Chapter 774: Is This What a Traditional RPG Map Should Be?

Chapter 774: Is This What a Traditional RPG Map Should Be?

Based on the game's worldview, it was clear that the so-called Cloud Sea corresponded to the ocean, while the Titans corresponded to ships—or even landmasses.

But the real question was: how many people could a single Titan actually hold?

"So could this actually be a nautical-themed game in disguise? The player controls protagonist Rex, adventuring across the Cloud Sea of Alrest, all while heading toward the World Tree?"

Zhang Yi speculated inwardly.

The game soon arrived at Geltmont Port. From here, a series of tutorial instructions unfolded—opening and checking the map, and introducing a money-earning gameplay mechanic similar to salvage operations.

He also completed a hide-and-seek quest to find party members. The entire game’s structure felt incredibly retro to Zhang Yi—this was the quintessential framework of a traditional RPG.

Yet, regarding the map, Zhang Yi felt a remarkable sense of freedom. Especially since, in-game, he could control Rex to jump toward areas that didn’t seem accessible at first glance.

One notable moment: Zhang Yi lost his first life. After sprinting up to the third-floor Inn, he started hopping around playfully—only to misstep and plummet from the sky, costing him his first life.

He wandered through the exchange house, as well as other locations like the Inn and Shop (in-game), all of which remained locked.

It was obvious these would gradually unlock as the story progressed. After realizing there wasn’t much available to interact with at the moment, Zhang Yi continued advancing the story as prompted.

"Nia, Malos, and Tseng? They’re probably one of their own. But Chairman Ba’arn doesn’t seem like a good guy at all."

As the story unfolded, Zhang Yi observed Lester accepting the salvager quest and began speculating on the factions of each character.

The promotional trailer had already revealed some hints: Nia was clearly on Rex’s side. Whether Malos and Tseng were allies remained uncertain.

After all, Malos suddenly attacked Rex, and Tseng behaved like an emotionless robot. Only Nia showed signs of standing up for others. Judging from this, those two rough-looking men were likely antagonists, while Nia might eventually join Rex’s side.

As for Chairman Ba’arn, Zhang Yi’s judgment was purely based on appearance.

The young lady maids around him wore barely any clothing, and his sleazy look screamed “bad guy.”

As for Nia, judging from her dialogue, she seemed like a somewhat spoiled, hot-headed Catgirl. In terms of age, personality, and timing of her appearance, she was practically the definitive main heroine.

But then again, considering the appearance of Pyra in the promotional trailer—could this actually be a game with multiple heroines?

Are they all Rex’s wings?

Zhang Yi thought contentedly.

Of course, aside from these speculations, there were still aspects worth grumbling inwardly about—namely, the game’s wicked sense of humor.

After receiving 100,000 G from Ba’arn, Zhang Yi followed the tutorial and spent several thousand on gear, briefly thrilling at the thought.

He realized that, compared to in-game prices, 100,000 was a massive fortune in the early game. But the next second, Rex mailed 90,000 back to his village—highlighting the game’s mischievous humor.

If you’re gonna send money back to the village, why not send it first?!

Why make me hold onto it, then let me spend it, just to take it away later?!

Grumbling all the while, Zhang Yi continued progressing through the story.

He also learned more new mechanics—such as Blade special moves and Blade Combos.

In the original version, this tutorial would only appear later, when arriving at Gormott Province, since Rex hadn’t yet obtained his own Blade at this stage.

However, considering the need for smoother player experience and better pacing in subsequent work, Chen Xu had moved this demonstration to the sunken ship segment, using Nia and Malos’s Blade, Zan’ne, to showcase the mechanics.

"Feels a bit complicated," Zhang Yi muttered, smacking his lips. He also sensed that some elements hadn’t been fully revealed yet.

For instance, in the top-left corner, he noticed three energy gauges that could be filled up—though he had no idea what they were for.

Additionally, the game had mentioned that Blade Combos would generate resistance orbs on monsters, but he hadn’t seen that mechanic in action yet.

Before he could study it further, however, his attention was quickly drawn back to the story—this mysterious, still-undeciphered Combat System left him no time to ponder.

Well… not purely the story.

Because if he were being honest, at least up to this point, the story of Xenoblade Chronicles wasn’t particularly surprising. It was pure, unadulterated traditional RPG flavor.

Arriving at the sunken ship, Rex helped Tseng and Malos open a treasure vault containing their target Blade: Aegis.

And coincidentally, Aegis turned out to be a stunningly beautiful girl. Also coincidentally, Tseng impaled Rex from behind, fatally wounding him. And again, coincidentally, Aegis willingly shared half her life force with Rex, becoming his Blade and asking him to take her to Elysium.

Parents dead, house and ship secured—now he even gets a wife dropped straight from the heavens? This is the standard protagonist template!

Next came a several-minute-long cutscene, unfolding exactly like a classic shonen热血 anime.

Rex, having successfully synchronized with his Blade, tried to fight back against Malos and Tseng—but got utterly beaten down. At this point, Nia—who had clearly only recently joined the enemy faction but still harbored kindness—switched sides and stood with Rex.

Fortunately, Rex’s grandfather arrived just in time to save the day. From the exchange between Malos and Pyra, and Tseng addressing Rex’s Titan grandfather as Azurda, it became clear there was some unknown, deeper backstory at play.

The story wasn’t particularly groundbreaking, but the excellent cutscene production and the stirring Background Music still made Zhang Yi feel a rush of excitement—like he’d rediscovered the sensation of playing traditional RPGs as a child.

But what excited Zhang Yi even more was one undeniable truth: Mr. Chen truly understood the genre!

When Pyra shared half her life with Rex, the moment she guided him to touch the core on her chest, and later when Rex, accidentally dropped by Grandpa Azurda into Gormott’s Land of Oblivion, woke up unconscious—only to find himself lying on Pyra’s lap, her gentle, caring face the first thing he saw—positive emotional impact was maxed out!

The only thing that made Zhang Yi grumble again was Grandpa Azurda’s “sacrifice.”

The sorrowful melody, the tearful farewell, Rex’s pained expression—Zhang Yi sighed deeply in empathy.

But the very next second, the tragic scene turned comedic: Grandpa Azurda wasn’t dead—he had merely transformed from an adult Titan to a juvenile one.

All that emotional investment—wasted!

After that, the quest to find Nia proceeded without much drama.

However, during this segment, Zhang Yi encountered more systems from Xenoblade Chronicles—such as each Blade having unique scene skills.

For example, Pyra wielded fire-based abilities. Occasionally, a massive Greatwood blocked the path, requiring Pyra to burn it down—a mechanic involving resource allocation and light puzzle-solving.

Additionally, the game’s map featured a variety of collectible items, a hallmark of traditional RPGs, so Zhang Yi wasn’t particularly surprised.

What truly stunned him, though, was when they passed through the Land of Oblivion and arrived at the Outlook. The camera pulled back into a sweeping long shot, revealing the full, breathtaking vista of Gormott Province.

"Damn it! This map! This is supposed to be a traditional RPG!? Where are the dungeons!? Where’s the linear map!? This is open-world!" Zhang Yi’s eyes widened in shock.

That moment reminded him of playing a legendary masterpiece—The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild—and stepping out of a cave to see the entire Great Plateau spread before him. The feeling was eerily similar.

But the thing was—this was supposed to be a traditional RPG map!

Earlier segments, like the sunken ship salvage mission and the Land of Oblivion, did allow free movement, but they were mostly linear paths with little choice—typical of traditional RPG dungeons.

Branching paths only led to treasure chests or minor collectibles.

But now?

Zhang Yi opened the in-game map—and was completely stunned.

If he didn’t already know he was playing a traditional RPG, he’d have sworn this was an open-world ARPG.

Because this map was just too massive! Is this really what a traditional RPG map should look like!?

And according to previously released information, this was just one region.

Controlling Rex and Nia as they walked across Gormott’s terrain, Zhang Yi saw distant herds of horses playing by the water, Scaled Beefalo grazing on the grasslands, a brilliantly colored giant bird soaring from a dense ancient forest into the sky, and a pack of Wolves sleeping soundly atop a boulder.

The Art of the entire map could only be described as breathtaking. Walking through Gormott’s lush greenery and pristine landscapes, Zhang Yi felt a deep sense of calm.

Until an 80+ level gorilla suddenly appeared right in front of him.

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