Xenoblade X (Cross) releasing in 2015 (Xenoblade Chronicles X in the US)
- Thread starter Sammy Samusu
- Start date
- Status
I wish a Xeno veteran would LP the game or any Xeno game. I'm more interested in series commentary for this series than any other one.
Takahashi is an anime nut it seems, and although I have no idea what "blatantly Japanese" is, I think it's obvious what Takahashi draws inspiration from.
Takahashi is an anime nut it seems, and although I have no idea what "blatantly Japanese" is, I think it's obvious what Takahashi draws inspiration from.
Hah, I did add that little edit about what I meant. I've read posts that discuss Japanese games and the West, then when people point out games such as "Mario" selling well in the West, they add that caveat about Nintendo games being different. So I began to think they saw some games as having a more obvious Japanese aesthetic or origin (style, whatever it's called) to them, than some of Nintendo's highest selling franchises.
People really shouldn't care what others think about what you play...
It's just the combination of 'chronicles' and 'X' that ruins it for me. 'Xenoblade X', Xenoblade (insert word here, possibly Cross)' or Xeno-noun' would have all worked, but Xenoblade Chronicles X is both unwieldy and obfuscating towards the game's true nature.
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
WAT
EDIT: OMG I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR CHUGGA TO DO THIS FOR SUCH A LONG TIME NOW
Any title with Xeno would have been perfect. We know that Gears and Saga are spiritually connected (was actually supposed to be parts of a grand epic) and maybe Xenoblade, but no one goes around calling them by the same name.
The title right now just does not make any sense to me. Hard to market, too.
The title right now just does not make any sense to me. Hard to market, too.
VanillaCakeIsBurning
Member
They tried moving towards a more realistic style in Xenosaga 2.
It didn't work.
I like how Japanese developers usually have one person define the visual style of the game through character design. The individual artist's style is immediately recognizable upon looking at the artwork and it's always interesting to see just how close the modelers can come to interpreting the artist's style in 3D.
I've always wondered about people who have an aversion to or consider stylized works to be childish. It seems really limiting when you consider the possibilities granted by fiction, and the ability for creator's to visually express events, settings, and characters in many different ways (like through abstraction) rather than just rote photo-realism.
It didn't work.
I like how Japanese developers usually have one person define the visual style of the game through character design. The individual artist's style is immediately recognizable upon looking at the artwork and it's always interesting to see just how close the modelers can come to interpreting the artist's style in 3D.
I've always wondered about people who have an aversion to or consider stylized works to be childish. It seems really limiting when you consider the possibilities granted by fiction, and the ability for creator's to visually express events, settings, and characters in many different ways (like through abstraction) rather than just rote photo-realism.
Even within the Nintendo fanbase, there's those people who still argue that they want "realistic looking" Zelda (probably they mean Twilight Princess looking) even though the last few Zelda games have been of the colorful kind. I imagine these are the same people who had no problem with Mario games' color (he's only ever been colorful, lol.) I loved the colorful and fantastical style of Xenoblade Chronicles, and at first I was worried about stuff like the guns and the less colorful style that was shown in the January 2013 trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles X. However, the trailer from this E3 showed that the characters were still going to retain their stylized look, there's even the Nopon and those new alien races, so it was a relief to see that despite the new visual style, some of the colorful fantasy feeling would be evident as well.
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
I really hope the characters from XB are in XBX, I am now watching chugga's lets play of XB and im reminiscing about hte game and remember that I really love the characters, all of the characters are strong and none of the women present themselves as damsels in distress, people say the characters were just generic characters but I loved the group interactions and how everyone worked well together. I would love to see a older shulk, or a older Melia if it has any connection to the original game.
Likewise. For example, if you see artwork from Tetsuya Nomura without it being credited, you would know it is Tetsuya Nomura's work. It's interesting that for western games, this is not as... prominent or at the forefront in the marketing since you don't see that side much.
Werewolf Jones
Member
Actually gonna dig out my Wii soon to playthrough that Xenoblade copy I bought back in September 2011 so I can get ready for when this drops next year.
I don't know if he's a big 'anime nut' or not, but he has said that he's a big fan of western science fiction and it shows. Especially in Xenogears and Xenosaga.
That part in Xenoblade Chronicles
in the end, in space, and the Space Lab part
I support the initiative, but you've got to use hashtags if you want to be taken seriously.
I'm obviously going to give it a chance and the dude has the benefit of the doubt because all of his games have been accompanied by phenomenal music scored by composers whose output is generally fantastic.
With Sawano however, I'm not overtly impressed by what I've heard from his other work so I am slightly cautious. Still, I'm finding some of what's appeared for X to be decent/good, just not...great the way gaur plains, colony 9 and the main theme were and are.
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
God was that an incredible concept, the game is on to giant gods, thats where the game takes place, such a attractive thing.
He's got some pretty strong pieces, so I'm not all that negative. Still, there's a lot to live up to; and I'm not convinced that Sawano has enough range to fill the void left by Xenoblade's monumental collaborators.
DangerMouse
Member
Definitely.
Yeah, I've loved his worlds since Xenogears.
So much dub hate. When there are plenty of good US dubs. But there's no convincing some people.
DangerMouse
Member
Yeah, he composed pretty much all of KLK aside from opening and ending licensed stuff. Of these two, not the second one which is OP2 called "ambiguous" by GARNiDELiA, but the first one would be by him.
Coffeeling
Member
Color, where did you go ;__;
I really dislike the new desaturated look. One reason Xenoblade looked amazing was because it was not afraid to use strong colors. The world is not that colorless a place, and exploring a field of gray on gray does not instill a feeling of wonder. Colorful environments do it much better.
Also amusing how Xenoblade X continues the trend of HD games having stone that looks like plastic instead of stone. Lower res games tend to have stone that you know is fake, but at least feels like stone instead of oiled plastic.
I really dislike the new desaturated look. One reason Xenoblade looked amazing was because it was not afraid to use strong colors. The world is not that colorless a place, and exploring a field of gray on gray does not instill a feeling of wonder. Colorful environments do it much better.
Also amusing how Xenoblade X continues the trend of HD games having stone that looks like plastic instead of stone. Lower res games tend to have stone that you know is fake, but at least feels like stone instead of oiled plastic.
Porcile
Member
I agree. I pointed this out in the Treehouse stream, especially the night time scene, which looked a bit dull in colour and brightness. I guess they're going for a different look, as super saturated doesn't always suit realistic textures and lighting.
Coffeeling
Member
Yeah that's the problem. Good art direction gets thrown under the bus for more tech-driven effects, and results in a game that just looks worse. It's horrid. And then people go on and call it "realistic" when the real world just isn't that gray. Trees can be green and lakes blue. And it will look amazing. But nah, effects effects effects.
-_-'
Yeah, I understand they're going for a more hard scifi look I think, but I just don't like it.
I love colorful games
Coffeeling
Member
I agree. As far as I'm concerned, a singular vision is necessary for something to be truly great.
If you look back at western art traditions in juxtaposition to eastern ones and their history, it is not that hard to understand why some dislike it. Much of what is popularised under the term of stylisation is pretty much anathema to many centuries of art instruction in the western world. The way in which Japanese concept artists and illustrators work is a relatively new concept to those who would wish to emulate it.
Seems like you are a closeted fan of "blatantly" Japanese games.
Non Related to quote:
I don't get the stigma some westerner's have against "Anime" looking things. It's so stupid and irrational. It's like they can't look beyond the art style and have an instantaneous ignorantly judgemental knee jerk reaction every time they see an anime looking art style. How about judging the content first no?
It's ok to dislike the art itself but to dismiss everything with it as "anime garbage" is a little bit close minded to say the least.
I personally find realism and such to be strange concept to champion. To me, it has its value in setting up some sort of base parameters from which you can extend your own creativity from, but it is in no way the ultimate end goal.
Imagine you have the ability to create anything you could ever possibly imagine. Knowing this, you recreate yourself. To me, this seems like the ultimate lack of imagination.
Why is it that, when drawing a face, the ability to memorise the anatomy and play of shadow and light upon its form is somehow considered more worthwhile than the ability to depict the "concept" of a face in a new way?
is it purely out of respect for the craftsmanship and dedication that it takes to make something look "real"? Is it that we can relate to our own existences more that way? Or perhaps the desire to project it into others?
It's nothing new, I know that. For many cultures it has been the way for a very long time.
But I find it a fascinating subject when it comes to visual art. Something which can't really be shared by other artforms.
How should I put this...
To make it simple: I see no reason to watch US dubs because
1) dubs from my own native language are usually higher quality, both in pronunciation (see below) and more importantly faithfulness to the source material.
2) Americans are seemingly incapable of pronouncing japanese names and words. If (US) English is your native language, you're probably not even aware of that. But to me, hearing American (voice) actors pronounce names like "Tomoko" is like a kick in the groin. It's even worse in Atlus games as there tend to be many japanese words left over. I've yet to come across an American voice actor who doesn't fuck those things up. Brits don't seem to have this problem though. Or maybe the voice actress for Mayu in Project Zero 2 was just that good.
But hey, feel free to convince me otherwise
Yeah it's an interesting topic to discuss.
I am not very educated on that front but speaking from personal experience I definitely agree with you. I don't understand what's so appealing about realistic art, ultimately art is subjective anyway but I prefer more surreal and out-of-the-box designs and when the art is confined to the realistic style you can only do so much.
BlazingDarkness
Member
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
Sit back enjoy the ride.
theSlacker
Member
I prefer watching a good English dub over any quality original Japanese in anime these days. Being able to tell what part of the words are being emphasised, the tone of the read, and other stuff like that is better for me. Clearly if it's outright bad I would switch, but then it's more so that I can't even tell how bad the voices are since other then general sound I don't really know how good the Japaneses actors are doing. I really regret how much of a purest I was like a decade ago about anime and dubbing.
I still don't understand this point of view though. Is it really so great being able to make yourself look weird that you are willing to sacrifice a character specific story for it?
I keep seeing people bring up the Final Fantasy comparison, and it is true, but I don't see it as the same type of situation. For one, the first Final Fantasy game came out decades ago and was a NES game. It wasn't nearly as complex in story or universe as what Xenoblade is. Also, people have had decades to get used to the way Final Fantasy games work. While I'm sure other games besides Final Fantasy release numbered titles that have nothing to do with previous titles, it is certainly not the norm these days (Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, Halo, Fallout, Metroid, and so on and so on).
So I guess what I am trying to say is, there will no doubt be some confusion where people think this is a direct sequel because it is titled Xenoblade, and I think it is the logical assumption to make. Even though the treehouse people said it is a spiritual successor, we may find out through the story that there is indeed a direct connection between the two games. I still think that man looked too much like Shulk in that original reveal trailer.
On the other hand it may actually be just a spiritual successor. That is fine as well but it is going to take some time before people get used to Xenoblade as a new series akin to Final Fantasy.
I just picked it up yesterday for the first time. Glad to hear it still holds up. Can't wait to start it.
you've probably played 2% of what the game's going to offer
you're in for a long, awesome ride, so envious!
also, cannot stop watching the Treehouse demo. My hype level is through the roof
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
I'll go with less than 1% because I doubt he just did a straight line . He probably jumped from the highest point into the water... Wondering if he can get to a certian spot
=p
Go ahead, Press a button. I fucking dare you
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
SoraanTribal
Member
I'm jealous you're getting to experience the game completely new and fresh.
This is one of those moments where I wish I could manually erase certain memories from my brain so I could re-experience Xenoblade, lol. Then again, I'd have to give up another 120+ hours of my life if I did that!
Totally worth it.
Yes, please!
the androgyne
Member
I haven't played Xenoblade but watching the Treehouse video, X really reminded me of PSO2... Apart from the world being much larger/open. Did the first game have those gameplay similarities? I love how there's more than a touch of Macross homage going on in the intro too!
I'm jealous you're getting to experience the game completely new and fresh.
This is one of those moments where I wish I could manually erase certain memories from my brain so I could re-experience Xenoblade, lol. Then again, I'd have to give up another 120+ hours of my life if I did that!Totally worth it.
Yes, please!
Ha you know, I think I actually enjoyed Xenoblade more after the first play through. Now don't get me wrong, that first time was incredible, Makna Forest blew me away in particular. But, once I had an idea on how to play the game better, where the NPCs were located, etc., I was able to play the game in a way that was more suited to my tastes. I was also confident enough to take on the super bosses.
I have actually played the game a few times through completion now, and it always seems like I am learning something new about the game and the enjoyment never really fades.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked