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[DragonGirl]

Xenoblade Chronicles X: a critique​

In the year 2015 I anticipated no game as much as Xenoblade Chronicles X. It was a tempered anticipation – I followed the reactions to the Japanese release and thus knew about the MMORPG flavor and less focus on story. While I was disappointed since I loved the story of the first Xenoblade, it didn't really do much to dampen my desire to get a hold of this game, and so I counted down the days to the US release. December 4th finally arrived, and I played almost nothing but this game for the next 2 months, finishing the final chapter at 230 hours and continuing on afterward for 300 plus.

My fascination with XenoX approached obsession for a good while and it is easily on the top tier of my all time favorite games. That said, I have quite a few criticisms of the game as well, especially in regards to the story. Most of this critique is spoiler free and safe reading for those who have yet to play the game, and I highly recommend playing this game. However, the Story section of the critique does have spoilers so fair warning.

Welcome to Mira​

Exploration is central to the XenoX experience. Plot-wise, you are a pioneering refugee stranded on an alien planet, and learning about that planet is the primary thing you do in this game. Thankfully, when Monolith Soft set out to create this massive world where the player can truly travel to any point they can see, they succeeded in spades. Mira provides the best sightseeing trip you could want. It is vast, beautiful, dangerous, intriguing, exciting, and just fun to run around in. The creativity of the environments and the alien animals that populate this world is a treat for the imagination.

The environments themselves evoke story telling. What kind of ecosystem could create the eerie elegance of Sylvalum? What are the massive structures in Oblivia? Who lived in the monolithic ruins of Cauldros? Even NLA, the lively city that crash landed on Mira offers many an interesting nook and cranny. The landscapes are fantastic yet maintain a very real, very grounded feel. Mira is a majestic place without boundaries keeping you from going to whatever point you can see (and the incredible draw distance allows you to see very far indeed), whether it means swimming across an ocean or leaping to the highest peak of a mountain.

Of course, how you explore is as important as what you explore, and this too feels just right. Your characters can run at a sprightly clip and swim quickly. There's even an auto-run option that can make those long exploratory swims into the ocean easier to bare. Characters can leap great distances, as if Mira were a low gravity planet. While precision jumping takes some practice and a little manipulation of the camera distance, it is very satisfying to bound gazelle-like across the gap in a mountain or dive fearlessly off the top of a cliff that soars hundreds of feet into the air. Then, eventually, you gain control of giant robots and a whole new range of movement opens up the world even more.

One of the biggest selling points for many are the game's mechs, called Skells in the Western version. These giant battle suits enhance your ability to reach hard to get to places and their vehicle transformations speed you even faster on your way. They can even be upgraded to fly. Personally, I like to stay on foot as much as possible. The Skells are very fun and very convenient, but Mira's environments are so inviting that I feel I just can't get as up close and personal as I prefer from the cockpit of a two story tall robot.

Mira itself is the main draw of XenoX. It is an expansive, wide open world riddled with caves and reaches to the sky with unparalleled verticality. All seamlessly stitched together with nary a load screen. There truly was something special about taking that first step out of the city and into the vast wilds of Primordia without missing a beat.

Enjoy this little tour.

Mechanical Layers Upon Layers​

Many of today's most heavily advertised, most popular games try to hide their game-ness in favor of “cinematic immersion”. This is fine as far as it goes but part of what I enjoy about video games is learning the rules that exist within the game's world and working within those rules to experience something unique. It's why I prefer playing Mario over Uncharted. That said, I'm not a fan of micromanagement and tend to ignore mechanics that get a little too in depth. Thankfully, I can get away with doing that in XenoX because as deep as the mechanics rabbit hole goes in this game, it is still pretty forgiving to people with menu aversion, such as myself.

First beginning the game is daunting to say the least. New players will spend the first few hours of the game trying to absorb a lot of information. What's more, the concepts that the game does take time to explain are just the tip of the iceberg, the rest require a trip to the multi-paged digital manual. Or not – I started the game by ignoring everything I'd been told and just ran around and looked at things at my leisure. There is a lot of info on the screen for those who bother to squint (tiny text!) and read it. There is even an “equip strongest gear” button that in no way optimized me but did well enough to get me through the majority of the game. On the other hand, if you like crafting augments and min-maxing the crap out of your gear, Skills, Arts, Skells and any of the bazillion other things you can tweak in this game, you'll be able to pull off impressive nonsense

like this

The game is loaded with optional bosses wandering the wilds so go nuts.

While the multitude of customizable options are impressive, it is the flexibility of approach the game allows for when dealing with quest objectives and other challenges that I particularly appreciate. There were times throughout the game that I was faced with enemies, individually or in groups, that were either difficult to fight or straight up death to my team. Aggressive enemies can either see you, hear you, or both (indicated by the icons over their heads), and by careful jumping around the terrain, I found I could sneak by a lot of the time.

The game also has a useful party command menu that made it possible to keep my team from using weapons that would antagonize every creature around the one I wanted to fight – useful since creatures of any level can inhabit any environment, meaning you'll always have enemies worth your time to fight and always have to keep on your toes lest you cross the path of something far nastier than you are. Frankly, I love the fact that I can step out the front door for the very first time, swim across the planet, and find beginning level baddies on the farthest shore. I also love the fact that I can die to a level 90-something Tyrant right in my own back yard (it made me a bit nostalgic, remembering the time I explored the first area in the original Xenoblade and died to a level 70 fish). There's no punishment for dying so why not be bold?

Combat​

If you are familiar with the original Xenoblade (released on the Wii, ported to the New 3Ds and now, finally, available for download via the Virtual Console on the Wii U) then you should feel right at home in XenoX. For everyone else, here's a quick primer:

You control a party of up to 4 members. Combat is in real time, not turn based. You can move freely, but your basic attacks are automatic and split between melee and ranged. Whether or not you hit and what your damage is, is based on character statistics with all sorts of modifiers applied, including gear, position, weather, augments, and so forth. At the bottom of the screen you have a “battle palette” from which you can select special attacks and buffs. Once used, these moves become unavailable until they “cool down” and reset. Auto attacking will refill your Arts. Successful combat in XenoX is very front loaded. By that I mean, how well you do is less dependent on your decisions in combat than they are by how well you prepare. Set your characters up poorly for a situation and you'll have a hard time. Set them up well, and cut down your foes like so much chaff.

For Xenoblade veterans, there are a few differences to take note of. Chain attacks are gone, as are Visions. New are Soul Voices and Overdrive. Sometimes allies will call for a certain action. If you have a corresponding Art on your battle palette it will flash and if you use it in time the effect will be boosted, this is Soul Voice. Overdrive comes into play a bit later and once activated causes all of your Arts to fill quickly and gives them a third cool down and bonus effects. I really enjoy both iterations of this battle system. They are energetic and fun, though XenoX's version tends to throw too much at you at once.

Healing is almost exclusively reliant on successfully hitting the B prompt quicktime challenge, which can pop up while you are trying to nail a Soul Voice or read the tiny text telling you what a particular Art does. There is a lot if information on screen during a battle – buffs, debuffs, weather effects, cool downs, positional info, how much TP you have (needed for certain Arts, Overdrive, and reviving characters); it can be tough to manage it all. Skell combat works much the same way but also adds “Binding”. Binding is another quicktime ability that allows you to temporarily immobilize an enemy.

As combat systems go, this one is certainly lively and kept me interested in battle for the long haul of the game. Of course, eventually you get powerful weapons on your Skell that can make any battle trivial. Also worth mentioning, and something I really appreciate, is the fact that once you are a few levels above an enemy, they will no longer act aggressive towards you, so most nuisance battles are avoidable. I really enjoy XenoX's combat, but also think it has a bit too much going on, especially when actions overlap. I'd like to see Monolith Soft continue to work with this particular system, streamlining and tweaking as they go.

A Divisive Sound​

Much has been said about XenoX's sound track. I can understand the sentiment of being so familiar with a particular artist that one might get tired of their style. I can't understand dismissing an entire sound track because a couple songs are “bad”. I like the music quite a bit in XenoX. What's not to like?

Track 1
Track 2
Track 3

The environmental themes are a particular joy to listen to. I'll agree with the vocal few?/many? that the songs with lyrics might have been better without the lyrics.

My only real complaints concern the sound mixing and appropriateness of tracks used during cut scenes. The music wasn't tailored very well to the needs of the story, it tended to swell at inappropriate moments. It was also too loud in general, drowning out the speech of characters. Which is all the more irritating as the voice actors for the main cast are very good, even if they don't always have the most interesting dialog to work with. Thank goodness for subtitles.

The Story – Spoiler Warning​

Oh boy, here we go. I love the story. It has a lot of problems. If you'd like to experience the story for yourself, here's a handy YouTube video that covers the main story and here's another one that covers the main side content. They are both over eight hours long so have fun with that. Well and truly, the story is a lot more enjoyable to experience in game. Now, there is a lot for me to unpack here so I've broken this section down into digestible chunks.

-in regards to The Plot

The plot encompasses a quest to explore an unknown planet in search of a structure called the Lifehold, where the humans that escaped a destroyed Earth are housed in stasis. All while battling an alien menace determined to drive the last remnant of humanity extinct. While this is pretty standard sci-fi, it does offer up some intriguing concepts. For one, the story dips a toe into ideas of Transhumansim (granted, not much beyond the level of Cameron's Avatar) and the Continuity of Consciousness. We even get a cameo of the Pioneer Plaques which are implied to have an important connection to the events of the game. However, while the plot is certainly interesting, it is also very dry.

Sometimes stories are told through the actions and experiences of the people involved, and sometimes stories are told by people standing around talking, and talking, and talking. There is a lot of exposition here, consequence of the mission based structure of the story telling. What you are about to do is explained. Then, what you are doing is explained. Then, what you did is explained. Nothing is discussed on the go. No, characters stand at evenly spaced intervals and discuss the matter. This is not a particularly efficient or exciting way to unfold an epic tale, and on paper, the tale is quite grand. In execution, it never quite manages to build a sense of urgency or danger for more than a moment at a time. There is just so much story telling real estate wasted here. I despise the comparison, but it put me in mind of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

-in regards to Being Incomplete

Playing XenoX is like visiting a construction site. The foundation has been laid and a forest of girders reaches towards the sky. You can vaguely picture the finished building but currently the structure is no where near complete. It is like an author who set out to write a grand tale, completed the first chapter, then said “yeah, that's good enough”.

I have played games that end on cliff hangers. I have played games that leave their endings open. XenoX does not get that far. XenoX is all hook and no payoff. Sure, your characters find the Important Thing and Kill the Big Bad but none of the mysteries, plot points, and people alluded to throughout the game are revealed or concluded. Everything here screams “wait for the sequel, this is the prologue”.

-in regards to The Playable Characters

XenoX has a very large, diverse cast of personalities that I mostly enjoy a great deal. They are funny, charismatic, sympathetic, intriguing, and if their names aren't Elma, Lin or Lao, superfluous and don't matter. There are seven main playable characters (and many more optional characters) in the game aside from your avatar: Elma, Lin, Irina, Gwin, L, Lao, and Doug. Elma and Lin are the only two characters required for the main story missions and despite the fact that your party can hold four characters, any character not required is treated as nonexistent where interactions are concerned.

This lack of character involvement in the plot is, for me, the main contributor to the story's flatness. To make a comparison to the original Xenoblade, in that game, every member of your party was always present and had personal investments in the game's events. They spoke to each other, supported each other, mourned and triumphed together. XenoX meanwhile feels downright sterile, with characters rarely getting more than within arm's reach of each other or discussing anything more personal than the nature of a mission or an eat Tatsu joke.

What emotional weight there is to be found in XenoX falls almost entirely on Lao's shoulders. He is the only character with a tangible personal investment in events, but even that feels weak since we never get to spend much time with Lao. We mostly learn about this character from other people describing him. While that is educational, it is difficult to become attached to or feel the pain of someone you rarely see.

Aside from the Story Missions, every character also has Affinity Missions. These, one assumes, are where the real meat of character development takes place. Unfortunately, many of these fail to tell us much at all. One Affinity Mission for Gwin focuses entirely on an NPC we never really interact with again. As for Gwin himself? Well, he had a dog once on Earth. Come on, game! L, the intriguing alien picked up as playable early on never develops beyond being the lovable goofball. Nothing is revealed about what species he even is. There are lots of interesting details hinted at here and there, but rarely is anything I wanted to learn about explored. Oddly enough, the optional characters tend to fair a bit better as far as character arcs are concerned. Even these suffer from serious story compression, since the exploration of a personality has to be crammed into a scant collection of cut scenes.

XenoX suffers from an over abundance of characters with the writing spread very thin to cover them. They mostly don't matter. They aren't involved in the main story. They also feel very isolated since they don't really interact with each other. All this makes it hard to grow invested in them and really care about them as characters and in turn, the game's story since it is through the characters that we as players experience the story.

-in regards to the Villains

Villians play important roles in stories. They can be very personal, like Metal Face from the first Xenoblade. He was the driving force behind the heroes initial steps on their journey. He was a powerful presence on screen, someone who invoked hate and fear and really made me want to hunt him down. By the time Metal Face was dealt with, the story had time to expand and a new threat was introduced, one who fully stepped into that antagonist's shoes while upping the ante all the more.

Or, villains can be inexplicable and implacable, creatures with motives that remain mysterious but their presence is a continuous threat. This is a pretty typical approach of alien invasion stories, where the enemy is almost like a force of nature that must be overcome, faceless and menacing.

XenoX could have succeeded with either of these options. Instead, we get an ineffectual in between, aliens we learn too much about to be a mysterious menace and too little to become personal. The named villains consist of Luxaar, the leader who can never seem to get his followers to follow orders, a squid lady in bondage gear who blows up a couple Important Things, hurls insults, then dies on the second encounter, and a monster of the week duo with personal motives never discussed before they die shortly after being introduced. While there are plenty of explosions and some slick action sequences, the menace fails to loom, it just sits in the corner and monologues to itself.

-in regards to the Non-Playable Characters

XenoX puts a commendable amount of effort into creating interesting side quests involving NLA's many citizens. There are murder mysteries, spy games, alien body snatching, political campaign sabotaging, and a myriad of other tales to get involved in. These quests are mostly shallow but enjoyable diversions, with a few multi-part stand outs. Unfortunately there was one very large flaw that got in the way of my investment in many of these tales.

Early on we learn (and this is common knowledge in game) that all of the humans are inhabiting remotely controlled robot bodies. Many of the side stories involve people dying. Characters became distraught, enraged, murderous, hold funerals, express deep sorrow; meanwhile, I couldn't really buy any of it because no human actually died. Their real selves are in the Lifehold, all that “died” was a puppet. In this way, one of the game's biggest plot twists gets in the way of the emotional weight a lot of the story telling tries to convey.

-in regards to the Player Character

The character you play in this game is a customizable avatar. It is a player point of view character who must always be in the party, but is not the main character of the story. It is a protagonist who contributes nothing to the main story, but is the hero of every sidequest. It is also a mime who never speaks but interacts via multiple choice questions that constantly interrupt whatever is happening, including the music. Multiple choice questions that might determine if an NPC lives or dies, but are pointless in regards to important characters because those stories are linear, but hey, choose your own flavor text.

The mime is, in fact, a non character with no personality and no back story. It doesn't form bonds with other characters and is talked at, not engaged with in conversation. It is forever one step removed from the story, a player point of view camera in a body that follows around the important people.

As I understand it, Monolith Soft went with an avatar instead of an actual character because of the added multi-player. This was a terrible trade off and, frankly, an unnecessary one. The online is nowhere involved enough that personalized characters contribute anything. I'd rather have had the option of picking one of the playable characters from the story and just using them for the little online missions.

-in regards to the Structure

I've heard the MMORPG comparison made often enough, but I've never played an MMORPG so the way XenoX was structured was fresh to me and fascinating to boot. In your typical JRPG, which is where most all of my RPG experience lies, you run from story segment to story segment killing monsters along the way. It's a linear experience, ignoring any side quests, because it's telling a specific story and the world you roam in is revealed a bit at a time along with the story.

XenoX starts with the entire world open to you, and the story is broken into pieces you are free to initiate at will. Some parts need to be taken in order, other parts whenever you please. I think this is a wonderful approach. I feel it has fantastic emergent story telling potential that we see a glimmer of in XenoX. If anything, it is a touch too difficult to find all of the bits and pieces. I had to use a guide for the Heart-to-Hearts, for example and the writing is quite inconsistent, with too much time wasted on trivialities that don't reveal anything interesting. This is not a game that needs plot filler, but has an awful lot of it.

 

[DragonGirl]

-in regards to the Animation

Words are not the only things that convey information. Words and actions may fill in the broad strokes of a story but the quirk of an eyebrow, the shape of a smile, the tilt of a head, the gesture of a hand, fill in the nuance. Body language and especially facial expressions provide the intent, the mood, and emotional shadings to simple words.

Some of the earliest criticisms of XenoX's first teaser trailers concerned the look of character faces, specifically the default avatar. It was described as plastic or doll-like. Playing through the game, I grew to quite like the character designs for the most part (though the very doll-like designs for the young girl avatar choices are nightmare inducing). I find the problems with the character designs less related to their models and more to their animation, or lack there of (and I could easily go off on a tangent concerning the mix of cartoon simplicity with environments rendered and lit at a more realistic level of detail but I won't).

This is a problem I've seen often enough with anime-esque 3D models. They fail to emote very strongly, and suffer from plastic face syndrome, as if too extreme an expression would shatter their faces like a porcelain plate dropped on a concrete floor. The original Xenoblade had quite good facial animations. The animators did a fine job of selling the emotion via expression. Most characters in XenoX do little more than mouth flap and cycle through canned gestures while staring blankly.

-in regards to Wardrobe Malfunction

Imagine you're watching The Dark Knight, or perhaps The Killing Joke, movies with dark plots and serious takes on the Batman characters. Now imagine if these movies allowed the audience to dress characters in alternate costumes. Now imagine watching these movies with Batman dressed in a pink bunny suit and all of his gear became cartoon carrot themed. I'm sure there is an audience for this sort of thing, but in regards to the themes, the moods, the intentions of the authors, artists, directors, etc. of these movies, don't you think transforming the Dark Knight into the Cottontail Crusader might interfere?

This is probably just a pet peeve of mine, but I feel costuming matters. Here's an episode of Extra Credits that touches on the subject.

In games that are intentionally outlandish; your Saint's Rows and Dead Risings, silly outfits are welcome and expected. However, in games that try to tell a serious story, invoke specific emotions and shape the audience's perceptions in certain ways, goofy gear can be distracting. Christopher Nolan wouldn't clownsuit the Batman, yet games have a habit of sacrificing the dignity of their characters and tones of their stories upon the altar of titillation and the all mighty joke.

I mean really?

I recognize my hardline stance: get rid of goofy gear, stems from me being a rather serious person, but at the very least, could we shove this stuff into the post credits game? If folks really want to run around in pimp suits killing optional dragons, fine, but keep that crap out of the main story.

-in regards to me being a Kill Joy

So much negativity from someone who claims to love this game, I know, right? I do love this game, but I also find the things that go wrong more interesting to discuss than what goes right. Of course, if you want to hear me gush, then get me talking in the thread.

Most of my criticism stems from a sense of unfulfilled potential. What's more, most every criticism would be erased if what I assume must happen, happens, and we see a direct sequel, picking up where XenoX left off. As a stand alone experience, the stories within the game are fun and varied, but a light snack when I wanted a more satisfying meal. The characters are distinct and interesting, but I wanted to get to know them much better. In a way, it is a pretty big positive if my biggest complaint after 300 hours boils down to: “That's all there is?”

This Critique Never Truly Ends​

Which is sort of true, as this is one of those games I can just keep talking about, whether it be praising what it gets right, discussing where it falls short, delving into the deeper implications of the game's big reveals or nitpicking technicalities. I hope my critique spurs such discussion, as the game is quite fascinating, even where it doesn't quite live up to its potentials. Ultimately, Mira is a wonderful place for an extended visit. I look forward to returning in the future for another run across its lush and varied environments. Perhaps I'll even get more involved in the mechanics now that I have a better appreciation for the possibilities. Mira is a wonderland of adventure and mystery and one day I hope some of the questions I was left with will be answered, such as...why were there so many frigging tank tops?

So You Thought We Were Done Here?​

I have one final thing, and it's something completely different. I find my own works inspired by many sources and for many reasons. Often, I am motivated by frustration. Finishing Xenoblade X left me in such a state of frustration, wanting to know what could happen next and, especially, wanting more time with the characters. So after nearly a month thinking about this, I started doing something about it. I'm writing my own sequel of sorts to the game. Yes, the horror, I'm writing fan fiction. Like many of my projects, it is more ambitious than it needs to be, as I'm hoping to turn it into a comic, available to all online. I'm around a hundred pages into the script. But I need help.

Ideally, I'd really like to use the assets from the game to create the pictures. I know it is possible to rip assets, I've seen it done in Death Battle. Heck, I've seen amateur YouTube videos using Inklings from Splatoon. I want to pose the character models and arrange things in composition. Does anyone know if this is feasible, and how to do it? Could I get a hold of the relevant files and say, import them to Blender? I really have no idea. Anything anyone could tell me would be helpful. If this approach isn't a possibility for me, then I'll use a mix of screen shots and drawings so yes, there is a Plan B. But, I know the speed I work at, and Plan A would be a heck of a lot easier to produce quickly and to the level of quality I'm aiming for.

There you have it, my odd request. Thank you for reading this far. If anyone can help, I'd be very grateful. If anyone is simply curious about my project, I'd be more than happy to answer questions.

Edit: I've decided to dump the raw script for the comic into my little art blog. So far I've put up 10 chapters. It can be found here: http://toomanycrayons.blogspot.com/ I'm always curious about feedback so please, feel free to drop by. Scroll down to read the Introduction.

 

[Yarbskoo]

-in regards to Wardrobe Malfunction

What, you want me to go swimming in all that heavy ass armor? All those blinking lights and clunky metal plates when I'm trying to hang out at the pizza place in NLA? It's like you're trying to kill my immersion.


Seriously though, the exploration made the game for me. It was easy to forget the flat characters and plot when running along the top of the Leaning Ring or climbing the Delusian Mountains. I liked most of the music too.

If you want to rip models from the game, you'll either have to use a tool that someone's made or make one yourself. You'll also probably need a modelling program to make them useful for whatever 3D animation program you'll be using. I imagine those Splatoon videos you saw were done in Source Filmmaker. I haven't seen much Xenoblade stuff on the SFM workshop, other than Shulk from Smash Bros.

 

[devious.one]

Couldn't agree more with your assertation of the sound/music. It was pretty jarring to hear the vocals hit full blast during pivotal conversations.

"Did they not want me to hear what they were saying?" lol.

 

[Eliseo]

-in regards to Wardrobe Malfunction


Well about that... you can not say this was not awesome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUA0UIXqzeQ (spoilers )

 

[DragonGirl]

-in regards to Wardrobe Malfunction


Well about that... you can not say this was not awesome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUA0UIXqzeQ (spoilers )

But don't you see? Those glasses totally ruined the effect! Needed Top Gun Aviators.

 

[Eliseo]

But don't you see? Those glasses totally ruined the effect! Needed Top Gun Aviators.

Indeed, but seriously I can agree with most of your points and I hope We do get a XCX sequel with all the flaws it had fixed, it would be a shame if it is a new game.

 

[SixMachine]

I don't think the wardrobe system is a negative to be honest. Unlike other games you can choose whatever visual to go over your armor, so you can still gear yourself out and look however you want. If someone put on something really goofy and went to a cutscene, it's not a choice forced upon you to look like that. If you wanted to play serious, you can equip all the armor you want, but if you wanted to dress HB in his skivvies, I don't see the problem with at least giving the people the option to do it.

Basically you can look however you want and it's your choice to do it, I don't see how it's to anyone's benefit to take an option away from players, especially one that is a damn good idea that should be in other games. If you hate seeing your character piloting a skell in swimwear, then why would you do that in the first place?

 

[jonjonaug]

I actually rather liked the response choices, the descriptions were well thought out enough that I could always imagine what my character was saying, and there were some pretty funny ones. Plus a good deal of side quests gave you the freedom to really screw up when picking responses too, and it was cool how the game world adapted to these screw ups.

Does anyone know if there are any compilations of the more screwy response choices in XenoX? I want to see responses to stuff like just letting the racist guy shoot up a row of aliens, or picking the "mutiny" option where it pops up.

 

[DragonGirl]

I don't think the wardrobe system is a negative to be honest. Unlike other games you can choose whatever visual to go over your armor, so you can still gear yourself out and look however you want. If someone put on something really goofy and went to a cutscene, it's not a choice forced upon you to look like that. If you wanted to play serious, you can equip all the armor you want, but if you wanted to dress HB in his skivvies, I don't see the problem with at least giving the people the option to do it.

Basically you can look however you want and it's your choice to do it, I don't see how it's to anyone's benefit to take an option away from players, especially one that is a damn good idea that should be in other games. If you hate seeing your character piloting a skell in swimwear, then why would you do that in the first place?

It's not about player choice so much as: If you the developer are trying to tell a particular story, why would you add options that interfere with your objectives? Is your story serious? Are you serious about your story? Is it simply assumed that fan service and humor must trump all other considerations? I'm simply in the boat that when crafting story and characters, everything within should serve that focus, not interfere with it. I want to guide my audience down the path of a particular experience, not toss in noise just because options. If I did want to add in bonus silliness, I'd do so at the end, when such silliness would not interfere with the shape of what I spent so much time crafting.

On a note unrelated to my point, yes the fashion gear option is awesome and I made much use of it. Too bad it wasn't in the first game, poor Reyn could have been saved from becoming a clusterfuck of discarded Gundam parts.

 

[DragonGirl]

I actually rather liked the response choices, the descriptions were well thought out enough that I could always imagine what my character was saying, and there were some pretty funny ones. Plus a good deal of side quests gave you the freedom to really screw up when picking responses too, and it was cool how the game world adapted to these screw ups.

Does anyone know if there are any compilations of the more screwy response choices in XenoX? I want to see responses to stuff like just letting the racist guy shoot up a row of aliens, or picking the "mutiny" option where it pops up.

I certainly liked the choices that mattered. I mentioned them concerning NPCs. I have mixed feelings on the flavor text options, mainly because some choices gave you much more insight into a character's motives than others, meaning your choice could result in you missing out on good info.

 

[SixMachine]

It's not about player choice so much as: If you the developer are trying to tell a particular story, why would you add options that interfere with your objectives? Is your story serious? Are you serious about your story? Is it simply assumed that fan service and humor must trump all other considerations? I'm simply in the boat that when crafting story and characters, everything within should serve that focus, not interfere with it. I want to guide my audience down the path of a particular experience, not toss in noise just because options. If I did want to add in bonus silliness, I'd do so at the end, when such silliness would not interfere with the shape of what I spent so much time crafting.

I understand authorial intent, but I think consumer choice is better for a videogame, because some people don't put as much weight in that aspect (especially since some people did not like the cutscenes and story in this game) , which is totally fine since everyone games for different reasons. In many other games, the people who care about being lore friendly will usually do so, like how people make and use only lore-friendly mods for Skyrim and Fallout, while other people just want as much fun as possible. You can guide a player toward a particular tone or story, but it's the player to choice to do so. Even though Souls games and Bloodborne are dark and serious in tone, you can beat people in a dress with the face of Nigel Thornberry if you wanted to. Having the option for the player is more important than authorial intent, since if there were no option, you will also alienate the players who don't care about what the developer is intending. In the end it's all player choice and that is the best option imo, so having it exist is better than not having it at all.

 

[DragonGirl]

I understand authorial intent, but I think consumer choice is better for a videogame, because some people don't put as much weight in that aspect (especially since some people did not like the cutscenes and story in this game) , which is totally fine since everyone games for different reasons. In many other games, the people who care about being lore friendly will usually do so, like how people make and use only lore-friendly mods for Skyrim and Fallout, while other people just want as much fun as possible. You can guide a player toward a particular tone or story, but it's the player to choice to do so. Even though Souls games and Bloodborne are dark and serious in tone, you can beat people in a dress with the face of Nigel Thornberry if you wanted to. Having the option for the player is more important than authorial intent, since if there were no option, you will also alienate the players who don't care about what the developer is intending. In the end it's all player choice and that is the best option imo.

All I can say is I disagree quite strongly. There are all manner of games styles out there. Not every game need be or should be a sandbox. Have it your way gaming has its place, or course it does. But, the video game medium can also be a powerful medium for story telling, and a game that goes that route should take itself seriously enough to provide cohesive content.

 

[Spirit Icana]

Excellent post, DragonGirl. Nice detailed critique and thoughts. I can't think of anything to add or take away. Was nodding my head most of the time.

Edit: Actually, the game play is hit and miss with me. The MMO like combat with attacks hitting from miles away isn't my thing, but that's Xenoblade's identity, and I've accepted that, and I did have quite some fun with the game's battles. My interest though was pretty much driven by the world, exploration, and.... Sawano. lol

 

[Astral/H3X]

You know, I'm gonna go back and play this, and strive to get everything I can before I get the Skell. Exploration in this game is so fucking sweet.

Also, I'll hook it up to my capture card so I can reasonably get good screenshots of it, without the silly limited RGB crap. Seriously wish they'd fix that. -_-

Also combat is amazing once you just jack it up into infinite overdrive mode.

EDIT:

On a note unrelated to my point, yes the fashion gear option is awesome and I made much use of it. Too bad it wasn't in the first game, poor Reyn could have been saved from becoming a clusterfuck of discarded Gundam parts.

Holy shit this is entirely too true.

 

[Valkyri von Thanatos]

I hope this game becomes a Nintendo Select and drops price, because unfortunately it seems like it won't come to NX, and I don't feel right about getting it with the flaws that it has for full price. I was really looking forward to the game, and am interested in exploring the world, but I've been accidentally spoiled on a fair bit of it's story's biggest twists and am dissapointed in the lacking story from the impressions I've heard.

I really hope Monolithsoft is creating something to match the original Xenoblade (or Xenogears/saga) with the groundwork they layed with this game. This detailed critique has firmed my desire to play the game instead of simply skipping over it for (hopefully) the next Xeno game, I still really wish it wasn't so different in focus than Xenoblade.

I'm glad Takahashi has expressed interest in bringing story back to focus and has said he's heard people's complaints on X. I'm not encouraged by the indications the game might be yet another spiritual successor (he said something about the next one possibly being medieval fantasy or something), just because people often say X seems like the set-up for an amazing story. I hope there is some kind of space travel involved, maybe expand to some of Mira's moons?

 

[Jupiter_Shrooms]

Recently finished the game myself. Logged 90 hours. I surprisingly enjoyed it more than the first Xenoblade.

Concerning the character models, you might fare better with a specialist forum. Not sure where that would be, but gamefaq's xenoblade forum seems active. I'd keep my hopes low though, since xenoblade is not nearly as popular as Splatoon. There's less of a chance that someone ripped the models

 

[Dark_castle]

I was gonna get this game, but looking back, I really didn't like the first Xenoblade all that much. Progressed past Eryth Sea, beat Prison Island, mained Melia for awhile and had some fun, then bored again. I don't think I'll enjoy Xenoblade X.

 

[jdstorm]

I hope this game becomes a Nintendo Select and drops price, because unfortunately it seems like it won't come to NX, and I don't feel right about getting it with the flaws that it has for full price. I was really looking forward to the game, and am interested in exploring the world, but I've been accidentally spoiled on a fair bit of it's story's biggest twists and am dissapointed in the lacking story from the impressions I've heard.

I really hope Monolithsoft is creating something to match the original Xenoblade (or Xenogears/saga) with the groundwork they layed with this game. This detailed critique has firmed my desire to play the game instead of simply skipping over it for (hopefully) the next Xeno game, I still really wish it wasn't so different in focus than Xenoblade.

I'm glad Takahashi has expressed interest in bringing story back to focus and has said he's heard people's complaints on X. I'm not encouraged by the indications the game might be yet another spiritual successor (he said something about the next one possibly being medieval fantasy or something), just because people often say X seems like the set-up for an amazing story. I hope there is some kind of space travel involved, maybe expand to some of Mira's moons?

This game while flawed is definitely worth full price. Even if it's just to collect as a limited edition. This game excels at atmospheric storytelling. Your mileage with most characters may vary, but Xeno X is a game designed to captivate your imagination. It's designed to have you fill in the blanks. The opening cutscenes are thrilling and sets X up as a strange Hybrid of Battlestar Galactica and Mass Effect.

This story isn't a mystery and its "twists" are easily telegraphed when you play through the side content in order. It's story is basically everything Destiny wishes it was. If you love this gene X is a game you may fall in love with.

Ps. Just play as Elma she's basically the main character anyway. Once you start playing like this things fall into place much better.

I was gonna get this game, but looking back, I really didn't like the first Xenoblade all that much. Progressed past Eryth Sea, beat Prison Island, mained Melia for awhile and had some fun, then bored again. I don't think I'll enjoy Xenoblade X.

You should try X. It's quite different to the first. I personally didn't like Xenoblade much. I got up to the part after the team just acquires Rikki and Melia but put it down. I wasn't a fan. I almost instantly fell in love with X. I'd advise you to watch the full opening cutscene on YouTube. If you fall in love with it. buy immediately. If you don't. buy it digitally in a few years

 

[casiopao]

Hmm, i don't agree on NPC there. I feel many of the story is actually really detailed on expanding the world and it's universe especially on the xenos culture and their way to interact with human's culture.

I don't see the the fact we being mime makes its not believeable here as there are simply no guarantee for the human to be able to get back their true body here as they don't know where the lifehold is. So there are always the risk of dead there. It is even worst the moment you checked the ending plot twist there.

 

[Ryouji Gunblade]

I feel like I enjoyed way more of the game than the average player. Most notably the side quests and dialogue. I just wish the whole Tatsu = food thing stopped after two times.

 

[BumblebeeCody]

I only played 3 hours into the game but after reading this, it's definitely something I have to go back to. I just prefer Xenoblade Chronicles though.

 

[DragonGirl]

Actually, the game play is hit and miss with me. The MMO like combat with attacks hitting from miles away isn't my thing,

This is something I'd like see tweaked. Enemies with absurdly long ranged attacks, especially if you're trying to run away, Also, being attacked by something through a wall.

I hope this game becomes a Nintendo Select and drops price, because unfortunately it seems like it won't come to NX, and I don't feel right about getting it with the flaws that it has for full price. I was really looking forward to the game, and am interested in exploring the world, but I've been accidentally spoiled on a fair bit of it's story's biggest twists and am dissapointed in the lacking story from the impressions I've heard.

I really hope Monolithsoft is creating something to match the original Xenoblade (or Xenogears/saga) with the groundwork they layed with this game. This detailed critique has firmed my desire to play the game instead of simply skipping over it for (hopefully) the next Xeno game, I still really wish it wasn't so different in focus than Xenoblade.

I'm glad Takahashi has expressed interest in bringing story back to focus and has said he's heard people's complaints on X. I'm not encouraged by the indications the game might be yet another spiritual successor (he said something about the next one possibly being medieval fantasy or something), just because people often say X seems like the set-up for an amazing story. I hope there is some kind of space travel involved, maybe expand to some of Mira's moons?

For me it was wholly worth the price of admission and if I'd had the money at the time I'd even have paid for the special edition. There is a lot of story to be had, it's just that rather than a novel, like most RPGs, it's more of a big collection of short stories. I already shared my thoughts on the story, but I still quite enjoyed what I did experience. Also, yeah, I will flip tables if there isn't a direct sequel. Actually, that's why I'm writing my own.

Hmm, i don't agree on NPC there. I feel many of the story is actually really detailed on expanding the world and it's universe especially on the xenos culture and their way to interact with human's culture.

I don't see the the fact we being mime makes its not believeable here as there are simply no guarantee for the human to be able to get back their true body here as they don't know where the lifehold is. So there are always the risk of dead there. It is even worst the moment you checked the ending plot twist there.

Oh absolutely, taken as a whole the side stories do a wonderful job of filling in the big picture. I simply meant taken individually they're pretty light weight. That's a good point though.

As for the Mim thing, well, the populace doesn't know anything about those problems though. If they did, the story would have been about dealing with mass panic.

 

[pinkurocket]

The thing I enjoyed most about XCX story-wise were the side-missions. The overall plot was fairly weakly executed as you said. There was so much potential there though. What I enjoyed in the side-missions was that the stories felt real and sometimes got really emotional. The idea of being part of a select group able to escape Earth on the brink of destruction, some of the missions delved into the psychological aspect of having to leave loved ones behind and even families being torn apart. I enjoyed those, as well as the way humans and aliens decided to co-exist and help eachother. It's just those parts that inject hope and give the story a very 'real' feeling in the midst of all the sci-fi of the main story.

 

[alvis.exe]

Agree that the main story definitely had tons of potential. I've said this before but I really appreciate that it wasn't the usual free will vs determinism thing we usually get complete with final boss god and all that. It's also really obvious they were held back by budget issues though in regards to the main story so I can't fault Monolith Soft too much for that.

Absolutely loved the side quests though, especially all the ones focused on human-xeno or xeno-xeno interactions. It makes sense now why it's NLA instead of Neo Tokyo and there's something really heartwarming about seeing these vastly different species get along with each other, especially considering certain recent real life events. I think my favorite quest for this is actually the waste management plant quest chain. The quests themselves are ridiculously simple but it was so sweet seeing the progression from one frazzled human to a four species team.

As for the characters, I say the same thing as for the main story - tons of potential but limited by the budget. Would have loved to see more interaction between the characters - Fry/Phog missions were my favorite because of that, but I can also see why they avoided doing that considering people are already complaining about forced party members in the story missions. That being said, I loved how a lot of the heart-to-hearts were about friends, family, cars, pets, sports, or booze. Classic coworker conversation topics haha minus entertainment media I guess.

 

[fallingdove]

It's clear that there was a lot of effort put into the OP but it is far too rosy a picture for such a mediocre game IMO.

Nearly every element of the game save exploration I had problems with. The game is littered with clumsy game design - so much so that Monolithsoft had to have worked out some sort of Stockholm syndrome algorithm based on the hours of content a player would be playing.

Looking at the development history of this game coupled with how the game feels and I have to believe that the game originally was an MMORPG turned single player experience. And it succeeds in the same way. You become so invested in your save file that you forget about the slog that it took to build that save file up.

 

[DragonGirl]

As for the characters, I say the same thing as for the main story - tons of potential but limited by the budget. Would have loved to see more interaction between the characters - Fry/Phog missions were my favorite because of that, but I can also see why they avoided doing that considering people are already complaining about forced party members in the story missions. That being said, I loved how a lot of the heart-to-hearts were about friends, family, cars, pets, sports, or booze. Classic coworker conversation topics haha minus entertainment media I guess.

There is an unwieldy number of playable characters in XenoX and as I pointed out, almost all of them get ignored outside of their little personal stories. For a more story focused game, one that wants to really integrate the characters into the plot and have them interact meaningfully, I'd say the cast is simply too large to keep them all together. But, rather than simply drop characters, I'd take the concept of required party members and go all the way with it, no optional party members period. I also wouldn't limit members to just active party. The party member screen, as it is in XenoX, has a useless “reserve party member” section. I'd make that what it actually claims to be so larger groups can travel together even if they aren't part of the active combat team.

Whether the mission is advancing the plot or exploring a side story ala the Affinity Missions, these bits of stories would require certain mixtures of people with everybody involved in whatever was going on. Sometimes they'd be based around certain characters, sometimes events. They'd also actually focus on the playable characters, not NPCs. In other words, take what exists in XenoX and expand on it to get characters fully involved with each other and important events.

Oh, and a little aside here. I like that the game tried to give characters their own lives by having them hang out in certain places around the city, but it did make recruiting party members annoying. I'd drop this completely. I mean, everyone has a communication device! I'd have playable characters roam around, doing their own things. When you want to recruit somebody, just go to the party member menu and call them up on their comm, which then allows you to put them in your party, active or reserve.

 

[DragonGirl]

Bumping my thread to point out an edit I added to the bottom of my OP: I've decided to dump the raw script for the comic into my little art blog. So far I've put up 10 chapters. It can be found here: http://toomanycrayons.blogspot.com/ I'm always curious about feedback so please, feel free to drop by. Scroll down to read the Introduction. Discuss here or add a comment there.

 

[Valkyri von Thanatos]

This game while flawed is definitely worth full price. Even if it's just to collect as a limited edition. This game excels at atmospheric storytelling. Your mileage with most characters may vary, but Xeno X is a game designed to captivate your imagination. It's designed to have you fill in the blanks. The opening cutscenes are thrilling and sets X up as a strange Hybrid of Battlestar Galactica and Mass Effect.

(...)

Ps. Just play as Elma she's basically the main character anyway. Once you start playing like this things fall into place much better.

Thanks for the reply! You can't leave your actual main character behind though right? You're basically just saying to think of Elma as the main character and keep her in ther party as much as possible, right? I could also make things weird and make a look-alike though too, right?

For me it was wholly worth the price of admission and if I'd had the money at the time I'd even have paid for the special edition. There is a lot of story to be had, it's just that rather than a novel, like most RPGs, it's more of a big collection of short stories. I already shared my thoughts on the story, but I still quite enjoyed what I did experience. Also, yeah, I will flip tables if there isn't a direct sequel. Actually, that's why I'm writing my own.

Thank you too for the reply! I appreciate the immense amount of work you put into the OP, and even though it looks like you had issues with some things, this reply and the detail you put into the OP speaks volumes for your overall love of the game. I want to get into it more now than before, still not sure I'm willing to pay full price given that I need to be somewhat picky with these things, but thank you for encouraging me more to get it someday.

It's clear that there was a lot of effort put into the OP but it is far too rosy a picture for such a mediocre game IMO.

Nearly every element of the game save exploration I had problems with. The game is littered with clumsy game design - so much so that Monolithsoft had to have worked out some sort of Stockholm syndrome algorithm based on the hours of content a player would be playing.

Looking at the development history of this game coupled with how the game feels and I have to believe that the game originally was an MMORPG turned single player experience. And it succeeds in the same way. You become so invested in your save file that you forget about the slog that it took to build that save file up.

Hmm. This is kind of what I'm worried about, and why I've been apprehensive. Considering I pretty much already know the good and the bad, I'm not too hung up on it. I do agree with you that it looks like it was planned to at least have a much greater focus on multiplayer (considering the earliest previews just said player 1, 2, etc. instead of the names of party members) and that probably hindered the game after they realized they could not pull a MMO-lite (Destiny) angle off satisfactorily on Nintendo's online infrastructure and they realigned it into a mostly single player game. Like I've said, I've glad they are aware of the many issues of the game, particularly the weak main story.

I hope they do not actually fully abandon multiplayer, but instead of having a fully customizable character that is meant to tie into a larger playerbase as one player's avatar, they should instead develop the main character as a real character instead of a vessel, like the first Xenoblade and all previous Xeno games. One thing that would actually be great is if they still included a little bit of choice, and had a male and female character who were fully developed and that the player could choose from. Once they had chosen one, the other would be an NPC/party member but not the central focus, just like Tales of Xillia, which I think executed this concept relatively well.

As others in this thread have stated (I think), the multiplayer aspect should be a co-op option where as many as 3 players could join into a "host's" party, bringing their main character's abilities and/or mech but taking on the appearance of an existing party member. If this worked for everything, it would really elevate the game I think. I was encouraged when there were indications this kind of thing could be done in Xeno X, but apparently it is just some very specific bosses and requires a lot of work to get going. A splitscreen co-op option would make the sequel on NX amazing! I wish there were more games with co-op in general, and a system in which the player character's personality is not sacrificed while allowing co-op (local or online), with a story on par with Xenoblade and a world and mechanics on par with Xeno X would be everything I wanted Xeno X to be in the first place!

While I'm at it, "Tales of" should implement an online system for co-op since the new camera angles they've been using don't work with local co-op well. But that's really getting the beside the point, so I'll stop now.

 

[NeonZ]

Regarding the outfits, in the original Japanese version, you could only use the fashion gear option after finishing the main quest. So, if you attempted to use the bikini gear, you'd need to deal with the lower defense compared to other armors of the same level.

I liked the way the side-quests handled the customizable avatar, with the player choice and focus. A mute avatar doesn't need to be a non-entity like what happens in the main story. Still, I don't think that's exactly the issue with the main story - the actual problem is that the existing cast doesn't carry it well. The avatar stands out badly, but considering its little screen presence in the first place, it's hardly the main thing against the main story and Affinity Quests tied to it. The problem is with the characters who actually received screentime there and fail to carry it well. Making Elma the actual main character, making the whole world revolve around her not only in the main story, but also side-quests, wouldn't have improved anything regarding the main plotline.

It's not about player choice so much as: If you the developer are trying to tell a particular story, why would you add options that interfere with your objectives? Is your story serious? Are you serious about your story? Is it simply assumed that fan service and humor must trump all other considerations? I'm simply in the boat that when crafting story and characters, everything within should serve that focus, not interfere with it. I want to guide my audience down the path of a particular experience, not toss in noise just because options. If I did want to add in bonus silliness, I'd do so at the end, when such silliness would not interfere with the shape of what I spent so much time crafting.

Xenoblade X has many optional side-quests which aren't as serious as the main story (alongside side quests that are just as serious though). It's not really a guided experience in the first place.

 

[DragonGirl]

As others in this thread have stated (I think), the multiplayer aspect should be a co-op option where as many as 3 players could join into a "host's" party, bringing their main character's abilities and/or mech but taking on the appearance of an existing party member. If this worked for everything, it would really elevate the game I think. I was encouraged when there were indications this kind of thing could be done in Xeno X, but apparently it is just some very specific bosses and requires a lot of work to get going. A splitscreen co-op option would make the sequel on NX amazing! I wish there were more games with co-op in general, and a system in which the player character's personality is not sacrificed while allowing co-op (local or online), with a story on par with Xenoblade and a world and mechanics on par with Xeno X would be everything I wanted Xeno X to be in the first place!

While I'm at it, "Tales of" should implement an online system for co-op since the new camera angles they've been using don't work with local co-op well. But that's really getting the beside the point, so I'll stop now.

I kind of doubt it was meant to be an actual MMORPG. Considering the game was already an HD experiment, they'd have had to really not know what they were getting into if they were trying to go full MMORPG and I'd like to think Monolith Soft isn't that clueless. As light weight as the multiplayer was, it was still kinda fun. I'd like to see it make a return as co-op mission Tyrant Hunts rather than the current mook mobs.

 

[MomoQca]

I agree with pretty much everything you said, OP. Nice work!

That said, I hope everything unanswered will be resolved in a potential sequel. Particularly the mysteries of Mira. However, one of my biggest gripes has to be how they handled Elma. Spoilers below! Don't read unless you beat the main story.

Spoiler

I find it incredibly frustrating that Elma, who's essentially the main protagonist of the story, wasn't given much background information. Besides her role in the ECP prior to Earth's destruction, we literally know nothing else about her. Like, what alien faction does she belong to? How did she know about the war? Why did she come alone (this was implied by Lin in the closing scene)? Did/does she have an ulterior motive? Even we know a bit more about Tatsu's background! Sheesh!

 

[DragonGirl]

I agree with pretty much everything you said, OP. Nice work!

That said, I hope everything unanswered will be resolved in a potential sequel. Particularly the mysteries of Mira. However, one of my biggest gripes has to be how they handled Elma. Spoilers below! Don't read unless you beat the main story.

Spoiler

I find it incredibly frustrating that Elma, who's essentially the main protagonist of the story, wasn't given much background information. Besides her role in the ECP prior to Earth's destruction, we literally know nothing else about her. Like, what alien faction does she belong to? How did she know about the war? Why did she come alone (this was implied by Lin in the closing scene)? Did/does she have an ulterior motive? Even we know a bit more about Tatsu's background! Sheesh!

Indeed, and you can extend this sentiment to L. There is a long list of characters that had questions raised about them but no answers followed which is why I will believe until proven wrong that this game is the build up to a sequel.

 

[casiopao]

I agree with pretty much everything you said, OP. Nice work!

That said, I hope everything unanswered will be resolved in a potential sequel. Particularly the mysteries of Mira. However, one of my biggest gripes has to be how they handled Elma. Spoilers below! Don't read unless you beat the main story.

Spoiler

I find it incredibly frustrating that Elma, who's essentially the main protagonist of the story, wasn't given much background information. Besides her role in the ECP prior to Earth's destruction, we literally know nothing else about her. Like, what alien faction does she belong to? How did she know about the war? Why did she come alone (this was implied by Lin in the closing scene)? Did/does she have an ulterior motive? Even we know a bit more about Tatsu's background! Sheesh!

Well, i do feel that on Elma, we will found more about her on the sequel here. I mean, at least we won't need to know that she like cat again right?^~^

Indeed, and you can extend this sentiment to L. There is a long list of characters that had questions raised about them but no answers followed which is why I will believe until proven wrong that this game is the build up to a sequel.

And if you bought the officials artbook like me here you, will see even more models of L and i really feel that L is not the simple man we know now here. I feel that he had much more story and secret hid from us.


I am actually kinda sad here that not many of you guys are actually interested in "The hero who save white whale" with how Nagi being his senior and how Elma seems to also had great relation with this hero. I feel that there is possibilities that the "Hero" is going to be the villain in Xeno X 2 here.^~^

 

[DragonGirl]

Well, i do feel that on Elma, we will found more about her on the sequel here. I mean, at least we won't need to know that she like cat again right?^~^



And if you bought the officials artbook like me here you, will see even more models of L and i really feel that L is not the simple man we know now here. I feel that he had much more story and secret hid from us.


I am actually kinda sad here that not many of you guys are actually interested in "The hero who save white whale" with how Nagi being his senior and how Elma seems to also had great relation with this hero. I feel that there is possibilities that the "Hero" is going to be the villain in Xeno X 2 here.^~^

I do own Xenoblade the Secret Files Art of Mira, but I can't read it. What I know of its written content I read online. Otherwise its a nice picture book but I'm actually a little disappointed in the uneven amount of character art for the playable cast. Some characters got a lot of coverage while others get one render. Meh.

Yes, Elma's mysterious partner. Made a big deal of, never revealed.

Xenoblade X has many optional side-quests which aren't as serious as the main story (alongside side quests that are just as serious though). It's not really a guided experience in the first place.

Many side stories are light-hearted, but none are wear underwear on your head goofy.

 

[casiopao]

I do own Xenoblade the Secret Files Art of Mira, but I can't read it. What I know of its written content I read online. Otherwise its a nice picture book but I'm actually a little disappointed in the uneven amount of character art for the playable cast. Some characters got a lot of coverage while others get one render. Meh.

Yes, Elma's mysterious partner. Made a big deal of, never revealed.



Many side stories are light-hearted, but none are wear underwear on your head goofy.

They can be saving the hero there for the upcoming xenoX 2 lol.^~^ hell, i had a theory that he probably is captures by the "ghost" right now as he is seen last time facing them.

There is also the black knight which pop out in the ending which surely going to be very important in the future, so Xeno X 2 is surely going to had tons of material to talk about.^~^

 

[MomoQca]

Here's everything I could find regarding Monolith Soft's next project.

“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.

Siliconera

Q: But will we be seeing more Xeno games in the future?

A: "The opportunity presents itself," Takahashi said coyly. "Usually I need to start with an interesting idea or direction that I feel it's going to have some compatibility here but if that presented itself, I would consider doing so."

GameSpot

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.

I imagine a large part of the appeal is in this being the first open-world RPG from Japan. I also think it's really meaningful that this is a middle tier title, rather than a AAA title. The Xenoblade series has always had a different genre for each game, with the previous game being fantasy, and now turning to science fiction. I hope we will be able to continue the series like this, exploring lots of different settings, rather than being confined to a specific genre.

GameReactor

“The design focus for this game was on map exploration and character builds during battle,” says Takahashi. “We deliberately distanced ourselves from having philosophical themes intertwined with the core of the story. Given that we at Monolith Soft had no experience with developing HD titles, our goal with this project was to experiment with and implement the assorted tech skills we needed for HD game development. We decided that trying to balance that with an epic theme-laden story would pose difficulties. Our hope is that we can start by creating the core system, then expand on the story and thematic elements in our future project.”

“I tend to get bored with things pretty easily, so I’d like to keep creating things with different approaches every time,” says Takahashi. “Along those lines, I’d definitely like my next project to look and feel pretty different from this one. The ‘Xeno’ name, by the way, really just exists to make it clear that these are Tetsuya Takahashi productions.”

TIME

Q: From Xenoblade Chronicles to Xenoblade Chronicles X, you’re adding some light multiplayer shared-world experiences. Is that a direction you're interested in heading in the future? Would you like to eventually get to an MMO with many players running around the same world?

A: I feel that, although I really like MMOs, I think that's a completely different kind of beast in terms of developing one of those. So that's not something we're really thinking about at the moment. We still are always thinking about multiplayer for future projects, because we feel like having multiplayer in a really big world tends to work out really well.

GameInformer

 

[DragonGirl]

much stuff

Aye, I remember most of these. They both make be nervous and give me hope in regards to a direct sequel possibility. One reason I'm exploring Mira further in my own writing (linked at the end of the OP). I know Nintendo isn't doing much at E3 this year, but it would be nice if they say something about future projects, at E3 or a later Direct. I'm figuring they'll do their own event whenever NX is ready for public display.

 

[casiopao]

Hmmm. I also forget here. It seems that we never knew what is Tainted here. And considering i just finished Yelv mission.... Eleonora looks scary now.O_O

 

[Ulysses 31]

Hmmm. I also forget here. It seems that we never knew what is Tainted here. And considering i just finished Yelv mission.... Eleonora looks scary now.O_O

It might also shed some light on the origins of the player avatar... >.>

 

[casiopao]

It might also shed some light on the origins of the player avatar... >.>

Yup. I feel whoever talks to Eleonora in the end of that scene feels like some of the upper brass. And those people is going to be able to shed some light for the MC identity here.

The tainted being discriminating versus living or non living being also seems to be something really interesting. Is it just a virus like the Ovah or it is something mystical.

C'mon Ninty we need XenoX 2 here. I need answers a lot.^~^