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[Reveirg]

I'm super excited. Most awaited game of the year!!

But yeah, Nintendo is dead silent about the game. Can't say I'm surprised...

 

[sublimit]

I'm still hyped as hell but sadly i might not be able to play it next month due to some urgent real life obligations. But i'll definitely get it as soon as possible (along with a WiiU )

 

[TI82]

It's probably the only Wii U game left that I'm really looking forward to. I think I've turned on my Wii U once in the past 4-5 months.

Splatoon is worth playing, if you haven't played that yet.

 

[GulAtiCa]

I'm certainly hyped.. But was announced way too soon. So hype kinda died down a bit for me. Now, I'm just waiting for it to finally release. Luckily just next month!

 

[Pokemaniac]

Good God this is stupid.

You can change the words to an acronym without removing the philosophy and meaning it is referencing.

No, it was not the loss of Engrish, it was their failure to retain the references to things like the singularity and jungian philosophy/psychology like the collective unconcious.

Seems a bit early to freak out about this. It would probably be wise to see what meaning the acronym has within the context of the game first.

I am really iffy about the combat. I really like Monster Hunter style combat, but this system seems really bizarre to me and I've never quite understood it.

The two games really aren't particularly similar aside from the relative abundance of large monsters. Xenoblade plays more like a single-player MMO.

 

[ULTROS!]

Weren't impressions pretty negative (or at least mixed) in Japan as well?

AFAIK, the import OT here have mixed reviews as well, some positive some negative:

Did I enjoy the game? Yes, enough to sink a few hundred hours into it, and probably another hundred or so still to come. Would I recommend it to other people? I guess, if they want to experience all the fun exploration and giant robots and side stories and stuff. Is it better than the first game? Hard to say. The battle system in this was definitely more entertaining, and the exploration felt more satisfying. But X didn't feel quite as cohesive or complete as Blade. Like stuff was missing, that they either didn't have time for or decided to release later. And that stuff would have been the most amazing syrup on a fat stack of buttered pancakes. Or maybe they gave us a few of those tiny syrup containers they have at restaurants, but my Japanese literacy wasn't good enough to spot them inside the massive sea of NPC dialogue.

The localization has the opportunity to fix a lot of the things that weren't very good about the writing, and they'll undoubtedly patch some things for balancing issues or legitimate bugs/stupid things. So, it can improve. But the extent of any improvements will depend on NoA's writing skills and Monolith's remaining motivation/budget.

All in all the game feels like an MMO and should've been an MMO and hopefully Episode 2 is way the fuck better. Solid game, but definitely not great and I liked Xenogears, Xenosaga ep1, Xenosaga ep3, Xenoblade and Soma Bringer a lot more than this one. I thought those were mostly A-tier stuff (XS ep3 was like B+, but it did the best it could with how bad Namco fucked up the plot in Ep2), and this is more of a B- game. I think it's the first open world sandbox jrpg? So like every new genre Japan gets into, they take a little while to get good at it and they're going off of game design 10 years prior. I think Zefah was saying the quest design feels like Everquest 1.

Worth playing, but keep expectations low and don't expect much of a plot and know that it's episode 1 of a larger game series. Just look forward to a nice looking world with great scale and a really fun battle system and cool equipment as a human character and then awesome mech flying around action as a mech latter on.

Just finished my play through, clocked around 120 hours with close to 20 hours afk. Overall I enjoyed this game very much, I would say it is one of the top contenders for GOTY along with Bloodborne.

I'd like to share my spoiler free impression of my play-through in some details:

What I liked:
Gigantic and beautiful world, there is literally too much stuff to do, enough that I spent 80 hours before I reached half way of the game. The game takes a huge shift in game progression and story telling, but I equally enjoyed this game.

The world design is magnificent, I would say this is the best open world game out there, much better than GTA, being able to visit everywhere you can see is huge, climbing up that high point and seeing the whole landscape really gave me the feeling of adventure and accomplishment.

Class and character customization, being able to reach the max rank of a class allows you to switch to another class and keep the skill/weapon loadout allows some pretty unique character customization and combat style. I initially started out as Long-Lancer and I used to snipe enemy parts to do massive damage and change battle outcomes, then I switched to Galaxy Knight while keeping my sniper rifle which allowed me to use heal and force saber to do good melee damage and still keep my ability to use sniper skills.

Huge customization in Dolls and equipment with the Arms Company. Everything is socketable in this game, and you can create devices in the Arms Company to further customize your play style.

The customization options for Dolls is amazing, for my first Doll I literally recreated Gespenst MK-II Kai. The Dolls themselves are like another character, you can choose what to equip for every slot, maybe I'm not familiar with the system but it seems choosing a Heavy Doll is always better compared to Light.

Segment Map and Gamepad integration, I feel this game really made sense with using a companion devices along with your controller, looking down onto the Gamepad to access map information and quick travel felt like looking at your personal device as if you were the in game character.

The characters are well developed, you get to know the characters better when you start doing their kizuna quests, and learn their past trouble and eventually help them overcome those troubles. Lao is one of my favorite characters in this game and I hope you guys get to experience his story soon.

What I disliked:
Combat mechanic and the weak lock-on system, I got quite frustrated near the end game where everything is huge and the lock-on ability doesn't lock on to the parts of the enemies and just the enemies them self.

Silent MC in dialogues, its not as bad as White Knight Chronicles where your character is just a tag along, but I hoped they would make it more like Bioware games where your character actually spoke in story instead of just choosing options.

Bad party AI, when combat starts, it seems everyone just goes on to do whatever they want, and you have to manually tell them to focus fire every time, there wasn't alot of choices in the battle menu and the fights get quite messy when you're in tight areas where your party member would randomly pick up extra aggro.

Party selection is mostly locked for story missions, which leads to less time to develop kizuna with other characters.

Mandatory Gamepad usage, I don't think you can access quick travel or any other segment features without the gamepad, its a shame I had to put down the Wii U Pro controller and permanently have the Gamepad plugged into the power adapter.

Other things worth noting
Reused models of armors and weapons every tier, this doesn't become a problem later on when you can transmog the appearance of your gear into other gear, but there were some armor pieces that I avoided because I didn't like the appearance of them even though they gave better upgrade.

Dolls were awesome when I got them, but fuel costs and long cooldowns wasn't something I really enjoyed, I personally prefer human sized combat more.

I missed most kizuna talk because it seems I didn't spend enough time roaming across NLA in the right time of the day, but I did like doing kizuna quests which has high production quality and rewards you with unique skills from the character's kizuna quest.

I realize I may have spent too much time on the negatives, but this is mostly because I remember these more than the positives, and I assure you the game is excellent in developing the characters and story while at the same time letting you explore and enjoy the battle mechanics (Bioware can learn alot from this game I believe)

There are more in the official import OT though.

I get a feeling this will be like FF Type-0 all over again. A lot of people were hyped and say it's the next best FF and people who imported it were so-so with it but people didn't listen.

 

[georly]

Already committed to buy since I liked xenoblade, so I've been avoiding almost all media. Will play when I have time.

 

[Sakura]

Poor sales, poor reviews on that fan review site, dunno what reviews were from legitimate sources (not Famitsu) though.

I don't recall sales being much worse than Xenoblade.

 

[Vena]

I don't recall sales being much worse than Xenoblade.

It performed overall worse but the margins are small (though Xenoblade enjoyed a lot of used sales later on in life, we won't know of a similar result or not with used for some time with XCX). The Wii also out sold the WiiU by several times and had an actual RPG audience on it... so....

But he speaks only in hyperbole.

 

[TI82]

I don't recall sales being much worse than Xenoblade.

It was off the top 20 in like a week or two, if im remembering correctly.

 

[Sakura]

It performed overall worse but the margins are small (though Xenoblade enjoyed a lot of used sales later on in life, we won't know of a similar result or not with used for some time with XCX). The Wii also out sold the WiiU by several times and had an actual RPG audience on it... so....

But he speaks only in hyperbole.

I imagine Xenoblade would also be helped slightly by much larger Wii install base.

It was off the top 20 in like a week or two, if im remembering correctly.

Xenoblade X was in the top 20 longer than Xenoblade was. Not that position in the chart particularly matters. They both opened to about 80~k in the first week.

 

[Zukuu]

That happened:

 

[fluffydelusions]

The import impressions weren't the best so I guess it sorta died down after that?

 

[Thoraxes]

I am so fucking hyped for this game. Took off a week of work for it too. Everything I've heard from my friend who imported it just makes me want it even more.

Fuck yeah, give it to me now!

 

[tiggerkiddo]

Was never hyped for it but it's a RPG so I'm sure I'll give it a shot down the line.

 

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

From Nintendo I'm most looking forward to Xenoblade Chronicles X and Fire Emblem: Fates.

Will probably buy a Wii U a week before it releases so I can get it updated and everything.

 

[guek]

It's hard to get hyped when I'm working myself near death these days.

I'll probably buy it and have it collect dust for a few months :-(

 

[Effect]

I wish people wouldn't insist on trying to spoil this game for others. If there is something about a game you didn't like then fine. Don't try to ruin it for others. It seems like every single damn thread about this game there is always someone trying to bring up spoiler topics or harping on something like faces. Hiding only goes so far because someone is going to respond to them and not spoiler their answer. This is another thread I have to avoid now.

 

[Overside]

i get that you're concerned about the localization preserving the philosophical underpinnings of the original. I'm right there with you, even if a lot of that stuff flies right over my head. i'll also agree that the localized BLADE acronym captures little of the original's intent... but sweet jesus, as far as i can tell, this is the only philosophical related change we can pin down so far. How does this acronym change equate to the localization team "completely [removing] the rooted concept of the collective unconcious from at least the beginning of the game." in your mind? That's a pretty slippery slope from where I'm sitting.

Its an extremely slippery slope greased with darkest greasiest cholesterol scraped from the black twisted portion of my heart, that knows not to rely on the competence of others, and sure as hell not give them the benefit of the doubt more than once. The slick concoction of concentrated hatred ensures terminal velocity is rapidly aquired.


One mistake like this with nothing else in sight stating otherwise is all I need to not have faith in the competence of localization retaining any 'Xeno' meaning.

 

[LizardKing]

That single negative import review made people think it was the consensus and thus the hype died.
Personally, I have the LE pre-ordered.

Why do people keep saying this? There were multiple impressions from multiple people that were tempered on how good it is. Just read the import thread on GAF. I also have the LE pre-ordered.

 

[Nanashrew]

I wish people wouldn't insist on trying to spoil this game for others. It seems like every single damn thread there is always someone trying to bring up spoiler topics. Hiding only goes so far because someone is going to respond to them and not spoiler their answer. This is another thread I have to avoid now.

I'm sorry :<

 

[K.Sabot]

For me the hype killer was the combination of the silent, characterless protagonist. That was long before the game released in Japan.

Still got my pre-order though.

But my expectations are bottoming out.

 

[Sakura]

I wish people wouldn't insist on trying to spoil this game for others. It seems like every single damn thread there is always someone trying to bring up spoiler topics. Hiding only goes so far because someone is going to respond to them and not spoiler their answer. This is another thread I have to avoid now.

Yea.
No idea why people always feel so compelled to post spoilers...

 

[Thoraxes]

Why do people keep saying this? There were multiple impressions that were tempered on how good it is. Just read the import thread on GAF.

Did your read the thread about that Kotaku article?

The leaps to conclusions were all over the place. And he didn't writ his original article very well either. When he further explained the article on USGamer's podcast Axe of the Blood God, the way his article read and the way he said he felt about the game seemed pretty different in a lot of key ways.

 

[MrBS]

Got the LE and guide preordered but hype is low. Ask me again in December. It's Fallout time

 

[encephalon]

AFAIK, the import OT here have mixed reviews as well, some positive some negative:







There are more in the official import OT though.

I get a feeling this will be like FF Type-0 all over again. A lot of people were hyped and say it's the next best FF and people who imported it were so-so with it but people didn't listen.

Type 0 is still a good game and was well received in Japan. Much better than this title.

http://pspmk2.net/smp/index.php?r=site/title&title_id=1155

 

[Euron]

It was one of my most anticipated games of the generation...three years ago. The problem is, it's releasing in a terrible window and honestly I just don't have the time for it.

Don't get me wrong the world looks beautiful and some of the trailers have been phenomenal (The Exploration Trailer is probably the best non-MGSV trailer this gen) but I don't want to play a solo MMO. I was not a fan of the Dragon Age quest design last year and this sounds very similar but with even more of a grind.

 

[Qwyjibo]

Splatoon is worth playing, if you haven't played that yet.

Ehhh it's just not my thing. Same goes for Mario Marker, which I'm sure is a great game as well.

 

[TI82]

I don't recall sales being much worse than Xenoblade.

Alright looked it up

Debut at 85k
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1043077

Sold 72% of it's shipment
http://www.siliconera.com/2015/05/1...-x-sold-through-72-of-its-shipment-at-launch/

Second week, down to 11k, still hasn't sold it's initial shipment.
http://www.perfectly-nintendo.com/japan-media-create-sales-for-week-19-2015-may-4-10/

Third week, down to 4k still hasn't sold it's initial shipment
http://www.perfectly-nintendo.com/japan-media-create-sales-for-week-20-2015-may-11-17/

Fourth week, down to 2k still hasn't sold its initial shipment and off the top 20
http://www.perfectly-nintendo.com/japan-media-create-sales-for-week-21-2015-may-18-24/

Fifth week, sales aren't even reported
http://www.perfectly-nintendo.com/japan-media-create-sales-for-week-22-2015-may-25-31/

Now let's see how the original game sold.

First week debut at 82k
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=398634

Second week, down to 20k
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=399281

third week, unreported
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=399960

fourth week, unreported and off top 20
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=400607

So about the same sales, bad all around.

Ehhh it's just not my thing. Same goes for Mario Marker, which I'm sure is a great game as well.

Fair enough, unlike others I won't push Wii U titles on people when they clearly aren't interested

 

[ZombiePlatypus]

I was super hyped till I heard that the game is apparently heavy on missions as opposed to an epic JRPG space opera story. Despite its aesthetics, it seems more FFXII rather than Xenosaga.

I can't deal with another disappointing narrative after Legend of Legacy and MGSV.

I'll just wait for player impressions to make sure.

 

[LizardKing]

Did your read the thread about that Kotaku article?

The leaps to conclusions were all over the place. And he didn't writ his original article very well either. When he further explained the article on USGamer's podcast Axe of the Blood God, the way his article read and the way he said he felt about the game seemed pretty different in a lot of key ways.

I read it back when it came out, but don't know about the podcast. He felt different in what way? But all I'm saying is people are not only trusting one source here. There are multiple importers and people in Japan who have had mixed feelings about the game. There is plenty of evidence of this such as the GAF import thread and the fansite posted above.

Xenoblade was announced in 2009. We also got that in NA 3 years later but the impressions from other territories carried our hype in NA through to when it was finally released. It's telling that's not really happening here.

 

[Jashobeam]

Im hyped, been listening to the soundtrack for months now. Replaying Xenoblade on the 3ds as well.

 

[CertifiedFP]

Poor sales, poor reviews on that fan review site, dunno what reviews were from legitimate sources (not Famitsu) though.

Just out of curiosity - Are there any Japanese sources about Famitsu being corrupt?

Because despite all my searching, almost all allegations of Famitsu being corrupt are by western gaming journalists with a less than squeaky record themselves.

 

[TI82]

Just out of curiosity - Are there any Japanese sources about Famitsu being corrupt?

Because despite all my searching, almost all allegations of Famitsu being corrupt are by western gaming journalists with a less than squeaky record themselves.

Regardless of Kotaku and Gawker media's reputation this is damning itself

http://kotaku.com/5520937/do-not-trust-this-magazines-review-scores

 

[theprodigy]

Just out of curiosity - Are there any Japanese sources about Famitsu being corrupt?

Because despite all my searching, almost all allegations of Famitsu being corrupt are by western gaming journalists with a less than squeaky record themselves.

I dunno about outright corruption, but the score inflation that Famitsu has had recently makes their reviews pretty worthless (someone post the list of 40/40s and 39/40s if they want).

 

[jetsetnickradio]

Corrupt or not, people put way too much weight into Famitsu reviews (and reviews in general, really. Many of my favorite JRPGs have trash metascores.)

 

[Malus]

I get a feeling this will be like FF Type-0 all over again. A lot of people were hyped and say it's the next best FF and people who imported it were so-so with it but people didn't listen.

Damn straight I'm not listening lol. I've been excited for this since before it was officially announced, just playing through Xenoblade and speculating about Monolithsoft's next project. Expectations are sky high and I'll decide if it's disappointing or not. If I listened to reviewers and GAF impressions all the time I wouldn't have played some of my favorite games.

 

[-Horizon-]

I think I read it has more of everything when it comes to the side quests, especially since they come in more categories and one of those categories helps flesh out the entire world and its native species, along with the NLA survivors. I'm actually more jazzed about filling in the gaps than I am with a central storyline, since I find the whole world so damn inviting and fascinating. Anime tropes can wait, as far as I'm concerned.



One of the more prominent importers here on GAF. He was a major evangelical for the first game, among other things he's helped spread awareness for in the past (Killer7 being a big one from long, long ago).

Oh ok. Kept seeing the word/name thrown around but had no idea about them.

 

[guek]

Corrupt or not, people put way too much weight into Famitsu reviews

Really? I thought people didn't care at all about Famitsu scores. That's been my impression anyway over the years.

 

[GamingOblivion]

Yeah pretty much this. Bebpo review of the original Xenoblade is now legendary. His less enthusiastic review of X has dampened my hype a fair bit. Still getting it day one, but I'm keeping my expectations in check.

Link to the review?

 

[Flying Toaster]

I was pissed at the delay. But seeing what's out this month and came out last month I am happy. It is a pleasant surprise.

 

[ghibli99]

I'm picking up the LE, so I'm doing my part.

 

[Mr. Nice_Guy]

For me it was it releasing in Japan and then hearing nothing about it. I was hyped to hell and back before it was released. I'm still interested, but I would be more so if there was a more vocal appreciation for the game since its been out.

 

[Extra Sauce]

Like others in this thread, I'm tempted to wait for a price drop but:

1. This is a first-party Nintendo game.
2. If memory serves, Xenoblade Chronicles went directly from full price to ultra rare and expensive.

 

[TI82]

Like others in this thread, I'm tempted to wait for a price drop but:

1. This is a first-party Nintendo game.
2. If memory serves, Xenoblade Chronicles went directly from full price to ultra rare and expensive.

that was because of Gamestop exclusivity, awful idea by NoA.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is a better representation of how this game will be, stock wise. You can even get it for $5 off today. So I wouldn't worry about the game becoming rare.

 

[jetsetnickradio]

Really? I thought people didn't care at all about Famitsu scores. That's been my impression anyway over the years.

Eh they lost some credibility over the last few years but I remember people used to treat Famitsu reviews like gospel and a game getting quadruple 10s was a huge deal.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Like others in this thread, I'm tempted to wait for a price drop but:

1. This is a first-party Nintendo game.
2. If memory serves, Xenoblade Chronicles went directly from full price to ultra rare and expensive.

This shouldn't be an issue for X, at least not for awhile. Xenoblade on Wii was only available at GameStop and directly through Nintendo, whereas this game is actually receiving wide distribution.

 

[squadr0n]

Nintendo has always been hit or miss with their advertising. Bayonetta 2 is a great example of this.

Either way, been waiting since it was first unveiled. Preordered the LE asap and will be there day 1.

Hype is what you make of it. We need more games like this so please everyone buy it!

 

[Krappadizzle]

I was pretty bout it bout it when I saw the first preview video of the mech flying around, but then I saw a preview of the combat and I just don't like it. All the floating numbers and the way the combat plays out just isn't for me. Awesome, awesome looking world though and cool mech design.

I don't think I've turned the Wii U on in over a year.

 

[Kintaro]

I still have my LE on preorder but...

1) Late release (after so many major games) dulls the hype
2) No dual audio or the option to download JP audio.
3) Wii U is pretty much dead to me.

So, I'm pretty dehyped.