Ok, so there is no Reyn.
Picked up Xenoblade Chronicles X today, I have played it for about an hour and a half. I haven't actually played the story that long though. I spent a lot of time exploring the starting area and killing stuff for items and gear. Much like the first game, gear drops are pretty randomized and killing enemies feels much like a MMO styled loot system. I even got a rare piece of arm equipment (and achievement for getting my first "Gold" drop) from a level 4 monster whose foot was about as big as myself.
The texture for grass and other vegetation do tend to pop in, but the HD graphics are much better than the first game.
Battle system is very similar, but so far I have not progressed much to have the game explain things to me. So far I've just upgraded skills (similar to the first game) from the default classes. But the skills are very similar. There appears to be timed button presses to trigger your teammates to do certain skills that combo with yours. Your teammates will also cue you to use certain skills after they start a combo or do something that would make it beneficial. And the skills will "pulse" on your skill bar letting you know which ones would be best to use at that time.
The opening scene was pretty good (though, you've already seen it if you watched the announcement trailers.