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[E_Darkness]

My copy came today. I'm a big fan of the black case. I'm a bit sad the direct yesterday didn't announce anymore exclusive N3DS games. I guess that they aren't quite ready yet, and maybe they're waiting to see how well Xenoblade 3D does.

I can't play it yet, I'm not getting my N3DS until a week tomorrow. But at least when I do I've got something to play on it right away.

 

[JimPanzer]

It's still baffling for me why P4 is such a regarded 'essential every man's rpg'. It's a great highschool simulator... but the core rpg bits with the dungeons and some broke ass systems (only deaths i've had were when AI decide to chain crit my protagonist)... not great. All my replays after the ps2 one were on easy.

I'm normally all about mechanics and don't really care about story at all, but P4's characters and (despite all the weird things) grounded story hooked me. It also has a phenomenal soundtrack, some of the best voice acting I've experienced in an JRPG, Soejima's art and can be genuinely funny.

Spoiler

Also waifus.

Having said that, I wouldn't consider it an 'every man's rpg'. If you don't like anime, you almost definitely won't like P4.

With the 5 hours of Xenoblade I have played yet it seems like a weird mixture of the worst of japanese RPG and western MMO's: generic anime characters; generic "you are the chosen one" story; fetch quests; MMO-combat in a singleplayer game; vast, characterless environments.

 

[ahdurian]

Great title and post. Can't wait to play since I never got the Wii version/a Wii

 

[Meier]

I was so hopeful they'd announce a special New 3DS yesterday. 😭 No interest at all in the genetic base colors..so I'll just continue to wait. I never did finish this on Wii although I think I was somewhat close to the end. Looking forward to diving back in.

 

[TheSlySoul]

What if i owned every system in existence and still think Xenoblade Chronicle is the best jrpg i have played in the last decade and is one of my all time favorite games?

Good for you, I guess. As long as you can say why you feel that way instead of saying "THIS IS THE BEST GAME EVER", then your opinion is valid.
I don't love Skyrim nearly as much as other people so I find it overhyped. Yet I have no issue with it because generally people articulate why they love it so much.

 

[Rich!]

I was so hopeful they'd announce a special New 3DS yesterday. 😭 No interest at all in the genetic base colors..so I'll just continue to wait. I never did finish this on Wii although I think I was somewhat close to the end. Looking forward to diving back in.

the best we're getting are these:

 

[Phanatic8390]

Just saw this pop up, remembered everyone raving about the Wii version, thought what hell I'm in. Then I read its New 3DS only, guess I'm out again.

 

[JordanKZ]

I managed to get a few hours in last night of this game. There's pretty much one word to describe it: blurry. And I'm pretty sure its due to the display pixel density rather than anything else. Zooming the camera in makes a world of difference... For one thing Shulk's head doesn't become the size of 6 pixels. And WHY didn't they make the map bigger on the lower screen? Or re-design the lower screen in some way? It's staggering.

Everything else? Very impressive. Frame rate is rock solid, draw instances are fantastic and the gameplay feels just as tight.

 

[TheSlySoul]

Personally: i was immersed in this world which was brought to life by some of the best music i have listened to in 34 years of gaming. It controls well, gives me control of my view, i love the battle system and i absolutely adore the characters. The elements brought together created a unique and memorable experience. Sometimes how well the mixture of those elements is done comes down to luck when it comes to describing the experience as magical.

My first attempt was 5 hours, which I liked the atmosphere but I could not get over how bad it looked on my HDTV. Now on a smaller resolution 3DS screen, it looks great.
Funny how a different medium helped that.
Make me wish we would get a Wii U port included with X.

Everything else? Very impressive. Frame rate is rock solid, draw instances are fantastic and the gameplay feels just as tight.

I think the blurriness is because the game is compressed once for Wii, then compressed again for 3DS. The game is so pretty not compressed.

 

[Rich!]

I think the blurriness is because the game is compressed once for Wii, then compressed again for 3DS. The game is so pretty not compressed.

no, I don't think so.

It's because:

1. all the 2D assets are simply resized to a lower size, including the tutorial boxes, GUI icons and fonts. Nothing is redrawn from scratch.

2. 240p screen. half the resolution.

 

[JimPanzer]

I managed to get a few hours in last night of this game. There's pretty much one word to describe it: blurry. And I'm pretty sure its due to the display pixel density rather than anything else. Zooming the camera in makes a world of difference... For one thing Shulk's head doesn't become the size of 6 pixels. And WHY didn't they make the map bigger on the lower screen? Or re-design the lower screen in some way? It's staggering.

Everything else? Very impressive. Frame rate is rock solid, draw instances are fantastic and the gameplay feels just as tight.

Ye, completely forgot to mention this. I mean it's baffling to me why they - in a game that is all about convenience (fast travel, auto-quests) - don't use the lower screen more.

Some more things:
1. Why do I have to push Start every time to see the stats of items, while the space where these show up then is completely unoccupied anyway
2. If all you have is fetch quest, at least give me a quest marker or make it possible to organise quests in a convenient way.
3. Everytime I want to sell equipment I have to remove the gems from it first, so they don't get sold as well. Just why?

These are just minor things which could easily be solved and could have made the game much better IMO. I know, it's just a port of an old Wii game, but I don't think those things are particularly hard to change.

 

[Corgi]

totally gonna replay some of this on Dolphin before my US copy comes because I hate myself.

 

[Windom Earle]

Booted the game to take a look... I think I can deal with the graphics. Missing some of that nice grass though.

Also need to get use to that weird Z-Stick. Feels like it will break right off if I am not careful. :/ (Got the New XL a few days ago and did not really use it yet)

Awww shiiiit son

You didn't get to Eryth Sea.

Actually now that you say it... I think I got to that point and stopped.

 

[TheSlySoul]

totally gonna replay some of this on Dolphin before my US copy comes because I hate myself.

Yeah, the game looks so good uncompressed.
If you got an HDTV, rip it and play it on your PC.

Seeing as I never really seen Xenoblade, nor did I play the original, I can't see me being bothered by the graphical change.
Like I'll be interested more in the people who are new to the game (like me). Though it is nice to know that this is a very technically impressive port.

Yeah, I was a bit taken back by how smooth it was. Forgot I was not playing my Vita.

 

[E_Darkness]

Seeing as I never really seen Xenoblade, nor did I play the original, I can't see me being bothered by the graphical change.
Like I'll be interested more in the people who are new to the game (like me). Though it is nice to know that this is a very technically impressive port.

Spoiler

Though if I like it, it'd be cool to see this running uncompressed

 

[JimPanzer]

Seeing as I never really seen Xenoblade, nor did I play the original, I can't see me being bothered by the graphical change.
Like I'll be interested more in the people who are new to the game (like me). Though it is nice to know that this is a very technically impressive port.

Spoiler

Though if I like it, it'd be cool to see this running uncompressed

I haven't played it before and think it looks like ass. Don't know, I ws expecting it to look a bit like monster hunter, but it's not even close. Framerate is fine though, so I could live with the ugly visuals if the game would be actually good - still waiting for it to happen.

 

[Windom Earle]

One small tip which I found to be good - the default camera is very zoomed out and makes the player model extremely pixelated. If you zoom it in about 3 notches you notice the player model is a lot better. Set it back to default and it's so zoomed out you see the low DPI screen have issues and draw a lower res looking model. I've stuck with it zoomed in 3 notches anyway.

Yes, this definitely makes the game look better. Default is zoomed way out!

 

[hamchan]

Loving it so far. Pretty much feels exactly like the Wii game in the palm of my hand. Will probably finish it this time since it's easier to just pick up and play in handheld form.

 

[Drama Zed Nod]

I just got my "Xenoblade Chronicles 3D Pack" from the UK Nintendo store.

This includes the game, coverplates and a free theme. Did anyone else get this? How do i get the theme?

There isn't any sort of code i can see in the box (i'm at work at the moment)

Thanks for the help

 

[AndyMoogle]

Loving it so far. Pretty much feels exactly like the Wii game in the palm of my hand. Will probably finish it this time since it's easier to just pick up and play in handheld form.

I'm really tempted to get it even though I own the Wii version. As you said, it feels like it's better in handheld form and I feel like I will actually finish it on the 3DS.

It's good to hear all the positive comments about the framerate, that was my biggest worry about the port.

I have another question though: does it still take several seconds to open the menu like it did in the Wii version? That was kind of annoying.

 

[The Elite]

I hope they just sell the theme in NA.

 

[Malus]

I haven't played it before and think it looks like ass. Don't know, I ws expecting it to look a bit like monster hunter, but it's not even close. Framerate is fine though, so I could live with the ugly visuals if the game would be actually good - still waiting for it to happen.

Monster Hunter cuts up its maps into tiny pieces and loads each one individually. Not really a comparison lol.

 

[JimPanzer]

Monster Hunter cuts up its maps into tiny pieces and loads each one individually. Not really a comparison lol.

yea, but it does also run on the normal 3ds and with 60 fps almost all the time on the n3ds. I just expected more from Xenoblade. anyway, for me the game got much bigger problems than the graphics.

 

[Vyse The Legend]

yea, but it does also run on the normal 3ds. I just expected more from Xenoblade. anyway, for me the game got much bigger problems than the graphics.

MonHun4 also has lower textures and less details on the monsters in the OG 3DS.

 

[Rich!]

yea, but it does also run on the normal 3ds and with 60 fps almost all the time on the n3ds. I just expected more from Xenoblade. anyway, for me the game got much bigger problems than the graphics.

Xenoblade is a MASSIVE game. I remember before the N3DS was announced, there was a discussion on GAF about it ever being possible on the 3DS. The answer was a resounding no, because of the high poly count, the ridiculous draw distance, and the gigantic open plan areas with no loading. It's without a doubt significantly more impressive than MH4 (on a technical level) in every single possible way. There is absolutely not a chance in hell it would ever run on the OG 3DS. None. I'm constantly in awe that despite the lowered resolution this is the exact same game that I played on the Wii. It's ridiculous that they pulled it off.

And I'm not sure what you dislike about the game, but that's your opinion to have of course. I personally think it's one of the best games I have ever played. The sense of sheer exploration is unparallelled in gaming imo, and every single area in the game from Satorl Marsh onwards stunned me when I first played it. The bosses are memorable, the mid-game and end-game twists are INSANE and the final battle is absolutely fantastic

so yeah, whatever. That's what I think.

 

[ilium]

Just got the game. Excited to take a deep dive into it over easter.
Hope it's as good as GAF says.

 

[JimPanzer]

MonHun4 also has lower textures and less details on the monsters in the OG 3DS.

and still looks much better than xenoblade. It's okay guys, I get it, you like the game, I'm not so much (for now). As I said, the graphics are the smallest of all problems I have with the game.
We'll see what the future brings.

 

[Lucifon]

Gaf I need help:

I just redeemed my code for the game on the eshop (UK here) and got the free theme. It came up with the code and said to redeem now, so I just pressed that rather than writing it down. It then said the software needs an update, I hit OK and it then said there was an error and to try restarting my system before trying again.

But the theme isn't in my available software to redownload.Also checked purchased themes in the theme shop and it's not in that list either. What's going on? How do I try redownload it?! Console is currently in sleep mode downloading the game itself...

 

[alvis.exe]

With the 5 hours of Xenoblade I have played yet it seems like a weird mixture of the worst of japanese RPG and western MMO's: generic anime characters; generic "you are the chosen one" story; fetch quests; MMO-combat in a singleplayer game; vast, characterless environments.

Hehehehe.

Where are you in the story anyways?

 

[AndyMoogle]

Gaf I need help:

I just redeemed my code for the game on the eshop (UK here) and got the free theme. It came up with the code and said to redeem now, so I just pressed that rather than writing it down. It then said the software needs an update, I hit OK and it then said there was an error and to try restarting my system before trying again.

But the theme isn't in my available software to redownload.Also checked purchased themes in the theme shop and it's not in that list either. What's going on? How do I try redownload it?! Console is currently in sleep mode downloading the game itself...

In the eShop: Menu -> Settings/Other -> Account Activity -> View Receipt

 

[zombieshavebrains]

totally gonna replay some of this on Dolphin before my US copy comes because I hate myself.

How do you put up with the audio popping?

 

[Rich!]

How do you put up with the audio popping?

By using a build that doesn't suffer from it.

I've never experienced the audio issue throughout my 200+ hours of xenoblade in HD via Dolphin

 

[chaosblade]

How do you put up with the audio popping?

By not having audio popping?

I don't know how recent builds do with the game, but in the older builds you needed a pretty beefy CPU (Intel i5/i7 at >4GHz). HLE audio is busted but LLE works, it's just really demanding.

 

[zombieshavebrains]

By not having audio popping?

I don't know how recent builds do with the game, but in the older builds you needed a pretty beefy CPU (Intel i5/i7 at >4GHz). HLE audio is busted but LLE works, it's just really demanding.

You're talking about recent builds of Dolphin?

Maybe my CPU is garbage or something. I have an i7 from like 2010 but I don't know the speed of it and i'm out of town right now. I messed with it for hours but couldn't find a single configuration where I didn't have audio popping or the framerates dropping/stuttering.

I tried D3D/OpenGL, changing resolutions, changing upscaling, changing audio settings. Nothing worked, but I still played it for a good 60 hours.

 

[JimPanzer]

Hehehehe.

Where are you in the story anyways?

dunno how the place is called...the plains after the tunnel with the

Spoiler

spider

attack

 

[Fandangox]

dunno how the place is called...the plains after the tunnel with the

Spoiler

spider

attack

Gaur Plain. If you are not liking the game by the point after the next dungeon, you will probably not end up liking it at all.

 

[alvis.exe]

dunno how the place is called...the plains after the tunnel with the

Spoiler

spider

attack

Yeah have to echo the post above. If you don't like the type of exploration the game has to offer in Bionis' Leg (ie. exploration for the sake of exploration and seeing what sorts of weird geologic structures the design team has thrown in rather than exploration for the sake of finding shiny new baubles), then you probably won't be interested in exploring the rest of the game's areas either.

Story-wise, I might go like... 8 maps further? I mean it seems far but you've already reached Gaur Plain in 5 hours so you could probably race through that pretty quick. Oh but don't forget to ditch your dedicated healer ASAP and try using some other characters to mix up combat a bit. Just ignore all the sidequests since you don't seem to like them and just head straight for your next point. And since you might be underleveled by doing so, maybe boost your physical attackers up with Agility gems (increased accuracy and evasion) and make liberal use of Topple and Daze haha.

 

[Jonneh3003]

Just this moment arrived...at 6PM well better late than never
I actually really don't care for the quality of the cover, it looks nice but it has a very glossy slippery feel.

 

[chaosblade]

You're talking about recent builds of Dolphin?

Maybe my CPU is garbage or something. I have an i7 from like 2010 but I don't know the speed of it and i'm out of town right now. I messed with it for hours but couldn't find a single configuration where I didn't have audio popping or the framerates dropping/stuttering.

I tried D3D/OpenGL, changing resolutions, changing upscaling, changing audio settings. Nothing worked, but I still played it for a good 60 hours.

An i7 is probably fine, a 920 maybe? If you haven't overclocked it, it isn't going to be fast enough for LLE audio without taking a big framerate hit.

Newer builds are supposed to be faster. I have no idea if HLE audio is fixed, or if there are improvements to LLE performance (probably not). There was a patch to fix it for HLE audio and a Xenoblade-specific prepatched Dolphin build, those are probably floating around the Internet somewhere. I never got the patch to work for what it's worth, and never tried that build.

 

[ilium]

The graphic comparison to MH4 is just silly. The maps in MH are tiny on it's own and especially compared to the vast areas xenoblade seems to have. Those vistas man, so good.

 

[Lucifon]

In the eShop: Menu -> Settings/Other -> Account Activity -> View Receipt

I've tried redeeming it and it says it can only be redeemed from within the game ... "downloads for addon content, passes etc used in a software title can only be redeemed from within that software and cannot be redeemed in Nintendo eShop. "

 

[JimPanzer]

Yeah have to echo the post above. If you don't like the type of exploration the game has to offer in Bionis' Leg (ie. exploration for the sake of exploration and seeing what sorts of weird geologic structures the design team has thrown in rather than exploration for the sake of finding shiny new baubles), then you probably won't be interested in exploring the rest of the game's areas either.

Story-wise, I might go like... 8 maps further? I mean it seems far but you've already reached Gaur Plain in 5 hours so you could probably race through that pretty quick. Oh but don't forget to ditch your dedicated healer ASAP and try using some other characters to mix up combat a bit. Just ignore all the sidequests since you don't seem to like them and just head straight for your next point. And since you might be underleveled by doing so, maybe boost your physical attackers up with Agility gems (increased accuracy and evasion) and make liberal use of Topple and Daze haha.

the problem with the exploration is that everything looks the same to me, it's all only muddy green. Also I don't seem to get the combat. I can take on some monsters above my level at ease but get destroyed by some one level lower than me (violent andante or something). Additionaly the directions the subquests give you don't help at all: I should find something at a lake, but the lake is not on my map, so I'm just running around through ugly looking muddy green. Dunno, it just won't click.

 

[Fandangox]

the problem with the exploration is that everything looks the same to me, it's all only muddy green. Also I don't seem to get the combat. I can take on some monsters above my level at ease but get destroyed by some one level lower than me (violent andante or something). Additionaly the directions the subquests give you don't help at all: I should find something at a lake, but the lake is not on my map, so I'm just running around through ugly looking muddy green. Dunno, it just won't click.

Violent Adante is a unique monster, i.e it is a Boss Battle, so this is probably why you are having troubles with it. If your problem with the exploration is that everything looks the same than I guess your opinion will change or stay the same whether you just want more variety in areas in general, or more variety in single areas.

This explains how the level scaling affects battles. This can be solved with "Night Vision" and "Agility" gems, but you are still way too early to worry about crafting.

 

[chaosblade]

the problem with the exploration is that everything looks the same to me, it's all only muddy green. Also I don't seem to get the combat. I can take on some monsters above my level at ease but get destroyed by some one level lower than me (violent andante or something). Additionaly the directions the subquests give you don't help at all: I should find something at a lake, but the lake is not on my map, so I'm just running around through ugly looking muddy green. Dunno, it just won't click.

Unique/named monsters are always going to be stronger than their level suggests. Early on you are best off avoiding them until you outlevel them by a decent margin. Once you have a better grip on the battle system, as well as better equipment, it's easier to take on ones around your level, but they will still be significantly more challenging than normal battles.

They do offer good rewards though. They always drop gold chests with great loot for a character that is around their level, they give you lots of exp, and an affinity coin for skill links.

I'd also guess the small screen does little for the visuals. The game looked pretty decent on Wii and nice on Dolphin.

 

[Conrad Link]

Does anyone know if the NZ/Aus version will have the black case as well? I'd consider importing from the UK just for it I think if not!

 

[Sioen]

The game looks better then I thought it would for a 3ds game. And with big areas aswell, very nice.

 

[Rich!]

Does anyone know if the NZ/Aus version will have the black case as well? I'd consider importing from the UK just for it I think if not!

Only the EU/UK version has it, oddly.

I've seen the AUS case on Facebook and its white.

 

[jorgejjvr]

I want my theme for US

I feel bad for MM, got it along with MH4, didnt get to touch it only played MH4, and now my time will shift to xeno

 

[Conrad Link]

Only the EU/UK version has it, oddly.

I've seen the AUS case on Facebook and its white.

Dumb! But with the end of Club Nintendo I don't think there is any reason to care what PAL region things are from anymore so a UK import isn't that big a deal.

 

[oakenhild]

I see this:

The game looks better then I thought it would for a 3ds game. And with big areas aswell, very nice.

and then this:

the problem with the exploration is that everything looks the same to me, it's all only muddy green.
...
I should find something at a lake, but the lake is not on my map, so I'm just running around through ugly looking muddy green..

The graphics of the port are certainly polarizing.