 100% or higher at the end of the crafting process. If a gentle flame is produced by the engineer, the cylinder gauge will rise and eventually increase the result. Normally, you wouldn't worry about this number since you should only be crafting two or three qualities at a time, but it is a number to look out for if you plan on creating a lot of big cylinders in one go.
During crafting, the pair may go in to a fever state where one turn becomes many shots. It happens at random, but you can increase the chance by having Shulk be the shooter or raising one of Shulk's skill tree to an "All" skill that increase the fever chance. If you have increase the affinity of the entire party to each other, they may randomly support the crafting pair with an extra turn.
There's a lot more to the crafting than this. Play around and go for those HEATs! One strategy you can employ is to create high quality cylinders with Melia and Sharla or Sharla and Riki. Then you can use Reyn and Dunban to craft those cylinders to hit HEATs or MEGA HEATs.
Skill linking is comparatively simple. Skill links allow party members to share skills. The number and types of skills allowed is determined by the affinity level between two party members. Higher affinity levels increase the number and type of slots available in a skill link. For example, Reyn has the Heavy Armor skill with a sun-shaped slot early in one of his skill trees. When Reyn has acquired that skill, he can link that skill to another party member who has reached the affinity level with Reyn to have an open sun slot. Shulk opens a sun slot early in his skill link tree with Reyn. Now you can use thirty affinity coins to have Shulk be able to wear heavy armor, something he can't do in his own skill trees.
Ah, affinity coins. You earn those for your party by leveling up and defeating unique monsters. You use affinity coins to set skill links. Those coins are fully refunded when you remove a skill link so don't be afraid to mix and match skill links. For each party member, there is a separate skill link tree per every other party member. It is best to think of skill linking as having an additional 2 or more skill trees to a character's regular three.
Get more party members, raise everyone's skills, raise everyone's affinity between each other, and then you will have a huge pool of skills choose from.
*Side note about a character's regular skill trees.* All acquired skills are always active for a character. Acquiring Reyn's Heavy Armor skill in one tree and then switching to a different active tree won't deactivate Heavy Armor. What is getting activated and deactivated? Each of the three skill trees has a passive bonus such as +10 to Strength or +3% to Critical Rate. That passive bonus is what is being activated and deactivated for a character. You will notice later in the game that your maxed strength skill tree gives +50 to strength while the agility skill tree you're thinking of switching to only has a +10 to agility. Do not despair! Getting more skills is more important. Also, the passive bonus of a skill tree increases as you acquire more skills in the active tree. Worry about which passive bonus to have active after you have acquired all of a character's skills.
EDIT: I think may have wrote too much. Ah....
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on April 24, 2012, 07:06:36 PM
Well I think what they meant when they said revolutionizing the genre is that its revolutionized the jrpg genre, not the rpgs as a whole. A lot of the features in this game have been done before but more so in western rpgs. Japanese rpgs haven't really changed much since the 90s.
I think this is where my main issue is with calling XenoBlade revolutionary. It starts with how all RPGs from Japan are lumped together into one category of "JRPG" despite how different they can be from one another. Rune Factory couldn't be more different than Dragon Quest yet both games are considered in the same genre? That isn't right. I have a similar problem with the "WRPG" term.
Secondly, including features from different genres can make for a revolutionary game, but putting elements from MMOs and open-world games into an RPG from Japan isn't revolutionizing RPGs from Japan. RPGs these days are also very different and offer unique experience, like Radiant Historia for example, but people seem to ignore them and instead use Dragon Quest and the Tales series as a representative for entire genres.
The various genres of RPGs that Japan creates are their own thing, and adding in elements from other genres isn't revolutionizing them. It's just that most people in North America have never liked these RPGs to begin with, and want them to be something they are not - and never should be.
I think trying to point to individual details as being revolutionary is usually a mistake. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
How can you determine if a game is revolutionary if you can't pinpoint what elements of the game influences other games? Take Zelda: Ocarina of Time for example, the whole lock-on system was revolutionary and started appearing in more adventure games.
I forgot about the future mechanic, which although it hasn't been used much yet in the game is an interesting dynamic. But, though an innovative idea, it's more like one that may appear in future Monolith Soft games but I doubt we'll see it become a standard for any type of RPG.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on April 24, 2012, 07:25:31 PM
I think a better term for Xenoblade is that it has helped evolved, not revolutionized, the genre beyond the standard formula. Whether others grasp onto it or not, well that is another story.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on April 24, 2012, 07:29:32 PM
An action-based system is not an evolution of a turn-based system. But, there may be a few other things in the game that could be considered an evolution, such as the check points or landmark skipping, which is like a version of Dragon Quest's town-warping spell that applies to more than just towns.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 24, 2012, 07:33:10 PM
I actually consider it close to the ATB system because of the auto-battling.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: silverwings07 on April 25, 2012, 07:49:23 AM
Can someone explain this whole gifting process, the trading of collectables between party members? Do I lose that collectable if I "gift" it? I haven't seen any tutorials on this ingame yet.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: MagicCow64 on April 25, 2012, 09:54:13 AM
Some items have a red "!" mark on them others have a white "!" on them. Some items have this white X on them and some don't. I can imagine the "!" mark is for story purposes but what about everything else?
The exclamation marks denotes that material or collectible will be used for a quest. Red for a quest you have undertaken and white for a quest you have yet to take. If you are at the point where you have the maximum amount of materials (happened to me after 40-50 hours) or collectibles (that hasn't happened to me yet), then it is probably safe to sort by price and sell a page or so of the lowest valued items.
If you're thinking of selling collectibles, consider using them as gifts between party members to raise affinity. It takes a lot of gifting to raise affinity through collectibles gifting.
Lithium: I feel you on the overwhelming factor. I also don't find the tutorials all that useful. It took a couple of hours of determined trial and error for things to click all the way, as I kept getting my ass kicked by mild groups of same-level enemies. I still don't understand how the gem crafting system works, nor do I understand the skill tree linking thing between characters. I'm hoping I can ignore about 10-20% of the game's complexity and still blunder through (at some point in the future).
I am very familiar with the MMORPG/World of Warcraft combat system that Xenoblade Chronicles is highly reminiscent of. The tutorials made a lot of sense to me when I read them, and I'm sad that I can't imagine how they aren't making sense to you.
Gem crafting isn't immediately obvious, but pretty fun once you get the hang of it. In order to start the process, you need at least two crystals, cylinders, or a combination of them. You don't need to get the qualities to 100% so you can start crafting to generate stronger cylinders. If you do reach or exceed 100% in any quality, then you must start the crafting process.
When you start the crafting process, you will choose one party member to be a shooter and another to be the engineer. The shooter has a character-specific affect to the crafting such as Shulk having a higher chance to go in to a crafting fever or Reyn generating higher percentage gains when the engineer produces a strong flame. The engineer produces one of three flames (strong, medium, and gentle) during a turn. The descriptors of "Strong Flame: average" and "medium flame: good" refer to the odds of that particular flame being used for a crafting turn. For example, Reyn as an engineer is great in strong flames and poor in medium and gentle flames. That means he is more likely to produce a strong flame for a crafting turn than a medium or gentle flame.
Once you select a shooter and engineer, the crafting process essentially turns in to a gambling machine as you watch the gem qualities or green cylinder rise. How many crafting turns you get depend on the affinity level (yellow, green, blue, purple, magenta) between the shooter and the engineer. At the maximum affinity level, a pair can have 10-15 crafting turns.
What happens during the crafting turn: The shooter will shoot... something in to the furnace and the engineer will produce a flame. A strong flame will greatly raise the percentage of one gem quality. This is very useful in pushing a quality over 100% (where it will produce a gem), 200% HEAT, (where it will produce a gem one rank higher than the materials your are using), and 300% MEGA HEAT (where it will produce two gems that are one rank higher). The strategy to take advantage of the strong flame is to select materials in an order that will get gem qualities as close to 200% as possible, to have as few gem qualities being crafted as possible, and to have a crafting pair that will raise the percentages the highest (this pair is Reyn's Strong Bonus and Dunban's Strong Flame: Good).
A medium flame will raise the percentages of all gem qualities. The percentage gains aren't as high as with a strong flame, but you do have the medium flame raising the percentage of all qualities in the mix.
A gentle flame raises the green cylinder gauge located to the right of the gem quality readout. At the start of the crafting process, the cylinder gauge result with be at one. The number represents the number of cylinders you can create out of gem qualities that failed to reach 100% or higher at the end of the crafting process. If a gentle flame is produced by the engineer, the cylinder gauge will rise and eventually increase the result. Normally, you wouldn't worry about this number since you should only be crafting two or three qualities at a time, but it is a number to look out for if you plan on creating a lot of big cylinders in one go.
During crafting, the pair may go in to a fever state where one turn becomes many shots. It happens at random, but you can increase the chance by having Shulk be the shooter or raising one of Shulk's skill tree to an "All" skill that increase the fever chance. If you have increase the affinity of the entire party to each other, they may randomly support the crafting pair with an extra turn.
There's a lot more to the crafting than this. Play around and go for those HEATs! One strategy you can employ is to create high quality cylinders with Melia and Sharla or Sharla and Riki. Then you can use Reyn and Dunban to craft those cylinders to hit HEATs or MEGA HEATs.
Skill linking is comparatively simple. Skill links allow party members to share skills. The number and types of skills allowed is determined by the affinity level between two party members. Higher affinity levels increase the number and type of slots available in a skill link. For example, Reyn has the Heavy Armor skill with a sun-shaped slot early in one of his skill trees. When Reyn has acquired that skill, he can link that skill to another party member who has reached the affinity level with Reyn to have an open sun slot. Shulk opens a sun slot early in his skill link tree with Reyn. Now you can use thirty affinity coins to have Shulk be able to wear heavy armor, something he can't do in his own skill trees.
Ah, affinity coins. You earn those for your party by leveling up and defeating unique monsters. You use affinity coins to set skill links. Those coins are fully refunded when you remove a skill link so don't be afraid to mix and match skill links. For each party member, there is a separate skill link tree per every other party member. It is best to think of skill linking as having an additional 2 or more skill trees to a character's regular three.
Get more party members, raise everyone's skills, raise everyone's affinity between each other, and then you will have a huge pool of skills choose from.
*Side note about a character's regular skill trees.* All acquired skills are always active for a character. Acquiring Reyn's Heavy Armor skill in one tree and then switching to a different active tree won't deactivate Heavy Armor. What is getting activated and deactivated? Each of the three skill trees has a passive bonus such as +10 to Strength or +3% to Critical Rate. That passive bonus is what is being activated and deactivated for a character. You will notice later in the game that your maxed strength skill tree gives +50 to strength while the agility skill tree you're thinking of switching to only has a +10 to agility. Do not despair! Getting more skills is more important. Also, the passive bonus of a skill tree increases as you acquire more skills in the active tree. Worry about which passive bonus to have active after you have acquired all of a character's skills.
EDIT: I think may have wrote too much. Ah....
Thanks for the guidance, the skill tree linking now makes sense, and I now have some idea of how gem making works, though damn, it still sounds convoluted for a casually introduced side mechanic.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Caterkiller on April 25, 2012, 03:20:21 PM
When I run from an enemy a blue arrow shows on my character icon, what is happening?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on April 25, 2012, 03:54:19 PM
Can someone explain this whole gifting process, the trading of collectables between party members? Do I lose that collectable if I "gift" it? I haven't seen any tutorials on this ingame yet.
In the collectibles tab of the inventory, you can select a collectible. Doing this will bring up the option to "Present" it. From there, you can select the party member who will send the present and then the party member who will receive the present. The collectible is used (and lost) during the gifting process. Gifting presents can lower affinity between two party members by one heart or raise affinity by one to three or four hearts. If you need to unlock the next skill link slot or want to see a heart-to-heart, then you can use a lot (and I mean a lot) of collectibles to raise affinity between party members.
When I run from an enemy a blue arrow shows on my character icon, what is happening?
The downward blue arrow on a characters portrait means that his/her tension is being reduced. Tension is not explained well in the game, but there is a short paragraph on it in the manual. Tension is an in-battle character state that has a spectrum running from panicked to normal to focused. A character's tension in battle affects their accuracy, evasion, critical hit rate, and other parameters. It is easiest to think of tension as the character's morale.
During a battle when a character's tension is getting low, his or her portrait will show their face looking downward. The player-controlled character can go to the panicked character to encourage with a press of the 'b' button. This is usually enough to raise the panicked character's tension back to a normal state. The computer-controlled players can also encourage the player-controlled character if the opportunity arises. Battle Start Affinity (pressing 'b' when you start a battle) and Burst Affinity (pressing 'b' when a character dodges an attack, misses an attack, lands a critical hit, or defeats an enemy) are some ways to raise tension in battle. When your whole party is focused with their character portraits on fire, you will find the battle to go much smoother and you might find yourself pulling off the maximum 9-links Chain Attack.
EDIT: I should have experimented with this a bit more, but the story compelled me to play the game normally.
I noticed something from switching around arts for my CPU party members. Afterwards, the arts they use in battle are mostly the arts I set in the arts palette. I hypothesized that the CPU only uses arts that are set. I did one trial with the CPU party members' art palettes set to one art (the minimum). Sure enough, the only arts the CPU used were the ones I set, and it was all auto-attacks the rest of the time in that battle. I'll play around some more, but it seems that CPU party members will only use arts set on their respective palettes or at least will use those arts more often. Now that I think about it, it should have been obvious to me from the start how serious setting up the art palettes are.
This will be very useful in setting how CPU party members to act. A prime example is not having Shulk use the Battle Soul art frequently.
Also, broke the 101 hour mark with my party at level 64. Ah... I'm playing this game too much.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on April 26, 2012, 03:07:12 PM
Yeah, that seems so obvious that it shouldn't need explaining.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on April 26, 2012, 03:51:59 PM
Indeed. I wrongly assumed that the the CPU party members were able to freely use all the skills they possess.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on April 26, 2012, 06:19:56 PM
If the CPU could use every art, then there would be less incentive to control a character yourself.
I don't particularly like having AI partners, I'd prefer some way to control them so I could devise strategies instead of just waiting and hoping they do what I want. This game seems like it was made like an online game, but it's not online...
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 26, 2012, 06:24:22 PM
Mop it up, you can control what they do in various circumstances.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on April 26, 2012, 06:25:37 PM
You mean chain attacks? Sure, that's nice, but I want near complete control.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 26, 2012, 06:29:35 PM
Actually, there are moments when you've seen the future, you can warn your teammates and control the next art that they use, fully charged.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on April 26, 2012, 06:30:57 PM
Those moments rarely happen though, and they don't usually have an art that can counter it, or would be better than one of the Monado's powers.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mannypon on April 26, 2012, 06:58:54 PM
Was initially overwhelmed by all of the different systems introduced (arts, Monado arts, gems, inventory, quests, collectibles, premonition battle events, team attacks, status effects, affinity, skill trees, etc.) having not having played a JRPG since the SNES, but after getting ruined by the tentacle boss on Bionis' Leg I spent three and a half hours going back, doing side quests, leveling up, and generally figuring out how the game actually worked (you can level up your specials! you're supposed to use your arts in battle non-stop, not just wait for one or two to refill!), and got completely hooked. I returned to the Mechanis tentacle boss and proceeded to wipe the floor with him, and anticipated forty more hours of a JRPG good time unmatched since the Final Fantasy 6/Chrono Trigger days. Then, right as the boss was on its last tentacles, the game froze and my Wii went to the black screen disc read error.
It now won't read any discs at all. I have a first gen Wii, which has been getting louder and louder over time, but it finally kicked the optical bucket. This is particularly troublesome, as I had no plans on playing any other retail games after Xenoblade. This was to be the swan song, and I now I'm in the position of paying to get it repaired to finish the game or just letting it die. $50 on Xenoblade lost (- resale potential - experience of playing game) or and addition $70+ to resurrect my senescent Wii long enough to finish it?
Oh man I remember this almost happening to me when I got my Euro copy. I freaked and almost thought it was an issue with me modding the Wii. Thank god that issue eventually went away after a few resets. I'd just wait on the WiiU as some have suggested, the game is def worth the wait.
I can't wait until all of you are done with it so I can read all your overall summaries to your experiences lol. I remember going through that back when I finished the game and I loved hearing others point of view on the experience. I'm glad to see everyone is enjoying it for the most part.
A little bit of advice, be sure to be sufficiently leveled up before hitting the final boss. That battle was so brutal for me my first time through that it was almost a game breaker for me as I hate hitting the rpg wall on the final boss. Eventually after some serious grinding and experimenting with different lineups, I was strong enough to push through. The final battle sequence is the stuff you find in classic rpgs. If you've ever played rpgs from the SNES era then you know what you'll be expecting during the final battle. Some of you seem to be at a sufficient level though so you might not have as difficult a time with it by the time you reach it. The final battle basically is the old chestnut of a string of battles back to back with no save point in between
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 26, 2012, 07:10:30 PM
Actually it happens quite often if you have some of your party gauge filled. Once you warn someone, it uses a small chunk of the party gauge.
My party gauge is always filled in case I need a revive. I think it's based on if your characters are in danger of being knocked out, because I'm always at least a few levels higher than the enemies I meet and I rarely see visions outside of bosses. The ones I do see are moves that will KO or topple a member.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mannypon on April 26, 2012, 10:24:47 PM
Another FYI, Riki is a bad ass lol. It pains me to say this given my screen name on here but I didn't discover how much of a bad ass Riki was until the battle with the final boss. Throughout the whole game Riki merely served as comedic value as is typical with characters of his type in JRPGs. It wasn't until a particular deep moment between Dunban and Riki that my view of Riki changed (I won't mention it as it is quite possibly a spoiler lol). Then, it wasn't until the final battle where his true worth became clear to me. I went through almost every possible team combination during that fight as the team I was using throughout the whole game just wasn't cutting it. Its funny, in the end, I resorted back to my original group with only one swap which was inserting Riki.
Thus, in the end, Riki was the difference maker, he was what separated repeated defeats from complete domination. Basically, Riki saved the world. A true Heropon if there ever was one :) . :cool;
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 26, 2012, 10:44:56 PM
Seriously, Riki, if done right, can take down any boss and most unique monsters by himself. Heropon indeed.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mannypon on April 26, 2012, 10:48:49 PM
lol he is the game's secret weapon. I think I'll cut and paste my post game impressions from the old Xenoblade thread into this one once everyone has completed their run through. I sudjest those that have no finished the game to not even think of visiting the old Xenoblade impression thread as it is filled from top to bottom with naked spoilers. I'll refrain from re posting my old posts for now as they also have some spoilers sprinkled in.
Again, just in case people miss this post. Here is my PSA. DO NOT visit the old Xenoblade impressions thread if you have not finished the game. It is littered with SPOILERS. You have been warned lol.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Lithium on April 29, 2012, 11:53:31 PM
(http://i.imgur.com/ZAYKf.jpg)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 30, 2012, 12:04:40 AM
HOLY **** LOL
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on April 30, 2012, 06:16:37 AM
That is worth a smile.
After 134 hours, I end Xenoblade Chronicles. The ending got a bit weird, and I was all for it. I approached the final stretch at level 80-81 and felt that I was about even with the last of the story bosses. I was rolling with Melia followed by Dunban and Riki. Trying to heal enough with Melia and Riki isn't the smartest of ideas. It also hurt that my arts and gems set up meant that I would be taking all the status ailments. Still I made it work, and Dunban and Riki brought the hurt.
I need to sleep to solidify my thoughts on the game. I'm sure that I really like. I have minor grievances with some quests, their designs, and how the systems that surround them interact with the player. Also, I need to think on what are problems and faults on my part rather than the game's.
What speaks the loudest in appreciation for this game is that I want to be playing more of it even now. There's still some end game content that I want to complete. Also, I want to play the game again with the Japanese voices. Finally, the options that new game + present are very amusing.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: broodwars on April 30, 2012, 03:56:21 PM
I'm not in the mood to page back through 22 pages of posts, so can anyone tell me if anyone here has tried to see whether European Xenoblade saves are compatible with the NA version of the game? My local GameStops seem completely unable to sell the copies of the game they have, so I've been considering perhaps upgrading to the NA version (assuming I can get it for relatively cheap through trade-in credit or whatnot and my old save is compatible).
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Lithium on April 30, 2012, 04:15:26 PM
Riki does have a nice skill set, but I can't stand his voice. Though since doing so many side things makes me over-leveled, it doesn't really matter who I use.
Only level 81 after 134 hours? What have you spent your time doing? I've played for less than half that and I'm in the 60's, which is about a level an hour. I don't feel like I'm rushing through the game either...
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on April 30, 2012, 08:50:17 PM
My internet was down last night so I went and played this a bit more and played a bit more. I got the Monado for Shulk I can't believe what happened that type of thing had to happen to get it. So emotional. Mainly talking about after the first major fight. The Mechron with the face.Metal Face.
Anyway I am liking the gem crafting system. It may be the Tri fanboy in me but I like the stats and how there is many different ways you can go with weapons and armor mix ups and even though you get newer weapons and armor some of the older ones may work better in some cases. It took a little while and it may be because it was late when I was introduced to it but I like the Chain attack. I did it once and it was pretty cool. Made it up through this plain and came across this boy that was being chased by monsters and he welcomed us back to Colony 6.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on April 30, 2012, 08:54:52 PM
Actually, starting over has been a lot of fun anyway though. The first time through there were so many tutorials and systems that the early stages of the game didn't feel very smooth. Second time through everything is much quicker and easier, and I've picked up a few things that I didn't remember from the tutorials initially.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: broodwars on April 30, 2012, 10:10:40 PM
Nice. Sometime in the near future, when money is a little more available than it is now, I'll probably upgrade to an NA version then. I just wish there was an easier way to get rid of my EU version than Ebay or Craigslist. I wonder if GameStop might take it, considering I've seen Region 4 anime DVDs there back when GameStop still sold DVDs.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: TJ Spyke on April 30, 2012, 10:12:32 PM
But many DVD players are region free, no Wiis are unless you mod them. There is probably very little chance GameStop would. eBay or Craiglist would be more likely, though I am not sure how much you could get for them TBH.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on April 30, 2012, 10:21:18 PM
A more important question:
Fiora in speed armor yes/yes?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on May 01, 2012, 04:35:51 AM
Only level 81 after 134 hours? What have you spent your time doing? I've played for less than half that and I'm in the 60's, which is about a level an hour. I don't feel like I'm rushing through the game either...
I had 4-5 time-consuming tears of gem crafting where I used every crystal and cylinder I had to craft gems that I never use. Some of that time was spent walking around completing side quests. Perhaps if I had been fighting monsters in those hours, I would be nearer to the game's level cap.
Yes, considering I am saving a set of the Z ones and the unique III set. I am a bit disappointed that the a lot of the armor sets for the female characters are more showy than sensible. Sharla seems to get the worst of it with her medium and heavy armor sets. Melia's light armors are nice; it's only her medium and heavy sets where the boob plate and exposed backs pop up. It's a minor complaint, and I must admit that some of the armor sets are eye-pleasing.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on May 01, 2012, 09:59:37 AM
You think that's bad? Try taking all of the characters armor off, stripping them to their underwear.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Chozo Ghost on May 01, 2012, 01:52:40 PM
Nice. Sometime in the near future, when money is a little more available than it is now, I'll probably upgrade to an NA version then. I just wish there was an easier way to get rid of my EU version than Ebay or Craigslist. I wonder if GameStop might take it, considering I've seen Region 4 anime DVDs there back when GameStop still sold DVDs.
Months before the NA version came out I made a suggestion that those who had the PAL version should sell it because at that time you could still get a lot of money for your PAL copy. But now that the NA version is out I don't think the demand for the European version will be quite as high.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on May 01, 2012, 02:46:03 PM
Nice. Sometime in the near future, when money is a little more available than it is now, I'll probably upgrade to an NA version then. I just wish there was an easier way to get rid of my EU version than Ebay or Craigslist. I wonder if GameStop might take it, considering I've seen Region 4 anime DVDs there back when GameStop still sold DVDs.
Might not work for you, but I found a trade that I was happy with on an European Nintendo gaming site.
(Not sure how kosher it is to post details/links here, but PM me if you want to hear more. I know that some other people at the site were possibly interested in trading for Xenoblade, not sure if you'd get anything you actually want in return like I did.)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on May 01, 2012, 03:52:18 PM
You think that's bad? Try taking all of the characters armor off, stripping them to their underwear.
Already done that. Also, I'm keeping any of the latter tier swimming wear I can find for possible laughs and giggles during cut scenes.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mannypon on May 01, 2012, 06:31:00 PM
Now that I see someone has completed the game, I'll go ahead and re post my original ending post from back in December to try and contribute to the discussion here.
"I finally finished the game last night with a build of level 81 shulk, sharla, and riki. I will say this, this is def in my top 5 rpgs ever. The game is so grand and so fullfilling by the end. When everything is said and done, you actually get the feeling of accomplishment. The journey from little hom to world savior is an amazing and grueling one. I think the ending was perfect and left it on a very good note even though it created more questions than it answered. Hopefully this becomes a franchise for Nintendo and sequels are made on the WiiU in the years to come. Theres still so much more they can do with this world.
Also, this is the first JRPG where I enjoyed every single character. Usually theres at least one in a game that I can't stand especially the cliched "cute" one that's in every jrpg and is practically useless and annoying. I would assume Riki was the designated "cute" character in this game but he is far from the stereotypical cliched character. At first I really didn't think much of him but over time he grows on you. I think the scene where he and Dunban had that deep conversation at the beach really sold me on Riki and had me seeing him in a new light. Once I actually saw him in battle, I was sold, Riki was a baddass heropon. Also something about the "pon" extension he adds to words really has a nice ring to it lol. I think one day when I have kids I'll love to have them call me daddypon lol"
My thoughts on Riki after completion (thanks again to InsanoLord for the assist on my screenname adjustment lol)
"As for Riki and the noppon, I didn't really think much of them at first. I saw them as your usual cutesy characters that are in every jrpg. I did love their home village though. It was an amazing place to visit and some of the views were spectacular from it, specially during sunsets.
Riki though really grew into his own character and I think its great how you and your expectations of him go along with the main characters in the game. At first the group didn't really think much of him too but at the end, he's just as big a part of the group as the next man or woman. "
and here is me in defence of Riki's good name after Broodwar expressing his low opinion of him lol.
"blasphemous.... how dare you sully Riki's good name lol. Alas, I was like you once lol. When I first saw him, I didn't think much of him just like you. I never once planned to ever use him but by the end of the game, I was singing a different tune. I'll just say this to Riki's defence, I attempted the final boss a handfull of times and failed each one. I then decided to switch out my usual tank Reyn for Riki and within 15 or so minutes, Riki has his boot on that boss's throat. I think its obvious who the difference maker in that group was then lol.
Quick note though for those that have finished the game, I really enjoyed the banter between Riki and Reyn during the ending, I thought it was hilarious. Thinking back at it again, I believe Riki is the only character in the game we adults can all relate to one time or another in our lives. He has a bunch of kids and a wife he needs to keep happy so he doesn't have to be repremanded lol. Compared to everyone else in the game, that's as real as it gets lol."
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: noname2200 on May 02, 2012, 11:15:13 AM
Anyway I am liking the gem crafting system. It may be the Tri fanboy in me but I like the stats and how there is many different ways you can go with weapons and armor mix ups and even though you get newer weapons and armor some of the older ones may work better in some cases. It took a little while and it may be because it was late when I was introduced to it but I like the Chain attack. I did it once and it was pretty cool.
Glad you're liking it!
And rest assured, especially in the lat game you're going to live and die by the Chain Attack, so don't forget about it! (They'll also become easier to pull off + even stronger as you advance)
Gems are also a nice bonus now, but they'll be ungodly by the end game, so it's good that you're already paying attention to them. In my first playthrough, I barely noticed either gems or Chain Attacks, and I suffered accordingly. :-(
You think that's bad? Try taking all of the characters armor off, stripping them to their underwear.
Naked Dunban is the best Dunban!
.............
I should explain...
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on May 02, 2012, 02:28:20 PM
I played around with the super-agility-boosted Dunban but never seriously tried it out against a tough opponent. Having armor with gems seems more important than using multiple skills to boost the base stats.
The chain attack reminds me that I really need to raise the affinity of Shulk between all the other party members. His skills that boost chain attack damage and increase the chance of linking more chain attacks are invaluable.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on May 02, 2012, 05:16:36 PM
Do you guys use non-Shulk characters much as your primary character? I never do.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: noname2200 on May 02, 2012, 05:25:11 PM
I played around with the super-agility-boosted Dunban but never seriously tried it out against a tough opponent. Having armor with gems seems more important than using multiple skills to boost the base stats.
He's actually pretty good for most of the game going in the buff, especially when he links to Melia's unadorned skill, but the few hits that get through always make me nervous, so by the late game I usually just keep him in light armor. He's a beast either way.
Do you guys use non-Shulk characters much as your primary character? I never do.
Melia's useless unless you're controlling her, and Melia's awesome, so as soon as I get her I ditch Shulk. The final character is also fun to use directly, since she basically does 90% of the work for you.
Other than that, I tend to switch around when boosting affinity. Everyone's got their upsides, but playing as Sharla does bore me.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on May 02, 2012, 06:05:23 PM
Nice, I'll try Melia some.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on May 02, 2012, 06:06:38 PM
Make sure to not release her elements so quickly. I didn't realize until the final boss that by keeping them up, you'll give you and your teammates a boost.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on May 02, 2012, 10:59:43 PM
Do you guys use non-Shulk characters much as your primary character? I never do.
I switched around very early on. In Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Vesperia, I grew attached to playing the healing and magic characters since they could take an overlooking view of the battle. Also, as stated above, you need to switch around to help build affinity between party members.
Make sure to not release her elements so quickly. I didn't realize until the final boss that by keeping them up, you'll give you and your teammates a boost.
Heh, I guess I'm one of the few that diligently reads all the in-game tutorials? The battle tips for Melia detail how her summoned elementals provide buffs for the entire party. One things about Melia is that she is delayed in summoning and discharging a third elemental. If you decide only to keep one elemental active, Melia summons and discharges the second more quickly.
I haven't run in to too much trouble with the CPU controlling Melia, but that might be me not paying attention to what she is doing. At least most of the time I perform a chain attack, Melia usually has a bolt elemental ready to fire.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on May 03, 2012, 02:02:32 AM
Whenever I get a new character I switch over to them for a while to just get a feel of their artes and how they play and their skills and get to know what they say when they use what attack so I know what to listen to when I am using other characters so I can coordinate my attacks with them.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: leahsdad on May 04, 2012, 08:53:47 AM
So I'm 13 hours in, and I have to say this could quite possibly be one of the most refined, well crafted JRPG's I've ever played. Every aspect, from the combat system to the narrative, is just so good. A few, very few, anime cliche's, but not too bad, and I have a very low tolerance for those things. And for the first time since I was a teenager, I'm actually caught up in the story of a game. Part of that is really good use of the "future visions" as a narrative device (thanks Battlestar Galactica) and part of that is just a really good, suspenseful "what is all this about" story (also thanks Battlestar Galactica).
I just really, really hope that the ending is not:
1. This was all just a holodeck computer simulation 2. This is all just a dream
I will kill my classic controller if that happens.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on May 04, 2012, 02:28:29 PM
I just really, really hope that the ending is not:
1. This was all just a holodeck computer simulation 2. This is all just a dream
I will kill my classic controller if that happens.
You need not worry. There are some very weird aspects to the story in the game's end, but none of it renders the preceding story worthless. In fact, it may just have you look at the rest of the story in a different light. Anyway, you don't have to worry about experiencing a reset ending.
EDIT: Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I've been looking up the English voice acting credits for Xenoblade Chronicles. I recall a comment on Radio Free Nintendo stating that Melia's voice over (http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/wii/xenoblade_chronicles_32583.html) is one of the game's best. When I searched for other roles Jenna-Louise Coleman has played, I discovered that she will be the new companion character in Doctor Who.
It's going to be weird watching Doctor Who when all that's ringing in my head is, "Hmm, a rather advantageous position," and, "I see you strength is the genuine article." It should be fun though.
Oh, and one example of voice over efficiency in the game I've discovered is that Shulk (http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/wii/xenoblade_chronicles_32583.html) and Kalian (http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/wii/xenoblade_chronicles_32583.html) are voice by the same actor. Good on Adam Howden for being able to voice two characters without me noticing.
EDIT, EDIT Ah, I was mistaken. Kalian's English voice over is provided by Rufus Wright, not Adam Howden.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Adrock on May 11, 2012, 10:42:29 AM
I finally opened this last night. I didn't get to far, just to the 1st town. Voice acting is above average. Graphics are the typical "good for a Wii game." There are some really bad textures throughout but tons of grass everywhere. I like the gameplay so far though I've most been just mauling giant rabbit and wasp creatures. They're so weak that I actually feel like I'm good at videogames.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Fatty The Hutt on May 11, 2012, 11:02:24 AM
Had a big ol' 4 hour play session last night after a break from playing for a bit (life always interferes with my gaming dagnabbit).
I had stopped just after the first Mechon attack. Story says I'm supposed to head to another colony now. So what did I do? Spent the whole time in and around my hometown doing sidequests, raising affinities, gem crafting, leveling up some different arts and swapping out gear.
THOROUGHLY enjoyed myself. I'm getting better at the craziness of combat. And thank-you to gbuell about the suggestion to switch to the classic controller. I broke down and sprung for a CCPro (had a regular one that has become sticky with myriad "children-juice"). It has made a huge difference.
You know, I think this Xenoblade Chronicles thing just might be a pretty darn good game. ;D
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Adrock on May 11, 2012, 11:12:02 AM
(had a regular one that has become sticky with myriad "children-juice").
That sounds a lot worse than you probably intended. Lulz
The children in question are my own. I wonder if that makes it sound better or worse?
...worse
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: BeautifulShy on May 11, 2012, 11:35:14 AM
Typically there is a arrow Fatty_The_Hutt that points to where your next story objective with a number below it and that typically is the distance to the next area. If I remember correctly you have to go to the caves and that is in the direction to the east of the main entrance to the city.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Adrock on May 11, 2012, 11:40:26 AM
Typically there is a arrow Fatty_The_Hutt that points to where your next story objective with a number below it and that typically is the distance to the next area. If I remember correctly you have to go to the caves and that is in the direction to the east of the main entrance to the city.
Thanks, Maxi. I know all this. I think you misunderstood. I am not lost for what to do next at all. I deliberately spent my time farting around in Colony 9 before setting off to the next story thing. I started off with learning gem crafting and then just messed around from there, got caught up in a bunch of side-quests, etc. I was having too much fun to move on yet. Now I am saved outside Tephra Cave and ready to push on (though I might double back for a few Colony Crabbles that are part of an uncompleted side-quest. We shall see.)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on May 11, 2012, 05:28:58 PM
Loads of sidequests. I like saving them up for when I'm more powerful than most of the enemies in the area, so I can go back and breeze through them. Though I suppose that may be an inefficient way to get experience...
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on May 13, 2012, 01:13:03 AM
Thing about gem crafting: Don't be like me and craft every possible gem you can when you nearly fill the 300 spaces for crystals and cylinders. I've wasted hours crafting gems that I never use. The gems you get from quests and unique equipment should be adequate for the needs of the story if you keep pace with the level curve. This may be from my party being over leveled for most of the story, but I don't think you need to be concerned with gem crafting until you can craft rank 4 or 5 materials. That said, it wouldn't hurt to make a few attribute boosters if you have the slots for them.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on May 13, 2012, 04:33:09 AM
But I LIKE gem crafting!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Evan_B on May 15, 2012, 04:26:08 PM
Every time I enter a new region, my pants explode.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on May 15, 2012, 07:41:52 PM
Why do you like gem crafting? I find it one of the few low points. This game does pretty well of avoiding the random elements that tend to plague RPGs, but the gem crafting is pretty much 100% random. Waiting until the RNG finally decides to give you the crystals you want is bad enough, but then it's also random that they will reach their maximum strength in crafting. Not only that, but you have to sit through a boring scene that should be interactive every single time you craft one.
Fortunately gem crafting isn't required for the main game, but the right gems are needed to defeat the optional high-level enemies in the game. For that reason, I may not bother with them; at that point the game falls into nothing but tedium.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on May 15, 2012, 10:36:13 PM
Um, nothing is random in Gem Crafting. You have to be smart about what you craft and what you don't. Plus, you do know that you can speed up the scene when you craft, right?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on May 15, 2012, 10:50:31 PM
Explain. From where I'm seeing, the crystals you get from enemies/deposits contain random attributes from a certain set, and the numbers in the refining process are also generated randomly.
And I know it can be sped up, but that's nowhere near being able to skip it entirely. Since it isn't interactive, there's no reason to have to see it each and every time.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on May 15, 2012, 10:56:10 PM
Oh, that's what you meant. Sorry, I thought you meant something else.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on May 15, 2012, 11:32:56 PM
They're random, much like almost every other aspect of most RPGs, but you can still predict what will happen pretty well, based on the people you pair up. I just like the distillation of a bunch of random materials into useful items, and being clever about throwing low-stat crystals into the mix to up their stats and get cylinders back, while not putting so many extra crystals in that you lose some of them. I do wish you could skip the animation but it's quick enough when you speed it up.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: noname2200 on May 15, 2012, 11:54:57 PM
Making the crafting process into something interactive would have bored me. I'm glad I can just hold the A button for five to ten seconds and blaze through it. Although it would have been even better to not waste those five to ten seconds.
I generally like the system in place, though. You can actually exercise quite a bit of influence over the final result, but there's enough randomness to keep things interesting. And since I don't find any of the abilities (aside from Agility) to be particularly overwhelming until you reach the Level IV+ gems, I basically consider most of the system to be added bonuses rather than required.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on May 16, 2012, 01:36:33 AM
Explain. From where I'm seeing, the crystals you get from enemies/deposits contain random attributes from a certain set, and the numbers in the refining process are also generated randomly.
As for the flames and party support, they are pretty random. However, there are things you can do so the numbers play in your favor. Sure fire way is to use 7TH and Riki to separate all the attributes in to cylinders (I usually craft six attributes with the pair at max [heart] affinity), and then use Reyn and Dunban (at max affinity) to easily get MEGA HEAT crafted gems.
As you can tell from I saying "max affinity" and "7TH," gem crafting is really something you get in to later in the game. I don't think it is necessary until the end game against level 100+ monsters or if you're doing some crazy low-level run.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Lithium on May 16, 2012, 01:03:56 PM
man this game is scary. before i knew it i played this game for like 4 hours doing side quests -_-
yeah if theres one thing this game taught me is to never ever play an mmo
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Tora on May 16, 2012, 03:12:29 PM
I really like Xenoblade. It's one of the only things to look forward to on the Wii this year. About 30 hours in, and boy, can this game kill time in a fun non-monotonous way.
I really hope more Wii games come this year, like Dragon Quest X and Pandora's tower. Really, Because after I complete the Last Story when it comes out in July, I'll only have my backlog of Gamecube and older generation Wii games to play.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Luigi Dude on May 16, 2012, 10:07:36 PM
So I finally started playing yesterday.
12 Hours of playing later
So many sidequests, I can't stop :'(
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: leahsdad on May 17, 2012, 11:31:11 PM
I love this game---the fact that I'm actually able to make time to play this game is just crazy. But I'm 13 hours in, roaming around that cool swamp.
Strange thing is, this is the first console JRPG that I've really played since FFXII, and that's because after FFXII I decided to stop playing them. I just couldn't get into the Real Time Combat / Autopilot thing. So I just went back to my good old turn based RPG's on the DS, of which there were a plethora.
I just can't put my finger on why I don't have the same problems with this game that I did with FF12.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Evan_B on May 18, 2012, 01:25:36 AM
I'm 31 hours in and just had the mighty Heropon Riki enter my party. Deliciously looking forward to testing his nasty abilities on enemies.
See, the thing about Xenoblade is that it's technically linear, with environments being more or less a straight line from one place to the next, but there's a whole lot of space to the game so that doesn't make you feel like you're really going down hallways, essentially. Plus, regions host a number of higher level beasts that make you shake your fist in defiance and say "Someday I'll actually beat you" as you weave in and out of their line of sight. But the amount of unique quests is really great, like the swamp's Pon-assist "story" and rescue mission, and the number of random challenges and (really not that bad) item collections. The quests are really why I'm 31 hours in without hitting a point in the story that's too frustrating or difficult to beat- but I'm also just about gaining a level an hour, which makes me eagerly anticipate hitting the fifty-hour/level mark. I'm just enjoying exploring, battling, party swapping, and the like. However, it's a bit overwhelming when I now have six characters on my team- poor Reyn hasn't seen action since Dunban showed up, and I'm hesitant to let go of Sharla and Shulk since I'm so used to their play-styles. But Melia, Riki, and Dunban are tempting me.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on May 18, 2012, 01:49:44 AM
Riki gets a good healing art so he can sort of replace Sharla. Melia has healing options as well, but they are rather dicey and practically require you to control them. Sharla certainly brings peace of mind as she is the only party member with multiple healing arts (Melia's Summon Aqua regeneration is too slow). However, try out not having Sharla in the party to see if what you need is more damage. Sometimes, Shulk's, Riki's, or Melia's healing power is all you need for an area.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on May 18, 2012, 08:26:31 AM
Why I love this game:
So I re-started a while back after getting my North American copy and have been greatly enjoying Xenoblade a second time. Honestly, I hadn't been able to put in as much time as I wanted initially so didn't lose that much progress - maybe a couple of dozen hours.
Progress is faster/better than expected in many places because the learning curve has been reduced, and I've learned a lot of new tricks from tutorials that had been skipped through a bit too quickly the first time through. Progress has been slower than expected in other places because I (again) got caught up with side-quests, doing a bunch of early quests that I had skipped my first time through.
But today I had a moment that made me stop and appreciate the game again. Fairly early on I was exploring and checking out the world while trying to finish some side-quests when I stumbled onto a partially hidden pathway that lead to a cool secret area where I found a special item that triggered a huge (for that point in time) mini-boss to ambush my party. This stuff was all totally optional as far as I can tell, and was totally missed during my first time playing the game. Yes, my party got destroyed in a single hit - my efforts to run lead to a short pursual and painful death. No, that death didn't matter or cause me to lose any progress.
So yeah. Xenoblade isn't a perfect game, but moments like this where I'm filled with wonder, excitement, and dread over the span of a few minutes makes it a perfect experience for me.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on May 18, 2012, 06:00:43 PM
That's cool. Was the mini-boss a giant spider?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on May 19, 2012, 01:19:23 PM
Yep, that's the one. Totally missed that area the first time through while following the storyline without much extra exploration. Must be a quest item for later, I'd guess.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Evan_B on May 19, 2012, 02:39:21 PM
Yeah, I've now taken it upon myself to finish as many quests as possible in each area before moving on.
That's probably a bad idea.
I just finished up pretty much all of the Refugee Camp sidequests before sending them back to Colony 6- which, I just realized, is going to cost a ****-ton of money.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Lithium on May 19, 2012, 08:45:12 PM
what i usually do is accept all of the quests i can before moving on to the main storyline waypoint, a lot of the time you end up killing two birds with one stone. Then before i move on to a new area i mop up the remainder.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on May 20, 2012, 02:26:36 AM
Thankfully, there is no limit in the quest log so a player can accept everything and not progress in any quest.
It is kind of awesome and a bit scary to be near the end of the game and scroll through all the quests in the quest log. I know mine was a long list of completed quests.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on May 28, 2012, 08:22:16 PM
Ooh, nice spread sheet, that might come in useful. It still looks like the amount is random, even if the quality isn't. Also, what is a "7TH"?
And yeah, the high-level enemies are the main thing I have left to do. I still need the 5th skill tree for some characters, though I imagine I'll get those from the few remaining sidequests I have left. I'm already lvl 99 so now I just need to find the right equips and gems. Though it looks like those gems could take some grinding, so I may not bother. Oh well, I've played for a little over 100 hours, so that's plenty for one game.
I just like the distillation of a bunch of random materials into useful items
Ah, I see now. It's the part about getting new items that you like, not the actual process of making them. That makes some sense.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on May 28, 2012, 08:32:05 PM
"7th" is what the Xenoblade fandom uses to refer to the character that joins about halfway through. Saying who it would be a spoiler.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Caliban on August 10, 2012, 01:54:05 AM
So I just recently managed to buy a new copy of this game. Played for an hour or so. Any suggestions as to what I shouldn't do?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mannypon on August 10, 2012, 03:09:53 AM
The only thing you shouldn't do is stop playing lol. Honestly though, my suggestion would be not to look for any instructions on what to do or not to do. Just let yourself go and experience the game. Its a huge game and beautiful in every aspect. Just enjoy the ride while it lasts, its a true classic. To me, it'll be this generations FF6 and Chrono Trigger. A game that in another 10 years, people who really enjoy JRPGs will look back at with the idea that this was "when rpgs were still good" and "they don't make them like that anymore".
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on August 10, 2012, 06:59:48 AM
Hard to think of things you shouldn't do since the game does a good job of giving you instruction and direction.
It can't be stressed enough that the side quests are optional. In fact, if you commit to doing any and all available before moving on with the story, you will find yourself constantly over leveled. When ever you feel bored by the extra quests, just get on with the story. Have the manual at the ready so you can remind yourself of the more esoteric commands. The one that immediately comes to mind are the limited party commands that are your only method of control beyond chain attacks.
Whatever you set on a party members skill palette, those will be the only skills they'll use. Keep that in mind so you don't go in to areas without any or enough healing skills set. Also, be cautious around elite enemies or monsters that are 5+ levels higher than you; they are no joke.
Now, go out there, quest, and explore!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Caliban on August 10, 2012, 11:32:10 AM
Cool. I was just wondering because I think I've read here that someone was equipping a certain character, but he ended up loosing all that equipment or something. I'm good to go otherwise.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on August 10, 2012, 03:31:14 PM
Cool. I was just wondering because I think I've read here that someone was equipping a certain character, but he ended up loosing all that equipment or something. I'm good to go otherwise.
Oh, that does happen but it shouldn't have any consequence other than being an annoyance. There will be many times were the game forces party member combinations on you so it is a good idea to have everyone's equipment at an equal level. That should go without saying because it is fun to swap the main party around.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on August 10, 2012, 04:38:45 PM
Also, if it does happen to you, just remember the bigger and better equipment is never far away in this game. It's a virtual loot paradise.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: noname2200 on August 10, 2012, 10:59:44 PM
Like others have said, there isn't a whole lot you shouldn't do, but one thing I wish I'd realized my first time around is that ignoring the gem crafting system isn't a great idea. They're only moderately helpful for the first half of the game, but they become incredibly useful towards the latter half. Which is easy to overlook if you haven't been using them from the get go!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Caliban on August 10, 2012, 11:21:15 PM
Thanks for all your replies folks. 4 hours in, and heading into the closest mines on Colony 9.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on August 11, 2012, 12:09:47 AM
When it comes to gem crafting before the end game, it's a good idea to craft some stat boosters and offense modifiers. Defensive modifiers such as paralysis prevention aren't worth the effort until you can craft 100% in the end game where they are needed. It's up to personal preference, but having 25% Quick Step is very convenient.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: broodwars on September 02, 2012, 03:21:29 PM
Well, I had a good amount of trade-in credit to use and I've been trying to grab some Wii games I've been putting off lately, so I finally got around to getting that NA copy of Xenoblade. And thanks to the save file conversion program posted earlier in this thread, my PAL save file is now NA compatible (and yes, I've tested it in the NA version to be sure). Now 6 months to a year down the road when I feel like playing Xenoblade again, I won't have to repeat 70-100 hours of content. :D
Now, however, I have a useless copy of the PAL version of Xenoblade I can't do anything with. Anyone in the EU want a copy? It still has the EU Club Nintendo Stars Registration code. I'd gladly trade it for a copy of Disaster; Fatal Frame 2; or Pandora's Tower. If anyone in NA wants it, well...DM me on Twitter @broodwars64.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on September 02, 2012, 04:25:36 PM
... Now, however, I have a useless copy of the PAL version of Xenoblade I can't do anything with. Anyone in the EU want a copy? It still has the EU Club Nintendo Stars Registration code. I'd gladly trade it for a copy of Disaster; Fatal Frame 2; or Pandora's Tower. If anyone in NA wants it, well...DM me on Twitter @broodwars64.
I was in the same boat earlier this year. Found a trade that made me happy enough in some European-based Nintendo forums though. Hopefully things work out well for you.
(Attempts to trade my PAL version of The Last Story hasn't gone so well though... looks like I'll end up keeping that one instead of re-buying the NA release.)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: cubist on September 03, 2012, 04:03:14 PM
So...after playing through this game, this is the best RPG on a Nintendo system since Chrono Trigger...easily. As a matter of fact, I'm starting to call it the best I've ever played. XC doesn't have overworld travel only because the darn thing is so massive. 120 hours in...and counting...and the story never lets up.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Dasmos on September 03, 2012, 09:59:46 PM
Now, however, I have a useless copy of the PAL version of Xenoblade I can't do anything with. Anyone in the EU want a copy? It still has the EU Club Nintendo Stars Registration code. I'd gladly trade it for a copy of Disaster; Fatal Frame 2; or Pandora's Tower. If anyone in NA wants it, well...DM me on Twitter @broodwars64.
I've got an extra copy of Disaster laying around somewhere and I've somehow misplaced my copy of Xenoblade. So yeah if you're keen, I'd trade.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: broodwars on September 03, 2012, 10:01:59 PM
Now, however, I have a useless copy of the PAL version of Xenoblade I can't do anything with. Anyone in the EU want a copy? It still has the EU Club Nintendo Stars Registration code. I'd gladly trade it for a copy of Disaster; Fatal Frame 2; or Pandora's Tower. If anyone in NA wants it, well...DM me on Twitter @broodwars64.
I've got an extra copy of Disaster laying around somewhere and I've somehow misplaced my copy of Xenoblade. So yeah if you're keen, I'd trade.
Sounds good. Send your details by Private Message, and we'll work things out. ;D Thanks.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: TrueNerd on October 29, 2012, 10:43:26 PM
So I just now bought this game. I had been meaning to get it since it released and I pounced because I saw that Nintendo no longer sells it directly at all and GameStop currently doesn't have any new copies available. I would have liked to buy a new copy to support the fact we even got this game, but I wasn't going to drop $70 to do so. I figured I needed to act somewhat quickly before we had another Metroid Prime Trilogy situation on our hands where used copies are also outrageously priced. So I did.
JRPGs aren't my usual cup of tea but I've simply heard too many wonderful things about Xenoblade to ignore it. Originally I was considering getting Skyrim but after reading all the bitching on Bethesda's boards about bugs STILL being a huge problem, I decided to continue waiting on that one.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: leahsdad on October 29, 2012, 11:56:41 PM
Congrats! You've bought the best JRPG this generation.
One of my favorite parts of this game is how light it is on the tutorials (compared to, say, FF games) but how deep it is and how it sort of lets you discover more and more of its mechanics. I think it wasn't until my 35th hour that I realized how the die/revive/chain attack system worked. I almost immediately went for the chain attack every single time that meter got full, without realizing that I was, in essence, using my "extra life." Such an awesome, well thought-out combat system.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on October 30, 2012, 03:57:30 AM
This game isn't all that much like what is typically called a JRPG though, TrueNerd, so you may like it. Depends on what it is you don't like about JRPGs.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Evan_B on October 30, 2012, 01:18:34 PM
But if you have the right characters on your team (Rikki, mostly) and the right gems, the party gauge fills up in no time- and you can use gems to make it smaller. AND you can use healing attacks in your chain attacks...
So why wouldn't you spring for that chain attack?
EDIT: Well, damn. I quoted the wrong post.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: TrueNerd on October 31, 2012, 03:34:04 AM
This game isn't all that much like what is typically called a JRPG though, TrueNerd, so you may like it. Depends on what it is you don't like about JRPGs.
I don't dislike JRPGs, I've just never really played them. Final Fantasy IV (and Paper Mario but that doesn't count) is the only one I've spent any significant time with. The thing that drew me to Xenoblade was RFN constantly talking about the massive, intricate world the game takes place in. Games like Wind Waker and Shadow of the Colossus are favorites of mine partially because of the scale of them. From what I've seen/heard, this game will scratch that itch. And I also understand that this game is a pretty modern take on the genre and does a good job streamlining a lot of the more annoying parts of JRPGs to the point where, as you say, it's not even really a JRPG anymore. That helps too. And it's not buggy as hell like Skyrim is!
And yeah. I should probably play FFVI and Chrono Trigger someday. That's another story. I did really like FFIV...
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: noname2200 on October 31, 2012, 03:19:54 PM
Any tips on defeating what I assume is the last boss?
Always go after the helpers, summoned monsters, or additional enemies first. After that, just wail on the big bad! I apologize that I don't have anything useful to say. I think I was around the upper 70s or level 80 when I tackled the last story boss and that is the even level from what I understand. I don't recall doing any different other than keeping my health up, having Melia buffs active, and keeping the damage steady.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on October 31, 2012, 08:21:26 PM
And I also understand that this game is a pretty modern take on the genre and does a good job streamlining a lot of the more annoying parts of JRPGs to the point where, as you say, it's not even really a JRPG anymore.
I've never really gotten the "modern take" impression that people have, I see nothing here that suggests evolution. This game is pretty much an offline MMO, maybe the people who say such things just haven't played many RPGs. But I have a feeling I don't want to know what they mean by that, because it probably has something to do with not respecting turn-based RPGs as their own genre and instead suggests that action-RPGs are an evolution of turn-based. And that's before I even get into how everyone seems to have their own definition of JRPG... but that's certainly not a discussion for this thread.
In any case, comparisons don't matter since you haven't played many RPGs. Xenoblade is a great RPG any way you slice it, and it's also pretty accessible for what it is. So I think that even a person like you who hasn't played many RPGs could still get into the game, just be prepared to sink a lot of hours into it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: TrueNerd on November 01, 2012, 01:21:35 AM
Oh, I am. I just got an email saying it finally shipped so hopefully it'll get here in time for the weekend. Also, mentioning Final Fantasy IV made me want to fire it up again. So I did. And then I played it for five hours straight. Yeah, I still really like that game. Hopefully the save battery lasts for the next couple days.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Luigi Dude on November 01, 2012, 03:18:19 AM
Any tips on defeating what I assume is the last boss?
If you do most of the side quests like I did which made my party all between levels 97-99 with most skills and abilities maxed out, you won't need any tips to beat the final boss since he'll die with only a few hits. :D
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mannypon on November 01, 2012, 04:19:13 AM
Cater, my tip to you is use Rikki lol. I was stuck on him for a good day with my main crew that I used for the majority of the game. I decided to throw Rikki into the bunch since I heard good things about him. At the time I still looked at him as the red headed step child of the bunch. The underachieving one in the group who just gets by on charms and a half assed pat on the back to make him feel needed. Boy was I wrong though. Rikki single handedly turned the tide in my favor.
Riki was the savior to Xenoblade for me as I have a profound hatred for rpgs with what I deem to be brutal or cheap final bosses that come right out of left field. I was getting to that point, so much so that I had to take a 24 hr break to cool off lol. By that point in the game, I didn't want to grind anymore so it was do or die. To make a long story short, just look at my screenname, it should tell you who the real star of that game is lol.
EDIT: Cater, if you need more info, go and look up the old Xenoblade thread that was created when the Euro version came out. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=35406.75 (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=35406.75)
Those of us that imported the game, if I remember correctly, had a lot of discussions on strategies and uses for particular characters. You can also probably see when I reached my breaking point with the final boss and the feedback others gave me at the time.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Evan_B on November 01, 2012, 05:52:48 PM
Oh oh OH! I'd love to discuss character strategies.
Did anyone actually go for the naked Dunban route? I did, and I put an Agility up gem in one of his weapon slots... it still shocks me how little he gets hit. But when he does, he gets hit hard. I also gave him Topple up gems on his weapon too, since he's honestly the most reliable Topple character in the game.
For Reyn, I have Arts Heal gems out the whazoo on him, along with Spike gems, since he's such a heavy-aggro character. The Arts Heal gems really work because of his excellent Arts cooldown. Finding advanced arts manuals for him is hard as hell, though, and that's the one reason I don't use him more.
Sharla's kind of a weird one for me. She's almost always on my team since she's just such a difficulty cushion, and I've even played as her a lot. If you do, she becomes an insanely good healer instead of just a decent one like she is when the AI is controlling her. While I love Head Shaker and Head Shot, they're so hard to pull off and Head Shot has such a ridiculous cooldown that I sometimes just want to make Sharla a full-on support character. I've considered upping her auto-attack heavily, since it's the only reliable form of attack she really has, but I'm not sure.
Rikki is so confusing to me. I really like the character and I like a lot of his moves, but I'm not sure what I want to do with them. Should I just give him Aggro up like crazy and use Rikki is Angry, which I have maxed out? Or should I keep him as the Debuff whore that I have him as currently? I currently have him inflicting Break, Bleed, Chill, Poison, and Bind before using his Debuff-remove attack, which dishes out 23000 damage, roughly. Which is awesome. But the process of debuffing-and-then-removing has just become boring to me and I want to see if I can do something different with him.
The strange thing about Melia is that I thought I'd really like playing as her, since she's a mage and really does have an interesting play style. But I don't. With the build I currently have, she's next to useless in Chain Attacks, and most of her really heavy hitting moves take so much time to charge because of her elemental discharge. But I do like that her buffs stack, a just wish she had more ability as a healer and more HP herself. I've been considering adding her forced Topple move back into the mix, but I'm not sure.
As for Shulk, I mean... just slap some Arts Stealth on him and/or pair him up with Dunban or Reyn and he's good to go. Backslash does an atrocious amount of damage, and his other moves are pretty reliable. Light Heal is even pretty great for pulling your teammates out of a rough patch when it's maxed out. If I've got him in my party, though, I'm usually using him, just because he's such a perfect setup for Chains, especially Topple chains. I find myself using Aura Seal a lot, and Monado Buster is always nice, though post-Egil, it becomes pretty pointless. :( I never use speed, even though it was played up as super important. Shield is sometimes nice, but Enchant is pretty weak. As for Cyclone, it's probably the best of the abilities but you get it so late game that, unless you're looking to finish the late-game quests or outlevel the boss, you'll rarely get to use it. But it forces Topple in droves, which works really really well with Stream Edge. I haven't received the final two Monado arts... yet.
And as for Seven, she's alright. I don't like how all of her moves lost the exp I gave them at the beginning, but whatever, I guess. I enjoy using her because most of her moves hit so brutally hard, even at lower levels, but I'm not sure what to formulate my battle strategy with. She sometimes even works well as a support with Ether Drain and her other debuffs but I'm still not sure what role I want her to fit. The Xenoblade Wiki suggests a tank build for her which I'd be interested to try, if only because it would let me do some other interesting things with the other partners.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mannypon on November 03, 2012, 01:54:00 PM
Wow those are some detailed descriptions Evan, nice work. I wish I could contribute but its been months since I finished the game and barely remember enough of the mechanics anymore to be able to speak in any depth on the subject lol.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: noname2200 on November 06, 2012, 01:31:52 PM
And as for Seven, she's alright. I don't like how all of her moves lost the exp I gave them at the beginning, but whatever, I guess. I enjoy using her because most of her moves hit so brutally hard, even at lower levels, but I'm not sure what to formulate my battle strategy with. She sometimes even works well as a support with Ether Drain and her other debuffs but I'm still not sure what role I want her to fit. The Xenoblade Wiki suggests a tank build for her which I'd be interested to try, if only because it would let me do some other interesting things with the other partners.
She lost all the XP because she's a different character altogether. When you start New Game+ she'll still be at the same level she was when she "died," and all the XP you gave her then will still be there.
As for what strategies to use for her, I treat her as a hard-hitter who can build up the link attack meter at insane speeds. A lot of her skills result in critical hits and double attacks, and she already attacks twice each round, so that meter gets blue real quick.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: TrueNerd on November 08, 2012, 07:39:08 PM
Xenoblade FINALLY arrived in the mail today. (Thanks a lot, Hurricane Sandy.) First impression: This game is fucking HUGE. And there is already a **** TON to do. I'm excited. Second impression: It's really upsetting the Wii U won't be upscaling Wii games. The game looks nice but it could be smoothed out a bit. Third impression: I need to get a Classic Controller Pro.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mannypon on November 08, 2012, 07:54:51 PM
TrueNerd you def need to get the classic controller. I never played Xenoblade with the standard setup but I can't imagine how that would feel.
Also, if your upset over WiiU not upscalling, please don't go looking for images of Xenoblade running on Dolphin. It'll just hurt even more.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: TrueNerd on November 08, 2012, 08:17:07 PM
I have the non-pro classic controller. Certainly way better than the nunchuck option which is borderline unplayable, but the thumbsticks have always been too close and constantly bump into each other. The Pro would probably be worth it for this game and the random Smash Bros sessions. And unfortunately I saw some Dolphin images a couple months ago. Yeah. Oh well. Hopefully Monolith is already deep in development on a huge Wii U RPG.
Also, just over an hour in and I'm already pretty much in love with this game.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on November 08, 2012, 11:39:57 PM
You guys are making me want to buy this game and I'm not really into heavy RPG's like this one appears to be....
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on November 09, 2012, 09:03:25 AM
I have the non-pro classic controller. Certainly way better than the nunchuck option which is borderline unplayable, ...
Actually, the remote/nunchuck controls work pretty well once you get used to them. There is just a bigger learning curve involved to get started. I still prefer and recommend the Classic Controller - but the game certainly isn't "unplayable" if you don't have one.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: noname2200 on November 09, 2012, 12:10:22 PM
You guys are making me want to buy this game and I'm not really into heavy RPG's like this one appears to be....
No guarantees that you'll like it, but if you do you'll probably love it like the rest of us do. Worth the risk, I think.
The last time I bought a game and disliked it to the point that I gave up on it (and gave it away) was Call of Duty: MW2. I feel like I'd like this game more than that so there's a good chance it'll be worth the risk, but I can't find it anywhere for a minimum $50...
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on November 09, 2012, 07:19:20 PM
You guys are making me want to buy this game and I'm not really into heavy RPG's like this one appears to be....
What are your reasons for not being into heavy RPGs? Perhaps this game may fix the problem.
Probably just the simple fact that I'm a very impatient person. I have this view of RPG's (JRPG's especially) as being very detail heavy when it comes to things like like stats and party combinations. For example, simple RPG's like the ones that feature Mario, or games like Rune Factory that have RPG elements - I can deal with these. Everything is very simplified (and even though Rune Factory does have some complex parts, it's pretty optional because you can still just farm and don't necessarily have to fight the bosses or level up your gear).
When it comes to these modern RPGs I hear things about team chain attacks and it all just sounds overly complicated to me that I get put off. Same thing goes for the scope of it; I don't really have much time to dedicate to games so these massively long games don't suit my current gaming style/life. The last big game I played was Skyward Sword and while I did my best to invest the kind of time that games needs, and deserves, to really enjoy it to the fullest, at least I walked in knowing what to expect. When it comes to something like Xenoblade Chronicles; I don't have a history with the characters, I know nothing about the story, so if I skip it I don't feel like I'm missing out.
Make sense?
With that said it is time for a new experience.. and I've heard nothing but good things about this particular title.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on November 09, 2012, 07:49:20 PM
Yeah, makes sense. The game isn't quite as complicated as it may sound, it isn't as simple as the games you mentioned of course but it isn't terribly complex. Each part of the battle system is introduced individually, so it's fairly easy to understand how it all comes together. And you can read the tutorials from the menu, so you can look something up if you need a refresher. As far as stats go, there isn't much to manage, just slap on some new equipment when you get it, leveling up is more important. Gems can be confusing, but you don't have to bother with these to get through the main game.
Battles move pretty quickly too, however the story does feel like a drag in parts so you may get impatient with the sometimes slow story. This would be the stickler if there was one, the main story probably takes about 60 hours if you don't do any sidequests, of which there are hundreds. You don't have to do any of the side stuff, although the items and experience you get from them can help you get through the story. The game does give you a reminder of where you're supposed to go, and has a log of all your sidequests and what you need for them, so it is easier to get back into than RPGs usually are. But it's still better if you have time to invest.
I wonder if you might actually want to check out The Last Story instead, that one's a 25-hour adventure. It isn't up to Xenoblade's quality, but it's still a good game and worth playing.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on November 09, 2012, 08:38:36 PM
Thank you for that Mop it up, it does help make my decision. I don't know much about The Last Story but, like XC, I've thought about picking it up based on impressions I've heard here (I trust you folks, except Ian :P). I was going to buy it when I read about it being $8 in the amazing deals threat but i was already too late (I really need to pay attention to that thread more).
We'll see. If some extra cash comes my way I just may pick this up (and the last story!) and save it for a rainy day. It'd be a shame to not get my hands on a copy of one of the Wii's swan songs.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Caterkiller on November 11, 2012, 05:17:11 AM
Thanks for the tips! It took 60 years but I finally beat the last boss.
What a satisfying game! I guess Nintendo got this generations Final Fantasy after all.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on November 11, 2012, 05:34:17 PM
Thanks for the tips! It took 60 years but I finally beat the last boss.
What a satisfying game! I guess Nintendo got this generations Final Fantasy after all.
60 years!? No way am I buying this game now :P
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Stogi on November 11, 2012, 05:45:05 PM
I'm not really into RPG's. The last game I played was Skies of Arcadia and before that Final Fantasy X, both of which I love though I've never actually finished them. But I've been listening to the soundtrack and after the third run through, I decided to go ahead and buy the game. If the game is anything like the music, I won't regret it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on November 11, 2012, 06:17:08 PM
That's the single best pitch I've ever heard. I'm buying this **** right NOW.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Phil on November 11, 2012, 06:17:34 PM
The length of the game is something that is stopping me from progressing further. It's like I could be play 5-10 other games in the time it takes to do Xenoblade Chronicles. Since reviewing games is part of my deal here and elsewhere, that makes the decision easy for me. But from what I did play of the game, I really enjoyed it.
Also, the fight song for strong monsters is awesome. That guitar!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on November 11, 2012, 06:22:25 PM
bought.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on November 11, 2012, 07:45:45 PM
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on November 11, 2012, 08:59:41 PM
Oh no! I already bought it off amazon! eh.. I'll take my chances.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Caterkiller on November 11, 2012, 11:39:49 PM
Does anyone love that there are no angsty teens playable?
I'd like Xenoblade to get a spiritual successor in the same way this was a successor to Xenosaga and/or Xenogears, but I would certainly enjoy revisiting these characters maybe once a generation or every other. I finished at 80 hours and as much as I wanted to get everything, the Wii U is just too close and I've got Pokemon to train. Two of these in one generation would be too much.
You know I realized there is more voice acting in games like this than in animated movies. That amazes me...
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on November 12, 2012, 11:29:30 AM
Shulk sorta seems like an angsty teen to me...
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Caterkiller on November 12, 2012, 12:17:50 PM
Same here. The story didn't seem like anything special to me, though the setting was good.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on November 12, 2012, 06:13:20 PM
At least he did something about it. Unlike other games and stories where they were too fucking good to ever get vengeance.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Sarail on November 12, 2012, 06:30:33 PM
I played this game with Japanese vocals and English subs - Shulk came across, for me anyway, as having this crazy-insane passion for getting vengeance on Fiora's killer, and putting a stop to the Mechon from invading the Bionis. I loved it. He's one of my favourite RPG characters of all time now because of this, but I do wonder if Shulk comes across differently with British English vocals...
But yeah. Definitely in my top five RPGs of all time now.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on November 12, 2012, 09:14:09 PM
I played with the English voice overs and the cast's thirst for vengeance comes across there as well. Perhaps I haven't played enough RPGs, but I was surprised how no-nonsense the characters of Xenoblade are when it comes to pursuing and killing their enemies. It is refreshing to see a Japanese narrative that doesn't have its characters hesitate or second guess at the most inopportune times.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on November 12, 2012, 09:49:30 PM
Time to avoid the thread less everything be spoiled, I suppose..
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on November 13, 2012, 01:15:42 AM
He wasn't angsty at all, in my opinion. I think you guys have spent too much time away from teenagers. :P Shulk ain't angsty.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Luigi Dude on November 13, 2012, 01:45:41 AM
I played with the English voice overs and the cast's thirst for vengeance comes across there as well. Perhaps I haven't played enough RPGs, but I was surprised how no-nonsense the characters of Xenoblade are when it comes to pursuing and killing their enemies. It is refreshing to see a Japanese narrative that doesn't have its characters hesitate or second guess at the most inopportune times.
I'm sorry but have you played the whole game? This is one of the reasons why I feel the storyline falls apart during the second half of the game.
Major Spoilers
Seriously, the part where Shulk stops Dunban from killing Mumkhar made me want to throw up. This is the scene that completely ruined Shulks character for me and turned him into the usual pussy JRPG hero. Mumkhar was a monster who enjoyed working with the Mechon to kill all those innocent people. He's the one who stabbed Fiora and killed Melia's Father and even admitted to doing this while all under his own free will. This was a guy with absolutely nothing redeemable at all and yet right when Dunban is about to rightfully punish Mumkhar for his crimes, Shulk stops him.
And Shulks reason, only the fact that Mumkhar was a Homs like them and said Homs shouldn't kill other Homs. So when Shulk though Metal Face was a machine he had no problem trying to kill him but as soon as he finds out he's a Hom's, that makes him not want to kill him. What a load of fucking bullshit.
Oh and don't even get me started on the Egil ****. Dude was basically Hitler trying to kill entire races but just because his past was tragic that suddenly made Shulk forgive him and didn't kill him when he had the change after their first fight, which allowed him to get away and take control of the Mechonis and move the sword which probably killed thousands of Homs soldiers that were still in Sword Valley, and then destroys the city of Agniratha which result in Gadolt sacrificing himself to save everyone including Shulk. So because of Shulks stupid bullshit, he's responsible for thousands of people dying right there including Gadolt.
Yeah, this is one of the reasons why I found Xenoblade's story to kind of fall apart in the second half of the game vs the first half. The storyline in the second half starts going too much into your topical JRPG and Anime cliches which was a huge disappointment since the first half was pretty unique and original.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: TrueNerd on November 13, 2012, 02:11:22 AM
I just got out onto Bionis' leg for the first time and HOLY **** LOOK AT HOW HUGE. The battle system took some getting used to, but I am fully loving this game.
I'm sure this topic has been discussed numerous times probably in this thread and elsewhere, but was NOA right to give Xenoblade the limited release it got and not a proper release or even the giant marketing push release it probably deserved? I know Skyward Sword wasn't the sales juggernaut that Zelda has been in the past. Is the North American Wii audience, all forty some million of us, really that dead? To me, the outsider, the fan, the amateur, I can't believe this game couldn't do at least half the sales that Skyrim does. Yes, it's an apples-to-oranges comparison. Skyrim is HD, has higher production value, is more open ended, is grittier, and has dragons. Xenoblade is not as easy to market. But it's a huge RPG. And it's not buggy as hell. And it's great! I just can't believe there's not a sizable audience for this game and that it took an internet mob to force Nintendo to give us this game at all.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: noname2200 on November 13, 2012, 01:27:07 PM
Seriously, the part where Shulk stops Dunban from killing Mumkhar made me want to throw up. This is the scene that completely ruined Shulks character for me and turned him into the usual pussy JRPG hero. Mumkhar was a monster who enjoyed working with the Mechon to kill all those innocent people. He's the one who stabbed Fiora and killed Melia's Father and even admitted to doing this while all under his own free will. This was a guy with absolutely nothing redeemable at all and yet right when Dunban is about to rightfully punish Mumkhar for his crimes, Shulk stops him.
And Shulks reason, only the fact that Mumkhar was a Homs like them and said Homs shouldn't kill other Homs. So when Shulk though Metal Face was a machine he had no problem trying to kill him but as soon as he finds out he's a Hom's, that makes him not want to kill him. What a load of fucking bullshit.
Oh and don't even get me started on the Egil ****. Dude was basically Hitler trying to kill entire races but just because his past was tragic that suddenly made Shulk forgive him and didn't kill him when he had the change after their first fight, which allowed him to get away and take control of the Mechonis and move the sword which probably killed thousands of Homs soldiers that were still in Sword Valley, and then destroys the city of Agniratha which result in Gadolt sacrificing himself to save everyone including Shulk. So because of Shulks stupid bullshit, he's responsible for thousands of people dying right there including Gadolt.
I'm inclined to agree with most of this, unfortunately. Although I don't think the two stances are mutually exclusive: it's one thing to destroy mindless machines, especially to someone like Shulk who takes them apart and puts them together for a living. It's something else to, well, murder someone. I was...okay...with him taking that position. But it could have been executed much better.
I don't agree with the last paragraph though. Unless I'm completely mistaking my timeline, I don't think Shulk was in any position to stop Egil until after that final fight with him.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Luigi Dude on November 13, 2012, 02:04:45 PM
I'm inclined to agree with most of this, unfortunately. Although I don't think the two stances are mutually exclusive: it's one thing to destroy mindless machines, especially to someone like Shulk who takes them apart and puts them together for a living. It's something else to, well, murder someone. I was...okay...with him taking that position. But it could have been executed much better.
I don't agree with the last paragraph though. Unless I'm completely mistaking my timeline, I don't think Shulk was in any position to stop Egil until after that final fight with him.
But the thing is, Metal Face wasn't a mindless machine. The second time Metal Face appears he actually talks to Shulk and even taunts him about how he liked killing Fiora. This showed that Metal Face was an actual sentient being that new exactly what he was doing and enjoyed doing it. And yet Shulk still had no problem wanting to kill him and almost did it at Prison Island if Fiora hadn't stopped him, which is when he suddenly see's the Face Mechon were all human controlled.
Now if had been revealed Mumkhar had no idea what he was doing like Fiora was, then Shulk's position would have been understandable. But instead Mumkhar reveals he was fully aware of everything he was doing and loved doing it. Which is why I have such a problem with Shulk's actions since when he thought a sentient machine was doing these things he had no problem wanting to kill him but as soon as it's revealed a sentient Hom's was doing it, he suddenly doesn't want to. This moment basically made Shulk a racist as well since he was in favor of killing someone of an opposite race but not his own even if they both did the exact same crimes.
Oh and for the Egil event I'm refering to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYmlcJi5ZfE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYmlcJi5ZfE)
I'm sorry but this cutscene just drove me crazy. Shulk only stabs Egil in the shoulder because he didn't want to kill him, which to no surprise Egil is able to easily get away since he's very powerful and everyone knew it. After everything Egil had done and what they knew he wanted to do, Shulk should have landed a fatal blow to Egil at this moment, not try to just injure him in a way he would easily escape from and end up killing thousands right after.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: noname2200 on November 13, 2012, 02:33:36 PM
I'm inclined to agree with most of this, unfortunately. Although I don't think the two stances are mutually exclusive: it's one thing to destroy mindless machines, especially to someone like Shulk who takes them apart and puts them together for a living. It's something else to, well, murder someone. I was...okay...with him taking that position. But it could have been executed much better.
I don't agree with the last paragraph though. Unless I'm completely mistaking my timeline, I don't think Shulk was in any position to stop Egil until after that final fight with him.
But the thing is, Metal Face wasn't a mindless machine. The second time Metal Face appears he actually talks to Shulk and even taunts him about how he liked killing Fiora. This showed that Metal Face was an actual sentient being that new exactly what he was doing and enjoyed doing it. And yet Shulk still had no problem wanting to kill him and almost did it at Prison Island if Fiora hadn't stopped him, which is when he suddenly see's the Face Mechon were all human controlled.
Now if had been revealed Mumkhar had no idea what he was doing like Fiora was, then Shulk's position would have been understandable. But instead Mumkhar reveals he was fully aware of everything he was doing and loved doing it. Which is why I have such a problem with Shulk's actions since when he thought a sentient machine was doing these things he had no problem wanting to kill him but as soon as it's revealed a sentient Hom's was doing it, he suddenly doesn't want to. This moment basically made Shulk a racist as well since he was in favor of killing someone of an opposite race but not his own even if they both did the exact same crimes.
Oh and for the Egil event I'm refering to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYmlcJi5ZfE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYmlcJi5ZfE)
I'm sorry but this cutscene just drove me crazy. Shulk only stabs Egil in the shoulder because he didn't want to kill him, which to no surprise Egil is able to easily get away since he's very powerful and everyone knew it. After everything Egil had done and what they knew he wanted to do, Shulk should have landed a fatal blow to Egil at this moment, not try to just injure him in a way he would easily escape from and end up killing thousands right after.
"Mindless machine" might not have been the right word, but to Shulk Metal Face was still just a "machine." The guy works with such things for a living; its ability to talk and express emotions may have made it beyond any other tech he'd worked with so far, but it wouldn't give him any reason to see it as more than just a machine. Shoot, the mechon were clearly organized even before the Faces, so he had to know there was some calculations and communications going on within the mechon; he had no reason to go into awe over it. That a machine is deliberately cruel would just add fuel to his fire.
Personally, I'm fine with that distinction. It's why all those sci-fi novels that explore whether a robot can ever qualify as a person fall flat with me. If it's built and programmed, it's a machine. The fact that its tech is advanced enough to simulate humanity just makes it a better Tickle Me Elmo, in my mind. I think it's fine if Shulk subscribes to that theory as well. Of course, this means I look down on the Machina. :P
As for the scene you'd attached, I'd forgotten it, to be honest. In Shulk's defense though, having a sword plunge straight through a person's torso is usually a tad more effective at neutralizing the victim. I'd have been more than a little surprised myself. I wasn't when I actually saw the scene, because Anime Video Game Logic (TM), but...yeah.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Luigi Dude on November 13, 2012, 02:47:54 PM
Personally, I'm fine with that distinction. It's why all those sci-fi novels that explore whether a robot can ever qualify as a person fall flat with me. If it's built and programmed, it's a machine. The fact that its tech is advanced enough to simulate humanity just makes it a better Tickle Me Elmo, in my mind. I think it's fine if Shulk subscribes to that theory as well. Of course, this means I look down on the Machina. :P:
I guess that's were we disagree. I'm always on the side of robots in sci-fi since if a machine is self aware and can actually think and show emotions, it's a living creature that's no different from the rest of us. I guess when the machines eventually rise up and take over the world, I'll be allowed to live with them as a loyal servant above ground while you'll be sent to work in their mining camps below the surface.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on November 13, 2012, 03:59:07 PM
I played with the English voice overs and the cast's thirst for vengeance comes across there as well. Perhaps I haven't played enough RPGs, but I was surprised how no-nonsense the characters of Xenoblade are when it comes to pursuing and killing their enemies. It is refreshing to see a Japanese narrative that doesn't have its characters hesitate or second guess at the most inopportune times.
I'm sorry but have you played the whole game? This is one of the reasons why I feel the story line falls apart during the second half of the game.
Yes, I have. 200 hours in the game have clouded my recollection of the middle of the time I spent in the game. It doesn't help that I spent so much time with the end game content grinding monsters and completing side quests.
The plot points that you brought up do run counter to my statements. I wasn't bothered because I felt that the narrative shifted away from the vengeance motive of the first third/half of the game. Even with the shift, I recall the characters being focused on what they want to accomplish (which is how most video game characters are, to be honest).
Maybe it has been far too long since I've played those parts of the game and am blissfully ignoring the character moments where the party did annoyingly hesitate and second guess themselves.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Luigi Dude on November 13, 2012, 06:41:00 PM
Yeah it was a huge game, so it's understandable certain points people might not remember. I remember these events because they bothered me more so they still stick out better in my mind, even though I spent over 130 hours playing the game.
The gameplay still trumps everything else and easily makes the game a 10/10 but the story in the second half was more of an annoyance to me because of what started happening compared to the first half were I was enjoying the story a lot more.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on November 16, 2012, 07:39:28 PM
Xenoblade just arrived. I have Monday off so I can start playing this now and not sleep..only taking a break to go pick up my Wii U on Sunday. How far do you think I can get?
LOL
Plus it came with an art book.. I had no idea!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on November 16, 2012, 08:03:10 PM
You got the art book? God dammit, I preordered mine from Gamestop and claimed they didn't have any.
Do...you...want the artbook? ;D
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on November 16, 2012, 08:05:31 PM
You got the art book? God dammit, I preordered mine from Gamestop and claimed they didn't have any.
Do...you...want the artbook? ;D
Damn I'm sorry dude, I literally ordered it off amazon a few days ago after reading through some of this thread. It was a complete impulse buy because I wasn't even sober when I did it lol.. I didn't read through anything, I just clicked order and here it is..
I haven't looked through it yet, let me get back to you about the offer :P
PS The last time I pre-ordered something from GS that came with a bonus like that, they gave me the same BS that they didn't have any more but really the employees were either:
A. Keeping them for themselves B. Giving them to their friends C. Selling them on-line
I'm a fucking adult and If I'm gonna put money down on something (an obscure title no less) because you offer me an incentive, I better get it. Don't try to BS me and tell me you ran out of FRAGILE DREAMS SOUNDTRACKS (seriously, I'm probably 1 of 5 people on this forum that own this if thats an indication of how obscure this game should be). Assholes.. I complained to GS Customer service and they were supposed to send me the OST but never did, I had to call back and complain about that and told them I was returning the game so as soon as I get to the store guess what they happen to have: the game's OST. No explanation how they magically received 1 a week or 2 later after claiming they were all given away to other people who pre-ordered the game (still think it's BS that THAT many people pre-ordered...) and tried to offer it to me as an incentive to not return the game...needless to say that was the last time I ever did business with them again because that was the last straw.
So yeah, I advise not to pre-order anything from them. If you want to trade-in/sell your games and do business with them that way, so be it - I'm not forcing anyone to join my boycott, but I'm telling you - DO NOT trust them with pre-orders.
Edit# 2 Haha just browsed through the artbook.. I wanna be a High Entia ;) any reddit r/trees subscribers here will feel me
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on November 16, 2012, 08:48:08 PM
Oh god, you subscribe to r/trees... :P:
But yeah, I'm starting to notice that with Gamestop. This wasn't the first time it happened. Thanks for thinking about it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on November 16, 2012, 10:49:09 PM
I'd take back the 'thinking about it bit' for that remark, but I'm not that kinda person. it's the r/trees spirit :D
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on December 30, 2012, 07:56:06 PM
and so, my journey begins...
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Nintendad on December 30, 2012, 10:21:33 PM
I think you are in for a treat. Earlier this year I spent 6 months playing through this (204 hours) and enjoyed every minute of it. I was doing every sidequest I came across so it shouldn't take quite that long to get through!
Easily my favorite game of 2012 and would definitely make my top 3 of all time.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on December 30, 2012, 10:26:49 PM
You know a game is good when 2 hours feel like 20 minutes
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Stratos on December 31, 2012, 12:30:28 AM
I need to get back into this. I don't have many moments these days to sit down for a long gaming session so it's gotten pushed to the back burner. I also picked up Last Story for cheap so I'm torn about which I should focus my efforts on.
I only got about 2-3 hours in and didn't even get past the first major area. Each time I try to play more I still waste the game time exploring the initial areas. Almost more interested in beating some of the tougher monsters and fulfilling side-quests than playing the main story. It's nice to have something you can get that lost in that isn't one of those 'endless' games like Animal Crossing or an MMO.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on December 31, 2012, 06:48:48 PM
I need to get back into this. I don't have many moments these days to sit down for a long gaming session so it's gotten pushed to the back burner. I also picked up Last Story for cheap so I'm torn about which I should focus my efforts on.
I only got about 2-3 hours in and didn't even get past the first major area. Each time I try to play more I still waste the game time exploring the initial areas. Almost more interested in beating some of the tougher monsters and fulfilling side-quests than playing the main story. It's nice to have something you can get that lost in that isn't one of those 'endless' games like Animal Crossing or an MMO.
I could have a month off from work and social obligations and I still wouldn't scratch the surface of Xenoblade, at least thats the impression I'm getting from everything I've heard here and the tiny bit I experienced the other day. I still haven't fully completed Rune Factory Frontier either, and I bet if I had a month off just for that game I still wouldn't be near 100% completion..
Love games like this though<3
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mannypon on January 01, 2013, 09:08:19 PM
Sit back and enjoy, the game begs to be explored. It got to a point though for me that I almost became an addict lol. There were times when I really wanted to stop and push on with the story but I couldn't, for the life of me, stop myself from exploring every nook and cranny. It'll touch on any ocd tendencies you may not even know you have lol. Amazing game though, haven't been left that satisfied with a JRPG in such a long time. Brings back memories of the "good old days".
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on January 01, 2013, 09:43:15 PM
I've honestly never played an RPG likes this before, they're usually not my type of game. In fact, I'll go as far as to say this is the first modern day RPG I've ever played, last RPG's I've played have been 2D..
Oh and 8hrs in, I love the game; the music, the environment, the gameplay. It's living up to everything you guys have said. Thanks for the recommendation!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Retro Deckades on January 02, 2013, 02:47:57 AM
Sit back and enjoy, the game begs to be explored. It got to a point though for me that I almost became an addict lol. There were times when I really wanted to stop and push on with the story but I couldn't, for the life of me, stop myself from exploring every nook and cranny. It'll touch on any ocd tendencies you may not even know you have lol. Amazing game though, haven't been left that satisfied with a JRPG in such a long time. Brings back memories of the "good old days".
I was in the same boat as you, Mannypon. I logged about 150 hours over the summer, and even though I haven't played the game in months, I hope to return to it to finish up the affinity tree and take on the final two insanely overpowered beasts.
Even though I felt compelled to explore every little nook and cranny, the great thing about the game is that there is more often than not some sort of pay off for doing so, which made it really fun and not a chore.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on January 02, 2013, 07:57:25 PM
I always came back to previous areas after leveling up so that it didn't take as long to explore.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on January 02, 2013, 09:36:54 PM
I always came back to previous areas after leveling up so that it didn't take as long to explore.
but getting yourself into trouble is part of the fun of exploration! I thought at level 9 or 10 I'd be able to take down that giant evil rabbit thing near the top of Tephora hill, but boy did I get my ass handed to me.. and I enjoyed every second of it!
For any lurkers who are on the fence about this game: I was afraid the intricate battle system would impede my enjoyment because from everything I read, it just sounded so convoluted that I didn't think I'd ever get the hang of it (thus making the game unnecessarily tough and thus, not fun) BUT..
it's actually pretty simple. It builds up as the game progresses, and the first creatures you can battle are pretty simple wild monsters that are easy to find and don't really pose a threat as they don't attack you unless you attack them first. Basically, the game does a really good job of weening you in to the battle system, the tutorials are short but very well informed so even if something new is thrown at you in the middle of a battle, you'd have a good enough understanding of it it to proceed, and if not you can just go back and re-read the tutorial instead of it being lost forever.
Oh and if that isn't enough, I was under heavy influence both times I've played the game (fist time for 2 hours, second time for maybe 4 hours straight!?) and I still got the hang of the battle system, even after my party grew.
Really digging this game, and if I hadn't gotten home from work late, I'd be playing right now..
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: leahsdad on January 09, 2013, 07:48:51 PM
it's actually pretty simple. It builds up as the game progresses, and the first creatures you can battle are pretty simple wild monsters that are easy to find and don't really pose a threat as they don't attack you unless you attack them first. Basically, the game does a really good job of weening you in to the battle system, the tutorials are short but very well informed so even if something new is thrown at you in the middle of a battle, you'd have a good enough understanding of it it to proceed, and if not you can just go back and re-read the tutorial instead of it being lost forever.
Oh man. Actually, the battle system is CRAZY complicated. Really. And while you're right about the weening part, I would say that if you don't fully understand all the intricacies of the battle system by about....oh, when you start fighting Level 70 bosses, then you will really struggle with the game. I sure did.
But then again, by the time you get to that point of the game, you've played long enough to understand the basics of the battle system, so when you start reading some of the better FAQS out there (I highly recommend Zero Kid's excellent and SPOILER-free Arts Guide (http://www.gamefaqs.com/wii/960564-xenoblade-chronicles/faqs/65244), it is essential reading) you will have a much easier time understanding the terminology.
Once again, don't let that scare you! There were so many things that I didn't really understand by Level 70 (tension, what the color-coding on arts means, skill links, how to craft gems for higher ranks, etc.). But once I got to a point in the game where I needed to know in order to progress, it was super easy to pick up.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on January 09, 2013, 08:06:42 PM
I would never of expected for the game to keep showing me new things by that high a level, geeez! lol
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: leahsdad on January 10, 2013, 12:08:42 AM
Well, granted, these things are there from pretty much the beginning of the game. You can do them, if you want. It's just not worth your time to. If you want, you can spend 2 or 3 hours crafting level 1 gem canisters into level 2 gems-- it's just kind of a waste of time to do so, when you'll start collecting level 2 gems just as random loot drops fairly early in the game. You can probably chain like-colored arts to multiply chain damage (max 500%) as soon as you have Reyn and Sharla--it's just fairly unnecessary since Buster will cream a lot of those early Mechon. And do you really need to know whose auras stack, and how many you can stack at one time? Probably not. But you can, especially after you get Melia and Dunban, who have the good auras.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Shaymin on January 15, 2013, 10:20:27 PM
Wasn't sure where to put this, but... https://twitter.com/XSEEDGames/status/291377447507746816
It's either Ys Celceta or...
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: gbuell on January 16, 2013, 09:46:04 AM
This immediately after the RFN crew stated definitively that there was NO CHANCE Pandora's Tower would ever come to the US. They might need to work on their prediction-fu...
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on January 16, 2013, 11:02:26 AM
This immediately after the RFN crew stated definitively that there was NO CHANCE Pandora's Tower would ever come to the US. They might need to work on their prediction-fu...
That said, looking at the results of predictions from the previous year should've been fair warning about trusting their predictions from this show. Discussion: good. Predictions: well, the discussion is good. ;)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: pokepal148 on January 18, 2013, 09:43:53 PM
I loved in like episode 185 when greg used the powerof editing to gloat about galaxy 2s release date with James That said amazon burn in hell 180 dollars is not a reasonable price for any wii game Where can i find a copy at regular price
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on January 19, 2013, 10:31:51 AM
I loved in like episode 185 when greg used the powerof editing to gloat about galaxy 2s release date with James That said amazon burn in hell 180 dollars is not a reasonable price for any wii game Where can i find a copy at regular price
good luck, I bought mine either last month or month prior and it was close to $80, most I've ever paid for a single video game; it did come with an artwork book which I had NO idea about but that still is way too much for a game. I caved because I kept hearing rave reviews about it here on NWR and because the price has only been going up and up on sites like amazon..
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: TrueNerd on February 02, 2013, 04:58:21 AM
So I picked this game back up after a couple months of neglecting it because of the reveal of the Wii U sequel/spinoff/whatever. THIS GAME IS SO GOOD OMG. I will say that I'm not a fan of the cutscenes. I think there's a decent large scale video game story there but the execution of the dialog and the excessive use of slow mo and making EVERYTHING AS DRAMATIC AS POSSIBLE is kind of laughable. In a world of Uncharted and Mass Effect and Rockstar's games, this is where Xenoblade feels dated to me. But it doesn't matter. The game itself is so good. I'll never get over how huge this game is. If I don't have a Wii U by the time "X" comes out, I will buy one just for that game. No question. Also, I feel like I should grab The Last Story and Pandora's Tower just out of principle because this game is so amazing. I should probably finish this first though.
I just got to Satorl Marsh, which looks nothing like anything I've seen thus far. I love it.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on February 02, 2013, 06:18:56 AM
It's been a while since I've played the game, but I didn't find the dialog of Xenoblade to compare unfavorably to other games. Mass Effect and Rockstar games are blunt & hammy in their own ways. In the case of slow motion, Mass Effect definitely milks some moments, GTA4 has you executing characters in slow motion, and both Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3 have dramatic bullet time everywhere.
Sure, Xenoblade's story shows its Japanese roots in how earnest the melodrama can be, but I think that's just a style that hasn't been well represented in recent console games. From skimming Youtube videos, it seems to be have been poorly represented in Final Fantasy 13.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: TrueNerd on February 02, 2013, 08:45:19 PM
It's been a while since I've played the game, but I didn't find the dialog of Xenoblade to compare unfavorably to other games.
I really disagree. The difference is Xenoblade milks ALL of the moments. I don't think there's an action cutscene that doesn't use tons of slow mo. The rest of those games exercise restraint in this regard. In general the writing and voice acting in those games is several notches higher than Xenoblade's.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on February 02, 2013, 09:03:48 PM
Fair enough. Honestly, the last things I did with the game before letting a friend borrow it was whacking enemies, save-scumming to get specific skill books, and playing the ending one or two more times. My recollection of the first ten or so hours is very spotty aside from the excellent title card sequence and walking around Colony 9.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Oblivion on February 02, 2013, 10:21:51 PM
It's been a while since I've played the game, but I didn't find the dialog of Xenoblade to compare unfavorably to other games.
I really disagree. The difference is Xenoblade milks ALL of the moments. I don't think there's an action cutscene that doesn't use tons of slow mo. The rest of those games exercise restraint in this regard. In general the writing and voice acting in those games is several notches higher than Xenoblade's.
I'm replaying the game, and I've yet to see a slow-motion moment in a cutscene. The voice acting in Xenoblade is amazing, I don't know what you're talking about. And hell, it's a Japanese RPG. Of COURSE it's going be melodramatic. Is this your first JRPG?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on February 03, 2013, 01:37:22 PM
I dusted off this game after being hooked back into Rune Factory Frontier;
Last save point was after getting to Bionis' Leg for the first time and I spent 4 hours wandering around between that start point and the quest to save Juju just battling monsters and trying to do quest. This game is going to take me a loooong time to finish... :D
One question for you guys regarding monster quest; I was asked by one of the refugees to take care of the giant Turkin in their little hide-out. I actually beat his ass BEFORE the request and it was the first time the game didn't recognize my accomplishment. I've gone back to the Turkin Hideout multiple time and that stupid giant won't appear. Has any one else had this trouble with other monster quests?? Part of the reason I was wandering around not progressing the story was because of this and other monster quest I tried to complete before moving on since they seem to be time sensitive and I didn't want to miss them (that's what the clock icon means on the quest right? If I go beyond a certain point I might miss the chance??). With that said, what about the monster I'm supposed to find at the lake but ONLY during a thunder-storm does that mean an actual thunder storm because I didn't notice any thunder (or lighting for that matter) when its raining lol I don't know how literal they're being but I can't seem to find this stupid thing at the lake and I want to take it out before I move on...
Help!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: ejamer on February 03, 2013, 04:52:54 PM
@EasyCure:
Putting spoiler tag on the whole thing. Don't think it gives away anything specific at all... but just in case people don't want to know anything about the answers.
I've done that before too - defeat a special monster before getting the actual quest, then have trouble getting it to respawn. They will return eventually, but after you defeat it once the respawn seems pretty random. In the worst case, you can just save in the area and then reload until he shows up... or leave it and come back later.
In the location you describe, there should be a lot of time for you to come back and finish that quest if you want to move on for now. I'd say easily more than twice as much game as you've already seen before it's a problem going back. And you will need to revisit that area after moving farther ahead to finish some other specific sidequests... so don't get too worried about the clock in this case.
As for the thunder storm, yes. Some storms just have rain while others have lightning. They are being pretty literal in this case.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on February 03, 2013, 05:15:22 PM
[/size]Putting spoiler tag on the whole thing. Don't think it gives away anything specific at all... but just in case people don't want to know anything about the answers.
I've done that before too - defeat a special monster before getting the actual quest, then have trouble getting it to respawn. They will return eventually, but after you defeat it once the respawn seems pretty random. In the worst case, you can just save in the area and then reload until he shows up... or leave it and come back later.
In the location you describe, there should be a lot of time for you to come back and finish that quest if you want to move on for now. I'd say easily more than twice as much game as you've already seen before it's a problem going back. And you will need to revisit that area after moving farther ahead to finish some other specific sidequests... so don't get too worried about the clock in this case.
As for the thunder storm, yes. Some storms just have rain while others have thunder. They are being pretty literal in this case.
Thanks! Good to know not to sweat it. I'm still curious about that one specific monster... it would be so interesting to battle in a thunderstorm. I'm playing RFF again, I'll go back to the Xenoblade in a few and hopefully make some more progress.
edit: Ok so I just started the fight to save Juj and I must say, that was a really cool scene and monolith did a great fucking job with the soundtrack. That was so intense, I'm sitting here worried that I'm too inebriated to take on this boss right now. It's just way too epic.
edit: Ok so I found one of the monsters for a quest the lake monser, not the turkin that I've already beat but haven't gotten credit for and I use the map jump feature to where I just was spiral valley and there I am, teleported right in front of an Immovable Gonzalez WTF IS THAT BEAST!? This game feels more and more like Monster Hunter as I play.. shiiiiittt
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Enner on February 04, 2013, 01:43:47 AM
You won't be able to move Gonzalez as it's a level ~95 monster. Well, at least for the time being.
As eJamer wrote, for unique monsters you can always try save-scumming. That's where you save and then load a save file until the monster respawns.
For the weather, I find manually changing the time forward or back 6+ hours at a time usually gives you the special weather effects sooner or later.
EDIT: Corrected EasyCure to eJamer.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on February 04, 2013, 10:14:58 AM
You won't be able to move Gonzalez as it's a level ~95 monster. Well, at least for the time being.
As EasyCure wrote, for unique monsters you can always try save-scumming. That's where you save and then load a save file until the monster respawns.
For the weather, I find manually changing the time forward or back 6+ hours at a time usually gives you the special weather effects sooner or later.
Hahaha I wasn't even going to dare try it. It was bad enough I found myself being attacked by that giant enemy crab in the northern region of the Bionis leg, Dakesha something or other? and losing; that thing was only level 32! No way am I taking on Gonzalez any time soon.
As for the thunderstorm, I happened to be wandering around when it started so I warped back to the lake and found what I was looking for. I'll try the "save-scumming" trick with the other beast. Thanks for the tips guys!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Mop it up on February 04, 2013, 05:41:34 PM
I think there's a decent large scale video game story there but the execution of the dialog and the excessive use of slow mo and making EVERYTHING AS DRAMATIC AS POSSIBLE is kind of laughable.
I'd have to agree with this, a lot of the dialogue felt like they were saying the same thing in slightly different ways. They also make a lot of the twists obvious and predictable. I wonder if part of the reason the story is like that is to make sure people remember what's going on if they haven't played in a while. It's tough to have a story that stretches out over the length of a game like Xenoblade.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: negative_zero on February 11, 2013, 08:03:09 PM
If any of you guys are interested, I wrote a top 10 wishlist for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 / X over on Negative World:
I think there's a decent large scale video game story there but the execution of the dialog and the excessive use of slow mo and making EVERYTHING AS DRAMATIC AS POSSIBLE is kind of laughable.
I'd have to agree with this, a lot of the dialogue felt like they were saying the same thing in slightly different ways. They also make a lot of the twists obvious and predictable. I wonder if part of the reason the story is like that is to make sure people remember what's going on if they haven't played in a while. It's tough to have a story that stretches out over the length of a game like Xenoblade.
Eeh...some people make call a twist "obvious." Others might call it properly telegraphed. One thing for sure, nothing is completely out of the blue. Everything that happens late-game is hinted at by something in the early game. And I'm not just talking about the super-ominous conversations between Lorithia, Alvis, and Dickson
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: leahsdad on February 12, 2013, 12:56:05 AM
It really just focuses on things that were already in Xenoblade and can be improved. I wasn't throwing totally new stuff in there.
Hey, great article! Just read it, you have a lot of good points. I'm commenting here, because I'm not on Negative World's boards. But everyone should give it a read.
However, I strongly disagree with you on #3 (Changing the Chain Attack System). You have a lot of good points on this one. You're right, the risk/reward gap is HUGE -- losing those revives is an incredible risk, especially in the last 20 hours of the game, where the bosses are just ridiculously difficult. But at the same time, the stress and "tension" it adds to the game (I've got to be careful saying "tension" as it is also a Xenoblade term) really adds to the appeal to gamers like me, who are attracted to high-difficulty games.
Also, to be honest, if you have to revive anyone, including yourself, more than a few times in a boss fight, then your strategy for that boss is seriously flawed, and you will not win. I don't care whose auras you stack or how high your tension is, there is no way you can revive...oh, let's say your tank, more than 4 or 5 times in a fight and keep pace with your party gauge. And if it's not your tank that's dying that much, then you have got to manage your aggro differently. I'm generalizing, sure, but I think what I'm describing here neatly applies to every post-lvl69 boss fight. Especially the one at Level 69.
And the chain attack system, more than anything else, encourages you to organize your skills so that you maximize the damage you get from the color coded (especially, the red) multipliers. Even for the toughest bosses, if you can string 5 strong reds in a row, then you can maybe knock a tenth off of a boss's health. Add to that if you can topple and daze that boss BEFORE you initiate that string, then oh my, you are a damage dealing machine. I will admit, at least, that if you aren't exploiting the chain attack system in this way, then you shouldn't bother using chain attacks. Well, maybe to do some topple/daze's, but you don't really need to do that within a chain attack, it just makes it easier.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: noname2200 on February 14, 2013, 02:02:35 PM
Hey, great article! Just read it, you have a lot of good points. I'm commenting here, because I'm not on Negative World's boards. But everyone should give it a read.
However, I strongly disagree with you on #3 (Changing the Chain Attack System). You have a lot of good points on this one. You're right, the risk/reward gap is HUGE -- losing those revives is an incredible risk, especially in the last 20 hours of the game, where the bosses are just ridiculously difficult. But at the same time, the stress and "tension" it adds to the game (I've got to be careful saying "tension" as it is also a Xenoblade term) really adds to the appeal to gamers like me, who are attracted to high-difficulty games.
Also, to be honest, if you have to revive anyone, including yourself, more than a few times in a boss fight, then your strategy for that boss is seriously flawed, and you will not win. I don't care whose auras you stack or how high your tension is, there is no way you can revive...oh, let's say your tank, more than 4 or 5 times in a fight and keep pace with your party gauge. And if it's not your tank that's dying that much, then you have got to manage your aggro differently. I'm generalizing, sure, but I think what I'm describing here neatly applies to every post-lvl69 boss fight. Especially the one at Level 69.
And the chain attack system, more than anything else, encourages you to organize your skills so that you maximize the damage you get from the color coded (especially, the red) multipliers. Even for the toughest bosses, if you can string 5 strong reds in a row, then you can maybe knock a tenth off of a boss's health. Add to that if you can topple and daze that boss BEFORE you initiate that string, then oh my, you are a damage dealing machine. I will admit, at least, that if you aren't exploiting the chain attack system in this way, then you shouldn't bother using chain attacks. Well, maybe to do some topple/daze's, but you don't really need to do that within a chain attack, it just makes it easier.
Agreed completely. By the late game, enemies, even those that are twenty+ levels above you, shouldn't be hurting you because you're abusing the chain attack system to ensure that they stay toppled/dazed/incapacitated throughout. The flipside being, of course, that if you screw up your chains you're going to die. It's a well-balanced system.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: EasyCure on February 14, 2013, 08:02:36 PM
sounds like I should start practicing, I'm getting lucky skating by these battles and I'm only about level 22-28(?)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles.Confirmed for North America April 6th 2012
Post by: Khushrenada on June 22, 2020, 06:44:26 PM
Bumping to post in a bit later and not have to search for the thread. If one is interested in seeing the impressions of the game at the time of release back in 2012 then head to around page 18 if you do a 25 posts per page forum view.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: pokepal148 on June 22, 2020, 09:20:29 PM
I'm playing this on my new 3DS. Who needs a Switch when you have the beat grass in Xenoblade history.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: ejamer on June 22, 2020, 10:06:17 PM
I loved this game so much on Wii, and put a ton of hours into it... but my second play through on 3DS fizzled after the first 15 hours or so. Are people playing through the game now (perhaps in different formats)? Might be time to pick it back up.
Still think it's better on a big screen though. The exploration aspects just seem more grand that way.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on June 22, 2020, 10:47:55 PM
I came close to trying this on 3DS especially when the NEW 3DS came out and it is one of the few games requiring that system. But I was and still am trying to catch up on other 3DS games I didn't get around to while spending so much time in New Leaf. Link Between Worlds, FE: Awakening, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Planet Robobot and WarioWare Gold are just some of the titles I still want to tackle for the system. Plus, I'd started XCX and always felt I'd finish that first and haven't gotten back to it while BotW came out later and then I got obsessed into that game. So, knowing this would probably be a long game for me too meant I kept pushing it off for games I thought I could do sooner.
But with Covid playing havoc on TV and Film production and sports, diving into a 100 hour epic game is no longer a problem with my entertainment schedule. So, it released at the right time for Switch to finally get me to dive in. Plus, knowing it would be a bit more refined experience also helped since I was still nervous about how well I'd do with the battle system and other systems in the game after getting lost in XCX with all that was happening and opening up to me.
With this being the first game and seeing others comments that compared the series, it sounded like XC1 was the way to go in learning the core of the series with how it progressed out information. And that assessment has been correct. There are things here that now click for me in XCX (which makes me want to go back to that and get back in the action there but maybe I should start over since I'm not sure what kind of decisions I'd made back then when first playing) and I'm getting more and more confident with keeping track of all sorts of things to remember in battle.
I received my copy on Jun. 11 but first wrapped up getting the 50 Star Rank in Balloon World for Mario Odyssey and prepared to open my time for long sessions. Started it late on Friday Jun. 12 and played for an hour taking in the introduction lessons and story and setting. Since I was pretty tired from work, an hour was all my brain could take from all this new info it was now taking in and went to bed soon thereafter.
Got back into mid-Saturday afternoon and then just kept playing it late into the night. I wanted to get to the Gaur Plains and by 10 - 11 hours in, I was there. By Wednesday evening, I had over 30 hours into the game. I slowed down a bit in playtime over Thursday and Friday. Maybe getting in an hour each day. Needed to do other things in life like cleaning, getting groceries, vacuuming, etc. Plus, by Wednesday, I'd gotten to Frontier Village which is something I pushed for even though it was already getting late when I first got to Makna Forest. But I knew I was obviously close to adding Melia (due to a cutscene when entering) and Riki since the NPC's were saying the Nopon village was ahead and it felt like that would make a good ending point for the night.
However, it was also a case of now getting two new characters I needed to learn about and a whole big new city in which to get quests and meet people to add to the Affinity Chart in addition to knowing that I needed to start cleaning up a lot of the inventory I was carrying around for weapons, armors, gems and collectibles. So, I mainly just checked in to start doing some research and figuring out how I wanted to start arranging the stats of my party. Saturday allowed me to dive back in to the game and go through Frontier Village which continued on Sunday while also go back to past locales for more quests and to finish off some older ones. I thought I'd covered Colony 9 so well but then I discovered two more people I hadn't met during all my time and return trips there. It struck me again how easy it is to miss things with the size of some of these locales.
But finally got to a point where I was ready to start progressing the story again and move on in the exploration of Makna Forest. Sitting at 45 hours so far. I think I'm around the halfway point though judging by how my Affinity Chart of characters looks like and my suspicion of how the Collectopedia may be broken down. What I'm kind of glad about is that I've really never been spoiled on the story of XC. I guess I've always stayed away from much discussion of it since I always felt I'd get to it at some point. That goes for X and 2 as well. I really don't know how those unfold. So, I'm excited to see where this going to go. There are certain things I suspect and wonder about but even in this thread, where I was worried about possible spoilers, people thankfully formatted their posts with spoiler tags so that I didn't end up glancing or noticing anything I was aware of at this point. However, there was quite a bit of helpful information like stuff on gem crafting that I'm glad to have seen and read. Way to go, NWR class of 2012!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: ejamer on June 24, 2020, 01:40:53 PM
"... However, it was also a case of now getting two new characters I needed to learn about... "
One fun question: which characters are you actually playing as during the game? My first time through, I don't remember changing up my lineup at all for the first 2/3 of the game, so I learned to use a few characters really well and then spent the rest of the game experimenting with the others as supplementary/specialty characters in my party.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on June 24, 2020, 02:06:35 PM
This game has triggered my horrible obsessive compulsions with MMORPGs or open-world games. I spent the first three hours of the game walking around Colony 9 and the surrounding area gathering collectibles and speaking to every named non-player character in the town. I think I've only completed about 3 story quests! The last thing I did was deliver a lunch and return home. And by "return home" I mean swim to the opposite shore, walk around an island, and get my party knocked out by a high level monster that suddenly appeared when night time set.
I'm loving this game.
This sounds exactly like my first 3 hours playing.
Ha! This is exactly my experience so far. I'm now about 5.5 hours in and just about to enter a cave with three party members. I can actually find my way around colony 9 now and have done a LOT of swimming.
Isn't that everybody's experience with this game? Besides XCX flashbacks for obvious reasons, I find this game reminding me of my time in Breath of the Wild. BotW is pretty much my first open world game aside from the 20 or so hours I think I spend in XCX. At the time open-worlds were growing in gaming, there weren't many that appeared on Nintendo consoles. By the time they did with Arkham City or Assassin's Creed and such, I was getting back into gaming again but primarily through the 3DS and its "smaller" offerings as well as playing older generation games. So perhaps I'd have a different view if I was more aware of other entries in the genre.
I bring it up because I remember when I played Super Mario 3D Land on 3DS. It felt like such a fresh Mario experience. A few years later, when I finally played Super Mario Galaxy 2, it was sort of like the missing link that allowed me to see how Mario games went from Galaxy 1 to 3D Land. There were elements about Galaxy 2 I recognized in 3D Land and so it no longer seemed to be this game that just came into being somehow on its own. Xenoblade Chronicles reminds me of that. It’s like the missing link to how BotW came into existence and now I feel I can see this sort of path of development on Nintendo’s side of how it came into being.
Colony 9 is like the Great Plateau region. A gentle introduction to the game and the abilities and systems in play. A large contained space that I wanted to explore all of it before moving on. Wanting to meet and talk to every NPC in town was my equivalent of climbing multiple trees and surfaces to new heights when first playing BotW. Tackling the enemies around the colony was the same as learning the various ways you could beat up Moblins. Only ready to move on once I’d fully covered the area. Taking in the views and consulting the game map with what I was seeing and exploring.
Had a big ol' 4 hour play session last night after a break from playing for a bit (life always interferes with my gaming dagnabbit).
I had stopped just after the first Mechon attack. Story says I'm supposed to head to another colony now. So what did I do? Spent the whole time in and around my hometown doing sidequests, raising affinities, gem crafting, leveling up some different arts and swapping out gear.
THOROUGHLY enjoyed myself. I'm getting better at the craziness of combat. And thank-you to gbuell about the suggestion to switch to the classic controller. I broke down and sprung for a CCPro (had a regular one that has become sticky with myriad "children-juice"). It has made a huge difference.
You know, I think this Xenoblade Chronicles thing just might be a pretty darn good game. ;D
Heck yeah! I find it hard to tear myself away from Colony 9 even when I return to it now. Still trying to connect a few people on the affinity chart and the music is just so inviting.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on June 24, 2020, 05:42:41 PM
"... However, it was also a case of now getting two new characters I needed to learn about... "
One fun question: which characters are you actually playing as during the game? My first time through, I don't remember changing up my lineup at all for the first 2/3 of the game, so I learned to use a few characters really well and then spent the rest of the game experimenting with the others as supplementary/specialty characters in my party.
I've been sort of patting myself on the back a bit after reading through these older comments as there seems to be a lot of things I've been staying aware and trying to keep up with or doing that a few others missed or learned about until much later in the game when it become more necessary. I think a big part of that is the affinity chart and wanting to up the affinity within my party.
After I had Sharla join and played around a bit with her on the party, it was soon after that her and Reyn were learning more arts than could actually be used in battle. I began figuring out what options I wanted them to perform in battle and starting to see how some arts connected. Doing that made me see how they offered different tactics in battle. This did lead to me switching up who was the leader for a bit to see how that might go and what the AI might do with Shulk. I wondered if I might learn something there that I was not doing or missing while controlling Shulk. However, I didn’t really notice much change in tactics with Reyn and I felt constrained with Sharla who has limited attacks nor did I require much healing. Didn’t notice anything special from AI Shulk either. Soon I encountered a bunch of Mechon through the end of Bionis Leg into the Ether Mine thus went back to Shulk and just kept refining how I used him and the Monado.
After though, I did switch to Dunban as party leader to try and start building affinity with him and the other members. Shulk and Reyn were maxed in their affinity and Sharla was mid-level with both of them leaving Dunban starting from the bottom with all. I’m pretty sure I went through the Marsh completely as Dunban exploring it all with Sharla for all the flying enemies and swapping in Shulk and Reyn a bit. I went back to Shulk though once I had Riki and Melia join in order to build up affinity with him and them. I feel that it is probably Shulk have good affinity with all members for chain attacks since the Monado should be important in most battles and he is the main character. Plus, Shulk gets more Experience with completing quests thanks to a skill tree unlock so with all the Frontier Village questing I began doing with Riki and Melia along (plus return trips to previous areas), I wanted him in the lead.
Once I was ready to finish exploring Makna Forest, I did make Riki leader to try him out a bit. Ended up switching to Shulk when it came time to fight the boss. Overall, not clear yet what I think of Riki. It was at this point I began reading these past comments and how Mannypon was highly praising Riki so I was excited to see the result with him in battle. By the time I got back into the story and exploring, my party was levelled pretty high for the area. Even the boss, I was 5 levels higher so it wasn’t much of a sweat thanks to all that questing before.
However, by switching to Riki, it did get me to start thinking more about Aggro and the effect it has in battle. Like Shulk, Riki has a couple attacks that do more damage on a different side of an enemy besides the front. But if I’m controlling Riki and starting battles then that usually means he’ll have the monster facing him most battle unless another character can create more aggro after awhile. So, near the end of Makna Forest, I’d often start a battle with Shulk doing a backslash on an enemy for big instant damage. Then with the enemy focused on Shulk, I’d start moving forward away from the group so that the enemy would keep turning to face me and expose its backside to Riki while Melia did… her thing. She’s helping but I still haven’t really done much in depth with her yet to know how well she’s helping.
In any case, moving around in battle seems to be making a difference both in limiting enemy damage and giving me more battle affinity attacks but, again, I was pretty overpowered at the end. I either had enemies way too strong that I wasn’t going to fight or quite a bit under that there was no challenge so I couldn’t really pick on someone my own size to accurately judge if it is the movement or just my stats. It has got me thinking about going back to Reyn though since I think that is probably the way he is meant to be used. With his high HP and increased aggro attacks, I should be using him to keep the enemies main attacks and attention on me in order to position them in ways to make it easy for the CPU to maximize their attacks and position. I don’t think Reyn has any attacks that require hitting an enemy on the side or back which means he can stay in front of an enemy.
So, while there is definitely more I have to learn with the characters and I’m sure I could be improving my battle strategies further (like tension is something I only have a theoretical understanding of still), thanks to my focus on building affinity and switching around the team to build up with chain attacks, battles and some quests, it has at least kept me mindful of testing the other members in situations.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Order.RSS on June 26, 2020, 06:35:29 PM
Pretty fun to read over some of the initial impressions compared to your current ones, Khush. Do you think you'd like it as much back in the day?
The Xenoblade series is one of the great white whales in my backlog. Own two of them, Xenoblade 1 was very cheap on Virtual Console once, and Xenoblade X I have maybe 5 hours in total. Might need to turn one of these into a Summer project.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: broodwars on June 26, 2020, 07:00:18 PM
I have been catching up on Xenoblade in recent weeks, as I never finished the Wii version. I got up to Sword Valley & then got stuck in the reeds trying to catch up on the sidequests (particularly the Colony 6 ones). The sidequests in Xenoblade are so spectacularly boring & nigh-uncompletable in the original version, so I eventually got bored & frustrated & put it down.
Playing the Definitive Version on Switch, there's a lot of quality of life stuff I appreciate here that does a lot to negate my issues with the original release. The ability to track quests now is a godsend, since the game will now mark anywhere you need to go and what you need to interact with IF it's present in the game world at that time. This along makes the sidequests way more do-able without a Wiki, though Wiki you will still need to complete more than 1/4 of them because of their obscure unlock conditions and arbitrarily-stupidly RNG collectables.
I appreciate the rearranged soundtrack, though in most cases it's not that different from the original soundtrack. Unfinished Battle STILL should have been used a lot more than the 1 time it gets used in the main game (yes, I know Future Connect corrects this). The new models are great. The environments, though...yeah, they still kind of suck, with bland and blurry textures a lot of the time and simple geometry.
In any case, I've reached the Mechonis capital, so I'm way beyond where I originally was in the Wii version. Unfortunately, I think the game pretty much peaks with the events in Sword Valley. Xenoblade has something of the "Far Cry 3 issue", where the first 1/2 - 2/3 of the game are very strong. You traverse a wide variety of environments that THEMSELVES change greatly depending on whether it's day or night, and you have a strong narrative hook in chasing Metal Face. Then Metal Face gets Vaased, and now I have to slog through the most boring, uninspired, unchanging portion of the game to take on a new villain I do not care about at all and the game's really given me no reason to. He's just a dime a dozen "destroy everything" villain, regardless of the justification the game shoehorns in there. I don't care, and it doesn't help that the game's already made it clear that even HE'S not the big villain I have to care about.
Seriously, the Mechonis portion of the game is so obviously rushed & uninspired that it feels like it's only here because Monolith thought people would get angry if you never walked on it. You go from the open, secret-packed world of the Bionis to a series of linear corridors & and endless combat rooms.
I seem to be nearing the end of the game, and I've pretty much settled on a battle party of Shulk, Battle Angel Alita, & Sharla for general exploration & Shulk, Dunban, & Sharla for when things actually get serious. Tried other combinations over the course of the game, but Melia is too useless when not directly controlled & I prefer having a combination DPS & Tank over having a dedicated Tank when Shulk's in the party. And you need the Monado, so you're going to have Shulk.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Lemonade on June 26, 2020, 07:34:52 PM
I have played this on Switch for about 13 hour so far. I definitely like it more than the 3DS version, the map and quest log improvements are really good and the casual mode is making it so battles arent a constant struggle.
It also looks significantly better than the 3DS version, especially the faces. (https://i.imgur.com/0Duy2Xt.png)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: pokepal148 on June 26, 2020, 08:27:04 PM
The 3D effect in the 3DS version certainly has it's moments. Manka Forest in particular is a real treat. Unfortunately the 3D effect itself is kind of weak. With how much of a sense of scale Xenoblade's worlds have it should lend itself quite nicely to the Stereoscopic effect but unfortunately we didn't quite get there.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on June 26, 2020, 09:50:43 PM
You're going casual? I've ignored it and stayed expert although I have wondered about trying it out. There was just something about the way it doled out or handled EXP that when reading it I thought it better to stick with Expert mode and learn the battle system more. Plus, that's what I wanted by starting this game so that I'd understand it for the other games in the series.
I stopped reading Broodwars post because he decided to go in full on spoilers there near the middle. >:( Yes, I know it is an 8-year old game that is sort of on its 4th release but I'd made a point about how I bumped this thread since it was pretty spoiler-safe. Tsk tsk. But from the first couple paragraphs I did read, it seems like XCX refined the XC experience and is perhaps the model it has followed since. (My knowledge of XC2 is so sparse that I'm completely in the dark with how it plays in comparision.) XCX also would make it easier find materials or enemies needed in a quest and marked on the map. A lot of the menus seem similar to the XCX set-up so it seems they've just copied that refinement over to this Definitive Edition. It's great for me since that is what I'm sort of familiar with from my XCX playtime and I'm understanding things I wondered about and wasn't quite catching on in X.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on June 26, 2020, 09:51:14 PM
Pretty fun to read over some of the initial impressions compared to your current ones, Khush. Do you think you'd like it as much back in the day?
It's hard to say because, again, the DE edition is obviously a bit more refined by its menus and options thanks to the lessons learned since its original release and sequels. So, I don't know how great the difficulty might have been in some of the sidequests compared to how I'm finding them by playing the game in this version.
Even with that Caveat, I'm pretty sure I'd have liked it if I had played it in 2012. In fact, there's a chance I'd have liked it more because the large environments would have been more impressive going through them at the time rather than coming to them after seeing XCX and BotW. Those are now my standards for large scale worlds/maps/lands. These are still big lands but seeing Gaur Plains/Bionis Leg for the first time this game felt good because you were no longer surrounded by walls like Colony 9 or the Tephra Cave and could obviously travel around a great distance. But partly what drew me to X was when watching a bit of it on Nintendo Treehouse where they showed the beginning and you quickly come to a high vista leading to a quick cutscene showing you this huge open landscape of Primordia with massive creatures and a game map that stretches in all directions with the huge New Los Angeles ahead which was also a huge town to explore. Then BotW kind of topped that by having you leaving the Resurrection Cave and see the massive world of Hyrule all around you within 10 minutes.
The effect is that XC:DE hasn't exactly felt like a fresh new experience like it probably would have in 2012 since I wouldn't have had those comparisons at the time and the largest worlds I can think of would have been like Wind Waker or Twilight Princess. Sort of Metroid Prime stuff but that's a lot of interconnected rooms and not really open spaces even if they form a large area together. Perhaps if I had then I might have felt more like Mop it up who was never quite over the moon on BotW like other users here although she still enjoyed it. Maybe that came from seeing similarities in BotW to XC elements or maybe not. I was going to make a joke about some of her posts in this thread of how she once again proved to be the most negative poster on NWR because she seemed to be poo-pooing a few other peoples claims of this game being revolutionary. Clearly she wasn't that hyped by XC back in the day either. ;D ;)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on June 26, 2020, 09:54:30 PM
The Xenoblade series is one of the great white whales in my backlog. Own two of them, Xenoblade 1 was very cheap on Virtual Console once, and Xenoblade X I have maybe 5 hours in total. Might need to turn one of these into a Summer project.
I get it. People always talked about the amount of time they played with this game and since I usually seem to move slower and take my time more in a game, I figured it would be an even longer playtime for me so I'd put it off with the idea of playing some other stuff that was shorter. Maybe if I took a bite out of my collection/backlog then I'd be fine with spending a longer amount of time with one game as it potentially piled up some more. But that plan didn't often work out either with me spending a long time on games I thought would be shorter. Like, when I played Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, I figured that would be something I'd finish in a couple weeks but then it was two months later and in my top ten of longest playtimes on my 3DS by the time it was over. I never expected to put 500 some hours into Animal Crossing: New Leaf but that happened too. So, I guess I just don't know what will be a long or short experience and it depends on how dogged I want to be with completing it top to bottom.
Personally, I had no plans to get the DE version when it was announced and, in my head, if I was going to play an XC game then it was going to be X where I finish what I started. But I didn't see myself doing that for another couple years. However, having recently tackled a bunch of games I'd sort of put to the top of my backlog to finally play like Chrono Trigger and Metroid: Other M along with some others like a bunch of the Game Boy Virtual Console games I was inspired to buy from the eShop series I've been doing (and need to get back to), I guess I felt like I had been taking a bite out of the backlog even if it might not have been as sizeable as I imagine. As mentioned before, with mostly staying inside from Covid and most social activities paused along with movie theaters shut down and television series sort of ending early as channels scramble to find programming to fill the air in the meantime or play reruns, playing a 100 game didn't seem like that much of a challenge. Heck, it's been two weeks and I'm into hour 65 as of last night. I think I'm over the 50% mark so maybe I wrap this up in another couple weeks with how things are but the timing just felt so right for doing this now.
It helped that there wasn't much for gaming news and, if you weren't playing Animal Crossing, XC:DE was pretty much the only other thing Nintendo was kind of talking about for an upcoming release. The result was that I started feeling some hype about the game and it's release and seriously thinking about just finally playing it instead of putting it off as a future project. Plus, a few people on the NWR Discord were talking about the release and I knew a person or two in a different chat that were also looking forward to it so the game was getting the most hype it may have had in 8 years. I'd say what really drew me to it the most was this trailer that was on the Switch News Channel for some time:
The BnM trademarked link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFHmaXhFEcQ)
Watch at your own peril though since it will have some spoiler-y things about it as it tries to show a bunch of entertaining moments that can be encountered and give you some part of the story to hook you into buying and playing the game as a trailer should. Even though I was know seriously planning to play it, I wasn't necessarily planning on getting the Switch version. I was thinking of playing my Wii version but I was playing Super Paper Mario as the release got close and disliked the amount of time it would take to start my Wii U and go to Wii Mode and then launch a game compared to how quickly I could start my Switch and get going into Tetris 99 battles or Mario Odyssey. Plus, I don't have a classic or pro controller for the Wii/Wii U and do for Switch and wondered how much I'd be charging and swapping batteries. Nintendo was so right to focus on getting the Switch interface to start quickly and get you playing a game fast. It's almost a bigger selling point than being able to play it as a console or portable.
I do also have the 3DS version and that was the route I was leaning towards the most. Pokepal's been playing it this way and I actually have a twinge of regret that I'm not doing it that way also since I'm a big 3D effect proponent. Yet, with the lack of upcoming game announcements from Nintendo coupled with the fact that I ended up getting a $40.00 gift card with Amazon and could thus by the Special Edition Switch version for cheaper than the regular Switch version by using it, I opted for the big TV experience and quick Switch interface. Aside from not playing it with a 3D visual effect, I have no regrets with the decision. It's worth the money. (Is it worth buying it 3 times over to finally play it once? Well.... let's not get into that. :-[ :-X )
The 3D effect in the 3DS version certainly has it's moments. Manka Forest in particular is a real treat. Unfortunately the 3D effect itself is kind of weak. With how much of a sense of scale Xenoblade's worlds have it should lend itself quite nicely to the Stereoscopic effect but unfortunately we didn't quite get there.
I feel even less regret with waiting until now to play the game and do so with the DE version.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on June 26, 2020, 10:02:56 PM
One more thing while I'm typing up a storm, (still got it when it comes to walls of text!), despite feeling the game has been surpassed a bit by what has come since through some other titles, I've enjoyed much of what it has to offer like some large towns to explore and the affinity chart of connecting these simple NPC characters and doing those fetch quests. I love to explore in games and see every nook and cranny in a world and this game still delivers in doing that. The main thing that sets it apart from the experience of X at this point for me is the story.
When it comes to the story, I think that is a big part of what has held me back from playing this game until now. X had a story hook that grabbed my imagination and drew me right in with the idea of Earth getting destroyed as collateral damage in a war between two other vastly advanced species fighting amongst themselves with a small surviving Earth contingent escaping into space and crashing onto a unknown planet. Now the survivors have to explore this unknown danger and unlock the secrets of this new planet/home.
XC2 also has an appeal in having like 40 different Titans that these characters and different cultures live on and are sort of fighting amongst each other for supremacy in the universe they exist in while searching for a mythical ancient land of Elysium and the secret power it supposedly has. Unlike XC1, the idea of all these different sized Titans that were still living and moving sort of took the idea of XC and its two unmoving titans and upped the ante.
As for XC1, my idea of the story from what I had pieced together from various bits of info from other users discussions or trailers was that Shulk lived in a world where they constantly battled robots from a distant land. In developing tech to fight the robots, the Monado was invented but the person who was using it dies in an attack and Shulk ends up grabbing it in desperation only to see visions of the future in battle and win the day. With this power, he and his friends set on a journey across a vast landscape to topple the robot empire. I knew they lived on this giant dead being and you could apparently explore as far as the eye could see and that part intrigued me. As for the rest of it, it sounds fine for a videogame story or perhaps even a movie but not that fresh or exciting to draw me into playing it like the others kind of did.
The reality is not quite like what I had imagined from others discussion of the game. At the time, I imagined something like BotW in which all areas are basically open and connected and you can constantly see all across Hyrule from high and low. I thought with Xenoblade Chronicles, the Bionis was the same with being able to just keep going from top to bottom or vice versa. It's actually still sectioned areas that you explore but you can kind of see the connection they have to each other. I'd relate it to Super Mario Sunshine (because everything great comes back to Sunshine! ;) ) where you can see other Delfino areas/levels in the distance but you can't just travel across the land or water to them. Like you can see Ricco Harbor, Gelato Beach and Sirena (hotel?) in the distance or background from different parts of Pinna Park. While it creates the impression of a singular world, each area is still separate from the other and you have to travel through pipes/warps to get around between them.
While the singular overworld I imagined doesn't quite exist, the story has ended up being more engrossing than I expected as it unfolds at times in unexpected ways and with me trying to guess as to what it might be leading up to or what the answers may be to some of the questions it has created. It has been doing its job of getting me to stick with it and keep playing even if I do let it sit on the backburner at times in order to explore and muck about in the NPC villages or try and build up affinity so I can see a new Heart to Heart. Even then, it still makes for an itch I want to scratch and get back to soon because I want to see it keep unfolding. Since XC1 seems to have been designed with a bit of an easier difficulty curve and how it doles out information on its systems and leaving you with more time to practice something you've just learned or are trying to figure out, it makes it easier for me to keep playing and keep moving the story forward.
I do appreciate X for not waiting around to really throw a player into the action with giving you multiple party members you can use right away, a massive central hub to craft weapons and get quests and wide areas that you can explore in any direction although you're bound to encounter a lot of overpowering stuff due to a course the game still has charted out for progession not to mention all the mapping system that was going on as well. It was a lot of information being put on a player at once and without the experience of XC1, I felt like I was just keeping my head above water at times. I was still progressing a bit and keeping the story moving but I just felt like I could be doing better with how to understand the battles I was engaging in or tactics to deploy and confused about the benefits or disadvantages certain things could bring. Now, so much more of it has clicked and questions I had have been answered. I feel now I was doing a lot of the right things in X so I should have just kept plugging away. There are still some things about it that I will need to look into that aren't in XC1 like mapping the lands and crafting weapons (which may be the equivalent of gem crafting in this game. Can't recall if gems were in X) and the different classes/faction you could be a part of. But at least I'll now feel confident about a lot of the basics in that game to be able to build off and see how those connect to them.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: broodwars on June 26, 2020, 10:04:52 PM
I stopped reading Broodwars post because he decided to go in full on spoilers there near the middle. >:( Yes, I know it is an 8-year old game that is sort of on its 4th release but I'd made a point about how I bumped this thread since it was pretty spoiler-safe. Tsk tsk.
As you said, it's an 8 year old game on its 4th re-release. Get over it. I didn't even spoil anything major, and in fact went out of my way to not spoil one particular thing newcomers would have run into early on.
But don't worry. Like the rest of the forums, I won't bother posting here again. Maybe it's time to close this account down and just be done with this site in general.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on June 26, 2020, 10:18:39 PM
In the end, the best pitch I feel I can make about this game is that if you like Breath of the Wild then I think a person should be able to like this game. It's got no breakable weapons so right there a lot of people should already be excited to play it. At times, playing this game has made me feel like it has taken Breath of the Wild and complicated it a bit more (or vice-versa and BotW took this game and uncomplicated and streamlined it). If I had the option, I'd chose BotW's action combat over the battle system in this game but I think real-time battling is more fun and engaging then entering in an attack command when your meter allows in between the automatic attacking the characters do when fighting. However, some people really like the XC battle system (like Evan_B) so perhaps it is preferable to others, particularly those who always complained about a weapon breaking in BotW.
Like BotW, Monolithsoft has done a good job of crafting a world I want to keep spending time in and exploring to find new surprises and take in the world from different vantage points. The total journey may be 100+ hours but at 65 hours in, I've enjoyed them more than some games I may have spent 20 hours in and they felt much longer. That's my pitch to Steefosaurus and anyone else reading this if they are still on the fence.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on June 26, 2020, 11:50:04 PM
I stopped reading Broodwars post because he decided to go in full on spoilers there near the middle. >:( Yes, I know it is an 8-year old game that is sort of on its 4th release but I'd made a point about how I bumped this thread since it was pretty spoiler-safe. Tsk tsk.
As you said, it's an 8 year old game on its 4th re-release. Get over it. I didn't even spoil anything major, and in fact went out of my way to not spoil one particular thing newcomers would have run into early on.
But don't worry. Like the rest of the forums, I won't bother posting here again. Maybe it's time to close this account down and just be done with this site in general.
Maybe so if you are going to react like that from a post.
Looking back at it, I can see one reading it and thinking I might have had an angry tone with the mad emoji. Just to make it clear, that wasn't my tone or emotion in writing that or what I felt from your post. I did have an "Aww, really?" reaction when I was first reading it and started seeing some of this later game stuff mentioned but it didn't make me furious at you or anything. I meant it more as gentle ribbing while just using the moment to politely remind anyone who might be reading these current discussions and might be thinking of joining in to hopefully be wary of spoilers even though I'm aware it isn't a fresh new game. Right after that, I was then chiming in agreement with a lot of what you had written because I wasn't upset about it and want to keep the discussion going. I knew engaging in any discussion on this game while I play it risks an unintentional spoiler but I'm willing to risk that because playing it makes me want to talk about it.
At work, there are people I joke around with and sometimes you give a person a hard time about something they did like it really exasperated you or "they've really done it now!" with a mistake they might have made but it is in jest and just faux-anger. That was the intent and why I wrote my post that way 'cause you've really done it now, Broodwars.
But that is not my intent with my first line in this post. You've posted stuff on here that has set me off or made me furious and yet I've held my tongue on a lot of it but there have still been times I felt compelled to make a response to. So, I can't exactly hold it against you when a natural reaction of getting upset is to reply back in anger or critically of someone. Yet, I've said it before and it just seems like I keep coming back to it which is that you just seem to always seem to choose the intent of a post as an attack on you and reply back with an angry post thereby causing you to get attacked in response and validate you opinion as to the intent of the "offending" post being an attack all along. Granted, I know that stance has been valid at times. As I said, you have a way of wording things to set people off and if it has happened to me then it has obviously happened to others and these forums have examples of you and other users getting into a big or small flame war over something that was posted.
To use the old cliche that when your only tool is a hammer then every problem looks like a nail then perhaps those past experiences have caused you to see in all sorts of posts an attack that isn't actually there. At this point, I don't know if your thinking that way can be prevented or if you can reply back in a manner that isn't aggressive to keep from suddenly escalating a moment and putting heat to a situation that had none.
Like with your reply, even if you thought I was upset and attacking you, why could you not have replied something like: "Sorry* but, even you admitted, it's an 8 year old game on its 4th re-release. I felt my post was common knowledge at this point and therefore wouldn't spoil anything major for both your enjoyment and others. I thought I was being careful since I remembered something newcomers would have run into early on and removed it from the post but one can't always predict what might be a spoiler for some and not for others. But I really wasn't trying to be careless in what I said.
*Dang it. Now everyone is going to know I'm Canadian for sure by starting an example reply with sorry.
Instead, it's "Get over it." and "I didn't even spoil anything major," (an implication to defend how you are in the right and I'm in the wrong because you've determined what is a major spoiler) followed by "and in fact went out of my way to not spoil one particular thing newcomers would have run into early on." (aka you should actually be thanking me for the restraint and incredible effort I showed in the info I had in my post and was more considerate to you than you've just been to me.) And I'm not going to touch the whole "Won't have Nixon to kick around anymore" second part.
Now, am I reading the intent of your post wrong? It's possible. You'd be able to tell me. I've certainly put my spin and the emotion I feel was behind those words in my explanation and paraphrasing of them. Maybe that wasn't the tone or thinking you had in making it. That's the danger of text only without voices and facial expressions. Maybe you and I are just two people with different personalities who will just always be unable to understand the other.
A while ago, I thought pokepal had made a pointless and dumb actual attack or cheapshot towards you based on old history that seemed to be over. I thought I'd intervene on your behalf and end what seemed to be an unnecessary rabble-rousing situation by calling him out on the thread only for you to show up and thank him for the thread because he actually said something about it being your birthday. I threw up my hands in the air at that because I did not see that response coming or that you would actually be thanking him for that thread. Meanwhile, I'm doing a tongue-in-cheek tsk tsk and that is the last straw for you and these forums. I don't know. It's such mood whiplash that I don't know how any post will connect with you.
I don't know if that is the same for other people on here or not or if it is just me. But if I'm not alone then maybe by posting this and trying to give you more of an explanation of my intent and viewpoint about something like this then maybe you'll remember it in the future and try to make peace and not war as your first reply. Perhaps it is all the time I've had doing customer service or inter-company work in which you have to deal with randos and different employees each day and trying to keep the peace with all of them. I think I've developed some skills to defuse a tense situation or at least keep it from escalating. I want to think I've applied that to my time in communicating with others here but I know that hasn't always been the case and I've been the one at fault in a matter. Yet, it is still my intent to try and build bridges with everyone that comes here and resist burning them including you, Broodwars, because a person can always learn something from any other person no matter who it is. But right now, I don't know what your intent is with these forums or the bonds you want with the users here based on some of the replies you make.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: ejamer on June 27, 2020, 12:43:35 PM
..., Xenoblade 1 was very cheap on Virtual Console once, ...
Are you in Europe, perhaps? Asking because I really wanted to buy Xenoblade on Wii U VC but never once saw it go on sale in North America, which was a real bummer. Maybe I just missed it?
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Order.RSS on June 27, 2020, 05:23:20 PM
But don't worry. Like the rest of the forums, I won't bother posting here again. Maybe it's time to close this account down and just be done with this site in general.
Would be a shame to see you go BroodW. I always like reading your sceptical, grounded & hype-resilient perspective on things. Do what you think is best obviously, you don't owe us your time or company, but just want to selfishly say I hope you reconsider this decision. If not, thanks for the good times, and I hope things go well for you in the future. Know that you're welcome here if you ever want to return. One day I'll find that PSP copy of Split/Second you recommended me a while back.
Are you in Europe, perhaps? Asking because I really wanted to buy Xenoblade on Wii U VC but never once saw it go on sale in North America, which was a real bummer. Maybe I just missed it?
Don't recall if it was a MyNintendo Gold Coins kinda thing, a regular sale, or one of those personalised birthday discounts, sorry. It's a bummer they stopped doing VC sales, I got one of the EarthBound games for like 5$ (and never played it), and things like the GBA Castlevanias and Majora's Mask would show up in the Halloween sales too. Still have a lot of VC games wishlisted which seemingly never went on sale (DKC2, Onimusha Tactics, Lost in Shadow). I was gonna get Xenoblade regardless though, since 20$ is a good deal for this game given the scarcity of Wii discs thanks to the Gamestop exclusivity. You can also get it cheaper if you buy the digital code card elsewhere with external discounts. Amazon sells those codes still for sure.
In the end, the best pitch I feel I can make about this game is that if you like Breath of the Wild then I think a person should be able to like this game.
Helluva pitch Khush haha, but yeah makes sense given Monolith's involvement on BOTW as well. Will try to get to it this Summer.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on July 02, 2020, 09:55:33 PM
I thought I’d cross the 100 mark yesterday but didn’t start playing until much later in the day then expected. Ended at around 98:13. Thus, it will be tonight that I hit the triple digit mark. Currently at Level 56 for most, if not all, in my party. Back in the day, Mop it up talked about basically being level with the time played so like level 30 at 30 hours in and level 76 at 76-77 hours played. I was like that for awhile until around 34 hours in when I got to Frontier Village and then began SIIIIIIIIIDE-questing! That gap in character level and time grew even greater on reaching the next town and now doing quests across 4 places. Plus, that 4th town is very annoying to traverse in. Such wide empty spacing with little warping to reach some areas.
Now, why was I so obsessed with side-questing? Because every one had a timer next to them indicating at some point these quests would cease to exist. I wasn’t going to miss out and lose all of that. Since I had no idea when the deadline would be with this place, it was imperative I take care of it all now. Part of it wasn’t a big deal since I had the area outside of 4th village to still explore so I could take out a bunch of quests at the same time as I did that and work them together. Still, I did hold back from going to the place of the big confrontation the game had been building towards from Shulk’s early visions because I didn’t know what was going to happen after.
It wasn’t all a chore though. There were some interesting quests that happened like the Red Pollen problem and some that opened up additional skill trees for characters. It adds some more depth to the lore and mysteries of this world so I’m still willing to sink the time in and keep checking with all sorts of people for any potential new progress of connecting people on the Affinity chart or having them move to where they will connect. The end result is when I did go on to Prison Island, I was 10 levels over the enemies there. I think it was supposed to be more of a battle with them attacking me but they all left me alone. In fact, it’s been a pretty basic cruise at the moment as I’ve progressed through the next couple worlds.
I think it was Wednesday last week that I hit 5 star affinity with Colony 9. By this past Tuesday, I had gotten 5 star with Middle and Upper Bionis and am at 3 star with Colony 6. And on Tuesday, I finally built up the affinity enough between Melia and Sharla to end a sidequest I'd had in my log since like the second day of playing. The result is that as I begin going through the Valek Mountain region, I didn't have any active sidequests. Picked up a few in that zone and checking other places after and cleared them out quickly and once again in the next area I had no sidequests remaining. Woo! I'm getting closer to connecting the world on the Affinity chart. I had three large separate groups in Upper Bionis that I was able to finally chain together on Tuesday and they are no connected with almost all of Colony 9 and 6. There's one group in Colony 9 I still haven't been able to chain to everyone else along with a couple people I'm know are just waiting to move to Colony 6. The biggest thing has been trying to get the bottom left of the affinity chart of Frontier Village people to hook up. I've got some people just not connecting and not sure what it will take to get that resolved yet.
And I discovered one more new person in Colony 9. Can't believe I'd missed them after all the times I'd been through there but I know why. Unfortunately, I may have missed a potential quest with them since when I talk to the person, they say their problem has already been solved and I think I know why since there is another person I'd talk to who moved who seemed to do the same work as this person I just discovered. Oh well. I've gotten better with handling the NPCs which is what led me to discovering this latest person but stuff like that is just part of the learning process.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on July 02, 2020, 10:07:25 PM
With pokepal and ejamer playing this on 3DS now, it did get me curious to see what the difference is like. I've gone through the beginning and cruised through Colony 9 a bit. Having done that, I'm not sure what I'd have thought about this game playing it that way for the first time. The refinements in the menu system of the DE edition compared to the 3DS (and I'm assuming original) really make a difference. I can live with the rougher look in graphics and characters although I really needed to zoom in with the camera to see some of the enemies in the area. The 3D effect is alright but pokepal is right. It seems kind of muted. There doesn't seem to be a great draw distance or depth to the 3D effect like some other titles even with it at max. It really feels like it is a great option for people who have played the game before and want it portable so they can play it again in bits and bites. With Switch portable and the game upgraded, it seems this version has already been obsoleted. I just can't help but think of the ways the game could be better because of being introduced to it via the Switch version.
On the plus side, I did learn something I had missed the first time around in one of the tutorials so there's been some positives to this comparison. ;)
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on July 02, 2020, 10:28:01 PM
Now some questions that I'm hoping someone can answer in a spoiler-free way since I'd like to know the info but don't want to look it up in case I encounter some other stuff.
1. After worrying about the 4th village Alcamoth and its timed quests, there's been nothing so far to indicate why this is the case. I know there are a few people there that need to move and I've got some Heart-to-Hearts to collect there so how long do I have? When do I have to worry about whatever the game is hinting at is coming?
2. Like others in the past, I made the mistake of finding the Tarkin home first and removing the leader only to get a quest later asking to take out that leader and having to do it again. Thus, I started leaving the special named enemies alone besides when they are way overpowered to me in case I get a request later to take them down and not have to double my effort. However, I've also noticed that there are special named enemies in an area that don't get a sidequest to take down. Will I be taking them down later? Will there be a hit list of these special baddies showing who I've defeated and who's left or is that up to me to keep track of? Is it necessary to bother with them all?
3. There are some achievements in the game that talk about taking on an enemy stronger than your party and winning and taking on a battle against an enemy I shouldn't be able to defeat and winning. Yet, when I've tried of late to take on strong enemies, it's always a guick defeat. I seem to make no damage or dent against level 80 or 90 type enemies and even stuff in level 70 I'm getting rocked with my characters around level 56/57. I've got strong armor and gems and have continued to build up my arts as I can. Is there anything tips for this? Is there a certain level equivalency of what can and can't be taken out at a certain level? How is this achievement measured? Do I need to just wait until I'm stronger like into late level 70s to take out level 90 enemies and this would count?
4. I can see from a map and then investigating that there are some parts of an area I just can't get to or access. I've heard of there being some postgame content? Does this mean I have to wait until after the story is over to see these areas or will there be some backtracking coming up later in the game? It bugs me in that I want to complete an area and move on with it done and not have loose threads. Sort of like how I want to collect all the stars in an area before moving on in Mario. No loose threads!
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: pokepal148 on July 02, 2020, 11:18:02 PM
Now some questions that I'm hoping someone can answer in a spoiler-free way since I'd like to know the info but don't want to look it up in case I encounter some other stuff.
1. After worrying about the 4th village Alcamoth and its timed quests, there's been nothing so far to indicate why this is the case. I know there are a few people there that need to move and I've got some Heart-to-Hearts to collect there so how long do I have? When do I have to worry about whatever the game is hinting at is coming?
You have until you reach a place called the Mechonis Core to do those ones.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on July 03, 2020, 12:13:18 PM
Well, I'm a little bit stumped at the moment. Some of the materials seem to be places I've been at according to the hints so I'm thinking they might be higher level enemies. But I figured the collectables would just be in the next places I get to as they had been up to this point. Some of the Level 2 reconstruction was done with Eryth Sea doodads and some required collectables at Vanek Mountain which I got later on when reaching it. So, I expected to see things in Sword Valley for these Level 3 requirements but nothing and am now in Galahad Fortress and still not seeing any there. I'm not sure how many areas there are until I'd reach the Mechanos Core you mention but I'm getting close to that. Although, typing this up just reminded me that there were no collectables when the group briefly traveled through the Bionis Interior and there was definitely more to that area based on the map. So maybe that's where they are and I'll have to return there soon. C'mon people. You need to start moving to Colony 6 already!! Quit waiting around.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on July 03, 2020, 01:54:30 PM
On the subject of Sword Valley, I'm going around and having a grand time picking on any Mechon I feel like. There are these huge tank like Mechon which I like picking on because of their size and they are a bit closer in level to where I'm at. There are a few special named Mechon I'm encountering and taking them out because I'm about 5 - 10 levels stronger than most enemies around. Even when facing Metal Face here, I'm 4 levels stronger and the battle isn't difficult at all. Then I encounter this large tank Mechon called Mischievious Naberius. It's level 57 so its equal to my party. I start fighting it and it starts taking down my party pretty quickly and wins. It's been awhile since I've had a loss or tough fight but this is good. I've been wondering for awhile now how good I am at navigating a battle since I've been overpowered for some time without facing a challenge. So, I fight this thing again and lose again. And again and again and again.
Now I'm going through all my characters and swapping up equipment (which is something I should have done awhile ago as I discovered) and swapping part members. Still getting my butt kicked. Now, I'm trying different gems and doing some gem crafting to make some new and more powerful ones to hopefully counter its attacks. I'm swapping the arts out for my party to try some different tactics and hope the AI can use them in a good way. Still, nothing seems to be working. Meanwhile, my characters are slowly leveling up from these losing battles so I'm like level 58/59 against it and getting AP to increase an art some more. Finally, I decide to look this thing up and see just what its stats are and understand its attacks to counter it which I find at this site here (https://xenoblade.fandom.com/wiki/Mischievious_Naberius). Scrolled in the comments a bit and saw some different strategies of people talking about it. The comments seemed to mention this enemy as being one of the toughest in the game despite its level so it eased the frustration a bit. Thought about leaving it and getting back to it later but I'd spent so much time on it now and the comments had people talking about beating it at the same level my party was at so I knew it could be done.
One bit of advice was to play as Sharla to do the healing for the group and get to a height in the area to avoid some of its attacks, particularly Titan Stamp which was the attack that was ruining my party all the time. Playing as Shulk, I could avoid it with the Monado.... Speed art, I think. But it would still affect other members of the party. I had been playing as Sharla at first to control the healing but it just didn't seem to be doing much so I started trying others. Early on when I was around level 36/37, I was facing an enemy called Gentle Rodriguez who was Level 40 and he kept taking out my party as well. I think it was 10 or so tries before I took him down. In that battle, I ended up using Shulk's Shield Monado art to counter its hardest hitting attack and that made the difference. But Shield was not doing anything to help me in this battle or to stop this enemy's powerful Titan Stomp attack.
In addition to the height advice was to use Sharla's Tranq Art and put the enemy to sleep when it was going to take unleash Titan Stomp or other attacks. The problem with that strategy is that I've hardly bothered with upgrading or using a lot of the purple arts for characters that involve doing things like sleep, poison, paralysis, burn, etc. They either don't do any damage or little damage that it doesn't seem worth keeping in the mix especially since the break/topple/daze triangle seems to be emphasized more in the game as a tactic versus enemies and bosses. Toppling and dazing would be the same effect as a sleep or paralysis effect to me and those attacks usually have greater damage on their own even if that particular effect doesn't work. In fact, as more arts have opened up, I'm pretty much going with all the red, green and yellow attacks I can with a bit of blue healing mixed in and just a couple purple arts that have a big attack value. But most of the purple and orange arts are out of the mix which worries me because I don't really see their purpose and then I get into an encounter like this where the enemy is not susceptible to break or topple and now I've got basic and undeveloped arts that have effects which could be used. It's that ignoring of Auras and purple and orange arts that led to my early question number 3 and facing off against stronger enemies. Would those make the difference and not a powerful damaging attack?
Fortunately, Sharla's Tranq art was 4/12 since I developed a bit early in the game with her before she started getting other arts bumping it out of rotation. However, that meant that the sleep effect didn't always work when using it. I was also able to get up the side walkways some distance up and start the battle there. It did lead to a bit of awkwardness in trying to get my other two members of Dunban and Riki to the ground to better fight the enemy as they wanted to stay near me at the top but it got worked out. Sure enough, I was safe from the Titan Stomp attack and this allowed me to focus on healing Dunban and Riki as they did the major damage attacks. I pretty much cleared Sharla's arts of any attacking and filled it with healing options and the Tranq which worked from time to time. I also changed up my gem strategy of trying to counter its Blaze attacks or Daze effects from Titan Stomp and just went with my normal focus in an RPG - character HP. I raised the HP of the characters a bunch more taking away the gems being used by my other party not in the fight. That way, they could at least absorb the damage of some of the attacks when I might be stuck in cooldown or waiting for a healing power to become active again. That did it and I finally took the thing down. Ended up being a large chunk of my playtime last night and a mixed reaction. I'm glad I finally won the fight but I felt like I cheesed it a bit and had to go looking for help even though I was sort of on the right track early but didn't see results. I had tried using Sharla from a height but it didn't seem to make difference and I was still getting damaged hard when I first tried it. So, I thought it was an incorrect strategy and abandoned it.
When playing an RPG, if given the option, I'm usually increasing my HP more with each new level (although I'll include attack power here and there). I usually don't bother with other stats as the main thing to winning later battles is to match or exceed the HP of your enemies to survive attacks and take out their HP with your own powerful attacks. XC doesn't let you choose certain stats to increase but with the gems you can adjust things and add abilities. Up to this point, I'd mainly been focusing on attack power and strength for stronger attacks with a bit of additional HP and defense mixed in based on the availability of gems. After this battle, I'm contemplating stripping down all my characters and re-examining all my equipment while focusing on higher HP with some attacking power mixed in and just brute forcing encounters in the tried and true method. Although maybe I'll go back to the tutorials to double check about aura stuff again also.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on July 03, 2020, 01:56:02 PM
One other note, I do think that area may be the first area now where I've cleared out every special/unique/named enemy so that's a plus.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: ejamer on July 03, 2020, 02:04:10 PM
I'm a little behind that in my current play-through, but remember the enemy you were battling quite vividly. I don't recall it being "the hardest" battle, but do remember it ripping through my party a bunch of times... so maybe I just chose not to battle it until being over-leveled later?
Either way, great job and good persistence to keep looking for ways to overcome in the end.
Much of my time recently was spent gem crafting. My inventory couldn't hold any more crystals, and even though I probably should've just sold off all low level ones I invested some time remembering how to craft effectively and try to get some gems that would give my characters a bit of a boost.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on July 03, 2020, 03:17:58 PM
A few days ago, my material inventory was at max. Having crafted some lower end gems, I just felt it wasn't worth the process to do that especially since the game was giving me better crystals and materials to work with now for higher gems. I just rid myself of all level 1 materials since I couldn't combine level 1 with 2 or 3. Didn't even bother to sell them. Just didn't seem worth that either. :P
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on July 03, 2020, 03:21:56 PM
I don't recall it being "the hardest" battle, but do remember it ripping through my party a bunch of times
I'm sure there are probably harder battles in the game. As mentioned, there are high level enemies I cannot do anything to in a fight still. But that has been the toughest battle I've faced since I've begun playing this game especially with an enemy in which I'm sort of "evenly" matched.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on July 03, 2020, 05:37:21 PM
And don't forget, today is the start of the Tetris 99 Maximus Cup for the XC Theme. Tetris 99 is pretty much the only other game I've been playing regularly / daily (along with Badge Arcade - almost at 4,000 badges!) while playing XC:DE although mainly just checking these days to do the daily missions and move on. I wasn't as addicted to Tetris 99 last year and missed out on the Luigi's Mansion and Pokemon Sword/Shield themes but I've kept up since. More themes is a nice way to shake up all the Tetris 99 defeats one suffers.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Order.RSS on July 08, 2020, 07:44:08 PM
Watch at your own peril though since it will have some spoiler-y things about it as it tries to show a bunch of entertaining moments that can be encountered and give you some part of the story to hook you into buying and playing the game as a trailer should. Even though I was know seriously planning to play it, I wasn't necessarily planning on getting the Switch version. I was thinking of playing my Wii version but I was playing Super Paper Mario as the release got close and disliked the amount of time it would take to start my Wii U and go to Wii Mode and then launch a game compared to how quickly I could start my Switch and get going into Tetris 99 battles or Mario Odyssey.
Meant to say this a while back, but guess I forgot... You're aware how holding B during start-up on a Wii U instantly boots it to Wii Mode, right? Still nowhere near as fast as Switch of course, but your post made me wonder if you were using the quickboot.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Khushrenada on July 10, 2020, 12:16:42 AM
I am. In fact, that very thing came up before in Discord when someone else was wondering about whether they should try the Switch version of the game or play the older version. I mentioned that as well and pokepal brought up the Wii quick start. However, I countered with the fact that doing so has the Wii U GamePad active and I don't really use it or want it on when playing a Wii game so I don't want to start it in Wii Mode that way.
Moreover, I'll turn on my TV and then turn on the Gamepad. In the time it takes me to hit power on the Gamepad to boot up the Wii U and then select Wii mode on the touch screen, my TV screen is still turning from black to picture. So, I have time to get a Wiimote to turn on and aim at the screen. Once the screen lights up then I can select playing Wii mode without the Gamepad. Yes, that does increase the feeling of waiting to get to playing a game but it's still going to feel long to boot up either way so I might as well take those extra 5 seconds to select TV Mode only for the Wii and play the system without putting unnecessary power to the Gamepad.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: Order.RSS on July 10, 2020, 12:27:51 PM
Yeah, it's still a slow process. I also have the Gamepad on 0% battery most of the time and charge it every few months or so, when some game insists on using it. Do everything with the Pro Controller.
Title: Re: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition
Post by: ejamer on July 10, 2020, 01:09:45 PM
Yeah, it's still a slow process. I also have the Gamepad on 0% battery most of the time and charge it every few months or so, when some game insists on using it. Do everything with the Pro Controller.
