Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

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Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

Post by Merk » Mon Dec 05, 2011 12:21 pm

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A current generation jRPG that doesn't suck barrs. I got this over the weekend and put in about 10 hours so far.

The gameplay is Final Fantasy 12 done right:

+ Open-world where enemies are on the field
+ Battles are in real-time ala MMO-style
+ AI controlled party members (there's only been one time where my party's AI has been retarded)
+ No mana, all skills are on an individual cooldown timer
+ Party is healed automatically after battle
+ Skill trees that aren't cockblocked because you haven't progressed far enough into the plot (fucking FF13 was so bad, fuck that game)
+ Tons and tons and tons of side-quest content (almost every quest is unessential and can be skipped entirely)
+ Quests auto-complete when finished (no going back to quest giver just because you killed three rats, you get the reward immediately)
+ No bullshit gambit micromangement
+ No fucking 20 hour tutorials that progressively unlock critical abilities (with a few minor exceptions relevant to the plot, but you can do Chain Attacks immediately if you know how to do them instead of waiting for the game to show you how)
+ Grinding not required, but it's an option (I've only had to grind once and that was because I wanted to kill an unique monster for his wonderful loot)
+ Customizable party, you don't need to have the main character in front 24/7
+ Enemies have hitscan detection. Rouges do it from behind, as they say.
+ Bosses are a mix of "DPS this fucking thing" and "Use this gimmick to win"
+ Game was localized in Brittania so there's British voice acting and Britishisms all over the place (colour, oi, mum, etc.)

+/- Developed by the same guys who did Xenogears/Xenosaga. From what I've read this game has nothing to do with either of those games.

- It's on the Wii (but it can be emulated via Dolphin if your computer doesn't suck barrs)
- Camera fucking sucks from time to time.
- Haven't played through the entire game (it's long as fuck allegedly) but I think I know where the plot is going already.
- Game is not being released in the US (untouched, thankfully) until April of this year near the end of the Wii's lfiespan. You'll have to mod your Wii if you want to import and play this shit.



I generally don't like games these days but for some reason I was compelled to pour in a bunch of time in this game over the weekend. The gameplay is actually pretty fun and is a true polishing of what FF12 gave us, the graphics are PS2ish as to be expected but the game still looks good, and the characters haven't made me want to throw this game out the window yet. If you liked or were on the fence about FF12 then you'll love this game. If you loved the turn-based jRPGs of yore then this game might be able to turn you.

In other words, just give it a fucking shot.
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Re: Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

Post by Riot » Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:34 pm

I'm going to get it when it releases here (thank goodness). I've wanted to play it for a year since everyone is always raving about it, but I don't want to mess with modding my Wii. I haven't honestly played my Wii since like 2008.
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Re: Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

Post by Merk » Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:43 pm

This is literally the game Final Fantasy 13 should have been.
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Re: Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

Post by ImuyumI » Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:56 pm

Merk wrote:This is literally the game any Final Fantasy past 7 should have been.
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Re: Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

Post by Merk » Fri Dec 09, 2011 12:08 am

I really wish this game was not a Wii exclusive because it really is a good game. Dicked around yesterday doing a bunch of quests and shit.

My most recent gripe is that my party seems pretty pigeonholed to DPS / Tank / Healer. I tried different party configurations but I just got stomped by normal mobs. Bleh, I'm allegedly less than a third of the way through the game with 15 hours of playtime so I'll hold my breath to see how the game unfolds.

I just recruited the obligatory "cute mascot that no one will use" character and it has a certain level of cringe attached to it. I hope this game doesn't Jar-Jar Binks itself.

Other than that this shit is awesome. Fast travel, exploration is rewarded, combat is not a chore with hardly any micromanagement, battles don't take forever, and customization is a good balance between "there are so many options I have no idea what I'm doing" and "if you config your character the 'wrong' way then you're fucked."

People just play this game over break if you're not laying the splicksplack on some honies.
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Re: Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

Post by Merk » Sat Dec 17, 2011 7:03 pm

I was up until 4:00am playing this game last night. I played for seven fucking hours.

I honestly can't remember the last time I've spent that much time just doing one thing straight other than my poker tournament final tables.
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Re: Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

Post by Riot » Sat Dec 17, 2011 8:25 pm

Do you have a downloaded copy or did you mod your Wii? I honestly don't know the requirements to get it to play. I wanna play but assume I will just have to wait for the US release.
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Re: Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

Post by Merk » Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:45 pm

I worked my magic, got things done, pulled a few favors, and now I can play the game. It's a fun game! I so far have called two plot-twists way before they happened. Watching Dexter and being able to identify anime tropes has made me really good at calling shit.

I was surprised by one thing though so the plot's not totally predictable.
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Re: Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

Post by Merk » Mon Dec 19, 2011 1:09 am

This is totally a track that Riot would love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4vCEHpv ... re=related

I like the little ditty at 0:54.
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Re: Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

Post by Riot » Mon Dec 19, 2011 3:05 pm

Pretty good tune! I still think Lost Odyssey has some of the best music this generation.
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Re: Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

Post by Merk » Wed Dec 21, 2011 10:04 am

I'm 40 hours in and I believe I have a lot more left to go. I haven't dicked around with side quests too much, maybe about 5 hours or so, and I've done maybe about a 1/6 of the sidequests. What I'm trying to say is that there's a lot of shit to do in this game and it doesn't drag like a lot of the other shitty games out there. A FAQ helps immensely for some of the optional rare-item fetch quests but it's not necessary. This is the one game I've kept myself spoiler-free and FAQ-free and I find that it really helps me enjoy the game more.

The plot is normalizing to a standard level of anime though but I guess that's expected given that this game was made by the people who did Xenogears which has easily the king of anime plots. I haven't ran into any hour long walls of text though and the cutscene to game ratio is at a good balance.

I kind of want to show Riot this game over break but I'm at a point right now where it would be a big spoiler and I want him to experience this game the same way I did.
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Re: Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

Post by Riot » Wed Dec 21, 2011 10:50 am

I've seen a few videos on the intertubes, and will just play it when it comes out. I have so many other games that I'm not really worried about it at the moment. I'm still neck-deep in Skyrim even though I've played for like 30 hours or so so far, I have Nier on the shelf next, and I'm still playing Mahvel a good deal as well.
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Re: Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

Post by Merk » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:49 pm

I have journeyed for 60 hours in this virtual world and much to my chagrin the story the spells out the lives of the characters has become akin to those that one would find in animation from the country of Japan. Although this displeases me, I find that the gameplay of this Wii title allows me to cast aside my deference for the storytelling and allow me to look back upon these 60 hours as time well spent. I encourage all of you to purchase this game upon its North American release in the month of April for it will likely provide you with a favorable cost to entertainment ratio.
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Re: Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

Post by Fluffyumpkins » Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:06 pm

Merk wrote:I have journeyed for 60 hours in this virtual world and much to my chagrin the story the spells out the lives of the characters has become akin to those that one would find in animation from the country of Japan. Although this displeases me, I find that the gameplay of this Wii title allows me to cast aside my deference for the storytelling and allow me to look back upon these 60 hours as time well spent. I encourage all of you to purchase this game upon its North American release in the month of April for it will likely provide you with a favorable cost to entertainment ratio.
Awesome review.

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Re: Xenoblade Chronicles [Wii]

Post by Merk » Sat Feb 04, 2012 5:23 am

Man. FUCK this was a good game. The worst thing about this game is that I know there will never be anything like it; I had the same feelings about Odin Sphere too. The story was great up until the end when it started to get hyper anime and typical Xenogears-y. The plot and setting are definitely unique to say the least and they did a great job with it. I have absolutely no complaints about the gameplay and there are so many little touches thrown in to the battle chatter and zones that you can tell they really put a lot of love into making this world. Grinding is a non-issue, however some the quests can get pretty GamesFaqs-ish but they are entirely optional and unnecessary to beat the game.

I've heard good things about Nier and I'm thinking about picking it up.

EDIT: lololl bought Nier on the whim because I have baller money again.
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