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LTTP(?) Xenoblade Chronicles

1

1stStrike

Banned
For what seemed to be at least a couple years on GAF (it was probably that long) there was all kinds of angst, controversy, and yelling in regards to Xenoblade - mostly at Nintendo, with the rest being my fellow gaming nerds experiencing powerful orgasms.

I was always hesitant to pick up this game because of this, and also because it just seemed like "another jRPG" which would bore the crap out of me (like White Knight Chronicles).

But, in the end, curiosity won and so I decided to pick it up.

Obviously, the music was going to be generic and jRPG'ish so I wasn't expecting much there. Because I mean.... wait... what is this...

Click to expand...

And it just got better from there.

But, then again, this is a wii game and so it's going to be graphically inferior and look pretty so-so, amirite?

xeno1wquts.jpg

xeno2oduhq.jpg

xeno3ubumi.jpg
Click to expand...

Considering it's a wii game, I'm pretty damn impressed. The world is gorgeous and HUGE. I ran around for 2 hours last night just... doing stuff. Not even the main questline or anything. It's really easy to become lost and immersed in this world.

Okay, okay so the game looks good and has good music. But what about the combat? Well, that starts off a little on the dull side, but once you've unlocked a few more skills it really becomes... fun. There's almost never a time where you're not using abilities and it uses the age old idea of positioning yourself and managing aggro (MMO's anyone?) so it's really been a smooth experience for me. The combos are great, the enemies have a lot of variety to them and I like the skill / equipment system.

But... the major failing for most jRPG's (IMO) is the story. How is that? Well, I'm about 6 hours in and I've completed the Colony 9 part and moved onto the camp on the leg. And... well, unless things have a major falling out later the story is pretty fucking cool so far. I'm really digging the way things are going, and holy shit at
them actually killing Fiora. Usually RPG's are too afraid to kill off characters, so it was nice to see the hero not be able to save the day for once.

I obviously have a long ways left to go, but this is one party I feel like I should've joined sooner.

TLDR; Music, gameplay, battle system and characters are all impressive and far better than I expected.

Edit: If you're interested in giving this a try in Dolphin, see my post later in this thread with all of the relevant information you'll need to get it up and running.

Edit2: Beat the game! Compilation video (with heavy spoilers) posted here for your viewing pleasure:

 
L

Like the hat?

Banned
Loved it even though it kind of dragged toward the end IMO.
Edit: not story wise or anything, I mean for me personally. I ended up playing for like 80 hours and I was ready to be done by like 70.
 
T

The_Darkest_Red

Member
I'm so glad I finally got the chance to play this game, it ended up being my GOTY for 2012. The highlights for me are the environments, music, story, and characters, but everything about it was at least solid. The last ten or fifteen hours of the game in particular was incredibly memorable for me.

This game also contains my favorite village in a JRPG ever, Frontier Village:

SX4P01-7_1.jpg
Click to expand...
 
W

WrenchNinja

Member
I love the voice acting. That moment in the beginning you're referring to in particular was when I was totally hooked on the game. The delivery of "I'll kill you!" was just...damn.
 
Majmun

Majmun

Member
One of the best RPG's I've ever played. My GOTY 2011 and it takes a spot in my top 5 best games of this generation.

Yeah, I liked it a lot. Wish it were HD, though.
 
V

VGChampion

Member
I'm about where you are OP. Took me a long time to actually pick it up but it's better than I though it would be. Reminds me a lot of FFXII which is one of my faves as well.
 
X

XNarte

Member
I just got it for Christmas and it is my favorite JRPG since the PSone era. I'm about 28 hours in, a lot of those hours spent exploring and doing side quests.
 
1

1stStrike

Banned
Second said:
One of the best RPG's I've ever played. My GOTY 2011 and it takes a spot in my top 5 best games of this generation.

Yeah, I liked it a lot. Wish it were HD, though.
Click to expand...

Even though I bought the game and have a wii, I decided to play it via Dolphin so that I could use my PS3 controller and use the advantages of playing via emulator - AA and playing at a high resolution - to make the game look better. Aside from some small FPS drops here and there (usually in a cut scene with a lot going on it will drop for a brief moment) it runs perfectly and looks great, so I'm pretty happy with my choice so far.
 
J

Joe Lee

Member
Not only was Xenoblade my GOTY for 2012, but I'd honestly hold high amongst my favorite games of all time. It's that good.
 
F

Franchuzas87

Member
Easily my favorite JRPG ever, and probably the biggest I played too. My first walkthrough lasted like 70 hours without doing more than a third of the sidequests. Just wow.

I already beat it twice, and I plan to do the third round next summer.
 
C

Chairhome

Member
VGChampion said:
I'm about where you are OP. Took me a long time to actually pick it up but it's better than I though it would be. Reminds me a lot of FFXII which is one of my faves as well.
Click to expand...

I love FFXII!
-----------

I'm a good ways into the game. I wish I had more time to play this game, but I feel like it will take me forever to complete. I just met Alvus (is that his name? haha) so I probably haven't even scratched the surface. Playing on dolphin and loving it, even though I get minor audio stutters.
 
D

DJ88

Member
I have it sitting on my table right now. Going to start playing it once I finish Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii U, which I'm also LTTP on. I'm really hoping I have a similar experience to yours.
 
fushi

fushi

Member
Crewnh said:
I love the voice acting. That moment in the beginning you're referring to in particular was when I was totally hooked on the game. The delivery of "I'll kill you!" was just...damn.
Click to expand...
I am a few hours in and started wondering whether I should switch back to English audio... humm.
gfdoom said:
Those aren't dolphin images, the game really does look that good. They've managed to pull some awesome stuff on the wii.
Click to expand...
Those definitely ARE Dolphin images, but yes, the game looks ridiculously good even on the Wii.
 
MisterHero

MisterHero

Super Member
6 hours in is nothing man

The story uses some cliches, but the English voice-acting sold it completely. The wonderful translation should be praised too!

Maybe I'll switch to japanese when I play it again.

"I'LL KILL YOU!!!!"
 
R

Rollo Tomasi

Member
Wow OP I am pretty much at the exact same place you are in the story (or were at when making your post).

I am also very surprised by the overall quality of this game. I grew up on SNES RPGs like FFVI and Chrono Trigger, and also PS One classics like FFVII and Xenogears, and I feel like this so far can be put right next to those games. I am very happy that I decided to play this game and not miss out on this certified classic. It really makes me yearn for the JRPG days of yore.
 
C

Celegus

Member
I also got it for Christmas, and it's really starting to get its hooks into me. Now that I understand most of the systems better now and the story is picking up, I'm having a blast. I think about 18 hours in and level 31 and just
finished the Marsh, about to go up the tower.
Not sure if it'll replace my current 2012 GOTY (Diablo 3) but there's definitely a chance. Really fantastic game.
 
K

KNT-Zero

Member
Xenoblade hooks you like crazy because of:
- Its music
- Its charm
- Its storyline
- Its sidequests
- Its huge maps and landscapes
- ...
- EVERYTHING!

I'm on the crude position of having left my Wii on my home country without even completing the game, and it's one of my biggest regrets :(
 
H

hiryu64

Member
Man, I went into this game not knowing what to expect. Holy cow, it blew me away. Sure, it wasn't perfect and it did sort of overstay its welcome toward the end (my own fault for taking so much time to do sidequesting and exploring, but can you blame me?), but it really was a standout experience all around. One of my tops this gen.
 
olimpia84

olimpia84

Member
My 2012 GOTY and one of the best games this generation. This game nails pretty much everything from graphics (considering it's a Wii game), characters, soundtrack, story and environments. I will never forget the first time I set foot on Satohr Marsh at night with that glorious music...it was a jaw dropping magical moment.
 
1

1stStrike

Banned
perorist said:
Those screens are of the game running on dolphin though, right?
Click to expand...

gfdoom said:
Those aren't dolphin images, the game really does look that good. They've managed to pull some awesome stuff on the wii.
Click to expand...

fushi said:
I am a few hours in and started wondering whether I should switch back to English audio... humm.

Those definitely ARE Dolphin images, but yes, the game looks ridiculously good even on the Wii.
Click to expand...

Yes, those are screenshots taken from dolphin. I could get it even better looking, but this gives me perfect performance 99% of the time. If I had one of those fancy i7's instead of my phenom II (even OC'd to 3.7 ghz) I'd be cranking it up a bit more.
 
S

Scoops

Banned
I'm about 55 hours in, getting towards the end of the game (I think).

I definitely feel like the story get progressively better, interesting and intricate as the game goes, or at least it doesn't get less interesting then it is at the beginning. One thing the game does really well, is build an entire mythology and immerse you in it without overwhelming you with too much. Terrific game.
 
M

massoluk

Banned
People don't just call proclaim this game one of the RPGs of forever just for the sake of being fanboys.
edit: Well, not all of them.
 
RPGCrazied

RPGCrazied

Member
I was replaying this until other games came out. I'm going to revisit it sometime, after I play through Ni No Kuni and Fire Emblem: Awakening though.

I'm going to try using Riki, didn't touch him at all my first time.
 
A

Andrew.

Banned
RPGCrazied said:
I was replaying this until other games came out. I'm going to revisit it sometime, after I play through Ni No Kuni and Fire Emblem: Awakening though.

I'm going to try using Riki, didn't touch him at all my first time.
Click to expand...

RPGCRazied also has one of the best Xenoblade stories of all time. OF ALL TIME.

his wait for it in the mail
 
L

Lumpy Onion

Member
I have been playing it for the last two weeks and think its the best JRPG I have played in years. Lived up to the hype tenfold. OP you have no idea what kinds of awesome lies ahead of you. If you think it's good now...just you wait. The game and it's story go places I would never dream of. I haven't been hooked on a story this much since I first watched Lost. That drive to see what happens next was totally there in Xenoblade and has incredible gameplay to boot.

I quit several times around eight hours in though, but then things just started to click. Switching up my battle group for variety is what did it. Now I am at 45 hours and nearing the end...still a lot that I didn't do.

Any JRPG fan who quit early on, do yourself a favor and try again. This ones the stuff that dreams are made of!
 
B

Burt

Member
This belongs in the "controversial opinion thread", but Xenoblade is not a great game. It may not even be a good game. It's incredibly bloated between the relationship tree, sidequests, and fetch/collection quests. The story is weak, you can go hours without coming across a single line of dialogue that isn't literally (yes, LITERALLY) laughably bad, the main character is a typical overthinking, emo, anime dunce, you spend half of your fights looking at a monsters buttcrack or craning your neck to look at it as it flies above the screen, almost all of the armor and weapons look ridiculously stupid, a whole bunch of systems are useless/poorly explained, Riki is so desperate an attempt at the "goofy/cute non-human party member that speaks with a stupid accent" trope (aka The Moogle) that it's offensive, etc., etc., etc. If I was a full member I would do a real rant thread about the game like that Max Payne 3 thread.

Spoilers
*Has vision of someone brutally dying*... "What does this mean?!?! I definitely shouldn't tell them!"

Granted, it's not all bad. The combat system has the potential to shine at times. The Mechonis/Bionis world is cool enough, and yes, it does provide you with some cool sights, although it really tops out with the plain on the Bionis' Knee early in the game. Some of the voice acting is really good, even if the rest sucks. You, uh... move at a really good, quick speed throughout the game. The dungeons are fine. The wide open environments are nice. The music is pretty much spectacular. I'm sure there's other things but I just had to put the game down. Couldn't tolerate the other crap piling up.

I think this game being so highly regarded (neogafessentialrpgs2013#4wutwutwut) is more a testament to how rough the JRPG market was this gen than any virture of the game itself. 7 years of mediocrity is apparently enough to make a pretty decent game shoot up into everyone's top 5 list.
 
The Hermit

The Hermit

Member
I bought after an insane praise here when EU version launched. It was one of the few game GAF praised that I really liked.

I could say this game saved my life...kinda.
 
1

1stStrike

Banned
Scoops said:
I'm about 55 hours in, getting towards the end of the game (I think).

I definitely feel like the story get progressively better, interesting and intricate as the game goes, or at least it doesn't get less interesting then it is at the beginning. One thing the game does really well, is build an entire mythology and immerse you in it without overwhelming you with too much. Terrific game.
Click to expand...

Sounds good to me. I really wanted a more modern RPG to play (just finished the Lunar series on PS1) and I think I made the right choice here. I wanted something meaty that I could really sink a lot of time into and experience an RPG where I could immerse myself in the world and mythos.

I thought White Knight Chronicles was going to be like that back when it came out, but boy was I sorely disappointed. I'm glad to see Xenoblade isn't following suit so far.
 
L

Lumpy Onion

Member
Another thing OP, try not to do every side quest. The "kill x monster" ones are really beneficial tho because the monsters are usually on the way to wherever you want to go. Try and find a good balance as to not get burnt out.
 
J

JordanLMiller

Member
Only 200 more hours for you to go OP! This game needed some editing...

Burt said:
This belongs in the "controversial opinion thread", but Xenoblade is not a great game. It may not even be a good game. It's incredibly bloated between the relationship tree, sidequests, and fetch/collection quests. The story is weak, you can go hours without coming across a single line of dialogue that isn't literally (yes, LITERALLY) laughably bad, the main character is a typical overthinking, emo, anime dunce, you spend half of your fights looking at a monsters buttcrack or craning your neck to look at it as it flies above the screen, almost all of the armor and weapons look ridiculously stupid, a whole bunch of systems are useless/poorly explained, Riki is so desperate an attempt at the "goofy/cute non-human party member that speaks with a stupid accent" trope (aka The Moogle) that it's offensive, etc., etc., etc. If I was a full member I would do a real rant thread about the game like that Max Payne 3 thread.

Spoilers
*Has vision of someone brutally dying*... "What does this mean?!?! I definitely shouldn't tell them!"

Granted, it's not all bad. The combat system has the potential to shine at times. The Mechonis/Bionis world is cool enough, and yes, it does provide you with some cool sights, although it really tops out with the plain on the Bionis' Knee early in the game. Some of the voice acting is really good, even if the rest sucks. You, uh... move at a really good, quick speed throughout the game. The dungeons are fine. The wide open environments are nice. The music is pretty much spectacular. I'm sure there's other things but I just had to put the game down. Couldn't tolerate the other crap piling up.

I think this game being so highly regarded (neogafessentialrpgs2013#4wutwutwut) is more a testament to how rough the JRPG market was this gen than any virture of the game itself. 7 years of mediocrity is apparently enough to make a pretty decent game shoot up into everyone's top 5 list.
Click to expand...

High five! The locations and music are awesome, but there's no hiding how much of a slog it was to get through to the ending.
 
F

FryHole

Member
Game of the generation for me. I've not got this involved in a game since Majora's Mask - put a full 80 hours in and completed it, and despite my love of JRPGs my tendency is usually to play until a lull in the story and stop playing, never to return (never got off disc 1 of FF7, for example, at least at the time of release). Epic, epic music, amazing atmosphere. Summed up for me in that first of the three pictures above - that town you're standing over, you can run down to it, and through it, and talk to people, and back out again, seamlessly. No doors or loading or cuts to black. It's a whole world.

Sorry, got a bit carried away there.
 
Majima Everywhere System

Majima Everywhere System

Member
I finished Persona 3 and I keep telling myself I shouldn't get into another 80 hour game. But I can't stop myself now that I've started.

It's really good, especially the music. I'm playing with the wii-mote. I'm petty handy with it at this point, but am I ruining the experience in any way vs the dual analogue controller?
 
Pejo

Pejo

Gold Member
Finally saw this game pop up available new on Gamestop's site last week, snagged a copy right quick. From usps site looks like I'll be receiving it today!

After all I've heard about this game i cannot wait to finally try it for myself, and see what this Reyn Time® is all about.
 
N

Nibel

Member
I couldn't beat Xenoblade, but Xenoblade did beat me

And hell yeah, I would buy another Monolith Soft game again
 
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