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!

[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 smurf 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.

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