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[IntelliHeath]

You guys convinced me. Ran out to Gamestop, got it "pre-owned," but it's practically brand-new, and less than $50. Pulled from the pocket dimension inside that one drawer to the right of the cashier that seems to somehow contain copies of every game ever.

You had better handwriting than I do.

 

[Man God]

This game is definitely the tits. Quite often too.

 

[MiguelMexMIstery]

You guys convinced me. Ran out to Gamestop, got it "pre-owned," but it's practically brand-new, and less than $50. Pulled from the pocket dimension inside that one drawer to the right of the cashier that seems to somehow contain copies of every game ever.

So jealous. ;_;

 

[balladofwindfishes]

Does anyone else think that Dr. Mario should get his own series icon? Dr. Mario has branched out into its own sub-series like Yoshi, and a pill makes a lot more sense for the character than a mushroom. The Dr. Mario games are mostly self-contained, and Dr. Mario doesn’t exactly show up in the main series or Mario Kart.

Imagine seeing that pop up on the screen after winning with Dr. Mario, accompanied by a short Dr. Mario musical flourish. It just feels right, and it'd help further separate him from the standard Mario.

Viruses are enemies in the Mario and Luigi series.

I don't think he needs his own icon, but his own victory theme would be nice, especially since he probably had one planned for Brawl

 

[MetatronM]

While I liked Melia and actively played as her for most of the game (where possible) you can't really have her in your party if you're not the one controlling her because the AI flat out doesn't know how to play her

Then again, It's rare for me to find any game where the friendly AI doesn't end up feeling like a burden to me somewhere along the journey (dear Xenoblade characters, please stop standing in the acid pools during that boss fight, for the love of heck)

I never understood this complaint. You know you can just give them orders to come back to your position so they don't stand there, right?

 

[Richie]

I had a dream where I visited this thread and everyone was quoting a certain image and going "HOLY FUCK HE'S BACK" "SNAKE?!" "holy fucking shit SAKURAI YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARD SNAAAAAAAAKE". Because I have NeoGAF configured to show images as links, I couldn't actually see the quoted image in question, but it was being quoted like crazy.

I come here and nada. I spend too much time in this thread hahahaha.

 

[IntelliHeath]

 

[OricWindstar]

So...damn...close!

 

[ShockingAlberto]

The only positioning problem I really had with Xenoblade is when someone would get knocked off a cliff or high position and reset the battle or when you bring Riki in to a battle in knee-high water and he can't fight.

 

[Geminosity]

CHARACTER REDACTED works best as an AI in a party with Dunban or Reyn, who can easily rip the aggro back to themselves. Aggro down gems do work as well. CHARACTER REDACTED can also be built in a way to be almost as good of an evasion tank as Dunban and then it's just unfair.

I found that when I played said character that even aggro down gems and whatnot couldn't stop me easily ripping monsters off the tanks with minimal effort
Due to that I strongly considered making them my agility tank but noted that they lacked one or two tools that made Dunban a better choice for that role. By the end of the game my team way pretty much Melia, Dunban not wearing much and REDACTED. Though for the final boss I went Shulk (can't remember why, I wouldn't have done it without a good reason... not that it mattered anyhoo, by that point my team pretty much auto-won against anything without an aura thanks to the absurd chain attack loops :3 )

 

[Choppasmith]

It's also the best time to use Sharla again. Hell if you want to do a lot of the end game extra content the best party while still underleveled is Melia/Sharla/Riki because ether is far more accurate.

Being at the end of the game, I might just try that. I love their victory dialog together

"Riki see Melly as big sister."
"Aww, but what about Sharla?"
"Sharla more like mama. One mama enough"
"Now wait just a minute..."

I like Melia, though I've never really gotten the hang of her in such a way that makes controlling her superior to her being controlled by the CPU.

Back on topic, if there's any other Xenoblade character I want to appear, it's Melia. But only if they got Jenna Coleman back.

 

[Aaronrules380]

I never understood this complaint. You know you can just give them orders to come back to your position so they don't stand there, right?

I honestly never realized the tactics existed until I watch chuggaaconroy's lets play. Then again, on my first playthrough I never realized the value of chain attacks until I was on the very last boss fight (I was afraid to use up the party gauge and then not be able to revive party members or be revived) lol

 

[Neiteio]

Starting Xenoblade probably in the next hour or so, please give me beginner tips, stuff that will save me grief, etc.

 

[OricWindstar]

Starting Xenoblade probably in the next hour or so, please give me beginner tips, stuff that will save me grief, etc.

Never forget what time it is.

 

[Aaronrules380]

Starting Xenoblade probably in the next hour or so, please give me beginner tips, stuff that will save me grief, etc.

Learn to use chain attacks well. I didn't until the final boss and they definitely make things go far smoother

 

[Geminosity]

I never understood this complaint. You know you can just give them orders to come back to your position so they don't stand there, right?

The complaint is that i don't want to have to tell people not to stand in burning acid and sometimes it would take multiple shouts to get them to stop wading in the pools as if it wasn't slowly dissolving their shins off... just a LITTLE bit of self-preservation on the AI's part would've been nice. I'm supposed to be playing hero/heroine, not babysitter :/

 

[Ahnez]

Starting Xenoblade probably in the next hour or so, please give me beginner tips, stuff that will save me grief, etc.

Use chain attacks

 

[Neiteio]

Learn to use chain attacks well. I didn't until the final boss and they definitely make things go far smoother

What's a chain attack and how do I do one?

 

[Vuapol]

Never forget what time it is.

Spoiler

;^D

 

[SuperSah]

wut.

WUT RMS IS BANNED? ;c

my ship buddy what did you do

 

[Neiteio]

Never forget what time it is.

Simple meme, or subtle hint I should lean on Reyn to carry me through tough battles?

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Starting Xenoblade probably in the next hour or so, please give me beginner tips, stuff that will save me grief, etc.

Sidequests are not mandatory but you should do some here and there between story segments to keep on par with the enemies' levels. Talk to everyone, sometimes multiple times, because people with names get logged in to your books. Keep a Xenoblade wikia handy because you can save yourself a lot of grief by just googling someone and finding out where they are/what time they get there than checking the social chart.

You can make a jump of any height in to the water. Fast travel is your friend. Switch out your playable characters every time you feel like it because it's the best way to build up relationships (though this doesn't super matter until you get your third character). Buy skill upgrades from shops and keep a mental or written tally of what you own and what you upgrade because Xenoblade has a dumb UI.

 

[Kouriozan]

I like it

 

[MisterHero]

Moving my post from the Shulk announcement thread

If Dark Pit is a playable character, wouldn't it be funny if

Spoiler

Mumkhar

Metal Face was playable as a villain representative of Xenoblade? He and Dark Pit had similar roles in their videos.

Also it would be funnier because Ridley got ignored again

If I got a playable Xenoblade villain over Ridley I wouldn't complain.

Hell yeah.

The only positioning problem I really had with Xenoblade is when someone would get knocked off a cliff or high position and reset the battle or when you bring Riki in to a battle in knee-high water and he can't fight.

That's the best part! Fighting a dragon on a mountain top should have unique challenges!

Starting Xenoblade probably in the next hour or so, please give me beginner tips, stuff that will save me grief, etc.

DON'T DO THE SIDEQUESTS RIGHT AWAY. That's just effing stupid. Yeah, some quests are like "Kill 5 of these animals". It'd be a good idea to get to know the land and where these enemies spawn, right?

Explore the world if you want. Discovering landmarks will aid in Quick Travel later on. You can find Quest Items without picking quests up. You can still find Unique Monsters can get good loot for beating them without quests.

The loot from Unique Monsters is usually higher level gear than what you can buy from shops. Later Skill Books can only be found from Rare boxes (Unique Monsters always drop them).

IIRC there's only 2 quest cutoffs in the entire game. One is roughly halfway through, and one right before the end.

Just have fun man.

 

[Man God]

A lot of shop equipment is garbage though so its not a big deal later on in the game.

 

[SuperSah]

Think you mean 33.

 

[Neiteio]

Sidequests are not mandatory but you should do some here and there between story segments to keep on par with the enemies' levels. Talk to everyone, sometimes multiple times, because people with names get logged in to your books. Keep a Xenoblade wikia handy because you can save yourself a lot of grief by just googling someone and finding out where they are/what time they get there than checking the social chart.

You can make a jump of any height in to the water. Fast travel is your friend. Switch out your playable characters every time you feel like it because it's the best way to build up relationships (though this doesn't super matter until you get your third character). Buy skill upgrades from shops and keep a mental or written tally of what you own and what you upgrade because Xenoblade has a dumb UI.

Oh wow, awesome tips! I'm bookmarking your post.

For clarification:

- What Xenoblade wiki do you recommend?

- Can I survive falling onto land from any height? I know you can in X.

- Are you saying there is an NPC schedule reminiscent of the Bomber's Notebook in Majora's Mask??

 

[Aaronrules380]

And now I've decided to start a new playthrough of Xenoblade even though I still need to get back to xillia 2.

 

[Kriken]

You guys convinced me. Ran out to Gamestop, got it "pre-owned," but it's practically brand-new, and less than $50. Pulled from the pocket dimension inside that one drawer to the right of the cashier that seems to somehow contain copies of every game ever.

Well you can always put some of the characters in swimsuits, so yeah, there are your tits

Never forget what time it is.

It's Shulk time now

 

[IntelliHeath]

Think you mean 33.

Shush. We will have our own countdown soon

 

[OricWindstar]

Simple meme, or subtle hint I should lean on Reyn to carry me through tough battles?

Both! I like Reyn quite a bit. But, I tend to choose party members based on a story over stats mentality. Fortunately, pretty much everyone in the game is useful.

It's Shulk time now

Haha, I still can't get over they went with that joke. XD

 

[Neiteio]

DON'T DO THE SIDEQUESTS RIGHT AWAY. That's just effing stupid. Yeah, some quests are like "Kill 5 of these animals". It'd be a good idea to get to know the land and where these enemies spawn, right?

Explore the world if you want. Discovering landmarks will aid in Quick Travel later on. You can find Quest Items without picking quests up. You can still find Unique Monsters can get good loot for beating them without quests.

The loot from Unique Monsters is usually higher level gear than what you can buy from shops. Later Skill Books can only be found from Rare boxes (Unique Monsters always drop them).

IIRC there's only 2 quest cutoffs in the entire game. One is roughly halfway through, and one right before the end.

Just have fun man.

When you say "there are only two quest cutoffs in the entire game," one halfway through, one right before the end, do you mean there are only two "missable" quests? And how will I know them when I see them?

 

[Aaronrules380]

Oh wow, awesome tips! I'm bookmarking your post.

For clarification:

- What Xenoblade wiki do you recommend?

- Can I survive falling onto land from any height? I know you can in X.

- Are you saying there is an NPC schedule reminiscent of the Bomber's Notebook in Majora's Mask??

You take damage from falling onto land, but if you survive you'll automatically regen hp outside of battle.

ANd yeah, NPCs have schedules and there's a chart with relationships between npcs you've met, their schedules, and a bit about them (Although this doesn't apply to story npcs)

 

[Ahnez]

Simple meme, or subtle hint I should lean on Reyn to carry me through tough battles?

Use all characters, you will figure out what party best suits you

 

[Man God]

Quests that are timed have clocks next to them. There's a lot of them, but they give you a ton of warning before it happens. Nothing truly important is locked out by not doing them.

 

[Neiteio]

You take damage from falling onto land, but if you survive you'll automatically regen hp outside of battle.

ANd yeah, NPCs have schedules and there's a chart with relationships between npcs you've met, their schedules, and a bit about them (Although this doesn't apply to story npcs)

Oh wow, this sounds awesome

OK, playing now, but will check back in a few

 

[mStudios]

Are we going to have midnight release?

 

[Aaronrules380]

When you say "there are only two quest cutoffs in the entire game," one halfway through, one right before the end, do you mean there are only two "missable" quests? And how will I know them when I see them?

THere's a bunch of missable quests, they're marked in your quest log with a clock. But there are certain events that make a ton of quests missed at the same time

 

[munchie64]

I should really give Xenoblade a whirl sometime when I'm not so busy too.

 

[Aaronrules380]

Oh wow, this sounds awesome

OK, playing now, but will check back in a few

I'm replaying it from the start as I post right now LOL

 

[IntelliHeath]

Are we going to have midnight release?

Yeah, it's more likely.

 

[Veeboy]

Starting Xenoblade probably in the next hour or so, please give me beginner tips, stuff that will save me grief, etc.

Don't get too reliant on Shulk as party leader. Try and learn how to best use each character as a leader character. You can force your way if you keep your party that way, but its easier and more fun to vary your leader.

Certain characters (Melia and Shulk) suck horrendously when controlled by the AI.

You're going to get a dedicated healer, and this character is going to become virtually obsolete like an hour later. They'll come in handy at certain points, but its best to leave healing to characters who aren't dedicated healers like Shulk.

Don't stress quests. There are a lot of them, and most of them you will be able to do just as you're playing the game regularly. At certain points you may want to clean up quests, but for the most part just get the quests and let them finish themselves.

Riki is actually awesome. I dismissed him early in my playthrough since he is a comic relief mascot character, but he is actually amazing.

Shulk is a bit of a glass cannon meaning you should be trying to keep aggro off of him at all times.

Speaking of aggro you should learn to manipulate it to your advantage. At the start of the game you're given a character who draws aggro well (Reyn) and a character who should avoid it (Shulk). Try shifting the party around to learn the ins and outs of aggro in Xenoblade.

Tons of other tips, but it's probably best you just play the game how you want.

 

[Geminosity]

What's a chain attack and how do I do one?

I wouldn't worry about them too much until the game actually tells you about them, but... here's a primer:

A chain attack a special attack chosen from the menu at the cost of 'party meter' (same meter you use to resurrect fallen party members).
When the chain attack begins, time will freeze and all your party's cooldowns get reset. You will then get to pick an attack to do.
Based on a combination of random chance, your affinity with the next party member in the 'chain' and a few other factors, after the attack you MAY trigger a button prompt. If you get said prompt and hit the B button at the right time then you will switch to the next member and select an attack for them. This continues until the chain breaks.

While you are chaining, using an ability of the same colour as the previously used colour (or a grey as grey count as 'wild' as far as colours go) you will build up a chain multiplier. Depending on how high this multiplier is, the attacks used during the chain attack will have their damage increased (this also applies to Damage over Time attacks, like some that Melia has. This is what makes her beastly :3 )

There are various skills you can get that increase the chances of the chain continuing and, more importantly, some that even heal your party when a chain attack is completed. Get these as they're super useful :3

Early in the game don't worry too much about getting a chain modifier, but be sure to understand how it works... at the early point, the chains are really just an easy way of scoring a topple/daze but as you get further in you'll start getting the tools to really lay down some ridiculous damage and in some cases even generate enough party meter right after to do them almost infinitely :3

 

[Cody_D165]

You guys convinced me. Ran out to Gamestop, got it "pre-owned," but it's practically brand-new, and less than $50. Pulled from the pocket dimension inside that one drawer to the right of the cashier that seems to somehow contain copies of every game ever.

I'd bet money that copy is brand new. The employees at my local Gamestop flatout told me they were opening new copies to sell as pre-owned because the pre-owned price was higher for quite some time. The Club Nintendo code will probably even work

I need to finish the game myself someday. I think I got like 20 hours in then it fell off my radar for awhile.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Oh wow, awesome tips! I'm bookmarking your post.

For clarification:

- What Xenoblade wiki do you recommend?

- Can I survive falling onto land from any height? I know you can in X.

- Are you saying there is an NPC schedule reminiscent of the Bomber's Notebook in Majora's Mask??

- Any of them, really. They're all basically the same. One might have NPC information another doesn't.

- Nope, your player character can die from falls, but death is mostly meaningless in this game. You just resume from the checkpoint no worse for wear. It's just a way to tell you that you can't go down that way.

- Yep.

 

[Berordn]

Yeah, it's more likely.

For eShop at least, it's been confirmed. Retail might vary.

 

[MisterHero]

When you say "there are only two quest cutoffs in the entire game," one halfway through, one right before the end, do you mean there are only two "missable" quests? And how will I know them when I see them?

The cutoff points will literally have characters saying something like "If you do this, there's no going back". Don't proceed with the story if you want to finish sidequests. (the quests will be marked with the stopwatch icon)

There are a few missable quests. Some aspects of the game become inaccessible later on.

I don't think any of the missables are actually important though. I was able to unlock features like

Spoiler

the 2 Hidden Monado Arts, the Titan Armor, extra character branches for linking abilities

before the end of the game.

Now that I think about it, I would highly recommend trying to fix Colony 6 as much as you can before the halfway point. There are a few missable materials.

 

[IntelliHeath]

For eShop at least, it's been confirmed. Retail might vary.

Yeah, that's what I meant with retails.

 

[Blizzard]

Yes. Nintendo does this frequently. Their review embargoes expire weeks before games release. MK8's was two weeks before release, if I recall correctly, and reviewers had it for a month prior to that. Someone on twitter told me the other day that his place of work received a Bayonetta 2 review copy already.

I imagine it makes more sense to just do this at PAX instead of renting a venue in Seattle, anyway, hauling the demo stations over there, and asking a bunch of people tired from PAX to get impressions up a week or two.

Thanks for the explanation. I didn't realize how common this was for Nintendo.

 

[Man God]

I sort of hope they release the unbundled GCN adapter a week or two early.