After the fantastic Xenoblade Chronicles 1, expectations for the second instalment are high. However, they are entirely fulfilled, albeit somewhat differently than initially expected. Everyone should find out for themselves how the game relates to the first instalment! The story is amazing, and the characters are all really likeable, with a compelling background story that makes them even more likeable. The voice acting in English is not bad (especially Malos), but sometimes there are moments where the tone doesn't quite fit or the emotions don't come across well. This is because the voice actors couldn't always see the cutscenes beforehand and had to do it "blindly".

The combat system is better than in XC1 and doesn't get boring; on the contrary, as you get stronger and stronger and new possibilities open up, it becomes more and more fun. The Titans and areas look fantastic, and exploring them is always fun. The OST is one of the best soundtracks in video game history, and I still love listening to it. There are fewer side quests than in XC1, but they are usually longer. Almost all blade quests are really good as you learn more about the blades, and they tell an interesting story. However, getting most of the blades through a gacha mechanic is annoying, as you must invest a lot of time and be lucky to get all the blades.

Overall, the game has some minor criticisms, but these are overshadowed by the positive aspects. I can only recommend it to everyone!

Xenoblade 2's combat makes leaps over the first game's by removing the level gap limit and improving chain attacks. This is the end of the good things I have to say about Xenoblade 2.
To address the elephant-sized breasts in the room, Xenoblade 2 is heavily marred by its tone. The story? Filled to the brim with ecchi humor where it really just isn't appropriate or funny (the infamous Mythra bed scene being a top offender). The gameplay? Dictated by a system that might as well have come straight out of a gacha game so that you can have any sort of competent team for chain attacks. The art direction? I don't even care about visuals that much but god damn, can we please put more effort in than bouncing breastily? My favorite blade design was the book girl cause she was made of books. If we're going to drive home the connection between humans and blades as different species, it would be awesome if half the blades weren't just essentially humans.
With that out of the way, the rest of the game:
Xenoblade 2's story sucks, there's no other way to put it. Rex's goal gets sidelined time and time again for other plot threads that seem to take us in an infinitely recurring circle around the central plot. Xenoblade 1 started you off with a simple goal and expanded it as the story progressed. Xenoblade 2 starts you off with a vague goal (go to Elysium because it's probably good or something maybe) and doesn't manage to meaningfully expand on it for DOZENS of hours, and by the time it does, what is it that you even care about in the world?
This isn't to say the story doesn't have its bright spots, Zeke singlehandedly carries the game's funny bone, but these moments are few and far between.
In the end, you come to realize at some point that the game doesn't have a main villain, until you remember that it DOES, he just sucks dick because his motivations are AWFUL, and that his glorified sidekick would've made for a better final boss.
And on the gameplay, outside of the chain attack and level gap, there is much to be desired. I really don't have time to get into all the micromanaging and tedium that comes with the gameplay both in and out of combat, so I'll just summarize it as needing stutter-stepping and art-recharge meals to be any fun. I wouldn't even have gone out of my way to fight special monsters in the game had I not gotten Zenobia as a blade, who's affinity chart is progressed exclusively by fighting strong monsters, a luxury I desperately wish I could say about some of the other blades I was unfortunate enough to get.

Peak, just peak.

Thanks to a random bartender recommending the game to me a long time ago (like 4-5 years ago) I began playing it and man what a solid game it was.

The music is peak, the story is peak, the characters are peak, the areas are peak, the gameplay is peak (besides the need of required skills)

please give this game a try!

Check point for the first 10 hours:
- Chapter 2 (just got eaten by the big whale dude after running from purple spaghetti dude).

I find it pretty similar to XC1:DE’s opening this far ngl. The story is a little more engaging and it generally looks a lot better (combat especially) and running around the world is just mad relaxing.

Character design is very hit and miss for me thus far. Characters like Poppi, Nia, Morag, and Jin look incredible, but others like Malos, glasses dude, and especially Rex look pretty bad in comparison.

Unfortunately and surprisingly, the thing I’m most disappointed in this far has been the music. None of the music thus far has hit that hard for me. Ive done the whole “turn it up during dialogue, listen to podcast during gameplay”

Uhhhhh anyways, see ya later

In the cloud sea of terrible dialogue, gross gameplay mechanics, and shitty outfits for most characters, there is a game that is undeniably special and meaningful. The combat is actually really good once you finally click with it, personally it was 20 hours until I finally understood all of the intimate mechanics. It took a lot of reddit, but it is actually super well designed. While the story is basic, it is good enough to keep you playing, especially past chapter 6, once you finally get more information about what you are actually traveling for, it becomes a lot more interesting the further you progress. I love this game to death, it is an important part of the Xenoblade series whichever way you slice it. Hell, even if you only love the OST, the game is valuable even with all of its problems.

Definitely not up there with the first game imo but still really great. The characters are pretty fun honestly. The music especially the title screen oohhhh so good. The combat while confusing at first if you look up a tutorial becomes so rewarding and fun. The story is pretty good but really pays off in the end especially when we hear a familiar voice (you know who and if you dont please don't search it up!!!). There's and overwhelming amount of content though even in new game plus that I wish I could play. Really there are just two negatives the gacha system is insane for a console game and the navigation system is ass and unhelpful!