22nd August 2011, 2:44 PM
So, yes, Xenoblade is out in English and it's also "out" in English, if you catch my drift.
Anyway, no other JRPG this generation even comes close to Xenoblade in terms of ambition, scope, and pure detail that you can find in every nook and cranny of this game. Even the characters aren't so bad, sure they're plucky teens for the most part but there not quite so annoying or brain-dead stupid as so many other RPGs like to revel in [looking at you, plucky kids from FFXIII] and the story, from what I've seen so far, is actually kind of interesting. I'll have to play further to find out for sure, but it doesn't instantly repulse me, so extra points there.
I like the addition of the Heart-to-Heart scenes, one of my favorite aspects about the Star Ocean series., just little scenes that give you a peak at the characters without the oppressive weight of world-ending disaster looming on the horizon. And it actually seems like they're not total animu embarrassments, so more points for Xenoblade.
I like being able to equip my characters with different armor and weapons and actually seeing those new pieces of equipment displayed. It's a nice carry-over from the game's obvious MMO inspirations. It's just a nice touch that you hardly ever see in single-player RPGs [from Japan].
I love the contiguous world, with hardly any borders in sight, streaming as you run across boundless prairies and watch the mountains grow from out of the distance or looking down at the city from the top of a hill. Towns and buildings have detail, little touches that you won't find in MMOs, things that remind you that you're still playing a single-player game.
Only thing I really have an issue with is the characters' faces. They look...off. At the same time, they sort of remind me of Vagrant Story. Wish they'd gone with higher quality models for the cutscenes, but oh well.
So, Xenoblade is basically a combination of East and West, MMO and single-player RPG, taking aspects of each and melding them into something that's familiar but also unique. And it absolutely STUNS me that Nintendo, in its current mindset, put up the money for something this big.
So, NoA, you can just go right ahead and die in a fire because I'm playing this baby anyway.
Anyway, no other JRPG this generation even comes close to Xenoblade in terms of ambition, scope, and pure detail that you can find in every nook and cranny of this game. Even the characters aren't so bad, sure they're plucky teens for the most part but there not quite so annoying or brain-dead stupid as so many other RPGs like to revel in [looking at you, plucky kids from FFXIII] and the story, from what I've seen so far, is actually kind of interesting. I'll have to play further to find out for sure, but it doesn't instantly repulse me, so extra points there.
I like the addition of the Heart-to-Heart scenes, one of my favorite aspects about the Star Ocean series., just little scenes that give you a peak at the characters without the oppressive weight of world-ending disaster looming on the horizon. And it actually seems like they're not total animu embarrassments, so more points for Xenoblade.
I like being able to equip my characters with different armor and weapons and actually seeing those new pieces of equipment displayed. It's a nice carry-over from the game's obvious MMO inspirations. It's just a nice touch that you hardly ever see in single-player RPGs [from Japan].
I love the contiguous world, with hardly any borders in sight, streaming as you run across boundless prairies and watch the mountains grow from out of the distance or looking down at the city from the top of a hill. Towns and buildings have detail, little touches that you won't find in MMOs, things that remind you that you're still playing a single-player game.
Only thing I really have an issue with is the characters' faces. They look...off. At the same time, they sort of remind me of Vagrant Story. Wish they'd gone with higher quality models for the cutscenes, but oh well.
So, Xenoblade is basically a combination of East and West, MMO and single-player RPG, taking aspects of each and melding them into something that's familiar but also unique. And it absolutely STUNS me that Nintendo, in its current mindset, put up the money for something this big.
So, NoA, you can just go right ahead and die in a fire because I'm playing this baby anyway.
Sometimes you get the scorpion.