Xenoblade Chronicles

Xenoblade Chronicles
Developer(s)	Monolith Soft
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Genre(s)	Role-playing game

Xenoblade Chronicles (Xenoblade in Japan, Monado Beginning of the World in North America) is a Wii video game by Nintendo and Monolith Soft. The game, an epic Japanese role-playing title, features seamless worlds, battles reminiscent of Final Fantasy XII and MMO games, and a gorgeous environment. The game was first released in Japan on June 10, 2010, and will be released in Europe on August 19, 2011. As of 29 June 2011, Nintendo of America have stated that they have no plans in releasing the game as of yet however, an Australian release has also been confirmed. The game was originally developed under the name Monado: Beginning of the World.

Plot

The game focuses on two colossal gods that long ago fought, resulting in two dead corpses. The entire game takes place on these two gods that are now frozen in place. The player travels on the gods, one representing nature and the other machinery.

According to Tetsuya Takahashi, creator of the various Xeno properties, Xenoblade is not directly related to any of the previous Xeno video games. Certain thematic elements popular with Takahashi can be seen however. In the game, the developers went into development planning on making the game as fun as possible while not focusing as much on lengthy cinematics, which they explained was a path that ultimately led to a dead end with previous Xeno games.

Characters

Artwok of Shulk.

• Shulk: Shulk is the main character. The eighteen year old Hom is an orphan who went off to fight the villains who attacked Colony 9. He is the wielder of the Monado sword.
• Fiora: The sister of Dunban, the 18 year old Hom is a close friend to Shulk.
• Dunban: Prior to Shulk gaining possession of the Monado, Dunban was the wielder. He is a thirty year old Hom and the brother of Florun who became injured during a battle with the enemies.
• Reyn: A warrior of Colony 9, the eighteen year old Hom is Shulk's friend.
• Carna: A warrior of Colony 6, the twenty one year old female Hom is good with guns.
• Melia: A member of the Hienter race, Melia is a mage living on Kyoshin.
• Riki: A small, cute member of the Nopon race.

Setting

Xenoblade takes place on two massive Gods that, long ago, fought in battle that resulted in two dead corpses, frozen and locked together by their swords. The entire game takes place on these two Gods that have been frozen in place. Bionis developed life on its body over time, while Mechonis became overran by machinery. The machinery has since started to invade Bionis and destroy the colonies there. A sword called the Monado was developed in order to defeat the evil forces and save their world.

Gameplay

Xenoblade features a massive world that consists of two colossal giants that long ago fought but have since been frozen in place. Traveling the game's world is seamless and there are very few loading times. Enemies roam the world and battles will commence when you come into reach of them, meaning there are no random battles.

During a battle, the player's stats will be located on the left of the screen. The statistics show the character's face (the face changes according to their condition), their current level, their health points and their Talent Gauge which allows them to perform special attacks. Useful information on the target can be seen above the enemy. Players can select the character's actions by navigating a "palette" at the bottom of the screen via the Wii Remote's d-pad. The player will only control a single fighter while two other characters will be controlled by the game.

Development

Yasuyuki Honne and a model of the two Gods.

Xenoblade Chronicles was developed by Nintendo first party developer Monolith Soft, creators of the Baten Kaitos franchise and Disaster: Day of Crisis. The game was officially unveiled after Nintendo's E3 press conference in 2009. Following this a trailer of the game was put on the Nintendo Channel on the Wii.

Products

Critics and fans alike heavily praised the music of Xenoblade, so Nintendo accordingly released a soundtrack that came packaged with the video game in Japan. Twelve songs from the game were present on the CD, with all of the game's composers being represented. In the CD case is an illustration card by Kunihiko Tanaka. On June 23, 2010, Nintendo released a soundtrack to retailers containing four CDs and all of the songs present in Xenoblade.