Author Topic: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed  (Read 11029 times)

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Offline CurtDogg

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New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« on: January 29, 2015, 02:20:06 PM »

The upcoming Wii U RPG from Monolith Soft is quite massive, according to Famitsu.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/39548/new-information-on-xenoblade-chronicles-x-revealed

New gameplay details from the upcoming Wii U RPG Xenoblade Chronicles X have emerged in the latest issue of Famitsu.

The world of Xenoblade Chronicles X will be about 5 times the size of the world in the previous game in the series, Xenoblade Chronicles. Because of this larger world, the linearity of the game's story and progression has been tweaked. Instead of having to take on one big quest while taking on smaller ones in a linear order, players now have the freedom to tackle quests in any order they see fit, similar to games in the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series. The GamePad will display a giant map in which players can view all the active and available quests, and also allows them to warp to different areas instantly. Executive Director of the game Tetsuya Takahashi said it took him over 300 hours to play through the entire game's content.

The gameplay is also faster-paced, giving the player a faster sense of speed and ability to change from short to long-range weapons fairly quickly. While there is no healer class in the game, there's a new system in place called "Soul Voice", which can be triggered to string together attacks and heal the party at the same time.  While it looked like the game featured online co-op in some of the early trailers, the game will only feature online functionality in a passive way, allowing players to leave behind messages for others, similar to to the Souls series of games.

Xenoblade Chronicles X is due out on April 29 in Japan.


Offline broodwars

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2015, 10:27:49 PM »
I hate to say it since I was such a fan of the first Xenoblade, but if this new one's a Skyrim knock-off no thanks. I liked having a big open world with a linear story in the first game. I don't need another massively-open world game with a billion side quests to do and a main quest I don't care about. Since that's all Western Studios make these days, I'm good on those, thanks. Plus, 300 hours is surely an inflated number, but I don't need even an >100 hour RPG these days. Just not enough time to play them and too many other things to play.

If this is what you're looking for, great. For a certain style of player, this sounds like the perfect game. It's just not what I was looking for in a Xenoblade sequel. Frankly, the more Nintendo reveals about this game, the less appealing it becomes to me.
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Offline kokumaker

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2015, 11:21:07 PM »
April in Japan?! North America could well see it by summer!! SO EXCITED!!

Offline Soren

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2015, 12:36:41 AM »
So the quick math on my system tells me I played 500+ hours on Wii U for the entire 2014 year. And that's spread out over almost two dozen games. X sounds like it's going to be another good game, but it's destined to end up on my shelf just like the first game, with a save file barely 10 hours in.
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Offline sweetiepiejonus

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2015, 12:59:45 AM »
I hate to say it since I was such a fan of the first Xenoblade, but if this new one's a Skyrim knock-off no thanks. I liked having a big open world with a linear story in the first game. I don't need another massively-open world game with a billion side quests to do and a main quest I don't care about.

I'm sorry this logic just boggles my mind. You're bagging on them for allowing more freedom? Why does this also mean that the story is nothing to "care about?" Especially since we don't know all that much yet. Correct me if I'm wrong here but I'm fairly certain that just because it is an open world with a "billion" side quests doesn't mean you have to complete them. If you want to run right through the story then do it...you are allowed.

Offline broodwars

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #5 on: January 30, 2015, 01:17:27 AM »
I hate to say it since I was such a fan of the first Xenoblade, but if this new one's a Skyrim knock-off no thanks. I liked having a big open world with a linear story in the first game. I don't need another massively-open world game with a billion side quests to do and a main quest I don't care about.

I'm sorry this logic just boggles my mind. You're bagging on them for allowing more freedom? Why does this also mean that the story is nothing to "care about?" Especially since we don't know all that much yet. Correct me if I'm wrong here but I'm fairly certain that just because it is an open world with a "billion" side quests doesn't mean you have to complete them. If you want to run right through the story then do it...you are allowed.

I'm bagging on them for focusing on size and quantity over quality, something unfortunately common in open world design these days. One of the things I really liked about Xenoblade was that it was a massive world with plenty to do, but the game had a pretty solid narrative that led you from place to place. The story and characters remained in focus. I prefer guided experiences with a focus on narrative. Open World design bores me because the emphasis isn't on the story or the characters, but on the massive laundry list of things to do. And because there's so much emphasis on the side content, two specific things always happen:

1. The main story doesn't get the attention it needs during development to make it memorable, because so many resources have been devoted to adding side content. When was the last time you played an open world game and came away with more than indifference to the main plot? I've played just about every open world game made in the last 2-3 years, and outside Sunset Overdrive (where the game has a ton of side content, but makes no attempt to trap you in it) I can't say I cared about anything in their main plots? Sauron's going to flood the land in darkness? Whatever...I'm running around collecting herbs. Humanity's trapped in a virtual reality simulation? Whatever...I'm running around collecting orbs and beating people up. An ancient dragon's flying around resurrecting dead dragons to conquer the world? WHATEVER...my quest log is so full of crap to do that I can't even TELL where the main quest is anymore, nor do I care.

2. Bugs. I played Skyrim PS3. Enough said. I just finished playing Saints Row 4 Re-Elected: a game that just came out on new hardware and yet has crashed on me at least a dozen times now because the game's buckling under the strain of handling so many concurrent quests & variables. Dragon Age Inquisition (a comparable game to Xenoblade Chronicles X in ambition and design) has had its own laundry list of issues that are still being resolved. The more you stray from that linear path, the more you open your engine up to unforeseen problems from players doing anything in any order.

Like I said, if this style of game appeals to you, more power to you. It's just not for me. I play RPGs for narrative and character interaction, and that's not the focus of this style of game.
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Offline Soren

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #6 on: January 30, 2015, 01:26:39 AM »
If you want to run right through the story then do it...you are allowed.


Sure, that'll only be 60-70 hours of my time.
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Offline Evan_B

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #7 on: January 30, 2015, 03:39:47 AM »
I think there will still be a main story, Broodwars. I think the acquisition of quests is just going to be more free, since the world is open. However, it does mean the level design will feel less progressive and that the developers probably focused on high level enemies to keep players out of certain areas.
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Offline Evan_B

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #8 on: January 30, 2015, 03:46:20 AM »
Also, this is a game from a developer who always places a great deal of care into crafting story. So lets reserve our judgement for reviews before you spring to conclusions.
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Offline ejamer

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #9 on: January 30, 2015, 07:33:46 AM »
Diving into pre-release footage and judging the game already seems a bit premature. Sure, that's what people do now - that's how games like Watch Dogs can release with "Winner of X Awards!" on the box even though nobody had actually played or reviewed the final product.  But it's not a fair or reasonable way to judge the quality of a game and is prone to creating false expectations (both good and bad).


It's a big RPG with gorgeous worlds to explore. Beyond that, I'm content to trust in the developers - who have created multiple games that I enjoyed in the past - and see what happens.
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Offline Nile Boogie Returns

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #10 on: January 30, 2015, 08:16:54 AM »
I cou;d be playing this game for 5-6 years, I like those numbers!

Offline Ceric

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #11 on: January 30, 2015, 09:14:53 AM »
When I first read the title the first thing that came to my mind: "Is this about Walking?"
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Offline Ceric

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #12 on: January 30, 2015, 09:27:52 AM »
Reading the story and everyone's comment it feels like Monolith was trying to make an MMORPG without the MMO portion.

To me this sound WoW:Wrath of the Lich King.  You could do a lot of it in any real given order but, the problem with that was the Main Story got lost in the mix pretty hard and moving from one area to another wasn't as fluid.  Then WoW: Cataclysm came out and Blizzard really stuck making a lot of side quests and main quests that really naturally fed you from one Zone to another as you were outgrowing it.

Personally, this much content without the Team aspect of an MMO will pretty much guarantee that I will not see the end of this game.  There's a good chance I will find it repetitive and not having enough progression or variety to keep me going.  We'll see if that holds true.  I'm thinking though that expansions might have been a good call here.

I know I'll hopefully enjoy seeing all the interesting stuff people find.
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Offline fred13

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #13 on: January 30, 2015, 10:38:12 AM »
All I can say is the guys that made Xenoblade (what an incredible game) are guys I trust to make a good game. I plan on buying this straight up. I would have pre-ordered already, but I am one of "those guys" that downloads all my Wii U games. However, now that Nintendo has their digital pre-order thing that lets you pay for it and has your system download it early I'll be all over that. (I wonder how late I'll be up the night it releases I may have to take the next day off work)

Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #14 on: January 30, 2015, 11:23:11 AM »
when I was a kid I thought FF3 was to short I wanted an endless RPG that lasted forever. Now I can't even get half way into a game as short as FF3 without losing interest. I didn't play the original I sold my Wii before it came out but I am still kind of interested in this game just because I do enjoy playing RPG's I just never finish them even when they are manageable so for me 30 hours or 300 hours makes no difference I won't see the ending anyways. I will just try to have fun for as long as it keeps my interest and when I inevitably become bored I will move on.
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Offline Triforce Hermit

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #15 on: January 30, 2015, 11:56:05 AM »
If they can make the tons of quests feel important, give side character development, then I'm fine with this. Like other characters have their own quests that expand their personality and give development to them, kinda like how you unlocked skill trees in Xenoblade Chronicles, except with more "umph" to it. If this is however just painful, repetitive, slogging, then I won't be that happy with it (I would still do it all though).
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Offline sweetiepiejonus

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #16 on: January 30, 2015, 12:19:23 PM »
broodwars you seem to think they are attempting to copy Bethesda's model to a T. I don't know where you are getting that from anything other than this article mentioning Skyrim in the way you can tackle quests.

My other point is this dichotomy you have created that open world = bad story. Weak writing makes a bad or forgettable story. That's a fact.  Now whether someone enjoys it is subjective, of course. Something can be masterfully written and not enjoyed by some.

My example of this is New Vegas. Probably one the the most well written stories I've read in quite some time. The interactions with the main plot characters was so good but I don't expect everyone to enjoy the storyline.

Evan_B got the right idea. I mean the first game writing was great so what's wrong with reserving judgement instead of saying well open world going to automatically be garbage?

Offline broodwars

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #17 on: January 30, 2015, 12:30:44 PM »
Funny you should mention Fallout New Vegas considering it was an unplayable, broken piece of ****, because that's what Obsidian does (with rare exceptions like South Park). -_-'

I just do not have a good history with open world games. They run like crap, and even when they don't they don't offer the storytelling I go to RPGs to have. I don't know why you all are so insistent that I must play and love this game. I've been very clear that this no longer looks like my kind of game, so I'll be looking elsewhere. By all means, enjoy the game. This one, though, is no longer on my most anticipated games list. If it comes out and shattered all expectations, wonderful. I hope you're right, but I have no reason right now to think that this game is for me so I'll be looking elsewhere.
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Offline NWR_insanolord

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #18 on: January 30, 2015, 12:35:13 PM »
As someone who passed on the original Xenoblade, a lot of the things they've announced actually make me more interested in this one.
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #19 on: January 30, 2015, 01:21:30 PM »
I loved the big world of Xenoblade so this being five times bigger sounds awesome.  In theory anyway.  The problem is that Xenoblade was such a long game that I had a busy time in my personal life and stopped playing for a bit and then forgot what the hell was going on and abandoned it.  They can make such huge games these days but here I am without the time to fully make use of it.  I would have been thrilled with something like this when I was 15.

This sounds really cool to me.  300 hours might be unfeasible for me but I like the ambition on the part of the devs to make a bigger game.  What's the point of sequels if you don't try to do more each time, right?

Now you've got EAD working on "open world" Zelda.  How will that compare to this?  They're both going to come out reasonably close together and it would be pretty embarrassing for Nintendo if Zelda came across as the weaker title.  Maybe we can get a little friendly competition between the different Nintendo teams.

I'm also glad that online play is not as big of a part of it as it initially seemed.  I'm more interested in a single player adventure.  Xenoblade was single-player and making its sequel multi-player focused is kind of thumbing your nose to the previous audience (ie: Mass Effect 3).  You should assume that the audience that liked your epic single-player game are the type of gamers that would prefer to play single-player.

Offline sweetiepiejonus

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #20 on: January 30, 2015, 05:01:32 PM »
Well it was a mess at first I'll admit that but to be fair I was talking specifically about the writing and charcters.

I hear you though. I'm not trying to convince you otherwise. Just puzzled by the common complaint that an open world game can't have a good story. But oh well I am stoked for this no matter but I still have hope they will provide enough entertainment story-wise.

Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #21 on: January 30, 2015, 06:18:48 PM »
Well it was a mess at first I'll admit that but to be fair I was talking specifically about the writing and charcters.

I hear you though. I'm not trying to convince you otherwise. Just puzzled by the common complaint that an open world game can't have a good story. But oh well I am stoked for this no matter but I still have hope they will provide enough entertainment story-wise.


Its not that the genre by definition is incapable of good story, its just never been done to the expectations of the gaming community to date. But I am one who plays video games not interactive movies so story is never a concern for me even in a bad game.
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Offline kokumaker

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #22 on: January 30, 2015, 06:40:58 PM »
I spent 150 hours over 5.5 months devoted to completing Xenoblade, and it was the most mind-blowing, satisfying game I ever played. Literally. I pity anyone who played it for 10 hours and walked away, or missed the game completely. It is majestic, and Monolith Soft has earned my trust. I cannot WAIT for this new game!

Offline pokepal148

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #23 on: January 30, 2015, 06:51:10 PM »
Quote
While there is no healer class in the game, there's a new system in place called "Soul Voice", which can be triggered to string together attacks and heal the party at the same time. 
I didn't know walking simulators needed a healing system :smug:

Offline ObbyDent

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Re: New Information on Xenoblade Chronicles X Revealed
« Reply #24 on: January 31, 2015, 12:56:49 PM »
Did broodwars actually just call this a Skyrim knockoff

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