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BotW (& Switch) makes me REALLY excited for Xenoblade 2

There are two big reasons why Xenoblade 2 is my most anticipated game slated for this year
lol

1) Breath of the Wild is awesome, and if Monolith Soft takes what they learned from that game and apply it to a more linear adventure, that would be the recipe for an amazing experience. I really liked XbX, but BotW's world (specifically its villages, the level of interactivity, and the reward for exploration) kinda puts it to shame.

2) The Switch lends itself extremely well to big long games. I've poured at least 50 hours into BotW alone despite a busy schedule (also have decent time put into Fast RMX, Shovel Knight, I Am Setsuna, Blaster Master, etc.). Portability is extremely important to me considering I don't have as much time and energy to isolate myself into my gaming station to play my games. I've put ~60 hours into Xenoblade X before life hit and I have not gone back since considering I'd be completely lost. That fact that I can play these games with big commitments comfortably makes me crave for them again, and that truly makes me happy.

What are your thoughts GAF?

Edit: To clarify, I expect Xb2 to be more like Xb1 in the sense that the world will consist of seperate "mini" open areas, as the game will be much more linear. I'm just voicing my desire for said areas to incorporate ideas we've seen in Monolith Soft's recent work.
 
Xenoblade 1 was amazing on 3DS, despite the technical changes between the Wii and 3DS versions.

And since I have never been disappointed with a game in the xeno series, it can only be good.
 

Wagram

Member
Story in Xenoblade 2 should be more important than anything else. They already did a more gameplay focused Xenoblade and it turned out divisive. I would like to see better gameplay implementation in a Xenoblade 2. More context, more quality, and far less quantity.
 
Story in Xenoblade 2 is more important than anything else. They already did a more gameplay focused Xenoblade and it turned out divisive. I would like to see better gameplay implementation in a Xenoblade 2. More context, more quality, and far less quantity.

Yup, like Gears and Saga please. My favourite series of all time.
 

-Horizon-

Member
The trailer honestly looked pretty good, just needed to work on that framerate (like Botw needs to right now).

just give me my anime sword waifus
 
I'm not expecting anything near the level of interactivity of BotW for Xenoblade 2. Unless they are doing a major overhaul of its mechanics, it doesn't really need it either in my opinion.
 

duckroll

Member
I don't think Xenoblade 2 is anything like BotW or Xenoblade X though. It's probably a linear RPG like Xenoblade.
 

KahooTs

Member
Problem is, unlike zelda, they're going to attempt a proper story, and freedom and the world are going to suffer for that story, and the story is going to suck anyway.
 

Quonny

Member
I'm looking forward to it because they ditched that awful artstyle.

But not sure what Zelda has to do with development of a game by a completely different studio in a different genre.
 

MattKeil

BIGTIME TV MOGUL #2
I think anyone expecting the lessons of BotW to be incorporated into Xenoblade 2 is going to be sorely disappointed.
 

Vinc

Member
Can't really be excited for it yet since I still haven't played Xenoblade Chronicles or X, but I plan to play those this year to see what the fuss is all about.

I'm certainly excited to get more Switch games though. I actually want to turn that system on since it's a pleasure to use. It's been a LONG time since that happened with any Nintendo console for me.
 

DMONKUMA

Junior Member
Really I'm expecting them to try to follow through what they did for Xenoblade 1 rather than Xenoblade X or BOTW. Since that's what they should do.
 
I'm not expecting anything near the level of interactivity of BotW for Xenoblade 2. Unless they are doing a major overhaul of its mechanics, it doesn't really need it either in my opinion.

I understand that it doesn't need the complex physics engine BotW has, but it would still be nice to have various pick-ups and interior areas (X kinda had this but nowhere near as much as I'd like).
I don't think Xenoblade 2 is anything like BotW or Xenoblade X though. It's probably a linear RPG like Xenoblade.
Xb1 still had large areas that allowed for exploration. True, it'll most likely be separate areas like what we've seen in games like Dragon Age Inquisition.
 
Same for me, OP. I feel like in some ways Xenoblade 2 is the main event (the first Switch exclusive open world game, though this one will be more RPG where BOTW is more adventure) and BOTW is the set up
 

EhoaVash

Member
yeah i'm excited too, i hope xenoblade 2's world is bigger than XCX and have similar traversal mechanics like xcx like the auto running, high jumping etc

while i like Botw, i really really miss listening to music in the overworld something X2 will be awesome at since the original composer for X1 is back

combine awesome open world music with monolith's open world map designs ( the awesome vistas <3 )

Xenoblade 2 really jumped on the top 3 list for me this year, .....only thing i'm worried about is character models looking too anime again =/ this time they look like characters from the Tales of series lol -_-
 
I think a sequel to Xenoblade X would benefit more from following the footsteps of BOTW's more sophisticated gameplay ideas. For Xenoblade 2 I'm perfectly fine with it just being a straightforward RPG like Xenoblade 1, just with wide-open areas.

I like the idea of "mainline Xenoblade" being story-focused and "X" being a sub-series that focuses on pure gameplay.
 

El Odio

Banned
Really? Cause it looks to me that it'll be taking more cues from the original Xenoblade moreso than BotW. I doubt it'll have much in the way of environmental interaction and nonlinearity, but that's not to say that Xeno's methods of exploration weren't fun. Portability for it though is a big plus for me as well though. Going through the original again on 3DS just felt so much better.
 

hao chi

Member
I'm looking forward to it because they ditched that awful artstyle.

But not sure what Zelda has to do with development of a game by a completely different studio in a different genre.

Monolith assisted with BotW. I believe they primarily assisted with developing the world.
 

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
I'm not sure if it will take many cues but BotW did follow the same seamless philosophy Takahashi had for the Xenoblade games so I do wonder how they'll show that in Xenoblade 2. Even if it's more linear than XBX I expect he'll want the world to be as connected as possible without loading screens. I'm curious about how they'll do that in the sky.
 

bomblord1

Banned
I'm actually hoping for a return to a story focus like in Xenoblade 1 rather than see them do something like BOTW.

Give me strong characters and significantly cut back the system complexity of X and give it a more tight focus and direction. I don't mind if this is done in a large open world but dial it in more.

Luckily based on the first trailer this seems to be exactly what is happening.
 
Wasn't it said that Monolith actually helped out with Zelda? It's definitely a good guess that they might do some similar stuff for Xenoblade then and I would be fine with that for sure. Really looking forward to seeing more footage but no way that it's coming this year. I'd be shocked.
 

Dark_castle

Junior Member
Xenoblade-Chronicles-2-teaser-image-112.png


zenoblade_chronicles_2_nintendo_switch-9.jpg


zenoblade_chronicles_2_nintendo_switch-6.jpg


K9bam_s-200x150.gif
 

How does THIS concern you, but X's derpfaces juxtaposed against an otherwise "realistic" artstyle didn't?

EDIT: I personally hope we get a Xenoblade X Switch port sometime down the line, because uh, portable, and not totally because I didn't get the chance to play it to completion before selling my WiiU due to changing circumstances in my life at the time it came out.
 
Funny that you should mention Xenoblade 2, as something I've had in the back of my mind now ever since completing a major side quest in BotW (
building Tarrey Town
) and having far more fun than I ever did with its gruelling analogue in XC1 is that after BotW, I don't know if I can go back to Xenoblade anymore.

Now, I liked XC1 and XCX a lot. I put a hundred hours in each and came out both times with the impression that I hadn't come close to seeing much of anything beyond the main quest (the super-endgame content, for instance, or several of the character storylines in XCX as I missed out on several recruits entirely), though I also wasn't especially enticed to either one. Mira, pre-flight, delivered the richest exploration phase of any single-player game I can remember until BotW came along.

But after putting in more time with BotW than I did with either Xenoblade, and experiencing far fewer pockets of frustration/impatience/filler (very few at all, actually), it's put this into perspective for me: that for all the magnificence of the overworld design (especially in XCX) and the earnest charm of XC1, the overwhelming strengths of those games papered over an awful lot of crap that was excused or overlooked.

The worst offender was the "run over the blue dots" system of mountains upon mountains of indistinguishable collectibles (which didn't even fit in your inventory in XC1), shorn of any context in the world and adding no flavour in return, impossible to remember or locate without a guide if it should happen you are a few short of a side-quest condition. BotW's efforts to attach a distinctive context, memory, function, or other common-sensical association to all of its infinitesimal items just cleaned the clocks of Xenoblade's loot system. I don't think I could ever go back; I already couldn't bother to suffer through rebuilding Colony 6 the first time around. If XC2's collectibles system is anything similar to those of its predecessors, it's just asking to be ignored.

The old quest-board system already felt dated at the time of release and, if it returns, will look even more superfluous and overstuffed now. Xenoblade, at least, adheres to a series convention of clearing quests directly upon completion without having to turn them in.

Then there's the movement in the world. Yes, in a JRPG the (beautiful, sumptuous) overworld fields are glorified encounter maps, and I'm not expecting anything resembling Zelda-style traversal. But BotW creates a sense of physical "contact" with the landscape that the Xenoblade games already had trouble with in their own right, as with its compromise of party members popping in and out of place if their pathfinding falls behind yours&#8212;tolerable, perhaps, if the battle system didn't involve so much positioning.

Then there's the Xeno-series' notorious nonsense-plotting, but I understand that is part of the appeal.

The Xenoblade games are great. They are at times astonishing. They are also inelegant, persistently so, and in ways that I don't know if I'll have the patience to sit through for another hundred hours. There is just too much stuff, in systems and content both, and not all of it sticks. It's just that the things that do stick, like the environment design, are exemplary. And I don't know if that will be enough for me to make excuses for the rest of the package once more.

*

On a personal and selfish note, I know from the start that none of us expected XC2 would be localized in time for 2017&#8212;we all assume it won't&#8212;but at this point I'm almost hoping it doesn't. Obviously, if you're looking forward to it, the sooner you get the option of playing it the better. I don't know if I'd be ready to make time for another game of that scope by the end of this calendar year even if it did arrive by then, especially not with BotW's hard mode and DLC on the way (though we know nothing of its longevity or scale). Holiday 2017 actually seems too close; not enough breathing room in a post-Zelda environment.

I'll probably wind up buying it anyway for the no doubt massive main quest and the Mitsuda score, especially if the battle system is more like XC1's again in the responsiveness/interaction of the party members. But the thought of it is more like going through the motions than any real excitement.
 

Shikamaru Ninja

任天堂 の 忍者
OP is a bit delusional about what Monolith Soft did in Zelda. Monolith doesn't have Nintendo's physic and world programmers. Their game is not going to be the same despite having helped designed overworld terrain.
 

xynder

Banned
There are two big reasons why Xenoblade 2 is my most anticipated game slated for this year
lol

1) Breath of the Wild is awesome, and if Monolith Soft takes what they learned from that game and apply it to a more linear adventure, that would be the recipe for an amazing experience. I really liked XbX, but BotW's world (specifically its villages, the level of interactivity, and the reward for exploration) kinda puts it to shame.

2) The Switch lends itself extremely well to big long games. I've poured at least 50 hours into BotW alone despite a busy schedule (also have decent time put into Fast RMX, Shovel Knight, I Am Setsuna, Blaster Master, etc.). Portability is extremely important to me considering I don't have as much time and energy to isolate myself into my gaming station to play my games. I've put ~60 hours into Xenoblade X before life hit and I have not gone back since considering I'd be completely lost. That fact that I can play these games with big commitments comfortably makes me crave for them again, and that truly makes me happy.

What are your thoughts GAF?

Edit: To clarify, I expect Xb2 to be more like Xb1 in the sense that the world will consist of seperate "mini" open areas, as the game will be much more linear. I'm just voicing my desire for said areas to incorporate ideas we've seen in Monolith Soft's recent work.

heh heh
 

Instro

Member
I'm mildly concerned about it from a technical standpoint. The Switch seems like it will struggle with large open games. Otherwise I think it will be great.
 

Malus

Member
As great as BotW is, I'm looking forward to playing an open world game like Xenoblade with tons of overworld music and hopefully a decent framerate :p. Also an epic main quest after both Zelda and XCX moved focus away from story.

I'm mildly concerned about it from a technical standpoint. The Switch seems like it will struggle with large open games. Otherwise I think it will be great.

If they can achieve XCX's level of performance again I'd be happy. Potentially moving back to mini-open areas like the original might help things even more.
 

Amneisac

Member
I don't know what to think. I feel like I should like these games but I got bored with both of them about 10 hours in. Maybe having them mobile will help me enjoy them more.
 
Well yes it ran at 30 fps basically locked, but there were some pretty severe compromises to make that happen. Not expecting much in terms of a visual upgrade.

As long as the character models and dialogue animations are improved I am completely fine with the same graphical fidelity.

OP is a bit delusional about what Monolith Soft did in Zelda. Monolith doesn't have Nintendo's physic and world programmers. Their game is not going to be the same despite having helped designed overworld terrain.

Thank you for the clarification. I still believe my post stands, as it's fair to assume the Zelda team and Monolith Soft's Xb2 communicate enough to have ideas thrown around.
 

jackal27

Banned
Now if that art style just didn't look like such hot garbage. I seriously hate it so much... Why not make it in the style of the first game that everyone loves so much??

I mean or just make it... Anything but what it looks like right now.
 

Ninferno

Member
Yes, if BotW is any indication XC2 could potentially be a really good game. I will definitely buy it, play it, and patiently wait for my true love that is XCX2...
 

Instro

Member
Now if that art style just didn't look like such hot garbage. I seriously hate it so much... Why not make it in the style of the first game that everyone loves so much??

I mean or just make it... Anything but what it looks like right now.

What's to love about Xenoblade's character models? They are super ugly.
 

Shikamaru Ninja

任天堂 の 忍者
Thank you for the clarification. I still believe my post stands, as it's fair to assume the Zelda team and Monolith Soft's Xb2 communicate enough to have ideas thrown around.

Sorry if it sounded harsh. But Takahashi and Monolith will have a different vision than Nintendo and their game designers / programmers.
 
What's to love about Xenoblade's character models? They are super ugly.

The model's (for the hardware) were fine. I wasn't a fan of the character design, though. Each character's design was either too busy or too plain with nothing striking or memorable aside from one or two examples. X kinda had the opposite problem in which there was good character designs but awful 3D modeling.
 
Now if that art style just didn't look like such hot garbage. I seriously hate it so much... Why not make it in the style of the first game that everyone loves so much??

I mean or just make it... Anything but what it looks like right now.

Arts style looks relatively the same except character designs. The one thing people constantly complained about.
 
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