‘Xenoblade Chronicles’ is a rare case in the western Wii catalog. Its appalling distribution has made it an involuntary and precious treasure for lovers of good video games. Focusing on the Spanish market, it is surprising that Nintendo invested a fortune to translate its extensive dialogues and release an edition with an exclusive red classic controller and then turn its acquisition into a chimera. It was paradoxical that a week after its release, the game was easier to find in large non-specialized stores than in the places that fans usually frequent. Fortunately for Europeans (in America they are still waiting for their edition) these problems have been solved little by little.
Nonsense aside, I allow myself the luxury and audacity to describe ‘Xenoblade Chronicles’ as one of the best games of this generation, which makes it by definition one of the best JRPGs of the last decade. That supposedly dead genre shines again thanks to a title that brings it back to the splendor of bygone eras. The creation of Monolith Soft and the great Tetsuya Takahashi (father of ‘Xenogears’ and ‘Xenosaga’) shows with their very existence that there is a future for the Japanese industry, and that it depends solely on determination, passion and application. uncompromising genius and good ideas.
Xenoblade Chronicles. Dwelling in your own god
Thanks to the game, I remembered a documentary I saw many years ago about life that is invisible to our eyes. I was deeply impressed by the existence of a whole parallel world inhabited by tiny forms of life. Thus, a sofa became a continent on which flocks of strange beings walked in slow procession, our skin was erected on this scale in large canyons that suffered floods (sweat) and were topped by huge tubes (hair) that formed dense forests.
In the intro to ‘Xenoblade Chronicles’ , two gods representing good and evil fight to the death from a double fatal blow. The impressive figures are thus inert for eternity, united by the swords that cut their existence. In the following thousands of years an entire ecosystem flourishes in both titans, organic life develops in Bionis , good, and mechanics in Mekonis , evil. Fate wants the inhabitants of one world and another to continue the struggle that ended at that appointed moment, like inoculated with a primal hatred. I have to say that this is the impression that we will have during the first two thirds of the adventure (about 80 or 90 hours), afterwards everything turns out to be much more complex, which leads us to witness how the argument brilliantly dodges the initial Manichaeism . But for that you have to play and play, I am not going to reveal here anything that could spoil such a splendid experience.
Run, run, run
Once the context has been established, it is obvious that, more than ever, we are facing a colossal game. It is because we literally move through the bodies of two colossi, but also because they are of overwhelming dimensions. Get ready to run.
We will run tirelessly through immense valleys, through steep mountains, through lush forests, we will overcome abysses and cliffs, we will meet other races, we will run into a thousand and one animal that lives alien to the destiny that awaits us. Everything always with the horizon marked by reddish and threatening eyes that signal the end of our journey, by the very long sword that will serve as a bridge to the supposed origin of evil. Today we will rest on Bionis’s leg to, in a couple of days, reach his knee, go up his thigh, reach his back … And we will run, we will run, we will run, talking from time to time with our colleagues about the origin of things, about our gods, of our motivations to advance and advance. We will run without rest.
The world of ‘Xenoblade Chronicles’ is exposed before our eyes as something immeasurable. It is a living world, full of fantastic creatures and beautiful places. Maybe you wait in the middle of the suspension bridge that leads to the town of Nopon to see how the sunset falls little by little on the falls that you see several kilometers from where you are. Possibly you get lost when the night catches you in the Mangrove of Satorul and the mist gives way to a dream postcard. Surely you will find yourself gawking, wasting more time than necessary crossing a cliff, because that starry sky is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen.
Fight and evidence
I was very outraged at the time by the bulky note that my admired EDGE magazine posted to ‘Final Fantasy XII’ . That super-production of excellent workmanship presented an open world of indisputable design, what was debatable, and much, was its fighting system. The mix between shifts and real time resulted, due to an erroneous implementation, in anodyne battles that you could combine with consulting the messenger, drinking coffee or talking on the phone. Everything could be so automatic that there would come a point when the player’s presence was anecdotal.
‘Xenoblade Chronicles’ has many points in common with ‘Final Fantasy XII’ but its combat system, fortunately, is not one of them. We could say that this is what that should have been. And it is that fighting in the game of Monolith Soft is a pleasure that requires continuous user participation. You may be overwhelmed by the continuous tutorials that accompany the first hours, do not lose heart, the reward is enormous. As in all JRPG you will have to level up to continue, and the refined fighting system will make this work a pleasure.
Eternity and a day
The more than one hundred hours that ‘Xenoblade Chronicles’ houses inside will make you feel that you have another life other than your real one. There will come a time when you will have another home, one where everything is possible, one where you will always want to be. Hundreds of secondary missions will be assimilated naturally to your trip, you will be able to create gems that enhance your countless weapons and armor, you will take care of the relationship with friends and strangers to enrich the friendship that gives rise to an interesting conversation … Everything in the game is written with capital letters, with an epic scale.
The soundtrack captivates you from the moment you put the game on the console. Many times I have stayed in the initial screen to admire the evocative image of the Monado sword stuck in the middle of a plain. Music evolves slowly as day gives way to night. Monado then shines asking to be wielded, requiring you to undertake the adventure.
Do not hesitate in the least, to press Start in ‘Xenoblade Chronicles’ is to live one of the most rewarding experiences, not on Wii, but of this generation. I assure you that you will not remember the powerful insides of PS3 or 360, masterpieces do not know numbers.
‘Xenoblade Chronicles’ | Wii
- Platform : Wii
- Developer : Monolith Soft
- Distributor : Nintendo
- Launch : Now available
- Price : 49.95 euros
‘Xenoblade Chronicles’ is an RPG of colossal dimensions, brilliant, eternal, beautiful, unforgettable, a masterpiece.
Video | Youtube, Youtube
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