@@oradio10I don’t think 3 deserved GOTY over Elden Ring, but we 100% were robbed of Best Music. At least give it to Metal Hellsinger if you won’t give it to us 😩
I was the same way. I’m not a big fan of RPGs, not a fan of anime, and I tend to get scared away pretty easily by complex, strategic battle systems. But due to the games’ stories, big open worlds, and more active rather than turn based battles, Xenoblade somehow became one of my favorite series ever. I started with XCX on Wii U and have since played all the other games in the series. It’s definitely one of my favorites.
Bro, I was the same way, although I’m still not super into big RPGs yet, I’ve recently been interested in playing the Xenoblade games. I’ve had Xeno X for Wii U for a while but havent played, and Xeno 1 DE, Xeno 2 Torna, and Xeno 3 are all arriving in the mail shortly. Definitely gonna play Xeno DE for a while whenever I’m not playing Helldivers 2 😂. I’ve been unable to figure it out but is Xeno 2 and Xeno 2 Torna two different games? Like should I get Xeno 2 and Xeno 2 Torna if I can? I was also not a fan of anime until last July. Just sent it and now it’s pretty much all I watch lol.
@@giygas9305 Late reply and you probably already have your answer by this point (but maybe this answer can help someone else with the same question), but Torna is just a shorter DLC campaign for Xenoblade 2. If you get regular old Xenoblade 2, you can buy DLC packs for it, and Torna is the final one. But they also decided to confuse people and sell Torna separately, so if you buy Torna, it's just Torna and doesn't include Xenoblade 2. I recommend getting standard Xenoblade 2 and then after playing some ways into it and finding you're enjoying it, then get the DLC packs including Torna.
Xenoblade Chronicles doesn't have what I'd call a sad ending, yet I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried ugly tears when the credits rolled. I was overwhelmed with emotions over the wonderful game I just played and the characters I came to know and love. In that instant I knew that it was the best game I had ever played and it still is to this day. The second game is one I have several problems with, but the parts that are good rival or even surpass the best moments from the first game in my opinion. And now I'm about halfway done with the third game and so far this is the closest I've come to questioning whether I'm playing something that's better than Xenoblade 1. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest trilogies in gaming and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to you talk about your history with it (and Xenoblade X lol).
Xc2 definitely has the biggest hurdles to jump over to be able to enjoy it but yeah it's amazing, I can't decide between xc2 or xc3 though cause the world building is more refined in the latter. Amazing series though.
I'm glad to hear that you gave this series a try. Xenoblade is my personal favorite Nintendo franchise ( with 2 being my favorite as of typing this comment ) and includes several of my favorite fictional characters ever ( specifically Elma, Nia, and Pyra/Mythra ) so it's always good to see more people take an interest in it.
From a diehard Xenoblade fan, this was an awesome video. Unfortunately I don’t think the community is as friendly as it once was, which you pointed out, but I think that might just be due to increasing popularity. I’m glad you got to experience all of 2, despite its flaws; personally, I’m okay with the over-the-top anime stuff but sometimes I wish it wasn’t there just because people tend to pre-judge you if you say you like Xenoblade at all (probably bc that’s all they’ve heard about Xenoblade) If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to look into the lore of the series, it’s very well thought out and meticulously crafted. Future Redeemed really was the cherry on top of the peak fiction (for me) cake.
Yeah, 2 really did create a lot of prejudice from non-Xenoblade fans with their design direction and God awful voice directing. Even inside the community, there's more than enough backlash at it. I try but I kinda can't get over a grudge I've got towards 2 for creating that reputation for the franchise, but I still love the overall franchise, despite my issues with 2
Going from thinking Pokémon is too complicated to being a Xenoblade trilogy fan is quite the transformation. Glad ya found more things to enjoy. Thanks for the content
I had actually always loved Xenoblade but 3 disappointed me at first. While I liked it, it wasn't as incredible as I expected it to be. However, around November of 2022, I played it some more after having stopped after the ending and I soon learned to love it for what it is, and not for what I wanted it to be, a Xenoblade 1 and 2 crossover, instead of a new Xenoblade title and world. Besides, Future Redeemed came after, reaching and surpassing all my wildest expectations. At this point, I don't feel the need to compare them, and while I believe my favorite is 3, they are all masterpieces with their own pros and cons and the trilogy as a whole is incredible. :)
It's funny something similar happened to me with X2, after playing X1 I was amazed and had high expectations for the 2nd and when I finally played it I felt disappointed by its excessive anime humor, weird designs for certain characters and its cringe moments, but giving it a second play, there were several moments that made me smile (especially with Zeke and Nia) its world and its views are beautiful, some of the best in the series I dare say, its music is my favorite video game playlist, its gameplay despite being very slow at the beginning is fun in later hours and its in-depth story is beautiful. I've already played the entire main trilogy and the truth is I don't know if I have a favorite Xenoblade because I love them all despite the flaws of each installment, because if you look at each one as a whole and what they did is that they are all perfect
I have a very similar story to how you lost progress from a power outage! I had Xenoblade 1 on Wii way back in the day, and I never made it to Colony 6 - I lost multiple hours of progress when my Wii shut off. So I just never touched the game again and didn't really pay any mind to newer Xenoblade releases. Last month I picked up the Definitive Edition on switch for some nostalgia, and it's quickly become one of my favorite games ever. I'm maybe about halfway through, and I love everything about the game. I'll definitely be picking up 2 and 3 after I beat it.
I think Im opposite from that Im new fan buyed the Switch a d played on it like for 4 years and I'm still trying new games and brands, now I want to start Xenoblade previously started playing Mario + Rabbids and Splatoon I love these games and Im happy that they win best steategy and best multplauer at the game awards, still sadly xenoblade even didnt win best soundtrack (I hear something from xenoblade series and I liked it much more than generic soundtrack without emotions in other nominated games), Im not saying that they dont they deserved goty, but they are much more popular so this is obvious that they win sadly, but nomination is big distinction so im happy for xenoblade too
I've never related to someone so much. I never thought I would meet someone else who was never a fan of rpgs, tried the xenoblade series on a whim, loved the first one, liked the second one despite its many downsides (over the top anime aesthetic that I'm not a fan of for one), and immediately played the third one at launch and loved it
While the various games have no direct story connections, they have common thematic links and all sport the "Xeno" prefix, which Takahashi has variously described as a means of identifying his games and a symbolic representation of the series. But great video by Nintendo hero
Chapter 10 of xenoblade 2 connects xenoblade 1 and 2 and the world of xenoblade 3 is a fusion of xenoblade 1 and 2. Also I think xenoblade x is what would've happened if klaus didn't do the experiment but I'm not sure if it's confirmed.
Awesome video. I enjoyed it a lot and as a Xenoblade Chronicles fan, it makes me happy to hear your opinion on the game and how you came to play it. I was very similar at the beginning, it just look too complicated, but when I got it on the 3DS I fell in love with the world and soundtrack. Learning the combat systems took a long time and for me to over come this I just grind to level up and that works for me and all the Xenoblade games.
I started playing Xenogears, then learned the same creator made others games like Xenosaga and Xenoblade which made me realize how I played xenoblade once and put it down when released because it was just not for me back then. Now that I’m mostly playing rpgs and story driven games I’m happy to say I got Xenoblade again and going to play it soon, super excited
Happy to see you’ve had such a positive turnaround on the series! I started through ppl like Alpharad and my friends gushing about it, the music and when the Xeno 1 DE got announced, I just had to try. 2 can be a pain especially bc of bad tutorials BUT it has Zeke! >:)
Thank you for not being a total a hole about xc2; it is still my favorite after playing all three. I get the negatives, but people are way too hard on that game. I'm curious if you went back and played Torna. I think the combat in Torna is some of the best in the series.
I was wondering the same. I think OP would love Torna, because it gets rid of a lot of the frustrating or awkward stuff from XC2 and has some of the best characters in the whole series!
Best series tbh. You really can't understand how good the games are without playing them for yourself, I was super hesitant but played xc2 first before the DE of the first game was announced, and have spent well over 600 hours in xc2 to say the least.. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 definitely has the highest hurdles to jump to be able to enjoy the game for what it is. The voice acting was inconsistent and the art design.. was a thing, and the tutorials are abysmal. But oh my goodness, the story in XC2 just hit me so hard, the game definitely has its flaws, the lowest lows of the series, but some of the highest highs too. (And yeah the gacha system was just a thing so no playthrough of the game felt the same, that helped me appreciate it more but yeah definitely tedious) The combat of xc2 though was extremely fast paced if you know what you're doing and often the most engaging combat in thr series, though with terrible tutorials you basically have to rely on others to understand it, or play for 200+ hours and maybe pick up what's happening, but just watch Chuggaconroy's tips and save yourself the struggle lol. But yeah I feel everyone will at least connect to one of the games regardless, which is why I'll always believe its the best series in rpgs. Like how a lot of people love xc1 but imo its the lowest of the series to me, we all have different opinions on the series, but together we grow just loving the concepts of the games existing altogether. They'll teach you so many life lessons worth keeping true, and the series as a whole has definitely helped me appreciate life as a whole more.
I once thought Xenoblade wasn't for me, but man, i couldn't more wrong. Played the DE when it launched and it was incredible. Played XC2 and loved even more. And when XC3 came out, became my favorite game of all time! This franchise deffinitely deserves more love!
Great video! Xenoblade 2 is my personal favorite but honestly they are all so good I can understand why someone would choose any of the games as their favorite. But I'm curious, did you play Torna the Golden Country? I feel Torna really does an excellent job at pushing Xenoblade 2 and makes a great game even better.
Xenoblade is my favorite thing in the world. 1 was this monolithic (lol) piece of media in my life that could never be surpassed, and 2 and X were very close second and third favorites, only because of nostalgia for 1s story and how attached to that world i was. But holy shit dude. Now 3s come along retaining everything i love about xenoblade 1 2 and X and distilled it down into core streamlined elements that make it infinitely easier to get hooked on immediately. Side quests are all easily found at any time. None of them are throwaway grinds with no story, all being written to feel like a fun side episode to enhance the characters, setting and culture. Obtaining equipment is streamlined and if ypu cant afford what you need next just drop some nopon coins on it. The blade system that made 2s combat the best up to now in the series got massively reworked into the hero/class system where all are based on hero quests instead of a tedious RNG grind so every player can realistically get every optional party member on a casual playthrough. Character switching has saved us from the AI refusing to cooperate. The list goes on and on and i feel like even when the honeymoon phase with this game dulls down it will likely be the first thing to ever surpass my undying love for xenoblade 1, and that says a lot, cuz I FUCKING L O V E Xenoblade 1. It just feels so unreal being able to call this a trilogy now, because ive loved xenoblade since it was just a stand alone Wii game. I first heard about it watching Chuggaaconroy playing it in the background of a Stephens Vlog showing off the big ice slide ramp on valak mountain, and after hearing it was this illusive hard to obtain game released in a limited print at gamestop, being the penniless child i was, decided to watch a lets play from some random small channel who i will never be able to recall. But i was lucky enough at the very least to have watched the story start to finish with 0 knowledge of anything happening, and even just watching a lets play i could tell this game was incredibly special and it even made me cry several times. Shulks screams over the death of fiora still get me to this day and im a pretty dense person so every plot twist, even the slightly obvious ones shook me to my core. The moment i sae a local gamestop had a used copy i dragged my dad to gamestop and used most of the money i had at the time to get it asap. I think at that time I was a freshman about 15 years old. To think this strange, niche jrpg from the wii i fell in love with, has now become a household name in the gaming community with 4 full games, 1, soon to be 2 expansion side games, and a complete first trilogy under its belt now, just blows my mind and makes me endlessly excited for the next saga to be introduced. Especially now that 3 is selling so well, it marks a very hopeful future where monolith with a higher budget than ever can have the freedom to fully realize some of their greatest ambitions yet. This even opens the door for something like a definitive edition of X since in the past takehashi cited budget limitations being the cause for the lack of a port to switch. It was so much to remaster on top of there being extra cut content they couldnt make happen for the wiiu release which they wanted to make sure a remaster would include so it just wasn't a resonable priority for them. Basically what im saying is that xenoblade just makes me so happy and i just cant shut up about it whenever i have the chance.
I remember seeing an advert for Xenoblade back when it was being released for the Wii. I wouldn't have described myself as a JRPG fan back then but there was something about the game itself that appealed to me. I couldn't quite decide if it was the openness of the game or the aesthetic. Unfortunately, I didn't get to buy it when it was released in the US. I had to pay the scalper price of 80 bucks on the second hand market in 2013. Within the first hour of playing the story had me fully invested. I rigged the sound from the composite cables on the Wii to my JVC HIFI setup from the 90s and blasted the music through my Bose speakers. I spent hundreds of hours experimenting with the combat and trying to decide which characters had the best synergy for certain strategies. Xenoblade X also has amazing game play and if you manage to grasp the mechanics and understand it, you can pull off some incredible feats. There are videos out there of people using their character to take down a monster with over 100m HP in like 30 seconds solo! You have to give the music another shot too. Given your description of how much of the game you played, you definitely missed out on some bangers in the other continents of Mira. Much like you, I lost my original save file. I was about 80% done with the survey of the planet when my external HDD for the Wii U had a catastrophic failure. I was so angry I didn't pick the game up until 2022 when we learned of online play being shut down. I finished it then.
I played X, played it once, then never touched it in months. Over a year later I picked it up and suddenly got addicted to it. Loved my experience with X and then started doing research on Xenoblade 3 after it got announced. I kept switching thoughts on if I would get the game or not. I decided to buy it on launch and I hold it now as one of my favorite games of all time. And I absolutely love this video
Just happened across this video and loved it. I'm a huge fan of the series, too, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. That ending for XC3, am I right? I didn’t realize it, but I've kind of been a fan of Monolith Soft itself for a long time. Their previous "Xeno" games are ones I loved from PS2 (Xenosaga), and I still want to check out Xenogears from the SNES at some point. Their music and story are always on point, imo; and they seem to do a good job mixing up and tweaking tradition jrpg battle mechanics through each game. Though I bought it on Wii U, I never played through XCX because life happened; so I'm looking forward to going through the "remakster" on Switch (or Switch 2?) next year. Again, great video!
turned me into a believer for sure. never played any of them, decided to play 3 and that was that. did 3 2 1 and all DLCS within 3 months man was a great time. cant wait for X remake or a new one to come.
I was in a similar boat, moreso because I don't vibe with the type of JRPG Xenoblade falls under. I tried stuff like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, not getting into it, but preferred games more akin to Pokemon and Fire Emblem. I then saw someone on Twitter playing the first game for the first time and expressing how much they loved it. They also loved Pokemon and FE like me. So I gave it a try. And now I'm playing the third game. 😂
I have to thank smash and chuugaconroy's playthrough of XC2 for bringing me into this series. After which I bought a copy of 3 and absolutely loved it. Now recently I have bought copies of DE, XC2 and Torna. Currently playing 2 after which I'll play torna and DE. God I fucking love this series. Also I believe that Xenoblade is the best the switch has to offer and no one can convince me otherwise.
I bought the 3DS in 2017 since I hadn't owned a handheld console since the PSP. Never did I realize that my favorite game ever would be on this tiny device, yet have such a massive world and story. I've become a Monolith Soft fan ever since.
If you thought pokemon was confusing, it's a miracle you were able to get into xenoblade. It took me 3 separate tries before the game finally clicked, and I mostly play rpgs
I picked up X the day it got released because it looked really epic, got burned out after 10 hours due to an overload of unexplained mechanics and terrible pasing, which made me resentful towards the future games too. I eventually picked up XC2 out of boredom and I can't describe how good of a decision this was. There's many flaws in this title, but all the things the game does well, it nears perfection in my eyes. I don't think I'll ever play a game with a more touching story than the 2nd game, delivered by the best party of characters I've ever seen in a game.
I just got my copy of Definitive Edition, and will start the game today. What made me buy it was really the visuals and the story, but the combat system kind of scares me a little bit. I hope I'll enjoy it as much as you did!
I rank Xenoblade as my favourite Nintendo series since Xenoblade 3 cemented it, I love Nintendo games for their focus on gameplay, but when Nintendo can strive for a good narrative, they often can strike the deepest. Xenoblade aims for both, and even compliment each other well, exploring those worlds wouldn’t be as investing to explore without the context of “scaling anatomy of dueling titans” for 1, “hopping across titanic aquatic creatures” in 2, and “trekking across a war-torn world of eternal suspension” in 3.
I had a weird experience with Xenoblade. Interesting story buckle up. I bought the second game in a "buy two, get two free" deal on used games at my local GameStop along with Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Pokemon Sword, and Fire Emblem Warriors. I already loved Donkey Kong and wanted to get back into Pokemon. The other two I only knew about from Smash Bros (Pre Pyra/Mythra) and wanted to leave about. When I finally popped Xenoblade in, I was hooked... Except when I got lost in Gormott... And Uraya. I indefinitely postponed my playthrough after getting stuck on the Malos fight. Until one day I had the stange compusion to pick the game back up. And as I played, the game got better and better, eventually becoming one of my favorite games of all time. When Xenoblade DE and Xenoblade 3 were announced... I didn't care. I had forgotten that Xenoblade was good actually. Eventually I picked the first one up on the WiiU, loved it, then the third one, and also loved it. Never played X or the DLCs though.
That video was very interesting! I watched it on TV and came back now just to comment this. I also gave XC a chance and I loved absolutely everything about it, except the fighting system :( it got so frustrating having all these game over screens so I stopped playing I have no idea if I'll ever buy the game again, but your video really motivated me to! I wish that video got more views, you really deserve that
I really love 3, but overall I think 1 is still my favorite. The story of 3 gets a tad bit messy by the end, but I still thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. 3 probably has the best gameplay. And I thought Future Redeemed was even better, and a really nice conclusion to the series as a whole! But I've basically just accepted that nothing will surpass my first playthrough of the original, it just has a special magic to it that nothing else can match for me personally
Wow why are your feelings towards Xenoblade 2 WORD FOR WORD exactly the same as mine? Didn't really like the characters overall but love Zeke, hated the gatcha mechanic, but still believe it has beautiful world, probably the prettiest of the 3, and the soundtrack with this series never disappoints.
I've only played the first game on the Wii and loved every second of it thinking to myself how in the world did such is large game able to play on the Wii I'm saving up for a switch OLED so I can hunt down and play the rest of them I hope one of these days X will make it to switch
I think I have the exact same reactions that you did before you gave it a chance. Honestly theres been a few times I've almost tried the original but decided not to. Maybe that will change with 3 coming out and the influx of news about it. This video definitely swayed me towards trying it tho.
I think the fact that my first experience with xenoblade was seeing my sister play xenoblade 2 on the tv and watching some of the honest to god weirdest, creepiest cutscenes I’ve literally ever seen play out in front of me has kinda screwed me over from ever wanting to touch the franchise. I’m at the point now in life where I really can’t see myself dedicating that much time to a Singleplayer game, even if I love all the music and world building I’ve seen through trailers and whatnot. Great video tho! If one day I ever pick up/steal my sisters copy of Xenoblade DE or 3 (never touching 2 with a 10 ft pole) I’ll hopefully have the same revelation you did!
Yup I totally understand the reaction to the stuff in 2, there's some really creepy stuff in there. Thanks for giving this video a chance tho, I really appreciate it!
I enjoyed this video as someone has also never played Xenoblade because I'm unsure if I'll enjoy the combat. You've given me a lot to think about. Maybe I'll give it a try.
I could never understand the battle system in the original Xenoblade Chronicles. It's kept me from playing beyond Gaur Plain, I just can't understand how to play it. Xenoblade Chronicles X, on the other hand, I've beaten 6 times and keep playing even though the online component was taken down. I doubt any game will ever top it.
I am trying to get into 3 as much as I was with 1 and 2. Its just the area themes and music arent near as good, and as an early 90's baby, that is what set the tone and emotion of games and still does for me today. Been itching to give it a go and start over. I think I got like 35 hours in my first time and stopped.
(Long story incoming) I actually came to the series from the other side, while still being resistant to starting it. My experience with Xenoblade goes all the way back to Project Rainfall, the campaign to get Xenoblade 1, Pandora's Tower, and The Last Story localized for the West. I was a part of that campaign, and I got all three games when they were finally brought over. I think Xenoblade 1 was the first one I started. I played a few minutes of it, was turned off by the voices and didn't understand how the game worked, and that was the last I played of it. I have still never touched Pandora's Tower to this day, but I want to give it a good shot sometime. The Last Story was the one game that I really dove into, and really enjoyed, but even that one I never got around to finishing. I grew up playing RPGs like the Final Fantasy series, Pokemon, Golden Sun, and in my early adult life began playing through the Tales series. But as I've gotten older, my attention with longer games has started to fade. I'm more reluctant to start something that I know is going to be several dozen hours long, because it's going to take that much more effort to stick with it to the end, and I've got a job and decided to go back to college, so my free time is kind of at a premium. My brother started Xenoblade 1 on his own time closer to when the game first came out, and while he's still never finished it, he's played the first several chapters over and over and even with that has already developed such a love of the game that he begged me for YEARS to play it. I never really kept up with the series after Project Rainfall, and time passed as the series continued. And then Xenoblade 3 was released, and I started seeing glowing reviews and hype for the game EVERYWHERE, and it finally got me a little curious about trying it out. I was still hesitant because I'd always heard that the games were long, and of course RPGs are kinda infamous for usually being 60+ hours to beat. But I remembered walking in, seeing my brother playing the first game now and then, when he'd show me some of the characters and the affinity chart and some of the sidequests and combat, and I remembered hearing that the first game had gotten a remaster on the Switch, so I caved in and finally bought XB1 Definitive Edition. I was enjoying getting to know the general gameplay during the beginning of the game, but when THAT scene happened with Metal Face as the "inciting incident", I immediately got hooked and couldn't put the game down for anything. Completely fell in love with it, with the characters and the combat and the world. My favorite zone of the game is Eryth Sea at night, during a meteor shower. One of the most beautiful things I've seen in a game. I've got dozens of screenshots on my Switch just of that sky. I'd go out of my way just to return to Eryth Sea and take it in again and again. But I beat the game and my mind was blown, and I knew I had to continue my journey through the other games. I knew that Xenoblade 2 kinda seemed to be the black sheep of the series, and me being the contrarian that I am, always the one preferring the things that everyone else hates, knew that I'd at least find something to like about it. I knew my brother had not only the first game, but also Xenoblade X and Xenoblade 2, so the very next day after beating the first game, I borrowed Xenoblade 2 from him. I fell in love with the game literally the instant I started playing it, and as much as I adored Xenoblade 1, I loved Xenoblade 2 even more. Oh yeah, the game is far from technically perfect and it has so many flaws, but it's also got so much heart and earnestness. And it's also got Nia, my favorite character in the series, and one of my favorite characters of any media. And likewise, Xenoblade 2 is not only my favorite game in the series, but also one of my favorite games of all time. And Rex! Rex is such a good kid. And when he gets beaten down, I can't help but totally feel for the guy. This game beats him down so hard, but he just takes it. I will never forget the image of him crying into a bowl of soup. He gets knocked down, but every time, he takes a bit to gather himself, gets back up and keeps going. I totally understand why so many people don't like it, but I swear this game was made for me. To me, it's perfect. Anyway, enough gushing. After finishing Xenoblade 2, it was finally time for me to start the third game, the main reason I finally decided to give the series a shot in the first place. Obviously, the game is amazing and I love it. There's a major sequence in like... what, about 2/3 to 3/4 through the game, that just hits you so hard. Almost no other piece of media has made me cry as hard as that bit got me. But as much as I loved the game, it still never managed to overtake Xenoblade 2 for me. I've still never gotten around to started Xenoblade X (I hear it's not as story-driven as the numbered games, so I can't help being a little less interested), but I definitely want to play it sometime because it's part of one of my all-time favorite series. But with the recently announced Switch version, come March I'll finally start it and experience a whole new Xenoblade game.
I've never been able to get into very Japanese games, basically the closest I've ever gotten was playing about three quarters of MGS V, but for some reason keep being tempted by this.
Honestly, 2 is the only one in the trilogy that has that kind of tone. 1 and 3 both have very serious, sometimes outright disturbing themes in them, like 1 having themes of gnosticism, and dealing with the fallout of severe trauma, while 3 has MULTIPLE straight-out suicides. 2 definitely has very shounen-esque themes, but it also does cut deep when it wants to. It's just a shame that the game does such a bad job at explaining its mechanics.
NH, I loved your video. By the way, What is the song you used in your outro?? I love that song, but can't find it anywhere, If I remember correctly it's from Wii Sports or Wii Sports Resort, please help 😢
11:12 man... We litteraly had the same tought at this moment! I played the original on wii and never was interested in Xc2 because it felt so different than the original and that I didn't had a switch at the time. (I was interested in XCX tough but I never had a WiiU so I never played this game yet) It's only this year that I got a switch and decided to try XC3 to see how the franchise had become. It was also a surprise to see that the game I loved so much but tought I was the only one to know got three sequel and became successful. And now i'm a big fan of the whole franchise. But for 10 year, I was just a fan of the first game and I was like a boomer saying that I was there from the beginning and that the first game would never be topped. Now I don't know how monolith soft could do better than XC3 that is the first videogame that made me cry
I started xc2 ... and didn't click with it and put it aside for 8 months... but then somehow I got back to it ... and man did I click with it... I loved it... Recently finished XC3 also awesome awesome games... Will start xc1 soon :D best series I have played so far !
I remember I too didn't like it at first as a friend showed it to specifically xenoblade 2 since I couldn't understand it but than it came to my attention again thanks to chuggaconroy and after seeing his enthusiasm I gave the game and series a shot and it quickly became my favorite series in just a few hours in the first one and now i have all of them
When you go back to X, remember that most of the "story" is lore thats unlocked through the side missions. Do all the normal and affinity missions as you get them and look up guides on the combat, cause it has some of the best and fastest combat in the franchise, but it does take a lot to get into it. I recommend just looking up a list of top builds and choosing one that sounds interesting. I personally recommend the Full Metal Jager class first and then the big sword class, cause mastering a class lets you use it's weapons while in another class, and big sword plus dual guns has one of the most straightforward paths to doing tons of damage and has an arts that makes you near immortal. Seriously, ghost walker is a God send for players who don't want a PhD in the combat mechanics to survive late game battles. Wow, forgetting the names of most of the arts and classes I wanted to recommend. I think it's finally time for my replay too. Side note, highly recommend just exploring the entire world on foot as much as you can before unlocking your skell. It's the best way to learn and appreciate the world. Just abuse the sprint jumping to stealth through high level areas, it's worth it for the new area EXP boost you get and if you choose the pathfinder team you can upgrade your mechanic level fast just finding all the probe points and maximize your fast travel map for later on in the playthrough. Very useful. Just remember to switch teams after you unlock most of the probes, cause other divisions that gain points for things like killing monsters or doing missions will be more useful after that point. Btw, the skills menu you didn't understand from Xenoblade 1 is basically a list of passive stat and effect buffs for your characters. There are 5 total trees, all characters have 2 unlockable from late game side quests. For the most part, just look for skills that offer stat buffs you want, I always go for EXP and AP bonus buffs first. Other than that, selecting a branch will cause the SP you earn from battles to apply into that selected branch, and all of the branches have their own star that you only get by selecting that branch. It might be increased strength, magic, agility, defense, or even something like crit rate or block rate. Can be really handy if you ever have trouble with the combat to see if one branch will give you a buff that would make the challenge a lot easier. For most characters, this would be whatever boosts your agility, cause agility is the most powerful stat in the game
So, the story, music, art, etc. all meant I should LOVE the first game. But... I really really hated the battle system. Any advice? Should I skip to 2 or 3? Or is the battle system the same?
2 is good for its story and art, though I’ll admit it does take a while to get into, but for me I loved it, I do recommend playing 2 before playing 3 to get the full story. That or you can watch a lore video.
Lol. Also. That menu in Xenoblade 1 is for passive skills you can inherit from another party member. Like if Shulk and Reyn fight together a lot, shulk can equip some of Reyn’s passive skills (so long as you have an empty spot with the same shape). It’s weird I know. Haha.
I used to dislike anime a lot because it was weirding me out (My friends sometimes showed me "Anime WTF" videos from that one channel that collects the most ridicolous scenes from animes). Then about half-way through 2018 I got really bored because I had nothing to do. Sat down and watched some old Nintendo directs. Saw XC2. Was like "Hmm this looks cool but I'm not sure I'd like it. It also looks super anime". After 1 or 2 weeks of contemplation I picked it up and played it. Don't get me wrong I got very weirded out several times playing this game but after finishing chapter 1 at 2am one night I could not put the game down. I had to know how it all played out so the akward anime tropes, gacha and field skills never stopped me from playing. Now looking back after playing all 3 main titles I still love XC2 to death and it will probably forever be my favorite. Obviously I'd rather play XC3 a 3rd time than XC2 a 5th time simply because it's much more polished and has better chapters overall but to me it doesn't quite reach the same heights as the second half of XC2. Well it does for about 3 hours but XC2 was just amazing from chapter 7 until the end and everytime I go back and watch let's plays or streams of that game I remember just how good it and it's OST were. I totally understand everyone who dislikes XC2 and I kinda hate it for weirding a lot of my friends out of giving the series a chance but after watching countless reviews, playthroughs, theory-videos and video-essays I still come back and find new meanings behind certain cutscenes or gestures. This game is just incredible.
Maybe I'll take a look into these games. I enjoy playing pokemon but thats as far as I go into RPG. I still have a large backlog to get through like Prime 2 & 3, Majoras mask, Twilight Princess, skyward sword, Breath of the Wild, Oddesy, and a lot of others
My journey was very similar to yours. I have just recently finished the DLC of Xenoblade 3, wrapping up my journey for the time being, until Xenoblade X: Definitive Edition comes out next year, at least. I can say for certain my thoughts of the series are similar to yours. Like you, I'm not a big fan of RPG's. I like Pokemon, but an RPG generally has to have a very good story for me to get invested in it at all. Otherwise I find them repetitive and boring in their combat and overall gameplay. I went into Xenoblade because I heard that the series has more of a focus on story than other Nintendo games, and seeing people's praise of them, I was intrigued. So I started with XC:DE. (minor spoilers ahead for XC1-3, though I tried to keep it to a minimum). Xenoblade 1 was amazing, I loved the scale and worldbuilding maybe the most out of any game in the trilogy. The story and characters were great, I loved the villains too even if some like Metal Face aren't actually that deep of a character. One of the villains later on, though? Peak. I won't spoil but, so that others who've played know who I'm talking about, I will say that he has a great motivation for revenge and it was fantastic how the story was explained through him. I think he's still a bit of a problematic villain for some obvious reasons, but he plays his part in the story well, at least. One major complaint I had with this game was the huge level spike near the end of the game. I was mostly blowing my way through this game for the story, so it's largely my fault, but I actually set it to Casual mode for the last few bosses, and beat the final boss at level 74, lol. The Extra Story in DE was great, I understand why a lot of people didn't like it but it felt like a natural continuation of the story for me. Not to mention it also leads into XC3. Side note: you are not alone at all either, I have no idea how Affinity works even after finishing the game and Extra Story. Xenoblade 2 was... well, it was Xenoblade 2. I don't have a lot of good things to say about this game and honestly it's one of my least favorite games ever. I won't call it a bad game, how could it be with so many people loving it? I just have to accept that it really wasn't for me, but despite how often I bash this game, at the end of the day, I'm glad I played it. Now that I've got (most of) my complaining out of the way, I want to talk about things XC2 does really well. Combat for one, I found overly confusing can be genuinely fun once you understand it. While I found the DLC (Torna's) combat better than the base game, that's just me. The story I didn't really like all that much, a good amount of the characters either, but the villains? The villains, I have to admit, are some of the best in the trilogy. Overall, I liked Torna much more than XC2's base game. It gives much-needed context to the story while also giving villains and protagonists alike a surprising amount of depth which made me appreciate the base game more to the point I plan on replaying it someday to see if it's really as bad as I thought, this time on Japanese-dub, lol. I'm glad it exists, if for anything that Monolith learned from (what I saw as) their mistakes. Xenoblade 3 is probably my favorite out of the whole trilogy. It definitely has its problems, villains are probably the weakest in this game in particular, with a few exceptions (fans know who I'm talking about), but I still enjoyed them a lot. Moebius D was one of my favorite villains even if he was essentially Metal Face 2. He just managed to steal the show, like Metal Face, whenever he was on-screen and had one of the best villain introductions I've ever seen. Combat is fantastic, it's definitely the best of both worlds (pun absolutely intended). It looks and can be as complicated, (like XC2) or as simple (like XC1) as you'd like it to be. I'll admit, I wasn't a fan of the class-switch mechanic at first and thought it might ruin my experience of the game. I left the game after about a 60-hour playthrough and can confidently say it was one of my favorite combat mechanics of any video game I've played. It kept the combat from getting too stale and forced you to be a lot more strategic in your approach to fights, something I enjoyed. I actually liked this game's soundtrack overall a lot better than the other two games (Moebius battle theme in particular). I could gush about everything I love about XC3 but I'll leave it at it being my favorite out of the trilogy. Its DLC was great, too, but I must admit that I like the base game more. At the end of it all, I'm proud to be a Xenoblade fan and I can't wait for Xenoblade X Definitive Edition either! I hear the story is weak in that game compared to the others, but regardless I'm sure I'll enjoy it anyway. Even if this series is a bit hit-or-miss with me and despite my love/hate relationship with XC2 in particular, I absolutely adore it. It's definitely not my favorite Nintendo franchise (that spot goes to Metroid, my beloved), but it's definitely at least top 3 now. Sorry for the wall of text, lol. If anyone made it this far, thanks for reading!
I remember back in the day watching the trailer for Monado: Beginning of the World, and being so excited! For the longest time I wasn’t able to find it. Until one day I was able to find it on a new up and coming website, “Amazon” and played the poop out of it. Later on when the Wii U came out, I was beyond excited for Xenoblade X! Then when Shulk was “leaked” for smash Bros, all my friends were excited to see my reaction. Xenoblade was always a special world full of special characters, so to see Shulk interact with Link and Marth was awesome!
Personally I don't think you need to play 1 and 2 to enjoy the third game, as these games are so big that each one is kind of a commitment to get through. I think 3 is a great place to start as it's probably my personal favorite. And yeah I'm pretty interested in playing Persona 5 on Switch!
Even creator says that you dont need to play previous games because its standalone story with beggining and ending but its better to play from first game to the third entry
I have a feeling Pokémons dated rpg system makes a lot of people ignore much higher quality more innovative rpgs. If you don't like rpgs and believe they're all similar to Pokémon. I would highly recommend playing one outside the usual Final Fantasy, Pokémon or the like.
I'm working through the first game now and agree with all your positives. The combat is cool in concept, but doesn't really grab in execution. Most fights go on for way too long, and often I can turn away and let my team finish a fight while I do something else. I only really have 2 things that bother me in the game. The time of day is again a cool concept, but annoying in practice when they don't tell you in the quest when characters show up to interact with. And digging through the affinity maze is sooooo poorly done that I don't bother. So I do everything, go back to a hub and skip time until quest markers show up. This is tedious and shouldn't exist in a game of that age. The other is the drop rates. I've looked up where to get items for colony 6 because they sure won't explain locations well. Then I wander through Makna forest for hours while doing other quests, trying to get a fossil and do not find a single one. That is the worst example, but hardly the only one. Side quests are the only realistic way to level up so it is frustrating that they make you do so many and make it such an uninteresting time sink. But I do love the characters and story. on top of the visual, atmosphere, music, voice acting, etc. The annoyances are really annoying, but they don't ruin the rest of the game.
I wanna try xenoblade but I don’t wanna play it on my switch. I am one of those people that bought a switch and it just been sitting in the dock there since lunch don’t really ever touch it except for the occasional Mario kart and smash couple times a few years. I’m a pc player so it’s hard for me going back to lower resolution and 30fps.
I have tried to love this game and am still holding on to hope... I personally love the combat in Y's games just straight forward combat with power moves . The combat in xenoblade is really confusing and takes me out of the game . Your video gives me a new hope to achieve the love I want to have for these games....Time will tell. Have ya ever played Y's VIII Lacrimosa of Dana ? They aren't as graphically impressive but they are really fun to play , the combat is awesome. Anyways thanks for sharing this .
Ironically some of the most simple combat in the series is in xc3 to learn, but that's mainly just because every game has so many different systems. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the fastest combat in the series but you wouldn't know that via the tutorials in game which effectively do nothing while also overloading you with information.. there's a lot of video guides out there though to help you understand the combat of each game if you needed a visual. Chuggaconroy or Enel both have deep guides for most games for reference. To sum it up loosely, all games have some attacks that have positional bonuses based on where you're standing relative to the enemy. Xc1 is a time based cooldown to use attacks (arts). Xc2 is auto attacks recharge on attacks (arts) but you can abuse the auto attack by moving slightly after each hit to make something go from like 15 seconds worth of auto attacks to 3 seconds. And Xc3 combines both cooldown styles but removed the auto attack abuse so "cancelling" (aka starting another art right after landing a hit) is the main way to recharge the auto attack arts instead. But yeahhhh I'm not gonna blame you for finding the combat confusing cause the tutorials in the first 2 games aren't the best, and xc2 is so complex and basically doesn't even have tutorials.. but once you learn the combat systems they can be pretty fun and engaging. Hope you've given any of the games a shot since you wrote this comment, it's worth it!
I started with the franchise's worst possible title: Xenoblade Chronicles 3D for New 3DS. It's a miracle that this game is on New 3DS, and I was engaged to buy it at the time, but when you compare this version to the other ones available, it's basically trash. I started to actually like the series with Xenoblade 3 and then the Xenoblade Definitive Edition, and so I realized that the games are much better than I thought they were.
My experience with XC was with the original on Wii. I picked it up because of all the hype but hated the gameplay back then although I enjoyed everything else it had going for it. I absolutely hate the art direction for XC 2 it just felt like a weeb game seeing it back then but I only recently (like last week recently) started playing XC 2 since it was on sale and I gotta say… this is some of the best stuff I’ve played in YEARS. The feeling I get playing this was something I only really got from FF7 classic and FFX. Please if you’re an avid enjoyer of golden era square or even just an enjoyer of RPGs don’t let the weeny graphics put it off for you it’s a genuine masterpiece and I can confidently say this series is the window to that long lost golden era of RPG greatness we just don’t get anymore.
I was skeptical when I bought the game. But when I first started the game I was shocked by the gameplay and its graphic. It's beautiful visual. It's almost as good as FF gameplay and arts. I hope I dont get overwhelmed by the vast things to do in the game
I’ve been a huge jrpg fan for most of my life starting with Final Fantasy 6 and 7, and I want to like this series. I’ve had to restart the first game multiple times because I play for several hours and get bored and pulled to something else. I want to make myself finish the first game. And whenever I see clips of any of the games I feel drawn to play them, but there’s something about them that don’t grab me. I definitely don’t like the battle systems. I’m going to give it another shot though. I’m hoping if I get far enough the story will grab me.
I'm going to be THAT guy. Super Smash Bros doesn't really potray the fighters of their respective games very well outside of references. Shulk is an obvious case but also characters like Roy and Pit in their respective games are nothing like how they are portrayed in Super Smash Bros. Not even by a little bit.
I love this video because it feels similar to me. I was always interested by the hype but turned off by some of the things I saw with combat and such. I actually tried the first game on the 3ds first and while I thought the world and story was cool, I wasn’t a fan of the combat and struggled with the difficulty so I dropped it around ch 6. I thought maybe the issue was the system so I borrowed X from a friend on Wii U and gave it a try but still couldn’t get into it. It was actually XC2 which got me into the series, because while some of the super anime-ish tropes seemed cheesy to me the world of XC2 with the titans being continents, blade customization, and vibrant design of the world seemed really appealing. It took a while for the combat to click even though everything else was actually really exciting, but once the combat did click and I figured out how to really take advantage of the many systems (far into the game and after lots of guides online) it was super satisfying to master and I really got it. That gave me the push to get back into XC1 and eventually try XC3 and I actually am in the camp where the second is my favorite, probably just cause it was my starting point. Especially once I got past where I had already played up to in XC3D, Xenoblade definitve was a ton of fun and made me appreciate the series. I don’t think this is an easy series to get into, but it was worth the time of pushing myself to enjoy it.
Funny how it was the opposite for me, I started with XC1 and loved it, then picked up XCX and was so bored the whole time that when XC2 came out it took me years to finally complete it because I was sure that they strayed away from XC1 for good. Instead, I learned that 2 has its highs and I became hooked again and had a blast with 3 😊
I definitely think Xenoblade 3 is a great starting place. It's probably the best in the series and you don't have to know anything about the previous games to enjoy the story
HOWEVER. counterpoint: it's the end of a 12-year saga, so lots of story details might be lost on fresh faces. XC2 might also be a good starting point, it's got a very similar battle style to 3. And if you really want all the answers in your face without being lost, I recommend 1. It's got a very different but easy to understand battle system. Plus, I definitely think it's the shortest of the 3 on switch at the moment. I guess it comes down to preference. 1: short game, but wildly different battle style 2: most "anime" of the three, longest, and has gatcha elements (nothing you need, but always more helpful) 3: most recent, but lots of story references will be lost on new players.
I just got xenoblade chronicles 3 never played anything like this I have about an hour in it and I’m on the fence I chose the easy combat mode and that’s fine just learning the art moves and that sort of thing is really making it complicated. Love collecting things hahah .
Haven't watched yet, but can I just be real and say that XC3 is not gripping me? Both 1 and 2 had me invested into the story at least a couple hours in, but I'm 10 into 3 and it's just not doing it. I don't really feel for the characters or combat or music. I have zero desire to explore. People have said just wait you'll get there but like, 10 hours is a pretty fair shot
Huh, that's interesting that it isn't doing it for you. I was pretty much hooked from the start, both story and music wise. It definitely gets more exciting the longer you play, but if you aren't hooked yet then maybe it won't happen. I'd give it a little more time, but if you don't end up liking it that's totally fine. Maybe you're just not a flute fan haha
If you really enjoyed 1 but had those problems with 2 (basically you and I have the same feelings towards both), I'd heavily recommend you to play Torna (2's DLC). It's basically all the good things from X2 with a cast more similar to X1, in a shorter format, with great development and with no gacha in sight It also has the tightest combat in the series for me, it's relatively simple but takes a lot from 2's, and it's waaaay quicker and more risk/reward oriented
Personally, I always thought that XC had a good soundtrack, cool looking characters, and a solid story from the bits I played of 1 and 3 but my only turn off is combat. The combat is hard to get into because of how it's structured. As much as I want to experience the story, it's drastically different from games I played.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Ladies and Gentlemen, we did it. We won another person over to our fandom
Yeah!!!
Yep
Ladies and Gentlemen,
WE GOT HIM!!!
Soon enough we'll be able to change the past and take the GOTY award we deserve
@@oradio10I don’t think 3 deserved GOTY over Elden Ring, but we 100% were robbed of Best Music. At least give it to Metal Hellsinger if you won’t give it to us 😩
I was the same way. I’m not a big fan of RPGs, not a fan of anime, and I tend to get scared away pretty easily by complex, strategic battle systems. But due to the games’ stories, big open worlds, and more active rather than turn based battles, Xenoblade somehow became one of my favorite series ever. I started with XCX on Wii U and have since played all the other games in the series. It’s definitely one of my favorites.
Bro, I was the same way, although I’m still not super into big RPGs yet, I’ve recently been interested in playing the Xenoblade games. I’ve had Xeno X for Wii U for a while but havent played, and Xeno 1 DE, Xeno 2 Torna, and Xeno 3 are all arriving in the mail shortly. Definitely gonna play Xeno DE for a while whenever I’m not playing Helldivers 2 😂.
I’ve been unable to figure it out but is Xeno 2 and Xeno 2 Torna two different games? Like should I get Xeno 2 and Xeno 2 Torna if I can?
I was also not a fan of anime until last July. Just sent it and now it’s pretty much all I watch lol.
@@giygas9305 Late reply and you probably already have your answer by this point (but maybe this answer can help someone else with the same question), but Torna is just a shorter DLC campaign for Xenoblade 2. If you get regular old Xenoblade 2, you can buy DLC packs for it, and Torna is the final one. But they also decided to confuse people and sell Torna separately, so if you buy Torna, it's just Torna and doesn't include Xenoblade 2. I recommend getting standard Xenoblade 2 and then after playing some ways into it and finding you're enjoying it, then get the DLC packs including Torna.
@@Road_to_Dawn ok I didnt know yet thanks
Xenoblade Chronicles doesn't have what I'd call a sad ending, yet I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried ugly tears when the credits rolled. I was overwhelmed with emotions over the wonderful game I just played and the characters I came to know and love. In that instant I knew that it was the best game I had ever played and it still is to this day. The second game is one I have several problems with, but the parts that are good rival or even surpass the best moments from the first game in my opinion. And now I'm about halfway done with the third game and so far this is the closest I've come to questioning whether I'm playing something that's better than Xenoblade 1. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest trilogies in gaming and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to you talk about your history with it (and Xenoblade X lol).
Glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks 3 might actually be better than the original!
Im so glad i gave XC2 a chance
Now having bought all of the Xenoblade games on switch, i can say its my favourite franchise of all time
Xc2 definitely has the biggest hurdles to jump over to be able to enjoy it but yeah it's amazing, I can't decide between xc2 or xc3 though cause the world building is more refined in the latter. Amazing series though.
I'm glad to hear that you gave this series a try. Xenoblade is my personal favorite Nintendo franchise ( with 2 being my favorite as of typing this comment ) and includes several of my favorite fictional characters ever ( specifically Elma, Nia, and Pyra/Mythra ) so it's always good to see more people take an interest in it.
From a diehard Xenoblade fan, this was an awesome video. Unfortunately I don’t think the community is as friendly as it once was, which you pointed out, but I think that might just be due to increasing popularity. I’m glad you got to experience all of 2, despite its flaws; personally, I’m okay with the over-the-top anime stuff but sometimes I wish it wasn’t there just because people tend to pre-judge you if you say you like Xenoblade at all (probably bc that’s all they’ve heard about Xenoblade)
If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to look into the lore of the series, it’s very well thought out and meticulously crafted. Future Redeemed really was the cherry on top of the peak fiction (for me) cake.
Yeah, 2 really did create a lot of prejudice from non-Xenoblade fans with their design direction and God awful voice directing. Even inside the community, there's more than enough backlash at it. I try but I kinda can't get over a grudge I've got towards 2 for creating that reputation for the franchise, but I still love the overall franchise, despite my issues with 2
Going from thinking Pokémon is too complicated to being a Xenoblade trilogy fan is quite the transformation. Glad ya found more things to enjoy. Thanks for the content
Xenobalde changes people perspective of the world and gaming, love the franchise so much! ♥
I had actually always loved Xenoblade but 3 disappointed me at first. While I liked it, it wasn't as incredible as I expected it to be. However, around November of 2022, I played it some more after having stopped after the ending and I soon learned to love it for what it is, and not for what I wanted it to be, a Xenoblade 1 and 2 crossover, instead of a new Xenoblade title and world. Besides, Future Redeemed came after, reaching and surpassing all my wildest expectations. At this point, I don't feel the need to compare them, and while I believe my favorite is 3, they are all masterpieces with their own pros and cons and the trilogy as a whole is incredible. :)
It's funny something similar happened to me with X2, after playing X1 I was amazed and had high expectations for the 2nd and when I finally played it I felt disappointed by its excessive anime humor, weird designs for certain characters and its cringe moments, but giving it a second play, there were several moments that made me smile (especially with Zeke and Nia) its world and its views are beautiful, some of the best in the series I dare say, its music is my favorite video game playlist, its gameplay despite being very slow at the beginning is fun in later hours and its in-depth story is beautiful.
I've already played the entire main trilogy and the truth is I don't know if I have a favorite Xenoblade because I love them all despite the flaws of each installment, because if you look at each one as a whole and what they did is that they are all perfect
I have a very similar story to how you lost progress from a power outage! I had Xenoblade 1 on Wii way back in the day, and I never made it to Colony 6 - I lost multiple hours of progress when my Wii shut off. So I just never touched the game again and didn't really pay any mind to newer Xenoblade releases.
Last month I picked up the Definitive Edition on switch for some nostalgia, and it's quickly become one of my favorite games ever. I'm maybe about halfway through, and I love everything about the game. I'll definitely be picking up 2 and 3 after I beat it.
This is the problem with many Nintendo fans, they are scared to try new games and miss out on some of the best gaming experiences
I think Im opposite from that Im new fan buyed the Switch a d played on it like for 4 years and I'm still trying new games and brands, now I want to start Xenoblade previously started playing Mario + Rabbids and Splatoon I love these games and Im happy that they win best steategy and best multplauer at the game awards, still sadly xenoblade even didnt win best soundtrack (I hear something from xenoblade series and I liked it much more than generic soundtrack without emotions in other nominated games), Im not saying that they dont they deserved goty, but they are much more popular so this is obvious that they win sadly, but nomination is big distinction so im happy for xenoblade too
I've never related to someone so much. I never thought I would meet someone else who was never a fan of rpgs, tried the xenoblade series on a whim, loved the first one, liked the second one despite its many downsides (over the top anime aesthetic that I'm not a fan of for one), and immediately played the third one at launch and loved it
While the various games have no direct story connections, they have common thematic links and all sport the "Xeno" prefix, which Takahashi has variously described as a means of identifying his games and a symbolic representation of the series. But great video by Nintendo hero
But there are story connections tho. Not enough to make it necessary to play the games in order, but they're there
Chapter 10 of xenoblade 2 connects xenoblade 1 and 2 and the world of xenoblade 3 is a fusion of xenoblade 1 and 2. Also I think xenoblade x is what would've happened if klaus didn't do the experiment but I'm not sure if it's confirmed.
The recent DLC just debunked this post lol.
Awesome video. I enjoyed it a lot and as a Xenoblade Chronicles fan, it makes me happy to hear your opinion on the game and how you came to play it. I was very similar at the beginning, it just look too complicated, but when I got it on the 3DS I fell in love with the world and soundtrack. Learning the combat systems took a long time and for me to over come this I just grind to level up and that works for me and all the Xenoblade games.
I started playing Xenogears, then learned the same creator made others games like Xenosaga and Xenoblade which made me realize how I played xenoblade once and put it down when released because it was just not for me back then. Now that I’m mostly playing rpgs and story driven games I’m happy to say I got Xenoblade again and going to play it soon, super excited
More Nintendo fans and Nintendo RUclipsrs should try Xenoblade.
**cough** ARLO **cough**
Happy to see you’ve had such a positive turnaround on the series!
I started through ppl like Alpharad and my friends gushing about it, the music and when the Xeno 1 DE got announced, I just had to try. 2 can be a pain especially bc of bad tutorials BUT it has Zeke! >:)
Thank you for not being a total a hole about xc2; it is still my favorite after playing all three. I get the negatives, but people are way too hard on that game. I'm curious if you went back and played Torna. I think the combat in Torna is some of the best in the series.
I was wondering the same. I think OP would love Torna, because it gets rid of a lot of the frustrating or awkward stuff from XC2 and has some of the best characters in the whole series!
Best series tbh. You really can't understand how good the games are without playing them for yourself, I was super hesitant but played xc2 first before the DE of the first game was announced, and have spent well over 600 hours in xc2 to say the least.. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 definitely has the highest hurdles to jump to be able to enjoy the game for what it is. The voice acting was inconsistent and the art design.. was a thing, and the tutorials are abysmal. But oh my goodness, the story in XC2 just hit me so hard, the game definitely has its flaws, the lowest lows of the series, but some of the highest highs too. (And yeah the gacha system was just a thing so no playthrough of the game felt the same, that helped me appreciate it more but yeah definitely tedious) The combat of xc2 though was extremely fast paced if you know what you're doing and often the most engaging combat in thr series, though with terrible tutorials you basically have to rely on others to understand it, or play for 200+ hours and maybe pick up what's happening, but just watch Chuggaconroy's tips and save yourself the struggle lol.
But yeah I feel everyone will at least connect to one of the games regardless, which is why I'll always believe its the best series in rpgs. Like how a lot of people love xc1 but imo its the lowest of the series to me, we all have different opinions on the series, but together we grow just loving the concepts of the games existing altogether. They'll teach you so many life lessons worth keeping true, and the series as a whole has definitely helped me appreciate life as a whole more.
I once thought Xenoblade wasn't for me, but man, i couldn't more wrong. Played the DE when it launched and it was incredible. Played XC2 and loved even more. And when XC3 came out, became my favorite game of all time!
This franchise deffinitely deserves more love!
Great video! Xenoblade 2 is my personal favorite but honestly they are all so good I can understand why someone would choose any of the games as their favorite. But I'm curious, did you play Torna the Golden Country? I feel Torna really does an excellent job at pushing Xenoblade 2 and makes a great game even better.
I actually haven't played Torna for myself, but I've heard a lot about it. I'll definitely have to check it out!
@@NintendoHero I recommend torna but it has pretty bad pacing since it locks the story behind you completing a lot of side quests.
uff torna is wild please play it@@NintendoHero
Xenoblade is my favorite thing in the world. 1 was this monolithic (lol) piece of media in my life that could never be surpassed, and 2 and X were very close second and third favorites, only because of nostalgia for 1s story and how attached to that world i was. But holy shit dude. Now 3s come along retaining everything i love about xenoblade 1 2 and X and distilled it down into core streamlined elements that make it infinitely easier to get hooked on immediately. Side quests are all easily found at any time. None of them are throwaway grinds with no story, all being written to feel like a fun side episode to enhance the characters, setting and culture. Obtaining equipment is streamlined and if ypu cant afford what you need next just drop some nopon coins on it. The blade system that made 2s combat the best up to now in the series got massively reworked into the hero/class system where all are based on hero quests instead of a tedious RNG grind so every player can realistically get every optional party member on a casual playthrough. Character switching has saved us from the AI refusing to cooperate. The list goes on and on and i feel like even when the honeymoon phase with this game dulls down it will likely be the first thing to ever surpass my undying love for xenoblade 1, and that says a lot, cuz I FUCKING L O V E Xenoblade 1. It just feels so unreal being able to call this a trilogy now, because ive loved xenoblade since it was just a stand alone Wii game. I first heard about it watching Chuggaaconroy playing it in the background of a Stephens Vlog showing off the big ice slide ramp on valak mountain, and after hearing it was this illusive hard to obtain game released in a limited print at gamestop, being the penniless child i was, decided to watch a lets play from some random small channel who i will never be able to recall. But i was lucky enough at the very least to have watched the story start to finish with 0 knowledge of anything happening, and even just watching a lets play i could tell this game was incredibly special and it even made me cry several times. Shulks screams over the death of fiora still get me to this day and im a pretty dense person so every plot twist, even the slightly obvious ones shook me to my core. The moment i sae a local gamestop had a used copy i dragged my dad to gamestop and used most of the money i had at the time to get it asap. I think at that time I was a freshman about 15 years old. To think this strange, niche jrpg from the wii i fell in love with, has now become a household name in the gaming community with 4 full games, 1, soon to be 2 expansion side games, and a complete first trilogy under its belt now, just blows my mind and makes me endlessly excited for the next saga to be introduced. Especially now that 3 is selling so well, it marks a very hopeful future where monolith with a higher budget than ever can have the freedom to fully realize some of their greatest ambitions yet. This even opens the door for something like a definitive edition of X since in the past takehashi cited budget limitations being the cause for the lack of a port to switch. It was so much to remaster on top of there being extra cut content they couldnt make happen for the wiiu release which they wanted to make sure a remaster would include so it just wasn't a resonable priority for them. Basically what im saying is that xenoblade just makes me so happy and i just cant shut up about it whenever i have the chance.
I remember seeing an advert for Xenoblade back when it was being released for the Wii. I wouldn't have described myself as a JRPG fan back then but there was something about the game itself that appealed to me. I couldn't quite decide if it was the openness of the game or the aesthetic. Unfortunately, I didn't get to buy it when it was released in the US. I had to pay the scalper price of 80 bucks on the second hand market in 2013. Within the first hour of playing the story had me fully invested. I rigged the sound from the composite cables on the Wii to my JVC HIFI setup from the 90s and blasted the music through my Bose speakers. I spent hundreds of hours experimenting with the combat and trying to decide which characters had the best synergy for certain strategies.
Xenoblade X also has amazing game play and if you manage to grasp the mechanics and understand it, you can pull off some incredible feats. There are videos out there of people using their character to take down a monster with over 100m HP in like 30 seconds solo! You have to give the music another shot too. Given your description of how much of the game you played, you definitely missed out on some bangers in the other continents of Mira. Much like you, I lost my original save file. I was about 80% done with the survey of the planet when my external HDD for the Wii U had a catastrophic failure. I was so angry I didn't pick the game up until 2022 when we learned of online play being shut down. I finished it then.
6:10
when you hear gaur plain : YOU REALLY FEELING IT
I just got my grad degree and got two months before I have to get a job. So during that time I'm grinding out these bad boys. I'm so hyped
I played X, played it once, then never touched it in months. Over a year later I picked it up and suddenly got addicted to it. Loved my experience with X and then started doing research on Xenoblade 3 after it got announced. I kept switching thoughts on if I would get the game or not. I decided to buy it on launch and I hold it now as one of my favorite games of all time. And I absolutely love this video
Just happened across this video and loved it. I'm a huge fan of the series, too, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. That ending for XC3, am I right?
I didn’t realize it, but I've kind of been a fan of Monolith Soft itself for a long time. Their previous "Xeno" games are ones I loved from PS2 (Xenosaga), and I still want to check out Xenogears from the SNES at some point. Their music and story are always on point, imo; and they seem to do a good job mixing up and tweaking tradition jrpg battle mechanics through each game. Though I bought it on Wii U, I never played through XCX because life happened; so I'm looking forward to going through the "remakster" on Switch (or Switch 2?) next year. Again, great video!
turned me into a believer for sure. never played any of them, decided to play 3 and that was that. did 3 2 1 and all DLCS within 3 months man was a great time. cant wait for X remake or a new one to come.
I was in a similar boat, moreso because I don't vibe with the type of JRPG Xenoblade falls under.
I tried stuff like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, not getting into it, but preferred games more akin to Pokemon and Fire Emblem.
I then saw someone on Twitter playing the first game for the first time and expressing how much they loved it. They also loved Pokemon and FE like me. So I gave it a try.
And now I'm playing the third game. 😂
OMG… your way to think was exactly like mine. And yesterday I started xenoblade 1 and dammm im loving it. Thanks for your vídeo!
I’m about 2 hours into definitive edition as my first entry and I’m a little bored but this vid has me hyped to play more
I have to thank smash and chuugaconroy's playthrough of XC2 for bringing me into this series. After which I bought a copy of 3 and absolutely loved it. Now recently I have bought copies of DE, XC2 and Torna. Currently playing 2 after which I'll play torna and DE. God I fucking love this series.
Also I believe that Xenoblade is the best the switch has to offer and no one can convince me otherwise.
I bought the 3DS in 2017 since I hadn't owned a handheld console since the PSP. Never did I realize that my favorite game ever would be on this tiny device, yet have such a massive world and story. I've become a Monolith Soft fan ever since.
If you thought pokemon was confusing, it's a miracle you were able to get into xenoblade. It took me 3 separate tries before the game finally clicked, and I mostly play rpgs
I picked up X the day it got released because it looked really epic, got burned out after 10 hours due to an overload of unexplained mechanics and terrible pasing, which made me resentful towards the future games too.
I eventually picked up XC2 out of boredom and I can't describe how good of a decision this was.
There's many flaws in this title, but all the things the game does well, it nears perfection in my eyes.
I don't think I'll ever play a game with a more touching story than the 2nd game, delivered by the best party of characters I've ever seen in a game.
I just got my copy of Definitive Edition, and will start the game today. What made me buy it was really the visuals and the story, but the combat system kind of scares me a little bit. I hope I'll enjoy it as much as you did!
Millick Meadows theme. So beautiful.
I rank Xenoblade as my favourite Nintendo series since Xenoblade 3 cemented it, I love Nintendo games for their focus on gameplay, but when Nintendo can strive for a good narrative, they often can strike the deepest. Xenoblade aims for both, and even compliment each other well, exploring those worlds wouldn’t be as investing to explore without the context of “scaling anatomy of dueling titans” for 1, “hopping across titanic aquatic creatures” in 2, and “trekking across a war-torn world of eternal suspension” in 3.
Still waiting on that damn X port/remaster
I had a weird experience with Xenoblade. Interesting story buckle up.
I bought the second game in a "buy two, get two free" deal on used games at my local GameStop along with Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Pokemon Sword, and Fire Emblem Warriors. I already loved Donkey Kong and wanted to get back into Pokemon. The other two I only knew about from Smash Bros (Pre Pyra/Mythra) and wanted to leave about.
When I finally popped Xenoblade in, I was hooked... Except when I got lost in Gormott... And Uraya. I indefinitely postponed my playthrough after getting stuck on the Malos fight.
Until one day I had the stange compusion to pick the game back up. And as I played, the game got better and better, eventually becoming one of my favorite games of all time.
When Xenoblade DE and Xenoblade 3 were announced... I didn't care. I had forgotten that Xenoblade was good actually. Eventually I picked the first one up on the WiiU, loved it, then the third one, and also loved it.
Never played X or the DLCs though.
Just picked back up my XC3 and remembered why I started playing. It’s a beauty of a game
That video was very interesting! I watched it on TV and came back now just to comment this. I also gave XC a chance and I loved absolutely everything about it, except the fighting system :( it got so frustrating having all these game over screens so I stopped playing
I have no idea if I'll ever buy the game again, but your video really motivated me to!
I wish that video got more views, you really deserve that
I hear that Definitive Edition have casual mode so everyone can beat the game easly its maybe less grindy and you dont need to take a lot side quests
A year later, have the thoughts settled? Did 3 end up delivering? Did it surpass 1? Did you play the story DLC?
I really love 3, but overall I think 1 is still my favorite. The story of 3 gets a tad bit messy by the end, but I still thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. 3 probably has the best gameplay. And I thought Future Redeemed was even better, and a really nice conclusion to the series as a whole! But I've basically just accepted that nothing will surpass my first playthrough of the original, it just has a special magic to it that nothing else can match for me personally
Wow why are your feelings towards Xenoblade 2 WORD FOR WORD exactly the same as mine? Didn't really like the characters overall but love Zeke, hated the gatcha mechanic, but still believe it has beautiful world, probably the prettiest of the 3, and the soundtrack with this series never disappoints.
Thank you for this video. It was encouraging. I’ve been trying to get through XC DE for a couple of years. Maybe I will get back into it.
I've only played the first game on the Wii and loved every second of it thinking to myself how in the world did such is large game able to play on the Wii I'm saving up for a switch OLED so I can hunt down and play the rest of them I hope one of these days X will make it to switch
I think I have the exact same reactions that you did before you gave it a chance. Honestly theres been a few times I've almost tried the original but decided not to. Maybe that will change with 3 coming out and the influx of news about it. This video definitely swayed me towards trying it tho.
This was beautiful, thanks for making it. Great editing. I hope you do ine on future redeemed when you're done. Maybe even play saga and gears too
I think the fact that my first experience with xenoblade was seeing my sister play xenoblade 2 on the tv and watching some of the honest to god weirdest, creepiest cutscenes I’ve literally ever seen play out in front of me has kinda screwed me over from ever wanting to touch the franchise. I’m at the point now in life where I really can’t see myself dedicating that much time to a Singleplayer game, even if I love all the music and world building I’ve seen through trailers and whatnot.
Great video tho! If one day I ever pick up/steal my sisters copy of Xenoblade DE or 3 (never touching 2 with a 10 ft pole) I’ll hopefully have the same revelation you did!
Yup I totally understand the reaction to the stuff in 2, there's some really creepy stuff in there. Thanks for giving this video a chance tho, I really appreciate it!
I enjoyed this video as someone has also never played Xenoblade because I'm unsure if I'll enjoy the combat. You've given me a lot to think about. Maybe I'll give it a try.
Welcome to the family brother
xenoblade chronicles will always be a special game to me.
I could never understand the battle system in the original Xenoblade Chronicles. It's kept me from playing beyond Gaur Plain, I just can't understand how to play it.
Xenoblade Chronicles X, on the other hand, I've beaten 6 times and keep playing even though the online component was taken down. I doubt any game will ever top it.
I am trying to get into 3 as much as I was with 1 and 2.
Its just the area themes and music arent near as good, and as an early 90's baby, that is what set the tone and emotion of games and still does for me today.
Been itching to give it a go and start over.
I think I got like 35 hours in my first time and stopped.
Came here to see if I should get into this series after Xenoblade X definitive edition was announced
(Long story incoming)
I actually came to the series from the other side, while still being resistant to starting it. My experience with Xenoblade goes all the way back to Project Rainfall, the campaign to get Xenoblade 1, Pandora's Tower, and The Last Story localized for the West. I was a part of that campaign, and I got all three games when they were finally brought over.
I think Xenoblade 1 was the first one I started. I played a few minutes of it, was turned off by the voices and didn't understand how the game worked, and that was the last I played of it. I have still never touched Pandora's Tower to this day, but I want to give it a good shot sometime. The Last Story was the one game that I really dove into, and really enjoyed, but even that one I never got around to finishing.
I grew up playing RPGs like the Final Fantasy series, Pokemon, Golden Sun, and in my early adult life began playing through the Tales series. But as I've gotten older, my attention with longer games has started to fade. I'm more reluctant to start something that I know is going to be several dozen hours long, because it's going to take that much more effort to stick with it to the end, and I've got a job and decided to go back to college, so my free time is kind of at a premium.
My brother started Xenoblade 1 on his own time closer to when the game first came out, and while he's still never finished it, he's played the first several chapters over and over and even with that has already developed such a love of the game that he begged me for YEARS to play it. I never really kept up with the series after Project Rainfall, and time passed as the series continued.
And then Xenoblade 3 was released, and I started seeing glowing reviews and hype for the game EVERYWHERE, and it finally got me a little curious about trying it out. I was still hesitant because I'd always heard that the games were long, and of course RPGs are kinda infamous for usually being 60+ hours to beat. But I remembered walking in, seeing my brother playing the first game now and then, when he'd show me some of the characters and the affinity chart and some of the sidequests and combat, and I remembered hearing that the first game had gotten a remaster on the Switch, so I caved in and finally bought XB1 Definitive Edition.
I was enjoying getting to know the general gameplay during the beginning of the game, but when THAT scene happened with Metal Face as the "inciting incident", I immediately got hooked and couldn't put the game down for anything. Completely fell in love with it, with the characters and the combat and the world. My favorite zone of the game is Eryth Sea at night, during a meteor shower. One of the most beautiful things I've seen in a game. I've got dozens of screenshots on my Switch just of that sky. I'd go out of my way just to return to Eryth Sea and take it in again and again. But I beat the game and my mind was blown, and I knew I had to continue my journey through the other games.
I knew that Xenoblade 2 kinda seemed to be the black sheep of the series, and me being the contrarian that I am, always the one preferring the things that everyone else hates, knew that I'd at least find something to like about it. I knew my brother had not only the first game, but also Xenoblade X and Xenoblade 2, so the very next day after beating the first game, I borrowed Xenoblade 2 from him. I fell in love with the game literally the instant I started playing it, and as much as I adored Xenoblade 1, I loved Xenoblade 2 even more. Oh yeah, the game is far from technically perfect and it has so many flaws, but it's also got so much heart and earnestness. And it's also got Nia, my favorite character in the series, and one of my favorite characters of any media. And likewise, Xenoblade 2 is not only my favorite game in the series, but also one of my favorite games of all time. And Rex! Rex is such a good kid. And when he gets beaten down, I can't help but totally feel for the guy. This game beats him down so hard, but he just takes it. I will never forget the image of him crying into a bowl of soup. He gets knocked down, but every time, he takes a bit to gather himself, gets back up and keeps going. I totally understand why so many people don't like it, but I swear this game was made for me. To me, it's perfect.
Anyway, enough gushing. After finishing Xenoblade 2, it was finally time for me to start the third game, the main reason I finally decided to give the series a shot in the first place. Obviously, the game is amazing and I love it. There's a major sequence in like... what, about 2/3 to 3/4 through the game, that just hits you so hard. Almost no other piece of media has made me cry as hard as that bit got me. But as much as I loved the game, it still never managed to overtake Xenoblade 2 for me.
I've still never gotten around to started Xenoblade X (I hear it's not as story-driven as the numbered games, so I can't help being a little less interested), but I definitely want to play it sometime because it's part of one of my all-time favorite series. But with the recently announced Switch version, come March I'll finally start it and experience a whole new Xenoblade game.
I've never been able to get into very Japanese games, basically the closest I've ever gotten was playing about three quarters of MGS V, but for some reason keep being tempted by this.
Honestly, 2 is the only one in the trilogy that has that kind of tone. 1 and 3 both have very serious, sometimes outright disturbing themes in them, like 1 having themes of gnosticism, and dealing with the fallout of severe trauma, while 3 has MULTIPLE straight-out suicides. 2 definitely has very shounen-esque themes, but it also does cut deep when it wants to. It's just a shame that the game does such a bad job at explaining its mechanics.
NH, I loved your video. By the way, What is the song you used in your outro?? I love that song, but can't find it anywhere, If I remember correctly it's from Wii Sports or Wii Sports Resort, please help 😢
Thanks! And the outro music is the menu theme from Wii Sports Resort: ruclips.net/video/dj694vuw94M/видео.html
11:12 man... We litteraly had the same tought at this moment! I played the original on wii and never was interested in Xc2 because it felt so different than the original and that I didn't had a switch at the time. (I was interested in XCX tough but I never had a WiiU so I never played this game yet) It's only this year that I got a switch and decided to try XC3 to see how the franchise had become. It was also a surprise to see that the game I loved so much but tought I was the only one to know got three sequel and became successful. And now i'm a big fan of the whole franchise. But for 10 year, I was just a fan of the first game and I was like a boomer saying that I was there from the beginning and that the first game would never be topped.
Now I don't know how monolith soft could do better than XC3 that is the first videogame that made me cry
Can you start with the latest one? Or do I have to go back to the first one on my switch?
Xenoblade is awesome, thanks for your wonderful video. Saludos desde México
I started xc2 ... and didn't click with it and put it aside for 8 months... but then somehow I got back to it ... and man did I click with it... I loved it... Recently finished XC3 also awesome awesome games... Will start xc1 soon :D best series I have played so far !
I remember I too didn't like it at first as a friend showed it to specifically xenoblade 2 since I couldn't understand it but than it came to my attention again thanks to chuggaconroy and after seeing his enthusiasm I gave the game and series a shot and it quickly became my favorite series in just a few hours in the first one and now i have all of them
When you go back to X, remember that most of the "story" is lore thats unlocked through the side missions. Do all the normal and affinity missions as you get them and look up guides on the combat, cause it has some of the best and fastest combat in the franchise, but it does take a lot to get into it.
I recommend just looking up a list of top builds and choosing one that sounds interesting. I personally recommend the Full Metal Jager class first and then the big sword class, cause mastering a class lets you use it's weapons while in another class, and big sword plus dual guns has one of the most straightforward paths to doing tons of damage and has an arts that makes you near immortal. Seriously, ghost walker is a God send for players who don't want a PhD in the combat mechanics to survive late game battles. Wow, forgetting the names of most of the arts and classes I wanted to recommend. I think it's finally time for my replay too.
Side note, highly recommend just exploring the entire world on foot as much as you can before unlocking your skell. It's the best way to learn and appreciate the world. Just abuse the sprint jumping to stealth through high level areas, it's worth it for the new area EXP boost you get and if you choose the pathfinder team you can upgrade your mechanic level fast just finding all the probe points and maximize your fast travel map for later on in the playthrough. Very useful. Just remember to switch teams after you unlock most of the probes, cause other divisions that gain points for things like killing monsters or doing missions will be more useful after that point.
Btw, the skills menu you didn't understand from Xenoblade 1 is basically a list of passive stat and effect buffs for your characters. There are 5 total trees, all characters have 2 unlockable from late game side quests. For the most part, just look for skills that offer stat buffs you want, I always go for EXP and AP bonus buffs first. Other than that, selecting a branch will cause the SP you earn from battles to apply into that selected branch, and all of the branches have their own star that you only get by selecting that branch. It might be increased strength, magic, agility, defense, or even something like crit rate or block rate. Can be really handy if you ever have trouble with the combat to see if one branch will give you a buff that would make the challenge a lot easier. For most characters, this would be whatever boosts your agility, cause agility is the most powerful stat in the game
So, the story, music, art, etc. all meant I should LOVE the first game. But... I really really hated the battle system. Any advice? Should I skip to 2 or 3? Or is the battle system the same?
2 is good for its story and art, though I’ll admit it does take a while to get into, but for me I loved it, I do recommend playing 2 before playing 3 to get the full story. That or you can watch a lore video.
Lol. Also. That menu in Xenoblade 1 is for passive skills you can inherit from another party member.
Like if Shulk and Reyn fight together a lot, shulk can equip some of Reyn’s passive skills (so long as you have an empty spot with the same shape).
It’s weird I know. Haha.
I used to dislike anime a lot because it was weirding me out (My friends sometimes showed me "Anime WTF" videos from that one channel that collects the most ridicolous scenes from animes).
Then about half-way through 2018 I got really bored because I had nothing to do. Sat down and watched some old Nintendo directs. Saw XC2. Was like "Hmm this looks cool but I'm not sure I'd like it. It also looks super anime".
After 1 or 2 weeks of contemplation I picked it up and played it. Don't get me wrong I got very weirded out several times playing this game but after finishing chapter 1 at 2am one night I could not put the game down. I had to know how it all played out so the akward anime tropes, gacha and field skills never stopped me from playing.
Now looking back after playing all 3 main titles I still love XC2 to death and it will probably forever be my favorite. Obviously I'd rather play XC3 a 3rd time than XC2 a 5th time simply because it's much more polished and has better chapters overall but to me it doesn't quite reach the same heights as the second half of XC2. Well it does for about 3 hours but XC2 was just amazing from chapter 7 until the end and everytime I go back and watch let's plays or streams of that game I remember just how good it and it's OST were.
I totally understand everyone who dislikes XC2 and I kinda hate it for weirding a lot of my friends out of giving the series a chance but after watching countless reviews, playthroughs, theory-videos and video-essays I still come back and find new meanings behind certain cutscenes or gestures. This game is just incredible.
Maybe I'll take a look into these games. I enjoy playing pokemon but thats as far as I go into RPG. I still have a large backlog to get through like Prime 2 & 3, Majoras mask, Twilight Princess, skyward sword, Breath of the Wild, Oddesy, and a lot of others
I couldn’t agree more with your opinion of XC2 , I felt just the same way you did
XCX is my favorite
My journey was very similar to yours. I have just recently finished the DLC of Xenoblade 3, wrapping up my journey for the time being, until Xenoblade X: Definitive Edition comes out next year, at least. I can say for certain my thoughts of the series are similar to yours. Like you, I'm not a big fan of RPG's. I like Pokemon, but an RPG generally has to have a very good story for me to get invested in it at all. Otherwise I find them repetitive and boring in their combat and overall gameplay. I went into Xenoblade because I heard that the series has more of a focus on story than other Nintendo games, and seeing people's praise of them, I was intrigued. So I started with XC:DE. (minor spoilers ahead for XC1-3, though I tried to keep it to a minimum).
Xenoblade 1 was amazing, I loved the scale and worldbuilding maybe the most out of any game in the trilogy. The story and characters were great, I loved the villains too even if some like Metal Face aren't actually that deep of a character. One of the villains later on, though? Peak. I won't spoil but, so that others who've played know who I'm talking about, I will say that he has a great motivation for revenge and it was fantastic how the story was explained through him. I think he's still a bit of a problematic villain for some obvious reasons, but he plays his part in the story well, at least. One major complaint I had with this game was the huge level spike near the end of the game. I was mostly blowing my way through this game for the story, so it's largely my fault, but I actually set it to Casual mode for the last few bosses, and beat the final boss at level 74, lol. The Extra Story in DE was great, I understand why a lot of people didn't like it but it felt like a natural continuation of the story for me. Not to mention it also leads into XC3. Side note: you are not alone at all either, I have no idea how Affinity works even after finishing the game and Extra Story.
Xenoblade 2 was... well, it was Xenoblade 2. I don't have a lot of good things to say about this game and honestly it's one of my least favorite games ever. I won't call it a bad game, how could it be with so many people loving it? I just have to accept that it really wasn't for me, but despite how often I bash this game, at the end of the day, I'm glad I played it. Now that I've got (most of) my complaining out of the way, I want to talk about things XC2 does really well. Combat for one, I found overly confusing can be genuinely fun once you understand it. While I found the DLC (Torna's) combat better than the base game, that's just me. The story I didn't really like all that much, a good amount of the characters either, but the villains? The villains, I have to admit, are some of the best in the trilogy. Overall, I liked Torna much more than XC2's base game. It gives much-needed context to the story while also giving villains and protagonists alike a surprising amount of depth which made me appreciate the base game more to the point I plan on replaying it someday to see if it's really as bad as I thought, this time on Japanese-dub, lol. I'm glad it exists, if for anything that Monolith learned from (what I saw as) their mistakes.
Xenoblade 3 is probably my favorite out of the whole trilogy. It definitely has its problems, villains are probably the weakest in this game in particular, with a few exceptions (fans know who I'm talking about), but I still enjoyed them a lot. Moebius D was one of my favorite villains even if he was essentially Metal Face 2. He just managed to steal the show, like Metal Face, whenever he was on-screen and had one of the best villain introductions I've ever seen. Combat is fantastic, it's definitely the best of both worlds (pun absolutely intended). It looks and can be as complicated, (like XC2) or as simple (like XC1) as you'd like it to be. I'll admit, I wasn't a fan of the class-switch mechanic at first and thought it might ruin my experience of the game. I left the game after about a 60-hour playthrough and can confidently say it was one of my favorite combat mechanics of any video game I've played. It kept the combat from getting too stale and forced you to be a lot more strategic in your approach to fights, something I enjoyed. I actually liked this game's soundtrack overall a lot better than the other two games (Moebius battle theme in particular). I could gush about everything I love about XC3 but I'll leave it at it being my favorite out of the trilogy. Its DLC was great, too, but I must admit that I like the base game more.
At the end of it all, I'm proud to be a Xenoblade fan and I can't wait for Xenoblade X Definitive Edition either! I hear the story is weak in that game compared to the others, but regardless I'm sure I'll enjoy it anyway. Even if this series is a bit hit-or-miss with me and despite my love/hate relationship with XC2 in particular, I absolutely adore it. It's definitely not my favorite Nintendo franchise (that spot goes to Metroid, my beloved), but it's definitely at least top 3 now. Sorry for the wall of text, lol. If anyone made it this far, thanks for reading!
I remember back in the day watching the trailer for Monado: Beginning of the World, and being so excited! For the longest time I wasn’t able to find it.
Until one day I was able to find it on a new up and coming website, “Amazon” and played the poop out of it. Later on when the Wii U came out, I was beyond excited for Xenoblade X! Then when Shulk was “leaked” for smash Bros, all my friends were excited to see my reaction.
Xenoblade was always a special world full of special characters, so to see Shulk interact with Link and Marth was awesome!
NOT RELATED TO THE COMMENT AT ALL BUT XENO MEANS FOREIGNER, so xeno blade is Foreign Blade, which means that it came from some other place
Do i need to play xenoblade 1 and 2 before 3?
And btw you have to try and play persona 5 royal it Evan comes to switch!
Personally I don't think you need to play 1 and 2 to enjoy the third game, as these games are so big that each one is kind of a commitment to get through. I think 3 is a great place to start as it's probably my personal favorite. And yeah I'm pretty interested in playing Persona 5 on Switch!
@@NintendoHero i would say playing 2 before 3 is waaay more important than playing 1 before 2
Even creator says that you dont need to play previous games because its standalone story with beggining and ending but its better to play from first game to the third entry
None of the games really require you to play the others to get a self contained story. Playing the others are a bonus.
I have a feeling Pokémons dated rpg system makes a lot of people ignore much higher quality more innovative rpgs. If you don't like rpgs and believe they're all similar to Pokémon. I would highly recommend playing one outside the usual Final Fantasy, Pokémon or the like.
What about Torna?
Just got the definitive edition and I’m actually enjoying it didn’t think I would 😂
I'm working through the first game now and agree with all your positives. The combat is cool in concept, but doesn't really grab in execution. Most fights go on for way too long, and often I can turn away and let my team finish a fight while I do something else. I only really have 2 things that bother me in the game. The time of day is again a cool concept, but annoying in practice when they don't tell you in the quest when characters show up to interact with. And digging through the affinity maze is sooooo poorly done that I don't bother. So I do everything, go back to a hub and skip time until quest markers show up. This is tedious and shouldn't exist in a game of that age. The other is the drop rates. I've looked up where to get items for colony 6 because they sure won't explain locations well. Then I wander through Makna forest for hours while doing other quests, trying to get a fossil and do not find a single one. That is the worst example, but hardly the only one.
Side quests are the only realistic way to level up so it is frustrating that they make you do so many and make it such an uninteresting time sink. But I do love the characters and story. on top of the visual, atmosphere, music, voice acting, etc. The annoyances are really annoying, but they don't ruin the rest of the game.
I wanna try xenoblade but I don’t wanna play it on my switch. I am one of those people that bought a switch and it just been sitting in the dock there since lunch don’t really ever touch it except for the occasional Mario kart and smash couple times a few years. I’m a pc player so it’s hard for me going back to lower resolution and 30fps.
I have tried to love this game and am still holding on to hope... I personally love the combat in Y's games just straight forward combat with power moves . The combat in xenoblade is really confusing and takes me out of the game .
Your video gives me a new hope to achieve the love I want to have for these games....Time will tell.
Have ya ever played Y's VIII Lacrimosa of Dana ? They aren't as graphically impressive but they are really fun to play , the combat is awesome.
Anyways thanks for sharing this .
Ironically some of the most simple combat in the series is in xc3 to learn, but that's mainly just because every game has so many different systems. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the fastest combat in the series but you wouldn't know that via the tutorials in game which effectively do nothing while also overloading you with information.. there's a lot of video guides out there though to help you understand the combat of each game if you needed a visual. Chuggaconroy or Enel both have deep guides for most games for reference.
To sum it up loosely, all games have some attacks that have positional bonuses based on where you're standing relative to the enemy. Xc1 is a time based cooldown to use attacks (arts). Xc2 is auto attacks recharge on attacks (arts) but you can abuse the auto attack by moving slightly after each hit to make something go from like 15 seconds worth of auto attacks to 3 seconds. And Xc3 combines both cooldown styles but removed the auto attack abuse so "cancelling" (aka starting another art right after landing a hit) is the main way to recharge the auto attack arts instead.
But yeahhhh I'm not gonna blame you for finding the combat confusing cause the tutorials in the first 2 games aren't the best, and xc2 is so complex and basically doesn't even have tutorials.. but once you learn the combat systems they can be pretty fun and engaging. Hope you've given any of the games a shot since you wrote this comment, it's worth it!
I started with the franchise's worst possible title: Xenoblade Chronicles 3D for New 3DS.
It's a miracle that this game is on New 3DS, and I was engaged to buy it at the time, but when you compare this version to the other ones available, it's basically trash.
I started to actually like the series with Xenoblade 3 and then the Xenoblade Definitive Edition, and so I realized that the games are much better than I thought they were.
My experience with XC was with the original on Wii. I picked it up because of all the hype but hated the gameplay back then although I enjoyed everything else it had going for it. I absolutely hate the art direction for XC 2 it just felt like a weeb game seeing it back then but I only recently (like last week recently) started playing XC 2 since it was on sale and I gotta say… this is some of the best stuff I’ve played in YEARS.
The feeling I get playing this was something I only really got from FF7 classic and FFX.
Please if you’re an avid enjoyer of golden era square or even just an enjoyer of RPGs don’t let the weeny graphics put it off for you it’s a genuine masterpiece and I can confidently say this series is the window to that long lost golden era of RPG greatness we just don’t get anymore.
I was skeptical when I bought the game. But when I first started the game I was shocked by the gameplay and its graphic. It's beautiful visual. It's almost as good as FF gameplay and arts. I hope I dont get overwhelmed by the vast things to do in the game
I’ve been a huge jrpg fan for most of my life starting with Final Fantasy 6 and 7, and I want to like this series. I’ve had to restart the first game multiple times because I play for several hours and get bored and pulled to something else. I want to make myself finish the first game. And whenever I see clips of any of the games I feel drawn to play them, but there’s something about them that don’t grab me. I definitely don’t like the battle systems. I’m going to give it another shot though. I’m hoping if I get far enough the story will grab me.
The voice sounds AI cool❤
I'm going to be THAT guy. Super Smash Bros doesn't really potray the fighters of their respective games very well outside of references. Shulk is an obvious case but also characters like Roy and Pit in their respective games are nothing like how they are portrayed in Super Smash Bros. Not even by a little bit.
I’m sure any true xenoblade fan was smiling while watching this like I did!
I’m on the verge of purchasing. I just don’t know yet.
I love this video because it feels similar to me. I was always interested by the hype but turned off by some of the things I saw with combat and such. I actually tried the first game on the 3ds first and while I thought the world and story was cool, I wasn’t a fan of the combat and struggled with the difficulty so I dropped it around ch 6. I thought maybe the issue was the system so I borrowed X from a friend on Wii U and gave it a try but still couldn’t get into it.
It was actually XC2 which got me into the series, because while some of the super anime-ish tropes seemed cheesy to me the world of XC2 with the titans being continents, blade customization, and vibrant design of the world seemed really appealing. It took a while for the combat to click even though everything else was actually really exciting, but once the combat did click and I figured out how to really take advantage of the many systems (far into the game and after lots of guides online) it was super satisfying to master and I really got it. That gave me the push to get back into XC1 and eventually try XC3 and I actually am in the camp where the second is my favorite, probably just cause it was my starting point. Especially once I got past where I had already played up to in XC3D, Xenoblade definitve was a ton of fun and made me appreciate the series.
I don’t think this is an easy series to get into, but it was worth the time of pushing myself to enjoy it.
Funny how it was the opposite for me, I started with XC1 and loved it, then picked up XCX and was so bored the whole time that when XC2 came out it took me years to finally complete it because I was sure that they strayed away from XC1 for good. Instead, I learned that 2 has its highs and I became hooked again and had a blast with 3 😊
I just picked the first game up this week and it’s really fun! I avoided it for years
Would you say it’s okay to play Xenoblade 3 first? It seems it really fits my taste, more than the first two games will.
I definitely think Xenoblade 3 is a great starting place. It's probably the best in the series and you don't have to know anything about the previous games to enjoy the story
HOWEVER. counterpoint: it's the end of a 12-year saga, so lots of story details might be lost on fresh faces. XC2 might also be a good starting point, it's got a very similar battle style to 3. And if you really want all the answers in your face without being lost, I recommend 1. It's got a very different but easy to understand battle system. Plus, I definitely think it's the shortest of the 3 on switch at the moment.
I guess it comes down to preference.
1: short game, but wildly different battle style
2: most "anime" of the three, longest, and has gatcha elements (nothing you need, but always more helpful)
3: most recent, but lots of story references will be lost on new players.
Should I play 2 or 3?? I only have enough for 1 game
I didn’t love it until near the end and now I think it’s fantastic
FFX has been dethroned for me after centuries of nothing could compare
I just got xenoblade chronicles 3 never played anything like this I have about an hour in it and I’m on the fence I chose the easy combat mode and that’s fine just learning the art moves and that sort of thing is really making it complicated. Love collecting things hahah .
Have you played fire emblem
Personally for me 2>3=1
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Haven't watched yet, but can I just be real and say that XC3 is not gripping me? Both 1 and 2 had me invested into the story at least a couple hours in, but I'm 10 into 3 and it's just not doing it. I don't really feel for the characters or combat or music. I have zero desire to explore. People have said just wait you'll get there but like, 10 hours is a pretty fair shot
Huh, that's interesting that it isn't doing it for you. I was pretty much hooked from the start, both story and music wise. It definitely gets more exciting the longer you play, but if you aren't hooked yet then maybe it won't happen. I'd give it a little more time, but if you don't end up liking it that's totally fine. Maybe you're just not a flute fan haha
If you really enjoyed 1 but had those problems with 2 (basically you and I have the same feelings towards both), I'd heavily recommend you to play Torna (2's DLC). It's basically all the good things from X2 with a cast more similar to X1, in a shorter format, with great development and with no gacha in sight
It also has the tightest combat in the series for me, it's relatively simple but takes a lot from 2's, and it's waaaay quicker and more risk/reward oriented
❤
Personally, I always thought that XC had a good soundtrack, cool looking characters, and a solid story from the bits I played of 1 and 3 but my only turn off is combat. The combat is hard to get into because of how it's structured.
As much as I want to experience the story, it's drastically different from games I played.