I'm a huge fan of JRPGs, and while I think Xenoblade is a good JRPG, after giving it about 20 hours I'm struggling to give it much more time. It does a lot of things well, but at the same time I don't see it as the savior of JRPGs that so many people keep talking about. I think overhyped is an understatement. I'll keep picking it up here and there and try to trudge through it, but I really don't care about the cast and I find some of the battle mechanics just not that enjoyable. Great world, great art, great music, but clunky menus and battles and characters/story don't jump out, IMO.
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GAF, is Xenoblade getting snubbed?
- Thread starter Malvingt2
- Start date
UberTag
Member
Literally one guy at each of these sites played Xenoblade Chronicles.
It was dumped off on the lowly intern whose passion for gaming has yet to be annihilated by the drudgery of being a corporate PR shill.
He's not even invited to the awards committee that decides these awards (which is why the soundtrack snubs inevitably occur).
Meanwhile... EVERYONE at these sites lived, breathed, debated, defended and lost sleep over Mass Effect 3 for an entire month of 2012.
Xenoblade has been included in these categories as a token "category padding" fill-in due to the high scores it received. Period.
None of the people that decide these awards played it.
It was dumped off on the lowly intern whose passion for gaming has yet to be annihilated by the drudgery of being a corporate PR shill.
He's not even invited to the awards committee that decides these awards (which is why the soundtrack snubs inevitably occur).
Meanwhile... EVERYONE at these sites lived, breathed, debated, defended and lost sleep over Mass Effect 3 for an entire month of 2012.
Xenoblade has been included in these categories as a token "category padding" fill-in due to the high scores it received. Period.
None of the people that decide these awards played it.
Alex
Member
Misjudged what you said then, my apologies.
I think there is merit to what you are saying, just by the virtue of culture even, the same way you're not going to see top shelf fare like Xcom tearing up Japanese lists, but I still think it has more to do with the Wii having largely been phased out of peoples memories (almost forcibly) and the incredibly fucked release handling by Nintendo.
I think Xenoblade has enough of that flash to compete though, if it just wasn't so far out there in some folks memories by getting a single retailer release on a largely defunct platform early in the year. Not having enough flash to complete would be something like a King's Bounty game getting snubbed for Halo Wars. :lol
I've said this a few different times, but Nintendo has a very capable studio with this game. I have qualms with the release, but it's a very accessible, very modern, very polished traditional JRPG and you don't even need an entire hand to count the number of those nowadays. If it was fostered more properly, I think they could produce a very decent global product but I have a feeling they're doomed to niche, barely-there localizations and publishing efforts.
That's precisely how I felt about it, although I played longer than you did. I thought it was a *good* game, and I'd definitely recommend it to people... I just don't get the hype.
As someone that loves Xenoblade Chronicles, I think that some people on the internet are just tired of talking about it. Between its three releases over three years and all of the Operation Rainfall hype/frustration, it has already been talked about a *lot* relative to how many people have actually bought and played it.
As a microcosm of this, Xenoblade Chronicles has been a factor in the soundtrack of the year threads for a long time now, and a few people were still upset that it wasn't eligible to win this year after having already won soundtrack of the year in 2011.
As a microcosm of this, Xenoblade Chronicles has been a factor in the soundtrack of the year threads for a long time now, and a few people were still upset that it wasn't eligible to win this year after having already won soundtrack of the year in 2011.
I came looking for this, and was not disappointed.
Also, I don't know about other people, but I don't consider ME3 to be an RPG anymore. It's like calling Zelda an RPG.
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
The savior of JRPG's is PS4 Golden! Yeah Ill stop being a shill for that game.
I laughed.
I think one thing that hurts Xenoblade is that although it was consistently good, but didn't really have any amazing peaks to make for particularly memorable moments.
I can look back at Mass Effect and think about things like how Mordin's story played out remember them clearly at the end of the year. Xenoblade didn't really have moments of that caliber.
I can look back at Mass Effect and think about things like how Mordin's story played out remember them clearly at the end of the year. Xenoblade didn't really have moments of that caliber.
Always-honest
Banned
No, the Wii snubbed us.
Hot Coldman
Banned
JRPGs were saved in '08 by P4. Now they need a new saviour.
...Yes, I'm kinda weirded out by P4G being allowed for GOTY lists :lol
and super bitter it's Vita exclusive
JimboJones
Member
Thats how i felt about Persona 4, never got the mad love for that game but I absolutely adored Xenoblade. Opinions!
Never expected it to win any of these awards though, honestly suprised it's even being mentioned (not because i think it's not worthy of it, just thought western media was completely done with the wii).
Conrad Link
Member
Xenoblade should have won game of the year 3 times in a row.
Re-release it next year as a 'HD remake' on Wii U and we'll go 4 times.
5th time will be the 4DS port.
Re-release it next year as a 'HD remake' on Wii U and we'll go 4 times.
5th time will be the 4DS port.
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
I never ever played it before now and it is blowing my mind..Its easily my GOTY.
Yeah unlike some things though I can completely understand the love for Xenoblade it just didn't capture me like it did everyone else. P4 just feels really
fresh and unique which is ironic being that its over 8 years old.
The Grim Heaper
Member
The limited release probably killed a lot of the chance it had for many awards. I still haven't been able to play it. :/
Imagine that line of thinking applying to the film scene. Just another reminder of how immature the videogame industry is.
Go_Ly_Dow
Member
I guess some more recognition and exposure?
Before the game even released in NA. many people were worried it would bomb (due to a lack of advertising) and thus rule out any hope of NoA bringing future monolith games or other JRPG games.
It may not light the charts sales wise, but enough critical reception and that will increase the odds of future localisations.
Alex
Member
The first Mass Effect had RPG stickers on it, that never actually functioned, then someone peeled them off and a bunch of people got mad. I dunno, I like Mass Effect and all, but it was never an RPG to me, it was Bioware's console series branch off (at the time). It was always a pretty normal action/adventure type title.
Only thing it ever lost that annoyed me was the removal of planet hopping. Some of those planets had just incredible visuals and atmosphere through nothing but sheer art direction and felt amazing to explore, stuff that just has no equal in the medium. All they had to do was fix the vehicle controls and expand upon it and they ripped it all the fuck out. Still pisses me off so much.
P4 is four years old.
I don't think it's getting snubbed. The fact that it even gets nominated in some outlets shows that people recognize the quality of the game.
As for why some people, including me, get horribly disgusted whenever Xenoblade is brought up on NeoGAF these days... incoming rant:
Hardcore Xenoblade zealots are some of the most insufferable and pathetic fanboys I've come across online. It's not enough that there's a good game and you played it and can discuss it. No. If it is not recognized and accepted by every single human being that it is the best thing ever, then it is a grave injustice! Let's tell everyone how they're wrong! Let's shit up thread after thread but bringing up the game over and over in every argument! Let's namedrop the game in unrelated threads where people might have never heard of the game as a defense to anything and everything! Wooo! Roflmao. I'm fucking glad that 2010 and 2011 are behind us, and with each passing year, the game is slowly getting forgotten by the mass majority of people.
As for why some people, including me, get horribly disgusted whenever Xenoblade is brought up on NeoGAF these days... incoming rant:
Hardcore Xenoblade zealots are some of the most insufferable and pathetic fanboys I've come across online. It's not enough that there's a good game and you played it and can discuss it. No. If it is not recognized and accepted by every single human being that it is the best thing ever, then it is a grave injustice! Let's tell everyone how they're wrong! Let's shit up thread after thread but bringing up the game over and over in every argument! Let's namedrop the game in unrelated threads where people might have never heard of the game as a defense to anything and everything! Wooo! Roflmao. I'm fucking glad that 2010 and 2011 are behind us, and with each passing year, the game is slowly getting forgotten by the mass majority of people.
I just bought Xenoblade two days ago and am really looking forward to playing it. The more FF12-like it it, the more I'm going to love it!
Hot Coldman
Banned
That's just how the internet is with things that don't get media attention. If you can't filter out the nutjobs... well, that's a shitty problem to have, I suppose.
Then again, if it's shooting discussion of an entire genre in the knees then that's a bigger problem than I figured.
Well then, I guess Sonic Generations is my GOTY.
I completely agree.
This! So much this!
I can't stand what Xenoblade does to any conversation about recent RPGs! I love the game, but good luck talking up any other RPG...especially a big budget Western one!
I'm not at all surprised how this thread is going.
I'm surprised you made this rant and neglected to mention Journey fanboys.
No I don't think so. Then again I am of the opinion that Xenoblade might just be the most overrated RPG of all time. Though if my choice is Xenoblade or Mass Effect 3 then I would go with Xenoblade. That's saying more about just how terrible this year was for RPGs though.
With that said though in what fucking world does GamesRader live where Xcom is an RPG. That is the biggest wtf I have had about any of these awards. It makes me sad that people's definition of what makes a game and RPG is becoming so loose the people can seriously give a Turn-Based Strategy game RPG of the Year.
I am also depressed that based on these awards it has been a really terrible year of RPGs and terrible for games in general.
With that said though in what fucking world does GamesRader live where Xcom is an RPG. That is the biggest wtf I have had about any of these awards. It makes me sad that people's definition of what makes a game and RPG is becoming so loose the people can seriously give a Turn-Based Strategy game RPG of the Year.
I am also depressed that based on these awards it has been a really terrible year of RPGs and terrible for games in general.
It's a pretty good game, but I suggest not having expectations that it's like FF12. Matsuno's style of game design/narrative and Takahashi/Monolithsoft's style of game design/narrative are very, very different. What both games do share is a MMO-like battle system, and wide open fields which are really fun to explore. Beyond that they're very different beasts.
I noticed that. That's kind of surprising. I retract my previous statement.
toastyToast
Member
It's a pretty good game, but people act like it's some trancendent, life-changing experience. It's a JRPG in an interesting setting with an OK battle system, a really good soundtrack that kind of drags towards the end.
Maybe it's the fact that there haven't really been any JRPGs lately and... it's not like I think it's competitors are all that great either. I dunno
Maybe it's the fact that there haven't really been any JRPGs lately and... it's not like I think it's competitors are all that great either. I dunno
It's on my personal top 5 that'll be going up soon on EGM (to be clear, though, my list is dedicated to niche and/or Japanese games). But, it got an interesting reaction in our offices: the other member of our staff who also loves JRPGs hated it, and the other person who did the third review also was not at all impressed.
I think I was the only one on our staff who really liked it.
I think I was the only one on our staff who really liked it.
<3<3<3
I'm afraid to enter any thread about RPGs lately because it is guaranteed to turn into a Xenoblade is the only worth playing /thread fest. I didn't like the game much but I can still say it's a good game. The thing is that there are many others nice RPGs out there and it seems it's the only one getting mentionned again and again in every single thread.
I guess it's all the other games that are getting snubbed instead.
Alex
Member
It's better than FFXII is a fair few areas, but worse in a few specific others. I think the overall pill is much easier to swallow though due to the density in design for a lot of things being much more palatable. That and the narrative is very 90s Square-ish stuff that some folks really take to.
I just give everyone I know who plays it the same advice: fuck the side quests. They are horrible, the interface for them is horrible, and they completely break the game balance to the point where I have seen multiple mods for playing it on the Dolphin that drastically reduce their rewards.. They did have the beginnings of a wonderful mechanic for collection based ones, but it wound up too half baked to really work in a polished manner.
Not to sound too negative, still really dig the game, it just needs a sequel to iron out it's wrinkles. Same way I always thought that FFXII should have entered as the new baseline formula for Final Fantasy, adding new systems (especially to combat) and scraping off gunk along the way.
I could buy the "well, what else can you pick this year?" argument. What is its competition as far as original 2012 releases go? Final Fantasy XIII-2?
Last year had The Witcher 2, Skyrim, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Dark Souls, Bastion and Xenoblade Chronicles (heh). This year has... : /
Crimson Shroud is the game that's really getting snubbed!
I'm gonna make a thread about it!!
Of All Trades
Member
Xcom is probably right on the edge of genre confusion pushing it into the SRPG category, much like FTL.
This has been an excellent year for games, although I think the lists in the OP are pretty scattershot.
uncharted 2
Hot Coldman
Banned
Slim Pickings Syndrome is definitely in effect with the fan reaction to Xenoblade.
I'd say the media reaction to Xenoblade has been pretty right on, considering general interest levels in the genre. Monolith were let down by their peers, in a way...
What is wrong with you people? Seriously? Xenoblade is definitely one of the best RPGs this year, last year and the year before that.
That music, that world, that story, that exploration. Honestly, if Xenoblade isn't the savior of JRPGs THIS gen. Then what is? No other console JRPG has managed to come close to the quality of Xenoblade. While it's not revolutionary in any way. It successfully managed to create a JRPG for the modern age with great results. They managed to create a RPG on Wii that felt just as compelling as any RPG on the HD twins. How the hell is it overrated? It's only popular amongst a niche audience ffs.
And Mass Effect 3 is effin dating sim with mediocre third person shooter combat. it shouldn't be a winner of any GOTY award.
That music, that world, that story, that exploration. Honestly, if Xenoblade isn't the savior of JRPGs THIS gen. Then what is? No other console JRPG has managed to come close to the quality of Xenoblade. While it's not revolutionary in any way. It successfully managed to create a JRPG for the modern age with great results. They managed to create a RPG on Wii that felt just as compelling as any RPG on the HD twins. How the hell is it overrated? It's only popular amongst a niche audience ffs.
And Mass Effect 3 is effin dating sim with mediocre third person shooter combat. it shouldn't be a winner of any GOTY award.
How cleverly reductive.
The end of Mass Effect 2 taught me not to expect too much in the way of multiple endings. And ME style choices in games seem to be more about the journey than the destination anyway.
I tried to stick w Xenoblade but I've had my fill of "teen goes on journey" rpgs. Square's rpgs back in the SNES era were pretty damn gorgeous and had memorable characters. Xenoblade was limited by the Wii into having muddy pixelated smeared graphics. The characters were forgettable anime tropes.
Why can't Japan make a game as pretty as FF13, characters as memorable as Persona 4, and battle system as fun as Xenoblade?