Xenoblade Chronicles write up -
So here it is. I'm expecting this write up to be actually huge, but I'm going to aim to be concise if possible. In a nutshell, this game is really well done. I'm not just talking about the gameplay, the graphics, the plot or anything. I mean as a completely package, it's pretty darn solid. Everything it does ties together and on top of that, the game has a pretty good level of polish. This is especially important in a game this long. I mean, I was literally surprised at how they implemented some of this, but it's good that they considered these factors.
So what polish am I talking about? I'm talking about things such as warning you in advance that you will need items for certain quests for example. Xenoblade gives you a lot of drops, so this feature is really nice. You don't end up selling them off and it lets you know in advance that you'll likely need to hunt this specific monster or item. Second, the game lets you warp around the world. In a sense it's no different than having an airship, but you get to do this at the beginning of the game. Given how much ground you have to cover by walking, this is so important, it's not even funny. But this warping feature is very cool since you can go from different locations very quickly. Next, the game also has an adjustable timer. The day/night system is kinda of annoying, but at least with the timer, it's far more tolerable as you can manually adjust the time instead of needing to wait for a certain time. Another cool and important polish feature that they added includes the ability to save anywhere and having very fast reload times. This is awesome because you can save before dangerous areas/fights and if you die, instantly reload. It also lets you take a break without needing to find specific save points, which would suck in such a huge world. These things don't sound like much, but they make a really big impact on how enjoyable the game is.
SPOILER WARNING FOR PLOT
As for the actual game itself, I really enjoyed the plot. I mean this in an actual genuine way. It's not that the plot is original, but it's the way the plot is executed. They don't throw out something completely crazy out of nowhere and there is a good deal of foreshadowing for all the major plot points and plot twists in the game. The game actually *makes sense*, which is a huge accomplishment. There may be some tiny plot holes (can Zanza possess multiple people at once? If yes, why not possess everyone? If not, how did he possess the giant and Shulk at the same time?) but for the most part, everything the game poses as a question does get answered and it all eventually does come together. The reason why the High Entia Emperor chose Melia as his successor despite Kallian being the male and also the older of the two siblings for example is explained and totally understandable (her being half homs means she doesn't possess the gene that transforms them into Telethia). Same with why Shulk's Monado cannot initially damage Faced Mechon. At the end of the day, the plot manages to come together as the epic it wants to without stepping all over itself like a certain other Xeno game. As long as you're not expecting novel like material, it's actually really good.
Each of the characters furthermore are also relatable. I don't dislike any of the main cast all. In fact, they are all enjoyable to some degree (yes even the mascot character), which is pretty impressive. Villains on the whole are decent enough. You dislike the ones that you should be hating because they are lamers and you can certainly understand the directions of others. The frue villain is also understandable on some level as at the end of it, all he really wants is to remain alive. Not that this really excuses him from what he tries to do, but that's why you get to beat him up. So all in all, good plot, good characters!
END PLOT SPOILER WARNING
The battle system is also cool. You have 6 characters (for a good 50% of the game), and later on 7. All 7 characters do completely different things, but they're well balanced enough that you can throw anyone in any team and still be able to beat most baddies. You'll need specific formations on tougher monsters, but for the most part, your party is never truly restricted by game play problems. The game features a couple of things such as positional arts and visions that keep you on your toes and makes it such that you have to actively pay attention to what is going on. You can't really sit there and spam arts repeatedly because it's not really effective. You lose on are party gauge which is needed to revive and you lose the effects of bonuses which can help a long way in making battles far more efficient. You are limited in your healing, which means you have to think about how you want the aggro of enemies to go. Since the game is over if your player controlled character dies, this is important to consider. Thankfully though, the AI is smart enough to revive. Their competency with each character varies in combat, (it's great with Sharla/Reyn but absolutely terrible with Melia and not much better off with Shulk) but they'll do general things such as encourage you if are suffering from low tension or help you recover from status effects with great zeal. Against tougher and harder monsters, your set ups are equally important as the strategy you carry out and the game gives you a lot of freedom to customize your options. In many ways, one of the key things I really like about fighting battles here is that your team of characters actually feels like a team most of the time, so its quite immersive.
The music is great and the settings are gorgeous. Probably the best well done setting I've ever seen. And really, I think that's what got me to buy in after the first few hours. If you like eye candy, XB delivers this too. Even if the Wii isn't as strong as the PS3 or the Xbox or what not, the environments are really quite awesome. I've spent time in this game just standing around sometimes to survey the landscape.
Now then, the bad points about this game. Polish isn't completely perfect. Why they added an inventory limit is beyond me. You get so much crap, and unfortunately, Shulk doesn't have perfect predictability about what items are needed for quests. Inevitably, you'll have so much junk that you are not sure if you can get rid of because they may be needed for quests later. The game also badly badly needed a bestiary so hunts for monsters and drops are more smooth. The affinity chart could also state the exact location to avoid the frustration of locating NPCs for quests, which is by far the worst time waster in the game. Second, the game is long. Like extremely long, especially if you do quests. It's longer than Persona 3/4, which are already 90 hour games, so this should say something. It's amazing that the game can keep you hooked thanks to the characters/plot/gameplay package, but such a long game means that it does drag on at points, and I won't be surprised if some people lose interest. Thankfully all the quests are optional, which should cut about 30-40 hours of time from the clock. Finally the battle system has one fatal flaw that would've pushed it one of my favourites instead of just "cool". The game enforces a stat penalty based on the level difference between you and the enemy. If you are ahead in levels of your enemies, you'll massively stat nerf them and vice versa. The level range for this begins at 6 all the way up to 22. This massive stat nerf sounds like it will be 'cool' for challenge, but it really doesn't and actually causes complications. For one, it means that randoms can quickly become incompetent due to the stat nerf, and two, it also means you can't challenge monsters without specific gems or skills. Physical attacks are heavily nerfed already at a 6 level difference, let alone 22. This means that you have to constantly level up and level becomes a far more important stat than anything else. Too bad. If it wasn't for this factor, it really could've been much better.
CHARACTER/GAMEPLAY ANALYSIS
Shulk - I like Shulk. He's a nerdy guy you can tell since he spends all day in the lab when the game begins and his life goal is to figure out the secrets of the Monado. So when he comes to gain this awesome power, his reactions are totally believable and his motivations for going forward is equally believable. He's a pacifist and not one that really likes fighting, and the game keeps him to this agenda making him quite consistent and giving him an interesting enough character flaw. Shulk's largely driven by revenge initially, but later on by curiosity, which is really something that defines him (see above). His actions for the most part, make sense and it's interesting watching to come to terms and struggle with the new discoveries the party makes.
As a PC, Shulk is defined by his unique weapon, the Monado. He only has 8 normal arts, but unlike everyone else, he has a subset of skills in the Monado, giving him a total of 16 arts that are all equipped at once. The Monado starts off kinda bland. Early on, Enchant is super important. As it gains more features, enchant fades out but it does all sorts of stuff and makes him very versatile. He's a great support character which is what you should use him. Always a good pick in any team to be honest, although he needs his Monado arts to truly go up there.
Reyn - Reyn's also pretty cool. He's the best friend of Shulk, and the game does a really good job of selling it. Maybe its because the two of them share the same goal initially or maybe it's the way he's introduced, but you generally get the idea that he's really a bro. He encourages Shulk, and talk and discuss problems together. He knows that thinking ahead isn't really his forte but he's always there to help out. His dynamic with Sharla is cliched but it works well enough due to solid execution. His interaction with Melia and Dunban are great when available. The game pokes a lot of jabs at him, but yeah.
Reyn's role is mainly to tank which he does really well and the AI does really well. Where he starts kicking off is around mid-game. At which point he can break out of the tank role and go for Burst DPS. This option is actually very advantageous for him and it probably doubles his worth as it makes him capable of one shotting weaker monsters quickly or severely damage one. Very solid and only really "bad" towards the end when other characters also start getting damage option or for really long fights as his arts have very long cool downs.
Sharla - Probably the weakest in terms of the main cast. I didn't really feel anything for her, but for the most part, she also didn't really irritate me. Admittedly she only really gets a lot of scenes around the point past Mechonis Field to sum up her subplot. I guess the reason why she seems the weakest is because her character is really cliched? I dunno, but inoffensive regardless, which is nice.
She's the team's medic and the only one at that. You have secondary healers, but if you need constant healing, Sharla's the person you add to the team. She lacks damage though, which means that putting her on your team does slow you down. However, if you employ strategies that rely on stalling or you're using a physical wall like Reyn, having Sharla along is always a good idea. Least used PC for me, I just found the healing a lot less valuable and Shulk/Riki were often enough.
Dunban - I also really liked Dunban. The game likes to re-emphasize that he's a hero, but he comes off as modest without being overly so. He also has a sense of humour and is badass without the game forcing him or making him look badass. Most badass characters have this emo streak or try to be loners or whatever, but Dunban is like the exact opposite. And from the course of the game, he really does get stuck in some shitty situations but he handles them the way a mature character would do it. Quite cool.
Dunban's a dodge tank but also has lots of damage options available. He can aggro control too, but he's weaker at it than Reyn and much worse if trying to control groups. A really good PC though since his emphasis is on agility which governs hit/evade. He's tough to hit and his damage is very consistent. In battles, his arts are all meant to flow together in strings like combos. So not only does he build lots of party gauge, but he can also self stun or self topple without needing help from others. A great choice against individual targets or if you need just a third who can deal damage and is durable.
Melia - Favourite of all the cast. Melia comes off with this air of grace, which you expect that she would have. She doesn't come off anywhere as obnoxious or snobby, but rather as someone who's rather unfamiliar with the workings in other parts of the world. I like how she's mature but at the same time, the game reminds me of how she is fragile (see the scene with the Emperor at Prison Island) and that ultimately she is human like everyone else (that little crush she has on Shulk). She gets lots of good scenes near the end of the game to boot and I liked her subplot the best out of everyone.
PC...damage damage damage. Melia specializes in magic which is rarely resisted. And she can be set up to do lots of damage over time or as a burst specialist. She'll wipe most enemies out real fast from the moment she joins the team. Her biggest weakness? Frail Frail Frail. At level 80, she has around 3300 HP and unimpressive defense. Everyone else has around 4500-5000 HP. Reyn and Riki cheat and have like 9500 HP. Controlling aggro is key with her, and she's not good on fights where she may attract a lot of attention since she doesn't have any durability to take it.
Riki - Mascot character. Has very little reason to joining the party but isn't offensive. He's married and has like 10 kids, which is kind of a nice twist. Gets a decent scene or two in the main plot.
As a PC, Riki's all about status effects and damage attached to his status. Pile them on, run away or spam support moves, wait until their cooldown is over, repeat. Having the second best HP (which progresses to game best) and the third highest agility means he's also hard to kill so he's a better DoT specialist than Melia and he can be set up to be a very effective supporting PC if you need damage but Sharla isn't cutting it for you. He has no burst option though so he's worse than Reyn and Melia in those departments.
Seven - I like the symbolism between Shulk and her and ultimately what does happen to her at the end. On her own, I don't think her character is impressive (since she's doesn't exist for 50% of the game) but what is there is okay. Her scene at the beginning of the game is the motivating force and part of me it's better if she didn't return as a PC. Once she does return, it's like a hybrid character, but for what it is, again, it's okay and not offensive.
Seven's unique gimmick are her armor sets. You get customizable equipment later, but for the most part, she's all about equipping the right equipment for the task. Her best set though is the Speed set, which turns her essentially into a ninja. Attacking at twice the speed, critting and hitting twice means she shreds most enemies before they get going. As Uno puts it, if the enemy is within 5 levels of Seven, they are pretty damn well dead. Her main weaknesses are limited slots on equips although this does eventually go away and her arts aren't very good (they cut into her most effective role).
Anyway, great game if that wasn't obvious enough! 8.5-9/10 for me. First good game in a while.
