Well first thing you should know is that RPGs aren't usually my cup of tea... in fact if I were to rank the genre it would definitely be closer to the bottom than the top.

However, I'm definitely enjoying Xenoblade Chronicles. The main storyline is very compelling thus far (just added Riki to my party) and most of the areas are quite gorgeous. There's a few areas that look quite muddy and bland, but other than that, the overworld is quite awesome. The combat system is pretty fun as well... although it took me a while to get used to (when I was fighting Metal Face for the first time I didn't know how to do a Chain Attack ).

Like a lot of RPGs now-a-days, the game throws so much at you right off the bat that it's a bit overwhelming. I'm 22 hours in and I'm still getting used to the menus, tactics, items, gems, skill, and everything else. But I'm getting more comfortable with it as time goes on.

So like I said, it's definitely not my favorite game of all time, but it's very solid thus far (although Riki is quite annoying). Right now the game is around an 8 (Great) or 9 (Incredible) for me. I gave Skyrim (the only other major RPG I've played outside of Pokemon this generation) an 8 by the way.

You got Riki then (30%)? Hmm. That's all the playable characters met now then. You're about to reach, quite possibly, the most amazing looking area in the game, and that's saying something! Also the biggest with some pretty epic music. But the Forest is cool. It has 4 hidden areas, and plenty of secrets for later in the game (noticed the lv. 95 dinosaurs? )

I'm glad you're enjoying it. The story sorta picks up in the next area as well, as you'll be up against the main story pretty soon again. And don't you say Riki is annoying! He's the best character! "You can do it!", for example, is the best Art in the game...and he can steal ANYTHING (exp., TP etc...)

As an aside, been doing many of the sidequests? Some people seem to have taken a distaste to them, which is a shame. But you'll likely find that you're filling up skill trees now, so...

I don't mind the side quests at all... as they're mostly Kill ____/Find ____ so what I do is just head to the nearest town, talk to everyone who will give me a sidequest, and then continue on the main story. I mean 80% of the quests can be done just by doing what you'd normally do anyways, do it's not that big of a deal. Right now I thought I'd go and start the "Rebuilding Colony 6" quest.

Also, I quite enjoy the British voice actors. From an American point of view, it adds to the game's exotic atmosphere, which is nice. As for Riki, I don't mind him per se... but his voice is just annoying.

And yes, I saw those Lv. 95 dinosaurs... I'm just glad that they're passive for now. Scared the crap outta me when I had to pass one to get to the "dinobeast".

Also, let me just say that the character models in Xenoblade Chronicles aren't the most detailed out there... except for a certain part on Sharla...

Yeah, it's the same with me. I did most of them without even realising it. Went straight to the settlement and collected the quests, then continued with the story. It was fairly simple. The more complex ones were the 'guilds', or quest-chains of more than 7. The Colony 6 sidequest is the best BTW. Inviting all of the people to live there is a challenging quest in itself...

Soon the storng monsters won't be passive, so you'd best be careful. Attack on site lv. 100? At level 50??? That's scary. Running away whilst your party members slowly die...

Smeags said: Also, let me just say that the character models in Xenoblade Chronicles aren't the most detailed out there... except for a certain part on Sharla...

Her...eyes?

Admittadly, the first time I noticed her 'assets' in action was during a heart-wrenching story event in a mine, early in the game. Couldn't take her seriously afterwards. Probably ran around with the 'Cool Oil' armour for a large portion of the game

Riki is heropon!!!

Conegamer said: Smeags said: Also, let me just say that the character models in Xenoblade Chronicles aren't the most detailed out there... except for a certain part on Sharla... Admittadly, the first time I noticed her 'assets' in action was during a heart-wrenching story event in a mine, early in the game. Couldn't take her seriously afterwards. Probably ran around with the 'Cool Oil' armour for a large portion of the game

Yeah... there were a couple of moments early on when I noticed something... moving down there. I thought I was just seeing things (After all, these aren't the best character models out there... so I wasn't expecting any extra... enhancements to Sharla ). But then I saw it again.

And I'm actually using that armor right now (since it's the best thus far...) and it's even more noticable. It's almost ridiculous.

Almost.

Yes. You dare disrespect Riki???

YOU WILL FALL VICTIM TO THE HEROPON!

Smeags said: Conegamer said: Smeags said: Also, let me just say that the character models in Xenoblade Chronicles aren't the most detailed out there... except for a certain part on Sharla... Admittadly, the first time I noticed her 'assets' in action was during a heart-wrenching story event in a mine, early in the game. Couldn't take her seriously afterwards. Probably ran around with the 'Cool Oil' armour for a large portion of the game Yeah... there were a couple of moments early on when I noticed something... moving down there. I thought I was just seeing things (After all, these aren't the best character models out there... so I wasn't expecting any extra... enhancements to Sharla ). But then I saw it again. And I'm actually using that armor right now (since it's the best thus far...) and it's even more noticable. It's almost ridiculous. Almost.

It's the same with Melia as well BTW, and it was for Fiora, but it was less noticable. For obvious reasons...

The character models no longer irk me, though. Because the environments are that good.