LogFAQs > #895969261

A lot of this has to do with two things: the smart writing of Xenoblade Chronicles and Shulk's voice acting. Xenoblade's plot doesn't break the genre mold but it does execute everything to a tee while cutting out the stupid stuff. It's really easy to get invested in Shulk's story when you aren't rolling your eyes at some scenes. Additionally, Adam Howden's rendition of Shulk is one of my favorite VA performances of all time. It brings such a genuine feeling to what Shulk is saying, immersing you in the small scenes and putting you on the edge of your seat in the big ones. Xenoblade's laborious and baffling localization story ended up being a blessing in disguise, because if Nintendo of America had done the localization instead of Nintendo of Europe, we'd have heard the same guys we always do. I really like the core group of voice actors that get used in games but sometimes it gets old hearing everyone from the Persona series in everything else. New blood keeps things fresh and Xenoblade's voice acting did just that, with Shulk being the standout among an extremely charming cast of characters.

It's a bit hard or me to describe why I like Shulk so much. A big part of it is definitely because Xenoblade is my favorite game, but Shulk is also a big part of why Xenoblade is my favorite game. You could theoretically replace Shulk with a silent protagonist or even a similar protagonist from another game and the story wouldn't change much, but the overall experience would have been so much worse. He's not the spirit of adventure like Vyse, or a lifelong journey like the Dragon Quest V Hero, he's just...Shulk. And Shulk is awesome.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.