Hail to thee, O Xenoblade!
The game we all hold dear
For thou art full of countless quests
And treasures, hopes and cheer

A game we all saw to the end
The story now complete
We sing your praises far and wide
You truly are elite.

Wait, did I say we have all beaten the game? *cough*
Well, I did pour around thirty hours into it. That's about the length of an average Zelda game, so I definitely got my money's worth, right? RIGHT?

The truth is, I love Xenoblade. I was one of the people who imported the game from Europe back before the rainfall operated on it, officially birthing it from Gamestop's North American womb.
Heck, I even possibly gave North America its first Reyn Time reference in the form of comic GOLD. A reference I knew would fall on deaf ears, yet one that was important to all of humanity.

GOLD, I tells ya!

Yes, I loved Xenoblade so much that I even championed it on the 22nd episode of the Negative World Podcast. I had nothing but wonderful things to say about the game. The huge, exploration-heavy Japanese RPG. The wonder of wonders. The miracle of miracles!

This is where the game is kept in my house.

Unfortunately, not long after my stellar performance on the Podcast, Shulk and company came across a humongous, vertical forest city populated by little bouncy anime mascots. That's when the sheer enormity of the game made my mind snap. That was when the Dark Times began. THAT was when I stopped playing Xenoblade Chronicles.

This photo was taken the exact instant I stopped playing.

Over the time that followed, I have often been reminded of my failure to continue the game. Due to this failure, I have secretly hoped that Monolith Soft's upcoming Wii U game, “X” isn't a direct sequel to Xenoblade! How awful is that?
Similarly, if you were to take a look at my 3DS Puzzle Swap collection, you will notice that the Xenoblade Puzzle hasn't been given much love. Yes, I gave more attention to the Concentration Training puzzle, and I have never touched that game in my life.

I still ended up with more pieces than I had hoped for. Seen here, with Prawn Mario.

This is my cry for help. A few days ago I attempted the impossible: To return to a giant JRPG after a two year respite. I now have no clue how the fighting mechanics work, though I once recall having mastery over all of its intricacies. Now I simply mash the buttons and hope for success. From mastery to mashery.

I must admit, I forgot some other things about the game...

What have I done? Has the sheer immensity of this game been its downfall in my eyes? That same immensity that once had me shouting from the rooftops?
I yearn to play this game again, and I'm willing to bet there are a few others in the same boat. I dare not start the game anew since I am still quite familiar with the story, and I don't have the time to devote to retreading old ground. I simply require a refresher course on the game's battle mechanics. I am ready for that course!

Who shall join me?

I pledge to beat you, Xenoblade!
I shall right an awful wrong
Two years of ignoring you
Is simply far too long.

I shall give your rightful due
This is an honest vow
Never before has it been
Such Reyn time as is now.

URL to share (right click and copy)

Agility is probably the most important stat in this game. It doesn't just give you a higher chance of enemy attacks missing, but it also determines your own characters' chances of hitting an enemy. If you want to fight higher-level enemies who have a yellow or red background, you'll pretty much need lots of agility or else you'll have a really rough time of it as you can barely land attacks and the enemies will be wailing on you.

Posted by

Mop it up

on: 03/06/14, 23:07

I'm going to have to hit this game hard and with some Agility gems. It might even make leveling up with a little grinding a bit easier. Good call. I always just boost defense and attack.

Posted by

DrFinkelstein

on: 03/08/14, 00:37

I don't even remember the Level Up system in this game at all. I really gotta get back into it.

Does battle get less confusing? I remember struggling greatly with those times when you had to alter time or something, or know a move is coming and then do a huge shield of sorts. Maybe I'll swing in and take a peak tomorrow where I am..

Posted by

Mr_Mustache

on: 03/09/14, 02:35

My own Xeno-shame is finally dealt with. Beat it last night after nearly 150 hours of game time.

There is SO much content and optional questing that even then it was hard to draw a line and say, let's go past the point of no return, we're good.


Things I didn't use:
Skill trees. Chain attacks. Agility Gems. Dunban.


My major achievements:

Colony 6: Nature, Commerce, Housing and Special all at level 5. Overall reconstruction 90%... I couldn't bring myself to keep looking around for the last few immigrants to hit 100%. I guess the mine in town would have re-opened.

Monado: Got all the skills including Cyclone and Eater. I built four our of the five replicas. No dragons to be found anywhere so I skipped Monado #4, although from what I've read I would have kept using the Monado Agni anyway.

Alcamoth: Got the ether furnace fixed and the transporters back online. Killed all the named Telethia that used to be Imperial Guard. Was there a final quest to do anything more for the city? It felt like I'd done everything I could.

Big monsters: I ended up at Level 94, the biggest thing I took down was a Lv99 Slobos. My toughest fight was Dazzling Tolosnia in Tephra Cave. I saw a tiny Lv108 Bunnit in Satorl Marsh once, so I know Lv100 isn't the cap. Unless that was a joke monster.

Affinity: Everybody loves Shulk. I also 5-starred Frontier Village and Fallen Arm. Colony 6 was still only 2 stars when I stopped, even though I BUILT their city up from a stinking dirt pit. You're welcome, dicks.

Riki: I summoned the Nopon Sage and fought his Lv96 nemesis near the great Makna falls. Opened up Riki's Heroism skill tree. Got a Riki weapon I already had as a reward (what the?!). Unique weapons for the bigger quests would have been nice.

The Giants: Found all three treasures of the giants and opened the door at Three Sages Summit. This felt like the biggest and toughest quest group in the game and so was my last objective before moving to the final battle. I've got to say though, the rewards were not all that impressive. Still, there was quite a lot to learn about the world along the way and it's the journey that counts, right?


Exceptional game. I'm sad not to be playing it today. :)

Posted by

Infinitywave

on: 03/30/14, 13:56

Edited:

03/30/14, 14:23

@Infinitywave

Congratulations! No agility gems? What level were you at when completed? Everyone's advice to me was agility gems because I need to grind. I'm mighty curious the level you were at when best.

Edit: nevermind. I saw your big monsters paragraph and read you were at 94 in the end. If this isn't what you best the game with technically, let me know. Also, I believe the highest level monsters are 120.

Posted by

DrFinkelstein

on: 03/30/14, 16:57

Edited:

03/30/14, 17:00

Infinitywave said:

Exceptional game. I'm sad not to be playing it today. :)

That's the same feeling I had when I beat it. It was like saying goodbye to a friend.

X can't come soon enough, but man does it have big shoes to fill. I'm trying not to get TOO hyped because it wouldn't be fair to hold it such lofty standards, but man if it's as good as it could be.

Posted by

Jargon

on: 03/30/14, 17:04

@DrF, yes I'd been holding off on seeing the end of the game until I completed the majority of the quests which meant I was overpowered in the final battle. All of the quest battles were challenging though, so it felt like a good trade-off.

@Jargon, I am super ready for X now! I'm a little cautiously excited too I wish I was seeing more fantasy in it. Xenoblade is truly special for its mix of technology and broad fantasy. If X is more like a gritty mech game then it may not have the charm and unpredictabilty of Xenoblade...

Considering how massive Xenoblade is though, we have probably barely seen anything of X yet. (hngh!)

Posted by

Infinitywave

on: 03/30/14, 18:24

Edited:

03/31/14, 17:04

@Infinitywave
Congrats!! You did a bit more than I did!
It is certainly one of my favourite games of all time.

Also, I agree with you guys: Bring on X!
My expectations are tempered though, just like youse guyses.

Posted by

ploot

on: 03/31/14, 06:58

Edited:

03/31/14, 07:00

Thanks ploot. The farther I get from playing Xenoblade the more I feel the pull of X. (Xenoverse?)

I think it's the 2nd trailer of the three we've seen that gets me the most fired up. It has more going on color-wise and more hints of story than the rest. It's like Xenoblade with extra confidence.

Posted by

Infinitywave

on: 04/03/14, 17:09

Edited:

04/03/14, 17:12

WOAH THE MUSIC IN THAT TRAILER

You can definitely tell it is the same composer that did Attack on Titan and Kill la Kill. For those who haven't heard any of the music from those animes, here's a few below. Think he was a good pick.





And here's just a collection of some Attack on Titan ones.



I want this game so much. Part of me wants it this year, but part of me wants it delayed for extra polish.

Posted by

Pokefreak911

on: 04/04/14, 03:08

@Infinitywave


Congrats on finishing! You did a lot more then me though...I finished in the mid/high 80's in terms of levels after about 110hrs. The beauty of this game is that when I finished it, I still felt satisfied - I wasn't missing anything even though I knew there were tons more quests to do.

Wherever you draw the line - it was up to the player. I finished this game one year ago this month... Very special game playing experience.

Posted by

Smerd

on: 04/04/14, 04:20

X is still planned for a 2014 release!

Posted by

Pokefreak911

on: 05/08/14, 05:07

@Pokefreak911

Jumps on that boat thing....

but where did you hear this?

Posted by

DrFinkelstein

on: 05/08/14, 05:27

@DrFinkelstein
It's a boat from an anime called Kill la Kill. It's not JUST a boat though.

It's a Hype Boat.

I heard it from here.

Posted by

Pokefreak911

on: 05/08/14, 05:34

I never mentioned it, but I always thought this was one of the cooler OPs ever, @ploot! Sadly, I lent my copy to Oldmanwinter, so I can't play it. as though I'd actually play it if it were in my possession. Ha!

Posted by

Koovaps

on: 05/08/14, 07:18

I finished Xenoblade a few weeks ago. It took me two years to complete the game, playing it a few hours here and there every couple months.

Overall, I loved it. The last few hours were insane.

If X really does come out this year, I'm going to be very happy. Can't wait for that game.

Posted by

OrbitalBeard

on: 05/08/14, 09:04

@Pokefreak911

Dagnabbit, I still need to play this game. This will probably be my summer project after I buy a Wii U for Mario Kart.

Posted by

Tranquilo

on: 05/08/14, 15:35

@Koovaps
Aw, thanks Koovaps!

You really should get on the train though. It's become one of my all-time favourite games. Like, ever!

Posted by

ploot

on: 05/08/14, 23:21

@ploot

The train is long gone now.....



@Pokefreak911YES

Posted by

Smerd

on: 05/09/14, 04:19