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[Smiles and Cries]

I have many views I love but what I wish is a better way to look up I want better control of the camera

my second play through colony 6 sucks I had more of the required items the first time I guess I have not been fighting the right stuff this is going to drag to level up these towns

OT: I am really dreaming of what this team is working on for WiiU I hope they keep this epic huge area thing going its too good not to make another game this huge and colorful

 

[LTWood12]

Chaosblade answered you already, but I just thought I'd emphasize that the exclusivity was limited. Best Buy now has the game, as well (at least).

Best Buy has it? I don't see it listed on the website.

 

[Zornica]

my favorit views are also somewhat controversial

(both lvl ~65 spoilers)
it's either

Spoiler

the huge corridor before meeting gadolt for the first time.

or

Spoiler

the central facory as a whole... the pistons in the background where just intimidating.

 

[Wichu]

OT: I am really dreaming of what this team is working on for WiiU I hope they keep this epic huge area thing going its too good not to make another game this huge and colorful

I can't remember where I heard this, but apparently they're taking inspiration from Skyrim for their next game. Combined with the praise Xenoblade's areas got, I'd say huge areas are pretty much certain

 

[chaosblade]

I can't remember where I heard this, but apparently they're taking inspiration from Skyrim for their next game. Combined with the praise Xenoblade's areas got, I'd say huge areas are pretty much certain

I can see this either being a very, very good thing or completely awful. I hadn't heard that though.

I'd like to see a more seemless world, though I wouldn't prefer something completely seemless. Just more interconnected. You know the awesome part at the beginning of the game when you first come out of Tephra Cave back into Colony 9 and get that view from the cliff? Yeah, things like that, but all over the world. With hidden or otherwise inaccessible areas. Like a fork in Tephra Cave that's blocked by some moderately high level enemies that takes you to a special are on Bionis Leg, or a path on the Leg that takes you to a new area in the Marsh, etc.

Hopefully that's what they're referring to, and not actual Skyrim gameplay or world design.

 

[Twilight Princess]

how many playthroughs does it take to max out skill link points?

 

[chaosblade]

You would max it out on the sixth at minimum.

99 from leveling up, then there are 157 unique monsters to kill for affinity coins on each playthrough, so 942 possible coins from six playthroughs (+the 99 to cap out the 999).

But max affinity coins is honestly pretty pointless, since you could do almost anything with around 500. Even at around 350-360 I didn't feel too limited. In fact I felt more limited by the shapes that were available than the number of coins I had.

 

[Twilight Princess]

You would max it out on the sixth at minimum.

99 from leveling up, then there are 157 unique monsters to kill for affinity coins on each playthrough, so 942 possible coins from six playthroughs.

But max affinity coins is honestly pretty pointless, since you could do almost anything with around 500. Even at around 350-360 I didn't feel too limited. In fact I felt more limited by the shapes that were available than the number of coins I had.

thanks. i'll start my second playthrough later this month.

 

[Karsticles]

Best Buy has it? I don't see it listed on the website.

Someone posted a picture of the game on the store shelf a while ago, I believe.

I can see this either being a very, very good thing or completely awful. I hadn't heard that though.

I'd like to see a more seemless world, though I wouldn't prefer something completely seemless. Just more interconnected. You know the awesome part at the beginning of the game when you first come out of Tephra Cave back into Colony 9 and get that view from the cliff? Yeah, things like that, but all over the world. With hidden or otherwise inaccessible areas. Like a fork in Tephra Cave that's blocked by some moderately high level enemies that takes you to a special are on Bionis Leg, or a path on the Leg that takes you to a new area in the Marsh, etc.

Hopefully that's what they're referring to, and not actual Skyrim gameplay or world design.

I want to believe that no developer is foolish enough to feel inspired by Skyrim's gameplay.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

feels so good to get every location on one huge map


It is fun to find new things about this game

Spoiler

Bionis' Occipital was not even the last place found on Eryth Sea - found that cave last now I am motivated to find everything else

here is a link for those who finished the game

Spoiler

I found this strange thing. it seems people using Dolphin can use trick programs they have a flying jump... so it take like 30 mins to get up to the Bionis from falling arm seems like he could only fly straight up Photo Gallery

<--- can you find Colony 6?

 

[Wichu]

I want to believe that no developer is foolish enough to feel inspired by Skyrim's gameplay.

Found something (interview with some staff including a programmer). Looks like I was a bit off; they're aiming to beat American games tech, specifically referencing the Fallout series.

Maybe there was another article where they talked about Skyrim, but this might be what I was thinking of.

At least we're going to get something technically impressive (again)

 

[chaosblade]

Can't read it, but I remember that. Is that the same one where they said something along the lines of "if you thought what we did in Xenoblade looked hard to do, wait until you see what we're working on now." That's probably off since it's been a while since the translation of the comment.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

how long have this new game been in development? could it be out late next year?

my second play through is all about trying to get 100% but I am not sure if I already missed something

I am still amazed by how most of the doors open to a new area. I wonder if the doors hide the loading time in a way?

 

[chaosblade]

how long have this new game been in development? could it be out late next year?

my second play through is all about trying to get 100% but I am not sure if I already missed something

I am still amazed by how most of the doors open to a new area. I wonder if the doors hide the loading time in a way?

Xenoblade was finished in the first half of 2010, so full development probably started around that time. A lot of planning and stuff was probably done beforehand, just like with Xenoblade.

I think we could see it announced in Japan next year at the earliest.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

hope NOA bitches out again so we can have British voices again...

my only issue is the "Giizer" line for "Guyzer"

I keep thinking I should go look for a really old man on the Mountain

Can't wait to see what they put together

 

[hachi]

I didn't like the British voices personally (reminded me too much of Fantasy-genre films, which I uniformly loathe). I reverted to the Japanese audio and never looked back. In a way, not knowing exactly what they're saying in battle is probably a good thing, as it just adds a tense atmosphere of yelling but doesn't distract me.

Anyhow, I've owned the game since launch and am only a little way in now (too busy to play this genre that demands multi-hour sessions to make progress!). Last night I played the Ether Mine and made my way to the bottom of the central pit, where I was quickly killed by the

Spoiler

talking-boss-with-a-face

. That villain is fantastic by the way; somehow he seems a great deal creepier than any other RPG villains I can name off the top of my head.

But dying on the boss so quickly (though it was only the first attempt) has once again made me feel like I'm not fully grasping the strategy. I try to be balanced with various angled attacks (side attack that adds slow, circling for rear attacks, etc) and keep an eye on opportunities for break / topple, but sometimes let things get out of hand too quickly.

 

[chaosblade]

But dying on the boss so quickly (though it was only the first attempt) has once again made me feel like I'm not fully grasping the strategy. I try to be balanced with various angled attacks (side attack that adds slow, circling for rear attacks, etc) and keep an eye on opportunities for break / topple, but sometimes let things get out of hand too quickly.

Most of the time there are a variety of strategies you can use as more options (and characters) become available to you. This is one of those annoying bosses that basically forces you to fight it a certain way.

It sounds like you're doing everything right though. Hit the minions first and switch your target to the boss just for the chain attack.

And you've leveled up your arts and messed with the skill trees? Using good equipment looted from the mines?

 

[hachi]

And you've leveled up your arts and messed with the skill trees? Using good equipment looted from the mines?

I've been moderately attentive to the skill trees, possibly a bit less than I should, but it can be a hassle for me to explore those menus for long. I've certainly devoted more attention to strategically upgrading / setting various arts, which seems to help tremendously.

On the equipment side, it feels like I've looted a ton of items from the mines along the way, but I always end up in the same situation: every item of equipment currently on my characters has a crucial gem slot that I'm not willing to give up. After a ton of looting, I check to see if I can upgrade, and I have a hard time finding any new equipment that is both more powerful than my current and retains the needed slots. So I'm still using pretty much what my characters were wearing when they first entered the mines, and can't seem to spot any good upgrades.

 

[chaosblade]

That's actually a good way to think about armor, because gem slots are definitely more important than defense. Or at least later on. Depending on what the difference in defense is using the stronger armor might be a better option since low ranked gems don't give great bonuses most of the time.

You've probably gotten some Empress equipment if you've gotten gold chests anywhere on the way, and that is great armor for Reyn even if the gems it comes with aren't too good. If he can hold aggro while wearing that (I think at least one piece has an aggro up gem?), you shouldn't have any problems with him going down, and he won't need new equipment for a long time.

(For anyone else, Light or Medium armor is a better choice outside specific situations/setups. Agility > Defense, but Reyn's agility is abysmal and his defense and HP are awesome, so just roll with that).

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I did not even check the options for Japanese voices I'll have to try it... seen I kinda know what everyone has been saying already it should be okay for a bit.

I did not even know this was an option

one day someone will have to explain to me the benefit of aggro up - this is the gem I am most clueless about

I am finally using Reyn as a leader for a while to get his affi. with Dunban up so I can super heat

 

[flyover]

hope NOA bitches out again so we can have British voices again...

I agree. In retrospect, it's one of the best things that could've happened to this game and The Last Story. (And for those who don't like the British VA, it's great that they kept the Japanese, as well.)

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I agree. In retrospect, it's one of the best things that could've happened to this game and The Last Story. (And for those who don't like the British VA, it's great that they kept the Japanese, as well.)

its not like it was shakespeare or anything its just normal english to brits
it just sounded fresh and alien to me which helped... I love anime and manga and fansubs so I love the Japanese language but this British voice acting thing was really a welcomed addition

I think the Japanese voices would just remind me of all my anime cartoons and I would have found it harder to sink into the story.

I cannot point at a voice I hate Riki kills me

 

[ErasureAcer]

Just beat the game. Got it day one and put 190 hours in during April and made it to lvl 94 before stopping at the point of no return. Enjoyed the game immensely.

Favorite moments were

Spoiler

Fiora's death, Fiora's first kiss, Fiora getting her body back.

 

[chaosblade]

Just beat the game. Got it day one and put 190 hours in during April and made it to lvl 94 before stopping at the point of no return. Enjoyed the game immensely.

Favorite moments were

Spoiler

Fiora's death, Fiora's first kiss, Fiora getting her body back.

I wonder who your favorite character was.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

why did they cap the levels but the UMs keep going up?

I wonder who your favorite character was.

Hey I like it when she says

Spoiler

Body. And I'm a Melia fan she has the cutes walk and very fast swimmer!

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I wonder who your favorite character was.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess Shulk.

 

[McNum]

When is it a good time to do the first wave of Colony 9 quests? I was thinking I should wait until I get Sharla, so I can build up more affinity than just Shulk-Reyn, but I'm not sure if that's a good level to be at.

 

[Wichu]

Just noticed something that annoys me. Look at Mechonis' left arm on the cover of the game. Notice anything strange?

 

[McNum]

Just noticed something that annoys me. Look at Mechonis' left arm on the cover of the game. Notice anything strange?

Yup. It's fixed on the manual cover, though. Never noticed it before you mentioned it.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

the cover art is the same as my manual I am not sure what I am looking for?

the reverse art is suppose to be the area that was cut from the game

 

[chaosblade]

I'm not seeing it, you can't even see much of the left arm anyway, a lot of it's covered by the logo and clouds.

 

[Wichu]

In the intro, it gets cut off below the shoulder. Interestingly, I searched up some screenshots, and it looks like its arm is whole in-game too. I can't find any screenshots taken in the

Spoiler

Fallen Arm

area - can someone see how it looks from there?

 

[chaosblade]

In the intro, it gets cut off below the shoulder. Interestingly, I searched up some screenshots, and it looks like its arm is whole in-game too. I can't find any screenshots taken in the

Spoiler

Fallen Arm

area - can someone see how it looks from there?

Well... (late/near end-game spoilers)

Spoiler

It gets cutoff during the legendary battle, but Egil has the arm fixed. If you remember the cutscenes, while controlling Mechonis he actually uses the left arm to deflect an attack from Bionis. It's kind of a weird thing since it's only mentioned by an NPC at some point and not actually brought up in the story.

 

[Wichu]

Well... (late/near end-game spoilers)

Spoiler

It gets cutoff during the legendary battle, but Egil has the arm fixed. If you remember the cutscenes, while controlling Mechonis he actually uses the left arm to deflect an attack from Bionis. It's kind of a weird thing since it's only mentioned by an NPC at some point and not actually brought up in the story.

Man, I completely missed that. I feel stupid now.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

In the intro, it gets cut off below the shoulder. Interestingly, I searched up some screenshots, and it looks like its arm is whole in-game too. I can't find any screenshots taken in the

Spoiler

Fallen Arm

area - can someone see how it looks from there?

check the spoilered link http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=41794772&postcount=6040

 

[ScOULaris]

Well... (late/near end-game spoilers)

Spoiler

It gets cutoff during the legendary battle, but Egil has the arm fixed. If you remember the cutscenes, while controlling Mechonis he actually uses the left arm to deflect an attack from Bionis. It's kind of a weird thing since it's only mentioned by an NPC at some point and not actually brought up in the story.

So, wait. Some random NPC explains this? They definitely should have shown them fixing it in a flashback cutscene or something. They could have included it in the cutscenes that revealed the history of the Machina.

Most people probably notice the left arm and think that the developers just flat-out didn't notice the mistake.

 

[Ezalc]

I'm at

Spoiler

the part where I'm about to go to Prison Island. Like literally need to do the two seals thing. I want to go back and do quests from the colonies and etc, am I going to be able to do this anytime soon? I feel like I passed a point of no return when I got to Eryth Sea. Which btw, is gorgeous, Satorl Marsh has nothing on it.

 

[Karsticles]

I'm at

Spoiler

the part where I'm about to go to Prison Island. Like literally need to do the two seals thing. I want to go back and do quests from the colonies and etc, am I going to be able to do this anytime soon? I feel like I passed a point of no return when I got to Eryth Sea. Which btw, is gorgeous, Satorl Marsh has nothing on it.

IIRC, your next point of no return is once you are in an area that looks like a factory.

 

[Ezalc]

IIRC, your next point of no return is once you are in an area that looks like a factory.

So I can't go back and finish the quests then?

 

[chaosblade]

So I can't go back and finish the quests then?

At the point he mentioned only a few expire. A bit after the area he mentioned pretty much every timed quest in the game expires. Apart from timed quests, you can do anything up to the point of no return before the final boss, and you're told about that in-game.

 

[Ezalc]

At the point he mentioned only a few expire. A bit after the area he mentioned pretty much every timed quest in the game expires. Apart from timed quests, you can do anything up to the point of no return before the final boss, and you're told about that in-game.

Oh good. Only timed quest I still have is one from pretty early on, I think that one might expire but beside that seems like things will be alright. Thanks

 

[Karsticles]

I encountered a neat little glitch. I was fighting Ancient Daedolon with Melia as my main, and I killed it right as it killed me while in Elemental Burst. The game called that a win for me, I auto-resurrected as per the norm, but I was still in burst! So now I can run around outside of combat in burst mode. I turned off the game before I thought about testing it any further, but it's a neat little thing to know.

 

[Y2Kev]

I'm Shulk-Reyn-Riki right now in

Spoiler

Galahad Fortress.

The only trouble I've really had so far is the

Spoiler

Valak Mountain boss,

other than that mostly smooth sailing. Should I change anybody up?

 

[Karsticles]

I'm Shulk-Reyn-Riki right now in

Spoiler

Galahad Fortress.

The only trouble I've really had so far is the

Spoiler

Valak Mountain boss,

other than that mostly smooth sailing. Should I change anybody up?

I think it's a good idea to change your party regularly to increase character affinity. It's a lot of fun to experiment and see what everyone can do, too. On my playthrough, I stuck with a team until everyone had purple affinity, and then switched it up. Once everyone was purple to everyone, then I started hearting.

 

[Snacks the sober sea lion]

How much focus do the areas

Spoiler

on the Mechonis get? I'm in Mechonis Field and even though some people might not like that it isn't packed with sidequests, I think it has to be one of the best areas of the game so far.

 

[Meccanical]

How much focus do the areas

Spoiler

on the Mechonis get? I'm in Mechonis Field and even though some people might not like that it isn't packed with sidequests, I think it has to be one of the best areas of the game so far.

Music is definitely the best there too.

 

[Karsticles]

How much focus do the areas

Spoiler

on the Mechonis get? I'm in Mechonis Field and even though some people might not like that it isn't packed with sidequests, I think it has to be one of the best areas of the game so far.

They're definitely not as sidequest heavy.

 

[EulaCapra]

I'm at the final point of no return I think

Spoiler

at Prison Island again.

What's affected? I want to finish off the Reconstruction and some sidequest involving death lychees.

Oh...just read that it's a one way ticket to The End after. Noo..........

 

[Karsticles]

I'm at the final point of no return I think

Spoiler

at Prison Island again.

What's affected? I want to finish off the Reconstruction and some sidequest involving death lychees.

Oh...just read that it's a one way ticket to The End after. Noo..........

The game lets you know exactly when you're at the final point. It's within that area, though. Everything closes off once you pass it.

 

[EulaCapra]

Yeah, the lockout point is a voiced exchange between Dunban and Shulk.