So it's good for RPG fans who haven't already played the game on Wii, already own a New 3DS console, and don't care about graphics.


Seems like a pretty niche audience they are shooting for... count me in!  (Disclaimer: I don't currently own, or have immediate plans to buy, a New 3DS. But it'll probably happen eventually and I love me some Xenoblade!)

I have to disagree with 1 part of this article. I own and played this game on the Wii and I'm still getting it TODAY! I'll be more than happy to enjoy another 90ish hours of my life because of this game (and I don't think I've ever taken a 15+ hour game and conquered it twice it's just not my style)


I have to fully agree and then some with another part of your article.


"If you're not a fan of turn-based battles, then Xenoblade might be the RPG for you."

I love RPGs in concept, but once we get into the turn based battle stuff it kills me. For example, I loved the story in Earthbound, but I couldn't bring myself to get very far because all the grinding with super boring turned based battles killed the enjoyment for me. This however gave me very little grinding and real time not boring battles.

Xenoblade I'm coming back for more TODAY!

Wow sorry I didn't mean to mess that text up I just copied from the article and then pasted it in and I guess that killed it.

This belongs in a flow chart.

You know, I loved Xenoblade on the Wii (even though I will never even come close to finishing it), but was this really necessary?

Seriously? I can think of at least 3 other ways you could have phrased that without sounding like a condescending hipster.

(Sounds like someone likes Final Fantasy XIII and prefers graphics over gameplay)

I've made no secret that I like the FF 13 games (just as I've made no secret that Xenoblade is my favorite Wii game) and, yes, I don't think production values & mechanics are mutually exclusive. You don't have to cripple one to improve the other if you have a talented development team. The only people who argue that they are are Nintendo fanboys trying to excuse why Nintendo's hardware is frequently half a decade to a decade behind their competitors.

I actually think replaying the game, if you enjoyed it the first time, is an amazing choice. Once you know the plot, the characters, the outcome.. it changes how you see many of the conversations, you see lots of foreshadowing and it makes the game even more brilliant to me.

I didn't actually know that. I only said that since you seemed to be irritated by the article mentioning that so I thought I'd reiterate it for fun.

True.

I wouldn't argue that they are exclusive but I just don't care if a game has the most cutting edge graphics. I think it was Chibi-Robo when I realized this. The graphics for it were quite rough compared to most other GC games. It almost felt like it was closer to Nintendo 64 than GC. Yet, I enjoyed the game and even found the lack of graphical prowess as further endearing. I'd say Katamari Damacy would fall into that position also.

Thus, it taught me not to look too closely or be concerned too much with a game's graphics. Sure, it may make for appealing footage when shown and advertised but if the gameplay isn't great, graphics rarely, rarely make up for it. The reason so many of us go back and play older games is because of the gameplay. If graphics only mattered, everything would be remastered constantly or we would have all stopped caring about older games.

However, when you have a situation where a game that does blend great gameplay and graphics together yet fails to sell enough because of the development cost caused by incorporating the highest graphic capabilities, then I think graphics are an issue and a problem. Perhaps the wiser choice would have been to scale back on the graphic cost to make a profit to make more games. I do think that has led to more and more safe sequel choices in gaming and less diversity. At least from the large gaming corporations. The indie scene is a bit different but it wouldn't even exist that much if game companies were willing to diversify instead of putting all their eggs in one or two games and then hope they don't flop or they're in trouble. It's a big reason why I think Nintendo does keep chugging along despite many of the troubles it's competitors have faced. 3DS games obviously don't have the graphics of console games yet I own a lot of games for it. Heck, yesterday I just popped in Crosswords Plus in my 3DS and have started playing through a bunch of puzzles because I like to test my brain power with trivia and games like that. How many of the major game companies are bothering to make a simple game like that? There's an audience for it but they aren't interested in it. Nintendo has no problem making such software and I can't help but feel that their decision to not get caught up in the graphics arm race is a part of the reason why they will make such software.

Thus, not releasing a graphical powerhouse console doesn't bother me. The only reason it is an issue is because then it limits third party support because 3rd parties feel that they can't sell a game that isn't a graphical powerhouse and don't want to work on porting a version in which they have to work extra to scale it down or adjust the game to play on the Nintendo console. Despite the adversity caused by having high production costs for so many game companies, it's clear at this point, they don't want to lower their risk or follow Nintendo's philosophy and release games at a lower graphical budget. I guess we'll see how this battle plays out but I feel the industry was in a better state 10 years ago then it is now and better graphics for gaming consoles obviously didn't result in the industry being stronger.

I don't own a New 3DS XL and have no desire to (I MIGHT have gotten the regular New 3DS), so getting the game isn't even an option to me.

OK, what hellish alternate reality are we in where I'm the one doing the pithy 2-3 sentence posts & Khushrenada's putting up the 4 paragraph essays?  :P: ;)

http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131031221046/logopedia/images/5/5e/HIAC.png

AKA

Hothead in a Forum Thread


Two posters enter. Khushrenada leaves as the winner obviously. The beauty of the Khushrenada persona is that you never know what, where and how I'm gonna post. You just know that it's going to suck!

I mean, suck if my post and wrath is directed at you. Cause I'm bringing the pain. My posts are painful to read.

I mean, painful if they are directed at someone else I disagree with and they read them. Or if the mods read them. Or if any other forum users read them. Or if Khushrenada reads them. Like the many blows that rain down on the poorly opinionated from the vigorous energy of ones wielding the hammer of logic, facts and truth, so also Khushrenada's posts blow.

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/meyer769/psy_1001/homer-sleeping.jpg

Yaaaaawn.

Oh!

Hello.

You startled me there. Was there something you needed? Were we talking about so-
*zzzzzzzzzzz*
*snore*
*zzzzzzzzz*

About two hundred extraneous hard returns removed to make the article on the site readable again - Shaymin

Agree.

Disagree slightly - budget and time constraints (not just talent) come into play here in a significant way, and so does target platform. My experience suggests that development is often an exercise in defining priorities and compromises. If the game is fun enough, I'm ok with that.

I picked it up, mostly because I find myself less likely to play a lengthy RPG unless it's tied to a medium that doesn't require TV use for extended periods of time.

so basically, get the 3ds version if you havent got the wii version

gotcha