@lentfilms: Sorry, it wasn't directed towards you specifically, although I did go down that rabbit hole that is that Twitter account, and unfortunately I couldn't unsee it. That thing takes fanservice to the moon, y'all. Good grief indeed.

@jd_delgado: Okay, gotcha.

Also, I just finished the first chapter of the game and am liking it so far but I'm just scratching the surface of the story/gameplay mechanics.

I'm glad someone who had the same problems I did with the first Xenoblade reviewed this one (Kotaku review), because now I know I don't need to pick this up.

All the menus on top of menus on top of bars on top of menus looks like the joke clutter I made to piss off my UI teacher.

I’ve been really looking forward to this. I started playing tonight and I’m digging it so far. I love the “single player mmo” feel of the gameplay, perfect to sit back and grind while watching Netflix or listening to podcasts. I’m interested in the story and I love overly complex battle systems to dig into.

That said, I’m definitely not digging the character design. A lot of it is the more anime look just isn’t my thing, but man some of the female character designs... Brings back memories of Dragon’s Crown. I don’t think it’s crazy to want the female characters to be designed as people and not scantily clad cartoons with laughably absurd breasts. As a dude who loves Japanese games this is a trade off I have to make a lot.

I’m still really into the game and excited to pour 100+ hours into it, I just wish I didn’t have to be embarrassed every time someone saw me playing it.

I was pretty interested in this game but then I saw the two main characters and my interest in it sank like reinforced concrete. Especially Rex, the main character, looks like something fished out of Tetsuya Nomura's garbage bin.

I feel like Xenoblade Chronicles' character designs were decent and followed a more or less consistent style, Xenoblade Chronicles X was also more or less consistent but sadly it was just consistently bland and bad. Xenoblde Chronicles 2's characters are all over the place it seems. No consistent style and some real stinkers to boot.

It bums me out even more because there are other characters in that game that look interesting/cool.

@hassun: Funny you should mention Tetsuya Nomura, I'm pretty sure he worked on some of the character designs for this game.

I've played a bit. Super awesome game, do recommend. Persona 5 is JRPG of the decade though...

@hassun: Tetsuya Nomura actually did the designs for the game's villains. I don't hate the designs like a lot of people do and Rex's outfit makes a bit more sense in-game when you realize it is suppose to be scuba gear with pieces of it removed, which is why there are gaps in his clown pants.

I really don't mind the designs much at all but the game does suffer pretty heavily from the weird main character 'uniform' effect.

Cause barring the weird little beast people every other person in the world looks and dresses like some normal people.

I like the character and weapon design myself, and I find the combat system to be a nice itteration/refinement of the “typical” XB combat engine. Not too much to take in all at once, but can be as deep as you like, if you wanna spend the time.

To put to rest the most pressing topic in this thread though, I’m about 5 hours in and can confirm without qualification that Pyra’s chest proportions are ABSURDLY out of control for a normal human, but only mildly oversized for an Anime character, heh.

There is a slider in the sound settings for battle dialogue, so hopefully that will take care of the voice spam problem.

@lentfilms: And Quiet breathed through her skin or whatever. Look, I can understand some manner of justification, but it still looks ridiculous.

@slyspider: Too true. Too true.

Why do they need so many belts? They hold up nothing. Just seems like an impracticality, especially during combat. Still, this might be the third game I pick up after Mario and Zelda.

Unfortunately, this year's GOTY was already picked in June or so, and the GB crew has been changing the rules to make sure it is eligible for this year's GOTY no matter what. Really disappointing...

Played 6 hours so far. It's fun and compelling, but totally lacks the polish 1 had. It doesn't even have a dedicated map button, and there's no achievment list, collectipedia, or armour system

Also, Rex has to have some of the most half-hearted and boring battle cries I've ever heard

@steadying: X brings up the map for me I think.

@panburgerpartner: It brings up the fast travel menu from which you can access the map, but you still have to dig through the lists to open it from there. As far as I can tell there's no way to just press a button and get the zone map right away, aside from the fairly useless map overlay you can get

I'm only played the first chapter so far but I can already tell you this is definitely not going to be my game of the year. The character design that I can let go. It's a jrpg so stupid clothes are kind of a given. I don't even care all that much about the the female character designs either one way or the other. Petite women with large breasts exist so why not portray them too.

What I do have a problem with that however is this game's voice acting. I can't take any moment serious because I'm laughing too hard. Any tension in the story is immediately sucked out by Rex's voice acting. It's like he can't decide if he's English or Scottish. Rex teaming up with Pyra should have been an awesome moment but I just couldn't quite get into it the second Rex opened his mouth. That lame ass monotone "battle cry" he did had to be the funniest thing I've ever heard in a video game. At this point it's like a pretty well choreographed B movie.

@blackichigo: I know it isnt exactly ideal but I highly recommend the japanese dub. It's a free download on the eshop. I feel the same way you do the english VO is trash and I didnt mind the original's nor X's.

@boozak: Yeah I heard about it and I had already started downloading it this morning. I wish I wasn't forced to have to read subtitles but I guess it's better than having my ears bleed.

It really amazes me how many people completely write off video games based on character design. I don't like nor care about anime but I could give a shit if the characters are the most cringeworthy character designs if the game is good, and by nearly all accounts, this one is.

@mamba219: Yeah, I had this thought as well. I think I saw a comment that wrote off the game just based on 2 character designs. lol

@mamba219: If the design of the characters is irritating, then why would you suffer playing the game? I think the main character of this game looks and sounds like a doofus. How in the world am I supposed to look past that, when I think all of the characters look stupid too? How am I supposed to invest in a story about people, I don’t like right out of the gate?

@ungodly: Well, technically, you don't know whether you like them as people or not. You looked at the design and said "That looks dumb," which is maybe like a third or less of what a character is.

Teddie certainly didn't impress me when I first saw in him in Persona 4, but after I actually interacted with him, I loved the little guy.

To me those things rarely continue to matter when I'm actually playing. They're a topic of discussion while I'm seeing a thing be announced but usually not much more.

Voices can be tougher but it's rare that it's that bad.

I’ve never played a Xenoblade game before, but picked this one up because I love my Switch so much. I’m really enjoying the game so far. A nice change of pace from the types of games I usually play.

Poster boy for amazing game, bad character design.

Forget designs though the tiny thing that is currently driving me up the wall about this game is how loot just flops out of everything and picking it up is strangely arduous.

@efesell: It would take me out of the game. I have tried in the past to not be bothered by designs, but usually I end up falling off.

Some games just aren’t for me

@nicksmi56: Nope. I watched about a little over two hours of videos about this game’s characters and play mechanics, then read three reviews, and then looked into character details. I know myself well enough to know when I won’t enjoy something.

Teddy is a great example, because I almost stopped watching the Endurance Run, because of him. I can’t stand Teddy.

@blackichigo: I certainly get that you don’t like the English VO. That obviously seems to have formed as the majority opinion (I don’t mind/occasionally really enjoy it FWIW), but for the record, Rex has a pretty straight-forward Manchester accent.

I hardly think the actor is even making a choice, let alone a mistake. That’s likely just how he talks. One of the things I’ve really enjoyed about the series in the “Chronicles” era is how they have been, or at least seem to have been, localized with a more British/European bent. I know I’m weird, but I find it refreshing to hear some non-North American accents on characters other than villains, heheh.

I also genuinely like Pyra a lot. Her actor is really nailing it so far IMO.

@lentfilms: @bleshoo: Yeah I know he worked on this game. The characters he designed for it (Shin & Metsu) are pretty good too! Although the fact that they had different artists create the caracters might have something to do with the uneven style.

I also don't buy that Rex's costume makes more sense because he's a diver.

@liquiddragon: I feel like the bigger problem with Vaan is that he's just bland and pointless. Like he's supposed to be the player looking at the game without much in the way of personality or purpose of his own.

@hassun: Oh it totally does not make any more sense. I don't mind the design but it's still pretty dumb cause it IS part of his diving uniform..but he removes really bizarre sections.....somehow.

I don’t play a lot of JRPG’s and I haven’t touched the series before but this looks really interesting, should I give it a go?

At least there don't seem to be any horrible potato gremlins that everyone keeps joking about eating.

Oh no there are tons of them. They're a known and established race in the world though so I would hope there are less jokes about eating them.

One bad thing we've definitely maintained from X is the oft times deeply frustrating enemies placement in the open world. This wolf is just gonna make sure there are suddenly 5 other wolves instantly overwhelm you or sometimes this level 90 unique monster is gonna roll up and step on you.

@ripelivejam: I'm in chapter 3 now and man I just don't know dude. I don't really regret my purchase but I can already tell you this is going to be a game I'm probably not going to finish.

I just don't really like the combat all that much in this. It's kind of boring and there's soooo much of it. Mostly you just stand around as your characters Auto attack while you watch the bars on your skills go up so you can use them. I played a lot of this game with one joycon and my head propped up with my other hand.

There's so many random deaths from crazy high-level monsters that you didn't see sneak up behind you while you were gathering/fighting. The bright side is there it's not that big of a penalty for dying but I can't help but feel like a lot of the deaths I have just aren't my fault.

Also the story and characters aren't grabbing me. I don't even think there's anything particularly bad about them. There just isn't anything that stands out and makes me want to keep playing this game.

I think I was just so desperate for the Switch to have a new RPG that I can sink my teeth into but this just ain't it for me.

@ripelivejam: Oh, they’re still there, kinda like Mogs or Chocobos in a FF game, but no one has joked about eating them a-la X. Maybe it’s because they’re much furrier in this outing?

@pompouspizza: An odd question indeed. Depends on where you’re coming from. You say you don’t play many JRPGs? Is it because you don’t like them in general, or just never got around to many. Because this is a J-mother-grabbin’-R-P-G, with zero apologies for you. If it’s been a genre that turned you off in the past, I HIGHLY doubt this is the one that will win you over. Incidentally, if you are searching for such a game, may I direct you to the Persona section? Might I recommend starting with 4 or 5?

If you’re just asking if you need any experience or knowledge of the series, then no, not really. Like FF, or most JRPGs really, there’s no story or character continunity to worry about. Sure, there’s persistent themes that CAN make parts pop or easier to grasp, but that’s it. Good a place to start as any, though if you’re a dyed-in-the-wool Nintendo fanboy, which is to say you actually have a Wii U, then I’d start with XCX, followed by the first XC. Both are in the eShop, and they even patched XC so you don’t have to use the original Wii controls, which were butt.

Lastly, if you’re iust an open minded soul looking for a great, long, engaging adventure for your shiny new Switch, you could certainly do worse. I’m loving it to pieces right now, but keeping in mind this is the kind of game I live for, heh. Depending on what you have or have tried, there is already a PILE of amazing games which may interest you more. Just depends.

In addition to the tl;dr, I’ll just add THIS GAME KICKS ALL THE DICKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

wait is this thread actually mad that giant bomb are disqualifying this from goty next year like it stands a chance of winning any goty category in any year ever

@pompouspizza: Maybe? Hard to say because there are even people who like JRPGs that don't like the Xenoblade games, just look at the Kotaku review. Plus I've only just started this game so I'm not sure if it is worth recommending over the original Wii game yet. But if you want a big RPG to play on the Switch and you've watched/read some of the reviews out there and think it sounds like something you'd dig then give it a shot. I'll say I'm enjoying my time with the game so far but it does take a bit to get going in the beginning, like a lot of JRPGs, and some the systems can get complicated but there are already plenty of videos out there that walk you through some of the more obtuse mechanics if you get lost.

@ultimategamer69: I never took it that way. At the most sinister, maybe the OP was mocking the fact that there’s vitually no way one of “these” games would compete for GOTY on GB, but I took it as just genuine, if not hyperbolic love and appreciation for the game.

The game is very likely to make my GB Top 10 this year, but I dunno. In any “normal” year, a AAA JRPG of this quality would be a shoe-in, but damn, what a year it’s been! Since I know you’re shaking with anticipation, keep your eyes on my profile to see where, if anywhere, it lands, heheh.

@panburgerpartner: Haha, thanks for the long and detailed post. I do like JRPG’s I just haven’t played many of them because I find them intimidating. I did actually play Persona 5 this year (I put 160 hours into it) and loved it, it’s probably my game of the year.

I don’t like games where I have to use a guide to figure out the mechanics, for some reason I find it way more intimidating so I like to figure things out on my own. I no longer own a Wii U so starting with this is my only option.

I just impulse-bought this. Looking forward to it! Haven't played the other Xenos.

I don't know that I've seen a game with a more useless objective tracker, holy shit.

When I get a Switch I'll be all over this.

As a huge fan of Xenoblade Chronicles (and previously a small part of the Operation Rainfall team), I gotta say I'm so saddened by the stylistic choices Monolith Soft made for this game. I'm not saying Xenoblade 1 was so amazing in this regard, but this is definitely a turn for the worst. Cannot stand the characters designs, especially Pyra. I would have gotten the game had the reviews been universally good, though.