My most anticipated RPGs of 2011

2011 so far has been a pretty good year for a number of genres like FPS or action adventure games and it would seem (from the release dates) that this trend will continue for the rest of the year as well. OK lets see now we have Gears of Wars 3 primed for release very soon, Infamous 2 June's debut is pretty close and Uncharted 3 is set for the fall release. But as much as this year has been awesome, there have been a woefully small number of quality RPGs coming out in 2011 and this fact is indicative of the new direction the current generation is taking. This is not say that 2011 has been or will be barren for RPGs, on contrary there are number of pretty solid RPGs coming out and although I am a few months late in bringing out this post (there have been around 3 good RPGs released in this time), but from today till the 2nd of June I will be discussing 10 of my most anticipated RPGs of this year (well...of 6 months that is):

1) Xenoblade Chronicles - Wii -September :

A simple and plan fact is that Wii has not been a power house for RPGs (even with the incredible popularity of the console), but unlike Nintendo's previous console (GameCube) there have been 3-5 solid RPGs for gamers to choose. But the console is still missing THAT epic RPG, which would define the console for RPG players. This is about to change though with the release of two RPGs from experienced developers. First I will talk about Xenoblade Chronicles. The game comes from the team which has made a HUGE name for themselves with the superlative Xenogears and XenoSaga series, helmed by Tetsuya Takahashi and the game company Monolith Soft, backed by Nintendo (phew). Now that is a quite a pedigree if you ask me, one which will catapult this game to a top billing for RPG players. The game was originally called Monado: Beginning of the World, but was thankfully changed to Xenoblade in honor of Takahashi (the creator of the Xeno brand games). Nintendo has a sure-fire winner on its hands and has done well in becoming the publisher, meaning the quality of the localization will be great. As a Wii owner I can't wait to get my grubby mitts on this one as soon as its out.

The premise of the plot takes place on top two crystallized gods where humanoids and machines have taken up residence and are now embroiled in a never ending war. From the outset the game already has a unique backdrop which will inevitable open up into something epic. Tetsuya Takahashi has also pointed out that the narrative will be quite different from the cut-scene heavy XenoSaga series (much to my chagrin), while also having emphasis on exploration. Consider this as an amalgam of eastern story-telling with western game play tropes. This will be very interesting indeed!

The game play resembles Final Fantasy XII (ala offline MMORPG), while players will have the freedom to input commands as well. I am one of those who actually really liked the MMORPG mechanics from Final Fantasy XII and after going through quite a few of game play video that mechanics looks very solid in Xenoblade Chronicles. I am very excited for the game play and with a promise of 50-60 hours of the main plot Xenoblade Chronicles has a lot going for it.


The technical aspect of the game looks really spiffy with some awesome visuals, perhaps one of the best looking Wii game to date! The screen shots and videos showcase huge environs to explores, beautiful vistas to behold and attention of a lot of detail. I mean lets face it, Wii isn't known for a its graphics, but Xenoblade Chronicles really does look good. For me the look of the game is very similar to many of the outstanding PS2 RPGs and I felt a twinge of nostalgia looking at screenshots and videos of the game.

But the soundtrack has all the bearing to be very memorable. Yoko Shimomura (of Kingdom Hearts and Legend of Mana fame) and Yasunori Mitsuda (of Chrono Trigger/Cross and XenoSaga fame) providing the sound track!!!. I mean two of the finest composers in the game industry working together can only mean that the sound track well be of dizzying quality.

So yeah it will be a huge understatement to say that I am excited for Xenoblade Chronicles. The game has that PS2 RPG vibe to it and that can only be a good thing (PS2 RPG library the greatest ever!). The Wii has been a huge success for Nintendo but the lack of good RPG has been disappointing, so here hoping that Xenoblade Chronicles lives up to the hype and finally give the Wii the epic RPG it deserves before it rides off into the sunset.

Join me tomorrow for another anticipated RPG.