Xenoblade Chronicles X

[the8thark]

Here is some phone photos of the PAL Collectors edition. I quickly took them with my phone. Just so you know what the NA people are not getting and what the NA people get better, like the better NA artbook.

The images are in a spoiler tag just becauseone of them is potentially spoilery.
I will play the game on Monday when I can. I am mostly busy this weekend.

Spoiler

Front of the Collectors Edition box

Back of the Collectors Edition box

Front of the game box

Back of the game box (Strange it says "not for individual sale"). I thought this would have just been identical to the standard edition. It seems the paper cover for the Collectors edition here is unique to this CE release. Sure the only difference is where it says "not for individual sale" but that's a bizzare thing to have done by Nintendo. Certainly not cost saving.

The game disc (It seems Nintendo ANZ just use the NoE UK disc. That's fine, they all work here too).

Outside of the tin box

Inside of the tin box

PAL/NoE and N-ANZ artbook

Side one of the poster

Side two of the poster

Map of Mira with some additional information. (To me the continents of Mira feel based on the geography of Japan. Also the continent names are really just based on what each continent mainly is.

1. Primordia = Primal, ie prehistoric. A dinosaur land or similar.
2. Oblivia = Oblivion, ie a desert wasteland, some landscape destoryed into oblivion by the alien races or the elements or something else.
3. Noctilium = Nocturnal, ie a darker night themed forest. Makes sense as little light filters down to the forest floor.
4. Caultros = Cauldron, ie a cauldron of lava inside a volcano. That idea of heat is the main theme of this continent.
5. Sylvalum = Silver. That's the closest I could come up here. This does make sense as the whole continent on the map looks silver due to all the ice and snow there. Maybe there's a better comntinent explanation out there for this one. The other 4 though really make sense what they are trying to be by their name.

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

Quick first impressions and thoughts after about six hours today:

1.) The game is surprisingly cinematic. I was expecting some nice production values just like we got in the last game, but I have to say, I'm really digging how the soundtrack is used with sweeping camera angels and grandiose introductions to areas. I haven't really gotten to the part where the plot "takes off" exactly, but I have a feeling that it's going to get pretty epic pretty quick.

2.) The steep learning curve is definitely a thing, even for someone like me who played Xenoblade years ago. It all came back to me pretty quick, and I honestly don't think things like the menus are as intimidating as some feared they would be. Difficulty itself seems to be pretty balanced - I got my balls rocked on several occasions by enemies that were a cool 30 levels higher than me, but that's mostly my fault since I thought sprinting right through the pack would be smart. I'm liking how I can adventure way off the path and still find enemies I can take down.

3.) The size and scope of the entire world is everything I hoped it would be. This is definitely the biggest game I've ever played outside of MMOs that have been going on for years, and I'm really feeling a sense of adventure trying to map it all out with the data probes. That's pretty much the main reason I chose the Pathfinders, since I eat stuff like this up.

4.) The one thing I'm not liking so far is how I'm locked out of placing certain map probes. Is it determined by what my Blade level is? It's really annoying venturing way off and finally finding a hidden probe point, just to have it tell me I can't activate it. I'm guessing I need to go further in the main plot for it or something.

I'll most likely spend all day tomorrow playing, as I had an absolute blast with it today. Definitely not a disappointment in any way so far.

 

[Lozjam]

Holy crap.... I'm loving the game... I will post pics of both the NA special edition, and of some screenshots of my experience thus far.
But, since I am tired, and I am winding down with some... Light reading, I would like you to take attention the the XCX Collectors edition guide.
The whole book is a whole whopping 510 pages long, and it is quite extensive.
It came in a hard cover, and even mouse pad with the logo.
It comes with every single normal, bond, and basic missions in the game. It covers all collectapedia items locations, with maps, general rarity of the item. All enemies, tyrants, bosses, with stats, times they can be found, locations, stats, resistances, and loot that can be dropped. It comes with character stats, signature arts, and even soul voices, plus their usual locations on NLA. It has all of the achievements and how you unlock them in game. It is a very, very good guide I can tell you that. It covers so much . The only glaring fault I see in it, is that is does not have the armor in the game... But oh well! I still highly recommend it.

 

[Triforce King]

 

[Spirit]

Didnt want to make a new thread for this so I'm posting here.

I got the game, only put 30minutes into it though (busy lady), but I have some questions for later in the game.

1. Can you name your skell ?
2. What weapon types would you recommend (distance/close) since I'm not good at the combat.

 

[Lozjam]

Didnt want to make a new thread for this so I'm posting here.

I got the game, only put 30minutes into it though (busy lady), but I have some questions for later in the game.

1. Can you name your skell ?
2. What weapon types would you recommend (distance/close) since I'm not good at the combat.

1. Yes
2. Hmmm... The game says that going the striker route is best for beginners, so that class uses the Gatling gun, and shield. Once you master classes, you can mix and match weapons.

Also, don't worry about not being good.... I think I am terrible at the drifter class Hahaha..... However, when I turned to play as Elma however, I felt right at home. I started kicking some poor animals asses that were 5 levels above me. Now, that felt great.

 

[Spirit]

1. Yes
2. Hmmm... The game says that going the striker route is best for beginners, so that class uses the Gatling gun, and shield. Once you master classes, you can mix and match weapons.

Also, don't worry about not being good.... I think I am terrible at the drifter class Hahaha..... However, when I turned to play as Elma however, I felt right at home. I started kicking some poor animals asses that were 5 levels above me. Now, that felt great.

Aaah yes, I cant wait to name my skell.

I thought range weapons might be best for me I prefer the starting gun to the blade, I like to keep my distance so I dont get eaten.

What is Elma wearing? I want that armour for my character, ooh also can you change your costume's colour etc?

 

[Ronin]

Just now got to open my Special Edition box; had some really nice gear. The only thing I wish I could exchange is the art print for the double-sided poster. Not really sure what to do with it other than lean it against the box. But other than that insignificant preference, I feel it was definitely worth the price.

 

[Lozjam]

Aaah yes, I cant wait to name my skell.

I thought range weapons might be best for me I prefer the starting gun to the blade, I like to keep my distance so I dont get eaten.

What is Elma wearing? I want that armour for my character, ooh also can you change your costume's colour etc?

Oh, I misunderstood your question. At any given time you will have both a ranged, and melee weapon at any time and you can switch between those freely at any time on or off battle. Melee weapons generally do a bit more damage, net you more tension points, but they draw more agression to your characters. Ranged attacks are generally weaker, but they at track less attention, and you can get out of the way of some attacks if you back off enough. You want to use a mixture of these at any given time. Especially since Melee arts recharge faster when you have your melee weapon, and only does the double cool down when you are using melee weapons. Same thing for ranged weapons and ranged arts.

I will tell y'all a funny story though. We met a Tyrant prone up on this huge tower, and he wasn't very happy to see us. So we fought, and were losing pretty badly. So we jumped out of the tower, and take him out from the ground, keeping his attention so he wouldn't jump down as well. None of his attacks were in range, but Lin's Gatling gun, and Lozjam's ray gun. did the job. Also, sliding slinger is like the most fun art to use on Elma as well.

You can wear Elma's armor as well. Also, though you can't change the Color of armor, there is a huge variety to choose from. Furthermore, press X on the gear screen, you can choose fashion armor. So if you like a set of armor for it's looks, you set it to fashion armor, and you can set your real armor on purely for stats while still looking like you have the armor you want.
You can change the Color of your Skells any way you want though.

 

[Triforce King]

The wind blows hard in December
Our last fight, do you remember?
Counting the days, since we left
You and I, slipping away...

 

[the8thark]

Just now got to open my Special Edition box; had some really nice gear. The only thing I wish I could exchange is the art print for the double-sided poster. Not really sure what to do with it other than lean it against the box. But other than that insignificant preference, I feel it was definitely worth the price.

You can have my double sided poster and I will have your better art book. . . Yeah neither collectors edition is perfect. It is simply a case of who wanted what more. You wanted the poster (and I assume map as well) which you did not get and I wanted the better art book which I did not get.

I can't complain though. The PAL artbook though too small and short is nice and better than nothing.

I wonder if anyone can describe the NA artbook for us PAL people here so we k ow how good that artbook really is compared to the one we got.

 

[CrimsonCavalier]

My Xenoblade Chronicles X Impressions (after about 10 hours of play)

I think I'm going to start with the bad, since there are a few things I really don't like. There are so many things to like that writing them all down would be a waste of time, so instead I'm going to write what I don't like.

(1) Gameplay -- First, there's a very steep learning curve. Don't sugar coat it for the people who didn't play the first one and who are not into RPGs. And the worst part is, there is no tutorial. The game doesn't teach you how to play. There is an electronic manual, but it's barebones and sucks. Pretty much, the game starts, and says "Good luck and God speed," and you're on your own. There are a lot of aspects to the combat, for example, that are going to be learned through trial and error. I definitely recommend reading the manual, as crappy as it is, because at least you'll know a little bit.

The game isn't hard, though, which is the only reason that it not having a tutorial isn't a deal breaker. It eases you in pretty well, though if you get greedy, you will get put in your place by monsters in a heartbeat.

(2) User Interface/Menus -- There are a lot of menus, and they're a little tricky to navigate, but once you learn them, they're not bad. What I don't like is that they're not as interactive as in the first game. For example, when you're looking at your gear, there's no option to see what each perk does. In the original you could click on each item and get a description, what perks it had, and get a description of each perk. Here, it just shows you the item, and a description of it with its stats, but you can't check out each individual stat. There are resistances and weaknesses to certain elements, but if you don't know what each little symbol means, you won't know what a piece of armor is resistant/weak to without going to the manual and seeing what that little symbol means.

Also, there is no sound menu. In other words, you can't turn down/off the music at all, which I absolutely hate. What kind of game doesn't let you turn down the SFX/Music in 2015? The music is great, don't get me wrong, but it's too loud for my tastes, and I can't hear what my characters are saying because the music is too loud.

Finally, there's too much on the screen. As you progress, there will be even more stuff on the screen. There's the minimap, but there are also controls and eventually, you'll see a mission thing at the bottom of the screen. All of them take up room on the screen. The game is so pretty and immersive, and having to stare at that as you play is really annoying. As far as I know, there's no way to get rid of all that UI/HUD stuff. Except for the minimap.

(3) GamePad -- Someone at Nintendo said to MonolithSoft: "You have to use the GamePad somehow. That's a condition to you making this game." And so MonolithSoft said "Ok, well, let's make a really crappy map and throw it on the GamePad so that it doesn't seem like no one uses the stupid GamePad."

And that's how that sh***y map ended up on the GamePad. It sucks. It doesn't need to be on the GP. Playing on the GP is clunky. Scrolling through the map on the GP is clunky. The whole thing could have been fixed if they just didn't use the stupid thing and left it on the TV screen.

/end of complaints


It seems like a lot of stuff to whine about, but it's really not bad. The good things about this game WAY out-weigh the bad. It's a phenomenal game. It's gorgeous, epic, fun, and I can't stop thinking about what else I want to do and where else I want to explore.

I started over after about 11 levels, because I figured out how to play, and I realized I had made a bunch of terrible decisions up to that point. So I scrapped my first character (may he rest in peace) and made a new one. I'm liking her a lot more, because I know what I want to do with her. I'm leveling up a lot faster with her already, and since I know how to play, I'm able to take on stronger monsters at a lower level.

I will say that not having a tutorial is the biggest flaw of this game. It isn't Mario. It isn't even a shooter, like Halo or Call of Duty, that doesn't need a tutorial. It's one of the most in-depth, complex games I've played, with one of the most complex battle systems. I needs a tutorial. Some games don't need tutorials. This one does.

 

[the8thark]

Here are my impressions and what I like and dislike about the game.

The Bad

Can't remap the controls. Like what? You can even remap the controls of VC games on the WiiU. You could even remap the controls for Super Mario Allstars on the SNES back in the day. I never bothered for XC as it's base controls with the WiiU pro controller were amazing. XCX on the other hand, half the time spent learning the game is due to the weird controls that you can not change to suit your gameplay style. All of the individual controls make sense, just which botton each one is placed on is very strange. This needs to be remedied in a game patch ASAP.

Not sure if you can focus the camera on an enemy like you can in the Zelda series so you can easily circle strafe the enemy. Having the camera fixed (apart from manually moving it) makes combat that much harder to do. Sure you can learn to deal with it, and once mastered combat is a breeze, but having this option would have made the combat a little more fun.

Why is there two health bars on screen when you fight an enemy? The large one at the top of the screen and the 2nd little one just above the enemy? Seriously like why? That's pointless and the 2nd little enemy health bar just gets in the rode of what I am trying to kill. For a better way to do this, just look at Diablo 1 - 3. These Diablo games do the enemy health bars amazingly. Youi can even turn the health bars off if you want (game bosses excepted) in Diablo. This annoys me that it can not be done in XCX, ie removing that little secondary health bar.

Also, there is no sound menu. In other words, you can't turn down/off the music at all, which I absolutely hate. What kind of game doesn't let you turn down the SFX/Music in 2015? The music is great, don't get me wrong, but it's too loud for my tastes, and I can't hear what my characters are saying because the music is too loud.

This did not bother me but it should have been there in the game. Being able to adjust the different levels of the BGM, SFX and ambient noise is really useful in games.

I am going to say the gamepad in XCX is optional. Take it or leave it.

There is no dps (damage per second) value on the weapons. This would be nice to know. Just something really tiny, more a quality of life issue.

The music in XCX takes a while to get used to but it's great. Not as memorable as XC but still great. The only downside here is that totally aweful rap in certain parts. That should have never been in the game. Only a minor issue really.

Zooming in the mini map just makes it look pixelated. Also you can not zoom out the minimap even more, than what you start the game with. Only a minor issue but that would be nice as the world is so large, very easy to get lost. Sure you have quest markers, but when you are just exploring this becomes an issue. Only really a quality of life issue. Nothing more.

Other observations I have made

I will say that not having a tutorial is the biggest flaw of this game. It isn't Mario. It isn't even a shooter, like Halo or Call of Duty, that doesn't need a tutorial. It's one of the most in-depth, complex games I've played, with one of the most complex battle systems. I needs a tutorial. Some games don't need tutorials. This one does.

I would say all games need a tutorial. They do not have ot be spelled out point for point though. One of the best tutorials ever is the SNES MegaMan X intro level. It teaches you everything you need to do in the game without the player even realising it. XCX on the other hand could have used a little spelled out tutorial. People who have never plaued a real time RPG or MMO would initially have no idea what to do. It's not hard to work out what to do but I think that was Monolithsoft's aim. Pure player discovery. I think this is a great idea, but taken a little too far regarding the intro. The first fight vs that bug could have been a little longer and more tutorial like. That's where I reckon the flaw is. Past that I am ok with the game.

The game's learning curve is not all that high honestly. I really think is all blown out of proportion. If you understand MMO style attack with automatic basic attacks and cooldown based special attacks, then you understand the base idea of XCX combat. Sure there is a lot more to it than that, but this is the lowest level base understanding, which is not too hard to grasp.

The classes in this game are more like set playstyles. Do you want to tank or dps or be an assist player? Then you choose the class that best suits that. Even the weapon types you can use are fixed to the class you choose. This does really lower the weapon diversity in the game as all weapons are specific to a few 2-3 classes at most. The shield is a weird one. It has a damage value. Most games don't have shields as damage dealers apart from a few shield specific abilities. The classes as they are work fine, but class is really the wrong word for them. I'd rather call them playstyles. Tank or dps or assist then choose your specialty of the role you choose. Not a very well thought out class system. If on the other hand the classes were progressional, ie you kept al learnt classes and slowly learnt to use all weapons with your classes (basically you could use all classes and arts you have levelled up, that would be cool, but no it's one class only and two weapon types only, one ranged and one melee).

As far as I know, there's no way to get rid of all that UI/HUD stuff. Except for the minimap.

You can get rid of the controls on screen. I did that once I worked out what each button did.

@CrimsonCavalier I agree with most of your points. I gave my thoughts of a few of your points here too.

XCX is really a 95/100 game. It is that good. The few little issues here do not detract too much from the core game which os done so very well. Still totally GOTY material in my opinion.

 

[Lozjam]

@CrimsonCavalier
Whoa whoa whoa there buddy, you got some things wrong.
For one, you can disable all UI right in the options menu in display.
Also @the8thark you can disable the enemy health bars as well.
You can also choose to have a fixed camera on the enemy in the options menu

Furthermore, the game does exactly what you said it should do regarding classes. You do learn these arts over time, and once you master it, you get to carry skills and arts to other classes, and wield the weapons that you have mastered, onto other classes.
For example, when I mastered the Galactic Knight Class, I was able to use Photon Saber's, and Psycho Launchers within any other class, and I am able to use every art I learned that are associated with those weapons. So, for example, I can equip my Photon Saber when I am in the Samurai Gunner Class, and I can put the arts Starfall Blade, and Starfall Rondo, and make these attacks even more powerful with the Assault Grenade Art, to make the enemy blackout.
So it is progression, you just need to actually earn it.

The Gamepad is very important to the game as well, once you actually get into it. Once you understand the importance of probes, you will need to have the gamepad screen on the fly, plus it is a map that is CONSTANTLY updating as you are exploring the world, since people talk about various objectives, monsters, ect. within certain segments.

Last of all, is you are not paying attention, as the game is giving you all you need regarding tutorials. You just need to pay attention. For example, it mentions all cooldown, art related stuff, and everything you need. The game just expects you to check it out right after they mention it. This then introduces to you the concept, with explanations of what they do, and then they expect you to check it out.

For example, that the reason that some monsters (and especially Tyrants) are stronger than others despite being the same level is explained in this way...

Elma says in a cutscene:
"We have indicators to measure an indigen's strength, however our indicators can fail and the indigen could be a lot more powerful than we expected. Whenever you get into a fight such as this, run."

Really, that is all they need to tell you, so you can find this out on your own. However, people are missing these! And they are taking them as "filler text" when it very much isn't. It is due to people just rushing through and not paying attention.

 

[the8thark]

Thanks for the reply @Lozjam

Also @the8thark you can disable the enemy health bars as well.
You can also choose to have a fixed camera on the enemy in the options menu

I am not sure how to do this. I looked in all of the menu options and didn't see it. I guess I'll have to play the game more to have those optiona appear in the game menu options. Thanks for this. It's a great to have this.

Last of all, is you are not paying attention, as the game is giving you all you need regarding tutorials. You just need to pay attention. For example, it mentions all cooldown, art related stuff, and everything you need. The game just expects you to check it out right after they mention it. This then introduces to you the concept, with explanations of what they do, and then they expect you to check it out.

This is true and it's a very different type of tutorial. Most of them stop the game, force you to use X ability after the describe it. XCX on the other hand describes something then it's up to you the player to practice with it on your own. It's a better way to do things as it does not break the flow of the early game as much. XCX is one of those games were you need ot pay attention of all of the NPC text. One early on told me to take the top path for an easier run through or jump down to the beach for a tougher route in. That text was totally right. I levelled up a but on the top path before jumping down to the beach for more XP when I could kill them. It's NPC chat like that that you really need to listen to. It gives you so much game information.

Furthermore, the game does exactly what you said it should do regarding classes. You do learn these arts over time, and once you master it, you get to carry skills and arts to other classes, and wield the weapons that you have mastered, onto other classes.
For example, when I mastered the Galactic Knight Class, I was able to use Photon Saber's, and Psycho Launchers within any other class, and I am able to use every art I learned that are associated with those weapons. So, for example, I can equip my Photon Saber when I am in the Samurai Gunner Class, and I can put the arts Starfall Blade, and Starfall Rondo, and make these attacks even more powerful with the Assault Grenade Art, to make the enemy blackout.
So it is progression, you just need to actually earn it.

I guess you have to fully master a class first, not just access the option to use the next class past it. I'll get this later in the game. I don't have it now but later on I will I am sure. Thanks for letting me know this.

Thanks again @Lozjam much appreciated. Many of my issues with the game are fixed by the game itself if I just play more to unlock these options in the game menu (I don't see them there now). Very nice to know. I guess after what you've said, the only gripe I have with the game is no way to customise the controller layout/buttons. But I can accept this.

@Lozjam I have a question for you. Does the game count shields as a melee weapon? As in you can't have a sword and shield? Only a gun and shield?