Just when everyone thought that masterpiece-level JRPGs were over, Xenoblade Chronicles stepped into the scene in 2012 (2010 in Japan) and joined the likes of Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, and Final Fantasy VII to be considered an all-time great and favorite. It's pretty crazy to think that this game required a devout group of fans to bring the game to North America via Operation Rainfall in 2012 and now there are many games set in this universe, defining how important and successful this franchise has become to Nintendo.

Xenoblade Chronicles success formula is pretty simple but hard to pull for other developers: the game offers an excellent story, excellent character development, fun combat system, a wonderful soundtrack, and an engaging setting, creating a complete JRPG package.

The game touches upon themes of love, compassion, hate, war, politics, social inequality, and even defies traditional creationism....all these subjects are tactfully presented throughout the 65+ hour journey and keep the player engaged at all times. Gameplay and combat are fun and presents an MMO-like feel with a setup of auto-attacks and an array of arts that have cooldown periods and need to strategically be used in unison with your other party members to increase efficiency and damage output to enemies.

The soundtrack of this game is fantastic and among my favorites of all time with perhaps the best audio-visual intro screen in gaming. Yoko Shimomura, Manami Kiyota and ACE+ deliver in all cylinders.

All in all, Xenoblade Chronicles is among my favorite JRPGs and even overall games of all time and it was a fantastic journey experiencing this game when it came in 2012 for the Nintendo Wii.

Wow. I mean, I'm kinda blown away by this. For a PS1 game to have this much powerful imagery is kinda mind boggling for me. It gives birth to a dense and emotion packed story about abuse and manipulation, layered under the meticulously crafted setting. It honestly kinda makes me tear up inside, especially with how hopeful this games ending is, in spite of it being in an almost literal hell. Sure, the main combat is serviceable at best, the controls are a little bit clunky, and the bosses can be a bit tedious, but I feel like focusing on those things kinda misses the point. If youre playing silent hill for "the riveting gameplay" you need to play a mario game or something.

I HATE THE GAME BOY I HATE THE GAME BOY I HATE THE GAME BOY I HATE THE GAME BOY I HATE THE GAME BOY I HATE THE GAME BOY I HATE THE GAME BOY I HATE THE GAME BOY I HATE THE GAME BOY

I actually like this game. My first experience didn't go too well since I was behind the learning curve. But now that I'm over that hump, I have a lot of respect for this DKC demake.
-The artstyle remains intact
-I never had trouble reading the screen (chalk it up to my perfect, albeit short-sighted vision)
-Most - like 93% - of the bonus barrels weren't cryptically hidden (though with every DKC game, there were a handful I needed to hunt down with a guide up)
-Rolling through enemies no longer speeds our hairy heroes up to mach speed, goomba stomping does this instead (bopping the flying pigs in the sky levels was nerve-wracking for this reason)
-Obstacles entered the screen at a reactable speed, IMO (Killer Instinct has honed my hand-eye coordination)

BUT I HATE THE GAME BOY I HATE THE GAME BOY I HATE THE GAME BOY I HATE THE GAME BOY I HATE THE GAME BOY I HATE THE GAME BOY I HATE THE GAME BOY I HATE THE GAME BOY