Highly recommend it if you’ve never watched a shonen anime before so you’ll think it’s doing something new
Turns out every fan of this game I knew said it was a masterpiece because it is, crazy.
The full commitment to a world map with the scale and scope of a WoW like MMO is what makes Xenoblade Chronicles stand out from its peers at the time of its release on the rinky dink Wii, still being impressive after all these years just how vast and expansive its environments are, as you walk around on top of two colossal titans frozen in combat, a wholly inspired setting for a fantasy tale. More so than FFXII, the ability to peruse the whole landscape ahead of you and all of its critters walking around, without being sucked into a pocket dimension for a turn based combat each time you take two steps, reinforces the thought that this is how every modern JRPG should strive to be.
It is unfortunate then that XC goes and spends a little too much time with its hand on the MMO cookie jar. As you inevitably start engaging with its side content, and you find yourself killing and collecting a list of seemingly irrelevant monsters and items, it's quickly understood that XC is not about to make an effort to make you care for these menial and meaningless tasks or the polygon people who ask you to do so. Being self aware of such shortcomings, XC even goes as far as completing most of your quests the moment you finish your grocery list, not even requiring you to deliver the goods to the NPCs who asked for them in the first place. Cause walking back would be too much of a hassle, no?
XC wants to be your mistress, making an effort to give you a pleasant, annoyance and stress free adventure without any of the hassle that plagues older entries in the genre. The consequence is that when you find yourself skipping every line of dialogue from NPCs because you can easily access their requests on a menu and have the map spell out the fetch quest's location, being invested in the world of XC and the plight of its people no longer becomes something the player is willing to put effort into. Everything is commodified in XC for the player's pleasure, from the enemies identified with their power level and items floating around in the world as blue orbs, to the ability to change time and fast travel at will or the personal moments between characters being just tokens on the map to tick off.
These problems are then exacerbated by a combat system that quickly loses it's lustre, as you realize you can brute force your way through the entire game by spamming every attack and waiting for their cooldown, turning every RPG menu system a nuisance to interact with, and a story so tropey and cliche, that if you have been playing games as long as I have, you have definitely seen numerous times before (and done better). I can definitely see how XC would inspire and impress a younger crowd if it was their first experience with the genre. But standing here now as a bitter old Gamer™, and rolling my eyes as a love triangle is solved by having the third wheel sacrificing himself, or the main character spewing out free will diatribes for the 100th time in the whole game, it's very hard to come out of Xenoblade Chronicles not feeling like I played something incredibly outdated. A game that ticks off all the checkboxes, to it's own detriment.
It is unfortunate then that XC goes and spends a little too much time with its hand on the MMO cookie jar. As you inevitably start engaging with its side content, and you find yourself killing and collecting a list of seemingly irrelevant monsters and items, it's quickly understood that XC is not about to make an effort to make you care for these menial and meaningless tasks or the polygon people who ask you to do so. Being self aware of such shortcomings, XC even goes as far as completing most of your quests the moment you finish your grocery list, not even requiring you to deliver the goods to the NPCs who asked for them in the first place. Cause walking back would be too much of a hassle, no?
XC wants to be your mistress, making an effort to give you a pleasant, annoyance and stress free adventure without any of the hassle that plagues older entries in the genre. The consequence is that when you find yourself skipping every line of dialogue from NPCs because you can easily access their requests on a menu and have the map spell out the fetch quest's location, being invested in the world of XC and the plight of its people no longer becomes something the player is willing to put effort into. Everything is commodified in XC for the player's pleasure, from the enemies identified with their power level and items floating around in the world as blue orbs, to the ability to change time and fast travel at will or the personal moments between characters being just tokens on the map to tick off.
These problems are then exacerbated by a combat system that quickly loses it's lustre, as you realize you can brute force your way through the entire game by spamming every attack and waiting for their cooldown, turning every RPG menu system a nuisance to interact with, and a story so tropey and cliche, that if you have been playing games as long as I have, you have definitely seen numerous times before (and done better). I can definitely see how XC would inspire and impress a younger crowd if it was their first experience with the genre. But standing here now as a bitter old Gamer™, and rolling my eyes as a love triangle is solved by having the third wheel sacrificing himself, or the main character spewing out free will diatribes for the 100th time in the whole game, it's very hard to come out of Xenoblade Chronicles not feeling like I played something incredibly outdated. A game that ticks off all the checkboxes, to it's own detriment.
it's the biggest piece of dogshit
rare W from the british
world class voice acting, great music and fantastic environment design thrown away on one-note character writing, unbearable collectathon sidequesting and, worst of all, a mmo knockoff combat system that makes no sense in a single player format
overall still positive because it's a beafutiful game and a fun adventure to play through once, but as jrpgs go, not the most interesting or memorable
overall still positive because it's a beafutiful game and a fun adventure to play through once, but as jrpgs go, not the most interesting or memorable
This game holds a special place in my heart. It’s the first RPG I ever played that wasn’t Pokemon and though I never finished it 5 years ago, it still left one hell of an impression on me back then. Now that I finally beat it, I’m happy to say that most of what I loved about the game in the past is still just as strong as I remembered it, even if the game’s flaws have become much more apparent to me.
For starters, this story is fantastic. I love how high-stakes the beginning is with how weak and outnumbered the cast feels compared to the Mechon. I love how the game cleverly uses Shulk’s visions to foreshadow future events. I love how the story explores the nature of warfare. I love the art direction, setting, and how grand the game feels. I just love it. I think it’s very well paced too since after every large area you’re rewarded with a climactic cutscene and the story as a whole is so thrilling that I was never really bored at any point. The thing that really elevates the story, and the game as a whole would be the OST. As far as I’m concerned, this is Yoko Shimomura’s best work. The soundtrack injects so much life into the landscapes and brings so much emotion to the cutscenes that this is easily the strongest aspect of the game for me.
The only part of the story I was underwhelmed by were the characters. They’re likeable and very well voice acted but there’s not a lot to them so I never really got invested. Most of them develop as the game goes along but I’d be lying if I said I found any of it to be very memorable. The game does have some compelling character moments in the form of Heart-to-Hearts, but the problem is that most of them take an insanely long time to be unlocked so by the time you get most of them, the game is almost over.
As for gameplay, I initially found it to feel very samey and it takes a while to open up, but once you get more party members and can experiment with different party setups, it becomes quite fun. The game also gets bonus points for letting you remove the MC from your party without it being a death wish. The only thing that I’m not fond of are the visions you see in combat. They’re a really cool concept but the fact you can’t skip them really hurts the pacing of battles, and you’re basically spammed with them whenever you fight a stronger enemy which just gets annoying.
Then there’s the side content which I initially completely neglected when I first played the game. This time around I tried doing as much of it as possible but I honestly regret it because the game really goes for quantity over quality with about 90% of sidequests being the same type of kill or fetch quest. Majority of these quests don’t even give you EXP, only money which you get more than enough of by just playing the game and selling outdated equipment which makes doing them feel like a complete waste of time. The Colony 6 reconstruction stuff was worthwhile though and there’s probably some better side content that I’m not aware of, but I’m still let down by this aspect of the game overall.
Heading into Xenoblade again, I was worried that my fond memories of the game could just be attributed to nostalgia, but no, this game is genuinely great and I'm happy to have finally beaten it after all these years.
For starters, this story is fantastic. I love how high-stakes the beginning is with how weak and outnumbered the cast feels compared to the Mechon. I love how the game cleverly uses Shulk’s visions to foreshadow future events. I love how the story explores the nature of warfare. I love the art direction, setting, and how grand the game feels. I just love it. I think it’s very well paced too since after every large area you’re rewarded with a climactic cutscene and the story as a whole is so thrilling that I was never really bored at any point. The thing that really elevates the story, and the game as a whole would be the OST. As far as I’m concerned, this is Yoko Shimomura’s best work. The soundtrack injects so much life into the landscapes and brings so much emotion to the cutscenes that this is easily the strongest aspect of the game for me.
The only part of the story I was underwhelmed by were the characters. They’re likeable and very well voice acted but there’s not a lot to them so I never really got invested. Most of them develop as the game goes along but I’d be lying if I said I found any of it to be very memorable. The game does have some compelling character moments in the form of Heart-to-Hearts, but the problem is that most of them take an insanely long time to be unlocked so by the time you get most of them, the game is almost over.
As for gameplay, I initially found it to feel very samey and it takes a while to open up, but once you get more party members and can experiment with different party setups, it becomes quite fun. The game also gets bonus points for letting you remove the MC from your party without it being a death wish. The only thing that I’m not fond of are the visions you see in combat. They’re a really cool concept but the fact you can’t skip them really hurts the pacing of battles, and you’re basically spammed with them whenever you fight a stronger enemy which just gets annoying.
Then there’s the side content which I initially completely neglected when I first played the game. This time around I tried doing as much of it as possible but I honestly regret it because the game really goes for quantity over quality with about 90% of sidequests being the same type of kill or fetch quest. Majority of these quests don’t even give you EXP, only money which you get more than enough of by just playing the game and selling outdated equipment which makes doing them feel like a complete waste of time. The Colony 6 reconstruction stuff was worthwhile though and there’s probably some better side content that I’m not aware of, but I’m still let down by this aspect of the game overall.
Heading into Xenoblade again, I was worried that my fond memories of the game could just be attributed to nostalgia, but no, this game is genuinely great and I'm happy to have finally beaten it after all these years.
A former child actor in my high school told me that he had 4 copies of this game, and that I can have one of them. It took him like a month, but eventually he gave me a copy before classes one day when the game was still like $80. I don't know if he was lying or what, but I got a copy of Xenoblade when that was a really big deal and I was pumped. I then proceeded to play it and it absolutely floored me. I wonder if he really did have 4 copies, or just lied because he wanted me to be his friend or something.
El primer Xenoblade Chronicles tiene una historia interesante sobre cómo llegó a ser el juego que se conoce a día de hoy. El equipo de Monolith Soft desanimado por las ventas de sus últimos proyectos para este juego decidieron enfocarse en la idea de “Hacer el mejor rpg que puedan”. Con esa idea presente decidieron hacer un juego que no dependiera de otras propiedades intelectuales y que destacara por sí solo. Su mismo nombre se podría considerar como una coincidencia irónica, es un juego que posee el título de Xeno. Sin embargo, nunca fue intención en su desarrollo que este perteneciera a dicha franquicia. Esto explica lo diferente que se puede llegar a sentir esta entrega en comparación con sus secuelas.
Este juego trata sobre el conflicto entre dos grandes titanes, Bionis y Mechonis. Los personajes de este mundo viven sobre estos, los héroes de la historia habitan en Bionis mientras que los villanos provienen de Mechonis. Shulk es el personaje del cual tomas su rol, portando una misteriosa espada roja llamada Monado debes buscar venganza sobre los habitantes de Mechonis luego que estos atacaran la colonia donde vive.
Si hay algo por el cual este juego destaca sobre sus secuelas es su excelente ritmo. En cada momento estás descubriendo algo nuevo sobre el mundo y su historia antigua, conoces nuevos personajes, explorando nuevas zonas, se expande tus opciones en combate, consigues una nueva habilidad. Siempre habrá algo que te mantenga interesado haciéndolo excepcionalmente cómodo de jugar. No me parece raro que haya terminado este juego 4 veces.
El mundo a explorar en esta obra es vasto e impresionante para tratarse de un juego para la Wii. La escala del mundo llega a ser tan inmensa que de inmediato genera una sensación de querer explorar cada rincón. No obstante, el diseño de este mapa tiene ciertos problemas. Mientras que su escala es de admirar, la baja velocidad a la que se mueven los personajes pueden hacer que haya varios momentos donde lo único que haces es caminar por las largas distancias que se deben recorrer, en varias zonas esto no es problemático por como están diseñadas, ya sea por el posicionamiento de enemigos, el añadido más de una ruta para tomar o interconexión entre varias áreas. En algunas zonas por el contrario solo se encuentran grandes planicies donde lo único que debes hacer es moverte hacia adelante sin nada para hacer más interesante la exploración. Por suerte cada zona se siente muy distintas la una de la otra, en varias incluso apoyando mucho a la historia con la narrativa que algunos escenarios representan. Esto último es más prominente en la segunda mitad del juego donde llegas al mundo donde habitan tus enemigos. Aquí es donde el juego cambia su diseño de zonas abiertas a un diseño de dungeons intrincadas, para ese punto es un cambio bienvenido y representa de forma interesante lo diferente que se siente Bionis y Mechonis entre sí.
Los seres que habitan el mundo de Xenoblade en forma de NPCs son los encargados de darle más vida y ofrecer el contenido opcional. Cada juego de esta franquicia ofrece mucho contenido por fuera de la historia principal e incluso contenido para luego de terminar esta. Cada ciudad principal tiene su buena cantidad de habitantes cada uno con nombre propio y relaciones con otros. Aquí es donde entra la mecánica del Affinity Chart, de forma resumida se trata de un árbol donde se muestran todas las relaciones entre personajes. La construcción de este consiste en realizar misiones secundarias que nos ofrecen los npc, varias de estas misiones pueden generar cambios en el affinity chart. Entre más misiones secundarias hagas mas se desarrollara la ciudad de la cual pertenezca el npc que la asignó, con un par desarrollando más de una ciudad al mismo tiempo. El desarrollo de una ciudad implica mejoras en los objetos que puedes conseguir en ellas y nuevas misiones secundarias se hacen disponibles. Esta mecánica es una que varios no quisieron enfocarse. La enorme cantidad de misiones secundarias que se deben realizar para desarrollar por completo una sola ciudad puede ser abrumadora. Esto puede ser compensado por las historias independientes que ofrecen las misiones secundarias, pero por lastima varias de estas no logran generar gran interés. También este juego cuenta con una misión secundaria mucho más grande que cualquier otra que consiste en la reconstrucción de una colonia. Se trata de la misión de recoleta más larga y complicada del juego, las recompensas que se reciben de esta son muy valiosas y ver la colonia reconstruida es satisfactorio pero por lo tardado del proceso puede dejar harto. Es una distracción de la historia principal interesante pero que es entendible que no muchos la terminan al completo. En general así se puede resumir el contenido secundario de este juego, distracción momentánea pero no una que genere el interés de invertir mucho tiempo en esta.
El sistema de combate de Xenobalde Chronicles presenta una propuesta curiosa, más cercano a lo que se vería en un combate de un MMO con ataques automáticos y habilidades con tiempos de recarga. Al inicio puede ser algo extraño acostumbrarse pero luego que entiendes lo básico resulta interesante empezar a experimentar sus posibilidades. El problema es que sus opciones no evolucionan mucho más de lo básico. Consigues nuevas artes, mejor equipamiento, mejoras a tus personajes entre más, pero no hay nada que haga los enfrentamientos variar de forma sustancial. Este problema se hace más notorio cuando ya estás en la segunda mitad del juego, para ese punto no hay mucho más que el juego pueda darte para mantenerte enganchado en su combate. Lo más recomendable es variar de personaje al cual controlas, estos entre sí son bastante distintos de jugar y el variar a quien controla puede evitar que se haga tan repetitivo el sistema. Pero incluso con eso notas como cada uno de los personajes no pueden ser más de lo que sus artes establecidas le dejan que sean, puedes modificar su equipamiento para hacerlos algo distintos pero nada que impacte considerablemente. Es un sistema de combate funcional pero nada destacable a la larga.
Otro punto donde el juego flaquea seria en varios personajes de su cast principal, ninguno es malo per se, pero a excepción de Shulk y Melia ninguno posee un arco con desarrollo interesante. Reyn aprende que puede ser útil sin vivir en la sombra de Shulk, Sharla lidia con la pérdida de su prometido buscando valor en su nuevo viaje, Dunban actúa como mentor de Shulk y juntos aprenden sobre cómo se puede ser nublado por los impulsos y Riki es Riki (es genial). Mientras que en papel cada arco puede sonar interesante. El juego les da poco tiempo a cada uno de estos quitando cualquier peso que podrían tener. Es un cast en general agradable pero uno donde se nota el potencial desperdiciado en varios de estos.
La historia en términos generales funciona bien, cada evento se siente de valor y usa de forma increíble el foreshadowing lo que hace muy disfrutable rejugar el juego y notar todo lo que no entendías para ese punto. También posee giros muy bien planeados que cambian como ves tu viaje hasta ese punto. Aunque donde más presenta problemas su historia es su último arco. El villano principal de la historia mientras que no es malo per se por lo tardada que es su aparición y lo poco que se ve de él hace que no genere el impacto de villanos anteriores, su inclusión en la historia es interesante junto a las implicaciones y dilemas que trae consigo y por suerte futuras entregas se encargaron de explorar más su personaje ya que esta primera aparición lo hace ver como un villano poco profundo. También que la historia empieza para ese punto usar más conveniencias para solucionar sus conflictos, no es nada que daña la historia en general pero es discordante considerando lo plausible que venía siendo el juego en arcos anteriores. Aun así se ve compensado con una muy buena pelea final y satisfactoria conclusión.
Xenoblade Chronicles es un juego donde varios de sus aspectos están bien construidos pero ninguno aparte del ritmo destaca especialmente. Es un juego cómodo de jugar y que puede llegar a enganchar pero es complicado que cause una gran impresión a largo plazo. Es curioso considerando que varias personas mantienen este juego como la mejor obra de la serie Xenoblade y lo tratan de obra maestra. A mi modo de ver es el peor y varias de sus ideas serían mejor trabajadas luego, aun así no me parece en lo más mínimo un mal juego. Es disfrutable incluso con sus varios problemas y potencial desperdiciado en algunos apartados. A día de hoy me resulta interesante lo que este juego inició y lo mucho que significa para su serie y hasta cierto punto lo respeto por eso mismo.
Este juego trata sobre el conflicto entre dos grandes titanes, Bionis y Mechonis. Los personajes de este mundo viven sobre estos, los héroes de la historia habitan en Bionis mientras que los villanos provienen de Mechonis. Shulk es el personaje del cual tomas su rol, portando una misteriosa espada roja llamada Monado debes buscar venganza sobre los habitantes de Mechonis luego que estos atacaran la colonia donde vive.
Si hay algo por el cual este juego destaca sobre sus secuelas es su excelente ritmo. En cada momento estás descubriendo algo nuevo sobre el mundo y su historia antigua, conoces nuevos personajes, explorando nuevas zonas, se expande tus opciones en combate, consigues una nueva habilidad. Siempre habrá algo que te mantenga interesado haciéndolo excepcionalmente cómodo de jugar. No me parece raro que haya terminado este juego 4 veces.
El mundo a explorar en esta obra es vasto e impresionante para tratarse de un juego para la Wii. La escala del mundo llega a ser tan inmensa que de inmediato genera una sensación de querer explorar cada rincón. No obstante, el diseño de este mapa tiene ciertos problemas. Mientras que su escala es de admirar, la baja velocidad a la que se mueven los personajes pueden hacer que haya varios momentos donde lo único que haces es caminar por las largas distancias que se deben recorrer, en varias zonas esto no es problemático por como están diseñadas, ya sea por el posicionamiento de enemigos, el añadido más de una ruta para tomar o interconexión entre varias áreas. En algunas zonas por el contrario solo se encuentran grandes planicies donde lo único que debes hacer es moverte hacia adelante sin nada para hacer más interesante la exploración. Por suerte cada zona se siente muy distintas la una de la otra, en varias incluso apoyando mucho a la historia con la narrativa que algunos escenarios representan. Esto último es más prominente en la segunda mitad del juego donde llegas al mundo donde habitan tus enemigos. Aquí es donde el juego cambia su diseño de zonas abiertas a un diseño de dungeons intrincadas, para ese punto es un cambio bienvenido y representa de forma interesante lo diferente que se siente Bionis y Mechonis entre sí.
Los seres que habitan el mundo de Xenoblade en forma de NPCs son los encargados de darle más vida y ofrecer el contenido opcional. Cada juego de esta franquicia ofrece mucho contenido por fuera de la historia principal e incluso contenido para luego de terminar esta. Cada ciudad principal tiene su buena cantidad de habitantes cada uno con nombre propio y relaciones con otros. Aquí es donde entra la mecánica del Affinity Chart, de forma resumida se trata de un árbol donde se muestran todas las relaciones entre personajes. La construcción de este consiste en realizar misiones secundarias que nos ofrecen los npc, varias de estas misiones pueden generar cambios en el affinity chart. Entre más misiones secundarias hagas mas se desarrollara la ciudad de la cual pertenezca el npc que la asignó, con un par desarrollando más de una ciudad al mismo tiempo. El desarrollo de una ciudad implica mejoras en los objetos que puedes conseguir en ellas y nuevas misiones secundarias se hacen disponibles. Esta mecánica es una que varios no quisieron enfocarse. La enorme cantidad de misiones secundarias que se deben realizar para desarrollar por completo una sola ciudad puede ser abrumadora. Esto puede ser compensado por las historias independientes que ofrecen las misiones secundarias, pero por lastima varias de estas no logran generar gran interés. También este juego cuenta con una misión secundaria mucho más grande que cualquier otra que consiste en la reconstrucción de una colonia. Se trata de la misión de recoleta más larga y complicada del juego, las recompensas que se reciben de esta son muy valiosas y ver la colonia reconstruida es satisfactorio pero por lo tardado del proceso puede dejar harto. Es una distracción de la historia principal interesante pero que es entendible que no muchos la terminan al completo. En general así se puede resumir el contenido secundario de este juego, distracción momentánea pero no una que genere el interés de invertir mucho tiempo en esta.
El sistema de combate de Xenobalde Chronicles presenta una propuesta curiosa, más cercano a lo que se vería en un combate de un MMO con ataques automáticos y habilidades con tiempos de recarga. Al inicio puede ser algo extraño acostumbrarse pero luego que entiendes lo básico resulta interesante empezar a experimentar sus posibilidades. El problema es que sus opciones no evolucionan mucho más de lo básico. Consigues nuevas artes, mejor equipamiento, mejoras a tus personajes entre más, pero no hay nada que haga los enfrentamientos variar de forma sustancial. Este problema se hace más notorio cuando ya estás en la segunda mitad del juego, para ese punto no hay mucho más que el juego pueda darte para mantenerte enganchado en su combate. Lo más recomendable es variar de personaje al cual controlas, estos entre sí son bastante distintos de jugar y el variar a quien controla puede evitar que se haga tan repetitivo el sistema. Pero incluso con eso notas como cada uno de los personajes no pueden ser más de lo que sus artes establecidas le dejan que sean, puedes modificar su equipamiento para hacerlos algo distintos pero nada que impacte considerablemente. Es un sistema de combate funcional pero nada destacable a la larga.
Otro punto donde el juego flaquea seria en varios personajes de su cast principal, ninguno es malo per se, pero a excepción de Shulk y Melia ninguno posee un arco con desarrollo interesante. Reyn aprende que puede ser útil sin vivir en la sombra de Shulk, Sharla lidia con la pérdida de su prometido buscando valor en su nuevo viaje, Dunban actúa como mentor de Shulk y juntos aprenden sobre cómo se puede ser nublado por los impulsos y Riki es Riki (es genial). Mientras que en papel cada arco puede sonar interesante. El juego les da poco tiempo a cada uno de estos quitando cualquier peso que podrían tener. Es un cast en general agradable pero uno donde se nota el potencial desperdiciado en varios de estos.
La historia en términos generales funciona bien, cada evento se siente de valor y usa de forma increíble el foreshadowing lo que hace muy disfrutable rejugar el juego y notar todo lo que no entendías para ese punto. También posee giros muy bien planeados que cambian como ves tu viaje hasta ese punto. Aunque donde más presenta problemas su historia es su último arco. El villano principal de la historia mientras que no es malo per se por lo tardada que es su aparición y lo poco que se ve de él hace que no genere el impacto de villanos anteriores, su inclusión en la historia es interesante junto a las implicaciones y dilemas que trae consigo y por suerte futuras entregas se encargaron de explorar más su personaje ya que esta primera aparición lo hace ver como un villano poco profundo. También que la historia empieza para ese punto usar más conveniencias para solucionar sus conflictos, no es nada que daña la historia en general pero es discordante considerando lo plausible que venía siendo el juego en arcos anteriores. Aun así se ve compensado con una muy buena pelea final y satisfactoria conclusión.
Xenoblade Chronicles es un juego donde varios de sus aspectos están bien construidos pero ninguno aparte del ritmo destaca especialmente. Es un juego cómodo de jugar y que puede llegar a enganchar pero es complicado que cause una gran impresión a largo plazo. Es curioso considerando que varias personas mantienen este juego como la mejor obra de la serie Xenoblade y lo tratan de obra maestra. A mi modo de ver es el peor y varias de sus ideas serían mejor trabajadas luego, aun así no me parece en lo más mínimo un mal juego. Es disfrutable incluso con sus varios problemas y potencial desperdiciado en algunos apartados. A día de hoy me resulta interesante lo que este juego inició y lo mucho que significa para su serie y hasta cierto punto lo respeto por eso mismo.
This game is very enjoyable. I love how alive the world feels and how much impact you can make on it. The quests are fun (Apart from the insane amount of 'kill XX monsters") quests.
The world is so big and beautiful. I love the freedom you have when exploring. There is so much to find and see.
My only issue was the difficult towards the end, but there is always casual mode. I also like the world of the bionis much more than the other world. That is completely just my own bias, because I like nature much more than machines worlds.
I'm excited to play the other games.
The world is so big and beautiful. I love the freedom you have when exploring. There is so much to find and see.
My only issue was the difficult towards the end, but there is always casual mode. I also like the world of the bionis much more than the other world. That is completely just my own bias, because I like nature much more than machines worlds.
I'm excited to play the other games.
I was so confused playing this not long after English release, thinking it was ass, and then a few years later learning that people actually liked this game after it exploded in popularity. Humbling experience.
I thought this game had w/e combat made tedious due to the constant vision interruptions, a cast of mostly nothing characters with the characters that are actually relevant (like 3 of them in the main cast) still not being great, a fairly lame and cliche story only made only slightly better due to the cool setting, and a completely fucking lame final act. But clearly I went wrong somewhere because this is actually one of the greatest games ever made.
I cannot lie though, some story beats really hit me in the feelsies like when Dickson said "Can't say I feel too good about deceiving those kids." near the beginning of the game, powerful stuff.
I thought this game had w/e combat made tedious due to the constant vision interruptions, a cast of mostly nothing characters with the characters that are actually relevant (like 3 of them in the main cast) still not being great, a fairly lame and cliche story only made only slightly better due to the cool setting, and a completely fucking lame final act. But clearly I went wrong somewhere because this is actually one of the greatest games ever made.
I cannot lie though, some story beats really hit me in the feelsies like when Dickson said "Can't say I feel too good about deceiving those kids." near the beginning of the game, powerful stuff.
Years ago, I learned of Xenoblade Chronicles through one of my favorite YouTubers at the time, Chuggaaconroy. Then when i got a New 3DS, that was my first time ever getting a chance to play this game. But that was 5 years ago, and I'm entirely a different person now. And since I recently played through the entirety of Xenosaga, I wanted to go back to Xenoblade, with a new perspective. And god, this game is really peak. I would say it's not as good as Xenosaga Episode III, but Xenoblade Chronicles is still undeniably peak.
Yet again with games like these, I don't want to say anything about the story. But much like the Xenosaga games, there's a lot of themes in the story that are explored really well. But I think these themes are so integral to it, I think it'd be a spoiler exactly mentioning them. Anyway, I also really love the character writing of the games, the main cast has such a great dynamic with eachother, and knowing that I've only really scratched the surface of total character interactions is really interesting. There's such a good found-family dynamic in this game, and I love those types of dynamics.
The combat of the game is really interesting. The earlier Xenosaga games were turn-based, so it's crazy how much of a drastic change there is here. It's hard to describe really, but it's such an interesting system. I love how you have to pay attention to so many things, no battle makes you feel like you're just going through the actions. If you aren't thinking about what your best move is, you could just easily fall in battle. And the customization with arts, skills, equipment and gems, I absolutely love it. Do I know the proper ins-and-outs of how they work? No, but I love trying to figure it out.
I have to really commend the voice acting here. So many of the voice actors have pure, unfiltered emotions in there lines, especially Adam Howden as Shulk. He puts his all into his lines, and you can just feel it.
I did have a couple hiccups while replaying the game. One boss was absolutely terrible, and late game grinding was a slog, but I absolutely loved my time going back through Xenoblade Chronicles. And I know I've still only scratched the surface of the game, and what you can actually do in it. Maybe one day I'll go back and try to see more of what the game offers, but even still, this is a genuine masterpiece.
Yet again with games like these, I don't want to say anything about the story. But much like the Xenosaga games, there's a lot of themes in the story that are explored really well. But I think these themes are so integral to it, I think it'd be a spoiler exactly mentioning them. Anyway, I also really love the character writing of the games, the main cast has such a great dynamic with eachother, and knowing that I've only really scratched the surface of total character interactions is really interesting. There's such a good found-family dynamic in this game, and I love those types of dynamics.
The combat of the game is really interesting. The earlier Xenosaga games were turn-based, so it's crazy how much of a drastic change there is here. It's hard to describe really, but it's such an interesting system. I love how you have to pay attention to so many things, no battle makes you feel like you're just going through the actions. If you aren't thinking about what your best move is, you could just easily fall in battle. And the customization with arts, skills, equipment and gems, I absolutely love it. Do I know the proper ins-and-outs of how they work? No, but I love trying to figure it out.
I have to really commend the voice acting here. So many of the voice actors have pure, unfiltered emotions in there lines, especially Adam Howden as Shulk. He puts his all into his lines, and you can just feel it.
I did have a couple hiccups while replaying the game. One boss was absolutely terrible, and late game grinding was a slog, but I absolutely loved my time going back through Xenoblade Chronicles. And I know I've still only scratched the surface of the game, and what you can actually do in it. Maybe one day I'll go back and try to see more of what the game offers, but even still, this is a genuine masterpiece.
literal balls
everytime i turn this game on it makes me want to crash my fucking car
everytime i turn this game on it makes me want to crash my fucking car
A fantastic gem that falls just short of its sequel and is still leagues below Xenogears. XC1 was a very impressive game in its time, and it still is, as a Wii JRPG that is almost open world despite being extremely linear. While the plot and characters are weaker than what can be found in its sequel, this game is still worth experiencing because the story is still good, the battle system is neat, and the world itself is phenomenal. Everybody needs to experience this whole franchise.
This review contains spoilers
Playtime: ~46 hours
I'm very conflicted with this game. JRPGs take a lot out of you. They are massive time sinks that require you to fall in love with the world, characters, and story in order to drive you forward while having at least serviceable systems in place that keep you engaged in the hours upon hours of gameplay you will undertake. Moment-to-moment actions can often drag but there should be enough there to keep you invested in what you're doing. Xenoblade Chronicles fulfills some of these criteria for a solid JRPG experience for my tastes while also crashing in other areas that make the full experience feel ambitious but underdeveloped.
The greatest strength comes in the world, characters, and story. The only reason I was able to push through my issues with the moment-to-moment gameplay was because I found these elements so compelling. The characters range anywhere between lovable goof-balls like Reyn, cute fur balls like Riki, compelling and dynamic support characters like Fiora, the stoic badass veteran in Dunban, and of course the complex role of the main character Shulk. Each character has a distinct personality and charm to them that rarely gets old. The story takes place on these two massive Titans called the Bionis and the Mechonis (words you will hear constantly throughout the story as if to remind you after the 100th time). The idea of the entire population of the world residing on these two dormant colossi who were once engulfed in a massive battle but who now rest while their inhabitants war against each other is such an interesting concept. As the story unfolds and you continue to learn the secrets of the world and the true history behind the titan's origins and their conflict, the lore and appreciation you feel for the world you are exploring is amplified.
The writing overall is spectacular as well. As mentioned before the main party characters are well-written but even the supporting and side characters are so interestingly portrayed. Characters like Dickson, Alvis, and others are written in such a masterful way which portrays them as always having something more to them. They constantly drop these hints that they know more or are planning more than they let on and each time this happens the resolution to these questions and suspicions you accrue as the player are actually paid off in interesting and fantastic ways. The ending to the story as a whole gets bonkers as well as most JRPGs do with world and galaxy level implications and a plot that has themes surrounding fate, destiny, and godhood. These are the most compelling elements of Xenoblade Chronicles and, though I didn't love the game as a whole, I appreciated getting to the end.
Combat itself isn't my favorite thing in the world. It's not awful by any means. It essentially plays like an MMORPG. Your character auto-attacks as you select different abilities to supplement these auto-attacks which you rotate through as they cooldown. The game also has an interesting way of handling aggro with enemies and your position in relation to the enemy as you will need to place you characters in certain spots for some of your abilities to become more effective. The combat can become a bit redundant and place you on auto-pilot, and additionally I feel strongly that Shulk's move set in particular could have used some extra variety. But overall, it's fun and fast paced when it needs to be.
The main issues I have with this game is the rest of it. The side quests, the level design, the collectables. All of it feels, much like the combat, like an MMO. Except in this case it is an MMO in which the multiplayer component is non-existent. You are often dropped into these sprawling areas which go on for what seem like miles and have various different branching off paths. You often see gigantic enemies in the distance that beckon you to explore their territory or fill you with awe at their sight. There are occasional landmarks that look interesting and encourage you to head toward them. However, in the end there is nothing to do. Exploration is rarely rewarded with anything substantial, traversal takes too much time as there is no way to travel outside of walking. There are fast travel points you can unlock within each level but they serve more as checkpoints than anything else.
Side quests do not incentivize exploration of these ambitious sprawling worlds either. By the time you reach the mid-to-late game, most side quests reward only money which, by that point, you likely have an overabundance of. The only real worthwhile side quests to complete are ones which grant you EXP dumps and even then you may find it quicker to grind by just killing enemies which respawn every time you fast travel. This is not like The Witcher 3 or Skyrim where side quests are compelling enough to warrant completion simply to see what is happening or because there is a small story in there. Instead, to harken back to the MMO comparison, they are these tedious and boring missions that ask you to kill X amount of Y enemy or collect X amount of Y item. There is nothing interesting or compelling about it. It doesn't help that when you do decide to complete a side quest, like say to defeat some enemies, your party constantly screams battle quotes and victory quotes ad nauseam. It got to a point to where I simply blocked their voices out of my head which is kind of absurd.
Xenoblade Chronicles is a game I really wish I loved. It is a game that seems incredibly ambitious for a title originating on the Nintendo Wii. It is one which I fully understand why many felt a special connection to it. I adore the story, world, and characters and will remember them for a long time to come. But, I can't get over how repetitive, redundant, and empty a majority of your time is going to be spent. My advice is to pick this up on Switch, turn on Casual Mode, and just cruise through the main story, picking up some EXP dump side quests or grinding on high level enemies occasionally, simply so you can experience the wonder that is the world of Xenoblade Chronicles. Anything beyond that is just not substantial enough for a higher rating.
I'm very conflicted with this game. JRPGs take a lot out of you. They are massive time sinks that require you to fall in love with the world, characters, and story in order to drive you forward while having at least serviceable systems in place that keep you engaged in the hours upon hours of gameplay you will undertake. Moment-to-moment actions can often drag but there should be enough there to keep you invested in what you're doing. Xenoblade Chronicles fulfills some of these criteria for a solid JRPG experience for my tastes while also crashing in other areas that make the full experience feel ambitious but underdeveloped.
The greatest strength comes in the world, characters, and story. The only reason I was able to push through my issues with the moment-to-moment gameplay was because I found these elements so compelling. The characters range anywhere between lovable goof-balls like Reyn, cute fur balls like Riki, compelling and dynamic support characters like Fiora, the stoic badass veteran in Dunban, and of course the complex role of the main character Shulk. Each character has a distinct personality and charm to them that rarely gets old. The story takes place on these two massive Titans called the Bionis and the Mechonis (words you will hear constantly throughout the story as if to remind you after the 100th time). The idea of the entire population of the world residing on these two dormant colossi who were once engulfed in a massive battle but who now rest while their inhabitants war against each other is such an interesting concept. As the story unfolds and you continue to learn the secrets of the world and the true history behind the titan's origins and their conflict, the lore and appreciation you feel for the world you are exploring is amplified.
The writing overall is spectacular as well. As mentioned before the main party characters are well-written but even the supporting and side characters are so interestingly portrayed. Characters like Dickson, Alvis, and others are written in such a masterful way which portrays them as always having something more to them. They constantly drop these hints that they know more or are planning more than they let on and each time this happens the resolution to these questions and suspicions you accrue as the player are actually paid off in interesting and fantastic ways. The ending to the story as a whole gets bonkers as well as most JRPGs do with world and galaxy level implications and a plot that has themes surrounding fate, destiny, and godhood. These are the most compelling elements of Xenoblade Chronicles and, though I didn't love the game as a whole, I appreciated getting to the end.
Combat itself isn't my favorite thing in the world. It's not awful by any means. It essentially plays like an MMORPG. Your character auto-attacks as you select different abilities to supplement these auto-attacks which you rotate through as they cooldown. The game also has an interesting way of handling aggro with enemies and your position in relation to the enemy as you will need to place you characters in certain spots for some of your abilities to become more effective. The combat can become a bit redundant and place you on auto-pilot, and additionally I feel strongly that Shulk's move set in particular could have used some extra variety. But overall, it's fun and fast paced when it needs to be.
The main issues I have with this game is the rest of it. The side quests, the level design, the collectables. All of it feels, much like the combat, like an MMO. Except in this case it is an MMO in which the multiplayer component is non-existent. You are often dropped into these sprawling areas which go on for what seem like miles and have various different branching off paths. You often see gigantic enemies in the distance that beckon you to explore their territory or fill you with awe at their sight. There are occasional landmarks that look interesting and encourage you to head toward them. However, in the end there is nothing to do. Exploration is rarely rewarded with anything substantial, traversal takes too much time as there is no way to travel outside of walking. There are fast travel points you can unlock within each level but they serve more as checkpoints than anything else.
Side quests do not incentivize exploration of these ambitious sprawling worlds either. By the time you reach the mid-to-late game, most side quests reward only money which, by that point, you likely have an overabundance of. The only real worthwhile side quests to complete are ones which grant you EXP dumps and even then you may find it quicker to grind by just killing enemies which respawn every time you fast travel. This is not like The Witcher 3 or Skyrim where side quests are compelling enough to warrant completion simply to see what is happening or because there is a small story in there. Instead, to harken back to the MMO comparison, they are these tedious and boring missions that ask you to kill X amount of Y enemy or collect X amount of Y item. There is nothing interesting or compelling about it. It doesn't help that when you do decide to complete a side quest, like say to defeat some enemies, your party constantly screams battle quotes and victory quotes ad nauseam. It got to a point to where I simply blocked their voices out of my head which is kind of absurd.
Xenoblade Chronicles is a game I really wish I loved. It is a game that seems incredibly ambitious for a title originating on the Nintendo Wii. It is one which I fully understand why many felt a special connection to it. I adore the story, world, and characters and will remember them for a long time to come. But, I can't get over how repetitive, redundant, and empty a majority of your time is going to be spent. My advice is to pick this up on Switch, turn on Casual Mode, and just cruise through the main story, picking up some EXP dump side quests or grinding on high level enemies occasionally, simply so you can experience the wonder that is the world of Xenoblade Chronicles. Anything beyond that is just not substantial enough for a higher rating.
I'm going to do something nightmarish and probably go and play (and MAYBE finish) XCX and XC2 before playing 3. I have no intention of replaying 1 and potentially invalidating a lot of my thoughts on it, because it does have issues.
The thrust of the main conceit largely centered around halfway through the narrative is dumb, for one. The whole both sidesy conclusion Shulk comes to with, ahem, "the big bad", is tacky if not downright callous treatment/response to the direct concentration camp theming laid out beforehand. Which leaves a genuinely bad set of things to just have in your head towards the finale when it gets largely spiritual. Granted, when I played this, my brain was fucking off, and that was a blessing in disguise.
Simultaneously, it's hard for me to really really hate. Even if things don't fit together, playing this on a dingy Wii in the late hours of night back from school was borderline transcendental because Xenoblade is just so pretty top to bottom. I love how everything looks, sounds, and feels, from exploring the secret areas of Eryth Sea, to the beautiful serenity of Satorl Marsh, it's lovely. In a way it is a "first mmo" experience in that respect, at least nailing what the mmo is supposed to capture in that sense of awe and scale. Something I wouldn't ever quite feel the same way again in an rpg. Even FFXIV which I still play religiously barely scratches at that side of the surface.
I also love the cast, they're so beautifully characterized, largely by the VA which at some points just carry the whole thing. I don't think there's very many people who can quite belt a scream like Shulk's Adam Howden out there and make it work, you know? It's because of that there's a genuine memetic quality to it that spreads out and surrounds the game with a lot of heart. That side of the text is also moderately kept, there's a lot of moments where the cast just gets to sit down and talk and those moments speak louder than the bombastic messy parts it gets to.
In a way I often liken Xenoblade Chronicles to Chrono Trigger. Practically rips off its whole idea of structuring its story really, there's very similar downtimes and pacing. I'd argue both don't really speak to larger themes either, both impart that unique "epic"ness through playing it, and vibes and energy are a core part of being strung along. CT certainly isn't as messy but neither does it really hit the same highs XC1 gives me. Ah, the point of the comparison though is that I think XC1 genuinely pays true on what the CT intro does. That rip-roaring 2 minute intro with the pendulum swinging through that embarks your journey? Xenoblade Chronicles does that same feel in its own way before expanding beyond that, becoming something much larger and visceral. So massive and sweeping me off my feet that with my feet high above the clouds I neglect to look at the ground below at all to see how it is.
That's magical. It's what adventure and journey can really impart. Whether or not the lessons in here are even worth discussing (they're not) I'll cherish those holy-shit-that's-a-lot-of-hours it gave me.
The thrust of the main conceit largely centered around halfway through the narrative is dumb, for one. The whole both sidesy conclusion Shulk comes to with, ahem, "the big bad", is tacky if not downright callous treatment/response to the direct concentration camp theming laid out beforehand. Which leaves a genuinely bad set of things to just have in your head towards the finale when it gets largely spiritual. Granted, when I played this, my brain was fucking off, and that was a blessing in disguise.
Simultaneously, it's hard for me to really really hate. Even if things don't fit together, playing this on a dingy Wii in the late hours of night back from school was borderline transcendental because Xenoblade is just so pretty top to bottom. I love how everything looks, sounds, and feels, from exploring the secret areas of Eryth Sea, to the beautiful serenity of Satorl Marsh, it's lovely. In a way it is a "first mmo" experience in that respect, at least nailing what the mmo is supposed to capture in that sense of awe and scale. Something I wouldn't ever quite feel the same way again in an rpg. Even FFXIV which I still play religiously barely scratches at that side of the surface.
I also love the cast, they're so beautifully characterized, largely by the VA which at some points just carry the whole thing. I don't think there's very many people who can quite belt a scream like Shulk's Adam Howden out there and make it work, you know? It's because of that there's a genuine memetic quality to it that spreads out and surrounds the game with a lot of heart. That side of the text is also moderately kept, there's a lot of moments where the cast just gets to sit down and talk and those moments speak louder than the bombastic messy parts it gets to.
In a way I often liken Xenoblade Chronicles to Chrono Trigger. Practically rips off its whole idea of structuring its story really, there's very similar downtimes and pacing. I'd argue both don't really speak to larger themes either, both impart that unique "epic"ness through playing it, and vibes and energy are a core part of being strung along. CT certainly isn't as messy but neither does it really hit the same highs XC1 gives me. Ah, the point of the comparison though is that I think XC1 genuinely pays true on what the CT intro does. That rip-roaring 2 minute intro with the pendulum swinging through that embarks your journey? Xenoblade Chronicles does that same feel in its own way before expanding beyond that, becoming something much larger and visceral. So massive and sweeping me off my feet that with my feet high above the clouds I neglect to look at the ground below at all to see how it is.
That's magical. It's what adventure and journey can really impart. Whether or not the lessons in here are even worth discussing (they're not) I'll cherish those holy-shit-that's-a-lot-of-hours it gave me.
Mid. There is no other word for it. This is mid. It's embarassing.
Xenoblade 1 fans will claim that their cynical product is a "masterpiece" because of its character deaths yet these same fans will have the audacity to mock Justian Roiland's seminal work of art, High on Life for brilliant and original deconstruction of the video game genre by allowing players to kill a child, something that no video game has ever done before. To any Xenoblade 1 fan reading this, go back to watching MCU movies and eating McDonalds before ever daring to insult true works of art like High on Life ever again.
Xenoblade 1 fans will claim that their cynical product is a "masterpiece" because of its character deaths yet these same fans will have the audacity to mock Justian Roiland's seminal work of art, High on Life for brilliant and original deconstruction of the video game genre by allowing players to kill a child, something that no video game has ever done before. To any Xenoblade 1 fan reading this, go back to watching MCU movies and eating McDonalds before ever daring to insult true works of art like High on Life ever again.
born in a world of strife
against the odds
(misses b input)
gale slash
against the odds
(misses b input)
gale slash
Looking back at the times where I played this game for the first time, Xenoblade Chronicles was the first game I played where its story, characters, world building and everything related to that was so important. I used to only play Mario and Zelda games, and probably something more mainstream from the PS3 and stuff, and when I played this game I was so blown away that I can't really describe it. It is just my favorite game ever and probably nothing will ever top it.
Starting my account with this, the absolute pinnacle of gaming. This is one of the greatest pieces of media ever made, and the bar that all games need to meet. It is by no means perfect, it has tedious sidequests, some issues with the narrative, and annoying enemy types. But the universe, characters. the narrative, the voice acting, the music... Just every aspect of this game is just on another level. This is one of the most magical experiences you can ever have. I played this for the first time in 2015 and to this day nothing has topped it.
Alongside the sudden shift to science-fantasy, Xenoblade Chronicles takes the grindy, mindless cooldown combat of MMORPGs and absorbs into it nearly every idea from the past no matter how developed. For this 80-hour trip, half of it is a fairly competent, well-crafted experience, the other half is the epitome of filler. It really checks off most boxes of what constitutes a quality JRPG (aside from the awkward writing), but beyond the premise, they fail to establish any sort of identity.
Wildly overrated, Xenoblade Chronicles encapsulates everything that went wrong with JRPGs since the PS2 era: Large empty spaces designed to show off console capabilities (that are a slog to traverse through), generic humanoid characters (their cast of FFX rejects) and an even more banal storyline littered with JRPG cliches; bombast for the sake of bombast, set after set of exaggerations that don't inspire awe but indifference and exhaustion instead.
Wildly overrated, Xenoblade Chronicles encapsulates everything that went wrong with JRPGs since the PS2 era: Large empty spaces designed to show off console capabilities (that are a slog to traverse through), generic humanoid characters (their cast of FFX rejects) and an even more banal storyline littered with JRPG cliches; bombast for the sake of bombast, set after set of exaggerations that don't inspire awe but indifference and exhaustion instead.
Absolutely phenomenal. Everything from the gameplay, to the environments, to the excellent story and characters, to the music, to the amount of content, is just perfect. I think there are games that are objectively better, but this is (for now) my favorite game I have ever played. It's an experience I hope everyone can have one day. Play this game if you haven't already, it's amazing.
EDIT: I like Xenoblade 2 the same amount, and Xenoblade 3 even more
EDIT: I like Xenoblade 2 the same amount, and Xenoblade 3 even more
i like melia
So good you can almost forgive the fanbase for being annoying as fuck.
a great game if you ever wanted to play an mmo without having to deal with people or microtransactions AND ya got yoko shimomura on the OST.
I finally beat this game after putting it off for 2 years. Turns out I only had 5 hours left of the game lol. The graphics are butt ugly but man those the story put it forward. The story hits its themes really well with a stellar cast of characters and amazing voice work. The gameplay is really fun once you get used to it. My only main criticisms is that armor and gems can feel cluttered and annoying to manage. Play the DE version if you're thinking of playing this game because it fixes many of my problems with this game.
RIEN!!!!!!!!!!!! HIT THAT YO I NK y PSL O IN KY ! ! !
You get to kill God
mais um rpg colossal que eu canso lá pelas 30 e poucas horas. a história de xenogears é melhor mas a gameplay de xenoblade é estratosfericamente superior. cansei de xenogears por conta da gameplay e cansei desse pq a história não me prendeu o suficiente. sigo na luta de encontrar um jogo nessa proporção de horas que ambas categorias me façam chegar até o final sem dar um tempo e voltar depois ou apenas dropar. enquanto isso não acontece, continuo juntando evidências de que o tempo médio máximo que essas obras conseguem segurar o jogador é por aí mesmo, umas 30/40 horas. o resto é você querendo muito ver o final ou pensando "ah, já joguei até aqui mesmo".
mas deixando isso tudo de lado, cara, eu NÃO CONSIGO imaginar como deve ter sido os jogadores de Wii Sports jogando essa bomba AEHUAEUHAEUH. na primeira grande área que você chega, eu tava 50% aquele gif do gatinho fazendo headbang com a trilha sonora e 50% pensando "eiTA PORRA". esse jogo não pode existir no wii. isso não faz o menor sentido.
mas deixando isso tudo de lado, cara, eu NÃO CONSIGO imaginar como deve ter sido os jogadores de Wii Sports jogando essa bomba AEHUAEUHAEUH. na primeira grande área que você chega, eu tava 50% aquele gif do gatinho fazendo headbang com a trilha sonora e 50% pensando "eiTA PORRA". esse jogo não pode existir no wii. isso não faz o menor sentido.
Xenoblade Chronicles is my absolute favorite game of all time. Everything from the Characters, Music and the Landscapes, are beautifully made. Honestly words can not describe this game. Play this game if you can, you will not regret it