I loved Xenoblade, just wish the character cast was better. None of them were really memorable, and some of the interactions were almost physically painful (that cheesy love triangle was just so bad). Hopefully X does a lot better on that end.

You clearly didn't play the game, it may not be the best JRPG ever made but it surely is the best JRPG made in the last 10 years. It completely redefines the genre and is much better and much more polished than all the previous mediocre games made by Monolith Soft.

If you just want to quicly check out how a game looks like and cannot stop playing for the next 120 hours then you know you have a good game. For me it is the best JRPG since Dragon Quest 5 PS2, Shenmue 2, Chorono Cross and Final Fantasy 8.

Pros:
+Music
+Story
+Voice Acting
+Art Design and attention to detail (every single piece of equipment changes the appearance of your party members)
+Extremely large, open environments

Cons:
-limited resolution unless played on Dolphin Emulator
-nearly 1000 stupid simple MMO-style sidequests which are completely optional, but you will miss important things like two additional skill trees per character if you skip it
-imperfect balancing, especially the End-boss is either unbeatable or super easy, depending on your level
-level VI gem crafting and Chain Attacks seem to be too complex for many youtube JRPG Let's Players to master

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fKSFJdp5Tk&index=97&list=PLpVpBRIlzWuAYEtHYRKU_umVtbs0wu7I4 (may contain some spoilers)

If you like JRPGs even a little tiny bit, you owe to yourself to play this game.

Though I've yet to play the game and thus have nothing to say about it, the overhype people give this game will more than likely make the game feel very underwhelming. This is the same behavior I observed before I played games like LoZ: Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasy IX and ended up feeling both were at best "decent". I tend to be extra critical of games with this amount of praise compared to games Ive played with appropriate amounts of praise.

I paid $50 for a used version of this game a few days ago. I haven't paid that much for used games since Xenosaga Episode III.

I hope it's worth it.

Sound remarks you made there, all of which I agree with. The cast and story would benefit from some polish. The game really shines in its mechanics, scope and atmosphere. If X builds on this foundation and improves on aforementioned flaws, we are in for a real treat.

Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, and Dragon Quest 8 are all easily better, and there are lots more.

Xenoblade was great, and a top 5 JRPG from the last gen, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. In no way did it "redefine" the genre.

It didn't redefine the genre, but it did however pump some much needed oxygen through the genres rusty lungs.

Kinda. Not many games were really influenced by it though. Maybe Final Fantasy XV (but that's more like Kingdom Hearts). It made people like the genre more, but there have been plenty of open world action RPGs with party systems, Xenoblade just did it bigger and better.

I disagree with you. 

And now we fight.

I like to think of Xenoblade as a test run or template for future home console RPGs developed by Monolith. X is in a much better position to be a "Final Fantasy killer" or would be if Wii U was even 1/4 as successful as Wii.