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[Nanashrew]

I can't agree with this more. For whatever reason the actual gameplay of XC and XCX never clicked for me, but the worlds are absolutely spectacular. A modern Baten Kaitos with the same type of BK gameplay would be a dream for me.

Something I've been thinking about, with GC VC coming Switch, Baten Kaitos likely has a better chance than ever before for a rerelease. Not to mention that the sequel would have a better chance to release in EU with VC as well.

I've personally never played the games before (and they're too expensive to buy now), but the worlds I've seen from Baten Kaitos look really beautiful.

Oh dang, top of the page D;

 

[Skittzo0413]

Something I've been thinking about, with GC VC coming Switch, Baten Kaitos likely has a better chance than ever before for a rerelease. Not to mention that the sequel would have a better chance to release in EU with VC as well.

I've personally never played the games before (and they're too expensive to buy now), but the worlds I've seen from Baten Kaitos look really beautiful.

Oh dang, top of the page D;

The world certainly is beautiful and very unique, which is seemingly the big strength of Monolith Soft. But honestly the gameplay and story of BK were just as impressive to me as the world. Stringing together the absolute perfect card combo in a boss battle was such a satisfying experience.

Never got around to BKO though...

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

breath of fresh air in a series where the environs have continued to become increasingly over-the-top for fifteen years now

Nah,

Plenty other games with the same kind of realistic aesthetic.

 

[Dremorak]

Loving this thread I'll take any chance to gush over the Xenoblade games

Really looking forward to whatever it is they do for switch, even if its just a port of XenoX to start with. If they can take that world and maybe bump up the enemy draw distance, give it a little spit shine here and there it would look unbelievable

 

[Dice//]

MMmm

 

[BennyBlanco]

They did a really good job making it feel like an alien planet. Such a great game.

 

[Omega Kirby]

Yeah. The world of Xenoblade X looks amazing and fascinating. It's a real shame that the story within that world is painfully mediocre.

Seems to be a trend with modern jrpgs

 

[CrazyHal]

Seems to be a trend with modern jrpgs

I know right? Here's hoping that Persona 5 will change that.

 

[Dremorak]

Just a few of my screenshots (Right click - open in new tab to see them large)

 

[jonjonaug]

Seems to be a trend with modern jrpgs

Honestly it's only the main plot that I'd call "mediocre", a lot (not all) of the affinity quests and a ton of the sidequests are great. And those make up like 90% of the game.

 

[Enduin]

The world certainly is beautiful and very unique, which is seemingly the big strength of Monolith Soft. But honestly the gameplay and story of BK were just as impressive to me as the world. Stringing together the absolute perfect card combo in a boss battle was such a satisfying experience.

Never got around to BKO though...

You really need to do something about that. BKO is better in every single way. Amazing characters, story, voice acting and the combat is probably my absolute favorite JRPG, active time battle, combat system.

 

[Beren the Empty-Handed]

I went into the first xenoblade completely blind and basically had my brain melted. Everything just felt so grand and lived-in in a way that I hadn't felt video games capture in years. Then I fell in love with those characters and buckled myself in for the crazy ride. Played it again on 3DS and still loved it. Favorite game on the wii, bar none.

I'm totally down for any future monolith soft projects. Spent over a hundred hours (maybe 200, it's been a while) in X and had a blast there too.

 

[Yarbskoo]

A few more 4K Xenoblade shots I took just now.

 

[Falcs]

I really wish Xenoblade Chronicles X had new game plus. I would love to replay it, but I don't don't have the time to spend levelling up all over again

 

[PotionBleue]

Anyone remember getting that obviously suspicious itwn in Gaur Plains and then out of nowhere, a giant fucking spider pops out? 😂😂😂

Of course. They trolled us again with Go-rha in XBX.

 

[freeofgreed]

I believe Takahashi said that's what they're going back to for the next game. More story and narrative focus. They essentially built the gameplay foundation in XCX, so next game should likely have the best of both worlds.

Source? cause i'd love for this to be the case.

 

[WiiredShawn]

The backgrounds in BK and BKO touched me. That world was so provocative and memorable. I'd argue that the art style (and some of the music) carried me through the first game, with its mediocre plot and awkward voice acting.

If the world of BK could be realized in XCX's engine... I dare not to dream.

 

[Nanashrew]

Source? cause i'd love for this to be the case.

"I've heard that some Japanese users who played Xenoblade Chronicles X said they enjoyed a more story-driven type of game. So if we have the opportunity to make another game in the series, I'd like to made another typical JRPG-style game like Xenoblade Chronicles again."

 

[ViciousDS]

Its unfortunate that they are so hardware constrained. XCX is both beautiful and ugly at the same time.

Yes......blown up on a big screen was jarring......it was beautiful but damn was it rough to look at

 

[DMONKUMA]

"I've heard that some Japanese users who played Xenoblade Chronicles X said they enjoyed a more story-driven type of game. So if we have the opportunity to make another game in the series, I'd like to made another typical JRPG-style game like Xenoblade Chronicles again."

As long as they keep the Mechs I'm game.

 

[MomoQca]

Source? cause i'd love for this to be the case.

Here you go:

Gamereactor

Takahashi: While Xenoblade Chronicles was a true story-driven JRPG, we took a rather different approach with Xenoblade Chronicles X. You could say it doesn't really feel like a typical JRPG: what really sets it apart from other JRPGs is that the game world - the planet Mira - is really vast. I've heard that some Japanese users who played Xenoblade Chronicles X said they enjoyed a more story-driven type of game. So if we have the opportunity to make another game in the series, I'd like to made another typical JRPG-style game like Xenoblade Chronicles again.

 

[EDarkness]

Yeah. It might not be the biggest, but there is so much variety and so many interesting landmarks.

I was under the impression that it actually was the biggest.

 

[Neoleo2143]

I was under the impression that it actually was the biggest.

As for well designed worlds that I've seen, XCX is probably the largest (And probably only Zelda will Challenge it in the future). But stuff like Fuel and Just Cause 2 and 3 are definitely bigger.

 

[EDarkness]

As for well designed worlds that I've seen, XCX is probably the largest (And probably only Zelda will Challenge it in the future). But stuff like Fuel and Just Cause 2 and 3 are definitely bigger.

I never played Fuel, so I decided to look it up...damn, that's a huge map. I felt like Xenoblade Chronicles X had a well designed map and going to new areas really felt great. I hope the next Zelda game has the same impact.

 

[Prevolition]

The cool thing about XCX as an open world game is that as big as it is, all of the locations are memorable to me and I can recall many of vistas and landmarks.

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

I really wish Xenoblade Chronicles X had new game plus. I would love to replay it, but I don't don't have the time to spend levelling up all over again

The worst part was farming cash for skells for me. I don't think I have it in me to do that again.

 

[Nanashrew]

And for further reassurance about story

Xenoblade Chronicles X Director Wants To Focus More On The Story For His Next Game

“Being several years behind others in the development of an HD title and taking into account Monolith Soft’s company size, there are just some thing that we could not achieve, which couldn’t be helped, but in order to move on towards the next step, there was no avoiding this. And that is the truth,” writes Takahashi.

Takahashi concludes by saying that he’d like to use the experience him and Monolith Soft have obtained in the development of Xenoblade Chronicles X in order to make his next title something that is rich in story.

This article was done in July, Gamereactor article was in December. I think Tetsuya has been pretty consistent in talking about having a stronger story for the next game. I also like how open he is to criticisms and feedback and able to acknowledge shortcomings.

 

[CO_Andy]

Monolith needs to work on their character models

 

[Instro]

And for further reassurance about story

Xenoblade Chronicles X Director Wants To Focus More On The Story For His Next Game



This article was done in July, Gamereactor article was in December. I think Tetsuya has been pretty consistent in talking about having a stronger story for the next game. I also like how open he is to criticisms and feedback and able to acknowledge shortcomings.

Takahashi has always struck me as one of the most blunt people in this industry when it comes to his work.

 

[PingPongvonLaserstein]

The worst part was farming cash for skells for me. I don't think I have it in me to do that again.

Once I got to the point where I needed lv60 and Ares skells, my FrontierNav setup was pulling in so much money per tick that I would have had to really go out of my way to spend it all. The real pain for me was getting the collectibles and drops.

 

[MomoQca]

And for further reassurance about story

Xenoblade Chronicles X Director Wants To Focus More On The Story For His Next Game



This article was done in July, Gamereactor article was in December. I think Tetsuya has been pretty consistent in talking about having a stronger story for the next game. I also like how open he is to criticisms and feedback and able to acknowledge shortcomings.

In addition to that, he also said something about wanting to do space travel.

 

[Nanashrew]

Takahashi has always struck me as one of the most blunt people in this industry when it comes to his work.

In ways it's kinda refreshing.

In addition to that, he also said something about wanting to do space travel.

I remember reading that somewhere but for the life of me can't remember where. I was actually even searching for it when I found that Siliconera article!

 

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

A cool thing they did is that enemy levels aren't gated by area.

You can find high and low level enemies in all areas so it becomes a matter of exploring the environment but also taking care not to piss off things that can kill you in one hit while looking out for prey that you can take down.

That to me reinforced the concept of alien life on the planet,and how you fit into the food chain if that makes any sense.

 

[MomoQca]

I remember reading that somewhere but for the life of me can't remember where. I was actually even searching for it when I found that Siliconera article!

Same! I vaguely remember it coming from a column in a Japanese magazine. Something along the lines of him agreeing with the fans who said that the story was weak and that he wanted to include space exploration.

 

[Ninferno]

Invest more in Monolith, Nintendo, if you want the next Monolith game to be a serious driver for the Switch. Seriously, invest more, give them the resources needed to execute and realize their craziest, most fantastic ideas well, so that they aren't just ideas. We could be talking about the best JRPG in a decade here. In fact, I'm pretty sure we are if you give them half the budget FFXV received. So just do it, Nintendo!

 

[adroit]

I'm in the middle of my second playthrough of Xenoblade Chronicles (first time was way back when the game was (finally) released by Nintendo of America). Looking down on the Fallen Arm from the extremely high grated walkway leading to the Distant Fingertip. Holy cow. It's hard to believe this is a Wii game.

 

[foxuzamaki]

In ways it's kinda refreshing.



I remember reading that somewhere but for the life of me can't remember where. I was actually even searching for it when I found that Siliconera article!

Same! I vaguely remember it coming from a column in a Japanese magazine. Something along the lines of him agreeing with the fans who said that the story was weak and that he wanted to include space exploration.

Same here. I remember when one of the trailers dropped and we saw the beautiful moon and it was so incredibly close to the planet and people speculated we would be able to actually fly to the moon because it was so close.

 

[DangerMouse]

Yeah, they do fantastic designs. Been a fan since Xenogears.

I don't think that Xenoblade was really bad in terms of the character art, but the Wii constraints really hurt their emotive capabilities in the cutscenes. X had the same problem that Xenosaga Pt. 1 had: Kunihiko Tanaka's character art does not translate well to polygon models at all.

If they got the character artist from Xenoblade back and were able to refine their facial animation process, I think a lot of people would be more than OK with that.

I disagree, I thought they were fine in XS1 at the time, I think it's the same hardware constraints or possibly budget that make those characters hard to do in 3D. It could also be that they need to upgrade (or expand, if it's a time constraint thing) their character modeling talent though as well, Elma looked quite good for instance.

I didn't really mind them on the main characters for the most part.

 

[Vader1]

They're working on BotW too, probably part of the reason the environments in that game are looking so beautiful/mysterious and inspire that same desire for exploration you're talking about just through their visual art direction.

 

[Benzychenz]

Yeah I'm generally not a fan of open world games, but I adored exploring in both Xenoblade games. They've really nailed it.

 

[Dark_castle]

I really want to love Xenoblade series, but I just can't with that MMO combat system. Give me turn-based or full real time action, not something wishy washy hybrid.

 

[DMONKUMA]

I really want to love Xenoblade series, but I just can't with that MMO combat system. Give me turn-based or full real time action, not something wishy washy hybrid.

Yea I somewhat have to agree with this. I definitely would enjoy the game more if it was one of those options.

 

[Xbro]

Divine Roost is such a rad area. All the intrigue throughout the game of wondering what's up that massive waterfall pays off when you get the flight module and are finally able to get up there, only to find the game's most alien-looking environment, lorded over by the game's strongest tyrant.

I remember wanting to go up there and it being the first place I went when I was able to fly. Then the atmosphere just shook me to my core.

 

[SuomiDude]

I really want to love Xenoblade series, but I just can't with that MMO combat system. Give me turn-based or full real time action, not something wishy washy hybrid.

Problem with turn-based is that it's so damn slow and doesn't really offer real tactics. The problem with full real time would be that the game would turn into a shooter/hack'n'slash, making it feel less like an RPG. I think the current battle system is perfect in that it offers good use of tactics, it's fast, you can back-off from too difficult battles, and it just feels so good. In a way it reminds me of Secret of Mana battles, which I really enjoyed as well.

 

[eXistor]

Agreed. I've just finished FFXV and after finishing the main quest you

Spoiler

get to fly around in your car

. It's cool and all, but the feeling is absolutely nowhere near Xenoblade X. The whole world kinda reminded me of Xenoblade, but whereas FFXV is very flat, XCX is very multi-layered.

The first 30 hours you walk aroud on foot and come across a bunch of enticing places you can't reach, then you get your frst Skell and the world opens up a bit more and now you can explore some of these places, but still there's a lot of places you can't reach. The you gain the flight ability aother 30 hours later and then nothing is out of bounds. It adds an incredibly satisfying layer of exploration completely missing from FFXV.

And yes, the design itself is wonderul as well. It feels properly alien and weird. It really is the best open-world in this type of RPG. I doubt it'll be topped anytime soon.

 

[Holundrian]

I wish more open world games went crazy on the environment - too many games are too realistic. Especially fantasy rpg's.

Agreed. That actually would help the feeling of open world saturation. It's like ok now we have open worlds but 99% of them are based on our real world.

 

[Violet_0]

Yep.

I love how Xenoblade took inspiration from a bunch of old sci-fi artists and shows/films from the 70's and 80's. It's even more pronounced when you look at the concept art for something like

this is what the character design should have looked like (okay that shield girl looks odd but otherwise it's an excellent style). They have clearly talented artist, how the hell did they end up with what we got in the final game. The retro SciFi/fantasy-inspired direction mixed with more subtle anime aesthetics would have worked so much better for them

 

[saturnine]

Problem with turn-based is that it's so damn slow and doesn't really offer real tactics.

That's not true at all, unless you only play PS1/2 era FF-derived games.

The first 30 hours you walk aroud on foot and come across a bunch of enticing places you can't reach, then you get your frst Skell and the world opens up a bit more and now you can explore some of these places, but still there's a lot of places you can't reach.

I spent way too much time bunny hopping across mountain ridges trying to reach places I wasn't supposed to when I first got my Skell. Went all around Noctilum and even managed to almost reach the top of the rings in Oblivia. Great sense of freedom.

 

[VariantX]

Xenoblade Chronicles remains my favorite RPG world. Staggering amounts of variation amongst its many areas and some practically transform into something otherworldly at night. I feel the sequel made massive gains in both size and making it more seamless, and exploreable it lost in the variety area a bit while being a bit less colorful. Looking forward to them pushing the Xeno series even further in fantastic world design.

 

[Nanashrew]

this is what the character design should have looked like (okay that shield girl looks odd but otherwise it's an excellent style). They have clearly talented artist, how the hell did they end up with what we got in the final game. The retro SciFi/fantasy-inspired direction mixed with more subtle anime aesthetics would have worked so much better for them

I'm not sure I follow. That full armor the character in the front is wearing, is in the game. You can even get some full armor that looks like it belongs in Kamen Rider. As for Elma, it's hard to make out what she's doing. Lin with her shield looks like Lin, and Tatsu looks like a potato.

The main issue I think everyone had was the faces, which you're unable to see in that image