THIS

Hahaha the drinking definitely shows, the OP post goes from legible to Pikmon 3, GENIUS!

But yes I did like Last Story BUT know it is rather flawed. All Im saying is that it has potential, a lot of potential, could be Nintendo's Final Fantasy.

Agreed

You really can't blame a company for backing the rpg that sold way more units and received much more acclaim. With that said, i'm with you. I absolutely loved the last story. It was one of those games that i was sad to finish because i didn't want it to be over. In fact, that was one of my main criticisms. They could have given more back story in general, and more foreshadowing for the ending. Would LOVE to see a new tls. Would be almost as thrilled to hear nintendo contracting mistwalker as i would be if nintendo bought comcept. And i can't agree about the soundtrack enough. It's been 2 or 3 years since i played the game and i still find myself randomly humming the female protagonist's theme (her name escapes me right now).

I realize that, since they were both part of the whole operation rainfall situation, people are always going to compare xeno with tls, but really they are two very different rpgs. One had a new take on classic rpg combat while the other adopted the more modern mmo like combat system. One was very focused on story while the other boasted great exploration. Even the musical direction of the two games were vastly different. One, again, stuck with a more traditional soundtrack from one of the greatest game composer's of all time, while the other, again, chose a more modern feel and instrumentation.
Everyone has their preference. I have mine, but still love both of these games. I only bring it up because it seems like TLS gets looked down on more than it should. It's hard for me to see the reason behind dissing a game with qualities so rare now a days. It almost seems like people think that tls has to be inferior to xenoblade for xenoblade to really be considered good. I just don't get it. Anybody feel me on this?

I have yet to play my copy of TLS so perhaps it's wrong of me to comment but I'd rather see Nintendo invest even more resources into Xenoblade. I believe that franchise has a lot more potential than TLS.

Premise of the OP is genius. Very good thread. Please drink more often.

I've played a few hours of The Last Story but haven't spent much time listening to the music yet. I may make the latter the higher priority now.

Because it's supposed to be "The Last Story" ever told. Just like "Final Fantasy" was supposed to be the final fantasy ever told. He just wanted you to know that, he wanted the world to know that.

Well I think that it is fair to say The Last Story does have more flaws than Xenoblade.  I've played both, and the first that sticks out for me is the melodrama.  TLS loves to pound them emotional drums, as early as the first segment.  Xenoblade is more subdued, mainly through subversion due to comic relief and its pacing, but maintains character development and complexity of philosophy and theme.  I'm not saying TLS is a bad game or a bad story, it doesn't deserve to be crapped on constantly, but the whole warm and fuzzy "it's all equal, just different" mentality that goes as far as to dismiss criticism doesn't help things.  Thoughtful critique can help a thing improve; dismissing critique altogether causes stagnation.

I will say that in most areas outside narrative construction and such, the two are mostly not legitimate candidates for comparison.  Gameplay and structure are wildly different, and preference is going to come down to taste.  However, that doesn't mean either should go without critique, it just means people should be more thoughtful and scrutinize each on its own rather than making useless comparison.

Back on topic, I think all three franchises that Rainfall dealt with have potential. Most interestingly, it would bring different artistic and graphical styles and philosophies to the table, with TLS bringing a more realistic style with a larger up close details focus to complement XC's big picture focus.