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Xenoblade: Thoughts & impressions way after the hype.
- Thread starter ZombiePlatypus
- Start date
Thickstone
Member
I never understood how this game could manage to delude people with the exploration aspect when many aspects of the game are just shallow OCD-mechanics.
- The Side-Quests are mostly generic.
- I felt that it was almost toooo big
- The pacing is definitely odd with 15 hours of boredom in between
- Characterisation-wise, there was a lot to be desired
- The battle system was totally boring in relation to the play time.
- Battle members were complete morons and I hate Sharla to this very day
- Ugly and convoluted interface
- It overstays its welcome by a mile.
- Stupid difficulty that was almost entirely dependant on grinding
- The setting is cool, but many areas are just very typical for the genre.
If it hadn't been for some interesting twist and areas, I would never have been able to finish it. I think it's a rather mediocre game, but perhaps it's just not up to what I expect from jRPGs. If I had to rate it....5/10
- The Side-Quests are mostly generic.
- I felt that it was almost toooo big
- The pacing is definitely odd with 15 hours of boredom in between
- Characterisation-wise, there was a lot to be desired
- The battle system was totally boring in relation to the play time.
- Battle members were complete morons and I hate Sharla to this very day
- Ugly and convoluted interface
- It overstays its welcome by a mile.
- Stupid difficulty that was almost entirely dependant on grinding
- The setting is cool, but many areas are just very typical for the genre.
If it hadn't been for some interesting twist and areas, I would never have been able to finish it. I think it's a rather mediocre game, but perhaps it's just not up to what I expect from jRPGs. If I had to rate it....5/10
MaxwellGT2000
Member
*looks at the post* *looks at the avatar* I can't deal, I just can't
Talk about serendipity.. I just finished the game today on Dolphin (with the HD texture pack). I pretty much agree with the OP on all counts.
The story is full of dumb stuff, especially around the end with a particularly hilarious revelation, but I didn't give a shit, as we all know what to expect from a "Xeno" game.
Vast open spaces, a really fun battle system, no random encounters, the ability to save anywhere, no real penalty for dying and fast travel made this much more enjoyable than any other JRPG in the past generation. Or in the 21st century, for that matter.
The music is great, too. Can't wait for X.
The story is full of dumb stuff, especially around the end with a particularly hilarious revelation, but I didn't give a shit, as we all know what to expect from a "Xeno" game.
Vast open spaces, a really fun battle system, no random encounters, the ability to save anywhere, no real penalty for dying and fast travel made this much more enjoyable than any other JRPG in the past generation. Or in the 21st century, for that matter.
The music is great, too. Can't wait for X.
Thickstone
Member
Just to make your world view go boom: I acutally think that Xenoblade, objectively, is the better designed game than FF XIII. It's just that I can't understand how everyone is so forgivable considering the obvious flaws the game has and I feel that it's worth hearing different opinions that do nit declare Xeno as the second coming of Crist.
(Way to ignore the whole post because of bias btw.)
But.. the faces. And the hands. There are way too many closeups for a game with such low-poly character models. The environments look amazing, though.
I was pretty hyped, this was the second Wii game I ever bought. I ended up getting bored after 10-15 hours. Not a fan of the battle system, didn't like a lot of the side quests (but felt pressured to complete them for some reason) either. I was liked the story and thought it was an interesting world, but not enough to sink 80-90 hours into it. I may try it again some day (if that's possible).
Black Door
Banned
It's a great game with a neat story in the vein of their previous Xeno titles, but it definitely suffers from Tales of Symphonia syndrome a bit (i.e., every other RPG on the console sucks or is a port, so it's automatically GOTForever.)
A lot of people get mystified by the giant field maps and claim that the world is open and varied but you're basically doing fetch quests for 90% of the game and can't interact with anything. Most of the field NPCs hang out near the save points to give you quests, but don't really do anything on their own, which hurts the immersion a bit
A lot of people get mystified by the giant field maps and claim that the world is open and varied but you're basically doing fetch quests for 90% of the game and can't interact with anything. Most of the field NPCs hang out near the save points to give you quests, but don't really do anything on their own, which hurts the immersion a bit
MaxwellGT2000
Member
No no, I didn't ignore the post, it's obvious I read it when I see the line about characterization leaves something to be desired then notice you have Lightning avatar. I'm not saying Xeno should win the emmy, but holy hell I think you've missed a number of things... but to each their own.
Thickstone
Member
Wow. 5/10? What would you give FFXIII? A -7/10?
Ugh...kinda saw this coming.
First of all, I think that these games share the same genre and that's it. The design philosophies behind them are very different.
Considering the fun I had with them...then yes, I would rate XIII way higher than Xenoblade. But I'm not fussed with exploring big worlds, so admittedly a lot of the appeal Xeno has is lost for me.
This is a subjective point of view, obviously. It's not that XIII does not have it's flaws, though.
This was a rather subjective statement. I felt that the whole Xenoblade cast was totally bland and could have been fleshed out a whole lot more. Concerning Lightning: She's not the best character in the world or anything, but I found her interesting enough and I like her design. That's more than I ca say about Shulk.
MaxwellGT2000
Member
And this is why I don't get into these debates with people who think you can't objectively say the Xenoblade cast is better than XIII cast *backs out of the thread slowly*
Wow. 5/10? What would you give FFXIII? A -7/10?
Great kneejerk reactions guys sorry someone doesn't think Xenoblade is the best game ever, or god forbid someone likes a character in a game series not-well liked.
How can you like a game without acknowledging it's flaws i don't know. The battle system is one of the worst i've seen in any RPG and the story wasn't all that great. But what exactly is pointing out that lightning avatar getting you guys in trying to convince people that the game is good, that it's better than FF13? They're different beasts altogether, it was more of a legit argument to compare Xenoblade and FF12 because they have more similar design philosophies.
Rajack
Member
If you've played Xenoblade, the following song means a lot to you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4vCEHpv6Hg
The music was definitely good, but it's weird how nothing stuck with me. I can remember a ton of songs from ff games and kh games and yadda yadda but Xenoblade? Absolutely nothing.
It was good, fantastic even. Just, for some weird fucked up reason, nothing memorable.
Game's good. Got that Tales of Symphonia overhype effect going, though. You know, the one where it releases on a nintendo console with few RPG's and all of a sudden it's the best RPG ever made.
It's still really solid and absolutely recommendable to people who enjoy JRPG's. If you grew up on square, then yes, this will break the tedium. If you've already moved on to Atlus... you might find this lacking.
I will say though, the story is really disappointing, at least to me. I thought it started out great, with some fresh spins on old tropes. But eventually it devolved into some really silly, cliched stuff with plot twists for the sake of plot twists. I thought the characters were interesting though. The stellar voice acting helped out in this respect.
It's still really solid and absolutely recommendable to people who enjoy JRPG's. If you grew up on square, then yes, this will break the tedium. If you've already moved on to Atlus... you might find this lacking.
I will say though, the story is really disappointing, at least to me. I thought it started out great, with some fresh spins on old tropes. But eventually it devolved into some really silly, cliched stuff with plot twists for the sake of plot twists. I thought the characters were interesting though. The stellar voice acting helped out in this respect.
That's actually the only memorable theme in that game because ~damn~ there's few boss themes that actually get you pumped for a battle as good as this does, it's truly amazing.
*Monado vision*
Oh. Okay. But it's actually a wonder that the soundtrack isn't memorable, I do remember it having some good-great themes but damn if i could pull them into my head at will unlike other OSTs.
OminoMichelin
Member
I loved it, it had everything I want from a game:
Exploration, loot, good dialogues, secrets,fun combat,personality. Sure, I could predict the whole story (until the
at least), but that could have been fixed with less foreshadowing. My only regret is that I could never beat the game 100%...so many doors I coulnd't get to 
Exploration, loot, good dialogues, secrets,fun combat,personality. Sure, I could predict the whole story (until the
mechonis hand
That1BlackGuy
Member
I've said it before, I feel it's a good game a really good game but not some bastion of RPG excellence that it was made out to be; I mean using "savior" in this context for anything much less an entire genre of game design is pretty hyperbolic. It's just a single player MMORPG to me (albeit a good one), nothing trendsetting though.
OverturePT
Member
It's the game of this generation for me, this one and The Witcher 2. Xenoblade gave me far more for the money I spent though and I replayed it on Dolphin which makes the game look incredible... I've always been a PC gamer and I'm used to higher textures/resolution and amazing looking games, but Xenoblade really awed me... probably the scope but also the design. It's lovely.
And yes, characters look kinda ugly but I'll give them credit for variety:
Notice the different shape of the noses, for example. Not just some copy + paste and different hairstyles, but yes, most look ugly (I blame the Wii).
And yes, characters look kinda ugly but I'll give them credit for variety:
Notice the different shape of the noses, for example. Not just some copy + paste and different hairstyles, but yes, most look ugly (I blame the Wii).
razoftblend
Member
Oh man, that part got stuck on my head real hard. It instantly hooked me up till the end.
AlwaysPlaying
Member
I only ever got to seen my buddy play it. but there was certainly somthing very cool about it. the music was great, the grand scheme of the maps were awesome. reminded me of the way i felt when i was younger playing zelda or FF. makes me wish i had a Wii.
Thickstone
Member
No, I think you really can't. How you perceive characters is entirely subjec....
Oh lol Toriyama. Now I got it, thanks.
I spent a little bit of time unsuccessfully trying to get into this game after becoming disgusted with JRPG tropes and swearing off the genre entirely sometime in the PS2 era.
I hear things about how this 'revives the genre', yet the first half-dozen hours are still such trite and by-the-book junk it was a complete turn-off for me.
You don't have to start off in a small village and you don't have to be prepubescent and you don't have interminable conversations with your shy, introverted, innocent childhood sweetheart etc etc etc.
But dang if they don't keep doing it. Sure, sure, everyone who likes JRPGs always says the same thing: "it gets better 10/20/30/40 hours in". That's nice. I'm too busy these days to tolerate dozens of hours of tedium and more or less indefensible design.
I hear things about how this 'revives the genre', yet the first half-dozen hours are still such trite and by-the-book junk it was a complete turn-off for me.
You don't have to start off in a small village and you don't have to be prepubescent and you don't have interminable conversations with your shy, introverted, innocent childhood sweetheart etc etc etc.
But dang if they don't keep doing it. Sure, sure, everyone who likes JRPGs always says the same thing: "it gets better 10/20/30/40 hours in". That's nice. I'm too busy these days to tolerate dozens of hours of tedium and more or less indefensible design.
I recommend you The Last Story ;-)
Shorter, good pacing. Very good characterization too. Also some subtle takes on usual JRPG fare.
Weird, I found myself humming stuff like the main theme, Colony 9, Gaur Plains, Confrontation with the Enemy , Frontier Village, Satori Marsh, Mechonis Field and Mt Valak for like, incessant periods of time following finishing the game. Oh and "Beyond the Sky" to this day. (<3 u Mitsuda)
Great game and I took my sweet time going through it. I didn't do a ton of the sidequests, just wanted to beat the game at my own pace though. It's one of my top JRPGs for this gen, but not overall. For me, the only small problems with Xenoblade were the character models, the battle system (it's good but nowhere my type of battle system), and the story towards the end. I regret not getting the battle system entirely until later in the game. Topple too good.
Been motivated into going through Xenosaga 1 afterwards since I've had the trilogy just collecting dust for so long. 14 hours in and I'm not sure what to think just yet, good or bad.
Been motivated into going through Xenosaga 1 afterwards since I've had the trilogy just collecting dust for so long. 14 hours in and I'm not sure what to think just yet, good or bad.
Great kneejerk reactions guys sorry someone doesn't think Xenoblade is the best game ever, or god forbid someone likes a character in a game series not-well liked.
You are aware that I replied to a completely different posts that bordered on trolling, right?
Of course it wasn't perfect, but XB was a very solid game that was worth the price and more. There was a certain enjoyment in advancing to the next area just to see the glorious landscapes.
And to the guy who lost interest early on due to tropes... I guess you never made it to the Metal Face fight in Colony 9...
And to the guy who lost interest early on due to tropes... I guess you never made it to the Metal Face fight in Colony 9...
Good thing there are none of those in Xenoblade. Except the small village part? Though it's not that small
Seriously where are people getting these silly tropes from? Xenoblade? Xenosaga? Star Ocean? Dragon Quest? Final Fantasy? Chrono Trigger? Valkyrie Profile? NiER? I can understand the small town thing, kind of, but this sweeping jrpg generalization needs to go.
Like the biggest game that probably fits all of those points is Ni no Kuni. Maybe Tales of Symphonia but that's like one of the worst Tales games anyway. Secret of Mana fits. Final Fantasy X kind of fits with Yuna being the introvert.
Where did this 'jrpg protags are little kids' thing come from?
Kinda my bad but he did kinda have a point even if he posted it in a trolly manner. I'll take you out the quotes tho.
Stop being irrational and open the box. Your sealed copy means nothing unless you want to sell it.
Yeah man, it really is weird, the music was grrrreat.
And still, when I try to remember some of the songs
I can come up with nothing at all
nothing at all
(nothing at all)
It seems overhyped because the many people singing their praises apparently cant find any fault in it. It's the Mary Sue.
Final Fantasy 12 is my current #1 rpg of all time and I find it has a ton of shit wrong with it, even in the international version. I rarely see someone not like something in Xenoblade if they like the game.
Wow. 5/10? What would you give FFXIII? A -7/10?
Nice ad hominem guys.
Refute his points, or move along and let the discussion continue.
OminoMichelin
Member
To be honest, I had to grind really hard
inside bionis
I haven't seen that, we almost all mention faults with it as far as I can tell. We just love the damn game.
I absolutely loved Xenoblade, and I really hope we get an HD port for Wii U so that I can have the option of HD and off-screen play (a necessity for parents).
I have to agree that the endgame grinding was annoying, but primarily if you wanted to do the optional super bosses. I did every quest as they were presented to me, so for the majority of the game I was about ten levels higher than what I should have been... yet at the end, I was level 75-80 and the next quest was level 90 or so, requiring at least ten levels of solid grinding to complete the rests of the quests.
My only other gripe (that I can think of at the moment) is that the gem creation system is completely pointless until the end of the game. If you keep up with most quests, you end up finding or earning better gems than you can fuse, so you only really need to do it to get the highest rank.
I have to agree that the endgame grinding was annoying, but primarily if you wanted to do the optional super bosses. I did every quest as they were presented to me, so for the majority of the game I was about ten levels higher than what I should have been... yet at the end, I was level 75-80 and the next quest was level 90 or so, requiring at least ten levels of solid grinding to complete the rests of the quests.
My only other gripe (that I can think of at the moment) is that the gem creation system is completely pointless until the end of the game. If you keep up with most quests, you end up finding or earning better gems than you can fuse, so you only really need to do it to get the highest rank.
Are you sure about that? I will hype the game to heaven and back but I still have things that bugged me about it. Those two are not mutually exclusive.
Haha, yeah, why the hell not. I've been building a "best video game songs" playlist in Youtube for awhile now and now that I think about it, I don't think there's a single song from Xenoblade.
Yoko Shimomura is my favorite vgm composer.