This week we got a good look at Xenoblade Chronicles 2 in the latest Nintendo Direct broadcast, a somewhat quickfire and dizzying run through plenty of core features. It's a game that still seems to be having a tricky time winning over everyone, however - there's the daunting depth, of course, and whenever there's chat about the game there's divided opinion on the visual style, in particular.

Monolith Soft has certainly earned the right to switch up its visual approach, but of some interest are remarks by executive director Tetsuya Takahashi on the new art style. Speaking as part of an extensive Game Informer feature, he explains some of the motivation that led to the new look being given to the series.

We felt that in Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and X, the facial expressions [were] kind of a little bit hard, a little bit stiff. We really wanted to put a little bit more focus on creating facial expressions and for the characters to be more expressive, and so that's why we went with the direction we did, which I guess you could say is a little bit leaning toward something like Japanese animation.

Another enquiry we've seen from those following the game relates to its potential length and commitment to side quests; the original is an enormous game, and Xenoblade Chronicles X went even further and also shook up the structure. It seems that this Switch arrival will still be huge (a chapter 4 save is cited as having 45 hours clocked, and it's a 10 chapter story) with plenty of side quests and content, but will return to the narrative-driven style of the Wii original.

Because this game is story-driven, I don't think that an open world is necessarily appropriate. And I feel that we were able to make a game [with a world] that's really appropriate and really supports the story-driven aspect of this game. For example, if you compare it to Xenoblade 1, there's plenty of places [and worlds] to explore; but when you look at simple surface area, it might be a little bit smaller than Xenoblade Chronicles X. Like I mentioned, I don't think that such a vast space is necessary, so instead of focusing on increasing the raw surface area, we thought it was more important to increase the density and pack in as much variety in design [as possible], and for people to be able to enjoy the changing landscape as they traverse and explore this world.

...As you may or may not have expected, the playtime required to beat this game is a little on the high side. If you just play the mainline story, there's still enough to probably be comparable to Xenoblade 1, but like in past Xeno series, if you are just playing the main story, there might be times where you encounter a boss or an enemy that's actually a little bit too tough or very tough for you to beat. I strongly recommend taking side roads, taking the time to explore different areas, defeating monsters, picking up items, leveling your character up, [and] doing quests.

It's not long until this one rolls around, with release set for 1st December. Do you like what you've seen of it so far?

[source gameinformer.com]