Xenoblade Chronicles

[Vyk]

I looked through the last 3 pages of threads and didn't see one for this. I figure there's probably one back there somewhere since other countries have had it. But its out now for North America. Not sure if its true, but the internet said it was launched today. Games don't usually launch on a Friday here but whatever. And apparently GameStop of all places got the exclusive rights to sell it for some reason. But is anyone else trying this? Or others in countries that were previously privileged to have it played it? Thoughts? Impressions? I picked it up after checking out Game Trailers review video to verify that it might be worth it. JRPGs are so hit-or-miss with me. But this one seems so different from the norm, and all done in a good way, there's a high chance its as awesome as everyone says. And I've only spent a couple hours with it, but I'm pleasantly surprised and impressed myself. The dialogue flows a lot better than in most voiced Japanese RPGs. You don't get quick-replies, there's a natural pause between lines, and it sounds like lines are said in response to something, rather than spoken individually and then all the lines spliced together. They definitely took some care in the voice acting department. And the visuals and music are both pleasantly captivating. And the battle mechanic from what I've experienced is unique and engaging with quite a bit of depth once characters are developed. And not a lot of button mashing or repeating the same crap over and over. And no random encounters. I know people hate that. Personally I usually hate seeing enemies because I feel compelled to fight them all. But there's a lot of fauna in this game that's there to use for XP farming if you want, but you get plenty of experience for simple quests and exploration and discovery that it probably hardly matters how you level up. So you can play it in both styles. Or just amass hordes of XP by doing both I suppose. Either way, I don't feel forced to do anything and I like that. End rant

[Wolf Kanno]

I just picked up my reserved copy today and will be playing it in a few minutes. It's been a long time since I've been legitimately excited to play a game. Sadly, family get-together and work will prevent me from really delving into it until next week. :( But tonight we shall play like kings! :squee:

[edczxcvbnm]

TLDR!

Gamestop is full of assholes and they shipped my game TODAY! I want it now along with my art book (There will be a raising of hell if they fuck this up). Why didn't they ship it 2 days ago?!?! I selected piss poor shipping and don't expect to get it right away but waiting until today?!? What a bunch of asshats!

I can't wait to get though. I am a fan of the Xeno games ingeneral and everything about this sounds awesome fun=!!

[Vyk]

Pretty much same here. I plugged about 3 or 4 hours into it and remained enthralled and impressed, and I think I adore the battle system, which is rare for me. And something about it reminds me of Legend of Legaia, and Resonance of Fate, which is an extremely good thing in my eyes. And I think I adore the battle system. Had to take a break 'cause the lovely lady friend needed a heart-to-heart before bed, but now that I've done my awesome and made her feel better so she could sleep peacefully I'm thinking of plunking another hour or so in before I go to bed. And the weekend will be full of obligations. Hopefully the game still feels as magnificent next week

Er, wait what? I replied without refreshing the page, so I missed ed. But uh I'm not sure this is meant to have anything to do with any other Xeno game. I've never gotten that impression. But maybe you know something I don't. It certainly doesn't look or feel like any other Xeno game. But I could see how they could tie things in if they wanted to. I just don't really see things heading in those directions. But who knows. I'm told its easily a 70 hour game. Lots of things to unfold

[Wolf Kanno]

4 hours in and I've barely moved the plot ahead, mostly because I'm too busy doing all the side quests for the townsfolks and raising my affinity between the lovebirds. I really love the equipment system, by which I mean I love how distinct it is. For those wondering, even though you can have a piece of equipment like "Colony Shirt" that can be worn by all the characters, the outfit design is unique for the character it's put on. So the big broly character interprets it like a muscle shirt, the main hero has heavy jacket, and the girl gets a cute top. Speaking of the girl, some of her outfit combinations even at this early in the game kind of falls into fetish territory... I honestly think one outfit combination made me blush... and gave me ideas for my GF. :shifty:

The battle system is pretty fun, which is a relief cause watching videos of it made it look boring, but once you actually get the system down, you realize how in-depth and involving it really is. Gem slots are a cool idea for armor customization and I am quite happy I get XP for finding new territories and completing side quests which is a nice change of pace from just endless battling. The music is gorgeous and the VA work is actually been really good so far. I know the British players had qualms with it, but as a Yankee, it's nice to listen to something that isn't the full spectrum of American accents, especially since the market likes to overuse a small selection of VA talent. I bet had the game been localized on this side of the pond, Shulk would have been voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch, who is a great VA but he's extremely overexposed, and I don'; think I would care to listen to Ichigo/Vash the Stampede for 40+ hours.

The soundtrack is very good so far and the visuals of the game are quite excellent. The art direction is quite phenomenal, and I am happy I got the mini-artbook because the concept art is gorgeous. So far, I'm several hours in and I am thoroughly enthralled. I'm now sad I have to leave my console behind to spend time at relatives house for the weekend. :(

[Carl the Llama]

I love this game, been out here for months and I remember how gorgeous the game was, I also took alot of time in the first couple of areas but the game has soooo many side quests and in the end when I got to the wide open place (you will know it when you come across it) I was eager to get on with the story so I skipped a few quests.

Be prepared the game throws some massive curve balls at you, I was shocked by some of the later developments but I wont spoil it, its really an awesome game. *replays the game*

[JKTrix]

What a bunch of jokers.

My favourite thing about the game is how streamlined everything is. Walking over to glowing spots to harvest things without having to wait for some kind of animation. Not having to return to your quest-giver to get your quest rewards. No-loading fast travel if you're hopping around the same area, or just fast travel in general. The rest of the game is pretty great too, but it seems like they took extra care with all the interface stuff like that.

[Vyk]

LoL Wolf, now I'm curious to try outfits on them that I wouldn't have actually used, just to see what they looked like. I do like how they all have their own style, and I like how new equipment affects how they look in general. Rare in a JRPG. Had just gotten swimsuit stuff, but no chance to put it on her

Thinking I might have to go back and check out some tutorial stuff. The fight mechanics are nice and in depth and I think I missed how to purposely chain attacks. I'm at a point where its required and I can't seem to trigger it. But will be hanging out with friends and such most likely this evening. So blowing through the good parts of the intro will likely entertain them as well as re-educate me. So win/win

[Kalilung]

THIS GAME. Aaaaahhhh. So lovely, but now I need to start back at the beginning and do ALL THE QUESTS before moving the story along, since SPOILER happened and now I can't do things that I suspect I otherwise could have.

[edczxcvbnm]

But uh I'm not sure this is meant to have anything to do with any other Xeno game. I've never gotten that impression. But maybe you know something I don't. It certainly doesn't look or feel like any other Xeno game. But I could see how they could tie things in if they wanted to. I just don't really see things heading in those directions. But who knows. I'm told its easily a 70 hour game. Lots of things to unfold

It is made by the same team of people as the other Xeno games. It is one of those things were that matters. Jurassic Park and ET have nothing to do with each with one another other than they were both directed by Steven Spielberg. I should have said Monolith Soft instead of just Xeno =P

[Vyk]

I'll drink to that. I think they finally came into their own on this one. Unlike the Saga games, this one's pretty universally praised

[Del Murder]

This is in my queue to get and play. It goes Batman->Uncharted 3->Mass Effect 3->Xenoblade. Kind of far down there but I'll get to it eventually since nothing besides Last Story is getting me excited for the remainder of the year.

[Rostum]

I started playing this yesterday and really loved it, will continue my journey!

[Carl the Llama]

This is in my queue to get and play. It goes Batman->Uncharted 3->Mass Effect 3->Xenoblade. Kind of far down there but I'll get to it eventually since nothing besides Last Story is getting me excited for the remainder of the year.

Xenoblade Chronicles > Last Story.

[Vyk]

So although I apparently sucked at this game. I gotta say I love the checkpoint system. Which is sadly a rarely implemented privilege in modern RPGs. I remember having to reload a few times in Mass Effect and watch cut scenes over and over. In this game you just go back to the last landmark. You lose nothing. And you don't have to re-watch any cut scenes. You just approach the boss and rematch begins

Speaking of cut scenes. I just found out you can pause them as well >.> This game's thrown in a lot of CONVENIENT little things that just makes playing it that much more enjoyable as a whole. No headaches

[Wolf Kanno]

I'll drink to that. I think they finally came into their own on this one. Unlike the Saga games, this one's pretty universally praised

Takahashi said that when he was designing this game in the beginning, he wanted to make amends for what he now sees in hindsight as poor game design in the Saga Franchise. He specifdically said he approached it as a game and asked the question of "what would players find fun".

[Del Murder]

Squqre Enix needs to adopt that model, instead of 'what makes us the most money' or 'what haven't we tried yet'.

[Vyk]

That makes sense. I love how they keep spoon feeding you bite-size morsels of plot. There's always something going on to keep you engaged, but its not frequent enough to be annoying, and its not 20 minutes of cut-scenes that over-stay their welcome. Its just a conversation here, plot development there, a smattering of character development sprinkled around. Its nice

[Wolf Kanno]

What a bunch of jokers.

My favourite thing about the game is how streamlined everything is. Walking over to glowing spots to harvest things without having to wait for some kind of animation. Not having to return to your quest-giver to get your quest rewards. No-loading fast travel if you're hopping around the same area, or just fast travel in general. The rest of the game is pretty great too, but it seems like they took extra care with all the interface stuff like that.


I can totally agree with this, I played an hour ot two last night, just doing some of the side quests and the interface has made the game so much more user friendly and less of a hassle. I just decided to check out this beach to the far east of Colony 9 and along the way, I completed 4 quests all in the span of about 10 minutes and I only had to return to one quest giver, and he certainly made it worth my while. I also starting playing a little more qith Quick Travel last night as well.

The Heart-to-Heart actions are also pretty fun, working like a beautiful combination of Star Ocean's Private Actions and Persona 3/4's Social Links. You get some intriguing background information on characters and unlock gamplay bonuses for doing them.

The game really has taken the best parts of both Westerns and Eastern RPG design and made something really fun.Strong linear Story, battle system, art design, and characters from JRPGs; and then the open world, multitude of sidequests, non-linear gameplay of a WRPG. It's really taken what FFXII tried to bring to the genre and pushed it to the next level.

[NeoCracker]

Fuck every god damned one of you.

*Grumbles in a corner about not having a Wii anymore*

[Vyk]

I never get rid of a system unless it dies. There's always the nostalgia. Or if you get rid of it during its activity cycle you risk issues like this. But other than hacking and emulating I bought a wii for this very purpose

[Wolf Kanno]

I finally obtained the Monado, confirmed that Dunban is the Uzuki expy for this game, got to see the battle system really open up, and witnessed a pretty shocking early plot twist. The plot twist in question actually has me bummed I really like Fiona and I did a lot of quests and at least one heart to heart with her, she was also a great party member and I was so happy she bucked the trend of usual female childhood friends. Doing all that side content actually made me really get attached to her more than I thought, so now that she's gone, I'm a bit sad...

The plot is starting and now I'm trying to move away from Colony 9, but' it's hard because there still so much to do there. :omghey:

[edczxcvbnm]

I got as far as you did last night Wolf. If there is one thing that is annoying the hell out of me it is the interface. Then it hit me. They had to design it in some way to make up for the lack of buttons on the wiimote. This would have been a much better game on the PS3 or 360 due to a better controller...plus they could have had better textures and stuff. It doesn't look bad but it defiantly feels like a PS2 RPG.

Fuckin' Wii on that shitty controller :/

[Wolf Kanno]

I'm curious, what's your issue with the interface? I actually find the controls to be pretty good, and was surprised they are still mapped like a Japanese game like FFVII and FFTactics, with the confirm button being the far right button on the d-pad and the cancel button being the bottom right, which is usually reversed when the game gets brought out to the West. Granted, the game is a bit menu-heavy but it does categorize the menu's pretty well so the menu window isn't cluttered and overwhelming. Now that I've gotten the hang of combat, I actually like the combat interface as well. It's a bit underwhelming to look at but as I said before, watching and playing are two different experiences for the combat system.

[Vyk]

I'm happy with the interface. I feel extremely comfortable wit the wiimote. Nice to be able to play with my hands resting at my sides with the nunchuck cord over my lap. So glad there aren't motion controls. Most RPGs have clunky interfaces. You get used to it and learn to like it. This one didn't bother me at all. Except I keep forgetting to back out that one last time. Since you can wander around with options open. Then when I hit A or Z I open a menu or open the story update summary instead of talking to someone or targetting an enemy lol But I like it. Not nearly as bad as something like a tactics game

[Sephex]

Finally playing it today. So far I like it a lot and I am starting to see why so many fans were clamoring for it to reach the states.

[Fynn]

This is easily the best game I have ever played. Too bad I accidentally deleted my save file 100 hours in :( But I'll try to give it another shot this summer. Words cannot describe its awesomeness ;)

[Wolf Kanno]

I just hit a milestone moment. I just reached the Bionis Leg, and was shocked to find Grand Pulse, just a huge sprawling land mass with gorgeous mountain ranges and an impressive ecosystem. The thing I would have to trudge 40+ hours to get to in a Motomu Toriyama FF title, is the third area of the game. For those who can't play the game, the starting location, Colony 9, is located on the foot of Bionis. I just got passed the knee and arrived on the thigh, and it's about the size of Grand Pulse. I haven't even explored the whole place yet.

The Seer ability of the Monado has to be the most intriguing idea in the entire game. It's really changed the direction of the story, and I am amazed it's actually utilized for gameplay and quests as well. The new Shield option is also an intriguing gameplay mechanic and makes me really interested to see what else the Monado is going to do to mix up the gameplay routine. It's use in quests have been wonderful since it tells you if an item is important for a future quest, or just adding stories where you get to see results of people's choices. Speaking of which...

I also really love the NPCs in this game. I feel the largest reason I like doing the quests in this game is just watching how interconnected all the minor NPC townsfolks lives are with each other. I can honestly say that the mountain of side-quests really endeared me to Colony 9, so I definetly felt a bit more invested when misfortune befalls it. I've also just been amused watching how everyone knows each other and basically helping people fix their relationships with one another. Suddenly finding X amount of items doesn't feel as much as a time waster when you're doing it to placate a mother's kids so she can go on a date you set up with an inventor that helped you fix the pendant that said mother's son had broken and she was furious at him because it was a memento from her belated husband. Doing these quests are almost like watching a mundane soap opera unfold before you and it just feels gratifying to have what would usually be considered tedious quests for the sake of padding, actually have more meaningful weight to them.

[edczxcvbnm]

So my problem with the interface is that I feel it is clumsy. Lets equip your characters: You have to go to the top to change what you are equipping and can't cycle through everything in the inventory screen. You can cycle through characters but not what you are equipping (weapons, armor, pants, boots).

Instead of having everything easily it is in these disorganized squares with little to differentiate them. Why couldn't they do a simple list?

31/45
Weapon 1
weapon 2
weapon 3 x4
Weapon 4 x 25

Yeah you can sort things but that should be a simple button hit and not bring up another menu for me to select the sort. The only reason to bring up the menu is because you have no fucking clue what order the items are currently sorted in or will be sorted in because there is no way to tell at a glace.

I also hate how I can't remap the buttons on the controller (I have ALWAYS hated the old school RPG button layout and have always changed it immediately).

With all of that equipment there isn't an easy equip best option to make it stupid simple. I grant you that it is a bit more complicated than it use to be but it would still be useful after you buy a bunch of crap from the store.

I wish instead of selecting an enemy to attack that I could just hit a button to attack and have the enemy hit be the target I lock on to.

You mention FFVII and FFTactics as having bad interfaces. I grant you they weren't perfect but I don't accept that this sort of thing should be compared to a 15 year old game. If you are on the level of design with a game released 15 years ago you are probably doing something wrong. Things with interface design continues to advance forward.

I could go on but you get the idea.

Like I said, it isn't a deal breaker but it should have been way better.

[Wolf Kanno]

So my problem with the interface is that I feel it is clumsy. Lets equip your characters: You have to go to the top to change what you are equipping and can't cycle through everything in the inventory screen. You can cycle through characters but not what you are equipping (weapons, armor, pants, boots).

Fair point and I agree that cycling would be better far better.


Instead of having everything easily it is in these disorganized squares with little to differentiate them. Why couldn't they do a simple list?

31/45
Weapon 1
weapon 2
weapon 3 x4
Weapon 4 x 25

Yeah you can sort things but that should be a simple button hit and not bring up another menu for me to select the sort. The only reason to bring up the menu is because you have no smurfing clue what order the items are currently sorted in or will be sorted in because there is no way to tell at a glace.

Actually there is a reason for this. Because not all the equipment is the same, even when the name says differently. With the exception of Unique Armor, most of the other armor can come in either the Slot or Normal flavor. I noticed this with the Million Driver weapon. I had one that was normal, three that were slotted; two of which had two slots, and one of them had three slots. So... saying Million Driver x4 would not have worked because two of them are very different from the other two. They are not always the same even if they share the same name or type.

Likewise, you can't use an optimize function either because perhaps you wanted the 2 slot version but it gives you the 1 slot version instead. An optimize function would have caused more headache than good.



I also hate how I can't remap the buttons on the controller (I have ALWAYS hated the old school RPG button layout and have always changed it immediately).

I don't mean to come off condescending or rude, but I would probably be more sympathetic if this were an action game we were discussing. For an RPG, you usually only use three buttons at most; so I'm afraid you're annoyance is a bit lost on me. I actually don't mind the Japanese style controls, it makes the game feel a bit retro for me.



With all of that equipment there isn't an easy equip best option to make it stupid simple. I grant you that it is a bit more complicated than it use to be but it would still be useful after you buy a bunch of crap from the store.

As I showed above, the equipment system is set up in a way where an optimize function wouldn't work smoothly. On the other-hand, not having the ability to directly equip an item after purchase is a bit annoying.


I wish instead of selecting an enemy to attack that I could just hit a button to attack and have the enemy hit be the target I lock on to.

I feel they did it this way because you can start off your first attack as one of your Arts instead of just a normal attack. Especially useful if you are trying to use Backslash and just finish the enemy in one hit, instead of just letting the auto-attack do everything so painfully slow. If you just hit a button, you would have to deal with Aggro Control until you could perform the Art you wanted, wasting a few seconds that could have been resolved with two Art attacks instead of three or four moves. So despite seeming tedious, it actually makes random encounters a little less of a chore if played with.


You mention FFVII and FFTactics as having bad interfaces. I grant you they weren't perfect but I don't accept that this sort of thing should be compared to a 15 year old game. If you are on the level of design with a game released 15 years ago you are probably doing something wrong. Things with interface design continues to advance forward.

I never said the interface for VII and Tactics were bad, in fact I pretty much implied that I was pleasantly surprised that they were the same as Xenoblade. I simply stated the control layout was the same as a Japanese setup, because developers and distributors didn't feel the need to re-map the controls for a Western audience. So this was a misunderstanding.

*****************************************************

If I have one interface complaint, it's that the character affinity chart gives me a time for when characters are active but doesn't give me a place. Only a handful of characters actually move from district to district so it would be nice to have a way to track them down. I have a scientist character I met once in Colony 9, and have yet to see her again since. I also need to recheck the manual and see if their is a quick map feature, instead of having to stroll through the menu options to read the area map. Still, none of this is seriously annoying either.

[edczxcvbnm]

I have been playing more and it is clear that until I reach colony 6, I will remain a terrible player because that is just how I play these things. I just got done fighting against the Fat Metal Face (I can't be bother to find his actual name), and so far the only reason I am surviving is I have a tendency to explore. I don't have anything to put into slots, I have yet to do a side quest and I am chillin' at level 22. I thought it was hilariously funny when the tutorial mentioned important items for future quests XD

The button configuration thing is an old habits die hard thing. I could never play the Megaman Anniversary collection because the jump and fire button were switched with no way to change them. After playing for hours I never adapted to a simple two button switch on a two button game. Even this far into the game (7-8 hours) I still hit the wrong buttons in the menus. It isn't going to change.

I understand what you are saying when it comes to the item mapping but I still think giant squares with no information until you go over it is bad in comparison to a list style where names, #of slots, key stats for the item (attack power for weapons, phys/ether defense for armor) can easily be displayed. You can't really group but I still think a list works better.

At this point the ONLY attack I use is the back attack-a-mattack-a-majig. Maybe map an a key attack/art to a button instead and you can bring up the menu for other situations.

Maybe I said this stuff isn't a deal breaker but it is a big of an annoyance because I think it could have all been designed much better. I am sure I will eventually get around to doing some quests and doing other stuff but so far it has not been necessary and I have yet to get bored to the point where I want to check it out.

I also totally agree with your assessment that it is awesome that you practically immediately get to explore this huge world (although those level 80 monsters casually walking around do scare me) instead of waiting till practically the end of the game.

[Vyk]

I just spent the last two days polishing up all the sidequests I skipped on my way past the refugees and on to Colony 6. Just about ready to head there finally, and probably spent a good 14 hours doing just side quests, which is a complete rarity for me. I hate that World of Warcraft crap. But yeah, like Wolf says, the characters are not annoying or tedious, they're endearing. Kinda saddened that I skipped them until now, but no matter how you do it, they tend to work. Granted its kind of a waste doing Colony 9 quests when I'm almost level 30 lol But still, its really nice that both main-plot elements and mildly amusing side-quest plots are all entertaining to some degree. And the exploration is indeed quite fun and rewarding. Managed to meander my way into some very interesting secret areas on the Bionis Leg. And I kinda like that there's always LV 70+ monsters just chilling around in random areas, so you don't always feel like an invincible badass. And not to spoil anything but I'm really glad that the main character isn't the only one who gets hints of romantic sprinkles scattered about in the story and character interactions. Gives you a good reason to change which character you control for a slightly different pace in battle and a change of avatar-scenery running around making townsfolk love you

Edit: And I gotta say, I'm really glad its not an action'y battle-system set-up. It feels like an extremely refined version of the original Dragon Age's battle system. Mass Effect is kind of that way too, just with guns. The action is in real time, but you're not just mashing a button. You pick a target and pick your attack, and try to remain strategic about it. Only slight draw-back is that as long as you do a few quests and kill a few monsters, you're going to be at least equal level with the monsters, and at that point even a little strategic knowledge is going to put you in the advantage. If you're doing the better part of everything presented to you, you're quickly going to over-power the monsters. Unique monsters don't even bother me anymore. Bosses barely challenge me. The only times I've scraped for my life recently is when I accidentally had a whole room aggro'd at me who were all equal level which was before I started doing all these side-quests. Hopefully the monsters catch up in Colony 6

[Fynn]

Trust me, it's not going to be so easy later on.

[Wolf Kanno]

I'll have to do some commenting later, just wanted to update. I just recruited Sharla and I am very pleased to finally have a dedicated healer/buffer in the party especially since Shulk's healing spell lost it's usefulness a few hours ago. I like Sharla, and how she's a bit unconventional healer since she uses ether bullets (so that's where Billy Lee Black left them ;) ) and she's a decent fighter as well. The fourth Monado skill seems a bit... broken but I just got it, so god knows how effective it will be in future battles. Like edczxcvbnm, I just finished the battle with the second Mechon with a face. The plot is picking up and I'm really liking the "seeing the future" angle of the storyline. I have done a fair amount of quests in the game, I've reached 4/5 stars for Colony 9, and I think I finally got 2/5 for the Refugee Camp. The Bionis Leg seems like it has no end but good god is is gorgeous with the day and night cycle, not to mention the weather changing as well. The ability to jump and swim have really come in handy and really make the world feel alive.

Also, I need to comment on the Achievement system in this game. It is awesome. That is all. :cool:

[edczxcvbnm]

I got an achievement called Terminal Velocity. I got it with my first act on the Bionious Knee. I tried to jump to my death. The XP gained by my act caused me to level up. How ironic XD

[JKTrix]

Sounds like WK is going to surpass my progress in the game pretty soon. When I got Sharla, I switched to manually controlling her for a while. I like support characters that can buff and debuff.

Maybe a slight tip, but it seems like manually controlling a new party member will help you to earn Affinity with them faster, since when you get those QTE prompts in-battle they'll be coming from whoever you're controlling.

[Vyk]

It also seems to be the only way to get affinity between two non-main characters (i.e. between Reyn and Sharla). It doesn't seem like it would happen unless you were controlling one. And you need other characters to have affinity towards one-another for certain heart-to-hearts. Which, I've noticed, there's a LOT of heart-to-hearts I can't access. And it won't even tell me the conditions for it. Which considering the one between Reyn and Sharla did tell me, I can only assume that means they're for characters I have yet to obtain. Which means we'll definitely be coming back. And I think I kinda like that idea. In most RPGs, hometown gets forgotten as you go out on a grand adventure far beyond anything anyone else has ever even dreamed of seeing. I think these guys might end up appreciating their roots a lot more

[edczxcvbnm]

Does anyone else find it odd or a bit annoying that they sometimes have a cut scene and then you take 14 steps forward and there is another cut scene. Neither of them are long so why not just combine them? It almost feels like they were being overly cautious against long cut scenes :/ I only find it insignificantly annoying because I get control back and I am ready to go do stuff only to be stopped instantly XP

Also, I love how when I leave the game for a while the music changes to something relaxing because it knows you are away. I think that is a cool little feature and it was even awesomer when my screen was showing they myst moving around with this weird spirit tree thing in the background

35889

[Freya]

Someone buy me this game. I'm super poor and super want to play it. WHO WANTS TO BUY ME IT :D?

[Fynn]

Also, I love how when I leave the game for a while the music changes to something relaxing because it knows you are away. I think that is a cool little feature and it was even awesomer when my screen was showing they myst moving around with this weird spirit tree thing in the background

I'm pretty sure it's just that the music is calmer when it's night-time. Same with the trees you mention.

[Wolf Kanno]

Well, I finally reached Colony 6, after completing everything I could find on the Bionis Leg and even after heading back to Colony 9. Thanks to the tip to switch out party members to raise affinity for Heart to Hearts because I was racking my brain trying to get Reyn and Sharla to like each other better. Even after switching out with her, she became friends with Shulk first. :p I'm also laughing because from what the map has shown me, Colony 6 is on the Bionis' groin, and now I'm, traveling through the Ether Mine, which I can't help but hypothesize with the glee of a 9 year old child, is the Bionis' Rectum. :D

One of the missions on the Bionis Leg was really intriguing, because it finally forced me to take advantage of the fact certain enemies respond to different stimuli to go on a rampage. I was helping this myopic Pon Pon collect two items to make a special soup for some friends, who happen to be us, but the poor guy can't see very well. One involved collecting an egg from a giant bird's nest where both creatures were level 70. Luckily it's behind them and as long as they don't see you, you can sneak by them. The other involved me going into the Cave of Winds, and crawling into an Arachno nest where everything is level 75+. These guys respond to sound (even their Alien Facehugger style eggs do) so I was literally tip-toeing into the middle of this nest surrounded by high level monsters, the main ingredient right next to this General Arachno Lv. 75 and had to tip toe next to it and grab the item, and tip toe away so it didn't find me and murder me. To say it was a tense experience is an understatement but it was an awesome side quest to say the least.

I also enjoy the enemy level curve in this game. My party is about level 28 right now, and I still can't really put up much of a fight against lv. 35 monsters. If this was Final Fantasy, I could mop the floor with anything that wasn't 20 levels higher than me; but in this game, just being five levels higher is enough to give me a rough fight if I'm not fully prepared. I'm still surprised that I'm already about 28 hours into this game, and I only now have my third party member, I'm not even level 30 yet, I've made Reyn and Shulk such good friends it's now in Bromance territory, and I have yet to max out my Affinity with Colony 9. Sharla has also brought a very amusing dynamic to the party as well. She's a bit more of a tragic figure than Shulk and Reyn are so far, and her awkward relationship with Reyn is adorable since he obviously has a thing for her, but her heart is only for Gadolt. The dialogue after battle is usually pretty cheesy but also quite hilarious, usually at poor Reyn's expense.

Now I kind of wish I didn't have three papers due next week for school, or for that matter, I wish I didn't have school or work so I could dedicate more time to this game. :love:

[edczxcvbnm]

I'm pretty sure it's just that the music is calmer when it's night-time. Same with the trees you mention.

That makes sense. I had not noticed the music too much in the game until I stepped away after a battle. I just heard the music change and the camera just happened to be in that position. I was just thinking the went the extra step that most games don't when you are away.

I was just mentioning the trees looked awesome and made the scene =D

[The Captain]

Just got my hands on a copy but have only played through the intro so far. Hopefully, I'll have some free time in the coming week to actually play it. From what little I saw, I was deeply impressed. Not since Dragon Quest VIII can I recall a game where I was actually looking forward to just wandering the world.

Take care all.

[Wolf Kanno]

So I finally got Dunban in my party. I was also right in thinking he would be the "Uzuki" character of this game though he doesn't share their name. He actually surprised me a bit, because while I figured he was going to be a powerful fighter, I didn't expect him to be an agility based Tank character. So he is technically an alternative tank from Reyn, who dodges attacks instead of just taking it. I also love how one of his helmet designs is giving him an eye-patch. That is awesome. :cool:

I've finally reached the complicated moment of the game where I am torn between exploring the world and doing quests, or rushing to the next story sequence of the plot because I seriously want to know what's going to happen next. I am also quite disturbed by the hinting the game is doing considering the nature and possible origins of the faced Mechon, giving me an idea of the twist that may be in store for Metal Face. I am also torn from whom my active party should be now that I have four characters, though it's sad to say, Reyn is probably going to be the poor man out for awhile.

I also finally reached the point where I can hold my own against some of the Lv. 34-35 enemies in Colony 9's Agora Beach. I'm still four levels from being able to fight that Lv. 40 Gentle Brog and complete one of the few lingering missions for Colony 9 though. I'm heading up the backside of the Bionis, in the Marsh lands, so I can actually try to make one of the visions of the future come true for a change, instead of the usual trying to prevent it from happening.

[krissy]

this looks like a fleshed out rogue galaxy which is good. my main gripe with that game was that the environments were so boring. these look pretty grandiose.

one day, maybe!

[Vyk]

I too have a feeling I've figured out the origins of at least the one Metal Face, though that definitely hints at the origins of the others, and why the Monado has trouble hurting them. WK is just a step or two ahead of me. I'm about to head up the back. I have one quest left in the swamp, and then going to head back to Colony 6 to see what (if anything) they need. Had to take a small break from the game to be social. But I'm mowing through again, and enjoying again. Taking my time and doing the quests as they come now though. As the enemies are steadily getting tougher and more strategic. Hating one certain lizard that has an ability to auto-daze the entire team, and another ability that knocks us all down to 3-digit hit-points. When he pairs the two up, we're pretty much dust. I think I'm a level or two too weak to be facing him properly, but I'll prevail

[edczxcvbnm]

Update: I have just gotten past Prison Island and am making my way to the next parts.

[Vyk]

I'm just a tad behind, in the forest. Its old news now, but I should thank WK for pointing out Dunban was meant to be an agility based tank. I was originally using him as another Shulk, mostly because I needed his affinity with Sharla and Reyn up so I made him the lead for a moment. But beefing up his armor and having him on the front line like a regular fighter wasn't cutting it for me, too many buff arts to be all out offensive. Plus I really missed having a second character that could heal when need-be. Especially with me controlling it. But most of the way through the swamp I've been using him in place of Reyn at my side, and beefed up his Agility and its kind of ridiculous watching him draw aggro from whole hordes and never get hit more than once. And if Sharla and Shulk put their sheilds on him, the damage is laughable when it happens..

Though Reyn's current defense is through the roof. And if I do with muscle crystals what I did with Dunban's agility crystals he'd be damn near invincible too. So its more of a preference thing. But agility tank is so unheard of I just have to. And it works out really well. Thanks Wolf lol

[Wolf Kanno]

You're welcome ;)

I have sadly fallen behind thanks to school and family. I played a little over the weekend but stuck to doing a few side missions for the Nonpon merchant by Colony 6 and only ventured very briefly into the swamps, so I am still where I am from the last time I posted. :(

[edczxcvbnm]

Overall, I just can't do these quests. By and large it just seems like random people asking for random items and I can't get into their fetch quests. I do everything in the fallout games but I can draw some sort of connection to it and most of the time they don't do stuff like "I have a hole in my roof and it is really annoying. I bet if I had 5 some raider helmets then I could fix it but I can't leave because of blah. Would you be so kind as to go out and get them for me?"

It is very big and open and I love to explore but the quests seem like busy work :/

[Vyk]

True. I don't mind them for some reason. But most of them are admittedly pretty lame. The ones that actually have purpose and productively affect affinities make a lot more sense. Like the whole series of quests involving the Nopon boy Pama with the storybook and helping the old lady get better to watch after him. Or helping the old Nopon fix a toy his grandson broke to rekindle a friendship with another little boy. Fortunately I think you get more than enough experience to get by simply by exploring and finding places, and fighting the tougher monsters, or unique monsters of each region. Those fetch quests are generally only for gold or items you could craft or buy or find normally anyway

[Wolf Kanno]

The Fetch Quests are not as much of a bother to me, thanks largely to the streamlined nature of the game design. I like that you don't have to backtrack to the quest giver, have unlimited room for quests you can undertake, and the fact that most of the items requested are often common drops that you will most likely have already obtained by the time you find the quest giver. I am serious about the last one. One sweep through the Bionis Leg before reaching the Refugee Camp, and I was pretty much able to walk around and complete a good 70% of the available missions right on the spot because I already had about a bajillion of each of the arbitrary fetch items in my inventory. So for me, I feel like I'm just getting extra money and XP for doing what I would be doing anyway and often the monetary reward out weighs the price of selling some of these items anyway. The fact the Monado gives you a heads up on whether an item is a quest item helps as well. So the game rewards my pack rack nature.

Though I would agree that the nameless NPC quest givers make it feel like busy work. Like Vyk, I happen to enjoy the ones that are connected to the affinity quests of a location. I just restored the mysterious light at the bottom of the lake under Colony 9. I have not mentioned how I liked that some of the missions have multiple ways to be completed. I'm still wondering what would have happened had I had told the writer that his girlfriend is in cahoots with his money-lender; or if there was another way to approach the love triangle between Monica, Erik, and Andreas.

I do kind of wish that the area items for the Collectopedia were not randomized. I have one bug missing from the Ether Caves, and I'm not really in the mood to keep farming items until the random number generator gods decide to be merciful. Its a minor complaint though.

I just have to finish writing one more report, and I can start playing again. Curse you school! :argh:

[Madonna]

The best part of these quests, edczxcvbnm, is that you generally do not need to fetch things for people. If someone needs five raider helmets, you kill the things that get you helmets, and on your fifth one, blam, quest done. You get a pop-up detailing what you just completed, a little story about the character you helped, and your reward. If you think you are lacking a connection to people, you should perhaps visit the Affinity Chart. The more quests you do for chumps means these chumps get some more details to their lives and you can see with whom they connect, and suddenly they are less chumps and instead villagers with personality who hold you as some Bionis-wandering badass hero.

Colony 9 loves me. I have not checked out Colony 6 yet. Kalilung is doing horrible things light-years ahead of me, like killing level forty named monsters. I try not to watch, but I am jealous.

[The Captain]

Wow. All I can say is wow. Finally had a chunk of time this week to sit and play this game and I am addicted.

Must admit, the first big twist in the plot reminded me greatly of Xenogears and events at Lahan village but if that means this story will be all twisty and turny, I will be more then happy. Just so long as they had enough budget to actually finish the game properly!

I already am at a crossroads as I can literally spent hours just doing side quests, wandering around and finding random things to get me experience points. I just cleared the spider cave or whatever it was called and am ready to take my first steps in to the wider world know as the Leg. Very intrigued by the Monado future aspect and like that Shulk isn't just an out and out fighter but has some defensive purpose too. Oftentimes, the main character is there to just find the biggest sword and be the strongest but this is forcing me to play a much more tactical way.

My only gripes so far: The camera angles can be really annoying as sometimes I find it doesn't put me in the best position to actually SEE what i'm doing or fighting. It's not fun when you are fighting a boss and have to spend a moment adjusting the camera just to see the enemy. Secondly, the tutorials are VERY vague and hard to follow. It took me literally three tries before I figured out how to link an attack and I was at my wits end trying to actually use the gem making subsection. I am still in the dark about the skill tree linking section as well.

However, all of that pales in comparison to what this game is: pure fun. I haven't played an RPG in years that made me want to keep exploring. Even my favorite games of all time had a limit on them, after a while I needed to take a break, but this game is so immense and has so much going on, I actually feel overwhelmed in a good way.

Really, amazing game so far and I have barely scratched the surface!

Take care all.

[edczxcvbnm]

The best part of these quests, edczxcvbnm, is that you generally do not need to fetch things for people. If someone needs five raider helmets, you kill the things that get you helmets, and on your fifth one, blam, quest done. You get a pop-up detailing what you just completed, a little story about the character you helped, and your reward. If you think you are lacking a connection to people, you should perhaps visit the Affinity Chart. The more quests you do for chumps means these chumps get some more details to their lives and you can see with whom they connect, and suddenly they are less chumps and instead villagers with personality who hold you as some Bionis-wandering badass hero.

Colony 9 loves me. I have not checked out Colony 6 yet. Kalilung is doing horrible things light-years ahead of me, like killing level forty named monsters. I try not to watch, but I am jealous.

My problem with that becomes the lack of caring. I don't even read what people say anymore because it is either too unrelatable (like my example) or it doesn't really matter because I am not going to talk to them every again. Anything interesting has been sapped away to give you a glut of things to do and 90% of it isn't interesting. I would actually prefer going back to the people...it might change their situation, or they get up and go do something. It is just check marks on a list as far as I am concerned. Why have me talk to the people? Can't we cut the middle man out of this one?

So, now that I am more than half way through the game I am beginning to fear a potential Chrono Cross style story dump in the final two dungeons. I would say that Prison Island is the equivelent of the Dead Sea. Big revelations are made but they also pile on the mystery and it doesn't seem like it will be resolved until just near the end. I think the pacing of the two games is very similar story wise.

[Fynn]

So, now that I am more than half way through the game I am beginning to fear a potential Chrono Cross style story dump in the final two dungeons. I would say that Prison Island is the equivelent of the Dead Sea. Big revelations are made but they also pile on the mystery and it doesn't seem like it will be resolved until just near the end. I think the pacing of the two games is very similar story wise.

Trust me, it is not so. If you're just out of Prison Island, there's still a whole lot of game left. You are not nearly halfway there.

[The Captain]

I just realized what this game is missing: Restoring items!

I was wondering if I was missing a menu or something in the battles but nope, looks like the only curing comes from abilities.

Interesting, though crazy how it took me this long to notice. What does everyone else think of this?

Take care all.

[edczxcvbnm]

The lack of battle items in general has not bothered me. After a battle is over you heal up anyway and during battles, they are not that difficult with all of your abilities to start. You can do some crazy major damage pretty fast.

[NeoCracker]

Since my cousin has a Wii, after I start my new Job on the 7th, this is among my first purchases. :love:

[Wolf Kanno]

t finished the Satorl(sp?) Marsh, or as I like to think of it as "Spira done right". The day time is just a foggy grey, but the night has the entire marsh glowing with multitude of colors and the trees almost look like crystal, and the rainbow colored fog, it really looked like Macalania Woods with the Pyreflies of the Moonglow combined. Not to mention the moody choral background theme that was very reminiscent of the Hymn of the Fayeth. It also turned out to be a huge area about half the size of the Bionis Leg which I was not expecting. There are several hidden caves and the Exile Fortress and the quests connected to it were very interesting an unexpected. Thank god the Lv.80 monsters are not terribly aggressive like the ones on the Bionis Leg were, as they are everywhere and the Nopon Merchants are right about night time being dangerous as half the monsters in the daytime are replaced with endgame versions of themselves.

I'm currently in the Trachea, and I must say that the inside of the Bionis is one of the most otherworldly sights I've seen in a game barring the MegaTen titles. I'll probably head to the next landmark and then backtrack to Colony 6, since it's finally opening up and looks to be an interesting diversionary sidequest of its own. Speaking of quests, I was finally able to finish the letter from Linnia quest that had me go toe to toe with a very angry Lv. 40 frog who nearly wiped my Lv.36 party out multiple times. Also, I have a question for people who may know. The quest where you have to find the mementos of a widows son who tried to reach the Bionis Head, I have two of the items, his armor and his knife. I found one in the Tephra Mines and the other in the Satori Marsh, but it looks like I found the first and third items. Have I already passed the second item? Was it in the Bionis Leg or Ether Mine, or is it actually farther up (I always assumed the last item would be on the head) or is it now in a place that just opened up?

The game is getting pretty good, and Dunban is officially my favorite character (even if his victory speeches are corny) because he's just an awesome character, and he's my favorite character to play as.

[Vyk]

No, you passed it. I forget exactly where it is, but I did like you and got the last one sooner than expected, and on many back-tracking expeditions managed to stumble across the other one. There's a way to make it your current quest, but I forget how, that way it'll pop up on your map when you get close to it. But yeah, I figured the kid would have gotten a lot farther. And it seems like you got a lot more quests than me. There must have been some I needed to get before Colony 9's attack or something

[Fynn]

t finished the Satorl(sp?) Marsh, or as I like to think of it as "Spira done right". The day time is just a foggy grey, but the night has the entire marsh glowing with multitude of colors and the trees almost look like crystal, and the rainbow colored fog, it really looked like Macalania Woods with the Pyreflies of the Moonglow combined. Not to mention the moody choral background theme that was very reminiscent of the Hymn of the Fayeth. It also turned out to be a huge area about half the size of the Bionis Leg which I was not expecting. There are several hidden caves and the Exile Fortress and the quests connected to it were very interesting an unexpected. Thank god the Lv.80 monsters are not terribly aggressive like the ones on the Bionis Leg were, as they are everywhere and the Nopon Merchants are right about night time being dangerous as half the monsters in the daytime are replaced with endgame versions of themselves.

I'm currently in the Trachea, and I must say that the inside of the Bionis is one of the most otherworldly sights I've seen in a game barring the MegaTen titles. I'll probably head to the next landmark and then backtrack to Colony 6, since it's finally opening up and looks to be an interesting diversionary sidequest of its own. Speaking of quests, I was finally able to finish the letter from Linnia quest that had me go toe to toe with a very angry Lv. 40 frog who nearly wiped my Lv.36 party out multiple times. Also, I have a question for people who may know. The quest where you have to find the mementos of a widows son who tried to reach the Bionis Head, I have two of the items, his armor and his knife. I found one in the Tephra Mines and the other in the Satori Marsh, but it looks like I found the first and third items. Have I already passed the second item? Was it in the Bionis Leg or Ether Mine, or is it actually farther up (I always assumed the last item would be on the head) or is it now in a place that just opened up?

The game is getting pretty good, and Dunban is officially my favorite character (even if his victory speeches are corny) because he's just an awesome character, and he's my favorite character to play as.

I'm pretty sure the items you're looking for are further up, but it's been a while and I can remember. If you're careful, you might be able to check it out on gamefaqs and avoid spoilers.

BTW, the next area you're going to visit is one of my personal favourites ;)

[Madonna]

Wolf Kanno, I am fairly confident the item for which you are seeking can be found on Bionis's Leg, past Daksha Shrine by hugging right as you go in. Spoil yourself or resign yourself to a lot of searching; happy travels in either case.

[Wolf Kanno]

Thanks everyone, I was able to track it down, hell yeah I'll take a bit of spoiler advice if it's associated with the Bionis Leg, I would have been searching forever before I found it. I wasn't able to play terribly long last night cause I chose to go out drinking, but I did check out a few things. I started work on Colony 6, which turned out to be a more interesting sidequest than I first thought. I figured it would be just a typical town with the usual quest, I didn't realize that it was going to be based around the Fairy Colony from BoF and the Immigrant Town from DQ. So that was a nice surprise, especially since I have tons of money just lying around and doing nothing. I was able to get far enough to get the item for the Gem Crafting Engineer but I'll save that for tonight. I may keep Reyn in my party long enough to unlock the next Heart to Heart with Sharla, but he'll go into reserve once that's over. I also took on another(possibly the second to last) mission for Leeter, the woman trying to get the Lt. Commander position for the Colony 9 Defense Force. I'm actually debating how I should complete this mission since it has two different ways of being handled. Decisions...decisions...

[Roto13]

I was having so much fun before that boss in Sword Valley killed me like twenty times even though I breezed through everything leading up to him. Now I'm in Galahad Fortress losing to another boss for the same reason I lost to the first one: I'm being ganged up on by a boss and all of its stupid little friends. I'm at level 50. I shouldn't be getting killed every fifteen seconds, and I'm sure as tit not going to go grind.

[Wolf Kanno]

I'm slowly moving ahead in the plot. I just picked up Melia. Her skills and Arts look interesting, I'll have to switch to her to see how she plays. I honestly thought I was going to get the Nopon character next but this is a nice surprise as well, though she is a bit arrogant so far, considering the circumstances of how we met.

I'm curious to see how the game interprets a more traditional mage character. Makna Forest is very pretty and easy to get lost in. The game does a pretty good job creating the sense of a deep wood, which is surprising since what I've explored of the place, it's a more linear design than the previous area. The game is doing a great job with mixing up the types of dungeon layouts. Basically alternating between open and linear which makes both types really shine as you don't necessarily get bored with too much exploration or too straightforward travel. The fact I could jump off the rope bridge into the huge river below and swim around to check it out was pretty awesome and just another testament to the awesome craftsmanship of the designers.

The new Monado skill I unlocked sounds very intriguing. I've been picking up Spike-type gems and armor for awhile now, so it will be interesting to see how the enemies use this feature. The fact I need the new skill to neutralize abilities that prevent me from even landing a blow is an intriguing concept and so I hope the Spike element makes battles even more fun. I like how the game finds new ways to keep combat interesting. I'm over 40 hours in and I'm still having fun with combat.

[edczxcvbnm]

I have to be near the end of the game. I am level 77 and there is only one map that I have not been to according to the collection sheet thingy =P The cut scenes and story do pick up greatly at some point but not to a crazy extent.

My party for the entire game has been Shulk, Dunban and Sharla...until now. This boss seems to need actual strategy. It would also help if my teammates had the brains to stay out of damaging liquids >:o

[Fynn]

I have to be near the end of the game. I am level 77 and there is only one map that I have not been to according to the collection sheet thingy =P The cut scenes and story do pick up greatly at some point but not to a crazy extent.

My party for the entire game has been Shulk, Dunban and Sharla...until now. This boss seems to need actual strategy. It would also help if my teammates had the brains to stay out of damaging liquids >:o

I think that's the boss battle I wa at when I accidentally erased my save file. Ist it her? You know who I have in mind.

[edczxcvbnm]

You are correct. It is that bitch. I have beaten the game and I did not foresee how everything would go down in the end. Very nicely wrapped up story wise.

Overall I think the game need to be explored more from a gameplay perspective. In this world of MMOs and Western RPGs, I think the quests and exploration aspects fell well short of the goal. Outside of the battle that shall not be named, I was never in a position where I had to change up my party and explore different battle strategies.

Not a bad game but I don't really think it is worth all of the hype that it received. Maybe it is just because it is one of a handful of JRPGs this generation that it stands out? You don't have to agree with so long as you understand you are wrong ;D

[Wolf Kanno]

I don't know, I've been actually having a fun time changing out party members just because everyone plays differently and have very precise roles, it breaks up the monotony of just playing as one guy, thank god. Melia is an intriguing character who first buffs your party up and then murders creatures with elemental magic Burst. She has a very interesting design since it all revolves around using an Art and then activating it's secondary power by using the Talent Art and the first wave buff skills meant I could drop some Auras and gems from my other parties set-up. Riki himself is pretty much a typical Takahashi character, a harmless and adorable creature who is actually one of the games better party members, with his debuff skills, high HP, good damage output, and he's designed around allowing you to pull off more Chain Attacks. He's even pretty charming if you can get past his annoying voice. I just defeated the Telethia/DinoBeast and I'm finally back on my way, to try and reach the head. It looks like I have my full party now, and I must say it's a pretty well rounded team overall. Riki's intro actually made me burst out laughing, and Melia has finally grown on my now that's I've done a few side-quests and a Heart to Heart with her that brought up a few things that made her pretty interesting besides her big "not-so-secret" secret. I've really enjoyed Makana Forest. It's a pretty beautiful place and the monsters were interesting. I finally had a battle go horribly wrong due to my party set-up. I think I made things worse in Colony 9, due to my decisions to help Captain Leeter (she's pissed at me and has disappeared) and Shulk's other childhood friend who appears to be a possible love interest for the towns major poet. Colony 6 is slowly getting finished but my quests have dried up there. My only beef with the Nopon is that they all look alike when they are next to the nameless NPC and the Frontier Village is HUGE. Making getting back to quest givers a pain in the ass, since this town seems to have more quests that require returning to the quest giver than the other towns so far. School is almost out, I should be able to finally dedicate more time to it by then.

[edczxcvbnm]

I don't change my characters out because I found a terrific strategy for all encounters. I would feel like a fool to not go with it. Maybe there are better strategies for certain situations or maybe a better overall one but since nothing is challenging, I am not encouraged to try and figure out a new one.

I will tell you this, that one boss fight I mentioned above did force me to alter my party and it was exciting to try new combinations until I found one that worked. It would be great to have to tweak my party every other dungeon to find the team that works best for that area. But if this was Halo and everything was a wide open field, I am not dropping that sniper rifle to try something new...just to change it up. That is not who I am. By changing it up from a wide open field to narrow corridors, I switch up my weapons to find the next best option. I debate what weapon to take with me not knowing what the next area will bring. That is exciting!

[Wolf Kanno]

I don't change my characters out because I found a terrific strategy for all encounters. I would feel like a fool to not go with it. Maybe there are better strategies for certain situations or maybe a better overall one but since nothing is challenging, I am not encouraged to try and figure out a new one.

I will tell you this, that one boss fight I mentioned above did force me to alter my party and it was exciting to try new combinations until I found one that worked. It would be great to have to tweak my party every other dungeon to find the team that works best for that area. But if this was Halo and everything was a wide open field, I am not dropping that sniper rifle to try something new...just to change it up. That is not who I am. By changing it up from a wide open field to narrow corridors, I switch up my weapons to find the next best option. I debate what weapon to take with me not knowing what the next area will bring. That is exciting!

I'm not going to argue but I feel that unless an JRPG has Megami Tensei in the title, then chances are very high the game is not going to offer up much of a challenge; so switching it up is more of just a chance to experieince everything rather than finding an effctive strategy. I've been switching out party members largely for the sake of variety. I've been doing all the side missions and it gets boring using the same party. I especially appreciate that several character play very differently from each other because that makes switching out new leaders more fun and productive. I don't think I've ever played a mage character in an action rpg/semi-action rpg that was quite as fun as using Melia. I probably should give Riki a whirl as well since his skill set is very interesting since he's kind of a Green Mage from FFTA2 in theory. I think Reyn is the only character who kind of got thrown into permanent sidelines since Dunban does his role as well (though not as effective) and fits my playstyle better. If Melia only had an Esuna style ability like Sharla, I would probably ditch Sharla for her instead since, Melia is a great offenseive character with some good healing abilities.

Anyway... I didn't accomplish much this evening besides trying to finish up a ton of sidequests in Frontier Villafe. I couldn't complete the Mark Hunt where you face the one creature at the Eks Watering Hole on a hot day , whatever that means. So I finally jumped into the Eryth Sea now that I've reached the 60 hour mark of the game. I finally reached the point where the mission grinding has kind of screwed the story difficulty, as I am 10 levels higher than everything in the area barring the level 80-90 creature just hanging around to make me have a bad day when I start to feel cocky. I may just begin to make a straight jump to the plot since everyone in this thread has remarked that Eryth Sea/Prison Tower is a bit of a turning point in the story.

[Fynn]

I don't change my characters out because I found a terrific strategy for all encounters. I would feel like a fool to not go with it. Maybe there are better strategies for certain situations or maybe a better overall one but since nothing is challenging, I am not encouraged to try and figure out a new one.

I will tell you this, that one boss fight I mentioned above did force me to alter my party and it was exciting to try new combinations until I found one that worked. It would be great to have to tweak my party every other dungeon to find the team that works best for that area. But if this was Halo and everything was a wide open field, I am not dropping that sniper rifle to try something new...just to change it up. That is not who I am. By changing it up from a wide open field to narrow corridors, I switch up my weapons to find the next best option. I debate what weapon to take with me not knowing what the next area will bring. That is exciting!

I'm not going to argue but I feel that unless an JRPG has Megami Tensei in the title, then chances are very high the game is not going to offer up much of a challenge; so switching it up is more of just a chance to experieince everything rather than finding an effctive strategy. I've been switching out party members largely for the sake of variety. I've been doing all the side missions and it gets boring using the same party. I especially appreciate that several character play very differently from each other because that makes switching out new leaders more fun and productive. I don't think I've ever played a mage character in an action rpg/semi-action rpg that was quite as fun as using Melia. I probably should give Riki a whirl as well since his skill set is very interesting since he's kind of a Green Mage from FFTA2 in theory. I think Reyn is the only character who kind of got thrown into permanent sidelines since Dunban does his role as well (though not as effective) and fits my playstyle better. If Melia only had an Esuna style ability like Sharla, I would probably ditch Sharla for her instead since, Melia is a great offenseive character with some good healing abilities.

Anyway... I didn't accomplish much this evening besides trying to finish up a ton of sidequests in Frontier Villafe. I couldn't complete the Mark Hunt where you face the one creature at the Eks Watering Hole on a hot day , whatever that means. So I finally jumped into the Eryth Sea now that I've reached the 60 hour mark of the game. I finally reached the point where the mission grinding has kind of screwed the story difficulty, as I am 10 levels higher than everything in the area barring the level 80-90 creature just hanging around to make me have a bad day when I start to feel cocky. I may just begin to make a straight jump to the plot since everyone in this thread has remarked that Eryth Sea/Prison Tower is a bit of a turning point in the story.

I had problems with the Ekses as well. The day is hot whenever you can see the air sort of ripple, as in you can see a reddish haze, as far as I can remember.

[Del Murder]

I bought Xenoblade! Too bad I'm way too busy to play it right now...

[black orb]

>>> I love this game, the recent FF games look like dirt compared to it.. :luca:

My only gripe with this game are the item/equipment/map/etc menus, they are terrible..

[Roto13]

Nothing wrong with the map menu. Equipment management is kind of crap, though.

[edczxcvbnm]

>>> I love this game, the recent FF games look like dirt compared to it.. :luca:

My only gripe with this game are the item/equipment/map/etc menus, they are terrible..


Nothing wrong with the map menu. Equipment management is kind of crap, though.

I did not have a problem with the maps other than it was slow loading.

But as for the other stuff....THANK YOU!

[Wolf Kanno]

My computer is not happy with me right now, which is why I have not been able to post my progression for awhile, but I'm being sneaky on a friends PC to update.

I've reached the Mechonis Hand and acquired who I believe is the final party meber Fiora. Didn't quite see that coming. The plot has been amazing in the last few sections and its finally moving away from the simple premise that's been pushing the party along for awhile. Anyway, I hope to give more detail thoughts later on after I get a new PC.

[black orb]

Equipment management is kind of crap, though.
>>> Most of the item management is kind of crap, if I dont sell stuff from time to time I get the item bag full in no time.. It also need a quick way (just one button) to access the map, and the lack of HD make things hard to see on the top-right corner of the screen mini map..:luca:

[Roto13]

Have you tried pressing the minus button?

[black orb]

>>> That button "1" I guess, yeah I discovered it recently.. :luca:
BTW, I really hate the wiimote..

[Del Murder]

I'm really enjoying this game. It feels like a spiritual successor to FFXII. It's taking many of the things that game did right and expanding on them. I'm not sure why SE didn't do this themselves instead of going in a completely different direction with XIII but that's off topic.

I love the thought that things are included in this game just to make it more fun. Who cares if there's really no explanation on how you can fast travel or change the time at will, or why you don't need to return to the NPC to finish the material quests. Having those options makes the game a whole lot more enjoyable and user friendly and I love it.

So far I'm at Bionis Knee and I just got Sharla. I had the same reaction as WK when I first got here: 'hello Gran Pulse as the third area of the game'. It's wonderful and it actually reminds me of FFXI where the mobs have their own little family units and areas they keep to. Killing random NMs is also fun even when it's not part of a quest. Also seeing the high level baddies lurking places gives the game a nice element of danger for when you are ridiculously leveled for the rest of the area (which I am now due to all the questing and exploring).

The characters so far are ok. Nothing special but certainly not annoying brats like some games. Their faces are weird looking though.

[Wolf Kanno]

I'm pretty sure I am at the end of the game Mechonis is gone, and Zanza has been reborn so I'm heading towards the interiro of the Bionis . I'm over 165 hours on my clock and my party level is about 94. I'm trying to unlock the last of the characters skills trees but Sharla's hasn't popped up yet which means it must have to do with Colony 6's sidequest.

The plot has really picked up and became a roller coaster ride with several plot twists I didn't quite see coming. I really love how the game gives you so many "The Final Dungeon....NOT!" to keep you on your toes in the last parts of the story.

There are a lot of things I would love to discuss but I'm probably going to save them for after I finish the game. The game does so many things right for the JRPG genre and I agree with Del that the game is definetly the spiritual successor to FFXII.

[Mercen-X]

For those wondering, even though you can have a piece of equipment like "Colony Shirt" that can be worn by all the characters, the outfit design is unique for the character it's put on. So the big broly character interprets it like a muscle shirt, the main hero has heavy jacket, and the girl gets a cute top.Sounds awesome. I would have to expect an equipment system like this in a Xeno game or pretty much any game with futuristic technology.

The battle system is pretty fun, which is a relief cause watching videos of it made it look boring, but once you actually get the system down, you realize how in-depth and involving it really is. Gem slots are a cool idea for armor customization and I am quite happy I get XP for finding new territories and completing side quests which is a nice change of pace from just endless battling.This is for the PS3, isn't it? :mad: I won't be able to play it.

Shulk would have been voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch, who is a great VA but he's extremely overexposed, and I don't think I would care to listen to Ichigo/Vash the Stampede for 40+ hours.Hey, now, no need for Bosch-bashing.

[Del Murder]

This game is for Wii.

I can't wait to get to the plot twists that WK mentions. I will say that there is a pretty large twist near the start of the game that I was not prepared for. It made me :(.

[The Captain]

Just made it to Prison Island for the first time.

This game is really mirroring a lot of what happened in Xenogears, though it feels like a much more fleshed out, complete version. Not just in plot points but characters behaving in the same way and certain events playing out as they did in the other game.

It is steadily moving up the list to be among my favorites of all-time.

Take care all.

[black orb]

>>> I beat it already, this one is officially my second fav game ever now..:luca:

I heard some people complain about the ending, but I liked it because it was not pretentious like other RPGs..

[The Captain]

So....... did not see that plot twist coming. For those who passed Prison Island, you know what I'm talking about.

It really is funny, how you can get some obsessed with side quests but then jump right back in to the plot at any moment. I love that aspect. Also, the fact that the side quests are what essentially levels my party up.

My time just became very limited over the next few months but I will be making every effort to continue playing.

Take care all.

[Del Murder]

Anyone know a good way to raise affinity between party members? Is there a trick to it?

[The Captain]

There are a few ways:

Fighting battles with the current party builds affinity, when you use chain attacks, dodge attacks or encourage one another.

Doing the crazy number of sidequests builds it quite well.

Giving "Presents" to each other through the inventory section of the menu. Certain items are more liked and appreciated then others and I'm sure you can find a chart by looking on-line.

Essentially, anytime you see heart icons appear in the lower third of your screen the affinity is being raised through your actions. This also means that once you have more then 3 party members, which is coming fairly soon for you Del, you'll want to swap characters out periodically because you can only build affinity with active members. This means also putting other characters in the lead as well.

Take care all.

[Vyk]

Ah I miss this game. The Wii was all I had for a while since my house fire. But now I'm back in my old house waiting for a company to finish up with my electronics and get them back my way so I can have a TV and play this again. I was playing it on a loaned TV the insurance company set up for me. I'm gonna be so behind

[Del Murder]

Who do you guys like playing as the most in this game? I try to play as all the characters when I first get them, but I just got Melia and I think I like playing as her the best. Her summons are pretty fun to use and they have short timers which means I can fire them off rapidly. Shulk is also fun to play since he has a lot of damage potential.

Also you can tell this game was designed by men because some of the famale outfits are just...inappropriate.

I think I'm only a third of the way into the game and I've already played for 40 hours! That's pretty nuts. You know you are playing a great game when the clock shows this huge playtime and it doesn't even feel like it.

[Wolf Kanno]

At the end of the day, I think Dunban, Riki, Fiora, and Melia were my favorite characters to play as. Sharla is interesting but also a bit annoying, so I never had problems leaving her to the A.I. to handle since it was a bit better about not overloading her ether gun as I was. Shulk was pretty fun as well but I never felt as inclined to use all his abilities like the top four I mentioned, and Reyn was usually more fun when I built him into an offensive fighter but I often needed him more as a tank which was less fun to play as.

My final time in the game was close to 200 hours, and I actually got my party up to the 95-99 level range. Unfortunately, this made the final boss fight a cakewalk, which was a bit sad cause I can tell the fight had some interesting visual effects going on in it but they never lasted because I just destroyed the final boss. The ending was actually pretty damn good and I love how the last parts of the plot really makes you realize you are dealing with the Xeno team because I mean damn... The last section of the final dungeon is one of the coolest looking dungeons I think I've ever played.

This game is definetly the best JRPG of this console generation. I'm looking forward to The Last Story, but I don't think it's going to really top Xenoblade in the overall production and WOW factor.

[Del Murder]

I like playing as Dunban too, especially since I gave him Haste and Double Attack on his weapon to make him an offensive machine. :D

[Wolf Kanno]

Wait until you learn his skill in his skill tree that gives his critical hits the Drain effect. Combo that with his Aura that makes all of his attacks critical hits for a limited time and he becomes a beast. The game really makes sure the player knows that Dunban is the biggest badass in the party. Considering he's one of the few characters who gets actual anti-Mechon melee weapons that don't require the Monado to be useful...

[KentaRawr!]

So, this is like, that firefighting game right?

[Fynn]

Wait until you learn his skill in his skill tree that gives his critical hits the Drain effect. Combo that with his Aura that makes all of his attacks critical hits for a limited time and he becomes a beast. The game really makes sure the player knows that Dunban is the biggest badass in the party. Considering he's one of the few characters who gets actual anti-Mechon melee weapons that don't require the Monado to be useful...

Doesn't he get those skills that basically make him better suited for running around naked?

[Wolf Kanno]

He does, but I find once you give him gear with level 6 stats boost items in the slots, he breaks out even with the stat boosts bonuses gained from no equipment. Before that though... he's pretty mean with those skills.

[Bolivar]

The game does so many things right for the JRPG genre and I agree with Del that the game is definetly the spiritual successor to FFXII.

You guys just made me :omg: