It kind of seems odd that I'm the one starting this topic... but hey, whatever.

Two questions:

1) Am I the only one that's sick of the "censorship" controversy on this one? I'm not saying that censoring something is a good thing... but the removed content wouldn't stop me from buying this if I was interested.

2) Is anyone familiar with the soundtrack? I've heard that in certain reviews the music was an area that was getting criticized. I know some people really dug the score for the original game so is it a different composer or did they really drop the ball on this one?

Well, I didn't start it because I already played the JP version when it came out and absolutely HATED it.
It takes everything that made the first game great, and makes it less accessible, more confusing, but, admittedly, a hell of a lot prettier.
I seem to be in the vast minority on this one though.

And yes, opinions are very much divided on the soundtrack. Some people love it, some people hate it. Some people love it because it's bad.
It wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, actually.
It's not the same group as the original game (mostly done by ACE+, but with some contributions by Shimomura and Mitsuda), but instead it's just Hiroyuki Sawano by himself, who's scored a lot of popular anime from what I gather.

Wow. I'm really surprised by that as I know you really liked the first one.

However, by the same token from what I've read XCX isn't exactly a clone of the first game so I there is some obvious separation between products despite the obvious connection. Additionally, I'm glad you didn't just eat it up and quote unquote "like it" just because it was Xenoblade.

I did that with some of the WA titles for a few years until I realized the only ones I cared about where the first two on the PS1.

Also, thx for the info on the soundtrack. I found that complaint in reviews to be interesting.

Super excited about the game - I'm hoping that my reaction to it isn't the same as Amazingu's since the original is also one of my favorite games of all time.  Trying to keep expectations in check, though. 

The soundtrack is... weird.  I picked up the album in Japan this summer and have listened to some of it.  It's really nothing like the original game, but I do find myself enjoying a number of the tracks quite a lot.  That said, there are a fair number of them that I think are AWFUL as well, so it's a very, very mixed bag.  I really hate nonsense English vocals in... just about anything Japanese.

I was looking at threads on GameFAQs and found a thread complaining about "Black Tar" so I checked it out.

I see they went the FFXII-2 route with this. I found it less offensive in this case.

However, not to sound like an ass, but am I the only one who kind of dislikes it when a battle theme's lyrics have to remind you of the game's freakin' plot?

Like I said, I seem to be in the minority on this, it's been getting great reviews, so you're probably safe.

I would say it's gotten OK reviews. Most seem to rate it 8/10. Considering the Wii U is starving for games, I'm not surprised this has gotten good feedback. That said, I'm more interested in what someone like you has to say about the game than professional reviewers. Other gamers have taken online to express their disappointment, and not surprisingly they are getting quite a lot of negative feedback from fanboys. Well, that's how it is these days. You state your opinion and people have to jump and say "NO! your opinion is wrong"...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th3PQ3WRmSc

ps Music is not up my ally. I'm far from an expert, but sounds like most any J-pop I've heard.

I'm very excited about the game, but approaching it with caution. Certain decisions, such as the silent protagonist and soundtrack style seem to run counter to what I have loved about Takahashi's past work, but I'm optimistic that the game world alone will make it worth playing.

This might also be the first time I'll play an 'open world' game with the intention of avoiding the fetch quests unless they fit in with the route the main story takes me (or take me somewhere new). As much as I loved Xenoblade and am having fun with MGSV, the side quests in both games amount to doing the same thing 1000x over and I no longer have that kind of time to waste.

Okay, is it just me? This soundtrack kind of grows on you...

The problems with it are very obvious, but it's kind of like that doesn't matter.

Anyway, I was talking to my friend at work and he was digging the music so I ordered a copy of the soundtrack, I figured I give it a listen, give him that copy and then order another one if I dig the rest of it enough.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Xenoblade_Chro … ost_has_a/

Hahahahahaha

Oh, that's just fricken PERFECT!

Edit:

It's for the flash drive version in the SE... NOT the physical OST.

Just read up on this. Wow. I would expect that from Activision or EA, but not Nintendo.

I now have the game, and gave up playing after the first hour because - of all things - the text in the HUD, menus etc is unbelievably tiny. I'm playing on a 42" at 720p and this text is readable only if I get closer to the TV... like, bad-for-your-eyes closer. I don't see why players should put up with this in such a text-heavy game, and I'm not touching it again unless it gets patched. Unbelievable that this made it through internal and/or Nintendo QA.

Sometimes it feels like the latest trend in games is to disappoint you in amazing new ways.

I'm enjoying Xenoblade X so far, but this is absolutely an issue and I'm surprised more people aren't complaining about it.  I also have a 42" screen (though 1080 not 720) and a relatively small living room in which much larger wouldn't be super useful/appropriate and good lord it is hard to read anything from my couch.  How the game can have more camera options than anything I've ever seen on a console but not the ability to make text bigger blows my mind.  What on earth were they thinking??