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[DragonGirl]

This is one of my top anticipated games for next year. However, I am worried about how the story might end up. Too often "ambitious" stories in JRPGs just end up as pretentious messes. Simple at the core but convoluted up the wazoo in an attempt to seem "complex". Stuffed full of pseudo psycho-babble and pop-religious nonsense espousing some ultimately broken philosophy. One of the reasons I loved the Xenoblade Wii story was how reasonably grounded it stayed for the most part. Only veering off into the stratosphere at the very tale end. It focused more on the characters than a crazy multi-tentacled plot monster. We'll have to see how this turns out.

 

[wmlk]

Sounds more like his work on Guilty Crown to me.

I was thinking that too, but I recently finished SnK so it's fresh on my mind.

And Kobayashi Mika with Sawano on this too so it's gonna be very familiar.

I like some of his stuff like Krone a lot better than βios. I dunno, just dislike his vocal stuff.

Best case scenario would be to have the music similar to Gundam Unicorn.

 

[wilflare]

Man a Xenoblade 1 HD remake included with this would be...wow.

I'll no longer have to look for overpriced copies of the Wii game if it happens.

 

[foxuzamaki]

If only I wasent working during most of this thread's life, I would hop right into the conversation, but I feel so far behind.

 

[Golnei]

I was thinking that too, but I recently finished SnK so it's fresh on my mind.

And Kobayashi Mika with Sawano on this too so it's gonna be very familiar.

I like some of his stuff like Krone a lot better than βios. I dunno, just dislike his vocal stuff.

Best case scenario would be to have the music similar to Gundam Unicorn.

I definitely got Gundam vibes with some of the trailer themes...

...But while I like the composition of his vocal pieces, it probably says a lot that I had to obtain cover versions because I couldn't stand the original vocalists and often lyrics. The original version of Blumenkranz, for example, is torture to listen to.

 

[Gaylord Sweetwood]

Glad I decided to read the later part of this thread after reading the first few pages.

If XenoCross turns out to be a reboot/retelling of Xenogears (aka origin story as was mentioned), then I will buy this day 1 along with a Wii U.

I just think back to the Perfect Works book, and wonder if XC is the [new] beginning to this series.

 

[The_Endgamer]

Goddamn, it's beautiful. I must've had it on a worse resolution last night. Best game of E3 for me i reckon. The pop in is a little annoying but i don't think that's a big issue given the huge ass world and smoothness.

 

[Korigama]

Glad I decided to read the later part of this thread after reading the first few pages.

If XenoCross turns out to be a reboot/retelling of Xenogears (aka origin story as was mentioned), then I will buy this day 1 along with a Wii U.

I just think back to the Perfect Works book, and wonder if XC is the [new] beginning to this series.

Xenosaga was already an attempt to re-envision Perfect Works as a new franchise, and it didn't go well at all. Whatever this is, I hope they'll stick to having it be its own thing without being too ambitious for its own good, regardless of callbacks to Xenogears, Xenosaga, and Xenoblade alike.

This is one of my top anticipated games for next year. However, I am worried about how the story might end up. Too often "ambitious" stories in JRPGs just end up as pretentious messes. Simple at the core but convoluted up the wazoo in an attempt to seem "complex". Stuffed full of pseudo psycho-babble and pop-religious nonsense espousing some ultimately broken philosophy. One of the reasons I loved the Xenoblade Wii story was how reasonably grounded it stayed for the most part. Only veering off into the stratosphere at the very tale end. It focused more on the characters than a crazy multi-tentacled plot monster. We'll have to see how this turns out.

This pretty much sums up why I hope they avoid such a thing.

 

[Tomohawk]

Who ever made the e3 trailer for this game did a terrible job. The tree house demo made it look way cooler.

 

[duckroll]

I'm not sure if this has been discussed in the thread before, but... I just realized something about the gameplay footage that Treehouse showed.

- When you go into the Equipment menu, you can select either character in your party.

- When you go into the Arts menu, you can select either character in your party.

- When you go into the Class Change menu, it just dives right in with no character selection menu. There is no indication in the interface you can toggle between party members either.

I wonder if that, along with the detailed character creation system, indicates that maybe in Xenoblade you can only essentially control the main character? That would... be a step back in some ways, because the best thing about the party system in Xenoblade was how some of the other characters especially later in the game played completely differently and it was fun to make them the leader. I really hope this isn't the case.

Another thing I noticed is that by going through all the class options shown late in the video, they actually revealed all the melee and range weapon types in the game for the main character:

Melee = Knife, Long Sword, Dual Swords, Shield, Javelin, Photon Saber

Range = Assault Rifle, Dual Guns, Ray Gun, Gatling Gun, Sniper Rifle, Psycho Launcher

Quite a number of these are familiar weapon types for different characters in Xenoblade, but there are also the more interesting types which aren't present at all. No wands or biters for example. So yeah, I really hope that when the Treehouse guys said that every character has their own unique set of classes, they weren't mistaken or something. Maybe ability to control other party members opens up after the Prologue or something?

 

[Lumyst]

I'm gonna assume that Nintendo EU is not doing the voice localization

Aww, I hope so too that they use British voices. I'd think it'd be easier to do that after having worked with so many British voice actors for the "Rainfall" games already, they'd have the connections and experience already to do that.

 

[Squishy3]

I'll no longer have to look for overpriced copies of the Wii game if it happens.

Well... it went on sale on Gamestop's site for $40 back in November and there was even a coupon code for free shipping. Pretty sure the GAF thread about it was pretty big. You missed out buddy.

 

[ivysaur12]

I'm not sure if this has been discussed in the thread before, but... I just realized something about the gameplay footage that Treehouse showed.

- When you go into the Equipment menu, you can select either character in your party.

- When you go into the Arts menu, you can select either character in your party.

- When you go into the Class Change menu, it just dives right in with no character selection menu. There is no indication in the interface you can toggle between party members either.

I wonder if that, along with the detailed character creation system, indicates that maybe in Xenoblade you can only essentially control the main character? That would... be a step back in some ways, because the best thing about the party system in Xenoblade was how some of the other characters especially later in the game played completely differently and it was fun to make them the leader. I really hope this isn't the case.

Another thing I noticed is that by going through all the class options shown late in the video, they actually revealed all the melee and range weapon types in the game for the main character:

Melee = Knife, Long Sword, Dual Swords, Shield, Javelin, Photon Saber

Range = Assault Rifle, Dual Guns, Ray Gun, Gatling Gun, Sniper Rifle, Psycho Launcher

Quite a number of these are familiar weapon types for different characters in Xenoblade, but there are also the more interesting types which aren't present at all. No wands or biters for example. So yeah, I really hope that when the Treehouse guys said that every character has their own unique set of classes, they weren't mistaken or something. Maybe ability to control other party members opens up after the Prologue or something?

Elma might just be a temporary party member who never returns after you get to NeoLA. Or something.

Then again, with the new customizable characters, who knows.

 

[jgwhiteus]

I'm not sure if this has been discussed in the thread before, but... I just realized something about the gameplay footage that Treehouse showed.

- When you go into the Equipment menu, you can select either character in your party.

- When you go into the Arts menu, you can select either character in your party.

- When you go into the Class Change menu, it just dives right in with no character selection menu. There is no indication in the interface you can toggle between party members either.

I wonder if that, along with the detailed character creation system, indicates that maybe in Xenoblade you can only essentially control the main character? That would... be a step back in some ways, because the best thing about the party system in Xenoblade was how some of the other characters especially later in the game played completely differently and it was fun to make them the leader. I really hope this isn't the case.

Couldn't that just indicate that the main character's class is highly customizable, but all the other characters have fixed classes? I think the point of having the main character be customizable in the first place is that you can adapt him/her to any play style - if you want to be a ranged vs. melee character, etc. - but if you could make every single character that way, they wouldn't have any individual identity or fighting styles. (EDIT: I guess I mean that players would tend to give them all the same overpowered skills, kind of how like in FFVI everyone could be a huge magic user, but that meant each character had less of a "role" to play as compared to something like FFIV).

But that doesn't foreclose being able to take control of those characters in battle or making them the leader; it just means they'll be fixed as a "ranged" character, melee user, etc.

EDIT: I forgot they mentioned each character would have a unique set of classes. I also buy the explanation above, that Elma is just a temporary or introductory member whose class tree isn't unlocked at the beginning, since she seemed kind of overpowered compared to the main character at the start. I mean, (character spoiler for Xenoblade)

Spoiler

were you able to level up Fiora's arts at the beginning of Xenoblade? And they had no relation to what you could eventually unlock for her.

 

[TaiKH92]

I can't imagine how big this will be, I hope there's a La Linde-like town again.

 

[duckroll]

Couldn't that just indicate that the main character's class is highly customizable, but all the other characters have fixed classes? I think the point of having the main character be customizable in the first place is that you can adapt him/her to any play style - if you want to be a ranged vs. melee character, etc. - but if you could make every single character that way, they wouldn't have any individual identity or fighting styles.

But that doesn't foreclose being able to take control of those characters in battle or making them the leader; it just means they'll be fixed as a "ranged" character, melee user, etc.

You're right, that could be it. But I've also noticed that while the main character has a full display of stats in the equipment menu in the bottom right, when they switched to Elma's equipment selection, the entire stat section simply isn't there. Maybe she's some sort of temporary tutorial party member after all.

 

[linko9]

Anyone know where I can see that IGN stage demo?

edit: oops, didn't see updated OP, thanks.

 

[Earthpainting]

I wonder if that, along with the detailed character creation system, indicates that maybe in Xenoblade you can only essentially control the main character? That would... be a step back in some ways, because the best thing about the party system in Xenoblade was how some of the other characters especially later in the game played completely differently and it was fun to make them the leader. I really hope this isn't the case.

Quite a number of these are familiar weapon types for different characters in Xenoblade, but there are also the more interesting types which aren't present at all. No wands or biters for example. So yeah, I really hope that when the Treehouse guys said that every character has their own unique set of classes, they weren't mistaken or something. Maybe ability to control other party members opens up after the Prologue or something?

I've read people expressing this exact concern when people realised there was a chatbox in the reveal trailer. If it really does have a multiplayer component, this direction would make sense. If there isn't (any more?), then I hope other playable characters were simply gated off in the early game. I understand that classes and weapon types possibly negate the need for other playable characters, but I'll still miss it regardless. I switched my leader up a lot in Xenoblade.

 

[Booty Patrol]

Is there anywhere that has gameplay with direct audio that doesn't have anyone talking over it?

 

[Reveirg]

I wonder if that, along with the detailed character creation system, indicates that maybe in Xenoblade you can only essentially control the main character? That would... be a step back in some ways, because the best thing about the party system in Xenoblade was how some of the other characters especially later in the game played completely differently and it was fun to make them the leader. I really hope this isn't the case.

I was wondering the same thing. I do remember on the treehouse, they said something along the lines of "you can change from melee to range on-the-fly with every character". I hope that's the case and that you can indeed control everyone.

Wasn't Elma seen as playable in earlier trailers, too?

 

[Vaiim]

I'm not sure if this has been discussed in the thread before, but... I just realized something about the gameplay footage that Treehouse showed.

- When you go into the Equipment menu, you can select either character in your party.

- When you go into the Arts menu, you can select either character in your party.

- When you go into the Class Change menu, it just dives right in with no character selection menu. There is no indication in the interface you can toggle between party members either.

I wonder if that, along with the detailed character creation system, indicates that maybe in Xenoblade you can only essentially control the main character? That would... be a step back in some ways, because the best thing about the party system in Xenoblade was how some of the other characters especially later in the game played completely differently and it was fun to make them the leader. I really hope this isn't the case.

It's possible, but Monolithsoft know what they're doing, and after the diverse classes in Xenoblade, I'd bet at the very least they will make sure we'll get a huge amount of customisation for our main character (possibly having all the classes the other characters have).

I do still think it's more likely that we can play anyone though - it's really common to be hamstrung in the character menus at the start of RPGs, and more so as many of the features wont even be finished in the demo.

Edit:
After closer inspection I actually think you're probably right that you can only control the main character. The main reason is there are soooooo many Artes(spells) on the Class Change page. Probably as many Artes as you would have if you combined all the original Xenoblade characters into 1 character! So you can spec your character to whatever play style you want (or make your own build apparently), rather than playing the character who has the play style you want.

 

[Vashzaron]

I was wondering the same thing. I do remember on the treehouse, they said something along the lines of "you can change from melee to range on-the-fly with every character". I hope that's the case and that you can indeed control everyone.

Wasn't Elma seen as playable in earlier trailers, too?

Prob was just talking about the switching to ranged weapon when out of melee range and the reverse. Something every character can do as Player or NPC.

 

[TC McQueen]

Aww, I hope so too that they use British voices. I'd think it'd be easier to do that after having worked with so many British voice actors for the "Rainfall" games already, they'd have the connections and experience already to do that.

They can't, at least for the majority of the characters in Neo Los Angeles, because it's explicitly a US colony ship.

 

[Otakumegane]

No Elma was playable even in the demo, he selected her for a while, realized that he did, and went back to the MC. It's when he's going around in the menu.

EDIT:Ok I may have this wrong.

 

[Lumyst]

They can't, at least for the majority of the characters in Neo Los Angeles, because it's explicitly a US colony ship.

True. In that case, maybe the cat-people or other species could have British voices, but then they'd have to figure out whether to spell "color" as "colour"...

 

[Vashzaron]

No Elma was playable even in the demo, he selected her for a while, realized that he did, and went back to the MC. It's when he's going around in the menu.

Timestamp for this?

- When you go into the Class Change menu, it just dives right in with no character selection menu. There is no indication in the interface you can toggle between party members either.

I could see that being unlocked further on. Like them not wanting you to change party setups early on in.

 

[antitrop]

Oh, huh, I figured it would just be a spiritual sequel.

 

[SoraanTribal]

I'm not sure if this has been discussed in the thread before, but... I just realized something about the gameplay footage that Treehouse showed.

- When you go into the Equipment menu, you can select either character in your party.

- When you go into the Arts menu, you can select either character in your party.

- When you go into the Class Change menu, it just dives right in with no character selection menu. There is no indication in the interface you can toggle between party members either.

I wonder if that, along with the detailed character creation system, indicates that maybe in Xenoblade you can only essentially control the main character? That would... be a step back in some ways, because the best thing about the party system in Xenoblade was how some of the other characters especially later in the game played completely differently and it was fun to make them the leader. I really hope this isn't the case.

I definitely thought about that as well. It would be a big step back for me personally because part of what made Xenoblade so fun for me was switching characters in and out and controlling someone new. They all played fairly differently which added some much needed variety in the latter half of the game (which is why I think a lot of people probably got bored in the last part of the game - they likely used Shulk the entire time).

I know our character will be highly customizable and we can switch classes, but... it was just fun controlling another character in general (not just because they played differently). I trust them to make it fun, but it's still a small concern.

And I also hope there is a cool magic system in place. I hope the game isn't all melee and guns. I loved using Melia in Xenoblade because of her really interesting magic art mechanics. Hoping something like that returns. It's a bit weird there won't be any healing arts (if that Treehouse guy was correct). I mean, relying on those QTE prompts for heals seems a bit... out of your control.

 

[moolamb]

I think there are plusses and minuses. You get more attached to your character if you don't keep switching out your leader. It's more immersive.

Of course you lose the variety/novelty of playing as someone new. Which I believe they're trying to rectify by going for deep customisation of play style, switchable on the fly just like switching characters.

I don't mind either way. In Monolithsoft We Trust.

 

[bobbychalkers]

I think the other characters are playable. Elma looks just like one of the playable characters from the reveal trailer.

Main character customization and a fully playable party don't really interfere with each other so I really don't see the logic in taking that out from Xenoblade.

 

[Hiz_95]

Who ever made the e3 trailer for this game did a terrible job. The tree house demo made it look way cooler.

Agreed, some parts managed to reduce my excitement slightly which I didn't think was possible

 

[Aaronrules380]

I think the other characters are playable. Elma looks just like one of the playable characters from the reveal trailer.

Main character customization and a fully playable party don't really interfere with each other so I really don't see the logic in taking that out from Xenoblade.

Just a note, but is it me or is that the boss fight we saw during the treehouse stream?

 

[foxuzamaki]

Who ever made the e3 trailer for this game did a terrible job. The tree house demo made it look way cooler.

ive watched the trailer several times and I really dont see whats wrong with it?
I mean it looks better the more I see it, we already seen what gameplay is like, so.....

 

[Narras]

Is this game a direct sequel to Xenoblade Chronicles? or is the title something like Final Fantasy/Dragon Quest where the game is not directly related to past games but, falls under the same series?

I was getting a bit confused since the guy on the Nintendo Treehouse stream called it a spiritual sequel, instead.

 

[Mesoian]

Just a note, but is it me or is that the boss fight we saw during the treehouse stream?

Bosses often become regular enemies in Xenoblade, so probably.

Is this game a direct sequel to Xenoblade Chronicles? or is the title something like Final Fantasy/Dragon Quest where the game is not directly related to past games but, falls under the same series?.

Correct.

 

[SoraanTribal]

Is this game a direct sequel to Xenoblade Chronicles? or is the title something like Final Fantasy/Dragon Quest where the game is not directly related to past games but, falls under the same series?

I was getting a bit confused since the guy on the Nintendo Treehouse stream called it a spiritual sequel, instead.

It's a spiritual sequel, not a direct sequel.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

Yeah, that is definitely the greek word "logos" which usually means the "spoken word", "reason", and "truth". Interestingly enough though, in certain contexts such as religious philosophy, it basically is used for divine principle or God. If that is what they are going for (which is likely considering who the creators are), then "Beyond the Logos Artificial Destiny Emancipator", when translated into more plain english, might mean: "an instrument for surpassing God and escaping His control".

So what you're saying is it makes more... I'm hesitant to say sense, but... as an Artificial Destiny Emancipator for use in Transcending Logos, but ADETL is a shit acronym

 

[Sammy Samusu]

I think the other characters are playable. Elma looks just like one of the playable characters from the reveal trailer.

Main character customization and a fully playable party don't really interfere with each other so I really don't see the logic in taking that out from Xenoblade.

The character is named "Tester", it's probably a female MC.

 

[jorgeton]

I watched the Treehouse playthrough last night.

I am buying a Wii U for this game. Easily my most hyped game right now. WOW.

I love how the opening moments twist some of Xenogears' lore and makes it its own thing.

And the final cut scene reveal of Neo Los Angeles... wow. Chills.

Re: Main character control vs other party members, I have no doubt you will be able to play as other folks in your party. Though the game is really far along, it did have some bits that they were still working on (like class names, etc.), so I'm sure there are a lot more features left to implement that didn't make it into this demo.

 

[Otakumegane]

Yeah the E3 trailer was not the best trailer.

The gameplay demo was 1000x better.

 

[Phanservice]

Graphically this game is hit and miss. Looks like its going to be like xenoblade for wii. Ugly cutscenes and closeup shots, but looks nice when playing in the open fields. I'm not digging the art designs either looks way too old school (not a style i like back then either).

 

[Stark]

Graphically this game is hit and miss. Looks like its going to be like xenoblade for wii. Ugly cutscenes and closeup shots, but looks nice when playing in the open fields. I'm not digging the art designs either looks way too old school (not a style i like back then either).

huh. I think it holds up quite well and looks fantastic. Even when compared to PS4/XBO games.

 

[Phanservice]

huh. I think it holds up quite well and looks fantastic. Even when compared to PS4/XBO games.

i don't think so.closer shots are pretty ugly. weak textures up close and weird character designs with scary eyes haha. It can't even be compared to ps4 and xbo games. It does look nice in the open fields though during the gameplay footage but not really amazing imo. Plus you see lots of pop ups of the game trying to load details of the world while moving around.

in short, its pretty disappointing compared to the first trailer. still my most anticipated game though since i loved xenoblade 1.

 

[ozfunghi]

in short, its pretty disappointing compared to the first trailer. still my most anticipated game though since i loved xenoblade 1.

It's improved compared to the first trailer... what are you getting at?

 

[TRI Mike]

By far the best game of E3.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Coming up next on treehouse live! Or someone told me it was in the treehouse thread.

 

[Hiz_95]

Coming up next on treehouse live! Or someone told me it was in the treehouse thread.

Yeah just started

 

[Otakumegane]

Time to analyze obsessively

 

[Japanmanx3]

Time to analyze obsessively

 

[TheXfactor]

has there been any mech gameplay the past few days yet?