Nintendo The Official Xenoblade Thread

[Linnaete]

New Xenoblade Characters Revealed

The Xenoblade cast keeps on growing. Four additional characters made their debut in this week's Famitsu, including our first two representatives of the races besides Homs. Let's take a look.

Rein Race: Homs, Gender: Male, Age: 18, Height: 190cm. A member of the Colony 9 Defense Force (Colony 9 is where the main characters live). He's a childhood friend of main character Shulk. While an optimist, he can show great anger.

Carna Race: Homs, Gender: Female, Age: 21, Height: 168cm. A soldier in the Colony 6 Defense Force. She's good with projectile weapons.

Melia Race: Hienter, Gender: Female, Age: ???, Height: 156cm. A young girl from the Hienter race. This race resides on the head area of the Kyojin part of the world and has an advanced civilization. She's skilled at using ethers for attacks.

Riki Race: Nopon, Gender: Male, Age: ???, Height: 60cm. A hero of the Nopon merchant race who reside in the forests of the back area of the Kyojin part of the world? His words and movements are extremely childish, but in reality... !? (Note: I tried to replicate Famitsu's punctuation here.)

In case you're wondering about how all the races look, you can see the Homs races at the official site. The Hienter also look like humans. The Nopon, however, look like giant eggs, with wings and tiny feet. The magazine also provided details on the mecha that were shown attacking Colony 9 in the previous trailer:

Black Face Race: New Model Kishin Soldier, Head Height: 10.5m, Total Height: 15.5m. This type of soldier is capable of transforming into flying form. It uses its claws as weapons. Different from other Kishin soldiers, its head looks somewhat human-like. The Monado sword is apparently ineffective against this soldier.

Brown Face Race: New Model Kishin Soldier, Head Height: 6m, Total Height: 7.5m. Like Black Face, Brown Face can transform into flying form. It wields a sickle-like weapon.

Also getting some space -- try a full page, or one-fourth of the article -- is the Monado Sword. The magazine summarizes what we're apparently supposed to already know about the sword. I use "apparently" because some of the info was new to me. There are apparently three known properties about the sword:

• 1. It has the only power that can resist the Kishin troops.
• 2. It can't slash anything except Kishin troops.
• 3. Anyone can unleash Monado's power, but at present only the legendary hero Dunban can control it.

Point number 2 is of particular note. The magazine has a screenshot that shows Rein for some reason slashing heroine Fiorung with the Monado. However, the sword does not harm her.

Based off the screenshots, it looks like Monado is like a light saber -- the actual slicing part isn't metal, but rather a light beam. It's hard to see what's going on when Rein slashes at Fiorung, as the part of the sword that actually hits Fiorung is just a flash of light.

The central glass plate on the sword's head was previously revealed to have some mysterious properties. It seems to change color and text. Screens in the magazine show two textual images: "機" and "盾." The former could be machine -- it's the same character that starts off the name of the Kishin troops. The second is shield.

What do these mysterious characters mean? The "Monado" section of the official site has already been unlocked and contained no answers. Perhaps this is a mystery we'll have to figure out for ourselves once Xenoblade hits on June 24.

Source: Andriasang

 

[Rey]

Thanks Olivia <3 these desriptions are awesome. But I only see Dikson and some claws guy as new characters on the official site. Well I guess we need to let it update the others

 

[Linnaete]

New Characters At Xenoblade Official Site

The Xenoblade official site saw a mini update today, providing a glimpse at the four characters who were unveiled in Famitsu earlier in the week.

Visit the character page for a look at the characters. As always, you can select multiple character art and voice samples.

(Note to self: Riki looks like an inflated Moogle from FFXII with the pompom cut off xD)

These four are all under the "player character" section, which presumably means they'll be a part of your party. There are no more "player character" slots at the site now, but the sub character section has six empty slots.

The site unfortunately does not have a look at the Black Face and Brown Face enemies which were also detailed in Famitsu. They were already shown in trailers, however. If you want background details, see this writeup from the Famitsu article.

Source: Andriasang

 

[Black Butler]

they all look amazing but i get a strange feeling that the characters in the pics above have modern weapons and medieval clothes, carna has some sort of sniper rifle but medeival clothes,sometimes those kind of characters with that design, it bugs me 4 some strange reason.

 

[Rey]

Oh wow these look so good! *hugs Olivia* <3 Thank you! Wow Rein looks so cool with that weapon. Carna looks really great. Armor and sniper= Plus shes sexy xD Melia looks so awesome. I think she will be the main spell caster in the party. Riki does look like a moogle LOL! Thanks again Olivia <333

 

[Linnaete]

Welcome To The Epic World Of Xenoblade

Xenoblade trailer #4 hit the Everyone's Nintendo Channel today and was quickly uploaded to YouTube. Press play to introduce yourself to the vast "fields" of Monolith's Wii RPG.

The trailer leads us through the various areas of the game's world, which you'll recall is set on the body of two massive gods, Kyojin and Kishin.
Four areas in particular are mentioned:

• 1. Kyojin's legs
• 2. Colony 9
• 3. Makuna Forest
• 4. Elto Sea

These are all located on the Kyojin side of the world, which is home to the protagonists. The game starts in Colony 9, located in the Kyojin leg area.
The footage doesn't just show the scenery, but also the characters running through the scenery. This allows us to confirm that Riki can run (despite his tiny legs) and your whole party can swim.
Xenoblade trailer releases are usually followed the next day by an official site update, so expect more details tomorrow.


Source: Andriasang

 

[Shadra]

From what I've read and found out about the game. It's the exact same team that worked on the Xenosaga series. As much as I would truly wish for this to be a Xeno4, it's not. It has the same basic mythology as the Xeno series but that's all that's the same. :/

 

[Valvalis]

I hope Monolith have done something good with the story because from the snippets I have read so far, it sounds a bit cliched again.

I've been a little concerned about this too tbh, because it's so hard to tell from the trailers--whether there are any huge plot twists or significant events or not, I'm sure they wouldn't want to give that away. For me the best thing about Xenosaga was how complex and philosophical the story was, and after reading the article Sakura posted in page 2 of this thread about Tetsuya Tahakashi's Famitsu interview (somewhere around Feb. 17th), I'm starting to think Xenoblade may not live up to that after all I saw a differently-worded version of the same information somewhere else that said specifically that Xenoblade will not focus as much on cutscenes and story, which IMO is the most important thing about any RPG; otherwise you may as well play an action game. I don't know, I'm just getting really tired of game companies trying to exterminate the old-fashioned story/cutscene-driven style that made the genre popular in the first place, and I'll be disappointed if they sell out the Xeno series to "the demand of the times" as well.

 

[Rey]

Omg wow the environments are beautiful! Im just loving the scenery already! Thanks Olivia <3. The place that is storming is so cool. I mean this has to be the best wii game for sure xD. Im already craving it

 

[Gingerbread Lesbian]

Following weeks of story and world details, Nintendo has at long last opened up on the gameplay side of Xenoblade. The game's official site was updated today with the first of at least four "system" sections.

The field section lists four properties of the game's fields of play.

Large Map
You'll be able to move seamlessly through the game's vast world. The only loading you'll find is when moving between the various body parts of the world. Those who like to explore will find secrets hidden in areas away from your target location.

3D Field Construction
The Xenoblade fields are not just vast, but have height as well. You'll be able to make your character jump as you move through the fields. You can also leap down from heights, although you may end up incurring damage.

Support
The game includes a variety of support features that assist as you move through the vast fields. These features include:

• Warp to previously visited landmarks by selecting them from your map
• Your target area is indicated by an arrow at the top of the screen
• You can freely change the in-game time
• You can save anywhere

It does seem that time will play a role in the game. A few of the time aspects are detailed in the World part of the site, which now has a section titled "City and Life."

Xenoblade will have a full day cycle. The people of the Kyojin part of the world all have unique personalities, and make different movements depending on if its morning, noon, or night.

You'll be able to listen to the worries and requests of NPCs in order to bring about changes to their lives, allowing you to delve into the game's deep story.

The site also provided screens showing many of the locals from the trailer.

Source: Andriasang

 

[Rey]

Oh whoever renamed the thread thanks It is now officially Xenoblade anyway xD. But it still could be conidered Xenosaga "new" series if you know what I mean. Ryan those updates pushed the post box lol. Anyway Ryan thanks man. Olivia showed me that already though

 

[Gingerbread Lesbian]

We've heard plenty about Xenoblade's world and characters. This week's Famitsu explores a different side of the game: its music.

The magazine took up the topic of music with three key players in Xenoblade's development: director Tetsuya Takahashi and composers Yoko Shimomura (Street Fighter II, Kingdom Hearts) and Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger). Takahashi first began by explaining why he selected Shimomura and Mitsuda for the game. The choice of Shimomura as the main composer was made because he wanted to do something different with the game even on the music side of things.

Mitsuda's involvement came far later in the project. Explained Takahashi, development was reaching a climax, and the staff had to select a final name from a set of candidate names. In the end, they chose to have "Xeno" symbolically appear in the name. Takahashi wanted to have some connections with the Xeno series, and because they had yet to make vocals for the end theme song, he decided to go with Mitsuda, who'd previously worked on Xenosaga's music.

So, although you'll find two of Japan's most cherished game music composers in the credits, Xenoblade's in-game music is headed up by Shimomura, with Mitsuda just heading up the ending theme vocals. Shimomura didn't compose all the in-game music for herself, though. Monolith had to use a number of composers because the game has so much music. As an example of the abundance of music, the theme will actually change between day and night. Also, during battle, the music will change based off your party's status. In all, you'll find close to 90 tracks.

The magazine asked the two composes for their impression of the game.

Shimomura feels that it's a pure fantasy, with blue skies and vast nature. She recalls having a strange feeling when hearing that the game's world is set on the bodies of two frozen gods.

Mitsuda explained that when he was first given the request to make the end theme, the game was almost complete, so its image had been solidified. Instead of looking at the game, though, he asked that the be able to read the scenario. The volume was so great that he was unsure about reading it, but in the end he read the full thing. He felt that the story was epic, giving him the feeling, "Ah, it's a Takahashi game."

Delving into specifics on the end vocal theme, Mitsuda revealed that the vocals are sung by a lady named Sarah Lim. Mitsuda describes her as being "very outgoing." She was one of many people to audition, but she apparently stood out because she actually asked if she could sing in a studio. She didn't have the "gentle but powerful singing style" that Mitsuda had imaged. It was more classical and slightly flat. Mitsuda explained to Lim that it might be extremely difficult for her to match up with his image, but she was persistent and over a period of one month re-recorded the song over and over again until she was singing in the image Mitsuda wanted.

Shimomura described her work on the game's background music. Because of the game's theme of human versus machine, she made use of sounds she normally wouldn't use, like machine-like sounds and electric guitars. She also had a good amount of live violin play, an instrument that she personally likes.

Regarding the use of multiple composers, Takahashi said that everyone made their music match up, to the point that listeners may not be able to tell who made what. The magazine asked Shimomura to describe some of the more difficult moments from development. She recalled receiving an order from Takahashi for an "unbelievably long song." Takahashi jumped in here and insisted that it wasn't too long. But for Shimomura, a nine minute song that has to be timed to a movie scene is long. Furthermore, Takahashi eventually asked that she make it so that the song can be split midway through, which made her think she was actually making two songs.

This lengthy song is used at the very beginning of the game, with a tutorial placed in the middle of the scene. The beat changes between the first and second halves of the song resulting in what Shimomura feels is a totally different song, but the musical concept is carried over even with the tutorial in between.

We now know more about Xenoblade's music than we do its gameplay. That will hopefully change over the coming weeks as this Wii RPG epic approaches its June 10 release.

Source: Andriasang

 

[Gingerbread Lesbian]

New pictars.

 

[Linnaete]

First picture is simply beautiful. Then again, anything in the sunset is beautiful - that's why it's my favourite time of the day.

By the way, I've just realised how cluttered the screen is when you go into battle. The icons at the bottom are quite large and the characters' stats do obstruct the action a little bit.

I see why the icons at the bottom need to be rather big though so the action of having the point at the right icon with the Wiimote is more tolerable.

 

[Rey]

Wow the in game graphics are absolutely beautiful for a wii game. The scenery is just wow. Thats why everyone is waiting haha. Cause this is one of the wii games along with Last story that will make the wii better Man I cant wait till this. IM CRAVING IT. Thankies Ryan

 

[Linnaete]

Xenoblade's Battle System

Finally, we have our first proper look at Xenoblade's battle system, courtesy of the usual Everyone's Nintendo Channel posting that was quickly leaked to YouTube.

View clip here:

The background narration first describes how when you approach enemies, the game seamlessly switches into battle mode. Your standard attacks are released automatically, allowing you to freely move around.

The video proceeds to detail the game's special skill, or arts, system. You'll have to select your arts strategically based off the current situation.
Each character has their own set of arts which can be combined into an arsenal in the "Arts Setting" screen. In the sample menu screen shown in the video, we see such arts as "Slit Edge," "Back Slash," "Light Heal," "Air Slash" and "Shadow Eye."

Normally, your allies perform arts on their own. By properly combining your own moves with the arts pulled off by your allies, you'll be able to defeat even the largest of foes.

The battle system also has something called the "Party Gauge." This gauge is built up as you cooperate with your allies. Once filled up, you'll be able to perform "Chain Attacks," where you select everyone's arts individually.

The "Vision" component of the story plays a part in battle. In the Xenoblade storyline, a "Vision" lets the wielder of the Monado sword see a bit into the future. In the battle system, Visions let you see if you and your allies are about to take major damage. Before the vision becomes reality, you can attempt to to use healing and other appropriate arts to change the future.

Based off the video's narration, the key component in the Xenoblade combat system seems to be arts selection. Nintendo will hopefully provide a more formal look at the official site later this week.

Source: Andriasang

 

[Tmoo]

I might have to buy a wii for this game. I love the fantasy setting its got going on.

The title needs to be changed though. People will still associate this with xenosaga/gears, though I'm thinking that was the intention.

 

[Linnaete]

Xenoblade Has Achievements and City Building

Kizuna

"Kizuna" is Japanese for "bonds," or the ties you have with others. In Xenoblade, you form bonds with your party members and with the NPC characters you encounter around the world. These bonds affect everything from battle to how you spend your time in town.

You can open a "Kizunagram" -- yes, this is a combination of "Kizuna" and "Diagram" -- to see a visual representation of the bonds with your party members and the bonds other characters have amongst themselves.

(bonds between allies)

(bonds between NPCs)

As you work through the game, you'll be able to take on quests from NPCs. Clear these quests, and in addition to rewards, you'll deepen your bonds with the people you've helped out. The site notes that these quests are optional -- you can progress through the main story without playing them.

(a quest chart)

When you and your allies reach certain conditions, you'll be able to trigger special "kizuna talk" sessions. These let you see a different side of the character relationships.

(the location of a potential Kizuna Talk is marked on the field)

(a list of past Kizuna Talks)

The areas of the world where you can have a kizuna talk are clearly marked. Additionally, the kizuna talks are stored in a list that shows the two participating characters, the location of the talk, the title of the talk, and the bond level between the two characters.

Yarikomi

"Yarikomi" is a Japanese word that's used to describe all the junk that extends the play time of games for those who really want to dig in deep. The site lists three such areas for Xenoblade:

Play Awards
This appears to be Xenoblade's take on Achievements and Trophies. Clear certain preset conditions, and you'll automatically receive these. The site says that you can use your Play Awards as an indication of how deeply you've enjoyed the game.

(a list of Play Awards. The name is to the left, and a description is to the right)

Collepedia
I think the name of this feature is supposed to be a combination of "Collection" and "Encyclopedia." This reference guide records the items that you've collected in each area of the world.

(The Collepedia chart seems to only show special items known as Collection Items)

(These items can be used to clear quests and can be given to others to deepen your bonds.)

City Building
You'll be able to lend a hand to rebuild a city (or possibly cities) that has been destroyed in attacks from the Kishin army. To help the city out, you'll have to give items and money. The city will slowly grow, and people will come over to live.

Screenshots show a city status screen where you can check level of redevelopment (shown as a percentage) and population. You can also choose to develop particular areas: housing, merchants, nature and "special." Each area requires certain items in certain quantities -- it looks like the alchemy system one might find in other RPGs.

(The town building interface)

(A slowly growing town)

It looks like there will be a lot to do in Xenoblade when you're not working through the storyline, exploring the massive world, or facing off against enemies in seamless battles.

Source: Andriasang

 

[Sir Kenneth]

Holy batman! A JRPG with some ACTUAL roleplaying elements incorporated? I am now even more intrigued than I was before...

 

[Rey]

Ack Olivia I just saw this now. Awesome news is awesome. Realy acheivements in a Wii game? Epic!!!! and all those screenshots are beautiful. Xenoblade is almost out in Japan soon and im so happy its gonna be a frickin long game!