By Luca Newton
As a huge fan of the Xenoblade series, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was a good instalment in the series. However, there are specific flaws which I don't want to see repeated in a 'Xenoblade 3'.
It's coming up on 4 years since Xenoblade Chronicles 2 released for Nintendo Switch, as one of the late 2017 exclusives for the first year of the brand new console. Xenoblade since that release has only grown in popularity since then. Monolith are certainly working on the next numbered Xenoblade game by now, with next year release, or at least announced next year. While I did really like Xenoblade 2, it is very flawed in my opinion. Stuff that Xenoblade 3 can learn from..
To Clarify, I Do Really Like Xenoblade 2..
To preface, I do really like Xenoblade 2. I say this because going into this blog, a lot of people will expect to hear similar issues in the game that a lot of people often say. I, however, disagree with a lot of them, if I'm being completely honest.
There's a lot to like with Xenoblade 2. The game is very unique in its execution. It manages to be a completely different game to the first one, with a completely different cast and universe, while staying true to the Xenoblade uniform. It still manages to feel like a Xenoblade game, without being too similar. What stands out in Xenoblade 2 is the worlds you can explore. Instead of 2 big titans, you're exploring a multitude of titans, which are explored for smaller portions, but gives a vast variety in the locations. Each titan feels distinct, and is always visually beautiful. The Leftherian Archipelago is beauty, plain and simple. Additionally, the soundtrack backs up the areas with a large amount of bangers, which is just tradition with Xenoblade. Mor Ardain's Roaming the Wastes theme is insanely good. Not to mention the combat, which undeniably better in 2 than the first game. I still have a soft spot for the first game's combat, but Xenoblade 2 makes the combat so much more complex, but that much more satisfying and engaging. They did this with Blades, which makes for hundreds of combinations of weapons in battle with your part. I also liked the characters for the most part. I will never say that I prefer them to the first game's cast, but most party members had engaging parts to play within the story, with likeable and unique traits. The story weaved in several themes I was really into, with several really epic and thematically rich moments of the game. And the way they connect it to the overall series blew my mind. One of the best reactions I've had playing game.
What I don't have an issue with, is the story. I've heard people really dig into the story, and call it bad. But, in my opinion, it is a really competent story, with some really prevalent themes that resonated with me. However, it being pretty small scale compared to the original really makes it look really underwhelming. After playing Xenoblade DE, I went right onto Xenoblade 2, and I still enjoyed the story, even if I'll admit it did seem a tad anti-climactic. Another point of contention is that Rex is a terrible character. He's not as good of a protagonist as Shulk was, but I honestly did like Rex. He was fine. Definitely not the best character in even Xenoblade 2, but he serves his role, had a nice major character arc over the course of the game. The final big thing I see criticised, that I definitely disagree with, is probably the most stupid one. That it's "too anime". I think it's absurd to unironically sit down and tell me why Xenoblade is trash because it has a couple cringy anime scenes. The Xenoblade series has always been anime in its DNA, Xenoblade 2 just really dug into it. I don't think they should go into it as much as they did here for Xenoblade 3, but it's definitely not worthy of genuine criticism.
In my heart, I found Xenoblade 2 a great game. Worthy of being a sequel, and has plenty of features that I'd love to see continued in the third game. There are, however, pretty big flaws that really took the game down majorly for me. They're easily fixed, but they really stop me from ever replaying Xenoblade 2.
What Xenoblade 2 Flaws Can A Threequel Improve On?..
All games are flawed. Even Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition has its fair share of flaws. However, in that case, they're honestly pretty easy to ignore for me personally. Whereas, Xenoblade 2 has a few flaws I cannot bring myself to ignore, and I desperately hope they will improve upon in Xenoblade 3.
#1 - Tora And The Nopon Race
Firstly, I want to just touch on one character I despise with every will of my being; Tora. In every Xenoblade game, you have a party member that is of the fictional species, Nopon. In XCDE, you have Riki. I was a fan of Riki - he was charming, great supporting cast, and he knew his place. Tora, alternatively, opposes that. Tora is not charming in any way. He is a creepy pervert, with an absurdly annoying voice. The thing is, in the first game, Riki and the Nopon had absurd voices to fit their absurd wording, which would sound really weird in normal tone. Well Tora has normal tone, and speaks so absurdly. It butchered that race for me. Tora doesn't nothing that couldn't have been written around a different character instead. I just hope that the party member Nopon in Xenoblade 3 goes back to the first incarnation.
It's not just Tora in this game though. Nopon get a larger focus in the story. My issue is that they no longer know their place within the series. Maybe if they wrote compelling Nopon, maybe I'd be willing to take on a long ass chapter focused on them. If Xenoblade 3 wants to make their Nopon more of a story character, rather than support. MAKE THEM INTERESTING, AND GOOD.
#2 - Inconsistent Chapters
I found, while experiencing the game, that the chapters really had issues. When I found out they weren't all written by the some person, it just made sense to me. The reason it's so distracting is the rocky consistency between chapter. You have chapters that are absolutely fantastic like chapter 3, where you're on Uraya, a stunning titan. Here, you meet Vandham, and get familiarised with the mechanics and lore of Alrest. That chapter ends with an incredible fight with Malos and Jin, which unleashes Mythra for the first time. That scene also includes the beautiful Drifting Soul song. Overall, displaying how good the game can be, and is.
You go from that to, chapter 4. This chapter is the single most painful experience in the whole game. The unfortunate truth is that chapter 4 is set on one of my favourite titans, Mor Ardain, but is completely wasted with the worst story beat I've seen in the game. It's atrocious, It focuses on Tora, and his grampypon. The chapter is fixated on developing Tora as a character, and endearing us to the Nopon. Instead it made me madly resent them. It's not even that the story is bad, it's also the longest chapter in the game. It starts with some awfully written backtracking and chasing, then we get to Mor Ardain, and the arc just drags across the titan. In such a badass looking place, it was such missed potential to waste such terrible writing on there. This chapter is also where the infamous Mythra slapping scene is from. Legit, the only thing I liked about chapter 4 was that we got Morag in the party at the end.
The chapter succeeding chapter 4 goes back to the same great quality I was loving before chapter 4. But that's just an example of one of the genuinely bad beats this game has. While none other stoop that low, some chapters then suffer with gameplay, and pacing issues. Many chapters either felt way too dragged out, others ended at really weird times. I hope Xenoblade 3 can get a consistent team of writers to write each chapters in the right pace, none that ever stoop so low.
#3 - Tracking Quests
These last ones will be shorter, but tracking needs to be improved. Thankfully, XCDE has the best tracking for what is needed. Xenoblade 3 should use the same tracking, or at least something along the same lines. Xenoblade 2 often suffered when the tracker would point you in confusing directions, and you could barely find where to go after hours of looking. I sat down to replay the game, and found myself lost in Gormotti Plains. Despite having played the game, I still couldn't find where to go. In addition, the side-quests in Xenoblade 2 are so clunky to track. In XCDE, their simplicity made me want to finish a lot of them, but in Xenoblade 2, I gave up trying to do the side quests as I always ended up lost and didn't think it was worth the effort.
#4 - Good Tutorials
Another thing XCDE did flawlessly, so I assume it will be here to stay for a third entry. However, on the off-chance it doesn't, I have to include it. In Xenoblade 2, the tutorials were so bad, there are so many aspects of the game I didn't understand for so long, which is a horrible thing. Xenoblade 2 is intentionally complex game. What is does is unlock the full combat over half of the game, when what they could do is have accessible tutorials at all times, and have the combat introduced quicker. Instead of just saying something has been added to the system, maybe make sure that players have experimented with it first. The combat for Xenoblade 2 is really good, but without knowing what to do, it was bad for me at first, and I assume the same for many. A lot of the best parts of the combat, I was so confused by. There's this system with orbs that circle enemies after getting elemental combos. In chain attacks, if you manage to destroy an orb, it unlocks extra turns in the chain attack. This builds up damage, and is insane. But I only found that out by a friend on Discord telling me and giving me examples.
I highly respect that Monolith wanted to change up the combat and improve it, but in a third game, please follow what DE did, and add folders of tutorials infinitely accessible, as well as actually communicating the new features in gameplay directly after, not over half the bloody game time.
#5 - Field Skills
Honestly, this is my biggest gripe with the game. The one thing I genuinely despises from start to finish. This other stuff I worked around, or was only brief. Blade skills are the worst thing they did with Xenoblade 2. I hate it so much. I hope whoever came up with that was fired, because it was the most infuriating part of the game.
Imagine you're me at the start of the game. There is an example of blade skills used for a tutorial to progress. It slightly concerns me, but as I press on, I see how blade skills access side content. Which is also pretty annoying by the way. I want to explore these worlds, and can't due to these skills blocking my path. And I know it is my fault for not taking levelling up skills consciously, but I am adamantly against locking stuff behind skills. It is literally Pokemon HMs, except you can't even put them on any blade, they're assigned to specific ones. AND BLADES ARE GACHA. Now I don't mind the gacha mechanics, they added a bit of thrill in getting blades, but when blade skills exist, it's actively annoying. You have to farm to get the right skills, and rearrange your party to accommodate the skill, just to go to a side thing that isn't worth the effort. Everyone hated Pokemon HMs, this is that but worse. At least HMs don't have specific levels to work.
But oh well, I thought, it's okay. It's just optional stuff. I can't track side quests so I guess I just won't get side stuff then. Then, they decided to throw a humungous middle finger at me. Blade skills suddenly decided to be significant and compulsory to progress the story. Ironically, one of the worst examples of this is actually in chapter 4. There is a ton of compulsory uses of blade skills. I genuinely was in pain trying to pass these areas. The only thing that stopped me dropping was how good the rest of the game was to me. The worst case of blade skills has to be in Spirit Crucible Elpys. This ancient cave has many webs you need to use fire to burn down. Not only do you need fire, you need several levels of it, as well as other abilities. This lead to filling my party with fire blades. That's one of my many horror stories with the blade skills. Honestly Spirit Crucible Elpys is also an example of terrible tracking, was dreadful to run through.
Luckily, I doubt blade skills will come back in Xenoblade 3, as I think they want to change combat a third time, away from both games' combat systems. But they better not retain locking items and story progression behind worse-HMs.
Xenoblade 3 is most likely coming in the next couple years. And I hope it does what this series does; be its own thing. Reinvent the series, but also take the issues with the previous games, and use them as lessons to improve the series for the better. As much as I have heavily criticised Xenoblade 2, I still really liked it for its main qualities. And so whatever happens, Xenoblade 3 will entertain me, I just want it to be the best it can be.
Thanks for reading.
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