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Post by TheMetallicMuse on Feb 8, 2017 21:18:23 GMT -5
I'm so happy to hear Mitsuda is taking a more prominent role on this one. It's been a long time since he was lead composer for a Xeno game, so it's great to have him back. For a lot of long-standing Xeno fans like me whose journey with this series began with Xenogears, he really established the sound of "Xeno".
With Xenoblade, I feel like ACE+ and Kiyota really came into their own and sealed the sound of the Xenoblade series. Now with Mitsuda joining the fray, it's like the sound of the older games is merging with the sound of Xenoblade to create a soundtrack that's equally as rich, full, and varied than any Xeno soundtrack that has come before it, if not more so.
On the subject of Mitsuda, I've come across quite a few individuals who've said "Mitsuda hasn't been good since the 90s" and other silly remarks along those lines, but it's pure ignorance.
His recent stuff is some of the best music he's written, imo.
To post a few examples,
Terra Battle:
These three tracks from the anime, Book of Circus:
Azure Revolution:
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Post by triforcepower on Feb 8, 2017 22:05:20 GMT -5
I'm so happy to hear Mitsuda is taking a more prominent role on this one. It's been a long time since he was lead composer for a Xeno game, so it's great to have him back. For a lot of long-standing Xeno fans like me whose journey with this series began with Xenogears, he really established the sound of "Xeno". With Xenoblade, I feel like ACE+ and Kiyota really came into their own and sealed the sound of the Xenoblade series. Now with Mitsuda joining the fray, it's like the sound of the older games is merging with the sound of Xenoblade to create a soundtrack that's equally as rich, full, and varied than any Xeno soundtrack that has came before it, if not more so. On the subject of Mitsuda, I've come across quite a few individuals who've said "Mitsuda hasn't been good since the 90s" and other remarks along those lines, but it's pure ignorance. His recent stuff is some of the best music he's written, imo. I'm so excited to hear more of the soundtrack. The soundtracks for all the Xeno games are some of my favorite parts about them, and I love the anticipation of getting to hear more and more of the OST. I as well am excited to hear what Mitsuda comes up with. As far as the few who have said he hasn't been good since the 90s, that's not true i don't think. He's definitely got a lot of classic gems from that era, but honestly there are just as many gems that he's composed recently. I have confidence that whatever he writes for XC2 will be amazing.
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Post by Wolfe on Feb 8, 2017 22:59:52 GMT -5
Wow, I was under the impression that Mitsuda-san was only contributing a single track again, like he did for XC1. I adore his work in Xenogears and the Chrono games, and how it's steeped in cultural influences that lend a warm and rich folk style to brighter tracks or an eerie "foreign" quality to somber tracks. It makes for very memorable themes, and sometimes unusual rhythms and time signatures -- as if to prove my point for me, the Terra Battle song, first on the list, moves from 6/8 to 5/8 during the refrain. Also, as a piano player, some of the songs he writes can be arranged exceptionally well to solo piano (I just play by ear) and they're a joy to play. To be honest, I wasn't 100% thrilled to see XC2 return to a fantasy style akin to XC1, but if Mitsuda is the lead composer, that changes everything.
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Post by triforcepower on Feb 8, 2017 23:10:43 GMT -5
Mitsuda is the lead composer, but he might not actually write that much for the game. He may end up writing only 10% of the OST. However, he will have his hand in every track that is in the game, and that in itself is good enough for me.
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Post by Wolfe on Feb 8, 2017 23:26:15 GMT -5
triforcepower -- If his direction makes for a more impactful soundtrack with stronger leitmotifs than XC1, great. On the flipside, battle music is not so much of a strength of Mitsuda's in my opinion, so if the rest of the team contributes more awesome jammin' battle music like XC1's, that will be great too.
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Post by triforcepower on Feb 9, 2017 0:31:45 GMT -5
Wolfe - Most likely ACE will handle most of the battle tracks. At least it isn't Yoko Shimomura though haha. I don't like most of her battle tracks honestly.
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Post by TheMetallicMuse on Feb 9, 2017 0:42:44 GMT -5
Wolfe - Most likely ACE will handle most of the battle tracks. At least it isn't Yoko Shimomura though haha. I don't like most of her battle tracks honestly. Yeah, I personally think Shimomura's music feels more at home with Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. I'm just indifferent towards her, really. I'm pleased it's just Mitsuda, ACE+, and Kiyota this time around.
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Post by triforcepower on Feb 9, 2017 1:02:00 GMT -5
TheMetallicMuse - Shimomura is definitely a talented composer, but yeah for Xenoblade, her music doesn't fit quite as well as Mitsuda, Kiyota, and ACE.
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Post by ancientrune on Feb 9, 2017 1:36:19 GMT -5
Shimomura's songs on xenoblade were top tier stuff with the exception of Time To Fight. Also her battle themes in FFXV are fantastic.
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Post by triforcepower on Feb 9, 2017 12:29:36 GMT -5
I just played a mission in XCX where you assasinate the leader of a Ganglion base. One thing I would love to see them try with XC2 is some actual stealth mechanics. That would make missions like the one I just did so much more interesting and fun.
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Post by Wolfe on Feb 9, 2017 13:20:21 GMT -5
triforcepower -- When I played Chapter 5, I was a bit low-leveled to take on the larger Ganglion base, and I didn't know yet about the "backdoor" route you can use to get in. So I stealth-infiltrated my way through the whole base by platforming around, keeping an eye on the patrols, and avoiding aggro, which was fun to pull off. Like the skell platforming challenges that are just barely possible to do, seemingly by design, I think Monolith Soft designed the base in Chapter 5 to allow for a stealthy approach. I would enjoy more of that in XC2, though it would be better if it was one of multiple ways to tackle a mission, which is what made it cool in XCX. Forced stealth sequences aren't always popular.
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Post by TheMetallicMuse on Feb 9, 2017 22:24:31 GMT -5
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Post by AtomicNess on Feb 11, 2017 11:13:50 GMT -5
What are the chances we see Elma/'not KOSMOS' show up in XC-2 as a blade?
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Post by TheMetallicMuse on Feb 12, 2017 11:37:38 GMT -5
What are the chances we see Elma/'not KOSMOS' show up in XC-2 as a blade? Not very high, I don't think. Takahashi has made it clear each Xenoblade game is standalone, and he doesn't seem the type to mince his words.
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Post by Primulus on Feb 12, 2017 14:19:58 GMT -5
What are the chances we see Elma/'not KOSMOS' show up in XC-2 as a blade? If you define Fiora as "not KOS-MOS" then it might just be that every Blade is a "not KOS-MOS."
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Post by atomicness on Feb 12, 2017 21:45:36 GMT -5
What are the chances we see Elma/'not KOSMOS' show up in XC-2 as a blade? If you define Fiora as "not KOS-MOS" then it might just be that every Blade is a "not KOS-MOS." Sure. I was referencing how Elma and KOSMOS's designs are very similar and based off of Persona/Mother from Xenogears. Fiora seems to be her own thing. I do think it's interesting to note that Elma has a lifehold symbol right where the two female BLADEs have theirs, only Elma's is metallic instead of glowing green. Also, I just realized something (which should probably be in the XCX section). Elma's stomach and chest (and possibly her whole body) is made of little hexagons-you can see them if you zoom in far enough. My thought is that Elma might be an artifical blade, or at least more machine then organic. The two girls in the trailer may be connected to the sword but they look much more like actual humans
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Post by TheMetallicMuse on Feb 12, 2017 23:35:21 GMT -5
If you define Fiora as "not KOS-MOS" then it might just be that every Blade is a "not KOS-MOS." Sure. I was referencing how Elma and KOSMOS's designs are very similar and based off of Persona/Mother from Xenogears. Fiora seems to be her own thing. I do think it's interesting to note that Elma has a lifehold symbol right where the two female BLADEs have theirs, only Elma's is metallic instead of glowing green. Also, I just realized something (which should probably be in the XCX section). Elma's stomach and chest (and possibly her whole body) is made of little hexagons-you can see them if you zoom in far enough. My thought is that Elma might be an artifical blade, or at least more machine then organic. The two girls in the trailer may be connected to the sword but they look much more like actual humans Hexagonal shapes just look cool in sci-fi. Plus the hexagons only appear on that specific costume; they aren't imprinted on her skin. As for the girls in the XB2 trailer, it's impossible to make that distinction because the stylised anime art style leaves things a tad vague. They could be tortoises for all we know.
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Post by atomicness on Feb 13, 2017 5:36:15 GMT -5
Sure. I was referencing how Elma and KOSMOS's designs are very similar and based off of Persona/Mother from Xenogears. Fiora seems to be her own thing. I do think it's interesting to note that Elma has a lifehold symbol right where the two female BLADEs have theirs, only Elma's is metallic instead of glowing green. Also, I just realized something (which should probably be in the XCX section). Elma's stomach and chest (and possibly her whole body) is made of little hexagons-you can see them if you zoom in far enough. My thought is that Elma might be an artifical blade, or at least more machine then organic. The two girls in the trailer may be connected to the sword but they look much more like actual humans Hexagonal shapes just look cool in sci-fi. Plus the hexagons only appear on that specific costume; they aren't imprinted on her skin. As for the girls in the XB2 trailer, it's impossible to make that distinction because the stylised anime art style leaves things a tad vague. They could be tortoises for all we know.
I don't know what's there to be vague about. They both clearly have Zohars on their necks. What else are we going to call that? It looks almost exactly like the Xenosaga Zohar to a T.
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Post by TheMetallicMuse on Feb 13, 2017 10:24:57 GMT -5
Hexagonal shapes just look cool in sci-fi. Plus the hexagons only appear on that specific costume; they aren't imprinted on her skin. As for the girls in the XB2 trailer, it's impossible to make that distinction because the stylised anime art style leaves things a tad vague. They could be tortoises for all we know.
I don't know what's there to be vague about. They both clearly have Zohars on their necks. What else are we going to call that? It looks almost exactly like the Xenosaga Zohar to a T. You said the the redhead and blonde girl in the trailer look more like "actual humans", but what does that mean? A Zohar symbol on their chest doesn't mean they're more human than another person.
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Post by Primulus on Feb 13, 2017 14:38:45 GMT -5
I can't believe I'm agreeing with TheMetallicMuse here. I'm sure that won't last forever though. Right now, we simply know too little about what defines Blades and Drivers to know anything, and almost everything is purely conjecture. If there is a connection anywhere, I would think this game is a direct but distant sequel to the first Xenoblade Chronicles (rationalized by the fact that it was titled Xenoblade 2 when it is the third game in the series), but even that is merely speculation at this point.
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