Xenoblade Has Achievements and City Building

The Xenoblade official site was updated today with the latest gameplay details on Monolith's upcoming Wii epic.

New to the System section of the site is a look at two areas of the game: "Kizuna" and "Yarikomi."

-- KIZUNA --

"Kizuna" is Japanese for "bonds," or the ties you have with others. In Xenoblade, you form bonds with your party members and with the NPC characters you encounter around the world. These bonds affect everything from battle to how you spend your time in town.

You can open a "Kizunagram" -- yes, this is a combination of "Kizuna" and "Diagram" -- to see a visual representation of the bonds with your party members and the bonds other characters have amongst themselves.

Bonds between allies (left) and amongst NPCs (right).

As you work through the game, you'll be able to take on quests from NPCs. Clear these quests, and in addition to rewards, you'll deepen your bonds with the people you've helped out. The site notes that these quests are optional -- you can progress through the main story without playing them.

A quest chart.

When you and your allies reach certain conditions, you'll be able to trigger special "kizuna talk" sessions. These let you see a different side of the character relationships.

To the left, the location of a potential Kizuna Talk is marked on the field. To the right, a list shows your past Kizuna Talks.

The areas of the world where you can have a kizuna talk are clearly marked. Additionally, the kizuna talks are stored in a list that shows the two participating characters, the location of the talk, the title of the talk, and the bond level between the two characters.

-- YARIKOMI --

"Yarikomi" is a Japanese word that's used to describe all the junk that extends the play time of games for those who really want to dig in deep. The site lists three such areas for Xenoblade:

Play Awards

This appears to be Xenoblade's take on Achievements and Trophies. Clear certain preset conditions, and you'll automatically receive these. The site says that you can use your Play Awards as an indication of how deeply you've enjoyed the game.

A list of Play Awards. The name is to the left, and a description is to the right.

Collepedia

I think the name of this feature is supposed to be a combination of "Collection" and "Encyclopedia." This reference guide records the items that you've collected in each area of the world.

The Collepedia chart seems to show only special items known as Collection Items. These items can be used to clear quests and can be given to others (shown to the right) to deepend your bonds.

City Building

You'll be able to lend a hand to rebuild a city (or possibly cities) that has been destroyed in attacks from the Kishin army. To help the city out, you'll have to give items and money. The city will slowly grow, and people will come over to live.

Screenshots show a city status screen where you can check level of redevelopment (shown as a percentage) and population. You can also choose to develop particular areas: housing, merchants, nature and "special." Each area requires certain items in certain quantities -- it looks like the alchemy system one might find in other RPGs.

The town building interface (left) and a slowly growing town (right).

It looks like there will be a lot to do in Xenoblade when you're not working through the storyline, exploring the massive world, or facing off against enemies in seamless battles.