Explore an enormous alien planet either on foot or in sexy robots, fight alien dinosaurs for loot and glory with guns and swords, or maybe save humanity from destruction when you have some free time. Welcome to planet Mira.
Have any of you picked it up? I’ve just reached level 19, can hardly put it down.
WE’RE STUCK ON A DIFFERENT PLANET
SAWANOOOOOOOO~
Ahem, sorry.
I’m currently lvl 15, I couldn’t play a lot this weekend… I was waiting for it since its first trailer at E3 2013 and even with the crazy hype I had for it, I’m still not disappointed.
Now that I have time to play, my hands have slowly begun to glue themselves on my GamePad… 
PLEASE HELP ME !
30 hours in now and I’m level 29. This game is stealing my life away.
Welp, now that I’ve finished Xenoblade Chronicles I can hop aboard the hype train and pick up X.
Hello?
Is this thing on?
Is there anyone there?
I need a Bigger Gun
I gotta say I really love this game and I think it needs a switch port. Out for all the stories I have experienced this one has probably the strongest character writing of all of them. Not from the base story but the Affinity Quests in the game. This game knows how to side quest. Sadly it was only on the Wii U so nobody got to play it. Its very different to Xenoblade Chronicles (1) which is my second favorite game in existance losing to NieR; Automata. I think its a very good game that if it ever comes to switch you should pickup.
In someways its kinda like a JRPG, so to all you FF14 players I think you would like this alot, so onwards to the waking sands.
Gonna leave you with the battle theme to the game Black Tar because, “I’m really feeling it,” its also a meme.
Xenoblade X feels like… What if you made a huge scale JRPG that was almost exclusively side quests? There’s just so much to love in the breadth of optional content in this game. It really sucks you into it’s world. It has flaws, but it’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had with a JRPG. Building your character up is heaps of fun too, so much damn customisation that basically rewards you for destroying its systems.
Still waiting for the continuation though…
This is probably my biggest issue with X. (Minor Xenoblade 1 and 2 spoilers as well as major X spoilers) Both Xenoblade 1 and 2 are fully developed stories, with all of their characters fleshed out, world established, and stories concluded with very little room for questioning or extra development - they give a sense of closure and satisfaction you don’t find in many other games. X ending on a cliffhanger, where everyone cannot be alive and yet they still are somehow, goes against all of that. When I got to the ending in X, I didn’t feel satisfied because of that. It feels like a twist you’d come across like two thirds through Xenoblade 1 or 2 and that frustrates me because everything about how the world is presented and story themes such as ‘what does it mean to be human?’ are really well done, and it does a great job of showing the different perspectives of this argument through the characters. But I also feel that characters such as Elma still have a story to tell, and I want to know what it is.
I want to establish something though - I love X. It’s an absolutely fantastic game with some of the best and most memorable side quests I have ever played in a game. Exploring the world is an absolute joy and never once got boring as there are so many hidden areas, meaning that you never feel like you’ve found everything and even when you think you have, you’ll suddenly come across something, only causing you to explore even more. The world makes you feel tiny and weak, which is great because that’s kinda the point. You’re stuck on a different planet - that sense of scale is supposed to make you be cautious of how you explore the world because death could be around any corner, which makes you consider how you want to explore even more.
I spent 180 hours on this game and completed all the side quests, all the heart to hearts, and all of the map. I basically 100%'d the game minus beating some tyrants and finding stuff like armour. Yes I have some issues such as Skell combat being a bit too bare bones for my tastes (especially since some late game enemies have to be battled in Skells), and there’s some weird design choices (such as level 11’s always initiating combat if you pass them, even if you’re level 60), but what frustrates me the most is that there isn’t more. I want to see the connotations of the ending and how it affects other parts of the world such as some of the events in the side quests. I want it to go even further into it’s philosophical and moral arguments. I want to understand what’s so special about Mira. Sure there are theories, such as Mira being purgatory, but I want that sense of closure.
Basically, what I hate about X the most is that there isn’t an X2.
There is a very high chance that Xenoblade X2 is actually in development, as the studio monolith soft hired lots of staff some time ago and has two different divisions, its almost certain that the same studio that worked on xenoblade 2 is now working on the switch port for xenoblade 1 (which could likely be a bad thing as xenoblade 2’s animations were kinda bad). As of current they have slightly over 200 employees, a number of which were hired recently in march for breath of wild 2, (monolith soft did 40% of the world in BOTW or used 40% of their staff can remember which) and others were hired for a new RPG.
That still leaves the the second studio that originally existed before the hiring sprees of which we have no idea what they are working on other than they are the studio in charge of the second breath of the wild hiring. Based on the success of Xenoblade Chronicles X selling based on the stats I could find for a few countries sold around half a million copies but likely more. Xenoblade 2 when it released was so big that the Xenoblade Series is now a well known series, its very likely a Xenoblade Chronicles X2 is in development.
I’m really sorry for saying this but I actually disagree, and the reason is MonolithSoft’s recruitment website. https://www.monolithsoft.co.jp/recruit/
When you go on it you’ll find they’re recruiting for 3 games. A new Zelda (most likely BotW2), a new RPG project (which is most likely the Xenoblade 1 remake), and a new action game (which there is concept art for on the website).
It’s the action game that’s the important part because they’ve been recruiting for it since 2016 and there have been no signs of it whatsoever (I honestly thought it was gonna be shown at the last direct, but I’ll happily take the masterpiece that is Xenoblade 1). Because of this, I think the 2nd division is most likely working on this action game and not X2. Now there are scenarios where this isn’t the case - I don’t know if it’s actually been confirmed if MonolithSoft is the team working on the Xenoblade 1 remake, or whether it’s been hired out to someone else (similarly to how Twilight Princess HD wasn’t done by Nintendo). I’m guessing they are at least partially working on it because of the new content but for all I know they could have had cutscenes, animations and other things done by another studio similarly to Xenoblade 2.
Another thing that concerns me is an interview with Tetsuya Takahashi (the director of the Xenoblade series) where he states that it’d be really difficult to port X to the switch because of the amount of money it’d take.
Given that if X2 was made, they would have to acknowledge all of the events in X1, meaning that a port would make a lot of sense since it would allow people to be able to be caught up with the story, but since that port is most likely not happening anytime soon (and I really hope I’m wrong about this) then I don’t see X2 happening either. Now fair enough, they are remaking Xenoblade 1, so porting X still seems feasible when looking at it from that perspective, but I don’t think it’d be right to make a sequel to that game without porting the original first.
Could there be plans about making X2? Heck yeah! Do I think they’ve got a team together and actually started programming the game? Not likely in my eyes - but I really hope I’m wrong.
Didn’t notice the information about the action game, sad face. so your probably right, and yeah it would take alot of money to port the original due to how integrated the game was with the game pad. Hopefully your wrong but doubt you are.
Also this is kinda ironic, that the most this thread has been used is for a dead console for a game released 4 years ago.
It just shows how good this game is - it’s stuck with us. Like the sidequests alone are memorable as heck. I remember to lobster collectathon side quest and having to search every nook and cranny of NLA for them. I remember Professor B and the time travel quest. I remember being really taken back during the water purification plant quest (I think it’s called Lakeside Getaway). These quests are fantastic and really add to the world. It’s really magnificent with its world building.
Never thought the one place I’d finally find people to gush about X with would be Kazamatsuri’s funeral.
Gotta say, it’s by far my favourite Xenoblade game, and I don’t think that’s a common option.
Then gush about it while you still can! Go wild - I know I would!
From what I’ve experienced it isn’t that common. I personally think 1 and 2 are better than X, if only because I got really annoyed about the ending and the unanswered questions about the world, but I can understand and respect why X would be someone’s favourite. I’ll gladly admit the sidequests and exploration in X basically spit on the other two, and the combat is a lot more flexible and customisable. There’s also a huge variety of enemies which really makes Mira feel really foreign. Also a minor thing, but I wish 1 and 2 had fashion gear like X - it’s a small thing but I really liked that detail.
I think part of the reason why it’s not that common an option is because Xenoblade 1 kinda set the tone for the series, which was then later returned to in Xenoblade 2, but X went in a completely different direction which threw a lot of people off from what they were expecting and may have disappointed some in that regard - but that’s just a guess.
I do think you have a point when you say that the original Xenoblade set the tone to the series as both 1 and 2 are story based, unlike X which is gameplay based, so on top of the fact that the base story is much worse than 1 and 2, each time you wanted to progress the story you had to do tasks like finish this side quest and explore this much land, which kind of made the game annoying and tedious for anyone playing for story, so the only time they did those exploration and side quests was as a chore instead of fun and thus never did it when story was actually available. Due to this, of which I can say from experience, Affinity quests never get experienced which is honestly the best part of the story.
The character writing is honestly really strong and I missed it completely for my first 60-80hours of gameplay. I’d say its a very simple fix that would rate this game as an actual contender to the other xenoblade chronicles games. Don’t force exploration and it will likely come naturally to players. During my first year of starting the game I rated it around a 6/10-7/10 but now it would be an easy 10/10 (I dont consider 10/10 a perfect score, just a really solid game even if I don’t like it.). If I was to compare this games world to the first xeno and breath of the wild I would rate it higher than zeldas and lower than the original xenos. For breath of the wild, although it had plenty of stuff to do, it felt flat as the stuff in it wernt interesting and neither was hyrule. Both Xeno 1 and X added an interesting environment such as having groups of animals run at different times of day, which made it feel more lively. I would rate Xeno 1 slightly higher as it mingled with the story really well as well as the Bionis was just cool such as seeing different parts of the titan like the head from the arm or actually going on the mechonis.
An interesting video actually on the environment of xeno 1 including areas in the games files that never get used in the game. Some of those areas seem to be going into the switch port based on trailer analysis. That isnt mentioned in the video though as this was years ago before 2 I think.
This actually does exist in Xeno 2 by spending items earned in challenge mode (DLC), its not 100% fashion as it requires one AUX core slot but other than that it changes you characters visuals, such as making your character wear a swimsuit, etc
Also although this isn’t xeno X, its close enough, Spoilers Xenoblade 2 or basic protagonist knowledge about Torna; the Golden Country (Recommended if you haven’t played). Yes I consider this a spoiler!!! Don’t fight me Torna may be a separate game but it spoilers some really good parts of Xeno 2
I still can’t draw characters But that bush mmmm. Loose character reference very little background references just for the scales, mostly personally created like the lake, bushes and tree. I have been wanting to draw something from Torna for a while and this thread made me decide to do it. Used A4 instead of B4 so could actually scan in at least unlike most my images I draw, so I could screentone digitally for once. Feed back is welcome, espcially the backgrounds as I know where all the issues are with my characters.
P.S I cant draw digitally, just checkout my planetarian fanart, I did the outline for Yumemi and the rest colours and the other characters was digital. So yeah screentones is all I can do.
Had lots of fun with this so might actually do one for X, will likely feature Elma, maybe Lin as well with a skell in the background? Will probably be in Noctilium.
I personally didn’t have this issue, but that may be because I try to do as much as I can in terms of side quests, exploring etc… before moving onto story, but I can see how this would be an issue.
I think one thing the devs failed to realise is that Xenoblade 1 (and later 2) are naturally very explorable - it’s completely optional in those games for the most part but it’s still a really fun aspect, so while I admire X for trying to improve on that, it didn’t need to be the focus. Sure, making the exploration nonlinear and less segmented was really nice and I would like to see more of it, but it shouldn’t have come at the cost of other aspects because when all you’re doing is exploring the plot becomes disjointed. With that said though X does make up with this with the sidequests (I will never stop talking about these sidequests), so it does compensate to some extent.
That’s an opinion I’m gonna have to disagree with. I think Botw nailed incorporating all the key aspects of the game into a fluent world. The story, exploration and combat come all hand in hand. Sure, the story and characters are nowhere near the depth of any of the Xenoblades, but they’re not trying to be, they are used as a means to keep on exploring the world and thus completely optional. I think Hyrule’s world is actually quite rich and is quite comparable to the overworld of Xenoblade 1. The use of enemy placement is suggestive of events that have happened within the overworld, and the way these enemies interact within their respective groups (such as some bokoblins being a lookout guard, some hunting animals, the sense of overall higherarcy etc…) is quite similar to how the Tirkins in Gaur Plains are represented in Xenoblade 1. Now if you want to argue Hyrule isn’t as ‘exotic’ as any Xenoblade’s world, then that’s fair – it doesn’t have as diverse areas and most of the world can come down to ‘water area’ and ‘volcano area’ etc… but I think it once again comes down to intention. From my experience, more exotic areas such as X’s Noctilium make it more difficult to identify potential things you can interact with since there’s a huge variety of different objects and colours going on at once – it’s very easy to miss stuff in those games even after 200+ hours of playing. BotW’s minimalistic style counteracts that, and makes it a lot easier to identify where there is something interesting to do, meaning that the player is less likely to miss potential rewards and thus continue the gameplay loop (Seeing something. Getting there. Doing it), which is what generally keeps BotW interesting and very addicting. Also, on a more minor note, the environments reference previous Zelda games (usually destroyed or ruined) - naturally if you recognise these environments then the world will generally provoke an emotional response, which is something really cool and really good world building. But yeah that’s just my view – I thought Hyrule nailed the feel it was going for.
Yeah that’s my issue with 2’s fashion gear. I was at the post game when that part of the DLC came out and when fighting those superbosses you kinda need those extra AUX core slots.
To be fair this might as well just be a Xenoblade thread at this rate.
It came out pretty well. And yeah I can imagine drawing anything in Noctilium would be quite fun. You could always do the area with the really big flower? The one with the Telethia. That would be an easy way to incorporate the area, Elma, Lin and a Skell that would make thematic sense, but eh what do I know 
I hadn’t even thought about drawing a Telethia I have had lots of fun drawing monsters from God eater so drawing Telethia is now garentee, So yeah thanks to you it will definitely happen with Elma and the Big Flower Location, might be two weeks before I start though as I dont see myself drawing something on that scale until the weeks break for exam study break, but you’ll see it then, (IF I REMEMBER)
I agree strongly with this and this what can keep the game very interesting, but only early on, after a while everywhere is kind of the same, oh its just another bokoblin tower to raid, oh its just another plain, why is there no gates surrounding the stables in a world haunted by monsters? It quickly becomes a general world that doesnt really have any local interest as they are just copy and pastes of other areas. You have your regular plain, a baren desert, a regular snowy mountain (with that one exceptional dragon fight, but the main reason the world kinda feels bad is just because of the animal life and human life. such as why travel with such a small group of people (max two) when you can be attacked by monsters and will kill you. Whats with the animals, why is there a buffalo on the mountainside, where is the food chain?
I feel that Xeno has a stronger world because these things have been thought out, if a village is near a lake you see a fishing culture develop, live near minerals, you see a mining culture develop. So the world just feels more real compared to Zelda’s population that shows no sign that hyrule was destroyed 100 years ago. As for the wildlife zelda doesnt feel that real either as it has very few wildlife that kinda is just there except for the ocational wolf pack attack you get, compared to xenoblade games, X for example within the first 30 minutes has you seeing packs of monsters attacking other monsters, a food chain, tyrants being a massive problem, to just seeing minor things like groups of animals hanging near the water for drink.
I wont disagree that BOTW has much better interaction with the environment than the xeno games but it lacks a sense of reality of what the world would be like to live in compared to for example in xeno 1 where just in gaur plains you see ruins of ancient homs or a refugee camp nearby of homs scared to even leave in case they get attack by monsters where in Botw people just don’t seem to care.
Either way loved your post and agree mostly with the gameplay elements of BOTW but not so much the actual design of the world. Thanks for your idea for my Elma drawing, have much more motivation for it now, expect a post in 3ish weeks for that. Might have trouble drawing the characters because as bad as I am at drawing them stationary I am really bad at drawing them in motion of which Elma will be.
You guys waited for it and now its done. Somehow developed into something like a manga page. Turns out the scanner had a really messed up density level, but I can’t change that as its too late. (IT LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER IN PERSON) I can send you a photo on discord if you like as this scan really doesnt do it justice, also any useful Telethia Endbringer resources I could find were unusable so I just created a weird thing that kinda looks like it but would be better suited to a cuphead boss. Sorry but didnt have time seeing as I still got to get through little busters by the first of December. YES I HAD TROUBLE WITH ELMA’s FACE.
Also did this one a while back but seeing as I finally got access to a B4 scanner I was able to scan it in aswell, hopefully you enjoy it. Unlike the Xeno X, haveing very little reference, this one is a direct copy, and youll recognize the picture its referenced off if you have played number 2. At least because there is much more empty space it doesn’t look as badly scanned as the Xeno X is.
Let me know your thoughts. I worked hard on it, around a good 15hours for Elma, Lin, her cockput and the weird tree branch thing alone. The Telethia didnt take that long nor did the background as I was rushing for time to get it done before my final exam so I could scan it in.
Honestly it came out very well, like I can see what you mean about density but I wouldn’t have really noticed it if you didn’t mention it. You did a really good job with the layering and defining each main element of the image. The style of shading is incredibly consistent and works really well - I do think that you could maybe look into ways of blending some of the lighter shading into the background more (so the contrast between the line shading and the normal environment is less sudden), but anything else you’ve already mentioned so yeah - I really like it!
The only suggestion I have for that is look for general Telethia resources (which I’m sure there’s lots of) because as far as I’m aware the Endbringer isn’t that different.
I’m guessing you had trouble because of the angle it was drawn? It doesn’t seem like the easiest angle to naturally have a face drawn in relation to a body.
Yeah this is an interesting one. Pyra is naturally a very colourful character so seeing her in black and white is really making me think about her design and what characteristics are naturally brought out. I think you brought out the proportions very well, although I think small areas like the left hand, crown and the ear could be slightly better, but those are minor issues. In terms of the actual shading, I think this is really well done. The darker colours of Pyra’s original art are naturally emphasised which makes sense, but the contrast that you put in each part to stylise each part differentiates them very well. The only minor thing I’d say is that the shading around the neck shouldn’t go to the right shoulder-blade, it should go to the point where the neck starts to go to the shoulder. But all of these are minor points - this is really well done.
