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[ivysaur12]

Really interesting to see how people form narratives in their heads based off unreliable memories or hearsay.

I mean, the preview article is getting called click bait now.

http://kotaku.com/xenoblade-chronicles-x-the-kotaku-import-preview-1710008103

"Xenoblade Chronicles X: The Kotaku Import Preview"

Man, what a villain! Must be trying to slander Xenoblade Chronicles X for clicks with a title like that, am I right?

Nevermind that the "boring" part didn't even appear until the author's closing comments and that the majority of the text is spent matter-of-factly describing the game.

I just went through this thread and I didn't see anything -- who called the Kotaku preview clickbait or that it was trying to slander Xenoblade X unfairly? I don't think it's controversial to say that it was one of the few major import previews that got a fair bit of discussion here on GAF (thanks to the title of the thread: Kotaku: Xenoblade Chronicles Import Preview -- 'in one word, it would be “boredom.' and 800 posts later...).

That doesn't mean Kotaku reviewer's opinion is any less valid, but when it was one of the few major publications doing a deep dive of the game, it definitely set the tone around NeoGAF. Which is fine, since now we're getting more reviews and people can look at agreements and disagreements within them, as one does.

The general impression from the import thread was that it was a solid game, but the original was better.

somehow this telephoned into "the game was a disappointment"

Yup, especially in regards to story, which was a huge part of Bebpo's critique (and s/he's a huge fan of MonolithSoft games and their stories).

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I like a lot about the game, but I'm not going to say it wasn't a disappointment overall, but that's probably because I went in with expectations that were too high. I purposefully avoided a lot of information about the game before playing it.

It will still probably make my top 10 for the year, and I would totally recommend that people give it a try if they have a Wii U and are interested in the game, but it's definitely a disappointment as a follow up to the last Xenoblade, in my opinion.

For consensus I mean what a bunch of people are saying. Like, considerably more than just one. I don't care at all for metacritic scores or things like that.

Fair enough. I personally gain a lot more from reading individual posts and impressions than trying to gauge some kind of consensus, but that's just my approach.

 

[higgsboson1997]

I like a lot about the game, but I'm not going to say it wasn't a disappointment overall, but that's probably because I went in with expectations that were too high. I purposefully avoided a lot of information about the game before playing it.

It will still probably make my top 10 for the year, and I would totally recommend that people give it a try if they have a Wii U and are interested in the game, but it's definitely a disappointment as a follow up to the last Xenoblade, in my opinion.



Fair enough. I personally gain a lot more from reading individual posts and impressions than trying to gauge some kind of consensus, but that's just my approach.

Might playing it in English make a difference though? Some quests, etc may be a lot clearer that way, no?

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Might playing it in English make a difference though? Some quests, etc may be a lot clearer that way, no?

For me? No. I fully understand Japanese.

The localization looks to be top notch from what I've seen, though.

 

[ika]

The general impression from the import thread was that it was a solid game, but the original was better.

somehow this telephoned into "the game was a disappointment"

Well my impression is that X's better than the original in almost all subjects (including music, art and design, combat, exploration, quest management, characters and other systems). I won't say story just yet because my japanese is not good enough and I didn't finished the game, but the bits I know and until chapter 6 I like this game story and theme way better than the Wii game

Spoiler

(and the promise of more and better chapters in the future as this is like a Prologue of a bigger story)

.

It's impossible to surpass the two titans setting: that was a perfect concept that Mira can't match, and the non-linear progression is very different so I understand how some people won't like it. The online elements and avatar are other so-so things for me. But these things are little concerns that don't eclipse in any way the game for me, and definitely don't make the game worse than the first one.

The japanese import thread was full of people with similar impressions as mine, but for some reason, only the fewer negative ones mattered in the end.

 

[KingSnake]

The general impression from the import thread was that it was a solid game, but the original was better.

somehow this telephoned into "the game was a disappointment"

There are a couple of users who felt the need to impose their opinion as an absolute truth, so they posted it in almost every Xenoblade X thread, time and time again. That created the impression that the general opinion is negative. I guess spamming works after all.

 

[Malus]

https://twitter.com/pkollar/status/667972250897788928

Polygon guy seems pretty into it so far.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

It said 4 December on the Europe Nintendo Direct: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcgxbB1BB9E

Actually I just checked that and they don't mention the data packs at all so no it didn't say anything on the European direct.

Spoiler

Would by typical NOE incompetence to completely forget about them

 

[Diffense]

Exploring beautiful, seemingly alive, game worlds has always appealed to me so I am positive I'll love X based on what I know. The worlds of both the original Xenoblade and X are so amazing that the story is almost bonus. Xenoblade's story is a great bonus indeed but I can live with a less propulsive story in X when I have a world as large and varied as Mira to get lost in.

X seems to be, somewhat paradoxically, Xenoblade and anti-Xenoblade at the same time. The title, art style and battle systems are extremely reminiscent of Shulk's adventure yet the sci-fi setting and story progression seem to be quite different. if you went in wanting a similar plot progression to Xenoblade I could understand being disappointed since it doesn't seem to work that way in X. In X, you complete the story missions at your own pace after fulfilling the prerequisites. That will necessitate doing some ordinary and affinity quests as well as some exploration. IIRC, (side)quests were basically entirely optional in Xenoblade Chronicles since there was a very long independent story arc.

 

[Red Hood]

Actually I just checked that and they don't mention the data packs at all so no it didn't say anything on the European direct.

Spoiler

Would by typical NOE incompetence to completely forget about them

Ah, you were talking about the data packs, my bad. I haven't checked it on eShop myself yet, but the stream implied you could download it before the game releases, thus I'm assuming it has to be earlier than 4 December for Europe.

 

[Chaos17]

I trust no reviews.

I don't go in expecting the greatest game ever.

I go in expecting nothing.

I agree, I will only trust my opinion now because if I followed others opinion I would've skipped Fantasy Life on 3DS (was bashed by lazy reviewers!). And god damn I fell in love with it so hard, that I commisioned a fanart, lol.

Fantasy Life weakness was the story but beside that, the gameplay was 100% fun for me. I will throw money at the dev if they want to make an new expansion.

I kinda expect the same with Xenoblade X and I'm totally fine with it.
Also, they're enough preview-infos around to forge your own opinion.

 

[Orakio Rob]

Have you guys seen the list of arts in English?

http://pastebin.com/d21puBa5

There's even more detail here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1g0YR4M8RAHiRhCbAvV4tjXXHLEhRMrARzZMYAUGmyZ4/edit#gid=0

 

[Zero²]

Have you guys seen the list of arts in English?

http://pastebin.com/d21puBa5

There's even more detail here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1g0YR4M8RAHiRhCbAvV4tjXXHLEhRMrARzZMYAUGmyZ4/edit#gid=0

Some cool names there


So everyone, we went from Ace+Shimomura to Sawano, completely different styles to completely different settings. Now what composer you'd like for MonolithSoft next main RPG?

 

[Andyliini]

So everyone, we went from Ace+Shimomura to Sawano, completely different styles to completely different settings. Now what composer you'd like for MonolithSoft next main RPG?

Considering Takahashi said back in June his already working on his next game (which is years away, obviously) he could be thinking the same right now, too.

I personally can't name many Japanese composers, even Sawano was new to me, but I'm still gonna say Michiru Yamane. Her music in Castlevania was marvelous, and she can put out quite different sounds when she needs to. For example, Lament of Innocence used more orchestral sound (I don't know if it was actually orchestrated) while Curse of Darkness had more rock-sounds in it.

I can't wait on her score on Bloodstained.

 

[StarStabbedMoon]

Some cool names there


So everyone, we went from Ace+Shimomura to Sawano, completely different styles to completely different settings. Now what composer you'd like for MonolithSoft next main RPG?

Yasunori Mitsuda is always the correct answer. I'd also be down for a full game from Shimomura. Sawano, Ace+, and Kiyota also did a great job though. For me there's no bad option among the people who have worked on Xenoblade games thus far.

 

[7DollarHagane]

I'm finally getting into Xenoblade 3D the last few weeks and it's fantastic.

I'm worried though that this game might get a very low production run. I don't really want to buy it until I finish the first game. I hope that it's not like the original xenoblade wii release where it sold out immediately.

 

[george_us]

The exploration in this game looks incredible.

 

[El Odio]

So are Amazon SE orders really set to arrive 4 days after launch? I don't know if I can wait the extra time.

 

[Fandangox]

Some cool names there


So everyone, we went from Ace+Shimomura to Sawano, completely different styles to completely different settings. Now what composer you'd like for MonolithSoft next main RPG?

I don't care that it doesn't make sense, but: Daisuke Ishiwatari

 

[ClutchAnderson]

I don't care that it doesn't make sense, but: Daisuke Ishiwatari

Holy crap if Ishiwatari did the soundtrack I'd go bananas. One of the things I loved most about Guilty Gear was the music!

 

[AdanVC]

The Xenoblade CE is available to preorder here on Mexico through Gameplanet but I don't know if I should bite and preorder it... I'm not like a big fan of the Xenoblade series at all and I'm not even sure I will finish this game hah. Ahh I think I pass. I'm short on money anyways so standard edition to me only.

 

[NetMapel]

I've been trying to NOT spoil myself at all with Xenoblade Chronicles X so please excuse me if this is a very "noob" question. I listened to GamExplain's spoiler-free video but it didn't explain to me the biggest question I have about this game. From what I've seen so far, it's rather open-world and you got some big continents. The main thing I like from the original Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii is the fact that it's still a RPG with a fully fleshed story and a somewhat linear path. You go through all these giant maps and that was all super cool. It's kind of like a really nice blend of linear-RPG story-narration and also open-world with huge maps. Looking strictly at the continent map of Xenoblade Chronicles X, I don't know how that can support a strong story narration. It seems more open-world which tends to lack good story just due to the nature of the game play.

So, my main question about this game honestly comes down to, how is the story of this game ? Is there a strong narration or am I just running around like a headless in most types of open-world type games like GTA, MGSV... etc ? Those open world games can maybe entertain me for 20 hours and then I get bored due to a lack of direction for my preference I would like this game to be similar to the original Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii because that's a perfect blend of open world map and strong story-narration.

 

[Zero²]

I've been trying to NOT spoil myself at all with Xenoblade Chronicles X so please excuse me if this is a very "noob" question. I listened to GamExplain's spoiler-free video but it didn't explain to me the biggest question I have about this game. From what I've seen so far, it's rather open-world and you got some big continents. The main thing I like from the original Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii is the fact that it's still a RPG with a fully fleshed story and a somewhat linear path. You go through all these giant maps and that was all super cool. It's kind of like a really nice blend of linear-RPG story-narration and also open-world with huge maps. Looking strictly at the continent map of Xenoblade Chronicles X, I don't know how that can support a strong story narration. It seems more open-world which tends to lack good story just due to the nature of the game play.

So, my main question about this game honestly comes down to, how is the story of this game ? Is there a strong narration or am I just running around like a headless in most types of open-world type games like GTA, MGSV... etc ? Those open world games can maybe entertain me for 20 hours and then I get bored due to a lack of direction for my preference I would like this game to be similar to the original Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii because that's a perfect blend of open world map and strong story-narration.

Well it still is a jRPG, so yeah the story is really engaging. The main difference about this game is that the story is less about a main plot, and more about the actual world and making humanity survive. Not that there isnt a main plot, there is, and it's amazing as far I've seen it (I spoiled myself some big twists unfortunately).
Bottom line, if you are expecting a carbon copy of Xenoblade, you'll be disappointed. This game treats it's story differently, and the main point is exploring. As such the completion rates to progress in the main story quest makes sense.

 

[HawthorneKitty]

Some cool names there


So everyone, we went from Ace+Shimomura to Sawano, completely different styles to completely different settings. Now what composer you'd like for MonolithSoft next main RPG?

Went looking for someone that hasn't done a game before, so I want Tatsuya Katou because of Ketsui wo Himete.

 

[Zero²]

Considering Takahashi said back in June his already working on his next game (which is years away, obviously) he could be thinking the same right now, too.

I personally can't name many Japanese composers, even Sawano was new to me, but I'm still gonna say Michiru Yamane. Her music in Castlevania was marvelous, and she can put out quite different sounds when she needs to. For example, Lament of Innocence used more orchestral sound (I don't know if it was actually orchestrated) while Curse of Darkness had more rock-sounds in it.

I can't wait on her score on Bloodstained.

Oh yeah! Some of her songs are similar to those of the first xenoblade.

Yasunori Mitsuda is always the correct answer. I'd also be down for a full game from Shimomura. Sawano, Ace+, and Kiyota also did a great job though. For me there's no bad option among the people who have worked on Xenoblade games thus far.

Well as much as it would be amazing to have him back, and he is a great friend of Takahashi, I simply dont see a full soundtrack from him happening again...

I don't care that it doesn't make sense, but: Daisuke Ishiwatari

Damn, I can imagine the awesome battle themes this guy would make.


Personally I've love to see Revo (Sound Horizon) and Kajiura , the CD they made together is amazing, and both their track records are fantastic!
Damn it would be amazing, listen to this from revo and one song from their colab.

 

[Andyliini]

Oh yeah, I totally forgot about Revo. I loved his score on Bravely Default so much I imported the games official soundtrack. My favorite is Land of Immortality

 

[HylianHero12]

So are Amazon SE orders really set to arrive 4 days after launch? I don't know if I can wait the extra time.

Mine still is as far as I know. Maybe try emailing Amazon about it. I did that for Hyrule Warriors and I think it worked. I kind of said that I would probably get it somewhere else and the reason I had Prime was to get games on release dates. This time, there's too many games I'm trying to play, so if I get it a few days later it isn't a big deal.

 

[TheJoRu]

The game looks absolutely amazing. Part of me says that I'm an idiot for considering getting this when I have very, very little experience with JRPGs; the risk of getting burnt by the complexity and the sheer scale of this game is quite big. The other part of me is telling me to ignore all that and just go for it. Can't decide which part to trust just yet.

 

[Zero²]

Oh yeah, I totally forgot about Revo. I loved his score on Bravely Default so much I imported the games official soundtrack. My favorite is Land of Immortality

Yeah, the problem is that Revo is more a fantasy type of music, that's why I thought Kajiura would complement him well for a more sci-fi setting.

The game looks absolutely amazing. Part of me says that I'm an idiot for considering getting this when I have very, very little experience with JRPGs; the risk of getting burnt by the complexity and the sheer scale of this game is quite big. The other part of me is telling me to ignore all that and just go for it. Can't decide which part to trust just yet.

Just take it easy, explore at your own pace, do the quests you want to do, if you get bored of the main quest, go set some probes, or hunt materials for crafting items, or level companies up, or make some online quests with your friends, or go do some character quests, or just normal quests, or just discover new areas, etc...
This game has a lot of systems to be sure you will always have something fun to do.

 

[NetMapel]

Well it still is a jRPG, so yeah the story is really engaging. The main difference about this game is that the story is less about a main plot, and more about the actual world and making humanity survive. Not that there isnt a main plot, there is, and it's amazing as far I've seen it (I spoiled myself some big twists unfortunately).
Bottom line, if you are expecting a carbon copy of Xenoblade, you'll be disappointed. This game treats it's story differently, and the main point is exploring. As such the completion rates to progress in the main story quest makes sense.

Hmmmm... interesting. Well, now I officially have this game on my radar and I want to join any GAF squad when one becomes available I only have time to game and stream for a few short hours most likely on a weekly basis for this game. Looking forward to it Too bad the online aspect of the game is somewhat limited from what I've read. Would be nice to be able to just fully play the game online with a friend or two and complete all sorts of quests together

or maybe I read it wrong and that is the case for the game ? :O

 

[Riki]

No you can just do quick raid bosses with people online. But there is a large connected community that you do quests with. You don't see them playing but it's connected.

 

[TheJoRu]

Just take it easy, explore at your own pace, do the quests you want to do, if you get bored of the main quest, go set some probes, or hunt materials for crafting items, or level companies up, or make some online quests with your friends, or go do some character quests, or just normal quests, or just discover new areas, etc...
This game has a lot of systems to be sure you will always have something fun to do.

Yeah, I think this variety among other things is what has appealed to me from the streams and videos I've seen, and the articles I've read. It looks very complex, which especially for me will take a lot of time and effort to get a grip on, but despite this even the simplest of actions and going out exploring seems to reward you and provides progression.

I'll hold out for reviews; not because I care what scores it gets (I'm expecting something like a mid-80's metacritic, but it doesn't matter much), but because I want to read more what people say and see even more of the game. As of now I'm very interested, though.

 

[Kabuki Quantum Lover]

It's this game and Mario Maker that would compel me to buy a Wii U

Spoiler

at a much reduced price

.

 

[AdanVC]

The game looks absolutely amazing. Part of me says that I'm an idiot for considering getting this when I have very, very little experience with JRPGs; the risk of getting burnt by the complexity and the sheer scale of this game is quite big. The other part of me is telling me to ignore all that and just go for it. Can't decide which part to trust just yet.

I'm on the same boat! The scale of this game almost makes it look intimidating. I'm honestly just getting the game just to walk around and do basic missions to progress, I'm not even aiming on finishing the game since I barely have time to game lately but it's going to be great to appreciate the big ass landscapes and creatures and take screenshots.

 

[Majestad]

It's this game and Mario Maker that would compel me to buy a Wii U

Spoiler

at a much reduced price

.

Ask your parents for an increase in your allowance my dude. Then get the Splatoon / Smash deal for Black Friday.

 

[Rathorial]

What’s immediately impressive is the beauty and scale of the world and how smoothly it runs, especially given that this map, which is allegedly bigger than Fallout 4, Skyrim and The Witcher 3 combined

Honestly, that doesn't sound particularly appealing to me. The Witcher 3 was already gigantic, and I was completely surprised they managed to fill so much of it with varied quests that actually had compelling narrative.

I have a hard time believing this game will do the same with even larger space, especially given that Xenoblade's side-quests were of the MMO checklist variety that I skipped in favor of the main story.

 

[Ooccoo]

I'm not sure you'll like the game if you don't enjoy MMOs though. The quests are pretty barebones and repetitive, to the point where they become a chore more. However, the huge (emphasis on HUGE) environments are a joy to explore. It's colossal. And I didn't get a Skell yet at around 20 hours into the game. There's a LOT to see. Game does not explain itself very well though, I'm still not sure what Squads actually do and a lot of systems are just not explained at all.

 

[Jolkien]

I'm not sure you'll like the game if you don't enjoy MMOs though. The quests are pretty barebones and repetitive, to the point where they become a chore more. However, the huge (emphasis on HUGE) environments are a joy to explore. It's colossal. And I didn't get a Skell yet at around 20 hours into the game. There's a LOT to see. Game does not explain itself very well though, I'm still not sure what Squads actually do and a lot of systems are just not explained at all.

You don't have to do every single sidequests. When you get tired you can do something else. I'll probably just do the collectible sidequest as I explore the world annd not go out of my way to complete every single one of them. I'll do all the other sidequest though.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

You don't have to do every single sidequests. When you get tired you can do something else. I'll probably just do the collectible sidequest as I explore the world annd not go out of my way to complete every single one of them. I'll do all the other sidequest though.

You're telling a guy who has played dozens of hours what he can do in a game that you've yet to play...

 

[transience]

the CE guide is on sale at Amazon if anyone wants it:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0744016738/5640412-20/

 

[Jolkien]

You're telling a guy who has played dozens of hours what he can do in a game that you've yet to play...

Maybe because I know they are just like the first game sidequest ? If something become a bore why would you keep doing it ? I'm fairly certain he wasn't talking about the afinity quest.

I don't know if I get bored playing a game I do for fun, I do something else in the game or I stop entirely. It seems to be a strange concept to you.

 

[Deleted member 465307]

I'm not sure you'll like the game if you don't enjoy MMOs though. The quests are pretty barebones and repetitive, to the point where they become a chore more. However, the huge (emphasis on HUGE) environments are a joy to explore. It's colossal. And I didn't get a Skell yet at around 20 hours into the game. There's a LOT to see. Game does not explain itself very well though, I'm still not sure what Squads actually do and a lot of systems are just not explained at all.

Are the systems explained in the manual? GameSpot's coverage said that the manual helped a lot, so I've been hoping to be able to rely on that.

 

[Jolkien]

the CE guide is on sale at Amazon if anyone wants it:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0744016738/5640412-20/

Hmm tempting. I'll get the guide either physical or digital just for when I need to know the location of certains items, I had to google around when I plyed the first game and I know they still don't tell you where to get items to complete these sidequests.

Now should I go physical for the guide or digital which is 15 CAD$ that i the question.

Edit: Looking at it the physical guide gives you access to the e-guide.

 

[brainchild]

You're telling a guy who has played dozens of hours what he can do in a game that you've yet to play...

I don't see the problem. He's not wrong. The information is out there and you don't need to play the game to know it. Furthermore, the advice is sound, and doesn't just come from knowing about this game; it comes from having similar experiences with games of this caliber.

IMO, it's good advice to remind a player that they don't have to try to do everything in a game that has an overwhelming amount of content. Sometimes playing a game with a different frame of mind can improve your experience with said game, and you needn't play XBX to know this.

 

[Jolkien]

Are the systems explained in the manual? GameSpot's coverage said that the manual helped a lot, so I've been hoping to be able to rely on that.

Yeah I was watching a video (I think it was Polygon 3 hours preview) and they said a lot of mechanic aren't explained in game but you can find the information in the game manual. Pretty odd nowadays but I don't mind, been a heck of a long time since I read any manual since they just throw mandatory tutotial at you these days.

 

[Malus]

Chris Carter from Destructoid said X was more fun to explore than F4 on twitter and then deleted it lol.

I SEE YOU 0_0

 

[Elfforkusu]

Some cool names there


So everyone, we went from Ace+Shimomura to Sawano, completely different styles to completely different settings. Now what composer you'd like for MonolithSoft next main RPG?

Ace+/Shimomura worked so well last time, I see no reason to not do it again if they can...

 

[foxuzamaki]

Chris Carter from Destructoid said X was more fun to explore than F4 on twitter and then deleted it lol.

I SEE YOU 0_0

really? Did somebody screencap it?

 

[Malus]

really? Did somebody screencap it?

I would guess not. It was in response to this comment: https://twitter.com/miracleofsound/status/668165160528424962

Not a huge deal, I just found it funny. He could probably feel the fanboys stampeding in the distance.

 

[Elfforkusu]

Have you guys seen the list of arts in English?

http://pastebin.com/d21puBa5

There's even more detail here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1g0YR4M8RAHiRhCbAvV4tjXXHLEhRMrARzZMYAUGmyZ4/edit#gid=0

So...

Galactic Knight
        Standard Arms:
                Photon Saber

Jedi, right? Jedi.