The Monolith Soft classic returns this month in an improved version with new content. We are already playing it, so we bring you a preview.
Surrounded by JRPGs of the likes of Persona 5, Octopath Traveler and Dragon Quest XI – or, as we are, Xenoblade 2 itself – it's easy to come up and forget that not long ago the genre went through a somewhat turbulent stage. After several generations of splendor, it is not a controversial opinion to say that some Japanese companies suffered from making the leap to high definition, leaving the PS3 stage considerably more decaffeinated than that of PS2. With a Square unable to handle the growing demands of Final Fantasy, a Hironobu Sakaguchi having fewer resources at Mistwalker, an Atlus delaying its main course, and a portion of the humble studios devoting their efforts to the most assumable portable development, desktop options were They became more limited and rarely brilliant. Even Nintendo, with more facilities to keep Wii in the previous technological generation, missed opportunities like Paper Mario or Pokémon and surprised everyone when the then newly acquired Monolith Soft announced the eclectic Disaster: Day of Crisis.
Seeing the creators of Xenosaga and Baten Kaitos releasing a light gun shooter with playable blur, mediocre storyline, and uninspired art direction surely disappointed quite a few fans, but Monolith Soft didn't forget about them and worked on something a lot too. more of his style. Several months after the release of Disaster, Monado: Beginning of the World appeared at E3 2009 and caught the attention of the role-playing public despite its rudimentary graphic appearance. The game, later renamed Xenoblade as a nod to Tetsuya Takahashi's work on Xenogears (with Square) and Xenosaga (with Namco) promised exploration on a scale that dwarfed Zelda themselves. So naturally the number of eyes on the project increased. And with them, the pressure to leave the Japanese territory. Its release so staggered (2010 in Japan, 2011 in Europe, 2012 in America) would give for another entry, but today what interests us is the end result: because Xenoblade not only arrived, doing so completely changed expectations about the design of worlds and the importance of Monolith Soft for Nintendo.
Because both its relatively conventional sequel on Switch and the more experimental open world with flying wicks from Xenoblade Chronicles X or the complete reinvention of Zelda in Breath of the Wild – where Monolith attended Nintendo's internal development division – go back, from a one way or another, at the moment when Yasuyuki Honne (director of Baten Kaitos) molded with clay the bodies of the two giants on whom Takahashi wanted to set his next game. The idea was so crazy and original that it had to take advantage of its full potential, which is why the studio had a greater margin of maneuver than was customary under other leaders. Thus, despite – or thanks to – not being in HD, Xenoblade became what we could call the most ambitious JRPG of its generation, and in the long run conditioned other developments by bequeathing some design lessons that are still in force in the middle of 2020. But what about the game as such?
Remakes, semantics and various improvements
That is what allows us to see more clearly the Definitive Edition of Switch, and what we will cover in depth when the Reviews comes. But since there are still a couple of weeks left and we still cannot open all the floodgates to release information, today we are going to focus on what's new because, after all, you can always play the original Wii (or New 3DS if you want to leave a little more the view) to draw your conclusions on other aspects. Here, for better or for worse, is where we have to resume the eternal debate about the remake, the remaster and any other word that arises when a game returns in a somewhat different way. The first pertinent clarification, in case there are doubts, is that Definitive Edition is not a remake in the classic sense of the word. That is, the Wii code is still under the new facade, it is not a product built from scratch taking the original as a reference – as was the case with Link's Awakening last year.
Having said that, any image or video shows that we are not facing a simple higher resolution replica. The original game may still be in there, but there is new muscle on the skeleton. Characters and enemies have more detailed and better-textured models, the scenarios have been retouched to soften their appearance with greater polygonal load and other effects such as lighting or water have also been significantly improved. It is not, therefore, the typical remastering in HD, but a more intensive rejuvenation treatment, similar to that carried out by Grezzo with Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask in 3DS. Of course, not everything is perfect: the increase in sharpness and the use of a more detailed Xenoblade 2 grass results in a more obvious drawing on the horizon (popping) when we jog through large esplanades. On the other hand, details such as clipping (objects that pass through others), some somewhat stagnant animations and a generally simple geometry still date back to Wii. But the improvement over that version is resounding and will delight fans while being much more enjoyable for newbies who want to start without having to dust off a 2006 console.
This treatment, in addition, is not limited to the visual and also extends to the playable. The combat system as such remains almost intact because it did not need major adjustments either: in short, its base is made up of real-time movement, automatic normal attack and gear – actions regulated by timers – to which Monolith Soft now adds contextual indicators. that indicate when they will achieve their greatest effectiveness. Despite the complete redesign of the interface, the game preserves the icons and their colors to easily identify the functions, but occasionally an exclamation point appears (optional, can be deactivated) that serves as a reinforcement: well to make sure we are in the position adequate in case a particular movement benefits from it; to tell us that one of the skills of the Monado sword will have an effect such as allowing our companions to damage the otherwise invulnerable mekon robots or preventing an enemy from reading our minds to dodge attacks; and, of course, to indicate what action will advance the classic chain of lack of protection, demolition and stun.
Although this addition sounds even trivial compared to the refinement of target tracking outside of combat. Whether during main development or during any of the many, many side missions the game has, the new menu and marker system almost completely eliminates – there are exceptions – the need to wander aimlessly while searching for items, NPCs or enemies. On the one hand, the minimap has added a route indicator that takes us as a GPS to the destination without possible loss (again, deactivatable if we do not want that kind of help). And on the other hand, both the normal map and the afinigram or the new drop-down window in the lower right corner – inheritance of Xenoblade 2 – offer much more information that works in tandem with symbols scattered around the environment to identify objectives of both the designated missions and Priorities such as those that are accepted but not selected. The difference is substantial and makes Definitive Edition the most accessible Xenoblade to date.
Connected Futures: Expanding the Epic
We will go into more detail about this in a few days, but of course today we can not stop commenting on Future Connected, the epilogue created specifically for this version. This means that it takes place after the original ending, although Monolith Soft has integrated it as separate content – with its own menu and save slots – and it's already accessible since we started the game for the first time. Naturally, those who premiere now should avoid it, since it would disembowel them with events that don't happen until dozens of hours after the main story begins, but it's a decision that allows veterans to enter at any time and also experiment a little with the combat system. Shulk and Melia maintain the normal arts, partially rebooted to revalue the upgrade system – now tied to the hunt for unique enemies – and they are joined by both new playable nopon and ponspectors, other nopon operating simultaneously as a secondary objective. of exploration and as a pseudo minigame of Quick Time Events to relieve the traditional group networks.
We will not go into depth at this time for obvious reasons. Suffice it to say that Melia's choice as co-protagonist (protagonist actually occupies the position of leader by default) is not random and Future Connected is dedicated above all to expanding her personal arc, undoubtedly one of the most interesting and best written in the main game. For better or for worse – a matter of expectations – the new chapter is not so much dedicated to surprising with revelations as to allowing us to continue accompanying this duo, knowing better their present circumstances and their plans for the future. This final bow is not a large or ostentatious one, but one that shows affection for its characters and the world they inhabit. In terms of scale or duration we are not facing another Torna, but the redesigned shoulder of Bionis (a continent that did not pass the cut during the original development) allows us to enjoy a few more hours of exploration and secondaries as a formal farewell that many fans – Wii or now new batch – surely appreciate.
Extra round: Portability and other doubts
Closing now, because the moment to value the new and the old will be later, we are going to change the format a bit and move on to other questions that may have arisen during the wait. Some have already been answered officially, but since we do not know who is aware and who is not, we take the opportunity to update ourselves.
Is dual dubbing available again?
Yes. The game has not been dubbed into Spanish, but it maintains a selector between English and Japanese voices. The latter enjoy better lip sync, but English dubbing is also a solid option thanks to the high level of performance.
Is there new music?
Yes. Future Connected premieres some songs, although the highlight is having a completely renewed soundtrack in the main game. At the composition level it is the same as Wii, and if you are not too familiar with it, you may not even notice the difference, but it has been recorded again with changes in the instrumentalization and even new vocal tracks. The result, although subtle in the changes, is fantastic and includes a selector in case someone wants to return to the original.
Can I continue to change the equipment of the characters?
Sure! One of the peculiarities of Xenoblade 2 is that it lost the change of armor to keep the team always in the same clothing, or at least until history dictated any change. Definitive Edition, as expected, retains the possibility of running around in a swimsuit or dressed in tribal clothes, but also adds a function previously only seen in Xenoblade X. Now we have two independent menus: one of "team", which influences in the attributes of the character; and another called "accessories", where we customize appearance in parallel. In this way, we can have the characters throughout the game with their standard design or choose another one that we like more without impacting the statistics. As an added curiosity, add that if you start a game to Future Connected and then return to the main game, you can also equip the new costumes of Shulk and Melia in it.
Is there more new content apart from Future Connected?
With an argument approach, no. With a playable approach … We talked about it in the Reviews.
How about portable mode? Are Xenoblade 2 issues repeating?
The million dollar question. Xenoblade 2 is one of the games that has squeezed the most Switch at a technical level, but that effort came with a clear cost in the portable field. As a title adapted from Wii, Xenoblade 1 is not as demanding on the machine and we can confirm that it performs better both in terms of resolution and framerate. That said, the graphic tweaks are there, too, and while not as poignant, it does occasionally show optimization issues. In the most open areas such as the Leg of Bionis or the Sea of Eryth, the resolution usually drops and artifacts appear that blur the contours and make the image ugly. Future Connected also tends to perform worse than the main game and is more reminiscent of Xenoblade 2 at times. We insist that the base game's performance is generally quite superior, sometimes almost flawless, but the scope for improvement exists and Hopefully we can report some kind of refinement via update when the Reviews arrives.
Sharla, did you see me? Did you see what I did !?
Sorry?
You can't have a rainbow without Reyn, baby!
Ah, that. The dialogues during or at the end of the fights are still without Spanish subtitles, which is a shame because they are some of the most fun interactions. It is a somewhat understandable detail due to the fact that the interface must already manage enough information at that time (life data and levels, positions, effects, damage figures, rewards, etc.), but an option in the menu would have been welcome for those who do not speak English or Japanese.
For the rest, in two weeks we will meet again so as not to leave stone unturned and dissect the game thoroughly. But if you are already fans of the original, don't worry, because we can practically guarantee that the new version will not change that.
