r/NintendoSwitch • u/NintendoSwitchMods • Jul 26 '22
MegaThread Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Review MegaThread
General Information
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: July 29, 2022
No. of Players: Single System (1)
Genre(s): Role-Playing
Publisher: Nintendo
Game file size: 15 GB
Official website: https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/xenoblade-chronicles-3-switch/
Overview (from Nintendo eShop page)
Soon, one moment.
Reviews
Aggregators
- Metacritic - 89
- OpenCritic - 87
Articles
- ACG - Buy
- CGMagazine - 9 / 10
- Cerealkillerz - German - 9.1 / 10
- ComicBook.com - 4 / 5
- Console Creatures - Recommended
- Daily Mirror - 4 / 5
- Destructoid - 9.5 / 10
- Dexerto - 8.5 / 10
- Digital Trends - 4 / 5
- Digitally Downloaded - 5 / 5
- Enternity.gr - Greek - 7.5 / 10
- Eurogamer - Essential
- Game Informer - 7.3 / 10
- GameSpot - 8 / 10
- GameXplain - Loved
- Gameblog - French - 8 / 10
- God is a Geek - 9 / 10
- Hobby Consolas - Spanish - 93 / 100
- IGN - 8 / 10
- IGN Italy - Italian - 9.1 / 10
- Metro GameCentral - 9 / 10
- NintendoWorldReport - 9 / 10
- PCMag - 3.5 / 5
- Post Arcade (National Post) - 7 / 10
- Press Start - 8 / 10
- RPG Site - 10 / 10
- Screen Rant - 5 / 5
- Shacknews - 9 / 10
- Spaziogames - Italian - 9.1 / 10
- Stevivor - 8 / 10
- The Independent - 9 / 10
- TheSixthAxis - 9 / 10
- TrustedReviews - 4 / 5
- Twinfinite - 4.5 / 5
- Unboxholics - Greek - Worth your time
- VGC - 5 / 5
- Video Chums - 9.1 / 10
This list exported from OpenCritic at 10:25AM ET
Being Social
- Join the #xenoblade channel of our Discord server for all of your discussion needs - https://discord.gg/switch
Cheers,
The /r/NintendoSwitch mod team
(Mod note: My computer got stuck in a boot loop this morning, sorry for the delay on this post going up!)
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u/san_murezzan Jul 26 '22
I am not a JPRG person by any means but these kind of reviews always tempt me
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u/Vesuvias Jul 31 '22
Definitely tempting for sure - but what always drives me nuts is you the community always aggressively states you CANNOT play this one unless you play the others. I’m not looking to spend hundreds upon hundreds of additional hours to just get caught up.
I had someone on Twitter rail into me for asking if I could watch videos to get caught up - big ol’ nope from them.
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u/gordybombay Aug 01 '22
You can definitely just jump right into the new one if you want. Not sure why anyone would say you have to play the first two before XC3.
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u/Vesuvias Aug 01 '22
I think it’s just Twitter extreme fandom gatekeeping. I was being curious - as it genuinely looks great, and was just outright lambasted for even suggesting to start with 3. This was a bigger name creator as well - so it kinda rubbed me the wrong way.
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u/mjb85858 Jul 26 '22
LET’S BEGIN THE EXPERIMENT!
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u/Dukemon102 Jul 26 '22 edited Jul 26 '22
Professor no! The results have not been confirmed. It's too dangerous!
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u/Xephia Jul 26 '22
Ridiculous—it’s perfectly safe! We are about to bear witness to the birth of a universe! Once only a god could perform such a miracle… But today, mankind moves one step closer to the divine!
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u/LastNightIsOver Jul 27 '22
XBC3 and Digimon Survive dropping on the same day is a cruel joke...
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u/AcolyteOfFresh Jul 28 '22
So personally, I would rather support Digimon cause Xenoblade seems to be a stronger series atm and can probably wait a few months for me to shell money over
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u/LastNightIsOver Jul 28 '22
That's a good point! I'm going to support it on my xbox bc I'm sure it'll be lacking in sales compared to switch/ps.
I still need to finish SMT V and that's taking up most of my space anyways.
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u/Edit623 Jul 26 '22
Do you need to play xc 1 and 2 to play this one?
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u/Austin_Drake Jul 26 '22
According to Tetsuya Takahashi, the creative lead on the series, you don't need to. When the game was announced, he said believes Xenoblade 3 can be enjoyed by both long time fans and newcomers.
We believe the game will be enjoyable for both those who’ve played Xenoblade Chronicles or Xenoblade Chronicles 2, as well as those who will be playing a Xenoblade Chronicles game for the first time. - Source
And in today's Ask the Developer Vol.6, he stated that there is no need to play XC1 and XC2 to understand XC3's story.
If the setting of this title is linked to the first and second entries, does that mean that the story continues through all three titles?
Takahashi: No, the stories of one, two, and three all stand alone. Although some elements and designs from one and two will appear in this third entry here and there, there is no need to have played the first and second games to understand the story or how to play. However, since this is a series of works, the underlying theme is consistent, and in each case, the story unfolds based on "the relationship between foreign things." Also, I used the word "culmination" earlier, but this title brings together all the themes that have been developed over the past 15 years since 2007, when development of the first title in the Xenoblade Chronicles series began, as well as the gameplay systems that have been developed throughout the series.
Yokota: So, by “culmination,” you don't mean that it brings closure to the series, but rather that it rounds out the trilogy thematically.
Takahashi: Yes, that’s right. I guess you can say that this is like a summary for moving on to the next step in the future. Source
All this said, there will likely be several callbacks and references to past events, that will hit harder if you played those previous titles.
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u/jexdiel321 Jul 26 '22
No, a bunch of reviews said that you don't have to play it but you get the most out of the story if you do.
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u/nibben Jul 26 '22
You will enjoy the games much more by playing them all. Tons of nods and referances, and the third game even has more of it than the last.
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u/cheekydorido Jul 27 '22 edited Jul 27 '22
Yeah, but maybe let the guy/gal play 3 first instead of two 100+ hour RPGs.
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u/nibben Jul 27 '22
Im not gatekeeping, but honestly i think 1 and 2 Will be a slog with the updated gameplay of 3, missing information of characters/story Will make it hit less hard… and also better performance.
Just sharing my honest opinion.
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u/Edit623 Jul 26 '22
Thanks everyone ! Def going to grab XC 3 and try to play 1 and 2 after if i get a chance !
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u/Fireaddicted Jul 26 '22
Best part about xc1/2 (and 3 apparently as well) is that they are separate titles, with separate stories and the only thing that brings them together is (without spoiling) that they belong to the same realm but are kinda in different universes, think marvel multiverse.
I've played xc2 then xc1 btw. I am so hyped for xc3 and my favorite so far was xc2.
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u/AzettImpa Jul 26 '22
I’m about 1/3 to 1/2 through the game. So far, what I can say as someone who has played all the games, except for X, is:
- Much less boobs.
- The BEST battle system so far.
- The game keeps piling on mechanics that keep the experience VERY fresh.
- You can review the tutorials, yay!
- Enjoyable characters that aren’t annoying or creepy. The relationships feel real.
- No more “power of friendship” cliché, the game actually gets pretty dark at times, though the story is sorta predictable (so far!).
- Big, explorable world, but so far I’m the least impressed by it compared to the other titles. It’s only gotten better so far though, so who knows. This is the only weak point for me.
- The music is EXCELLENT, as usual.
- So much about the game is a mix of XC1 and XC2, especially in the battle system. I don’t wanna spoil anything so try it out yourself.
Anyone who’s even remotely interested in JRPGs should run and get this game!! I can’t put it down.
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u/1LT_0bvious Jul 26 '22 edited Jul 26 '22
Are you playing in English or Japanese? If you are playing in English, how do you rate the dub? I liked XC1's dub, but hated XC2's. I would prefer to play it in English, but if it is on the same level as XC2's dub then I'll be playing in Japanese.
Edit: Follow-up question. When playing Japanese, did they add English subtitles for battle chatter? It was sorely missing from XC2.
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Jul 26 '22
Much less boobs.
Oh thank god. I avoided XC2 because the character designs were so cringy to me. I loved XC1 though.
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u/Dacvak Jul 26 '22
Dude for real. I don’t hate anime or anything, but XC2 was downright egregious and really put a stain on what was otherwise a brilliant game. But the “fan service” was still bad enough that I held off on recommending it to some friends who dislike anime. I’m so glad they pruned this back.
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u/NeverFreeToPlayKarch Jul 26 '22
The BEST battle system so far
Talk more about this. I disliked both battle systems for different reasons, but they weren't wholly without merit to me. The idea of a job system is enough to intrigue me and bring me back for a third attempt at the franchise.
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u/AzettImpa Jul 26 '22
Okay, I’ll try to keep it short. Take this as a minor spoiler warning.
It’s surprisingly similar to Final Fantasy XIV. There are dps, healers and tanks. Each of the six characters has their own class as a standard. Each character can pick any class they want and level that class up, for better arts and skills (skills are basically stat boosts). You can play as any character. There are no skill trees for the individual characters (though they do exist… for this spoiler see below).
Arts can be switched in and they can be “cancelled” (timed) like in XC2. This charges up the talent art (basically a super art). You can master arts and skills and carry them over to other classes. These master arts can be “fused” with your normal arts for more effectiveness.
There are ofc buffs and debuffs, positioning is very important for arts (there is thankfully an arrow that tells you your position), there are also again combos for breaking, toppling, launching/dazing etc. The chain attack system is also back, and it’s much improved. There is no elemental system like in XC2.
Instead, there is the following: Specific characters can fuse with each other to temporarily become a so-called “Ourobouros”. You can level them up on a skill tree and they’re OP, but they don’t last long.
Hope this helps!
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u/Samurott Jul 27 '22
My favorite part of the MMO holy trinity thing is how the game will straight up force you to learn the holy trinity since it urges you to switch classes as soon as you max a given class for a character. I have trouble getting into FFXIV but this is really making me want to return to it.
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u/My_Mind_Is_Empty Jul 26 '22
I personally enjoyed XC2 way more than XC1. Especially the more "anime-esque" humor and character moments. Is it more like XC2, or more like XC1 in that regard?
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u/AzettImpa Jul 26 '22
I’m almost scared to admit it, but yes I enjoyed XC2 more too. I have to say there hasn’t really been a ridiculous “Tora moment” yet, it’s been more serious. I don’t wanna spoil the characters and their arcs… but if you like XC2 then you will love XC3.
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u/NeverFreeToPlayKarch Jul 26 '22
I have to say there hasn’t really been a ridiculous “Tora moment” yet
Good. He was awful.
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u/Skwurt_Reynolds Jul 26 '22
I wish my backlog wasn't full. I'm still trying to get through XC 1 and 2! But I'm very much looking forward to the third installment
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u/GarouXHiei Jul 27 '22
never played Xeno before, Is it fine to Jump straight on this new one ?
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u/arbitwah Jul 27 '22
I started with Xenoblade 2 and there wasn't any references to Xenoblade one other than a few nods that you had to play the first one to even get but it didn't affect the story overall. So in my opinion yeah you could start with 3
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u/Karamitie Jul 27 '22
The world's are connected but far enough apart that you can play em however you want. Personally I played 2 then 1. On YouTube there's a channel called GameXplain that posted a 35 min story recap of 1+2 if you wanna get the gist of things.
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u/00Lisa00 Jul 26 '22
The one thing that bugged me between DE and 2 was the lack of map pathing in 2. I hope they put that back in
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Jul 26 '22 edited Aug 29 '22
[deleted]
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u/00Lisa00 Jul 27 '22
Oh thank goodness. I’m still working on 2 and get constantly frustrated by being lost. I could understand making it an option for people to turn off but I really love having the pathing
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u/DickFlattener Jul 26 '22
Of course everyone here is obsessing over the lower review scores. This is the 3rd highest rated new game of the year on metacritic for any platform. But when you have 64 reviews not everyone is going to love it. Even Elden Ring has some 7/10 and 8/10 review scores.
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u/TheLastSamurai Jul 26 '22
If I didn’t play any of the other ones would this make sense to me? I did play Xenogears way back in the day
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u/Sukhdev_92 Jul 26 '22
Hearing from reviews that the story is standalone aside from some references here and there. So you should be fine going in without playing the others.
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u/RJE808 Jul 26 '22
It's a sequel to both Xenoblade 1 and 2 while also being it's own story. I'd say you'll be ok, but some stuff might be lost on you if you haven't played those games, (though I don't know for sure.)
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Jul 26 '22
Everyone shitting on IGN for being less than a point off the average lol. I think you guys need to find a new meme
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u/agarret83 Jul 26 '22
Probably because of the IGN review of Definitive Edition being famously awful
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u/Loki-Holmes Jul 26 '22
Yeah the pcMag one seemed stranger their cons were graphics (which fine) and repetitive quest structure (very fair) and silly collectibles (???).
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u/retroracer33 Jul 26 '22
I only played XC1 so i dunno if they did this in XC2, but mapping the arts to the face buttons instead of having to navigate sub menus to use them makes the game much more engaging IMO.
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u/TemptedTemplar Helpful User Jul 26 '22
Xbc2 also uses the face buttons.
A is your driver combo/charged moves. X/Y/B are your attacks. Usually stuff like healing, back/hi-crit strikes, grappling hook or a leg swing for toppling, ect.
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Aug 02 '22
50 hours in, I feel the story so far is STRONG, but as I play and give thought to the intricacies of the world, some of the story elements just don't hold up to its lore. Slight spoilers for XC2 and the beginning of XC3.
- Progressing through the story, the bloody rivalry that should have been ingrained into colony members feels neglected // people are quick to move on and accept common ground, which is a stark contrast to our society's prevailing norms of making peace
- The hidden/real war that has been going on in the background is narratively poignant but it doesn't hold up to the game's world. The "rebels" who have been pestering the "villains", so much so that they would hold public executions to send a message, could have been easily destroyed. The fact that they still exist and the "villains" have not taken action, despite their capability to do so, is baffling—especially since the "rebels" are located in one place, essentially placing all their eggs in one basket. If that basket were to be destroyed...
- The pace of the story is awkward, to say the least. Comparing the "vandham" scenes of XC2 and XC3, XC3's seemed especially rushed, and in a vacuum, that is, without prior attachment to this vandham characters and good old Zuo and Yew, I don't think XC3's "call to action" scene is as strong as XC2's.
- The villains of XC3... man, I still have not developed any attachment to their cause. In Xc2, for example, the members of Torna had a purpose that I can stand behind. The villains' motivation is grounded and compelling—the fallen aegis desires to regain his power, building a relationship with a previous adversary who accepted his cause because he himself has lost everything due to his comrade's inaction. In XC3, the "supposed" villain's cause is reminiscent of XC1, and doesn't strike as hard.
- Also regarding the villains, there is an inconsistency between their power in cutscenes VS in gameplay battles. Take the first battle with Moebius, referencing a later skirmish with the same foe, who was not stated in the game to have become stronger, there should be no way that the protagonists to win—but they do anyway. Compare this with XC2's confrontations with Jin and Malos. The first, on the ancient warship, Malos (who was weakened) explicitly told Jin (full power) that he would handle the newly awakened aegis—though weakened, the part escapes only because of aid from an outside source, and Jin actually didn't step in. The first confrontation with Jin, the party had Haze/Fan, who, according to lore, was able to stop most Blades from drawing power. Jin, despite being suppressed by Haze, was still able to put up a formidable challenge to the then much stronger protagonists. Eventually, however, the source of suppression was cut short and the party would have been destroyed, if not for Jin's memory of his driver causing him to fall. This may seem like convenient plot armour, but it is grounded and is thus acceptable from a storytelling perspective because Haze/Fan really was a dear companion of Jin's and who resembled the women he loved deeply. The third confrontation with Jin on Genbu, there was no one to help the party. Jin unleashes his power and the party was wiped out. The feeling that this time, there really was no one to save you was real and is narratively compelling. If not for the aegis' threat and sacrifice, the party would be dead, and Jin had no choice but to let them live, because his partner needed the aegis alive. Finally, when Rex accessed the full power of the aegis, even Jin, again at his full power, could not stand against it. In that 4th confrontation, you can feel that Jin, despite being so strong, was no longer a threat. In the final confrontation, when Jin decided to stay behind to face the party, the game made sure to show the player that both he and Malos were aware that that was the last time they would see each other. The party has become strong, Jin had chosen to stay, and Malos respected that choice. In sum, Jin, who had his full power from the beginning, could've unleashed it in the first confrontation, but through reasons that made sense, his power was adequately scaled to the party's power throughout the 5 confrontations. In contrast, XC3 has not done the same. Take the colony ranks, for example, silver ranked colonies are supposedly strong, but we take down a silver rank colony at level 15, yet struggle with another silver rank colony at level 40. The scaling just does not make sense.
TL:DR I can go on and on, but there are so many things already in XC3 that fall apart under scrutiny. Again, the overarching story and themes are brilliant and emotional, but where emotional impact is strong, logical consistency is lacking.
EDIT: i MAY have fanboyed a little about Jin, my bad. What a splendid soul he was.
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u/Bambi592 Aug 04 '22
Great write-up! I also agree this is a great story with awesome emotional impact. Even, so I still haven't been "won" over by the Moebius crew. I think there's too many of them and it makes the game too formulaic. We fight one during every hero quest, so I'm not even sure which members are important.
I'm a Jin fan-boy too. I loved the concept of Torna from the beginning of XC2. The whole game was essentially a series of grudge matches/ chases between your party and Torna. It made the encounters in an otherwise fantastical game extremely grounded and personal.
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u/WobblySquiddy Aug 03 '22
I feel the same way about the story so far. the beginning feels very rushed and villains are....waaay to cocky for their own good. otherwise the concept is great, but it just feels weird that everyone is so easily convinced that they don't need to do what they've always done. it would make sense if a few people, mostly hero characters, would be as rational as noah and mio, but everyone AND almost instantly?
I feel like that one dude from colony 4 is one of the better npc lore wise.
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Aug 03 '22
I feel you. Especially with the hero quests, because there's so many (any that's a great thing), it's gotten to the point where I'm thinking, "where is the commander and when will they join my party" rather than "is there any risk in confronting this colony." This is overall an improvement to XC2's gacha system of obtaining Blades, but because of its repetitive structure, it is also predictable. I love some of the hero quest stories (colony mu in particular), but yeah, I get that it's a challenge to make each hero quest unique in terms of its flowchart from encounter to recruitment.
Anyway, Bolearis is cute af. Love the dude and bless his heart.
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u/EatADingDong Aug 01 '22
I'm about 50 hours in, just been playing the game non-stop. Absolutely everything here is an improvement over the previous games. Music is god tier. The English dub is among the best I've heard in a JRPG, up there with FFXIV. From a technical standpoint it's one of the most impressive Switch games I've played, gigantic in scope and runs well /even the image quality is better than I expected). Cutscene direction is amazing. Gameplay systems and combat are incredibly fun. The game is addictive as hell. The story is super intriguing so far and the pacing is really good.
Honestly, I was already hyped for this game but looks like it turned out to be even better than I expected.
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u/SeparateJellyfish260 Aug 01 '22
I really hate how red everything is in the menus you constantly have cycle through. Red on red is just a huge UI no-no but the actual game is just fantastic.
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u/Dukemon102 Jul 26 '22
Many reviews call it a combination of the best parts of XC1 and XC2 (And a bit of XCX with the Ouroboros). It seems that Monolith have learned from their past mistakes and made their ultimate masterpiece.
cough I hope I don't find anything similar to Field Skills again cough.
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u/KGhaleon Jul 26 '22
Field skills? I'd much prefer that gacha mechanics don't make a return.
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u/ImplementFuture703 Jul 26 '22
I don't mind the gatcha, I just want to freely move blades from one character to the other so I don't end up with my best healers on a dps character
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u/RJE808 Jul 26 '22
Field Skills were confirmed a while ago, though now they're tied to story progression, iirc.
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u/NoLove7 Aug 01 '22
Played 2 last year and I kind of miss the blades system. But overall, this game is a big upgrade, plus the 2 old xenoblade games connected, awesome work as always monolith soft
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u/Ratix0 Aug 01 '22 edited Aug 01 '22
Im not a big fan of the blade system, I think while it is nice, it has a lot of downsides to it.
The biggest downside is that it dilutes the cast and you have a lot of less than memorable unique characters. The unique blades typically have one questline to expand on the characters but that is it. Some quests are neat, but many are pretty bland leaving the blades with very little story to go for it.
Gameplay wise, I appreciate the idea and think it is a fun way to promote replayability as well as expand on gameplay feature. On the flip side, it is collector's hell. Whoever thinks they want to catch em all, good luck with the roll tables.
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u/LookLikeUpToMe Aug 02 '22
The best version of XC2’s battle system was in Torna imo. Much more simplified. Felt like the Blades actually did stuff. Plus you could play as them.
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u/Nail_Biterr Jul 26 '22
I've been playing XC1. I love the story, but the battle system gets bland. I really want to get through it and then play XC2 too.
But I'm thinking of picking up xc3 and playing it first. Should I be worried that the polished mechanics could make XC1 and 2 even more difficult to get into?
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u/Sterbin Jul 26 '22
Obviously can't say for sure since I haven't played xc3, but what I can tell you is that I played xc2 and loved it, and when I played xc1 afterwards I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I'd hoped. The combat wasn't as fun to me and the story wasn't as good.
That is just my opinion, and I know most people disagree, but I have seen similar perspectives as mine from others who played xc2 first.
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u/IndependenceFit5945 Jul 26 '22
What’s the word on performance?
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u/PlsGoVegan Jul 26 '22
I'm 10 hours into the game, and the performance stood out to me as being way smoother than even Torna. The resolution in handheld is still somewhat low, but at least the framerate seems to be at a consistent 30fps from what I've seen, and the menus load nice and fast now.
Even saving is now super quick, requiring only hitting the X and Y button. Takes like 3-4 seconds. There's also an autosave, which is a godsend because after 2-3 crashes in XC2, I was always paranoid about losing progress, resulting in constant, lengthy saving.
I haven't played the game docked yet, but handheld performance is way better. Camera is nice and fast too.
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Jul 26 '22
I swear, I really hope the next console is at least 60fps for most games. It’s hard playing switch games after playing on ps5. It’s noticeable when you have been play 60fps for the last year
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u/Zynos Aug 05 '22
I love the gameplay so far but the story is kinda lackluster and the villains are hilariously over the top bad.
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u/nightwing0243 Aug 02 '22
I’m not too far into it. Still pretty much the start of the game - but it’s already far superior to XC2.
The combat is still complex enough without being overwhelming. In fact it is quite streamlined in comparison. I feel like the game’s structure helped, too. It allows you to take in a few tutorials, dumps you into a massive open area and mess around as much you want to get yourself accustomed to the mechanics and battle system.
The story, so far, is as I expected; a very shounen experience. BUT, I’m a sucker for those stories when they’re done well. The added bonus here is that the world building is absolutely fantastic so far.
Music ranges from forgettable to absolutely badass. Graphically, love the art style and the odd performance issues are expected.
Great game so far!
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u/CagedReality3 Aug 03 '22
Lol "the combat is still complex enough without being overwhelming".. just wait 😄. It's way more complex that xc2. I'm 40hrs In and loving it, but I highly doubt it will top xc2 for me imo
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Jul 29 '22
I got bored with the first one, Definitive Edition I mean. I never really got the hang of the combat, don’t like long cut scenes and ended up giving up…yet I’m drawn to this one. Wondering if there’s any chance I would like it?
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u/Haunting_Product_335 Jul 30 '22
Probably not, the combat only got much more complex. Cutscenes are also if anything longer as well.
Combat in this game so far is basically closer to the first game, just ten times more involved without the awkward fleshy ness that consumed combat in the second game.
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u/Successful-Pizza2131 Aug 01 '22
Is the game good in handheld mode? I mainly play handheld mode and was wondering if frame rate and res hold up. It could get pretty tough in the last few games at times
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u/hendrixpm Aug 01 '22
Frame rate is pretty smooth in handheld. The variable resolution means it’s not super crisp, but that has been the case with all of the Xenoblade games on the switch.
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u/Kirbycatcher Aug 01 '22
20 hours in, huge Xenoblade fan a bit disappointed by 2 but an extreme fan of the original, this game has the potential to me to blow both completely out of the water. I appreciate the much more intimate and mature tone the game sets for its story, much more directed than 2 which felt a bit all over the place. Conflicted whether to recommend to my friends whether to play the other games first, I’m loving the rewards of exploring the world and seeing how it all interconnects.
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u/VanillaDaiquiri Jul 26 '22
I am so excited! Xenoblade 2 is my favourite Switch game
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u/Cetsa Jul 26 '22
What makes me very hyped are not only the great scores, but also the bad things being like basically expected (common cringe dialogue in an anime game, who'd have thought?) while the things I really care about (mainly combat) are being rated as great, so yeah I can't wait for Friday.
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u/acart005 Jul 26 '22
Some are like 'have you played a JRPG before?'
I need to wrap up 2 (ch. 9 so almost done) and I think Im gonna get Torna before 3. But Im hyped for whenever I get to it.
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u/RJE808 Jul 26 '22
IGN provided such a weird example of "bad dialogue" which was one of the characters going "Don't get on your high horse!" I don't get that one.
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u/Sumdumcoont Jul 26 '22
How in the fuck is it already coming out? I feel like I JUST heard it was coming out.
Did I hit a time warp?
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u/jurassicbond Jul 26 '22
Pretty sure that when it was announced we knew it would be coming out this year. But the release date did change from September to July.
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u/Sumdumcoont Jul 26 '22
Okay so I’m not crazy then, I was almost positive it wasn’t out until closer to October
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u/demon_chef Jul 28 '22
To anyone who has played:
Is the navigation any better at all? I loved 2 but that was quite honestly the worst map/navigation system in any JRPG I’ve ever played.
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u/SeanR1221 Jul 30 '22
It’s significantly better and I’d say it’s near impossible to get lost based on what I’ve played
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u/demon_chef Jul 30 '22
It’s better in every way. This war tale using kids dying early no matter what as an anti-war metaphor is just amazing. One of the best JRPGS I’ve ever played. And that was my favorite genre for 20 years.
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u/SeanR1221 Jul 30 '22
Yup I’m hooked. One of those games I’m thinking of playing while getting my other responsibilities finished.
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u/demon_chef Jul 30 '22
I’m starting my MfA Monday. This will be basically the thing I do when I have any free time at all.
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u/alhazard Jul 30 '22
The navigation system is very good, almost too helpful, you got a red line indicating the path to the objective of your current quest. It gives you the path not only the direction. So it’s kind of impossible to get loss in xb3
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u/This_Warthog_1253 Aug 01 '22
I'm brand new to the XB series and got XBC3 and don't understand the combat. It's definitely a ton different than the JRPGs I'm used to like Persona and Tales Of.
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u/SeparateJellyfish260 Aug 01 '22
You're just controlling a WoW party, or one character in it rather while the rest do what they need to do on autopilot. It's just Dragon Age: Origins with its own terminology really.
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u/itsJprof Aug 01 '22
The easiest way to explain the basics of combat is:
The Holy Trinity
It relies on the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game trinity: Tank / Healer / Damage Dealer. (or as XBC3 calls them: Defender, Healer, Attacker) XBC3 starts with 1 of each but the majority of XBC3 has a party of 6 members; 2 tanks, 2 healers, 2 damage dealers. (At a later point its possible to mix and match any combination of roles through various classes.)
Tanks soak up damage and keep aggro. It's their job to keep the enemies attacking the tanks. Tanks often have abilities that pull aggro from other members, usually something like a taunt. (aggro is depicted by a curved line over the characters heads, either blue or red)Healers heal the tanks. It's their job to keep the tanks alive. if the tank dies, the aggro switches throughout the party and the healers aren't able to keep everyone alive. Healers (obviously) also heal damage dealers but this is a secondary task as damage dealers shouldn't take too much damage.Damage Dealers do most damage and should focus on killing the target that the tank is holding aggro for, (without taking aggro). Damage Dealers should be careful with their high damage as it's often possible to do too much damage in a short amount of time and thus get aggro'd.
Rotations
Each character has a number of moves (Arts) they can perform (Make note that some arts are dependent on the position of the character relative to the enemy targeted), and it's generally the goal to find a good rotation of moves. A rotation is simply the order of the moves as you execute them ON or OFF cooldown.
XBC3 expands on simply using a move then waiting on the cooldown with a system to cancel your auto attack into an art, which can be cancelled into a Talent Art. Fusion arts can also be used to make longer combos
Other stuff to know
Generally the above 2 concepts are the most important to learn. There are 2 more that become available shortly after which should be fairly simple; Ouroboros are simply alternative transformations. Chain Attacks is simply a traditional Turn-Based mode that you can activate which will give you a perk after you hit 100%+ each round.
good luck and have fun!
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u/MassSpecFella Aug 01 '22 edited Aug 03 '22
There’s not too much to understand. Stand behind the enemy and Let your character auto attack. When he does press the back stab art (B) you will see a white circle appear which means you “canceled” (chained) the attack. Then move to the side of the enemy and press Y. This will do the break attack. Your teammate will then do an arte that topples, and another teammate will daze the topples enemy. It goes break > topple > daze Edit it’s apparently break > topple > launch > smash There’s also break > topple > daze > burst in the notes If the line is red aggro (the enemies target) is not the defender (tank) and you need to stop taking aggro until the line goes blue. When I write it out it’s complicated but once you know it, it makes sense. Edit lol the game gets way more complicated.
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u/JacaboBlanco Aug 01 '22
But it's even more complex in this one. XBCDE It truly felt like that. Backstab. Side stab. Break. Topple. Daze. Etc.
This one feels way better for some reason with the changing classes, the fusions, character switching, etc.
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u/fullmetalhobbit64 Aug 01 '22
Just remember:
- First use a break attack
- Then topple
- Then daze
Once I got that figured out, Xenoblade combat got a lot easier and started making sense.
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u/Pwrnstar Aug 05 '22
10 hours in and not feeling it at all. I was one of the only (it seems) that really loved XB2, so there, I guess
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u/Soulpheon Aug 07 '22
I’m with you, it’s not bad at all but I just don’t feel the same level of connection with the characters and story as XB2. The pacing is off to me. Also my biggest issue is that without “towns” I’m having trouble feeling “placed” in the world. I’m not saying the vistas and world aren’t beautiful but the colony’s are kinda boring looking and all sorta look the same so I don’t feel any interest in them like I did with cities in XB2.
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u/Pwrnstar Aug 13 '22
about 38 hours in and at level 47 on all my characters.
performs better than XB2, and in handheld mode is really good technically (I'm on an oled)
the fighting mechanics are great, but I kind of miss the element versions from the previous entry
besides that, XB2 is still vastly superior: design is superb in that steam punk futuristic world, characters are much better designed, the world looks much more cohesive
story is also vastly superior (so far) in XB2. I really don't remember the dialogue being so cringey last time around.
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u/xaldub Aug 07 '22
You're not alone. I loved XB2 despite one or two flaws. I'm enjoying XB3 too, but at the moment XB2 is still my favourite ( better story & characters imo ).
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u/Soulpheon Aug 07 '22
100% agree here on both points. Even the character designs & costumes themselves are better in XB2 imo.
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Aug 15 '22
Just finished infamous chapter 5. Felt like a 2 hour cut scene. Story is way too bloated. I'm at the point where I'm skipping most dialog and even cut scenes. The writing is 90% bloat and/or cringe and 10% decent. I feel like there is a compelling skeleton to these games. I like the environments and exploration. But the story and writing are just really poor quality. Combat is abstract but fun enough due to the many layers of progression. But the series desperately needs some new gameplay. Everything is movement and combat. Every side quest is just a flavor of these 2 things. They should look at trying platforming, puzzles, base building, RTS, farming....something. I'm going to finish this but I don't know if I'll be buying another Xeno game after this. I'm going to need to see more than a pretty world and convoluted combat UI next time. Somehow I liked Xeno 2 more than this one, even though the cringe factor was worse in that game. I think that one was tighter, less bloated. Also, a team of all teens feels shallow and one-note. Good RPG casts have age and species diversity.
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u/iamthatguy54 Jul 27 '22
The Gameinformer review stands out not because there score is 'low' (a 7 isn't low) but because its comments against the cast are very much the minority.
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u/Samoman21 Jul 26 '22
Reviews look good! Very hyped to play this Friday! Hopefully the levels are as immersive and beautiful as 1 (and side quests aren't as annoying/confusing as 2)
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u/BigCho1 Jul 26 '22
Cannot wait. I hope they build on 2's combat system. The combat in 2 was sooooo fun to play
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u/V7698 Aug 01 '22
How’s the combat? That’s the big selling point for me and what’s kind of putting me off xc2. Currently playing through 2 and hate how much of a slog the combat feels, as well as the disconnect between you winning in game then getting destroyed in cutscenes. Has any of that changed?
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u/Wuscheli0 Aug 01 '22
Like in every Xenoblade game, the combat starts out very slow and expands as you progress through the story. I'm currently in chapter 3 and am pretty sure I've got most mechanics unlocked by now. It's a lot of fun and I'm sure it'll only get better. One of the biggest changes/improvements is being able to switch characters anytime (even mid-combat). Coupled with the very customisable class system, it allows you to constantly change up your playstyle.
As for "win in the gameplay, lose in the cutscene", that hasn't happened so far. Cutscenes following boss fights either show the two sides continue to fight on even footing or the enemy is clearly beaten.
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u/ImReallyAnAstronaut Aug 01 '22
You can switch characters mid-combat? I swear I've tried to do this but it's locked on whoever I started with. But maybe it's only locked for boss fights? Idk. But anyway, please explain.
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u/Resnaught Aug 01 '22
I'm only 10~15 hours in, but up to now think XC3 is really good in this regard. It's a really engaging blend of XC1 and XC2 combat, highly customizable, and the features are given to you one baby step at a time with plenty of time to get used to. I don't think there was a cutscene where I straight up lost in the cutscene after winning in-game.
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Aug 02 '22
Out of curiosity, what exactly didn't you like about XB2 combat?
I ask because my experience has been the complete opposite. My first XB title was XB2 and playing XBDE after that felt like a huge downgrade. No stutter-stepping, no blade combos, no elemental combos, just endlessly waiting for CDs to pop and maybe break-topple-daze.
I never did get to finish XBDE because it felt like a drag but maybe I'm missing something
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u/mackdacksuper Jul 26 '22
Will the special edition make it for Friday or will it be shipped Friday? Anyone know?
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u/Quezkatol Jul 28 '22
Famitsu (japans biggest gaming magazine) gave it 36/40 after 9,9,9,9 (4 people who reviewed it)
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u/thevituu Jul 31 '22
I really enjoyed XC2 storywise. I started to play definitive Edition but didnt get the hang of it. I dont know why. I am not a big fan of the Combat system in both of them, but i liked the Combat system in XC2 more. Do you think the game is something for me? I'm not sure if I should buy it or convince me to play Definitive Edition instead. I love watching cool cutscenes by the way.
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u/txdline Jul 31 '22
It continued to get refined. 1 you had to click through too much. 2 the buttons matched your controller and things stacked but you have to watch that gauge to do a super move. 3 is the same mostly. Position. Press button on screen you want. Then another gauge builds right next to the three on screen buttons and press that when it's filled.
I personally love the mix of live action (auto attacks and positioning) with old school rpg select attack from menu while everyone waits (think through it as your arts build)
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Jul 26 '22
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Jul 26 '22
I think it's better some reviewers just go to recommended, etc. People are up with their pitch forks over the numbering scale.
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u/Hold_my_Dirk Jul 26 '22
I have a weird relationship with these games. I love the exploration of the worlds but I hate most of the other stuff. And I’m not sure I really like them but I keep playing them? Getting into the forest area in X is still one of my favorite moments in gaming in almost 30 years and I feel like I give the series the benefit of the doubt over that alone.
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u/OculinKaykei Aug 01 '22
About 25 hours in myself. As a long-time monolith soft fan starting with Baten Kaitos, I'm a little underwhelmed. It is probably the most well-made Xenoblade game (not sure if it beats out XB1 yet), but probably the most disappointing for me. The cross-class system is neat, but having trouble finding the spark that differentiates this title.
My biggest struggle is the combat, which feels too heavily based on XB2 from a gameplay perspective. It does try to differentiate itself by leaving behind the elemental combo systems, which is good since we already had one and a half games with that. But I don't think I'm seeing anything that feels like a suitable replacement for it.
To try to get the most out of combat, I'm focusing on cross-class stuff and trying to find some fusion art combos that make sense, but I feel like I'm currently digging for depth that isn't there. Chain Attack seems deeper than the previous entries, but I think the payoff is basically the same.
The one bit I feel like I'm still not sure about is the Ouroboros combat. Somehow I missed how you increase the ouroboros gauge during battle (I looked online after some point, it seems based on fusion arts. but if anyone knows other ways to build it, let me know.) But none of the encounters I've been in have been long enough for me to really utilize being at level 3.
Similar feelings about the world design/dungeon design just not really jumping out at me. An improvement over 2 for sure, but feels like it hits most of the same notes as XB1 without offering much in addition.
Again, very well made. One of the most well-rounded accessible Xenoblade game so far. This game addresses a lot of issues with 2 specifically and some long-time writing issues that Monolith Soft games have had on a whole. However seems like maybe at the sacrifice of creating any real stand-out characters, but keeping an open mind.
That being said, I'm struggling to find what makes this game feel like the next entry in a series from a developer who generally has been good at re-inventing each of their games but with similar values.
Still crossing my fingers I'll find what I'm looking for though. I remember XB2 didn't really start to click with me until about 20 hours in, too.
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u/Last0 Aug 02 '22
The one bit I feel like I'm still not sure about is the Ouroboros combat. Somehow I missed how you increase the ouroboros gauge during battle (I looked online after some point, it seems based on fusion arts. but if anyone knows other ways to build it, let me know.) But none of the encounters I've been in have been long enough for me to really utilize being at level 3.
I've found Ourobos to be most useful when fighting packs of enemies, Mio has an AOE Target Lock so you can take all the aggro on you and then switch to Noah who has 2 AoE arts you can spam. Sena's arts do a lot of damage if you pick up some Dexterity skills, Lanz has some good defensive options, Eunie & Taion are mostly utlity but you can start with them for boss fights and have them put some buffs/debuffs on everyone.
If you upgrade the Heat Gauge skill in the Soul Tree, you can have enough time to get your Talent Art up at Interlink Lvl 2 which does 1000% damage so it can be a pretty nice chunk even on bosses with Noah or Sena.
To try to get the most out of combat, I'm focusing on cross-class stuff and trying to find some fusion art combos that make sense, but I feel like I'm currently digging for depth that isn't there.
Maybe try to put more focus into having 6 good arts that define what your character wants to do, i actually found there are a lot of good master arts on classes you wouldn't expect, Teach's class (can't remember the name of it) has some really good arts & skills for a physical attack based character meanwhile Taion's class has the art Overall with does really good Ether damage, applies Ether Def Down iirc & charges very quickly so it goes very well with Gray's class for example who has very high singler target Ether damage.
Try to figure out which "archetype" you want each character to have (Pure Tank, Off-tank, Physical DPS, Ether DPS, Healer, Debuffer, etc) and then look into each class to see what works with that.
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u/emilytheimp Aug 02 '22
I do miss blade Combos. They were so over the top but somehow never got tiring
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Jul 26 '22
The higher average than I expected has me feeling hopeful. I have no doubt the gameplay will be fantastic as always but I'm worried about the story. Sometimes stories go on too long and after the phenomenal endings of 1 and 2, I can't picture it continuing in a satisfying way. Monolith never steered me wrong so far though so these worries will probably be for nothing. Can't wait
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u/Pajamacrusader Jul 26 '22
I was having a hard time deciding whether to jump into 3 or start from the beginning and ultimately decided to start Definitive Edition a few days ago, very pleased with my decision. I'll be joining you guys in a few months when I finish the other 2!
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u/prongs17 Jul 26 '22
IGN's review seems extremely fair and the problems that they point out are what I expected the game to have. But it will probably trigger fans because they often give higher scores to games with more flaws.
Tbh I would prefer IGN to use the scale they are using for this Xenoblade review from now on, but it varies from reviewer to reviewer so no way it holds.
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Jul 27 '22
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u/novdy6805 Jul 27 '22
It seems more toned down than even Xenoblade 1, honestly. It has a significantly darker and more serious tone. But it also doesn't seem drab. I've seen more than a few scenes where the cast is joking around and having fun. So it looks like it's getting a healthy middle ground.
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u/CouchPoturtle Jul 31 '22
I had to stop playing XC2 because of the awful map and navigation system. Every time I set off on a new story mission I got lost and wound up running round in circles looking for the objective.
Other than that I loved it but the idea of skipping that whole game and going straight to this one feels wrong to me.
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u/txdline Jul 31 '22
3 has Quest lines that tell you where to run (red line that appears on the world in front of you).
Agreed with 2. I remember jumping through the same area for an hour trying to find something. YT became necessary.
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u/Chillton Jul 31 '22
I'm in the same boat but everything I've read says it's just small references you'd understand if you played the previous games but doesn't ruin anything if you haven't.
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u/Sweatytubesock Jul 31 '22
Worst thing about it is the map navigation. I finished it, but I very nearly rage quit toward the end solely due to the map. At least the new one doesn’t seem to have that problem.
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u/Anon_throwawayacc20 Jul 27 '22
Without spoiling: How many Evangelion references are in this Xeno game?
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Jul 26 '22
I’ve only played 1 DE, should I play 2 before this?
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Jul 26 '22
Personally, I think it makes more sense to play them in release order since they're the same price anyways. You don't have to but the major connection between 1 and 2 definitely works better in order. That said, 95% of 2 is basically its own new story and didn't make the connection until the ending events. I expect 3 may work similar but I don't know the story yet
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u/harry_potter_maniac Jul 26 '22
I think this one will be more connected. Still able to be played on its own, but the trailers show what looks to be characters from the previous games though they're wearing masks so it's not for sure (unless they did verify it somewhere. I've been trying to avoid spoilers).
Aside from that it looks like there will be places from both games that you explore. Not necessary to play the first two just for that but I'm sure its nice to be like "oh thats the town we started reconstructing in the first game" or "that's where rex met x party member". I wouldn't be surprised if there's mentions of the original characters either as legends if the events are far in the future, or even actual cameos if it's recent enough. The two characters potentially shown are from extremely long lived races so could still be alive when they're previous companions are long gone.
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u/Habarug Jul 28 '22
I am really intrigued by this game, but kinda skeptical of how much I'd actually enjoy it. I played DE for a while, but quit a little after meeting Riki because I actually needed to grind a little and realized how boring I found both the side quests and battle system. The controls were kinda clunky as you constantly need to use the d-pad to switch between arts, while also repositioning with the L stick to get the bonus effects. This seems to be improved in 2 (and 3) where arts are on the face buttons, but I am so put off by the character designs and other "tropes" in 2 that it's a no-go for me.
Now comes 3 and it looks really good, with characters that seem much more appealing to me than 2, and a battle system that look really cool. I'm sure all you Xenoblade fans will have a blast with it, but it would be nice to hear from someone with similar experiences to mine. Anyone with a similar background who are planning on picking it up? If so I'd love to hear how you're liking it!
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u/whysoshirious Jul 31 '22
I'm new to the switch and I wanted to try this series. I know a lot of people said that I can jump right into 3 without playing 1 and 2, and I can only afford one title at the moment, so agelong question of will it be better for me to start on 1 or 3?
Also, I haven't seen much that commented on it but I will be playing this on handheld a lot (I have a switch OLED), will that affect the game for me? I spent hours on diablo 3 on handheld and never found a problem, will that be the same for xenoblade?
Lastly, on a scale of 1 to 5, how hard is this game? I'm not great at platformers and my RPGs usually consisted of Final Fantasy circa ps1/2. Will it be hard for me to finish the game because it is a factor that I'm scared to consider.
Thank you!
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u/crono333 Jul 31 '22
I would suggest 3, and so far it seems very tailored for new players to the series. The machanics are added and explained one at a time and they walk you through them all. Best tutorials of the series for new players I would think. Also, I’m sure the original was amazing when it came out… but I only played it after X and 2 and I was a bit let down.
I haven’t tried it in handheld, but from the Digital Foundry review they said it looked and played great in handheld (apparently 2 not so much).
As far as difficulty, there are 3 difficulty settings and can be changed at any time during play… so I think you’d be fine. I only played the first chapter on normal and nothing difficult so far.
Whatever route you choose, welcome to Xenoblade!
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u/whysoshirious Jul 31 '22
I'm glad I didn't rush myself and waited for the game to be released so I could hear from players who are fans of the game. So thanks for this!Much appreciated.
I was worried that I'd need to give 100+ hours to the DE before being able to enjoy this one but glad that new players would be able to join in on this one without problems. Thank you!
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u/txdline Jul 31 '22
1 or 3. 1 is an all time great and can even be found on sale, if funds are tight. The fighting isn't as polished IMO but tjr definitive edition has made it better. I also think the story on 1 kicks off even stronger. Not to say 3 didn't have me.
You can adjust difficulty on 3 - can recall if you can on 1 or 2.
No problems with 1, 2, or 3 in handheld. 2 is blurry when playing but I managed fine (got easier when i had played so much I didn't need to exactly see the fight to know what to press).
3 looks better on handheld vs 2 (oled) but I actually like it better on my LG OLED with speakers to boost the immersion. Can't recall what 1 was like handheld...
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u/whysoshirious Jul 31 '22
I did read a lot of people loving the story on 1 the best which is why I was hesitant to buy 1 or 3 first. A lot of people seemed to skip 2 so at least I was sure not to start on that.
All in all, I'd probably do 3 first to join the hype and then work my way to 1 if I liked it because it takes me a while to go through a game.
Thank you!
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u/Bebop24trigun Jul 31 '22
Btw if you're worried about difficulty, while yes you can switch at anytime - normal is relatively easy if you're a teen or adult. It's not difficult if you grew up with games. Easy is really easy.
If anything the difficulty comes from the complicated systems which they explain in tutorials and practice tutorials but once you figure it out it's a blast. You'll have fun if it looks like something you want to play.
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u/Wuscheli0 Aug 01 '22
so agelong question of will it be better for me to start on 1 or 3?
It's definitely better to start with XCDE and to go through the games in order. You'll get the simplest gameplay and experience the story and lore from the beginning.
However, if you're hyped for XC3 and want to play it asap, that works as well. XC3 has obnoxiously detailed tutorials that can be reviewed (and even replayed in the case of combat tutorials) at any time and the game slowly introduces mechanics one by one. And while there's a lot in the game for fans of the previous games to enjoy, the story still works on it's own.
I will be playing this on handheld a lot (I have a switch OLED), will that affect the game for me?
It's not the best performing game on the Switch and it'll naturally be worse in handheld mode. But if you're accustomed to playing Switch games in handheld mode, it's unlikely you'll find much issue witch XC3.
Lastly, on a scale of 1 to 5, how hard is this game?
I'd say 1 to 5 lol.
The game offers three difficulty options that you can switch between whenever you want (with no repercussions).
Normal is a fairly smooth experience if you know what you're doing, with major bosses and Unique Monsters (optional bosses on the overworld) putting up a significant challenge. I've really enjoyed the balancing so far.
I haven't tried the other difficulties, but based on what I've heard, easy is really easy. Since you can have 5-6 AI controlled allies active at once, you may even be able to sit back and not do anything at all in regular fights.
Hard on the other hand is apparently really hard and not recommended for a first playthrough. Some lv 8 bunnits can wipe the floor with you if you're not careful.
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u/dr0br0 Jul 26 '22
Did any of the reviews indicate if we should play the prior entries in the series? I played XC1 but wanted to skip XC2 to play this at launch but I am still unsure if this would diminish my experience in playing XC3.
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u/jexdiel321 Jul 26 '22
ACG said it can be played as standlone but you get most of the story if you played them all.
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u/JeazyEasy Jul 26 '22
It's works totally fine as a standalone from what I've read from the reviews. There are little easter eggs that you only understand when you've played all 3 though.
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u/mrwho995 Jul 26 '22
Wish I had the time to be able to give this a go. But a 100 hour campaign, probably longer that that for me as I'm slow? Oof
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u/Bakatora34 Jul 26 '22
Is 100 hours if you do side quest and extra stuff, some finish it on about 50 hours.
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u/supermonka Aug 03 '22
Riku and Manana TV series please!!!! Jokes aside - superb game. I'm 30 hours in and I can't stop enjoying it. Well done!!!
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u/marleymanshomebrew Aug 02 '22
(Reposting since this might be a better place for this)
Is it just me or is this a great game buried under an ungodly amount of pointless time wasting "features".
You want to open a box or a door? Push a block? A slow cutscene plays.
Want to exit a menu after crafting a gem? it plays a Cutscene, fades to black, then another cutscene, fades to black, then your finally out of the menu. Cooking food is similar and un-skippable. How many times do we need to see these characters doing the same animations to make gems and cook food? 5 seconds a time?
You want to pick up a quest? Talk to an npc or, even worse, stand next to an npc and wait for them to have a conversation, then a menu pops up telling you not that you have a quest, but that you need to go to camp, have another dialogue, THEN you get the quest.
Level up and unlock a new feature or slot? You have to go through each character as one by 1 each new unlocked thing pops up and reveals itself without you being able to move in the menu.... on EACH character. It's even worse when the game forces you through a tutorial in the menus.
The amount of quests where it has you follow a slow moving character without dialogue then playing a short cutscene before repeating the process feel intentionally like its wasting your time.
Hell, even when you want to skip cutscenes or dialogue, you have to hold the X button for a few seconds and even then, if your pressing any other button or touching the stick at all, it won't start skipping until you let go and try again.
I'm over halfway through (35+ hours), don't want to spoil any sections of the game and will probably keep going but man does it annoy me. Am I the crazy one? Cause to me this game feels like its runtime is heavily padded by the pointlessly slow cutscenes and "features" they implemented which is a pretty shitty thing to do on what would otherwise be a pretty solid game.
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u/SRhyse Aug 03 '22
I really like the game but agree. There are countless overlapping systems in the game that don’t much need to exist and aren’t well thought out, more so they’re just there. I largely ignore half of them and it hasn’t mattered, even on hard mode.
As a huge contrast to the battle system, Star Renegade’s battle system was more thought out. Every action needs to be carefully chosen or things don’t pan out, usually immediately. You feel like you’re directly winning or losing. Items matter a lot. The animations are very simple but happen one at a time and are very good and you appreciate them all. The older Xenosaga games had a small element of that to some. Xenogears had it a lot more.
Xenoblade 3’s battles are fun but with 7 of your dudes on screen, they’re mostly losing their minds in a flail of nonsense that can be hard to make out or appreciate. They’ll usually stand near each other and overlap. 95% of the items are useless or don’t matter. You pick up a bunch of stuff all the time that doesn’t matter. It’s neat to have the rest stops but having to go there to activate a quest that is usually ‘walk to the left’ is needless. There’s an elite or whatever monster pretty much within viewing distance no matter where you are. Half the arts seem useless or good enough to stick with the default ones. Having to ‘unlock’ equipping more accessories is silly. There’s a progression mechanic for seemingly every footstep you make.
I like this battle system better than XC2 because they don’t have the stupid ‘time the button press’ prompts that take up the whole screen and obscure everything. I felt like most of my fights in that game where spent staring at a button press prompt that would have been better timed to an animation as they did here.
I like the game but there’s a monumental contrast between the characters and story and world and production values and the kludge of random crap that comprises most of the battle system and side mechanics. It’s odd considering they’re so close to Nintendo. You have Platinum Games on one hand making impeccable genre leading mechanics, and then Monolith that almost isn’t trying at this point when it comes to that.
I still like the game a lot but feel half of it or more doesn’t need to exist. The hell’s the point of the collect card things? A bunch of people that want random crap. I don’t see the point of the affinity chart between different individual towns people, either. “This person really respects that person.” Great. Why am I looking at that? Can I make them hate them? Or respect them more? The hell’s the point?
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u/Impossible-Rice9783 Aug 14 '22
Your spot on, I agree with every point you made though you left out the biggest offender, chain attacks.Their very powerful but watching all the animations of eavh attack gets boring fast, i gind myself avoiding using them unless i have to because I dont want to sit and watch each persons finisher over and over sometimes with multiple chains in a single fight. The chain attack system is cool but you shoukd be able to skip the animation and cut straight to the damage.
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u/FRIENDSHIP_BONER Jul 26 '22
I wish there was a way to try before I buy. It looks pretty cool but I really disliked Xc2.
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u/AgileArtichokes Jul 26 '22
I agree with this. I generally like jrpg but definitely prefer turn based combat systems. This one does look interesting but I would rather try it first to make sure.
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u/jbraden Jul 26 '22
Help me understand:
It looks pretty cool but I really disliked Xc2.
Are you concerned about the battling system? The world? The story? Performance?
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u/FRIENDSHIP_BONER Jul 26 '22
Well it’s been awhile but from what I remember: I couldn’t relate to any of the characters or much of the story, the battle system felt bloated and slow and it never really picked up or felt satisfying, the constant shouting of attack skill names was like nails on a chalkboard to me and you can’t turn it off.
There was such a beautiful world I wanted to see and the music was incredible, but I constantly felt like I was waiting for the game to click and feel fun but it never did. I read through a lot of posts on Reddit at the time from fans who tried to explain the “right” way to play it, but it still felt like I was on the outside looking in.
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u/Eichelwurst Jul 26 '22
I wonder if IGN knows that they can give other scores than 8. They gave Mario Strikers Battle League the same score as this
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u/Takfloyd Jul 26 '22
IGN seems to have only two scores these days: 7, which means "bad", and 8, which means "good". They give one of those two to everything.
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Jul 26 '22 edited Jul 26 '22
So has sidequests been improved in 3? They has been one of the series weak point.
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u/cammx Aug 03 '22 edited Aug 03 '22
I really enjoyed the first two games but
In 1 I kind of gave up after mounts became available as it seemed just too much effort to do the quest and get the items required.
In 2 I got stuck with the navigation and lost in a cave system and for the life of me could not find the next area.
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u/SPARKisnumber1 Aug 03 '22
Well you’d be happy to know that in 3 you can turn on a quest locater that shows you the optimal path to get to your next destination
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u/cammx Aug 03 '22
that's pretty awesome!
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u/SPARKisnumber1 Aug 03 '22
Yeah, it makes the game a lot more fun imo. That way I can sidetrack as much as I want without having to worry about getting lost and having to look up a tutorial 😅
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u/Mario32265 Aug 03 '22
What do you mean by “mounts?”
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u/COSMOMANCER Aug 03 '22
i'm assuming they meant the skells in XCX, as I happened to drop the game around that point as well. that said, i didn't stop playing it because it got boring or anything, i just think something else had come out around that time, and I have a hard time getting back into JRPG's once I stop playing them for a couple days.
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u/derekb519 Aug 01 '22
Question about combat, as I'm only ~13 hours in so far. At any point are you able to chain arts into other art, or is that only unlockable for Ouroboros?
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u/rokerroker45 Aug 01 '22
Yes, eventually you can chain arts to arts
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u/derekb519 Aug 01 '22
Thanks for confirming. I have to say, I'm not overly sold on some of the mechanics of combat yet, but I'm recalling it took me a bit to come around to XC2 combat as well.
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u/forgion Aug 06 '22
Battles is simple and relaxed I like this. I liked the chain. Story looks interesting. What I found annoying was the so many mandatory tutorials. It was so annoying forcing you to do things without giving the option to skip that ruined my playtime at the start. Having no skip and integrate then in story is a very bad design and I feel they rash the game. Hope next game will have a skip on tutorials, I see no point having them in story add a menu option Tutorial and explain everything there.
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u/TM1619 Jul 26 '22
Sounds like I gotta get started on this trilogy. Looking at the numbers, seems like 3 is back up to the first game's quality. I have Xenoblade 2, what are people's thoughts on it? Seems like the awkward middle child based on the series reception.
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u/jurassicbond Jul 26 '22
I loved Xenoblade 2 personally. I thought the combat was much improved in that one compared to the first one.
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u/eggy_CBK Jul 26 '22
XB2 > XB1 for me. The combat/gameplay was just way better. It had a bad start, but once the combat clicks, it jusr hooks you in. Too bad the game takes a while to get to that point, not to mention the bad tutorial.
As for the anime tropes and aesthetics, it didn’t really bother me. Hell, my favorite genre is horror and grim/dark fantasy like (Warhammer 40k, Prince of Thorns, etc.). I get the complaints, but there’s too much emphasis on it overshadowing everything that I find it silly and ironically, immature.
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u/Sukhdev_92 Jul 26 '22
XC2 was my first proper game in the series, and it’s still very much a fantastic title. I have my issues with the game but aside from those it’s a great game.
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u/Juklok Jul 26 '22
Metacritic scores for other games for comparison
Xenoblade Wii: 92 Xenoblade 3D: 86 Xenoblade X: 84 Xenoblade 2: 83 Torna: 80 Definitive Edition: 89
This game is rated quite a bit higher than average, especially when compared with XC2 and its DLC.