Note for readers: As of this entry,
Michael and I will be digging into the game proper, and we'll be
discussing plot points as they come. If you're terrified of spoilers,
be cautious.
Michael,
It's April 10th; I picked up my copy of
Xenoblade Chronicles 3D earlier today. So far, I've played roughly
4.5 hours, making my way through what feels like an extended
prologue, right up to the point where plucky heroine Fiora gets
stuffed into a big, tank-sized fridge. It seemed like a good place to
stop for a bit and get some initial thoughts on paper.
So, the good news is: I really like
this game! I imagine you're almost as relieved to read that as I am
to write it; what a drag it would be to devote all this time and
energy to a sub-par game. But so far, I find Xenoblade Chronicles to
be well-written, interestingly designed, and possessed of a combat
system I feel excited to sink my teeth into. It's not all perfect,
but I'm happy to say that I'm anxious right now to get this letter
done so I can get back to playing.
 |
| Buff me baby, one more time |
So, about those imperfections: Good
lord, Michael, but there's some ugly art in this game. I'm not "a
graphics guy," but some of these textures are just UNFORTUNATE.
(It's hard not to compare the game with Majora's Mask 3D, a remake of
a game ten years older than the original Xenoblade that looks several
times crisper than what I'm playing now.) While I find myself
delighted by how damn BIG the areas in question are (Colony 9 is
staggeringly huge, it took me a long time to come to terms with how
much damn space I was being offered to explore), it's hard not to
look at Shulk or Fiora's face and think someone has remade Vagrant
Story with characters based on a dewey-eyed Britney Spears. My friend
Gary has remarked before that cel-shading is like bomb-proofing for
3D graphics - it turns things wonderfully evergreen. I find myself
really wishing Xenoblade's designers had taken that tack.
That space daunted me at first, too;
Shulk and company felt far too slow to explore such a massive
environment. Eventually I stumbled onto the fast travel options,
which eliminated my concerns, but there were some moments when I
could feel the bile rising in my throat as I slowly plodded around
the map.
My only other quibble at this point is
that the giant enemy names tend to obscure the actual fighting when
I'm going up against multiple opponents, especially small ones. I
really wish there was a way to shrink them or turn them off.
 |
| This is maybe half the explorable area of Colony 9 |
And that's it. That's all my gripes so
far. It's not a very long list.
Rather than detail everything I like so
far, I think I'd rather devote the rest of my space to talking about
the moment I alluded to at the top, and why it (despite my snarky
description) felt pleasantly shocking: Fiora's death.
Now, RPGs have been killing off initial
party members for years; Biggs and Wedge get X-Zoned, Private Jenkins
takes a laser blast to the face, poor old Daveth chokes to death on
monster blood. (Bioware really, really likes this trope.) It's a way
to raise the stakes, while giving players a chance to mess around
with character classes and builds they otherwise might not be seeing
for a few more hours. Most of those deaths happen much more rapidly
than Fiora's, though, with fewer resources spent on the "guest
star" character. Fiora feels fully fleshed out - my version of
her was level 13 when she met her final fate, equipped in a custom
set of gear and well on her way to developing a unique set of Arts
and Skills. All that's to say, I had started to invest in Fiora, and
it makes her death carry more meaning than it otherwise would. (I was
honestly expecting Dunbar, with his non-available skill tree,
mentor-trappings, and a sword I knew would end up in Shulk's hands,
to be the sacrificial lion - and I'm pretty sure that was
intentional.) All that brings me to a few thoughts on the grand dame
of dead RPG party members: Good old Aeris. (Or Aerith, depending on
where you fall on the great dogma wars of 1997.)
Looking back, it's kind of staggering
how ballsy a move Square made when it killed Aeris off half-way
through Final Fantasy VII. Not because of the plot impact; there's
nothing new under the sun when it comes to killing off pretty love
interests to drive heroes forward in their quest for revenge. But
wiping out a party member, one who the player was fully invested in
at that point, that's a hell of a thing. (Everything related to
Aeris' final Limit Break, which you're only ever going to see if you
specifically go looking for it, speaks to how the game hides her
upcoming loss - you're not allowed to prepare for it, and her
development arc isn't rushed to completion - it just ends, abruptly.
The only thing Square could have done to drive the idea home even
further would be to continue to provide equipment for her through the
end of the game, although that probably would have had the conspiracy
theorists literally frothing at the mouth).
Fiora doesn't go to quite that extreme.
But nothing about her design suggested to me that she was merely
temporary, and it means I'll be a little more nervous the next time
one of those metal-faced Mechon bastards rears its head. (Even if,
realistically, this feels like a trick the game can only get away
with pulling once.) Well-played, Xenoblade. You made me feelings with
my feelers, and that's half the battle when it comes to getting me to
care.
Yours,
William
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