I thought the ending was quite well-done. And yeah, "Pain" is a nice song.
My only gripe is that Shion was on the outside of the Elsa while it was taking off. Which is an incredibly minor complaint.
Right now, I'm at the Ormus stronghold. Y'know, the E.S. dungeon right near the Abyss. Got in, went a little ways, then went back to the save point and stopped for dinner. I still don't have any real problems with this game. I really like the story so far. Never thought I'd actually feel sorry for Albedo. Though someone needs to tell Shion that it's a little late to make peace with him. I think he's a little too batshit insane for that.
One of the hardest fights in the game is coming up. Make sure to have MOMO's mech in your party.
And after that another o the hardest on foot bosses in the game is coming up. Make sure to have all your party knowing Meddica M and Medica All plus the multi Ether spell stuff down. (ya know when you have two party members cast Ether spells at the same time using your Boost)
For all the shit the gaameplay gets, I liked the on foot stuff. It was ES battles that I loathed. E Ses in general really bugged me in this game because they are so damn slow when moving through dungeons.
edited 17th Aug '13 4:11:35 AM by Nikkolas
Slow movement on maps is one of my number one pet peeves. One of the Codebreaker (Gameshark, whatever) codes I always used in XS 1 was the one that basically tripled Shion's move speed.
Yeah, slow speed and the clunkiness of the ES battle system was a problem, which is a shame because the E Ss are some of my favorite mecha. It's like their gameplay was designed to emulate something like Mechwarrior instead of what we see in the cutscenes.
I guess I was just never any good with the ES battles in the game. T He final ES boss battle in the main story always fucks me up for that reason.
So if I really liked Xenoblade Chronicles, will I also enjoy the Xenosaga trilogy?
COMPLETELY different gameplay. Cutscenes out the wazoo. Non-constant art style. Headache-inducing plot spanning 3 games. It's really up to you.
Long live Cinematech. FC:0259-0435-4987There are changes over the 3 games in terms of gameplay components, but Xenosaga is generally a turn-based RPG.
As for plot... well, I hope you enjoy lots of religious symbolism. And I mean LOTS.
Long live Cinematech. FC:0259-0435-4987
Since Xenoblade also uses a bit of religious symbolism, I guess that Saga has that cranked Up To Eleven.
Also, so it appears that Saga's story is much more in-depth than Blade's. Like, in what way besides symbolism? In addition, how are the characters compared to the cast of Blade?
edited 17th Aug '13 2:56:45 PM by LDragon2
That's a bit trickier and is left to the people who actually could play the series. I never had a copy of any of the games, sadly.
Long live Cinematech. FC:0259-0435-4987Blade and Saga are completely different, so I don't think it's fair to compare them. Just try the first game and see if it does it for you. Just a warning, though - if the story doesn't appeal, you probably won't enjoy the series. It's incredibly story-heavy.
I played Xenoblade first as well (and loved it to pieces), so you're not alone. :)
As for my progress, I just finished the stronghold. Orgulla was a pain, but I still beat her on my second try. I found her Manes form a lot easier to deal with, given the lower defense and lack of area attacks. I guess that's how it's supposed to work. I was a little annoyed about fighting Pellegri on the way out, but she was kind of a pushover, so it was no big deal. On to Old Miltia!
edited 18th Aug '13 1:52:25 PM by SapphireBlue
A typical reaction of anyone trying to understand the plot of these games.
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But seriously, I had forgotten that frickin' face.

wait, seriously? it only felt like I was half way through!
XP granted for befriending a giant magical spider!