Eric Layman is our resident Xenoblade reviewer. Someone who has raved about the series and encouraged us knuckleheads here at Digitalchumps to get involved with it ASAP. His review of Xenoblade Chronicles back in March of 2012 still stands as one of our better reviews on the site, as well as defines how good this JRPG can truly be.
While he was out reviewing the hell out of just about everything this past month, I slipped in and intercepted a review copy of Xenoblade Chronicles 3D for the new Nintendo 3DSXL system. I have to admit that I didn’t expect what this game delivered. Typical JRPGs are generally more glitz and glam than true substance. Xenoblade Chronicles is that one rare game that has all of the above. It’s an amazing achievement in JRPGs.
So, let’s get right to it.
You play a young warrior named Shulk, who bands together with a group of rag-tag fighters from a small, peaceful village to take on an invading army of mechanized killers called mechon. If Shulk and his friends don’t stop the mechon, it could mean the end of all mankind. Luckily, the group is ready to fight and Shulk is prepared to unleash the power of an ancient weapon/sword called the Monado, which has chosen him to lead. Don’t you just love David and Goliath stories like this? I’m a fan. With that said, let’s dig right into the gameplay of Xenoblade Chronicles.
The gameplay in Xenoblade is a mix between loosey-goosey action that you would find in games like Final Fantasy (the later years, and including the online series) and traditional JRPG structure. Most of the battles are initiated by the players as they find enemies along their path, select them and start a fight. Sometimes powerful enemies choose you, so be careful.
Choosing an enemy and going into battle brings up an array of choices for attack. In typical RPG fashion, players can choose to band together for attacks, run away or choose, via buttons at the bottom of the screen, to attack in various, individual ways. For example, Shulk can attack with sword skills that have different power ranges. He can attack with special attacks using his Monado sword. Or he can choose to go the defensive route, which means helping other players to recover health and/or simply runaway. This is sort of stuff that has been around the RPG world forever (Phantasy Star II is my first memory of this gameplay) and it works well for a game like Xenoblade.
Once you get done attacking enemies, and successfully progressing, you get a chance to level up your characters and do some upgrades. Leveling and upgrading in the game is fascinating to say the least. As you acquire art points by dispatching enemies (the bigger, the better), you can use the AP to upgrade attack/defense abilities. For example, Shulk can upgrade different attack methods like Stream Edge (powerful attack), which will ‘up’ the attack damage against enemies. More upgrades to things like this, the easier it is to dispatch enemies. Each type of attack or defense has the ability for upgrading, as well as adding/subtracting attack methods on the bar. As you level up in the game, more abilities become available to use. You can also do this upgrading for all characters, so you’re just not making decisions about Shulk’s abilities. Speak of which, make sure you’re incredibly focused when choosing upgrades. The game is a beast when it comes to difficulty, so getting the most out of your characters is vital. Otherwise, you could have a frustrating and difficult time progressing. Just be smart, that’s my advice to you. Free-o-charge.
Other neat gameplay additions to make Xenoblade Chronicles 3D just a bit deeper include a skills tree you can choose from anytime during the game and a crafting option. The crafting option, which isn’t my cup of tea, is something cool to consider while you’re playing. You can collect items/gems across the game, craft them and add them to weapons. The added item improves the weapon and makes the entire game so much more interesting (not that it wasn’t to begin with). Fans of Skyrim will understand and appreciate this portion of the game, and possibly be impressed. Possibly.
Anyway, the gameplay structure underneath, especially in the upgrading/crafting departments, is mere preparation for what you go against during gameplay. You’ll meet a variety of enemies and be able to explore a nice bevy of locations. Each location has its own level of baddies to go against; some incredibly tough, some incredibly easy. The game makes you stay in-tune with how you’re developing your characters. The bosses will most certainly make you understand that particular gameplay importance. I haven’t run into a boss that wasn’t incredibly difficult during my duration with Xenoblade. I’m a veteran RPG gamer, so I know it’s not just my underwhelming talents. Anyway, the range of enemies encountered will keep you from feeling like you’re hacking and slashing for the sake of JUST leveling. It’s not like a Final Fantasy XI or XIV experience, where you just keep chopping away at enemies continually. The game creates some challenges that makes sense within the confines of the story.
The overall gameplay in Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is solid. It feels like a big adventure that you have to work for, but not a monotonous adventure that gets boring after 20+ hours. I will say that the Nintendo 3DSXL tab/button/thingy, which controls the movement of the camera in the game, is a bit frustrating to use. It feels like one of those buttons from an old IBM Thinkpad. It’s not terrible, but it’s not comfortable. It certainly doesn’t ruin the Xenoblade experience, but just know that the tab/button/thingy is cumbersome when it comes to swinging the camera view around quickly.
On the visual side of the equation, there is an obvious drop off from the Wii release. The textures aren’t smooth and sleek like its big brother, and sometimes there is some jittery polygons, but ultimately for a handheld version of an epic JRPG like Xenoblade it does pretty well. One of the more impressive attributes to the presentation is the 3D capabilities of the game, which seems to be made to deliver some great depth of field. Going through enormous landscapes, caves and fighting gigantic bosses really does lend well to the 3D capabilities of the system. The first big fight with the mechon in the game displays how pretty, and how layered, a gorgeous 3D experience can get.
Visuals aside, I’m completely dumbfounded with the amount of audio and acting that went into this game and how it was delivered onto a 3DS platform. Typically, a handheld game might deliver some voice over work here and there during important parts, but almost never consistently throughout a game. Almost. Never. I’m shocked on how well this part of the presentation of Xenoblade turned out. To me this might be the most impressive part of the game. That’s not discounting the fantastic gameplay design at all. But I’m just flabbergasted with the audio delivery. The story drives this entire game. The acting reinforces how well the story is structured and developed. On top of this, the orchestrated soundtrack accompanying the game is gorgeous. It pushes the action and drives the drama.
In short, you’re in for a treat when it comes to the presentation portion of this title. It’s a solid experience all the way around.
So, at the end of the day, is there anything that might prohibit you from having fun with Xenoblade 3D? If you have never played the game before, then you should be forewarned about its difficulty. It’s an unforgiving game at times that requires you to think ahead, strategize your leveling and plan for the worst. The first mechon fight in the game will help you understand what the game expects from you. Teamwork is essential and positioning your NPC players to go into battle a certain way (from boss to boss) is key to survival. If you go into it with guns/swords/Monado a-blazing, you’re going to get killed quick. This will create a nice layer of frustration for you. With that said, get the Final Fantasy action-RPG crud out of your head and pay attention when it comes to fighting. This game is a tough cookie, but not an impossible one. It thrives well on the difficulty and makes you earn everything. That certainly isn’t a bad thing, if you expect it. Choose your upgrades carefully, as well as your strategy.
Anyway, if you understand how it works, you’re going to find one helluva adventure on your hands. This is now in my top ten RPG-esque games of my lifetime. That’s a tough list to break, folks. I might have to dust off the Wii and give its big brother a go sometime during the summer reviewing lull.
Onto the summary!
