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And no, Xenoblade X was not downgraded at all, that's just some haters hating. It still looks beautiful. The characters have more of a classic FF/JRPG look to them, and this is the first we've really seen their faces. Most of the effort by Monolithsoft will be put into the spectacular environments, just as it was in Xenoblade 1.
I have little doubt that this will be the RPG of the generation. I didn't play close attention to the gameplay session on the treehouse because I don't want a single thing ruined from when I first pop it in my Wii U, but what I saw assured me that the combat and story and visuals will be every bit as good as the original and then some. It looks like they have upped a number of things such as making the menus slicker with the benefit of HD displays.
