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News: Iwata Asks About Xenoblade Chronicles

Satoru Iwata speaks to the team behind Xenoblade Chronicles.

While American fans are fighting to get Xenoblade Chronicles released Euroepan fans can rest assured that the title is on track for its September 2nd release date. To mark the impending release Nintendo has translated their Xenoblade Chronicles Iwata Asks to inform gamers about what to expect.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata spoke with members of staff from both Nintendo and Monolith Soft about the development of Xenoblade Chronicles. Following on from their first title together, Disaster: Day of Crisis, Monolith Soft wanted to work on an RPG, a genre they were much more familiar with. However, development was not easy and the team found themselves facing a lot of problems to try and meet the scheduled deadlines.

There’s an old Japanese proverb about a cricket trying to swim across a river. At first it’s swimming away happily, but halfway across, it just seems to give up. I’d worked on a lot of games up until that point, and there were times when I’ve done the same. So this time, I was prepared to accept that I wouldn’t be able to achieve all I’d set out to, and was mentally preparing myself to shift directions somewhat. But then Yamagami-san told me to see it through to the end, and I was really taken aback by this experience of Nintendo’s willingness to keep working at something until they’re satisfied the job is really done.

Other issues the team faced included different approaches to working between Nintendo and Monolith Soft, which caused both sides to adjust their usual working practices in some manner. In addition to this Tetsuya Takahashi noted that there were many elements of the game's story that wouldn't make sense to someone who hadn't played previous games in the franchise. The role of a writer is obviously very important in an RPG and the team talk about how important an editor also is as they can step back and assess whether the story is actually working, as summed up by Satoru Iwata:

A writer’s role is to create something sharp and striking. An editor takes a step back and aims to adjust the writer’s work so it’s heading in the right direction, suggesting things like: ‘This is clear, but this isn’t coming across’, or ‘If you want this to be clear, perhaps you should think about adjusting this’. When the writer and editor have a good relationship, then things go in the right direction. So I think we can say that this time round, you ended up with a good relationship.

Some of the initial ideas for Xenoblade Chronicles actually date back to before the Wii was released, as the models for Bionis and Mechonis were made in 2006. The idea for the game evolved from there and now, five years later, the game has been released in Japan.

One important aspect of Xenoblade Chronicles is Affinity, the strength of the bonds you hold with your party members. The team highlight the importance of taking some time away from the main story to revisit towns and speak to the townspeople again because Affinity works not only between you and your party members but also townspeople. The stronger your relationships the better you'll do in battle.

Satoru Iwata concludes the discussion by asking all participants to talk about their feelings toward the game. The title's plot, gameplay and development process are all commented on and are worth a read. Hiroki Yokota notes that the character's model changes in real time as you change armour while Yurie Hattori speaks highly of the characters in the game:

When I played the game, I really felt that I was in the hero’s party, like I was one of his companions. That’s how likeable the characters are, and though they might sometimes say stupid things, you can’t help but like them.

Xenoblade Chronicles is set for release in just a few months in Europe and by the looks of things it is certainly a labour of love. Stay tuned to N-Europe for more news as it develops.

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