Board 8 > Xenoblade 2 to have more exploration than X, plenty of sidequests, etc...

(+) Yeah! (+)

I am not Jeff Zero but here have some Xenoblade information.

http://nintendoeverything.com/takahashi-on-xenoblade-2-visual-style-more-exploration-than-x-no-multiplayer-side-quests-more/

French website Gamekult recently published a new interview with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 director Tetsuya Takahashi. We’ve prepared a full translation of Gamekult’s interview.

The first Xenoblade Chronicles was released almost seven years before this interview. What are your most striking memories of it?

Tetsuya Takahashi: Xenoblade Chronicles… (pensive) It was the first major title that we directed as a subsidiary of Nintendo, and I think it’s a project we were able to see through to the end, until we were fully satisfied with it. As such, it truly is a memorable game in my eyes.

Was Xenoblade Chronicles 2 already in the making on Wii U before shifting to Switch? What lessons learned from the development of Xenoblade Chronicles X have been useful to this game?

It was a Switch exclusive from the start. As you know, Xenoblade Chronicles X was designed as an open world, and above all we learned the cost of such a project (laughs). As we apply this knowledge to a slightly more guided experience, we get a clearer picture of our needs in terms of asset management and optimization; all the little details that allow us to better apprehend the scale of the game.

Have you also lightened the UI, which was particularly rich in the previous episode?

Considering the Switch has four buttons on each side, we’ve tried to make the control scheme more accessible and intuitive, so that you could carry out actions without having to think about it. At any rate, this is what we’re trying to achieve. On the other hand, we haven’t planned any touchscreen interactions.

Will there be any data packs to help the console along, like in Xenoblade Chronicles X?

We have no such plans for the time being.

Judging by the trailers, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is coming back to a more childish visual style. Is there a wish to target a broader, younger audience, or can we expect the game to hold on to more mature themes?

Broadening the audience was clearly one of our objectives, but we also wished to give the characters a wider range of facial expressions this time around. Masatsugu Saito’s character design is a means to make the protagonists more expressive. As for the story, in the first Xenoblade Chronicles we wanted to bring out the values of friendship, as well as Shulk’s revenge which was at the heart of the plot. In this one, it is more of an initiatory quest, and a coming-of-age story for Rex.

What can you tell us about Rex, the main character of this sequel?

He’s clearly hot-blooded (nekketsu), like a character from a shonen manga, but he’s also older than he looks. At the beginning of the story, he’s been a Salvager for many years already, aiding lost souls in the world of Arst. He’s living in a world of adults, which makes him more mature than his appearance suggests. His goal, and that of the characters around him, is to find a heaven called Elysium. Those who live there know that it is a place of legend, where everything seems to happen in an idyllic way. The discovery of this place will obviously be the motivation behind the main quest.

Exploration has always been at the heart of the Xenoblade saga, especially in Xenoblade Chronicles X. Can we expect the world to be even more vast on Switch?

Exploration will have an even more decisive role in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. With regard to the number of places to explore and visit, I think we’re going far beyond what Xenoblade Chronicles X was able to offer. As you could see in the trailer, you can expect to discover a large number of diverse environments, some natural, some built by men.

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Does that mean the game will let you go anywhere you want to straightaway, or will the exploration be a bit more bounded, in the manner of the first game?

In the trailer, you may have noticed some gigantic lifeforms: the Titans. The player will be able to explore entire regions, cities and dungeons built on the back of these behemoths. Exploration on these creatures will be completely seamless. We could have made it so the travel from one Titan to another was also free from loading times, but crossing the cloud ocean would probably not have been as fun, so we decided to mark these transitions with cuts. In the game, as you could see in the Treehouse Live, you’re able to join forces with Blades, beings that are also living weapons, and explore these vast landscapes on their backs – even if they can’t be considered mounts.

Do you know how many players have finished Xenoblade Chronicles X? Aren’t you afraid to create games that are too long for today’s customs?

We have internal statistics but I’m not sure I can share them with you (laughs). Our goal is to create an immersive world where you could spend all your time, be it in battle or living your own life. I, for one, like games when they are long (laughs).

What can you tell us about the combat system?

This time, the appeal of battles relies on the association of Blades and Drivers, such as Rex, and the configurations created by the many possible combinations. As we said earlier, you can count on a large number of Blades, and each one has their own special skill tree, characteristics and personality that make them unique. Therefore, it’s possible to modify your character to fit the various situations and different play styles, which should be motivating to players.

Are multiplayer interactions planned?

No, there are no plans on this aspect.

Will the relationship system between the characters, used to unlock skills and side quests, return?

There’s obviously the relationship between Blades and Drivers, at the center of the gameplay; it’s by nourishing them that you will become stronger, unlock new skills, improve stats and so on. Naturally, the game has many subquests, some of them developing the bonds between characters, some of them between characters and their Blades, and others that depend on the NPCs you can meet in town. Succeeding in these particular missions will allow you to develop the town, unlock new equipment to buy in shops; that kind of bonuses. Quest validation should be automatic in most cases, like in previous episodes in which you didn’t have to talk to the NPC again in order to get the reward. It will all depend on the type of quest and the context in which it was assigned to you.

You seem to share a real artistic bond with Yasunori Mitsuda, who became your favorite composer…

First of all, I admire his compositions, which are always of high quality from the first draft. They also harmonize with the world we are trying to create. Over the years, we’ve established a real working relationship: Mr. Mitsuda now understands what I’m looking for intuitively, so I don’t have to go into thorough explanations. Conversely, I immediately perceive what he’s trying to create. It makes our interactions much easier and very efficient.

And then there are a few more questions not directly related to the game at the end but I don't want to make a third post.
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mnkboy907 posted...

Exploration will have an even more decisive role in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

how

mnkboy907 posted...

I, for one, like games when they are long (laughs).

aww yeah

I wish the interviewer followed up on the relationship/sidequest question though. The Affinity Quests of X were excellent but I'm not sure if they're still around based on that answer. Going back to Xenoblade's sidequest system would be a step back IMO.
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I like games when they're long, too. Arigato, Takahashi-san. Arigato.
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Was there any mention of the menus actually being legible in this one?
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It just says that they're trying to simplify the UI and control schemes.
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Grand Kirby posted...

Was there any mention of the menus actually being legible in this one?

Not sure you know this, but that was a localization problem. The Japanese version had bigger text.
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how the hell
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I hope it'll have characters as good as the first. Shulk and crew were great.
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everybody agrees that lin is the best xenoblade character
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Murderess is the best Xenoblade Character.
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Nagi is the best Xenoblade character:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENSU0U5DvUQ
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scarletspeed7 posted...

Murderess is the best Xenoblade Character.

well okay this is a legit answer
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TIME Magazine interview with Takahashi. Few selected quotes below.

TIME: I've been replaying Xenogears [a 1998 PlayStation game and Takahashi's first full directorial debut] and noticed that the memory cube icon for saving the game looks a bit like the Monado from Xenoblade Chronicles. It got me wondering if there's a visual motif you're carrying through these games.


Tetsuya Takahashi: In Xenoblade Chronicles 2, there are what we call core crystals, the blue crystals you might have seen in the trailer, and these act as the game's version of the memory cube or Monado. I think you'll notice that the female character also has a mysterious, interesting-shaped crystal on her chest. As you play the game, you'll come to understand why it's shaped that way.
When we spoke about your last game, Xenoblade Chronicles X, you told me you'd distanced yourself from philosophical themes in that game's core story. Where do your interests along those lines lie these days?

In terms of a theme in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, there are all of these Titans, and their lifespan is about to end. The people living on these Titans now have to find a way to continue their lives, because the land they've lived on is about to die. So it's about these people's quest to find where to live.

Also, there are these lifeforms called Blades. They're not human, as the title indicates — the "Xeno" part of the title, which means they're not human. They're unique lifeforms, and there's this theme of how humans and Blades can coexist and learn to live with each other, and learn to not only coexist, but protect the world that they live in.
I noticed artist Tetsuya Nomura's name in the trailer credits [as the designer of a character named "Toma"]. He's obviously a longtime Square Enix fixture [he's currently directing Kingdom Hearts III and the Final Fantasy VII remake], so I'm wondering how that happened?

Good question. This story goes back 20 years. Back when I was about to start on a new game, and the name "Xenogears" wasn't set yet, for that new title I needed a designer. And at the time there was someone who was directing the Final Fantasy series, Mr. [Yoshinori] Kitase. And then Mr. Nomura and I were in the team together doing character design. At the time, Mr. Kitase was handling Final Fantasy and I was doing this new title, and I wanted to work with Mr. Nomura.

So I was waiting for the final call to be made, whether he was going to be working on the Final Fantasy series or on this new title of mine. And then Mr. [Hironobu] Sakaguchi [the creator of the Final Fantasy series] came and said 'Tetsu is going to do Final Fantasy.' So I thought 'Okay, I've got to find myself a new designer.'

But I've always wanted to work with him. And this idea of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 came up, and I thought I'd love to work with him again. After our discussion with Nintendo went through and this project was a go, I went directly to Square Enix, thinking that I'd be denied, asking if I could work with Tetsu. To my surprise, it was approved, and that's how it happened.
Lastly, I thought Xenoblade Chronicles X was a wonderful game, and also wonderfully different from Xenoblade Chronicles. But it feels like Mario Kart 8, in that it was constrained by the Wii U's limited audience. Any chance we might see it come to the Switch?

Thank you for that feedback. I think we're currently completely focused on creating Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and even after I go back to Japan, I have a mountain of tasks that I need to overcome. But I would love to think about it, after the development for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is completed.

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mnkboy907 posted...

As you know, Xenoblade Chronicles X was designed as an open world, and above all we learned the cost of such a project (laughs)

That's what I'm talking about

mnkboy907 posted...

In this one, it is more of an initiatory quest, and a coming-of-age story for Rex.

Boooooring
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my favorite xenoblade x character was PS Vita superfan boss nass
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xp1337 posted...

how

By having an actual story so there is meaning to exploration instead of just a paint-by-numbers fill of the map
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p r e a c h
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jeff your xenoblade x opinions are like an enigma to me

you haven't played it right?

this disrespect of the 2nd best xeno game from you is painful
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If I want a good story, I play XC.

If I want a good experience, I play Charli XCX.
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*best Xeno game
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If I want to listen to some good video game music, I'll put the NLA Night Theme on loop
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xp1337 posted...

jeff your xenoblade x opinions are like an enigma to me

you haven't played it right?

this disrespect of the 2nd best xeno game from you is painful

I haven't. I'm being arrogant and presumptuous about XCX, and I admit it. Buuuuuut when I heard the import impressions and how sporadic cutscenes were I cursed the rainy night called "industry shift toward open world" and walked away, hooded, cloaked and angered
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Eh. X's problem is less any of that and more that it suffers from the classic Xeno problem of clearly needing more games to tell the complete story

like this is a game whose story desperately needs a sequel

like imagine if xenosaga just ended at episode i (Edit: Er wait, did you play XS1? I thought you had just not the others, but now I'm not sure.)

(which is why xenoblade getting a sequel instead kind of causes me to die inside)
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So XC and XCX have no connection story wise?
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redrocket_pub posted...

So XC and XCX have no connection story wise?

None whatsoever.
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X's main story problem is that it's hard to really care or feel for the characters. Compare that to XC, where you're rooting for Shulk and Reyn from almost the very beginning.
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I cared more about X's core group (Elma, Lin, Irina, Vandham) than Xenoblade's! Melia was the strongest of the main characters over there.
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xp1337 posted...

you haven't played it right?

Have you? Your opinion is common, but bad. Japanese, in other words.
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xp1337 posted...

Eh. X's problem is less any of that and more that it suffers from the classic Xeno problem of clearly needing more games to tell the complete story

100 hours wasn't enough? It needs 500 hours to fully tell it's story? Come on that's not the problem. XC told a sprawling deep story in 60. Because that's how it was designed.
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xp1337 posted...

Eh. X's problem is less any of that and more that it suffers from the classic Xeno problem of clearly needing more games to tell the complete story

like this is a game whose story desperately needs a sequel

like imagine if xenosaga just ended at episode i (Edit: Er wait, did you play XS1? I thought you had just not the others, but now I'm not sure.)

(which is why xenoblade getting a sequel instead kind of causes me to die inside)

It's a Final Fantasy style sequel, though. They aren't actually continuing any of the previous story lines.
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foolm0r0n posted...

Have you?

you got me

foolm0r0n posted...

xp1337 posted...

Eh. X's problem is less any of that and more that it suffers from the classic Xeno problem of clearly needing more games to tell the complete story

100 hours wasn't enough? It needs 500 hours to fully tell it's story? Come on that's not the problem. XC told a sprawling deep story in 60. Because that's how it was designed.

Considering the larger scope and unanswered questions? It very obviously has more to tell.

XC was designed to answer all its questions in that one game. XCX wasn't. Playtime has nothing to do with it, it was a different design decision. It's not really a problem with XCX unless it's never revisited.

Team Rocket Elite posted...

It's a Final Fantasy style sequel, though. They aren't actually continuing any of the previous story lines.

I know. I mean that more in the sense of where their resources are going.
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in what universe is xcx's main story 100 hours
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In what world does XCX have a story
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scarletspeed7 posted...

In what world does XCX have a story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW6q9YxGiQw
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Jeff Zero posted...

TIME Magazine interview with Takahashi. Few selected quotes below.

TIME: I've been replaying Xenogears [a 1998 PlayStation game and Takahashi's first full directorial debut] and noticed that the memory cube icon for saving the game looks a bit like the Monado from Xenoblade Chronicles. It got me wondering if there's a visual motif you're carrying through these games.


Tetsuya Takahashi: In Xenoblade Chronicles 2, there are what we call core crystals, the blue crystals you might have seen in the trailer, and these act as the game's version of the memory cube or Monado. I think you'll notice that the female character also has a mysterious, interesting-shaped crystal on her chest. As you play the game, you'll come to understand why it's shaped that way.
When we spoke about your last game, Xenoblade Chronicles X, you told me you'd distanced yourself from philosophical themes in that game's core story. Where do your interests along those lines lie these days?

In terms of a theme in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, there are all of these Titans, and their lifespan is about to end. The people living on these Titans now have to find a way to continue their lives, because the land they've lived on is about to die. So it's about these people's quest to find where to live.

Also, there are these lifeforms called Blades. They're not human, as the title indicates — the "Xeno" part of the title, which means they're not human. They're unique lifeforms, and there's this theme of how humans and Blades can coexist and learn to live with each other, and learn to not only coexist, but protect the world that they live in.
I noticed artist Tetsuya Nomura's name in the trailer credits [as the designer of a character named "Toma"]. He's obviously a longtime Square Enix fixture [he's currently directing Kingdom Hearts III and the Final Fantasy VII remake], so I'm wondering how that happened?

Good question. This story goes back 20 years. Back when I was about to start on a new game, and the name "Xenogears" wasn't set yet, for that new title I needed a designer. And at the time there was someone who was directing the Final Fantasy series, Mr. [Yoshinori] Kitase. And then Mr. Nomura and I were in the team together doing character design. At the time, Mr. Kitase was handling Final Fantasy and I was doing this new title, and I wanted to work with Mr. Nomura.

So I was waiting for the final call to be made, whether he was going to be working on the Final Fantasy series or on this new title of mine. And then Mr. [Hironobu] Sakaguchi [the creator of the Final Fantasy series] came and said 'Tetsu is going to do Final Fantasy.' So I thought 'Okay, I've got to find myself a new designer.'

But I've always wanted to work with him. And this idea of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 came up, and I thought I'd love to work with him again. After our discussion with Nintendo went through and this project was a go, I went directly to Square Enix, thinking that I'd be denied, asking if I could work with Tetsu. To my surprise, it was approved, and that's how it happened.
Lastly, I thought Xenoblade Chronicles X was a wonderful game, and also wonderfully different from Xenoblade Chronicles. But it feels like Mario Kart 8, in that it was constrained by the Wii U's limited audience. Any chance we might see it come to the Switch?

Thank you for that feedback. I think we're currently completely focused on creating Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and even after I go back to Japan, I have a mountain of tasks that I need to overcome. But I would love to think about it, after the development for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is completed.

the real news here is Kingdom Hearts III is never coming out because Nomura keeps doing other things
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xenoblade x had a fantastic story.

It was just also hampered by the god awful story surrounding the main characters. The real story is the tale of the day to day human/alien interactions in New LA. There's pages and pages of deep meaningful dialogue and it's very subtly put.

Sadly, instead of following the interesting adventures of the different alien races, the story follows kos-mos 2, potato jokes, unimportant alien, and.... I literally can't remember the rest of the playable characters because they were so dull.
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This game could legit be a GOTY nominee along with Breath of the Wild, Persona 5 and Super Mario Odyssey. Which means Nintendo has three big GOTY contenders this year which is ridiculous.

My only issues are that in my opinion, the art direction of the characters doesn't quite clash well with the world design and Rex seems kind of generic and boring. But I figure I'll get use to the former while Monolith Soft will prove me wrong with the later.
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Xenoblade X
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Xenoblade 2


clear improvement!
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xp1337 posted...

Eh. X's problem is less any of that and more that it suffers from the classic Xeno problem of clearly needing more games to tell the complete story

like this is a game whose story desperately needs a sequel

like imagine if xenosaga just ended at episode i (Edit: Er wait, did you play XS1? I thought you had just not the others, but now I'm not sure.)

(which is why xenoblade getting a sequel instead kind of causes me to die inside)

I got through 1 and 2, yeah.
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I don't know anything about Nomura, but I saw one guy say he was the #1 worst person in the video game industry. I don't know if that's just some MWC levels of overreacting or what.
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EndOfDiscOne posted...

I don't know anything about Nomura, but I saw one guy say he was the #1 worst person in the video game industry. I don't know if that's just some MWC levels of overreacting or what.

I mean, the entirety of Konami exists, so...
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UberPyro64 posted...

Which means Nintendo has three big GOTY contenders this year which is ridiculous.

Two of which you (nor anyone else) have never played. But you're right, brand matters far more for GOTY than actually playing the game.
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ninkendo posted...

clear improvement!

It's crazy how it actually is a huge improvement
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Mac Arrowny posted...

scarletspeed7 posted...

In what world does XCX have a story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW6q9YxGiQw

What is this stuff

Oh, this is the stuff I skip through so I can fly in my skell
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foolm0r0n posted...

UberPyro64 posted...

Which means Nintendo has three big GOTY contenders this year which is ridiculous.

Two of which you (nor anyone else) have never played. But you're right, brand matters far more for GOTY than actually playing the game.

I'm just predicting that both will be based on what I've seem of them. Super Mario Odyssey more so however. It's hard to imagine that game being anything less than stellar.
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UberPyro64 posted...

It's hard to imagine that game being anything less than stellar.

Same with BOTW but here we are
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