So, I'm playing Xenoblade Chronicles for the first time...

[Super_Boom]

I'm glad you like it! I played it last year, and even knowing full well the internet hype behind it, I was still blown away. Easily one of my top 5 favorite games.

I think what really hooked me was the exploration. With how the experience system was set up, I felt like I had more motivation to actually explore every corner of the map. The story was also a big motivator though. Like others have said, it gets better the more you play : )

On a side note, I just started playing Tales of Xillia, and thinking about Xenoblade really makes me wish that dual-audio was standard in more JRPGs. Just one crappy voice ruins the immersion for me.