Xenoblade Chronicles New 3DS & 3DS XL Only (Nintendo 3DS)

Pretty good really but the leveling system can be really annoying because the easiest way to gain exp is through sidequests - enemies at the same level barely give exp, while enemies at a higher level can take too long to kill to be worth the effort.The storyline and characters are great - graphics are a little lackluster for the hype but despite that, the graphics are fairly good considering how much of the world is being displayed at a time (you can see pretty far ahead and the limits on what you are able to see are pretty realistic).The running speed - unfortunately while realistic, can get a little annoying though, because the closest warp point sometimes still isn't anywhere near where you want to go.I really like this game though - it introduces you to the world, it makes it clear what your goals are (though you should actually keep a notepad nearby for sidequest info as the characters tend to give more info than Shulk bothers to keep record of) and no character is a stereotype for their class. Reyn seems like a bit of an idiot and is muscular but he doesn't rashly rush in, he acts as a shield for others quite literally as most of his skills redirect attacks at himself or work best in a 'one-two punch' with another character. And while the medic character has low HP, her weapon is a gun and she attacks from a distance so she doesn't need as much HP if she is properly being covered by the other team members (the enemies target whoever causes them the most damage, so she really shouldn't be attacked a lot).Real thought was put into the characters made and their interactions with each other and your characters and I love that.

Great game, not perfect. Ok port.---The main issue is the port. The UI is really not suited for the 3DS, it takes up too much room on the screen and icons can be pretty blurry. They should've re-designed it. They removed the Japanese voices which is a minus since the English voice acting isn't good, I guess Reyn's is kinda charming. The game performs fine, sometimes. It can slow down way too much. I'm fine with 30fps+, but seeing it dip below that for an extended period of time in some areas and in battles is horrible. Even cutscenes later on in the game run pretty bad sometimesAs for the game itself. It's massive and it's not afraid to show that off. But at times it feels too big and empty, even in the towns it can feel very empty.Combat is great, it has quite a bit of depth and you'll unlock quite a few more abilities on top of the many you start out with. AI is OK but has a tendency of not doing things you want it to do, I wish we could dish out manual commands on-top of the AI doing their thing.Graphically it's not fantastic, you can definitely see where they lowered the quality to get it to run on a N3DS but it doesn't look too bad at times. Environments looks great from the art style side though.Sidequests are pretty much garbage. Kill X-Enemy X-Amount. Find X-Item X-Amount. Talk to X. I only really do the kill quests whilst doing the main storyline.

Here's a list of pros and cons, i have about 80 hours on it and have completed the storyPros- Extremely vast and well built open world- Solid story and characters, the voice acting is top notch as well- Turn based combat with a lot of freedom of movement and variety of attacks. You can also change your 3 man team whenever you'd like as EXP is shared to keep the gameplay fresh and interesting.- The whole game is very aesthetically pleasingCons- Terrible side quest system, not only are they hard to find but they're almost all collect and fetch. I'd go as far as to say that it's the worst i've ever seen on an JRPG- Somewhat grindy- Poor equipment system, there's just too many slots and too many characters.- The resolution is really low (240p) and it shows, especially when they do close ups of the characters during cutscenes.Overall i liked it and would recommend it, besides my issues with the quest system the rest didn't really bother me and i just listed them for objectivity.

The visuals are fantastic, especially in 3D!The voice acting however is very cheesy and in some places annoying. I turned the sound off for a lot of the game turning it on only for the cut scenes and boss battles (during battles the character phrases are repeated constantly!!!). After a while you get used to it in the cut scenes and it can become quite funny.The battle mechanics were really interesting to play around with, it is worth playing for a while as every character as you learn there strengths and uses throughout the game.the story is extensive and there a lot of side quests to do if you are stuck.extremely worth the money if you like rpg games.Would advise completing / collecting everything you want before you enter the final battle as in plus mode you are too over powered to have fun.

I missed the Wii version. And I know it has better graphics but I have a ps4 and gaming pc. And refuse to buy a Wii just for one game. I had the new 3ds as a present and thought I'd better try this game that I missed. Let's just say the story and gameplay mechanics are amazing, yes the graphics are downsized, what do you expect for a port to a handheld?! But you easily forget all that once you get absorbed in to the gameplay. And to have it on the go is a blast! It really showcases what can be achieved in terms of sheer size of an rpg can be capable on the new 3ds. Everything you see can be accessed! All voiced acted, yes only English but you get used to it and gives a sense of realism. The music really gets you absorbed, also the rpg system is very deep, more like a MMO but single player. Aggro comes to play as well as positioning.Just grab it if you missed it on the Wii and you won't have high expectations! Same game just graphics have been lowered to run on the system.