Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)

Xenoblade-Chronicles is one of those great games that (for some unfathomable reason) Nintendo had initially decided not to release outside Japan. Until recently that is. So, if you live in Europe, count yourself lucky because the best RPG on the Wii is finally available outside Japan, fully translated and reformatted for the European systems.

THE MUSIC WILL ENCHANT YOUR SOUL
This is the first thing that hits your senses. The music of Xenoblade reminded me of playing Final Fantasy VII years ago and being mesmerized by its music. The Prelude I can still remember. In Xenoblade, the music will range from atmospheric to epic rock, and all the shades and colors in between.
It will be a familiar companion while you travel and a strengthening presence when you do battle, greatly enhancing the overall experience. Every map has its own theme (most with day and night variations) and you will catch yourself humming them long after having turned your console off.
Sometimes the importance of the music in a game is underestimated and the focus remains on the graphics. Xenoblade is a perfect example of how essential music is in order to achieve a total immersive gaming experience.

LIVE AND BREATH IN A GORGEOUS ANIME WORLD
Now, all of us who decided to go with the Nintendo Wii, we knew that it was not the most graphically powerful console. Its strengths lie elsewhere. Having said that, Xenoblade is the most beautiful and graphically detailed game on the Wii. Ever.
Set on two ancient biomechanical Titans frozen in mid-battle centuries ago, the world is simply enormous. There are about 20 maps, almost every map is huge and it is all open to exploration. Because there are only few and short loading times, you are practically flowing from one into the next as in a continuous world. And exploring the endless and open Xenoblade world is not only fun to do but also very rewarding.
The grass moves around your feet, birds sweep over your head, clouds roll by day, the galaxy scintillates at night and the whole world comes alive around you. In the heat of the battle the hits and special moves will be accompanied by impressive anime graphical events. Up close the characters may not be that detailed but the characters, their weapons and the environments have all been designed with great artistry. When the limitations of the Wii are reached you probably will not notice it either. Xenoblade has far better graphics than all the other notable Wii JRPG, such as The Legend of Zelda, Okami or Rune Factory Frontier. My Wii had never produced such a visually advanced game!

THE STORY DRAWS YOU IN AND NEVER LETS GO
As any seasoned RPGer would tell you, the story is equally important to the graphics and the music, if not more so. And Xenoblade excels in this aspect as well. A tad clichéd at times, the story advances with beautifully made cinematic sequences and it manages to feel both reassuringly familiar and surprisingly fresh.
The human colonists (the Homs) are living on one of the frozen titans, Bionis, and are attacked by mechanical life-forms (the Mechons) who occupy the other. So, after the initial battle, it is up to Shulk, your hero, the young survivor from Colony 6 and the new bearer of Monado, together with (up to 3 of) his companions to save their world.
You bond with your companions by the choices you make - and this affects their abilities. Your choices also affect both the conversation options with Non-Playing Characters (NPCs) and the quests becoming available to you. In fact, everyone and their sister seems to have a quest for you. Conveniently, you do not have to go back to them once completed.
Xenoblade will enchant you with its sound vistas and ensnare you with its story.

WIELD THE BLADE THAT SEES INTO THE FUTURE
As with any true RPG, there is leveling up, looting, crafting, bartering and re-equipping your character as well as his companions. Interestingly, the custom appearance you chose for them will not be lost during the cinematic scenes. If you enjoy earning achievements, Xenoblade has you covered. The game allows you to save almost anywhere but it also autosaves at nicely spaced Landmarks - and dying will only take you back to the last one encountered (without any XP or loot penalties).
The battle system is real-time but both the distance to their enemy and your relative position are factored in (hint: for such an oversized sword, backstabbing strangely pays off). Monado has powers that are unleashed after building up normal attacks. The legendary sword also allows you to glimpse into the future in order to avert enemy blows. Moreover, your hero and his companions have special abilities, called Arts (that need to recharge before they can be reused).
The enemies, especially the bosses, will focus on the character inflicting the most damage to it - and this allows for flanking maneuvers by the rest of your party. Most battles are not that hard however some of the bosses will tax your understanding of the game mechanics.
Equally important is that is not a one-ride-pony. Once the game is completed you can restart the entire story with your high level character to complete and explore everything you missed the previous time around.

Xenoblade-Chronicles gives you the option to experience it either dubbed in (British accented and not lip-synched) English or in (partially) subtitled original Japanese. After I had clocked in about half a dozen hours in the game I decided to restart it and opted to keep the original Japanese instead. After all, this is a JRPG and it feels much more authentic.

A classic masterpiece, not to be missed.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Stunning. Simply stunning. If you ever think of your top five or so video games of all time, it is not often a game comes along that can disturb the list. Here is one.

Whilst I am only about fifteen hours into the game, I felt I had to write a review as this game needs more positivity.

The basic premise is that you are living on one of two warring giants frozen in time before the world began-they now are the world you inhabit- and your colony gets attacked by Mechons who reside on Mechonis. You are part of the Hon race, which live on the other giant Bionis. The main character is Shulk who can wield the Monado-a sword which can damage Mechon and also enable Shulk to see the future. Inevitably the fate of the world rests on Shulk's shoulders, and along with his good friend Ryen, and other characters met along the way, they must together venture out to defeat the Mechonis.

Ok so the story sounds pretty average so far, but it is the way in which it is told that lifts this to the upper echelons of video games occupied by a select few. It really is a heart wrenching epic seemingly influenced by movies such as Star Wars-the Monado-, The Matrix-the Mechonis-, Lord of the Rings- the journey and setting- but has a tale itself that easily holds its own.

The graphics are beautiful, some of the best ever seen and when augmented with the story really do enhance it so much more. You can be questing in the dark recesses of a mine only to emerge back on the flushing meadows of the mainland and never feel disconnected. The day and night synchronise perfectly with major story elements, as do the weather effects. There is also a time changing system so you can move to whatever part of the day you wish. All the while you never seem to forget the land you traverse is actually that of someone's body. The world and environments are truly expansive, and I feel I have only touched on it despite being fifteen hours into the game.

The sound is momentous. It complements the game superbly, and arguably is the best part of the game. The stunning simplicity of the title screen music coupled with the Monado stuck in the grass really sums the game up for me: once you start playing, it evokes the visceral significance of the adventure. The voice acting really adds to the experience. When I first heard the English actors, I thought they sounded awful and had planned to play it using the original Japanese dub, with subtitles. But actually, they have grown on me and I think it is a very good job. Of course there are repetitive phrases which can grate after a while, but overall I think the voices represent the characters personalities very well: The cogitative Shulk, the rowdy Ryen, just to name two.

Gameplay, at first takes a little while to adjust to, mainly the real time battles, but the game does ease you into it, although information about gems and each characters arts seem overwhelming. However the more you play the more you get used to it, and personally I prefer the real time battle system to the monotony of turn based randomness. The fact that you can choose to play as each character also adds to the variety, as it feels right to change to the person who the story centres on at that time and offers new perspective as each individual has different skills and attributes. The side quests, while often (so far anyway) being just simple fetch quests, or monster disposing, again are really brought to life by the pleas from the people you help, and the genuine emotion they foster for such simple desires in such dire times. I feel they run deeper then what I have done so far and they are plentiful and a great way to earn money. There is armour and weapon upgrading, but this should be expected in this type of game, and is actually not at all complicated. The affinity and character developments are more detailed, but as with anything, understanding will come with time and practice. Elements of the game seem similar to Monster Hunter Tri (or the other way around) and as praiseworthy as Capcom's game is, this is head and shoulders above it in my opinion, and does everything so much better. It has much more character.

To our friends across the pond, I don't know why NOA are making you miss out on this seminal release-import it. To anyone else who wants to appreciate an original, epic and so far, game of the year-don't hesitate in purchasing this game. Nintendo, although they own Monolith (partly?), could take a few sycamore trees out of this book-If Link (from The Legend of Zelda) spoke, you would expect a game as epic as this. Skyward Sword has a lot to live up to.

In January 2010, the game was renamed from Monado: Beginning of the World to Xenoblade to honour Tetsuya Takahashi, "who poured his soul into making this". Show some appreciation people, a man has lost his soul.

I'd be the first to say that I don't have much experience with RPGs as a genre, so I admit I felt a little apprehensive when this game first arrived on my doorstep. Would I be able to handle it, I wondered, or was this yet another impulse buy which would end up gathering dust on my already packed shelves.

Having immersed myself almost entirely in Xenoblade for a good ten hours or so though, I'm pleased to report that this game not only met my wildest expectations, it surpassed them entirely. The setting is awesome, the world believable, in the way the stunning cast of characters live and interact with one another, yet suffused with fantastical wonder. After all, it's not everyday you encounter a story set on the frozen corpses of two giant robots. A thrilling soundtrack, comprising everything from heart-rending violins at the most poignant moments to an infectious rock anthem during combat, only adds to the experience.

I'll admit I struggled a little with the controls at first, but once I picked everything up I was well rewarded with gameplay that was fun, challenging and never wore on me in the slightest. Combat is fluid and well-animated, not just a matter of button-mashing either. Thinking tactically and landing quick-time events in the thick of battle are key. I do recommend picking up a classic controller if you don't have one already, as the wiimote/nunchuck combination is somewhat more awkward to use, especially in the absence of any motion control.

All in all, whether you're a veteran of games in this genre, or a mere novice like me, I cannot recommend Xenoblade Chronicles highly enough to you.