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[Mister Wolf]

I find it really, really hard to believe that this game is supposed to be bigger in scale than Xenoblade X. Everything we've seen seems to indicate they reduced the scope to offer a less risky product and something that could release in Switch's first year.

The areas will be big like X just not connected to form one continent

 

[sanstesy]

I find it really, really hard to believe that this game is supposed to be bigger in scale than Xenoblade X. Everything we've seen seems to indicate they reduced the scope to offer a less risky product and something that could release in Switch's first year.

Number of places to explore and visit =/= overall world size. XCX's open-world was absolutely humongous but "only" consisted of 5 different biomes and NLA.

 

[LordKano]

It's not the scale of locations, it's the variety of locations.

The areas will be big like X just not connected to form one continent

As long as overall, you can spend as much time exploring or discovering new places than in Xenoblade X, I'm cool with that. I don't care if it's a true open world or if areas are disconnected. But I haven't seen enough of the game to be reassured that it will be the case. And the fact that it release in less than 6 months, when we already knew the scale of X months before launch, doesn't help.

 

[Lunafreya Nox Fleuret]

Xenogears remake when? lol, that quote about Square approving him gave hope.

 

[Dark Cloud]

As long as overall, you can spend as much time exploring or discovering new places than in Xenoblade X, I'm cool with that. I don't care if it's a true open world or if areas are disconnected. But I haven't seen enough of the game to be reassured that it will be the case. And the fact that it release in less than 6 months, when we already knew the scale of X months before launch, doesn't help.

It's Nintendo I wouldn't worry.

 

[Humdinger]

Yes, X2 will be like shonen story driven like the first one

X focuses on the world.

Xenoblade 1 was a very linear game with huge areas and some pretty fun level design from time to time. Xenoblade X was a straight out open world where you could go anywhere from the start of the game and it had one of my favorite open world areas in quite awhile. Xenoblade 2 returns to the structure of the first game probably with some improvements from X.

Thanks, guys.

It's more linear and story driven like XC, but he said it'll be more open like XCX also compared to XC

He also said

"Exploration has always been at the heart of the Xenoblade saga, especially in Xenoblade Chronicles X. Can we expect the world to be even more vast on Switch?

"Exploration will have an even more decisive role in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. With regard to the number of places to explore and visit, I think we're going far beyond what Xenoblade Chronicles X was able to offer. As you could see in the trailer, you can expect to discover a large number of diverse environments, some natural, some built by men."

http://nintendoeverything.com/takah...ation-than-x-no-multiplayer-side-quests-more/

That's encouraging. What drew me to the series was the reception X got, in terms of how much fun the exploration was. So hearing that "exploration will have even more decisive role" in 2 vs. X is good. Exploration is the main draw for me, at this point. Not too keen on the boy meets girl story, but I understand his desire to do something different.

 

[KingSnake]

In terms of a theme in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, there are all of these Titans, and their lifespan is about to end. The people living on these Titans now have to find a way to continue their lives, because the land they've lived on is about to die. So it's about these people's quest to find where to live.

So much for less destruction and more love.

 

[TheMoon]

So much for less destruction and more love.

"I want to tell a story about friendship and love and well fuck everything is dying so tough luck RIP dark souls of friendship etc etc"

 

[zenspider]

I think the troubled development shows in the final product of XCX. It's not well paced at all. I'm much more hopeful about XC2

Really? I feel like you make your own pace in XCX. It's an open world game where the narrative and main questline supports exploration - there is no false sense of urgency.

I never even heard about troubled development, let alone that being reflected in the game. It's crazy polished for a world that big. Source?

 

[TheMoon]

Really? I feel like you make your own pace in XCX. It's an open world game where the narrative and main questline supports exploration - there is no false sense of urgency.

I never even heard about troubled development, let alone that being reflected in the game. It's crazy polished for a world that big. Source?

There's no source. There was no "troubled development." Your take is spot-on.

 

[AquaWateria]

Its cool we are getting a full fledged JRPG on Switch.

Its nice to see Nintendo have their own Final Fantasy.

 

[Waji]

Its cool we are getting a full fledged JRPG on Switch.

Its nice to see Nintendo have their own Final Fantasy.

Not to mention better (recently) if you like games with good overall balance and writing.

 

[Dark Cloud]

Its cool we are getting a full fledged JRPG on Switch.

Its nice to see Nintendo have their own Final Fantasy.

Yeah. Great Nintendo bought them. We would've never had Xenoblade.

 

[TheListOfToddicho]

I loved reading this interview. Did you see that story about how Nomura came on board? That was really cool.

 

[AquaWateria]

Not to mention better (recently) if you like games with good overall balance and writing.

Yeah I always through the Xenoblade series were better than the recent Final Fantasy games, but that's just me.

 

[Dark Cloud]

I loved reading this interview. Did you see that story about how Nomura came on board? That was really cool.

Square has some nice guys they let Nomura work on Xenoblade 2.

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

I want XCX on Switch more than XC2.

Edit: XC2 is still a day one purchase, I just really loved XCX and would love to play it again with a resolution bump, better draw distance, etc.

 

[Smeags]

I need to finish XCX dont I? Got the lvl 3 Skell and I just kinda... stopped. (Maybe something destroyed it and I got mad? Cant remember. &#128514

Apparently I need to see the finale. Should finish by the time 2 comes out...

 

[foxuzamaki]

God I just can't wait

 

[Mediking]

Day one. No questions asked.

 

[Astral Dog]

As long as overall, you can spend as much time exploring or discovering new places than in Xenoblade X, I'm cool with that. I don't care if it's a true open world or if areas are disconnected. But I haven't seen enough of the game to be reassured that it will be the case. And the fact that it release in less than 6 months, when we already knew the scale of X months before launch, doesn't help.

I thought X was far shorter than the first Xenoblade, in part because of the plot progression and travek system.

This game is going to be huge and last awhile.

 

[javadoze]

http://nintendoeverything.com/takahashi-on-xenoblade-2-visual-style-more-exploration-than-x-no-multiplayer-side-quests-more/2/

In this other interview, Takahashi talks about wanting to see another Baten Kaitos game.

Spoiler

Why do you tempt me so, Takahashi?

 

[KingSnake]

I thought X was far shorter than the first Xenoblade, in part because of the plot progression and travek system.

Someone powered through the story. And this explain the other comment now.

 

[TheMoon]

Day one. No questions asked.

Dat irony. In a thread about an interview where ...questions were asked.

http://nintendoeverything.com/takahashi-on-xenoblade-2-visual-style-more-exploration-than-x-no-multiplayer-side-quests-more/2/

In this other interview, Takahashi talks about wanting to see another Baten Kaitos game.

Spoiler

Why do you tempt me so, Takahashi?

This was posted here weeks ago in a dedicated thread, iirc. N-E is very late with that translation.

 

[Neoleo2143]

I thought X was far shorter than the first Xenoblade, in part because of the plot progression and travek system.

This game is going to be huge and last awhile.

I mean, most of the rad stuff we love the Xeno series for is in the Side content. Powering through the main story is defeating the point.

 

[TurnipFritters]

Really? I feel like you make your own pace in XCX. It's an open world game where the narrative and main questline supports exploration - there is no false sense of urgency.

There absolutely is. XCX endgame spoilers

Spoiler

There is literally a giant timer ticking down through the whole game, and then once the story acknowledges it's down to a critical level, you're forced to... do an affinity mission with what's his face where he's like "I'm a weakling please help me level up by beating up some boars" before you can continue on with the story.

It's ultimately not different than most RPGs, but that particular required affinity mission really stuck out to me as being horribly placed in terms of pacing.

 

[LordKano]

I thought X was far shorter than the first Xenoblade, in part because of the plot progression and travek system.

This game is going to be huge and last awhile.

X is far, far bigger in terms of content than any other game Monolith soft made.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

http://nintendoeverything.com/takahashi-on-xenoblade-2-visual-style-more-exploration-than-x-no-multiplayer-side-quests-more/2/

In this other interview, Takahashi talks about wanting to see another Baten Kaitos game.

Spoiler

Why do you tempt me so, Takahashi?

What ever happened to Yasuyuki Honne?

 

[James Scott]

Really? I feel like you make your own pace in XCX. It's an open world game where the narrative and main questline supports exploration - there is no false sense of urgency.

I never even heard about troubled development, let alone that being reflected in the game. It's crazy polished for a world that big. Source?

You're forced to do a lot of filler just to get to the next main story sequence.
It's pretty rough, likely that they couldn't find a way to make you explore the world by your own volition

 

[TheMoon]

What ever happened to Yasuyuki Honne?

He's running MonolithSoft Kyoto, the asset support studio.

 

[Dark Cloud]

We're never getting Baten Kaitos 3 😭

 

[TurnipFritters]

We're never getting Baten Kaitos 3 😭

Maybe it'll come back as a f2p smartphone game

 

[Astral Dog]

Someone powered through the story. And this explain the other comment now.

No i trued to take my time to explore, do sudequests and stuff, it took me about a month of playing every day while Chronicles was like three(!) And felt like i was orogressing way sliwer

I mean, most of the rad stuff we love the Xeno series for is in the Side content. Powering through the main story is defeating the point.

Xenoblade Chronicles had a big main story though, and was way better recieved

X is far, far bigger in terms of content than any other game Monolith soft made.

in terms of pure content and assets but i was talking how the world is designed and how you progress , there is no reason to worry Xeno 2 us going to be a step back

 

[LordKano]

No i trued to take my time to explore, do sudequests and stuff, it took me about a month of playing every day while Chronicles was like three(!) And felt like i was orogressing way sliwer

Xenoblade Chronicles had a big main story though, and was way better recieved

in terms of pure content and assets but i was talking how the world is designed and how you progress , there is no reason to worry Xeno 2 us going to be a step back

Because the story in itself is a bit smaller doesn't mean at all that it's any shorter.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Yeah I always through the Xenoblade series were better than the recent Final Fantasy games, but that's just me.

Oh, it's not just you. Not even close.

 

[Ridley327]

Based on an old interview about X, the sidequests were written by various staff members, rather than just the main story writer, which is likely why there's such a division between them. Personally though, I didn't care about X's main plot much, outside of the cliff hanger mysteries they suddenly threw in the final chapter, but I loved a lot of the material in the sidequests, so I don't think tying them to the main plot more would actually improve them.

It's less about making the side quests better and more making their existence better known. Since a lot of the story progression is tied to a raw percentage of exploring the different regions, it's easy enough to avoid a good chunk of the side quests in the first place when you can do more menial tasks to fill it up, like Tyrant hunting or finding secret locations. If those side quests were more visible from the start, I really don't think you'd be seeing as many complaints about the storytelling in the game, even if it won't ultimately "fix" the main plot.

There's, what, only two alien races the main plot has you meeting automatically, out of eight larger races, on top of all the one-offs that crop up along the way, like Celica (a party member, at that!) and Professor B. That's a lot of stuff that can be missed.

 

[ika]

As long as overall, you can spend as much time exploring or discovering new places than in Xenoblade X, I'm cool with that. I don't care if it's a true open world or if areas are disconnected. But I haven't seen enough of the game to be reassured that it will be the case. And the fact that it release in less than 6 months, when we already knew the scale of X months before launch, doesn't help.

MonolithSoft didn't show us all the different locations on Mira until a specific trailer near release. Until then, we only got mostly Primordia footage.

 

[jdstorm]

This is not entirely accurate. Rather than saying "troubled development", it would be better to say they had more challenges to overcome considering it was their first HD title. They clearly overcame their goal(s)--that goal being a true open-world. They knew they couldn't implement a fully-realized story on top of their first HD title, so they purposefully withheld from including heavy philosophical themes typically found in earlier Xeno titles. The pacing is deliberate due to the open-world structure.

To be clear, i love Xenoblade X. Its probably one of my 5 favourite games. However the pacing is something that could use an edit. Its mainly minor quality of life stuff, for instance being able to call your party via a smartphone/communicator rather then having to search for them across the city would be a huge change for the better.

Changing the Affinity system so that it gave your squad a bonus when characters with high affinity were together would be better then locking missions behind an afinity grind.

The final thing would be to make sure to include some of the better side missions on the main path. XCX's main path makes too much content optional and it means that the main path can sometimes lack context if you are just rushing through it.

 

[Waji]

MonolithSoft didn't show us all the different locations on Mira until a specific trailer near release. Until then, we only got mostly Primordia footage.

If you were avoiding every Nintendo Direct or video with Japanese footage maybe.

 

[redcrayon]

Its cool we are getting a full fledged JRPG on Switch.

Its nice to see Nintendo have their own Final Fantasy.

In terms of the FF games from last gen onwards, I've found the Xenoblade games to be better tbh. FF has gone from being an 'event' series to a bit of a b-tier one for me.

 

[Sora the Cat]

I want this game so bad. But I'm still a little worried about the battle speed tho, it feels a little slower than the first Xenoblade, I don't know, I can't tell exactly what it is but it felt odd when watching the gameplay from E3.

 

[Malyse]

I've said it before, but best case scenario is we get XBC and XBX as alternating releases. They fulfill two very different needs.

 

[vareon]

I've said it before, but best case scenario is we get XBC and XBX as alternating releases. They fulfill two very different needs.

Yeah, I'm pretty OK with XBC being a more story driven series and XBX being world/exploration driven with a bit of online added in, that would be perfect.

Was quite surprised at how fast this turned out, though.

 

[The Hermit]

XCX is the kind of game Nintendo needs. I need more of that and less of XC.

Both are good but I feel like they are going to abandon XCX...

You wanting more XCX instead of XC and hating Retro's second best game (Tropical Freeze) makes me think you are bizzaro me.

 

[Waji]

I want this game so bad. But I'm still a little worried about the battle speed tho, it feels a little slower than the first Xenoblade, I don't know, I can't tell exactly what it is but it felt odd when watching the gameplay from E3.

It's not especially.
It "feels" that way because now you have to chose between moving and auto attacking. There's more strategy in positioning and timing of attacks.
Then, you need to charge arts with auto attacks whichare not available at the beginning of battle, also making it look like slower.
Not to mention they almost only play with Rex which is equiped with 3 slow weapons.
Watch Nia, she's much faster.

The last points can change depending on your skills/arts (most likely), character, weapon and so on.

I've said it before, but best case scenario is we get XBC and XBX as alternating releases. They fulfill two very different needs.

It's not best case I think, rather it's a very realistic scenario.
In any case I don't see them developing numbered Xenoblade each after the other with nothing inbetween.

 

[kkg1701]

It's not especially.
It "feels" that way because now you have to chose between moving and auto attacking. There's more strategy in positioning and timing of attacks.
Then, you need to charge arts with auto attacks whichare not available at the beginning of battle, also making it look like slower.
Not to mention they almost only play with Rex which is equiped with 3 slow weapons.
Watch Nia, she's much faster.

The last points can change depending on your skills/arts (most likely), character, weapon and so on.


It's not best case I think, rather it's a very realistic scenario.
In any case I don't see them developing numbered Xenoblade each after the other with nothing inbetween.

I think another contributing factor is that Rex looks like he is moving extremely slowly in combat mode. Kind of a mismatch in the animation.

 

[Waji]

I think another contributing factor is that Rex looks like he is moving extremely slowly in combat mode. Kind of a mismatch in the animation.

Indeed, forgot that, it certainly doesn't help.

I wonder if they'll speed that up and/or if they'll have skills for that (most likely there should be afew skills which increase running/attacking speed).

 

[Dark Cloud]

Are they not updating the Twitter? It's been disappointing.

 

[TurnipFritters]

Indeed, forgot that, it certainly doesn't help.

I wonder if they'll speed that up and/or if they'll have skills for that (most likely there should be afew skills which increase running/attacking speed).

Both Xenoblade 1 and X had augments that increased your attack speed (well, the attack cooldown speed), and Xenoblade 1 had augments that increased how fast you moved.

 

[ika]

If you were avoiding every Nintendo Direct or video with Japanese footage maybe.

I'm talking about the Japanese release, obviously. Once the game is out, you could see spoilers everywhere. My point is, don't worry about the size o variety of XC2 just because we only saw one Titan (opening area), like the guy I was responding to. We'll get an "exploration trailer" soon enough if the game is releasing this winter.