Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Review (Spoiler Free)
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has officially been out for a bit over a month and wraps up this trilogy of games. So... what did I think? This review will cover my thoughts on the presentation, music, gameplay, and story, but it will be spoiler free! The spoiler-filled companion piece will release shortly after. Enjoy!
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
1:41 Premise
3:07 Presentation
5:25 Music
7:32 Gameplay (Combat)
12:12 Gameplay (Exploration)
16:48 Side Content and Heroes
19:37 Story and Characters
23:54 Final Thoughts
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#xenobladechronicles3 #review #spoilerfree - Hry
As someone who is 130 hours in and in chapter 7, I cannot comprehend how people managed to beat the game in 75 hours while not just focusing on main story only xD
180 hours, just unlocked weapon upgrades 😭
I rushed through the main story because I was terrified of spoilers. I have been playing all Xenoblade games 100 percent in order now.
I did all sidequest and upgraded all weapons and I racked 170 hours... I heard that enemies are less spongy if you aren't playing hard mode, but that still doesn't account for sooooo much of the time lol
I did a bunch of sidequests, unlocked every hero and beat the main story in 80 hours. Most of my playthrough was on hard as well. It’s definitely doable lol
I finished in 65 hours while unlocking all but 2 heroes. It felt shorter than xenoblade 2
Chapter 5 made me genuinely tear up and no game has done that for me and just for that its a 10/10.
Final moments of Chapter 5 and the intro to Chapter 6 I think compose one of the best segments in the entire series. Certainly the peak of the story right there.
@@KayJulers can't wait for your N analysis.
Ah yes chapter 5 and 6 made this game a "Masterpiece" ignoring all the plot holes unanswered mysteries and all the migrane inducing plot conveniencies, shitty villains and a lackluster ending ah yes Xenoblade 3 a masterpiece indeed
@@razzy9172 plot holes aren't necessarily bad. A lot is left to interpretation. The villains aren't all as great as the previous ones but you can't say they were "shitty" when they do their job well as antagonists. Why are you getting mad at someone for liking a game more than you?
@@Lulink013 funnily enough I'm not actually pissed about people liking the game I'm moreso pissed about the game itself not being a masterpiece as people make it out to be. 😕
Sure the villains do they're job and played they're role but weren't executed that well or isn't even fleshed out it's what make them shitty imo.
Fun Fact: The Lip syncing is different depending on which language you’re using. That’s why there’s no awkward voice match to the lip sync bc they went through the effort to change the lip syncing depending on if you’re using English or Japanese
Gotcha, that would make a lot of sense and certainly was a nice choice by them.
@@KayJulers it’s nice they did that. And as for the villains, at first I thought the same way. But a video by Kai after Kai called “The meaning of Xenoblade Chronicles 3” kinda changed my perspective on the villains that I like them more.
My main problem with the story is that while the ending of chapter five into the beginning of chapter 6 definitly hits the mark in terms of Xenoblade plot-twist the last 2 chapters don't really compare afterwards and the ending feels a lot less grand than with the other 2 titles in the series. If it kept geting more and more tense/epic even after chapter 5 & 6 it would 100% be the best game hands down.
Oh I definitely agree, I was sooo upset when this game had such bad pacing issues at the last two chapters. It felt like the game was very rushed, which is unfortunate. I had higher expectations for the end of this Xenoblade. But I honestly feel like over time I will be more lenient on this game. I’m hoping for an awesome DLC to accompany this one.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought the villains fell a bit under the mark. I definitely believe the game hit its stride right in the middle, but just barely didn't carry that all the way throughout. I'll probably discuss it further in the spoiler video, but everything else was pretty grand.
Something to bring up in regards to villains: They are the way they are likely as a direct response to criticism from Xenoblade 2: "Win the fight, lose the cutscene."
This was a huge issue many people had and complained about, and I believe Monolith Soft addressed this- outside of one key point in Chapter 5, and a "Draw" in Chapter 4, the party NEVER loses in the cutscene. They always win, and usually do so in some powerhouse way too. In order to facilitate this, Monolith created 24 mostly expendable villains to get owned and lose/die in the cutscenes. This way, the party always wins, you "win the fight, win the cutscene". But that comes with a trade off.
If you win the cutscene too, the villain is defeated, and there is no more character development/plot progression to be had regarding that villain without that villain losing their threatening presence and starting to feel more like Team Rocket instead. So the choice was simple- have villains repeat but lose their threatening edge, or have many villains be only 1 or 2 time affairs but get defeated. This limits the villain's screen time and amount of presence they can have as an active antagonist, meaning they have to make up for it by being more dramatic, extreme characters. Still, Monolith tried their best to make this work. Many of the more simple villains are relegated to sidequests, where they can be effective of smaller villains while still feeling important and connected to the overall plot. The more interesting and compelling villains are featured in the main story quests.
Basically, you can't have your cake and eat it too. If you want villains as interesting and compelling as villains in the series past, you have to lose in some cutscenes.
If you want to win in the cutscenes, you have to take the trade off the the villain being less active and more hands off, or alternatively just more simple with less to them. You can't develop a strong, long term "villain-hero" relationship with characters if you are always beating them, unless you flip the concept on it's head and become have it where your player character is the villain and the person you keep beating is the hero.
All of that aside, I love the goofy ass consuls in 3. They are absolutely leaning in hard on Tokusatsu tropes with all of them, and I think that's fantastic.
this is actually a really smart take. Take my like big'ead
This is a good take, and something I thought about as well. The only game with a rogues gallery of villains to fight and defeat where I actually found all of the villains interesting is KH's Org 13, but absolutely no one should take storytelling tips from those games, and the reason they're interesting is because of development that they have outside of the games where you have to fight them. In base KH2, they struggled the same way, with the only ones that were actually interesting being Axel and Xemnas. And maybe Xigbar, but even his interesting features came in later titles.
I would honestly take more interesting villains if I lose in cutscene all the time, but I will say that I didn't find the villains in 3 to be very bad.
I enjoy that the bosses battles are varied, it gives the big ones that really matter lots of gravitas. It's not like this game exactly has a shortage of bosses otherwise
ive never understood why is this such a hard thing to do right. To me, a game that does this perfectly is Tales of Symphonia. There a couple of scripted fights where you loose. not only in the cutscene, but in gameplay too. the boss fights are design in a way were you are way underleveled and the boss completely destroys you... so if a game from 2000 did this properly how come modern JRPGS struggle so much with this... I agree 100% you as a player and as part of the story you have to loose some fights. other wise is just stupid.... big mistake from monolith in my opinion. besides that 10/10 game
"As a videogame, it's the best in the series. As an experience, I don't think it stands up to its predecessors." Thank you!!! That's exactly what I told my gf after we finished the game. I loved the game, but the story still felt luckluster compared to the others, specially the first one. I can't wait for your spoiler review!
Definitely feel myself aligning with your views. I had a blast with the game but something definitely felt like it was missing with the antagonists and the last couple of chapters. The beginning of the game had a tonne of intrigue, and the midgame was just glorious.
But the moment I realised the end of the game was actually the end, and there wasn't just one more chapter? Hoo boy, my disappointment was audible.
I remember a few times saying "Hoo boy, I can't wait to beat this guy and get to the bottom of this mystery" and a few people watching who had already played were like "👀"... I didn't realise they were hinting that this was the bottom.
Sorry for the double notification, ya'll! A helpful comment pointed out a render issue, so I deleted the previous upload and re-uploaded it. Thanks for watching and enjoy!
Oh, and feel free to share your thoughts on the game as I'll be reading through comments as always!
Good to see you back :D.
I still haven't gotten the game but I will soon.
Or as Rex would say:
"Mhhhhm can't wait."
Ok, sry for that one.
Great video. This moved to the top of my "games to buy next" list.
But my bank account basically has a monado against my neck. So.
One day, my sweet. One day...
Another banger, Kay. Keep up the awesome work.
Still remember way back when you did the voice acting for K, awesome to see you’re still around
@@Evanz111 aaaaa thank you!
I'm stoked to hear your spoiler-y thoughts on the game! I feel pretty similar to how you felt during the conclusion. In so many ways I feel like I can recognize that this game has the previous games beat in several individual aspects, yet somehow I weirdly felt like I had more fun playing the other games. It's so bizarre because I really did have an amazing time playing the game and am still chugging along through the post-game, yet I feel like I could put it down and wouldn't think I am missing anything which is absolutely not the case for when I replay XC1 & 2. It's a weird feeling, but I am glad to see other people feel similarly, especially about the villain lineup. Still, though, it's a game I recognize is wonderful and hopefully will warm up to even more as time moves on. Great job keeping the lid on the jar in terms of spoilers! IDK how I would even begin to write my thoughts about the game without spoiling something in the first paragraph!
Thanks, Tronk! Yeah, I feel that. I really enjoyed this game, but I think I needed that "wow" factor that got me hooked like the other two, numbered titles. Oh, trust me, it was REALLY difficult to not just splurge on the spoilery aspects I love and want to rant about.
The side quests in this game are so good man. They don't feel like last second additions like in 1 and add to the story of the world so much better than quests in 2 and maybe even X
Well I already watched the video in the previous upload, so I'll just say that once again, great video! Xenoblade 3, despite its stumbling with the latter half of the game, is still phenomenal, and I'm so happy to see that Monolithsoft once again proves themselves as one of the best developers in the industry.
Thanks so much! Yeah, the more I think on the themes and main cast, the more I find myself enjoying what this game sets out to accomplish. I'm really hoping that we see a lot of new faces join the community with this game and I'm excited for how Monolith handles the DLC story!
@@KayJulers I’m sure you’ll talk more about this in your spoiler review, but any hopes for what the dlc will be? As a big fan of the first game I really wanted more direct references to the other games in the series (like the party ever talking about why in the world there is a giant hand in a dessert), so I hope dlc can make up for that. Loved the game, but I do think the dlc is gonna have to do some of the heavy lifting for its connection back into the series as a whole.
The expectations for the DLC are huge given that a lot of people want a large epilogue and we got Torna, a large prequel, in the past, so I'm almost sure they'll be lazy and give us something small and rushed like Future Connected instead just to play with our emotions :/
that summary is exactly how I feel. I think it might edge out 1 but it's hard to say since I have more gripes than usual.
Also-
15:20 Post game spoilers
Its really cool how they actually talk about this in Nia's hero quest where the party doesn't really marvel at the world as it's something they never were taught to think about as well as not understanding the nature of the environment
As someone who likes 2 more than 3, I kinda miss the more casual, goofy vibe of it's early predecessor. I feel like in 3 there were very few moments for characters to kinda relax since their situation was so dire. Plus couple that with the true nature of the world of Aionios and it really brought down the story for me.
Still, a solid 7/10 time
I felt like the contrast of the silly moments of levity between the characters in 2 made the more somber and serious moments more impactful.
for real, the villain issue makes me so sad, especially when prior games' villains were so good, and the fact that this game's one good villain is REALLY REALLY GOOD. they might be my favorite xenoblade villain even, which is a tough contest
Some past games villians were bad imo like zanza whos just a evil god
@@Touma_S he's more than just an evil god my friend, but that would inquire us to dive deep into the lore of the world of XC1, a core character in XC2 and the lore behind both worlds and they're meanings to him and others.
@@Touma_S I mean, even without going into the aspects revealed (totally not retconed) in 2 Zanza has a better presence, more interesting design, and interacts the party more than Z.
@@jstar3382 im not saying Z was better but zanza design is also bland hes just shulks face wearing armour
@@Touma_S not shulk's face. Juju's face.
also not just an evil god. But a man, a scientist, with great ambitions caused the ending of the world, reborn as a titan, it wanted to establish a connection with the other titan and created life. but as time went on, the titan grew weary of his mortality mentality and his fears grew even more (being alone and not having newfound power). after the birthing of the giants, Zanza forged a sword to control someone as his host aside from the titan. After his cruel acts on Mechonis and the inhabitants inside of Bionis being caught in the fray, the high entia's seal the giant who's holding the mind of Zanza and sealing the sword, which contains the soul necessary to his revival.
and for thousands of years, Zanza remained sealed, waiting for the moment to be free. awaiting the moment for his reign of power once again. Once a man of great ambition, a scientist, who was experimenting for the sake of mankind, deprived and turned into a power-hungry tyrant.
though, since this was confirmed to be taking the approach of classical jrpg's. not really expecting much exposition since DQ and FF where pretty much the peak of how much Villain exposition and backstory we would get.
Honestly I feel kind of alone thinking the plot is a lot better than both 1 and 2 in my opinion.
Chapters 1-4 we're really good, much more engaging start than 2, and no Ether mines dragging it down like 1. Chapter 5 was probably the best chapter in the whole game.
Now, chapter 6 was nothing big, but I really can understand people's sentiment on chapter 7 feeling rushed or underwhelming.
I never felt like the plot dragged or had extreme down time, and chapter 7 along with the ending, felt like a great conclusion to this story. I absolutely loved the bittersweet ending.
I don't know, I feel like I played a different game than everyone else.
The 2 things I agree with a lot of people is that I do wish we would of gotten more progression in the overall lore, or that characters talked about their environment.
Finally! Teased us with the initial upload :>
I panicked for a bit when I saw the render issue, but hopefully everything should be good now!
@@KayJulers 👍
I’ve been saying it for weeks - the best Xenoblade game as a game, the weakest as an overall experience. Weak villains, a disappointing final chapter (or two) and a scant story don’t ruin a game with some unforgettable moments, great characters and excellent music. But it does take the wind out of it’s sails and makes it feel like a hollow conclusion to the Klaus Saga. For as messy as XC2 is, I think it got more of the big stuff right and carried the soul of the series forward in a more satisfying way. I loved it - and it really let me down at the same time. It’s a funny game.
My thoughts exactly.
Ive been saying it for weeks maybe months now
Nah definitely not. Villains are far from weak, with N, M, J, C, X, Y, Z, I, and a few others all being genuinely interesting and well done. The final chapters were easily some of the best (tho end of 5 beginning of 6 is definitely one of if not the highest point). And the story has more interpretable depth than possibly the others (surprising to me too, as I went in with a mindset that tried to pick this game apart). Far from a hollow experience, it has just as much heart and depth as the previous ones
That “I loved it - and it really let me down,” sums up my opinions on the game. It’s just a wild ride, but it did some things that really frustrated me largely when thinking about the game as a series, but when I thought of it just as a game I loved it. Your right it’s a funny game.
@@DavidHosey1 So when they said the final chapters I think they meant post “that” scene in chapter 5/6. After that the story gets pretty messy imo and the moebius introduced after don’t really have much weight to the story. X and Y were really interesting, but the problem for me is that they could have had so much more to do. I think of Jade Face from xeno 1 who while not a great villain still got his own arc and story where X and Y just feel like insignificant obstacles rather than characters. They aren’t interesting their exposition is aka gold ranks colonies and flame clocks.
I personally liked the story just as much as 1 and 2. For me I think that the mid-late game part you were probably talking about was my favorite segment of any Xenoblade story thus far. I also think that the different themes and how they were explored was the strongest in the series. That being said I do think some bits in the story could've been executed better, but none of those bits are especially crucial to the story. Also, so far this story has definitely gotten better the more I've thought about it. I've watched a lot of people play the game, so I've seen most story bits multiple times now and a lot of stuff I didn't understand the first time around have now clicked and it made the story much richer as a result, both plot and character wise.
Also I personally didn't think that the unanswered questions in the story were particularly bad. Most of them you can have reasonable answers for and most of them aren't even particularly important to the main story. There were only couple unanswered questions that I felt should've been more elaborated on. I also really enjoy analyzing this sort of stuff as well so I actually welcome the fact that not everything is fully explained.
About the villains. While I get where people are coming from I personally wasn't that disappointed by them. For me personally in past xenoblade games there were always a few good villains while the rest were pretty mediocre and I think this game is largely the same. I think what makes the villains easily feel a lot weaker is the amount of them compared to past games. Because there are so many most of them feel underdeveloped. It's like for me this game has just as many good villains as the past games, but if you take a random villain from the cast it would likely be much weaker than in past games, if that makes sense. I still think that 2 has the strongest villains, but I'd be willing to say that the villains in 3 are about on the same level as they were in 1. It's also worth mentioning that in an interview with Takahashi mentioned that he wanted to do approach writing villains from a different perspective than in his past stories. So it's definitely an aspect that he wanted to experiment with a little. You can at least say that he wasn't trying to play safe with the story.
I also have to say that what they did with the philosophical ideas when it came to the idea of the moebius was incredibly intriguing. I haven't really seen other people talk about it, but it's an aspect that I really enjoyed. What this games' story I think does the best out of possibly any story I've seen, is leave me thinking about it's themes and concepts for a while even after finishing it, which I think is worth a lot to me personally. Despite some of it's shortcomings in the second half I think that the strong points of the story are so high for me that I'd personally place this at an equal level to the past games story wise.
Despite my issues with some of the story, I 100% agree that this game's themes are beautiful and up there with XC1's message of looking forward to life's little surprises. At this current point in my life, I really resonate with the party's mission to break the "endless now" even if it's scary leaving a state of comfortability and familiarity. Those ideas have only gotten better the more I sit on them.
My stance on XC villains has always been contrary to a chunk of the community since I really like Metal Face, Zanza, and Dickson, which I know aren't viewed as favorably as Egil or the XC2 ensemble. Definitely with you on the quantity of villains, though. If some were cut to give others even a bit more screen time, I likely would be singing a different tune since there's a lot of potential for me.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
@@KayJulers Thanks for responding. Means a lot to me that some people are interested enough in my thoughts that they'd take their time to write a well thought out response back.
And yeah I think some of the villains in 1 are better than people give them credit for, but many of them for me personally have quite bit of missed potential. Dickson is probably the best example of this. A decent villain who could've been an excellent one. I might've been a bit harsh saying that other than a few good villains the rest are mediocre. More accurate would be to say that the rest range from decent to mediocre. Which in 3's case is mostly mediocre.
something i love that i don’t see a lot of people talking about are the eyes. character’s eyes will actually look around a little instead of just staring straight forward; like how you’d expect a *real* person’s would. other games don’t do that! it’s such a small detail but it really does a lot to sell how alive they are
I noticed that and tbh at first I didn't like it that much because I feel like they move around a bit too much looking for something 🤣 maybe it has something to do with their insane hugeness, it was really distracting for me but in the end got used to it
I've felt insane with my feelings on this game over the past couple of weeks. Everyone I know more or less loves this game, and by all accounts, they're right! XB3 _is_ the best game in the series. And while this game is an easy 9/10 for me - as an experience, it doesn't hit as hard as XB1 and 2, IMO. Both of which are 11/10 games for me.
This review has made me feel not insane. Thank you.
Spoilers:
I thought Moebius as villains were more interesting as a whole than individually. Maybe they could’ve cut the members by half to flesh out some of them?
On the plus side: The ending of chapter 5 leading into chapter 6 was one of the most effective gut wrenching emotional roller coasters i’ve seen in a long time.
I have a similar take: Awesome as a collective faction, but not really stand out on their own.
I want to see the DLC side story go into some of the Moebius's past lives if possible. F (from the Assassin recruitment quest) and even D are really interesting but still quite underdeveloped
Yaaay I've been waiting for this, I love your videos KayJulers!! 😊💙
Thank you so much, Furns! That's super kind of you.
Great review man! In regard to some of the story criticisms, I feel pretty similar to you on some of that as well. I'll save my more detailed thoughts for the spoiler video, but I think part of the divisiveness I've been seeing in the community towards XB3's story may be due to 3 feeling pretty different narratively in what it tries to achieve & focus on compared to 1 & 2. Namely, 3 feels like it's far more prioritized on themes, characters, & emotional messages and isn't as concerned about fully explaining the logic and innerworkings of the world's lore, & I think many ppl aren't used to that in Xenoblade.
Great review as always! Really looking forward to the spoilers video!!
It feels like the game has every element needed, yet it leaves you with the feeling of lacking something hard to pinpoint.
Great experience overall but it's hard not being sure why it's not as successful.
agree
I have put ~125 hours into the game, which is more than I've put into any other game in the series. I absolutely loved my experience through Aionios and have so much good things to say about this game. However, I do share some of the same feelings about the narrative and villains, and felt a bit of disappointment when the story came to a close. I am eagerly awaiting the spoilers video!! Great job as always, Kay!
Been looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this. Very very very very very good game. I'm interested in seeing what you have to say in your next video because while I do agree that the villains were pretty weak for the most part, the main party and themes of the game might have elevated it over even 1 and 2 for me in terms of cast and narrative.
Also, bet you're glad you played Gears before this game came out haha
Thank God, I finally did get around to Gears because geez this game was not shy about hiding its similarities. Gears might honestly be my favorite Xeno narrative from what I’ve played.
To kind of comment on each specific area not being given an individual focus, I think the high number of enemies that aggro also hinder the experience of hearing area themes. This in turn made me not remember and associate the music with its respective area as much as before, halting the mental connection between them. That and because XC3 chooses a less 'epic' and 'heroic/adventurous' vibe for its music, I think they end up only being partially remembered (but that is my opinion). Don't get me wrong though, I feel like regions in XC3 can only be properly enjoyed when you're higher leveled and solely exploring them because that's when you can truly enjoy the music and splendid level design Monolithsoft have delivered this time round. Will look forward to the spoiler video to hear your thoughts! I really enjoyed XC3 but I think I can only properly place it among the other Xenoblade games after a 2nd playthrough and after the honeymoon period is over. Thanks for this video :D
Not gonna lie, the Mobeius is probably my favorite Boss Theme.
The Moebius battle theme goes CRAZY! Love the M variant.
Great review! I completed the game's story yesterday and it left quite the mark on me. The story was amazing and the areas were absolutely gorgeous. I especially liked the interactions between the main characters and the heroes. They were the heart of the game.
The next step for me is to 100% complete the game and then wait for the numerous DLCs to be released. I'm sure the wild ride is far from over!
Glad you mentioned the side quest genuinly me reason why probably 3 is my favorite, like when I remember fondly some random NPC characters you know you know you did something right.
The cast is also amazing
Although I agree with the villains I think it works for what they do in the story , although I'm saving this discussion for the spoiler review.
In any case glad you were able to enjoy it I will be waiting for more content of it in the future
Pretty good review. I honestly don’t know which game I like better, 2 or 3. They’re both solid games and I would recommend both of them (though in 2’s case I would also recommend looking at online for tutorials since the game sucks at explaining things). Looking forward to your spoiler video.
i'm a huge xenoblade fan and am a few hours into 3! loving it so far, and this review made me even more hype to get into it :)
Xenoblade games always have at least one glaring flaw with each game which they then address on with the next game. Given how much they improved on from the previous games' issues, imagine how amazing Xenoblade 4 is going to be when they tackle on the villian/story ending issue.
For me, Xenoblade 3 is my second favorite entry in the numbered games. Who’s third? No one. 1 and 2 are first. 3 is just too good to put in 3rd. Even though it doesn’t quite make it in 1st, it does cross the finish line with an incredible lap.
Ive been waiting to see your thoughts on this Kay!
Not self plugging, but I was lucky enough to be able to stream my whole experience through this latest installment (and no spoilers to boot!) I am really glad to have had the chance, because the experience of getting to share this with friends AS I was going through it was so different, such a different kind of enrichment from playing it on my own with the last 2 installments.
I started off loving Sena the most, because she looked like a fusion of Morag and Brighid (fave hero from XC2) and from there... Eunie and Lanz both memed and swore their way into my favourite spots. But at the end of the day, I think Mio is the one that takes the spotlight. Once the game started giving her some attention around the middle of Chapter 4. I felt like she was too mysterious and aloof before then, but from the time they swapped flutes (and the next big event) she really stood out to me. She got a near Shulk-level scream in that boss fight that made me sit up straight.
And the less said about #Chapter5 here, the better.
Looking forward to the spoilery thoughts. Xeno is such an influential experience, story, on my life that I just love to hear anything people have to say about it. I wanna vibe with people about Xenoblade. This game gave me renewed vigor to keep trying everything I can do to get my foot in the door at Monolithsoft as a developer, and hopefully I can get the chance to help bring one into the world in the future. :)
Thx 4 all the info
Great review, but just while the video is new, there is a minor spoiler shown very briefly at 7:04 which you might want to take another look at in case you missed it.
It took me a minute to notice the spoiler since I was clicking around there thinking I slipped in an accidental spoiler frame, so good eye haha. I'm going to let it rock though since I already had to re-upload the video and I'm not sure that many people will notice it.
LESSSSGOOOOOOO, Nice vid Kay :')
Thanks so much! :]
Funny how I agree with most if not all of your points, great review! I also think XC3's story is the weakest of the trilogy, but pretty much every other aspect of the game is just as good or better than 1/2 imo. Can't wait to hear your spoiler thoughts
Thanks! I'm extremely curious if the DLC story will remedy some of my issues since Torna turned me around on base game characters I didn't care for much, which effectively made me love the whole XC2 experience more.
@@KayJulers Yup same here, Torna definitely made me love XC2's story much more as well, so I can't wait to see what the DLC story for XC3 will be like. Lots of possibilities, will be fun to see everybody theorizing about it in the coming months
Excellent review
Regarding the comments for exploration and lack of comments on the areas, i understand where you're comming from. I'm not finished yet (in chapter 5), but at least early game, to me, the lack of wonder feeds into the wartime and limited life aspects. Characters that are functionally suffering constantly, dont have time for anything but war, don't really have the space to appreciate these things, it made sense that they didn't mention it until they reached swordmarch, other than the odd byline. BUt yes, the 'whoa' cutscene should have been used at the swordmarch turning point.
I've never felt this way about a game before. On one hand it's amazing and everything I could have hoped for, but on the other hand it just doesn't live up to 1 and 2 for me. I really don't know why. Looks like 2 is the best out of the trilogy for me. I do hope this isn't the end of the Xenoblade series though.
I'm praying for your foot.
In all seriousness, I didn't have any issues with the main cast like I did with a couple in the first two, but they highs never got as high as with shulk or rex and pyra.
I played 2 and just finished 3. I’m new to the series only playing 2 earlier in the year because the characters attracted me to it (I’m a coomer) and it was on sale on the eshop. Absolutely adored the game for its story. Lots of other aspects of it frustrated me about it though. 3 basically improved and perfected all those aspects that I had issues with in 2. The story in xenoblade 2 had higher highs and I marginally preferred and resonated with the characters more and also liked it’s soundtrack more, but 3 I felt like was more consistent overall with its story and gameplay. Both are stellar games.
I’m excited for your spoiler discussion because imo the story is one of the game’s best aspects, and I enjoyed it more than the story in 2.
the worst part of every xenoblade game is ending it.
Seems like a pretty fair review so far. I’m only in Chapter 3 but i share a lot of these criticisms. And I also am enjoying the elements he mentions, though maybe not quite as much. I still don’t think this is quite as good a game as XC1DE or XC2. But it’s not as bad as I thought it was when I first started playing it either.
Still have some MAJOR issues with the story so far though; maybe they will be resolved as I progress through it, or I might just stay salty and go back to playing the other two games.
I know they aimed at a story that can stand alone on its own to accomodate new fans, I still wish it could have made more connections with the previous 2 series in terms of lore and what happened to the major characters. I totally get your feelings in the conclusion. When I finished the main storyline of 2, did not take long before I just did post-game for completion of affinities and sides before jumping right in from the start to appreciate the story more on a second run. I've played base game and torna multiple times already just to go through the story again and again.
It's been more than a month since I finished 3's storyline, did the post-game, got all soul hacks and maxed out classes to again start the game for story appreciation alone.
I still haven't started with New Game+ for 3.
I didn't really have much of a problem with the villains because the story really didn't make more than maybe 5 of them to be much of a focus. Any given one is basically a "monster of the week" type of villain, and development is MOSTLY given to the 6 protagonists. And the protagonist development is pretty solid; one interview mentioned that there was a problem in previous games where a character would resolve their arc long before the game ended, and then just kind of silently stick around for the ride for the rest of the game, and that didn't really feel like the case here for any of them.
I think it's the best so far, in all respects. The last two chapters lack a bit of punch, but it's pretty clear that this is when the side content is supposed to take over and carry the story, like XCX. It's going back to XC2 and XC1 and feeling like there are main party members who have less context and charm than most of the hero characters that really made me realize this one is the best. I think with a bit more DLC to give the story more dramatic context, and a few quality of life improvements, it'll eventually win everyone over. If it gets half as much love as XC2 after release, then that's inevitable.
I think what you're feeling is Takahashi's bread and butter, which took much more of a backseat in the first two Xenoblade titles; extremely heavy emphasis on psychology and philosophy. If you've played Xenogears or the saga trilogy, you'll notice just how much the story will go out of its way to discuss human nature and its affects on the world. To me, XB3 may not have had as rich of a lore as the first two but it did have the Takahashi mindmelting that I sorely missed for a long time. I think this game's message is quite a powerful one. This is by far the most "Xenogears" Xenoblade title.
(ps) I would also like to add that Nia's post game content feels like it should have been main game content, and I wish it was. It directly hints at a lot of unanswered questions and could have just as easily been implemented during the origin metal quest.
Xenogears early name was "Project Noah". Noah and Miyo are Fei and Ellie reference. Even Segiri class outfit remind Ellie s One. Ourobouros design Is also similar to weltall and mecha from XG.
@@olbericaegis206 you also have ghraf and N. This game more than the others has a lot of gears in it. The biggest missed opportunity was the party not learning how to combine orouboros forms. I was constantly hoping for a fusion where Noah’s gets the white armor and looks like xenogears. Missed opportunity
It sounds like I really need to find a way to play Xenogears, then, because this game and it's story REALLY landed for me.
@@kennethhernandez9243 I wanted so much to pilot or use "gears"in combat ... and fly Aonios aboard a f* cool mecha like Xeno X. However XB 3 still Is a God game.
@@heavydonkeykong5190 gears is one of the best rpgs of all time. It has one of the most complex, epic, thematically rich narratives that can rival anything produced since.
If you liked the noah mio dynamic, everything with n and m, you will love gears.
Graphics and gameplay are dated, but narratively I still think it’s takahashi’s masterpiece
23:39 of course, my favorite Xenoblade 3 villains: Consul D, Tatsu, and Wario
I agree with the evaluation of the story to some extent but I think one thing that hindered it (at least for me) was the overspeculation. Many of the twists were predicted by the community which probably made it hit less hard.
This is why I stayed away from theory videos and lowered my expectations on characters coming back. I think this is probably why I enjoyed it a lot more compared to people that were heavy on theories.
Nice review i think xenoblade 3 is the best of the trilogy , i loved 2 but 1 never gripped me like i was hoping
Thanks! That's what I really like about the series. Each entry is going to have its supporters, but they're all still quality games just like Zelda.
Just shows how amazing future games by monolithsoft are gonna be
"Surreal" is definitely a word I'd use to describe how I felt when playing through Xenoblade 3
Granted, that's maybe because of the release date being brought forward, or perhaps it was my complete unwillingness to even consider the whole convergence theories that surrounded this game long before it was even announced as being plausible (I just wanted the casts of Xenoblades 1 & 2 to keep the peaceful endings they [mostly] earned)
I just couldn't bring myself to believe that I was actually playing this game IRL and not in some pre-release hype-induced fever dream
Also, how many takes did you need for that pog-worthy dice clip Kay?
Was that Tatsu at 23:39? Also that dice scene right after made me laugh lol
No spoilers please (I'm still on chapter 6, been really busy lately lol) but I agree with the villains being weak to an extent. There's a few stand-outs that I've already noticed but so many of the Moebiuses (Moebi?) are so one-note, which I guess makes sense as lots of them only show up for an optional quest fight, but still.
I just got to chapter 6 and some of the character scenes are some of the best in gaming. The characters being the focus elevated this game above the first 2 for me. N is the best villain in the series.
I think the party members jumping in with generic dialogue for quests in previous games is primarily a limitation of only having three party members active at a time. Because this game has all six party members on the field at once, they can actually script everyone's responses for every quest.
Either way, it's a nice touch.
The fact that so many people criticize the story for "lack of twists" makes me question the media literacy of Xenoblade fans.
I have a similar opinion to yours, I think this game's best aspects are the combat and characters. I'd rant about how godly the combat is but then this comment might never end lol. I'll just say it rivals Xenoblade X's combat which is unexpectedly massive. 10/10 combat, it's crazy fun.
The story, while enjoyable in some ways, felt a bit messy and lacking. The narrative didn't quite reach the heights I experienced from the original Xenoblade. There are some pretty thought provoking messages I enjoyed in the story though I must say.
I still think the game is amazing because there's so much to enjoy in the combat, exploration and chars. The characters really are what makes this game so great. The main party and lots of the supporting/hero characters are fantastic. They have a ton of charm and humor. There are some very well animated/written moments that gives their relationships heavy emotional value. It took me surprise just how emotionally invested I became with Noah, Mio, Eunie, Taion, Lanz, and Sena. All of them are super fun characters, I adore their interactions. Eunie, Sena, Lanz, and Taion are probably my favorites.
I agree that I kind of wanted the tour guide feeling you get from the other two games and X more, heck the characters usually just say "Oh I didn't really think about that. It's just been that way" when they do mention something interesting about the environment.
Also the villains are a great call back to the Testaments from Xenosaga, but definitely fall short. I will say there are more memorable Consuls than the 4 Testaments from Xenosaga, but it's the abundance of mediocre and "We just needed a boss" ones that bring everything down, heck the awesome boss theme for them got old after taking down underdeveloped consul number 7. Also late chapter 6 and early chapter 7 feels very undercooked. There's a consul with significance to Noah that could have been so much more interesting, but just fell flat due to the lack of development and stakes around him. I do like how the game ends though and what the bad guys represent was very interesting.
I'm also curious as to when the Torna like DLC will take place. There's a good case for both before and after the events of this game in this case. I'd also like to know what the significance of the black fog is since it's been an element of Future Connected and this game and still hasn't been well explained IMO. Like is it connected to Moebius or is it working against them? If the DLC takes place before the game I'd like that expanded upon a bit more.
Hmm, I haven't noticed any frame rate drops. Maybe the OLED doesn't suffer as bad?
Been a fan since Gears. I’m currently in chapter 5. Love the combat! Best in series. Story? So far I like it more than 2 but not as much as 1
Bro I’m at the start of chapter 6 and have decided to do every sidequest just so when I beat the game I can do it with the dlc hero’s and their classes
It been a fun time.
I think the problem with the villains while not deep on an individual level moebius as a collective is quite interesting and while not relatable the existence of moebius has so much to comment and grasp from. What moebius how they operate as a systematic form of oppression on the world of aionois has so many allusions to how our own world operates. It’s a quite on the nose and yet intelligent critique of how our world works in its current state. Paired with the excellent social commentary each member of moebius has such a fun hatable metal face lite personality that it pairs together quite well. Then when you throw in reaccuring villains like j d n m and z it feels like a proper xenoblade rouges gallery. While yes I don’t think there is a villain that will topple my love for malos I think that’s somewhat intentional. As both xenoblade 1 and 2 ask questions more surrounding the individual “what is the arrogance of a creator” “what drives a man to do what he does” “is a person still redeemable?” while 3 asks “what are the systematic reasons that our world structured in a way of violence and why do people fight to hold up the same system of oppression” while of course both previous xenoblade had systematic critique and 3 have individual dives the first two are more focused on the latter while the third is focused on the former. That’s my two cents and I hope this was coherent have a great day man love the content
bolearis goes off
Let’s goooooo
Xenoblade 3 is my most favorite RPG of all time! Writing faltered in many places but I'm not that big on stories in general compared to gameplay & world building/exploration.
You should try playing Xenoblade X if you haven't then. Surprised so many people are implying 3 is a better "game" than it.
@@brianhoward9649 Xenoblade X is the only Xenoblade game I haven't played, looks absolutely amazing though & I'm hoping for a port on the Switch somehow 🙏🏼
Whoa heeeeeey! Kevin!
Yeah. I ADORE the cast of this game, but the villains are really, really bad. It could've been so good, too... ugh.
I also was a bit surprised when you said the world feels very connected and organic, because I had a few issues in that regard. For example, when you transition from the plains to the snowy mountain (literally can't remember the name), it happens in a cutscene, and it just swaps from green to white just like that. It was really jarring.
I agree with your conclusion. As a stand alone video game xenoblade chronicles 3 is truly amazing and maybe the best xeno game.... however... as part of a franchise and a trilogy, cant say the same
Great review, I agree that as an experience it definitely is the weakest of the numbered Xenoblade games, and a lot of aspects of it did kind of disappoint me personally, but I still really enjoyed my time it definitely my GOTY.
I'm gonna be honest, I was underwhelmed by this game's story. Like you said, it has a very strong hook and I was invested immediately, but I just felt it was too predictable and didn't have all that many "Oh shit that just happened" moments. I pretty much called the ending - or at least, the main idea of it - by about a third of the way in. As compared to the first Xenoblade Chronicles, where I knew some of the major twists in advance, and they still had a huge impact because of their buildup and execution - and then there were more plot twists I didn't know about.
I think the reason as to why they do not comment on their surroundings is the same as to why they do not see each other as male/female or why they never asked themselves why Euinie has wings on her head or Sena has a shiny doodad on her chest. The characters seem oblivious to a lot of things that seems so normal to us because they were created with one purpose in mind and that is to fight. During the game the main cast seems to get a bit more self-conscious and there is a side quest where an NPC realises they all have physical differences. It would have been nice for them to realise how weird their world looks but maybe it just seemed totally normal for them.
from a gameplay perspective, in my eyes, X is the perfect evolution of Xenoblade 1, and Torna is the perfect evolution of Xenoblade 2. Xenoblade 3, however, is one of the first games I've seen that go a different route: synthesis. Combining 1 and 2's combat styles as they were in the base games was a pretty bold move, but one that works surprisingly well
I personally find K hellerius and memereble
Literally about to fight the final boss rn, good timing ig.
tiger tiger???!
You need to press A in front of one of the Great Cotte waterfalls, wait five minutes, and then it unlocks Tiger Tiger.
I'm just saying, Monolith please give us a skip tutorial option
Being a working adult hits different so I'm only about 40 hours in rn in the middle of Chapter 4, but I think you hit the strengths and weaknesses of this game very well. It certainly feels like the most polished and complete game the series has to offer so far, and as a JRPG gameplay-wise it's definitely up for debate as better than it's two numbered predecessors. However, the story (which is far and away my most important aspect to an RPG) just feels *slightly* weaker than it's brethren. Personally I'd rate the story slightly higher than Xenoblade 1 but slightly weaker than 2 at this current moment in time. However, Monolithsoft really did an amazing job ironing out a lot of the gripes many people had with past entries in the series, and this game shows that effort extremely well
I feel like the point of the characters not reacting much to the landscapes of Aionios isnt quite valid, mainly cos all of the characters were raised as literal child soldiers and being put through traumatizing experiences constantly, and now theyre on the run from the forces that drive the world, putting them basically into a full survival mode. They're as focused as can be on completing the tasks in front of them. I feel like its sorta like how there werent really any highlighted scenes of marvel in the latter half of Xenoblade 1 when the conflict was elevated and pressure was added on the party, except much greater.
+5 good video
Its on par to my favourite, XBC 2. Only sad thing is that it could have been so much more. Hardware restrictions asides. XBC 3 has the BEST cast of main characters and sidequests are also amazing. But the story is kinda.. well.. alright? But not up to Xenoblade Standards. There was only 1 "Wtf" moment for me , meanwhile the other 2 games had multiple.
World feels more connected, but also way less special. I was kinda bummed about the "fake Satorl Marsh place" (Isnt called Satorl Marsh but looks very inspired by it but its.. well .. just isnt as pretty)
So yea, basically I completely agree. Its a tradeoff between the genres. Equal amount of stuff is stronger as it is weaker in so many departments. But who knows how the DLC will be.
Overall there is no excuse to not play this game anyways.
Imo, Xenoblade 3 is the strongest thematic work Takahashi has created since xenosaga (probably even stronger than saga due to actually having a hand in the entire thing ha), but probably is his weakest work in regards to Lore. To me I like a good balance of both, but the way the game made me think of what Takahashi and his team was trying to invoke in the world, when all is said and done I felt the most strongly about this title than the others.
I assume the lore questions will be answered in the DLC though.
Imo outside of 1 or 2 needed questions, I think the story was told superbly and I don't see the gripes people have with the 2nd half of the game.
To me xenoblade 3, much like xeno 2, has so much it wants to get across we are gonna see the story being much more appreciated as the years go by as the analysis vids get uploaded and 2nd and 3rd play throughs wrap up.
Imo it's a masterpiece that executes nearly everything it tries to do, but stumbles slightly on 1 story aspect that Takahashi fans will surely miss.
Yeah, as much as I love the first game, I honestly found this one even MORE resonant.
I think sprinting is a technical issue more than it is a gameplay issue. I don't think the game can load assets fast enough if you're able to traverse it too quickly.
Somehow I skipped the last cutscene in chapter 5 and I really hate myself for it... And for not questioning anything about continuation... Somehow I ended up spoiling the game (that scene loses a lot of its impact if you already can take for granted what happens next) for myself after avoiding spoilers for over a month :') (lemme know if this is a spoiler in itself I hope not)
You're not the first one doing that, I read some stories identical to yours. I think you guys skip too many cutscenes in general, why are you in such an hurry? 🤣 I felt so involved that the thought of skipping that one part where you have to interact with a certain thing over and over to no avail didn't even cross my mind, it felt part of the experience.
@@Qwerty10254 fair enough, I know I won't be skipping anything in the dlc at the very least... I realize it's my fault, just still sucks :( at least I can blame xb1 being spoiled for me on Sakurai (although I suppose I was the one who decided to play world of light and xb1 at the same time)
Xenoblade 3 is going to be a game that people fall more in love with the more they re-experience it after their initial playthrough whereas I feel like 1 and 2 have the opposite where the more I've played through them and re-experienced them the more disillusioned I become to their downbringings.
I'm discovering new things I missed in the game every day on youtube by people posting clips and it makes my appreciation of the game grow deeper and deeper constantly and a lot of the extremely tiny, extremely minimal but still clearly intentional foreshadowings and the type really do it for me.
I beat the game with 115 hours in. Now I don't know what should be my next goal.
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the most memed spoiler of this game. You all know the one.
I remember when i bought a switch a few years back, was looking for something to play and just gambled with buying XC2, I instantly fell in love with it.. didn't even realise a 3rd one was coming.... might have to pick up a switch again!
I really don’t understand how people can have the complaints they have with the story, at least if they took their time and did side stuff along the way
SPOILERS
Weak villains? You don’t hear that applied to XC1 that has stuff like Lorithia, or even Zanza being shallow as hell until 2 recontextualized him. And in this game we got deep characters like N, M, S, C, J, characters who make you think a ton with huge lore expansions and interesting concepts like X, Y, Z, characters who suited their role perfectly like D, and even side ones that add a ton to depth both seen and implied like I and F. In a game that made it clear from the beginning most Moebius aren’t gonna be important, they gave more high quality antags than ever before. And some at the peak of their depth in the series too, like N, S, and yes even Z (when you dig into him, as the game straight up says you shouldn’t take some of his claims at face value). The great like Egil, Malos, and Jin will always be there, but there’s so many more antags that just get overlooked in this game for seemingly no reason
Weak final chapters/ending? I can admit the pacing is wack for 6, especially if you don’t do side content, but outside of that most complaints are minuscule to non-problems. Stuff like the Ultimate Vessel padding in chapter 7 is both real short and is meant to be the narrative opening up to make sense to do side content (seriously a pet peeve of many of us is stories having chapters randomly ignore the important time sensitive stuff to suddenly go do side stuff, and this makes it make sense which is great). Or X and Y having anticlimactic endings to their characters seems disappointing at first, but can easily be seen as foreshadowing for how their essence is somewhat reabsorbed back into origin and Z during his fight. And for most lingering questions people have; legitimately 95% of the ones I’ve seen people have are either shown instead of told or answered in side content that many people who finished the game quickly never saw. It might not be everyone’s favorite way of expanding the world and plot, but it’s far from an active problem story-wise
In the end, I feel like most people who feel let down about this game or that it’s lesser than its predecessors mostly have this due to the fear of spoilers and the hype making us hurry through stuff while either skipping or missing some pretty important stuff along the way. I imagine there will be many critics, but as more and more content is gone back to and re-examined, even most of the disappointed people will see that this game is just as much of an amazing experience as either of the others. With just as much heart, depth, and soul as the others, even someone who went in trying to be hypercritical like me can see how great it really is
I loved Xenoblade 3, but I wasn't a fan of the Villains or the story as much either. I loved the main cast a lot though and the gameplay is great! But again, just my opinion mate! Cheers!
i had fun with the game. almost peaking 200 hrs into it (decided to take a break because i don't wanna burn myself out despite my adamant on finishing the story since i was hooked) and doing post game stuff. The game's story started out great, reminded me of XC1 but with a mix of XCX intro (chit's hits the fan and you instantly know the current situation). The last chapters had a uhh.....hiccups so to say and i actually had to stop and rethink some parts to make it make sense to me. But man did i not get INVESTED in the journey of these characters and the resolution of the story of mr. santa klaus.
good game, great gameplay and has good repetition value (i am close to 100% complete it but as i said, taking a break) story started great and strong, the final chapter felt a bit weirdly done (i want to say rush but i really don't think that's the case here) but take the ending as you will (In my case, i accepted it and i understand it. but that's it)
What's your opinion on people trashing this game cos it's not 60fps and don't have hyper realistic cinematic graphics like ps games?
I don't think it's that big of a deal when single player games run at 30 as long as it's consistent. I'm more of a stickler for 60fps when it comes to online multiplayer titles like Halo or Overwatch. I also think a good artstyle is more important to me than graphical fidelity.
@@KayJulers yeah people just like hating Nintendo nowadays cos Switch has been mega successful.
I just hit the final chapter and i can say my biggest gripe is that i do not care for the characters the way i did in 2 and after mulling it over for the last few hours i think its because there are so many funny and joyous moments the characters have in 2, that makes it more impactful when they actually face tragic and traumatic moments later on in the story.
Wheras in 3, they are in a constant state of suffering through their existence being defined by endless combat.
Maybe the developers just wanted to hammer home that Life Is Suffering, the story and writing is completely drenched in death. Maybe the devs are all at the age now where the end is looming more in their thoughts and they are using the game to express their feelings on it.
2 had sprinkles of this but it was a much more positive game in atmosphere.
Did you do side quests? Xc3 has lots of funny and emotional moments in the side content
@@dirtydirtsgt4751 Done everything up to this point (im 148 hours in)
I'm not saying that there aren't any fun and joyous moments in 3, but that its more of an even split.
If I spend half the story seeing the characters fighting, being sad, being angry, angry about fighting etc then it's just not as hard-hitting to me when the game has pulled out a tragic moment because it's expected.
Personally, I think the first game has more iron clad execution, but I still LIKE Xenoblade 3 better overall. I have more criticisms towards 3, yet I enjoyed it more regardless.