After finally getting all the necessary parts, I've got the Wii rigged up to an old tube TV I've had since my undergrad days. Needless to say, the picture quality is a little rough on the newest and sharpest of games, but they're still entirely playable. Strangely enough, adjusting the screen option on the Wii system menu to wide screen gives the most readable text - definitely of great importance for a game like Xenoblade Chronicles.
When I first started this title months ago, I felt overwhelmed. The world is huge, the exploration seems unlimited (letting players jump adds to this appearance), and the reign on the player seems incredibly free. For the most part, this freedom comes from the game's third person perspective, something I've never seen in an RPG before, having my roots in SNES era (J-)RPGs and their modern equivalents. Though, come to think of it, Quest 64 had a similar perspective.
Anyway, because there's so little railroading (no guards at gates, or companions calling you back from invisible bounds) it's a bit difficult to figure out what to do next. However, just as with the ability to save anywhere solves the issue of never having a save point when you need one, the game's got the problem of direction figured out. At the top of the screen (clearly visible even with my rig) is an arrow and a counter. The arrow points the way, and the counter shows how many steps are between you and your destination.
So, though the visual going may be rough at times, I'll never get lost in this game. This bonus should make the game's tens of hours fly by, however periodically I pop this one in.
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