Topic: Xenoblade Chronicles X: Life on Mira.

[Enner]

I don't understand what you mean by "jerky transitions".

I have also never cared for the "holy trinity" of MMOs. Just because it makes sense to specialize in those three areas doesn't mean healers are necessary in a game. Sharla was extremely fun to build offensively after I realized that heals don't matter much in the Xenoblade combat systems.

Some of the animation transitions done by the human characters and the Dolls are extremely abrupt.
. . . .
After further consideration, I may be overly anxious/critical of how some animations flow in to each other. I was about to use the doll transformations from bipedal to vehicle as an example, but they look fine on second viewing. What stuck out more was everyone walking and running with a weird floatiness. Also, it is probably unfair for me to compare Xenoblade X's animation quality to the likes of Uncharted or the Batman Arkham games.

As for the "holy trinity," Xenoblade and Xenoblade X still operate on that idea. Xenoblade eventually became more flexible in the minimum amount of healing you would need for a given fight. Later in the game, you could rely on the healing arts of Shulk, Melia, or Riki rather than Sharla. Xenoblade X, implying from the promotional materials, seems to be drastically reducing the number of healing arts and replacing them with the Soul Voice system. This is an exciting and intriguing change and I hope Monolith Soft has balanced it well.

[Enner]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqY2zCo-0mQ
(Just the video showcase for now. Will update with the Treehouse Live when that is posted.)
Dolls in to Skells! You know, like exoskeleton.
Life in to Lifeholds!
Continent of Black Steel in to Cauldros!
Maybe Overclocked Gear in to Overdrive?

I'm not bent over the first of many localisations. I'm just going to miss MAI DORRU and other silly Engrish. It's a tiny disappointment to go from the Japanese voice actors of the Japanese promos to the sedate narration of the English showcase video. Given that Treehouse is still showing off the Japanese version, I can only assume that the English localization is still far off. Ah, the dream of a late summer release is ever fading away.

[Soren]

This is either going to be early 2016, or the showcase game of the holiday season.

[NWR_insanolord]

I don't think this game has a wide enough appeal to be the showcase of a holiday season. I think it's much more likely we get this in August or September and then Mario Maker gets pushed into the holiday slot.

[Soren]

There is zero chance of this coming out during the summer or fall given the current state of the localization. The names and terms they talked about today still aren't final. It's either going to be holiday or it will be quietly bumped to the first 2 months of 2016.


I would argue a Xenoblade bundle with a price drop has a better shot than NOA striking out with a third Mario Wii U holiday release.

[NWR_insanolord]

Even if they hadn't started the localization at all yet, September's five months from now. The game's done, the story isn't changing, you don't think they could do it in that span? This game isn't going to sell well enough to justify a November release, even on a lame duck system.

[Shaymin]

- We've known localization to be in progress all year
- There was some English text in the video
- There's no real major localization projects in the works at Treehouse right now (unfortunately)

I hedged my original October prediction with August yesterday, but I'm still feeling it, if you will.

I don't think this game has a wide enough appeal to be the showcase of a holiday season. I think it's much more likely we get this in August or September and then Mario Maker gets pushed into the holiday slot.

Mario Maker's stuck in September because it's for the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.

[Soren]

Mario Maker stands a better chance at going up against MGS in September than Xenoblade, IMO.

[Stratos]

If Mario Maker becomes the "central hub" game for amiibo like Skylanders/Infinity it will win Christmas.

[Soren]

If Mario Maker becomes the "central hub" game for amiibo like Skylanders/Infinity it will win Christmas.

That's not going to happen because no one is playing with Amiibo.

[Mop it up]

They still showed it as being 2015 and I see no reason why it won't be. It just may be December instead of August as I was hoping.

[Enner]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcMkczoRMTU

And the hour long Treehouse Live is up. Spiffy!

As for the notion of the limited Western appeal for Xenoblade Chronicles X, is it wrong for me to assume this comes from the weak showing of Japanese home console RPGs in the past generation as well as Nintendo of America's severe lack of marketing prowess since the Wii U?

Given the successes of Fallout 3, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, and Mass Effect, being big, open-world sci-fi RPG isn't at all what's stopping Xenoblade Chronicles X from being a big seller. Gathering from the vibe of previous posts and elsewhere, what's stopping it is the anime aesthetic and Nintendo. Excuse my naivete as I dream of a world where Nintendo of America goes hard and heavy with the marketing of Xenoblade Chronicles X, heralding it as the dream sci-fi (Robotech?) RPG fans have been waiting for and a return to form for home console JRPGs.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

This has September written all over it.

[Enner]

http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wiiu/xenoblade-chronicles-x/0/0

A seven-page Iwata Asks is now available in English. There is a lot of good stuff hear. Here's a sample:

Two major design pillars of the game are the open world and the Skells.

Iwata - "For the last game, I remember some people asking, "It's a game created by Takahashi-san, so why aren't there any robots to ride?" (laughs)."

Takahashi - "That's true. (laughs) So this time, we created two major pillars, open world and robots, and built various content based on these concepts. The open-world concept was a high hurdle to overcome, but I believe figuring out how to make both human characters and robots coexist and function in this world was another hard challenge we faced."

The game went through a "mass construction" (i.e. major rebuild) when it was decided to change the player character to a player-defined avatar and add online functionality to the game.

Yokota -  "Right. In the middle of development, we decided to make it compatible with online play, so we had a "mass construction" to change the main character into an avatar and rewrite some of the story to match with the content."
...
Takahashi - "This being the very first HD game from Monolith Soft, we started by forming a team, and delving into experimental development. We first decided that the key pillar would be making it an open world. We continued on development deciding that we wanted to make the robots (Skells) another key pillar. But along the way, we adopted the notion of having the game loosely connected online, and that became our mantra. We changed the main protagonist to an avatar, and had to abandon many of the things we had built up to that point."

The online functionality starts with being "loosely connected" to 31 other active players. The players have a group goal they can contribute to. Afterwards, a special mission is activated where 4 players can meet up and complete together.

Yokota - "Right. Each game connects with up to 32 players randomly, including the main player. Most of the time, you will not see other players or what they are doing, even if they're in the same field."

Iwata - "But, you can feel each other's presence faintly in real-time."

Yokota - "Yes. For example, if a player defeats an enemy and gets an item they don't want, they can offer to give that item to another player who is connected with them."

Iwata - "So, that item will be delivered to another player who requests it?"

Yokota - "Correct. And sometimes, there are random missions assigned to the 32 players who are connected, such as "Go defeat 10 bugs!" and "Go gather 10 pieces of fruit!""

Iwata - "What should the players who want to focus on their own game do if they receive these missions?"

Yokota - "They can just ignore them. But even if they don't participate, they can still see the progress of the mission, like the number of bugs defeated. "

Iwata - "So even if some players decide to ignore the mission, they can see that other players are defeating bugs. "

Yokota - "Right. And if the mission is completed, a reward goes out to everyone connected."

Takeda - "Um...so even the players that didn't participate in the mission get a reward, too?"

Yokota - "Yes, everyone is rewarded."

Takeda - "Well, that's pretty nice. (laughs)"

Yokota - "If players clear missions like these, sometimes a special mission like a boss battle is activated. This is the only time when up to four players can actually connect and complete a mission together."

Iwata - "So this is when players could actually see the people they are connected with for the first time."

The main story of the game is shorter than in Xenoblade Chronicles. However, other elements such as side quests have been expanded.

Takahashi - "Right. I also think we were able to express a game with a great sense of abundance. For example, the main story itself is actually shorter than Xenoblade Chronicles. But when you combine all the story elements including the side quests, the amount of text in the new game far surpasses that of the previous game."

[Mop it up]

It's weird how they didn't think of online until so late given how the design of this game is already so much like an online game. It also sounds like a pretty weird setup. Is there a way to specifically play with friends only?

[Ian Sane]

Having a shorter main story but more sidequests is a pretty good idea.  As gamers get older and have more responsibilities in life they have less time for a 100 hour RPG.  But if they can conquer the main story in a smaller timeframe it can still fit their lifestyle.  Meanwhile for someone with more free time, the sidequests ensure that they still get the large amount of content that they want.  Having one game be 20 hours for one person and 100 hours for another is a very accessible and flexible design.

[Enner]

http://xenobladex.jp/information/index.html#info150428-02  (4/28 Update)

DLC has been announced for Xenoblade Chronicles X. They are set to be released on May 8th.

http://www.siliconera.com/2015/04/28/xenoblade-chronicles-x-will-receive-new-mechs-party-members-dlc/

There are four character packs at 500 yen each. Each character pack includes a new character to recruit after completing his or her quest line, unique artes associated to that character, and a blueprint and materials for a unique Skell or weapon.

There are also three support packs at 300 yen each. These support packs are free-to-play style boosters for materials and money, experience, and Union points.

There is a 2000 yen bundle of all the DLC. That's basically getting the support packs for free if you want all the DLC characters.

Buying any DLC pack will unlock the Fashion Equipment option that was previously locked until the completion of the main scenario. The Fashion Equipment option allows players to wear armor for their aesthetics while keeping the attributes of their current equipment.
-----
On the heels of Fire Emblem if, this announcement of DLC for Xenoblade X is disheartening.
Most disheartening is that I'll probably buy the bundle after some time of owning the game.

It's weird how they didn't think of online until so late given how the design of this game is already so much like an online game. It also sounds like a pretty weird setup. Is there a way to specifically play with friends only?

Taking their comments at face value, they did say the change was in the middle of development. That could be a one and a half years to two and a half years ago. Most likely two and half years if the first 2013/01 trailer is any indication.

The set-up is odd, but this is the country where we got the Demon's Souls online system. There doesn't seem to be any indication of only playing with friends in the special 4P online co-op missions.

[Ian Sane]

Not happy about the DLC.  But at least they didn't put the content into Amiibos that they make like ten figures of and sell immediately to scalpers.

[Enner]

Not happy about the DLC.  But at least they didn't put the content into Amiibos that they make like ten figures of and sell immediately to scalpers.

Ha ha ha. I guess we are at that point now, aren't we?

"Day One/Month One DLC sucks, but at least it isn't amiibo."

[Nile Boogie Returns]

Not happy about the DLC.  But at least they didn't put the content into Amiibos that they make like ten figures of and sell immediately to scalpers.

 Shulk's Amiibo will sneaky his ass right into this game.

[Mop it up]

Sadly, yes, we are at that point.

Considering Nintendo's foray into frivolous DLC, I'm not surprised at all that this game has some too, and close-to-day-one no less. But oh well, I don't think it's a big deal because it looks like this game already has a whole lot of content in it.

[ejamer]

As others have said, I'm ok with the DLC as long as it doesn't require Amiibo.
I'd even be ok with Amiibo if the figures were decently available, but that's clearly not going to happen.


Has anyone read the Kotaku "import review"?  He didn't like the game, but then he didn't like the original either and criticisms seem mostly the same between the games.  Skimmed the review content and it sounds like Xenobalde X will be awesome.  Not really a surprise at this point - feels like anyone who liked the original should feel right at home with the sequel.


Now if only they could do something about those bug eyes.... 

[Enner]

The Kotaku Import Preview in question:
http://kotaku.com/xenoblade-chronicles-x-the-kotaku-import-preview-1710008103

I recommend listening to the Axe of the Blood God podcast episode that is mentioned in the import preview:
http://www.usgamer.net/articles/axe-of-the-blood-god-episode-14-xenoblade-chronicles-x

In short: Richard from Japan has played 70 hours of Xenoblade X and his one word summary for his time is "boredom." Xenoblade X is similar to Xenoblade Chronicles, and Richard didn't love playing Xenoblade Chronicles either. Kat Baiely, the host of Axe of the Blood God, felt Xenoblade Chronicles was "above-average." The pair's pick of Operation Rainfall games is The Last Story.

With the effusive praise of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and the building excitement of Fallout 4, I have developed a sort of melancholy that Xenoblade Chronicles X will compare very poorly at the end of 2015. Richard's takeaway from playing the game for so long has somewhat confirmed many fears I had for Xenoblade Chronicles X: Poor writing, poor pacing/structure, unsatisfying quests, and generally a game that is behind the curve of current PC MMORPGS and big console RPGs.

While I anticipate that I will love the Xenoblade Chronicles X (I hope I do considering Xenoblade Chronicles is the front runner for my games of the generation), I expect the above criticisms to be echoed in reviews when Xenoblade Chronicles X is released in NA/EU/OC/etc.

[TOPHATANT123]

The original Xenoblade honestly ruined Skyrim for me, the unique setting/story/battle system of Xenoblade made it feel like a "Fisher-Price Baby's First RPG" when I actually got round to playing it. For what it's worth I also own a copy Dragon Age but was so utterly disgusted by the controls I couldn't get through the first hour of the game and haven't gone back to it since. Xenoblade can hold it's own just fine at least in my opinion.


If you disliked Xenoblade 1 or if it just didn't click with you, then it stands to reason you won't like Xenoblade 2. I would be much more interested in the opinion of those who are aligned with my interests in games, or even someone with no preconceptions of the series in general.

[Shaymin]

For what it's worth, Richard also thought Time and Eternity was a "must play" and not in the "this is how bad games can get" sense.