OMORI It can get sad and really depressing, but it has a close friend group that most wish they had growing up. The pictures are frigging adorable. I don't think Dee's little heart could take it, being a dad.
The end of Chapter 5 and beginning of Chapter 6 of Xenoblade 3 has to be the biggest emotional rollercoaster in any videogame in existence. Like many have said before, it really makes you feel human. Welcome to the club Dee, glad you got to experience it
The end of Mother 3 is also devastating, I don't know who to choose between Mother 3 and XC3 for best storyline. Gameplay and overall, XC3 wins over Mother 3 though.
I would have liked ch5/6 to be emotional and impactful. But it simply wasn't. Literally seconds later the game turns around and says GOTCHA! It was just a prank.
Harry McEntire, voice of Noah/N, has said on Points of Experience podcast that Xenoblade 3 is the “bravest” writing he has ever acted for, and he has a stacked portfolio.
The beginning of Xenoblade 3 Chapter 6 is I think the best writing I've ever experienced in fiction. I can't get over the brilliance of Noah's line toward the end: "I'll change it because... that is the legacy that Mio left me... even if I'm alone." This line successfully wraps up two character arcs at the same time. It's Noah learning to accept change and loss as a part of life and finding meaning in that, and it's Mio fulfilling her purpose of leaving behind a legacy to inspire others. IT'S PEAK.
The funiest thing with the beginning of chapter 6 is that this is like ten times more impactful if you are a long time Xeno player and loved Xenogears since it’s heavily inspired of one of the best sequence of the game. Playing chapter 6 was like seeing the heart of Xenogears brought back to life and Takahashi accepting to be finalmy at peace with his own legacy by giving it a proper end
How can this be the greatest writing in fiction? Are people really serious about this? "Gotcha! We switched bodies without anybody noticing!" is on the same level as "Somehow Palpatine returned." I really wish that Monolith would either stick to their guns when telling these emotional tales or stop it if they don't want to commit to it. After four Xenoblade games I cannot be asked to care any longer if something tragic happend because I know that 9 tomes out of 10 they are just trying to dupe me.
@@RaK0 Not really. They established M's power when you fight her. So it's not really on the same level as Palpatine who didn't have any prior establishment or set up for returning.
I strongly reccomend rewatching that entire sequence now that you've watched it all once. There is alot of things said in the jail cell sequence and flash backs that you may catch now
Indeed. I love the little reactions of "Mio" during the scenes just before they begin fighting "M" (after M's dome of control skill), which are only catching one's eye when knowing the truth of the hidden exchange.
If anyone is playing XC3 I strongly suggest playing the Future Redeemed DLC immediately after finishing the main game to get the most out of its connections to XC3 and to the series as a whole. If you take time off then you risk missing out on the depth of the storytelling and how it all fits together.
I always watched a recap and lore videos of the previews games before diving into the next. Even if it hasn't been that long, there's so much you can miss or just forget in these long games.
He's going straight for "Double Spining Edge 2", now it's personal" I do think he will enjoy it. After this chapter I just want to see how he reacts to Triton and Fifi....and to see if he ends exploiting the combat system.
if you start with 3 for some odd reason, I would still say hold off on Future redeemed until you have played at least Xenoblade 1 and 2. it was designed to be an endcap to the trilogy and is best enjoyed with experiencing the first 2 games in mind.
The fact Xenoblade has never won narrative and OST and in some cases didn't even got nominated makes me so mad not because I need an award to understand how good it is, but because they all are extremely overlooked and underrated, these games deserve so much more love and attention for creating ART.
You finally fell down the rabbithole of seeing other peoples reactions to xenoblade cutscenes. It's always funny to see others emotion just pooring out at these kinds of scenes and also super relatable cause it's like the closest you can get into reliving that mood that you had the first time playing yourself
Another layer that makes N a tragic character is that all of the cruelty he exhibited towards Noah and Mio, he was actually doing it all to himself the whole time, and it wasn't until M was gone that it all came back to him.
I interpereted his cruelty towards Noah as his attempt at vindicating his own decision. He was hoping Noah would make the same decision as he did, so he can continue lying to himself that he had no choice. "anybody would have done what I did." Noah did not, he was fully resolved to continue the fight regardless of if Mio was there or not. That shattered N's world view.
That theme is pretty ancient. I mean, it's more or less the foundation of the Buddhist ethics of compassion and nonviolence, and was extremely prevalent in Andy Weir's "The Egg". The reason Xenoblade 3 does so well with it is because it makes use of it to recontextualize the "dark doppelganger" trope as a tragic symptom of pathologically compulsive stasis.
Xenoblade 3 is an absolute masterpiece when it comes to writing and music. You rarely ever see a game portraying hopelessness and despair in such a visceral way. More people need to play the series for sure.
What Xenoblade does well, especially Xenoblade 3, is breaking down your emotional barriers. A lot of stories try to hit with the gut punch right away without putting the effort at chipping away at your walls. When we are on guard and protecting our emotions, those moments won't hit. But with this game, it makes you feel safe. You feel safe with these characters. You feel comfortable, and you relate to them. The game makes you vulnerable because you want to be, and that's why these emotional moments hit.
Yeah, so many pieces of media throw in a character death or some other dark moment willy nilly, and it never hits the way the writers expect. Xenoblade has even done this before. The team absolutely perfected their emotional storytelling with 3. I also think they perfected a lot of it with 2 as well. It’s just told in a different way, so it’s hard to make a comparison. 1 was more overall plot-focused, rather than character-focused like 2 and 3, so some moments didn’t necessarily hit as hard as similar ones in 2/3. That’s not inherently a bad thing either. They’re all peak to me
@rhettmitchell Yeah. Like a character dying by itself doesn't hit without the build up prior and the grief after. That's the other element Xenoblade gets right, it's the grieving period the characters feel coming to terms with death. Too many media moves on too fast to get to the next plot point. Giving time for the audience to process death and grieve is what gives it impact. It's not the death that has meaning, but how death affects everyone who has to live with it.
I've played through and watched this portion of the game so many times and never failed to get emotional, I still recall what I aimed for a small session turned into a night long session full of tears, smiles and hurt. So watching your playthrough of it was a real experience in of itself, especially knowing you're a dad. Literally as soon as it got to the stuff with past Noah and Mio's kid I said "Oh F___" out loud knowing you'll be in the wringer. Moments and experience like this is why I champion this series so hard and I'm happy to hear you've also joined the ranks.
I experienced that entire sequence one night like after midnight when I decided just to make a little bit more progress before bed (I had work the next day). Proceeded to get locked into the most emotional bit of media I’ve ever experienced. Every once in a while I go back and watch it again, and I will always love watching others experience it for the first time. N is probably my favorite tragic character of all time; now that I’m a father the whole thing is even more heartbreaking.
The best part about M as Mio saying "my Noah" is that it refers to both Noah and N. Mio mentions that M's thoughts were hers and her thoughts were M's, and this is one of the key points that refers to. M speaks for both herself and Mio in that prison cell. It's beautiful.
Dee if it makes you feel better, we've all been through this - I personally turned into a human waterfall during the entire sequence when I first experienced it - and I still shed a tear when I watch others go through the same. Hope you and your family are doing well, and take your time to get over this emotional roller-coaster.
The musical storytelling in these scenes is as masterfully done as the writing: (SPOILERS FOR THE END OF CHAPTER 5/BEGINNING OF 6) As you mentioned, M's theme incorporates the flute into the Moebius theme, and at first it makes sense because M looks like Mio so of course she'll get a flute theme. But then you fight N and there is no flute. And then you realize, N and M were never off-seers, that flute tells you it's *your* Mio you're fighting. Well spotted! But there's more. Remember that song with vocals in the prison cell? It's called "A Step Away", and at first it seems like a song that mirrors Noah's feelings in the prison. Take a listen after the twist and you'll find that the lyrics can actually be interpreted as coming from N, M, Noah or Mio. It's insane. And finally, I just wanted to mention the uses of the Homecoming melody. This theme that has been drilled into our heads through the whole game as a peaceful way to go off, is reharmonized and used in the scene where Mio dies in a heartbreaking, almost screeching way. For the first time ever, it makes us feel sad instead of happy, since we know she won't ever come back. As a bonus, the song that plays when Mio reveals to Noah that she had switched places with M is another version of the offseeing theme, showing that the same musical idea can span a wide range of emotions. They literally told a story through the soundtrack, and there are more examples of genius soundtrack uses in this game that I won't spoil.
There is also something to the drilling of the offseeing theme as a game mechanic which makes you get used to it, almost desensitized to what it represents in-fiction. Setting it up for this reversal. Taion and Eunie discuss it after Isurd’s colony, but here in Chapter 5 it hits the player with the feelings that other people in Aionios have for each of the countless NPCs you’ve already seen off without really giving it a second thought.
Chapter 5-6 major spoiler, obviously. 9:44 The musical hint isn't just the presence of the flute in the Moebius battle theme, it's also the other way around. During the homecoming when Mio is disappearing, Mio's Offseer Theme is briefly played, but with a vocal rendition instead of the flute. This is because it's not actually Mio. From Mitsuda, the composer: "In the final scene where Mio vanishes, Ashlyn McGlynn sings Mio's "Off-Seer" theme. I deliberately chose not to use a flute timbre here because I wanted to express the regrets and sadness of M, not Mio.
Im so exited for you to beat the game and play the dlc expansion of this game. Xenoblade 3 is one of my favourite games ever and im so happy you are playing through it and got to this moment. One of the best storytelling and chapter ever in the series
Modern media has desensitized us to real life so much that when something comes along that reminds us that not only should we feel things but need to feel them that it hits so much harder. Shakespeare put it best: "Parting is such sweet sorrow."
That is good you are going to focus on side-quests for now, especially Hero Quests. They really help flesh out the world and give you more classes to use. Also very good to take a break from main story after what happens at the end of ch5/beginning of ch6.
Chapter 5 and 6 were absolutely crushing. Even not being able to pick up on the subtle narrative choices (Mio's flute playing, M talking about "her Noah", ..) during the playthrough, I was so incredibly invested and absorbed into the story. Seeing Mio vanish in those brilliant balls of light made me feel like losing a close friend. The fact that Noah was about to be executed almost went over my head because I was in utter disbelief. I thought: "They REALLY did it! They took one of the main cast from us!" Learning about N's and M's past lives, the hundreds over even thousands of attempts they made at stopping Z, made me sympathise with N. While his actions are horrible and irredeemable, I totally do understand why he did it. Not because he was right, but because he was mentally and emotionally shattered. Having to watch the love of his life fade away over and over and over again, no matter how hard both of them tried to avoid it, opened him up for manipulation. N wanted to stop the cycle to repeat itself. For M, but even more so for himself. Because he "didn't want to lose anymore." Even though I'm not a parent, Noah's last advice to his son hit really, really hard. Because it's not just a message from a father to his child. Making friends, keeping them close, keeping your head up through hardships - though very generalized, they ring true for each and every one of us.
I'm older than you and this game is my favourite work of fiction ever. Literally. Regardless of the media. Books, movies... Anything. That's all I'll say.
"I want to see the pain and suffering in their eyes!" I can't tell you how many reaction videos to this part of the game I've seen just to make sure my feelings and reaction was valid lol
This is an amazing video :) I really like to hear your thoughts on games, especially story-based ones like this one. I just wish you had done a bit more theorizing in the early stages of the game, like where the story is going. I guess you could still talk about what you think about if/how this game is connected to the other ones
Im so glad youve set yourself up to fully enjoy this game. Hearing your acknowledgement of the finer details and seeing you gain something from experiencing it in full is just so nice. And that includes the gameplay
luv all the XB games, but 1 is still my fave. I played it on Wii and no one was talking about it, to me its the best JRPG I ever played. The 3 characters let me focus more on what was happening, I never did get completely used to 6-7 characters actions all at once in XB3 even though the game does a good job of teaching you, I always found it chaotic, the chain attacks were the best though, they were like a card game that you had to try to pick up. Future Redeemed is my fave DLC and I thought Future Connected and Torna were both good too.
@hepwo91222 everything you said, is absolutely correct. Xc1 is a fantastic game, arguably the best story, while i absolutely adore xc3 chai attacks, I do like the randomness of xc1 chain attacks. The vision system was always super fun.
MonolithSoft's team has been doing this since 1998, since before they were Monolith. It's incredible writing by Tetsuya Takahashi and the Monolith team that have kept me as a fan of the Xeno games through Gears, through the aborted Saga trilogy, through X's rough patches (which will hopefully be smoothed out by Definitive Edition), and through the numbered Blade trilogy. It's the way they weave a masterful tale that puts you through so many emotions somewhere in the mid-game. Moments like learning Fei's true identity in Gears, KOS-MOS's true purpose in the Saga trilogy, seeing who is behind a certain Faced Mechon in XCI, Rex's failure in XC2, and the jail sequence in XC3. All of these have etched themselves in my head because of the beautiful writing and brilliant music choices to pair up with these moments. For a long time, I didn't think my beloved series would ever come back after Saga's failure. But Nintendo brought it back from the brink of death and it just kickstarted over a decade of just banger after banger. I cannot wait for Switch 2 and the inevitable Xenoblade Chronicles 4, cause you KNOW they're not just working on XCX Definitive. I can't wait for my heart to be stomped on once again only for them to rebuild it again over the remainder of the next game.
@@snarky-drive-byAgreed. Been saying this specifically for a long time! lol I am with him totally on the “now-dad is more attuned to emotionally mature themes” aspect.
it's not the best place to say this since the dude haven't finished the game, but no. xb3 is made for young adults, people just reaching maturity AND adults. the whole immediate message that the game works toward and spells out in the ending is directed to the youth, a message quite common in medias nowdays, but necessary, since more and more young people are falling into despair. so no, it's a masterful game that can be enjoyed by everyone, but it's really focusing on the youth.
You know, I discovered your channel with your Halo / Marty O'Donnell first incursion. I never expected the channel to reach a spot like this, but I love the way you approach games and live them. This is not usual in other channels. You are basically the only one so far that has made a specific after-video with a recap of his experience with that particular section of the game, it makes me extra happy to finally come across someone that esentially displays the same emotional response as I did. It feels comfortable, to some extent. And, to be fair, watching people playing through XC3's Chapter 5 is my personal guilty pleasure. It never gets old 😅
Fun fact: About a week after this game came out in 2022, “Chapter 5” started trending on Twitter. Checking out that tab, it was full of experiences just like yours. It took most people about a week to get to that point in the game, including me.
Chapter 5 of Xenoblade 3 is just pure cinema When chapter 5 ended I was like “No, next chapter NEXT CHAPTER ! WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S NOT OVER !” It was like already 4 AM xD and I was not worthy of what I witnessed After I slept and well re watched I just had to clap and ovate what Monolith did with this game They’re just the goats Also yeah your reaction said everything though in Xenoblade 1 you quite were speechles like it didn’t stop breaking you but in that one you were silent in this one you were cursing at the game. Now enjoy the rest of the journey…and the DLC
Keeping things spoiler free, crazy happy you’re taking the time to do the side quests and see the world that’s been built. At the point you’re at, loads more memorable side quests become available that just makes you love the characters even more.
N's origin story is the thing that broke me the most for sure, so well written. Honestly at fist watching ch5 ending I was as desperate as the characters and just thought it was over they were dead and we were somehow going to another cycle
I'm glad you're so open and honest about your emotions and why you responded the way you did. I've said before in your videos that Xenoblade 3 is one of my favorite games of all time, if not my favorite, period. One of the major reasons for that is the writing in Chapters 5 and 6. I think one of the biggest aspects of this scene that makes it hurt so fucking much is how much it feels like it just... didn't need to happen. It wasn't an inevitable occurrence. It wasn't fate. It was the twisted desperation of a man so obviously broken fundamentally inside that he has to cause someone to die permanently and torture others with the sight of her death and the knowledge of said permanence, just to justify to himself that his choice to join Moebius was the correct one and that he's not the broken man he is. I wish so much that N had had the chance to become an off-seer like Noah had. I fully believe that becoming an off-seer is the reason why Noah did not become a Moebius in these two chapters. He fell so fucking far, he came so close to the edge of despair, to becoming N, and even briefly wished to become N -- and yet he chose differently because of the things he learned by becoming an off-seer. His music gave him purpose that N didn't have. N's entire purpose was M and his child, and when he was offered the choice to become Moebius, the fact that he had no other purpose besides that enabled him to make the impossible choice. Noah had developed a different reason for living than just Mio. He had developed a deep, deep empathy for other peoples' lives, because of his close connection to them. And that's always been one of the core messages of Xenoblade -- that the way to avoid giving into fear, giving into despair, is to make real, deep connections with other people and spend time with them and become a more empathetic person as a result. It's a plot thread that runs through every single Xenoblade game -- with Shulk choosing empathy and understanding over revenge, with Rex choosing to learn about and accept Pyra and Mythra's fears instead of blindly walking his own path and assuming everyone's on the same page. Fucking God, I love Xenoblade's writing so much. I think a lot about how Xenoblade almost never came to America and about how that would have likely been the end of the series at the original game had it not done so. I am so fucking grateful that it was brought overseas. I am so grateful to every single one of those fans who petitioned Nintendo to do it. My life has genuinely been changed by Xenoblade Chronicles. It's genuinely shifted how I perceive the world and my interactions with other people. It's an unbelievably powerful series and I don't know where I would be without it.
I see the title "Chapter 5" and I immediately knew exactly what it was, even without ever seeing this channel before or any other hint what it was about.
I love when people give their full thoughts on moments like these, I was hoping for this since you didnt have time to talk about it on stream For some reason, the "my noah" line is what always gets me. No matter how many times I watch this part of the game, I can hold it until then. That line just breaks me
I’ve become a dad 2.5 years ago. And I am with you, I’m a lot more weepy now than I was prior to the son being born. XC3 is an incredibly emotional experience. Loving the y through. Also, Persona series playthrough? Persona 5 Royal is in my top 10 now, along with XC3
Dee either though Xenoblade Chronicles 3 did not win game of the year 2022 but flute guy when all out when Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was nominated for game of the year of 2022. And that was our little award. Xenoblade Chronicles 1 2 and 3 has so many tiny details once you re-watch certain scenes or listen or listen to dialogue you're going to pick up stuff and you're going to like "oh my God it was that or this".
Mi favorite game is Xenoblade 2, but I think end of chapter 5 and beginning of chapter 6 is the peak moment of the series and maybe of all of gaming in general
Im so glad you finally got to this part. My family and I watch your videos together and were waiting for you to get to this moment. Im a father as well and it riooed my heart out many times. Definitely one of the most memorable moments of any video game.
Xenoblade is a series that you appreciate more the more you play it. I heard someone say “The more you put into this series, the more you get out of it.” Which I find absolutely true.
I think another factor that makes that segment great is N, the game makes you hate him so bad in the previous scenes but after the eclipse and learning his past makes the whole situation and resolution even more tragic; you're seing a broken man do the same to others as was done to him and even after becoming Moebious he still loses Mio again, even after his deal with the devil he loses everything one last time. And when you battle one may feel pitty, sadness, hate him but understand his actions, etc; and question if you would have done the same.
I waited 2 years for this moment. Absolutely worth it. I absolutely do the thing you do in wanting to see the pain in people’s reactions! Super fun time. I agree that this series’ incredible stories go under the radar of a majority of people and I always think it’s a shame when so many Nintendo fans kind of scoff at the series. I used to be one of them until I had the privilege to enjoy Xenoblade 1’s awesome story. Definitely loved seeing your journey with this game series
Future Redeemed is gonna rough you up too, but you survived Ch5 you're tough enough to take it. I highly recommend when you finish this game and dlc to watch some videos on "small details you might've missed." And Dee, that feeling of N holding his son and telling him he's gonna be fine before he dies is hard and sad, but it's something we all face in real life. Sometimes it's in a nursing home after a long and fruitful life, others it's in a hospital right in the middle of it, and all too often it's in a car wreck far too soon, but it's real. Whether we face it as a father or a son all men will one day die, even you, so I think more than sad it's hopeful. One day you'll be in N's place, and you'll be able to find peace in the fact that your kid (maybe kids and grandkids) _will be fine_ because as a dad isn't that what really matters. You will end, but your hope lives on.
That whole sequence was the most emotion I have ever felt and expressed from a piece of media ever. I have never cried that much to a show/movie in my life. It is the main reason why I look at XB3 with such high regard. It only adds to things I already loved about it such as the combat system.
Thank you for your words. I'm so thankful to be entwined with other players as you with this incredibile franchise. Monolith Soft are very special developers, and persons, to follow and support in any way possible. We must continue to spread the word, 1,5-2 million mark is still an underestimation for the Xenoblade series, and the 2022 game awards are just part of this unrecognition. They are niche games, but also souls games were at the beginning, we must only continue to play, appreciate, and express our feelings to our friends, to public (with streams and videos), to anyone who appreciates deep narrative and emotions
When Mio started to disappear, and onto the flashbacks of the previous Noah/N when they had the baby, my heart broke more and more - and I don't even have kids, it's just the connection to the characters. But it also hit me due to the fact that my wife died from bilateral pneumonia after having beaten cancer about a year and a half or 2 years before this game came out, and seeing Mio - or who we, at first, thought was still her - basically "pass away"..... Anyway, that was what I was waiting for, was for you to get to the end of Chapter 5 and see your reaction. Of course there's more than that that I can't wait to see your reaction to, but the Chapter 5 ending/Chapter 6 beginning was what I was waiting for.
I've played through Xenoblade 3 two times over the past few years and both times chapter 5/6 forced me to cry unlike any other game. Even watching your vod at school I still was tearing up in front of other people. It's truly 1 of the best games of all time.
Oh there’s PLENTY left to do. I love that XC3’s sidequests are so closely related to the overarching story. The exploration is amazing. It’s easily my favorite of the franchise. I’m glad you’re loving it and hope to see the rest of your time with it
while watching your playthrough so far ive been reminded why i love this game even though i have no friends who play it because as you say its overlooked too frequently. I last played it a year ago, watching you experience this chapter allowed me to express to a friend of mine what a profound and beautifully crafted game this really is. She is now saving for it and i can’t wait to see her reaction to this part when she reaches it and the rest of this game :)
I love Takahashi's writing, and the Chapter 5/6 transition in 3 is absolutely my favorite (and likely the best) segment of writing in all of his works to date. Everything about that sequence is magnificent. There is so much to gush about in the sequence. Like I love the month long montage of the party trying to escape with everyone slowly losing hope between the jumps. I love the theatrics of the 1,000th sending. I never actually believed that they were going to go through with the death for real because that would...cause issues with gameplay if you permanently lost a party member, but they got damn close to making me believe it happened. And I love the complete joy that comes from "Let us walk together." One thing that I've noticed while watching people play through the sequence is that a common thing for people to say something along the lines of "don't show me this again" when it comes to all of Mio's past deaths. And I think it is interesting because the point of that whole sequence was to get the player's mind in N's headspace when he decided to become N. And well, not wanting to see his Mio die again is very much his motivation, so that sequence is very successful on that front. Even if it does succeed in its mission by inflicting trauma on the player. XD
Initinally I wasn’t planning on playing this game until up to release day, where I ended up thinking, I’ll give it a shot, & I’m so happy I did. The themes of the meaning of life, the story, the characters… it all resonates so much with me. Easily a top 5 game of all time for me. Looking forward to seeing you explore all the Main characters side stories & Hero ascensions, they are all very much worth doing.
Only about 3ish minutes in, but hearing your story as a new father is something that weirdly resonated with me, because this game reshaped my worldview and made me want to be a father. I used to be one of the people who viewed kids as ugly, gross, nasty things that just screamed and cried and pooped. Then this game came along. I will never get over the feeling I had when the party first discover the concept of a Baby, and when Noah and Mio see the kids run around the City and share that look, it altered my brain chemistry. And like you mentioned, seeing Noah have to share his parting words before passing in front of his son... Fuck man. What an emotionally deep and well written game.
The genius of the storytelling across chapter 5 & 6 is how they force you continue past the limited points to pause. The mundanity of the prison - fetch quest etc - makes the player want to go forward, then there's no escape until the end of chapter 5, but it ends on such a shock that you have to keep playing just to see what happens next, but then there's no out until the end of the events at the homecoming & Shania, by which time you are emotionally exhausted.
there are actually a lot of nice, lighter side stories, usually tied to hero quests that sorts of offer a good balance to the serious tone of the main story. from potatoes to hot spring baths (and im not talking about the desert bath from the main story), to the story behind jewelry being made and another hero wanting to battle another hero, there are a ton of stories that add more depth and color to the world and overall lore. cant wait for you to discover them in your playthrough.
To be fair, a lot of 'anime-esque' Jrpgs have been getting more and more popular lately with games like Persona 5 being super popular, Metaphor getting a lot of recognition, even Xenoblade 3 despite not winning any awards was still a GOTY nominee and just had the bad luck with being put up against Elden Ring, (though I will forever die on the hill that it should've gotten best Soundtrack over God of War). Not to mention I do consider games like Nier Automata and Final Fantasy on the same level, even though the artstyle vears into more realism compared to Xenoblade or Persona.
10:44 I think I've definitely underestimated your media literacy over the years. You're definitely incredibly attentive to details that I guess I never realized or gaved credit for so I apologize for that
I'd also recommend checking out archsage gauntlet at least once in your playthrough, it was a part of wave 3 dlc that you redeemed, it's located in the land of challange in Fornis region. Its a rogue like challange mode and is really fun, also you can win some cool costumes for completing it :)
5:40 I personally believe, it less about seeing other become a weeping mess but rather sharing those emotions with others, and not exactly sad emotions either, when I player the ending of chapter 5 I knew mio will not die (cause she had an ouroboros with Noah), and knew that some kind of plot armour will save her, so it didn’t got much of a reaction of me to see M switch with mio, but no matter how many times I see the beginning of chapter 6, those scenes with Noah, mio and their child still get me tear up, and I think it’s a great thing that these scene can always get the emotions it wants out of me or out of us, we watch other play the ending of Ch5 and beginning of ch6 despite knowing that it will hurt but still do, and no matter how many times we try to control ourself, we always end up shedding tears, it’s like crying together with the people and acknowledging that “yeah, this is a very well done cutscene” But that’s just my opinion
Also side note: XC3 was nominated for GOTY, not any best X, no straight up Game of the year, top 5 game of the 2022, that was great moment for us xenoblade players, and it will be game of the year for us
Even the side stories and hero quests are full of emotion. I highly recommend doing atleast all hero quests before finishing the story. It'll be worth it, believe me.
Even with the normal quests, every colony basically has its own entire story arc that goes to the end of them. Often the real ending to stuff in the hero quests is actually in the final normal quests Or how quests start to link between colonies and show them cooperating It's actually a fascinating example of communities changing the world together that is relevant to real life
I finished the game in May, it has not left me. I think about it often, randomly while walking my dog, or reading. I miss the characters, I open the game every once in a while to walk around and maybe catch some monster or side quest I didn’t get yo before. It was an unforgettable experience and I will never uninstall it from my switch ❤ This is masterful storytelling, not only in traditional sense (plot, character, foreshadowing,etc) but in the immersion, they manage to make you feel the same way the characters feel. When they make you interact with the door three times just so you understand that as the player there is not a dammed thing you can do, there is no Botton, glitch, nothing… you can only wait as the characters. And the in chapter 6 they show you the past and they make you feel “please no more, just stop, I can’t take this” and that is exactly how past Noah felt and why he made the choice to stop time so it all stops.
Chapter 5-6 was where Noah finally stepped up to me as a true Xeno protagonist. Prior to that I wasn't fully invested in him, but atesting to his sheer pain and his anger and frustration was so, so, so powerful. Hearing all in that prison cell express how they truly want to live now, hearing them cry, was so crushing yet humanizing. And seeing since then so many streamers react to those chapters has been the same. I re-live those emotions vicariously through them, and it made me realize how truly remarkable is that this series can speak in such a profound way to our human nature and emotions. Literally, ALL that I've seen finish the trilogy cannot say something other than "this game truly changed me / saved me". That's the power of their characters and the ever important message they all share in the end. So glad you've played this game, man, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
i think that entire hour and a half long string of cutscenes might be my favorite moment in any video game i've ever played. i remember when my one friend got me into xenoblade she told me "be prepared for chapter 5 :)" and the entire time i was at the li garte prison camp my mind was racing everywhere, wondering what would be so scary(?) about it, since that was the only chapter across all 3 games she warned me about like that. no matter how many times i watch it for myself, or watch other people react to it for the first time, it always makes me cry as if i'm watching it for the first time, and that's what made me start to realize how much i love xenoblade, and especially xenoblade 3
End of 5 into the start of 6 hurt me so much that whenever I would watch someone do a play through (I've probably watched a dozen), I skip from their arrival at the city and those reveals to after Shania's death. I remember years ago when Dee watched all the Xenoblade trailers and hoping he'd play them, and I'm so happy he's made it to XC3. I can't wait to see him play more
Thanks for this video sharing your thoughts, and I agree with everything you said. I could listen to you talk about this game/these chapters for an hour haha. I was an emotional wreck when I 1st played and it STILL hits hard years later. That's a sign of incredible storytelling. I could go on and on about my love of the series, but I'll simply say that I'm glad you are enjoying XC3 and it was well worth the wait! I look forward to the rest of your journey
Each Xenoblade game is special to me, but for different reasons. 3 especially so since it combines 1/2, while telling it's own story. Chapter 5 is where this shines the brightest for me. You have the Great Sword of Mechonis as the hideout of The Lost Numbers, which itself was Sword Valley from Xenoblade 1. Erythia Sea is a combination of Eryth Sea (XC1) and Leftherian Archipelago (XC2). The atmosphere that the sea creates with its music, especially the night theme, just sent chills down my spine because I could just tell. I knew something big was going to happen. Just like how I felt in XC1, and how that culminated the way that it did. The story itself shattered me. I don't know how else to describe it. I cried at the ending of Torna, seeing Mikhail's dead expression as it's revealed that Milton passed; the backdrop of the Tornan Titan as it sinks below. But this was something wholly different. I may have cried at Torna, but Chapter 5-6 of XC3 made me *weep*. At that point, I had never played a game that made be feel so emotional. From the pure hate towards Shania's actions. The suspense of Sena / Lanz seemingly about to sacrifice themselves. The sadness and terror of Moebius M's battle. And that was all just the start. N's sick "sideshow" and how much despair that brought to the party. And yet despite that, Mio's hope. Everything after is just pain too (Lol). The scene you mentioned, with Noah fading and leaving his son behind, hit so so hard to me as well. As a parent, you want to make sure you give your children the best life possible. And in that moment, it all just falls apart. You know what that child will have to deal with in this world, and now he has no parents. It's frankly sick. But so strong a story as a result. And then at the end, they pull one more on you with Shania getting the sword shot, and ofc her choice because of that. Shania has a lot more depth to her that you may see later through quests should you choose to do so, and while I can't say that it makes me like her, it does make me think about her a lot and why she chose what she chose. That was a lot of words but, XC is just so special to me. XCX may not be on the same level of storytelling in it's main quest, but it is still quite strong (especially for true open world games). I am so excited to play it again as a result.
Yea being a parent have made me alot more sensitive when it comes to emotions and emotional scenes as well, in all type of media. Glad you enjoy Xenoblade Chronicles 3, it have become one of my all time favorite games. Can't wait for X. Looking forward to more VoD's. 👍
I absolutely felt the same as you in that moment, I thought there’s no way they’re ACTUALLY going to do this, Noah HAS to pull Lucky 7 from somewhere right? But then when it actually DOES happen, the devastation is completely overwhelming. Such amazing story-writing decisions in this game ❤
Chapter 5-6 is such an emotionally charged roller coaster that it's insane, and I'm so glad Monolith decided to commit to it. What I've noticed a lot of JRPG's and story driven games do is they'll rely on singular sad story beat before slowly picking up and pushing on, like for example one character dying in a battle, but Takahashi really just decided to grab the player and take you for a 2 hour emotional rollercoaster of a sequence where there is just so many sad story beats included that all works together to slowly break you down, leaving you emotionally exhausted by the end. The hole prison segment itself is also just extremely brilliantly executed from a narrative point of view as the old "Prion break execution" trope isn't all too uncommon in games/media, even in Xenoblade 2 they do it, so you as a player already have an expectation that they somehow will be able to escape, and Xeno3 plays really hard into this expectation by setting up the hole false queens plotpoint so you have the hope that they might be able to break you out, then we see the M city scene which gives us the hope that the city will be able to get them out, then at the very end Riku even gives a pep talk where he says Noah is still able to draw Lucky 7 which gives ut the hope of Noah being able just break them out somehow, and the thing is the vast majority of other games, movies or shows in the same scenario would just take any one of those outs, but Xeno3 just lets it all play out and Mio actually dies here, even though it wasn't *our* Mio. The sheer commitment to this sequence is one of the things that makes it so insanely good, not even mentioning all the extremely good attention to smaller details during the segment. There is just so much to talk about during that segment, it's crazy what they've managed to achive here. Also a huge shoutout to Harry McEntire for absolutely *killing* it as his role for Noah/N, he geniuinly has some of the most incredible voice acting I've ever heard here. Watching yours and other peoples reaction to this segment is always extremely interesting, as what breaks a player is often pretty individualized given just how many sad story beats are included here, which is what makes every persons reaction to this so awesome to watch. So thank you for sharing your experience too!! 💙💜 Edit: and yeah I almost always cry upon rewatching these scenes too 😭
Xenoblade as a series is so good at building you up and tearing you down emotionally. You're given wonderful characters you grow to truly appreciate, and forced to watch them go through absolute hell just to be allowed to live. 3 pushes this to an absolute extreme in such a strong way. I've never had a game leave me sobbing SO many times, it's just such an incredible journey and I'd give anything to forget the game and play it with fresh eyes again.
takahashi hit a home run with the emotional narratives in a video game series, all 3 games had a crescending level of emotional storytelling, he just kept giving us more and more
My experience with this part of the game was incredibly similar to yours and everyone else. Though, one thing you didn't mention and that you were confused with initially that I picked up on was the moon. Cutting to the different phases of the moon during their prison sentence absolutely wrecked me. To use that as a subtle (for some, obvious for others) way of showing how much time is passing while they're locked away with the swelling music in the background was enough to tell me how special this moment in the game was going to be. There were a few times where I truly did believe that we were going back into the cycle. My meta brain of trying to understand the mechanics of it gameplay wise were definitely breaking the immersion a bit and telling me there's no way it would happen, but a part of me really did want the game to spin and have this moment of you playing as Noah as a colony soldier again. Maybe have some moments similar to Eunie after she came across her Husk where he remembers his past lives and defects from the flow. Obviously with what we saw it wasn't what happened, and I love what we got too, but my mind still wanders to that what if. Even if Consul M defected and regathered the party and filling in for the Mio we lost last time. I think there could've been a crazy cool way of playing the story out like that. This game is so good, and I'm glad you get to experience why it's so special to a lot of us. Last thing I did want to somewhat touch on that Dee said to the viewers of his that might not be into Xenoblade. He recommends you play 3 without playing the others first to see if you'd like it. And while I do agree with him somewhat, I will say if you truly do want to give this series a shot, start from the 1st or 2nd game. And play both of them before jumping into 3. While you won't miss out on much if you don't have the first two games under your belt, I believe there's enough there to truly make the game that much more special if you have experienced them first. You guys are free to play whatever you want in whichever order for sure, but one thing I will say pre-emptively is that the DLC for 3 is something you should only play after at least experiencing the story of all 3 games. Even if you don't go back to play 1 and 2, at least watch playthroughs of them.
I think it's a core memory of me playing this moment It was 11:30 at night. My parents weren't home so I hooked up the switch to the big TV. I was sitting up on the couch playing intently. I think "ok, I'll do the prison break and beat this boss and then head off to bed." At 1:30 am, I was in the bathroom, game paused, sobbing my eyes out. I so distinctly remember the salty taste of my tears as they ran into my mouth. I'm young, just a college kid now, but when I saw you were playing the game, and knowing that you had recently become a father, I could only imagine how this would make you feel, and here we are. This my favorite video game for good reason. I loved Xenoblade 1 and 2, but neither of those games, nor probably any other game, has made me cry like Xenoblade 3 did.
I just found your channel and streams through this playthrough about 2 weeks ago. (Bless the yt algo for working for once) This is the first time I get to see someone play this game, after having played it myself, and it managing to become my favorite game I've ever played, and your experiences with it really remind me of my own, and how good this game is. It's such a phenomenal story about being human, and I love it so. I can only imagine what being a dad made you feel during the moments with Noah and his kid. It's such an incredible game, and a truly indelible experience for anyone who plays it. I'm glad I got to see you play it so far man, can't wait to see the rest!
Bee Xenoblade Chronicles 3 might not won game of the year of 2022 against elden ring. But our award you can say it was flute guy going all out playing music of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 at the orchestra rewatch that and listen to it. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 nominated for Game of the Year is a big deal & it extra special
I absolutely knew you would break at the Noah and his son cutscene, when you came back saying you were gonna play Xenoblade 3 I thought to myself "Oh no that parts gonna destory him". That scene and the entire sequence from the end of Chapter 5 into chapter 6 is some of the richest storytelling and emotional turmoil i've ever seen in media and is a big part of why I hold this game so highly. So excited to see where your journey goes here on out :).
By the way, the world changes a bit too when you add different heroes. Not only do they add different commentary as you explore but each hero has additional stories you can explore by adding them to your party and being in locations that are related to them. I am currently replaying the game and going thru each hero’s additional story and you may find that rewarding as well as their stories also include the main characters, add more banter between them and in most cases additional character growth for the main characters. By the way, thank you for playing this game and playing it with an open mind and investing in these characters. There is a lot of reading to do which I know can be challenging but like you said it adds more depth to the world and these characters. And thank you for sharing your raw emotions while playing the game. I think I got more emotional watching you play the game than when I played it…. And that was an emotional game for me 😂. Thank you for making me love this game even more
This section of the game. Is easily my favorite part to see people experience. This, 2 to 3 hour hour section. Is pure gold for me. And I'm always happy to see people experience it. It's just that good, and I don't think anything else ever will top that section of game for me.
I’ve seen multiple reactions to these scenes and am usually excited to see it and the whole time I was thinking “the scene with the child is going to break him” and when you were getting emotional to the scene in the hospital of mio dying I said out loud “oh it gets so much worse…” but as it approached I was actually scared and when I was right about it breaking you I genuinely felt bad and wanted to give you a big hug because I could just see the horror in your eyes as a father
Not everyone notices the tear before the fight but you did. The Mobius battle theme done with flutes was wild. Talented musicians. The prison scene hits different after you know and if you pay attention to the lyrics ... ooof. Awesome you finally took the plunge after watching the reveal trailer so long ago :)
Last year there as an Eclipse IRL. On that day I livestreamed my live reaction to Chapter 5, which I had never shown off before I just recorded it for myself at the time. How certain viewers reacted to the stream helped me figure out who my real friends are, and who were the fakers...
Man I miss this game don't mind revisiting this story.. It was soo good. That song that hits when they battle N I think. One is the best songs ever was just perfect for that moment.
I ended up finding your chapter 5/6 vod from seeing a large portion of the XC fandom on Twitter reacting to it and it was one of the best reactions I’ve seen in a long while. This wrap up video just drives it even further that you REALLY do get it, and you my man have gotten a new fan. Welcome to the club.
5:30 Yeah, that's me as well. After I completed my decade-and-change long journey with the series, I regularly try to find new LPs of people getting into the franchise and enjoy their suffering and joy. It's an addiction, I know.
The funny thing to me is that unlike most people I think, I feel great by experiencing this cause I'm constantly aware of deep things like this. So seeing it being conveyed to people so efficiently is rather exciting. People need to be more aware and realize the seriousness of life, even if that means being more jaded. That's how you self-actualize and elevate in your life.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
'Why do you keep watching RUclipsrs go through these emotionally draining scenes?'
"Because it amuses me"
"Art is meant to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable"
REAL SHIT
OMORI
It can get sad and really depressing, but it has a close friend group that most wish they had growing up. The pictures are frigging adorable. I don't think Dee's little heart could take it, being a dad.
"cringe"
Nah, it depends on the art entirely.
That's a great quote actually. It really is.
The end of Chapter 5 and beginning of Chapter 6 of Xenoblade 3 has to be the biggest emotional rollercoaster in any videogame in existence. Like many have said before, it really makes you feel human. Welcome to the club Dee, glad you got to experience it
Mother 3 and XBC3 are the most damaging
@@OldGenGamersNationyou forgot Wii Sports
The end of Mother 3 is also devastating, I don't know who to choose between Mother 3 and XC3 for best storyline.
Gameplay and overall, XC3 wins over Mother 3 though.
I would have liked ch5/6 to be emotional and impactful. But it simply wasn't. Literally seconds later the game turns around and says GOTCHA! It was just a prank.
@@HyperPanda6793 Nice Spare!
Harry McEntire, voice of Noah/N, has said on Points of Experience podcast that Xenoblade 3 is the “bravest” writing he has ever acted for, and he has a stacked portfolio.
5:30 ONE OF US, ONE OF US 😂
The way I said EXACTLY the same
😂😭😭
The beginning of Xenoblade 3 Chapter 6 is I think the best writing I've ever experienced in fiction. I can't get over the brilliance of Noah's line toward the end: "I'll change it because... that is the legacy that Mio left me... even if I'm alone." This line successfully wraps up two character arcs at the same time. It's Noah learning to accept change and loss as a part of life and finding meaning in that, and it's Mio fulfilling her purpose of leaving behind a legacy to inspire others. IT'S PEAK.
Oooh great point
Oh damn I never realized that when it came to Mio's character.
The funiest thing with the beginning of chapter 6 is that this is like ten times more impactful if you are a long time Xeno player and loved Xenogears since it’s heavily inspired of one of the best sequence of the game. Playing chapter 6 was like seeing the heart of Xenogears brought back to life and Takahashi accepting to be finalmy at peace with his own legacy by giving it a proper end
How can this be the greatest writing in fiction? Are people really serious about this?
"Gotcha! We switched bodies without anybody noticing!" is on the same level as "Somehow Palpatine returned."
I really wish that Monolith would either stick to their guns when telling these emotional tales or stop it if they don't want to commit to it. After four Xenoblade games I cannot be asked to care any longer if something tragic happend because I know that 9 tomes out of 10 they are just trying to dupe me.
@@RaK0 Not really. They established M's power when you fight her. So it's not really on the same level as Palpatine who didn't have any prior establishment or set up for returning.
5:30 Welcome to the endless now of watching reactions with us, DBG. Submit to the flow…
I strongly reccomend rewatching that entire sequence now that you've watched it all once. There is alot of things said in the jail cell sequence and flash backs that you may catch now
That, plus the song "A Step Away." Reading the lyrics, the events of the sequence give a lot more context and make it make a lot more sense.
Yeah! Like the battle against M outside the prison when she looks quietly to Mio and she drops a tear, now you understand what happened in that scene.
@@fermingamboamartinez8042 Also the flute playing in her battle theme.
Indeed. I love the little reactions of "Mio" during the scenes just before they begin fighting "M" (after M's dome of control skill), which are only catching one's eye when knowing the truth of the hidden exchange.
@@fermingamboamartinez8042 At that point, Mio was M so it was Mio who shed a tear after having witnessed all those memories.
5:33 the moment Dee becomes Moebius
But we already have a mobius D
he has chosen.. the endless now
@@Nelsito99 not for long
If anyone is playing XC3 I strongly suggest playing the Future Redeemed DLC immediately after finishing the main game to get the most out of its connections to XC3 and to the series as a whole. If you take time off then you risk missing out on the depth of the storytelling and how it all fits together.
Woops.
I always watched a recap and lore videos of the previews games before diving into the next. Even if it hasn't been that long, there's so much you can miss or just forget in these long games.
He's going straight for "Double Spining Edge 2", now it's personal" I do think he will enjoy it.
After this chapter I just want to see how he reacts to Triton and Fifi....and to see if he ends exploiting the combat system.
Actually I would recommend doing the certain post-game side quests before Future Redeemed.
if you start with 3 for some odd reason, I would still say hold off on Future redeemed until you have played at least Xenoblade 1 and 2. it was designed to be an endcap to the trilogy and is best enjoyed with experiencing the first 2 games in mind.
The fact Xenoblade has never won narrative and OST and in some cases didn't even got nominated makes me so mad not because I need an award to understand how good it is, but because they all are extremely overlooked and underrated, these games deserve so much more love and attention for creating ART.
You finally fell down the rabbithole of seeing other peoples reactions to xenoblade cutscenes. It's always funny to see others emotion just pooring out at these kinds of scenes and also super relatable cause it's like the closest you can get into reliving that mood that you had the first time playing yourself
Haha ya true
Yeah, guilty here, too! lol Waiting for his reaction to Chapter 5/6 this whole time! So happy to hear his insightful appreciation of it, too.
The outer wilds effect
@@undo5659 what exactly does this mean lol
Another layer that makes N a tragic character is that all of the cruelty he exhibited towards Noah and Mio, he was actually doing it all to himself the whole time, and it wasn't until M was gone that it all came back to him.
I interpereted his cruelty towards Noah as his attempt at vindicating his own decision. He was hoping Noah would make the same decision as he did, so he can continue lying to himself that he had no choice. "anybody would have done what I did."
Noah did not, he was fully resolved to continue the fight regardless of if Mio was there or not. That shattered N's world view.
That theme is pretty ancient. I mean, it's more or less the foundation of the Buddhist ethics of compassion and nonviolence, and was extremely prevalent in Andy Weir's "The Egg". The reason Xenoblade 3 does so well with it is because it makes use of it to recontextualize the "dark doppelganger" trope as a tragic symptom of pathologically compulsive stasis.
Videos like this one make this feel like such a special playthrough
5:30 ONE OF US, ONE OF US, ONE OF US!!!!
Xenoblade 3 is an absolute masterpiece when it comes to writing and music. You rarely ever see a game portraying hopelessness and despair in such a visceral way. More people need to play the series for sure.
What Xenoblade does well, especially Xenoblade 3, is breaking down your emotional barriers. A lot of stories try to hit with the gut punch right away without putting the effort at chipping away at your walls. When we are on guard and protecting our emotions, those moments won't hit. But with this game, it makes you feel safe. You feel safe with these characters. You feel comfortable, and you relate to them. The game makes you vulnerable because you want to be, and that's why these emotional moments hit.
Yeah, so many pieces of media throw in a character death or some other dark moment willy nilly, and it never hits the way the writers expect. Xenoblade has even done this before. The team absolutely perfected their emotional storytelling with 3. I also think they perfected a lot of it with 2 as well. It’s just told in a different way, so it’s hard to make a comparison. 1 was more overall plot-focused, rather than character-focused like 2 and 3, so some moments didn’t necessarily hit as hard as similar ones in 2/3. That’s not inherently a bad thing either. They’re all peak to me
@rhettmitchell Yeah. Like a character dying by itself doesn't hit without the build up prior and the grief after. That's the other element Xenoblade gets right, it's the grieving period the characters feel coming to terms with death. Too many media moves on too fast to get to the next plot point. Giving time for the audience to process death and grieve is what gives it impact. It's not the death that has meaning, but how death affects everyone who has to live with it.
I've played through and watched this portion of the game so many times and never failed to get emotional, I still recall what I aimed for a small session turned into a night long session full of tears, smiles and hurt.
So watching your playthrough of it was a real experience in of itself, especially knowing you're a dad. Literally as soon as it got to the stuff with past Noah and Mio's kid I said "Oh F___" out loud knowing you'll be in the wringer.
Moments and experience like this is why I champion this series so hard and I'm happy to hear you've also joined the ranks.
I experienced that entire sequence one night like after midnight when I decided just to make a little bit more progress before bed (I had work the next day). Proceeded to get locked into the most emotional bit of media I’ve ever experienced. Every once in a while I go back and watch it again, and I will always love watching others experience it for the first time. N is probably my favorite tragic character of all time; now that I’m a father the whole thing is even more heartbreaking.
The best part about M as Mio saying "my Noah" is that it refers to both Noah and N. Mio mentions that M's thoughts were hers and her thoughts were M's, and this is one of the key points that refers to. M speaks for both herself and Mio in that prison cell. It's beautiful.
Dee if it makes you feel better, we've all been through this - I personally turned into a human waterfall during the entire sequence when I first experienced it - and I still shed a tear when I watch others go through the same. Hope you and your family are doing well, and take your time to get over this emotional roller-coaster.
The musical storytelling in these scenes is as masterfully done as the writing: (SPOILERS FOR THE END OF CHAPTER 5/BEGINNING OF 6)
As you mentioned, M's theme incorporates the flute into the Moebius theme, and at first it makes sense because M looks like Mio so of course she'll get a flute theme. But then you fight N and there is no flute. And then you realize, N and M were never off-seers, that flute tells you it's *your* Mio you're fighting. Well spotted!
But there's more. Remember that song with vocals in the prison cell? It's called "A Step Away", and at first it seems like a song that mirrors Noah's feelings in the prison. Take a listen after the twist and you'll find that the lyrics can actually be interpreted as coming from N, M, Noah or Mio. It's insane.
And finally, I just wanted to mention the uses of the Homecoming melody. This theme that has been drilled into our heads through the whole game as a peaceful way to go off, is reharmonized and used in the scene where Mio dies in a heartbreaking, almost screeching way. For the first time ever, it makes us feel sad instead of happy, since we know she won't ever come back. As a bonus, the song that plays when Mio reveals to Noah that she had switched places with M is another version of the offseeing theme, showing that the same musical idea can span a wide range of emotions.
They literally told a story through the soundtrack, and there are more examples of genius soundtrack uses in this game that I won't spoil.
There is also something to the drilling of the offseeing theme as a game mechanic which makes you get used to it, almost desensitized to what it represents in-fiction. Setting it up for this reversal.
Taion and Eunie discuss it after Isurd’s colony, but here in Chapter 5 it hits the player with the feelings that other people in Aionios have for each of the countless NPCs you’ve already seen off without really giving it a second thought.
Chapter 5-6 major spoiler, obviously.
9:44 The musical hint isn't just the presence of the flute in the Moebius battle theme, it's also the other way around. During the homecoming when Mio is disappearing, Mio's Offseer Theme is briefly played, but with a vocal rendition instead of the flute. This is because it's not actually Mio.
From Mitsuda, the composer:
"In the final scene where Mio vanishes, Ashlyn McGlynn sings Mio's "Off-Seer" theme. I deliberately chose not to use a flute timbre here because I wanted to express the regrets and sadness of M, not Mio.
I didn't know that and now I'm bawling 😭
5:31 Chat, does he know..?
Im so exited for you to beat the game and play the dlc expansion of this game. Xenoblade 3 is one of my favourite games ever and im so happy you are playing through it and got to this moment. One of the best storytelling and chapter ever in the series
Modern media has desensitized us to real life so much that when something comes along that reminds us that not only should we feel things but need to feel them that it hits so much harder.
Shakespeare put it best: "Parting is such sweet sorrow."
I’m so glad you went back and heard the flute! My god it’s my favourite piece of non written story telling in the game!
That is good you are going to focus on side-quests for now, especially Hero Quests. They really help flesh out the world and give you more classes to use. Also very good to take a break from main story after what happens at the end of ch5/beginning of ch6.
Chapter 5 and 6 were absolutely crushing. Even not being able to pick up on the subtle narrative choices (Mio's flute playing, M talking about "her Noah", ..) during the playthrough, I was so incredibly invested and absorbed into the story. Seeing Mio vanish in those brilliant balls of light made me feel like losing a close friend. The fact that Noah was about to be executed almost went over my head because I was in utter disbelief. I thought: "They REALLY did it! They took one of the main cast from us!"
Learning about N's and M's past lives, the hundreds over even thousands of attempts they made at stopping Z, made me sympathise with N. While his actions are horrible and irredeemable, I totally do understand why he did it. Not because he was right, but because he was mentally and emotionally shattered. Having to watch the love of his life fade away over and over and over again, no matter how hard both of them tried to avoid it, opened him up for manipulation. N wanted to stop the cycle to repeat itself. For M, but even more so for himself. Because he "didn't want to lose anymore."
Even though I'm not a parent, Noah's last advice to his son hit really, really hard. Because it's not just a message from a father to his child. Making friends, keeping them close, keeping your head up through hardships - though very generalized, they ring true for each and every one of us.
I'm older than you and this game is my favourite work of fiction ever. Literally. Regardless of the media. Books, movies... Anything. That's all I'll say.
When you combine it with future redeemed, I'd have to agree
"I want to see the pain and suffering in their eyes!"
I can't tell you how many reaction videos to this part of the game I've seen just to make sure my feelings and reaction was valid lol
This is an amazing video :)
I really like to hear your thoughts on games, especially story-based ones like this one. I just wish you had done a bit more theorizing in the early stages of the game, like where the story is going. I guess you could still talk about what you think about if/how this game is connected to the other ones
Im so glad youve set yourself up to fully enjoy this game. Hearing your acknowledgement of the finer details and seeing you gain something from experiencing it in full is just so nice. And that includes the gameplay
7:56 you saying this literally gave me chills. I've been saying this for years, xc3 has all the best parts of each previous games
luv all the XB games, but 1 is still my fave. I played it on Wii and no one was talking about it, to me its the best JRPG I ever played. The 3 characters let me focus more on what was happening, I never did get completely used to 6-7 characters actions all at once in XB3 even though the game does a good job of teaching you, I always found it chaotic, the chain attacks were the best though, they were like a card game that you had to try to pick up. Future Redeemed is my fave DLC and I thought Future Connected and Torna were both good too.
@hepwo91222 everything you said, is absolutely correct. Xc1 is a fantastic game, arguably the best story, while i absolutely adore xc3 chai attacks, I do like the randomness of xc1 chain attacks.
The vision system was always super fun.
MonolithSoft's team has been doing this since 1998, since before they were Monolith.
It's incredible writing by Tetsuya Takahashi and the Monolith team that have kept me as a fan of the Xeno games through Gears, through the aborted Saga trilogy, through X's rough patches (which will hopefully be smoothed out by Definitive Edition), and through the numbered Blade trilogy.
It's the way they weave a masterful tale that puts you through so many emotions somewhere in the mid-game. Moments like learning Fei's true identity in Gears, KOS-MOS's true purpose in the Saga trilogy, seeing who is behind a certain Faced Mechon in XCI, Rex's failure in XC2, and the jail sequence in XC3. All of these have etched themselves in my head because of the beautiful writing and brilliant music choices to pair up with these moments.
For a long time, I didn't think my beloved series would ever come back after Saga's failure. But Nintendo brought it back from the brink of death and it just kickstarted over a decade of just banger after banger.
I cannot wait for Switch 2 and the inevitable Xenoblade Chronicles 4, cause you KNOW they're not just working on XCX Definitive. I can't wait for my heart to be stomped on once again only for them to rebuild it again over the remainder of the next game.
This is a game meant for a adult... not that its unsuitable for kids, just that it won't hit the same.
For sure. Especially for parents, and even more so for relatively-recent parents.
Xenoblade 3 specifically hits harder the older you get.
@@snarky-drive-byAgreed. Been saying this specifically for a long time! lol I am with him totally on the “now-dad is more attuned to emotionally mature themes” aspect.
Yeah it hit hard when I was 17 but damn do I think it would hit even harder now
it's not the best place to say this since the dude haven't finished the game, but no.
xb3 is made for young adults, people just reaching maturity AND adults.
the whole immediate message that the game works toward and spells out in the ending is directed to the youth, a message quite common in medias nowdays, but necessary, since more and more young people are falling into despair.
so no, it's a masterful game that can be enjoyed by everyone, but it's really focusing on the youth.
You know, I discovered your channel with your Halo / Marty O'Donnell first incursion. I never expected the channel to reach a spot like this, but I love the way you approach games and live them. This is not usual in other channels. You are basically the only one so far that has made a specific after-video with a recap of his experience with that particular section of the game, it makes me extra happy to finally come across someone that esentially displays the same emotional response as I did. It feels comfortable, to some extent.
And, to be fair, watching people playing through XC3's Chapter 5 is my personal guilty pleasure. It never gets old 😅
Fun fact: About a week after this game came out in 2022, “Chapter 5” started trending on Twitter. Checking out that tab, it was full of experiences just like yours. It took most people about a week to get to that point in the game, including me.
Chapter 5 of Xenoblade 3 is just pure cinema
When chapter 5 ended I was like “No, next chapter NEXT CHAPTER ! WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S NOT OVER !”
It was like already 4 AM xD and I was not worthy of what I witnessed
After I slept and well re watched I just had to clap and ovate what Monolith did with this game
They’re just the goats
Also yeah your reaction said everything though in Xenoblade 1 you quite were speechles like it didn’t stop breaking you but in that one you were silent in this one you were cursing at the game. Now enjoy the rest of the journey…and the DLC
Keeping things spoiler free, crazy happy you’re taking the time to do the side quests and see the world that’s been built. At the point you’re at, loads more memorable side quests become available that just makes you love the characters even more.
N's origin story is the thing that broke me the most for sure, so well written.
Honestly at fist watching ch5 ending I was as desperate as the characters and just thought it was over they were dead and we were somehow going to another cycle
I wasn't sure about Noah and the rest, but when Mio vanished I was certain I lost a main party member. It was so convincing! 😂
@@killaknight12facts, i was thinking we'd use the other one to compensate
I'm glad you're so open and honest about your emotions and why you responded the way you did. I've said before in your videos that Xenoblade 3 is one of my favorite games of all time, if not my favorite, period. One of the major reasons for that is the writing in Chapters 5 and 6. I think one of the biggest aspects of this scene that makes it hurt so fucking much is how much it feels like it just... didn't need to happen. It wasn't an inevitable occurrence. It wasn't fate. It was the twisted desperation of a man so obviously broken fundamentally inside that he has to cause someone to die permanently and torture others with the sight of her death and the knowledge of said permanence, just to justify to himself that his choice to join Moebius was the correct one and that he's not the broken man he is.
I wish so much that N had had the chance to become an off-seer like Noah had. I fully believe that becoming an off-seer is the reason why Noah did not become a Moebius in these two chapters. He fell so fucking far, he came so close to the edge of despair, to becoming N, and even briefly wished to become N -- and yet he chose differently because of the things he learned by becoming an off-seer. His music gave him purpose that N didn't have. N's entire purpose was M and his child, and when he was offered the choice to become Moebius, the fact that he had no other purpose besides that enabled him to make the impossible choice. Noah had developed a different reason for living than just Mio. He had developed a deep, deep empathy for other peoples' lives, because of his close connection to them. And that's always been one of the core messages of Xenoblade -- that the way to avoid giving into fear, giving into despair, is to make real, deep connections with other people and spend time with them and become a more empathetic person as a result. It's a plot thread that runs through every single Xenoblade game -- with Shulk choosing empathy and understanding over revenge, with Rex choosing to learn about and accept Pyra and Mythra's fears instead of blindly walking his own path and assuming everyone's on the same page.
Fucking God, I love Xenoblade's writing so much. I think a lot about how Xenoblade almost never came to America and about how that would have likely been the end of the series at the original game had it not done so. I am so fucking grateful that it was brought overseas. I am so grateful to every single one of those fans who petitioned Nintendo to do it. My life has genuinely been changed by Xenoblade Chronicles. It's genuinely shifted how I perceive the world and my interactions with other people. It's an unbelievably powerful series and I don't know where I would be without it.
DB- It has been an absolute honor to join you on your Xenoblade journey. Thank you.
I see the title "Chapter 5" and I immediately knew exactly what it was, even without ever seeing this channel before or any other hint what it was about.
I love when people give their full thoughts on moments like these, I was hoping for this since you didnt have time to talk about it on stream
For some reason, the "my noah" line is what always gets me. No matter how many times I watch this part of the game, I can hold it until then. That line just breaks me
I'm so glad no one spoiled it for you, I'd be so angry if you knew this was coming
I’ve become a dad 2.5 years ago. And I am with you, I’m a lot more weepy now than I was prior to the son being born. XC3 is an incredibly emotional experience. Loving the y through.
Also, Persona series playthrough? Persona 5 Royal is in my top 10 now, along with XC3
Dee either though Xenoblade Chronicles 3 did not win game of the year 2022 but flute guy when all out when Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was nominated for game of the year of 2022. And that was our little award. Xenoblade Chronicles 1 2 and 3 has so many tiny details once you re-watch certain scenes or listen or listen to dialogue you're going to pick up stuff and you're going to like "oh my God it was that or this".
Mi favorite game is Xenoblade 2, but I think end of chapter 5 and beginning of chapter 6 is the peak moment of the series and maybe of all of gaming in general
Agreed!
I will always cry multiple times during the final chapters of xenoblade 2, but chapter 5-6 will leave me breathless, it's just too well done
I feel the exact same way!
Im so glad you finally got to this part. My family and I watch your videos together and were waiting for you to get to this moment. Im a father as well and it riooed my heart out many times. Definitely one of the most memorable moments of any video game.
Xenoblade is a series that you appreciate more the more you play it. I heard someone say “The more you put into this series, the more you get out of it.” Which I find absolutely true.
I think another factor that makes that segment great is N, the game makes you hate him so bad in the previous scenes but after the eclipse and learning his past makes the whole situation and resolution even more tragic; you're seing a broken man do the same to others as was done to him and even after becoming Moebious he still loses Mio again, even after his deal with the devil he loses everything one last time. And when you battle one may feel pitty, sadness, hate him but understand his actions, etc; and question if you would have done the same.
I waited 2 years for this moment. Absolutely worth it. I absolutely do the thing you do in wanting to see the pain in people’s reactions! Super fun time.
I agree that this series’ incredible stories go under the radar of a majority of people and I always think it’s a shame when so many Nintendo fans kind of scoff at the series. I used to be one of them until I had the privilege to enjoy Xenoblade 1’s awesome story. Definitely loved seeing your journey with this game series
Future Redeemed is gonna rough you up too, but you survived Ch5 you're tough enough to take it.
I highly recommend when you finish this game and dlc to watch some videos on "small details you might've missed."
And Dee, that feeling of N holding his son and telling him he's gonna be fine before he dies is hard and sad, but it's something we all face in real life. Sometimes it's in a nursing home after a long and fruitful life, others it's in a hospital right in the middle of it, and all too often it's in a car wreck far too soon, but it's real. Whether we face it as a father or a son all men will one day die, even you, so I think more than sad it's hopeful. One day you'll be in N's place, and you'll be able to find peace in the fact that your kid (maybe kids and grandkids) _will be fine_ because as a dad isn't that what really matters. You will end, but your hope lives on.
That whole sequence was the most emotion I have ever felt and expressed from a piece of media ever. I have never cried that much to a show/movie in my life.
It is the main reason why I look at XB3 with such high regard. It only adds to things I already loved about it such as the combat system.
Thank you for your words. I'm so thankful to be entwined with other players as you with this incredibile franchise. Monolith Soft are very special developers, and persons, to follow and support in any way possible. We must continue to spread the word, 1,5-2 million mark is still an underestimation for the Xenoblade series, and the 2022 game awards are just part of this unrecognition. They are niche games, but also souls games were at the beginning, we must only continue to play, appreciate, and express our feelings to our friends, to public (with streams and videos), to anyone who appreciates deep narrative and emotions
When Mio started to disappear, and onto the flashbacks of the previous Noah/N when they had the baby, my heart broke more and more - and I don't even have kids, it's just the connection to the characters.
But it also hit me due to the fact that my wife died from bilateral pneumonia after having beaten cancer about a year and a half or 2 years before this game came out, and seeing Mio - or who we, at first, thought was still her - basically "pass away".....
Anyway, that was what I was waiting for, was for you to get to the end of Chapter 5 and see your reaction. Of course there's more than that that I can't wait to see your reaction to, but the Chapter 5 ending/Chapter 6 beginning was what I was waiting for.
I've played through Xenoblade 3 two times over the past few years and both times chapter 5/6 forced me to cry unlike any other game. Even watching your vod at school I still was tearing up in front of other people. It's truly 1 of the best games of all time.
Oh there’s PLENTY left to do. I love that XC3’s sidequests are so closely related to the overarching story. The exploration is amazing. It’s easily my favorite of the franchise. I’m glad you’re loving it and hope to see the rest of your time with it
while watching your playthrough so far ive been reminded why i love this game even though i have no friends who play it because as you say its overlooked too frequently. I last played it a year ago, watching you experience this chapter allowed me to express to a friend of mine what a profound and beautifully crafted game this really is. She is now saving for it and i can’t wait to see her reaction to this part when she reaches it and the rest of this game :)
I love Takahashi's writing, and the Chapter 5/6 transition in 3 is absolutely my favorite (and likely the best) segment of writing in all of his works to date. Everything about that sequence is magnificent. There is so much to gush about in the sequence.
Like I love the month long montage of the party trying to escape with everyone slowly losing hope between the jumps. I love the theatrics of the 1,000th sending. I never actually believed that they were going to go through with the death for real because that would...cause issues with gameplay if you permanently lost a party member, but they got damn close to making me believe it happened. And I love the complete joy that comes from "Let us walk together."
One thing that I've noticed while watching people play through the sequence is that a common thing for people to say something along the lines of "don't show me this again" when it comes to all of Mio's past deaths. And I think it is interesting because the point of that whole sequence was to get the player's mind in N's headspace when he decided to become N. And well, not wanting to see his Mio die again is very much his motivation, so that sequence is very successful on that front. Even if it does succeed in its mission by inflicting trauma on the player. XD
Initinally I wasn’t planning on playing this game until up to release day, where I ended up thinking, I’ll give it a shot, & I’m so happy I did. The themes of the meaning of life, the story, the characters… it all resonates so much with me. Easily a top 5 game of all time for me. Looking forward to seeing you explore all the Main characters side stories & Hero ascensions, they are all very much worth doing.
Only about 3ish minutes in, but hearing your story as a new father is something that weirdly resonated with me, because this game reshaped my worldview and made me want to be a father. I used to be one of the people who viewed kids as ugly, gross, nasty things that just screamed and cried and pooped. Then this game came along. I will never get over the feeling I had when the party first discover the concept of a Baby, and when Noah and Mio see the kids run around the City and share that look, it altered my brain chemistry. And like you mentioned, seeing Noah have to share his parting words before passing in front of his son... Fuck man. What an emotionally deep and well written game.
Chapter 5 is insane. Never cryed so much with a video game in my life!
The genius of the storytelling across chapter 5 & 6 is how they force you continue past the limited points to pause. The mundanity of the prison - fetch quest etc - makes the player want to go forward, then there's no escape until the end of chapter 5, but it ends on such a shock that you have to keep playing just to see what happens next, but then there's no out until the end of the events at the homecoming & Shania, by which time you are emotionally exhausted.
there are actually a lot of nice, lighter side stories, usually tied to hero quests that sorts of offer a good balance to the serious tone of the main story. from potatoes to hot spring baths (and im not talking about the desert bath from the main story), to the story behind jewelry being made and another hero wanting to battle another hero, there are a ton of stories that add more depth and color to the world and overall lore. cant wait for you to discover them in your playthrough.
My brother in christ, don't miss on xenogears and xenosaga
To be fair, a lot of 'anime-esque' Jrpgs have been getting more and more popular lately with games like Persona 5 being super popular, Metaphor getting a lot of recognition, even Xenoblade 3 despite not winning any awards was still a GOTY nominee and just had the bad luck with being put up against Elden Ring, (though I will forever die on the hill that it should've gotten best Soundtrack over God of War).
Not to mention I do consider games like Nier Automata and Final Fantasy on the same level, even though the artstyle vears into more realism compared to Xenoblade or Persona.
10:44 I think I've definitely underestimated your media literacy over the years. You're definitely incredibly attentive to details that I guess I never realized or gaved credit for so I apologize for that
I'd also recommend checking out archsage gauntlet at least once in your playthrough, it was a part of wave 3 dlc that you redeemed, it's located in the land of challange in Fornis region. Its a rogue like challange mode and is really fun, also you can win some cool costumes for completing it :)
It is really fun. And you can make teams of just heroes which is so fun
Glad to hear you'll take your time and enjoy it and also that you won't wait to do future redeemed, this ride is wild. looking forward to it!
So good to hear both these things!
5:40 I personally believe, it less about seeing other become a weeping mess but rather sharing those emotions with others, and not exactly sad emotions either, when I player the ending of chapter 5 I knew mio will not die (cause she had an ouroboros with Noah), and knew that some kind of plot armour will save her, so it didn’t got much of a reaction of me to see M switch with mio, but no matter how many times I see the beginning of chapter 6, those scenes with Noah, mio and their child still get me tear up, and I think it’s a great thing that these scene can always get the emotions it wants out of me or out of us, we watch other play the ending of Ch5 and beginning of ch6 despite knowing that it will hurt but still do, and no matter how many times we try to control ourself, we always end up shedding tears, it’s like crying together with the people and acknowledging that “yeah, this is a very well done cutscene”
But that’s just my opinion
Also side note: XC3 was nominated for GOTY, not any best X, no straight up Game of the year, top 5 game of the 2022, that was great moment for us xenoblade players, and it will be game of the year for us
Even the side stories and hero quests are full of emotion. I highly recommend doing atleast all hero quests before finishing the story. It'll be worth it, believe me.
Even with the normal quests, every colony basically has its own entire story arc that goes to the end of them. Often the real ending to stuff in the hero quests is actually in the final normal quests
Or how quests start to link between colonies and show them cooperating
It's actually a fascinating example of communities changing the world together that is relevant to real life
It's one of those games that transform your life forever
I finished the game in May, it has not left me. I think about it often, randomly while walking my dog, or reading. I miss the characters, I open the game every once in a while to walk around and maybe catch some monster or side quest I didn’t get yo before. It was an unforgettable experience and I will never uninstall it from my switch ❤
This is masterful storytelling, not only in traditional sense (plot, character, foreshadowing,etc) but in the immersion, they manage to make you feel the same way the characters feel. When they make you interact with the door three times just so you understand that as the player there is not a dammed thing you can do, there is no Botton, glitch, nothing… you can only wait as the characters. And the in chapter 6 they show you the past and they make you feel “please no more, just stop, I can’t take this” and that is exactly how past Noah felt and why he made the choice to stop time so it all stops.
Chapter 5-6 was where Noah finally stepped up to me as a true Xeno protagonist. Prior to that I wasn't fully invested in him, but atesting to his sheer pain and his anger and frustration was so, so, so powerful. Hearing all in that prison cell express how they truly want to live now, hearing them cry, was so crushing yet humanizing.
And seeing since then so many streamers react to those chapters has been the same. I re-live those emotions vicariously through them, and it made me realize how truly remarkable is that this series can speak in such a profound way to our human nature and emotions. Literally, ALL that I've seen finish the trilogy cannot say something other than "this game truly changed me / saved me". That's the power of their characters and the ever important message they all share in the end.
So glad you've played this game, man, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
i think that entire hour and a half long string of cutscenes might be my favorite moment in any video game i've ever played. i remember when my one friend got me into xenoblade she told me "be prepared for chapter 5 :)" and the entire time i was at the li garte prison camp my mind was racing everywhere, wondering what would be so scary(?) about it, since that was the only chapter across all 3 games she warned me about like that. no matter how many times i watch it for myself, or watch other people react to it for the first time, it always makes me cry as if i'm watching it for the first time, and that's what made me start to realize how much i love xenoblade, and especially xenoblade 3
End of 5 into the start of 6 hurt me so much that whenever I would watch someone do a play through (I've probably watched a dozen), I skip from their arrival at the city and those reveals to after Shania's death. I remember years ago when Dee watched all the Xenoblade trailers and hoping he'd play them, and I'm so happy he's made it to XC3. I can't wait to see him play more
Thanks for this video sharing your thoughts, and I agree with everything you said. I could listen to you talk about this game/these chapters for an hour haha. I was an emotional wreck when I 1st played and it STILL hits hard years later. That's a sign of incredible storytelling.
I could go on and on about my love of the series, but I'll simply say that I'm glad you are enjoying XC3 and it was well worth the wait! I look forward to the rest of your journey
Each Xenoblade game is special to me, but for different reasons. 3 especially so since it combines 1/2, while telling it's own story. Chapter 5 is where this shines the brightest for me. You have the Great Sword of Mechonis as the hideout of The Lost Numbers, which itself was Sword Valley from Xenoblade 1. Erythia Sea is a combination of Eryth Sea (XC1) and Leftherian Archipelago (XC2). The atmosphere that the sea creates with its music, especially the night theme, just sent chills down my spine because I could just tell. I knew something big was going to happen. Just like how I felt in XC1, and how that culminated the way that it did.
The story itself shattered me. I don't know how else to describe it. I cried at the ending of Torna, seeing Mikhail's dead expression as it's revealed that Milton passed; the backdrop of the Tornan Titan as it sinks below. But this was something wholly different. I may have cried at Torna, but Chapter 5-6 of XC3 made me *weep*. At that point, I had never played a game that made be feel so emotional. From the pure hate towards Shania's actions. The suspense of Sena / Lanz seemingly about to sacrifice themselves. The sadness and terror of Moebius M's battle. And that was all just the start. N's sick "sideshow" and how much despair that brought to the party. And yet despite that, Mio's hope. Everything after is just pain too (Lol). The scene you mentioned, with Noah fading and leaving his son behind, hit so so hard to me as well. As a parent, you want to make sure you give your children the best life possible. And in that moment, it all just falls apart. You know what that child will have to deal with in this world, and now he has no parents. It's frankly sick. But so strong a story as a result. And then at the end, they pull one more on you with Shania getting the sword shot, and ofc her choice because of that. Shania has a lot more depth to her that you may see later through quests should you choose to do so, and while I can't say that it makes me like her, it does make me think about her a lot and why she chose what she chose.
That was a lot of words but, XC is just so special to me. XCX may not be on the same level of storytelling in it's main quest, but it is still quite strong (especially for true open world games). I am so excited to play it again as a result.
Yea being a parent have made me alot more sensitive when it comes to emotions and emotional scenes as well, in all type of media. Glad you enjoy Xenoblade Chronicles 3, it have become one of my all time favorite games. Can't wait for X. Looking forward to more VoD's. 👍
I absolutely felt the same as you in that moment, I thought there’s no way they’re ACTUALLY going to do this, Noah HAS to pull Lucky 7 from somewhere right? But then when it actually DOES happen, the devastation is completely overwhelming. Such amazing story-writing decisions in this game ❤
Chapter 5-6 is such an emotionally charged roller coaster that it's insane, and I'm so glad Monolith decided to commit to it. What I've noticed a lot of JRPG's and story driven games do is they'll rely on singular sad story beat before slowly picking up and pushing on, like for example one character dying in a battle, but Takahashi really just decided to grab the player and take you for a 2 hour emotional rollercoaster of a sequence where there is just so many sad story beats included that all works together to slowly break you down, leaving you emotionally exhausted by the end.
The hole prison segment itself is also just extremely brilliantly executed from a narrative point of view as the old "Prion break execution" trope isn't all too uncommon in games/media, even in Xenoblade 2 they do it, so you as a player already have an expectation that they somehow will be able to escape, and Xeno3 plays really hard into this expectation by setting up the hole false queens plotpoint so you have the hope that they might be able to break you out, then we see the M city scene which gives us the hope that the city will be able to get them out, then at the very end Riku even gives a pep talk where he says Noah is still able to draw Lucky 7 which gives ut the hope of Noah being able just break them out somehow, and the thing is the vast majority of other games, movies or shows in the same scenario would just take any one of those outs, but Xeno3 just lets it all play out and Mio actually dies here, even though it wasn't *our* Mio. The sheer commitment to this sequence is one of the things that makes it so insanely good, not even mentioning all the extremely good attention to smaller details during the segment.
There is just so much to talk about during that segment, it's crazy what they've managed to achive here. Also a huge shoutout to Harry McEntire for absolutely *killing* it as his role for Noah/N, he geniuinly has some of the most incredible voice acting I've ever heard here. Watching yours and other peoples reaction to this segment is always extremely interesting, as what breaks a player is often pretty individualized given just how many sad story beats are included here, which is what makes every persons reaction to this so awesome to watch. So thank you for sharing your experience too!! 💙💜 Edit: and yeah I almost always cry upon rewatching these scenes too 😭
Xenoblade as a series is so good at building you up and tearing you down emotionally. You're given wonderful characters you grow to truly appreciate, and forced to watch them go through absolute hell just to be allowed to live. 3 pushes this to an absolute extreme in such a strong way. I've never had a game leave me sobbing SO many times, it's just such an incredible journey and I'd give anything to forget the game and play it with fresh eyes again.
takahashi hit a home run with the emotional narratives in a video game series, all 3 games had a crescending level of emotional storytelling, he just kept giving us more and more
My experience with this part of the game was incredibly similar to yours and everyone else. Though, one thing you didn't mention and that you were confused with initially that I picked up on was the moon. Cutting to the different phases of the moon during their prison sentence absolutely wrecked me. To use that as a subtle (for some, obvious for others) way of showing how much time is passing while they're locked away with the swelling music in the background was enough to tell me how special this moment in the game was going to be.
There were a few times where I truly did believe that we were going back into the cycle. My meta brain of trying to understand the mechanics of it gameplay wise were definitely breaking the immersion a bit and telling me there's no way it would happen, but a part of me really did want the game to spin and have this moment of you playing as Noah as a colony soldier again. Maybe have some moments similar to Eunie after she came across her Husk where he remembers his past lives and defects from the flow.
Obviously with what we saw it wasn't what happened, and I love what we got too, but my mind still wanders to that what if. Even if Consul M defected and regathered the party and filling in for the Mio we lost last time. I think there could've been a crazy cool way of playing the story out like that. This game is so good, and I'm glad you get to experience why it's so special to a lot of us.
Last thing I did want to somewhat touch on that Dee said to the viewers of his that might not be into Xenoblade. He recommends you play 3 without playing the others first to see if you'd like it. And while I do agree with him somewhat, I will say if you truly do want to give this series a shot, start from the 1st or 2nd game. And play both of them before jumping into 3. While you won't miss out on much if you don't have the first two games under your belt, I believe there's enough there to truly make the game that much more special if you have experienced them first. You guys are free to play whatever you want in whichever order for sure, but one thing I will say pre-emptively is that the DLC for 3 is something you should only play after at least experiencing the story of all 3 games. Even if you don't go back to play 1 and 2, at least watch playthroughs of them.
I think it's a core memory of me playing this moment
It was 11:30 at night. My parents weren't home so I hooked up the switch to the big TV. I was sitting up on the couch playing intently. I think "ok, I'll do the prison break and beat this boss and then head off to bed."
At 1:30 am, I was in the bathroom, game paused, sobbing my eyes out. I so distinctly remember the salty taste of my tears as they ran into my mouth. I'm young, just a college kid now, but when I saw you were playing the game, and knowing that you had recently become a father, I could only imagine how this would make you feel, and here we are.
This my favorite video game for good reason. I loved Xenoblade 1 and 2, but neither of those games, nor probably any other game, has made me cry like Xenoblade 3 did.
I just found your channel and streams through this playthrough about 2 weeks ago. (Bless the yt algo for working for once)
This is the first time I get to see someone play this game, after having played it myself, and it managing to become my favorite game I've ever played, and your experiences with it really remind me of my own, and how good this game is. It's such a phenomenal story about being human, and I love it so.
I can only imagine what being a dad made you feel during the moments with Noah and his kid. It's such an incredible game, and a truly indelible experience for anyone who plays it.
I'm glad I got to see you play it so far man, can't wait to see the rest!
Bee Xenoblade Chronicles 3 might not won game of the year of 2022 against elden ring. But our award you can say it was flute guy going all out playing music of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 at the orchestra rewatch that and listen to it. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 nominated for Game of the Year is a big deal & it extra special
14:12 this urge to control and protect everything around something/someone at all costs is... not going to say it until after you finish the game
I absolutely knew you would break at the Noah and his son cutscene, when you came back saying you were gonna play Xenoblade 3 I thought to myself "Oh no that parts gonna destory him". That scene and the entire sequence from the end of Chapter 5 into chapter 6 is some of the richest storytelling and emotional turmoil i've ever seen in media and is a big part of why I hold this game so highly. So excited to see where your journey goes here on out :).
By the way, the world changes a bit too when you add different heroes. Not only do they add different commentary as you explore but each hero has additional stories you can explore by adding them to your party and being in locations that are related to them. I am currently replaying the game and going thru each hero’s additional story and you may find that rewarding as well as their stories also include the main characters, add more banter between them and in most cases additional character growth for the main characters.
By the way, thank you for playing this game and playing it with an open mind and investing in these characters. There is a lot of reading to do which I know can be challenging but like you said it adds more depth to the world and these characters. And thank you for sharing your raw emotions while playing the game. I think I got more emotional watching you play the game than when I played it…. And that was an emotional game for me 😂. Thank you for making me love this game even more
This section of the game. Is easily my favorite part to see people experience. This, 2 to 3 hour hour section. Is pure gold for me. And I'm always happy to see people experience it. It's just that good, and I don't think anything else ever will top that section of game for me.
I’ve seen multiple reactions to these scenes and am usually excited to see it and the whole time I was thinking “the scene with the child is going to break him” and when you were getting emotional to the scene in the hospital of mio dying I said out loud “oh it gets so much worse…” but as it approached I was actually scared and when I was right about it breaking you I genuinely felt bad and wanted to give you a big hug because I could just see the horror in your eyes as a father
Not everyone notices the tear before the fight but you did. The Mobius battle theme done with flutes was wild. Talented musicians. The prison scene hits different after you know and if you pay attention to the lyrics ... ooof.
Awesome you finally took the plunge after watching the reveal trailer so long ago :)
Last year there as an Eclipse IRL. On that day I livestreamed my live reaction to Chapter 5, which I had never shown off before I just recorded it for myself at the time. How certain viewers reacted to the stream helped me figure out who my real friends are, and who were the fakers...
Man I miss this game don't mind revisiting this story.. It was soo good. That song that hits when they battle N I think. One is the best songs ever was just perfect for that moment.
I ended up finding your chapter 5/6 vod from seeing a large portion of the XC fandom on Twitter reacting to it and it was one of the best reactions I’ve seen in a long while. This wrap up video just drives it even further that you REALLY do get it, and you my man have gotten a new fan. Welcome to the club.
5:30 Yeah, that's me as well. After I completed my decade-and-change long journey with the series, I regularly try to find new LPs of people getting into the franchise and enjoy their suffering and joy. It's an addiction, I know.
The funny thing to me is that unlike most people I think, I feel great by experiencing this cause I'm constantly aware of deep things like this. So seeing it being conveyed to people so efficiently is rather exciting.
People need to be more aware and realize the seriousness of life, even if that means being more jaded. That's how you self-actualize and elevate in your life.
Arthur Morgan in RDR2 is the most emotional I’ve ever gotten in a game. I’m still not over it. I feel like I lost a family member.
😂😂😂