Xenoblade

[Oppenheimer]

So this game has been in the video game news a lot because of Project Rainfall. But, I don't understand what's so special about it. The preview video I read looks like a terribly generic big sworded Japanese rpg with action elements. I can't trust reviewers because Final Fantasy keeps getting good reviews nowadays even though it's devolved into melodramatic and predictable tripe.

Has anyone played the Japanese or European versions who can tell me if the story is at all mature or what is supposed to be the big draw for it?

[Raww Le Klueze]

I've played it a bit. But it's very boring. I just got through the prologue before deciding to do something else.

The battle system is wonky, I wondered why the hell the actions the character took seemed entirely unrelated to when I pressed a button and I realized that it's automatic, you just get to choose the special skills/magic/whatever and all the regular attacks are handled by the game. I just couldn't get into it, which isn't fair to judge a game on but I have no interest to keep playing.

I don't know what the hubbub was all about, but the story didn't seem that fascinating from the intro either. I think it's going to lead to massive disappointments all around when it comes to America now, cause of all the hype.

There's also a crapload of tutorials for everything. Every minute it stops to explain something, fighting (without mentioning the auto-attack), item drops, treasure chests, questing or how to sell things in shops.

Honestly, if you think I need a tutorial to figure out how to sell in a shop you're either trying really hard to insult my intelligence or your inventory system is needlessly convoluted and in despereate need of a redesign.

[Rooks]

I have not played it, as I am here in America, but what Raww said seems spot on for what modern game and RPG developers are doing nowadays.

Have you guys seen the YouTube series "Sequelitis"? http://youtu.be/8FpigqfcvlM There is some NSFW language here but nothing too major.

He talks a lot about how modern game devs essentially insult the intelligence of their audience with constant tutorials and pointless explanations. And compares this approach to that of Mega Man and Mega Man X, which taught players through gameplay and clever level design.

Anyway, I have had trouble getting into many a modern RPG because of the things that Oppenheimer and Raww complained about. So, I can't see myself playing this one.

[Antimatzist]

Well, the tutorials are needed in this game imo as the battle system is quite special. I had to get used to it, too, but then it is fun.

I love this game (EU gamer her). It is one of the best new J-RPGs I have played since.. I don't know when. I haven't played it for some weeks because I have no time, but until then I played it every day for at least 3hours, and this means a lot (I am not a console gamer anymore).

The world is HUGE. Really, HUGE. There is so much to do (A lot of quests are stupid fetch quests, but some are great), it uses a friendship-system similar to Star Ocean (with private discussions and so on). Also, you have to do quest in order to befriend a city. When you do this, you get better quests, items, etc. I spent the first 3 hours doing nothing else than exploring the first map, doing every possible quest... and dying. The game is a bit broken: Enemies with the same level as you are easy to handle, but if an enemy is 2 or 3 levels above yours - good night, you'll die. Also, there are already some high level enemies in the first area^^

The characters are typical J-RPG guys, but still enjoyable imo. The world itself is BEAUTIFUL. I can't really compare it to other Wii games (because I haven't played a lot), but it is fantastic. The world is a giant mecha-monster (which is dead) and next to it there is another giant dead thing. he game has a day-night-system and in the night, you can see the eyes of the mechas shining and it looks soooooo awesome.

The battle system is, to me, what FF XII wanted. At first, it seems very hectic, but as soon as you get the hang of it, it is really well thought. Your comrades AI is really good imo.

I can't really say more except: This is maybe the best J-RPG of the current console generation. It is just so great.

Oh, and at some point in the story you will get a village which you need to re-construct. It reminds me of the fairy village in BoF III and Iv.^^

[Tonel]

Is this game A sequel or prequel to Xenogears by any chance?

[dragonmasterx]

Wii games looked like crap on my HDTV; a shame because I really wanted to play through Xenoblade, but couldn't stand the blurry graphics. So I can't really comment, but it seriously got S rank reviews from pretty much every fan and professional review in Japan.

[Antimatzist]

Is this game A sequel or prequel to Xenogears by any chance?

It is by the same developers as Xenogears and Xenosaga afaik or at least some old teammembers worked on this. No connection that I am aware of, though.

[Zer0]

I haven't played it but i have friends declaring it THE rpg of this generation so far. I have the soundtrack which is awesome but until they release the game on something other than Wii, i probably won't play it.

[patapi]

Oh. It's related to the other Xeno titles? It's great that they are still at it after the inane Xenogears disc 2 and rushed conclusion to Xenosaga. They did especially well by choosing a console with the least number of memorable RPG titles. i wonder if this great game would justify getting a brand new console?

[Antimatzist]

@patapi: I wouldn't say the Wii has less great RPGs than PS3 or XBOX360. I think theres a Tales of coming (or already on it), aaand... ... some other games, for sure. Also the Wii is quite cheap, I got mine used from a friend, including Smash Brothers and Mario Kart for 120€.

[Ernst]

I agree. The game is indeed incredibly generic in characterisation, plot and certainly in graphics. There's very little to praise about this game- perhaps the battle system, as it does actually possess some depth. I've concluded, after my time with it, that the only reason the gaming press has been raving is simply because it is one of the only real story-driven JRPGs to have been released this generation. Had this been released on the Playstation 2, yes, in it's current form, I believe it'd be lucky to score an aggregate 7.5.

[Xelinis]

Where Xenoblade excels is its open and interesting world. I actually felt compelled to take time away from the main quest (which I did find interesting) to explore every nook and cranny in the game's massive areas. The game's characters are likable and, while the initial premise is pretty basic, the plot begins to seriously ramp up later on to epic proportions. The scenes at Prison Island immediately come to mind as an example of great storytelling.

Graphically, the character models and their textures pull this game down. Yes, they look PS2 quality. But to make up for it, Xenoblade features phenomenal art direction that moves far away from the generic anime garbage that most RPGs have nowadays. The mechanical design in particular is fantastic. Additionally, the environments are gorgeous and the draw distance is very impressive.

Furthermore, the gameplay just feels very polished and it's not afraid to throw away archaic systems of RPGs past. In particular, I love how HP recovers after battle. The same thing was done in FFXIII, but there's one major difference: Xenoblade is very well balanced.

Overall, I'm not afraid to say that Xenoblade has restored my faith in the RPG genre.

[Kuromimi]

This thread needs a few more positive responses about the game.
Played through the game twice and have no problem saying it was the best RPG I've played since Chrono Trigger. Xenoblade just had what I was personally looking for in an RPG: Interesting storyline and characters, great combat system and tons of optional content. The soundtrack is quite amazing as well. The areas in the game are huge and are filled with a ton of detail; they never feel empty. People really need to get over the graphics though. Has Suikoden not taught us that a game doesn't need amazing graphics to be a great game? =/

In regard to the tutorials. You'll get a bunch in the beginning of the game, but that slows down considerably after a few hours into the story and eventually, they completely stop. The number of tutorials can be forgiven anyway, since the game offers fast travel from the very beginning, the ability to save anywhere and the ability to change what time it is; questing would be rough without this last one. Sometimes, the little things really do make a difference.

If you haven't been enjoying the latest Final Fantasy games, then you may want to give it a look.

[Antimatzist]

Ah yes, the teleport-function, I forogt about that! With a game that heavily relies on backtracking and returning to already visited areas, this feauture is so great and makes the game really enjoyable. One of the best functions I have ever seen in a game (I don't know any game where this feature is built in with so much detail).

[KFCrispy]

cool, i'm happy to see they are bringing this to the US. last time i looked, the boards were depressed because both Xenoblade and The Last Story were both apparently canceled for US release.