It's an interesting time for Nintendo fans. The 3DS just got an $80 US dollar price drop, the Wii has been essentially buried without a coffin, even more so in America, and the Wii U is basically another year away. A game drought is upon us, and many Nintendo loyalists feel betrayed by The Big N. The Wii has a reputation as being a casual console, and Nintendo looks to fix that with the Wii U, but why do something tomorrow what you can get a head start on it today? If you think I'm getting off topic you'd be half right, but, you see, Xenoblade plays a very important role in this time of controversy for Nintendo, and here's how...
Xenoblade Chronicles, known in Japan as simply Xenoblade, is a realtime turnbased JRPG developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo themselves. It's a hardcore game, for hardcore gamers. One that has been out in Japan for over a year, and just now making it's way to Europe with seemingly no NA release in sight. It's kinda odd for a company to neglect releasing such a big title on arguably gaming's largest territory, especially in a time of need like this drought. The game is already made and even localised in English, it wouldn't take much cash for The Big N to get some American voice actors on board and release it in the states, so why don't they? What could possibly make Xenoblade not worth releasing in the states?
From start to finish, Xenoblade Chronicles is a gamer's game. Playing through it made me feel like I was revisiting the days of Chrono Trigger and Lufia on the SNES. Most modern games feel like just that: modern; almost as though they lack the heart of the games I grew up with. That isn't the case with Xenoblade, however, and despite sticking with the tried and true JRPG formula that doesn't mean it doesn't have a couple new mechanics up it's sleeve to keep it fresh.
You see, without giving away too much, Xenoblade Chronicles is centered around a mysterious sword called the Monado (The game's true protagonist. Few can wield this blade, and if they do, they can not control it's power. For someone that can control it, however, it has immense power, especially as it's the only blade that can destroy the Mechon, a race of evil machines set out to destroy the Homs (aka people). I know, it sounds really cliche and cheesy, and ultimately the premise has been done to death many times, however, the way in which Xenoblade Chronicles presents itself is what makes it refreshing.
One of the powers of the Monado is it's ability to allow it's wielder to see bits and shards of the future. These premonitions play their own part in the story, but they also take effect in the middle of gameplay as well. During battle, when a antagonist is about to deal an extra devastating blow to your team member, time will sometimes stop and you will see the event unfold a moment in advance. This gives you a few seconds to either warn your team member, or counter with your own preemptive attack. Not ground breaking by any means, but it does spice things up a bit and give an added layer of strategy.
Another way in which Xenoblade differs from many other RPG's, is that there are no potions or health supplements to purchase for your characters. In the midst of battle you can regain health by using ether, the games form of magic, and outsite of battle your characters regain health automatically over a small period of time. I think this makes the game slightly more accessible to newcomers, as they don't have to worry about stocking up on mega potions just before a big boss fight. As an oldschool gamer though, I have to admit that I kinda miss hoarding potions.
Graphically, Xenoblade Chronicles is good looking... you guessed it, for a Wii game. The vistas and scope of this game's areas are stunning. It's truly breath taking to overlook a town from atop the edge of a cliff and see out into the distance for miles, but when things get up close and personal the Wii's limitations are prevalent.
The muddy textures would have been acceptable 10 years ago on the GCN, but not today. Don't be fooled though, the game is lush and vibrant, and that's exactly why it leaves you wishing you could play it on hardware that was more powerful. The game offers immense customization in regards to weapon and armor choices and they all show graphical changes to your character's appearance. Although not as diverse a selection as some games, the amount of time and effort that went into all the different weapon and armor modeling was a great addition, and I found myself trying on different sets of weapons and armor just for the fun of it.
Sonically, the music in the game is great. I found that the game's music was almost always a perfect complement to what was happening on screen and couldn't ask for a better score. I'm a fan of a lot of in game music and listen to it regularly even when I'm not playing games, and Xenoblade Chronicles' sountrack is one that I would gladly add to my collection. Obviously the voice acting is British, and being an American I found it to be quite refreshing compared to the American voice acting found on many other modern RPG's over here. It really made the characters seem more unique and ultimately gave them more, well, character. The writing itself isn't bad, but it's not mind blowing either. A lot of the lines are a little cliche and cheesy, but that's to be expected given the game's premise. I'm curious to see how NA voice acting will stack up if the game ever sees a proper NA release.
The controls in Xenoblade Chronicles are pretty straight forward and almost exactly what you would come to expect from a JRPG. You can use the classic controller or the Wiimote and Nunchuk, but don't expect to find any motion controls here. Everything is done the old fashioned way: with buttons. I don't consider that neither a pro nor a con. If it was a real time RPG I could see how motion controls could be implemented, but as a turn based RPG I think it has all the options it needs to get the job done. Basically you run around with the analog stick and use the d-pad to select different attacks in battle.
Before wrapping up this review there is one more thing I have to touch on before coming to a close. Xenoblade Chronicles' place in the current life of the Wii is garnering it a lot of extra attention I don't think it would normally have. Petitions to have Xenoblade as well as The Last Story and Pandora's Tower release in NA such as Operation Rainfall have really helped to bring Xenoblade out of the woodwork and over to the attention of many gamers that might not have given it a second look. This whole situation has really exploded over the last couple of months. I've seen other reviews for Xenoblade saying it's the greatest RPG of the last decade, and I think they're buying into hype and mythos surrounding the game and the situation of it's console, the Wii. It almost seems like they're trying to spite Nintendo for not releasing it in NA. I feel like this controversy has slightly clouded the judgement of some who seemingly wish to add NOA's failure to localise Xenoblade to a long list of recent Nintendo mistakes. I don't agree with all that. When reviewing this game I treated it like a game and gave it a fair playthrough like every other game, and I plan on giving it a fair review regardless of when, where, or under what circumstances it was released.
In conclusion, Xenoblade Chronicles is a proper epic JRPG. One that will take you many play sessions to complete. It's a great game, one of the best on the Wii, and a must have for RPG lovers. None of it's short comings are the game's fault, but ultimately hardware limitations. Nothing about it is genre defining or pushing the envelope on what makes an RPG what it is, but on a system perceived to be mainly a casual console with only a handful of games left in its life, it's reassuring to see an honest hardcore game backed by a tried and true formula that has stood the test of time grace Nintendo's Wii.
Xenoblade Chronicles gets an 8 out of 10
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