A game’s scope is all for naught if the gameplay can’t keep up with it. After all, what good is a world to explore if there’s very little for your character to do in it? Thankfully, some more recent examples in the genre have provided us with the means to shake up the very world we’re looking in. One good example of this is Fallout 4. Though it takes some getting used to (damn bugs), it’s still something quite good for fans looking for something with meat on its bones.
And so goes Xenoblade Chronicles X, the latest chapter of the role-playing series from Nintendo and Monolith Soft. Granted, it’s completely different from Fallout, requiring more of a role-playing approach than weapons systems, and it kind of takes a lot more getting used to – especially if you’ve never laid hands on the original game. Nevertheless, there’s something truly ambitious about this game that’s worth a look – the only question is how much effort you’re willing to put into it for the long haul.
After a pair of alien races devastate Earth, you, one of the few survivors from that attack, find yourself on Mira, exploring what could be a new inhabitable planet for the remainders of your race. This quest is far from easy, though, as you’ll have to scour five different continents on the planet and contend with whatever hostile beings you come across. They apparently don’t take very lightly to strangers.
What follows is a series of quests and other items that you’ll stumble on over the course of your adventure. You’ll start out with some beginning items before digging into the meat of the game, and (eventually) unlocking some cool goods to use, including that awesome Skell suit that pretty much turns you into a mech-based badass.
But that’s the thing – pacing is one of the game’s most questionable issues. It’s so padded that it even puts the word “padding” on its own level. You won’t get your hands on a Skell for at least a few hours into the game, which seems unfair – especially to those who have invested hours in on-foot combat. With that, though, its reward system is still evenly layered, giving you plenty of goods in the meantime as you get used to combat and take on bigger and badder enemies over the course of each adventure.
That said, you’re going to need patience. And I mean a lot of it. If you play Xenoblade Chronicles X for like an hour and feel like you’re not making progress, well, you won’t be alone. Rewards do come, but mainly for those who keep on digging to find all the game’s many treasures.
I just wish the story was more fulfilling to make it more of a worthwhile journey. It’s okay, but too often it falls into the typical role-playing pratfalls, especially when it comes to a few of the somewhat bland characters that join your party. Some sparkle with personality; others have the likability of a piece of scrap paper. Again, it seems to tie in with a learning process to see who’s best for your group, but you’ll need to go through a lot in order to get there.
The gameplay is very cool, consisting of a real-time battle system where you can change targets on the fly and select from special attacks on a bar at the bottom of the screen. It can take some getting used to as well – you’re going to lose right away if you try to take on a level 40+ creature with little experience. However, as you learn to adapt to your characters – and finally unlock that first Skell – you’ll see just how much it changes, and start to appreciate your victories a lot more. Again, though, that’s after you put time into it and eventually make yourself strong enough to feel right at home.
A word of warning, though – do not play it all on the GamePad. While the option to make the game mobile entirely through Nintendo’s controller is available, it’s too damn cluttered for its own good, mainly due to the overabundance of game systems at play. It’s like trying to read a tech manual and play a game at the same time – and it’s just not worth it. Save it for your TV screen.
Speaking of looking at a screen, Xenoblade Chronicles X is damn beautiful. The sheer scope of this game is nothing short of amazing, and some of these world and creature designs are truly eye-catching – especially now that they’re in high-definition, something that fans have been waiting for since the original Wii game. The frame rate is steady, the combat scenarios are truly satisfying to watch, and the amount of work Monolith Soft put into this world is absolutely painstaking. It’s easily one of the best looking Wii U games to date, even if some minor details tend to repeat on certain continents. Hey, true adventurers won’t mind.
That said, the soundtrack can be off and on. Some outstanding tunes are counter-balanced by forgettable ones that tend to drag on a little bit too long. There are some decent sound effects and dialogue choices that tend to balance this out, but they run into their share of inconsistencies as well. Overall, though, it’s not bad, and about what you’d expect from a game of this nature.
I’ll be honest, Xenoblade Chronicles X was a tough game to review – probably one of the toughest I’ve come across to date. Maybe that’s because I was unprepared, even after going through the original game for many hours. Its sheer scope is unexpectedly large, and its combat system takes a lot of getting used to, especially if you’re wanting to jump into that sweet Skell right off the bat. (Sorry, no.) That said, it could be a bit too ambitious for some, especially those looking for a “walk in the park” style of game. This is not that game.
That said, there is something of grandeur here, provided that you can wade through some of the muck and find its beauty. The story could’ve used better establishment in places; and some of the characters just can’t hold up to others. But an old employment credo stands firm with a game like Xenoblade Chronicles X – the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. The question is if you’re ready to endure that trial…and there’s no question that many fans will be.
