| the_dengle said: Now this is a thread I can get behind. It's so great, I want to contribute my own top 10 Xenoblade moments list. I want to, but narrowing it down to 10 is impossible, so it's going to be a top 15 instead. With some honorable mentions. Honorable Mention #1: Mechanical Rhythm There's really not much going on in this scene. There's no dialogue or characters, the plot doesn't really develop. But Xenoblade pretty much becomes Star Wars for just one minute, set to the awesome Mechonis battle theme 'Mechanical Rhythm', to create one of the most rad and bad cutscenes in the game. Honorable Mention #2: "Sorry I kept you waiting." Shulk and Reyn are at their wits' end, trying to fend off the Mechon attack in Colony 9 by themselves. You feel the struggle each Mechon presents through battle, being required to break and topple them one at a time in order to deal any damage at all. Just when they're on the ropes, Dunban charges into the fray, Monado in hand, to save the day. And which hand is the Monado in? Look closely. It's in his left hand, and that subtle touch is why this moment gets an honorable mention. In the prologue, Dunban wields the Monado in his right hand; however, the dangerous power of the weapon causes him to lose the use of his right arm. He can't even lift a spoonful of soup with it nowadays. Whatever is a recovering badass to do? Of course he knows that using the Monado with his left hand could potentially leave both of his arms paralyzed, but he does it anyway, because he's awesome. Honorable Mention #3: "We are on the sword of the Mechonis!" I love this moment because it really drives home the setting and scale of Xenoblade: leading the forces of Bionis in an assault against Mechon troops in Sword Valley, Kallian recognizes that the Mechonis is activating. OH! SHIT! He orders his forces to fall back to the Bionis, because if the Mechonis starts moving while they're standing on it... you do the math! #15: Meyneth VS Zanza There's a pretty cool cutscene you might be thinking of, but it's not what I'm referring to (although it contributes). I'm talking about the in-game showdown between the player-controlled Meyneth/Fiora and Zanza in the Mechonis Core. As an actual boss fight, it falls short (being technically unlosable), but it's a dramatic moment in the story that the player gets to participate in. What really seals the deal for me is the use of Tragic Decision, one of my favorite songs on the soundtrack. This certainly won't be the only time you hear it in this list. #14: Kallian's Last Words A good moment for Kallian and Melia for sure, and not a bad speech from Kallian. But it wasn't his words that left an impression on me, it was who heard them. This is one of my favorite Riki scenes in the game. Melia has a clear moment of doubt when she fears that she was the only member of the party who heard her brother's parting words, but Riki reassures her that he too heard Kallian. Most of Melia's scenes always seemed to focus on her feelings for Shulk, and Riki is usually playing the part of the comedic relief, but not this time. This touching moment between the two was more precious for its rarity. #13: "I ate them all up!" Xord is such a weird character. I freaking love him. His outrageous cockney accent makes him an unforgettable character, and I feel that the tutorial truly ends with his boss fight in the Ether Mines, teaching the player how to build chain attacks and use them to inflict break, topple, and daze on enemies that resist break. Ultimately, he is fairly insignificant to the plot, serving primarily to motivate Sharla to join the party. He doesn't truly become the absurdly strange and memorable character until your second playthrough. He goes on and on about how he ate the captured Colony 6 Defense Force, and incessantly reminds you how hungry he is. Early in the game, you see Mechon eating homs all the time, so you don't really question this. In fact, this is never openly addressed by the game -- after this scene, no one ever talks about the Mechon eating homs again. That's because they actually don't. Every time a Mechon appeared to be eating a homs, they were actually storing the homs body for transportation back to Mechonis, where it would be turned into a Face Mechon. You wouldn't know this until some 30 hours after you kill Xord off for good, by which point you've probably forgotten all about his appetite. But when you return to that scene in retrospect, you have to wonder -- what the hell is he on about?? Why is he making up this ridiculous story about eating homs, and why does he make his hunger for them his defining character trait?? The only reasonable answer I can come up with is that he's just trolling the main characters really hard, and I find that hilarious. It elevates him to one of my favorite characters in the game. #12: The first time you enter ___________ I can't really put my finger on this one, because it comes at different times for everyone. Most usually it's the Bionis Leg, for some it's Makna Forest, Valak Mountain, Eryth Sea, or the Fallen Arm. For me, it was Satorl Marsh. Whatever area it was for you on your first playthrough, I'm talking about that 'epiphany' moment where the setting really pulls you in for good, and makes it damn near impossible to stop playing. That first area where you feel compelled to explore every nook and cranny, complete every quest, fight every monster -- not for completion's sake, but because you care about the world and you want to learn more about it. For the player, this is possibly the most important moment in the game -- but it will vary from player to player, making it hard to pin down. #11: Unfinished Battle C'mon son, you already know what it is. The music, the hype, the Dunban. This scene is also the first time you hear Metal Face speak; it's pretty obvious in retrospect that he doesn't speak in Colony 9 because the player would be more likely to recognize his voice. At this point, it's been a long time since you played the prologue, so you might have forgotten all about Mumkhar by now. It adds a new layer of understanding to the cutscene on subsequent playthroughs. #10: Meet Heropon Riki Heropon Riki is the highlight of this scene, but it's also the first time you see all six (initial) members of the group really acting like a party. Riki gets tossed from party member to party member like a volleyball. The great dynamic between Riki and Reyn starts right here, as the two compete for the title of 'comedic relief character' for the rest of the game (Riki wins). And to top it off, I rather like the music. Of course. #9: Fiora's Death The early death of a main character isn't exactly a new concept in JRPGs, but this one is handled very well. I love Fiora's attitude in this scene -- she drives a mobile artillary straight into the fray to defend her brother, her friends, and her home. She isn't helpless, she isn't caught off-guard. She takes a risk for people she cares about, and dies fighting. Well, she appears to die, anyway... oh well, it's the thought that counts, right? This is undoubtledly one of the defining moments of the game. This optional boss fight is the payoff for an extremely long sidequest chain about a Nopon drug kingpin, Heisenpon... er, Bana. It's hard to explain what makes this scene great, but I just know it's one of my favorites in the whole game. The ridiculous speech patterns and facial expressions of the Nopon combined with their attempt to discuss something serious is humorous enough, but the use of Tragic Decision throughout the cutscene and bossfight? That's comedic genius right there. Tragic Decision only plays over three fights in the game, and this is the final one. The other two are against Yaldabaoth in Agniratha and Zanza in the Mechonis Core: they're extremely dramatic, plot-relevant battles. To hear the song used in such a silly situation always gets a good laugh out of me. I appreciate the humor as well as the drama in stories, and this game delivers both well. #7: 人 UPGRADE. The Monado is an extremely powerful weapon at the beginning of the game, but by the time you have Dunban, Melia, and Riki in your party, you might be starting to feel that Shulk's perpetually two-slotted weapon with its level 1-4 (and no higher) Arts is holding him back compared to the rest of the team. The moment that weapon transforms from this state to a permenantly three-slotted weapon with access to advanced-level Arts feels understandably great. You know what feels even better? Beating the piss out of Metal Face with your sick new lightsaber while one of the most badass songs in the game plays in lieu of the typical, desperate-sounding boss music. There's also a ton of foreshadowing all over the place here, setting the stage for the final boss battle of all things. As Zanza upgrades the Monado, he tells Shulk that now only a God can stand in his way, and the symbol on the Monado (which at the start of the game meant "machine") changes to "person." This symbol represents what the Monado can harm -- this is particularly effective because the player will recently have had two battle encounters in which Shulk could not harm his opponent. Players still using him at that point will feel frustrated with the Monado's limitations, making this upgrade even more satisfying. #6: "This isn't what I want!" As Shulk and Reyn leave Colony 9 to chase after Metal Face, Shulk says that he feels like there are two different voices in his head. This scene is the payoff for that foreshadowing, as we are finally allowed to hear the second voice. It is the voice of Zanza, demanding that Shulk kill his enemy, Egil (or rather, the Mechonis). In one of the most important moments in the game for Shulk, he realizes that he doesn't want revenge at all, that the 'second voice' isn't really his, and for a terrifying moment, he loses control over his body entirely as Zanza takes the reigns. Shulk regains control just in time to stop himself from going through with the execution, and drops his sword. I also enjoy the following scene between Shulk and Egil, and how Shulk's resolve effects his perception. #5: "Sometimes needs must!" This scene follows an awesome boss fight and preceeds the most satisfying character death in the game. But the most important confrontation here is the one between Shulk and Dunban. Usually the voice of reason in the group, we see a whole new side of Dunban in this scene. His anger over Mumkhar's betrayal drives him to seek revenge against his once-friend. It's Shulk who stops him, explaining that he is no longer motivated by revenge, but by his need for understanding -- and to save Fiora. Dunban agrees in the end after a heated argument, and it's a great moment in the story for both characters. Also, that death though. "Not like this!" A great moment for the story, sure, but what's important is that this is without a doubt one of the most interesting boss fights in the game. Jade Face fires extremely powerful attacks at you from the far side of a very long bridge, and you have to run from wall to wall, shielding yourself from his fire, while dealing with minor enemies along the way. This creative and challenging fight stands out among the mostly by-the-numbers boss battles in Xenoblade. #3: "I ain't gonna let you see me die." Dickson is one of the more mysterious characters in Xenoblade. Early on, you can tell something is off about him, but there's no way you could have guessed the truth. The final battle against Disciple Dickson is fine and all, but the best part of it is his defeat. Look at him light up that cigar. What's strange is that even after being killed by him, he almost sounds proud of Shulk. #2: "It did not cut deep enough." What's this? Another scene set to Tragic Decision? You got me. This is the moment Egil really started to shine as a great antagonist to me. His motives were clear, they explained pretty much everything, and he got to look like a real badass, shrugging off a direct hit from the Monado, picking Shulk up by the face, and throwing him to the ground as the absolutely massive Yaldaboath makes its entrance. To top things off, the song even continues playing through the (unwinnable) fight against Yaldabaoth. Zanza never quite gets a moment like this, and I think that's one of the reasons the final act is considered by many players to be the weakest part of the game. #1: Bionis Slash X This is it, this is the raison d'etre for the entire game, its setting, its mechanics, everything. The entire world, set on two titans locked in combat; the defining gameplay mechanic of having visions of the future, and shattering vision tags in battle to change that future. Nothing else to it, this attack is without question the defining moment of Xenoblade Chronicles. |
HM1: I love the song. Glad it made it to smash bros
HM2: This was one of the epic Dunban Moments
HM3: This part was insanely epic. I was just suddenly reminded of this earlier today.
15: I was just in too much shock on this part
14: Saddening. I was just too frustrated with Lorithia at this point
13: I like Xord
12: I never really got this feeling until Valak Mountain
11: This part I was exhausted and was ready to just get on with it. Then Metal Face showed up with epic music, then you can play with Dickson again. It was good.
10: I laughed
9: See my list
8: Oh boy, this one was intense. This was actually my number 11 on my list. It just took so long to get DobaDoba to give you some of the quests. It also gives you the best gem.
7: That moment feel good.
6: Actually never caught this one.
5: Literally just barely finished this part on NG+ Satisfying indeed.
4: At this point I knew Galdolt was screwed, so I didn't care about him.
3: See my list
2: One of the most quotable lines in the game. Epic.
1: I was shocked on this part.
