Xenoblade Chronicles X in the final stages of development, more info this month
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 24 Comments
A brief update was posted to the Japanese Xenoblade Chronicles X Twitter account yesterday. It was stated that the team is in high spirits as they approach the final stages of development. Additionally, we can expect an increase of information from around this month.
Xenoblade Chronicles X – full version of the E3 2013 trailer music
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 15 Comments
Remember the amazing music from Xenoblade Chronicles X’s E3 2013 trailer? Well, now we have the full track!
Monolith Soft updated its Japanese Xenoblade Chronicles X website with the complete version of the E3 2013 trailer music. You can listen to it above.
Xenoblade Chronicles X – Hideyuki Matsumoto introduced, Kusanagi Company working on background design
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 3 Comments
The Xenoblade Chronicles X staff introductions continued today on the game’s Japanese Twitter account.
Director Tetsuya Takahashi posted the following about designer Hideyuki Matsumoto:
“The introduction of outside designers ends with Mr. Hideyuki Matsumoto. We both worked at the same company before and he helped out with Xenosaga, too. He’s very knowledgeable about things related to weaponry, so for this project I put him mainly in charge of designing the weapons the characters will use.”
Takahashi and Matsumoto worked together while at Squaresoft. Matsumoto has been involved with Front Mission 4 and 5, Project Sylpheed, At Tonelico, and Armored Core 3 as well as anime such as Zettai Karen Children.
Takahashi’s update also confirms that Kusanagi Company (Ni no Kuni DS, Persona 4 anime cut-scenes) handled background design for Xenoblade Chronicles X. “They’re a professional group used to creating 3D models based on drawings, so I can always leave things to them without worrying,” Takahashi noted.
Two new artists introduced for Xenoblade Chronicles X
Posted on 9 years ago by Kirara Koneko(@KiraraKoneko) in News, Wii U | 8 Comments
In his latest tweet, Tetsuya Takahashi introduces two new members of the Xenoblade Chronicles X development team.
Fumihiro Katagai and RARE Engine, are the latest artists to be introduced however no specifics are given as to what the two are working on.
Katagai is a mecha/conceptual designer who works on anime, and RARE Engine is an illustrator who mostly works on magazine illustrations and artwork for digital card games.
Takahashi goes on to ask for patience as he knows that continually introducing designers via twitter could get rather boring, he wants to make sure he can introduce as many artists as possible.
Takahashi feels that at this time the general direction of the game has been set ,therefore it makes it difficult for new people to join at this point so he is very grateful to those who have accepted to take part.
Designers Yoko Tsukamoto, Takashi Kojo introduced for Xenoblade Chronicles X
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 11 Comments
Today’s Xenoblade Chronicles X Twitter update introduces another two designers working on the Wii U RPG.
First up is Yoko Tsukamoto. Director Tetsuya Takahashi, who published the tweets, says that by mentioning Tsukamoto’s name, fans will understand that the world isn’t just made up of sci-fi elements. That’s because Tsukamoto is a well-known fantasy illustrator.
Takahashi additionally introduces Takashi Kojo, an enemy designer. The highlight of Kojo’s designs will be huge enemies. He’s also working on designing the strongest unique enemy in the game and the Growth Soldiers.
Another two Xenoblade Chronicles X designers introduced, including Sin & Punishment 2 art director
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 6 Comments
Xenoblade Chronicles X director Tetsuya Takahashi returned to the game’s Japanese Twitter account today and introduced another two designers.
First up is Yasushi Suzuki, who is leading the way on enemy mechs:
“Returning to the original subject, today I’ll present Mr. Yasushi Suzuki. His skills are top-notch, be it for character, mecha or landscapes design. I’d meant to work with him one day and this wish has finally come true with this project.”
“For this project, he’s mainly in charge of enemy mechs. The huge mech that appears in the last cut of the previously released [promotional video] (E3 2013) was also designed by him!”
For those wondering, Yasushi Suzuki worked as character and effects designer on Sin & Punishment for the N64, and as art director on Sin & Punishment: Star Successor.
The second designer introduced is Raita Kazama. Here’s what Takahashi said about him:
“Next up is Mr. Raita Kazama. I believe some people already know him, as he’s also drawn beautiful images for the previous Xenoblade.”
“For this project, I’ve mainly asked him to design the alien NPCs and the primitive lifeforms inhabiting the planet. Despite being an illustrator with a delicate touch, he himself is the macho bodybuilder type, lol.”
Xenoblade Chronicles X director talks more about the game’s Dolls
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 4 Comments
Today’s Xenoblade Chronicles X Twitter update, shared once again by director Tetsuya Takahashi, delves a bit more into the game’s “Dolls”. Basically, he explains how their size was determined.
Here’s the full update:
My apologies, but today I will depart from introducing the game’s designers to talk a little bit about the ‘Dolls’. Dolls are about 5 times larger than a tall human, at about 9~10 meters (Translator’s note: roughly 29″6′ ~ 32″9′) tall. We calculated this to be the optimal height for the robots when coexisting with humans while searching the map and battling. If we made the robots larger, the map would also have to be even larger, which is not just a problem of the game’s overall budget, but also searching the map would take an overly long time as a human. It’s been 15 years since Monolith Soft was founded and I finally feel like I have successfully created an RPG with humans and robots co-exist, a long held vision of mine.
Takahashi discusses the concept behind Xenoblade Chronicles X’s mechs
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 19 Comments
Xenoblade Chronicles X director Tetsuya Takahashi has shared more about the game on the official Japanese Twitter account. He spoke about art designers Takayuki Yanase and Kouichi Mugitani as well as the title’s Dolls.
First, here’s Takahashi on Yanase:
“Mr. Yanase is a well-known designer that has worked on Gundam 00 among other things. The concept for the Dolls in this project was that one single convertible frame be able to transform into several vehicles, so I asked for his help, knowing that he would be able to realize that [concept]. If I recall correctly, I asked for his help around the time that Kotobukiya announced its new plastic model “Frame Arms Series.”
Xenoblade Chronicles X staff includes Metal Gear Rising’s mechanical designer
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 4 Comments
A few more updates hit the Japanese Xenoblade Chronicles X Twitter account today. Director Tetsuya Takahashi shared news about a pair of artists working on the game.
Siliconera provides the following translations:
“First up, Mr. Takayuki Yanase. He always manages to give shape to the exact image I communicate, so I have faith in him. For this game, too, he’s created some very cool Dolls (robots).”
“Then there’s Mr. Kouichi Mugitani. Xeno fans already know him, though. Naturally, I’ve asked for his help as a core member of the staff.”
For those wondering, Yanase has worked on Ghost in the Shell: Arise, Tenkai Knights, and Metal Gear Rising. On Rising, Yanase did mechanical designs.
Mugitani’s previous works include production designer on Xenosaga I, Xenosaga II, and Xenosaga III. He also provided character illustrations for Xenosaga III.
More: Monolith Soft, top, Xenoblade Chronicles X
Xenoblade Chronicles X director shares an update on the game’s artists, alien races, script
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 9 Comments
A few new tweets were added to the Japanese Xenoblade Chronicles X Twitter account earlier today. Director Tetsuya Takahashi shared an update on the game’s artists (which extends to the alien races) and script. For the new information, take a look at the summary below.
– Aside from Kunihiko Tanaka’s designs, the team has many other artists working on different types of designs
– Different alien races in the game
– Wants to really bring out the various unique characteristics in their cultures
– For the graphics in the game to be able to reflect the different cultures, they have different artists fleshing out the details in the design phase
– We’ve apparently seen one of the unannounced races on the early tease site from Monolith Soft
– The script isn’t written by Yuichiro Takeda alone
– Compared to Xenoblade, this time there’s a lot more text to handle
– Kazuho Hyodo (an anime script writer) was brought in to help with the workload
– Since he has much experience with sci-fi works, Takahashi is not worried
– Some design staff will be introduced next week
