The way I see it, the best JRPGs live or die by their characters.

I suppose the combat, gameplay, and the pacing also has something to do with it, but whatever!

Even if a JRPG has a horribly generic storyline, and a shitty combat system, I can usually get into it if it has some really great characters.

So, does anybody know what the characters are like? Are they interesting? Do they have varying personalities? Are they likable, or are the villains (if there are any) completely unlikable?

I NEED TO KNOW. o_o

The characters aren't that great, but that shouldn't put you off the game. It's got great gameplay, music and artstyle. Though the british dub does give some charm to them, except for Riki, he's just annoying.

The characters aren't Xenoblade's strong point. There's just not much there. Still, they all get the job done without much of a fuss, and none of them are actively annoying, with the glaring exception of Rikki. Seriously, fuck Rikki.

they are interesting, I think Dunban is really well done but you don't get him till later in the game even though you control him at the start of the game if that makes sense :P

You guys must be high, Riki is awesome. A story-telling little creature of middle-age who is chosen to be the champion of his village because he owes said village lots of money and he must support his family? brilliant, plus his voice suits his race and personality very well.

What a bunch of jokahs!

They're all a buncha jokas really.

They're fairly good. They mostly start off as a little bland for a good chunk of the story, but there are a lot of big jumps for most of them in the latter half.

But yea, even as someone who loved the game, these characters are weaker than Xenosaga's characters for sure (and Persona's characters, but every JRPG is weaker than them in that regard). They're still better than most though, they've all got their fair share of charm that goes beyond your average JRPG. And none of them are terribly clichéd in any way that I can think of. It's not the game's strongest point though.

Honestly though, one of the biggest things about this game is the world itself, which can almost be described as a character of it's own. It's difficult to explain.

They're better than most JRPG's, I don't think there's any that actively make you want to punch them in the face. They all seem pretty like decent people and they're all pretty believable in their roles.

The voice acting really adds a lot to them though. It goes to show how much better a game can be when you spring for some decent voice talent.

@WonderboyCoz: Agreed. Reminds me of the lighthearted goodness in some of Chrono Trigger/other RPGs of that era.

The characters are fine enough. But I couldn't stand the English voices, switched that shit to Japanese immediately.

It's not that I'm a snob, I'm British myself and the English voices in that game were grating to my ears.

The characters are nice but a tad cliched and there's a little bit of mystery involved on the story as well. Don't let the characters deter you from trying out this game.

@dekkadekkadekka said:

The characters are fine enough. But I couldn't stand the English voices, switched that shit to Japanese immediately.

It's not that I'm a snob, I'm British myself and the English voices in that game were grating to my ears.

I swapped to the Japanese voices, mostly because the lip-syncing being off was becoming really annoying. Are the English voices really that bad tho? I didn't mind them that much, and was thinking of switching back because a few people have said they give the characters more personality.

@Modedude said:

The characters aren't that great, but that shouldn't put you off the game. It's got great gameplay, music and artstyle. Though the british dub does give some charm to them, except for Riki, he's just annoying.

Riki really is terrible. When he was introduced I felt dissatisfied for the first time with this game (40-ish hours in, so that's okay). But all the other characters are pretty cool. I love how EVERYONE makes fun of Reyn and he says some stupid (=good) stuff himself. Shulk isn't really that interesting but I really like Sharla and Dunban, especially since they're older and actually have a past and significant emotional baggage. I haven't spent that much time with Melia yet but other than her stupid hair, she's cool.

So other than Riki, the mandatory mascot character, they at least shouldn't bother you :)

@gla55jAw said:

@dekkadekkadekka said:

The characters are fine enough. But I couldn't stand the English voices, switched that shit to Japanese immediately.

It's not that I'm a snob, I'm British myself and the English voices in that game were grating to my ears.

I swapped to the Japanese voices, mostly because the lip-syncing being off was becoming really annoying. Are the English voices really that bad tho? I didn't mind them that much, and was thinking of switching back because a few people have said they give the characters more personality.

I really like the British voices but I'm a foreigner, what do I know :D

@gla55jAw said:

@dekkadekkadekka said:

The characters are fine enough. But I couldn't stand the English voices, switched that shit to Japanese immediately.

It's not that I'm a snob, I'm British myself and the English voices in that game were grating to my ears.

I swapped to the Japanese voices, mostly because the lip-syncing being off was becoming really annoying. Are the English voices really that bad tho? I didn't mind them that much, and was thinking of switching back because a few people have said they give the characters more personality.

I'm sure they're fine for the most part, but British voices coming out of Japanese-looking characters just sounds wrong.

@gla55jAw said:

@dekkadekkadekka said:

The characters are fine enough. But I couldn't stand the English voices, switched that shit to Japanese immediately.

It's not that I'm a snob, I'm British myself and the English voices in that game were grating to my ears.

I swapped to the Japanese voices, mostly because the lip-syncing being off was becoming really annoying. Are the English voices really that bad tho? I didn't mind them that much, and was thinking of switching back because a few people have said they give the characters more personality.

The Voice Acting is fine. I am English and have heard a lot of these accents before just meeting people so the the accents aren't bad. It just definitely takes a while to get used to these kinds of voices coming out of this style of game (or just how odd it is simply hear these accents in any game). And it does add quite a lot of personality to the characters - especially in combat. Some characters are just generally more memorable with them as well. Although if it is too odd for someone to hear it, it doesn't help that quite a bit of the dialogue is very cliche making it seem a bit comical. (This also means it sometimes makes some characters who would be mildly annoying anyway, even more annoying).

I would actually say if you don't really know Brittish accents very well then it will definitely add to the experience. Since I am so close to the accents though, I think it took me much longer to get used to them but it is definitely worth it once you do, especially since it not only adds depth to the main party characters but also adds more of a distinction between the races.

@dekkadekkadekka said:

@gla55jAw said:

@dekkadekkadekka said:

The characters are fine enough. But I couldn't stand the English voices, switched that shit to Japanese immediately.

It's not that I'm a snob, I'm British myself and the English voices in that game were grating to my ears.

I swapped to the Japanese voices, mostly because the lip-syncing being off was becoming really annoying. Are the English voices really that bad tho? I didn't mind them that much, and was thinking of switching back because a few people have said they give the characters more personality.

I'm sure they're fine for the most part, but British voices coming out of Japanese-looking characters just sounds wrong.

The only time I really remember it in an RPG is in Final Fantasy XII, and I thought that was done extremely well.

@Dixavd said:

@gla55jAw said:

@dekkadekkadekka said:

The characters are fine enough. But I couldn't stand the English voices, switched that shit to Japanese immediately.

It's not that I'm a snob, I'm British myself and the English voices in that game were grating to my ears.

I swapped to the Japanese voices, mostly because the lip-syncing being off was becoming really annoying. Are the English voices really that bad tho? I didn't mind them that much, and was thinking of switching back because a few people have said they give the characters more personality.

The Voice Acting is fine. I am English and have heard a lot of these accents before just meeting people so the the accents aren't bad. It just definitely takes a while to get used to these kinds of voices coming out of this style of game (or just how odd it is simply hear these accents in any game). And it does add quite a lot of personality to the characters - especially in combat. Some characters are just generally more memorable with them as well. Although if it is too odd for someone to hear it, it doesn't help that quite a bit of the dialogue is very cliche making it seem a bit comical. (This also means it sometimes makes some characters who would be mildly annoying anyway, even more annoying).

I would actually say if you don't really know Brittish accents very well then it will definitely add to the experience. Since I am so close to the accents though, I think it took me much longer to get used to them but it is definitely worth it once you do, especially since it not only adds depth to the main party characters but also adds more of a distinction between the races.

Looks like I'm going to switch back to English and see how it goes. It didn't seem odd to me, voice wise, like I said, the lip-sync being off was my biggest problem. I'll give it another go.

For a JRPG? Yeah.

@gla55jAw said:

Looks like I'm going to switch back to English and see how it goes. It didn't seem odd to me, voice wise, like I said, the lip-sync being off was my biggest problem. I'll give it another go.

Definitely do. Just expect it to be weird when someone says "Hom Hom" or "Homs" (especially when the Nopon says it). lol

"This is going to be the modern JRPG that I really enjoy! I'm not going to give up! I'm going to get invested in this thing" I promised myself. But, ooo boy. I'm only four hours in and I'm doubting my commitment. The combat and systems seem really promising, but...

When the Playstation 1 came out, developers wanted to push the hardware and create sweeping epic sagas. But what they created were breathy, saccharine soap operas. They had turned the purple prose up to 11. Xenoblade, and a lot of JRPG, are still stuck in that mindset. The tone just doesn't work for me. When entertainment tries too hard to be epic and grand it backfires and feels phoney. Sometimes character just need to play it cool instead of being in constant wide-eyed awe or snarling anger. The game has me pining for Persona 5.

@dekkadekkadekka said:

@gla55jAw said:

@dekkadekkadekka said:

The characters are fine enough. But I couldn't stand the English voices, switched that shit to Japanese immediately.

It's not that I'm a snob, I'm British myself and the English voices in that game were grating to my ears.

I swapped to the Japanese voices, mostly because the lip-syncing being off was becoming really annoying. Are the English voices really that bad tho? I didn't mind them that much, and was thinking of switching back because a few people have said they give the characters more personality.

I'm sure they're fine for the most part, but British voices coming out of Japanese-looking characters just sounds wrong.

I had the same problem. A JRPG with British dudes kinda weirded me out lol.

I switched about 5 hours. Turned them back after around 80 hours and heard Rikis voice for the first time and immediately went to Japanese again.

I can see why some dudes would hate Riki with his English voice but playing in Japanese I think he is the best character :D As for the rest of the crew, everyone is pretty cool except for Shulk who seems a bit bland.

@qawsed said:

"This is going to be the modern JRPG that I really enjoy! I'm not going to give up! I'm going to get invested in this thing" I promised myself. But, ooo boy. I'm only four hours in and I'm doubting my commitment. The combat and systems seem really promising, but...

When the Playstation 1 came out, developers wanted to push the hardware and create sweeping epic sagas. But what they created were breathy, saccharine soap operas. They had turned the purple prose up to 11. Xenoblade, and a lot of JRPG, are still stuck in that mindset. The tone just doesn't work for me. When entertainment tries too hard to be epic and grand it backfires and feels phoney. Sometimes character just need to play it cool instead of being in constant wide-eyed awe or snarling anger. The game has me pining for Persona 5.

Not really. At least, not to the extent you seem to suggest. The characters have for the most part been fairly down to earth. Shulk is a likable protagonist, and the other characters are all entertaining in their own right as well.

More games need British accents! Really enjoying the game even though I'm only 4 hours in.

You guys think this game has a bad-ish dub at times, with all the space British?

At least it's not this bad, English dub of Yakuza:

Original Japanese in Yakuza 3 (~30 seconds, or skip to the end)

It was painful playing the first game with that dub.

Characters are great, funny thing is I find everybody else more interesting than the main character.