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Monolith Soft’s X

Wind Waker HD looks hot and all, but we need to talk about this new Wii U project from the developer behind cult RPG Xenoblade Chronicles. Shit looks ridic.

Watch the trailer past the break — it starts off looking like a predictable Xenoblade follow-up with Monster Hunter elements, but then people start hopping into mechas that transform into futuristic cycles and slice up giant dino dudes. And we haven’t even mentioned the music yet, child. We haven’t even mentioned the music.

North America will be a Project X Zone

Project X Zone, the tactical RPG featuring a massive crossover cast of characters from Sega, Capcom, and Namco Bandai franchises, will make it to the West this summer!

Wow, I didn’t expect that at all! At least we’ll be getting some new Mega Man on the 3DS in some form, if not on Legends 3. This will hit North America, Europe, and Australasia with its Japanese voices intact, though apparently publisher Namco Bandai will forego localizing the audio, saving some money with that decision.

PREORDER Project X Zone (not available yet)

U.S. trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles. By now, you’ve likely heard the good news: Nintendo announced that this Wii JRPG will release in North America next April!

It will be a limited release, available only at GameStop and directly from Nintendo’s site, but hey, that’s still a million times better than no U.S. release. Maybe if there’s enough demand, the game will get a wider release?

Christian from Gamasutra (did you know I’m a news editor again at Gamasutra?) wrote a nice piece on why this news is a victory for fans and the medium:

“This game proves something. Yes, video games are a business, and one at which Nintendo lately often excels. At the scale at which it moves product — Mario games selling in the tens of millions — the sales potential for Xenoblade Chronicles is comically low. But the company — all companies — has a responsibility to publish works which enrich the medium.”

Find: Nintendo DS/3DS release dates, discounts, & more

See also: More Xenoblade posts

Rumor: Xenoblade Chronicles coming to the U.S. in April, possibly as a GameStop exclusive, according to this alleged photo of the retail chain’s slate of upcoming Wii releases.

If this is true, Xenoblade would join the company of other illustrious GameStop exclusives like Chulip and Tenchu: Dark Secret. But who cares, at least we’ll be getting this!

And I definitely want it to be true, as this is the same Monolith Soft-developed game that Simon Parkin called ”the strongest JRPG to emerge in years” in his review when Xenoblade released in Europe.

Also, all those people who called The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword the Wii’s swan song would look awfully silly — serves them right for forgetting about Rhythm Heaven Fever, which will finally come out here in February (or early March, if this photo is to be trusted).

[Update: Nintendo of America just updated its Facebook page with Xenoblade artwork. Looks true!]

Find: Nintendo DS/3DS release dates, discounts, & more

See also: More Xenoblade posts

[Via Square Triangle]

“Here is an endlessly lavish, detailed production based in a newborn universe that is not only filled with unfamiliar faces but also brims with daring ideas and mechanics.

Indisputably, this Wii game — released in the twilight months of its host console — is the strongest JRPG to emerge in years. Its vision is so bold and assured that it’s difficult to imagine how such a creature could have risen from this brackish swamp of a genre.”

An excerpt from Simon Parkin’s extolling review for Xenoblade. How can you not want to get your hands on this game after reading praise like this?

“No Japanese RPG has more successfully married its various components this hardware generation. It’s a game that invites us to reassess an entire genre, pointing to a bold future while nodding its respect towards the past. It’s a towering triumph.”

As you already know, while Xenoblade hits Europe this week, Nintendo of America still has no announced plans to release it here. No worries; you could always import a copy and softmod your Wii to run it!*

My hope is that Nintendo of America will see all this great European press and feel compelled to get its own localization engine going, so we don’t have to go through (and spend) all that just to play a decent Wii game.

*Don’t pirate it like a jerk.

Find: Nintendo DS/3DS release dates, discounts, & more

See also: More Xenoblade posts

[Via Eurogamer]

Music from Metroid: Other M. This tender piano composition opens up Nintendo’s teaser site for the upcoming Metroid game, accompanied by a rare Samus Aran audio clip (in Japanese): “A dream. It’s as if I was watching a playback of a tragedy that really happened.”

Metroid: Other M is slated to release in Japan this summer. Nintendo also revealed teaser sites with similarly sentimental music for two other Wii games: The Last Story from Archaic Sealed Heat developer Mistwalker; and Xenoblade (formerly Monado) from Xenosaga/Baten Kaitos studio Monolith Soft.

Preorder: Metroid: Other M

See also: Metroid: Other M trailer

[Via NeoGAF]