Topic: Xenoblade Chronicles Wii / 3DS / Definitive Edition

[Lithium]

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

[Tora]

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. 

[Luigi Dude]

So I finally started playing yesterday.

12 Hours of playing later

So many sidequests, I can't stop 

[leahsdad]

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.

[Evan_B]

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.

[Enner]

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.

[ejamer]

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.

[gbuell]

That's cool. Was the mini-boss a giant spider?

[ejamer]

That's cool. Was the mini-boss a giant spider?

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.

[Evan_B]

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.

[Lithium]

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.

[Enner]

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.

[Mop it up]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?hl=en_US&key=0Anx12MiCQejudHJfUWhOTGd5Wm1uS25ub2FDeE5BekE&hl=en_US&f=true&noheader=false&gid=18

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.

[Oblivion]

"7th" is what the Xenoblade fandom uses to refer to the character that joins about halfway through. Saying who it would be a spoiler.

[Caliban]

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?

[Mannypon]

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".

[Enner]

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!

[Caliban]

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.

[Enner]

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.

[ejamer]

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.

[noname2200]

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!

[Caliban]

Thanks for all your replies folks. 4 hours in, and heading into the closest mines on Colony 9.

[Enner]

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.

[broodwars]

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.   

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.

[ejamer]

...
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.)