What's the latest games you've played on your Wii U?

[Jinks]

So they are gettin jiggy wit it? Thats a deal breaker for me as well.

[FUBARofPittsburgh]

So they are gettin jiggy wit it? Thats a deal breaker for me as well.

 

I don't know what it's called but it's a rap/techno hybrid that is annoying as hell. I nearly shelled out an extra $30 for the special edition that came with the sound track. Glad I did not! I seriously need no learn Japanese so I can abandon these localized versions of games.

[cybercylon]

Does it have an option to adjust the sound level of the music, spoken dialogue, etc? That is fairly topical of most games.

[FUBARofPittsburgh]

Does it have an option to adjust the sound level of the music, spoken dialogue, etc? That is fairly topical of most games.

 

Nope.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I for one like the music in Xenoblade Chronicles X much better than the first one. I could barely stay away as I was traversing the large overworld looking for stuff because the music kept putting me to sleep! I like orchestral music when done right and fits the environment. But for the battle sequences and long exploration, I either need little to no music as in Fallout 4 or I need something that keeps me energized as Xenoblade's OST does. I'm very glad I got the limited edition.

 

Wasn't fun hacking the music off the thumb drive that comes with it, but at least I have standard MP3s that I can place onto my NAS.

[Austin]

One HUGE problem however! The f'n music! The music in the Japanese version sounded awesome! Our version is filled with hip hop/rap whatever the kids call it, and can't be muted! On top of that in some cut scenes the music is so loud you can barely hear the dialog!

 

Japan received the exact same soundtrack that we did, vocals and all.

 

I noticed the high background music volume levels during scenes where characters talk. Definitely an oversight that probably shouldn't exist. I have the subtitles turned on so it's not game breaking, but it is a little jarring.

[omegadot]

I don't mind the music choice, I think it fits in. Not my typical cup of tea but I don't mind it. I do find the volume in some talking scenes very surprising. There's also odd pauses where the characters just sort of stare between scenes but it combines to be a little charming for me. So far I'm much more drawn in than the the first game.

[Austin]

I clocked quite a bit of time into Xenoblade Chronicles X over the weekend. Here are some of the gameplay related things that stand out the most for me.

 

Positives

- The combat feels great. The option for both ranged and close combat melee adds more flexibility than in the first Xenoblade. The ability to run in a battle also allows them to be faster paced if the player chooses. Overall, the combat will be familiar to anyone that has played the previous game, but the system overall might even feel more refined and satisfying than before.

- The TP meter makes battles more interesting. Instead of tossing out every art one after another, there is a little more thought that goes into it. I.e., "Well, if I use this one, I'll be down to zero TP, which means I won't be able to use my healing art". You also focus more on using your arts properly, as using a side attack from the side, or a back attack from the back, will boost your TP quickly, giving you the ammo to use those other arts.

- Jumping feels good and is actually useful in this game (from an exploration perspective).

- Even more things to upgrade than before. You have your art skills to upgrade and can equip augments to weapons and armor (previously referred to as Gems in the first game), but you also have Skills that can be equipped and upgraded to further enhance a character, weapons and armor can now be upgraded to provide better stat boosts and more augment slots, and a new Class system allows you to constantly be upgrading different class trees to unlock further stat increases and arts.

 

Stuff that might be positive or negative, depending

- There may be a little too much in the way of upgrades, skills and micromanagement. (Examples being, weapon/armor company/manufacturer leveling, probe upgrades and assignment, and likely many other things I am missing).

- No chain attacks (at least yet.. I don't know if it's something that gets introduced later). These were really fun in Xenoblade and added extra depth when you understood how the damage multipliers worked.

- Load times are longer than I expected, more so than the Wii game. I expected it to be able the same or better, mainly because of the 10GB of pre-load/enhancement data I downloaded. It's not jarring, but you will notice it when you die (there's a load sequence now to get back to a checkpoint).

- It feels odd playing as a "silent protagonist" that coincidentally speaks during battle and allows you to make choices for him. It's just different from the prior game where the main character had his own story written and laid out right in front of you. It may take some adjustment for those used to the first game.

- Being forced to be at a specific field level in order to place probes (i.e., some of your Fast Travel points). It's frustrating to spend 15 minutes wandering into dangerous territory, only to be denied placing a probe when you find the spot for one. Maybe I shouldn't have been exploring out that far, but it's not like the game wasn't allowing me to or anything.

 

Outright Negatives

- Forced Wii U gamepad/tablet usage for maps/fast travel/probe management. Why can't it just let me do it with the Pro controller, like in the first Xenoblade? Just let me view the map on my TV and use a cursor to interact with it. If I use the Pro controller (which is much more comfortable for this game), I have to leave the tablet on, plugged in to a wall outlet, and by my side just to use the map and fast travel functionality.

- Fast Travel points are few and far between. Combined with the downright hostile world, you end up having to play it extremely safe, otherwise you are spending time retreading a lot of land. There were many more FT points in the first game and it was a welcome change to the traditional RPG model of having to retread a lot of game as a punishment for death. At least you still don't lose stats/experience/completed missions when you die.

- No way to fast travel into NLA. You have to select the nearest fast travel point, then spend a minute or two walking into NLA, then you can fast travel to where you need to be (say, the Barracks). I can see this becoming repetitious when you're a few dozen hours into the game (even with a Skell). If I am wrong about this and someone else knows how to go directly into NLA from the other side of the world, please let me know.

- Menu systems for mundane tasks (like buying and selling things in a shop) are much more rudimentary than in the previous game and are a major step back. Selling items sometimes feels like you're playing the original Final Fantasy again. Menu actions in general are slower than in Xenoblade as well.

- You can't easily progress through the Story mode. You have to constantly meet requirements in order to unlock the next "chapter". It feels like the game is forcing the padding, rather than being like the first Xenoblade where it was mostly an option (but highly beneficial to do the side stuff, for varying reasons).

- No easy way to run from battles. Enemies will continue to chase you down about as long as it will take. So, if you trigger a much higher level enemy, you're probably going to wind up dead. In the first Xenoblade, enemies were relegated to a basic zone and could only go so far. If they reached the zone's threshold, they would exit the battle and go back to their original location. That zone wasn't very big either and it gave the player a chance to potentially escape from a dangerous fight that may have only been accidentally picked. It's exemplified in X because enemies can still hit you as long as you're in their sight and technically still in the battle, meaning if it looks like you're 300 feet away from the foe, there are good chances are you're still going to wind up dead.

- Aggressive low level enemies will still trigger battles even if you're a much higher level. In the first game, if you were five levels higher or so than an enemy, it wouldn't trigger a battle. This would allow the player to run through highly occupied areas without getting into a forced grind-fest (for unsatisfying low experience points, no less). Maybe this changes when you get into Skell form, but I'm not there yet.

 

There's a lot more I could say, but that's enough as-is. The negatives just took up that much more space, but the weight of them is a lot less than it looks (the forced tablet issue aside, that is quite asinine). The game is still pretty awesome and I know what I'm going to be doing when I get home from work in the morning.

[omegadot]

I think I like the Gamepad so much more than the controller options from the Wii it doesn't even register as a negative. One thing I noticed is offscreen play is alright but the text scales so badlyI have to squint at it. I'm also a general fan of it. I like the width, it reminds of having my hands apart for mouse and keys. The strict use of it has long been a thorn for me, especially with the media apps, though. I remember when my left thumb stick broke and many things became near or actually broken.

[Austin]

I think I like the Gamepad so much more than the controller options from the Wii it doesn't even register as a negative. One thing I noticed is offscreen play is alright but the text scales so badlyI have to squint at it. I'm also a general fan of it. I like the width, it reminds of having my hands apart for mouse and keys. The strict use of it has long been a thorn for me, especially with the media apps, though. I remember when my left thumb stick broke and many things became near or actually broken.

 

I like the Gamepad and have generally scoffed at the idea of shelling out $50 for a different controller, but Xenoblade X just didn't click at all with it for me. An hour in and at 4 in the morning, I was like, "screw this," and ran to Wal-Mart to get a Pro controller. So much better for me, I started enjoying the game a lot more. Of course, that could be due to clocking an absurd amount of time into the original with the Wii's Classic Controller Pro, so to me that's how I'm used to playing. Also, one thing that really threw me off is how the sticks are above the buttons--it's the opposite on the Wii's Classic Controller. Not really a knock on the Gamepad per-se (because it's the same on the Pro controller), but it seemed to be easier to adapt to the QTEs with the Pro controller. I just wish they didn't force the Gamepad. I'm going to keep using the Pro controller, which means I have to keep the Gamepad up at all times. Such a pain.

[omegadot]

I have trouble considering QTEs anything but mortal sins.

[FUBARofPittsburgh]

 

Japan received the exact same soundtrack that we did, vocals and all.

 

I noticed the high background music volume levels during scenes where characters talk. Definitely an oversight that probably shouldn't exist. I have the subtitles turned on so it's not game breaking, but it is a little jarring.

 

Whoops! My bad!

[Austin]

Damn I'm an idiot. Apparently you can't fast travel within NLA. I tried it this morning, but no dice. I could have sworn it was possible. Ugh.

[cybercylon]

Thank you for the review. I can put this one on my list but something I don't need right away.

 

People can have polarized view points about the game pad. I'd rather play a game like this with the Pro controller. Sometimes I wonder if Nintendo would have been better off if they just used the Pro pad as the standard and if their research and development dollars would have been better spent on making something more beefier than the last generation.

[omegadot]

Damn I'm an idiot. Apparently you can't fast travel within NLA. I tried it this morning, but no dice. I could have sworn it was possible. Ugh.

 

I fast traveled to the barracks while within NLA just now.

[Austin]

 

I fast traveled to the barracks while within NLA just now.

What the hell?... How did you do it?

[omegadot]

I just clicked on its little box icon and said fast travel. Poof.

[Austin]

I just clicked on its little box icon and said fast travel. Poof.

 

There's no little box icon for me.

 

How many hours are you into the game? Has it always had the option for you? I'll check again the next time I play it.

[Cybergoth]

Glad to see some are enjoying the new Xenoblade. I'm lagging behind, I only just got the first game a week ago, during Nintendos X-Mas sale

[omegadot]

 

There's no little box icon for me.

 

How many hours are you into the game? Has it always had the option for you? I'll check again the next time I play it.

 

You have to change the map view, I googled it to check my own sanity. I was futzing around with the map view when I noticed it so I don't really recall what buttons or tabs I hit. If I had time to work through the loading screens before work I'd go check again.

 

A gamefaqs post described it as

 

"Yes, when you select the map there's a tab at the top that says NLA, click on it, then select which district you want. Afterwards it'll pull up the close map and there will be fast travel spots. You can fast travel directly inside the barracks." - amnizzle777

 

Which sounds about right for what I did.

[Austin]

Awesome, thanks! I'll give that a try.

[cybercylon]

I see the special edition is available again on amazon and GameStop (on-line only). Are the extras worth the $30.00? I don't expect the game itself to be all that rare like the first one was initially.

[omegadot]

I see you can also fast travel to the barracks from outside NLA. The UI is pretty intimidating to use initially. Some fudginess on input doesn't help.

[Austin]

I see the special edition is available again on amazon and GameStop (on-line only). Are the extras worth the $30.00? I don't expect the game itself to be all that rare like the first one was initially.

 

If you're a fan of the series, I'd say so. The art book included is supposedly fairly hefty, and it has some other neat collectibles.

 

I see you can also fast travel to the barracks from outside NLA. The UI is pretty intimidating to use initially. Some fudginess on input doesn't help.

 

Nice.. VERY good to know.

[Austin]

All right, I see what I was doing wrong. The various NLA hubs appear on the right side of one of the map screens, then when you click on one you can jump to any of the fast travel points within it. Makes sense now, it was just confusing.