Iga_Bobovic said:

Overall the original is the better game by a clear margin.

Can you explain why?

gamingeek said:

Sup if you touch the map on the touchscreen it names the missions so you can find them more easily.

Thanks for the tip.

I also just realized when I was playing last that I've only just seen about a tenth of noctilium.  Blimey, this game is big.

Iga_Bobovic said:


Compared to the original this game is more oneven. Some parts are better, some are worse. Overall the original is the better game by a clear margin.

I agree with this statement.

I'm only on chapter 5, but to me it seems as if this game doesn't grab me like the first did.  I think this boils down to 2 things: the story takes a back seat in XCX, so there's less story to keep you going and invested.  Secondly, the 2 colossi just made for a much better world.  Not because of how cool the concept was (it was very cool), but because it was much harder to get lost.  Every area was basically a very wide tunnel leading to the next.  And even when you did get lost, you only needed to look up to the colossus towering above to know which direction you were facing in.

Now I know that XCX remedies this somewhat by having the 'follow ball', but honnestly, using it always feels like cheating.

And then there's still the general awefullness of the cutscenes.  So far they've all been people talking with little to no animation to speak of.  That's fine when you're a 3DS game, but not for a big WiiU title.  I know this will probably get better later on in the game, but that doesn't make it any more bearable up till now.

So how much do you guys fast travel?  I tend to keep it to the minimum, only when I'm pressed for time and want to get some stuff done.  Or when I'm forced to do some inane fetch quest.  If not I'll just travel there by foot.  I have only been to the opening area of Nocotilum and Oblivia so far though, so that may change once the distances I need to travel grow even larger

Having played XB Wii and listened to the track again today. Is "You Will Know Our Names" battle track a large part of the reason XB is so awesome? That guitar riff, pumps you up so much when you are kicking ass or on the verge of defeat.

You Will Know Our Names - Xenoblade Music Extended

Wish they would add it as an option for XCX battle.

The Battle of all battles is about to begin!

Just beat the first story mission of chapter 5 (I think), and now I can't continue untill I've discovered 30% of Noctilum.  30% ?!  I think I'm currently at half that.    Of course there's no interesting mission in Noctilum to be found at the moment, so I guess I'll just  have to go aimlessly exploring...

gamingeek said:

Laying down beacons is the way to explore the map. And of course each segment has something to do, either treasure collecting, mission objectives or Tyrant beating.

I know that's how it's done.  It's just a shame that I can't do so while doing some sidemissions.

So er, when you fight in your mech, does your character still level up?

Does your mech level up too? I keep reloading my last save when my mech gets trashed since I spent so much cash on weapons for it.

Playing with a mech is strange but in a good way. You feel much more powerful, have a better view of the environment because it's taller. You can do huge jumps which makes finding all the treasures much easier. I love the bind feature where you can hold a large enemy in a bear hug so it cannot attack your team.

Doug though keeps getting pummeled to death because he is 3 levels lower than my team, probably because they made me swap him out for Lao and Irina for affinity quests.

gamingeek said:

So I started chapter 8 then turned it off before it saved.

Seems like a point of no return type of chapter? I didn't want to be caught in a trap where I wasn't levelled high enough for a prolonged battle? Can someone who has done this chapter enlighten me?

Really loving the game now, the exploration aspect has gotten even better with a mech. Also the side missions are very involved compared to XB Wii.