When the best teams get to work on Wii games, the machine's graphical muscle really shines through: check out Monster Hunter Tri, Endless Ocean 2, Fragile Dreams or Sin and Punishment 2. Pretty, no? Well get ready for the next Best-Looking Wii Game, Nintendo's upcoming RPG Xenoblade.
The game used to be known as Monado and appeared on Nintendo's North American release schedule late last year, but dropped off the most recent schedule put out by the company a few months back. Hopefully we'll still see the game released outside of Japan, where it's due to hit shelves in three weeks.
In the meantime, feast your eyes on the images below and cross your fingers for a Western release.
Comments 38
Perty. Hope the gameplay is well done.
looks cool?
Awesome, I hope this comes outside of Japan.
I've been looking forward to this one since it was announced as Monado. I can't wait!
I hope this comes to Europe, but I have my doubts...
Pretty. I'm not too hyped for this though, I'm not enough of an RPG fan to be wowed by it.
Not bad. The hud looks a bit cluttered though, and I'm not sure about the enemy designs either.
Is this turn based or real time?
Hmmm, I read this game won't be as cutscene-heavy as a certain PS2 Xeno series. Which is good; after hours of movies and ten minutes of gameplay in-between, I quit after Episode I. This game looks very cool, and Wii has little in the way of sci-fi games, so it could be fun!
Anyone else getting a Monster Hunter Tri vibe from the screens, or is that just me?
Yep, It feels Monster Hunter Tri but also fresh, new... I like! Much!
The developers are a mean tease to make this game's name evoke Xenogears and Xenosaga without actually making it related.
Want this soo much... It's like FFXII but seemingly better in all ways. And with Monolith Soft behind it, it really can't be bad in my book. The Xenosaga and Baten Kaitos-series are still on my top ten list of the best RPG's ever.
Great, now lets see how it plays.
@Mickeymac: Hopefully not with one battle for every 30 minutes of cinemas. But seriously, if this game turns out any good, I might be interested. I bet it won't reach US shores for a while, though.
@ irken004
go on youtube for the gameplay video, the animations are smooth and the gameplay is pretty awesome. It's similar to FF12 apparently
once again, it looks as if it's limited to a 3-person party... WHY?! what's with this recent trend? it drives me nuts! it lessens the strategy, lessens the grandeur, lessens the variety, and lessens the story. it seemed for years the RPG standard was a 4 person party, but, growing up, i always expected that to increase as console specs rose. guess things don't always work as logic would dictate. i can't remember the last 4-person (or more) party RPG i played.... ugh.
sorry. my ranting is over. three people or not, the game does look pretty... can't deny it that.
oh, and @WildPidgey: the director has said he wants less cutscenes in this than in the other Xeno games. he wants this to feel like an old-school RPG where the player made most of the story, and it focuses on exploration, rather than telling the player what to do.
that screenshot looks very Shadow of Colossus-ish. In no way is that a bad thing
Does this game have any relation to the other "Xeno" games? Anyway, being a fan of RPGs, I am really excited for this!
@bro2dragons
aw, that's a shame. I love me some cutscenes. I play RPGs for the story, and cutscenes are a major plus
The last two trailers sold me on this game. Can't wait!
@jaw51: no relation.
@gren: same here, though there will certainly be some. i'm not sure i'll miss em too much, though. it'll be a nice change of pace for me to have an old-school RPG like that, where i can fill in my own story gaps. not saying i won't still love my cutscene-every-ten-minutes RPGs, though.
@bro2dragons
chrono trigger had 3 people parties. enough said.
@bro2dragons (16): I fail to understand this trend. One reason (among a very long list) Final Fantasy IV is my favorite RPG to this day was FIVE-MEMBER PARTIES. You don't see that anymore, because near the end of the 16-bit era it was popularized and cemented during the 32-bit era. Honestly, having only 3-man parties limits you and reduces your options...especially when you realize that 3 members isn't enough to take on that giant optional mega boss and you wish you had that fourth one to bail your arse out.
I mean, the game looks amazing, but I have difficulty naming any recent games that used 4- or 5-member parties.
That does look awesome.
DUUUUUUUDE is this is made by Nintendo himself?
Yes, the God of Video Games, Nintendo, crafted it for our amusement.
Hmm... At the information box on the right there is this thing called "Developer" and under it "Monolith Soft". Not sure what that means though...
Anyway, looks really good and the plot seems interesting, at least as much as I know about it. Also the music on the teaser site was awesome. Some great and epic RPG would be good addition for my Wii collection. This and The Last Story seem both good options, but at the time I'm more interested in this one.
I want, want, WANT RPGs...
Awesome, will be keeping my eyes for this one once E3 comes around.
Gorgeous! It's great that finally pretty hardcore titles are getting some footing on Wii without showing "Zelda" or "Mario" on the box.
I'm a less is more kind of guy, so I'm okay with three party members.
Now that Nintendo's come out and started talking about the battle system - and that it kinda is just like Final Fantasy XII (not really real time, but not quite turn based, where you watch animations more than interact, and you have barely any control over your AI comrades) -, my enthusiasm for this title has just - poof - evaporated. It's going to be so disappointing if this isn't as good to play as it is to look at.
@Vinsanity: yeah, I just looked that up and it sounds like it follows the recent JRPG trend of watching stuff happen by itself with occasional player input. That isn't fun, it's like watching someone play a game for you. FFXII was miserable for me for its battle system, and FFXIII is a step up but still feels automated. Japan seems to fail at experimenting with new design ideas; they seem to be out of touch with what the modern gamer would define as "fun". Automated fights are NOT "fun".
I hope this reaches NA. Graphics vs Gameplay: if it looks so-so but plays well, I'll buy it!
WTH! thats not HD????
I need an RPG for my Wii, as I have none.. Well, besides the Action RPGs Crystal Bearers and the amazing Monster Hunter 3
@miketh2005 Exactly. People think that just because the Wii isn't HD it can't have good graphics. Well they're wrong.
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