Out Today: Xenoblade Chronicles (North America)

I'm so happy... sniffle

I love the huge world this game has. Still haven't taken the time to finish it, though.

Though I dislike that it's a non localized carbon copy of the EU version, I'm going to enjoy it and my Art Book from Gamestop...(which was advertised when I preordered but has since fallen off the map for NA...this happen to anyone else?)

is this Real-Time combat or Turn-Based?
If Turn-Based than I will NOT be getting it.
I hate Turn-Based combat as equally as First-Person Shooters...

Red@Kinetic It is not turn-based.

It is, in my opinion, one of the best games ever created for the Wii, and one of the best JRPG's in recent years.

@shadowkaby How would you like it be localised? It is in English, and in general it is considered that 'fantasy' dialogue works better with English accents. That's why, for example, HBO's Game of Thrones uses English actors etc. even though it is a US TV series based on American books.

@TWK

not turn based? booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo lol its all good

anyways i got the game today (thursday instead) since friday is good friday, have yet to take the plastic off it will be a while before i play it since i still have to beat skyward sword and im currently playing my silent hill hd collection

so many games so little time

about time, can't wait til I have money for a copy

Enjoy it, Americans, it's a great game, one of the best rpgs of recent years and one of the best Wii titles ever.
@BJQ1972 that is a fair point, but the voice-acting in Xenoblade is not your standard quasi-Shakespearean English; it's a bit more like Eastenders — youtube it — than anything. Which is not a bad thing at all, and is part of the game's unique charm for me.

I still have to buy this game actually... Have fun with Xeno you North Americans!

Xenoblade is my most favourite game of all time, I played it for 192 hours before I finally finished it & I still didn't get everything done! I hope you all buy this game & force them to make reprints due to demand! Its quirks all add to the game, it is truly one amazing game Enjoy!

It should rain today. Both for the obvious meaning and that it's great to stay in playing a game on a rainy day. Somebody call one of those rain summoners. Or the weatherman, they control the weather, right? Song of Storms?

Ah, forget it, let's just get Politoed on the phone.

To those that have played it. How does it control with the Wii remone? I miss placed my ccp and don't want to buy a new one.

@BlackFira I was never really interested in non turn based RPG's like secret of mana and the like but took a chance on xenoblade and was really surprised how much I liked it, its not exactly an action RPG its actually more turn based than action based which sounds a bit odd but makes sense when you start playing, you don't need to input each standard attack they happen automatically when you near an enemy; your main input is the special moves that once used need to refill the bar to be used again so its kinda turn based in real time as much of a contradiction as that sounds.

Picking it up after work, its been paid for since the day it was announced. Gave the wife the house TV rights all week just so I could have it for tonight (and into the wee hours of saturday morning). Giggitty giggitty!

Enjoy, Americans. Its an epic game and one of the best game son the Wii!
@shadowkaby Did you really think they would redo the voice acting just because some Americans didn't like the British voice acting? Even if that is something they might have considered, NoA weren't going make any changes to this when they were so reluctant to localize it in the first place. I think the British voice actors did a good job anyway.

Is the battle system like final fantasy 12? No one seemed to have liked that style but not me, i loved it. This seems like it alot. So is it alike?

I hope this is one of those games where you don't have to play consistently in order to know what's going on. In other words, since it's so damn huge, there's little chance that I'll finish it within a year, possibly even two. So, I'll be chipping away, often with weeks in between sessions. Will it be clear what I was doing and where I was going, or will I just end up wandering through the same areas every time before realizing my mistake?

Be prepared to get lost in a wonderful universe.
Americans, enjoy!

@Warioswoods Its unlikely that you'll get lost apart from when you're doing any of the optional things in the game as most of the time there is a yellow arrow at the top of the screen indicating where you need to go to with a number next to it indicating how far you are. Having said that I got lost in Valak mountain, even with the arrow at the top screen but that was the only time that happened.

@shadowkaby: Oh no, they're going to make you listen to British accents! The horror!

Seriously, be thankful you got a release. Plus, a little variety in accents is probably good - the amount of people in the USA who just stare at me when I talk (I'm Australian) is a little ridiculous.

@FonistofCruxis

Ah thanks, that sounds good. An arrow in the direction of the next important step should be enough to save me if I forget what the heck I was supposed to be doing.

@Tech101
I played it with the wii remote and never had any problems with it, (there is no motion control or pointing at the screen) the controls are pretty simple to be honest. Having said that I never baught a classic contoller in the first place

will be picking this up shortly , i need another rpg

I put my money where my mouth is and I will be picking this up today. Sadly I missed out on the art book but this is still one EPIC video game

That's it, I'm leaving this planet.

This and Tales of Graces F have made this last week pretty great.
And since I'll be a little less busy next week, they'll get that much more attention!

@Kelvin That's why I picked Game Of Thrones as an example - because it features a variety of regional British accents whereas Eastenders usually only has cockney accents.

I wish they would put the little flags next to to people's usernames again on this site.

@Tech101 I've not played it with the classic controller, so I don't know how that compares, but the control scheme is quite well designed for the Wiimote. I have some very minor issues with menu navigation out of combat, but that's it.

@odd69 it's similar to Final Fantasy XII in that the characters operate on their own and you sort of "program" them to act in certain ways in battle, but the way you program them is quite different and a little less involved. On the other hand, your Xenoblade party won't need quite as much hand-holding as your FFXII party did.

@warioswoods there is a good journal system that should keep you in the loop even if you put the game away for a few weeks before coming back.

@BJQ1972 fair enough! I suppose it is a bit like Game of Thrones in that it features more "common" accents than one might expect; there's no stage-trained Lord of the Rings received pronunciation in this game!

I apologize if I offended anyone regarding countries of origin or accents, but I didn't mean to say I didn't like the idea, I just thought better voice acting was necessary (that's my opinion on MOST western voice acting) it never quite compares to Japanese...lucky I speak read and write it, but who knows...maybe the English Charm will rub off on me....

@shadowkaby In the PAL version the original Japanese voices are selectable, I think.

Too bad I can't get it until tomorrow afternoon. The wait is killing me.

Thanks for the heads up on the controls guys. That's good to know.

Today is a good day... to game!

@shadowkaby

I never got my artbook either when I bought it today.....?? was I suppose to get one?? I did preorder the game....

I've only played this game for a couple of hours and already has an old school snes/nes rpg vibe from it... I just love the exploration aspect of the game.

I am looking forward spending whatever little free time I have for this game...!!!

Thanks to holidays i won't be getting this game until the tenth

I bought it today

My friend just called me while at work, and he NEVER calls during the day, but knowing who he is, I know EXACTLY why he's calling, lol

135 hours in... STILL haven't finished it.

Looks like there's a word missing between "About" and "time".

it appears if you order this from nintendo direct, you dont get it today. sad face.

Did they pull the artbook? Because my copy didn't come with one.

Enjoy it folks! You have waited long enough for this!

@TwilightV - G4L prolly took yours.

Damn, too bad I don't have the money right now...

Anyone know how long GameStop should have new copies for?

FINALLY

I preordered this via GameStop. I hope that I get an Art Book. I'm just happy NA finally got it. I preordered The Last Story as well. Still keeping my fingers crossed for Pandora's Tower!
I do wish we had Collector's Editions like EU.

Hey, I didn't get a call from GameStop to tell me it was in! As a result, I forgot to even TRY to pick it up after work today. Guess I'll just have to check in tomorrow...

Got mine, just need time to open and play it.

I ordered my copy directly from Nintendo so I'm still waiting for it to arrive. I am just glad that I will finally be able to play it. I hope it gets here soon.

@Mickeymac, LMAO!

I didn't even know about the art book. I was surprised when the Gamestop clerk gave it to me in addition to the game.

Well, it's about time for me to go try the game out.

Picked my copy up yesterday (along with the cool artbook).

Such an awesome game!

I dont like the game very much.... it´s too much from everything which holds me from keeping it on.

too lil' too late, Nintendo...maybe you guys should listen to your gamers and release a game within a reasonable time period. No offence, but I sold my Wii for a PS3 cause Nintendo didn't release much of anything last year, and they think releasing what should have came out last year, and bring it out this year to make up for it all?!? HELL NO! I'm happy with my PS3 and they know when to release games because of DEMAND.

Nintendo sucks lately, even with the slight rejuvenation with the 3DS, I still think the Vita will come out on top this time around.

@hydeks
You say "no offence". I don't think you know what that means.

I used up all my money on Samurai Warriors Chronicles and Shinobi.

I'll wait until the price drops

It's about damn time! lol I'm gonna love this game! now to just salvage some of my money...

Picked up my copy last night, going to play it soon after Skyward Sword. Hope it sells!

@hydeks

While I can't blame you, it wasn't long ago that 2 years for an RPG localization was a usual thing.

I have been playing this game nonstop (only stopping for sleep, food and bio breaks) since I got back from picking it up at gamestop around 11 AM. This has been an amazing adventure. Easily an instant classic.

I finally was able to actually play the game and it is EPIC! The title screen alone is beautiful both visually and musically. The graphics are AMAZING! This game truly shows how much other developers did not try on the system AND if you don't have componet cables by now to play 480p, this game alone is reason enough to go out and buy some.

Although the lack of American voice actors was a surprise, I have to say I love the European accents. It fits and reminds me of the epic stories of times past with knights, swords and kings.

If people in N.A. don't buy this game and still complain about the Wii's lack of quality titles...well there is just no hope for them.

Thanks NOA. Sadly, although I pre-ordered, I missed the art book. The guy at Gamestop said the art books were extremely limited and only a few people who pre-orded them got them. At least I got a sample of the art with the reversible game cover which I quickly switched out.

Since the artbook was extremely limited, I wonder how much you could get for one on Amazon or ebay in about a month or two from now? You know Xenoblade Chronicles is going to have a ton of fanboys, and those of which who really wanted that artbook.

@G4L

That is why I was going to buy 2

I'm pleased that NA has finally got Xenoblade, I got my copy ba week after its European launch, and although I don't get to play it as often as I'd like, its still the best game on the Wii, yes even better than skyward sword! I just wanted to say that this artbook wasn't available for our launch! But our limited edition pack (with the classic controller pro) came with a red control

@MakeMyBiscuit, the artbook is selling for about $50.00 right now on Amazon. I'm seriously thinking about listing mine soon. Who cares about saving $5.00 off the cost of a Classic Controller Pro, when you can save $50.00/full price by selling your artbook on Amazon?

Hmmm...this was a bit of an annoyance...my Gamestop location didn't even get sent the Art Book(which my preorder cost covered)...I called the main offices and they'll "try" to get me a copy...last time I checked, you're supposed to get what you pay for...I'm a bit steamed...

BUT Xenoblade is quite good, and the voice acting hasn't annoyed me to the point of switching to Japanese...but we'll see xD!

Best rpg of all time right here

i love jrpgs. gameplay is fantastic. but...
please stop those stylist-fashion designer characters. they dopnt look like warriors, they look like glamour rockstars!
Come back to what they really should be. warriors. battle scarred. mean looking. a warrior doesnt care about his trendy haircut, about his hair dye, about how his pants match with his armbands.