Chapter 774 - 774: Is This How a Traditional RPG Map Should Look?

Based on the game's world, it's clear that the so-called "Sea of Clouds" is the ocean, and the "Titan Beasts" are ships or landmasses.

But the crucial question is, how many people can these Titan Beasts hold?

"So, is this some kind of unique Voyage-themed game? Players control the protagonist, Rex, adventuring in the cloud sea of the Underworld, and then heading towards the World Tree together?"

Zack wondered to himself.

The game quickly moved to Gerantmont Port. What followed was a series of tutorials, showing how to open and check the map, and a money-making gameplay loop involving salvage.

He also coincidentally completed a hide-and-seek quest to find party members. The overall structure of the game made Zack feel very retro; it was the most traditional RPG framework.

However, in terms of its map, Zack felt quite free. Especially since the game allowed Rex to control his jumps to reach seemingly unconventional areas.

An interesting point was that it was here Zack lost his first life. He jogged to the third-floor inn, then, while jumping around, he missed a step and fell from the air, costing him his first life.

Browsing around the exchange, he found places like the inn and shops were all unlocked.

Clearly, these would gradually unlock as the story progressed. After looking around and finding not much he could interact with yet, Zack followed the prompts to advance the story.

"Nia, Mythra, and Malos? These must be allies. But this Chairmaniaux doesn't look like a good guy at all."

As the story progressed and Rex took on the salvager mission, Zack pondered the allegiances of several characters.

The promotional trailers had actually revealed some content. Nia was on Rex's side, but whether Mythra and Malos were allies was uncertain.

After all, Mythra suddenly attacked Rex, Malos acted like a robot with no emotional fluctuations, and only Nia showed a bit of righteous indignation. It seemed likely that those two tough guys might be villains, and Nia might join Rex later.

As for Chairmaniaux, Zack was purely judging by his looks.

The maid ladies around him, with so little fabric on their clothing, and that lecherous look, you just knew they weren't good people.

As for Nia, from the dialogue, she seemed like a slightly willful and impatient catgirl. Considering her age, personality, and when she appeared, she felt like a definite heroine.

But then, thinking about Pyra from the trailers, could this be a game with multiple heroines?

Were they all Rex's options?

Zack thought gleefully.

Of course, setting aside these speculations, there were still some things Zack found darkly humorous about the game.

He received 100,000 gold from Chairmaniaux and then, following instructions, bought some equipment for a few thousand dollars, which briefly excited him.

Because he realized that compared to the game's prices, 100,000 gold was a massive fortune early on. But in the next second, Rex sent 90,000 of it back to his village, which perfectly showcased the dark humor.

If you're going to send it back to the village, why give it to me first!

Why hold onto the money and then make me spend it!

While complaining, Zack slowly advanced the game's plot.

At the same time, he learned more new content, such as the Blades' special attacks and related Blade Combos.

This part of the content, in the original version, would only appear later when they reached the Gula region. After all, Rex didn't have his own synchronized Blade at this point.

But considering the subsequent cutscenes and the player experience's smoothness, Lucas had placed it here on the sunken ship, using Nia and Mythra's Blade Resoance to demonstrate.

"This feels a bit complicated!" Zack smacked his lips as he looked at the game's tutorial. Moreover, he felt some content hadn't been fully revealed here.

For example, in the upper left corner, he noticed three energy bars that could be filled, but he didn't know what they were for yet.

Additionally, the game's so-called Blade Combos were supposed to grant resistance orbs to monsters, a feature he hadn't seen.

However, he didn't have much time to research it. The combat system he hadn't figured out yet quickly lost his attention as the game's plot captivated him.

Well... not purely the plot.

Because, honestly, the plot of Xenoblade, at least so far, wasn't particularly surprising. It had a purely traditional RPG flavor.

Upon reaching the sunken ship, Rex opened a vault for Mythra and Malos, containing their ultimate goal: the Aegis.

And the Aegis happened to be a very beautiful girl. Coincidentally, Rex was stabbed through the heart from behind by Malos. And coincidentally, the Aegis was willing to share half her life with Rex, become his Blade, and let him take her to Elysium.

Orphaned, with a ship and a house, and now a wife literally drops from the sky – this is a standard protagonist template!

What followed was a cutscene lasting several minutes, a typical heroic saga development.

Rex, having successfully synchronized with his Blade, wanted to confront Mythra and Malos to get payback but was soundly beaten. At this point, Nia, who had only recently joined the enemy organization and was kind-hearted, clearly sided with Rex.

Fortunately, Rex's grandfather arrived just in time to save the day. At the same time, from the exchange between Mythra and Pyra, and Malos referring to Rex's Titan grandfather as Argentum, it was clear there was an unknown backstory behind them.

The story itself wasn't groundbreaking, but the excellent presentation and exciting background music still made Zack feel somewhat invigorated, as if he'd found that old feeling from playing traditional RPGs as a child.

What excited Zack even more was that he had to admit one thing: Boss Lucas really understood his audience!

When Pyra shared half her life with Rex and had him touch her core on her chest, and when Rex awoke from unconsciousness after accidentally falling into the forgotten lands of the Gula region, having been rescued by Grandpa Argentum, the game switched to a first-person perspective.

At that moment, the player was lying on Pyra's lap, and upon opening their eyes, they saw Pyra's gentle and caring expression. The full frontal buff was off the charts!

The only thing Zack felt compelled to complain about again was Grandpa Argentum's sacrifice.

The sad melody, the parting words, and Rex's mournful appearance made Zack sigh at the time.

But the next second, the originally tragic scene immediately turned comical. Grandpa Argentum wasn't dead; he had simply transformed from an adult Titan into a juvenile one.

All his emotions were wasted!

Next was finding Nia, which didn't involve much drama.

However, here Zack encountered more of Xenoblade's systems, such as different Blades having unique field skills.

For example, Pyra possessed fire abilities. When they occasionally encountered large trees blocking their path, Pyra had to use her fire abilities to burn them down, a sort of resource allocation and puzzle-solving element.

Besides that, the game's maps had various collectible items, which was a typical characteristic of traditional RPGs. Zack wasn't overly surprised.

What truly shocked him was when they passed through the Forgotten Road and arrived at the Lookout Point. The game's camera shifted to a wide shot, revealing the expansive scenery of the Gula region.

"Holy crap! This map! This is a traditional RPG!? Where are the dungeons!? Where's the linear map!? This is an open world!" Zack's eyes widened.

That scene reminded him of a masterpiece he had played before, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Emerging from the cave and seeing the entire view of the Great Plateau felt eerily familiar.

But the key was that this was a traditional RPG map!

While the previous sunken ship salvage mission and the Forgotten Land allowed free movement, they were essentially single paths with little choice, akin to traditional RPG dungeons.

Branching paths only led to treasure chests for collection.

But now?

Zack opened the in-game map and was stunned.

If he hadn't known he was playing a traditional RPG, he would have absolutely thought it was an open-world ARPG.

Because this map was just too big! Is this how a traditional RPG map should look!?

And based on the information released earlier, this was just one region!

Controlling Rex and Nia on the land of Gula, he saw herds of horses playing by the water in the distance, armored cattle grazing on the grassland, a colorful flying bird soaring through the sky from a dense ancient forest, and wolf packs sleeping on large rocks.

Zack could only describe the art of the entire map as breathtaking. Walking through the lush green hills of Gula, his mood seemed to calm down.

Until an eighty-something level gorilla appeared before him.

(End of Chapter)

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