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Xenoblade Chronicles X "Direct" on Feb. 6 [info in OP]
- Thread starter L~A
- Start date
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
Im gonna try and watch this now, if not I'll def watch when I get home from work.
TheMoon
Member
Now I want gifs. Do it. Everyone go make gifs of yourself jumping.
Smoothice65
Member
This was only a preview of the "overview / field".
Does anyone know when the other aspects (battle,online, story) of the game will be scheduled ???
Does anyone know when the other aspects (battle,online, story) of the game will be scheduled ???
TheMoon
Member
How much did Bayo 2 sell on Wii U? I know it didn't do that well in Japan and I bought my copy on Day 1..
somewhere between 300-400k WW (70-80k Japan, >135k US, 60k France + unknown amount in rest of PAL territory) are the most up-to-date numbers we have. that's not bad at all, all things considered.
There only was one of them before this.
I suspect this will be a monthly thing. Meaning combat in early March and then one more thing in early April.
TheGreatLugia
Banned
A friend of mine saved the day!
Nope. I think the faces look great. Perfect representation of Tanaka's style in 3D.
If there will ever be a Xenogears remake it will look like this.
Fantastical
Death Prophet
The music... Is not that good. :/ Too many vocals. I loved that first song we got. Most of the other stuff has been disappointing.
Rogue_Ledr
Banned
Games looks arguably more massive than FFXV.
threelights
Member
We need more OSTs composed by her, she's amazing.
Anyway, I don't think the characters looking bad has to do with Tanaka, the designs are fine and I'm sure if we get to see the art it will look amazing.
Xenoblade was a different character designer and still looked bad. That is usually how it is though, unless you do cell-shading, it's really hard to translate from 2D to 3D with that kind of artstyle (Square manages to do it, but they also spent millions researching and developing that tech with the two FF movies, they're the exception, not the rule).
ferixdacat
Member
I cannot stress how much I am in love with the music... All the ones appeared in this direct, I WANT ALL OF IT. The first one is great, and the one where they were introducing all the different big areas on the map was awesome too, i hope they can post more on the official website.
People always mention Attack on Titans when they talk about the composer, but to me this music is much closer to his work on Team Medical Dragon (especially with the background vocals) and Kill La Kill. I am so excited about the music. The previous one had great orchestral pieces, but having a different style in this one is a good thing.
People always mention Attack on Titans when they talk about the composer, but to me this music is much closer to his work on Team Medical Dragon (especially with the background vocals) and Kill La Kill. I am so excited about the music. The previous one had great orchestral pieces, but having a different style in this one is a good thing.
papercan55
Member
I'm with you on those faces, can someone that's played xenoblade please tell me what are the chances that i will be able to change the faces somehow with a character creation option.
everything else looks amazing.
edit:
just seen this post....
thank god i can at least change the main characters face.you can change your character's face and gender
call me crazy as i im saying this without playing it but didn't xenoblade have better character designs?
I meant for Japan. As far as I know there's no hard data for Europe and NA sales.
TheMoon
Member
A friend of mine saved the day!
Should have lots of smaller "nope"s while he's running and then the big NOPE! during the jump!
Have you seen the footage? Lots and lots of vertical ground to cover. This isn't a bunch of flat deserts.
The problem with the faces is that they try to have anime proportions with a more realistic shader. And the results look terrifying. Not quite as creepy as Star Ocean IV (where the skin textures were even more realistic), but not very pleasant. They should have either tried to make the proportions more realistic or made characters cel shaded.
Considering Xenoblade doesn't have custom characters, I don't think anyone who's played it can help you with that.
But considering Xenoblade X has an extensive custom character creator, I'm sure anyone who's been following the game to this point can tell you it's a 100% chance you can change your custom character's face lol
Speaking of music, I would prefer the previous group of musicians. Even little-known ACE+ created such masterpieces. And how about this track from Manami Kiyota.
Even remix by iYakku ideal for the game.
Even remix by iYakku ideal for the game.
But not Sawano.
kunonabi
Member
Xenoblade's faces were just as awful if not worse. As far as as overall character design goes I wouldn't say that either game is significantly better than the other at this point.
There's no way they were worse stylistically, it was mostly the low res which was crappy.
Smoothice65
Member
I suspect the same.This makes waiting for the Japanese release a lot bearable.
Yup. I said the same a few pages back. The original Xenoblade characters were let down by not having LOD on their characters, and the poor polygon and texture budget for people. They look somewhat better with the high res texture pack in Dolphin...
Smoothice65
Member
Are they really saying that the revealed continents are all the continents in the game ?
ZombiePlatypus
Member
OK it all looks incredible!
My only gripe is the music. The vocal pieces really don't sound as instantly captivating as the epic pieces in previous games. But, maybe it's not fair to compare them to Mitsuda's god-tier work. Especially when contrasted with Xenoblade's music right after on 3DS.
Maybe it'll all sound much better when actually playing.
BTW, what was the last bit about the special soundtrack about? Are they releasing a new selection? Is it all remixed or re-orchestrated or something?
My only gripe is the music. The vocal pieces really don't sound as instantly captivating as the epic pieces in previous games. But, maybe it's not fair to compare them to Mitsuda's god-tier work. Especially when contrasted with Xenoblade's music right after on 3DS.
Maybe it'll all sound much better when actually playing.
BTW, what was the last bit about the special soundtrack about? Are they releasing a new selection? Is it all remixed or re-orchestrated or something?
I think I'm one of the only people who HATE how the characters look with the high res texture pack. Their eyes look so bad
It's like they went back to beta Shulk's soulless stare lol
TheMoon
Member
Preorder bonus for Japan. It's the exact same CD they gave out for preorders when the Wii version came out. Nothing new.
A friend of mine saved the day!
Poor Elma getting killed again lol. And I just realized that we can see some heat distortion effect in the big ring on the background damn
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
Ive been watching cryaotic on youtube play through this game for the first time, he is using the HD texture pack and the eyes are so unsettling, especially on dunban.I think I'm one of the only people who HATE how the characters look with the high res texture pack. Their eyes look so bad
I think I'm one of the only people who HATE how the characters look with the high res texture pack. Their eyes look so bad
I prefer the soulless stare, to the smudgy broken mipmap look; the faces looked like badly painted easter eggs. The eyes from this game look kind of blank themselves, but at least the original Xenoblade had decently proportioned faces.
I noticed for the first time when I was watching a part of the Treehouse demo this morning that the rain drops actually splash off her shoulder. You'd never even realize most of the time but it's fine attention to detail from Monolithsoft.
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
It also puts these weird purple bushes everywhere that stick out like a sore thumb.
Super Stardust
Member
The thing I was worried about the most was the music but if the direct is anything to go by Sawano is doing a nice job
FlashbladeGAF
Member
Character designs were fine
it's just how they were represented in 3D with textures
Both games need a better 3d character modeler... preferably from Square. They have "realistic anime" mastered
Somebody here is indeed frighteningly delusional, but it's not the people saying Xenoblade's faces are better looking from an artistic point of view.
Haha right? I also dislike the random purple flowers everywhere but that's another story.
I guess I'm just seeing it from an artistic point of view. Love the way the eyes look with the actual game - that sort of blurred soft look perfectly captures the soft feel of the official art IMO what with the lack of hard black outlines and all. The texture pack gets rid of that and makes the eyes look super flat and dead, like someone just colored them in with the paint bucket tool and didn't bother adding enough white to give "life" to them or accentuate depth by using multiple shades of color. The eyes in this game also suck at emoting but at least they look more alive than flat pieces of color; I'd say their problem comes more from eye shape/size and iris size and that doesn't bug me nearly as much as the eyes with the texture pack do.
At any rate, we'd just have to agree to disagree I guess.
BeatResetsTheWorld
Banned
Character designs were fine
it's just how they were represented in 3D with textures
Both games need a better 3d character modeler... preferably from Square. They have "realistic anime" mastered
Not really a valid comparison since SE clearly abandoned the stylized cartoonish/"anime" look after 7 (ignoring 9 and 12)
FlashbladeGAF
Member
Im not trying to compare.
Just saying I wish the modeler went for an anime real vibe that Square has perfected with FF/KH/3rd Birthday
Its a great balance that avoids the uncanny valley that most western developers face when going "more real"
It looks great in CG and in game.
Xenoblade just needs a modeler who knows when to stick to the source material and when to modify it enough to make it work.
Derp and dead doll eyes means it's not working. You gotta know when to stop looking at the concept designs and adapt it to work in 3D.
Kingdom Hearts had great 3D models. They managed to capture the look and spirit of all the Disney characters.
I didn't watch the video so that I don't spoil myself too much, but I listened to the music because I couldn't resist as a musician (and I remember I still have have to finish my write-up for the first area theme...). For this I scrolled down so that I could only see the timeline, but not the video itself; this helps me when I just want to concentrate on the music.
I don't know what was shown when the pieces played, but here is my personal opinion on just the music.
(Sorry for the long text)
-0:35: This sounds very good and this is the piece that makes me think the music played in cutscenes could be great. The melodies, chord progression, variations of rhythm with the ongoing crescendo, the atmosphere that really captures how the people struggle but slowly build up their existence on the new planet,... one of the best pieces, if not my favorite piece so far.
-2:27: This sounds a lot like pop music, but this isn't inherently bad. This piece is actually quite good for creating an upbeat and bright atmosphere, but I wonder how it will be used in the game with the vocals. Maybe a city? Some high sung notes around 3:18 make me think it will be cutscene only, though.
-5:39: Sounds very sci-fi-ish, but nothing I'd want to listen to outside of the game. The "oohooh"-vocals that you can hear after a few seconds don't fit imo, neither for area music, nor for cutscene music.
-7:00: I guess this is rather for upbeat scenes, but this rather reminds me of licensed music in video games. I love playing bass, so I like the short bass solo around 7:48 as a musician but I think this is unfitting for video game music. I don't know what happens after 8:20. This might be good for a song you hear in the radio or in a music bar, but for a video game? Unfitting, imo. This piece also loops, which makes it sound like it's not necessarily for a cutscene...
-10:17: This beginning of this piece actually sounds quite good and very promising. The guitar with the reverb/delay effect and the slow drum rhythm create a laid-back atmosphere. It would be great to hear it when you explore a vast area with a beautiful, blue sky and the sun shining...Then the vocals kick in. They are even more noticable because the instruments only play rather quiet melodies in this part, especially around 10:58. This kind of ruins the atmosphere and it just sounds like a pop song. But it gets good again at 11:19 when the vocals blend in with the music with the long notes and they restore the atmosphere I like about this piece. To me this is an example of how vocals can go with VGM.
...Too bad I read that this song is actually from one of Sawano's albums, so I guess this won't be in the game, or else he would be called lazy by others for using existing music. This was very promising, though...
-12:23: Judging from the spoken dialogue, I guess this is a song for funny scenes, kinda like "Riki the Legendary Hero". I think it's good for comic relief scenes.
-13:08: This sounds like area music. Most of the time there are just quiet notes and sounds until the strings kick in with lots of staccato notes (short, interrupted notes). Eugh. There are many situations where staccato fits (e.g. when there is high suspense like in "Encounter" from Metal Gear Solid), here it doesn't fit at all. I hope this isn't played in an area. If used wrongly, staccato notes make the music wear out very quickly and here this can happen if this piece is played during exploration because then you would hear and -notice- it every couple of minutes while running around in an area for hours.
-15:33: WTF is this. This type of music isn't always bad (there are games that use this music quite well), but here it's just so out of place. And it gets worse at 15:48, 16:02 and 17:30 with the vocals. I think this just destroys every atmosphere regardless of whether it's a cutscene or not. At 16:29 it builds up a bit of a sci-fi atmosphere but it's thrown away after a few seconds. Atrocious.
-18:51: Sounds kinda exotic, but most of the time the instruments and sounds are just in the background. This can be good for atmosphere, but this also makes it forgettable if there isn't something that gives the piece an identity, like a specific melody. This is what's happening here. I wouldn't want to listen to this outside of the game.
All in all, I've got to say I'm disappointed. On one hand the music captures the sci-fi-ness of the world very well, but on the other hand there is nothing that really stands out with a "Wow"-like effect. Nothing I'd want to listen to outside of the game, except for maybe 2 or 3 pieces. And I'm not very fond of the frequent use of singing here. If done right, it can compliment the music, but for me that's not the case here.
The previously released tracks are not bad, but they also contain sometimes grave mistakes from a composition perspective that just made me shake my head, even after listening to them for like the 30th time.
There will be many parts where the music compliments the game very well, but I think there also will be parts where it even drags down the game. And the thought that this might happen in this game kind of makes me sad as someone who loves and primarily listens to video game music.
I don't know what was shown when the pieces played, but here is my personal opinion on just the music.
(Sorry for the long text)
-0:35: This sounds very good and this is the piece that makes me think the music played in cutscenes could be great. The melodies, chord progression, variations of rhythm with the ongoing crescendo, the atmosphere that really captures how the people struggle but slowly build up their existence on the new planet,... one of the best pieces, if not my favorite piece so far.
-2:27: This sounds a lot like pop music, but this isn't inherently bad. This piece is actually quite good for creating an upbeat and bright atmosphere, but I wonder how it will be used in the game with the vocals. Maybe a city? Some high sung notes around 3:18 make me think it will be cutscene only, though.
-5:39: Sounds very sci-fi-ish, but nothing I'd want to listen to outside of the game. The "oohooh"-vocals that you can hear after a few seconds don't fit imo, neither for area music, nor for cutscene music.
-7:00: I guess this is rather for upbeat scenes, but this rather reminds me of licensed music in video games. I love playing bass, so I like the short bass solo around 7:48 as a musician but I think this is unfitting for video game music. I don't know what happens after 8:20. This might be good for a song you hear in the radio or in a music bar, but for a video game? Unfitting, imo. This piece also loops, which makes it sound like it's not necessarily for a cutscene...
-10:17: This beginning of this piece actually sounds quite good and very promising. The guitar with the reverb/delay effect and the slow drum rhythm create a laid-back atmosphere. It would be great to hear it when you explore a vast area with a beautiful, blue sky and the sun shining...Then the vocals kick in. They are even more noticable because the instruments only play rather quiet melodies in this part, especially around 10:58. This kind of ruins the atmosphere and it just sounds like a pop song. But it gets good again at 11:19 when the vocals blend in with the music with the long notes and they restore the atmosphere I like about this piece. To me this is an example of how vocals can go with VGM.
...Too bad I read that this song is actually from one of Sawano's albums, so I guess this won't be in the game, or else he would be called lazy by others for using existing music. This was very promising, though...
-12:23: Judging from the spoken dialogue, I guess this is a song for funny scenes, kinda like "Riki the Legendary Hero". I think it's good for comic relief scenes.
-13:08: This sounds like area music. Most of the time there are just quiet notes and sounds until the strings kick in with lots of staccato notes (short, interrupted notes). Eugh. There are many situations where staccato fits (e.g. when there is high suspense like in "Encounter" from Metal Gear Solid), here it doesn't fit at all. I hope this isn't played in an area. If used wrongly, staccato notes make the music wear out very quickly and here this can happen if this piece is played during exploration because then you would hear and -notice- it every couple of minutes while running around in an area for hours.
-15:33: WTF is this. This type of music isn't always bad (there are games that use this music quite well), but here it's just so out of place. And it gets worse at 15:48, 16:02 and 17:30 with the vocals. I think this just destroys every atmosphere regardless of whether it's a cutscene or not. At 16:29 it builds up a bit of a sci-fi atmosphere but it's thrown away after a few seconds. Atrocious.
-18:51: Sounds kinda exotic, but most of the time the instruments and sounds are just in the background. This can be good for atmosphere, but this also makes it forgettable if there isn't something that gives the piece an identity, like a specific melody. This is what's happening here. I wouldn't want to listen to this outside of the game.
All in all, I've got to say I'm disappointed. On one hand the music captures the sci-fi-ness of the world very well, but on the other hand there is nothing that really stands out with a "Wow"-like effect. Nothing I'd want to listen to outside of the game, except for maybe 2 or 3 pieces. And I'm not very fond of the frequent use of singing here. If done right, it can compliment the music, but for me that's not the case here.
The previously released tracks are not bad, but they also contain sometimes grave mistakes from a composition perspective that just made me shake my head, even after listening to them for like the 30th time.
There will be many parts where the music compliments the game very well, but I think there also will be parts where it even drags down the game. And the thought that this might happen in this game kind of makes me sad as someone who loves and primarily listens to video game music.
Do we have any idea why Xenoblade's previous composer(s) were not used in favour of Sawano?