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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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Nerazar

Member
2017 for JPN maybe.

2017 for Japan is very certain. But the game is still slated for Western release (EU and US lists) for this year as well and I don't think that Nintendo would include it if they knew that there is only a slim chance of hitting that target. "2017" and "tba" are very different things and the latter does not hurt that much to state.

So I guess that they'll push for a 2017 release in the West, but it may get pushed into Q1/2018 if something awful happens.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
I'm just gonna repost what I posted in the other thread to properly articulate why I feel the way I do and have very little interest in this despite loving Xenoblade Chronicles.

"Anime" doesn't fucking mean anything other than animated. The Western implications of "anime" can mean a thousand different things due to the huge breadth of Japanese influenced art across all visual mediums.

My issue isn't that it's "hur hurr animeee", it's that it aesthetically so far has nothing in common with Xenoblade. Xenoblade was technically dated but had for most part a very coherent, cohesive artistic direction in the use of tones, colours, styles, and proportions for its characters, creatures, vistas, setpieces, and world. Xenoblade Chronicles X adopted its own style, and fair enough because change is fine, and I didn't like that.

This looks nothing like Xenoblade at all except maybe hints of scope in the environment. Obvious there's a huge draw in how the game plays since ultimately that's what drew me to Xenoblade in the first place, but when I'm playing a narrative driven, character heavy video game it's not in the least bit unreasonable to wish to feel some kind of interest and investment in the advertised cast. It's ludicrous to think that in a game innevitably loaded with dialogue and characterisation that these things don't matter at all.

In the same way that I've been turned away from countless games from all over the world because they're narrative/character driven and I've been aggressively put off by the chosen art and design style, so too am I feeling this for Xenoblade 2. Obviously I'm going to keep my mind open but the content shown so far looks intensely unappealing to me. Tales also looks the same. I'm actively deterred by the chosen art direction, and mentally automatically put up blocks of disinterest in wanting to engage with the cast and their adventure.

Xenoblade might have had low poly, low texture resolution characters but the art was on point. The dialogue was fantastic too, as was the dub. Xenoblade has such great grounded sci-fi fantasy direction to almost everything; the right amount of whimsical adventure with a sense of believability and seriousness.

If this wasn't branded Xenoblade 2 I wouldn't recognise it as Xenoblade at all. And I don't think it's unfair to voice that disappointment.
 

duckroll

Member
The vast majority will just be combat shout out like "I am feeling it"
Already transalted for the first episode

That is how they will be able to match the '17 release

No, it's the actual game story script. You can read most of it pretty clearly. Interestingly enough, there's a character named ヴァンダム talking to Rex on page 247 about the Blade. Cute reference to Xenoblade X? Or something more...?
 
2017 for Japan is very certain. But the game is still slated for Western release (EU and US lists) for this year as well and I don't think that Nintendo would include it if they knew that there is only a slim chance of hitting that target. "2017" and "tba" are very different things and the latter does not hurt that much to state.

So I guess that they'll push for a 2017 release in the West, but it may get pushed into Q1/2018 if something awful happens.

Agreed. They have pulled the TBA card many times for this to not be a fluke. Of course they could just be saying it's coming 2017 to boost sales but I'm hopeful.
 
But having a "2" doesn't mean it's a sequel anyway.
I'm also thining it feels quite different and for me 2 is like other series that use numbers without continuing the same story.

Ok. Because it's called Xenoblade 2 when it's the third Xenoblade game.

Like Final Fantasy X-2 etc.
 

Aostia

El Capitan Todd
I'm just gonna repost what I posted in the other thread to properly articulate why I feel the way I do and have very little interest in this despite loving Xenoblade Chronicles.


I think that characters are different from xeno but looking at world and creatures saw in the trailer I wouldnt say that characters have an incoherent aesthetic compared to their world
 

Waji

Member
No, it's the actual game story script. You can read most of it pretty clearly. Interestingly enough, there's a character named ヴァンダム talking to Rex on page 247 about the Blade. Cute reference to Xenoblade X? Or something more...?
Vandamme was also a character in Xenoblade Wii. He's always training people and/or shouting at them.
I didn't want to read the script parts we saw to be sure not to be spoiled but I was tempted to.

Ok. Because it's called Xenoblade 2 when it's the third Xenoblade game.

Like Final Fantasy X-2 etc.
Think of X (cross, not the letter, which helps) as a spin off for now.
Maybe will it have its own sub series with X-2, 3...

What's confusing is that te series is still new so it's hard to get what Monolith is trying to do.
 

duckroll

Member
Vandamme was also a character in Xenoblade Wii. He's always training people and/or shouting at them.
I didn't want to read the script parts we saw to be sure not to be spoiled but I was tempted to.

Oh was he? I don't remember many of the details in Xenoblade anymore, I just googled to check. Yeah, definitely a recurring homage character then.

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!
 

Waji

Member
Oh was he? I don't remember many of the details in Xenoblade anymore, I just googled to check. Yeah, definitely a recurring homage character then.

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!
So it feel even less a sequel to Xenoblade (even if you could link anything with wtf explanations since it's fantasy. I didn't want to spoil myself but couldn't be helped.
Can't wait to see more of it. But systems more than story. I'm not really concerned about that coming from Monolith.
 

alvis.exe

Member
Ok. Because it's called Xenoblade 2 when it's the third Xenoblade game.

Like Final Fantasy X-2 etc.

Eh, I dunno. The 2 kind of felt more like a "We know you didn't really like Cross/X so we're giving you more of what you really wanted! Look, we're even calling it Xenoblade Two straight up!" rather than a direct sequel type thing.

But IMO... if this is really a extremely vertical world with everyone living on the backs of gigantic flying creatures, it wouldn't really make as much sense as a direct sequel given the ending of XC and (major spoilers)
the re-establishment of an Earth-like planet with presumably Earth-like physics. I guess you could handwave everything away with "magic/ether did it!" though
.

Plus Final Fantasy X and X-2 are still set in a completely different universe than Final Fantasy IX or XI.
 
Eh, I dunno. The 2 kind of felt more like a "We know you didn't really like Cross/X so we're giving you more of what you really wanted! Look, we're even calling it Xenoblade Two straight up!" rather than a direct sequel type thing.

But IMO... if this is really a extremely vertical world with everyone living on the backs of gigantic flying creatures, it wouldn't really make as much sense as a direct sequel given the ending of XC and (major spoilers)
the re-establishment of an Earth-like planet with presumably Earth-like physics. I guess you could handwave everything away with "magic/ether did it!" though
.

Plus Final Fantasy X and X-2 are still set in a completely different universe than Final Fantasy IX or XI.



I think the story will probably not have much ties to the first Xenoblade, but more have the story be presented with the same idea
of like the world being an artificial world simulated by a computer (if I actually understood the ending of Xenoblade) but a different world/universe from Xenoblade and/or the one that was created at the end.

I mean of course the game can't pull the same exact trick, but it might go there again perhaps reveal this particular 'twist' earlier on so that the game can go other places with the story idk. The world seems so similar with the same Monado-ish weapon and everything.
 

Waji

Member
Number in the title actually makes lot of sense now.
X was from the beginning something special Takahashi wanted to do.
Creating a world with mecha you can use anywhere.

So now that it's done, they can continue the "main" (?) Xenoblade series.
And maybe we'll we see more around X depending on what their plan is or if they have 2 teams.
 

duckroll

Member
So it feel even less a sequel to Xenoblade (even if you could link anything with wtf explanations since it's fantasy. I didn't want to spoil myself but couldn't be helped.
Can't wait to see more of it. But systems more than story. I'm not really concerned about that coming from Monolith.

I wonder if the 3 script pages were picked randomly or with specific intent to communicate the tone of the game, because man, one of them is Tales as fuck. Lol.

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.

A.N.I.M.E.
 

random25

Member
I wonder if the 3 script pages were picked randomly or with specific intent to communicate the tone of the game, because man, one of them is Tales as fuck. Lol.

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.

A.N.I.M.E.

Okay this is interesting lol.
 

Waji

Member
I wonder if the 3 script pages were picked randomly or with specific intent to communicate the tone of the game, because man, one of them is Tales as fuck. Lol.

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.

A.N.I.M.E.
Well, if it's just a few parts/dialogs it doesn't mean much.
Xenoblade was no Xenogears and didn't have godly Alviss moments all the time anyway so I'm not expecting perfect level.
 
I wonder if the 3 script pages were picked randomly or with specific intent to communicate the tone of the game, because man, one of them is Tales as fuck. Lol.

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.

Hmm, intriguing.
But ship as in Space ship?
 

ag-my001

Member
Regarding the script translation:

Both the red head and the blonde have Zohar pendants. Rival character with their own blade? Partner? Antagonist?

Regarding the "dialogue scene" on the third page: spiritual successor to Suikoden confirmed!
 

duckroll

Member
Regarding the script translation:

Both the red head and the blonde have Zohar pendants. Rival character with their own blade? Partner? Antagonist?

Regarding the "dialogue scene" on the third page: spiritual successor to Suikoden confirmed!

There are two female characters in the script pages with Japanese style names - Homura and Hikari. Homura is flame, Hikari is light. I'm sure you can work it out.
 
I'm just gonna repost what I posted in the other thread to properly articulate why I feel the way I do and have very little interest in this despite loving Xenoblade Chronicles.

I don't know how you can say that it looks nothing like Xenoblade when everyone could immediately tell it's Xenoblade before the title appeared.
 

Kusagari

Member
The main characters design just sucks.

The two females shown don't even really look like they belong in the same game as him.
 

Hero

Member
I'm just gonna repost what I posted in the other thread to properly articulate why I feel the way I do and have very little interest in this despite loving Xenoblade Chronicles.

Pretty much agree with you 100% here. I remain cautiously optimistic but I want to see more.
 

Waji

Member
Vandamme is the biggs/wedge Cid of Xenoblade I guess.
Edit : Thanks to Golnei I remember it was already there in older Xeno game with a slightly different name.
These guys always shout at subordinates.
xeno6.jpg

img_chara04-01.jpg

What's this about script pages?

The one shown in the trailer?
As well as a few frame after that show more.
 

Zesh

Member
The main characters design just sucks.

The two females shown don't even really look like they belong in the same game as him.

Yep. I'm not a big fan of the anime style, but the two females' designs aren't terrible, at least. The main character just looks awful, through and through.

Still getting this day 1, but I'll probably avoid using the MC if possible.
 

Vengal

Member
Like others have pointed out anime style can mean alot of things but the character design in this looks more closely to a generic 'anime' game then chronicles. If you took that title card away and added an anime op with some jpop and called this Tales of Monado I would believe it as a tales x blade cross over.

I really liked the character designs of chronicles, it looked different. Shame they aren't using that specific design in any of their games anymore.
 

Waji

Member
As much as I agree with the fact that it has a "generic anime look" I don't see tales of in this.
Probably because tales of always use the same 2 character designers (95% of the time).

It feels like generic anime more than generic Jrpg but I'm not sure it's well explained...

Edit : More movie than game if you see what I mean.
That's what makes me like it.
I mean if you look at my avatar you could think it's a movie "boxart" isn't it ?
 

farisr

Member
2017 for Japan is very certain. But the game is still slated for Western release (EU and US lists) for this year as well and I don't think that Nintendo would include it if they knew that there is only a slim chance of hitting that target. "2017" and "tba" are very different things and the latter does not hurt that much to state
Yeah, I mean it's not like Xenoblade Chronicles X initially got announced for a 2014 release window in a Nintendo direct in February of 2014, and we absolutely didn't get a 2015 release window for Zelda at e3 2014.
 

Waji

Member
The designs aren't Tales, they are just Expelled from Paradise. :p

Literally.

Edit: And here's the other movie the designer worked on before that:
Thank you for illustrating exactly what I was trying to write, ah ah.

Yeah, I mean it's not like Xenoblade Chronicles X initially got announced for a 2014 release window in a Nintendo direct in February of 2014, and we absolutely didn't get a 2015 release window for Zelda at e3 2014.
At least it didn't get delayed that much in Japan : P.
Which is fine for me.

Joke aside, XenobladeX was shown as an attempt to save the Wii U.
Here it's launch presentation so I'm not sure it's excactly the same.
Well we'll probably have an answer quickly depending on how much informations we get about the game.
 
I'll play this but it's a very ugly looking game. The characters and the rest of the game world are really incongruous in a quite jarring way.
 
I'll play this but it's a very ugly looking game. The characters and the rest of the game world are really incongruous in a quite jarring way.

Better than X , Anime is better than scary looking doll people. With that being said,i wouldnt be opposed to the guy having a nose and maybe buying a new pair of pants.

The world is what matters in this game though and the world looks great.
 

duckroll

Member
Better than X , Anime is better than scary looking doll people. With that being said,i wouldnt be opposed to the guy having a nose and maybe buying a new pair of pants.

The world is what matters in this game though and the world looks great.

Honestly, a ton of Monolithsoft games just had terrible looking characters. It's something people just get used. Xenosaga Ep2, Soma Bringer, Xenoblade, and Xenoblade X all have TERRIBLE character models in-game. They somehow make up for that by having really nice environments when it counts, and having very nice moments where the environment and vistas carry the scene. It also helps that for most of the games you don't really look at the characters' faces when playing since you just see their backs and the monsters look cool. :p
 

Jarmel

Banned
I wonder if the 3 script pages were picked randomly or with specific intent to communicate the tone of the game, because man, one of them is Tales as fuck. Lol.

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.

A.N.I.M.E.

Nintendo seems to be going all in on the bath scenes. I approve.
 

Maledict

Member
Considering "anime" can be anything, it really seems like poor/fast judgment only over the design itself.
Art style is something, but it's a small fraction of what the game will be.
People are comparing it with takes of though I'm pretty sure it'll feel nothing like a tales of.

Classic judge a book by it's cover though I guess.

I'm really sure that patronising people who disagree with you on the subjective, personal view of a games art style is definitely a way to win friends and influence people.

The visuals are how we interact with the world. They are important. Consistent and coherent art design is a big part of the original Xenoblade. EatChildren has explained it far better than I could, but this style simply leaves me cold and uninterested.

Which is a huge shame, as a proper and good Xenoblade sequel actually is a system seller for me.
 
Normally I'd agree that 2017 is BS but in this case I think 2017 is completetly doable (for the west as well). Presumably this will be reusing the X engine/assets so most of the groundwork is done. This is most likely dropping around the 2017 holiday season so that would have given the team about 2 years just to do story, characters, music etc.... which seems like plenty of time. Also this is the switch's launch year and looking at it's line up i'd imagine Nintendo wants as much software as possible, so i could totally see them expediting localization for the west.


I'm pretty sure that's the wrong Cyborg 009 movie. This is the one that he did.

mainvisual.jpg


There's a new Cyborg 009 movie 0.o
 
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