Post by: Webmalfunction on March 15, 2015, 11:49:00 PM
Not really feeling it.
Before playing the demo at PAX East, I was so sure that Xenoblade Chronicles 3D was a day one purchase. Not only did I love the heck out of it when I first played, but I was looking forward to the novelty of owning a game exclusively on New 3DS. Now that I have tried the demo, I don’t know if I’m as excited anymore.
Monster Games, who did the competent 2013 port of Donkey Kong Country Returns on 3DS, came back to do this version of Xenoblade. If you remember playing Donkey Kong on 3DS, you’ll remember the game’s worst problem: it looked awful. Especially on 3DS XL, the textures looked bad and jaggies were rampant in what was otherwise a beautiful game. Monster Games made the game run well, but they made it look really ugly too.
This is my biggest issue with Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, which as I noted in my review, wasn’t the most technically beautiful game to begin with (despite having an otherwise wonderful art design, like Donkey Kong). Don’t get me wrong – the fact that the game looks as bad as it does is surely the reason why the draw distance is good and there is so little slowdown during combat. Unfortunately, on New 3DS XL (the only way to play this game in North America), the faces look unrecognizable from all but the most zoomed angles, the character models look lifeless, the world is so stuffed with jaggies that it has none of the life it used to, and nothing of scale seems as impressive anymore. It simply didn’t feel like the same world I got entrenched in three years ago.
The game still controls fine on the New 3DS, the combat is still excellent, and nearly every other aspect of the game is intact (see our other previews for more on that). Even if this is the case, and even if this issue does seem like a huge nitpick, I don’t think I want to deal with a game that looks this bad for another 60 hours, let alone the 100-150+ some others have spent.
If you’ve never played the Wii game or now have no other means to play it, I’m sure there is still plenty to love. But for me, outside of the fact that setting up to play a Wii game is kind of a pain, why wouldn’t I go back to the vastly better-looking original version on a larger screen with better control options and (almost) identical content?
Of course, the answer is that I have no self-restraint, so I’ll likely buy this anyways the day it comes out then beat it again. But man oh man, it’ll be a bummer to look at the whole way through.
Post by: ejamer on March 16, 2015, 08:39:53 AM
The original game had fantastic vistas and a sense of scope that was impressive. Everything looked ugly up close, but I didn't have a hard time looking past bad textures and character models because of the bigger vision for the world. But on a small screen with even less impressive graphics, that might be tough to do.
That said, I'm probably going to buy anyway. So yeah... definitely in the same camp.
Post by: fred13 on March 16, 2015, 11:47:20 AM
There's no way I'm going to pass up on buying it for $32 for my New 3DS it's such an incredible game!!!
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 16, 2015, 01:20:18 PM
Post by: Ian Sane on March 16, 2015, 02:05:23 PM
1. Those that prefer to play on a handheld.
2. Those that missed it on the Wii and don't want to pay for an expensive used copy.
I don't fall into either group so I'll stick with my Wii version. But if that's not feasible this is a decent way to experience the game. It's pretty normal in situations where this is a handheld and console version of the same game that the console one has better visuals.
Though since this is a New 3DS exclusive one should weigh the costs. If you're buying a New 3DS JUST for this game and already own a Wii it's actually cheaper to buy a used copy of the Wii version. Now the New 3DS is an investment of sorts since we're assuming it will have other exclusives and it's certainly worth owning if you don't have a 3DS at all, but in terms of sheer cost you're not saving much if this game is your complete incentive.
Post by: ObbyDent on March 16, 2015, 05:36:02 PM
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 16, 2015, 05:38:56 PM
Post by: ShyGuy on March 16, 2015, 06:59:10 PM
Post by: ejamer on March 16, 2015, 10:21:51 PM
Until recently, Final Fantasy 3 on SNES (now known of Final Fantasy IV) was my favorite RPG. That game was one I had played through multiple times, and every time some new detail or previously unseen story point left me amazed at what a fantastic game it was. When I was young my ultimate dream was being able to play that game while on go - a dream that was realized when the GBA version was eventually released. To this day, playing FF6 on my GBA Micro, taking it with me everywhere thanks to the incredible portability, is probably my favorite gaming experience ever.
Now Xenoblade Chronicles is going portable. While the console game replace FF6 as my favorite game in the genre, I'm skeptical that the 3DS port will give me the same joy that the Wii original did. Part of that might be that the game seems "less faithful" - pixels are easier for portable consoles to push than 3D models, and bringing a game that offers huge vistas onto a small screen seems unfortunate. Part of it might just be me aging.
Anyway, hopefully there are people out there who treasure this release the same way I do FF6 on GBA.
Post by: ObbyDent on March 16, 2015, 11:31:34 PM
Post by: Stratos on March 16, 2015, 11:55:19 PM
Post by: Triforce Hermit on March 16, 2015, 11:57:27 PM
Post by: Soren on March 17, 2015, 12:18:58 AM
I am tempted to hold off on this release. I never got far in my Wii game and it would be a good excuse to have a Wii revival party this summer and also break out Pandora's Tower (very little play time) and Last Story (still wrapped in the box...).
Jeez you gotta play The Last Story.
Post by: luciobar1980 on March 17, 2015, 04:51:53 PM
Post by: Mop it up on March 17, 2015, 06:33:54 PM
