Man these short games must be a breeze to review. My condolences to your sleep schedule for this well over 200 hour project when you include writing the review. I (like many others) definitely appreciate the work you put into these reviews.
I appreciate the review, but I think the title says it best. It's 190 hours of gameplay, and if you like JRPGs, then it's 190 hours of good gameplay. Still a solid review though, so thank you for it.
Great review with great writing and you have a super nice narrative voice and flow. These longer reviews are a treat to listen to, wish you would do em more!
Sold me. I will keep an eye and grab this one. I've played 2 - liked it but had the same issues you mentioned and was waiting for a in depth review like yours to feel safe to pull the trigger
I highly recommend the first game also, especially Definitive Edition. While its combat isn't as deep as later games, it's a much smoother experience than 2. Xenoblade 1 also has the kind of story that's fulfilling and conclusive enough to be a self-contained narrative, so it makes for a good stand-alone experience.
I always love seeing the number of hours you've put into a game when reviewing it. That level of familiarity with the game gives your reviews such a sense of honest legitimacy. Keep it up!
Thank you! I try my best to represent the hours of the game on the thumbnails, but there's just some that are super silly like 92 hours in Potionomics! That's just us replaying the game over and over and trying different playthroughs!
This is one of the best Xenoblade 3 reviews I've seen! Great job highlighting all of what makes this game amazing but in a very fair way. The way you describe chain attacks and combat is really awesome 👍 Keep it up!
This is my first Xenoblade title and totally blown away by how much content is here just put in 150hrs in my first playthru and once I finished I just continued to finish any sidequests I missed.....now 160hrs and still going sheesh!
I loved this game! Also love your review of it. This is the first game in several years to move me to tears. This is my current favorite game in this epoch of my life. I'm about 200 hours in and the new expansion content is right on time. Just when I have everything done they're dropping a new hero quest and challenge mode. Also I found you through listening to your episode on thirsty mage. I'm a new fan! Love your style!
I got the game on the holidays because I watched your review! I finished it 120 hours later and it was such a sublime experience. I just hope the DLC is an epilogue as I would have wanted to see more from them. Thanks!
I finished the game already, but I had to see your take of this awesome game and you can feel the passion you have for it in every sentence. Keep up the good work.
Great review, I really like that you took the time to fully explore the game before putting out your review. Also, your writing is excellent. Xenoblade Chronicles 1 is one of my top 10 games of all time, 2 was good, Torna was great, and so this is probably the #1 most anticipated game in my backlog right now. Unfortunately, I finished putting 125 hours into xenoblade 2 recently, so I'll be saving this one for a special, later date.
I’m so dang excited to get into this game. As I’ve said before, I only recently started getting into the series, playing and loving the Definitive version of XC1 just a couple months ago, and spending even more time with its bigger (and in my opinion, largely better) sequel. I preferred how more tightly-written and faster-paced the main story was for Xenoblade 1, but I have to say I love pretty much everything else about Xenoblade 2 more, with the huge improvements it brought to side content and the battle system especially. I’m nearing the end of my journey through the main story, but I’m sure I’ve probably got about another month ahead of me to get through the remainder of the side stories, Blade Quests and such. As much as I’ve loved Xenoblade 2, I’m so hyped that I’ve got such a gorgeous, near-universally praised game still ahead of me to look forward to. I hadn’t thought about it before, but I’m glad you mentioned that you get the whole main cast early in the game. That really solves a problem the two previous games had, where party members you acquired later didn’t have near as much time to be developed and spend time with the rest of the crew. Also, it’s crazy that you have the entire squad out at the same time for battles, and a very welcome change. I always feel constrained in the previous two games, forced to choose who I want to leave out of fights when I’d rather just have the whole party available. I’ve really burned out of RPGs lately, but I’m so glad the Xenoblade series has been able to suck me in like so few have been able to before, despite (or maybe somehow even because of) just how big they are and how much they have to offer. This has quickly risen to become one of my favorite series ever, and I’m so grateful I’ve finally been able to get to a place where I can appreciate them.
That's an awesome revelation, and I'm happy to see that you've been enjoying your time with the Xenoblade series! If you haven't considered yet, I highly recommend checking out the Torna expansion when you get done with Part 2! It's short, but worth it!
@@BacklogBattle I actually just finished Torna last night! I had been looking around online for peoples opinions on when I should play it in relation to the base game. Some people said to play it first, some said to play it last, and some people (apparently including the director, according to an interview I read) said to play it after Chapter 7. I did the latter, and I think that was a good decision considering some of the story beats I’ve already hit in Chapter 8. Loving it!
As a veteran I didn't used a lot of the more hand handling tutorial you have in the settings but it's a great adding for new comers ! There's so many improvement in this game ! I start to think that's a core part of Nintendo's identity : "Never do a sequel if there's nothing to add" (we can see it on the Bayonetta series for example)
Now that's a thought! I do wonder if Miyamoto gets involved in these games at all, since he seems to have a hand in many of Nintendo's games, first or second party included!
Fantastic review, as always, Alex! I absolutely loved just about everything in this game. The only areas where I felt a bit let down were the villains, who, mostly, felt extremely underdeveloped and, at times, very obnoxious (with a couple of exceptions. Colony 0 stands out in particular). And, though I think the combat system is fantastic, and I never got bored in my own 170 hours with the game, I felt by and large that all boss encounters were basically the exact same. Given the nature of the combat system, there's not much readability to boss' movesets, so you're constantly just reacting and repositioning based on outgoing damage (at least when playing on Hard). It's engaging, but it would have been nice if there were visible mechanics or objectives in each fight to give a sense of variation. And, I will say, as much as I LOVED the soundtrack (Moebius fights, anyone?), and I have always been a Mitsuda devotee, I was sad to not really have any themes that stuck with me like Gaur Plains or Mechonis Field from Xenoblade 1. All of the songs had this sweeping, orchestral feel to theme, which was consistently beautiful, but never really had any of those themes that I would seek out to put on repeat outside of the game. Despite those complaints, this game felt like a spiritual experience from beginning to end, and was a wonderful end to the 400ish hours I've spent playing through all three Xenoblade games within the span of 6 months. Can't wait for your next review!
I actually want to address your Hard mode critiques because I think that’s pretty valid. Because it borrows a lot from MMOs in its design, I think with seven characters, it would’ve been really difficult to try and apply harder MMO encounter design into it. What I mean by that is that usually, harder MMO content requires players to do perfect dances and patterns to survive. Unfortunately, by having AI party members, this can make things too crazy. This is probably why the bosses were designed this way, and I’m certain it’s something the devs are constantly trying to figure out. Essentially, what I’m trying to say is while borrowing from a different genre worked before to create the foundations of the series, it’s now up to the devs to figure out a way to evolve the formula, meaning it’s beyond just a copy of another genre, if that makes sense. I think it’ll be interesting to see how they respond to the player experience in 3 in the expansion!
@@BacklogBattle I 100% with your take! I imagine figuring out additional mechanics to differentiate the fights in significant ways probably would've added like another six months to a year to development time, so I imagine they probably thought about it, and just had to decide to leave such developments on the cutting room floor, which I totally get. That said, considering how amazing the combat system in Torna was (I honestly disliked XBC2's base combat, so the changes they made in Torna blew me away, to the point it's one of my favourite JRPG combat systems ever), I have no doubt that they could make something incredible in the expansion!
I love how they announced this game just like 6 months before realise, idk why it's become a trend to announce a game 4-5 years before it comes out and the worst thing is when haven't even started developing it like wtf.
I really appreciate the time and love in this review. I think of all the reviews I have watched on this game, this is the very best one. You do such excellent work. I am watching this for a second time. I shared it with my friends and family.
This is quite flattering! I don't think I've ever had someone say that they're sharing the video with their friends and family! I'm truly honored. And watching it a second time? That's even rarer still! I'm glad I was able to capture the spirit of playing the game! And I did it in half the time I did with previous reviews too! Tells me I'm doing something right :)
Most eloquent XC3 review I’ve seen so far. Loved it! I’ve immensely enjoyed all three XC games. Each has its own strengths. I’m in the minority whose favorite is XC2 mainly because it had the most humor in it, as well as the most memorable OST IMHO. XC3 is quite bleak but has by far the most refined systems of all three however, and its quality of life improvements make it a joy to navigate. I find the series still not as appreciated as it deserves, and I sincerely hope that XC3 manages to shine more light on these awesome games.
"I'm the girl with the gall" is burned into my psyche, followed closely by "Sounds like Lanz wants something more meaty." I had a really good time playing the game and found the story to be quite compelling. The main thing I couldn't wrap my head around was the math of the chain attacks. I'd set off attacks that should clearly put it over 100% and it'd stall at 99% sometimes and I had no idea why. It also wasn't clear to me about why it would end the chain attack even when I still had characters I hadn't used yet (that weren't Ouroboros interlinks). I'm pretty trash at RPGs, especially ones in this series, so I played the game on Easy. I think I finished it at just about 45 hours of play time. I didn't do a ton of side quests, mainly the ones that were cleverly tied into the main story quests. I also never changed any of my party's classes since I felt comfortable with what they already did. I just made sure to apply other upgrades via Skills and Gems as I saw fit.
Choosing Healers during Chain Attacks will only ensure that the build up of Tactical Points ended at 99%. This was useful whenever you wanted to pump the points past 100, like say whenever you had a character that’ll add 50+ TP in the wings that can increase the attack efficacy from Cool to Bravo. Adding 100+ would make it Amazing. And yes, this was all covered in the tutorial 😉
Thank you so much for this comprehensive review! I'm still torn about this game, but I'm at a stage where I'm considering a potential purchase in the future now xD It's really good to hear about the improved tutorials, as well as other refinements to the combat and side quests. I did give up on Xenoblade Chronicles DE 20 hours in because I was so burned out by the side quests, and combat was getting more complex and my brain just checked out. But I'm willing to give this one a try, although I might have to be in the right mood for it. And I'm glad they don't have the heart-to-hearts anymore. I liked them in theory, but coming across dozens of heart-to-heart spots while not having the right characters/affinity and knowing you're gonna have to backtrack was a big nope for me 😅 Potential spoiler territory: One of my worries was that the three Ouroboros pairings would all be coupled up by the end - which is sth I hate for various reasons, including that I'm a bit picky when it comes to romance. But I've heard just one relationship is actually developed (and relatively well too), is that correct?
I don't think you'll be burnt out by the sidequests here, especially with how well categorized and how the devs manages your expectations of the content. As far as romances go, I can't really say how much there is, but I wouldn't necessarily say that everyone hooks up with one another. And the romance was handled very well, and integrated into the main story, as you can imagine.
Watching this is warming my heart. I played the game when it first came out and I loved my experience. I’m lowkey sad that my first experience is over. Some of those moments were just so magical … and sad.
Thank you for the kind words. My intention for this review was to not only capture what it's like to play the game, but also capture the feelings and ideas that the game represented without spoiling it. It's always something that I strive to do with every video, and I'm glad you were able to recognize it in this special review!
As a long time fan of the series, I'm so excited to see fans new and old falling in love with this game. While it took me a bit longer to grow attached to its characters than previous games in the series, once I was farther in, I was hooked, and that ol' Monolith Magic had my heartstrings once again. I really want to give praise to how much effort the team really put into addressing criticism of every previous game in the series, especially in gameplay. Though Xenoblade 2 has an irreplaceable spot in my heart, I can say that XC3 is more than worthy to stand alongside it.
I got this game for my birthday and have enjoyed it immensely. I can see where it falls short with the story pacing but it doesn't bring down the game in my opinion. Great review
no tanks, rough balance of attackers and healers The fraternal badge item and Protector's pride skill boost all arts recharge when a non-tank is being targeted. Having no tank means this bonus is always active, creating a drastic boost in performance for the party.
Much like the game itself, this was worth the wait! I like how we're all only just recently finishing the game. Usually I chalk it up to me being slow, but it seems everyone's diving through the same bottomless sea that is Xenoblade 3! It's crazy to me how much content is in this game though, and meaningful content at that. It's the ideal triple-A game in that sense, a large quantity of quality, and I shudder to think how difficult this would have been to pull off, regardless of the time, budget and amount of hands-on-deck available. Also, I can strongly relate to everything you said regarding Xenoblade 2 and the lead-up to 3. While I don't think 2 is a bad game on its own, and I did have plenty of enjoyment with aspects of it, it's by far the most flawed and disappointing game in the series, and I say this as someone whose favourite game was 1, going into the sequel with an open mind. I kept having to come back to it after long stretches of time had passed, until finally finishing it almost 2 years after its release. I sank 400 hours total (including DLC) into the game, so I really did give it a fair shot, but I realise now that most of that time was spend during copious amounts of padding, backtracking and having to wait in real-time. I felt a mix of emotions when playing Torna, because it managed to address all the main issues with the base game, I was also asking myself why we couldn't have got THIS the first time round. It was a prequel that took every good idea from the base game, and clearly demonstrated how they could be implemented successfully. I loved my time with Torna, but it was bitter-sweet at the end, because it's a comparatively short experience serving as a prequel to what I'd consider to be an inferior product. We'd be saying goodbye to these grounded characters, and hello to the disingenuously-written clique archetypes of the base game, who haven't been developed beyond their basic templates. Monolith Soft showed a clear understanding of what needed to be done moving forward, but whether or not we'd be back to square one with their next mainline game remained to be seen. And all of this is without mentioning how well Xenoblade 1 performed as a stand-alone game with a complete story and satisfying gameplay experience. If Nintendo and Monolith Soft were going to justify turning THAT into a series, they'd have to maintain the standard of quality set by 1 and X. The reason I'm not as harsh towards X despite its more apparent flaws is because it was a spin-off doing its own thing, telling a completely separate story, and as far as open-world games go, it was both jaw-droppingly impressive and tons of fun to play through, with a sense of community forming between other players via MiiVerse selling the idea that you were all B.L.A.D.Es charting the planet and moving separately towards a common goal. So that feeling of apprehension when Xenoblade 3 was announced was something I knew all too well. The game did look like a lot of fun to explore and play through, and I was much more optimistic this time around than when 2 was first revealed, but that doubt was still there. My biggest concern was their choice to set this game after the events of 1 and 2, when 1's story was as conclusive and satisfying as it gets, and 2's story left much to be desired. Was this really the right decision? But I'm happy I was wrong this time. Monolith Soft reminded me why they're my favourite triple-A game developers right now. Not only is this my game of the year, in a busy year of many GOTY contenders already here and still to come, but it's my favourite triple-A game in recent memory. I don't know if I'd say I love it more than the first game, but it's up there, and certainly surpasses Xenoblade 1 in many ways. And this is before any of the DLC is out yet, I've just remembered!
Someone in the comments actually asked me if I was going to review the DLC, but I haven't even bought the expansion pass yet lol. Thank goodness DoubleYouLP sent me some Nintendo credits via Patreon so I could pick up Xenoblade 3, but I'll have to save up for the expansion!
@@BacklogBattle Fair enough! And what a gift to get! I didn't by the Expansion Pass until a couple of weeks after I started the game, as I wanted to make sure I enjoyed the base game first lol. The Expansion Pass has 3 waves. Technically 4, but Wave 1 at launch was just alternate colour cosmetics for the party members and consumable items, so nothing substantial as far as Day 1 DLC goes. Anyway, Wave 2 and 3 will feature a new hero each (plus Challenge Mode and additional Side Quests), while Wave 4 will be a new story expansion like Torna. My theory is that the story expansion will take place during the founding of the City, with most of (if not all) the memorialised founders serving as the party members. We could potentially see a fully-grown Shulk and Rex, as implied by the Monado Replica EX and Aegis appearing on the front cover of the DLC, and the statues themselves bearing a striking resemblance to various characters in the series (even some from Xenogears and Saga!) Whatever they do though, I'm looking forward to it, especially the base game is already this incredible!
Awesome review, and the live premiere was real fun! Looking for advice from Alex and any viewers: how necessary is playing the first two games in preparation for playing this one? I played XC:DE last year and put about 30 hours into it but fell off right about when the colony management stuff started, and then never even touched the second. This third one seems too good NOT to play though. How much background is needed to really enjoy this new one? Any advice would be appreciated.
excellent review and meta-analysis. also my goty, at least co-paired with sophie 2. one of the best jrpgs i've played. my only major negative in it is the antagonists, most of them are so one dimensional and big missed opportunities. would have been possibly the best jrpg ever made if they had something other than a big stack of puppy-kicking sociopaths for baddies, the main one in particular had so little characterization other than disney stereotype villain. :-P what were your two other top ones? you mentioned 3 total in the video but didn't mention.
As far as Nintendo published RPGs go, they’re Triangle Strategy and LIVE A LIVE. They’re not necessarily my favorites per se, but they’re RPGs Nintendo published this year! And now that I think about it, there’s actually four: Fire Emblem Three Hopes! As far as my favorites go, the Ribbon Rank *did* show up at the end of the video, so… 😉
As was said by the end theme of Xenogears: "Broken Mirror, a Million Shades of Light" "The Old Echo Fades away!" "But Just You, and I" "Can Find the answer and then" "We can Run. To. The End. of the world." "We can run, to the end, of the world." "Run to the end....of the world." Xenoblade 3, in its own way, finally gives the answer to all those old fans who followed the Xeno series since Xenogears, all about what Perfect Works episode 6 is.
I absolutely love Mitsuda. When I found out that he made music for Inazuma Eleven too It all made sense 🤣 I was curious why Xenoblade's 1 music reminded me of IE. That was why. Noah and N Phase 2 song in this game has such a IE vibe at 0:55 of that song and I can't tell you how much I fucking love that.
@@BacklogBattle indeed they are, which genuinely surprised me. I picked it up because the premise sounded interesting (first Xenoblade game for me). Game really hooked up me, even though the combat took getting used to. Trying to get through it at the moment and enjoy the journey.
Damn it, Alex! Stop attacking my wallet! :)) As much as these reviews make me want to try out games I'm not normally interested in, the effect is compounded when it's games I already want to play.
I'm currently working my way on Xenoblade 2 and Torna so I can finally play this game. Xenoblade 1 is one of my favorite games of all time and Xenoblade 3 is easily my most anticipated game of the year.
Yes it is, but it doesn’t function how you think! There’s a clickable card that pops up during that part that you should click! It’s a video explaining how things work 😉
Great video, absolutely agree on all your points. A good story, fun combat, amazing worldbuilding and a dynamic set of characters that interact with each other very well... What else could you want? Except for the final parts of the story, that was a bit doodoo
@@Anni_ka I was heavily disappointed by the reveal of the motivations of the main bad guy. Also the final dungeon uses a lot of the same colors and design for enemies and the dungeon itself for lore reasons which I wasnt a fan of
I love this game I love this game I love this game easily my favorite in the entire series. I mean I still remember that when my friend showed me the trailer for the game and we both had some doubts about the combat. It did look messy it did look chaotic and it did look like that it would be an absolute mess of a combat system but after playing it myself the combat system is a lot more refined in this game than it was in 2 and even in one. Yes it still looks chaotic but it's more of a controlled chais they controlled chaos and thanks to all the markers on the battlefield I now have a way better idea of what to do in combat and the fact that we have 7 playable characters makes battles feel a lot more entertaining to watch. The music is just phenomenal as it's always been but I especially like how this one even has a bit of a story to it since the flute is so heavily involved due to it being used by 2 of our main characters. Which brings me to our main cast as I do like that we get them a little early on in comparison to all the other xenoblade games were we just wait and wait until boom we start getting 1 or 2 or 3 characters at random intervals. Here since we get them early on it gives them way more time to develop and grow which also results in them feeling like more of a combined unit and as a family and as a group which was something that I thought was personally lacking in previous games due to one game focusing so much on the main character but the other characters didn't really get that much development other than 1 arc and that's it and then the next game had everyone else feel more interesting but the main character was just not so much. H*** this game even made me be tolerable with the talking potatoes who've been a part of the series since the very beginning and they don't annoy me that's a big improvement. Plus, the other mechanics of the game, the way quests are handled and classes being fun to use, I really was starting to feel the love that this game had from beginning to end. Not to mention the main cast in this game has so much good drip in comparison to all the other protagonists that I dub them the best main group I've ever seen in a Xenoblade game that has good drip lol. I only have some small nitpicks: the 1st of which is I do wish that when you did do quests, the game would at least show you where to find certain items for collecting them and giving them to another character like an encyclopedia or something. And the 2nd one is it leads into spoilers but I'm not gonna spoil them for anybody all I'm gonna say is this: Things will shock you things will if you're me make you go WTF and things will make you go are you kidding me why all while screaming and crying because it'll be tears of joy and tears of rage it'll be a mixture of both lol. But really the big issue I have with this game is I want more like seriously afseriously after going through a 150 hours of the game which is way longer than how long I played 2, it really makes me have that want of I want more of this game because I never felt this way about a xenoblade game in a long long time and I REALLY love this cast and the story. In the end this was a fantastic review definitely solidified all of the reasons why I love this game and of this game and again it's definitely leagues better than 2 and if this is where monolith is going for the rest of the series I will be happy if it's gonna be as good as 3 is. Nice job on the review Alex and:.......Team comp go! Noah: A good chunk of some of the attacking classes and some defense classes. Ranni I mean Mio:Healer and tank. Taion:Attacker and Healer. Eunie:Healer with a bit of attack. Lanz:Tank and back up buffer. And Sena:Healer and tank. And even then I'm still going around with all those other classes and it is just so much fun to mix and match with the addition of having a hero on the battlefield as well as taking skills from other classes. OK now I am done lol.
@@BacklogBattle personally, none yet ! I'm still in the process of maxing out every class for everyone! I think this incentive to change classes and composition often is a big part of the freshness of the game even after 250h+ :)
@@BacklogBattle OK here's my best party set up because I had to wait for my switch to charge up: Noah:Flash Fencer. Ranni I mean Mio:Thuaumturge. Eunie:Full metal jacket. Taion:Sttrategos. Lanz:Lost Vanguard. Sena: Guardian Commander.
@@RMarr-uy9hf Yeah this game definitely captures the addictive feeling of Hey I wanna get that class and become stronger or oh wait I want to switch to this class or wait no this character works well with this class or but that class looks really cool on that character.
@@BacklogBattle Yeah I was surprised too! It's the same dubbing company so there's actually few other characters that share voice actors with Elden Ring
What a great review. I have not gotten this yet. I think Triangle Strategy also deserves consideration for JRPG of the year. But I'm also pretty sure nothing else set to release this year is going to be on the same level as those titles.
@@BacklogBattle Seems like you're misunderstanding me, so sorry if I wasn't all that clear; I more so refer to the fact that they fit the context of the world and there are a couple of reasons for that; in the UK, for example, remembering that the voice cast is primarily british, people regularly come up with their own phrases in places of expletives, especially around children, which can sometimes be for comedic purposes but usually still gets across their feelings. You seem to believe the way its delivered, as a result of the words, don't make much sense in this way, (I could be misunderstanding but that's how it came across) but for people of british backgrounds, it's just very fitting because of this. Most important thing to remember about words like these is that any power or weight they have comes from the way we view or deliver them in speech.
hmmm after 40 hrs in XC3 i stopped playing i just can't connect with the cast and story up until end of chapter 4 i find it incredibly boring. XC2 and Torna are my favorite games by the way ^^
I wish there was demo , 😢 im not rpg gamer but this game intrigued my interest. But i dont want to drop $90 on it and not like lol. I brought BOTW and didnt enjoy it lol. So im hesitant to jump in.
This game could have been sooo much better, If it was not released on the switch. Imagine this Gameplay with the looks of a Horizon Forbidden West. It simply deserves that 1080P / 4K with more than... "a couple bushes" 😢
@@BacklogBattle That is the essence why it makes me sad. I just imagined the studio not beeing? owned by Nintendo and still beeing able to make those games. It's one of the best (j)RPGs ever made and the immersion could have been a lot better on a more modern system. (PC / PS5 / XBOX) etc. I'm not talking about the Artstyle, just the technical limitations (Draw distance, shadows, lighting, polygon limits etc.) . That said: It looks *awesome* for a switch title.
I love your editing and writing style as always. This might be one of my favorites you have made thus far!!!
Wow, thank you so much! That's high praise!
Man these short games must be a breeze to review.
My condolences to your sleep schedule for this well over 200 hour project when you include writing the review. I (like many others) definitely appreciate the work you put into these reviews.
100%
Thank you so much!
I appreciate the review, but I think the title says it best. It's 190 hours of gameplay, and if you like JRPGs, then it's 190 hours of good gameplay. Still a solid review though, so thank you for it.
Great review with great writing and you have a super nice narrative voice and flow. These longer reviews are a treat to listen to, wish you would do em more!
I have podcasts I made that might be cool to listen to!
@@BacklogBattle i listened to too many podcasts, i’m highkey fed up with them 😅Will be looking forward to your next longer review format video though!
Sold me. I will keep an eye and grab this one. I've played 2 - liked it but had the same issues you mentioned and was waiting for a in depth review like yours to feel safe to pull the trigger
Thank goodness I addressed XC2 then! This really is a league all on its own!
I highly recommend the first game also, especially Definitive Edition. While its combat isn't as deep as later games, it's a much smoother experience than 2. Xenoblade 1 also has the kind of story that's fulfilling and conclusive enough to be a self-contained narrative, so it makes for a good stand-alone experience.
I always love seeing the number of hours you've put into a game when reviewing it. That level of familiarity with the game gives your reviews such a sense of honest legitimacy. Keep it up!
Thank you! I try my best to represent the hours of the game on the thumbnails, but there's just some that are super silly like 92 hours in Potionomics! That's just us replaying the game over and over and trying different playthroughs!
This is one of the best Xenoblade 3 reviews I've seen! Great job highlighting all of what makes this game amazing but in a very fair way. The way you describe chain attacks and combat is really awesome 👍 Keep it up!
Thank you so much for the nice compliments! And thank you for watching my video!
This is my first Xenoblade title and totally blown away by how much content is here just put in 150hrs in my first playthru and once I finished I just continued to finish any sidequests I missed.....now 160hrs and still going sheesh!
I loved this game! Also love your review of it. This is the first game in several years to move me to tears. This is my current favorite game in this epoch of my life. I'm about 200 hours in and the new expansion content is right on time. Just when I have everything done they're dropping a new hero quest and challenge mode. Also I found you through listening to your episode on thirsty mage. I'm a new fan! Love your style!
I got the game on the holidays because I watched your review! I finished it 120 hours later and it was such a sublime experience. I just hope the DLC is an epilogue as I would have wanted to see more from them. Thanks!
You’re very welcome! I’m super happy you enjoyed it! It’s one of my top games of 2022!
I finished the game already, but I had to see your take of this awesome game and you can feel the passion you have for it in every sentence. Keep up the good work.
Thank you very much for your kind words!
Great review, I really like that you took the time to fully explore the game before putting out your review. Also, your writing is excellent.
Xenoblade Chronicles 1 is one of my top 10 games of all time, 2 was good, Torna was great, and so this is probably the #1 most anticipated game in my backlog right now. Unfortunately, I finished putting 125 hours into xenoblade 2 recently, so I'll be saving this one for a special, later date.
Wow yea, I can understand taking a break from the series after that then!
Very nice review. Xenoblade has been my new 'Final Fantasy' for the past few years.
I’m so dang excited to get into this game. As I’ve said before, I only recently started getting into the series, playing and loving the Definitive version of XC1 just a couple months ago, and spending even more time with its bigger (and in my opinion, largely better) sequel. I preferred how more tightly-written and faster-paced the main story was for Xenoblade 1, but I have to say I love pretty much everything else about Xenoblade 2 more, with the huge improvements it brought to side content and the battle system especially. I’m nearing the end of my journey through the main story, but I’m sure I’ve probably got about another month ahead of me to get through the remainder of the side stories, Blade Quests and such.
As much as I’ve loved Xenoblade 2, I’m so hyped that I’ve got such a gorgeous, near-universally praised game still ahead of me to look forward to. I hadn’t thought about it before, but I’m glad you mentioned that you get the whole main cast early in the game. That really solves a problem the two previous games had, where party members you acquired later didn’t have near as much time to be developed and spend time with the rest of the crew. Also, it’s crazy that you have the entire squad out at the same time for battles, and a very welcome change. I always feel constrained in the previous two games, forced to choose who I want to leave out of fights when I’d rather just have the whole party available.
I’ve really burned out of RPGs lately, but I’m so glad the Xenoblade series has been able to suck me in like so few have been able to before, despite (or maybe somehow even because of) just how big they are and how much they have to offer. This has quickly risen to become one of my favorite series ever, and I’m so grateful I’ve finally been able to get to a place where I can appreciate them.
That's an awesome revelation, and I'm happy to see that you've been enjoying your time with the Xenoblade series! If you haven't considered yet, I highly recommend checking out the Torna expansion when you get done with Part 2! It's short, but worth it!
@@BacklogBattle I actually just finished Torna last night! I had been looking around online for peoples opinions on when I should play it in relation to the base game. Some people said to play it first, some said to play it last, and some people (apparently including the director, according to an interview I read) said to play it after Chapter 7. I did the latter, and I think that was a good decision considering some of the story beats I’ve already hit in Chapter 8. Loving it!
As a veteran I didn't used a lot of the more hand handling tutorial you have in the settings but it's a great adding for new comers ! There's so many improvement in this game ! I start to think that's a core part of Nintendo's identity : "Never do a sequel if there's nothing to add" (we can see it on the Bayonetta series for example)
Now that's a thought! I do wonder if Miyamoto gets involved in these games at all, since he seems to have a hand in many of Nintendo's games, first or second party included!
Fantastic review, as always, Alex! I absolutely loved just about everything in this game. The only areas where I felt a bit let down were the villains, who, mostly, felt extremely underdeveloped and, at times, very obnoxious (with a couple of exceptions. Colony 0 stands out in particular). And, though I think the combat system is fantastic, and I never got bored in my own 170 hours with the game, I felt by and large that all boss encounters were basically the exact same. Given the nature of the combat system, there's not much readability to boss' movesets, so you're constantly just reacting and repositioning based on outgoing damage (at least when playing on Hard). It's engaging, but it would have been nice if there were visible mechanics or objectives in each fight to give a sense of variation.
And, I will say, as much as I LOVED the soundtrack (Moebius fights, anyone?), and I have always been a Mitsuda devotee, I was sad to not really have any themes that stuck with me like Gaur Plains or Mechonis Field from Xenoblade 1. All of the songs had this sweeping, orchestral feel to theme, which was consistently beautiful, but never really had any of those themes that I would seek out to put on repeat outside of the game.
Despite those complaints, this game felt like a spiritual experience from beginning to end, and was a wonderful end to the 400ish hours I've spent playing through all three Xenoblade games within the span of 6 months.
Can't wait for your next review!
I actually want to address your Hard mode critiques because I think that’s pretty valid. Because it borrows a lot from MMOs in its design, I think with seven characters, it would’ve been really difficult to try and apply harder MMO encounter design into it. What I mean by that is that usually, harder MMO content requires players to do perfect dances and patterns to survive. Unfortunately, by having AI party members, this can make things too crazy. This is probably why the bosses were designed this way, and I’m certain it’s something the devs are constantly trying to figure out.
Essentially, what I’m trying to say is while borrowing from a different genre worked before to create the foundations of the series, it’s now up to the devs to figure out a way to evolve the formula, meaning it’s beyond just a copy of another genre, if that makes sense. I think it’ll be interesting to see how they respond to the player experience in 3 in the expansion!
@@BacklogBattle I 100% with your take! I imagine figuring out additional mechanics to differentiate the fights in significant ways probably would've added like another six months to a year to development time, so I imagine they probably thought about it, and just had to decide to leave such developments on the cutting room floor, which I totally get.
That said, considering how amazing the combat system in Torna was (I honestly disliked XBC2's base combat, so the changes they made in Torna blew me away, to the point it's one of my favourite JRPG combat systems ever), I have no doubt that they could make something incredible in the expansion!
I love how they announced this game just like 6 months before realise, idk why it's become a trend to announce a game 4-5 years before it comes out and the worst thing is when haven't even started developing it like wtf.
I really appreciate the time and love in this review. I think of all the reviews I have watched on this game, this is the very best one. You do such excellent work. I am watching this for a second time. I shared it with my friends and family.
This is quite flattering! I don't think I've ever had someone say that they're sharing the video with their friends and family! I'm truly honored. And watching it a second time? That's even rarer still! I'm glad I was able to capture the spirit of playing the game! And I did it in half the time I did with previous reviews too! Tells me I'm doing something right :)
Most eloquent XC3 review I’ve seen so far. Loved it!
I’ve immensely enjoyed all three XC games. Each has its own strengths. I’m in the minority whose favorite is XC2 mainly because it had the most humor in it, as well as the most memorable OST IMHO.
XC3 is quite bleak but has by far the most refined systems of all three however, and its quality of life improvements make it a joy to navigate.
I find the series still not as appreciated as it deserves, and I sincerely hope that XC3 manages to shine more light on these awesome games.
The DLC has certainly made me take a look back at 2 to see if I wanted to go back to it! At least, to play Torna!
"I'm the girl with the gall" is burned into my psyche, followed closely by "Sounds like Lanz wants something more meaty."
I had a really good time playing the game and found the story to be quite compelling. The main thing I couldn't wrap my head around was the math of the chain attacks. I'd set off attacks that should clearly put it over 100% and it'd stall at 99% sometimes and I had no idea why. It also wasn't clear to me about why it would end the chain attack even when I still had characters I hadn't used yet (that weren't Ouroboros interlinks).
I'm pretty trash at RPGs, especially ones in this series, so I played the game on Easy. I think I finished it at just about 45 hours of play time. I didn't do a ton of side quests, mainly the ones that were cleverly tied into the main story quests. I also never changed any of my party's classes since I felt comfortable with what they already did. I just made sure to apply other upgrades via Skills and Gems as I saw fit.
Choosing Healers during Chain Attacks will only ensure that the build up of Tactical Points ended at 99%. This was useful whenever you wanted to pump the points past 100, like say whenever you had a character that’ll add 50+ TP in the wings that can increase the attack efficacy from Cool to Bravo. Adding 100+ would make it Amazing. And yes, this was all covered in the tutorial 😉
Thank you so much for this comprehensive review! I'm still torn about this game, but I'm at a stage where I'm considering a potential purchase in the future now xD
It's really good to hear about the improved tutorials, as well as other refinements to the combat and side quests. I did give up on Xenoblade Chronicles DE 20 hours in because I was so burned out by the side quests, and combat was getting more complex and my brain just checked out. But I'm willing to give this one a try, although I might have to be in the right mood for it.
And I'm glad they don't have the heart-to-hearts anymore. I liked them in theory, but coming across dozens of heart-to-heart spots while not having the right characters/affinity and knowing you're gonna have to backtrack was a big nope for me 😅
Potential spoiler territory:
One of my worries was that the three Ouroboros pairings would all be coupled up by the end - which is sth I hate for various reasons, including that I'm a bit picky when it comes to romance. But I've heard just one relationship is actually developed (and relatively well too), is that correct?
The romance is handled well. Deep relationships are built, but romance isn’t just thrown around
I don't think you'll be burnt out by the sidequests here, especially with how well categorized and how the devs manages your expectations of the content. As far as romances go, I can't really say how much there is, but I wouldn't necessarily say that everyone hooks up with one another. And the romance was handled very well, and integrated into the main story, as you can imagine.
Game of the Year, full stop, as far as I'm concerned.
Watching this is warming my heart. I played the game when it first came out and I loved my experience. I’m lowkey sad that my first experience is over. Some of those moments were just so magical … and sad.
Thank you for the kind words. My intention for this review was to not only capture what it's like to play the game, but also capture the feelings and ideas that the game represented without spoiling it. It's always something that I strive to do with every video, and I'm glad you were able to recognize it in this special review!
As a long time fan of the series, I'm so excited to see fans new and old falling in love with this game.
While it took me a bit longer to grow attached to its characters than previous games in the series, once I was farther in, I was hooked, and that ol' Monolith Magic had my heartstrings once again.
I really want to give praise to how much effort the team really put into addressing criticism of every previous game in the series, especially in gameplay.
Though Xenoblade 2 has an irreplaceable spot in my heart, I can say that XC3 is more than worthy to stand alongside it.
I got this game for my birthday and have enjoyed it immensely. I can see where it falls short with the story pacing but it doesn't bring down the game in my opinion. Great review
Thank you!
no tanks, rough balance of attackers and healers
The fraternal badge item and Protector's pride skill boost all arts recharge when a non-tank is being targeted. Having no tank means this bonus is always active, creating a drastic boost in performance for the party.
Much like the game itself, this was worth the wait! I like how we're all only just recently finishing the game. Usually I chalk it up to me being slow, but it seems everyone's diving through the same bottomless sea that is Xenoblade 3! It's crazy to me how much content is in this game though, and meaningful content at that. It's the ideal triple-A game in that sense, a large quantity of quality, and I shudder to think how difficult this would have been to pull off, regardless of the time, budget and amount of hands-on-deck available.
Also, I can strongly relate to everything you said regarding Xenoblade 2 and the lead-up to 3. While I don't think 2 is a bad game on its own, and I did have plenty of enjoyment with aspects of it, it's by far the most flawed and disappointing game in the series, and I say this as someone whose favourite game was 1, going into the sequel with an open mind. I kept having to come back to it after long stretches of time had passed, until finally finishing it almost 2 years after its release. I sank 400 hours total (including DLC) into the game, so I really did give it a fair shot, but I realise now that most of that time was spend during copious amounts of padding, backtracking and having to wait in real-time.
I felt a mix of emotions when playing Torna, because it managed to address all the main issues with the base game, I was also asking myself why we couldn't have got THIS the first time round. It was a prequel that took every good idea from the base game, and clearly demonstrated how they could be implemented successfully. I loved my time with Torna, but it was bitter-sweet at the end, because it's a comparatively short experience serving as a prequel to what I'd consider to be an inferior product. We'd be saying goodbye to these grounded characters, and hello to the disingenuously-written clique archetypes of the base game, who haven't been developed beyond their basic templates. Monolith Soft showed a clear understanding of what needed to be done moving forward, but whether or not we'd be back to square one with their next mainline game remained to be seen.
And all of this is without mentioning how well Xenoblade 1 performed as a stand-alone game with a complete story and satisfying gameplay experience. If Nintendo and Monolith Soft were going to justify turning THAT into a series, they'd have to maintain the standard of quality set by 1 and X. The reason I'm not as harsh towards X despite its more apparent flaws is because it was a spin-off doing its own thing, telling a completely separate story, and as far as open-world games go, it was both jaw-droppingly impressive and tons of fun to play through, with a sense of community forming between other players via MiiVerse selling the idea that you were all B.L.A.D.Es charting the planet and moving separately towards a common goal.
So that feeling of apprehension when Xenoblade 3 was announced was something I knew all too well. The game did look like a lot of fun to explore and play through, and I was much more optimistic this time around than when 2 was first revealed, but that doubt was still there. My biggest concern was their choice to set this game after the events of 1 and 2, when 1's story was as conclusive and satisfying as it gets, and 2's story left much to be desired. Was this really the right decision?
But I'm happy I was wrong this time. Monolith Soft reminded me why they're my favourite triple-A game developers right now. Not only is this my game of the year, in a busy year of many GOTY contenders already here and still to come, but it's my favourite triple-A game in recent memory. I don't know if I'd say I love it more than the first game, but it's up there, and certainly surpasses Xenoblade 1 in many ways. And this is before any of the DLC is out yet, I've just remembered!
Someone in the comments actually asked me if I was going to review the DLC, but I haven't even bought the expansion pass yet lol. Thank goodness DoubleYouLP sent me some Nintendo credits via Patreon so I could pick up Xenoblade 3, but I'll have to save up for the expansion!
@@BacklogBattle Fair enough! And what a gift to get! I didn't by the Expansion Pass until a couple of weeks after I started the game, as I wanted to make sure I enjoyed the base game first lol. The Expansion Pass has 3 waves. Technically 4, but Wave 1 at launch was just alternate colour cosmetics for the party members and consumable items, so nothing substantial as far as Day 1 DLC goes.
Anyway, Wave 2 and 3 will feature a new hero each (plus Challenge Mode and additional Side Quests), while Wave 4 will be a new story expansion like Torna. My theory is that the story expansion will take place during the founding of the City, with most of (if not all) the memorialised founders serving as the party members. We could potentially see a fully-grown Shulk and Rex, as implied by the Monado Replica EX and Aegis appearing on the front cover of the DLC, and the statues themselves bearing a striking resemblance to various characters in the series (even some from Xenogears and Saga!)
Whatever they do though, I'm looking forward to it, especially the base game is already this incredible!
Awesome review, and the live premiere was real fun! Looking for advice from Alex and any viewers: how necessary is playing the first two games in preparation for playing this one? I played XC:DE last year and put about 30 hours into it but fell off right about when the colony management stuff started, and then never even touched the second. This third one seems too good NOT to play though. How much background is needed to really enjoy this new one? Any advice would be appreciated.
You can definitely start with this one! There *are* references, but they're not required to enjoy the game.
@@BacklogBattle great news! Thank you!
Awesome review. Will pick the game up next year tho
Great review! This convinced me to play it next, after I'm done with Elden Ring (in 2032)
Good luck!
While living in the "now" is important, it is even more important to prevent the "now" from becoming the "endless NOW"
I think we're on the same page here and you've clearly read through my as-intended spoiler-free double speak 😉
excellent review and meta-analysis. also my goty, at least co-paired with sophie 2. one of the best jrpgs i've played. my only major negative in it is the antagonists, most of them are so one dimensional and big missed opportunities. would have been possibly the best jrpg ever made if they had something other than a big stack of puppy-kicking sociopaths for baddies, the main one in particular had so little characterization other than disney stereotype villain. :-P
what were your two other top ones? you mentioned 3 total in the video but didn't mention.
As far as Nintendo published RPGs go, they’re Triangle Strategy and LIVE A LIVE. They’re not necessarily my favorites per se, but they’re RPGs Nintendo published this year! And now that I think about it, there’s actually four: Fire Emblem Three Hopes!
As far as my favorites go, the Ribbon Rank *did* show up at the end of the video, so… 😉
Haven’t watched the video because I’m only 40 hours in and wow, 190 hours? I guess I still have a long way to go
You can use the chapters to skip story sections if you prefer! I made sure that it's watchable by everyone!
Just finished my first play through recently as I was taking my time with it, and just that (without being all the way 100%) it took me 140 hours..
As was said by the end theme of Xenogears:
"Broken Mirror, a Million Shades of Light"
"The Old Echo Fades away!"
"But Just You, and I"
"Can Find the answer and then"
"We can Run. To. The End. of the world."
"We can run, to the end, of the world."
"Run to the end....of the world."
Xenoblade 3, in its own way, finally gives the answer to all those old fans who followed the Xeno series since Xenogears, all about what Perfect Works episode 6 is.
Well said!
In my point of viés, RPGs should have allways reviews with at least 50/60 hours. What a masterpiece, amazing job , amazing review👏👏👏
Thank you! I hope that doesn’t invalidate my LIVE A LIVE review, since it’s shorter than that 😉
@@BacklogBattle not all haha!
I absolutely love Mitsuda. When I found out that he made music for Inazuma Eleven too It all made sense 🤣
I was curious why Xenoblade's 1 music reminded me of IE. That was why.
Noah and N Phase 2 song in this game has such a IE vibe at 0:55 of that song and I can't tell you how much I fucking love that.
That’s such an interesting comparison! The two games couldn’t be any more different
So, I gotta say, the presentation in this game is excellent. The real-time cutscenes consistently blow me away.
Pretty cool aren’t they? 😉
@@BacklogBattle indeed they are, which genuinely surprised me. I picked it up because the premise sounded interesting (first Xenoblade game for me). Game really hooked up me, even though the combat took getting used to. Trying to get through it at the moment and enjoy the journey.
Damn it, Alex! Stop attacking my wallet! :))
As much as these reviews make me want to try out games I'm not normally interested in, the effect is compounded when it's games I already want to play.
Xenoblade 3 is definitely worth playing, if it wasn’t apparent in my review already, so I understand your situation!
I'm currently working my way on Xenoblade 2 and Torna so I can finally play this game. Xenoblade 1 is one of my favorite games of all time and Xenoblade 3 is easily my most anticipated game of the year.
maybe it's just me but I found the gold currently nearly useless. There's not much to spend it on.
On the side-by-side images of various games at the very end... is that a ranking? o_o
Yes it is, but it doesn’t function how you think! There’s a clickable card that pops up during that part that you should click! It’s a video explaining how things work 😉
@@BacklogBattle I just watched it! It's a brilliant idea, and I like where XC3 placed :D
Great video, absolutely agree on all your points.
A good story, fun combat, amazing worldbuilding and a dynamic set of characters that interact with each other very well... What else could you want?
Except for the final parts of the story, that was a bit doodoo
@AshenAegis It actually explains everything in a very blunt and obvious way lol. Which is why I dislike it...
@@NotJackeru Now I'm curious - is there a way to say what was bad about it with minimal spoilers?😅
@@Anni_ka I was heavily disappointed by the reveal of the motivations of the main bad guy. Also the final dungeon uses a lot of the same colors and design for enemies and the dungeon itself for lore reasons which I wasnt a fan of
I need to get into this series, I’ve only ever played chronicles x and fell off pretty hard after grinding to get my first skel
X is pretty different than the mainline games, so it’ll be like playing a new series!
Will you also be reviewing the DLC?
It all depends on when it's coming out!
@@BacklogBattle tomorrow wave 2 and then concludes by sometime next year
@JustJulyo I probably won't get the DLC unless it's the story expansion. I don't really have much of an opinion on everything else, otherwise.
This and if you have the extra cash on hand tales of arise is probably one of the best I can think of
I love this game I love this game I love this game easily my favorite in the entire series. I mean I still remember that when my friend showed me the trailer for the game and we both had some doubts about the combat. It did look messy it did look chaotic and it did look like that it would be an absolute mess of a combat system but after playing it myself the combat system is a lot more refined in this game than it was in 2 and even in one. Yes it still looks chaotic but it's more of a controlled chais they controlled chaos and thanks to all the markers on the battlefield I now have a way better idea of what to do in combat and the fact that we have 7 playable characters makes battles feel a lot more entertaining to watch. The music is just phenomenal as it's always been but I especially like how this one even has a bit of a story to it since the flute is so heavily involved due to it being used by 2 of our main characters. Which brings me to our main cast as I do like that we get them a little early on in comparison to all the other xenoblade games were we just wait and wait until boom we start getting 1 or 2 or 3 characters at random intervals. Here since we get them early on it gives them way more time to develop and grow which also results in them feeling like more of a combined unit and as a family and as a group which was something that I thought was personally lacking in previous games due to one game focusing so much on the main character but the other characters didn't really get that much development other than 1 arc and that's it and then the next game had everyone else feel more interesting but the main character was just not so much. H*** this game even made me be tolerable with the talking potatoes who've been a part of the series since the very beginning and they don't annoy me that's a big improvement. Plus, the other mechanics of the game, the way quests are handled and classes being fun to use, I really was starting to feel the love that this game had from beginning to end. Not to mention the main cast in this game has so much good drip in comparison to all the other protagonists that I dub them the best main group I've ever seen in a Xenoblade game that has good drip lol. I only have some small nitpicks: the 1st of which is I do wish that when you did do quests, the game would at least show you where to find certain items for collecting them and giving them to another character like an encyclopedia or something. And the 2nd one is it leads into spoilers but I'm not gonna spoil them for anybody all I'm gonna say is this: Things will shock you things will if you're me make you go WTF and things will make you go are you kidding me why all while screaming and crying because it'll be tears of joy and tears of rage it'll be a mixture of both lol. But really the big issue I have with this game is I want more like seriously afseriously after going through a 150 hours of the game which is way longer than how long I played 2, it really makes me have that want of I want more of this game because I never felt this way about a xenoblade game in a long long time and I REALLY love this cast and the story. In the end this was a fantastic review definitely solidified all of the reasons why I love this game and of this game and again it's definitely leagues better than 2 and if this is where monolith is going for the rest of the series I will be happy if it's gonna be as good as 3 is. Nice job on the review Alex and:.......Team comp go!
Noah: A good chunk of some of the attacking classes and some defense classes.
Ranni I mean Mio:Healer and tank.
Taion:Attacker and Healer.
Eunie:Healer with a bit of attack.
Lanz:Tank and back up buffer.
And Sena:Healer and tank.
And even then I'm still going around with all those other classes and it is just so much fun to mix and match with the addition of having a hero on the battlefield as well as taking skills from other classes. OK now I am done lol.
Wait. What's your best class/party set up?
@@BacklogBattle personally, none yet !
I'm still in the process of maxing out every class for everyone!
I think this incentive to change classes and composition often is a big part of the freshness of the game even after 250h+ :)
@@BacklogBattle OK here's my best party set up because I had to wait for my switch to charge up:
Noah:Flash Fencer.
Ranni I mean Mio:Thuaumturge.
Eunie:Full metal jacket.
Taion:Sttrategos.
Lanz:Lost Vanguard.
Sena: Guardian Commander.
@@RMarr-uy9hf Yeah this game definitely captures the addictive feeling of Hey I wanna get that class and become stronger or oh wait I want to switch to this class or wait no this character works well with this class or but that class looks really cool on that character.
@@MrDarksol @Backlog Battle and now they added saving slots for party set up !!!
Awwww you picked Mio!!
Did I though?
@@BacklogBattle I like how she's placed right next to Ranni since the same actor voiced them both
@@tabris95 OH! You meant the Ribbon Rank! I thought you were talking about the thumbnail! And I didn't know that actually!
@@BacklogBattle Yeah I was surprised too! It's the same dubbing company so there's actually few other characters that share voice actors with Elden Ring
What a great review. I have not gotten this yet. I think Triangle Strategy also deserves consideration for JRPG of the year. But I'm also pretty sure nothing else set to release this year is going to be on the same level as those titles.
As someone who is English, trust me, the expletives fit and sound tonally correct for the accents.
You say Sparks as an expletive in English too?
@@BacklogBattle Seems like you're misunderstanding me, so sorry if I wasn't all that clear; I more so refer to the fact that they fit the context of the world and there are a couple of reasons for that; in the UK, for example, remembering that the voice cast is primarily british, people regularly come up with their own phrases in places of expletives, especially around children, which can sometimes be for comedic purposes but usually still gets across their feelings. You seem to believe the way its delivered, as a result of the words, don't make much sense in this way, (I could be misunderstanding but that's how it came across) but for people of british backgrounds, it's just very fitting because of this.
Most important thing to remember about words like these is that any power or weight they have comes from the way we view or deliver them in speech.
Thank you for clarifying! Apologies if I was being a little glib!
@@BacklogBattle no problem, and no worries there lol
How is the combat? is it closer to Xenoblade 1? or is it still Xenoblade 2 slogfest?
It’s definitely closer to 1! There’s parts of 2 that’s still in here, but they’re better explained and streamlined!
@@BacklogBattle Great, got my physical copy of it, last one in the store :),
10 years hmm? Sell the house, travel the world and do a lot of drink and drugs I imagine.
Probably only last for one year but oh well 🥳
Great game but I wish it had a shorter runtime. I just finished it at 107 hours 😅
hmmm after 40 hrs in XC3 i stopped playing i just can't connect with the cast and story up until end of chapter 4 i find it incredibly boring. XC2 and Torna are my favorite games by the way ^^
Ah, its all in the details, quote*"XC2 and Torna are my favorite games by the way ,
// think i would love XC3 then! . thank you 00*s generation .
I wish there was demo , 😢 im not rpg gamer but this game intrigued my interest. But i dont want to drop $90 on it and not like lol. I brought BOTW and didnt enjoy it lol. So im hesitant to jump in.
yeah but.. amnesia?
Surprisingly enough, no one?
@@BacklogBattle We are undoubtedly "living in the now"
The game was good it just need better graphics. If Atelier games can look better with lower budget why can Xeno games.
The biggest game of monolith soft is xenoblade chronicles x and not 3
This game could have been sooo much better, If it was not released on the switch. Imagine this Gameplay with the looks of a Horizon Forbidden West.
It simply deserves that 1080P / 4K with more than... "a couple bushes" 😢
If it wasn't released on Switch, it wouldn't ever have been released, given that the company's owned by Nintendo
@@BacklogBattle That is the essence why it makes me sad. I just imagined the studio not beeing? owned by Nintendo and still beeing able to make those games.
It's one of the best (j)RPGs ever made and the immersion could have been a lot better on a more modern system. (PC / PS5 / XBOX) etc.
I'm not talking about the Artstyle, just the technical limitations (Draw distance, shadows, lighting, polygon limits etc.) . That said: It looks *awesome* for a switch title.