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Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch) is on the NA Press Site, PR and HQ screens in OP 2017

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Rune Corp

Neo Member
Hopefully they can pull that off at least.

Also to the people complaining that Rex is wearing two sets of pants - the giant ones are just his boots, are they not?
 

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
I have no problem believing this will release in 2017. Monolith was rumored to be working on a 3DS game a couple years back and this game looks like a jumped up 3DS game.
Not at all. It looks pretty basic. Some decent textures but pretty simple geometry.

Have people forgotten what handheld games look like already? There's nothing anywhere near the polygon levels of a 3DS game here. This is well above what either 3DS or Vita could handle.
 
I have no problem believing this will release in 2017. Monolith was rumored to be working on a 3DS game a couple years back and this game looks like a jumped up 3DS game.
I highly doubt Xenoblade 2 started development as a 3DS game when the original 3DS couldn't even run this:

NewN3DS_XenobladeChronicles3D_screenshots_03_bmp_jpgcopy.0.jpg


I'm pretty sure the Monolith Soft 3DS rumor stemmed from this recruitment image which seemed to be for the Kyoto studio that focuses on assisting other team's projects.

hFXBlhv.jpg
 
Regarding the most visible page with Van Damme talking to Rex (the main character).... I think it definitely reveals the main context of the hints in the trailer.

The "Blade" in Xenoblade 2 is definitely a humanoid character as well. The one mentioned is called "Homura" and is likely the red haired girl with the same armor design as the blade Rex has at the end. The wielder of a Blade is called a Driver. As long as the Driver lives, the Blade is immortal and will regenerate from any injury. A Driver protects a Blade. And Rex says he will protect Homura.

Transforming waifu weapons here we come!
There's the page with Van Damme explaining the Blade to Rex as I mentioned, and then there's one with a team investigating an ancient ship, which sounds Xeno as hell. And then.... then... there is a bath scene with 3 female characters with awkward shit, including one commenting on the other's figure. Lol.

Just to expand on these, a 'core' on someone's chest is mentioned with the 'blade' stuff, and must also be intact to maintain their immortality. There's also some implication that Rex/Homura ended up in that situation through some unfortunate series of events, or at least that it wasn't entirely their intention/it's less than ideal.

Bath scene is bath scene. I think they're arguing over who gets to go in first.

For the ship investigation segment, there's a leader guy that specifically mentions divers, so any dumb outfits should be blamed on that. Otherwise, Metsu/Shin/Nia+???/Rex are there joining the expedition or whatever, but Shin's not sure if Rex should come with them(even though it was Shin's idea for him to come in the first place?). I think the name of the thing accompanying Nia is 'byakko', and that her+it are the catgirl+tiger in the trailer. Although I have no idea how they'd be diving anywhere if that was the case.

And the floating port thing is probably this town thing seen in the distance.
 
Have people forgotten what handheld games look like already? There's nothing anywhere near the polygon levels of a 3DS game here. This is well above what either 3DS or Vita could handle.
Of course, it is beyond what a 3DS game.That's not what I said.

Let me put it another way. The graphics are way below what I expect from a console in 2017. And that includes the Wii U. Monolith Soft is capable of amazing graphics. XCX looks incredible, considering everything.

The Switch is more powerful than the Wii U and expect that games built from the ground up will show a noticeable difference. I did not see that difference with Xenoblade 2.

So, it's either early in development and the 2017 release is a fucking joke or it's far in development and has graphics that do not compare well with any decent console game released in the last 4 years.
 
Of course, it is beyond what a 3DS game.That's not what I said.

Let me put it another way. The graphics are way below what I expect from a console in 2017. And that includes the Wii U. Monolith Soft is capable of amazing graphics. XCX looks incredible, considering everything.

The Switch is more powerful than the Wii U and expect that games built from the ground up will show a noticeable difference. I did not see that difference with Xenoblade 2.

So, it's either early in development and the 2017 release is a fucking joke or it's far in development and has graphics that do not compare well with any decent console game released in the last 4 years.

What switch game are you seeing thats putting wii u graphics to shame?
 

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
Of course, it is beyond what a 3DS game.That's not what I said.

Let me put it another way. The graphics are way below what I expect from a console in 2017. And that includes the Wii U. Monolith Soft is capable of amazing graphics. XCX looks incredible, considering everything.

The Switch is more powerful than the Wii U and expect that games built from the ground up will show a noticeable difference. I did not see that difference with Xenoblade 2.

So, it's either early in development and the 2017 release is a fucking joke or it's far in development and has graphics that do not compare well with any decent console game released in the last 4 years.

That's a pretty wide stretch from what you did say, but I don't really see how this small amount of footage can tell you it looks worse than XCX.

This girl looks like she's in that part of Noctilum after the glowing plants. I think some people are overestimating what this system can do though. It's using mobile technology, it's not going to deliver anything far above what Wii U can do since it's not anywhere near as powerful as PS4 and XBO.
 

Oregano

Member
Maybe it's just me but those two town looking areas is more advanced than what I remember from Xenoblade X(Especially the lighting).

I'm not sure about other aspects but my initial impression was definitely not "this looks worse than Xenoblade X" and I was playing XBX just a few weeks ago.
 
Maybe it's just me but those two town looking areas is more advanced than what I remember from Xenoblade X(Especially the lighting).

I'm not sure about other aspects but my initial impression was definitely not "this looks worse than Xenoblade X" and I was playing XBX just a few weeks ago.

Had the same reaction, i think it's the art direction. Graphically will be probably be the same. But i much prefer the character design in this game than x.
 

skypunch

Banned
Well Xenoblade Chronicles X had Shulk and Fiora's VAs at least.

That's still not enough for it to have that British/European stamp on it.

I really need Side UK dubbing this game or I won't be able to enjoy it. I hate stock standard American anime VA with a passion.
 

Garlador

Member
Of course, it is beyond what a 3DS game.That's not what I said.

Let me put it another way. The graphics are way below what I expect from a console in 2017. And that includes the Wii U. Monolith Soft is capable of amazing graphics. XCX looks incredible, considering everything.

The Switch is more powerful than the Wii U and expect that games built from the ground up will show a noticeable difference. I did not see that difference with Xenoblade 2.

So, it's either early in development and the 2017 release is a fucking joke or it's far in development and has graphics that do not compare well with any decent console game released in the last 4 years.

Not that much more powerful...

I mean, let's look at the Mario games for example.


I do think the new games look better... but barely. The Switch is not a PS4, and the Wii U was no slouch either. The whole system is a minor upgrade in terms of raw power and the games themselves are receiving only modest improvements over their Wii U fore-bearers.

Xenoblade X had its moments of beauty, for sure... but it was also inconsistent in this regard. It had some genuinely ugly areas too, from low-poly rocks with blurry textures all over the landscape, to characters that were genuinely off-putting.

What I saw of the game looked solid to me.

It just has a softer, more cartoonish style to the game. That's not graphics; that's just creative art direction.
 

jackal27

Banned
If this comes out in 2017, I'll be very surprised, but also very happy. I'm also swapping out that boy's pants at the first given opportunity. I really don't like this game's art style. Way too anime for the series imo.
 
That's a pretty wide stretch from what you did say, but I don't really see how this small amount of footage can tell you it looks worse than XCX.


This girl looks like she's in that part of Noctilum after the glowing plants. I think some people are overestimating what this system can do though. It's using mobile technology, it's not going to deliver anything far above what Wii U can do since it's not anywhere near as powerful as PS4 and XBO.
Me thinking it looks worse than XCX is a subjective opinion. I don't think it looks like a step above the Wii U in any way.

Zelda doesn't look better, Mario doesn't look better, Splatoon doesn't look better. Certainly not new console better.

Nothing I have seen with the Switch makes it worth buying, from a technical standpoint.

I think it is crazy that Nintendo is going to keep trying graphics don't matter.

They are selling a Wii U part 2. And it won't work. Seeing Xenoblade 2 made me realize this.
It just has a softer, more cartoonish style to the game. That's not graphics; that's just creative art direction.
The cartoon element may be what brought the 3DS to my mind. So many games on the 3DS have it.

I agree with the rest of your post.
 
Of course, it is beyond what a 3DS game.That's not what I said.

Let me put it another way. The graphics are way below what I expect from a console in 2017. And that includes the Wii U. Monolith Soft is capable of amazing graphics. XCX looks incredible, considering everything.

The Switch is more powerful than the Wii U and expect that games built from the ground up will show a noticeable difference. I did not see that difference with Xenoblade 2.

So, it's either early in development and the 2017 release is a fucking joke or it's far in development and has graphics that do not compare well with any decent console game released in the last 4 years.

The difference in visuals between the Switch and the Wii U is smaller than the difference in visuals between the Wii U and the Wii, so Xenoblade 2 isn't going to be a huge graphical leap from Xenoblade X like Xenoblade X was from Xenoblade.

That being said, from what little we've seen so far I think Xenoblade 2's visuals are still an improvement over the visuals in Xenoblade X:

 

Garlador

Member
If this comes out in 2017, I'll be very surprised, but also very happy. I'm also swapping out that boy's pants at the first given opportunity. I really don't like this game's art style. Way too anime for the series imo.

I'm still trying to get a bead on "too anime", as I've always felt "anime" covered too wide a spectrum to just sum it up as "too anime". Like, what does that mean? Too two-dimensional? Too flat? Eyes too big? Just "too Japanese"? Overdesigned? Hair too spikey? Too many buckles and belts? Protagonists too young? Not "realistic" enough?

I mean, I've seen artists do official art for Xenoblade Chronicles that was very "anime" in style, and I had no qualms about it.

I think there's a lot of value to games like Dark Cloud, Rogue Galaxy, Valkyria Chronicles, Gravity Rush, and others that employ pseudo-animation style for their game worlds.
 

heringer

Member
I kind of liked the character models in the original Xenoblade. They were bad, but they had some charm to them.

Xenoblade 2 looks generic, but you can't tell me with a straight face it's worse than X.
 

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
Has anyone heard if the original Xenoblade Chronicles might get a Switch port? I've wanted to play it forever but have always held out for a superior version. I may still just play it upscaled on a Wii U but that's not a game meant to be hampered by SD visuals.

Play it on Dolphin. Looks amazing at higher resolutions.
 

Aostia

El Capitan Todd
The difference in visuals between the Switch and the Wii U is smaller than the difference in visuals between the Wii U and the Wii, so Xenoblade 2 isn't going to be a huge graphical leap from Xenoblade X like Xenoblade X was from Xenoblade.

That being said, from what little we've seen so far I think Xenoblade 2's visuals are still an improvement over the visuals in Xenoblade X:


I totally agree
Great comparisons too
 

Pikma

Banned
I like the art style, I don't know why it has to be instantly bad just because it's different from the original XB
 
Very pleased with the new aesthetics. XBX had the ugliest fucking characters ever. Rather have Tales-like Anime stuff than that sort of shittyness.
 
The difference in visuals between the Switch and the Wii U is smaller than the difference in visuals between the Wii U and the Wii, so Xenoblade 2 isn't going to be a huge graphical leap from Xenoblade X like Xenoblade X was from Xenoblade.

That being said, from what little we've seen so far I think Xenoblade 2's visuals are still an improvement over the visuals in Xenoblade X:

I think the colour palette is putting in work here. XCX looked great but what let it down in some ways, at least for me, is how washed out it looked at times. Maybe that was the style they were going for, but the hue was weird sometimes. Emphasis on sometimes, mind. There were some areas that looked lush, especially at night.
 
I think the colour palette is putting in work here. XCX looked great but what let it down in some ways, at least for me, is how washed out it looked at times. Maybe that was the style they were going for, but the hue was weird sometimes. Emphasis on sometimes, mind. There were some areas that looked lush, especially at night.

I also remember the screenshots and video footage of Xenoblade X being a bit strange. The actual game looked a bit more vibrant to me when I was playing it, but any screenshots or footage of the same locations looked a bit washed out in comparison. It definitely has a less vibrant color palette than the first game, but the screenshots and videos seem to accentuate it.
 

-shadow-

Member
Has anyone heard if the original Xenoblade Chronicles might get a Switch port? I've wanted to play it forever but have always held out for a superior version. I may still just play it upscaled on a Wii U but that's not a game meant to be hampered by SD visuals.

Nothing has been confirmed in regards to the original. X has been rumoured as being ported however. I really wish the original gets a remake, that would be a day one deal! Well this is also, but you know...
 

eggandI

Banned
I still think this game is at least 2 years away, even if Nintendo claims "2017".



Well Xenoblade Chronicles X had Shulk and Fiora's VAs at least.
I really hope you're wrong

Nintendo announced XCX wayyy too god damn early. Would be awful to have to wait that long again
 
Why don't rpgs ever star older MCs?
Most of the characters in Xenoblade Chronicles X were in their late 20's-early 30's.
I really hope you're wrong

Nintendo announced XCX wayyy too god damn early. Would be awful to have to wait that long again
Even if it gets delayed, it should be out by 2018 at the latest.

A fair amount of development time in XCX was likely spent creating the engine, learning to design an open world, and creating and testing the online elements. None of these seem to be an issue with Xenoblade 2 so it should have a shorter development timeframe than XCX did.
 
Oh man I watched the trailer again, I was so hype when ACE came back as a music producer that I didn't notice Mitsuda is also mentioned! I hope he produces at least 1 song with vocals because if Sarah Alainn is singing again I'm doing to die. She sang the ending theme of Xenoblade on Wii and Mitsuda loves working with her so I'm hoping they bring some magic.
 

zashga

Member
2017 would be amazing, but I really doubt it'll happen. I wouldn't be surprised if this one ends up getting pushed back even beyond 2018, at least in the West.
 

KahooTs

Member
I hope it's significantly shorter than the first. If it's not it will take 10s from everywhere and talk of best rpg ever to get me on board.
 
Oh man I watched the trailer again, I was so hype when ACE came back as a music producer that I didn't notice Mitsuda is also mentioned! I hope he produces at least 1 song with vocals because if Sarah Alainn is singing again I'm doing to die. She sang the ending theme of Xenoblade on Wii and Mitsuda loves working with her so I'm hoping they bring some magic.

I'd be cool with Mitsuda composing a vocal ending theme again. I really dug Small of Two Pieces from Xenogears too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7D0U_RhH-I
 
I dunno, the graphics look about on par with X (which was 720p30) to me, and with Zelda running at 900p with some framerate drops according to DF, there's room for concern. But you could be right, maybe I'm too pessimistic. Will try to reserve judgment until we see more about the game.

So Xeno X on Wii U was fine. Zelda (port) runs better on Switch but it somehow doesn't have enough power to release a similar style Xeno game that the Wii I already had?

Look, I get the concerns about power but some of these posts have to be hyperbole or just plain trolling.
 

Astral Dog

Member
Of course, it is beyond what a 3DS game.That's not what I said.

Let me put it another way. The graphics are way below what I expect from a console in 2017. And that includes the Wii U. Monolith Soft is capable of amazing graphics. XCX looks incredible, considering everything.

The Switch is more powerful than the Wii U and expect that games built from the ground up will show a noticeable difference. I did not see that difference with Xenoblade 2.

So, it's either early in development and the 2017 release is a fucking joke or it's far in development and has graphics that do not compare well with any decent console game released in the last 4 years.
I think its the change in art direction thats throwing you off
 
So Xeno X on Wii U was fine. Zelda (port) runs better on Switch but it somehow doesn't have enough power to release a similar style Xeno game that the Wii I already had?

Look, I get the concerns about power but some of these posts have to be hyperbole or just plain trolling.
Sure, expecting a console released in 2017 to have better graphics than one released in 2012 is hyperbole.

I think its the change in art direction thats throwing you off
Very possible. We'll know by December, right? :)
 

jackdoe

Member
I think the colour palette is putting in work here. XCX looked great but what let it down in some ways, at least for me, is how washed out it looked at times. Maybe that was the style they were going for, but the hue was weird sometimes. Emphasis on sometimes, mind. There were some areas that looked lush, especially at night.
Heh, it's like Monolith Soft is behind the curve and slowly catching up to current trends. They ditched the drab and brown "Next Gen Filter" that so many early PS3 and Xbox 360 games adopted and have moved on to the bright and colorful later years of PS3 and Xbox 360 games.
 
Sure, expecting a console released in 2017 to have better graphics than one released in 2012 is hyperbole.


Very possible. We'll know by December, right? :)

No, but people acting like this was a 3DS game or that Switch isn't "capable" of realistic graphics like Xenoblade Chronicles X does.

As I said, I get the concerns about power but statements like those seem like hyperbole to me.

Edit: also in a previous post you stated that Zelda doesn't look better when we know from Digital Foundry that it does look and run better (at least from the e3 Wii U build). That seems like hyperbole or misinformation to me.
 
No, but people acting like this was a 3DS game or that Switch isn't "capable" of realistic graphics like Xenoblade Chronicles X does.

As I said, I get the concerns about power but statements like those seem like hyperbole to me.
I think you are reading too much into my complaints.

If the graphics impress you, fine. They don't impress me. No hyperbole, no trolling. I think they are shit for a 2017 console.

I'm not saying it's a bad game, I'm not even saying the Switch is a weak system. It's an amazing system if you treat it like a handheld. But Nintendo isn't positioning it that way. They are taking Wii U games and selling them for the Switch, as though there is some magic element that only the Switch can bring. I don't know about you but I haven't seen that element.

Edit: basing Zelda comparisons on the E3 build (almost a year old) is disingenuous at best. And even it's true, that extra power is not prominent.
 
I think you are reading too much into my complaints.

If the graphics impress you, fine. They don't impress me. No hyperbole, no trolling. I think they are shit for a 2017 console.

I'm not saying it's a bad game, I'm not even saying the Switch is a weak system. It's an amazing system if you treat it like a handheld. But Nintendo isn't positioning it that way. They are taking Wii U games and selling them for the Switch, as though there is some magic element that only the Switch can bring. I don't know about you but I haven't seen that element.

I'm not even saying they are impressive or that they should impress you. There's a difference in saying they're not impressive and it must have been a 3DS game.

Edit: re-Zelda-a bump from 720p to 900p with more stable frames and effects isn't substantial, agreed. But it clearly shows it's more powerful than Wii U. Thus comments stating it can't handle realistic graphics while praising Xeno X graphics is disengenious.

Look, I get it. I wish it was more powerful too. I think Nintendo could have squeezed more power out of it even if they wanted the hybrid system, but those kind of comments make it hard to take people serious.
 
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