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[TheMoon]

Can someone tell me if there really are only 5 continents? The game is supposed to be 5 times bigger than xenoblade but that would mean 1 continent = xenoblade size map, and those continenets don't look xenoblade big. please put in spolier text for those who don't want to know.

That's the problem with reading only headlines. Takahashi clarified that it was also about vertical scale due to the Dolls existing now. You're looking strictly at vertical landmass and forgetting all the new vertical height in this game.

Might go and buy this later at the store nearby, they had tons of copies.

Is it worth it? I know close to zero about this except that it has massive worlds.
Does it have some sort of online component?

Edit: I see on the OP it has multiplayer. How does it work? You just match up with some friends to do some quests? I'd like to do that!

If you've seen it in the OP, why didn't you read the explanation of how it works there?!

Was a translations of Part 5 of the 24 Hour Happy People short story ever posted anywhere? I might of lost it in the shuffle.

Links to CAAAAW's translations are in the OP.

 

[CAAAAAAAAAAAW]

Was a translations of Part 5 of the 24 Hour Happy People short story ever posted anywhere? I might of lost it in the shuffle.

My friend was working on it a bit, I think she did about half of it. Whenever I get time I'll try to finish it up. It's much less interesting, now that we can actually play the game.

Spoiler

And it was extremely boring and a total of one thing happened.

 

[valkyre]

This game has me hyped and excited after watching a few vids. Only thing I want to ask is how much of a part is mech / Doll battle in its core gameplay? I am asking only because i've seen quite a lot of streams and it seems like mech gameplay is only partial. Most vids I see has character battles and only a select few include mechs.

Very impressive game nonetheless!

 

[kubus]

Hey can anyone check the updated numbers for the early boss that StreetsAhead showed earlier?

(this one: https://copy.com/thumbs_public/0kxqh1jnpzzeYgNO/XCX11.jpg?size=1024)

Here ya go.

 

[Mik2121]

That's the problem with reading only headlines. Takahashi clarified that it was also about vertical scale due to the Dolls existing now. You're looking strictly at vertical landmass and forgetting all the new vertical height in this game.



If you've seen it in the OP, why didn't you read the explanation of how it works there?!

Yeah, sorry for that. I read it, it sounds cool!

Anyway, downloading all the Xenoblade install packs stuff now. It seems like it's going to take forever! I got the game and created my character but not too happy with him so I might change him sometime down the line...

 

[RPGCrazied]

I cant take these pics, I need a release date

Sad thing is, we will see most of the game in screenshots before the rest of the world gets a release date. lol :/

 

[Cosmozone]

This game has me hyped and excited after watching a few vids. Only thing I want to ask is how much of a part is mech / Doll battle in its core gameplay? I am asking only because i've seen quite a lot of streams and it seems like mech gameplay is only partial. Most vids I see has character battles and only a select few include mechs.

The mechs are available only later in the game. After that, battles can be on foot, with mechs or a mix of both. Characters can enter and leave their mechs at will.

 

[TheMoon]

This game has me hyped and excited after watching a few vids. Only thing I want to ask is how much of a part is mech / Doll battle in its core gameplay? I am asking only because i've seen quite a lot of streams and it seems like mech gameplay is only partial. Most vids I see has character battles and only a select few include mechs.

Very impressive game nonetheless!

That's entirely up to you. Once you unlock them you can battle with your whole party using Dolls or only some of them or none of them or you you can even hop in and out mid-battle.

 

[StreetsAhead]

Well, I got my

Spoiler

blue light

wish! (BLADE home-related)

If a character isn't in their 'usual spot', they're ready for a Kizuna Talk/HearttoHeart, that's only available at that time of day. You don't really get any indications of where they are, unless you find a segment topic update that points you towards their location, but those aren't always easy to find. For Lyn's first one,

Spoiler

she's in the Arms warehouse in the Industrial Area, in that big open room through the door. At night, of course.

Thank you, that's a real big help.

 

[tonyh24613]

Current Goal: Do side quests until I'm

Spoiler

level 50

, get better dolls, then beat boss.

 

[Tathanen]

I really appreciate this "only screenshots from Primordia" rule. Gonna be pretty great to explore those other continents mostly fresh.

 

[aravuus]

That's entirely up to you. Once you unlock them you can battle with your whole party using Dolls or only some of them or none of them or you you can even hop in and out mid-battle.

What's the reason to not use Dolls all the time, then? Fuel?

 

[TheMoon]

What's the reason to not use Dolls all the time, then? Fuel?

Yes, partially.

-Using Arts depletes fuel
-if they get destroyed you have to pay A LOT to fix them (if all insured repairs are used up)
-some enemies might be better fought on foot (you need specific Arts/take advantage of specific elevation bonus/etc)
-one of the weather conditions is an electromagnetic storm which impacts Dolls
-bonus +DEF buff for every member not using a Doll if at least one of them is using one (3 human, 1 Doll = +20%DEF / 2h+2Dolls = +40%DEF / 1h+3Dolls = +60%DEF)
-outside of combat, some enemies are neutral towards you but if you're in a Doll they will instantly attack on sight because they feel threatened by your size

maybe more but that's all I can come up with right now.

 

[aravuus]

Yes, partially.

-Using Arts depletes fuel
-if they get destroyed you have to pay A LOT to fix them (if all insured repairs are used up)
-some enemies might be better fought on foot (you need specific Arts/take advantage of specific elevation bonus/etc)
-one of the weather conditions is an electromagnetic storm which impacts Dolls
-bonus +DEF buff for every member not using a Doll if at least one of them is using one (3 human, 1 Doll = +20%DEF / 2h+2Dolls = +40%DEF / 1h+3Dolls = +60%DEF)
-outside of combat, some enemies are neutral towards you but if you're in a Doll they will instantly attack on sight because they feel threatened by your size

maybe more but that's all I can come up with right now.

Wow, didn't know that! Sounds like the Dolls bring more tactical depth than I had imagined

Wonder if I'll someday finally actually find the patience to learn Japanese so I'd be able to play these games early. Or play the ones that never get localized.

 

[Hasemo]

Remember that you can't use Dolls in tight corridors, like most caves etc.

Okay, just got to the final part of the game and the boss is wrecking my party. I've decided to buy a 4th doll for the rented character and try again, because I don't feel like saving ~10 million so that all my party can have lv. 50 Dolls. As for leveling itself, it's super fast, you just have to fight enemies 5+ levels above you. Sadly Normal quests are terrible as far as the experience goes.

Also, important thing rented player characters can use Dolls. You just have to register them like you would for your regular party members.

 

[bobbychalkers]

Goddamn, these dolls!

Nudist Beach Lao, fitting since Sawano composed this game too.

 

[tonyh24613]

Remember that you can't use Dolls in tight corridors, like most caves etc.

Okay, just got to the final part of the game and the boss is wrecking my party. I've decided to buy a 4th doll for the rented character and try again, because I don't feel like saving ~10 million so that all my party can have lv. 50 Dolls. As for leveling itself, it's super fast, you just have to fight enemies 5+ levels above you. Sadly Normal quests are terrible as far as the experience goes.

Also, important thing rented player characters can use Dolls. You just have to register them like you would for your regular party members.

I'm at the same part, but I don't think a fourth doll will help. Or I'm just suck at doll fighting.
_3」&#8736_

 

[CHC]

Sorry if it's been discussed before but does anyone have impressions of how this holds up for Gamepad-only / lying-in-bed play?

 

[TheMoon]

Sorry if it's been discussed before but does anyone have impressions of how this holds up for Gamepad-only / lying-in-bed play?

Some people said that some of the text is very very small so that might be an annoyance. Kubus is going GamePad-only so he should be able to chime in.

 

[kubus]

Sorry if it's been discussed before but does anyone have impressions of how this holds up for Gamepad-only / lying-in-bed play?

Some people said that some of the text is very very small so that might be an annoyance. Kubus is going GamePad-only so he she should be able to chime in.

fix'd :3

Yep I'm playing this GamePad-only because I can't use the TV unfortunately. I've played about 20 hours by now and I gotta say it's very do-able with just the GamePad. The text is ridiculously tiny though -- so tiny that I can't read most of the quest text that's displayed on the HUD in-game. So if I need to check what my objective is, I have to go into the menu and check the quest details there. The text will still be super tiny but it's readable if you squint . I think this won't be that much of a problem in the localized version because it's way easier to read tiny letters than 15 stroke kanji .

The game looks phenomenal, even on the small GamePad screen. I don't know how it would look in HD though so maybe ignorance is bliss in my case. I think that if I were to finally play this on a big ass HDTV I would never want to go back to the GamePad, haha.

Aside from the tiny text, another annoyance is the map system. There is no way to open the map if you go GamePad only -- you have to touch the screen and then tap the "back to TV mode" icon. Normally the map is displayed on the GamePad while you control the action on the TV, so if you're not using a TV and display the map on the GamePad, you won't be able to see what's happening to your character. Many times I was checking my map and suddenly it disappeared because apparently I was being attacked. It's like playing ZombiU with an extra handicap .

 

[Zero²]

Yes, partially.

-Using Arts depletes fuel
-if they get destroyed you have to pay A LOT to fix them (if all insured repairs are used up)
-some enemies might be better fought on foot (you need specific Arts/take advantage of specific elevation bonus/etc)
-one of the weather conditions is an electromagnetic storm which impacts Dolls
-bonus +DEF buff for every member not using a Doll if at least one of them is using one (3 human, 1 Doll = +20%DEF / 2h+2Dolls = +40%DEF / 1h+3Dolls = +60%DEF)
-outside of combat, some enemies are neutral towards you but if you're in a Doll they will instantly attack on sight because they feel threatened by your size

maybe more but that's all I can come up with right now.

There wasnt something about only being able to destroy certain parts of the monsters if you were on foot?

 

[CHC]

The game looks phenomenal, even on the small GamePad screen. I don't know how it would look in HD though so maybe ignorance is bliss in my case. I think that if I were to finally play this on a big ass HDTV I would never want to go back to the GamePad, haha.

Sounds mostly good, thanks for sharing. I hate jaggies so I'd rather play it downsampled for a smaller tighter screen. Lying anywhere in my apartment is just an added bonus.

 

[Klyka]

There wasnt something about only being able to destroy certain parts of the monsters if you were on foot?

DOLL weapons are too big to target specific parts of smaller enemies. think it can on the big ones though

 

[Deleted member 17706]

*Guys, did you know Tatsu looks like a vegetable? Guys, did you know Tatsu looks like a vegetable? Guys, did you know Tatsu looks like a vegetable? Guys, did you know Tatsu looks like a vegetable? Guys, did you know Tatsu looks like a vegetable? Guys, did you know Tatsu looks like a vegetable? Guys, did you know Tatsu looks like a vegetable?

So annoying. I kind of wish there was an option to remove Lyn and Tatsu from the game. I guess I'm just too old for this shit now. Either that or cutscenes with voice acting ruined this overly cutesy and dumb stuff in JRPGs for me.

DOLL weapons are too big to target specific parts of smaller enemies. think it can on the big ones though

I'm like 15 hours in and just learned by chance that you can lock on to specific enemy body parts by clicking in the right stick. Was that ever explained in the game? I was having a terrible time up until then trying to target specific body parts and just pretty much gave up on it.

 

[Klyka]

So annoying. I kind of wish there was an option to remove Lyn and Tatsu from the game. I guess I'm just too old for this shit now. Either that or cutscenes with voice acting ruined this overly cutesy and dumb stuff in JRPGs for me.

Can't have a rainbow without a little Reyn!

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Can't have a rainbow without a little Reyn!

I played the game in Japanese and his constant battle commentary never really bothered me. That kind of stuff doesn't come across as well in English, though, I know.

fix'd :3

Yep I'm playing this GamePad-only because I can't use the TV unfortunately. I've played about 20 hours by now and I gotta say it's very do-able with just the GamePad. The text is ridiculously tiny though -- so tiny that I can't read most of the quest text that's displayed on the HUD in-game. So if I need to check what my objective is, I have to go into the menu and check the quest details there. The text will still be super tiny but it's readable if you squint . I think this won't be that much of a problem in the localized version because it's way easier to read tiny letters than 15 stroke kanji .

The game looks phenomenal, even on the small GamePad screen. I don't know how it would look in HD though so maybe ignorance is bliss in my case. I think that if I were to finally play this on a big ass HDTV I would never want to go back to the GamePad, haha.

Aside from the tiny text, another annoyance is the map system. There is no way to open the map if you go GamePad only -- you have to touch the screen and then tap the "back to TV mode" icon. Normally the map is displayed on the GamePad while you control the action on the TV, so if you're not using a TV and display the map on the GamePad, you won't be able to see what's happening to your character. Many times I was checking my map and suddenly it disappeared because apparently I was being attacked. It's like playing ZombiU with an extra handicap .

I think the game looks better on the Gamepad because it gets rid of most of the aliasing and has nice soft look to it.

Unfortunately, a lot of the text is simply illegible. Also, you have to switch back to TV mode to access the segment map, which is a pretty necessary part of the game. Seems a like a huge oversight to me, but I guess they just didn't care about off TV mode so much.

 

[Hasemo]

Yay, I beat the game! Took me ~73+ hours (hard to tell exactly, I left it idle to get minerals/money/fuel almost every day).

So far this is my favorite game this year, mostly because of the exploration/views aspect. The battle system is okay, but I'm not loving it (same with the first Xenoblade).
I liked the low gravity, huge jumps and being able to run from stuff - it made traveling through the world a pure joy. And when I got Dolls it got even better! On the other hand, the flight pack, as much as I loved it, made discovering stuff a bit... Too easy. Like in WoW, when flying mounts were introduced.

Art direction was phenomenal. The technical side, when it came to pop-in, resolution, jaggies etc. not so much, but given the hardware the game is running on, it's a miracle that it looks so great and moves so smoothly anyway. No complaints here.

I might be one of the few people who actually don't mind the music. Sure, I loved original Xeno tracks, but that's basically any good JRPG ever. After years and years of listening to this kind of stuff, I felt that those vocal tracks were an... interesting experiment. Also I got used to them really quickly.

As for the story... It felt a bit too disjointed to me. For the first 2/3 of the game, I spent so much time between the actual story missions that I didn't even remember what happened before. It really picked up during the last 1/3 of the game, but if I had to choose, the original Xenoblade story was much better imo.

What I didn't like about the game:
TARGETING. Switching between target's is supposed very easy, R+Y/A, but for some reason it's sometimes incredibly difficult to do, especially with bosses who summon adds. Targeting parts is as annoying.
Other thing, which is probably the biggest gripe is the lack of information when it comes to item collection quests. Yes, I understand that it was probably a design choice to make the community more active (reports), but I don't think it was such a great idea.
Oh yeah, having to run around the city to find team members was a pain, but at least they're not far from warp points, so it didn't take that long.

I expected Xenoblade X to be a great game and I wasn't disappointed.
Now to clear everything (including the DLC).

Sorry if this post is a bit messy, but it's 3 am and I'm dead tired, ha ha.

Bonus:
Flying to the last fight (not really a spoiler, just a glimps of the last continent).

Edit:
Oh, I just noticed - all the DLC NPCs appear in the game during cutscenes.

 

[Netto-kun]

The hell, did anyone ever mention that the Doll fuel refills even if you quit the game?

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Yay, I beat the game! Took me ~73+ hours (hard to tell exactly, I left it idle to get minerals/money/fuel almost every day).

So far this is my favorite game this year, mostly because of the exploration/views aspect. The battle system is okay, but I'm not loving it (same with the first Xenoblade).
I liked the low gravity, huge jumps and being able to run from stuff - it made traveling through the world a pure joy. And when I got Dolls it got even better! On the other hand, the flight pack, as much as I loved it, made discovering stuff a bit... Too easy. Like in WoW, when flying mounts were introduced.

Art direction was phenomenal. The technical side, when it came to pop-in, resolution, jaggies etc. not so much, but given the hardware the game is running on, it's a miracle that it looks so great and moves so smoothly anyway. No complaints here.

I might be one of the few people who actually don't mind the music. Sure, I loved original Xeno tracks, but that's basically any good JRPG ever. After years and years of listening to this kind of stuff, I felt that those vocal tracks were an... interesting experiment. Also I got used to them really quickly.

Jesus Christ. Beaten already? Didn't you just talk about planning to get your Doll license like two days ago?

When it comes to music, I loathe the town stuff, but otherwise I think it's unoffensive or even good. I kind of like the theme that comes on when you're fighting "Overed" monsters.

What I didn't like about the game:
TARGETING. Switching between target's is supposed very easy, R+Y/A, but for some reason it's sometimes incredibly difficult to do, especially with bosses who summon adds. Targeting parts is as annoying.

It really is a pain in the ass, isn't it? I can't put my finger on it exactly, but switching targets just seems really unresponsive and often jumps to something that you weren't intending.

 

[SoraanTribal]

As for the story... It felt a bit too disjointed to me. For the first 2/3 of the game, I spent so much time between the actual story missions that I didn't even remember what happened before. It really picked up during the last 1/3 of the game, but if I had to choose, the original Xenoblade story was much better imo.

To be honest, I'm totally expecting to prefer the story of the original Xenoblade more just from what I've been able to see from trailers and the streams I've watched. That's probably not super fair since I haven't played it myself yet, but I really enjoyed the story/characters of the original and from what I've seen, the characters in X kind of lack any charm to them (plus your character being mute is a turn off most of the time for me). But again, it's unfair since I'm just getting bits and pieces of the game, so I'm going to wait and reserve final judgment until I get it. I just want the story to be entertaining with good twists/reveals.

I am a little afraid I'm going to do like you and take SO long in between story missions that the game besides disjointed as result. I sort of did that in Xenoblade with doing a lot of sidequests, but it wasn't a big deal for that game.

The hell, did anyone ever mention that the Doll fuel refills even if you quit the game?

They do? That's awesome.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

A big problem with Xenoblade X, in my opinion, is that they force you to do some very specific things before you can trigger the next main story mission. Depending on how much you've been exploring and doing side stuff (guess it's not really side stuff if it's required), it can force you on multiple hour diversions just to unlock the next story quest.

Hasemo, did you ever find the corporation management stuff and the associated crafting system to be worthwhile? I've been dabbling with it (around level 20 right now) and haven't really found it to be very useful yet. Then again, I'm really hesitant to upgrade gear or spend lots of non-generic resources crafting new pieces when I know I'll probably be using something else in 5 levels or so.

 

[Deleted member 59090]

Can somebody who´s finished the game please answer with only yes or no is the story directly connected to Xenoblade Chronicles, or is it a completely different story? Thanks.

 

[SoraanTribal]

A big problem with Xenoblade X, in my opinion, is that they force you to do some very specific things before you can trigger the next main story mission. Depending on how much you've been exploring and doing side stuff (guess it's not really side stuff if it's required), it can force you on multiple hour diversions just to unlock the next story quest.

It's probably just padding since supposedly the main game of X is shorter than the first one. It seems weird they would make requirements like that to progress the main story.

 

[pinkurocket]

Lao so sassy.

 

[Netto-kun]

Rather than moving on to chapter 11 (I meant 1 actually 1 and not 14 in one of my previous posts :v) I spent 30 minutes flying around to discover new areas, landmarks and data probes. :v

Another sunset screenshot from the third continent.
Flying between the fourth and fifth continent.
Adventure inside a giant hole in the fourth continent.
It kinda looks like the Dolls are sky diving right next to that giant ball shaped thing in the fourth continent.
The electromagnetic storm weather effect is kind of annoying since it deals small amount of damage and ruined this screenshot.
I was wondering when I'd hit an invisible wall

Can't wait to see what other weird Holofigures I'll get in this game.

Close up of this HB dude. I have a feeling his kizuna quest will be something special.

Another totally random screenshot of one of the Holofigures, I swear.

They do? That's awesome.

Yeah, so if your Doll has red fuel bar you can just save the game, adjust the Wii U clock a couple hours or one day forward, continue game again to get full Doll fuel without spending anything in-game.

 

[Bebpo]

Yay, I beat the game! Took me ~73+ hours (hard to tell exactly, I left it idle to get minerals/money/fuel almost every day).

So far this is my favorite game this year, mostly because of the exploration/views aspect. The battle system is okay, but I'm not loving it (same with the first Xenoblade).
I liked the low gravity, huge jumps and being able to run from stuff - it made traveling through the world a pure joy. And when I got Dolls it got even better! On the other hand, the flight pack, as much as I loved it, made discovering stuff a bit... Too easy. Like in WoW, when flying mounts were introduced.

Art direction was phenomenal. The technical side, when it came to pop-in, resolution, jaggies etc. not so much, but given the hardware the game is running on, it's a miracle that it looks so great and moves so smoothly anyway. No complaints here.

I might be one of the few people who actually don't mind the music. Sure, I loved original Xeno tracks, but that's basically any good JRPG ever. After years and years of listening to this kind of stuff, I felt that those vocal tracks were an... interesting experiment. Also I got used to them really quickly.

As for the story... It felt a bit too disjointed to me. For the first 2/3 of the game, I spent so much time between the actual story missions that I didn't even remember what happened before. It really picked up during the last 1/3 of the game, but if I had to choose, the original Xenoblade story was much better imo.

What I didn't like about the game:
TARGETING. Switching between target's is supposed very easy, R+Y/A, but for some reason it's sometimes incredibly difficult to do, especially with bosses who summon adds. Targeting parts is as annoying.
Other thing, which is probably the biggest gripe is the lack of information when it comes to item collection quests. Yes, I understand that it was probably a design choice to make the community more active (reports), but I don't think it was such a great idea.
Oh yeah, having to run around the city to find team members was a pain, but at least they're not far from warp points, so it didn't take that long.

I expected Xenoblade X to be a great game and I wasn't disappointed.
Now to clear everything (including the DLC).

Sorry if this post is a bit messy, but it's 3 am and I'm dead tired, ha ha.

Bonus:
Flying to the last fight (not really a spoiler, just a glimps of the last continent).

Edit:
Oh, I just noticed - all the DLC NPCs appear in the game during cutscenes.

Sounds a little disappointing tbh, but I have ridiculously high expectations for Takahashi games. Xenogears, Xenosaga ep1, Xenoblade were all amazing stories full of great characters and memorable plots. Xenoblade X from what I've played and your opinions seems like it's gonna be a lot more gameplay focused and less about going on a memorable rpg adventure with an interesting story.

Or maybe it's because I spent like $500+ for the game/hw bundle (and I doubt I'll use my JP-Wii U for much else since the system is practically dead already), so I'm expecting something that will blow me away like the original Xenoblade did (best jrpg of the PS3/X360/Wii 7 year generation by a mile).

I'm definitely enjoying Xenoblade X, but I have to try really hard to not compare it to Xenoblade when I play because it just makes me sad that so far most of the stuff I loved about Xenoblade are missing (though Xenoblade X has a lot of cool additions that Xenoblade didn't have). They're such totally different games, and Xenoblade X on its own seems like a great jrpg, just it's hard not to compare it to Xenoblade which had probably the most interesting jrpg setting in decades, and a cool story + beautiful locations & music.

 

[Bebpo]

Wait, did Takahashi not write the story this time around? Wikipedia entry on him has this:

Xenogears (1998): Director, Scenario Writer
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht (2002): Director, Scenario Writer
Xenosaga: Pied Piper (2004): Story Writer
Xenoblade Chronicles (2010): Concept, Executive Director, Scenario Writer
Xenoblade Chronicles X (2015): Executive Director

If he didn't write this one, that would explain a lot of the feel that I'm noticing so far early on (feels more like a Star Ocean/Rogue Legacy standard jrpg game than a Xeno game full of mystery and wonder). Man, that would suck, since Takahashi's greatest talent is that he's a fantastic writer who writes some of the most interesting stories in videogames. Even Soma Bringer on DS which was written by his wife Soraya (who co-wrote the Xeno games with him) felt way more like a Xeno game than Xenoblade X does so far :|

 

[Overside]

Wait, did Takahashi not write the story this time around? Wikipedia entry on him has this:

Xenogears (1998): Director, Scenario Writer
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht (2002): Director, Scenario Writer
Xenosaga: Pied Piper (2004): Story Writer
Xenoblade Chronicles (2010): Concept, Executive Director, Scenario Writer
Xenoblade Chronicles X (2015): Executive Director

If he didn't write this one, that would explain a lot of the feel that I'm noticing so far early on (feels more like a Star Ocean/Rogue Legacy standard jrpg game than a Xeno game full of mystery and wonder). Man, that would suck, since Takahashi's greatest talent is that he's a fantastic writer who writes some of the most interesting stories in videogames.

Takahashi wrote it. Stated it directly in the iwata asks. Takahashi wrote more for this game than people who have known him since square had ever seen him write.

 

[threelights]

As for the story... It felt a bit too disjointed to me. For the first 2/3 of the game, I spent so much time between the actual story missions that I didn't even remember what happened before. It really picked up during the last 1/3 of the game, but if I had to choose, the original Xenoblade story was much better imo.

A big problem with Xenoblade X, in my opinion, is that they force you to do some very specific things before you can trigger the next main story mission. Depending on how much you've been exploring and doing side stuff (guess it's not really side stuff if it's required), it can force you on multiple hour diversions just to unlock the next story quest.

Yeah, from what I've been reading these have been my main concerns (along with the battle system, but I gave up on that part since the announcement, so wtv). Blade already had a pretty straightforward story compared to previous Xeno games (despite still being an amazing story), and this seems to be even more simple (while apparently still being an amazing story =P).

The required side stuff also bugged me, but then I remembered that I'll be doing side stuff anyway, so yeah.

 

[Bebpo]

Takahashi wrote it. Stated it directly in the iwata asks. Takahashi wrote more for this game than people who have known him since square had ever seen him write.

Ok, phew. Glad to hear. Hopefully the story picks up. I've never been let down by a Takahashi story, so I really want the plot to be interesting.

IIRC, Xenoblade took until the end of the Mine dungeon to get real interesting.

 

[Kyoufu]

You know what sucked? Getting 20% exploration on the western continent before being able to progress to chapter 6.

Chapter 6 though, that story mission was great. Really enjoyed it. Especially the part where they forced me to take an underleveled character to fight a boss.

 

[Bebpo]

You know what sucked? Getting 20% exploration on the western continent before being able to progress to chapter 6.

Chapter 6 though, that story mission was great. Really enjoyed it. Especially the part where they forced me to take an underleveled character to fight a boss.

I don't even understand what contributes to the percentages. I've just been doing probes to up the percentage I have no idea what the symbols on each segment besides the probe symbols are.

I really need to read the e-manual tonight. Kind of annoying there's no paper manual for a complex game like this, I always like reading manuals for rpgs to figure out what all the symbols and stats mean.

 

[TheMoon]

Can somebody who´s finished the game please answer with only yes or no is the story directly connected to Xenoblade Chronicles, or is it a completely different story? Thanks.

Already been asked a few times. No. As they had been saying pre-release, they are not related.

fix'd :3

Apologies, for some reason I default to dude-mode on forums.

 

[Vena]

A big problem with Xenoblade X, in my opinion, is that they force you to do some very specific things before you can trigger the next main story mission. Depending on how much you've been exploring and doing side stuff (guess it's not really side stuff if it's required), it can force you on multiple hour diversions just to unlock the next story quest.

Par for the course. Xenoblade also forces to do specific things (most of them being "go here, interact with X"). There was simply no exploration pre-requisite which, in this game, its an exploration pre-requisite rather than a "go here, interact with X". Since Xenoblade was entirely linear, this is logical, but think about the fact that you had to go through linear dungeons just to progress the story (most of which were not exactly interesting or elaborate).

Its effectively the same thing.

From what I've been spoiled of the story, I think this will be a very opinionated discussion on which story is better.

 

[Kyoufu]

I don't even understand what contributes to the percentages. I've just been doing probes to up the percentage I have no idea what the symbols on each segment besides the probe symbols are.

I really need to read the e-manual tonight. Kind of annoying there's no paper manual for a complex game like this, I always like reading manuals for rpgs to figure out what all the symbols and stats mean.

I believe discovery of locations and landmarks ups the percentage. I ran around that continent a lot to find the warp points.

Haven't used many data probes yet. This game is so complex for me that I'm still trying to wrap my head around the 100 other systems the game has.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Par for the course. Xenoblade also forces to do specific things (most of them being "go here, interact with X"). There was simply no exploration pre-requisite which, in this game, its an exploration pre-requisite rather than a "go here, interact with X". Since Xenoblade was entirely linear, this is logical, but think about the fact that you had to go through linear dungeons just to progress the story (most of which were not exactly interesting or elaborate).

Its effectively the same thing.

From what I've been spoiled of the story, I think this will be a very opinionated discussion on which story is better.

??

That's extremely different and not really comparable. Of course you have to move from one place to another to progress the story?

In X, you have to do things like "explore x% of the area, deploy a probe in this very specific segment, complete "xxx xxx" kizuna quest" in order to be able to access a main story mission.

I'm not so arrogant to say it's bad game design, but I know which one I prefer, and that's not being artificially blocked from progressing through the story. It's a real downer and momentum killer to be looking forward to seeing what happens next in the story only to be presented with a message that more or less tells you need to do some relatively uneventful stuff before that.

A simple level requirement would have been more than enough in my opinion.

 

[Bebpo]

Ok, found a manual online and figured out what all the stuff means on the segment map and how all the sub-systems work. Monster symbol means purple circle Overed monster in area to defeat, checklist means a normal quest to complete in that segment, gold star means completed quest segment, kizuna symbol = kizuna quest in that segment. I'm guessing to get 100% in an area, you need to do the item in each segment, so all the probes/kizuna quests/normal quests/overed monsters. Finding lankmark locations doesn't seem to up completion percentage, just gives exp and bp.

Only question I still have is how do you get Miranium currency? I have tons of gold but some of these early simple quests require handing over Miranium and I dunno how to get that.

 

[Vena]

In X, you have to do things like "explore x% of the area, deploy a probe in this very specific segment, complete "xxx xxx" kizuna quest" in order to be able to access a main story mission.

I'm not so arrogant to say it's bad game design, but I know which one I prefer, and that's not being artificially blocked from progressing through the story. It's a real downer and momentum killer to be looking forward to seeing what happens next in the story only to be presented with a message that more or less tells you need to do some relatively uneventful stuff before that.

Xenoblade is linear and so the entire story can be built around a linear progression of "go here, touch X" but its effectively exploration simply put on a straight line (with sometimes making you fetch Y objects from X locations, ie. backtracking or going places you wouldn't have otherwise without being told to do it). There are multiple quests in Xenoblade that make you go to multiple locations before you can progress the story, whether that be to acquire the 3 McGuffins for the "Coming of Age Ceremony" or activating the path to Prison Island. The game is forcing you to explore, its just telling you where to go instead of saying "explore". Much the rest of Xenoblade is a long, straight line from A to B with a lot of optional in the middle, but that's par for the course for a linear game of its nature because such development is easily framed to the narrative of an on-going journey... that wouldn't make much sense here. The world is XCX's strongest point, its going to accentuate it.

This is simply preference to design. You prefer a linear, slim structure for story progression, that's fine.

A simple level requirement would have been more than enough in my opinion.

This isn't really different from %-exploration. Its an arbitrary gate.

 

[Diffense]

*The song that goes '1, 2, 3, 4 whooo!' in NLA is such an ear worm. I woke up with it in my head this morning.

I know some people hate NLA-day but it's grown on me just from watching people play. Thanks for the impressions, by the way.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

This isn't really different from %-exploration. Its an arbitrary gate.

It's not really arbitrary, though. If the content in the story quest is a certain level, than making the gate a level that allows you do have a chance against that content makes sense.

Xenoblade is linear and so the entire story can be built around a linear progression of "go here, touch X" but its effectively exploration simply put on a straight line (with sometimes making you fetch Y objects from X locations, ie. backtracking or going places you wouldn't have otherwise without being told to do it). There are multiple quests in Xenoblade that make you go to multiple locations before you can progress the story, whether that be to acquire the 3 McGuffins for the "Coming of Age Ceremony" or activating the path to Prison Island. The game is forcing you to explore, its just telling you where to go instead of saying "explore". Much the rest of Xenoblade is a long, straight line from A to B with a lot of optional in the middle, but that's par for the course for a linear game of its nature because such development is easily framed to the narrative of an on-going journey... that wouldn't make much sense here. The world is XCX's strongest point, its going to accentuate it.

This is simply preference to design. You prefer a linear, slim structure for story progression, that's fine.

Yeah, I guess I would have just preferred more exploration as a part of the story missions, so there's some guidance. Not giving any guidance is fine when it's presented as optional side content, and that's how it is presented in the game, but it quickly turns out to not be so optional, leaving you forced to go do a lot of content that completely lacks any meaningful context.