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Xenoblade Chronicles |OT| Man, what a bunch of jokers.

E

Elfforkusu

Member
Level 61, almost 80 hours, just got to M
echonis Field
. And... the music! God damn!

This game. Just... this game. The sidequests are tedious, but other than that it's a freaking masterpiece.

random note:
I think my favorite thing about exploring is that whenever you are in some ridiculously high location (which happens a lot), an acceptable method of transport is to find some distant body of water to plummet 2 miles down into.
 
M

mclem

Member
Elfforkusu said:
Level 61, almost 80 hours, just got to M
echonis Field
. And... the music! God damn!

This game. Just... this game. The sidequests are tedious, but other than that it's a freaking masterpiece.

random note:
I think my favorite thing about exploring is that whenever you are in some ridiculously high location (which happens a lot), an acceptable method of transport is to find some distant body of water to plummet 2 miles down into.
Click to expand...

Speaking of which...

In *that* high point in F
allen
A
rm
(if you've been there, you'll know the one we mean) - is there any way to jump off that into water? There's lots of water around, but whenever I try, I can't *quite* make it to it.
 
O

Oxx

Member
A Human Becoming said:
As much Xenoblade streamlines things, I still think more could have been done. Monolith did a fantastic job of taking away some of the headaches found in JRPGs, but somehow missed an obvious ways of simplification: being able to unequip gems in a store in order to compare base stats on equipment. Also, as far as I can tell, there isn't a quick button to check quests like there is for the map. These two take up a considerable unnecessary amount of time in an otherwise well designed experience.
Click to expand...

It is usually the games you like the most that you can find the most fault in. I played hundreds of hours of Dragon Quest 9, but I could spend about as long ranting about its flaws.

The one thing to me that really drives me nuts about Xenoblade is where a cut-scene ends and the game gives you control for ten seconds, has you walk forwards and then transitions into another cut-scene. So dumb in a game full of smart decisions.
 
S

SecretMoblin

Member
mclem said:
Speaking of which...

In *that* high point in F
allen
A
rm
(if you've been there, you'll know the one we mean) - is there any way to jump off that into water? There's lots of water around, but whenever I try, I can't *quite* make it to it.
Click to expand...
I did it the first time I was there, but I can't give you any more details other than "it's possible". I'd have to boot up the game and try again. I'm sure you know, but you can move quite a bit in the air...


Starwolf_UK said:
This weeks Pach-Attack is titled:Kevin Butler & Xenoblade Falter. Can't watch no speakers, no headphones so no clue what he has to say. Probably of little consequence but hey, its coverage.
Click to expand...
Pretty standard stuff, nothing we haven't heard before. Basically, he doesn't totally understand why the game wouldn't be released in North America, he personally thinks it should be released here, and he believes it has to do with resource allocation. Nintendo wouldn't release a game without marketing it and spending money to make sure it sells, so they probably don't think the game would sell well enough to merit the cost.

He gets some facts wrong, though. He says that NoA has nothing to do with the decision, it's "Nintendo of Japan's" call. He may have been simplifying for clarity, but of course there is no NoJ—it's NCL. And NoA certainly does have a role, as their marketing team is best able to determine how the game would sell over here and there's always a dialogue with NCL about localizing and publishing games. Also, he seems to imply that the game didn't sell well in PAL territories. I'm paraphrasing, but he said something to the effect of "if it didn't sell well in Europe, it probably wouldn't sell well here". It depends on your interpretation of "good sales", but the game was hardly a disaster.
 
O

Oxx

Member
There was definitely a time when I think that Xenoblade would have done well in the US, but the way that the software market has dried-up these last couple of years will definitely have had an impact on NoA's reluctance.

However, given that all the localisation work already exists, it's not like Nintendo would make a loss on distributing 50k-100k copies of Xenoblade in North America, right? I know that niche publishers are getting squeezed on 360/PS3 games with low print runs, but this is a Wii game from the company controlling the means of production.

Anyway, NOE forever!
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
SecretMoblin said:
Pretty standard stuff, nothing we haven't heard before. Basically, he doesn't totally understand why the game wouldn't be released in North America, he personally thinks it should be released here, and he believes it has to do with resource allocation. Nintendo wouldn't release a game without marketing it and spending money to make sure it sells, so they probably don't think the game would sell well enough to merit the cost.

He gets some facts wrong, though. He says that NoA has nothing to do with the decision, it's "Nintendo of Japan's" call. He may have been simplifying for clarity, but of course there is no NoJ—it's NCL. And NoA certainly does have a role, as their marketing team is best able to determine how the game would sell over here and there's always a dialogue with NCL about localizing and publishing games. Also, he seems to imply that the game didn't sell well in PAL territories. I'm paraphrasing, but he said something to the effect of "if it didn't sell well in Europe, it probably wouldn't sell well here". It depends on your interpretation of "good sales", but the game was hardly a disaster.
Click to expand...
If anything it's probably all NoAs fault, if it got released in Europe there's no way that NCL would pass on releasing it in a bigger market. NoA probably felt like it would be another Baten Kaitos style bomb and decided against it, which is a pretty stupid decision since there isn't much reason for this game to not break 200k unless they just market it poorly (okay, we all know that would happen). Especially if they had come out and announced/confirmed the game at the height of Operation Rainfall's campaign, they would have had a ton of marketing done for them.

Oxx said:
It is usually the games you like the most that you can find the most fault in. I played hundreds of hours of Dragon Quest 9, but I could spend about as long ranting about its flaws.

The one thing to me that really drives me nuts about Xenoblade is where a cut-scene ends and the game gives you control for ten seconds, has you walk forwards and then transitions into another cut-scene. So dumb in a game full of smart decisions.
Click to expand...
Fortunately that only happens for a while early on in the game. I don't remember it happening much at all after Tephra Cave. Maybe a few times in Makna Forest but that's all I can think of.
 
S

SecretMoblin

Member
Oxx said:
There was definitely a time when I think that Xenoblade would have done well in the US, but the way that the software market has dried-up these last couple of years will definitely have had an impact on NoA's reluctance.

However, given that all the localisation work already exists, it's not like Nintendo would make a loss on distributing 50k-100k copies of Xenoblade in North America, right? I know that niche publishers are getting squeezed on 360/PS3 games with low print runs, but this is a Wii game from the company controlling the means of production.

Anyway, NOE forever!
Click to expand...
The problem with Nintendo - the entire company, not just NoA - is that it's extremely reluctant to let a third-party publish its properties. The last Nintendo game I can think of that they allowed a third-party to publish was Cubivore, with Atlus, in 2002. No question Atlus or XSeed would jump at the chance to publish Xenoblade. I think Nintendo got burned with Wii efforts like Sin & Punishment 2, which flopped despite being all kinds of amazing (really, if you don't own it, get it now), and have been wary about pushing non-franchise, non-Dragon Quest games ever since. I'm honestly shocked that Rhythm Heaven Wii is getting localized.

And don't jump on the NoE love train just yet—they did leave out the charming Brownie Brown-developed Professor Layton's London Life from the newest Layton game, after all. Plus, they've been a mixed bag when it comes to localizations for decades now. I feel for all the Europeans who have had to miss out on some great games over the years.
 
O

Octagon

Member
SecretMoblin said:
And don't jump on the NoE love train just yet—they did leave out the charming Brownie Brown-developed Professor Layton's London Life from the newest Layton game, after all. Plus, they've been a mixed bag when it comes to localizations for decades now. I feel for all the Europeans who have had to miss out on some great games over the years.
Click to expand...

But NoE gave us Terranigma...
 
G

Gvaz

Banned
farnham said:
also note how they posted a pick of last story and claim its from xenoblade lol
Click to expand...
I think they were showing things from operation rainfall. Also he was implying the game was bad and it sold bad because it was bad.

I'm 100% sure it sold out of the first shipment
 
O

Oxx

Member
I've always said that Nintendo should have tied Zelda, Xenoblade, Last Story, Pandora's Tower, and Dragon Quest X together with some sort of cross-promotion or branding. Apart from the dance and party game stuff, that collection of RPG/action-adventure games is pretty much all the Wii has left in the tank.

It wouldn't have hurt if they released Xeno worldwide with a Zelda demo on disk.
 
G

GC|Simon

Member
Oxx said:
However, given that all the localisation work already exists, it's not like Nintendo would make a loss on distributing 50k-100k copies of Xenoblade in North America, right?
Click to expand...

Pretty good point. Since the game is already fully-translated (including the voice acting) I cannot see any huge risk by bringing it to the North-American market. I really cannot understand why they are not going to release it... Xenoblade is a triple A game which isn't as niche as Sin & Punishment or Pandora's Tower. Tons of other RPGs were released in the west in previous years and many of them were succesful.

In general, Nintendo missed a huge chance with Xenoblade. Since they broke up with Square after the SNES era, there has been a huge lack of good RPGs which made their life especially in Japan difficult. Today, Square Enix is devloping again for Nintendo consoles. But all what Nintendo gets are some mediocre Final Fantasy spinn-offs and every few years a Dragon Quest episode. That's clearly not enough to dominate the Japanese market. And even the next Dragon Quest looks pretty naaah - at least for now.

I mean... they own Monolith. They had some contact to Matsuno and Sakaguchi. But they were not able to set up some big RPG series. Something comparable to Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

However, I made some progess in the game itself: 48 hours, level 65, at the beginning of
Mechonis capital city
. The story gets weird...
Why the hell did Bionis / Zanza attack Mechonis? What were the reasons for this attack?
I loved the previous area (
central factory
). Great colors, great music... and some hard fights.
 
O

Oxx

Member
I'm sure all of this got covered to death in the Rainfall threads, but I avoided them for the most part.

It's just a shame that the game will never reach the audience it deserves.
 
H

Htown

STOP SHITTING ON MY MOTHER'S HEADSTONE
Oxx said:
There was definitely a time when I think that Xenoblade would have done well in the US, but the way that the software market has dried-up these last couple of years will definitely have had an impact on NoA's reluctance.

However, given that all the localisation work already exists, it's not like Nintendo would make a loss on distributing 50k-100k copies of Xenoblade in North America, right? I know that niche publishers are getting squeezed on 360/PS3 games with low print runs, but this is a Wii game from the company controlling the means of production.
Click to expand...
I think that part of the problem is the relative value of the dollar and the yen these days. If you look at their financial status, Nintendo is losing a TON of money each quarter just from exchange rate issues. So that may be one reason they're reluctant to bring smaller games out here now, especially with the slow sales of the 3DS thus far. They're trying to stop the bleeding.

That said, at some point if you do want to keep hardcore gamers on your platform, you have to give them something to play. This year in America has been absolutely barren.

Now I was thinking of this earlier, but if Nintendo was smart, they would have a Xenoblade HD version hit at launch with the WiiU. A new console is a great time to establish an IP, the game will still be new with the US market, and you get the sales inflation from being a launch title.
 
P

Phenomic

Member
ag-my001 said:
Might be seeing things, but is that a yellow inflatable Monado resting on the window?
Click to expand...

I believe it is... and I want it. Glad to see Pachter speaking out about this issue also. Makes me feel less crazy to get a seasoned financial analyst agree with most of GAF's logic for them bringing this game over.
 
O

Oxx

Member
After posting about the game more than playing it recently, this might be the time to get back to it. 2 weeks until Zelda.

Edit: Oh wow. Game says the last time I played was Oct 18th.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Sgt.Pepper said:
I can't decide what to pick in
Desireé's sidequest, Soldier or Sculptor.
Click to expand...
Doesn't really make any difference except for the quest that's available afterward, I don't think either has a particularly great reward.
 
A

ag-my001

Member
Game-related, is there a quest hub for the level 75 area? Most of the quests I've picked up after a story event send me to areas with level 85+ mobs, or are old quests that I never did (mostly Frontier Village). Kinda annoying to complete one or two parts of a quest chain, then get stuck fighting a high level unique monster.
 
Z

Zornica

Banned
ag-my001 said:
Game-related, is there a quest hub for the level 75 area? Most of the quests I've picked up after a story event send me to areas with level 85+ mobs, or are old quests that I never did (mostly Frontier Village). Kinda annoying to complete one or two parts of a quest chain, then get stuck fighting a high level unique monster.
Click to expand...

I believe that you are not supposed to do those endgame quests if you haven't reached the point of no return yet (kindof spoiler)
(which will happen around lvl 80 - and thats where all endgame quests start).
 
O

Oxx

Member
FUUUUU-

I can't believe I stopped playing this game for so long.

(75 hours/level 60)
Mechonis Field
is such an awesomely designed area. Although I did get a bit lost towards the end.
 
E

Elfforkusu

Member
mclem said:
Speaking of which...

In *that* high point in F
allen
A
rm
(if you've been there, you'll know the one we mean) - is there any way to jump off that into water? There's lots of water around, but whenever I try, I can't *quite* make it to it.
Click to expand...
I know for sure you can jump off the north side there and spend an awesomely terrifying 20 seconds shooting a tiny gap.. because it was the jump that inspired the comment!

alas, as far as I could tell there's nothing interesting in that particular spot after you land.
 
G

Gambit

Member
After finishing Uncharted 3 last night, I have returned to the world of Xenoblade. Today I finished P
rison
I
sland
.

It was incredible. My goodness, the word "xeno" becomes ever more justified. The scale, the story, the music! So far nothing else this year compares.

Edit: How far am I in the game? Half-way? I really have no clue, but it feels like half-way somehow.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Gambit said:
After finishing Uncharted 3 last night, I have returned to the world of Xenoblade. Today I finished P
rison
I
sland
.

It was incredible. My goodness, the word "xeno" becomes ever more justified. The scale, the story, the music! So far nothing else this year compares.

Edit: How far am I in the game? Half-way? I really have no clue, but it feels like half-way somehow.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's roughly half way. But most of the rest of the game is more linear than what you've played so far. Less open areas and side quests, more story.
 
E

exhume

Member
So I just reached
Galahad Fortress
and am level 52. Do I need to do some levellin' or am I sweet? I do tend to find my team goes down fast if I don't keep Sharla around in the party and I'm getting taken out by most uniques at least once...but then, sidequests don't seem to be granting me as much EXP as they used to so I'm not really sure how to 'grind' here.
 
W

Wedge7

Member
Hrm, kind of a random question, but was their ever a guide released for this game? I mean, obviously tons of guides online, but an actual published, purchasable guide? I tend to like collecting them, but wasn't sure if they ever released one, in English that is.
 
G

Gvaz

Banned
ivysaur12 said:
Finally beat L
orithia

That was a *bitch*
Click to expand...
tumblr_loxezyMOd91r0o16y
 
I

ivysaur12

Banned
Wait. No.

I only have one Red Frontier. They're a collectable in
Sword Valley
. They're required for Colony 6 reconstruction.

The only other way to get it is to get
Hidden Village
to level 5 affinity. Oh no. Oh no.
 
N

Nert

Member
ivysaur12 said:
Wait. No.

I only have one Red Frontier. They're a collectable in
Sword Valley
. They're required for Colony 6 reconstruction.

The only other way to get it is to get
Hidden Village
to level 5 affinity. Oh no. Oh no.
Click to expand...

That happened to me as well, and prompted me to just give up on it. It's a shame, because I wanted to see the results of fully reconstructing the colony : /
 
S

SecretMoblin

Member
ivysaur12 said:
Wait. No.

I only have one Red Frontier. They're a collectable in
Sword Valley
. They're required for Colony 6 reconstruction.

The only other way to get it is to get
Hidden Village
to level 5 affinity. Oh no. Oh no.
Click to expand...
I thought it was the easiest location to get a level 5 affinity. It doesn't take long. There aren't too many quests and the area is pretty small.
 
I

ivysaur12

Banned
Nert said:
That happened to me as well, and prompted me to just give up on it. It's a shame, because I wanted to see the results of fully reconstructing the colony : /
Click to expand...

I really want to see it to... CRAP.

How hard is it to get that area to level 5? It seems fairly small...
 
M

Man God

Non-Canon Member
I'd put FV ahead of both Colony 6 and 9 because you can easily get FV's when it first unlocks whereas you have to keep coming back to the Colonies over and over again.
 
styl3s

styl3s

Member
ugh i want this game so bad but i can't afford a EU wii, why couldn't they of just made the disc region free? that way US players could buy it and play it as well and not have to worry about porting it here.

HATE YOU NINTENDO! *rage cry*
 
I

ivysaur12

Banned
Man God said:
I'd put FV ahead of both Colony 6 and 9 because you can easily get FV's when it first unlocks whereas you have to keep coming back to the Colonies over and over again.
Click to expand...

Where is Theo for the food delivery? I've searched all of Digit 2.
 
M

MechaX

Member
styl3s said:
ugh i want this game so bad but i can't afford a EU wii, why couldn't they of just made the disc region free? that way US players could buy it and play it as well and not have to worry about porting it here.

HATE YOU NINTENDO! *rage cry*
Click to expand...

You know it actually takes the least amount of time, effort, money, and chance to screw up in modding a Wii to play imports compared with virtually any other non-Dreamcast console, right?
 
M

Man God

Non-Canon Member
ivysaur12 said:
Where is Theo for the food delivery? I've searched all of Digit 2.
Click to expand...

There's a platform that faces out toward the sea that you have to do some climbing and falling to get to.
 
I

ivysaur12

Banned
Man God said:
There's a platform that faces out toward the sea that you have to do some climbing and falling to get to.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing that I've missed Zarkort's quest? Can I still get the level 5 affinity?
 
M

Man God

Non-Canon Member
You'll be fine; more quests unlock near the end of the game where you pretty much have to be to be involved in this.
 
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