Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii) Review

I’ve always been very particular about my RPGs. There are some things I absolutely adore and some things I absolutely detest, especially when it comes to Japanese ones. As such, while my tastes in the genre are somewhat narrow I do like to give everything at least one try once. Xenoblade Chronicles, a RPG by Monolith Soft that was first announced as Monado: Beginning of the World, has caused notable controversy throughout the USA, namely for the fact that it doesn’t seem to be releasing there. After sitting down with Xenoblade Chronicles, I have to admit that I really do feel sorry for those who will not get to experience this masterpiece, as the game did a great job at exceeding all my expectations.

Taking place in a rather unique setting, Xenoblade Chronicles opens with a story about two colossal titans battling against each other in an ancient war. Eventually frozen in place, the two titans become “worlds” that slowly grow to be inhabited. Mechonis, the “evil” titan is inhabited by a sinister race of machines known as the Mechon (think phantasmagorical Transformers of sorts) while Bionis is the home of the protagonist and his people, the Hom. Yes, you heard right, the world consists of two frozen titans and many creatures treat their frozen bodies as a land mass. It’s an incredibly unique setting and does a great job of transporting the player to a world that you’ve never really seen before. Shulk, the game’s hero, eventually inherits the Monado blade, a mystical sword which is the Hom’s only defence against the Mechon. Thankfully most of the characters do not fit into obnoxious Japanese archetypes that plague many modern RPGs and you’ll gladly follow Shulk in his adventures to save Bionis from the Mechon.

The biggest issues I had with Xenoblade Chronicles prerelease was the lack of vibrant colour throughout the world we were shown and as such it seemed like another washed out “next generation” game. However having actually played the finished product, it’s safe to say that while the game really isn’t all that colourful, the environments are beautifully designed and well thought out. That the engine itself seems to be able to handle wide and vast open areas is a nice change for the Wii; there are hardly any games that give the player a sense of scale like Xenoblade does. You might find it a little bit intimidating at first to walk through these vast environments, but their design makes them actually fun to traverse and explore – something a lot of RPGs get wrong.

The character models themselves are also quite detailed, however up close there are some very noticeable jagged edges that can detract from the experience a bit. Finally, the facial expressions and features of the characters sometimes seem a little bit …off. It’s hard to properly explain why they look so weird; sometimes they just look really “flat,” like the faces are painted onto the character rather than actually being modelled.

With regards to gameplay, Xenoblade Chronicles takes a lot of steps in the positive direction in order to modernise genre while still retaining the feeling of an old school RPG that you might have played back in the PlayStation 2 or GameCube era. In some ways it even harkens back to the golden age of the JRPG on the original PlayStation. It plays with either the Wii Remote and Nunchuk or the Classic Controller, for those craving a more conventional control scheme. Considering the game comes packaged with the latter controller in some territories, we wholeheartedly believe this game is better experienced with a Classic Controller. The controls feel good, particularly due to the character’s speed, although we did have to adjust the camera’s sensitivity which felt a little sluggish at times.

In terms of “modernising” the genre, Xenoblade Chronicles offers players the opportunity to discover landmarks and skip to them whenever they may need to – eliminating pointless travel time and removing some of the grind from the repetitious tasks assigned to the player. Similarly all the game’s menus are presented in real time, so the player can peruse information while still on the run, again saving time and removing grind. A rarity for the genre – players can even save their game wherever they want; there are no arbitrary save points to be found on Bionis. Similarly you are free to adjust the clock and make the game night or day as you please, meaning players don’t have to wait for some arbitrary clock to tick down. The way the game is designed makes it quite intuitive and very easy to pick up, while still retaining the depth that an RPG of this calibre should have, for those who want to dig deeper into its systems.

The battle system in Xenoblade Chronicles is largely real time, but with a little bit of a hitch. Players can see enemies on screen and initiate battles with them willingly, although some enemies may them seek out the player (others ignore the player unless provoked, some swoop in to protect their own species, while a few are even blind, only responding if an attack is let off nearby). Once in battle simply being in close proximity to an enemy will make the character attack without question. Using the D-Pad, players can also select from “Arts,” which are various skills that bestow certain effects on the player or enemies during battle, while also allowing players to gain certain bonuses if attacking enemies from a certain positions. While it’s possible to get by without playing strategically, it’s certainly more rewarding to do so and the game does a good job at encouraging it.

This strategic element of battles is what sets Xenoblade Chronicles apart from other RPGs. Players should time their own attacks against an enemy’s back, which is usually only possible by having another character draw enough “aggro” to distract an enemy and provide an opening. Similarly encouraging and healing other members in the party increases their “affinity” for the main character, making them fight a little bit better as well as granting buffs for the party. Essentially, building relationships with your party has not only a story effect but also plays into the actual gameplay mechanics, which is a nice and somewhat logical touch. Affinity can be further developed by viewing “heart to heart” moments with other members of the party too. Additionally during battle, the more and more tense the characters in your party get, the better they will perform in battle. Fighting well together allows the player to initiate chain attacks, in which all members of the party attack a certain enemy without giving the enemy time to retaliate.

Of course, being an RPG, there’s absolutely heaps to do in Xenoblade Chronicles. Side quests come in fairly standard form, often asking players to defeat a certain amount of monsters in a certain region, or procure a certain kind of crafting ingredient. While it does sometimes feel a bit like filler, generally speaking the game does a good job at distracting the player and giving them opportuninties to earn more resources. Additionally players can upgrade their arts as they choose, essentially creating their own character with their own strengths and weaknesses. Speaking of which, something absolutely encouraging to see is every single piece of equipment the player finds and equips will actually appear on the character model, even during cutscenes. This is to be commended and it appears a lot of hard work has gone into Xenoblade Chronicles, which sports over fifty hours of substantial content for players to experience.

While I initially scoffed at the fact that the soundtrack was included with Xenoblade Chronicles, after actually playing the game I was surprised to find just how much I love this game’s soundtrack. Composed by Yoko Shimomura, one of Square Enix’s most famed composers, Xenoblade Chronicles could quite possibly be one of my favourite soundtracks of the generation. There are simply so many epic pieces in this game that really add to the experience. In some games the music just goes along with the experience in a game, but in Xenoblade the music does a great job at actually enhancing the experience. While I just cannot put into words how good this game’s soundtrack is, there’s heaps of epic battle pieces as well as some beautiful ambient pieces that play depending on whether its day or night and they all fit superbly. Voicework is plentiful and is generally quite good, although some of the British accents do sometimes sound like parody rather than the real deal. Still, it’s quite good.

Xenoblade Chronicles is without doubt one of the best RPGs available for the Wii, nay, this generation. It provides beautiful, expansive locales; a very intuitive and accessible battle system that somehow manages to retain a lot of depth, as well as removing all the rather cumbersome features of this genre. Xenoblade Chronicles is a labour of love and I cannot hesitate to recommend to any self-respecting Wii owner.

Graphics 8.0

There are a few jagged edges here and there, and not as much colour as Id like but the art design and the games sheer sense of scale makes Xenoblade Chronicles quite the charmer. The facial expressions seem off on characters, though.

Gameplay 9.0

While theres a lot of challenge in learning the battle system, players who want to just get by will be able to enjoy Xenoblade Chronicles too, with no real penalties for dying either. Removing some rather cumbersome features of modern day RPGs, Xenoblade Chronicles does almost everything right. Sometimes the large worlds can be a little too easy to get lost in, though.

Sound 9.9

One of the best soundtracks of the generation, hands down. Brilliantly scored pieces that suit the games tone perfectly, including both very uplifting and dramatic battle tones as well as some genuinely soothing night time ambient tracks. While the voicework is plentiful it may not be for everyone.

Tilt 9.5

While there are heaps of side quests, some of them do feel like unnecessary filler. Still, the game itself will last players at least 50 hours. A lot of content has been packed into the package and its nice to see all customisations to characters actually represented on the character throughout the experience.

Value 9.9

You only have to read one of the paragraphs in this review to realise how much this game caught me by surprise. Its amazing.