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[NSW] Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition

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    [NSW] Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition

    It's Xenoblade Chronicles running on Switch.
    Thread done.

    OK, let's go a bit deeper...
    Technically the game just looks almost exactly as XC2, if you've played it, you'll clearly recognize the dynamic resolution, blurring of effects, even colour saturation and how the game manages brightness and time of day. The game data streams beautifully from location to location with no loading screens if you walk around, with loading screens only showing up when skipping to distant places.
    Textures applied to cliffs and large terrain features don't look particularly good up close, and there's just a very, very, very subtle depth of field effect applied to very, very, very, distant objects; bushes and blades of grass fade in as you move forward, in, again, the same way XC2 managed things. There are no immediate pop ups or things that become more and more detailed as you close onto them, but the resolution does take a hit with too many things on screen.

    Artistically the game isn't as colourful as XCX or XC2, and the new character models have been modified to look a bit more "anime-ish" than the original art: Shulk and Fiora are the primary culprits, with other characters closer to the originals. Probably this was done to make things more appealing to a wider audience, but I would have preferred models more resembling the original drawings. But at the very least, characters aren't wooden boards as they were in XCX and emote properly to what's thrown at them.
    Well, kinda, you can see that corners had to be cut: basic animations are shared between characters, and the walking/running cycles retain a peculiar jankiness. It's like Trials Of Mana: yes, the game has been remade, but to get this done they had to cut something.

    I actually don't remember much about the original Xenoblade Chronicles, but from what I do, the game's mechanics remain the same: you have a lot of equipment, and that equipment has slots for further effects. You also collect a ton of things, and while menus are decent enough, I really hope you like comparing numbers. Personally I've settled in running through equipment every time I reach a new village/location.

    Strolling around the vast environments of XC is still a pleasure, there's an almost hypnotic quality in going anywhere but where the next story marker in, peeking at massive monsters way above your current level, while collecting all sorts of things. Combat happens much less frequently than in XCX or XC2, and it's easy to rack up levels to have an easy time against everyone but unique monsters: for example I completed all sidequests in the starting location before setting off the story events that will push the party out of it, and all monsters around story areas have been at least a couple of levels below me.
    I think the game also adjusts the level of new party members to your characters, which is always nice.

    #2
    Can you turn the music off? I stopped playing on the WiiU because the music was doing my head in and couldn’t be turned off (or down).

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      #3
      There's no singing in this one.

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        #4
        Originally posted by Brad View Post
        Can you turn the music off? I stopped playing on the WiiU because the music was doing my head in and couldn’t be turned off (or down).
        You can mute it, yes, but as Kryss said there's no BGMs with lyrics here.

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          #5
          Iirc it was a rock guitar soundtrack that was just continuous. Was a while ago now. Just remembered I sold my switch lol so my question was pointless. Enjoy!

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            #6
            We're all assuming Brad means XCX, right? The music in that was often pretty obnoxious from what I remember.

            I've bought this game twice already and the furthest I managed was about 5 hours into the N3DS version. Think I may hold off on the three-peat non-complete, but if it drops in price (unlikely I know) maybe I'll give it another shot. That it sounds like a low-effort port doesn't exactly set my loins ablaze, for sure.

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              #7
              Originally posted by fuse View Post
              I've bought this game twice already and the furthest I managed was about 5 hours into the N3DS version. Think I may hold off on the three-peat non-complete, but if it drops in price (unlikely I know) maybe I'll give it another shot. That it sounds like a low-effort port doesn't exactly set my loins ablaze, for sure.
              Nah, you sound like me. This is my third time around. In my defence, after not getting far on the Wii or 3DS, I absolutely loved XC2. Couldn't put it down. So I thought I'd give it one more swing.

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                #8
                Finally packed this in today; a friend is going to buy it off me for most of what I paid for it.

                I don't know what it is. I got about 14 hours in this time, so it isn't for lack of trying. I love the massive scale of it; like I love how they really sell the idea of the world being on this gigantic creature...

                ... but I dunno; the characters really just don't grab me. I don't find Shulk an engaging protagonist at all. I don't think there's anyone in the cast with the memorable engagements of, for example, Nia in Xenoblade 2. I think, in part, it's because all of the characters in XC2 had some kind arc which was teased early on; how Nia ended up working for the people with whom you met her, who Pyra really is, loads of stuff like that, but I just find characters like Reyn to be kinda flat.

                I got to the Nopon Village part of the game and when it was time to move on, I genuinely sighed because I knew I was going to have to do a ton more fighting and levelling to get to the next bit of the plot, and just decided it's not worth it.

                I don't know much about the story, but I think that...


                the way the Monado can't hurt the faced Mechon... It's meant to be "mysterious", but it's clearly that they're part human, and it's so obvious that Shulk feels like a frustrating idiot for not working it out. He's been studying the sword his entire life! I've known about it for <14 hours!

                I'd go so far as to guess that the Mechon were defeated in the past by the Monado, and this is all part of their plan to find a way to defeat it.



                So yeah... If I ever see it for a fiver, I might come back to it. But right now, I can sell it for top dollar so it's going.

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                  #9
                  Main game completed (little less than 60 hours, ignoring some of the late game sidequests), now onto the new episode, Futures Connected.
                  I really hope you like Nopons, because they are prominently featured in the story and mechanics...

                  The new episode stars Melia and Shulk; not even half an hour in, and you meet Kino and Nene, who replace Carna and Reyn respectively. These two Nopons have exactly the same skillset as the healer and tank of the main game, which is a bit disappointing...Melia and Shulk are too exactly the same as the main game. Unfortunately Futures Connected does not carry over your skill bar customization, and putting everyone's skills back how you are used it might take some time.

                  Characters start at level 60 with all skills at tier 2, and so far I haven't met any new enemy; kinda makes sense, as Futures Connected still takes place on a very specific portion of Bionis.
                  A number of things have been reworked or downright removed: skill trees plus affinity coins, the group attack are gone; at the beginning of this sort-of epilogue you cannot forge ether gems, which drop from ether deposits. Heart-to-heart skits now have a new name, and since there are no relationship levels, you can see them as long as the required characters are active party members.
                  The main new system seems to be the Nopon Prospectors: they are a group of 12 Nopons lost all around the new territory who you have to rescue. Once rescued, they join your party as NPCs, helping in battles with extra attacks, heals, and enemy debuffs.

                  Futures Connected plays exactly like the base game, and story-wise seems to explore the consequences of the events at the end of the main game. I'll see it to completion and post some more impressions.

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                    #10
                    It has been a bit of time since I've completed Future Connected, but here are my final impressions.

                    The prologue takes around 10 hours to be completed, and I think I've cleared all side quests: a brief excursion around the (small) world prompted no new exclamation marks that denote sidequests. Future Connected takes place in just two locations, Bionis Shoulder (a brand new area despite the name) and the dilapidated version High Enta capital of Alcamoth; the latter doesn't have much to it, just a bunch of enemies and the final boss: 99% of the time is spent on the Shoulder.
                    The party is composed by Shulk, Melia, Kino, and Nene. Shulk and Melia are exactly the same as in the base game, while the two new characters take the place of Carna and Reyn respectively: they have the same party role (healer and tank) and exactly the same special moves, which is somewhat disappointing.
                    Future Connected trims heavily on equipment, weapons, and ether gems: I maybe changed weapons thrice and quickly browsed through armour before the final boss. There is no forge for ether gems, and while there are ether deposits to mine, the best gems are dropped by unique enemies. Hunting unique enemies also grants special coins with which you can buy textbooks to increase the cap level of special attacks.

                    A lot of systems from the base game have either been removed or changed. The relationship chart no longer exists, along affinity coins and all related mechanics. Heart-to-heart conversations have been replaced by Quiet Moments: basically the same, but with no relationship levels, you just need to have the right characters as active party members to see them. Some Quiet Moments are locked behind progression in FC's main storyline or sidequests.
                    The most complex sidequest is related to the Nopon Prospectors, a group of 12 Nopons scattered all around the Shoulder you can recruit after helping them. The 12 Nopons are divided in three groups (attack, healing, support), and replace the group attacks. The gauge is built up in the same way, but triggering the new attack will let you choose between three types: powerful area attack, party healing plus regen, or enemy debuff plus stun. There's also a chance that the Nopon Prospectors will perform this special action twice; it happened only once to me, and against the final boss. All action types have a short and funny cutscene to accompany them.

                    Combat is the same as the main game, with no new enemies if not for the final boss. There's a new enemy subtype, but it's just a souped-up version of standard enemies.
                    Bionis Shoulder is a relatively complex map, with a good variety of terrain types despite the small size of the playing area. The Shoudler is not as expansive as some of the locations in the main game, and due to this enemies, sidequests, and locations are more condensed and the place feels much more active than any other area of the main game. There's a good number of teleport points too, so going around the place is effortless. There aren't any secret areas that require sidequests to be made available, but there are couple of nasty unique enemies that are actually harder than the final boss.

                    Future Connected has been advertised as exploring Shulk and Melia's relationship, and...it does? Maybe? Not really, I'd say. The two have some intimate moments but those don't really explore much more than what was already hinted during the main game. In fact, you get to more about Riki thanks to the presence of Nene and Kino, and the real point of interest of the story is what happens to the people of High Enta, the surviving Mekon, and Melia's stepsister Tarco.
                    I don't really mind about that, I've always shipped Shulk and Fiore anyway.

                    Future Connected is not a bad expansion, it's a nice addition to Xenoblade Chronicles' remake, but doesn't quite reach XC2's expansion. Completing Future Connected also grants new goodies for the base game; I don't know if these goodies only come into play during NG+, but they do give another incentive in replaying standard Xenoblade Chronicles.

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