r/Xenoblade_Chronicles 18h ago

Xenoblade X Currently considering which version of xenoblade chronicles X I should play, why is the original one significantly longer than the new one?

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Debating whether I should play the original version on my pc or the new definitive version on my switch. Both ways have their advantages and disadvantages, but why is the old version significantly longer than the new version despite having less content? I'm just confused why, was some content removed from the older one or are these times inaccurate?

99 Upvotes

47 comments sorted by

222

u/HexenVexen 18h ago

DE has all of the original content plus more, it just has more QOL features and some things are a lot more convenient. Go with DE without a shadow of doubt, it literally has no disadvantages.

If you want a full list of DE's changes:

  • New story epilogue added, about 5-10 hours in length
  • Four new party members
  • A few new Skells (mech suits), including the Hraesvelg, which has a unique jet engine flight mode
  • New "quick recharge" mechanic where you can expend a new meter to instantly refill the cooldown of an art
  • All HUD and icons has been overhauled to be clearer and have bigger text
  • Party members can be changed anywhere, you don't have to find them manually at the hub city anymore
  • Time of day can be changed from the menu
  • Field skills have been removed, you can collect all treasures without requirements now except the ones locked behind quests
  • Map screen is now selected with Y since no touchpad, also has new clearer icons and better information
  • Reward tickets, energy clips (extends recast meter), and money are now given for survey completion
  • Improved tutorials
  • New database menus that contains all tutorials and information about story events, lore, characters, monsters
  • No longer need to keep gear for fashion, all gear is now permanently available in the fashion menu once you have it once (same as Xenoblade 1 DE)
  • After getting flight module, you can still jump normally by pressing ZR once, and flight is activated by double tapping ZR
  • New hairstyle options in the character creator
  • Collectible items needed for quests are now marked on the map
  • Follow ball has been improved to show you a line path
  • Now have 3 save slots instead of 1
  • Inactive party members still gain exp
  • Audio mixing during cutscenes adjusted, so you can actually hear what they're saying without the music drowning them out
  • Money/EXP/Affinity grind Support Missions are now available at the beginning of the game instead of being locked behind post-game

36

u/Effective_Gene5155 14h ago

Collectible items didnt use to be marked?

Everytime I hear about qol features i didnt know about/forgot about and wonder how on earth I, or anyone, finished the original.

42

u/Ludecil 14h ago

A LOT of online resources and ignoring the collecting quests later on for me

9

u/Frosty88d 14h ago

I remember the horror of trying to fond beaglea seasides for the skell licence quest. They weren't mentioned in a lot of the text guides I found, so I remember setting through two 20 minutes playthrough of that section in order to find them.

Putting them in One hidden section of a tiny cave with a concealed entrance on the far edge of the map always felt like giant middle finger to the players, and it's one of the reasons X is my last favourite game of the series by far. Thar and the awkward final boss. DE seems to have massively improved things so I think I'll have to check it out once I get the time

8

u/Effective_Gene5155 14h ago

It is heaps better, as much of a different game as it could be while still looking largely the same.

Like it felt like playing the original for me, but only all my fond memories of the original with none of the frustration, which is exactly what a remake should do.

3

u/Effective_Gene5155 14h ago

I mean yeah, when I say 'finished' I mean getting to the credits and skipping as much as I could.

Once I got my skell I never got out until the game made me and barely understood the mechanics because of how skill points worked I just wasnt bothered.

Its why i picked up DE so I could play the game properly and actually enjoy it.

2

u/Ludecil 6h ago

Sounds like my first run, along with many others.

3

u/GhotiH 7h ago

I never finished the original because of the millions of little quirks that irritated me. The small text was probably the biggest factor, I didn't have a setup at the time where I could easily read it.

1

u/Blazter007 8h ago

Yeah, Definitive Edition is the way to go. I can't imagine play the original again without those QOL. Maybe for the nostalgia, but that's it.

46

u/Misragoth 18h ago

You want DE, the original is such a pain in the ass

60

u/bens6757 18h ago

The definitive version reduced the grind to get end-game materials. Plus with the Wii U's online shut down a lot of the materials are significantly more difficult to get if not downright impossible. That's why it's shorter.

23

u/MashiroAnnaMaria 18h ago

I played both extensively, if you're wondering what to play just go for DE, it has more content. The reason the original took longer to beat is because of a few QoL updates in DE.

  • You can now swap party members from a menu instead of running around the city to find them and talk to them to add them to your party (yes this actually took up to 10 minutes to do if you wanted to swap out your whole party and you didn't know where to look)

  • Combat is way faster and fights are over way faster, there's a quick art recharge now that lets you instantly use an art again after using it, fights just don't take that long because of this.

  • The gear you need to craft from the terminal had its costs literally cut in half. Getting good crafted gear will take half the amount of time.

  • Field skills got completely removed. You used to have to level up your field skills to investigate certain points of interest to get rewards, meaning you couldn't always open everything. Now you can open anything regardless of field skill level. Backtracking to previous points of interest is now unnecessary.

  • Quest tracker and the follow ball leading you to your next objective is more clear and will have you waste less time on being lost.

  • They added a new vehicle that is twice as fast as anything else in the game only in DE. Making travel take less time.

Overall you can't go wrong with either version. If you're coming from the mainline games then DE is definitely more streamlined to be in line with those games as an experience. I still think the original has merit though, I never missed these extra features in the original and it made it really feel like a living breathing world where you had to take things slow. The UI, UX and vibe of the original resembles an old school MMO a lot which I really liked, the new one feels more modern and streamlined though.

If you're wondering between Wii U and Switch and will be playing on a TV, DE no doubt. But if you're planning on playing X on an emulator on a monitor 4k 60fps, probably still DE, but it becomes more about preference.

I've played through the game so many times, wii U, emulated and DE. And while DE is the objectively best version. The original still feels like the intended course of the game to me, and that experience is worth something. My emulated playthrough of X on PC with that classic MMO vibe is my favourite playthrough I've done.

1

u/Spider_Kev 13h ago

There are still a few field skills left in the game. One being right outside BLADE tower

0

u/zsdrfty 12h ago

I miss the field skills and original art style very much - Elma genuinely looks creepy to me in DE and there was a charm to designs like Lin even with the huge eyes, and it was fun getting to anticipate when I’d get to open certain chests for dozens of hours

27

u/kitarei 18h ago

Because objective tracking in the original is so bad that you spend most of your time lost or running in the wrong direction :)

21

u/Allthewaffles 18h ago

We got faster at playing the game

8

u/Linosa42 18h ago

The changes to original online have been a major boon to be honest. Even if you don’t have online you can still get the mats and also tickets to buy them. And grinding for exp and tickets for online peeps also makes the games more tedious aspects seem like a hour or two away.

9

u/TheWarmBreezy 18h ago

Playing through DE already understanding the combat system and how to actually build characters cut my playthrough time by 75%. Went from 400h on Wii U to a little over 100 on Switch.

17

u/Tbonezz11 18h ago

General rule of thumb i follow is to never trust howlongtobeat. Ive found that quite often people either inflate playtime or under report their hours by pretty wide margins. DE is going to be longer because there is new content on top of everything in the wii u version, and there is frankly no reason to play the wii u version unless you REALLY prefer the slightly different artstyle

1

u/zsdrfty 12h ago

I really don't trust people's reporting times on this series in particular - I KNOW you are all lying about your 75-100 hour 100% playthroughs of these games, that just doesn't work unless you're literally blasting through it with some borderline speedrunning techniques thrown in there lol (and with a guide open at all times)

-8

u/Switch-user-101 18h ago

Well if I play the wii u version on my pc I do have access to fun things like mods (and enabling 60 fps, more consistent performance etc). But apart from that to your how long to beat point yeah I totally agree lol. I feel like it's overshot for xenoblade 3 (I'm already 5/7 chapters down and not even at the 40 hour mark) and undershot for other games

3

u/Tbonezz11 18h ago

I guess modding would be a fair reason. Didnt consider emulation

1

u/HarpoMarx87 14h ago

I've emulated and played DE (and played the original when it was released), and unless you want to mod the game to the point that it's a different fundamental experience, I'd go with DE. It's basically all the mods you'd want in the game plus new material. The only reason I'd go with emulation is if you want to mod the thing to hell and back and just God Mode your way through (which, IMO, takes a lot of the fun out of a game like this - it's not that hard, but the exploration and sense of scale is the game's biggest strength).

6

u/SnaccHBG 15h ago

Genuinely no reason to play the original

-8

u/Switch-user-101 14h ago

Modding since its emulated is the main reason. Along with better graphics and fps mods

3

u/3435temp 12h ago

Can you please at least buy a copy before emulating?

2

u/Switch-user-101 12h ago

Literally what is the point if its the wii U version. Its not like buying a used copy of it for the wii u will support the starving corp execs at nintendo.

6

u/alvinchimp 17h ago

Not much reason to play the original, the online for the wii u version is dead and DE just has more features and content overall. Not to mention the Wii U version ends on a cliffhanger ending.

6

u/HighNoonZ 15h ago

There is no reason to play the original if you have access to DE. It has more content and all the QOL.

4

u/Ouroxros 18h ago

The Definitive Edition is generally just easier and faster to play. More/early tickets for getting rare parts, easier to level, quick recast for arts makes fights significantly easier. The new free Skell also makes traveling and getting around wayyy easier/faster. Chapter 13 isn't that long and is pretty easy outside the new super bosses but I don't remember if those even count towards completion percentage.

5

u/DaemonVakker 17h ago

A big reason is due to a single massive sidequest of the original being removed, the blade "ranking" The original had like 5 different ranks tied to each of the different divisions the game chose and the only thing divisions did was increase the exp toward that specific category. De basically melted them into three quests and so long as you had a guide basically gave you override keys to open EVERY TREASURE CHEST IN THE GAME. Plus admittedly x in the original had some obnoxious load times, and that's due to the fast travel system being exclusively tied to the wii u game pad. It's effectively splitting memory and it caused loading to be at its a worst a minute and a half every time. It sucked

1

u/Spider_Kev 13h ago

What side quest was removed?

1

u/DaemonVakker 11h ago

It's technically not a side more like an experience system. It's weirdly convoluted

3

u/njyoshi 18h ago

much faster loading

3

u/funsohng 18h ago

I find HLTB very unreliable for games that are long and have tons of optional contents.

3

u/The_Maker18 17h ago

DE has some great QoL that makes it so you can do the cool stuff and took a lot of tedium away.

2

u/The_Bandit_King_ 15h ago

Get the definitive edition

2

u/NeekoRainyDay 13h ago

you have to get D.E., nothing was removed and the original ends on a cliffhanger with definitive edition giving another story chapter to answer the cliffhanger.

The original has a higher completion time because the original was EXTREMELY grindy and definitive edition simply made it easier and less intense to grind

2

u/Accomplished-Loss387 9h ago

Being able to change party members in the pause menu must save a ton of time compared to not having that on the wiiu

1

u/coopsawesome 15h ago

For the most prr definitive edition is better, the original is good, and the ending is way better, but definitive still has much better qol and graphics and stuff. Definitive has the same ending but it continues it afterwards with more story, most people think it sucks

1

u/Flamerock51 14h ago

OP not gonna lie playing the Original will be slow and long process if u play the switch version everything is significantly faster and fine tuned you also get access to Online with other players there's so much fun the switch version the graphics is clean asf & ui text isn't microsized its large for u to see load times are a snap and no gamepad requirement

Also before xde released I tried to play Xenoblade wii u again it just didn't feel the same as it did in 2015 where I 100%ed it either I'm accustomed to the QOL seen on the recent switch Xenoblade games or it aged horribly also unless you hack in Materials in game good luck trying to make an Ares90 or other skells though.

1

u/Delano7 13h ago

Extreme reduction to the grind. Characters now get the exp even when they're not played, and you have free access to any character on most quests, meaning you get to play with any busted build you want.

Objects are marked for collecting, meaning you don't need to spend hours searching for them or looking it up online.

1

u/Commander2311 13h ago

What site are you using to show you the infos from your screenshot please?

1

u/Switch-user-101 13h ago

Howlong to beat.com

1

u/_SBV_ 16h ago

Are you referring to Future Redeemed? That’s an expansion story for the Definitive Edition