Glad to hear the excitement about the game! Let's hope word-of-mouth can keep sales going for a long time like in the EU so we get more like this...

Not a huge fan. I really hope future JRPGs don't go down this route of countless sidequests that have no impact on the story and character development and make it feel like an MMORPG, just to create the illusion of an expansive universe.

It's still an exceptional game for the Wii. People have the misconception that if someone says some harsh words they think the game is bad. Not at all, just not fond of certain aspects of the game is all.

I played the game for +/-160 hours when it released in Europe. I myself think it's the best jrpg i played in years.

so far your opinion seems to be closest to my own.

@conegamer:  I will try to get back to my Wii and play some more during the next week or two, I'll post any updated impressions I have.

for the record, I do want to like this game very much.

I'm so into this game right now. The world is so big and even though this is a linear story I feel like I own it because I can play at my own pace however I feel fit.

The auto fight took a little adjustment time, but soon I was using the spare button mash time to strategize my arts usage and Monado combos. The game has a lot of unmentioned tactical depth. Keeping control of your aggro and position is key to beating tough opponents. And proper usage of the encouragement system can make or break a tough battle.

Having large maps with sectioned areas is another awesome trait, being able to have a "high power" area for adventurers is great. Before the main game begins, you could theoretically level your team up to juggernaut status just battling difficult enemies. The nice thing is, these areas of harder monsters are off the beaten path. If you want to speed run the game and not mess with the hard mobsters, you can just not go exploring. But the adventurous can press their luck and be rewarded early for battling behemoths.

This game is a joy to play, I've completely gotten over mass effect 3's ending.

Conegamer said: Euphoria14 said: Nope, I already played it months ago. AWESOME game by the way and no doubt one of the best JRPGs this generation. Right up there with my favorites this generations like Tales of Vesperia and currently Tales of Graces F. I agree!  Have you played Tales of the Abyss BTW? How does it compare with those if you have?

Abyss is one of the best. Up there with Symphonia and Phantasia.

Yeah, this is what I kind of enjoy about most of the XenoBlade sidequests. What I usually do is talk to all the people that give me quests right off the bat (usually collect X item or defeat X enemy) and then go out and do what I'd normally do. I complete 80-90% of these quests just by going through and exploring the world/doing the main quest, which is nice to recieve a boost in cash/exp. as I'm leveling up my characters.

Anyways, I'm in the marsh/swamp area and having a good time so far. Some of the "special" enemies are pretty good at making me run away from them.

Honestly I always thought that they were making fun of the dress of royals from feudal Europe.  They wore some weird stuff back then. 

Nop, the reason is quite simple, they are trying to create a new world and don't want to base it in just one real world culture, so they usually mix the parts of different periods of time and cultures to create something that will create the illusion that is another world and is not heavily influenced by say... the japanese culture during the tokugawa period. That is the reason they always create those weird outfits, so you believe that you are above a giant called Bionix and not in XV century Europe.

Nice! How would you rate it so far then?

@Panama- This is what really 'bugs' me. Why do you have to justify your great game comment with 'for the Wii'? It's either a good game on any platform, or it isn't. And, as others have said, if you dislike the sidequests, don't do them. There's plenty of other ways of gaining exp...

Also, sidequests increase your affinity with the towns and your characters...