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Xenoblade |OT| Sorry I Kept You Waiting!

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
she has a kickass gun that does everything, it sprays healing spores into the air, that doesnt make sense. That's the greatest thing ever. also Mirania is best girl in the last story
 

CorvoSol

Member
she has a kickass gun that does everything, it sprays healing spores into the air, that doesnt make sense. That's the greatest thing ever. also Mirania is best girl in the last story

I liked Syrenne more, but I confess to being biased in favor of red heads. The one thing that made me sad about Xenoblade's plot was Sharla explicitly stating she doesn't shoot them with the rounds to heal them.
 

PK Gaming

Member
Ah, that's good to hear then, about the both versions thing.



Yo, I'm in
Mechonis Field
and I got the Machina Sword for Dunban, equipped it on him and just started to laugh. I was like "How can you make someone as insanely cool as Dunban COOLER? GIVE HIM A LIGHTSABER. I don't care if there are better swords for him, I will probably use that lightsaber for the rest of the entire game.

There are 2-3 versions of that sword that last you well into the final boss so you should be good.

I had the exact same reaction.
 

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
I liked Syrenne more, but I confess to being biased in favor of red heads. The one thing that made me sad about Xenoblade's plot was Sharla explicitly stating she doesn't shoot them with the rounds to heal them.
I ove mirania's personality, ever since I saw the 1st trailer I knew I was going to love her
Never. The voice acting isn't bad in general(compared to most JRPG's), its just Riki.

Japanese VA has never meshed well to me with western looking characters in these games.

well I didnt mean to imply the voiceacting is bad in this game, i'd say its pretty decent, and the cockney british voices fits the universe really well somehow, its just when i choiced to play in japanese and then saw a cutscene involving riki on youtube afterwards, i was literally offended at that choice of voiceactor
 

Ryne

Member
I keep failing at Satori Marsh, how far am I into the game?

I had this game for a while (since launch), just never really gotten into it since every time I play, I try to do as many sidequests which bog me down
 

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
I keep failing at Satori Marsh, how far am I into the game?

I had this game for a while (since launch), just never really gotten into it since every time I play, I try to do as many sidequests which bog me down

your still fairly close to the beginning, what are you failing at, and please, stiop doing sidequests, accept as many as you can, do the thingof exploring while progressing through the area, and you will do alot of the sidequests automatically, you're gonna make the game about the sidequests when the game isnt about that.
 

CorvoSol

Member
Sort of disappointed by
how much the Mechonis Core looks like Mechonis Field. Not because it doesn't make sense, but because a little more variety in areas on the Mechonis would be nice.
 

CorvoSol

Member
Just got done at
Agniratha's data tower.
Can't say I'm SUPER surprised by what I've seen here, as the game foreshadows these revelations fairly well for the duration of the
Mechonis quest thus far.
That said, I'm appreciative of the fact that
they took a good long time to really develop Shulk's feelings about "Revenge" on the Mechonis. The fight between Dunban and Mumkhar was a good moment for both Dunban and Shulk in this regard, preparing them and the audience for the moral highroad Shulk was going to have to take.

Not really sure I know what Zanza is up to, though I guess it is no good. Then again, Egil was evil evil evil along with all mechons until we heard his side of things, so maybe Zanza will get a chance to explain what his deal is.
Ever since learning that
Mumkhar was Metal Face
I've had the craziest ideas bumping around my noodle,
mostly things like "OMG WHAT IF ALVIS IS THE BIONIS?" and "OMG WHAT IF DICKSON IS ZANZA THEY HAVE FACIAL HAIR IT MUST BE TRUE!" So I guess I guessed that the Bionis had a person operating it ahead of time, just not who. Although the Day of Lavos-esque recording of the Bionis' attack in Agniratha definitely showed Alvis, so I'm still not sure what that is about.

The weirdest part, though,
was that the recording showed a humanoid High Entia alongside Zanza, greeting the Machina envoy. The game sort of hinted that the High Entia of Zanza's heyday were less human? Although, even as kinky as humanity can be, I guess they still had to be humanoid for that interbreeding program to work? I dunno.
 
Oh wow Corvo, you sound just like me at that part of the game. My brain was running wild with bizarre theories about what was going on. Probably my favorite story to come out of a JRPG this gen and something that held my attention to the very end. Sounds like it is really doing it for you too. Wish I could experience it all over again anew.
 

PK Gaming

Member
Just got done at
Agniratha's data tower.
Can't say I'm SUPER surprised by what I've seen here, as the game foreshadows these revelations fairly well for the duration of the
Mechonis quest thus far.
That said, I'm appreciative of the fact that
they took a good long time to really develop Shulk's feelings about "Revenge" on the Mechonis. The fight between Dunban and Mumkhar was a good moment for both Dunban and Shulk in this regard, preparing them and the audience for the moral highroad Shulk was going to have to take.

Not really sure I know what Zanza is up to, though I guess it is no good. Then again, Egil was evil evil evil along with all mechons until we heard his side of things, so maybe Zanza will get a chance to explain what his deal is.
Ever since learning that
Mumkhar was Metal Face
I've had the craziest ideas bumping around my noodle,
mostly things like "OMG WHAT IF ALVIS IS THE BIONIS?" and "OMG WHAT IF DICKSON IS ZANZA THEY HAVE FACIAL HAIR IT MUST BE TRUE!" So I guess I guessed that the Bionis had a person operating it ahead of time, just not who. Although the Day of Lavos-esque recording of the Bionis' attack in Agniratha definitely showed Alvis, so I'm still not sure what that is about.

The weirdest part, though,
was that the recording showed a humanoid High Entia alongside Zanza, greeting the Machina envoy. The game sort of hinted that the High Entia of Zanza's heyday were less human? Although, even as kinky as humanity can be, I guess they still had to be humanoid for that interbreeding program to work? I dunno.

I thought that whole encounter with
Mumkhar was awful. Couldn't stand seeing Shulk suddenly turn into Mother Theresa. Whereas his previous resentment and anger towards Mumkhar was totally justified (you'll pay for all the homs you killed) he suddenly undergoes a radical and unbelievable shift in personality. He's now like "no, we can't kill him he's like." Like us? What bullshit. Mumkhar mercilessly slaughtered countless of innocent creatures, he deserves. Dunban had no reason to relent, but I guess he stepped down because... he's submissive?"

I was so angry when I saw that scene play it, it was like watching a cheap anime.
 

Korigama

Member
I thought that whole encounter with
Mumkhar was awful. Couldn't stand seeing Shulk suddenly turn into Mother Theresa. Whereas his previous resentment and anger towards Mumkhar was totally justified (you'll pay for all the homs you killed) he suddenly undergoes a radical and unbelievable shift in personality. He's now like "no, we can't kill him he's like." Like us? What bullshit. Mumkhar mercilessly slaughtered countless of innocent creatures, he deserves. Dunban had no reason to relent, but I guess he stepped down because... he's submissive?"

I was so angry when I saw that scene play it, it was like watching a cheap anime.
I pretty much have to agree with being dissatisfied with
the conclusion that Shulk reached regarding Mumkhar. Mumkhar being a Homs too did absolutely nothing to excuse the atrocities that he had committed, especially when it was clear that he took pleasure in every kill anyway. I would've remained dissatisfied if the situation didn't resolve itself by Mumkhar finally dying anyway by getting himself killed after ignoring Shulk's warning.

If I were to guess, it was probably to serve to
set things up for how he would deal with Egil, in which case deciding against killing him actually did serve a point.
 

CorvoSol

Member
Oh wow Corvo, you sound just like me at that part of the game. My brain was running wild with bizarre theories about what was going on. Probably my favorite story to come out of a JRPG this gen and something that held my attention to the very end. Sounds like it is really doing it for you too. Wish I could experience it all over again anew.

You have no idea, man. I think part of the reason I was so let down that
Fiora is the seventh party member
is because I had really been expecting
it to be Alvis, complete with party betrayal.

I thought that whole encounter with
Mumkhar was awful. Couldn't stand seeing Shulk suddenly turn into Mother Theresa. Whereas his previous resentment and anger towards Mumkhar was totally justified (you'll pay for all the homs you killed) he suddenly undergoes a radical and unbelievable shift in personality. He's now like "no, we can't kill him he's like." Like us? What bullshit. Mumkhar mercilessly slaughtered countless of innocent creatures, he deserves. Dunban had no reason to relent, but I guess he stepped down because... he's submissive?"

I was so angry when I saw that scene play it, it was like watching a cheap anime.

Oh, yeah, I was definitely like "Uh, no Shulk.
Dunban's right this guy is a terrible monster and all that."
But like, SINCE that point they've done a good job building on how that played out,
with Dunban specifically pointing out that Shulk hasn't let the Monado control him the way it did him or whatever during the scene where they're talking about making peace.
If I had to defend Shulk's rather sudden shift, I would say
the events in Alcamoth, and the bitter hatred of the people who were trying to kill Melia
would come into play, although the game also suggests
that Shulk's need for revenge has been dulled by the fact that he's got Fiora back.
Which is kind of selfish, really, when you consider how many people
put their faith in Shulk getting his revenge for them, too, like Sharla.

I think in that scene what happened was jarring, but I think they've done a sufficient amount to alleviate that and build on it since, basically.

I pretty much have to agree with being dissatisfied with
the conclusion that Shulk reached regarding Mumkhar. Mumkhar being a Homs too did absolutely nothing to excuse the atrocities that he had committed, especially when it was clear that he took pleasure in every kill anyway. I would've remained dissatisfied if the situation didn't resolve itself by Mumkhar finally dying anyway by getting himself killed after ignoring Shulk's warning.

If I were to guess, it was probably to serve to
set things up for how he would deal with Egil, in which case deciding against killing him actually did serve a point.

Yeah, this is what I was going for, I guess. I agree Shulk's reasoning was BS, but I thought that it fit the general tone of things since leaving Alcamoth.
 

CorvoSol

Member
Haha, yeah I chuckled when you wrote that post. Sounds like you've made it pretty far.

I had assumed I was at the final boss. I think now I must be ready to enter the very definitely final dungeon. I
can't decide if I feel worse for Sharla or Melia right now. Melia is getting shunted something hard, but Gadolt . . . damn.
 

McNum

Member
I had assumed I was at the final boss. I think now I must be ready to enter the very definitely final dungeon. I
can't decide if I feel worse for Sharla or Melia right now. Melia is getting shunted something hard, but Gadolt . . . damn.
In case you're wondering, you don't have to worry about hitting a point of no return and then saving after it in this game. The point is blatantly marked AND you won't be able to save the game at all after it. So, you know. Save all you want. From the point to the end, there's about an hour, so be ready for that.
 

Highwind

Member
Finished this game in March and this is most definitely the most well crafted RPG I've played in a long time.

But...I just can't bring myself to replay it and do all the sidequests. Final area really dragged on (especially with bosses), and while I imported my levels, 90 hours just by doing SOME sidequests.
 

Korigama

Member
I had assumed I was at the final boss. I think now I must be ready to enter the very definitely final dungeon. I
can't decide if I feel worse for Sharla or Melia right now. Melia is getting shunted something hard, but Gadolt . . . damn.
For me, it was most definitely
Melia whom I felt worse for in the end, without question. It was one of my primary complaints with the story for Xenoblade.
 
The scene with (Metal Face spoilers)
Shulk and Mumkhar
is probably the worst in the game. I might say this too much. But it's basically the point where Shulk fully embraces his role as "generic shonen hero."
Dunban should have killed him and been completely remorseless about it. The guy has presumably lost everyone he knows but Dickson to the Mechon at some point or other. Dunban has seen some shit and he should have scars emotionally/ mentally, but we can't have that because people who aren't Shulk are on strict rations of focus and character development from this point on.
The only characters I cared about were Reyn, Sharla, and Dunban, and 2 of those basically got nothing after the midway point. Late game spoiler:
Does Dunban even get much of a reaction to Dickson, his best friend, turning out to have been a complete lie? Is it at least mentioned in Heart-to-Hearts?

I hope it doesn't seem like I hate this game.
 

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
I had assumed I was at the final boss. I think now I must be ready to enter the very definitely final dungeon. I
can't decide if I feel worse for Sharla or Melia right now. Melia is getting shunted something hard, but Gadolt . . . damn.

speaking of the faux final boss can we talk about how insane the scenery was for it? I cant imagine what they did to have
the mechonis moving its body along with egil complete with slight delay for realism, the wii literally has to render probably a huge chnk of the mechonis to do this already
I would just love to read a book on how they built this engine and how they got everything in this game, I mean when you get to
the fallen arm
you can see both gods in clear view when on the bridge and if you go to the same spot
when the mechonis starts moving because of egil
you can clearly see that the entire thing is in full 3D, they both are, no pre-rendered bullshit
 

CorvoSol

Member
speaking of the faux final boss can we talk about how insane the scenery was for it? I cant imagine what they did to have
the mechonis moving its body along with egil complete with slight delay for realism, the wii literally has to render probably a huge chnk of the mechonis to do this already
I would just love to read a book on how they built this engine and how they got everything in this game, I mean when you get to
the fallen arm
you can see both gods in clear view when on the bridge and if you go to the same spot
when the mechonis starts moving because of egil
you can clearly see that the entire thing is in full 3D, they both are, no pre-rendered bullshit

The best part of that fight was
stopping him from hitting the Bionis and seeing the infinite damage forecast with "you all gonna die" over top of my characters.
 
It's a JRPG.
Whoever appears to be the main villain/ final boss will NEVER be the final boss. Safest bet for a JRPG: God is the final boss.

I should play the game again. As someone who isn't Shulk or Melia.
 

CorvoSol

Member
So being Melia is
suffering, I see. I mean goddamn. Your mom is dead. Your other mom hates you. Your dad is murdered. Your brother is murdered. You have to kill your brother with your own hands to end his suffering. Oh, and your not-yet-boyfriend's dead ex-girlfriend came back to life. And then your not-yet-boyfriend died, but you didn't have time to talk to anyone about it because his dead ex-girlfriend is hogging all the sympathy and the one person who knows how you feel is currently grieving her own losses.

I mean DAMN. Melia is definitely a champ worthy of joining the ranks of Nintendo Princesses, and she didn't have to be kidnapped to do it.

New WMG: Alvis is God. Not a god, but like, I don't know, a more benevolent, less involved God. He's just been pretending to be Zanza's disciple to help you take Zanza down.

Anyway, I'm currently at
the fight against Lorithia,
and stuff got nuts. I was gonna do the Tephra cave quest first but lololololol level 90 monsters when I'm level 70.

In terms of how I feel on the cast 55 hours into the game: The strongest male member of the cast is still Dunban.
He has connections to almost all of the most important villains in the game. He's personal friends with Metal Face/Mumkhar and Trinity/Dickson, and as a former wielder of the Monado has his connections to Zanza as well. Since Zanza and Egil spend so much time off screen and Metal Face, Silver Face, and Dickson spend so much on it, Dunban is often the more emotional center to the game's moments, as opposed to Shulk, who is often times a bit too generic for my tastes. Dunban is over the top during battles, more than any other character in the game, but he is also a very level-headed, wise, and straightforward guy outside of battle. In a perfect world, Shulk's character would've simply been merged into Dunban's.

Next up I'd say Shulk and Reyn are tied
because Reyn's contributions to the comedic aspects of the game are second to none. Reyn is the epitome of a big lug, not the cool guy, not the hero, and at some point I believe Reyn or the writers realized this, and decided not to let it get them down. Reyn is the best support man in the game, his interactions with the other cast members never really failing to be solid. He's not the coolest character, but he's got a ton of heart. Shulk suffers too much from being generic. A blonde hero in red is already a warning flag for generic in a JRPG to me, and Shulk skirts that line often. That said, Shulk also does a lot that a generic JRPG hero would not. The focus on revenge and not justice for a large part of the game's beginning, when the important set up must be done, really does prepare you for the inevitable moment it all comes crashing down on him, and I don't think that disappointed. Shulk was pretty obviously flying by the seat of his pants the whole time from Prison Island to Agniratha, and when you find out that the strong desire for revenge and power Shulk has had the whole game played right into the hands of a greater evil, I thought it went well. He spends a lot of time being a bit of a dope, but Shulk has his genuinely cool moments, and he never fails to be considerate of others. Seeing him make friends with Egil after all their hatred toward one another was a well done moment, I believe.

The weakest male member of the cast, and honestly the weakest member of the cast is Riki, I'm afraid.
I like Riki, I do, but he has very little to say during a lot of important moments in the game's second half, and when he does pipe up, it rarely is anything I would venture to call meaningful. Riki serves as visual comedy, and is an adorable, loveable mascot character. That said, he suffers a great deal from being THE comedic relief, and therefore his own character is underdeveloped and lacking in any real meaningful conversations beyond the one he holds with Dunban on the Fallen Arm. He could have and still could benefit greatly from interacting with the rest of the characters or just plain reacting to things. Riki and Melia spent much of the Mechonis' conclusion absolutely silent, and where Melia's facial expressions showed she had something to say but thought against it, I can't say the same for Riki. I appreciate that it is difficult to make the Dwarf an emotionally moving character, especially when your dwarves look less like Gimli and more like Pikachu, but Riki just seemed underused.

Strongest woman goes to Sharla for me.
She spends the whole game with you, which I suppose increases the emotional attachment, but beyond that, Sharla's just a very endearing character. She's introduced as deeply concerned for her kid brother, Juju, and as the game goes on, Sharla's empathy for the rest of the cast seems unmatched. She supports Melia's interest in Shulk, she develops feelings for Reyn, she serves as the mom to Dunban's dad of this rag-tag bunch of kids, and all this before we find out that Gadolt is still alive and then she has to watch Gadolt die just after their reunion. She doesn't suffer as much as Melia, but Sharla also balances the tough gal and sensitive lady aspects of her character a lot better than Melia.

Melia would come next, mainly for the fact that she soldiers through all the shit outlined above like a champ.
I would think the one weakness Melia has as a character is only that she tends to interact almost exclusively with Shulk and Sharla, and later Fiora. She rarely has anything to say to Reyn or Dunban.

I also really liked
Fiora, but the problem with her is that she shows up way late in the game, I guess. She's a bit too perfect girlfriend for my tastes, too.
 
Am I the only one that thinks the new X game
is a sequel to Xenoblade? Consider that it uses a similar battle system to Xenoblade, the main character featured in the trailers looks like Shulk. The emphasis on huge open environments just like in Xenoblade. The presence of player pilot-able mecha which has been in every Xeno game (in Xenoblade only the enemies and Fiora had them/Faces). This can be explained since they said in the ending that the Machina were sharing their technology with the Homs. Also consider that Shulk created a new universe/environment if the CG scene at the end is anything to go by.

It makes sense to me that the game takes place in the new world after some time has passed and Homs tech has improved allowing for the development of the Dolls we see in the trailers. Based on the trailers it looks like there's a new threat that Shulk or whoever the MC is (if they go with a new character) will have to deal with.
 

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
So being Melia is
suffering, I see. I mean goddamn. Your mom is dead. Your other mom hates you. Your dad is murdered. Your brother is murdered. You have to kill your brother with your own hands to end his suffering. Oh, and your not-yet-boyfriend's dead ex-girlfriend came back to life. And then your not-yet-boyfriend died, but you didn't have time to talk to anyone about it because his dead ex-girlfriend is hogging all the sympathy and the one person who knows how you feel is currently grieving her own losses.

I mean DAMN. Melia is definitely a champ worthy of joining the ranks of Nintendo Princesses, and she didn't have to be kidnapped to do it.

New WMG: Alvis is God. Not a god, but like, I don't know, a more benevolent, less involved God. He's just been pretending to be Zanza's disciple to help you take Zanza down.

Anyway, I'm currently at
the fight against Lorithia,
and stuff got nuts. I was gonna do the Tephra cave quest first but lololololol level 90 monsters when I'm level 70.

In terms of how I feel on the cast 55 hours into the game: The strongest male member of the cast is still Dunban.
He has connections to almost all of the most important villains in the game. He's personal friends with Metal Face/Mumkhar and Trinity/Dickson, and as a former wielder of the Monado has his connections to Zanza as well. Since Zanza and Egil spend so much time off screen and Metal Face, Silver Face, and Dickson spend so much on it, Dunban is often the more emotional center to the game's moments, as opposed to Shulk, who is often times a bit too generic for my tastes. Dunban is over the top during battles, more than any other character in the game, but he is also a very level-headed, wise, and straightforward guy outside of battle. In a perfect world, Shulk's character would've simply been merged into Dunban's.

Next up I'd say Shulk and Reyn are tied
because Reyn's contributions to the comedic aspects of the game are second to none. Reyn is the epitome of a big lug, not the cool guy, not the hero, and at some point I believe Reyn or the writers realized this, and decided not to let it get them down. Reyn is the best support man in the game, his interactions with the other cast members never really failing to be solid. He's not the coolest character, but he's got a ton of heart. Shulk suffers too much from being generic. A blonde hero in red is already a warning flag for generic in a JRPG to me, and Shulk skirts that line often. That said, Shulk also does a lot that a generic JRPG hero would not. The focus on revenge and not justice for a large part of the game's beginning, when the important set up must be done, really does prepare you for the inevitable moment it all comes crashing down on him, and I don't think that disappointed. Shulk was pretty obviously flying by the seat of his pants the whole time from Prison Island to Agniratha, and when you find out that the strong desire for revenge and power Shulk has had the whole game played right into the hands of a greater evil, I thought it went well. He spends a lot of time being a bit of a dope, but Shulk has his genuinely cool moments, and he never fails to be considerate of others. Seeing him make friends with Egil after all their hatred toward one another was a well done moment, I believe.

The weakest male member of the cast, and honestly the weakest member of the cast is Riki, I'm afraid.
I like Riki, I do, but he has very little to say during a lot of important moments in the game's second half, and when he does pipe up, it rarely is anything I would venture to call meaningful. Riki serves as visual comedy, and is an adorable, loveable mascot character. That said, he suffers a great deal from being THE comedic relief, and therefore his own character is underdeveloped and lacking in any real meaningful conversations beyond the one he holds with Dunban on the Fallen Arm. He could have and still could benefit greatly from interacting with the rest of the characters or just plain reacting to things. Riki and Melia spent much of the Mechonis' conclusion absolutely silent, and where Melia's facial expressions showed she had something to say but thought against it, I can't say the same for Riki. I appreciate that it is difficult to make the Dwarf an emotionally moving character, especially when your dwarves look less like Gimli and more like Pikachu, but Riki just seemed underused.

Strongest woman goes to Sharla for me.
She spends the whole game with you, which I suppose increases the emotional attachment, but beyond that, Sharla's just a very endearing character. She's introduced as deeply concerned for her kid brother, Juju, and as the game goes on, Sharla's empathy for the rest of the cast seems unmatched. She supports Melia's interest in Shulk, she develops feelings for Reyn, she serves as the mom to Dunban's dad of this rag-tag bunch of kids, and all this before we find out that Gadolt is still alive and then she has to watch Gadolt die just after their reunion. She doesn't suffer as much as Melia, but Sharla also balances the tough gal and sensitive lady aspects of her character a lot better than Melia.

Melia would come next, mainly for the fact that she soldiers through all the shit outlined above like a champ.
I would think the one weakness Melia has as a character is only that she tends to interact almost exclusively with Shulk and Sharla, and later Fiora. She rarely has anything to say to Reyn or Dunban.

I also really liked
Fiora, but the problem with her is that she shows up way late in the game, I guess. She's a bit too perfect girlfriend for my tastes, too.

Im actually
inside bionis
so im at the part your in now but I stopped there, reason? the area is a BITCH I also heard the bosses are THE BITCHIEST IN THE WORLD, and my wii STRUGGLES to run dual layer disc, once I get it to run it works perfectly, but I could literally spend hours trying to get it to turn on, so I know im basically at the end game but my progress has halted for now, I got to get in the right mood and spend all day getting it to work and then finish it.
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Am I the only one that thinks the new X game
is a sequel to Xenoblade? Consider that it uses a similar battle system to Xenoblade, the main character featured in the trailers looks like Shulk. The emphasis on huge open environments just like in Xenoblade. The presence of player pilot-able mecha which has been in every Xeno game (in Xenoblade only the enemies and Fiora had them/Faces). This can be explained since they said in the ending that the Machina were sharing their technology with the Homs. Also consider that Shulk created a new universe/environment if the CG scene at the end is anything to go by.

It makes sense to me that the game takes place in the new world after some time has passed and Homs tech has improved allowing for the development of the Dolls we see in the trailers. Based on the trailers it looks like there's a new threat that Shulk or whoever the MC is (if they go with a new character) will have to deal with.

Not sure why you spoiler tagged the whole post, but I don't think it's a sequel. I didn't think the main character looked like Shulk (the guy briefly shown during the first trailer did though) gameplay similarities can simply be explained by Monolith simply expanding on what already worked for them. IIRC Soma Bringer experimented with several systems they later used in Xenoblade, so building on them some more in an unrelated game wouldn't be surprising at all.

Of course Takahashi did say he always leaves room for sequels in his games, and in Xenoblade it's not difficult to see where they could tie something in.
 
Not sure why you spoiler tagged the whole post, but I don't think it's a sequel. I didn't think the main character looked like Shulk (the guy briefly shown during the first trailer did though) gameplay similarities can simply be explained by Monolith simply expanding on what already worked for them. IIRC Soma Bringer experimented with several systems they later used in Xenoblade, so building on them some more in an unrelated game wouldn't be surprising at all.

Of course Takahashi did say he always leaves room for sequels in his games, and in Xenoblade it's not difficult to see where they could tie something in.

You are right in that it could be a completely new game as well. Maybe we'll get some more info at this year's TGS.
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
You are right in that it could be a completely new game as well. Maybe we'll get some more info at this year's TGS.

Nintendo historically doesn't go to TGS, but I'm sure they'll have a Nintendo Direct around that time. Hope we see this game in the next big one, but they'll probably just focus on their holiday lineup. I'd love to be wrong though.
 
They would have to come up with an explanation for how they were able to build a highly-advanced city within a span of about 10 years. And I'm not exactly itching to see Shulk again.

Homs/Machina co-operation maybe? So little has been revealed (nothing about the story that I know of) that speculating at this point is pretty much throwing darts at a wall.

Also how can you miss Reyn time? :p

Nintendo historically doesn't go to TGS, but I'm sure they'll have a Nintendo Direct around that time. Hope we see this game in the next big one, but they'll probably just focus on their holiday lineup. I'd love to be wrong though.

I hope you are wrong too!

Considering how Sony/Microsoft are really showing off their next year stuff I'd hope that Nintendo would throw us a bone even if X isn't coming out till next year.
 
I've been playing The World Ends With You and I can't help but think of Reyn when I see Beat. They have so many of the same qualities.

And as for complaining about Shulk as a protagonist, just know that it could be worse — he could be Neku.
 

CorvoSol

Member
I've been playing The World Ends With You and I can't help but think of Reyn when I see Beat. They have so many of the same qualities.

And as for complaining about Shulk as a protagonist, just know that it could be worse — he could be Neku.

You know, I think I like Alvis a lot more than Joshua, though. Although the idea of
a troll Jesus
was fun.

So anyway, I just finished
Lorithia
and that is like, the single most BS fight in the entire game. The fight would be waaaaaaaay easier if 1) her attacks didn't all do crippling status effects like daze, confuse and topple, and 2) she didn't CONSTANTLY shove you into the ether vats in the arena. I mean, whatever I can just run out of that stuff, but Melia and Sharla don't know better than to stand in that stuff and DIE constantly.

Hopefully the remaining battles are more straightforward than that noise.
 

JulianImp

Member
You know, I think I like Alvis a lot more than Joshua, though. Although the idea of
a troll Jesus
was fun.

So anyway, I just finished
Lorithia
and that is like, the single most BS fight in the entire game. The fight would be waaaaaaaay easier if 1) her attacks didn't all do crippling status effects like daze, confuse and topple, and 2) she didn't CONSTANTLY shove you into the ether vats in the arena. I mean, whatever I can just run out of that stuff, but Melia and Sharla don't know better than to stand in that stuff and DIE constantly.

Hopefully the remaining battles are more straightforward than that noise.

The only boos fights where I actually died at least once were that one, the Xord one and the one at the end of
the High Entia tomb
(mid-game area spoilers), I didn't die even once against the rest.

The fight you're talking about is like a worst-case scenario for the game's party AI, which for some reason decides they should keep fighting on top of the deadly damaging ooze rather than moving out of the way. You can make sure they don't kill themselves by issuing the "follow me" command, let them come to you, and switching to an attack command once they and the boss are all in safe ground.
 

CorvoSol

Member
The only boos fights where I actually died at least once were that one, the Xord one and the one at the end of
the High Entia tomb
(mid-game area spoilers), I didn't die even once against the rest.

The fight you're talking about is like a worst-case scenario for the game's party AI, which for some reason decides they should keep fighting on top of the deadly damaging ooze rather than moving out of the way. You can make sure they don't kill themselves by issuing the "follow me" command, let them come to you, and switching to an attack command once they and the boss are all in safe ground.

I have played this game for almost 70 hours and had no idea there was a "follow me" command, haha. Anyway, now I'm up against
Disciple Dickson
. I had to reload my save and level up to 75 because at level 74 I couldn't hurt him. The entire final dungeon has been odd and kicking my butt. Mostly because, while I can handle level 78 monsters alone, I get swarmed by like, six quadwings and two telethias and one named monster and that's that. Anyway,
Disciple Dickson
phase one isn't so bad, but I got my butt kicked the first time I tried phase 2. Do I NEED to level up those last 5 levels to beat this game, or is there just a strategy I need to adopt here? I've been playing Shulk/Dunban/Sharla, and spamming Monado Shield so far.
 
I have played this game for almost 70 hours and had no idea there was a "follow me" command, haha. Anyway, now I'm up against
Disciple Dickson
. I had to reload my save and level up to 75 because at level 74 I couldn't hurt him. The entire final dungeon has been odd and kicking my butt. Mostly because, while I can handle level 78 monsters alone, I get swarmed by like, six quadwings and two telethias and one named monster and that's that. Anyway,
Disciple Dickson
phase one isn't so bad, but I got my butt kicked the first time I tried phase 2. Do I NEED to level up those last 5 levels to beat this game, or is there just a strategy I need to adopt here? I've been playing Shulk/Dunban/Sharla, and spamming Monado Shield so far.
I just beat it for a second time last night. My team is Shulk/Dunban/Sharla as well. Getting your team to level 80 will let you sail through the rest of the game with ease. No real trick to
Dickson
just a matter of over powering him really. I used a lot of chain attacks.
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Load up on agility gems at level 78 and it shouldn't be too hard. If you have good equipment, gems, and lots of affinity coins you are probably fine without any extra levels.

If you do decide to level up kill some level 70+ unique monsters, great experience and you should get some good drops too.
 

JulianImp

Member
I have played this game for almost 70 hours and had no idea there was a "follow me" command, haha. Anyway, now I'm up against
Disciple Dickson
. I had to reload my save and level up to 75 because at level 74 I couldn't hurt him. The entire final dungeon has been odd and kicking my butt. Mostly because, while I can handle level 78 monsters alone, I get swarmed by like, six quadwings and two telethias and one named monster and that's that. Anyway,
Disciple Dickson
phase one isn't so bad, but I got my butt kicked the first time I tried phase 2. Do I NEED to level up those last 5 levels to beat this game, or is there just a strategy I need to adopt here? I've been playing Shulk/Dunban/Sharla, and spamming Monado Shield so far.

I think the "stop attacking and follow me", "engage at will" and "focus attacks on a single enemy" commands are done with some combination of one of the nunchuck's shoulder buttons plus the D-pad (down was for "follow me", I think), A and/or B.

I did fairly well against the final bosses, even without Monado Shield, using 7th (controlled by me), Shulk and Reyn, doing high chains that'd most often lead to repeated uses of 7th's sick topple ability and talent art, which hits for a truckload of damage at high combo counts.

I think I beat the final boss at around lv 75, without getting the best possible gems; just a few okay ones that helped me build up 7th's topple art faster.

Now that I think about it, the
dragon
boss before
Disciple Dickson
did kill me a few times as well, because of its high damage output combined with that blasted topple spike. Whenever I encountered an enemy with that, I always went from "Great, time to gang up on it!" to "OMG, topple spike, RUN!", and it never helped that I was maining 7th...

When X's release is closer on the horizon, I'm surely going to play it again, and perhaps not go for that many quests or changing my party around a bit more to make things interesting. I absolutely fell in love with Xenoblade's real time battle system, even if it's kind of simple, so I'm really looking forward to X.
 

CorvoSol

Member
Going back to Bionis' Field and murdering the high level monsters is the greatest feeling.

Going to Satorl Marsh and discovering I still have a lot to learn about the murder game not so much.
 

Gaz_RB

Member
Finally got a copy from my Gamestop. I finally found the cure for my pre GTAV blues.

Having not played my Wii in a while I got a sort of SD shock coming from games like TLOU and stuff. It wore off eventually and graphics brought me back to my PS2 JRPG days. It helps that the art design and things like the scale of the world are pretty awesome.

Hated the battle system at first. There was so much going on that I couldn't tell what was happening or what I was supposed to be doing but it dawns on you and you realize how cool it can be. Way more hands on and frantic than most JRPGs.

Just got to the
Central Pit/Mine place on my way to colony 6 and saving Juju (stupid name btw)
and while the story hasn't quite found its footing yet, the epicness of the setting and the gameplay is keeping me enthralled.

Edit: I love Reyn. His voice actor is awesome
 

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
Finally got a copy from my Gamestop. I finally found the cure for my pre GTAV blues.

Having not played my Wii in a while I got a sort of SD shock coming from games like TLOU and stuff. It wore off eventually and graphics brought me back to my PS2 JRPG days. It helps that the art design and things like the scale of the world are pretty awesome.

Hated the battle system at first. There was so much going on that I couldn't tell what was happening or what I was supposed to be doing but it dawns on you and you realize how cool it can be. Way more hands on and frantic than most JRPGs.

Just got to the
Central Pit/Mine place on my way to colony 6 and saving Juju (stupid name btw)
and while the story hasn't quite found its footing yet, the epicness of the setting and the gameplay is keeping me enthralled.

Edit: I love Reyn. His voice actor is awesome
couple questions, are you playing with the wiimote and nunchuck, and or you playing in english or japanese?
 

CorvoSol

Member
Is there a good level 70-75 unique monster for me to grind against till I hit level 80? I figure that will be a high enough level to coast the end of the game. Also is the final boss harder than the boss before him/ is the final boss a higher level than the boss before him?
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Is there a good level 70-75 unique monster for me to grind against till I hit level 80? I figure that will be a high enough level to coast the end of the game. Also is the final boss harder than the boss before him/ is the final boss a higher level than the boss before him?

There are several in
Bionis Interior
, all of them there are around level 72-77 or so.

There are a couple on Bionis Leg too, the spider in the big cave and a tirkin if you go all the way through the cave, surrounded by a bunch of weak tirkins.

There should also be a few to kill in that last dungeon.

And yes, the final boss is harder than the boss before it. The final boss is
level 81/82, but it's not actually displayed.
 

CorvoSol

Member
I am very angry at the moment because I am having a hard time with the final boss. Spoilered is salty tears and rage:


I'm about as pissed off by this bullshit fucking difficulty spike as is humanly possible without lobbing fucking controllers, I think. I mean what the fuck. The whole game enough EXP to make me more or less the right level the whole time, until the last dungeon. Then everything is just hilariously stronger than I am. So I went and grinded till I was level 78. No problem in the dungeon, no problem against the pre-final bosses. Then the final boss. BULL FUCKING SHIT. I hadn't saved in fucking THREE HOURS because BOSS FIGHT after BOSS FIGHT after MOTHER FUCKING BOSS FIGHT. And this FUCKING FINAL BOSS
SECOND FORM
kicks my ass in spite of the fact that I'm level 79 now. And it's just a fucking mess of a fight with the CONSTANT interruptions to tell you that "HEY FUCK YOU FOR NOT GETTING
MONADO ARMOR BITCH, HERE'S SEVEN THOUSAND DAMAGE TO YOUR FUCKING FACE.
"

FUCKING. SHIT.

I haven't felt this angry with a final boss fight since I fought Ex-Death in FFV when I was like, thirteen. I've tried to overload with agility, I've rotated the party around, GameFAQs is shittier than usual with misinformation and out-and-out nothing in terms of help (the only FAQ that covers the final boss says "GIRL POWER CONQUERS ALL". I finally got so angry I just turned it off and walked away.

I have LESS than a WEEK to finish this game before I won't be able to play it for MONTHS. This whole final segment of the game has been a fucking BLOAT and now I have to find the time to grind the PATHETIC JRPG AMOUNTS OF EXP to go up the next FOUR TO TEN levels so I can finish this goddamn game.

SO SO SO angry right now.

Anyway, my party is level 78. Clearly that's not enough, so how high do I need to be to beat the final boss? And is there ANYTHING else I need to make this less of a pain for Shulk/Dunban/Sharla to finish this before I leave for school in five days? I wanted to beat this days ago, but the amount of levels you suddenly need to gain between
Agniratha
and
Earth
is kinda steep. I wish that that had not been the case.
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
You should be able to beat it at that level. It's an issue with your equipment/skill links/tactics if you're having trouble with it.

If Dunban's agility is high enough he should be dodging just about every physical attack the boss throws at him. Light armor, megaheated Agility V gems (since you probably don't have access to VI), agility skill links, Serene Heart. You should just need to use Monado arts for visions.

Sharla could be holding you back, Xenoblade is balanced around offense offense offense. You should still be able to beat it with her in the party though.

If you didn't get Monado Armor, that's worth going back and doing since it's one of the best arts in the game along with Serene Heart. Especially if you have some unused points to dump into it.

But yeah, it's primarily
Agniratha
that isn't very well balanced. I think the game assumes you're going to get more levels there than many players actually do since it's pretty easy to rush through it.
 
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