T he announcement of Xenoblade Chronicles X was a surprise and delight. Having become one of my favorite titles on the Wii and one of my favorite RPGs, period, I was fully prepared to get lost in a new world. My anticipation spiked within roughly a minute of my awareness of its existence, however, with the reveal of one crucial element: the mech gameplay that would augment exploration and combat. As a huge fan of Japanese mecha, this entry felt primed to become one of my favorite games ever. The wait for Xenoblade Chronicles X (henceforth referenced as XCX)- revealed in February 2013 but released in December 2015- felt unbearable, not only because of the anticipation, but also because of the sorry state of its platform, the doomed Wii U. As the game neared release, more information about its systems and scenario were revealed, and I began to realize that this game would act as a spiritual successor to XC in only a few ways. This was not designed to be an accessible JRPG, ...

Welcome to another installment in a continued discussion of RPG terminology. Today, we'll take a look at the design of another core element of the genre- the Overworld. There is a specific definition that stems from a user-generated source which I would like to immediately identify- found here , of all places. To reiterate much of this definition, an Overworld is meant to interconnect specific locations and primarily function as a means for travel. But there are many questions the idea of an Overworld presents, and many concepts of game design that must be addressed. In discussing the subject, we might actually end up coining some new terminology. While many of the terms and concepts in these articles may be applied to WRPGs as well, our discussion will mainly focus and reference JRPGs. Let's review our ever-growing glossary of terms: Organic grinding-  the experience (EXP) the game developers force you to accrue because of thoughtful game design. Artificial grin...