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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Chibi Import Reviews: Xenoblade

Over the next few months i will be doing reviews of games that are currently only available in japan!

My first review will be of one of the arguable best jrpg's the wii has to offer. (Read) In my reviews i will not be talking about the story of each game. As i don't wish to spoil the events of the games i am reviewing. These reviews will be me talking through what i enjoyed and disliked about the gameplay, music and graphics of each game I will however say in the summery weather i enjoyed the story or not. I simple wont go into detail of the events that follow in the game.

Xenoblade

In my short existence on this earth ui have played countless games of all genre's but never have i been confronted with a situation that Xenoblade leaves me with. With almost every game i have ever played i either love it, hate it or don't really care much for it. With Xenoblade i honestly don't know. 

Gameplay - 

The first and for many the most important part of video games. Xenoblade uses a battle system that can be easily compared to many MMO's and even white knight chronicles. Enermys can be seen on screen from a distance and avoiding them is of moderate ease. "but doesnt Final fantasy XIII do the same thing" i here you asking. yes it does but unlike with ff13 the battles are seamless, there is not dramatic 4 second cut scene entrance to the battle just you the enemy in front of you and your over sized sward. It would probably be more reasonable to compare Xenoblade to White knight chronicles both being console jrpg's with a very MMO feel. The biggest and most important thing you will notice when comparing the two games is that unlike WNC, xenoblades gets it right! The battles are fast and always entertain your eyes with well thought out effects that keep true to the game and don't try to be overly elaborate. 

Dont be mistaken however. xenoblade's gameplay is not perfect. the game warns you that the enemy is about to perform a high damage/ knock out attack basically telling you the future and giving you the chance to change the event you have been presented with. This truly gives you the feeling of being able to take your destiny in the game into your own hands, knowing you have avoided death by your own hands. Thats the feeling you will get about the first 50 times it happens. After about 15 hours worth of these forsite events it will start to fell like nothing more than a irritating mini game you have to participate in every so often in an other wise constant stream iof pure jrpg action.

Music - 

For some people gameplay is the most important part of a game. For others its the graphics. For me the music is what makes or breaks a game. No matter how graphicly outstanding a game may be or how well well crafted the gameplay is, if i hate the music i will probably hate the game. Nothing even the most skilled developer can create gameplay that may triumph over the feeling of adrenaline when the your favourite tune in a game starts to play. This is where Xenoblade comes into its own. Final fantasy XIII had some of the greatest music iv ever herd in a game, xenoblade consists of music of sheer beauty triumphing over anything i have ever herd before. I often found myself simply standing in the middle of the vast fields in the game admiring the music. The music in this game truly are some of the most beautiful things i have ever herd.

Graphics - 

Last year Final Fantasy XIII awed me with its visual splender, not because of petty things such as textures or what the resolution was. Simple because the art direction was outstanding. massive structures and huge landscapes that stretched for miles are all you could see thought the game. But the constant feeling of constant folow you, as you knew you would never be able to reach many of the visual spenders of the game, held back by the linearity of the game itself. With Xenoblade those views of unparalleled beauty are not just for scenery. They are yours to explore to reach out for and to enjoy to there fullest. The only complained i ever had with ff13 has been fixed. I am free to venture into the world with nothing but me and my controller holding me back.

Summary - 

If you have read through the whole review you pretty know what my thoughts of this game are already. The game has many ups and downs but the fact of the matter is that to me, a major jrpg gamer this is a close to perfection you will find in a jrpg this gen. Im shore when (if) this game ever gets localised there will be many who disagree with me, but the fact of the matter is its my opinion. To me i couldn't have asked for a better crated game. With a highly engaging story, fast paced battles and music that i will be listening to for months to come THIS is the game all wii owners should own. 

Score -  Gameplay - 9.1        Music - 10.0         Graphics - 9.5         Overall - 9.6

I Hope you enjoyed my first review :)



Yeah i know my spelling sucks but im dysgraphic so live with it :3    

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Conegamer - I say that the PS3 will beat the DS next week in Japan  (for hardware sales) Forfeit is control over others avatar for 1 week.

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I will say this, a NeoGaf member is pretty adamant that he knows Xenoblade is coming to Europe (and maybe therefore America... but so long as it comes here I don't care ). I really hope it does, because it's been a long time since I've been genuinely excited for an RPG, but Xenoblade looks wonderful.

Nice review btw.



fwap said:

I will say this, a NeoGaf member is pretty adamant that he knows Xenoblade is coming to Europe (and maybe therefore America... but so long as it comes here I don't care ). I really hope it does, because it's been a long time since I've been genuinely excited for an RPG, but Xenoblade looks wonderful.

Nice review btw.


It would be great if this game gets localised. More people need to play this! and thanx :)



Yeah i know my spelling sucks but im dysgraphic so live with it :3    

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Conegamer - I say that the PS3 will beat the DS next week in Japan  (for hardware sales) Forfeit is control over others avatar for 1 week.

Oh by the way if people want me to include a review of the story in my next review just say. I didn't in this one (as stated in the first paragraph lol) as not to spoil the events of the game.



Yeah i know my spelling sucks but im dysgraphic so live with it :3    

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Conegamer - I say that the PS3 will beat the DS next week in Japan  (for hardware sales) Forfeit is control over others avatar for 1 week.

Soriku said:

"With almost every game i have ever played i either love it, hate it or don't really care much for it. With Xenoblade i honestly don't know. "

The game is so awesome, you don't even know? :P

"Im shore when (if) this game ever gets localised there will be many who disagree with me, but the fact of the matter is its my opinion. To me i couldn't have asked for a better crated game. Anyway does this game feel like"

There's a lot of positive impressions for this game...I'll have to disagree.

Also you can review the story but not give any spoilers. Just say what you liked.

I ment it took me about 20 hours to decided weather i liked it or not. Its kinda hard to explain. As i said in the music part the musicint he game oftem make or break it for me and i couldnt tell wether i was in love with the game or the music XD (or both)

Disagree with what? :P ff13 was recived like candy in japan but not so well in the west. I F**ckin loved this game XD

Ill try that out next time. I know my review was far from perfect but its my first time doing one :P



Yeah i know my spelling sucks but im dysgraphic so live with it :3    

---------------------------------------------------Bets--------------------------------------------------

Conegamer - I say that the PS3 will beat the DS next week in Japan  (for hardware sales) Forfeit is control over others avatar for 1 week.

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Soriku said:
Chibi.V.29 said:
Soriku said:

"With almost every game i have ever played i either love it, hate it or don't really care much for it. With Xenoblade i honestly don't know. "

The game is so awesome, you don't even know? :P

"Im shore when (if) this game ever gets localised there will be many who disagree with me, but the fact of the matter is its my opinion. To me i couldn't have asked for a better crated game. Anyway does this game feel like"

There's a lot of positive impressions for this game...I'll have to disagree.

Also you can review the story but not give any spoilers. Just say what you liked.

I ment it took me about 20 hours to decided weather i liked it or not. Its kinda hard to explain. As i said in the music part the musicint he game oftem make or break it for me and i couldnt tell wether i was in love with the game or the music XD (or both)

Disagree with what? :P ff13 was recived like candy in japan but not so well in the west. I F**ckin loved this game XD

Ill try that out next time. I know my review was far from perfect but its my first time doing one :P


I'll have to disagree on your thoughts that people won't like it. When FF XIII was released there were some negative impressions iike the "lolol linear" stuff. Not the case with Xenoblade.

Also I'd still like to know what you think of Xenoblade's story so far.

Fair enough ^^ 

I just finished the story today :P I havnt been of VGC for a few days cos i was playing through the game almost flat out XD The basic premise of the story was basic enough but the actually way its presented it fantastic. My wary was that as it was such a vast choice in how you play the game and explore that the story may have been slightly lacking compared to many jrpg's i was however problem wrong :P In all it will take you anywhere between 40 - 70 hours to finish through the game once. Some scenes in the game literally made me go O_O



Yeah i know my spelling sucks but im dysgraphic so live with it :3    

---------------------------------------------------Bets--------------------------------------------------

Conegamer - I say that the PS3 will beat the DS next week in Japan  (for hardware sales) Forfeit is control over others avatar for 1 week.

This game kinda makes me want a wii ¬.¬ great review by the way (:



Very nice! I really hope this game gets released in Europe soon so I can play it...

 

Can I look forward to reviews of Tales of Graces (F) and The Last Story as well?



FantasySky said:

This game kinda makes me want a wii ¬.¬ great review by the way (:


thanx :D 98% of the reason i got a wii was for this game XD which is saying something considering my hatred of almost all Nintendo games thee days :P



Yeah i know my spelling sucks but im dysgraphic so live with it :3    

---------------------------------------------------Bets--------------------------------------------------

Conegamer - I say that the PS3 will beat the DS next week in Japan  (for hardware sales) Forfeit is control over others avatar for 1 week.

forest-spirit said:

Very nice! I really hope this game gets released in Europe soon so I can play it...

 

Can I look forward to reviews of Tales of Graces (F) and The Last Story as well?


thanx alot ^^

you can indeed expect reviews of those 2 games ^^ tales of grace f will be the next game i review in 2 or so weeks (it only just arrived this morning). i just wanna play xenoblade a little bit mor first :P



Yeah i know my spelling sucks but im dysgraphic so live with it :3    

---------------------------------------------------Bets--------------------------------------------------

Conegamer - I say that the PS3 will beat the DS next week in Japan  (for hardware sales) Forfeit is control over others avatar for 1 week.