Xenoblade - New Monolith RPG for Wii

farley3k wrote:

I am enjoying the game but I am a bit annoyed by a few quests where you have to seek out the quest giver after doing the main quest to get the rewards. It has happened twice - once when taking some kid biscuits and another with getting kids to like each other - both in Colony 9. I don't really keep track of where the quest giver was so I have run around a lot of colony 9 trying to find them. It felt very out of place since all the rest of the quests are just complete when you get the item.

This is basically what stopped me from finishing up all the side quests in Colony 9 when the game launched. It's cool that the game has an internal day/night system and NPCs respond to that, but it was incredibly annoying for the handful of quests that you actually have to turn in.

Enemy placement also changes with the time of day. I've been frustrated a few times trying to hunt down a particular enemy only to discover later that I was in the right place but not at the right time.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Enemy placement also changes with the time of day. I've been frustrated a few times trying to hunt down a particular enemy only to discover later that I was in the right place but not at the right time.

Not to mention the ones that are only around during thunderstorms.

Oh I saved and reloaded, skipped time innummerable amounts just to get a couple thunderstorm bosses!

I really want to finish the game. It's resolution is really hard to take on the gamepad and I can't find the TV time for it presently. I'd love to really feel it again, but so many other less gigantic titles have taken its place.

Maybe for the sake of discussion with GamerParent and the community here, I can be inspired to push through.

GP - you're not very far in. That's about where I stopped my first playthrough and revisiting the game from the beginning was very helpful. I found that I got a quicker hold of mechanics and the world in general.

SixteenBlue wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

Enemy placement also changes with the time of day. I've been frustrated a few times trying to hunt down a particular enemy only to discover later that I was in the right place but not at the right time.

Not to mention the ones that are only around during thunderstorms.

Oh, God. Those guys.

It must be my years of gaming that make me feel bad for not finishing the side quests, but I've managed to move on from Colony 9. Random resident #56 will have to work it out with King Squeeze on his own.

PoderOmega wrote:

It must be my years of gaming that make me feel bad for not finishing the side quests, but I've managed to move on from Colony 9. Random resident #56 will have to work it out with King Squeeze on his own.

I am reaching that point and I am only a few hours in. There seems to be two ways to go; quality or quantity. Xenoblade seems very much to have picked quantity. Not a bad choice or a good choice but certainly something to notice.

I do what I can and move on. I don't feel like I'm under leveled or anything either. If finishing every quest isn't fun for you, don't do it.

SixteenBlue wrote:

If finishing every quest isn't fun for you, don't do it.

I agree. It has taken me a long time to stop worrying and just enjoy the game.

I actually like this system a bit better because it means I can level up a lot so I can be over leveled for the bosses. Oddly I would rather spend a lot of time leveling so that I don't have a really hard fight.

I enjoyed the sidequests in this game, but there are so many of them. You can't 5-star any population center until near the end-game, as high-level quests keep opening up.

What's cool, though, is that these quests, seen in a sequence of sorts, tell little stories about each character in town. It can be difficult to remember what happened 50 hours ago the last time you met that quest giver, but the vast majority of them (despite being standard MMO-style quests) do kinda seam together in something pretty neat. I felt this was most noticeable in the big tree colony, but was evident everywhere. Not at first, but upon revisiting areas.

Moving from 3DS thread.

SixteenBlue wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
SixteenBlue wrote:

You don't get good healing/debuff until Sharla which for me was only 5.5 hours in, this time. I could see it taking twice as long if you're meticulous and haven't played it before.

Sure, and it's a fine line but I'd consider that expanding your options rather than not getting an integral part of the combat system. It's not like, say, Final Fantasy XIII not letting you swap paradigms for the first dozen or so hours.

Agreed. For me it's less "When can I actually play?" and more "Are you kidding me? Another feature?"

So I'm now 17 hours in and I think I move faster than the average playthrough, so could be more like 20 or more for an average player. I just unlocked 2 more combat mechanics. That's kind of crazy.

Where are you in the story?

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Where are you in the story?

Not really a spoiler but I've learned from Bloordborne that even names of things/people are spoilers:

Spoiler:

I just met Alvis. The mechanics are Spike damage and the Monado Purge ability.

They're not huge or game changing mechanics (especially the first one), but it's still pretty wild to me.

SixteenBlue wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

Where are you in the story?

Not really a spoiler but I've learned from Bloordborne that even names of things/people are spoilers:

Spoiler:

I just met Alvis. The mechanics are Spike damage and the Monado Purge ability.

They're not huge or game changing mechanics (especially the first one), but it's still pretty wild to me.

We are in the same exact spot! I just did all that on my lunch toady.

[shakes fist at Kneecap Rocks]

Dolphin is downloaded, although I had to go with V3.5 because I refuse to update my Mac's OS. I have the hiRes texture pack, and my original game in a digital format...

Now I just need some time.

Spoiler:

The mental delaying tactics I go through, just to avoid the possibility of getting the digital version, on a portable format, sometimes even amazes me

Must stay strong...

I'm really enjoying having this on the 3DS. I've been "racing" through the early part of the game to catch back up to where I left off on the Wii. Basically, skipping almost all the cutscenes and not bothering with sightseeing beyond what's needed for quests. Once I catch back up, though, then I'll take my time for the rest of the game.

I'm enjoying my restart as well. I decided to just start from the beginning, and I feel like I understand the combat mechanic a lot better now than 4 years ago. Plus my kids are watching me play, which is kinda fun.

The only downside is they asked me to make the audio English so they can watch/listen without being close enough to read the subtitles. I much prefer the Japanese voice acting.

I decided to try and do all the quests at the beginning, to get a handle on the combat, and to try and get some better gear as well. I noticed that I had a Challenge 2, but no Challenge 1! I looked it up and the quest giver only appears at a certain time of day! Devious.

Holy pricey game. I wanted this but I can't find it anywhere for less than $95 on the Wii. If you got a copy, hold on to it or sell it on ebay for some nice change (or send it to me free of charge =P )

RooksGambit wrote:

Holy pricey game. I wanted this but I can't find it anywhere for less than $95 on the Wii. If you got a copy, hold on to it or sell it on ebay for some nice change (or send it to me free of charge =P )

You have Nintendo to thank for that, since they only sold it at GameStop or the Nintendo online store.

Hmmm. I bought it when it first came out, then sold it when it was going for around $100. Then a year or two ago there was a reissue, so I bought it at face value again... maybe I should sell it again and wait for the next reissue?

beeporama wrote:

Hmmm. I bought it when it first came out, then sold it when it was going for around $100. Then a year or two ago there was a reissue, so I bought it at face value again... maybe I should sell it again and wait for the next reissue? :)

You mean the reissue that gamestop claimed was them finding some used copies that happened to be enough to send multiple to each and every gamestop out there because used was still going for $70, and not the $50 new price? They did have the black friday sale, marking it down to $50, right?

I would have guessed the Wii version price to have dipped with the New 3DS version release, but maybe not.

PoderOmega wrote:

I would have guessed the Wii version price to have dipped with the New 3DS version release, but maybe not.

Lowest is $75 on ebay now.

Cheaper than the game and a new 3ds if you don't have one.

mrtomaytohead wrote:
beeporama wrote:

Hmmm. I bought it when it first came out, then sold it when it was going for around $100. Then a year or two ago there was a reissue, so I bought it at face value again... maybe I should sell it again and wait for the next reissue? :)

You mean the reissue that gamestop claimed was them finding some used copies that happened to be enough to send multiple to each and every gamestop out there because used was still going for $70, and not the $50 new price? They did have the black friday sale, marking it down to $50, right?

The Black Friday markdown, that was it! Ha, yes, I remember them trying to claim they'd "found" "used" copies.

GameStop being sneaky and evil to boost their used game sales? No...

Vrikk wrote:

GameStop being sneaky and evil to boost their used game sales? No...

It's not like they've had a pattern of doing exactly that thing before. Oh. Wait. They do.

Double post for double disbelief.

Chaz wrote:
Vrikk wrote:

GameStop being sneaky and evil to boost their used game sales? No...

It's not like they've had a pattern of doing exactly that thing before. Oh. Wait. They do.

I have to say, I've grown to like Gamestop where I live. My favorite local game store is hurting. Big time. And they're hurting because another small game shop moved in about a mile away with roughly the same name. It's the craziest thing I've ever seen in terms of retail. The other day I went looking for a copy of Mass Effect Trilogy and the original store didn't have it in stock. In fact, they looked absolutely picked over. Meanwhile the other store had it for $39. For a game you can buy digitally for $30. I ended up picking it up at Gamestop for $30 new.

I know, Gamestop is the devil. But it's an amazing thing (and by amazing I mean depressing) to see one local game store basically do to another local game store what people always think big box stores do to the little guy.

But hey, if you want a copy of Metroid Zero Mission I can get you one for $89. I can also get you a copy of Advance Wars: Dual Strike for $50.

EDIT: I just called them. I can get you Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii (European version) for $89 if you're into that.

Random thing I wish I'd known ages ago: thunderstorms and reason aren't the same thing. Those rare monsters that only spawn in thunderstorms do not spawn in rain. How many hours have I spent looking for them during the wrong weather event?