Comet
2011-08-21, 01:54 PM
Didn't see a thread for this, which is something of a surprise. I mean this has all the markings to be the greatest (in both scale and quality) JRPG to come around in years, certainly the best JRPG on the Wii, probably the best game on the Wii and a very likely contender for the title of the Game of the Year. It's awesome, in as many definitions of the word as you can think of.
More info in this box, just to avoid an intimidating wall of text:
Set on the surface of two world-sized titans, Bionis and Mechonis, our hero must venture from his hometown near the Bionis' knee to the far reaches of both of these physical, inanimate gods to seek vengeance against the machine armies that arrive from Mechonis to bring destruction upon his home.
The story is great, the characters are likeable and the world is truly epic in scale. The high concept, two titans frozen in combat who make up the world you roam in, is grand enough in itself, but the areas you actually go out and explore are huge in themselves. Huge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBAz4Twd40w&feature=grec_index).
There's an unbelievable amount of content in this game, making completionists wince in pain every time they enter a new map to explore. You can either follow the main storyline like a bullet or spend dozens of hours walking around, helping people and getting to know them, and roaming around the massive fields seeking adventure and riches. And, funnily enough, doing these sidequests is made fun and streamlined enough that you actually find yourself diving into the world with pleasure, spending hours and hours doing what would in any other game amount to MMO-like grind. In Xenoblade it's all about getting constantly rewarded for the things you do and seeing the communities of likeable NPCs around you grow and prosper.
There's a whole bunch of exciting new mechanics to be appreciated here, too, from your ability to sense the future in battle and adjust your tactics accordingly to the bonds of friendship, which influence the game mechanics in a very tangible way, that you build with your party as you fight together and encourage each other to rise to even greater heights.
The battles in the game are dynamic, real time, happen on the same field you explore without separate 'arenas' and flow really well, creating some heroic moments of withstanding waves upon waves of enemies or standing up to enormous monstrosities, bringing them down with solid teamwork.
To top it all off, the game features a beautiful soundtrack by some of the greatest names in the industry and a really good localization with a great cast of British voice actors who really put a lot of effort into making this story heroic and immersive.
I find myself hacking, slashing and exploring my way through these massive worlds with joy the genre has been unable to muster in a long time. I'm only in the beginning, mind, with some 15 hours of gameplay behind me, but the scope of the game has already done a great job at dropping my jaw.
At the moment it's not available in the US, and I'm not quite sure if it ever will be. If you live in Europe or Australia or feel like importing, though, definitely give this game a go. It's great.
And to give this thread some proper discussion value, for those who have played the game: Is Dunban the manliest man alive and is his Wisdom skill tree the greatest skill tree in the game?
More info in this box, just to avoid an intimidating wall of text:
Set on the surface of two world-sized titans, Bionis and Mechonis, our hero must venture from his hometown near the Bionis' knee to the far reaches of both of these physical, inanimate gods to seek vengeance against the machine armies that arrive from Mechonis to bring destruction upon his home.
The story is great, the characters are likeable and the world is truly epic in scale. The high concept, two titans frozen in combat who make up the world you roam in, is grand enough in itself, but the areas you actually go out and explore are huge in themselves. Huge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBAz4Twd40w&feature=grec_index).
There's an unbelievable amount of content in this game, making completionists wince in pain every time they enter a new map to explore. You can either follow the main storyline like a bullet or spend dozens of hours walking around, helping people and getting to know them, and roaming around the massive fields seeking adventure and riches. And, funnily enough, doing these sidequests is made fun and streamlined enough that you actually find yourself diving into the world with pleasure, spending hours and hours doing what would in any other game amount to MMO-like grind. In Xenoblade it's all about getting constantly rewarded for the things you do and seeing the communities of likeable NPCs around you grow and prosper.
There's a whole bunch of exciting new mechanics to be appreciated here, too, from your ability to sense the future in battle and adjust your tactics accordingly to the bonds of friendship, which influence the game mechanics in a very tangible way, that you build with your party as you fight together and encourage each other to rise to even greater heights.
The battles in the game are dynamic, real time, happen on the same field you explore without separate 'arenas' and flow really well, creating some heroic moments of withstanding waves upon waves of enemies or standing up to enormous monstrosities, bringing them down with solid teamwork.
To top it all off, the game features a beautiful soundtrack by some of the greatest names in the industry and a really good localization with a great cast of British voice actors who really put a lot of effort into making this story heroic and immersive.
I find myself hacking, slashing and exploring my way through these massive worlds with joy the genre has been unable to muster in a long time. I'm only in the beginning, mind, with some 15 hours of gameplay behind me, but the scope of the game has already done a great job at dropping my jaw.
At the moment it's not available in the US, and I'm not quite sure if it ever will be. If you live in Europe or Australia or feel like importing, though, definitely give this game a go. It's great.
And to give this thread some proper discussion value, for those who have played the game: Is Dunban the manliest man alive and is his Wisdom skill tree the greatest skill tree in the game?