Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (I'm Really Threeling It!)

I might start the first game.

I'm plugging away at XC2 but played through Portal and Portal 2 because they were more fun, and then I went on holiday for a week and didn't play anything. But I've just gotten to chapter 4 of XC2 and apparently a lot of people say it improves from here? Bit cheeky of them to drag out the FIRST FIFTEEN HOURS of the game though. Who has the time? (Apparently me.)

Anyway, I think I will get XC3 but am going to try to finish XC2 first, so probably won't get it for ages.

Huh, do they? Honestly I thought it was good from... well the moment you hit Gormott, Argentum and the big spooky ship right after it weren't the best. Great music to Argentum though!

Crumpy Andy wrote:

I really want it, but I feel I should finish up 2 first... But also maybe I should admit defeat and just jump in...

I know that quite a few people have had problems with 2 (see above - obviously I love it), so maybe move straight on?

Treesmurf wrote:

I might start the first game.

This is just poor.

Even though I now own Xeno DE and Xeno 2 (Also X on Wii U), yet I'm going into Xeno 3 first really.

Seems a bit of connection between them and in artstyle but I view it tad like Final Fantasy, can start XV no probs.

I don't have any issues with Xeno 2, I've just always picked it up at exactly the wrong time. Last time I was not long starting it before FE:TH took over my life, so at least if I play it now there's nothing to distract me but it's own sequel.

And I have, I've started 2 and am still catching up to my previous playthroughs but definitely glad to be back playing it. I've also picked up the expansion pass to make sure I'm a little more invested in getting through it, plus I want to play Torna anyway, so here we go.

Balladeer wrote:

Treesmurf wrote:

I might start the first game.

This is just poor.

If it helps I've bought the game twice so I'm still supporting the series.

While I'm obviously glad to read that, I think that everyone here apart from yourself and Jim (who hates the genre with a passion only he can muster (it looks a lot like tired apathy)) has tried the Xenoblade series at some point.  Admittedly with varying results (we don't talk about Cappa's experience with 2 (that's a lie, he does)), but the original game especially is a rare JRPG that broke out of the people who'd normally play JRPGs and made others love it.  I would encourage you to give one of them a go, probably 1 on Switch if you have it, for that reason.

Crumpy Andy wrote:

And I have, I've started 2 and am still catching up to my previous playthroughs but definitely glad to be back playing it.

I saw your name and the game flash up on my Switch and I was happy. As a big XC2 fan who nonetheless acknowledges its flaws, I'd love to read your thoughts on it as you play!  (In before 'it's good/bad innit'.)


Anyway, reviews are out and it's currently bang on my prediction of 89 on Metacritic - although that's just supporting Buska's views of it Meta being bobbins, since I've seen more positive coverage than that.  Castle's a series fan but he gave it 5/5 and a big warm hug for VGC, one of Nintendo Life's regulars slapped a 10/10 on it, and the 8/10 seemed to be the odd one out in their reviews round-up as well.  Of particular interest to me, as somebody who loves them, is the news of a class system.  

I haven't been so excited for a game since 2018 and Smash Ultimate.

It's go... Naa I'm just up to Mor Ardain and I think I've finally hit the point that I've not played before. The last few side quests seemed new and I don't remember using the new special blade at the end of act 4, so I think it's all fresh from here. Looking forward to pushing ahead into the unknown.

Obligatory link to one of the best tunes in gaming. Shame about the area, mind. Bit brown and dull. Hope you enjoy the fresh stuff regardless! (And yet another dodgy Blade design. )

I just got my copy of 2 back of my mate. I guess I'll give it one more chance.

Hope it works better for you this time boss.

IT'S RELEASE DAYYYYYYY

Balladeer wrote:

Play Xenoblade!

Don't worry I'm starting it this weekend in an attempt to blend in with everyone on my friends list, I'll even post in this thread like I'm playing the same game just to confuse everyone.

I'm happy to be part of this confusion!

I've finally had my first crack at this. It sure is more Xenoblade! I'm finding the accents more on the Xenoblade 1 side (excruciatingly bad) rather than Xenoblade 2 (entertainingly regional). If the catgirl isn't Welsh then they've massively missed a trick. Haven't quite been tempted to switch to Japanese yet though.

Still, the start of the game is arguably the best of the three. The drama, the scale... shame that it doesn't quite feel like the tech can keep up. Switch Pro when?

Crumpy Andy wrote:

It's go... Naa I'm just up to Mor Ardain and I think I've finally hit the point that I've not played before. The last few side quests seemed new and I don't remember using the new special blade at the end of act 4, so I think it's all fresh from here. Looking forward to pushing ahead into the unknown.

How did you get there so fast?! I'm still pottering around there!

Balladeer wrote:

I've finally had my first crack at this. It sure is more Xenoblade! I'm finding the accents more on the Xenoblade 1 side (excruciatingly bad) rather than Xenoblade 2 (entertainingly regional).

I have to disagree that 2's accents are better than 1's - and maybe it's because I'm sensitive to Scottish accents but Mor Ardain's are largely dreadful. Brigid's is sometimes ok and then veers wildly into a weird attempt at a Scottish accent that isn't actually a Scottish accent in the slightest. I also think it's a shame that most of the Blades are American. Commit to the comedy UK accents, you cowards!

Playing too much

I think I'm at the end of chapter 6, but I've lost the main thread as I had a lot of Rare blade quests to catch up on and a few of the last areas I felt a bit pushed forward through and didn't get the chance to explore.

I'm loving it though. It's been great to build teams of varied blades, though unfortunately this has lead to Tora just getting straight up sidelined.

I'm gonna blast through Metroid Dread first but between y'all playing and Matthew Castle's infectious love for it on Back Page, I'm pretty excited to get stuck into some Bobobob.

Buskalilly wrote:

I'm gonna blast through Metroid Dread first but between y'all playing and Matthew Castle's infectious love for it on Back Page, I'm pretty excited to get stuck into some Bobobob.

Hear that Balla, Luke wants something a bit meatier after Metroid Dread

I'm about 7hrs into XC3 and so far so good, I like the characters as I said elsewhere did play some XC2 and Rex & crew couldn't tell ya much about, but I like these six at the moment. XC3 is throwing a lot of mechanics at me, then I'm 7hrs into a 80hr game, so it is understandable.

Damn it Buska, got to update the title again! Obviously the title is super-important and must be correct at all times.

Rum wrote:

I have to disagree that 2's accents are better than 1's - and maybe it's because I'm sensitive to Scottish accents but Mor Ardain's are largely dreadful. Brigid's is sometimes ok and then veers wildly into a weird attempt at a Scottish accent that isn't actually a Scottish accent in the slightest. I also think it's a shame that most of the Blades are American. Commit to the comedy UK accents, you cowards!

I think it depends whether you're Scottish or not. I was thinking of the main party mostly, Nia and Morag are played by genuine Welsh and Scottish VAs (even if Morag just sounded tired the entire time) and I really enjoyed the hero not being straight RP or American for once.

Crumpy Andy wrote:

Playing too much

I think I'm at the end of chapter 6, but I've lost the main thread as I had a lot of Rare blade quests to catch up on and a few of the last areas I felt a bit pushed forward through and didn't get the chance to explore.

I'm loving it though. It's been great to build teams of varied blades, though unfortunately this has lead to Tora just getting straight up sidelined.

Woop woop! Sidelining Tora is the correct choice. I'm pretty sure I forgot the main thread entirely at some point, don't worry. How many of the Rare Bois (and girls (mostly girls)) have you got?

masofdas wrote:

Hear that Balla, Luke wants something a bit meatier after Metroid Dread

Samus is the girl with the gall.


So, XC3. I have a lot to say about it, but it basically boils down to a checklist of 'this is better than 1 but worse than 2', 'this is better than 2 but worse than 1', 'this is the best/worse in the series' etc. etc. Cases in point: I think the music is the worst in the series. It's not bad, but I'm 20+ hours in and I don't think there's been a single banger on the level of Gaur Plains or You Will Recall Our Names. On the other hand, I think that the story and writing are the best in the series! Mas is right, the party are a bunch of nice fellas and fellettes (stopping that there before it becomes indecent), and I think the main plot's the strongest the series has had too... even if I've binned it off as ever to do the side-quests and get super-overlevelled. I think the side-quests are the best in the series too, but it's a low bar.

The battling... I dunno where it stands! The repeated introduction of new classes shakes things up a bit but arguably not enough. It all starts to feel a bit formulaic after a while, not helped by the aforementioned overlevelling meaning that I don't really need to experiment much so far. Had maybe one hard battle in the last five hours. The chain attacks feel more static too. Still, you can pummel foes as the EVAs from Neon Genesis, so that's fun.

Balladeer wrote:

Damn it Buska, got to update the title again!  Obviously the title is super-important and must be correct at all times.  

I mean, I'll play it soon, Metroid Dread isn't gonna last me long! I borrowed that though so it has impetus, I've owned XC2 for 4 years.

I think I'm missing 5 random blades and a similar amount of named cores. Ursula is currently driving me a bit mad with her merc mission spam, but I've really enjoyed most of the Blade specific quests.

Currently pushing through Chapter 7, I've found the last couple of main story areas a bit rough, so hoping things will be back on form once I wrap this chapter up.

I'm also playing through that fresh new release, Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

I found the opening few chapters of the game really rough going - the first couple of zones were a bit dull and I found Gormott to be a bit confusing to traverse when going sidequesting. It gave me Ancient Forest from Monster Hunter World vibes with all its tree branches and befuddling verticality, which was not a good thing. I also wasn't enjoying the battle system early doors - it felt like every battle took ages to resolve thanks to the arts having long charge times and a lot of the time I felt I was just watching the lads auto-attack like I was playing Runescape back in 2007.

Things picked up from Chapter 3 onwards - I really liked exploring Uraya and the battle system clicked for me at long last. I found myself hooked on the story and really began to appreciate the characters a lot more too. And the music! Banger after banger fed into my earholes. That's kept up to where I'm at now, which is flying through Chapter 6.

Some annoyances that have lingered are the blade gacha system and the character designs for said blades. I really don't like the gacha system at all - there's a few quests that I need a specific blade/element combo for to progress and opening dozens of core crystals to try and get that combo is frustrating. It's also a bit overwhelming planning out your party and the random nature of getting certain blades on certain drivers means you could end up with some pretty crappy combinations. I've got far more tank blades than I'd like on Nia, for example. As for the character designs, I'm not just referring to the fan-service laden nature of them - that's been talked about ad nauseum and whilst it's eye-roll inducing at points, I'm not going into it. It's more that because the blades have been designed by different people, the consistency of the overall character design is all over the shop. Some of the blades look like they come from entirely different games as it's pretty off-putting and awkward seeing a character who looks like they came from a 90s magical girl anime next to an isekai anime edgelord.

But still, problems with the blade system aside, I'm having a lot of fun! How's XC3 treating you both, Mas and Balla? Also, should I continue posting about me also playing through XC2 here or in the thread for that game?

Really enjoying XC3 at the moment, and could topple Triangle Strategy as my GOTY.

JayMoyles wrote:

Also, should I continue posting about me also playing through XC2 here or in the thread for that game?

If you hadn't already got it from Crumpy's posts and the thread's ever-changing title, we welcome old Xenoblade playthrough chat here!  (Smurf's been a bit quiet: I can only assume he's practising Strikers every hour God sends to keep his stranglehold on the league.)

XC2 officially qualifying for 'slow starter even by JRPG standards' then.  I think we can all dunk on the Blades and their designs, but I'm really glad you got into it in the end! XC3 shines in enough different areas that I'm still going to have a lot of time for 2 even after I finish it.  2's music in particular is much better, definitely in my top 10 soundtracks ever.

Crumpy Andy wrote:

I think I'm missing 5 random blades and a similar amount of named cores. Ursula is currently driving me a bit mad with her merc mission spam, but I've really enjoyed most of the Blade specific quests.

Currently pushing through Chapter 7, I've found the last couple of main story areas a bit rough, so hoping things will be back on form once I wrap this chapter up.

Ha, I never bothered with Ursula.  I've not heard good things about her missions at all though.

Just looked up what Chapter 7 has... Spirit Crucible Elpys?  Ooooooooooft. Followed by Cliffs of Morytha.  That's definitely the worst chapter areas-wise in the game.  

Buskalilly wrote:

...I'm pretty excited to get stuck into some Bobobob.

Apparently my partner's 'phone autocorrects it to Xenblob.  Thought of you hun. xx


Yep 3's still grand.  I think I might be at the end of Chapter 4, and I've just had some properly good nods to 1 and 2.  I'm currently most impressed by the characters (main party anyway - Borealis' voice actor sounds like he'd rather be anywhere else): Noah and Mio are properly sweet together, a really nice believable budding romance that I'm rooting for, and the others have all had their moments (not you Sena).  I'm slightly embarrassed whenever Ethel shows up, but she's still got nothing on Sharla or most of XC2's female cast.

Hey! I'm playing XC2 too! Put me in the title you bitch!

I agree with what Jay's saying but haven't quite clicked with the battle system, which makes me think I'm not going to at this point. I really resent the fact you can't go back to tutorials and double check things, because I don't have the time for long sessions at the moment so I've struggled to practise what they've taught me and I can't go and double check things in-game. I also don't want to then spend lots of time YouTubing it instead!

I just got to Chapter 4 last night, things are getting interesting and can't wait to see more.

Add to this I like how the essentially the job system tied to Heroes (maybe like blades in XC2) and changing them around, to find a nice balance of attack, defend, heal along with levelling jobs up.