If Xenoblade were on a HD Console, it Would a Serious Contender for Game of The Year.

By Furious Francis, editor in chief
Xenoblade was one of the best games released this year period. Boasting a heavy 92 average on metacritic with countless perfect review scores, Xenoblade was the best JRPG to come out this generation. But many US gaming publications are leaving it off of their overall game of the year considerations (Gametrailers, IGN, GameInformer, to name a few), instead opting to crown it Wii/Wii U game of the year. In other words, a cop out. Xenoblade deserves to be in every ballot for game of the year, what Monolith Soft did with the ancient Wii hardware was nothing short of a miracle. The Wii was not liked by many gaming outlets, the shunning of Xenoblade in Game of the year results has me to believe Xenoblade is getting the shaft because it's on the Wii. If Xenoblade was on the PS3 or 360, do you think it would have received more overall Game of the Year nominations?

[DarkBlood]

uhhhhhhhhhh?

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

I really didn't think it was that great to be honest.
I loathed the voice acting REYN TIME and the graphics were awful.
I enjoyed the gameplay though and the open world was cool.
People claiming it's the best RPG this gen though are sadly mistaken.

[Neonridr]

A lot of the gaming sites out there have awarded this game 9's or higher and say it's one of the best games on the Wii. Why shouldn't it be considered for Game of the Year?? The review scores back up that argument right there.

But because you didn't like it we must all be mistaken??

You can come down off your high horse anytime now..

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

Never said it wasn't game of the year worthy.

Never said any reviews were wrong.

Never said I was better than anyone else.

Pretty sure my comment starts off with I really think...
You know? something called an opinion?

[Neonridr]

"People claiming it's the best RPG this gen though are sadly mistaken."

First off, nobody said it was the best RPG this gen, but sites are claiming it is one of the best RPG's this year.

I understand it is only your opinion and I respect that, but making a statement that says if anyone thinks this is one of the greatest RPG's is wrong takes it from being an opinion and turns it into an insult.

I wasn't trying to be rude to you on my first comment, so I apologize for it coming across like that.

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

My entire comment was meant in my own opinion.
I've seen many people claiming it to be the best RPG this gen and "in my opinion" they are wrong.
I wasn't trying to state it as a fact nor insult anybody here.
If you enjoy the game then great good for you.

"I wasn't trying to insult you on my first comment"

Well okay then. I wasn't trying to insult Xenoblade fans lol after all I do think it's a good game.

edit: Apology excepted =)

[Gamer1982]

It probably would be a contender though and it made a massive mistake being on a console which RPG enthusiasts do not buy for there RPG's.

[Nerdmaster]

If you had stopped your comment before "People claiming it's the best RPG this gen though are sadly mistaken", I would've defended you against Neonridr. People here in N4G can't stand to see other people stating their opinion if it differs from theirs.

Like, if you say "I like blue", people here will say "do you think that because you like blue nobody can like red?", "oh, so because you like blue, it's the best color of them all?", "stop being a snob and saying that everybody has to think like you" and whatnot.

But in this last phrase of yours, unfortunately you are actually saying that everybody is wrong just because you have a different opinion. You could've said "I don't agree with them", "I think there are better games", or things like these, but saying that people's opinions are wrong just make you really look like a snob.

[Oh_Yeah]

Best rpg? This game gets trumped by fallout, borderlands, skyrim and dark souls.. Easy.

[Baylex]

I played it on my wii but I liked more of The Last Story!!
No doubt best RPG of the year The Last Story..

[RAFFwaff]

Xenoblade is a game with that unique quality- heart. It wears its heart on its sleeve and after playing for a few hours you see past the wii graphical limitations and are transported to the most gorgeous awe-inspiring world. I have Skyrim, Skyward Sword and Farcry 3. But 150hrs and counting spent with Xenoblade and there's only one game world I'd move to in a heartbeat. Hardcore gamers may laugh, haters will hate, but for me there is no other recent game packed with so much heart, creative vision and sheer scope given the hardware as in Xenoblade Chronicles.

[madjedi]

"Hardcore gamers may laugh, haters will hate" And that just shot any merit people might give your opinion about the game to pieces. Solely for being a jackass.

You can state what makes a game so special without the cliche attacking people bs.

If your audience is jrpg/rpg gamers, since that is really the only type that would even be here. That was a useless slight against hd gamers, and makes you look like a new nintendo trolls alt account.

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Whoa, bit of an over reaction? Does the Wii get a lot of love from hardcore gamers now?

Raff's comment sounded sincere to me and I certainly wasn't offended, even though I consider myself a hardcore gamer with zero interest in this game.

[Game3s]

Maybe

[dboyman]

It was a mistake having such a limited release of Xenoblade in North America. Now cannot find a copy in stores, and those who sell on ebay often charge expensively. If they did an HD remake for PS3, I'd buy it in a heartbeat...

[SuperShyGuy]

Zero chance of an HD remake for PS3 as the game is first party Nintendo

[dboyman]

Well at least Nintendo should do another reprint of the game for Wii...

[Wolfbiker]

HD remake on Wii U!

I would buy a lot of HD remakes from the Gamecube and Wii on my Wii U.

[MsmackyM]

It's a Gamestop exclusive, you should have no problem ordering it from Gamestop.

[ApexHell]

some of the voice acting was terrible sometimes i wish they would make a 3d rpg with no voice acting and just text bubbles again.

other than that the rest of the game was pretty cool.

[Wolfbiker]

I didn't.think it was terrible but just different...remember we where basically thrown the PAL version.

[Qrphe]

Thank god they gave the option for Japanese dub else the dialogue would have been completely obnoxious.

[PopRocks359]

Huh, you're the first I've see to have said that. I personally thought the dubbing was quite good and I think that JRPGs should have their dubbing outsourced to England more often.

[TuxedoMoon]

Xenoblade is one of those games not a lot of the public played. It should've easily won best wii game on the insulting spike VGAs at the very least. But Nope! That half-assed mario wii-u game beat it out.

I really liked the voice acting too. The all European cast made the game that more different. Very few times have I run into a game with real British/English accents and I do wish other games use more legit-brit people in their voice work.

It's mainly because it's a wii game that no one really took a look at it. The only 2 games I played on the wii this year were both Xenoblade (being the best RPG I played this year) and The Last Story. Xenoblade would've easily won game of the year for me, why? It was something new and hit that nostalgic jrpg sweet-spot that I used to have back in the day. I simply had a better experience and more fun playing Xenoblade than Mass Effect 3 (which is less of an rpg when compared to 2) and Journey (Compared to Xenoblade, Journey should've been called "The Trip"). ME and Journey aren't bad games at all, I just consider Xenoblade better because of my personal tastes.

I'm still gushing over this game. It was that good, IMO.

[MizTv]

I hear it a damn good game
But I am just not a fan of the wii

[2EHO]

Yeah I've said this long ago.... GOTY isn't JUST about gameplay and the experience... It's about the graphics. If wii had hd and comparable specs skyward sword would have won GOTY 2011.

[Greyslash]

>Skyward Sword would have won GOTY
What? Skyward Sword was awful, it insulted me as a Legend of Zelda fan.

[superman]

You're obviously not a Zelda fan. Skyward Sword was awesome.

[chadboban]

Well it was one of the best games I've played this year. I'm not a guy that takes GOTY awards all that seriously because at the end of the day, those awards won't change what I've played and what I've liked this year. If I liked the game, whether it wins any awards or not doesn't change the fact I enjoyed it.

[medziarz]

such a WASTE the game was made for the Wii; The Last Story too

[Deku-Johnny]

Just because Wii games aren't HD?

[medziarz]

sure, and besides, do hardcore gamers have a wii?

[RFornillos4]

game of the year or not, if you enjoy it, doesn't really matter. it's just a "title".

[Deku-Johnny]

A lot of HD games choose style over substance. I always admired Wii because it's lack of graphics meant the developers had to concentrate on making an actual good game rather than one that just looks good. Xenoblade is one of the greatest games this year HD or not. In fact it's one of the best games from the last gen era.

[Hicken]

They HAD to make good games? Is that why the Wii has such a ridiculously high amount of shovelware?

There are some gems in the Wii's library, to be sure. But you're delusional if you think, for some reason, that developers by and large worked HARDER on the Wii because they couldn't just get by on graphics.

[Deku-Johnny]

Okay sorry I guess I worded it badly. The developers that wanted to make great games had to concentrate on making an actual good game rather than one that just looks good. But stuff like that is good for seeing who really is a good developer when they can take a weak console and do something great with it rather than just not bothering.

[MegaLagann]

Yes the Wii had shovelware up the ass, but so what? Every successful console has shovelware. It's the most popular system so it'll attract the most developers, including the shitty ones. The PS2 is one of my favorite consoles of all time and generally it's regarded as one of the if not the best yet it has the same amount of shovelware as the Wii or even more, don't believe me? Look up Street Warrior or Snow White and the Seven Clever Boys. Sorry, off topic, but I don't get why we always bring up shovelware with the Wii but never the PS2 or the NES.

Fun fact: The term shovelware came from the Sega CD.

[danitanzo]

The gameplay was what mattered, not the graphics... That's why you can't trust those Game of the Year things... Of course, the Walking Dead had an interesting artstyle and not the best graphics and it still won a lot of awards. So... that wouldn't necessarily be true, about being on an HD whatever and stuff... meh

[LAWSON72]

It is hd if you play it on pc.

[ayabrea93]

xenoblade really took me surprise and reminded me of what made the ps1 final fantasy's so special to me. it was an absoloute joy to play through with varied environments and colourful characters that felt like an actual team on a mission. it's just simply a fantastic game that may not have won any game of year awards but will be remembered for years to come, that's for sure.

[Khordchange]

I would love a sequel for the Wii U

[MegaLagann]

Xenoblade, to me, is the best game this generation. All the characters are great and well written, the story is amazing, the soundtrack is an all time classic and the game successfully merged a WRPG with a JRPG, keep the focus on story like in a JRPG but also have a huge focus on exploration and customization. It's all personal opinion, but seeing as how Xenoblade got 9's and 10's across the board I do feel like a nomination would of at least been enough. I don't need it to win game of the year to validate my purchase, I love the game and that's all I need, but some recognition for Monolith's masterpiece would be nice.

[Zodiac]

It's probably true that it would have received more awards had it been HD. I loved it, but i have to agree with that.

A lot of great Wii games besides the classic Nintendo franchises went under the radar. So far under the radar that most gaming journalist don't even know that they exist. No doubt these games would have been noticed had they been on an HD console. That's the sad part.

[landog]

its already in hd on pc, dolphin emulator is free, buy the game, make an iso of it with rawdump or something similar, and play it in 1080p at 60 frames, the wii u could never, ever handle it at that resolution, ps3/360 as well would choke on it

xenoblade looks AMAZING in true 1080p hd at 60 frames, and so do 90% of wii games, I have not turned my wii on in years, i buy the games, rawdump them and play them on pc!

the drive you need is a lg gdr 816

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

(watch in 720p or even better 1080p, it looks even better actually on your pc!)

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

maybe they will make it in 1080p for nintendos next console

[CaptainN]

Xenoblade is a great game, and it deserves more credit than what it got.....but my opinion is that The Last Story was a better game overall. Both seem to have been neglected because they weren't in HD which shows that there is deff bias in the game industry and that the standards have slipped so far that if it doesnt have HD it doesnt even count.Sad that these last few gems on Wii are being ignored by most ;/

[Thepcz]

xenoblade is the best game i played since ocarina of time. it really is that amazing

if you haven't played it you really are missing out

[dkgshiz]

Its a lot better if you play it on Dolphin as are all wii games.

1080P

Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic Filtering

Welp, you get the idea.