Xenoblade Chronicles 3D will, in all likelihood, be the biggest game to grace the New Nintendo 3DS. We're not just talking about its demands on a micro-SDHC card's space, but a very literal assessment of its world. It's daunting in its scope, meaning we assess the promise of Wii U title Xenoblade Chronicles X having a world five times bigger as both exciting and intimidating. This port of the Wii title appears to be a marvel on the New Nintendo 3DS, too, allaying our early fears after the first trailer - last year - showed some wonky framerate issues. The final result, so far, is shaping up rather well.
We previously gave this title a spin at a preview event for our first impressions, but your humble writer has now been able to settle in for a lengthy initial sitting in his stately home or, to be more accurate, small house with a cup of coffee to hand. The initial feeling is that it's rather peculiar playing this title on a portable - especially the smaller iteration of the New system - and that's the focus here: how well does this game fit the New Nintendo 3DS?
To give some context, we've rapidly rattled through around 4 hours of gameplay - with this writer being familiar with the title after reviewing it on Wii - and played through the opening segments, messed about to complete most of the early side-quests and reached that scene in a major battle. We're not going to spoil it, but those that played this on Wii and remember the first "no way" moment should know what we're referencing. As a result we've seen most of what there is to see in the first areas - Colony 9 and the Tephra Cave - and have put the camera and performance to work.
Overall, it's rather impressive. As per the Wii title there's a fuzziness to the visuals - they're appealing in terms of stylistic design, but are low-resolution to accommodate limitations of the hardware. Let's not forget that the Wii wasn't a powerhouse, so while it could produce attractive graphics in certain genres, a large open-world experience required compromise. We're fans of the look, all told, but its transition to smaller screens is somewhat mixed.
On the one hand Monster Games - which previously ported Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D - has done an outstanding job in optimising the game for portable hardware. So far, even when taking in an elevated landscape view and panning the camera, the framerate has remained solid - in battles, too, the experience holds up. It's true that with the real-time battle system - in which you apply arts and moves - you're primarily managing resources in the form of selecting icons, but we're yet to feel hindered by performance. That was a fear based on the earliest footage, but the end result is looking positive.
In fact, the overall impression is that the New Nintendo 3DS is pretty comfortable running the game, even if the realities under the hood are that it's whirring away like Reyn's War Swing attack. Transitions to day and night are attractive, too, and there's no loss of scale or obnoxious fog effects limiting your perception of the horizon. It pretty much looks exactly as it did on Wii.
Monster Games has shown sensitivity to the limited real estate on offer, too - party icons (showing health and level) have been moved to the bottom screen along with a map, de-cluttering the top screen a little. When battling, however, arts and buffs are still at the bottom of the top screen; the text descriptions in this area are crisp and perfectly accessible, but we certainly felt ourselves squinting at times.
That brings us to a key assessment, early on. While this port is impressive and running like a charm, at times we yearn for the old TV view. When a landscape and environment are such a significant size it can feel a little cramped on a small screen, and there's certainly that sense here. Internally we've discussed whether this is an experiment for the future - Nintendo's spoken about unifying platforms in some way to reduce its development workload and be more efficient; if in the future Nintendo has a platform functional as both a portable and a console played on the TV, this may be a tentative look to see how a game on this scale feels on a handheld device. Our feeling, so far, is that it works - just about.
It's more an early observation than a criticism, and from a fairly objective stance we have great praise for this port so far. Pop a pair of headphones in and this becomes as immersive as any home console game you'd care to name, and regular checkpointing and the ability to save in up to three slots helps. The C-Stick works well with the camera - though we did seem to mess up its calibration at one point, prompting a restart - and the 3D effect is pleasant and doesn't cause a drop in framerate. It seems almost peculiar, in a very good way, to be playing such a slick version of Xenoblade Chronicles on a Nintendo portable.
We do have one other observation, and sadly it's not a positive. The Japanese dub, included in the Wii version, is posted missing; as a result we're left with the Southern England voice cast of cockneys and other accents, which are serviceable but underwhelming. The voice acting is rather clunky at times, and the repeated babbling of all characters - especially Reyn - in battles can be a minor irritation. It eventually becomes background noise, but we miss the Japanese option.
In any case, we're keen to tackle this enormous adventure on the New Nintendo 3DS; it's not a game we'd have predicted would arrive on a Nintendo portable, but we're pleased to say that it looks like a solid fit so far.
In addition to Tom's written preview, our video man Alex has rustled up some video impressions.
Comments 83
I'm not concerned about this port being underwhelming because of the N3DS limitations. I'm all about it. Taking this masterpiece on the go is a sweet divine thing.
A portable XC seemed crazy not to long ago, and yet here we are. It's one of my absolute favorites so it will be a day one for me.
@ThomasBW84 What system did you play this on? XL? I think it matters which you played it on as it will look slightly better on the smaller system yet I think because if its scale will feel better on the bigger screen.
Also, the negatives don't seem to bother me as I hate playing games in Japanese voices with subtitles. I don't want to read my game if necessary. One last thing, I want to experience this in 3d more so then playing it on the Wii, that is the big difference for me with this version.
Are you able to get clarification from Nintendo as to whether the Japanese voice acting will be included in the final release? This could be a deal breaker...
though I own the Wii version so... still no incentive for me to buy a New 3DS.
@Spoony_Tech
"- especially the smaller iteration of the New system - "
@ikki5 But.... it's worth it.
I need this in my life!
So stoked for this release- I can't believe they managed to cram Xenoblade onto the 3DS, that still amazes me.
@Mus1cLov3r why? my normal 3DS can play all the games now... and the only one it won't be able to is this and then i can just play it on my Wii/Wii U. until there are more games out there that are exclusive to the New 3DS, there really isn't any incentive to buy it.
Can't wait to get this game. Day 1 purchase for me. Want it to be April already
No Japanese voice acting? Drat, I knew this version looked too perfect. I think I will stick to my Wii version, I honestly can't stand the English voices in this game. There's only so much Reyn time I can take.
Maybe they could release the Japanese voice acting as a separate DLC, if it's too much to include on the cartridge?
@ikki5 It has better 3D, a second circle-pad-like thing, amiibo support, wireless microSD management, it's faster, the browser is much better—supporting videos, and it'll have exclusive games (I could be forgetting stuff).
These feels why tho?
I would love a Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn done like this
It's a shame it seems the Japanese VOs won't be included. The English dub is hideous!
The english dub is great. I'd rather hear that than the horrendous American dubs we're usually subjected to.
I've always rather enjoyed the dub. I mean, it's not exactly good (though I think that's mostly up to the repetition in battle; the work in cutscenes is perfectly serviceable), but it is really endearing in its not exactly good-ness.
Jap dub? It's not like you understand Japanese? Nintendo might as well put in gibberish like The Sims/Simcity.
I personally like the dub, you can't have a rainbow without Reyn.
The missing Japanese dub is a real deal breaker for me. It is a cultural thing...
I had a feeling the Japanese language would be missing, considering it was in Super Street Fighter IV 3D and Namco had all that subtitle nonsense with One Piece Unlimited Cruise, splitting the 2 in 1 game collection back into 2 for Europe.
But meh, I'm not too fussed about it. The English dub does have a certain charm to it and really, having going through the Wii version, it is very impressive that the entire game has been ported to the New 3DS and if one language track is the sacrifice, I completely understand.
And hey, "LET'S NOT LOSE OUR HEADS THOUGH!" XD
@Nintendian
The thing is, that would be far better. Something like Midna in Twilight Princess leaves someone whose native language is not English far more immersed than having an American or a Brit yammering on. It sounds terribly phony and out of place. Imagine if you were to watch The Addams Family dubbed into German - do you think understanding German would make it just fine?
I am already intrigued to find out what is upcoming on Monster Games development list.
Skyward Sword? Twilight Princess? Eternal Darkness? Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes?
@ikki5
Three words: Head Tracking Camera.
This feature alone is worth the $200 investment. Above being more comfortable in general to look at and play, the HT feature also makes the Motion Aiming work so much better as you can see the 3D perfectly even when moving the console around in the air. I was skeptical at best, but pleasantly surprised.
The C-stick is also amazing (for games like MH that actually need it), but nothing compared to the HT 3D.
@DarthNocturnal
Probably because of purists. People that could care less about the quality of something as long as it's in it's "originally intended form". Anything else is "garbage".
I always thought the XC English dubs were pretty good compared to some others out there.
@ikki5 As stated above, the New 3DS has better 3D. I've been playing Majora's Mask nonstop for the past week, and I honestly don't know how people are playing it without the C-nub.
Good thing I just picked up a PNY 128GB MicroSDXC for $126 Canadian after shipping and taxes. So will have lots of space for this game and others... Looking at you Ironfall - Invasion. =^_^=
Oh no... Ill have to get used to the dubbing
IT'S REYN TIME
I will buy this on day one. I love the release date because school will soon be over when April comes so i will have extra time to play my New 3DS
Huh, I never knew Japanese voice acting was such a deal breaker for so many people...
@mikeyman64
we obviously have different priorities with out money. That choice for me would either be 2 months of groceries or a 3DS that my old 3DS still plays all my games on but have a slightly less inconvenience on.
@ikki5
As is the case in all aspects of life. While your priorities are honorable, the assumed "priority" of the members of a gaming news site is to new games and hardware. A lot of us budget for new gaming things and buy certain hardware out of faith that it will be good (and we are sometimes disappointed), and some of us have the money to splurge form time to time.
All I'm saying is that your argument is very anecdotal. When you asked @Mus1cLov3r "why" the n3DS was worth it, my reply to you was one answer to your question. If your answer to that is simply 'that's not worth it to me', that's fine, but it doesn't mean that it's not worth it to anyone else.
I never played with the Japanese dub anyway, and I quite liked the English accents and voice acting.
I'm really feeling it!!
This game is astounding and one of my best gaming experiences ever. Everything in this game is just incredible; the story, gameplay mechanics, music, scenery and art direction all superb! Very seldom have a seen and experienced a game just like this one. The soundtrack is legendary. For me absolutely the best game on Wii and also one of the best games I've ever played. I will never forget the summer of 2011.
I think the people interested in the Japanese dub are the same sort of people that watch subtitled anime with Japanese audio - and while it's in no way a deal breaker for me, I can see why people might be a bit irked by its omission.
somebody correct me if i show ignorance, and keep in mind im buying the game anyways because of smash, but to me the game looks horrible. is it a direct port? is it just cause the game is huge and has to sacrifice cosmetics? im confused cause this doesnt look like anything special visually wise, and for me its actually slight repulsive. No hate, just baffled
It's weird, I'm usually a sucker for Japanese audio in games, but with Xenoblade I legitimately enjoyed the characters more in English.. Also, It's Reyn Time Baby!
Although the only downside to this game is that there are so many people who have never even played it once, but quote Shulk all the time because of Smash... Whenever I quote him from XC, people always say "He doesn't say that" because they have no idea what XC is, and it makes me sad... Do yourselves all a favor and play this game, because you can change the future! We can definitely do this! And to those who don't play it, MAN, WHAT A BUNCH OF JOKERS!
I never played this game so can someone tell me how the combat system works? This will be the key factor in my purchase decision. I loved combat in The Last Story and Pandoras Tower (which I assume this is nothing like) however after playing so many final fantasy games I simply got bored with the Bravely Default combat system despite the fast forward option etc.
Thanks!
So will there be any kind of special edtion on the game?
I can only find one place to pre-order this game at the moment, Amazon.de, any information coming for this and codename steam? Big games, not much info (for the followers of Ninty I mean).
Yay and nobody can get hold of the amiibo to use with this game as they have sold out Booo hisses i hope they make more for the game but i bet they won't
@joeb1kenobi The combat let's you move around in some arena zone in real time while using cooldown based skills as I recall.
Audio takes a lot of space so it's logical they'd only use one language. I never finished this game on the wii sadly because i could not get the hang of the combat also not fond of a reader on tv screens i like my text close.
@joeb1kenobi
It's nothing like Bravely Default at all, if that's good news to you. It's much closer to TLS in style, but still has plenty of differences to make them two completely different games.
Similarities to TLS:
-All battles take place in real-time, and drawing/deflecting aggro is a major strategy.
-You have a weak auto attack. It's weaker and less used for damage in XBC: you mostly use it to draw aggro and build meters while waiting for cooldown periods to end. Speaking of:
-There are no magic points, only cool down periods between spells/techniques. There are also no in-battle items to use like potions.
-You and your allies can and will faint, but you can revive them on the spot and vice-versa. In tough battles, you'll be trading revives back and forth.
-Similar to FF7, you can deck out your characters with gems to give them buffs or in-battle effects like Defense+, Evasion+, 10% chance of paralysis on auto-attack, and so on.
-You can "pause" the action mid-battle for a team attack and command your teammates to use specific spells/techniques for big combos.
-You will often be facing massive enemies, and many small enemies in groups.
-Giant freaking spiders. If you have arachnaphobia like me, I strongly recommend you find a spider spoiler guide online.
Differences:
-In TLS, you faint three times, you automatically lose the battle or that character. In XBC, you have an unlimited amount so long as someone is standing up to do it. It's like freeze tag.
-You can play as any character in your party, instead of just the main guy. This is important, because the AI doesn't always play up to some characters' full potential.
-In TLS, your teammates keep using a spell/technique until you tell them to use something else. In XBC, your teammates are much more dynamic, exhausting all of their available skills. Many S/Ts are highly dependent for use in combos, and your AI teammates are "mostly" good about working with you on it. For instance, Shulk and Reyn. Shulk has a move that "breaks" an enemy, which does nothing on its own. Reyn has a move that topples over an enemy, which only works if the enemy is has the "break" status. If you're controlling Shulk, Reyn will often wait to use his toppling move until you break the enemy. If you're Reyn, Shulk will use his breaking move so you can topple the enemy. Shulk then has a move that inflicts the "daze" status, but it only works if the enemy is toppled, so the AI will use it then. See how that works?
That's just the tip of the iceberg too. The intricacies of the battle system is highly complex, and allows for several different playstyles. Monolith was aware that it would be a ton to take in, so it included tutorials on EVERYTHING, thankfully. It's a long game with a ton to do, so you'll have plenty of time to master it all if you decide to give it a try.
@ikki5 I agree, I see little value for the cost in new 3DS as an upgrade, especially when they will not even permit digital purchases active on two systems I own (which even my psp supports!).
I put 70hrs in this game on the Wii, its epic scale seemed far better suited to HD version to me, but great game either way.
No Japanese audio.... argh, I'm not sure I'm going to get this now. I cannot stand the English dub and the Japanese audio was one of the things which drew me to this game.
Just get rid of region locking so the choice is back in the gamers hands vs some executive who only cares about keeping things easy.
@crzysortagamer
The character models aren't great for the most part. The characters all have monkey faces, and Shulk's smash model is vastly superior to his XC model. But for a 3DS game the graphics are great, it just has ugly characters. And I'm sad to say the faces look arguably worse in Xenoblade Chronicles X.
As for the voice thing, I hate the English dub, but at least I understand it. I can't stand listening to Japanese (especially since I don't speak it), and I really dislike anime and certain aspects of Japanese culture and style, so I'll take the English dub over the Japanese any day.
@burninmylight
@khululy
Wow, thanks for the detailed description! It sounds a little intimidating for a guy who doesn't like straying too far from the standard Zelda style (simple action adventure) combat. On the other hand, this game looks too amazing to pass up.
Thanks!
Original language vs Dub should be a moot point.
Your personal preferences and cultural biases are valid points of view, but none of them will change others preferences or biases.
It's about choice and removing choice in something like this, is never good.
Let people choose what they want is the point.
So excited to finally try this game out. I thought for sure it wasn't going to release until at least Q3, so I'm thrilled to see it releasing in April.
Do we know what the English dub of Xenoblade X sounds like at this point? Story-wise, the characters seem to come from America, so I would imagine they would use American voice actors. But maybe they'll stick with the English thing they've got going on in this game.
No Japanese dub? A bad thing? Pfft, that just means we get more Reyn time! It's the best time of the day!
@mikeyman64
Just made the jump myself. The head tracking isn't 100%, but it works the majority of the time (occasionally losing track, but immediately picking it back up). I keep it on between 50-75% on the slider. Just can't do 100% as it is too much artificial 3D for my eyes to take comfortably. Overall, this is the 3DS that should have always been, but Nintendo always makes sacrifices for cost reduction.
WHAT? The eng dub was one of the best I ever seen in a jrpg! Much better than Japanese over-the-top acting!
I'm going to buy a N3DSXL just for this game.
Have to get this game on day one!
I always loved the English voice actors! For me it wouldn't be the same in japanese.
Either way though I'm pumped! I'm tail most done with the Wii version so I'll be able to replay it when this version comes out!
@Spoony_Tech I couldn't agree more with the assertion of English voice acting. I much prefer it if companies take the time and effort to properly dub something then just giving me english text over a Japanese voice. It kinda breaks the immersion for me. Not to say that I can't handle it, but I enjoy something far greater if I can just listen and watch the action.
Looks great though, I may just get this to compliment my Wii version, and perhaps actually finish the game finally since it's portable. I've always had a harder time finishing a game on a TV console then a handheld.
@Captain_Gonru You're wrong! My friend is using a 64GB MicroSDXC Card right now. Plenty of others have reported 128GB MicroSDXC Cards work just fine. Just have to reformat the card to FAT32 as the card may come preformatted with NTFS or exFAT which isn't support by the 3DS.
@Captain_Gonru That's the official max but like was said by @AmyGrrl I've got a 64gb in my New 3ds right now and no problems whatsoever.
@Lunapplebloom Responding to your last paragraph, I'm the same way. I beat DKCR on my 3ds but never on my Wii. I much prefer handheld gaming as it's more convenient for me to just play where ever. I'll most likely beat this this time as well.
If I hadn't played this on Wii I would definitely get this version of the game! Highly recommended!
I'm still not sure if I'm going to get this. The visuals seem to have been sacrificed a lot in order to make the port. And I put over 100 something hours into the Wii version.
I do like the fact I can take it anywhere, but I might just pass on it. Now if they have a Xenoblade special edition 3DS, I will get that for sure.
...Thought this was a review, what is with me this week? lol
Day 1 purchase no doubt.
And in no way would i want to miss out on the english dub for this game.
Fantastic VAs all around, especially Reyns thick cockney accent :3
And like many others, im still a bit baffled that they actually pulled it off to make this game portable.
It was stunning on the Wii, and im sure it will be just as amazing on the go.
Definitly among the top JRPGs of all time if you ask me.
Although i wish that they would have revamped the quest system a little, showing when and where new quests popped up.
The amount of sidequests and the fact, that they are tied to the in game time can get pretty overwhelming.
I wonder how many times I'm going to forget to get off the train at my stop because of being able to play this game during my daily commute.
I loved the English dub. One of the finest. I don't agree that it is a negative feature. Simple as that.
Hopefully they can add the Japanese voice work as optional free dlc to get from the eshop that would be too easy though
I have to be honest here and say that some of the textures look terrible, such as the character faces close up, like they literally just scaled the originals down in Photoshop without even trying to fix all the muddiness and blurriness.
They could, without any shadow of a doubt, and in my opinion should have put a little more time and effort into polishing up important stuff like this.
Note: I'm not trying to undermine what they've achieved with the rest of the game but the visuals, particularly the textures, do look a bit like they just scaled down the original games art assets without really optimising them for the platform and left it at that.
I hope that coffee was black with no sugar
I never played this on the Wii. It came out by the time I was over that system, but there isn't a game I'm looking forward to playing more on the New 3DS than this one!
Yeah I hate subtitles. Gimme voice overs any day.
Oooo lets pretend to be all culturally sophisticated by listening to something we don't understand. I smell pretentious nonsense. Like those students who go on a gap year and get a tatoo in Thailand that they're convinced says "summer rose" or something like that. But for all they know the poor little thai lady misheard and it actually says "summer hos".
@Dezzy I have the feeling you don't like to watch Foreign Movies - or black and white movies - or listen to instrumental music. Some people just like the aesthetic of the japanese audio. There is no need to begrudge them. You don't have to like nice things.
@Kirk Yes - they have been scaled down - to meet the technical specs of the 3DS - which is precisely what you ask for here. So you should say "Good Job Guys"
I didn't ask for any such thing at any time.
'ello Guv'nah!
@Captain_Gonru My PNY 128GB MicroSDXC Card just arrived in the mail. Don't have a New 3DS XL yet. But wanted to test it with my current 3DS XL. Formatted it to FAT32. Then copied all the data over. Was only using about 10GB on the 32GB Card. Once everything copied I put it into my system and everything loaded up just fine. Shows I have 895,102 Open Blocks. Which is about 111.887 GB Free Space.
@Captain_Gonru I know. Its crazy how much space I have now. Doubt I will use it all up. But nice to know I won't run out for awhile. I did pick up a black New 3DS XL today. However run into a problem where my theme wasn't being remembered when I restarted my 3DS XL & New 3DS XL. Then I remembered I forgot to set the cluster size to 32KB when I formatted it. Its important to set the right cluster size when using a SDXC or MicroSDXC Card since they are technically unsupported cards. Themes are now being remembered when I restart my New 3DS XL.
This game is going to be amazing!
Ugh. I disagree, this game squanders the N3DS's capabilities. There little reason it should look or run worse than the Wii version. Then again, the devs haven't been known for smooth ports anyway.
Its awful. All that battle crap on the top screen should be on the touch screen. Menus should be on the touch screen. The camera is horrible.
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