April 14, 2012 by

Much praise has been leveled at the Wii's new JRPG and for the most part I agree with it: Xenoblade Chronicles is epic, the world is expansive, and the combat is complex and fun! Even the technical aspects (save anywhere, streamlined side-quests, appearance changing with new armor) had me hoping Xenoblade is setting a new standard for new JRPG's to come! However Xenoblade still has a lot of familiar elements and while it avoids a lot of the things I hate about the JRPG genre it didn't exactly blow me away either.


Everything about Xenoblade Chronicles screams quality and at every turn the game reminded me I was playing something people've spent long-hours writing, thinking over, pacing out and play-testing to perfection.  The game introduces your characters and the plot in a way you know will start out simple and become increasingly more complex as it goes.  The story of Shulk and the secrets of the Monado definitely kept me interested and while the narrative had some slow-moments and stupid characters (Juju), it never resorted to melodrama or anything that made me cringe.

The combat system of Xenoblade is also a highlight, incorporating story-based elements (seeing an enemy deliver a killing-blow before it happens thanks to the main character's precognition) to a slightly more complex MMO system. If you've played FFXII or WOW you pretty much know the score but it's fun and addicting non the less, especially when you have to incororate strategy with certain enemies. The only complaint I really have is the tutorial-heavy moments (usually during or around Boss-Battles) and a cluttered combat HUD.

Taking everything into account: the strong narrative, great characters, fun combat, and neat customization options Xenoblade Chronicles is indeed the best JRPG I've played in the last five years. Unfortunately I came to realize that's more a criticism of the lack of good JRPG's than a resounding praise of Xenoblade itself. Yes, everything about the game is strong and solid but it wasn't anything I hadn't seen before either.  I  became a console fan the time the PS2, Gamecube and XBOX were selling I was already used to this with great JRPG's like FFX, Shadow Hearts,  Skies of Arcadia, Star Ocean, Dragon Quest VIII and Tales of Symphonia.  The best moments of Xenoblade Chronicles had me remembering how much fun I had with these older games, not necessarily leaving a lasting impression itself.

Even the things that make Xenoblade Chronicles a "new standard" are things that should've been added to the genre MUCH earlier in the current-gen cycle (and lets face it: being able to save anywhere is something MOST games have been able to do on consoles for years). The more stream-lined side-quests (no return trips) were nice at first, but eventually I kept asking myself "why bother?" if I don't have to put effort into them ( I would've rather just had more gameplay and exploration). 

I want to stress: Xenoblade Chronicles is an excellent game and there's so many things about it I haven't even mentioned yet from the graphics (the low-res takes some getting used to but I got over it pretty quick) to the excellent music! I can even blame my own hightened expectations to a degree ( I mean it IS a two year old game) but that didn't help with the sometimes over-familiarity. Xenoblade is a game that does what other games have already accomplished while modifying and streamlining them to it's unique vision. A must-play, just not the masterpiece I wanted it to be.

What do you think of Xenoblade Chronicles?


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