Xenoblade Chronicles X (4th Dec)

[Zechs Merquise]

Also, whenever the main character draws out a gun, it seems like there's some insane auto aiming going on. Do not like!

 

Are you joking? Have you played Xenoblade?

[Oxigen_Waste]

I hope he's trolling. I really really do.

[Sheikah]

Allow me to encourage you to at the very least TRY Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI. Dragon Quest V/VIII, Final Fantasy IV, Secret Of Mana, Xenogears and Earthbound are incredible too, but FFVI and Chrono Trigger are the undisputed kings of the JRPG. The equivalents to Baldur's Gate 2 and Planescape: Torment on the WRPG side.

 

STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM FFVII, THOUGH.

 

 

 

If I may contribute a bit here, FFVII and VIII are atrociously bad, imo. FFVII is the worst game I've ever completed, by a long long margin.

 

 

 

--------------

 

 

 

Holy shit this game looks great. But the colours do need some livening up, yeah!

 

I'ma have to stop you for talking sheer bollocks there. Fair enough you don't like VII, but let's not be silly now. XII above VII? Ca'man. You said yourself you stopped playing VIII.... totally weak sauce. It is nothing like VII IMO.

 

There's a reason it consistently tops the favourite games of all time, gets its own film and multiple game tie-ins. People absolutely love it.

 

Although I will add I prefer VIII. VII is still a great game though with a story that I genuinely cared about and it had some truly awesome characters, far better than those in most FF games anyway. Sephiroth was fucking badass.

 

I know you won't agree, but whatever you say on this matter we both know there must be something about it for it to be so loved.

Edited January 24, 2013 by Sheikah

[Jonnas]

I'ma have to stop you for talking sheer bollocks there. Fair enough you don't like VII, but let's not be silly now. XII above VII? Ca'man. You said yourself you stopped playing VIII.... totally weak sauce. It is nothing like VII IMO.

 

There's a reason it consistently tops the favourite games of all time, gets its own film and multiple game tie-ins. People absolutely love it.

 

Although I will add I prefer VIII. VII is still a great game though with a story that I genuinely cared about and it had some truly awesome characters, far better than those in most FF games anyway. Sephiroth was fucking badass.

 

I know you won't agree, but whatever you say on this matter we both know there must be something about it for it to be so loved.

 

FF7 was the first RPG a lot of people were invested in, that's why it's so loved. It has a serious plot, good music, the cutscenes were well handled, the combat is accessible and fun...

 

And Sephiroth was a very good character, but not for being "badass" or anything. He had good presence and was intimidating despite the fact that his motives and methods were unknown to the player most of the time. That was one of the things that was actually well done.

 

But the plot is confusing (and unfinished in a lot of places), the movement is clunky, the character models were laughable even then, a lot of the extra content can be easily skipped (like getting Vincent and raising Chocobos. Even finding that bloody key for the Temple of the Ancients was unintuitive)

 

FFVII is definitely not an RPG I'd recommend. If I had played it before FFIX, I would've been turned off by the genre, probably.

But we're veering a bit off-topic, here.

[nekunando]

It might be time I tucked into Final Fantasy VII whilst there's nothing much else on the horizon for me for a couple of months I bought it a few years ago but haven't really felt like I've had the opportunity to give it a go.

 

If I'm trying to stay more on topic, maybe it's about time I got back to Xenoblade to see if I can get past a battle I as stuck on..

[Mike]

Xenoblade was one of my favourite Wii games and is probably in my top 10 (or even 5?) games of all time, so I was excited to see what Monolith had in store next. This certainly doesn't disappoint, although I'd echo what some people are saying about it not looking as colourful as Xenoblade. The scope of the world we saw in the trailer was incredible, though, and I can't wait to explore it. Hopefully it has as many hidden nooks and crannies as its predecessor.

 

It sounds silly, but I'm also not 100% sold on the increased number of mechs/guns in this, compared to Xenoblade. I know it's a silly complaint, but I guess that personally, I'm not used to playing that kind of thing (too used to first party Ninty stuff!). Same with the online co-op, which is something I've never really had any experience of before. I just get the feeling that if I was playing with other people, it wouldn't feel like I was properly immersed in the game's world - does that make sense? I expect I'll mostly be going through the game in single player, so I hope that it doesn't disappoint in that aspect, which is somewhere that Xenoblade excelled for me.

[Sheikah]

FF7 was the first RPG a lot of people were invested in, that's why it's so loved. It has a serious plot, good music, the cutscenes were well handled, the combat is accessible and fun...

 

And Sephiroth was a very good character, but not for being "badass" or anything. He had good presence and was intimidating despite the fact that his motives and methods were unknown to the player most of the time. That was one of the things that was actually well done.

 

But the plot is confusing (and unfinished in a lot of places), the movement is clunky, the character models were laughable even then, a lot of the extra content can be easily skipped (like getting Vincent and raising Chocobos. Even finding that bloody key for the Temple of the Ancients was unintuitive)

 

FFVII is definitely not an RPG I'd recommend. If I had played it before FFIX, I would've been turned off by the genre, probably.

But we're veering a bit off-topic, here.

 

I respect this, in some ways I like some of things you don't. You say the story was too complex but I quite liked that. I was young at the time but it prompted me to find answers to some of the confusing parts (2 Sephiroths for instance) and if was like a game that kept on giving. I also liked that a lot of side quests were optional/missable. Made them feel more special.

 

Also the character models were so bad they were good. Kinda on a minecraft level. Cow hoof Cloud will forever hold a place in my heart.

[Retro_Link]

The scope of the world we saw in the trailer was incredible, though, and I can't wait to explore it. Hopefully it has as many hidden nooks and crannies as its predecessor.

 

It sounds silly, but I'm also not 100% sold on the increased number of mechs/guns in this, compared to Xenoblade. I know it's a silly complaint, but I guess that personally, I'm not used to playing that kind of thing (too used to first party Ninty stuff!). Same with the online co-op, which is something I've never really had any experience of before. I just get the feeling that if I was playing with other people, it wouldn't feel like I was properly immersed in the game's world - does that make sense? I expect I'll mostly be going through the game in single player, so I hope that it doesn't disappoint in that aspect, which is somewhere that Xenoblade excelled for me.

Agree with you on this, the mechs and guns have me slightly concerned as to the games direction, though according to IGN they're more of a Xenogears thing, so we'll see what's going on.

 

My worry with the landscape at the moment is that whilst it's vast and expansive, it appears to just be rock and grass for you to fly over... I'm not sure how much of an actual world is there... yet (of course it's still early).

 

But we do see shapes of building and things in the distance so that's all encouraging. I just wouldn't want the landscape in this game to be like a battle arena, but that all comes from not quite knowing what type of game this is yet. I guess I'm thinking along the lines of Starhawk on the PS3.

 

 

I'm not saying the game will play like this, I just don't want the landscapes to be made for Mechs etc...

Edited January 24, 2013 by Retro_Link

[Oxigen_Waste]

I'ma have to stop you for talking sheer bollocks there. Fair enough you don't like VII, but let's not be silly now. XII above VII? Ca'man. You said yourself you stopped playing VIII.... totally weak sauce. It is nothing like VII IMO.

 

There's a reason it consistently tops the favourite games of all time, gets its own film and multiple game tie-ins. People absolutely love it.

 

Although I will add I prefer VIII. VII is still a great game though with a story that I genuinely cared about and it had some truly awesome characters, far better than those in most FF games anyway. Sephiroth was fucking badass.

 

I know you won't agree, but whatever you say on this matter we both know there must be something about it for it to be so loved.

 

Of course there's something about it. It was most people's first RPG. That's it. Why do you think it's always at the top of FF ranking polls along with X over here in the west? Because it's better? Not at all. It is the single most disgracefull RPG I've ever played. The gameplay sucks, the materia system is a watered down copy of the job system, the minigames are horrible, it has the worst pacing ever, plus it looks like absolute shit. It's the most overrated and over-hyped game of all time, bar none. It's a veritable lesson in how to NOT make games. After FFVI it was as bad as it could've been... Plus, it marked the start of the teen angst emo plots and characters in RPGs. Basically, it couldn't have been worse even if they tried, from a gameplay perspective... it was years behind FFIV, V or VI.

 

I remember a few months back, on GAF there was a poll thread about this very subject, and every single one of the FFVII defenders were people who first played it when they were kids. The only thing keeping it's reputation afloat today is nostalgia, that's it. The same phenomenon happens in Japan with Dragon Quest III.

 

The soundtrack was amazing. And the story was quite good too, for a videogame story. But that's about it. As an interactive videogame, it abysmally fails in every single possible way.

 

What's good about it, from a gaming perspective?

[Sheikah]

Of course there's something about it. It was most people's first RPG. That's it. Why do you think it's always at the top of FF ranking polls along with X over here in the west? Because it's better? Not at all. It is the single most disgracefull RPG I've ever played. The gameplay sucks, the materia system is a watered down copy of the job system, the minigames are horrible, it has the worst pacing ever, plus it looks like absolute shit. It's the most overrated and over-hyped game of all time, bar none. It's a veritable lesson in how to NOT make games. After FFVI it was as bad as it could've been... Plus, it marked the start of the teen angst emo plots and characters in RPGs. Basically, it couldn't have been worse even if they tried, from a gameplay perspective... it was years behind FFIV, V or VI.

 

I remember a few months back, on GAF there was a poll thread about this very subject, and every single one of the FFVII defenders were people who first played it when they were kids. The only thing keeping it's reputation afloat today is nostalgia, that's it. The same phenomenon happens in Japan with Dragon Quest III.

 

The soundtrack was amazing. And the story was quite good too, for a videogame story. But that's about it. As an interactive videogame, it abysmally fails in every single possible way.

 

What's good about it, from a gaming perspective?

That doesn't make any sense. Just because it's people's first - so what? If it was shit people wouldn't go on about it. Doesn't matter if it was their first.

 

Sonic 2 was the first game I played, yet I don't think that's the best game or side scrolling platformer ever.

 

Your post is ignorant and wrong on so many levels to be honest. CBA arguing it.

[Oxigen_Waste]

That doesn't make any sense. Just because it's people's first - so what? If it was shit people wouldn't go on about it. Doesn't matter if it was their first.

 

Sonic 2 was the first game I played, yet I don't think that's the best game or side scrolling platformer ever.

 

Your post is ignorant and wrong on so many levels to be honest. CBA arguing it.

 

Of course it matters! Skies Of Arcadia is my favourite RPG to this day... and there's no reason other than it being my first to back that up. It's not even on my list of top 10 RPGs but it's my favourite, by a big margin, too. The problem with these things is that people confuse attachment for quality.

 

As for my post being ignorant, show me why then. Use reason to show me that Final Fantasy VII is a good videogame. I'll grant you story and soundtrack, those 2 were good. What about the rest? Prove me wrong here and I'll gladly admit you're right.

[Sheikah]

Of course it matters! Skies Of Arcadia is my favourite RPG to this day... and there's no reason other than it being my first to back that up. It's not even on my list of top 10 RPGs but it's my favourite, by a big margin, too. The problem with these things is that people confuse attachment for quality.

 

As for my post being ignorant, show me why then. Use reason to show me that Final Fantasy VII is a good videogame. I'll grant you story and soundtrack, those 2 were good. What about the rest? Prove me wrong here and I'll gladly admit you're right.

 

How can I prove subjective beliefs that you obviously don't share?

 

All that matters is whether people think it excels in enough areas to be better than other games in the series. Obviously they do, and that's that. Novelty can only give so much, the game has to be very good. I disproved your point here as none of my first games are my favourite evers. And I bet that's the case for a lot of people.

 

Anyway this is way off topic, and there's really nothing else to say.

[Oxigen_Waste]

How can I prove subjective beliefs that you obviously don't share?

 

All that matters is whether people think it excels in enough areas to be better than other games in the series. Obviously they do, and that's that. Novelty can only give so much, the game has to be very good. I disproved your point here as none of my first games are my favourite evers. And I bet that's the case for a lot of people.

 

Anyway this is way off topic, and there's really nothing else to say.

 

What's subjective about gameplay? oO The game has less gameplay features than it's 3 predecessors, the levels are soo porly designed they needed to add an arrow feature just so people could navigate the game properly. It looks like absolute shit. The pacing is all over the place. There's not 1 single gameplay innovation present. As a game, it has nothing going for it at all and on top of all of that it's clunky.

 

It's part of that pioneering group of games that have become hailed as almighty untouchable masterpieces purely for being the first in their series to be a 3D game. I'm trying to discuss this with you and all you're providing me with as an aswer is "people like it". People don't know shit. People voted "Toxic" by Britney Spears as the second best song of all time (behind One by U2, no less). I don't give a shit what "people" have to say on the matter, I want to discuss this with you. Because you DO know what you're talking about. What do YOU believe makes FFVII a good game, besides story and soundtrack? Why do you propose it's such a popular game?

[Sheikah]

You know I find it odd you praise the story and music then ask 'what else'. Excelling in those is enough to win IMO. Phoenix Wright is evidence that a good story is enough to carry a 'game' - the word 'game' is often misinterpreted. In the sense of FF games the story should be most important. It's what they're most loved for.

 

Most people will tell you how fun the battle system was anyway, and refute everything you're saying. People fucking loved Materia, including me. Some people so much so that they hated the systems that came later.

 

You need to realise that everything you're saying is subjective. Yeah, we get it, you didn't like it. But that doesn't mean your view is 'correct'' or that it being bad is 'factual'. This is a huge problem with you as I remember it from before. You have a big problem with accepting subjectivity and that certain things cannot be 'proven wrong'. It's frankly irritating.

Edited January 24, 2013 by Sheikah

[bryanee]

[Jonnas]

I respect this, in some ways I like some of things you don't. You say the story was too complex but I quite liked that. I was young at the time but it prompted me to find answers to some of the confusing parts (2 Sephiroths for instance) and if was like a game that kept on giving. I also liked that a lot of side quests were optional/missable. Made them feel more special.

 

Also the character models were so bad they were good. Kinda on a minecraft level. Cow hoof Cloud will forever hold a place in my heart.

 

I didn't say it was complex, I said it was confusing. Bad storytelling (and I'll leave it at that).

The sidequests/key thing was more about how unintuitive they were. Missable optionals are not that serious, as long as they stay optional.

 

And about the models, if something is "so bad it's good", it's still bad But I still love Hojo punching his head when he should be poking his forehead with his finger

 

And on that note, let's stop derailing the thread.

[Oxigen_Waste]

You know I find it odd you praise the story and music then ask 'what else'. Excelling in those is enough to win IMO. Phoenix Wright is evidence that a good story is enough to carry a 'game' - the word 'game' is often misinterpreted. In the sense of FF games the story should be most important. It's what they're most loved for.

 

Most people will tell you how fun the battle system was anyway, and refute everything you're saying. People fucking loved Materia, including me. Some people so much so that they hated the systems that came later.

 

You need to realise that everything you're saying is subjective. Yeah, we get it, you didn't like it. But that doesn't mean your view is 'correct'' or that it being bad is 'factual'. This is a huge problem with you as I remember it from before. You have a big problem with accepting subjectivity and that certain things cannot be 'proven wrong'. It's frankly irritating.

 

I know. It's just the way I am. Usually it's because I consider myself to have great impartiality, in that I can appreciate many things I don't like or in reverse immensely enjoy many things I don't consider good. What I like and what I think about something are usually 2 very distinct trains of thought, for me. In other words, I don't really get attached to things... Monster Hunter is a great example of this... I love Tri, played over 400 hours of it and loved every second, but I think it's a very mediocre game. And it's one of my 3 favourite games this gen.

 

Anyway, yeah I did like the story and music. Kind of hard not to... the story's nothing special, but for a game it is pretty awesome. I guess I just hated everything else too much for it to really mean anything to me. IX is so much better in the gameplay department it's insane... As for the materia, don't get me wrong, it was a nice system... but it's basically a lesser job system. A less profound version, if you will.

 

Anyway, the Phoenix Wright comparison doesn't quite work with me, as I play videogames specifically for the gameplay (and atmosphere... that' very important to me). Sometimes I might make an exception when something excells tremendously at the narrative it creates, such as Journey or Dear Esther... but essentially, I'm usually in it for the hook of pure gameplay... it's why stuff like the DeS/DaS, Monster Hunter or Metroid appeals so much too me. As opposed to stuff like Phoenix Wright... which is alright, don't get me wrong, but is just not my cup of tea. Even 999 which everyone raved about... I did liked it, quite alot... but I'd take a good book or a movie over it any day. Where as with something like DeS or MHT, there's nothing else like it. That kick of pure gameplay you get from a few levels of Super Meat Boy, that can't be found in any other medium except gaming. And that's what I really like about gaming. Maybe that had a big influence on my hating FFVII so much, but hell, from a gameplay POV I really can't see anything good about it. At all.

[Retro_Link]

What are you guys talking about? [not Xenoblade] It ain't half going on!

Edited January 24, 2013 by Retro_Link

[Fused King]

Man, after watching the trailer a few times again, I'm already starting to get anxious.

We better get to see some colour in there, otherwise it's just Monster Hunter....

 

 

 

I need some of that!

[RedShell]

We better get to see some colour in there, otherwise it's just Monster Hunter....

There be plenty of colour in Monster Hunter:

 

 

:wink:

 

But I agree, X does seem to need more colour.

[Kagato]

MECHS!!! I was already excited when i saw how gorgeous the game looked but Giant Robots make everything better, i jumped out of my seat when i saw that part much to the annoyance of everyone in the room at the time. I now need to work on finishing the previous game lol

[Nyubi]

Start it now and then maybe, just maybe you'll be finished by the time this comes out. Seriously it's a huge game.

 

Yeah that's the one thing I take away from skimming and skipping posts about Xenoblade, well, and that it's supposedly a super awesome game:heh:

[Wii]

XENOBLADE XENOGEARS WiiU - Trailer in PERFECT 1080p Quality

 

 

Check it out. Can't upload it directly to here. The clarity and level of detail visible in this video makes it look even more stunning, if that's even possible.

Edited January 30, 2013 by Wii

[Fierce_LiNk]

XENOBLADE XENOGEARS WiiU - Trailer in PERFECT 1080p Quality

 

 

Check it out. Can't upload it directly to here. The clarity and level of detail visible in this video makes it look even more stunning, if that's even possible.

 

Dat music.

[Wii]

Dat music.

 

It's great isn't it? If the music is anything like Xenoblade I'll have no complaints. Some of the best gaming music ever. I don't know if it was orchestrated, don't think so. It's possible for the sequel, though the Wii U sound experience is gimped.