Help me get into Xenoblade Chronicles

[InfinitePotat0]

I bought the game last year after hearing everyone raving about it and I'm in a HUGE mood for a JRPG. But for some reason it's not clicking. Reyn as a character is just getting on my nerves. I'm 5 hours in headed to colony 6 and I feel like all I'm doing is walking for what feels like forever. What am I missing? Should I be exploring more or just following the main story markers?

edit: I adored XC2 but I'm not feeling this one as much

 

[RoninChaos]

I'm curious as well.

 

[Metto]

Maybe take some time to do sidequests. Especially in the Refugee Camp where the quests there are timed and disappear after an event in the story. With that said if you're that annoyed by Reyn then hold off until you get to the end of the Colony 6 part of the story as you get a new party member that fulfills a similar niche to Reyn but is a much more zen character.

Really I don't know what it is about XC1 that isn't clicking with you. If you want to keep going to see if the story, and/or gameplay hook you then I encourage that but if you're really not having fun then it's fair to drop it for now.

 

[Stairmaster_]

I feel like the best thing I can say is to just keep playing, at least past the Colony 6 stuff. If you don't like Reyn though, it might be rough since he's a permanent party member, so I hope he grows on you eventually (and by extension, the rest of the cast).

If it's not for you, that's fine too!

 

[texhnolyze]

That's weird. They're very similar in term of gameplay, with improved combat and added gacha mechanics in XB2.

What made you like XC2 in the first place? Is it the characters/story?

 

[Butch]

I liked it from the begining.. Maybe it's just not for you, don't force it cause that rarely works with games tbh.

 

[SiG]

I bought the game last year after hearing everyone raving about it and I'm in a HUGE mood for a JRPG. But for some reason it's not clicking. Reyn as a character is just getting on my nerves. I'm 5 hours in headed to colony 6 and I feel like all I'm doing is walking for what feels like forever. What am I missing? Should I be exploring more or just following the main story markers?

edit: I adored XC2 but I'm not feeling this one as much

Click to shrink...

I would say definitely explore more and take things at your own pace. When you reach Makna Forest, bare in mind some people consider this to the the "Chapter 4" of XC1. Lastly, if you have more than 3 party memebers, I suggest switching them around.

As for combat, XC1 places more emphasis on positioning than XC2. The Break -> Topple -> Daze loop remain relatively the same, but drawing Aggro from enemies is also vitaly important.

 

[Deleted member 4869]

I enjoyed my time with Xenoblade Chronicles, but after some time I noticed that the only two things I was actually loving were the music and the huge, detailed open areas. The characters are boring and super generic, and the story is just... Well, not very good. The gameplay is nice, but nothing special.

I would still recommend the game to anyone who likes JRPG's, but if the game is not clicking for you at this point, I highly doubt it will after more hours.

 

[B.K.]

It's just an all around bad game.

 

[i hate cheaters]

probably stick to the story

if you end up liking the world and walking around doing exploring all useless things (this is what i play the game for), use the xp-reducer codes

 

[bottledfox]

When I first played XC, I took my time to explore each area thoroughly and do some quests before moving on with the story. There are multiple ways you are rewarded for exploring the world: Affinity Coins for hunting Unique Monsters, the Collectapedia, EXP/AP/SP rewards for discovering landmarks. Plus the world is unique and beautiful, so I was plenty motivated to soak it all in. As for the story, I think has a solid start, but it takes time to ramp up after leaving Colony 9. However, the payoffs in the late-game are well-executed. The characters grew on me. They aren't as immediately fun as XC2's cast, but they're generally cooler imo.

 

[Wander_]

keep playing. you are at the beginning.

 

[ghibli99]

Yeah, like others have been saying, spend time in each area speaking to NPCs (which establishes affinity links), do as many of the sidequests as you can until the remaining ones are either progression-based or beyond your current levels (the DE makes a lot of these quests much easier to track, and most will auto-complete/reward like XC2), explore, find landmarks/fast travel points, complete maps, etc. I think the story is great and upbeat, and the characters and the relationships they form are excellent. Soundtrack is GOAT-tier. But if you're, uhh, not feeling it, then stop and maybe come back later. Or not. :)

 

[Dreamboum]

I wouldn't recommend doing sidequests as they mostly are mindless fetch quests that doesn't paint a good light on the game

The structure of the game already revealed itself to you, if it doesn't click it probably won't as the story will only open up 15 hours from where you are at least. The music and the environment are the two main draws of the game. Otherwise it's very run of the mill when it comes to characters and story until wayyyy later.

 

[Deleted member 33533]

Damn, if you loved the likes of Rex and Tora but Reyn is getting on your nerves... I'm not sure anything can help you lol

I think you need to give more details. You ask if you should explore more... well, do you enjoy exploring? Have you been exploring? When you say you've been walking forever, that makes me think you'd rather not explore in this game. In that case, I'd say just go straight for the story stuff if the plot interests you. If not, then the game's not gonna click with you. (though I will say if the plot hasn't interested you yet, play at least until the end of the Colony 6 section and see how you feel)

 

[InfinitePotat0]

That's weird. They're very similar in term of gameplay, with improved combat and added gacha mechanics in XB2.

What made you like XC2 in the first place? Is it the characters/story?

Click to shrink...

I played it back when it came out and half the time I had no idea what was going on but I did enjoy the characters and the world more. I know it's a meme how Rex is a bad character but he grew on me. Weirdly enough I found the world of XC2 to be a lot prettier.

 

[InfinitePotat0]

Damn, if you loved the likes of Rex and Tora but Reyn is getting on your nerves... I'm not sure anything can help you lol

I think you need to give more details. You ask if you should explore more... well, do you enjoy exploring? Have you been exploring? When you say you've been walking forever, that makes me think you'd rather not explore in this game. In that case, I'd say just go straight for the story stuff if the plot interests you. If not, then the game's not gonna click with you. (though I will say if the plot hasn't interested you yet, play at least until the end of the Colony 6 section and see how you feel)

Click to shrink...

I'm the guy who wants to search every single corner of a game. Didn't leave white orchard until I found every question mark in Witcher 3, found every single shrine in BOTW and wants to find every little marker in an Assassins Creed but can't get myself to want to explore this world

 

[Anteo]

I'm the guy who wants to search every single corner of a game. Didn't leave white orchard until I found every question mark in Witcher 3, found every single shrine in BOTW and wants to find every little marker in an Assassins Creed but can't get myself to want to explore this world

Click to shrink...

I was the same in BOTW,
For Xenoblade, in my first playthrough I focused only in the main story because i felt just like you described, that the world was just too big and i was walking a lot for nothing. I'd recommend you to do the same, just focus on the story.

 

[texhnolyze]

I played it back when it came out and half the time I had no idea what was going on but I did enjoy the characters and the world more. I know it's a meme how Rex is a bad character but he grew on me. Weirdly enough I found the world of XC2 to be a lot prettier.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I see where you're coming from. XC1 is an old game at its core, remastered or not. But as others have said, try to keep going. While the journey can be kind of a drag at times, I vastly prefer XC1 story than XC2. I also like the more simplified and slower combat of XC1.

 

[The Unsent]

Reyn gets overshadowed when more and more characters join the team after you finish Bionis Leg. I just think it's a beautiful world, great overall presentation, and a very addictive battle system, using Monado tecniques and racking up affinity combos. Story is fairly generic but the wonderful array of british accents make the story feel more grand and engaging.


Xenoblade 2 doesn't quite have the same wonder as exploring the two interlocked titans, and the battles are too slow and a bit too convoluted.

 

[catpurrcat]

I wouldn't recommend doing sidequests as they mostly are mindless fetch quests that doesn't paint a good light on the game

The structure of the game already revealed itself to you, if it doesn't click it probably won't as the story will only open up 15 hours from where you are at least. The music and the environment are the two main draws of the game. Otherwise it's very run of the mill when it comes to characters and story until wayyyy later.

Click to shrink...

this x 1000

my other tip is to turn the difficulty level down, then you don't have to spend so much time grinding away on different enemies. Which is just a time sink.

 

[Deleted member 33533]

I'm the guy who wants to search every single corner of a game. Didn't leave white orchard until I found every question mark in Witcher 3, found every single shrine in BOTW and wants to find every little marker in an Assassins Creed but can't get myself to want to explore this world

Click to shrink...

I would say explore what piques your interest. Don't try to comb the map to your own detriment. Xenoblade is not actually an open world game. The game world is built linearly and it's just... wide. So really, you can just go down the main story path and not cover every corner of the world.

All I would say is, collect generic kill/collect quests even if you never intend to do them. Some of them you will complete automatically by just moving on the main path and they're good for exp and stuff.

 

[JershJopstin]

I'm the guy who wants to search every single corner of a game. Didn't leave white orchard until I found every question mark in Witcher 3, found every single shrine in BOTW and wants to find every little marker in an Assassins Creed but can't get myself to want to explore this world

Click to shrink...

If you're doing the same here, you're probably getting killed by the run speed. This can be remedied... eventually, but not for a bit. There's a notable increase in sparse areas here compared to 2.

That said, you also haven't gotten to the first place with actual stuff to see in the distance yet, if I'm understanding where you are correctly. Get to the Bionis' Leg.

 

[Aleh]

I feel like it gets better after you're done with the Colony 6 stuff. It's very vanilla at the start, but the world gets much more interesting afterwards. You'll also like the parallels to XC2 later on

 

[RagnarokX]

I played it back when it came out and half the time I had no idea what was going on but I did enjoy the characters and the world more. I know it's a meme how Rex is a bad character but he grew on me. Weirdly enough I found the world of XC2 to be a lot prettier.

Click to shrink...

That Rex hate is really misplaced. Rex and Shulk are very similar characters but Rex is much much better developed than Shulk and has a better arc. He grows much more. XC2 does character development better in general. But XC1 is still a great game. For most of the first half of the game it's a fairly standard revenge story but then it takes a turn. You'll probably like it more once it gets to that point.

 

[Soul Lab]

That Rex hate is really misplaced.

Click to shrink...

So was Rex's voice actor. Japanese voices saved the game for me.

 

[jokkir]

I found stuff after Colony 6 to be better during my first playthrough. The story to me felt more interesting especially towards the end of the Bionic Leg which I felt (during my first playthrough) was way too big and kinda barren but also very pretty.

It gets a lot better though after you reach the huge water area which is still quite a bit away since the story really takes off from there so I suggest you keep going.

You'll also reach one of the prettiest areas after Colony 6

 

[RagnarokX]

So was Rex's voice actor. Japanese voices saved the game for me.

Click to shrink...

I found him generally fine except for that one part where he was supposed to be screaming and was just mildly raising his voice. I blame the voice director.

 

[Soul Lab]

I found him generally fine except for that one part where he was supposed to be screaming and was just mildly raising his voice. I blame the voice director.

Click to shrink...

Don't get me wrong, I really like Rex as a character and I agree that the hate is misplaced, but that performance or direction they took with his English voice was not good imo. Especially in combat scenes, as you mentioned.
It's probably a reason Rex gets so much hate.

 

[Geobros]

Xenoblade 2 had the best RPG system I have ever seen. Ok Torna had a little better system. If you have played XC 2, the battle system of XC 1 will be really simple for you. As for the story OK, it was interesting but XC 2 had better story. I played XC1 because I liked much XC2.....

 

[dunkzilla]

I've played both and dropped them fairly quickly. Just not for me and I love JRPG games.

 

[RagnarokX]

Don't get me wrong, I really like Rex as a character and I agree that the hate is misplaced, but that performance or direction they took with his English voice was not good imo. Especially in combat scenes, as you mentioned.
It's probably a reason Rex gets so much hate.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, what I meant is people usually call him a generic shonen protagonist while liking XC1 and I'm like "Compared to Shulk? lol!" Shulk's voice direction is a bit better.

The scene I'm talking about is at the very end of Chapter 7 at the Cliffs of Morytha. It's still like my favorite cutscene in the game but Rex's delivery is just a bit lacking.

 

[Dr. Mario]

If you don't like the beginning I have some bad news because opposite to XC2, XC1 gradually loses steam and has a mostly boring second half of the game (until close to the end at least). However, the story does have some nice tricks up its sleeve and escalates for a good while. I'd play at least until the end of the mines at colony 6, there's a twist there that might hook you. Maybe just switch to easy and power through it. I couldn't finish it on Wii because of how boring the combat became, but easy mode in DE has saved the game for me.

 

[Scruffy8642]

I dont' think you're missing anything. I found it very underwhelming compared to 2. Characters are much weaker and most of them do nothing and get no development outside of heart to hearts (which have very high requirements and you won't see most of unless you're a completionist). One of the more popular characters has like 2 lines in the entire second half of the game. Shulk doesn't really go anywhere. Like there's a few big things that happen in the story, but all the characters are just so nothing that the impact is lessened to the point where you don't care much. Plus the game spoils itself... Seriously the most infuriating thing about XC1 and it makes all of its story beats fall flat. XC2 characters are annoying and tropey , but at least they actually talk and interact with each other and develop over the story.

Combat is honestly pretty boring and I imagine it only really gets interesting for endgame superbosses. I think I approached most fights in the game similarly because most of it is prep before the fight, there's not much you can actually do in the fight itself strategy wise to change the outcome. It's essentially all on your tank having aggro and keeping them alive, because if they die you've basically lost the fight in 95% of instances because they won't be able to get the aggro back off you your party. XC2 is similar in a sense, but it's much more engaging and there's more you can do to change the outcome. Grinding isn't really a thing either, so I'd just play on the lowest difficulty unless you're doing most side missions.

Speaking of, a vast majority of the side missions are pointless fetch quests and you'll just infuriate yourself by trying to do them. I just spoke to every npc I came across and accepted every quest, and then just went to exclamation points on my way to a story mission (most are enemies) to rack up some xp.

At the end of the day, I think you can really see how Monolith has improved as a studio since XC1's release because there's quite a huge difference in how XC1 and 2 are put together despite being so similar mechanically. I found Future Connected to be a far better experience than the main game just because of how much better the writing and design choices are. Unlike the main game the story is weak, but also unlike the main game everything else is pretty strong.

 

[jokkir]

Oh yeah I forgot there was an easy mode. I'd probably activate that if you don't like the story after Colony 6.

Thinking about it, I feel the game is better paced on a second run-through since you know the way around and the big sections don't feel like too much padding

 

[mordecaii83]

I bought the game last year after hearing everyone raving about it and I'm in a HUGE mood for a JRPG. But for some reason it's not clicking. Reyn as a character is just getting on my nerves. I'm 5 hours in headed to colony 6 and I feel like all I'm doing is walking for what feels like forever. What am I missing? Should I be exploring more or just following the main story markers?

edit: I adored XC2 but I'm not feeling this one as much

Click to shrink...

I'd agree with others saying push a bit further, the story starts out a bit slow (which is true in XC2 as well I feel like) but hopefully once it picks up you'll start enjoying it more.

I do feel like exploration in the game suffers from not having overworld chests like XC2, side quests will give you a reason to explore though if you're looking for one.

 

[Slacker247]

I wouldn't recommend doing sidequests as they mostly are mindless fetch quests that doesn't paint a good light on the game

The structure of the game already revealed itself to you, if it doesn't click it probably won't as the story will only open up 15 hours from where you are at least. The music and the environment are the two main draws of the game. Otherwise it's very run of the mill when it comes to characters and story until wayyyy later.

Click to shrink...

I feel this way. I have to say I didn't enjoy the game as much as reviews and many players felt. I think large, open worlds was already tiresome to me back then, so that aspect wore thin pretty quick (especially swimming for 15 minutes just to see I could and it was a waste of time, serves me right). The story was so-so but it did get a bit better. A tighter, 45 hour game would've made it better in my mind.

 

[eujuan]

I had a similar experience to you. I stuck with it until riki joined the squad....If you thought Reyn was annoying this is a whole new level. Just wasn't for me.

 

[VPplaya]

I would say stick through at least the current chapter. XC does have bonkers story reveals just like XC2, but I would say they really start coming pretty soon iirc.

 

[King Fossil]

I had a similar experience to you. I stuck with it until riki joined the squad....If you thought Reyn was annoying this is a whole new level. Just wasn't for me.

Click to shrink...

I didn't know people that hated Riki existed.

 

[GoldStarz]

XC1 and XC2 are tonally very different games, it's kind of why there's such a huge conflict within the Xenoblade fandom of XC1 vs XC2, it's possible that XC1 just isn't your cup of tea. I personally don't understand your dislike of Reyn, he's dumb muscle for sure but he's not really that much dumber than like half of the XC2 cast can be. I also definitely don't recommend exploring the whole area because there's a lot of space that really isn't used that much and like XC2, areas that are actually where much higher level fights take place.

I had a similar experience to you. I stuck with it until riki joined the squad....If you thought Reyn was annoying this is a whole new level. Just wasn't for me.

Click to shrink...

This is actually the worst opinion.

 

[greenhadoken]

The first time I played Xenoblade Chronicles I had the exact same problem. I got stuck in Colony 6 and it wasn't clicking. A year later I gave it another try, got past Colony 6 and eventually into Guar Plain and now it's my favorite JRPG of all time

 

[CHC]

I always get to Frontier Village and then crap out. I think I'm on my 3rd attempt.

 

[WestEgg]

I had an interesting experience with XC1 my first time around. I played about an hour, and lost interest. A few weeks later, I restarted, got to Makna Forest, got stuck on a boss fight there, and then lost interest. Then I picked it back up several months later, beat the boss I was stuck on first try weirdly enough, and played it through pretty consistently to the end. I think the game does a decent job of getting its hooks into you, but it might take a while for those to latch. I would also agree that I think XC1 starts pretty strong, has good momentum that carries it about 2/3s the way to the finale, starts to get some pretty severe arc fatigue by the end, but has a decent finale to wrap everything up.

 

[Chasex]

I say at least make it to the Guar Plains. The game really opens up at that point.

But personally I was already in awe at the scale and enjoying the exploration in the beginning area. Enjoying the exploration in a "gamey" type of way. Where can I go that I shouldn't be going? Can I climb this colony structure? Can I jump off this thing? How far into the water can I swim out? All while collecting the little orb things along the way. I love breaking games and exploring the limits. I played on Dolphin and the game was also drop dead gorgeous. The artstyle is superb and each area along the way has it's own theme, it's own quirks, and it's own amazing overworld theme. Seriously the OST is S tier good.

 

[SpicySpiritGun]

Honestly, try a bit more, but if it hasn't hooked you yet I don't know if it will. I was locked in after the events at Colony 9. I've seen some people say the story isn't good; I definitely disagree with that, it's no Xenogears/saga but I will take Xenoblade's story over most modern JRPGs. That being said, other than some story developments, at the point you are at you've already seen the game's basic structure, so if it bores you completely you might just want to drop it.

 

[mikhailguy]

If you don't get the appeal of Reyn, you're probably hopeless.

Coming off Xenoblade 2 -- the combat is going to seem a little basic.

Story holds up well and the voice acting is great. And of course, the music is fantastic.

Edit: The setting is way better than XC2 and feels more organic to story progression. (I like both games a lot)

 

[deathsaber]

It sounds to me you should just worry more about the main plot. Yes the world is huge, yes there are sidequests all over the place, but honestly, just follow main adjective and keep the narrative going. Sidequests, can be opportunistically done as you go about "Normally" completing the game. As long as you are killing enemies on the way, picking up blue dot items along the path you travel, etc. you might be shocked how many sidequests you are automatically clearing without even "trying" to.

As for Reyn- yeah, he can grate. Alas, early game you are stuck with the Shulk, Reyn, Sharla trio and you may think this the proto party right there (damage dealing melee main character, tank, healer).

But actually, once you get the rest of the party you can break that mold big time. While Reyn is a highly capable tank, for me he pretty much was never in the party again once you get the next party member.

 

[jonjonaug]

IMO it doesn't get great until after clearing the Colony 6 arc, which is like 20 hours in.

The strengths of Xenoblade are the cast, the exploration, and the variety in party setups. But you don't get your fourth party member until the very end of the Colony 6 stuff, and you don't get to explore anywhere other than "big green area" until after that.

Make sure you know how to fast travel though, you can travel to previous areas too. Sometimes people don't realize they can do this until they're later in the game.

 

[Deleted member 56266]

Story hasn't even begun yet, I'd recommend playing more.