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- Platform: Nintendo Wii
- BBFC Rating:
Suitable for 12 years and over. Not for sale to persons under age 12. By placing an order for this product, you declare that you are 12 years of age or over. - Media: Video Game
- Item Quantity: 1
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By NeuroSplicer
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Fun:
5.0 out of 5 stars
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.
BUNDLED EDITION
I could not give the game less than a perfect score but one should be careful what he or she is paying for. The price of the standalone game combined with the price for a Wii Classic Controller (Black) should be higher than for a bundle package to be a good deal. On the other hand, you get that Wii Classic Controller in red...And a Classic Controller makes the game so much easier to play...Did I mention this one is red?
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!
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.
BUNDLED EDITION
I could not give the game less than a perfect score but one should be careful what he or she is paying for. The price of the standalone game combined with the price for a Wii Classic Controller (Black) should be higher than for a bundle package to be a good deal. On the other hand, you get that Wii Classic Controller in red...And a Classic Controller makes the game so much easier to play...Did I mention this one is red?
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!
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By BE20
Fun:
5.0 out of 5 stars
With the Wii on its final big year, not many big titles have been appearing on the system. That is until now. Xenoblade Chronicles by Monolith Soft comes over from Japan translated into English by Nintendo of Europe. This is hands down the greatest J-RPG to be released in a decade and the best RPG to ever hit the Wii.
The story in this game is quite hard to explain in a review since the main purpose of the plot is a big spoiler that happens in the first hour that you may never see coming. But what I can say is that the story in this game is truly epic in every sense of the word. I've ever seen so much action in a RPG story like this before. It's paced extremely well. The characters in the game are very likeable and each has their own unique quality to them. This is one of the best stories in a RPG I've seen in a very long time.
The gameplay in Xenoblade Chronicles is excellent. As you would expect from a RPG, you have many lands to explore, side quests to take part in and battle monsters of all kinds of sizes. When you start the game you're treated to an epic cutscene and then immediately put into the games battle system. It may look complex at first but the battle system in this game is well executed and simple to use. There are plenty of tutorials on how to use the battle system which are explained very well. Your characters attack automatically when close to an enemy but you can freely move around and also use various arts that will have different effects to damage enemies with. There are no random encounters in the game. You can target an enemy and start a battle within your own time. Some enemies later on will want to attack you first if close to them. What makes this battle system so great is that it doesn't force you into battle and it's very in depth while simple to get a grasp with. It's the best battle system I've played in a RPG.
Exploring the lands in this game is a sight to behold. The lands are absolutely humongous and there is so much to explore. There are items to find, new landmarks to discover, creatures that roam the lands, weather that changes as time goes along special heart to heart moments that will improve the friendships your characters share which will improve them in combat. Not only is this one of the biggest gaming worlds I've seen in a RPG, it has the best draw distance I've seen on the Wii. You can see for miles from high places. It's also one of the most creative worlds I've seen in a RPG.
The controls feel great and are very easy to get into. The game is played best with the classic controller pro or there is the option of Wii Remote and Nunchuck.
The graphics are the best the Wii has ever had. The lands look gorgeous, the character models look great and the draw distance is amazing. Besides the characters faces looking the weakest part of the graphics, they still hold up well with the rest of the game.
The soundtrack, what can I say? It's just outstanding. The music is beautiful, peaceful, upbeat and very epic. The first time you reach the area Bionis Leg after the first hour, the music that kicks in is simply amazing and I almost wanted to stop playing the game properly just to listen to it. The soundtrack is that good. The voice acting for the English dub is one of the most refreshing I've heard in a Japanese RPG as all the voice acting is British. The actors themselves give a solid performance. There are even a few little noticeable British traits the characters spew out like the line "Man what a bunch of jokers" from the character Ryen who speaks in a cockney accent to boot.
Xenoblade Chronicles is hands down the greatest RPG I have ever played. It takes the elements that make RPG's so great and enhances them for this generation making this game truly special. If you own a Wii and love RPG's from Japan or any other RPG's then get this game. It's one of the Wii's greatest titles and easily the greatest RPG of this generation. 10/10
The story in this game is quite hard to explain in a review since the main purpose of the plot is a big spoiler that happens in the first hour that you may never see coming. But what I can say is that the story in this game is truly epic in every sense of the word. I've ever seen so much action in a RPG story like this before. It's paced extremely well. The characters in the game are very likeable and each has their own unique quality to them. This is one of the best stories in a RPG I've seen in a very long time.
The gameplay in Xenoblade Chronicles is excellent. As you would expect from a RPG, you have many lands to explore, side quests to take part in and battle monsters of all kinds of sizes. When you start the game you're treated to an epic cutscene and then immediately put into the games battle system. It may look complex at first but the battle system in this game is well executed and simple to use. There are plenty of tutorials on how to use the battle system which are explained very well. Your characters attack automatically when close to an enemy but you can freely move around and also use various arts that will have different effects to damage enemies with. There are no random encounters in the game. You can target an enemy and start a battle within your own time. Some enemies later on will want to attack you first if close to them. What makes this battle system so great is that it doesn't force you into battle and it's very in depth while simple to get a grasp with. It's the best battle system I've played in a RPG.
Exploring the lands in this game is a sight to behold. The lands are absolutely humongous and there is so much to explore. There are items to find, new landmarks to discover, creatures that roam the lands, weather that changes as time goes along special heart to heart moments that will improve the friendships your characters share which will improve them in combat. Not only is this one of the biggest gaming worlds I've seen in a RPG, it has the best draw distance I've seen on the Wii. You can see for miles from high places. It's also one of the most creative worlds I've seen in a RPG.
The controls feel great and are very easy to get into. The game is played best with the classic controller pro or there is the option of Wii Remote and Nunchuck.
The graphics are the best the Wii has ever had. The lands look gorgeous, the character models look great and the draw distance is amazing. Besides the characters faces looking the weakest part of the graphics, they still hold up well with the rest of the game.
The soundtrack, what can I say? It's just outstanding. The music is beautiful, peaceful, upbeat and very epic. The first time you reach the area Bionis Leg after the first hour, the music that kicks in is simply amazing and I almost wanted to stop playing the game properly just to listen to it. The soundtrack is that good. The voice acting for the English dub is one of the most refreshing I've heard in a Japanese RPG as all the voice acting is British. The actors themselves give a solid performance. There are even a few little noticeable British traits the characters spew out like the line "Man what a bunch of jokers" from the character Ryen who speaks in a cockney accent to boot.
Xenoblade Chronicles is hands down the greatest RPG I have ever played. It takes the elements that make RPG's so great and enhances them for this generation making this game truly special. If you own a Wii and love RPG's from Japan or any other RPG's then get this game. It's one of the Wii's greatest titles and easily the greatest RPG of this generation. 10/10
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
Fun:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm not gonna go on and on about the storyline, characters or gameplay; you can read one of the countless professional reviews for that. All you really need to know is that, as a big fan of JRPGs, this really hit all the right buttons for me. Plus, it's nice to hear a largely non-American voice cast in a game for once. Nintendo really surprised me, in a good way, by giving this title such a big marketing push, as it would probably have flown straight under the radar, otherwise. So, mega-kudos all 'round!
The Classic Controller Pro is great. For one thing, this is the only way to get one in red, which is especially important if you have one of the limited edition Mario Wiis. And, Xenoblade really isn't made for the standard remote controls, anyway. There is one nitpick, though: the CCP feels slightly lightweight and doesn't have built-in vibration. Also, it isn't quite as comfortable as a GameCube controller (but then, what is?), but it's still very good.
In conclusion, this package is highly recommended. I'd say £40-50 would be a reasonable price, £60 maximum, though, unless money is no object.
The Classic Controller Pro is great. For one thing, this is the only way to get one in red, which is especially important if you have one of the limited edition Mario Wiis. And, Xenoblade really isn't made for the standard remote controls, anyway. There is one nitpick, though: the CCP feels slightly lightweight and doesn't have built-in vibration. Also, it isn't quite as comfortable as a GameCube controller (but then, what is?), but it's still very good.
In conclusion, this package is highly recommended. I'd say £40-50 would be a reasonable price, £60 maximum, though, unless money is no object.
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