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Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition (29th May)

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Yeah, that sounds a lot like Challenge Mode from Xenoblade 2.

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Adam Howden and Jenna Coleman confirmed to be reprising their roles for Future Connected too, I'm really looking forward to this!

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Previews and 15 minutes of gameplay going up in most places:

And Gamexplain spoiling us with the soundtrack comparisons... :grin:

Found myself just skipping around some of the gameplay videos to get a better feel for the world and the soundtrack. Yeah, like I could be much more excited to dive into this for my first time :laughing: looks and sounds incredible, really excited for the 29th! Nearly made it! 

Edited by Julius
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Just pre-ordered. Can't wait, especially after listening to the soundtrack.

I never played the Wii version, but I did try the 3DS port but struggled due to the low resolution screen.

Hoping that the combat matches XC2.

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I remember preferring the combat in the first game so hopefully you find it as engaging as it was in XC2. 

I finally started Torna last night, hoping to be finished with it before this arrives. I think I'll play through the main game again fairly casually, using handheld mode most of the time, before fully immersing myself in Future Connected. 

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Takahashi has been speaking with Weekly Famitsu as part of the Xenoblade focused issue that's coming out, including mentioning that a critical path play of Future Connect should be 10-12 hours, and about 20 hours including all side quests.

Key points translated by Gematsu:

Quote

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition‘s additional scenaro “Future Connected” can be completed in 10 to 12 hours if you play the story alone, and in around 20 hours if you include side content, according to the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu.

Speaking to the magazine, Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition director Tetsuya Takahashi said that while it would have been possible to make it longer if it were paid downloadable content, the development of new titles would be affected if too many resources were used.

Takahashi also shared the following tidbits:

- Monolith Soft’s First Production staff was divided into three sections: one section to work on Xenoblade: Definitive Edition, one to work on a new title, and one to work on both.

- While character graphics were not the best in the original version, they have been improved in Xenoblade: Definitive Edition.

- Since this is a remaster, Monolith Soft was not able to re-record all the music with an orchestra. Instead, they improved the quality and rearranged it.

- Data compression is better mitigated and sound quality more enhanced compared to Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

 

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More details from Famitsu being discussed over on ResetEra:

Quote

>DE planing start right after the sales of XC2 (2017)
>Also at the same time they planing for new game.
>Did a presentation(to Nintendo) together with DE (May 2018)
>So they seemingly doing 3 games at the same time with Torna development (1.Torna 2.DE 3.New game)
>DE production starts after Torna gone gold (August 2018)

I know that it's "just" a remaster, but still, man, that seems like a very quick turnaround to me. Just a bit over a year and a half, and it looks this good?

Makes me wonder where they're at with their new fantasy IP...

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11 hours ago, Julius said:

More details from Famitsu being discussed over on ResetEra:

I know that it's "just" a remaster, but still, man, that seems like a very quick turnaround to me. Just a bit over a year and a half, and it looks this good?

Makes me wonder where they're at with their new fantasy IP...

And that’s when they were doing DLC/Torna for Xenoblade 2, and when they were co-developing Animal Crossing New Horizons!

That’s a crazy good turnaround! :o 
 

15 hours ago, Julius said:

Takahashi has been speaking with Weekly Famitsu as part of the Xenoblade focused issue that's coming out, including mentioning that a critical path play of Future Connect should be 10-12 hours, and about 20 hours including all side quests.

Key points translated by Gematsu:

 

Most importantly, XBde apparently has proper surround sound, unlike XB2!

 

I was going to riot if they didn’t have proper 5.1 this time, considering that the original Wii version had DPL2.  So they’re safe for now...

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Bad news...

So it actually runs in a lower resolution than Xenoblade 2... Handheld mode can actually even drop lower than the original Wii game!

Honestly, what's the bloody point!? It's barely even an upgrade over the original Wii game at all! I would much rather have reduced special effects and a proper 1080p resolution! Isn't a HD remaster is supposed to be... you know... HD!?

Shameful, bloody shameful.  Why is the Switch struggling to run a Wii game? Hell, the Switch is powerful enough to emulate the original Wii game! Monolith need to sort themselves and their engine out; this is not good enough.  Plain and simple.

Edited by Dcubed
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6 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Bad news...

So it actually runs in a lower resolution than Xenoblade 2... Handheld mode can actually even drop lower than the original Wii game!

Honestly, what's the bloody point!? It's barely even an upgrade over the original Wii game at all! I would much rather have reduced special effects and a proper 1080p resolution! Isn't a HD remaster is supposed to be... you know... HD!?

Well that... is less than ideal, to say the least.

I would have thought that the game would at least be running at 1080p or close to it in docked mode.

Although, it is still an upgrade over the Wii version because just from the comparisons you can see the difference but this is still a shame.

At this point, I'm still buying it as the sheer convenience of having the game on the Switch and the fact that the Wii version really looks significantly worse now, has sealed the deal.

Still, "I'm really feeling it!" because I really want to finally play through the game, just not quite as much as I was before the news of the game being lower resolution.

The fixed faces and improved textures/sound plus the extra content will still make this an easy game to recommend but it could have been so much more.

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It really isn't all that surprising. Xenoblade 2 and Torna both run at vastly varying resolutions and look like a blurry mess at the best of times, it's just par for the course with Monolith as far as I'm concerned. In terms of scope and graphical quality there isn't much difference between the first game and the second so the fact that it's a remastered Wii game shouldn't really come into it, they have shown that their engine doesn't scale particularly well and isn't optimised to produce the maximum output resolution of the Switch but the games are still amazing. It's a shame, sure, but I don't think it's anything to get that annoyed about. 

Monolith really should make it a priority to hire some technical wizards that can help their games look more attractive while keeping a stable framerate. 

Edited by killthenet
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That's unfortunate. I've been dipping into Hyrule Warriors again and the wizardry that goes into the improvements there (Much less pop in, better lighting and higher frame rate while docked) doesn't make Xenoblade look good by comparison.

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On 25/05/2020 at 2:06 PM, Dcubed said:

Bad news...

So it actually runs in a lower resolution than Xenoblade 2... Handheld mode can actually even drop lower than the original Wii game!

Honestly, what's the bloody point!? It's barely even an upgrade over the original Wii game at all! I would much rather have reduced special effects and a proper 1080p resolution! Isn't a HD remaster is supposed to be... you know... HD!?

Shameful, bloody shameful.  Why is the Switch struggling to run a Wii game? Hell, the Switch is powerful enough to emulate the original Wii game! Monolith need to sort themselves and their engine out; this is not good enough.  Plain and simple.

Agree with everyone else here that this is a shame, but it doesn't matter too much to me. The game looks much better than the other versions from what we've seen, and honestly I'm just happy that I'll finally be able to play this game. A great art style seems to be holding things together. I think I'll be very happy with it.

Admittedly a bit worried about how it might look on a larger screen, though. 

From the sound of things it could be down to Monolith Soft being given a tight schedule for the project (that previously mentioned 18 months or so to turn this around makes a lot more sense) and diverting resources and manpower to prioritise their new IP. 

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Reviews look VERY positive. I've ordered my copy from Amazon so hoping I've got it by Friday afternoon. Hopefully I'll be able to put a few hours in over the weekend :)

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I’ve been playing a review copy for the past month or so, and have fallen in love with it all over again. Definitely still in my top 10 games of all time. :heart: Love the changes made to the quest system, which shaved a good chunk of time off my play through of the main quest. Future Connected was a bit disappointing, to be honest - the story didn’t really grab me, unfortunately, and I was expecting it to be a big longer, but overall, the whole thing is still a fantastic package, and an essential purchase if you’re into RPGs. I’m just pootling around back in the main game now, trying to level up so I can take on some of the later quests.

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Finished Torna the other night and loved it just as much as the other entries, still running about in it mopping up some side quests I missed. 

I started watching the latest Frame Trap last night and got super hyped for this hearing Ben rave about it, I'm anxiously checking the Nintendo site every so often to see if they've dispatched my order - seems ridiculous to be so excited about a remaster!

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14 minutes ago, Mike said:

the whole thing is still a fantastic package, and an essential purchase if you’re into RPGs.

What about someone who is very much into JRPGs but didn't like the original version on the Wii and the sequel on the Switch?

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3 minutes ago, drahkon said:

What about someone who is very much into JRPGs but didn't like the original version on the Wii and the sequel on the Switch?

Heh, maybe not then. Sounds like you’ve already given it your best shot! 😅

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4 minutes ago, drahkon said:

What about someone who is very much into JRPGs but didn't like the original version on the Wii and the sequel on the Switch?

I'm not sure, you might need a prescription for that.

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My CE is on its way (from France), but I'm definitely not playing it next week.

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I wasn't intending to pick this up as I don't know if I would be willing to spend another 100 hours in the game but I've gone and ordered my copy through Shopto. Hopefully get it Friday (though if not I'll have the Borderlands games to try out on the Switch). Just seeing all the review scores and hearing bits of the soundtrack lately has had it stuck in my mind and so I just had to grab it. So combined with the Borderlands games, I'll easily be set for the next couple of months, though I'll probably be grabbing Paper Mario so that'll add to things (and TLOU Part 2 and Ghost of Tsushima).

Looking forward to jumping in and hearing that Gaur Plains music again in its remastered glory. Just need to remember to stay away from the area with the big spider when exploring the Gaur Plains as that caused some panic first time through.

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3 hours ago, Mike said:

Heh, maybe not then. Sounds like you’ve already given it your best shot! 😅

The thing that put me off the original Wii release was the menus not loading quickly. It's a weird one, I know, but I love menus/stats/equipment in JRPGs and it annoyed me to no end that it was just a hassle to navigate the menus :D

IIRC I even loved the battle system (at least during the 15 hours of playtime I invested in). Strange, as I hated the battles in the sequel.

Think I'm gonna go through some reviews and see if I may give the definitive edition a go.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses lost me and I'm set to sell it. Might be a good way to reinvest :D

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The only visual comparison that matters :grin:

 

Edited by Julius

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