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LTTP: Xenoblade Chronicles X

NattyBo

NattyBo

Member
Dec 29, 2017
4,316
Washington, DC
So I recently got around to playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on Switch. I've been a longtime Monolithsoft/Takahashi fan since Xenogears, but had been kinda soured by the Xenosaga experience, and then missed out on XBC1 and XBCX as I was busy with my kid being younger at the time, though I did have a Wii/Wii U around.

Anyway, long story short, finishing XBC2 rekindled my love of all things Xeno and, since I'm one of the few suckers who bought a Wii U, I figured I'd check out this game that is marooned on the White Whale (see what I did there?).

Got a new copy of the game. It just arrived!

EGZRGrmWsAEPTnJ

I'm only a couple hours in, so I will try to update this game as I play through as long as I'm not obnoxiously bumping without folks replying.

For now, though the UI is different, the fighting feels pretty familiar coming from XBC2, in a good way - obviously I'm still VERY early, but it does have similarities there.

I will say, I am amazed that this is a Wii U game. I think it looks pretty decent. I just figured out how to take screenshots on the Wii U, so I'll be posting some here.


EGZgxURU8AEklwt

EGZd-DwVUAA8Eao


I can't comment much on the story so far. I've just been wandering around, avoiding high level monsters, fighting scrubs, and stopping to look at the crazy scenery. But I can already tell that I "vibe" with this game. I'm not sure how much the story will hook me, but the opening was very cool, and the concept of course is intriguing. At the very least, it seems like a great way to drag a little more value out of the WiiU "investment".

Anyway, so far, so good, and I hope I keep enjoying it as much as these first hours!
 
garion333

garion333

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,722
I'll be curious which combat system you will prefer. I'm 100% in favor of XCX as it allowed me to move while attacking. ;)

The best stories in the game are the character stories. The main story does its thing, but is spread too thin after the opening few hours. It's great to watch the development grow and all, but the main story doesn't hold a candle to, say, the original XC.
 
Reki

Reki

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,955
X is a great game. As you said it's a looker - and with no loading! - and the premise super interesting (not being the chosen hero was nice for once). If you want some advice, try taking some sidequests - not from the panel but from named NPCs - and don't rush through the main story. That burns some players.

Have fun!
 
HardTimesFamilyPride

HardTimesFamilyPride

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,055
Appalachia
I remember the devs talking about the story like they were approaching it more like a TV show than a movie, and I approached playing it that way and had a good experience with the story. So basically, play a story chapter, do sidequests until everyone's equally leveled (or leveled for your tastes), then go to the next story chapter. It made a certain recurring joke everyone hates feel more like a trope for the opening of a new episode or season, rather than something that is just constantly in your face.

One of the things I like about X is that there's this whole menu where you can set up your team's stagger/break/etc. combos and it's all telegraphed in-battle by pre-defined callouts from your squad. Actually made the characters talking during battle useful lol

I spent so much time in that game just dressing my characters up and taking pics of them chillin around Mira. I really need to pick this back up; I put in 120 hours the week it came out and took a break right after getting the flight module... we all know how that goes.

(shit, I did that with XC2 as well!)
 
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Htown

Htown

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,317
NattyBo said:
I'm not sure how much the story will hook me, but the opening was very cool, and the concept of course is intriguing
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it probably won't, but there are one or two decent twists

the primary focus of the game is really the world and the exploration

if you treat the world as something that gets in the way of the main story missions, you're going to have a bad time. if you treat the world as the star of the game and just use story progression as a way to loosely guide your exploration, you'll enjoy the game a lot more
 
OP
OP
NattyBo

NattyBo

Member
Dec 29, 2017
4,316
Washington, DC
Couple of other quick thoughts:

Besides the combat, it's obvious that XBC2 was built on a lot of this game's bones. Discovering landmarks, field skills, the weather stuff, etc. Again, this is not a bad thing. Actually helping me dive in more easily.
 
Bard

Bard

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
12,408
As others have said, the overall story is alright but the character specific stories are more interesting. The best thing about this game is the exploration. Once you get the mech later on that shit will be amazing, way better than the other two Xenoblade games in regards to this.

I recently finished this game earlier this year for the first time and loved it. It's pretty different from the other Xenoblade games but it's still a great experience.
 

Adam Sadler

Member
Nov 9, 2017
1,320
My favorite LTTP are ones where the OP is just starting the game. Can't wait to continue to read your impressions on it
 
diakyu

diakyu

Member
Dec 15, 2018
17,519
If you like the initial concept don't listen to the people who dump on the story. The game really digs into what it's like to be someone whop works with BLADE. Take your time and don't rush through expecting a big story like the other Xeno games, it's not what X is about. Some of the best story stuff is hidden in side quests.

Easily, easily the best Xenoblade world so far and i stand by it as much as I adore the other two games.
 
Mona

Mona

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
26,151
i dont usually get engrossed by open world games, but Xenoblade X's world is excellent, and the scale is beyond nuts
 
Htown

Htown

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,317
XCX Mira >> BOTW Hyrule

BOTW is the better game, but I'm just sayin
 
Comic Obsessed

Comic Obsessed

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,792
Peru
JB2448 said:
As a side note, http://xenoblade.com redirects to https://xenobladechroniclesx.nintendo.com which was still up as recently as last month but now redirects to https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/1-2-switch/. The same thing happens with https://brainage.nintendo.com.

Could an XCX port be happening after Xenoblade Definitive Edition?
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I'm pretty sure that Monolith Soft is planning to get all the XC games on Switch eventually. XCDE is a pretty obvious example, it came out of nowhere.

That being said, I hope they don't spend much time on a XCX port since I would prefer if they release their new IP and XC3 early.
 
RochHoch

RochHoch

One Winged Slayer
Member
May 22, 2018
18,863
It's such a fantastic game.

Just make sure to do tons of side quests, OP. That's where the real meat of the game is.
 
Richietto

Richietto

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,939
North Carolina
Its got problems but something about it made me want to explore and get all the stuff on the map and the side quests were enjoyable. Also Skells are dope.
 
Man God

Man God

Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,276
I bought this game three times before ever playing it. Big fan of it but it could really use a Switch remake with some slight alterations.

Multiplayer was surprisingly fun. With a bit more work it could have been a really exceptional mmo.
 
TheGreatLugia

TheGreatLugia

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,078
I hope you enjoy it, OP.

NattyBo said:
Couple of other quick thoughts:

Besides the combat, it's obvious that XBC2 was built on a lot of this game's bones. Discovering landmarks, field skills, the weather stuff, etc. Again, this is not a bad thing. Actually helping me dive in more easily.
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According to the developers, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was pretty much built on top of the engine that was made for Xenoblade Chronicles X. That being said, mechanics in the Xenoblade series like landmarks and weather originated from Xenoblade Chronicles 1.

JB2448 said:
As a side note, http://xenoblade.com redirects to https://xenobladechroniclesx.nintendo.com which was still up as recently as last month but now redirects to https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/1-2-switch/. The same thing happens with https://brainage.nintendo.com.

Could an XCX port be happening after Xenoblade Definitive Edition?
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This happened to a couple of other NoA websites recently, so I'm not sure if it means anything for Xenoblade Chronicles X in particular.

 
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Ehoavash

Ehoavash

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
7,232
It's An amazing game if you kove exploring, taking in the wild dangerous / exotic vistas while rocking some sweet jrock/ sometimes amazing field music..


Story ..yeah I wasn't a fan but man this game as fun to just explore and find crazy shit
 
Man God

Man God

Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,276
I don't like how they handled classes at all. That and forcing certain team members to have high affinity to finish the main story are my two biggest complaints.
 
TheMoon

TheMoon

|OT|
Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,774
Video Games
NattyBo said:
So I recently got around to playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on Switch. I've been a longtime Monolithsoft/Takahashi fan since Xenogears, but had been kinda soured by the Xenosaga experience, and then missed out on XBC1 and XBCX as I was busy with my kid being younger at the time, though I did have a Wii/Wii U around.

Anyway, long story short, finishing XBC2 rekindled my love of all things Xeno and, since I'm one of the few suckers who bought a Wii U, I figured I'd check out this game that is marooned on the White Whale (see what I did there?).

Got a new copy of the game. It just arrived!

EGZRGrmWsAEPTnJ

I'm only a couple hours in, so I will try to update this game as I play through as long as I'm not obnoxiously bumping without folks replying.

For now, though the UI is different, the fighting feels pretty familiar coming from XBC2, in a good way - obviously I'm still VERY early, but it does have similarities there.

I will say, I am amazed that this is a Wii U game. I think it looks pretty decent. I just figured out how to take screenshots on the Wii U, so I'll be posting some here.


EGZgxURU8AEklwt

EGZd-DwVUAA8Eao


I can't comment much on the story so far. I've just been wandering around, avoiding high level monsters, fighting scrubs, and stopping to look at the crazy scenery. But I can already tell that I "vibe" with this game. I'm not sure how much the story will hook me, but the opening was very cool, and the concept of course is intriguing. At the very least, it seems like a great way to drag a little more value out of the WiiU "investment".

Anyway, so far, so good, and I hope I keep enjoying it as much as these first hours!
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Luckily for you, I've polished up the old OT with updated formatting. You might need some stuff in there at some point...
www.resetera.com

Xenoblade X |OT| {Redux} Mechs and Potatoes http://youtu.be/7SJHB20tp1U

** shoutouts to Dice who made the fancy banners ** Developed by: MonolithSoft Localized by: 8-4 Ltd. & NOA Treehouse Published by: Nintendo Platform: Wii U Release Dates: April 29, 2015 (JP) | December 4, 2015 (NA/EU) | December 5, 2015 (AU) Genre: What if Breath of the Wild Had Flying Robots...
www.resetera.com www.resetera.com
 
Łazy

Łazy

Member
Nov 1, 2017
5,249
NattyBo said:
So I recently got around to playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on Switch. I've been a longtime Monolithsoft/Takahashi fan since Xenogears, but had been kinda soured by the Xenosaga experience, and then missed out on XBC1 and XBCX as I was busy with my kid being younger at the time, though I did have a Wii/Wii U around.

Anyway, long story short, finishing XBC2 rekindled my love of all things Xeno and, since I'm one of the few suckers who bought a Wii U, I figured I'd check out this game that is marooned on the White Whale (see what I did there?).

Got a new copy of the game. It just arrived!

EGZRGrmWsAEPTnJ

I'm only a couple hours in, so I will try to update this game as I play through as long as I'm not obnoxiously bumping without folks replying.

For now, though the UI is different, the fighting feels pretty familiar coming from XBC2, in a good way - obviously I'm still VERY early, but it does have similarities there.

I will say, I am amazed that this is a Wii U game. I think it looks pretty decent. I just figured out how to take screenshots on the Wii U, so I'll be posting some here.


EGZgxURU8AEklwt

EGZd-DwVUAA8Eao


I can't comment much on the story so far. I've just been wandering around, avoiding high level monsters, fighting scrubs, and stopping to look at the crazy scenery. But I can already tell that I "vibe" with this game. I'm not sure how much the story will hook me, but the opening was very cool, and the concept of course is intriguing. At the very least, it seems like a great way to drag a little more value out of the WiiU "investment".

Anyway, so far, so good, and I hope I keep enjoying it as much as these first hours!
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Don't focus on the "main" story as if it's everything. Get into side quests directly and do everything you can. There's A LOT out of it and the main story is more like an introduction to the universe/story (that should get sequel(s)) than the main event. And most important, just enjoy your time, explore a lot, grabbing all the stuff you can. Check the different area names, each of them can have new (blue) items to grab, so getting some in every different areas gives you a good pool for the continent.

I personaly like the story a lot, but it's not the main focus especially. It's "one" of the games aspects.

Have fun !
JB2448 said:
As a side note, http://xenoblade.com redirects to https://xenobladechroniclesx.nintendo.com which was still up as recently as last month but now redirects to https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/1-2-switch/. The same thing happens with https://brainage.nintendo.com.

Could an XCX port be happening after Xenoblade Definitive Edition?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Don't do that to me...

But yeah, that's what's happening anyway.
 
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Nephilim

Nephilim

Member
Oct 28, 2017
5,272
One of my all time favourites and my favourite Xenoblade title.
Although the Skells are obviously amazing, once you get the flight licence the world diminishes in scale.
Discovering Mira on foot is actually mesmerizing.
 
Łazy

Łazy

Member
Nov 1, 2017
5,249
Nephilim said:
One of my all time favourites and my favourite Xenoblade title.
Although the Skells are obviously amazing, once you get the flight licence the world diminishes in scale.
Discovering Mira on foot is actually mesmerizing.
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I agree. The world needs to be discovered 90% on foot, then most of the reste on Doll as a different way to experience and traverse it and finally, very late, flying.

I was very surprised to discover new areas in my second game after more than 700 hours.
 
Asbsand

Asbsand

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
9,901
Denmark
The game has perfect aesthetics. Somehow it just looks super good. It looks way better than Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and although it's partly that it holds 720p and not all over the place dynamic resses, I think just the simplified lighting system with more baked in shadows led to way more optimized graphics running at a good framerate. Because it feels so polished it's full of moments where it's like "I can't believe I'm playing this", particularly when you start flying freely across all the regions in a Skell. There's other systems too like the camera-positioning which is completely smart and automatic in this game, and it seems for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 they gave that framework to a different team and they mucked it up and decided "You know, let's just give manual control of EVERYTHING with the camera to the player" and the result was only clunkier for it.

I even loved this game's story. I've seen many bash it as average JRPG shlock but I really love how they integrated New Los Angeles and the growth of your colony in accordance with which side-missions you complete and how there's a thematic countdown on the central building to signify how far you are in the game, and the main missions, while it's relatively short-lived still had some dope-ass sequences.

There's a certain point when Mr. Lion guy comes over to trash the place. It led to an epic showdown, and further into the plot I was surprised to see it going places with the most central characters, leading into a strong finale. And while it has an ambiguous ending I'm 100% sure it is definitively the end for this cast. Even if they would do an X2 somewhere down the line it won't follow this plot, because that wasn't a cliffhanger, it was a "sci-fi twist ending" that only goes to show just how much work everyone has left to do, and that they will be working on shaping a new world for a lifetime while facing adversary after adversary.

While you technically can continue from its ending, I think it's written between the lines that they definitely shouldn't. The impression I got more than anything was that the conflict of this world and its characters is so endless that whatever happens down the line won't lead to anything more conclusive than the fact that they will live only as much as they fight.
 
Efejota

Efejota

Member
Mar 13, 2018
3,750
My favourite character stories were Hope and Alexa, from the top of my head. That killer lady also had some interesting scenes...

And if we get to side missions with non-playable characters, I think there's as much stuff going on as with Xenoblade 1 or more. Some feel weird because you can wait on them for too long to make sense, but that's something that comes with the medium.

I have been waiting on Xenoblade 2 for now because of how much I got into X during 2017/2018: I needed a rest.

I love how you also get many more sidequests as the aliens join in and try to integrate. Having to fight the uncle that got drunk during the wedding was really fun.

What were your favourite character missions? I avoided using many characters, mostly the ones that get used during the main story, so I'm curious of who the OP will choose as well.

Asbsand said:
There's a certain point when Mr. Lion guy comes over to trash the place. It led to an epic showdown, and further into the plot I was surprised to see it going places with the most central characters, leading into a strong finale. And while it has an ambiguous ending I'm 100% sure it is definitively the end for this cast. Even if they would do an X2 somewhere down the line it won't follow this plot, because that wasn't a cliffhanger, it was a "sci-fi twist ending" that only goes to show just how much work everyone has left to do, and that they will be working on shaping a new world for a lifetime while facing adversary after adversary.

While you technically can continue from its ending, I think it's written between the lines that they definitely shouldn't. The impression I got more than anything was that the conflict of this world and its characters is so endless that whatever happens down the line won't lead to anything more conclusive than the fact that they will live only as much as they fight.
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I never thought about it that way, but it's an interesting way to put it :) Many games go for the happy ending and years of peace until the next threat lurks the next generation, but you made me imagine Elma and the others getting older as they face new threats and that sounds awesome. Kinda like life, you are always fighting for something, and making the world a better place does need many steps from many people in time.
Also, gameplay-wise it just doesn't make any sense to explore the same planet again, and having a plot device to make everyone in the city disappear to repopulate it again would feel a bit like the first game was for nothing. I always expected that they'd expand it with an epilogue if they were to port it to the switch, in any case, since there's some stuff that could get explained anyways. I'm sure they had a headcanon for Mira much deeper/detailed than what they finally showed.
 
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Łazy

Łazy

Member
Nov 1, 2017
5,249
Asbsand said:
The game has perfect aesthetics. Somehow it just looks super good. It looks way better than Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and although it's partly that it holds 720p and not all over the place dynamic resses, I think just the simplified lighting system with more baked in shadows led to way more optimized graphics running at a good framerate. Because it feels so polished it's full of moments where it's like "I can't believe I'm playing this", particularly when you start flying freely across all the regions in a Skell. There's other systems too like the camera-positioning which is completely smart and automatic in this game, and it seems for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 they gave that framework to a different team and they mucked it up and decided "You know, let's just give manual control of EVERYTHING with the camera to the player" and the result was only clunkier for it.

I even loved this game's story. I've seen many bash it as average JRPG shlock but I really love how they integrated New Los Angeles and the growth of your colony in accordance with which side-missions you complete and how there's a thematic countdown on the central building to signify how far you are in the game, and the main missions, while it's relatively short-lived still had some dope-ass sequences.

There's a certain point when Mr. Lion guy comes over to trash the place. It led to an epic showdown, and further into the plot I was surprised to see it going places with the most central characters, leading into a strong finale. And while it has an ambiguous ending I'm 100% sure it is definitively the end for this cast. Even if they would do an X2 somewhere down the line it won't follow this plot, because that wasn't a cliffhanger, it was a "sci-fi twist ending" that only goes to show just how much work everyone has left to do, and that they will be working on shaping a new world for a lifetime while facing adversary after adversary.

While you technically can continue from its ending, I think it's written between the lines that they definitely shouldn't. The impression I got more than anything was that the conflict of this world and its characters is so endless that whatever happens down the line won't lead to anything more conclusive than the fact that they will live only as much as they fight.
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As much as I agree with the first part I'm not so sure about the spoiler one.

We have all the "Mira is hiding secrets" during the whole game, story or side quests.
Yelv or Elma have pretty mysterious elements in their quests or what they say.
And what about Lao, waking up beside "we never saw that guy ever" ? What's the point of this as a "the player can imagine" ?
Instead I'd have just make him be lying down on the beach and leave the rest to people. This is too "teaser".
Not to mention the "this story is never ending." Or are you thinking it's a message to say "Since there's no end, we don't need follow up to it ?"
You also have Kirstie's quests hinting towards possible future systems.

Tbh, the guy dressed in back going near Lao is enough to suspect something related coming after.
Wouldn't mean the cast would be exactly the same but we'd see some of them again.

They don't really have to use Mira in the same exact way again or even making it following X by just a few days/months.
Could be years and/or seen from a different perspective/character who'd then meet Elma and co for example.
 
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Ecthel

Ecthel

Member
Nov 20, 2017
106
As other have suggested, don't skip sidequest given by named NPCs, some of the best content of the game is there.

I was obsesed with this game when it came out and beat the main story and most secondary content minus some superbosses. Then I started a second run a year ago, but stoped playing. At this point it might be worth for me to wait to see if they eventually release a switch port.
 
Glio

Glio

Member
Oct 27, 2017
24,480
Spain
It is a different and refreshing approach to JRPG. It focuses more on worldbuilding and sidequest than in the main story. It is played more like a Skyrim than Xenoblade 1. I understand that some people do not like that approach but Xenoblade X is fantastic in what it intends to do.
 

Deleted member 20852

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
864
The only thing I remember about the plot is that there was a guy telling you a lot of stuff in some kind of a command center.

I never quite got the combat system, there were a lot of annoying fetch quests, I was just confused about everything. At the same time, it looks super pretty and there are some absolute gems on the soundtrack.
 
OP
OP
NattyBo

NattyBo

Member
Dec 29, 2017
4,316
Washington, DC
I have had some time off today since my kid is off of school. Been playing it a bit and still enjoying myself. One feature I think is freaking amazing is that overhead camera thing you can do. It reminds me of the bird in Assassins Creed: Origins. I'm still only on chapter 2 because I'm stopping to look at everything (and a bit distracted by the kid too haha).


One negative thing is that the map features seem to be locked to the gamepad. Which sucks because I'm using the Wii U pro controller for the most part.
 

lemre21

Banned
Mar 12, 2019
19
I'm probably one of the rare few that thinks XCX>>>XC2.

I sunk in about 165 hours in this game. What kept me hooked were the side quests(even if most were fetch quests, the beautiful visuals made up for the repetitiveness), skell-building, affinity missions, and the god damn OST. For my money, this game has some of the most catchiest themes I've ever heard in a soundtrack you'll either love or hate.
 

Goodbye

Member
Oct 27, 2017
547
That first moment you get your flight upgrade is so amazing. The freedom, the music, I loved it!

68vgxuw39xl21.gif
 
TheMoon

TheMoon

|OT|
Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,774
Video Games
ILikeFeet said:
this game was so gif-able. especially compared to the other 2 games

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the game is why I kept rolling my eyes whenever we heard waves of people claiming "game X or Y could never run on Wii U [later the same for Switch]". (of course engine/compatibility issues can still be major hurdles but just in terms of scope anything looking mildly impressive on other systems always got a "yea not for that tiny ninty box" reaction, still does [shoutouts to 8-4 Play, from people who've worked on this game!! laughing off even the idea of a MonHun World port for Switch still a year ago or so])
 
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