So after spending 80 mins running through a huge city twice (day/night) to meet everyone and get all the quests:
I now have thirty five time restricted quests
...I hate myself ;_; I know what I'll be doing for 5-10 hours tomorrow before moving the story forward!
In other news the story has really kicked into gear where I am and is awesome with all the world lore, depth and intrigue of the other Takahashi titles. For those worried that the game is Xeno~ only in name to sell more copies and it won't give that epic storytelling the others gave, don't be. Like Soma Bringer, there's a lot more to the story than just a dude with a sword fighting robots Takahashi keeps re-using the same story telling style in all his games, but I really enjoy it so I won't complain. XB is definitely hitting the right spot in story right about now for me
Some non-story, but worldview spoilerish pictures of locations that explain what I mean:
Is it OK to just do quests after you beat the story or can something happen that can stop you from taking them? Also how much time do you usually have to do the timed quests?
Yeah, they specifically mentioned that it is still on schedule for release even if no mention from E3. Of course, he could just be someone who doesn't know anything, but lets be happy for now haha
Yeah, they specifically mentioned that it is still on schedule for release even if no mention from E3. Of course, he could just be someone who doesn't know anything, but lets be happy for now haha
Yeah, that crossed my mind too... could just be someone looking at outdated information. But hey, the game is a clear success, both critically and financially (assuming its sales do not drop off precipitously.)
I feel very confident that we will see it in English.
I think it's fun to make silly and mismatched outfits that still manage to be pretty powerful.
Plus getting a complete set (and buying/finding armor) feels a bit more rewarding with visible equipment changes than wearing the same outfit even if the character has a 60-pound suit of magical armor on (but I'll admit something more permanent usually has more character than a lot of the stuff you'll find).
Though it can get the better of my slight completionist OCD at times.
Yeah, that crossed my mind too... could just be someone looking at outdated information. But hey, the game is a clear success, both critically and financially (assuming its sales do not drop off precipitously.)
I feel very confident that we will see it in English.
Is it OK to just do quests after you beat the story or can something happen that can stop you from taking them? Also how much time do you usually have to do the timed quests?
I don't know about the first one question. The problem with the 2nd question is that I don't think anyone knows, and I don't think anyone wants to find out by having their quests expire! :lol
I'm going to email Nintendo as well. I know they've mentioned that they actually read and think about those comment sections at the end of their surveys, maybe this will help.
Nice to see other people emailing Nintendo. Just, also ask for Last Story. Do it for me, a whore for Sakaguchi!!!! <3
Seriously though, just keep emailing them and letting people know you want it. It seems insane BUT! if they get enough emails they consider there to be demand for titles. It may not make a difference but not doing anything doesn't work and people just like to bitch instead of doing things.
If you are fighting normal mob you're good against anything +-2 levels.
If you are fighting a unique mob, you're probably gonna get destroyed on anything that's the same or higher level than you, but it's possible to eek out a win.
If you are fighting a story boss, then they're hard if you are underleveled, and still not a total pushover if you are 5-6 levels over them.
Don't worry, by using the latest in 3D technology we can now simulate such a conversation with 100% accuracy!
Fan: "Hey PR guy who is just the show floor to help people and doesn't actually know anything about Nintendo's localization decisions; will Xenoblade come to the US?"
PR guy: "...maybe?"
And now the Reggie edition!
Reggie: "It certainly is a game near and dear to [Nintendo President Satoru Iwata's] heart, and it's something I'm trying to get smart on to understand whether or not there is an opportunity here. But certainly I've seen the success in Japan. That hasn't gone unnoticed. And it's certainly something we're looking at."
If you are fighting normal mob you're good against anything +-2 levels.
If you are fighting a unique mob, you're probably gonna get destroyed on anything that's the same or higher level than you, but it's possible to eek out a win.
If you are fighting a story boss, then they're hard if you are underleveled, and still not a total pushover if you are 5-6 levels over them.
Don't worry, by using the latest in 3D technology we can now simulate such a conversation with 100% accuracy!
Fan: "Hey PR guy who is just the show floor to help people and doesn't actually know anything about Nintendo's localization decisions; will Xenoblade come to the US?"
PR guy: "...maybe?"
And now the Reggie edition!
Reggie: "It certainly is a game near and dear to [Nintendo President Satoru Iwata's] heart, and it's something I'm trying to get smart on to understand whether or not there is an opportunity here. But certainly I've seen the success in Japan. That hasn't gone unnoticed. And it's certainly something we're looking at."
Been playing as some of the other characters now that everyone in my party is pretty good. Pretty fun! Playing as Karna the healer is actually very enjoyable. Her cooldown system where too many spells at once = STOPPED adds a layer of strategy. Been using chain attacks more and more. They're really useful when you aren't playing as all attack characters.
I got rid of about half the timed quests I picked up last night and found a few others. Some fun stuff in there and exploring is always great. It's awesome when you stumble across a hidden island with a bandits hideout or something. Gonna try to finish up the rest of the timed ones before moving on and finishing the first half of the game (I think I'm at the last dungeon before the midway point).
USEFUL TRICK FOR ANYONE PLAYING (aka, wish I knew this earlier)
If you need "x" number of a mob and you find the mob but there's like 2 and you need 5. Kill them and then walk 5 feet away, save your game. Load your game. They've respawned. Also useful if you need drops or rare drops from them.
This is also INCREDIBLY USEFUL if you are taking on a unique mob that is VERY HARD and NOT NEAR ANY LANDMARKS. Because this way instead of fighting, dying, running 5 mins back and reconfiguring, dying, repeat, you can save. Try a tactic and if it doesn't work you just reload and try something else if you think you can do it.
I'm wondering if this works for collection items too or if they're totally random. Gonna test that out.
10 hours & 60+ time sensitive quests later, I have finally cleared all my time restricted stuff. Everyone in the city loves me now :lol Can finally move on with the story, yay.
I think I've figured out how time restricted quests work. I think they aren't restricted to take, but once you take them they are restricted.
Why
Because sometimes in the story NPCs who give quests will MOVE. So I think all the time restricted quests are just because if you take a quest from an NPC in one place and they move to another you can't finish that quest. But I think you can later take that quest from the new place if you hadn't already started it. This is all just guessing, but I was looking at a wiki list of quests from the area I was just in and even though ALL the quests were restricted for me, the wiki only said about half were time restricted for whoever wrote that. So I'm thinking the person didn't start half until after whatever event that stops making their quests time restricted happened.
Also quests that require collection items, especially RARE ONES and several of them are the worst things ever. There's really no strategy other than run around this particular area and hope you get lucky, then come back later and try again. Annoying stuff.
And the cities are too damn big. When you have quests that involve a lot of running from NPC to NPC and delivering messages along with other stuff, since the game doesn't give you pinpoint directions to where that npc is, and the cities are huge it can be a pain. I think if you had a guide just for the cities that had maps of them all and listed all the NPCs and their names and where they hang out from what time of day it'd cut down wasted running by 5-10 hours.
Anyhow it's cool that the way they work in the high level mobs from the starting areas into quests is by later areas having you go back there and take on the mob when you are finally around its level.
Also I've decided that the main benefit of doing most or all of the quests is it's the only way to be incredibly overleveled. Because normally after you are a level or two or three above the enemies in the area you stop gaining xp. But quests xp is static and can be really good. Plus if you're doing like 30 quests that give xp it adds up! For instance the area I'm in, the normal enemies are around lvl.32-38 with the rare unique mobs ~38-40 with one that was 44. My party just hit lvl.47 lol. But it balances off because when you get to a new area the normal enemies will still probably be below your level but the unique mobs will be ~your level or higher so you'll still get owned at first. You also get a ridiculous amount of money if you do most of the quests. I'm over a million of whatever currency the game uses and I haven't sold anything in quite a while. It's nice not having to worry about money at all and just buy everything in the stores each time
Xenoblade has soooo many quest though. I looked at my completed quest list and I've already completed over 200 at this point and I only have the locations to 3 out of 5 stars for most of them! :lol
But at the end of the day, most of the quests are fun, exploring is fun and so it's enjoyable time to stretch out the main story and make the game last longer.
I also have to say after 50 hours with it, I LOVE the battle system. I'm pretty sure Xenoblade is the best non-turn based rpg battle system I've used. It's fast and exciting and there's so much depth. When you fight a rare mob and win by the skin of your teeth it's amazing.
Oh and it seems there are UNLOCKABLE EXTRA SKILL TREES. When I finished a story sidequest one of my characters got a 4th tree with some neat skills. I'm guessing everyone probably has at least 4 by the end?
But yeah, only complaints I have are cities are too big and some of the quests are a bit aggravating in time wasting trying to acquire the needed items to clear them. Otherwise, it's still an A++ game so far.
USEFUL TRICK FOR ANYONE PLAYING (aka, wish I knew this earlier)
If you need "x" number of a mob and you find the mob but there's like 2 and you need 5. Kill them and then walk 5 feet away, save your game. Load your game. They've respawned. Also useful if you need drops or rare drops from them.
This is also INCREDIBLY USEFUL if you are taking on a unique mob that is VERY HARD and NOT NEAR ANY LANDMARKS. Because this way instead of fighting, dying, running 5 mins back and reconfiguring, dying, repeat, you can save. Try a tactic and if it doesn't work you just reload and try something else if you think you can do it.
I'm wondering if this works for collection items too or if they're totally random. Gonna test that out.
You know I'm starting to get pretty fucking jealous when I see all these great impressions of the game from you people. Maybe you could start telling everyone how terrible it is so I feel better about it not having a NA release date yet.
I wish I hated the game. I'm about 12 hours in, and I'm having a blast. the sheer scope of each area is incredible.
The side quests have been the bulk of my gameplay so far, but they're a blast to do. The actual story parts I've done have been a lot of fun, too. The bosses have been really interesting, especially when Vision is incorporated into it.
I have to say, quite simply, that Xenoblade is one of the most progressive JRPGs I've ever played. Period. Soma Bringer started it, and Xenoblade takes it to the next level.
I've decided to sent an email to NoE and wanted to encourage some of the other PAL gamers to join. I know stuff like petititions never work but then again writing one email doesn't hurt either. I'ld post an adress, but every country has it's own branch apparently.
I have to say, quite simply, that Xenoblade is one of the most progressive JRPGs I've ever played. Period. Soma Bringer started it, and Xenoblade takes it to the next level.
Just to add more love for this game to this thread. I've been having a blast doing quests and running around kickin' ass. Man, this game has to come out in the States. I think RPG players everywhere are missing out.
It's been a 8 months or so for JRPGs, more than a few really progressive, interesting titles. Pretty pleasing for as tepid as consoles about them early on.
If that doesn't read its coming here, I don't know what does.
Hello,
Thank you for writing to Nintendo! I certainly understand your interest in the Xenoblade series, and you should be happy to know that Monado: Beginning of the World has been announced for release in North America. Although it has been announced for release, there is currently no scheduled release date.
As you may have heard, Tales of Graces has been released in Japan. So far, there hasn't been an official announcement of a release in this market. Having said that, I am certain that you are aware of Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World being released in this market and published by Namco Bandia.
While Im unable to offer a specific reason regarding Tales of Graces, there are many reasons that Nintendo or any other publisher may decide to release a game in one market, but not another. These can include difficulty or cost of localization, the size and financial strength of the publisher, the size of the distribution network, and (most often) the idea that the game will simply not be accepted or enjoyed in another market.
However, there are (like you) real fans of those games or franchises in this market who would love nothing more than to see these games on store shelves here. I understand (and sometimes even share) your frustration! Having said that, please understand that those fans may constitute too small a portion of the gaming public to justify the costs associated with bringing a game here.
Of course, you never know what the future holds, as evidenced by the appearance in this market of previously Japan-only franchises like Advance Wars and Fire Emblem. Keep an eye on our website (http://www.nintendo.com) for all the latest news as it becomes available.
It is, but I tend to agree with Bebpo. It seems a bit shallow early on, but once you have more arts, more party members and faster cooldowns (by upgrading the skills), it gets really interesting and engaging.
If that doesn't read its coming here, I don't know what does.
Hello,
Thank you for writing to Nintendo! I certainly understand your interest in the Xenoblade series, and you should be happy to know that Monado: Beginning of the World has been announced for release in North America. Although it has been announced for release, there is currently no scheduled release date.
As you may have heard, Tales of Graces has been released in Japan. So far, there hasn't been an official announcement of a release in this market. Having said that, I am certain that you are aware of Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World being released in this market and published by Namco Bandia.
While Im unable to offer a specific reason regarding Tales of Graces, there are many reasons that Nintendo or any other publisher may decide to release a game in one market, but not another. These can include difficulty or cost of localization, the size and financial strength of the publisher, the size of the distribution network, and (most often) the idea that the game will simply not be accepted or enjoyed in another market.
However, there are (like you) real fans of those games or franchises in this market who would love nothing more than to see these games on store shelves here. I understand (and sometimes even share) your frustration! Having said that, please understand that those fans may constitute too small a portion of the gaming public to justify the costs associated with bringing a game here.
Of course, you never know what the future holds, as evidenced by the appearance in this market of previously Japan-only franchises like Advance Wars and Fire Emblem. Keep an eye on our website (http://www.nintendo.com) for all the latest news as it becomes available.
Really, it seemed like the best thing for this game since Zelda is next year it shouldn't clash with the side-scrollers they have coming during the holiday. The only remotely direct competition I can see is Epic Mickey since they're both lengthy games, but they're still completely different games. Epic Mickey is a non-linear game with a lot of maps with an emphasis on choice that will take you down different paths. This is a linear game with an open world that with an emphasis on exploration and has an insane amount of optional quests. Nintendo really should have had Xenoblade at E3 and pushed it out this holiday. I'm still really hoping we do get it, now I'll just be glad if we do.
Thanks to everyone in this thread for providing your in-depth impressions, you're doing a fantastic job and it's wonderful to hear mostly positive things about the game.
I also have to say after 50 hours with it, I LOVE the battle system. I'm pretty sure Xenoblade is the best non-turn based rpg battle system I've used. It's fast and exciting and there's so much depth. When you fight a rare mob and win by the skin of your teeth it's amazing.
Overall the system seems okay for me. Not bad, but also not like I would totally love it. I don't really need to use any specific strategies (expect maybe attacking the weakest enemy of a group first). The only thing you need to do is stand in front of a enemy and occasionally launch some of your arts/monado attacks/chains.
And really the worst part is the vision mechanic. This may be a personal thing but I hate things that disrupt the flow of a battle. So this 5-10s thing of whats going to happen is simply annoying (especially since 8/10 times I don't really have to care or even fear the attacks...). I could live if the enemy was restricted to a single use in its life time, but I had a battle with prolly 20+ vision attacks today (in a boss battle) so I was just watching the screen all the time watching the enemy do his vision instead of letting me kill it. After the 10th+ time I started to freak out because I was easily winning this fight but over and over and over again I had to watch that crap.
Sidenote:
What quest and where did you finish for the extra skill tree? Also for which character did you get it?
Sorry of this has been asked before, but i did not find a clear answer: do the enemies ever attack you, or do you have to always attack them first? I'm asking beacause in the videos i've seen, it looked like you could run around enemies without any care, they did not attack you even if you got very close to them.
We have not announced a Wii game called Xenoblade, but Monado: Beginning of the World has been announced for North America, but no release date or details yet. When details do become available, we'll make sure to post the info on our website at www.nintendo.com.
Hmmm, not nearly as in depth as that email above. Again with the Monado thing. I'm holding out hope!
Also, I dreamed about this game last night. Seriously.
I dreamed that I was like.....in the game, and I engaged in a boss encounter with a flying dragon...worm...firefly thing on a forested island on top of the life god, or whatever.
Sorry of this has been asked before, but i did not find a clear answer: do the enemies ever attack you, or do you have to always attack them first? I'm asking beacause in the videos i've seen, it looked like you could run around enemies without any care, they did not attack you even if you got very close to them.
Enemies will attack you. Some of the basic stuff won't, but once you get out of the first area, you have to be careful because you'll get attacked. Stupid werewolves always attack me, and let's not forget about the level 70+ mobs running around who sneak up on you and one shot you. Yeah...it happens.
Hmmm, not nearly as in depth as that email above. Again with the Monado thing. I'm holding out hope!
Also, I dreamed about this game last night. Seriously.
I dreamed that I was like.....in the game, and I engaged in a boss encounter with a flying dragon...worm...firefly thing on a forested island on top of the life god, or whatever.
:lol Yesterday I dreamt I was fighting KOS-MOS in a real time mech battle and I was owning but then she fired like 300 missles at me or something. I tried dodging to make the missles hit buildings and stuff but the AI was too smart lol.
Makes me think why there isn't a good RPG out there with real time mech battles. They should've added mech battles in this game but at least just fighting mechs even though you're not piloting one is fine I guess...
Sorry of this has been asked before, but i did not find a clear answer: do the enemies ever attack you, or do you have to always attack them first? I'm asking beacause in the videos i've seen, it looked like you could run around enemies without any care, they did not attack you even if you got very close to them.
It depends. If you look at the label displayed above the creatures, some have a little eye icon. Only those will attack unprovoked as far as I can tell. Some will only attack if you provoke them by running into them or remaining in close proximity, and about half the creatures will completely ignore you unless you attack. And creatures that are much weaker than you usually don't attack at all, even if they're usually aggressive.
And contrary to FFXII, your AI party members will never attack anyone on their own and won't even defend unless you initiate the battle if I remember correctly.
There's a few enemies that respond to sound as well, so if you run nearby they'll attack you, but you can get past them unnoticed if you walk slowly. Pretty cool.
I think one thing that's not emphasized enough with the replies to that question is it all depends on your level.
If you are 2-4 levels higher than the enemy, they will not attack you because you scare them. This is why in a lot of videos you see people running by enemies and they don't care. It's also nice because when you're exploring and clearing up quests in an area you don't have to be constantly attacked by enemies that give worthless xp.
Overall the system seems okay for me. Not bad, but also not like I would totally love it. I don't really need to use any specific strategies (expect maybe attacking the weakest enemy of a group first). The only thing you need to do is stand in front of a enemy and occasionally launch some of your arts/monado attacks/chains.
And really the worst part is the vision mechanic. This may be a personal thing but I hate things that disrupt the flow of a battle. So this 5-10s thing of whats going to happen is simply annoying (especially since 8/10 times I don't really have to care or even fear the attacks...). I could live if the enemy was restricted to a single use in its life time, but I had a battle with prolly 20+ vision attacks today (in a boss battle) so I was just watching the screen all the time watching the enemy do his vision instead of letting me kill it. After the 10th+ time I started to freak out because I was easily winning this fight but over and over and over again I had to watch that crap.
Sidenote:
What quest and where did you finish for the extra skill tree? Also for which character did you get it?
It's hard to describe why. I mean I can say choosing your character, which arts to equip, which arts to pump AP into, which equipment, which arts to use when in battle, but that's way too general.
So instead I'll just describe a unique mob I fought yesterday. I fought a lvl.44 unique steed in the Elk Sea. My party was lvl.45.
The first time I tried it, my party died before even getting it down to 75% HP. Healer would die, tank would die, shulk would die.
I tried a few other combinations of characters and equipped arts and some did a little better, some worse. But never got it below 50%.
The problem was that dealing spike damage each time I hit it. 320 spike damage to be exact. Which can add up fast. Also my tank wasn't able to keep it's attention enough and it would often turn towards my healer and take her out.
So I spent a lot of time bulking up with shulk/tank/healer party with strong physical def (which doesn't help for the spike damage, but helps for the other hits). And crafting in gems that upped attack, % healed, and ground defense (since we were fighting on the ground), and haste as much as possible for shulk. I gave my tank LOTS of hate producing arts as well as defensive arts. I focused my healer on defensive and buff arts.
First thing I did when the battle started is have shulk cut his HP in half to knock up his talent gauge. Then after a hit, I could do the seal aura monado attack which turned off his spike damage. Meanwhile my healer healed shulk back up and cast shield barriers on my tank, then me. My tank kept hitting and raging the mob to steal it's attention and I went all out on attack with shulk. The problem is the aura seal wore off VERY quickly on him and his spike damage would come back. So it was a race for shulk to do enough damage to build his talent gauge while the mob's spike damage was off to do the aura seal attack again and repeat that for the battle while the tank held attention and the healer healed. Even doing this, the mob hit HARD and the tank still couldn't hold 100% attention all the time. So it was up to building up chain attacks and using them before anyone died (since I didn't want to waste a bar reviving them) and then in chain attacks hitting hard and healing if necessary since chain attacks auto-refill all your arts which is very useful. Also when the vision mechanic came out showing someone other than my tank was going to be killed, I'd use a bar and direct my tank to RAGE the mob and turn the attack towards him while I'd heal him and make sure he'd survive the hit. It's also worth noting that on mobs that CAN be stunned, toppled, and dizzied chain attacks are incredibly useful for doing a 3 person knock down and dizzy attack on a boss to take them out of commission before they do an attack that kills a party member. Then you get free seconds to wail on the boss and build up your party meter. Running around boosting tension is important at times too. Positioning is also really important. I like playing as shulk so I need to get behind enemies when doing the back slash since it really ups the damage. But doing so also rages the enemy so I gotta be careful. Debuffing their atk from side slash from the side is also important at times.
Anyhow I barley survived the mob after an extremely intense 3 min battle with lots of times everyone down in the red and was very satisfied.
Sure on normal enemies it's just art,art,art, dead. But unique mobs on your level or higher and story bosses on your level or higher require some good pre-planning and in battle strategy. More strategy than I've used in most realtime action rpgs. If you want to make normal enemies more fun, try playing as other characters. I use normal enemies to experiment with weaker but more varied and interesting teams.
Also I don't really find the vision mechanic annoying. Usually (not 100% of the time) it only shows when the attack will kill a party member...which is very important! It's the other times where it seems pointless, but I don't have that happen more than once in a while. Seeing that a party member is going to die and trying to figure out a way to avoid that using the arts in your inventory or another's or a chain attack is fun strategy.
And for that sidenote,
it was for Meria and found in the capital city from the sidequest "I hate other races"
Sure on normal enemies it's just art,art,art, dead. But unique mobs on your level or higher and story bosses on your level or higher require some good pre-planning and in battle strategy. More strategy than I've used in most realtime action rpgs. If you want to make normal enemies more fun, try playing as other characters. I use normal enemies to experiment with weaker but more varied and interesting teams.
Uhm to be honest, I guess you could play the game like that. But at least for me this isn't needed at all.
I mean my japanese is pretty horrible. It's enough for getting or good chunk of descriptions of arts and some quests, but its still far from understanding it so I would guess you have far more knowledge about battle mechanics and how arts work well together than me. But even without this understanding, the game is pretty easy.
Maybe its the way I am playing (I am usually exploring A LOT and I fight prolly 80-90% of the mobs I encounter which usually means I am always around the level of the mobs around me, even in the new areas). I barely need any planning or setting up my equip for any situation. To be honest, I am almost 60 and the times I completely set up my equipment and gems is like between 5-10 times, it's just not needed because I have no problems with any of the mobs, unique mobs or bosses.
Brings me to another point, if you keep on fighting a decent amount of mobs, the game is really really easy, I guess if you run past most of them, the game could actually get a bit challenging but otherwise no, its not. I think I had problems with 3-4 bosses so far (one of them being the first boss because I was lvl 08 and he was like 12, leveld a bit and he was a joke, another one was because I hadn't used a single gem/skill until 1/4 into the game, and the other times I hadn't adjusted my equipment for prolly 10-15h). I haven't died for a long time now and have taken every boss without trying twice. Its really funny because just today I was thinking "Wow I am taking 4-6 enemys that are my or even above my level and they are easy as hell, even without even using a healer in my party. Way too easy."
Especially the final party character makes it totally easy (kinda finally...) because I trimmed that character to a mad speed and now its really devastating everything.
If you're fighting rare mobs below your level it's easy, above your level it's hard/impossible and it's up to you to decide when you want to take them on. In rpgs I like to challenge myself so even if a mob if a higher level, if I try it and die but think I can pull it off I'll spend 30 mins making strategies and take it down rather than just level up and come back later when it's easier. I mean if it seems impossible I'll come back later, but at this point I can usually judge what's doable with some strategy and what's not doable at all when fighting rare mobs.
Also one thing I forgot to mention was arts that connect to other arts add another layer of strategy. Sometimes I'll equip a sucky art over a useful art because when you combine the sucky art with another art it'll do GREAT damage + useful buffs/debuffs/other effects. I mean when you go to the arts screen and look at the info on an art there is usually a toooon of stuff about each art. Like positioning, other arts they connect to, debuffs/buffs/side effects, etc.. choosing your row of arts gives you a lot of control over your team imo.
Takahashi keeps re-using the same story telling style in all his games, but I really enjoy it so I won't complain. XB is definitely hitting the right spot in story right about now for me 
