This game looks amazing I'm super excited for it. Will be playing this on day one.

That demo was awesome! This game is going to kick so much ass.

Agreed, I'm really happy with what I saw with the battle system and character stuff. The vastness of the world they showed off is just the tip of the iceberg!

They're playing the demo again on the live treehouse feed right now.

I really love how they added a run button to make traveling on foot a lot faster. Much better than using a gem slot in Xenoblade for quick step.
The customization in this game looks way more in depth and detailed. It's gonna be a long year or so until I can play this

I seriously had zero interest in the xeno title on the Wii, but this one given when it comes out and what they'r doing with it I think I could seriously play this one and like it.

My hope is that the story and setting can live up to Xenoblade Wii. Clearly the gameplay will blow away Xenoblade Wii, even from that short demo, but that's only half the game in my eyes.
Putting the player on the bodies of 2 massive titans with such varied and unique environments was super cool, so if they can live up to or be better than that...

Yeah feelings haven't changed on this since its debut I am still in!

Firstly, I would just like to state that Xenoblade: Chronicles for the Wii was my favourite game of the last generation, it delivered the JRPG experience that the 360 & PS3 failed to deliver. I loved everything about it from the characters to the grande setting and how even though it was a massive game, the story would progress at your own pace.

I bought a Wii-U in anticipation for the new X game, which clearly was to be a sequel. Just the thought of a new Xenoblade experience got me thrilled and it is something I wanted to invest in. As the trailers went on, Nintendo were keeping details ambiguous, from the title to if it was a multi-player or single player JRPG & A release date. I just felt as if I were being messed around a little.

Is this an MMO RPG or Classic JRPG...? It was so hard to tell.

The latest E3 demonstration brought tremendous fear. One thing I cannot stand in JRPG's is silent protagonists - which I call silent protagonist syndrome. I understand the concept, YOU are the player, you're stepping into the shoes of the character. However, when I look at the character all I see is a blank avatar with no personality. I need lead characters which I can engage which, even if they're as grumpy as Squall from Final Fantasy VIII, his character development was wonderful in the game, from isolating himself from people to opening up and embracing love and friendship. A blank character like in this game has no presence like that. Even in the gameplay demonstration you see him respond with a flat not, I don't want to play as a nodding dog for a 100+ hour JRPG...


I don't want a blank character, Shulk was a very engaging character, why not be him or another character written into the story.

What's even worse is that in games with Silent Protagonist Syndrome, all the characters and how they react to this, they just come across as so patronizing mostly because they HAVE to talk too much due to the lack of interaction with the mute. The thing is, you can have a game where you create a character and still have them engage with the scenario and have a personality. Mass Effect being a prime example, you could name and customise your Shepard to your hearts content, even switch gender, but the character still had presence. Silent Protagonist Syndrome in games just comes off as a techincal limitation and I think by 2014 we're really beyond that now.

Even analyzing the E3 trailer, did you notice how it focused on the NPC's not the lead character. It is clear that he/she has no impact in the story. Which reminds me of one of my worse gaming experience of all time. Final Fantasy XII. You play as Vaan, a character who has no purpose within the story or even a personality, he is just so bland and what is worse, he brings Penelo into the story who is equally as useless. All I remember from that game was running through landscapes and temples wishing for the story to progress - which would happen every 5-10 hours. It was just agony and I don't want to experience anything like that again.


Never... again.

So I am now selling my Wii-U. Xenoblade Chronicles was meant to be the reason the console would thrive, but due to this awful creative decision the game has been ruined for me. There isn't much else I want from the Wii-U as I don't care much for the Nintendo Family's games (Mario, Toad, Kirby), I enjoyed Zelda: Wind Waker, but that was more for the exploration, I loved sailing from land to land. Zelda is another series which suffers from Silent Protagonist Syndrome and I have to be honest, I had the same problem with it. I never cared for link and it was awkward to see the characters work around him being mute. I'll be keeping my Wii for Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story & Pandora's Tower 3 amazing game I adore, but I am calling it quits with the Wii-U now.

^ LOL

. . . . . Disappointing, care to elaborate on that? I was hoping for a more engaging conversation. . .

It's 3am where I am forgive me, but quick thoughts before I pass out:
While I don't think you're wrong about the possibility of a silent protagonist, we only saw 30 mins of the very beginning where the main character just awoke from a cryo sleep. For all we know he's still groggy or can't speak yet and there weren't enough cutscenes to really judge.
Also, Monolith has never had a silent prot, not Xeno-gears, saga, blade 1. It'd be odd to change it up now especially since awesome main characters have been a staple for the series.

I think it's still too early to tell and the game is another year away which means plenty of dev time still. The game clearly hasn't been localized to English either, so I think it's best to wait and see before jumping to conclusions.

Hopefully the main character isnt silent, I really liked Shulk. But Im a sucker for giant robots and RPGS so this is still a must buy for me so far.

Tanooki, tell me you wouldn't want to explore this area. Should I send you my new game + save data so you can just experience the story/world and don't worry about quests and battles?

New info shown off at the recent direct. Got to see a little more about questing and how walking through the city looks. Pretty excited! Still looks to be a 2nd half 2015 release

The gameplay they showed off today looks great! I want to learn more about our new Nopon part member, although im probably the only one.

I'm with you, I love the Nopon!

it looks really cool to me

If I have Xenoblade Chronicles and a Wii U, is that worth playing through prior to this game coming out? I mean, I'm going to play it before X comes out either way, but I'm not sure if I should play the Wii version or wait to see if the New 3DS version looks better.

The 3DS version won't look better graphically, it's still not as powerful as the Wii. The amazing thing about Xenoblade was how it push the Wii to INSANE limits. The draw distances are massive and the 3DS won't have the same wow factor. I say play it on the Wii U as long as you have a classic controller (do not use the remote/nunchuk). I don't know if they'll add any content or update anything, but given how limited the 3DS is, it likely won't be significant.

Keep in mind the game will take between 70-100+hrs depending on how much side content you do and ability to pick up the battle system quickly, so be sure to start it at least 1-2 months before the new one comes. Depending on your amount of free time of course I did probably 85-90% of the side content in my first playthrough and explored everything. Took me 100 or so hours.

Okay, I'll play the Wii U version then. That does seem like a ton of time. I'm also going back and forth between this or just messing around in Skyrim some more. I always get an open world RPG itch around this time of year.

Yeah just play whatever you're in the mood for. Xenoblade and Skyrim are very different experiences, so if you're looking for some very unique environments with a deep combat system and excellent story go for Xenoblade. While I respect Skyrim for what it is, you won't find another experience quite like Xenoblade.

Now, I've heard of people getting tired of Xenoblade in that 35-50 hr mark, even I was getting a little burned out at that point. But then halfway through it REALLY kicks into high gear in terms of story which will get you hooked until the end. So the first half is all about the exploration of amazing environments, learning the battle system, and setting up the story. The 2nd half is all about the story. but still has some great areas to explore.
Honestly, you could play about 1/2 of Xenoblade, then watch the rest of the story on Youtube or something if you aren't really feeling it, but you should be:

KEEPS GETTING BETTER. These environments look insane, potentially much better than XC (HD graphics aside). Still no release date, but with footage in 2 directs in a row, it must be summer-fall this year.

The only "Xeno" games I have played were Xenogears and Xenosaga Part I but I am absolutely pumped for this as I am seriously in need of a new generation JRPG.

Xenoblade Chronicles X looks great, but I used to own Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii, played it for a bit, didn't like it, sold it, and now I want it again. I want to give the game a second shot, but not with the prices the way they are... But even so chances are high I will be buying Xenoblade Chronicles X.