Like the hat?
Banned
It was a lot of fun, I played through it, but I barely remember what happened other than a few moments.
Fwiw it is my RPG of the year, personally.
Fwiw it is my RPG of the year, personally.
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GAF, is Xenoblade getting snubbed?
- Thread starter Malvingt2
- Start date
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
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.
This is going to be my first Monolithsoft game, and I know going in that the translation isn't going to be the masterpiece that FFXII was. (As a professional translator myself, I'm going to force myself not to nitpick; we're lucky to have this game in English to begin with.)
Still, exploration and world-building are the two things that really pull me into a game. I can't wait to see what XB's creators have made for us.
Karsticles
Member
Are we really to the point where JRPGs are "niche"? I know FPS games are the dominant market right now, but JRPGs are still a major genre to me.
Xenoblade was a great experience for me. It was an even greater experience for me this year than it would have been in other years because it's the first good console JRPG that has come out in some time. The last one I can think of is Valkyria Chronicles, and other than that this entire generation has been crap for the genre in my experience. So yeah, when, in a 5-6 year period, we've had two quality games in a genre for consoles, and one of them comes out this year for NA, it seems perfectly reasonable to me to shower the game with praise. Maybe Xenoblade will turn out like Golden Sun, which is a game, IMO, that was really only great because it saved everyone from a drought, and not because it's actually a great game. I'm inclined to think otherwise, but I admit there's that chance.
Just so no one jumps on me: I don't consider Demon's Souls a JRPG.
I honestly have no clue what you are talking about. I don't see Xenoblade fans doing any of those things, but I do see magazines clearly picking a game that was widely regarded as a piece of crap as RPG GOTY over anything else, and this was a light year for RPGs. If we had a bunch of other quality titles, it wouldn't be so glaring, but what exactly was Xenoblade competing against? I don't care if people don't like the game, but I don't have a blindfold on either.
Xenoblade was a great experience for me. It was an even greater experience for me this year than it would have been in other years because it's the first good console JRPG that has come out in some time. The last one I can think of is Valkyria Chronicles, and other than that this entire generation has been crap for the genre in my experience. So yeah, when, in a 5-6 year period, we've had two quality games in a genre for consoles, and one of them comes out this year for NA, it seems perfectly reasonable to me to shower the game with praise. Maybe Xenoblade will turn out like Golden Sun, which is a game, IMO, that was really only great because it saved everyone from a drought, and not because it's actually a great game. I'm inclined to think otherwise, but I admit there's that chance.
Just so no one jumps on me: I don't consider Demon's Souls a JRPG.
Sgt.Pepper
Banned
I remember seeing mentions Demon Souls (or was it Dark Souls?) in every thread a while back.
Hot Coldman
Banned
The voice work is at least good. Well... yeah, it's pretty good. :lol
You have my d20.
I bought one at the first Gamestop I looked at for $50 two days ago, FWIW. When I'm done -- I don't own the Wii I'll be playing it on -- shoot me a PM if you still haven't found a copy; I'll sell you mine. ^^;
toastyToast
Member
With how many get localized and since handhelds don't exist apparently, they are pretty niche
Alex
Member
I liked the voice work a lot in Xenoblade, it all fit well and it's fun to get a dub done from outside of the usual pool of talent.
I don't think FPS's being popular has much to do with it.
I would say they've become a little more insular and have lost some of their more worldly qualities, though. More importantly, it really doesn't help that the kind of people, by far and large, who consume RPG's and play handhelds in the US couldn't be any more different.
I don't think FPS's being popular has much to do with it.
I would say they've become a little more insular and have lost some of their more worldly qualities, though. More importantly, it really doesn't help that the kind of people, by far and large, who consume RPG's and play handhelds in the US couldn't be any more different.
Yeah that can be pretty annoying too, but since Dark Souls is now a much bigger franchise and getting much more recognition, the nutjob zealots probably feel they don't need to come off as strongly as in the past, so it's more bearable these days.
PixyJunket
Member
Game & Watch Galley got snubbed, that's all I know about.
Doctor Decimate
Member
yes. but at least it's getting nominated for Best RPG.
it's not even getting mentioned for Best Music, which is ridiculous.
it's not even getting mentioned for Best Music, which is ridiculous.
Except that I don't think it did...it has plenty of the JRPG quirks that are going to turn most people from the genre. You still have to go through hundreds of battles that unfold the same way with party members that say the same quips each time in gameplay that is roughly the same from hour 10 to hour 100.
It just added large, beautiful field areas to explore with fantastic music.
Go_Ly_Dow
Member
Atelier Meruru should have won best RPG!
Honestly, anyone who follows or even looks up awards at these sites every year should have a pretty good expectation of what they will get (assuming you know most of the big releases that year).
The ONLY thing that is surprising to me here is... XCOM (WTF?) winning. Besides that, everything looks about what I expected. Though I did think Tales of Graces f would be in one of the nominations for one of those sites and if Xenoblade didn't come out this year in NA, I think it would probably have made one of the lists but oh well.
I'm going to get killed for that aren't I?
Honestly, anyone who follows or even looks up awards at these sites every year should have a pretty good expectation of what they will get (assuming you know most of the big releases that year).
The ONLY thing that is surprising to me here is... XCOM (WTF?) winning. Besides that, everything looks about what I expected. Though I did think Tales of Graces f would be in one of the nominations for one of those sites and if Xenoblade didn't come out this year in NA, I think it would probably have made one of the lists but oh well.
Conrad Link
Member
Its not hard to understand why Xenoblade gets the love it does.
JRPG fans were searching for a hero, someone to bring happiness to their lives again after such a dark period.
Monolith Soft graced us with its glory, we should all be thankful for that and sing its legend for all time. Umbasa. \O/
JRPG fans were searching for a hero, someone to bring happiness to their lives again after such a dark period.
Monolith Soft graced us with its glory, we should all be thankful for that and sing its legend for all time. Umbasa. \O/
Hey it's a voting thread, we're supposed to lobby for votes.
TLS runs awful in Dolphin: you need a 4Ghz CPU and emulation is far from perfect (graphics problems, stuttering sound plus freezing). I was hoping to play it on my PC, but I gave up because there were too many issues.
Nightstick11
Banned
I remember the days when video game media hired more qualified people than buffoons who were too stupid to properly figure out the mechanics of a game or too lazy to devote more than 20 minutes to a game.
Game of the year awards aren't as big of a thing in Japan as they are in the west, but it did get an excellence award from CESA's Japan Game Awards, along with several other games that were definitely very deserving.
This is true for pretty much any game?
The first two games were prettty good, it has accesable gameplay and high production values.
Conrad Link
Member
Baten Kaitos Origins got snubbed in 2006 as well.
WHY MUST HUMAN KIND REPEAT ITS MISTAKES?????????????
WHY MUST HUMAN KIND REPEAT ITS MISTAKES?????????????
Yup
Alex
Member
What would make you say they didn't get it or play it? It's not exactly a complicated game. If you've played pretty much any WRPG or FFXII, you know 95% of the how and why of Xenoblade and it's not difficult to fill in the blanks.
Karsticles
Member
No, battles don't unfold the same way, because you have 7 characters to pick as the one you control, and 2 partners to give that character. There's a lot of variety, and the combat system is constantly expanding. I found Xenoblade to be one of the most interesting combat experiences among any JRPG I have played. And by that, I mean almost certainly a "Top 10" in the gameplay department.
The character quotes between members change as you raise their affinity, and they differ by which third partner you have. As far as I can tell, every 3-person combination comes with a unique full-group conversation that occurs once you get affinity high enough.
I can see why you might not like the canned quotes being repeated, though. It's not for everyone. As someone who grew up with Street Fighter, the canned quotes are more like a "Hadoken!" to me than anything. It adds charm to the characters, and it's a bit of the "victory ceremony" that occurs. Call it childish or unsophisticated, but I like characters with taglines, victory poses, and named special moves. It's a huge part of what makes them memorable. At the very least, I find it vastly superior to the <Fill-In-The-Blank> protagonists that have become so popular this generation.
I've heard quite a few people say Xenoblade is a "complex" game with "numerous" subsystems. I don't know what those people are talking about, but it's a thing.
Nightstick11
Banned
In the past, there was controversy at IGN where a majority of the idiot staff didn't even play all of the GOTY contenders.
metalslimer
Member
You have my sword. I really do internet has turned a bunch of games into these sacred cows that cannot be touched. Of course, I guess it's better to have these than my circle of gamer friends who think Assassin's Creed 3 had one of the best stories ever.
And yes, Xenoblade has been nominated for many awards when it was a freaking Gamestop/Nintendo NA release. You want someone to really blame for Xenoblade's lack of awareness/ Blame fucking Nintendo for treating the game like dog crap. It's a testament to how good the game is that it's been given so many nominations.
Xenoblade is extremely well-paced. You don't really need to grind at all. You can see enemies and can avoid them.
No it's pretty unique to JRPGs - and I think is the primary reason why JRPGs struggle finding a wider audience.
Way too many encounters that unfold the same way. Without need for much strategy. Repeated over and over and over. Unless you're fighting a boss or one of the roaming elite creatures in Xenoblade, combat is essentially a chore that requires little thought.
I think most publications gave Xenoblade to their "JRPG guy" who proceeded to love it. And then when GOTY voting comes and they have to vote, most of them don't like this type of gameplay and don't vote for it.
Alex
Member
I would argue that grinding was discouraged, to the point of annoyance because if you did more than a rare couple of side quests you'd wind up smashing everything in your path outside of world bosses.
Even in Japanese games I really love, it seems like my biggest complaint is often tuning, even to the point of total ruin (Arc the Lad, Valkyria, Jeanne d'Arc) that's why when stuff like an SMT or DQ game hits and everything really feels right it sticks with me more.
I stopped playing it on my wii, continued to play xenoblade on dolphin, with the HD texture pack, its really awesome. However I don't think its finished yet.
In case someone wants the pack (no roms included just texture pack):
http://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-hd-texture-project-xenoblade-chronicles-v4-1u-sep-28-2012
In case someone wants the pack (no roms included just texture pack):
http://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-hd-texture-project-xenoblade-chronicles-v4-1u-sep-28-2012
MrCookiepants
Member
It was a 2010 game in Japan and a 2011 game in Europe. We're here at the end of 2012 and nobody cares anymore. Blame Nintendo.
Japanese people don't drink mountain dew, you mean
At least Diablo 3 didn't win anything.
...that is pretty incredible when you think about that statement.
It's fucking DIABLO. It didn't win anything. Damn Blizzard, you goofed.
Well I can actually agree on this. Still love the genre and the game though. I do think they need make the games more compact and make every encounter more eventful.
i dunno, publications like famitsu seem to like their mountain dew equivalent just as much.
This is how I feel about a lot of games, especially shooters, so I don't think it's unique to RPGs at all.
When talking about a 60-100 hour RPG, pacing can be a lot of things. I'll say that in some areas, the pacing of Xenoblade is actually incredibly poor. The sub-quest design and the main narrative design are the two main areas where the game was paced really poorly.
There are a ton of really crappy filler quests in every town, which aren't interesting to do, feel like a waste of time, and don't add anything to the town's story or have fun interactions with NPCs. At the same time, there are a number of quests which are really quite interesting in terms of how it fleshes out the setting and the relationships between NPCs in a town. But the way the quest system is designed, it requires the player to basically "grind" the crap filler quests to ever get enough "rep" in a town to take on the more interesting quests. I imagine that tons of players would bail out on the optional quests completely after a few of those generic Item Gathering and Monster Killing quests, and hence would miss out on the quests which are actually worth playing. That's not very good design.
As for the main narrative, the way events are paced, there a loooong periods of slow burn where nothing at all happens. It's not even like, just the story going slow, but rather many hours of gameplay can pass by without there being a story event simply because the characters are "travelling" from place to place. FFXII also had this problem, especially in the latter half of the game. There's a reason why the Pharos in FFXII is considered a really draggy and boring part of the game - because you just keep going through floor after floor and fighting one generic random monster boss after another without there being any developments in the story. A lot of Xenoblade is like that, and it definitely scratches the MMO itch, but as a single player RPG it can get boring at times.
Vyse The Legend
Member
One person in an entire site isn't enough for the game to gain traction. Most sites gave Xenoblade to their niche, jRPG reviewer and called it a day.
They had no intention of giving the game a fair sake
Pretty much the truth. Nintendo released it on a platform that was basically dead by then. Although, according to Nintendo of America's sales expectations, Xenoblade sold "quite well."
That's about how I feel. It's a pretty good game, but I've gotten a few hours in and then stopped twice. Maybe it's because I'm not a fan of MMO style RPGs, or maybe it's because Persona 4 was already the savior of JRPGs by the time I played it, but I would call Xenoblade a good game, but probably not an amazing game. I fully intend to get back to it again at some point and give it another shot, because maybe if I get further in it will finally grab me.
But I dunno. These conversations always make me feel like I missed something.
Mihael Mello Keehl
Banned
Its like they want to pick it but cant. Maybe someone is pulling the strings behind closed doors with a third eye.
I agree that each character providing a different playstyle was one of the strengths of the game.
I just think the enemy AI while roaming the fields and when engaged in combat was too predictable and changed little from area to area or enemy to enemy. Battles weren't dynamic enough...you could just use your usual rotation unless you're fighting a boss or happened to aggro another roaming pack or two and have to adjust.
And just to be clear I love the game and it's my favourite genre!
I just don't think it's the RPG to save the genre and appeal to a wide audience again. Maybe Monolith's next game will do it!