I feel a little weird saying this, especially since I've been so critical of modern jRPGs with FFXIII at the top of the list, for being painfully linear. Xenoblade almost feels a little TOO BIG. I mean seriously, its gigantic, I spent over ten hours running around colony 9 and upon recently returning to beat the snot out of a lvl 17 unique that handed me my ass several levels and many hours before, I realised that there's not only a ton left to do, but also a load left unexplored. The next area is even BIGGER. Its both awesome and frustrating at the same time since I'm one of those "gotta do it all" kind of gamers.
I'm also really happy that Unique monsters have started to roam around instead of just sitting there and waiting for me come and get them. Makes it all that much more fun when one of those things just pops up from around the corner. Even had one join a fight today, it may have been a little inconvenient to have to high tail it out of there, but it gives the game just a little more spice.