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Xenoblade Chronicles (EU) release moved up, Now August 19th

Shiggy

Member
As indicated yesterday, the embargo ends today...

Release: September 2nd 2011
Available in: Europe, South Africa, Russia (apparently also New Zealand and Australia)

- Alternative cover (as voted by fans)
- Limited edition includes a red Classic Controller Pro
- Preorder and receive one of three posters which include an electronic autograph of Tetsuya Takahashi (may depend on your country, will not be available in all countries)

Wii%20XC%20packshot.jpg



Is it any good?

Bebpo said:
Battle system
+Fast
+In addition to the normal choosing of commands, positioning and party member interaction make it more interactive than FFXII and thus more fun.
+Chain attack system is great. Connecting the same color attack increases damage exponentially, while tumbling an enemy opens up opportunity. Interesting decision choices.
+Tumble, paralyze, aura systems are great and lead to a lot of interesting battles.
+Every character is totally unique. Exact opposite of FFXII. By endgame no character is even remotely alike. All have their uses. All are fun to main as.
+Over 100 optional boss battles. Some are quite challenging and require good strategies, others are pushovers. Some just depend on what level you are when you fight them. But there's enough of them throughout, that you'll always have exciting fights with good rewards.
+No punishment for death gives an incentive to push yourself and try to fight anything you think you can. If you die, you simply start at last warp point and don't lose anything.
-3 party feels too limiting. Especially since so few spell types crossover. Someone is hit with poison? If you don't have the 1 character with cure status, you just gotta wait it out which is annoying. At times you are basically required to keep Shulk in your party and then you're limited even further to only 2 open slots. 4 person party would've gone a long way.
-AI is not terrible and you do have some control over it, but at the end of the day your AI partners will not play their characters as efficiently as you would have, which can be a bit annoying.
-Always auto-attacking while in battle. This is built into the system and so defenses are built around it occasionally. But sometimes you just want to NOT ATTACK so you don't trigger the counters, but you can't. >_<

Field/Questing
+Great dungeon/field designs. Really intricate places with tons of secrets to reward those who explore. Lots of variety.
+Awesome weather effects. Every area has unique weather at random parts of the day.
+Gorgeous day/night cycle with music that fades nicely between night and day. Some areas become completely different during the night than they are during the day.
+One of the best endgames ever. As you go through your adventure you come across many monsters or places you can't fight or access. Endgame is going back and doing everything you couldn't during the main game. Very rewarding and pretty long.
+Quick travel and the ability to adjust time is awesome
+Save anywhere is fantastic and needs to be in more jrpgs
+400 optional quests. Some with neat stories. Some with great rewards
+Hundreds of unique named NPCs with their own stories that play out as you become more involved in the towns/cities by doing their quests
+Skill trees and borrowing skills from other trees is a good dynamic that provides lots and lots of passive skills. Some very good.
+Good amount of hidden things. Hidden skill trees, hidden attacks, hidden extensions of normal attacks, Ultimate weapons, Hidden areas, hidden npcs, etc...
+Gem crafting is neat and gems are very useful.
+Loot is alright. You get lots of it, but 75% of things in the game are useless
+Almost nothing important is missable. The few quests that are give you fair warning although they don't tell you when they expire.
+Character relation system is neat. Good rewards for building it up between characters.
-Some quests with rare drop grinds which are the worst thing ever invented. The only times I truly hated playing XB was spending 20-30 mins grinding an enemy for drops.
-Towns are sometimes too big with not enough quick travel landmarks. So when you're running quests there's a ton of in-town running back and forth to talk to people.
-Running speed is a bit slow for the size of the areas. Even with gems that boost running speed, it's capped at 125% for no reason. Should have at least uncapped it to 200% on new game+
-NPCs can be a pain to find without a guide of where everyone is at what time. Since every town has a day/night cycle you have to check the entire towns (which are huge) twice when looking for quests.
-Limited inventory SUCKS. Especially because you're constantly bombarded with items. Almost every time you kill an enemy (95%?) they leave a treasure with like 3-4 items each. Most of it junk. But just because it's fast (and because you can't compare it to your current equip) you click "take all" and move on. This means you fill up your inventories quick and often have to sell stuff to make room.
-Comparing equipment is really tedious. Especially if you ever think about buying from a shop.
-Character relation system between characters grows way to slowly. After 120 hours with everything done, you'll still only have about 50% of the relations maxed out. Growth needed to be at least twice as fast.
-Wish the game had field treasure chests as another way to reward players for exploring
-No beastiary. Inexcusable for a game like this that requires drops all the time.
-Because of no beastiary and the amount of named npcs you often have to find (and sometimes the unclear quest intructions), XB is a "wiki or die" game when trying to 100% it. Without some sort of a guide it'd be near impossible to do everything on the first run.

Story:
+Very interesting plot set in a very unique world.
+Great pacing, exciting cutscenes, mysteries, foreshadowing, twists
+Smart writing. You will not find a more intelligently written rpg this gen. The game avoids most cliches and stereotypes and at no point will you roll your eyes or have to deal with stupid characters acting idiotically. The characters (even the lead) are all intelligent people and act accordingly.
+Good length. Story size is probably about the size of two of the Xenosaga games combined. Smaller in scope and length than Xenogears though.
+Satisfying tale from start to finish. The story is great from the start and never dips even once before the end credits roll. A grand adventure.
+Good cast. Everyone is likeable, no one is generic game/anime stereotype. Character depth doesn't go as deep as something like Xenosaga.
+ or - depending on what you want. XB's story is great and cinematic, but it's not melodramatic like XG/XS/FF/KH. You will not get white room speeches with piano green grass playing. I think this is the biggest change from Takahashi's previous works. XB is not any more mainstream or less ambitious than XG/XS. The story is just as original and creative and well told, it's just that Takahashi has moved away from trying to pull the emotional strings of his audience and make melodrama. Instead it's simply a story where things happen and you enjoy them and watch the story unfold.

Graphics/Audio
+Gorgeous environments
+Good character design
+Visibile equipment is pretty varied and has some real cool designs
+Nice range of tunes that are incorporated very well into the gameplay and cutscene
+Great voice acting
-Wii image quality drags things down a bit

Other
+Large game; takes at least 60-70 hours first time. If you plan to do everything, you're looking at ~120 hours first time.
+New game+ is great. Almost everything carries over.
-Game clock stops at 99:59. Really dumb for a huge game like this

Overall
While there might be a decent amount of small negatives spread throughout the title, the fact of the matter is that in the face of the giant adventure that Xenoblade presents, they're all minor issues that only pick away at the greatness of the experience Xenoblade gives. Anyone willing to invest the time to explore the world of Xenoblade will find that it's populated with hundreds of creatures, quests, characters, bosses, and hidden tales. All which add to up to a truly satisfying console rpg experience unlike any other out there.

Without the budget/time issues that caused the 2nd disc of Xenogears, or the production issues that caused Xenosaga Ep2, Xenoblade feels like the first time Takahashi has been able to give the game experience he wanted from start to finish without resistance blocking his way. And if this is the kind of experience that Takahashi wants to give, then I can only look forward immensely to whatever he creates next.

The three years Monolith Soft spent creating Xenoblade feel truly justified by the end product. As the best game in their resume to date, and the best rpg on a Nintendo system since Chrono Trigger, Xenoblade stands as a proud example of how great rpgs are made.

A+
 
This means that of the two Wii games I want to play this year (this and Skyward Sword) I'm going to have to buy two new controllers along with them.
 

Suzzopher

Member
CruxisMana said:
This means that of the two Wii games I want to play this year (this and Skyward Sword) I'm going to have to buy two new controllers along with the games.

They'll do a Motion + Remote bundle with Skyward Sword.
 

Suzzopher

Member
CruxisMana said:
Either way, it'll still be more expensive that just having to buy the game.

Really? Motion Party (or whatever it's called) has it bundled for the normal price of a game. As it requires Motion + Nintendo will stick one in for the same price.
 
Wow - absolutely gorgeous! NoE shaming NoA yet again.

Red CC Pro looks natty, and I've been on the lookout for a second one so this is a perfect excuse. Now if only they would finally release blue/pink Nunchuks/CCs etc...
 

Shiggy

Member
CruxisMana said:
This means that of the two Wii games I want to play this year (this and Skyward Sword) I'm going to have to buy two new controllers along with them.

You are free to buy Xenoblade Chronicles without the Classic Controller Pro. It will cost less and its price will decrease faster than the limited edition ;)
 
Suzzopher said:
Really? Motion Party (or whatever it's called) has it bundled for the normal price of a game. As it requires Motion + Nintendo will stick one in for the same price.

You're probably right. I'm unsure on the price of the controllers and what not, I just assumed that you'd have to shell out a bit more money.

Shiggy said:
You are free to buy Xenoblade Chronicles without the Classic Controller Pro. It will cost less and its price will decrease faster than the limited edition ;)

But I just have to buy the limited edition!
 
CruxisMana said:
You're probably right. I'm unsure on the price of the controllers and what not, I just assumed that you'd have to shell out a bit more money.

I think you will - it's one thing to sell a title like Wii Play or Wii Play Motion with a controller for a minimal amount extra, it's quite another to do the same with Zelda (although, what did the Goldeneye golden CC Pro pack retail for?)
 

Shiggy

Member
Cosmonaut X said:
I think you will - it's one thing to sell a title like Wii Play or Wii Play Motion with a controller for a minimal amount extra, it's quite another to do the same with Zelda (although, what did the Goldeneye golden CC Pro pack retail for?)

70 €, nowadays 50 €...but then again, the game itself is available for less than 20 €.
 

dani_dc

Member
Nice, day after my birthday so I know what I'll be getting (even if late).
That limited edition shall be mine.

Hopefully that pre-order promotion exists here in Portugal.
 

Gambit

Member
Shiggy said:
And without the USK logo ;)


That is my problem with it.

So far, I have not bought a single game with that blasted logo, unless they have an alternative cover. For Xenoblade, there would be the alternative, but then they must print the stupid thing on the box. Argh.

Maybe I don't need the limited edition...but I do want to show my support for that kind of fan-service.

Anyway, September 2nd it shall be mine
 

Chesskid1

Banned
man when i heard it had a special classic controller, i was like hell yeah, gonna have sweet art on it.

then it turned out to be solid red.



:(
 
I saw this thread and lost my shit...


Then I crashed and realized this still was just for Europe. NOA just needs to tell us that it's not coming.... That way I could go ahead and import. I don't want to import and it comes out here and I wouldn't support it and then nintendo would take that as a sign that we don't want last story

Fucking nintendo. Stop makin me hurt

/battered wife
 
Gambit said:
So far, I have not bought a single game with that blasted logo, unless they have an alternative cover. For Xenoblade, there would be the alternative, but then they must print the stupid thing on the box. Argh.

Is there some reason games can't be shipped with the USK printed on the plastic wrap? Or is there a concern that games would end up on the shelf unwrapped and therefore not clearly rated?
 

Median

Member
Damn, that's a nice looking package. Crazy that this game is hitting so many territories and not the Americas (yet). I'll admit my heart kinda jumped when I saw the thread title though :(
 

[Nintex]

Member
TheBranca18 said:
Yeah I think the title should be changed, OP you suck!
No the title is correct, Xenoblade Chronicles is clearly the European name of the game, it was called Xenoblade in Japan and Monado: Beginning of the World in NA.
 

Shiggy

Member
Cosmonaut X said:
Is there some reason games can't be shipped with the USK printed on the plastic wrap? Or is there a concern that games would end up on the shelf unwrapped and therefore not clearly rated?

The logo must be printed on the front in exactly that size and on the disc. Otherwise it cannot be sold in Germany.
 

Shiggy

Member
Median said:
Damn, that's a nice looking package. Crazy that this game is hitting so many territories and not the Americas (yet). I'll admit my heart kinda jumped when I saw the thread title though :(

Russia and South Africa are still NoE territories ;)
 

Dragon

Banned
[Nintex] said:
No the title is correct, Xenoblade Chronicles is clearly the European name of the game, it was called Xenoblade in Japan and Monado: Beginning of the World in NA.

...

It's confusing because Xenoblade is what's most closely associated with the game. No matter if some stupid trailers two years ago at E3 were titled Monado. Perhaps I'm the only one confused, if so your point stands.
 

Jetku

Member
[Nintex] said:
No the title is correct, Xenoblade Chronicles is clearly the European name of the game, it was called Xenoblade in Japan and Monado: Beginning of the World in NA.

Title should be changed. Fans are in the middle of a campaign to bring this game, commonly referred to as just Xenoblade, to the NA market. It doesn't matter that the official title for the cancelled North American release of the game game was Monado.

Title just causes confusion, as if in an effort to gain extra hits from salivating NA fans.
 

Krev

Unconfirmed Member
DoctorWho said:
I want to move to Europe so I can suck on the sweet supple breast of NoE. NoA is dried up.
You could also watch new Doctor Who episodes as they air.
 
Shiggy said:
The logo must be printed on the front in exactly that size and on the disc. Otherwise it cannot be sold in Germany.

Oh, I know that's the USK specs are the reason the thing is there and so large - what I'm asking is really why it has to be like that, and not smaller, or why it can't just printed on the shrinkwrap/disc? For example, the UK ratings (12, 15, 18 etc.) had to be a certain size etc., but they were dramatically smaller - so why the need for such a large USK rating?
 

daffy

Banned
Jetku said:
Title should be changed. American fans are amid a campaign to bring this game to the market, which is commonly referred to as just Xenoblade. It doesn't matter that the official title for the cancelled game was Monado.

Title just causes confusion, as if in an effort to gain extra hits from salivating NA fans.
wait what?

Game is called Xenoblade Chronicles in EU. I guess maybe an (EU) might help?
 

Gambit

Member
Cosmonaut X said:
Is there some reason games can't be shipped with the USK printed on the plastic wrap? Or is there a concern that games would end up on the shelf unwrapped and therefore not clearly rated?


Not one that I am aware of. I just assume that once the plastic is broken, the logo would be gone and the poor little toddlers (or their parents) don't know anymore if it's age-appropriate. So, generally they are on the cover itself.

To me, sticking the logo on the plastic would be ideal. I don't even mind the thought behind the logos. It's just that I hate how they destroy the artworks.
 
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