Board 8 > I started Xenoblade Chronicles for the first time tonight.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm just over an hour in and I already have 20 side quests.

This is the game huh.
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Good thing there are quest markers to help you find out where to go.

...Oh.

Well, good thing none of the quests are missable.

...Oh.

Well, at least it's not like there are a bunch of quests that only become available in specific areas after random points in the story and only at extremely specific times of day.

...Oh.

Well, shit. Good luck
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which xenoblade chronicles?
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For Wii. From before the re-release when it was stupid expensive. Don't ask me why I spent so much on it and then never played it, I don't know myself.
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GotY 2010 2011 2012
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The side quests are not important and most of them are meant to be completed while playing the game naturally. Don't get bogged down in them.
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yeah the game is certainly more than sidequests

(also I believe there was a spoilerfree faq about them on here anyway)
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The sidequest system is extremely good, you're only worried because you're used to the tedium of other RPG sidequests
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If the rest of the game's sidequests live up to the "look around town for spanners, keys, and rings" or the "deliver bread to my grandson" level of hype this game has built, boy howdy, I don't know if I can even contain my excitement.
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Oh you do actually think the hype is for the side quests...?
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I didn't, but then you said the system was good and that it wasn't tedious and I completely missed the sarcasm because it's typed text about a game I've played for an hour and 20 minutes.
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Just do sidequests at your own pace, don't feel remotely obligated to 100% them all.
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Why don't they just put in less side quests
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pound sign worldbuilding.
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As many others have already said, don't worry about the side quests.
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Side-quests are passive, or you can focus on them briefly as an alternative to grinding if you're ever getting stuck and wanna gain a few levels.

If you just focus on doing the sidequest you'll easily get overleveled.
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I wouldn't actively do the sidequests. I found it a lot easier to just get as many as you can. Then gradually do them as you play/when you need level ups. Also the monster side quests are fun and a good way to get used to the combat system.
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MrSmartGuy posted...

I didn't, but then you said the system was good and that it wasn't tedious and I completely missed the sarcasm because it's typed text about a game I've played for an hour and 20 minutes.

It's not sarcasm. The side quest system is really good.

But they're just side quests.

They're on the side.
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pjbasis posted...

Why don't they just put in less side quests

That's a REALLY good question actually, for a lot of RPGs. But in Xenoblade, sidequests have 0 cost. You solve them totally automatically and they add no friction at all to the rest of the game, and some end up with some cool bonuses and stories. So it's fine that they added a bunch of pointless ones.
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foolm0r0n posted...

pjbasis posted...

Why don't they just put in less side quests

That's a REALLY good question actually, for a lot of RPGs. But in Xenoblade, sidequests have 0 cost. You solve them totally automatically and they add no friction at all to the rest of the game, and some end up with some cool bonuses and stories. So it's fine that they added a bunch of pointless ones.

This isn't really true for a lot of the important ones that advance the development level, which have a few major optional goodies locked behind them (IIRC 2 skill trees per character, that entire town that develops, and some exclusive battle skills). Those, combined with the sheer quantity, make it just as tedious or more so than usual games.

But yeah if you don't care about any of the major rewards and just want some bonus gold/exp every once in a while, you can absolutely reap the rewards of the small subset of convenient sidequests.
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If you play a RPG you have to complete the sidequests.

That's the rule.
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Those are cool quests with story behind them though, so having some effort behind them is fine. The generic ones that just compel you to go around and explore are auto-solving and optional.
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Grand Kirby posted...

If you play a RPG you have to complete the sidequests.

That's the rule.

Or you, you know, don't
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Grand Kirby posted...

Well, at least it's not like there are a bunch of quests that only become available in specific areas after random points in the story and only at extremely specific times of day.

If you are talking about the series I think you're talking about, you can do those toward the end, but it becomes WAY harder. You're basically relying on RNG.

Back in the heydays of VGCW, You Will Know Our Names easily stood out as one of my favorite fight songs. Hell, one of my favorite video game songs, period.

........ I have learned to fear that song and everything that comes with it.
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Alright I'm gonna mark spoilers in this post, but let this be a warning that I won't be marking them in the future.

Wow, shit. I had Dunban pegged as the character that dies in the first act to serve as motivation for the rest of the team. Fiora dying actually hurt my soul a little.

On that note, whoever wrote the script for this did a great job. A lot of games' scripts sound like computers talking back and forth, but these conversations are pretty easy to imagine actual human beings having, given the circumstances.
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I'LL KlLL YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
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That's unusual. Someone's not complaining about the accents.

MrSmartGuy posted...

Alright I'm gonna mark spoilers in this post, but let this be a warning that I won't be marking them in the future.

Wow, shit. I had Dunban pegged as the character that dies in the first act to serve as motivation for the rest of the team. Fiora dying actually hurt my soul a little.

On that note, whoever wrote the script for this did a great job. A lot of games' scripts sound like computers talking back and forth, but these conversations are pretty easy to imagine actual human beings having, given the circumstances.

Oh wow, you're going on super blind apparently.
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I know the memes that came about because of it, but that's really it. I actually don't even know the future party members you get. All I knew about were Shulk and Reyn and they were there right off the bat, so everything past that I'm completely in the dark about.
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Yeah Fiora's death is a huge gutpunch. If you're going into this blind, you're in for some fun surprises.
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In my brief JP playthrough years before localization was announced I got to was sooo sad from that part, I was even like playing as Fiora in the preceding segments, and trying to learn her character over Shulk and give her best gear :(
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Good game more or less
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Just spent about a half hour crafting shit and trying to min/max my loadout. Bought all the arts manuals, because I saw no downside to doing so. Walked out and totally fucked up the mini-boss out on the beach to get my revenge for the first death I had. That'll learn him.

This is fun. I'm enjoying this a lot, though there's a ton to take in at the beginning.
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The whole intro sequence culminating in that moment is so insanely good. They make her so cool and fun to play too. Every time I replay the game I play up to there in one sitting, which ends up being like 4 hours but it's all so perfect. Most games that have good openings are like 20 mins max, not multiple hours...
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But when will it be Reyn Time
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Met Sharla. Was thinking to myself "this looks like the replacement party member" and then went to the shop and found arts manuals for Sharla, so... welp.
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Oh hi there Mr. Level 84 thing that saw me and ended my game in 2 seconds.
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Welcome to Xenoblade.
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Man, what a bunch of jokers.
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Piece of cake!
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My rifle's getting hotta!
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We can definitely do this!
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Man, why did I wait like 8 years to play this game? This is so good. Battles are incredibly fun, the dialogue is well written, I have tons of control over character customization, and there are so many small things this game does to make life better for you. Every game should have a "these items are totally gonna be useful for a quest later" warning.
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MrSmartGuy posted...

Man, why did I wait like 8 years to play this game?

I asked myself this last summer.

Well, being last year I guess it was more like 7 years.

And I knew the answer was "because I didn't hear anything about it that made me want to play it until after it was expensive"

So I almost know how you feel except for the ways that it was completely different
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I was lucky and pre-ordered Xenoblade. Was veeeery worth it.
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Xenoblade doesn't have that one thing that totally sells you on it (besides the world, which is hard to sell). it's just all around charming as heck.
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Boring topic. Yawn.

hyped for xenoblade since it was originally announced at e3 as monado beginning of the world and nobody noticed club
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Xord was a great villain. So cheesy and cliche, but still a lot of fun to listen to. That cutscene afterward has me super-hooked on the story, too. The mystery guy controlling Thunder Bird is intriguing, but what I really want to know is what's up with the Mechon. I usually set myself up for disappointment whenever games have bizarre stuff like this in them, because they never explain everything adequately, but I have high hopes for this game, if you couldn't tell already.
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