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[RPGCrazied]

Man, I just got the OST, 20 tracks in. Not a bad track so far!

I think I might commit suicide if this doesn't come out here. :lol :lol
Thanks for the impression/review desu.

 

[Bebpo]

desu, nice writeup.

The kizuna building is slow but I think that's because they didn't want you to max out your kizunas and see all of the kizuna talks until the end of the game. It also limits how many skills you can use in the skill tree. By leveling kizuna slowly, you keep unlocking new talks and skills you can link as you play. Plus it continues to give an incentive to switch around your teams all the way up to the end.

That being said, when I get to the final dungeon I'm just going to use item presents to max any links that haven't yet because I want to see all the talks before I finish the game.

 

[RPGCrazied]

The God-Slaying Sword so far is the best track.
Is it a boss fight?

 

[Bebpo]

So I ended up going ahead to do all the quests and fully rebuild colony 6 because I think ignoring the main story and just kind of relaxing in the world talking to npcs and exploring and doing little quests is the most fun part of the game. I like how you can get to 5 stars in a town without doing all the quests. I hit 5 stars at nopon and I still have like 3 quests in my log to do for them.

I really do enjoy just exploring and running around living in this world. It's a very richly created and gorgeous world. It's definitely what will be the most memorable of my experience in the game.

Although on the other hand it kind of means...what's the point of hitting 5 stars? You don't get anything besides an achievement and nothing changes and you still have quests to do there :lol

Working on getting all the rest to 5 stars, but Colony 6 is the hardest because you need to move all the necessary npcs over to get the quests to activate.


desu, do you know where any haienter people are outside of the city? I have the achievement for having found all the residents of all the other towns, but even though I have their city at 4 stars I haven't got the "you got to know all the haienter people" achievement. I've searched the entire city at both day & night a dozen times and I met the guy at the ether windmill and the people at the lighthouse. Are there any others? The only thing I can think of is that in the city on the 2nd floor in one of those domes at night there's a bodyguard who says I need a pass to get in and there's at least 2 people inside. I wonder if they are named npcs and the ones I need. How do you get a pass? I'm guessing from one of the quests?

Also when can I access all those sealed areas? Post-game? End-game? I'm at the

Spoiler

Kishinkai field

and

Spoiler

neither Meria or Fiornne can unlock the seals

.

 

[Bebpo]

nm, figured out the vip club part.

Got 3 of the main cities to 5 stars now. Tomorrow gonna try to cap off the 4th and finish getting the 4th skill lines for the remaining 3 I still need them for. Then get colony 6 rebuilding to lvl.4 and do whatever quests open up to work on getting the stars up there (stuck at 3 stars now). Then I'll probably just go finish the game, lol. Then post-game quests, bonus dungeon, 5th skill lines. At least that's my plan now. Hopefully will clear it this week.

It's nice to finally have the end in sight :lol

 

[desu]

Then I'll probably just go finish the game, lol. Then post-game quests, bonus dungeon, 5th skill lines. At least that's my plan now. Hopefully will clear it this week.

Uhm high level dungeon seems kinda unlikely for the first play through. All enemies are around 90-95+ and you might finish the game around level 80. Still a lot of levels to get that high (also a second playthrough nets you more kizuna points and easier kizuna building for characters, since you can just use characters you usally not use).

 

[Bel Marduk]

The God-Slaying Sword so far is the best track.
Is it a boss fight?

Mechanical Rhythm is my favorite track. Is this the main battle theme of the

Spoiler

mechanical god

or what?

Also is this an area theme?

 

[Freyjadour]

Biding my time with Soma Bringer until we hear more on the NA release front.

 

[Bebpo]

Uhm high level dungeon seems kinda unlikely for the first play through. All enemies are around 90-95+ and you might finish the game around level 80. Still a lot of levels to get that high (also a second playthrough nets you more kizuna points and easier kizuna building for characters, since you can just use characters you usally not use).

But how does new game+ benefit you? You're going to go 1xp from all the enemies so it's not like you'll gain levels. I guess if you do all the quests over again you'll get quest xp. But it seems quicker to just go fight lvl.80 enemies, then level 82 enemies, then level 84 enemies, etc... until you hit 90 and then use the bonus dungeon landmarks and enemies to level.

I'm not planning on doing a new game+ since I'm trying to 100% the game on my first run. I haven't seen any advantage to new game+ I don't need faster kizuna building because I've almost maxed my kizuna links in this game already.

 

[thetrin]

So, to be clear, I HAVE to play as secondary characters in order to build kizuna with two characters that are not Shulk? I actually like playing as Shulk, and I'd rather not have to play as those other characters if I don't have to.

I'm about 35 hours into the game right now. Really enjoying it, but I'm a busy guy, so I'm not playing as much as everyone else.

 

[Bebpo]

you don't have to.

Say you want Rein & Karna to earn kizuna with each other. Here are other ways without playing as either:

-Have them as your support two in battle. When one does something good shulk will cheer them on (shulk/character heart+), and the other support will cheer them on (the link you want heart+)
-Have them in your party and do a chain attack. Everyone's link gets +1 heart
-When you take quests and report quests in town switch one of them to the lead and the other as support. When they joke around and support each other during conversations they'll build 2-4 hearts each comment. This is the fastest way to build kizuna.
-Have rein or karna give a collection item present to the other. This will give 1 heart per item, but you need to find the right item because bad items give -1 heart.

But playing as one of them and having both support people be people you want to build with helps.

Also to get cheering support in battle, you want to take on more than one enemy at a time so the battles last longer and you get the support cheers. Or fight enemies at a higher level than you because then characters will miss attacks and you'll get the support cheer to bring their tension back up. Or enemies that status effect your people so you can help them.

 

[desu]

But how does new game+ benefit you? You're going to go 1xp from all the enemies so it's not like you'll gain levels. I guess if you do all the quests over again you'll get quest xp. But it seems quicker to just go fight lvl.80 enemies, then level 82 enemies, then level 84 enemies, etc... until you hit 90 and then use the bonus dungeon landmarks and enemies to level.

I'm not planning on doing a new game+ since I'm trying to 100% the game on my first run. I haven't seen any advantage to new game+ I don't need faster kizuna building because I've almost maxed my kizuna links in this game already.

Kinda true, however I think there are enemies you actually cant fight the first time completing the game. Another thing are Kizuna Coins. I am not sure how many you can get in the first playthrough but I think they are not enough to use all skills from skill links for all characters.

-Have rein or karna give a collection item present to the other. This will give 1 heart per item, but you need to find the right item because bad items give -1 heart.

Uhm was that mentioned in the game? I didn't know about this before. Right before I read your post my girlfriend actually told me about the presenting and she can't really remember either that it was mentioned anywhere in the game.

I guess you know about it, but here is a list of what bonus the collection items give: http://www35.atwiki.jp/xenoblade/pages/55.html

 

[thetrin]

How do you give presents to your teammmates? I don't see the option in the menu.

Kinda true, however I think there are enemies you actually cant find the first time completing the game. Another thing are Kizuna Coins. I am not sure how many you can get in the first playthrough but I think they are not enough to use all skills from skill links for all characters.

There's no way, especially when some skills cost upwards of 10 coins to learn for me, and I'm only 35 hours in. I can't imagine how expensive they get later.

 

[wrowa]

Bebpo, how long have you played the game by now?

 

[thetrin]

you don't have to.

Say you want Rein & Karna to earn kizuna with each other. Here are other ways without playing as either:

-Have them as your support two in battle. When one does something good shulk will cheer them on (shulk/character heart+), and the other support will cheer them on (the link you want heart+)
-Have them in your party and do a chain attack. Everyone's link gets +1 heart
-When you take quests and report quests in town switch one of them to the lead and the other as support. When they joke around and support each other during conversations they'll build 2-4 hearts each comment. This is the fastest way to build kizuna.
-Have rein or karna give a collection item present to the other. This will give 1 heart per item, but you need to find the right item because bad items give -1 heart.

But playing as one of them and having both support people be people you want to build with helps.

Also to get cheering support in battle, you want to take on more than one enemy at a time so the battles last longer and you get the support cheers. Or fight enemies at a higher level than you because then characters will miss attacks and you'll get the support cheer to bring their tension back up. Or enemies that status effect your people so you can help them.

Yeah, I know how the congratulatory system works, but I wanted to make sure that I didn't need to play specifically with one in the lead for them to connect.

 

[desu]

How do you give presents to your teammmates? I don't see the option in the menu.

Its hidden in the item menu:

There's no way, especially when some skills cost upwards of 10 coins to learn for me, and I'm only 35 hours in. I can't imagine how expensive they get later.

The higest skill cost I have seen is 45 coins.

 

[Bebpo]

Yeah I stumbled across the item giving on accident at some point in the game when going through the menus.

I've never been that worried about kizuna coins because honestly I find most of the skills pretty worthless ^^; But they have their uses at times and there are some REALLY good ones in there.

Kinda true, however I think there are enemies you actually cant fight the first time completing the game. Another thing are Kizuna Coins. I am not sure how many you can get in the first playthrough but I think they are not enough to use all skills from skill links for all characters.

Yeah, I see what you're saying. Doing a 2nd playthrough and getting all the quest xp from doing quests & the kizuna coins from unique mobs would definitely get you from lvl.80-99 with tons of kizuna coins and max out your kizuna relations. So it definitely has its merits.

I think for me it's just after doing all these quests, there's no way I'm doing this again :lol
If I ever do new game+ it's just because I want to speedrun the main story to experience it again at some point. I will ignore every (non-story) quest in the game on that run

After I finish it, I'll see how I far I can go on the bonus dungeon without starting a new game+ If I can't do it in this game, I'll probably skip the dungeon and youtube the bonus boss fight.

Bebpo, how long have you played the game by now?

A little under 80 hours now. I'm guessing I'll finish it in the 90-100 hour range. Then post-game stuff which could take a while.

 

[Bebpo]

Does anyone at the Elt Sea or past it know where you can find the エキドナ (ekidona)? They're the giant flying monsters with the long neck upsidedown face. You need 5 rare drops from them for Riki's 4th skill tree and I've searched all over and can't find anyone. I remember a few of them popped up for quest events, but those were one time things. Game needs a beastiary so bad :\

nm, found it. There's 1 flying around in area 7. Kill -> save -> reload -> kill -> save -> reload -> zzz repeat. I hate drop quests.

 

[RPGCrazied]

I doubt it means anything, but gametrailers posted some new videos last night.
Lets hope it generates a buzz.

 

[thetrin]

Finally took down the last unique in Makuna, and finished the quests I wanted to do in Saihate Village.

The new area I'm in is absolutely gorgeous, but I spent so much time questing in Makuna that I'm not 6-8 levels higher than everything in the zone. :lol

Having a real blast with the game, though (just hit 40 hours). I'm guessing I'm not even halfway through the game so far. How far AM I?

 

[desu]

Having a real blast with the game, though (just hit 40 hours). I'm guessing I'm not even halfway through the game so far. How far AM I?

Seems about right, somewhere around the middle.

Was taking a few screens for my girlfriend, wondering if there would be interest in a set of pictures of locations without any HUD.

For example:

 

[RPGCrazied]

I'd like them. But that site is pretty bad, I always get popups going there.

 

[Mejilan]

Caught up a bit on the impressions.
Game sounds so awesome.

 

[Takuhi]

Is anyone playing this game with this Classic Controller?

I'm tearing the ligament in my thumb going back and forth between the D-Pad for map controls and the 1 and 2 buttons. The button arrangements are dreadful on the Wiimote + Nunchuk, especially considering how much camera massaging is required. Does the Classic Controller fix this?

 

[Bebpo]

Is anyone playing this game with this Classic Controller?

I'm tearing the ligament in my thumb going back and forth between the D-Pad for map controls and the 1 and 2 buttons. The button arrangements are dreadful on the Wiimote + Nunchuk, especially considering how much camera massaging is required. Does the Classic Controller fix this?

CC is the only way to play XB. Having a real camera stick in a gorgeous open environment game like this is essential. If you use the CC Pro it feels just like a PS2 rpg.

 

[Takuhi]

CC is the only way to play XB. Having a real camera stick in a gorgeous open environment game like this is essential. If you use the CC Pro it feels just like a PS2 rpg.

Ah, that's a relief to hear. Sounds like it's time for me to pay Amazon a visit.

Thanks!

 

[Majukun]

how about the story?it is any good?

 

[brandonh83]

MOTHER OF GOD. They remixed my favorite theme from Xenogears. The Xenoblade track is called "A Friendly Sentiment." This makes me very happy.

 

[kiryogi]

CC is the only way to play XB. Having a real camera stick in a gorgeous open environment game like this is essential. If you use the CC Pro it feels just like a PS2 rpg.

Hah. Actually I'm using the wiimote+nunchuck combination. And I've gotten quite used to handling the camera from that prospective. So no issues there, but it's a matter of adaptation. Feels natural to me at this point.

 

[RPGCrazied]

how do you move the camera with the wiimote?

move it around?

 

[kiryogi]

how do you move the camera with the wiimote?

move it around?

Hold C and use the dpad. So move around with the analog and control the camera with the dpad. I enjoy using the wiimote+nunchuk combination when I can. It's a lot more comfortable IMO being able to rest my hands whichever way. Did it with Graces and Arc Rise.

 

[ErasureAcer]

MOTHER OF GOD. They remixed my favorite theme from Xenogears. The Xenoblade track is called "A Friendly Sentiment." This makes me very happy.

youtubed. no find. link?

 

[Vrakanox]

I want this game so bad. Waiting for the english version. Although I may get the soundtrack just because it's so good. It'll also probably never be released in America. Right?

 

[RPGCrazied]

I want this game so bad. Waiting for the english version. Although I may get the soundtrack just because it's so good. It'll also probably never be released in America. Right?

Thats not what Nintendo told me via Email. They said it is indeed coming out, with a new title.. just has no release date yet.

Manudo: beginning of the new world or something

 

[Vrakanox]

Oh i actually meant the soundtrack. I heard the game was coming out as well.

 

[thetrin]

Seems about right, somewhere around the middle.

Was taking a few screens for my girlfriend, wondering if there would be interest in a set of pictures of locations without any HUD.

For example:

What point did you stop doing every quest in a zone? I'm at アカモート right now, and I'm starting to wonder if being so obsessive about questing is going to be my downfall.

CC is the only way to play XB. Having a real camera stick in a gorgeous open environment game like this is essential. If you use the CC Pro it feels just like a PS2 rpg.

Yep. I'm using a CC Pro with Xenoblade, and it feels fantastic.

 

[kiryogi]

What point did you stop doing every quest in a zone? I'm at アカモート right now, and I'm starting to wonder if being so obsessive about questing is going to be my downfall.

See Bebpo. Big mistake.

 

[thetrin]

See Bebpo. Big mistake.

I'm 8 levels higher than everything in this zone. :lol

Should I just cut my losses once I hit like, 2 stars in a given kizuna tree? After 2 stars it's getting really tedious.

 

[kiryogi]

I'm 8 levels higher than everything in this zone. :lol

Should I just cut my losses once I hit like, 2 stars in a given kizuna tree? After 2 stars it's getting really tedious.

I'm not really doing the questing, but the map exploration and I still end up like 3-5 levels ahead >_<

 

[thetrin]

I'm not really doing the questing, but the map exploration and I still end up like 3-5 levels ahead >_<

In Colony 9 I tried to do every possible quest. Now I'm just doing enough for 2 stars in a zone, and moving on. I'll never finish the game if I do otherwise.

 

[kiryogi]

In Colony 9 I tried to do every possible quest. Now I'm just doing enough for 2 stars in a zone, and moving on. I'll never finish the game if I do otherwise.

If you really feel that way already, you should stop doing so before it's too late.

 

[thetrin]

If you really feel that way already, you should stop doing so before it's too late.

Probably. :lol

I'll do kill and item quests if they're on the way, at least. They're fun.

 

[kiryogi]

Probably. :lol

I'll do kill and item quests if they're on the way, at least. They're fun.

That's exactly how I've been approaching Xenoblade and it's kept things fun thus far. At some point with being so OCD. The game becomes a chore with all crazy amount of quests.

 

[BudokaiMR2]

Yeah I have basically been doing that way from the beginning. I think I made a comment saying that it might join the ranks of one of the few RPGs I have 100% completed but holy shit fuck that. Waaayyyy too many quests.

I do the hunting quests and that's about it. Plan to look up a wiki and pick out any quests that have good rewards and do them.

Haven't really been playing much recently but hopefulyl will get some time in this weekend.

 

[thetrin]

I spent so long getting Colony 9 to 3 stars. T_T

 

[ErasureAcer]

Well I just got a Wii today. Hopefully this will come state side.

 

[GhaleonQ]

I just listened to the soundtrack. It's good. Just good. How well is it integrated?

 

[Bebpo]

Fairly well. The field themes are great while fielding. The battle themes are good while battling. And the boss themes get you excited. Story music works for story scenes but it feels like there's 3-4 story songs used in all the scenes.

I'm holding off on listening to the full ost until I beat it, but having heard most of it I agree that it's good but not amazing. It's nice music that works well while running around on an adventure and it definitely improves the game experience.

but it's no Mitsuda ost

Still, for a first rpg for the main two composers it's a great start. It'll be interesting to hear what they score next, because it's hard to pull out their "sound" from these tracks since they are so varied.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

OST (Crisis): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuNO7ouTvM0

*_________*

There's no end to Xenoblade epicness.

 

[Llyranor]

youtubed. no find. link?

Think he's referring to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTc5YgZ9dRE

Beginning bears some mild similarities to Xenogears' Flight/Maria, I guess.