So there's lots of Xenoblade threads running around. Time for an official thread for impressions game discussion etc.
Whether you're a lucky resident of Europe or Australia, a North American who's decided to flip the bird to Nintendo and import, or even someone who simply wants to live vicariously through the experiences of others, this is the place you want to be!
So I finally continued with the story for a bit. Got to the Mechon with the awesome accent, chuckled and saved. I can't stop doing sidequests. I love the openness of this game.
Are you on the item screen or the equip screen? Choose the icon that looks like people (press X once, I think it's then the icon your cursor defaults on) so that you can then see what everyone is currently wearing and then switch out equipment.
So I beat every "timed" sidequest on the Bionis Leg I could find. I'm sort of playing this like it's a loot game, and it's fantastic. I've moved onto the Ether Mines. A special level 20 krabble made short work of me.... And I'm level 27.
Also, I realized the only way to gain affinity between your party members is to switch them out as "leader" when speaking with NPCs. That way they cheer one another on. I've also been trying out battles with the others. I still prefer Shulk, but I must get all the heart-to-hearts!!
I'm a bit further than that but also ran into a lower level enemy that kicked my ass. That is it would have if I didn't run away like a little girl It's gonna be fun to revisit these areas and defeat all the level 70-80s roaming the place.
Speaking of revisiting areas, is there an easier way to quickly travel to earlier areas? I know you can teleport between those landmarks but is there any way to bring up the map for those areas near the beginning instead of traveling to a nearby landmark and then crossing over to the next section and then bring up the map again and repeat?
@VofEscaflowne I don't quite understand what you mean. You don't need to be near a landmark in order to teleport. Is that what you mean?
Or do you mean teleporting back to Colony 9 from Colony 6 (for example?). There's a list of the areas on the left you can choose from. I've teleported from the Ether Mine to the Gem Man in colony 9. You can also change the levels of th emaps. On the Bionis Leg, there's an upper level you can also toggle between with either the L or the R button.
Hmm, I could've sworn I checked everything for that option but couldn't find it. I'll check again.
EDIT: Yeah I can only access the landmarks for the current map I'm on. I know I can press L/R to switch between levels of that current area but I still can't travel to another map's landmarks. How do you even access these?
@VofEscaflowne As soon as you hit "Area Map" in the corner, an "Area List" should show up, including all the areas to which you've been. Just click the area you want to go back to.
Mine looks like this:
Area List
Colony 9 Tephra Cave Bionis' Leg Colony 6 Ether Mine
Ohhh... it's from pressing X and choosing the area there. I kept accessing areas by pressing select to bring up the map You can't access other areas from there. Damn, I was doing a lot of unnecessary teleporting.
I'll be joining the club soon.....just ordered form Zavvi.
I tried using my debit card a dozen times and it never accepted it, but my credit card was authorized on my first attempt. Weird, but at least I'll have the game in a few weeks.
Two questions: anyone have a link to that very helpful video about getting homebrew set up? (Edit - Nevermind, found it on page 6 of this thread) Also, any word on whether Skyward Sword will require a system update that kills homebrew?
Up until now I really loved the game... but I'm hitting a point where the game is starting to feel a little less awesome. The reason is because there's just so many damn side quests that it's borderline insanity. I like that you can easily teleport all over the place and I cannot imagine not being able to but even with the ability to do that, they feel like a huge boring chore. I know they're optional but I keep thinking that I'd miss out on some kind of ultimate quest or item by not doing them.
Now I'm also at the point that because of doing so many of those quests, I'm really overleveled for where I am. Nothing is challenging at all. Enemies have a hard time hitting me and even if they do, I can just leave the controller there and let the battle finish by itself I still love the story though and I think they should've struck a better balance between that and doing side quests. It's just unbelievable the amount you get when reaching a new area.
Yeah I should just start skipping them... but it's when they seem to trigger those timed ones that I won't be able to access again that kind of worries me. Or maybe they don't trigger them. There's too many to follow The game doesn't give you too many at first but this one area I'm at, combined with how huge it is, is very overwhelming and a big turn off for me right now.
And I do agree about the party member problem. It wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't affinity between them as a lot of the heart to heart cutscenes seem VERY hard to trigger. I don't think I've been able to play a single one outside from the first one so far. They all have insane affinity requirements that I've yet to meet.
@VofEscaflowne Yeah, I thought I had the affinity down-pat until I realized I'd be juggling party members like craziness.
Also, don't forget you can set the in-game time in the menu! It's meant to be used, that's why it's so accessible. They really make the sidequests pretty painless. I do understand getting overwhelmed though. I think you're past me, and the Bionis Leg was pretty overwhelming! EEK.
Yeah I know you can change the time haha. But there's just so many to the point that it can take hours to do them all. And then once you think you're done, 5 more appear.
This one quest was ridiculous though. A guy wanted me to give something to a girl cause he wasn't able to face her. He was standing next to her when he told me that. Then the girl says she wants me to pass along a message to him. Again, they were a few feet apart. Really now? Ugh
Takes a while!
I still love the story though and I think they should've struck a better balance between that and doing side quests. It's just unbelievable the amount you get when reaching a new area.
