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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Xenoblade X will have a different play feel from the first Xenoblade

Clyde32 on 11 April 2015

Takahashi: To give a brief outline of the structure of JRPG, first you have the story as the y-axis, and the game system and game play as the x-axis, and it's really important to keep those two things balanced.


This was a few weeks ago.



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Conegamer on 11 April 2015

I'm not sure what to think about this "story element" stuff. I'd prefer the game to have a more story driven focus, but it sounds like it's shaping up quite a bit like Skyrim.

That's not a bad thing ofcourse, if done correctly.



 

Here lies the dearly departed Nintendomination Thread.

bigtakilla on 11 April 2015

With how often translations miss the meaning of what developers say (which is around 100% of the time), I think we are getting a little prematurely worried.

Either way, we'll know pretty soon when the ratings come in from japan.



TheWPCTraveler on 11 April 2015

Don't be too concerned.

From a certain Iwata Asks interview (http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/xenoblade-chronicles-3d/0/2):

"Iwata

At the start of our chat, you mentioned you wanted to make a JRPG masterpiece. What were your ideas for making that happen?

Takahashi

To give a brief outline of the structure of JRPG, first you have the story as the y-axis, and the game system and game play as the x-axis, and it's really important to keep those two things balanced.

Iwata

It can't lean too much to the story side or the game system side.

Takahashi

That's true. Now, before we built Monolith Soft, we were working at Square19... 19. Square: Current: Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. Square, founded in 1986, merged with Enix on April 1st, 2003 to become Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.

Iwata

So this was Square, before it became Square Enix.

Takahashi

Right. I joined right after the development of Final Fantasy III20 had ended, and I was involved in IV, V and VI21. Final Fantasy was always one of those titles that had the x-axis of gameplay, but where a lot of care went into the y-axis of the story. It was a lot of fun to debug. Someone was always playing through the whole game on the development deadline day... 20. Final Fantasy III: The third game in the Final Fantasy series, released for NES in April 1990 by Square (Current: Square Enix).21. IV, V and VI: Final Fantasy IV (July 1991), Final Fantasy V (December 1992), Final Fantasy VI (April 1994). The fourth, fifth and sixth games in the Final Fantasy series. All three games were released for Super NES by Square (Current: Square Enix).

Iwata

That was a tradition for the Final Fantasy team.

Takahashi

That's right. (Hironobu) Sakaguchi-san22 and the rest of us would watch the play through, and when it finally finished successfully, we would all cheer. It was a lot of fun. 22. Hironobu Sakaguchi: The creator of the Final Fantasy series. In 2001, he opened his own game development company, Mistwalker Corporation.

Iwata

Right.

Takahashi

But after that - and this is my own failing as well - I felt like...more and more, the y-axis of the story started to overtake the x-axis of the gameplay...

Iwata

Ah, you felt that as a JRPG, the balance was off.

Takahashi

Right. So the first thing I did when I was making Xenoblade Chronicles was to use my experiences to decide what a good balance was for the x-axis and y-axis, and structure it that way.

Iwata

It must be the fact that you made sure that the x-axis of the gameplay was just as rich as the story of the y-axis that gave the game such depth. "



 
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Dunban67 on 11 April 2015
spemanig said:
Metallox said:

Well, Takahashi once stated this though. http://www.siliconera.com/2014/11/25/xenoblade-chronicles-x-will-deep-sci-fi-story/

He described the Wii game's story as basic, and mentioned that X's would be deeper. He's just contradicting himself there. So, in short, dunno what to believe. 


Yeah, that's why my current stance is more cautious, rather than critical at the moment. I hold hope that what he's describing here is additive, rather than reductive. Like "the action and scale is expanded so much that it'll make the story seem like a small part of the whole pie by comparison, even though that 'small' part is still bigger and deeper than the original."

I m agreeing w everything you have said-  There was so much i loved about Xenoblade Chronicles look, feel and characters/story.  I was hoping this title would be a spiritual successor as the title seems to indicate but it seems to be a vey different type game-  



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Nuvendil on 11 April 2015

One thing to keep in mind is that in many JRPGs, Xenoblade included, all progression is linear and tied to the story. What he may (and I am pretty sure is) be referring to is that the progression through the world etc will not be tied to the linear progression of the story. So yes, similar to Skyrim: linear story, open world from the start. I have zero problems with this because unless there is a plot reason to gate off a region, having all open isn't a huge deal.