The fantastic Wii-exclusive from developer Monolith Soft, Xenoblade Chronicles, is IGN‘s choice for best Wii U/Wii game of 2012. The action role-playing game released 2010 in Japan, 2011 in Europe, and 2012 in North America.
Other nominees for IGN’s best Nintendo home console game of 2012 include Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and The Last Story.
While the Wii U had a few rather impressive launch titles (most notably New Super Mario Bros. U), it was actually the Wii and one of its very last pieces of software that stole the show in 2012. What Xenoblade Chronicles accomplished with the limited hardware at hand was an absolutely stunning achievement, providing a deep and engrossing RPG experience for a system that was severely lacking in the genre during its six year tenure. From the touching story to the memorable characters to the game’s fresh take on RPG combat, Xenoblade Chronicles is an absolutely exquisite adventure from beginning to end. Chances are you won’t even care that the game is not in HD when you’re tromping through the detailed and gorgeously varied landscapes it offers. Even if you’ve already made the jump to Wii U, this is a game that no one should miss out on–and that’s why it’s our choice for the best Nintendo home console game of the year.
Why did they choose a game that came out in summer 2011?
It came this year in the US. Good choice.
Well so what it was a Wii Game? Wii U only just come out so they got next year to win an award!
It was a Wii game because it’d already been out for two years in Japan as a Wii game, to convert it over would cost money and Nintendo barely released it in the US as it was. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be happy to see Xenoblade rebranded for the Wii U with an HD facelift, it’s one of the best games ever made and could set the Wii U on fire.
Seriously? He/She wasn’t asking a question.
Deserves it, most definitely.
true.
Xenoblade chronicles is way better than all the wiiu launch titles. And that’s saying something. People who are judging or ”condeming” the wiiu right now are just idiots. Imagine Monolith softs next game on wiiu in glorious HD !
Great minds think alike, I was thinking and typed the exact same thing moments after you. Read my post below yours. I am playing the life out of Batman Arkham city :).
Is it just me , Or does batman Look awesome and Run pretty damn well on wiiu ?
The anti aliasing makes the game look super sharp , and the game has a nice framerate but every now and again gets a little bit choppy.
I was sad when I saw what people were saying about it on wiiu. But the reality is –
It looks great , Plays fine (apart from irrelivant framedrops that seem to happen , once every half an hour or so) , Has remote play which is just great , Has all the DLC tucked away in the disc and has optional and amazing Unique Wiiu gamepad features.
At first it was disorientating to haft to look down to do stuff on this game. But it quickly becomes second nature and adds a slick new layer of complexity and sophistication to the game!
I would give it an 8.5/10 – Looks great , runs great for the majority , has all the DLC , and the optional Wiiu features are definitely worth your time. But it is a year late and quite expensive….
Yes it runs beautifully on the Wii U. I give it 9.0 for goodness, but for the three laggy parts( that a patch can fix ), and the price is a little steep. Imagine what going to come for play when real developers understand the GPGPU, CPU workings, plus the fact that the can use CryEngine3 , Unreal $, meant Unreal engine 4, Unity engine 4 with direct X11 equivalents components, AnvilNext engine etc. Catch you when moster hunter 3 ultimate arrives.
If they build a game from the ground up for wiiu. It could look twice as good as Batman Arkhum city and run at 60FPS 720p or something like that….
Because people were rushing to develop ports for wiiu launch which means , they don’t even have the choice or money to Rebuild the game properly for wiiu , in which case the games will end up looking a lot better. Look at trine 2 for example and that’s with minimal effort.
People are just trying to get xbox 360 code running on wiiu. Mass effect , Blops 2 , AC3 , they’re just carbon ports of the 360 game. We ain’t seen nothing yet , not even 50% of the wiiu’s full graphical potential.
I expect the next Zelda game , to have jaw dropping , AMAZING , graphics that make the ps3 and xbox 360 look like shit in comparison. A lot of wiiu games will end up doing this , with all the crazy gamepad features..
And you called me the Graphics whore? :P
Let’s not get into this now jellybean! *put’s knife away* lol.
Come on man. I know the wii was weak. But I still loved it when games pushed the system like Mario galaxy , Xenoblade , Monster Hunter , Metroid prime! The same applies for wiiu. It may be behind the 720 and ps4 , But I will still be really keen to see what devs can come up with on wiiu.
3DS is the weakest console out now (excluding DS and PSP) , but there is still some remarkable looking games on the thing like Resi and Kid icarus…
Gameplay always comes first , Graphics just rounds off the package. Trine 2 is a perfect example where the graphics are so good they seem to make up a large chunk of the game lol…
^ This
I just the new Zelda to be good, unlike Skyward Sword, with has some HORRIBLE gameplay design, and im not even talking about the 7/10 accuracy of the Wiimotion+
Not this^ Skyward sword is a masterpiece , with masterfull gameplay. The sword precision and everything else is generaly 100% accurate. The gyroscope goes off a bit you press minus and it recalibrates instantly.
1.Ocarina
2.Skyward sword
3.Majora’s Mask
4.Windwaker
5. TP
6.ALTTP
Swap 6 and 1 and then I agree. :P
Ocarina number 6? Wiiu bayonetta bro ?
Nope, I just reckon Ocarina is overrated as all hell.
No, not in the slightest. It has Sooooooo many issues
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsogswrH6ck
It’s one of the best Games I have ever played anyway. My opinion :)
da same order i would pic the only difference is dat tp would be first
Windwaker is dead last for me. It has nothing to do with the graphics or art style, which aged incredibly well. What an awful game.
Your opinion man! Windwaker is a beast of a game in my eyes.
Jelly bean you seem to want to go after the most sophisticated Nintendo gamers. We play all systems and balance out game play with all other elements. graphics when done correctly are nice too, Max payne 1 and 2 for example.
You really do sound like a pretentious twat.
Not to me; he actually looks to be portraying who you are quite well.
u guys are funny add me to yals wii u
Justice and intelligence has finally prevailed at IGN. Recently IGN has become sane and good. Even that beautiful presenter of theirs Naomi Carl loves Nintendo. Imagine now what is coming for the Wii U, with Monolith soft making another block buster for the Wii U. The maker of the Last Story also planning the Last story 2. Retro, nintendo EAD scheming and brewing more master pieces these coming years. Goodness exists at nintendo :). Thanks IGN :).
Other nominees for IGN’s best Nintendo home console game of 2012 include Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and The Last Story.
Im sorry, what? Black Ops 2? Seriously?
That game isn’t even the best on anything, not even close.
IGN, officially not a gaming site.
Forgive them, they had to advertise for one of their biggest financiers lol. They are far better this year ( IGN ) than last. Gamespot on the other hand suck, so do the new pachtersites the digital foundry lol.
True. But black ops 2 on the wii is actually a really , really , really , really impressive port.
Let’s see *clicks pen*
– Carbon port of 360 version which is a lot better looking than ps3 version. And has no screen tearing.
– Can Run 2 screens at once during campaign with no graphical Hit . Or you can have a map with on the fly sensitivity changing etc..
– Dual Screen multiplayer , Has potential to bring back the Goldeneye Glorydays of Local multiplayer (LOVE THAT SHIT!)
– Supports , Wiiu gamepad , Pro controller , Wii remote and chuck , and Classic controller pro.
– Remote play on the gamepad
– Can Use pro controller to controll what’s on the gamepad whilst tv is switched off.
– Can use wii remote to control what’s on the gamepad also..
– Voice chat support , Great seemless lag free online
– Etc etc.
– Framerate is locked at 60FPS in Multiplayer and zombies (although can drop a little during hectic campaign sections)
I have to take my hat off to Activision. It’s a great PORT , not saying the core game is anything special because it’s not… But , it’s a great example of how a port should make it over to the wiiu. 9/10 – Wiiu version
Great, impressive port of a shitty game is still a shitty game.
True. But the wiiu version is simply awesome because of the dual screen thing. Litteraly everyone I know has been like ”OMG!” when they play it. It just adds something rather special to the game. It seriously is what first person shooters have always lacked that they have always needed.
The core of the game is just CoD. But I really feel like Activision made a decent amount of effort and didn’t skip out on hardly anything. Fifa and Madden are a prime example of a total cock up of a port. With features missing and stupid features added in. Blops2 is like a seriously superior version of Blops2 on 360….
Yeah, but FPS with dual analog sticks suck. PC for all my FPS’s.
Well you have the wii remote and nunchuck bro! People always put that up there with the mouse. I use the wii remote for fun sometimes , But I’m best using the gamepad.
if the wii remote actually works for aiming then i agree yes
also gets my hope up that shooters on the wii u won’t abandon the wiimote which is more than adequate for playing shooters
was kind of afraid that many shooters would simply fall back on standard gamepad controls since it’s easier to port
I know… Vive la wii remote!!
Have you tried using only the gamepad to play black ops 2?
ofcourse! One of the best features of the game. Remote play seems to breathe fresh air into virtually any game. Just lying in bed with some high quality headphones plugged into the gamepad , with your tv switched off using the built in remote…
I prefer to play on the gamepad. anyday of the week.
Yeah. I wasn’t quite sure that this game features off TV play that’s good to know, but I saw a video that you can display what’s on the tv to the game pad. Kinda like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTLRdP9oOfw . Anyway, I can’t wait to experience the awesomeness of the Wii U, and the off TV play functionality!
The off TV play makes everything better. Worth owning a wiiu for that feature alone. It’s like , in effect , playing the most powerfull Handheld ever…
The wii remote works as well for aiming as a blindfold,.
you haven’t really tried it then
it takes a bit getting used to but once you’re used to it it’s far superior to an analog stick and almost as good as a mouse
obviously in esports someone with a mouse would still completely burn someone using a wiimote but still, playing fps with the wiimote is actually quite fun
“Almost as good as a mouse”
Please for the sake of humanity, shut up. It is freaking terrible for FPS (Yes I have tried it) It is so inaccurate.
not nearly as terrible as an analog stick and quite frankly i don’t care about your opinion
since there’s obviously no mouse and keyboard on a console to play fps with i’m fine with the wiimote any day
also if you can’t keep your hand still enough to aim accurately with a wiimote you might wanna quit smoking
accuracy was never an issue for me
the only issue is the turning which works much better with a mouse
Wait, I smoke now!? LMAO. Ah, Kehool, you really need to stop assuming so much buddy. Also, you obviously cared about my opinion enough to warrant 2 comments ;)
EXCUSE ME FACT THE VERY SECOND THE WII REMOTE BECAME AVALABLE SECOND ANALOG STICK BECAME OBSOLETE ,I DONTBPLAY WITH OBSOLETE CONTROLS FACT 2 ANALOG CONTROLLING A CAMERA AND A AIM AND A POINT OF VIEW IS “”””CASUAL GAMING FULL FUKING STOP END OF ARGUMENT CORE GAMERS USE CUTTING EDGE CONTROLS A SECOND PLASTIC STICK FOR THE LOVE OF GOD IS FAR FROM FUKING CUTTING EDGGE LAFF THE FUK OUT LOUD!!!!!!!
A WII REMOTE UTTERLY DESTROYS A SECOND PLASTIC STICK AND ANYONE PLAYING FPS COD ETC ON THOSE CONTROLS SHOULD BE FUKING ASHAMED ROBO COP CAMERA ROBOCOP AIMING UNNATURAL MOVEMENT UNNATURAL CAMERA AND FUKING ON RAILS CASUAL GAMER AIMING AND QUICK SCOPING
IM FUKING SICK OF 12 YEAR OLD XBOX AND PS FANS TRYING TO SAY THERE CORE GAMERS LOL AIMING WITH A OBSOLETE PEASE OF PLADTIC AINT CORE GAMING ITS FUKING HERP DERP GAMING FOR CASUAL CLOWN SHOE WEARING SCUM!!!!!
WII REMOTE IS THE MOST ADVANCED FPS GAMING CONTROL TOOL ON EARTH CORE MEANS TO BE INTO THE CORE TECH OF GAMING LAST TIME I CHECKED WII REMOTE PLUS AND WIIU GAMEPAD WAS THE CUTTING EDGE
CLOWN SHOE TWIN STICK CASUAL FPS PLAYERS CALLING THEMSELVES CORE PISS OFF DONT INSULT ME….
WII REMOTE OFFERS PC MOUSE LIKE FPS PRECISION WITH VASTLY SUPIERIOR ABILITYS VASTLY SUPERIOR COMFORT VASTLY SUPERIOR FEED BACK AND EVEN SOUND EFFECTS
AND WII REMOTE TOTALLY REMOVES SCROLLING FROM FPS GAMES WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT SCROLLING IN A GAME WEN WII REMOTE TOTALLY REMOVES THE NEED TO SCROLL
SCROLLING IS THAT ENDLESS TWITCHING OF THE AIM STICK WITH YOUR THUMB ENDLESS MINI PUSHES AND FINGER REPOSITIONS THEN PUSH AGAIN AS THOW YOUR SCROLLING A WEB PAGE
FACT ONLY A FUKING MORON WOUKD WANT TO SCROLL A VIDEO GAME
BOTH PC MOUSE AND ANALOG STICK REQUIRE SCROLLING ITS DUMB ITS A PAIN IN THE ASS ITS UNNATURAL AND IT CREATS THAT ROBO COP SHAMEFUL MOTION AND CAM FPS GAMES ARE PLAUGED WITH
WII REMOTE OFFERS THE BEST AND MOST COMFORTABLE FPS CONTROL AND ALSO TOTALLY REMOVES THAT DUMB ASS SCROLLING
TWIN ANALOG STICK A FPS SORRY ITS 2012 NOT 1974
CLASSIC PAD FPS ON WII DID YOU BE ASHAMED BE VERY ASHAMED
i care only about your physical health buddy ;)
if your hands are shaking so much you can’t aim with a wiimote you should go see someone about it
and what the hell is up with that capslock guy.. i couldn’t stand reading any of it
Oh my god, i dont care, the WiiU version could give me a blow job while playing it, its still a shitty game.
that would be kind of awkward
but i’d check it out
It’d not though. Dual screen Multiplayer is somewhat of a revoloution in my opinion. Some may not see it that way. But I would love some other FPS’s to use it on wiiu.
And that feature alone makes it far superior to other versions. I suppose a blow job wouldn’t make it any worse…
NO, SHITTY GAME.
I get it, WiiU has ALOT of nice features, but the game is SHIT. If it has all those features, and it was Borderlands 2, or Far Cry 3, sign me up, but it’s COD. Boring ass, repetitive, unoriginal COD.
I agree with you lol…. The core of the game is very boring and ”shit” . But Like I say , I am happy with my purchase because of that one feature and probably won’t sell it until another game on wiiu has the same feature. That’s how good it is for local multiplay..
Borderlands 2 on wiiu *sigh* why the fuck did mr pitchford not do that….
”Borderlands 2 , all the DLC crazy wacky fun time gamepad edition” …..
although im a few just like you who thinks COD is shitty and its just a rehash of their previous games, ive played BO2 and from what ive played so far its surprisingly entertaining, especially the situations they put you in, zombie mode isnt as bad too given you can have separate screens.
I’m still not sure if I would like this game. I’ve never really tried an rpg outside of pokemon and paper mario.
You should play it. You shall be hooked and shall be sucked into it. The game play is vivid and beautiful, also yet powerful. The voice acting is exquisite and British with no cussing. I am a monster hunter veteran, and I too had to put my psp monster hunter freedom unite, and my Wii’s monster hunter tri down to okay xenoblade chronicles. It is that great.
I normally am not a fan of Nintendo, but this game was pretty darn good.
Oh i can tell, every thing you say on this site is mostly about smartphones “owning” handhelds or something like that. Also the unneeded negative things you say about nintendo most of the time.
What the hell does this have to do with what I just said?
you can’t really compare paper mario and pokemon to a game like xenoblade
it’s not as lightweight as those games when it comes to RPG elements
xenoblade does require some time to get accustomed to the mechanics, which tend to be fairly complex (as with many RPGs) but it’s definitely worth it i think
the game shouldn’t be that expensive anymore
xenoblade is as good an introduction to (J)RPG games as it gets i think so you should probably check it out :)
Wow. I am shocked. Good for them. XenoBlade deserves it.
Xenoblade was epic. Not more epic then the day I killed the Lich King with Shadowmourne … but it was epic.
black ops 2 was a nominee? really?
Probably because it was not a bad port…. just look what “Nintedward” said.
Well, to be honest…. IGN IS IN LOVE WITH FPS GAMES, thats the FACT.
well i thought this was about selecting the best nintendo console game.. not the best port
i can have BO2 on any other bloody platform.. beats me why someone would even think about nominating it
Let’s see, Xenoblade Chronicles, Last Story both great games. Then you have JRPGs coming to WiiU like Dragon Quest X, and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. And outside of Nintendo, there’s more JRPGs for PS3 such as Ni No Kuni (A great game as I played the demo), and Tales of Xillia. Next year looks even more promising for JRPGs, and I hope the genre rises in the western again. I’m sick of all the dull, depressing, overrated Western RPGs. I was born an JRPG fan, and will die an JRPG fan!
nothing wrong with a bit of western end time RPG action
i loved fallout for example.. all 4 parts of it
but there’s more
gaia for example was great too
no idea why so many western RPGs (those that can actually be called an RPG… i wouldn’t go so far as to call games like risen 2 an RPG.. although it was fun) usually come with an end time setting, but then again many japanese RPGs feature a dystopian setting aswell
i guess that’s just one of the settings that works best for an RPG
Silly me how could I forget Borderlands 1 and 2? lol those two are the only Western RPGs I care about and play
what about elder scrolls? baldurs gate? ultima? nothing?
Haven’t owned a Elder Scrolls since Oblivion, and I’m waiting to get a gaming PC to play Skyrim
you don’t really need a buffed up PC to play skyrim.. that games graphics.. well let’s say they’re not its strong point
Unless you were the guy who ran the hundred mods ;)
Nothing to do with this topic but for those who haven’t yet heard, THQ just filed for Bankruptcy today. So yes they’ve been loosing money.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/12/19/thq-files-for-bankruptcy
At least now we know what was behind that Metro situation. Nintendo should buy THQ. That would be pretty cool.
Too late; some group called Clearlake Capital Group is doing that.
It’s great that they were saved.
We’ve known this was going to happen for a while now. Besides, it won’t affect the games coming out and Ubisoft will probably just buy the IPs is they do shut up shop.
Ubisoft buying they’re IP’s? I dont know what to think of that…long as they make Darksiders 3 >.< i want to at least see Fury and Strife.
*their.
Well if anyone were to buy them, I would hope for Ubisoft. Besides I think they’re one of very few who are actually in a position to buy them.
Yeah.
Thing is Ubisoft can be brilliant, but at the same time be horrible xD
Rayman Legends looks amazing, and Watch Dogs has potential, but AC3 was bad, same with the previous PoP games, and shovelware.
THQ dont publish that many good games anyway, other than Darksiders, maybe with Ubisoft, Vigil Games can FINALLY put 4 player Horsemen co-op in there.
http://www.thq.com/us/go/article/view/homepage_article/261277/thq_community_message_from_jason_rubin?utm_source=Social&utm_medium=General&utm_campaign=THQ
Well thats good xD
I’m glad they won’t be going away. It would be a great loss.
Please tell me THQ are the developers behind Metro last night. All they need to do is port their games to the Wii U, exclusive a game to the 3DS; then give Nintendo IP rights and they will survive bankruptcy.
They are. But they won’t do that, and instead they’ll just die, or EA will buy it -.-
http://www.vg247.com/2012/11/13/ubisoft-interested-in-possible-acquisiton-of-thq-ips-says-guillemot/
If only they had gone to knock on Shigeru Miyamoto’s door earlier for gaming advice. Also not bad mouth a great company like Nintendo.
Who cares, they have been saved and are still 3rd Party. It would be terrible for them to go exclusively to one company. I want everyone to experience what my favourite publisher/developer can offer, there games are amazing.
Note: I know the Wii U won’t experience much just yet, give it time.
Could have been better..either way it is still a good choice.
IT’S REYN TIME!
If the make Xenoblade 2 on the Wii U with all controller support, in either 1080 P 60 frames perseconf 25Gigs disc maximized, I shall be happy.
What idiot would want 1080p 60fps over an RPG that uses 25GB?
Easy on the cussing tiger, might be Christian but don’t tempt me, have not been mellow for too long, I might send you to sleep early with a few choice worldly phrases. The GPGPU says hello I can accomplish that easily. We both know Monolith soft are more than capable of achieving this ).
You fanboys really expect waaaaay too much from the GPGPU. It doesn’t do as much as you think it does …
hahahaha at you Jellybean, so you think Nintendo stuck that GPGPU in there for cosmetics, shake my head. It will show its nature :).
I never said anything about Cosmetics. It does do what people say, just not to the extent you guys think it does. Stop twisting what I say.
jellybean is actually right
GPGPU can calculate tasks that normally the CPU would handle but at a much higher efficiency.. such as collision detection and, to some extent, animations
however it doesn’t speed up the 3D graphics aspect of your game since that is already exclusively handled by the GPU
Cussing? I said idiot, not fuck.
And it wasn’t about it being possible, it was about who in there right mind would prefer just 1080p 60fps over a game filled with 25GB worth of content?
No-one, or no-ones who isn’t out of their mind.
Forgive me I read wrong. I want more from games as always :).
720P at 30 would still be a perfectly fine goal to aspire to, IMO.
No need to push things if it raises costs in development.
720P at 30 FPS*
why would a higher resolution or a higher framerate affect costs of game development? that’s simply a question of how much power is available on the system, not of how much time i invest into the game
Pingback: IGN chooses Xenoblade Chronices as best Nintendo home Console game of 2012
To whom it may concern, RES 6 to be released on PC on march 26, with all DLC added on. Patience is a virtue, all Nintendo gamers know why I say this :).
Yeah …. RE hasn’t been good for a long time. 4 was the last decent one.
Man, Resi4…if it wasn’t for iffy spund quality here and there, and quite awkward controls, it would be perfect.
wii remote and chuck iffy HUH
We actually agree on this one Jellybean. 4 is classic and epic. I would actually like RES 7 to only have Loen and Ada.
Waiting for RE6 is like waiting for someone to punch your face :/ i reccommened not playing it, save yourself Dx
Played it hated it.
* Leon and Ada *
Best Game of the WII period!!
Once you learn Melia’s moves and use them wisely, she killed lots of the bosses :)
Never could learn them.. always crushed boss with my shulk/reyn/sharla team
It is easy, first SPEAR BREAK and then STARLIGHT KICK (will make the enemy fall) then you can summon some powers like SUMMON EARTH (will poison the enemy), SUMMON BOLT (big damage) and SUMMON FLARE (will atack more than one enemy at the same time) and then REFLECTION (enemy will be ataccking himself).
*attacking
Melia was powerful but tricky lol.
I always used a Melia/Shulk/Dunban party for most bosses.
It earned that title. That game made you feel like you did something BIG and GREAT. I was amazed at how HUGE the maps are for this game. That game is an example of how developers make the most of a system. That game is a forever staple in my gaming library; even more so because of new game plus mode carry over
This game is an absolute f#ckin beast. Monolith Soft, this RPG is one of the best I’ve played definitely up there with Golden Sun 1&2, Monster Hunter Tri, and Final Fantasy 8…str8 up
do i get xenoblade or last story or both might get both but i hate turn based crap i want real core experiance and i think these two games will fill that hole until the beefy wiiu games start coming
Both. I don’t like the Wii, but I thoroughly enjoyed these 2 games.
Reblogged this on Fergster's Other Blog.
Lol at this title, no shot its a wii game… Since that is the only home console that didn’t have pure derivatives for Nintendo
Xenoblade is a good game but I personally think the last story had more of an impact to me in video game history
Pingback: Xenoblade Chronicles Is $40 At GameStop | My Nintendo News