Take up this blade

This week I’ve been playing a lot of Xenoblade Chronicles.
Yes after some bafflement at it’s selective releasing, I finally have my claws on Xenoblade Chronicles. It may have cost me an arm and a leg but there is enough curiosity to justify such an investment. The reinvention that JRPGs were in dire need of? The last gasp of the Wii? A shining beacon in amongst a barren RPG-starved platform? A game that was so good that it was only released once in Australia? And before the US for that matter? Well that’s enough for me.

So what do I think about Xenoblade Chronicles? Well I’m six hours in and so far it’s looking good. Now I’ve played numerous Final Fantasy games so that will ultimately influence my perception of JRPGs in general – indeed, when playing other JRPGs I’ve found it very hard not to notice the fingerprints of Final Fantasy abound. That being said, I’m so far finding that Xenoblade Chronicles is doing a lot of things differently: I’m enjoying the combat and the necessity for being mobile on the battlefield. I like how the time cycles work and the difference in day/night environments. The random encounters are handled great through being in purely optional manner. The mecha designs are pretty good and I’ve enjoyed the vast array of subquests. The environments are very beautiful too and the graphics are incredible to a point that I never thought possible on the aging Wii. I’m also enjoying the British Accents throughout the game and the fact that the PC, Shulk, isn’t an incompetent, whiny, little bitch.

Of course this only the beginning – whether this welcome will last or fall flat on it’s face is only matter of time. I find the subquest completion system a bit odd (you do certain quests and they’re automatically done? No return for confirmation? O….K….) and this being part of the Xeno series I strongly suspect there’ll be some heavy handed condemnations of the Catholic church (as JRPGs are wont to do).
But ultimately I can see the claims that Xenoblade Chronicles does things differently have weight – and going against the grain is indeed something that should be championed. Indeed, I’ve been playing this after a long absence from JRPGs and it is great to finally be having some fun again.

Indeed, it would be interesting to see, as I progress deeper into this game, if this pace can be kept up…