I finally beat Xenoblade Chronicles

[KevinM1]

Like the title says, I finally beat Xenoblade Chronicles. What is Xenoblade? Quite simply one of the best JRPGs ever created. It was developed by Monolithsoft - a group of ex-Square Enix employees best known for things like Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, and Chrono Cross - and released in Japan for the Wii in 2010. It was an unexpected mega hit, scoring perfect and near perfect reviews everywhere, and selling 83,000 copies in its first week. It had a limited release in the US in 2012.



I won't spoil the story, but suffice it to say that something that starts out as a need for revenge turns into questioning whether or not people need a god. It's filled with great character moments that very rarely rely on classic anime tropes. These are people, with distinct personalities and reasons for fighting.

The setting is interesting. The world is a vast ocean, save for two towering giants - the Bionis and Mechonis. They fought each other, ending in a stalemate. Bionis cut off Mechonis' left arm, while Mechonis' sword is stuck in Bionis' left shoulder. Both titans are sleeping when the game begins.

Humans (Homs) and other creatures live on Bionis. You actually travel up the titan as the game progresses, and, yes you can see its head and other body parts above you. And you can see Mechonis in the background, silently watching....

It sounds hokey, but actually works pretty well. It's a weird mix of Innerspace and that Futurama episode where Bender becomes a god, floating through space.

The music is simply outstanding. Here are a few examples:













While the plot has nothing to do with the previous Xeno games, the themes are definitely on point. They're probably presented the most succinctly in this title. There aren't a lot of distractions, just revelations. If you're into the idea of people overthrowing their violent and capricious 'creators' for a world that doesn't need gods, then this is the game for you.

And, if that sounds interesting, you should check out the other Xeno games as well. I'm a pretty big fan (my avatar on here is Fei Fong Wong, protagonist of Xenogears).

Finally, a spiritual successor to Xenoblade Chronicles is coming out on the Wii U later this year. I'm beyond excited.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I'm not much of a gamer, but I've noticed something about the ones I have played, and I suspect this extends to video and computer games in general: The further you advance in the game, the stronger the enemies and the more difficult the challenges.

I propose we refer to the observation henceforth as 'Boru's Rule', since clearly, no one has ever stumbled onto it before now. You're all very welcome.

Boru

[robvalue]

Ooh, cool, congrats

I used to love RPGs but found them eventually to be very samey. Would this one arouse my interest once more, would you say?

The one which sticks most fondly in my memory, at least in terms of story, is FF7. Sepiroth! Duh-duh duh-duh duh-duh duh-duh duh-duh duh- Sepiroth!

[bennyboy]

How would Xenoblade rate next to the better Final Fantasy games, and how similar are they?

[Mudhammam]

I never heard of it, but the OP has me interested. Can I use the GC controller to play it though? I'm not much of a fan of the Wii-mote.

[robvalue]

The... GC controller? You have one of those? Why didn't you say earlier

[I know what you mean really]

[KevinM1]

You don't need to use the Wiimote. With my disability, I can't use the Wiimote. I used the Dual Shock-esque controller that plugs into the Wiimote.

The closest Final Fantasy game would be XII in terms of gameplay, but that's doing Xenoblade a disservice. You have a party of three active characters, but can only control one. The AI for the others is really, really good, however. Like, "don't have to worry" good. There's one character the AI doesn't quite maximize, but her abilities are really situational. Combat is real time, and positioning matters.

XII tried being a single player MMO, but it was clunky IMO. The zones were small, the license board sucked, gambits sucked because you had to buy them, and they weren't all available from the start, and some characters weren't good at anything (Fran), or were best used at odds with how their character was presented (Balthier actually sucks with guns). Xenoblade doesn't have any of those issues.

Every character has a role. That role is obvious, and they all excell at them in their own way. They gain abilities in the classic EXP unlock manner, and occasionally as the result of story progression. And while you can go with the traditional MMO trinity of tank/DPS/healer, any combination is viable. Some work better than others in boss fights, but there are no party combinations to avoid.

Combat is deeper than FF. Like I said before, character positioning matters. Status effects work. You actually want to attack with certain rotations, but not all enemies are vulnerable to them. There are no summons or anything like that. It's all about the people fighting, not a magical win button. There are no random encounters. And unlike FF, there is no "hold down attack to blow through this trivial fight." Unless you're way, way overleveled, every fight will require your active participation.

In true MMO fashion, all abilities (arts) are cool down based. Some are magical, some are physical attacks, some are auras. You can level up individual abilities to shorten the cool down and increase its duration or damage. Every character can have up to eight arts that can be used at a time, but they learn more than that, so you can pick and choose. Every character also has a single character ability. Only one per character. Some draw aggro, some do mega damage, that sort of thing.

Every character starts out with three skill trees. The tree selected gives a bonus to the character (like one tree could increase strength, one could increase ether). Any tree can be active, but only one at a time. You can freely switch between them without penalty out of combat. Abilities on the tree automatically unlock through combat. They're not active abilities/arts, but more like character and/or party buffs. Even better, you can share skills with other characters. So, if the tank has a HP up skill unlocked, you can also get it. And it doesn't replace a current skill on your own tree. New skill trees can be obtained through quests.

Quests run the gamut from your typical MMO kill/fetch quests to story quests to relationship quests (not your party, but NPCs). The good news is that they really streamlined the kill/fetch quests. You generally don't have to return to the quest giver to get your reward. You get it the moment you meet the quest requirements. And it's really easy to get overleveled because each area has a shit load of quests. I blew through the first half of the game because I was about 20 levels higher than I should've been.

The voice acting is really good. Entirely British cast. Jenna Louise Coleman before she was famous. Shulk (yes, that's his name) is a great protagonist. He starts off as an engineer, and is just a good guy. No Cloud Strife/Squall Lionheart moodiness, but he's not annoyingly happy either. He's very driven, for reasons that become obvious about 20 minutes in.

Beyond that, check out some YouTube videos of gameplay if you're curious.

[GermanAtheist]

I also played Xenoblade and I needed 150 hours for 100%. The story is a little confusing but great. I will buy Xenoblade X.

[dyresand]

WOOT welcome to the club