Mar 2024 Comment: This game has many problems with it, but it is still one I hold very close to my heart. This was one of the first REAL games I beat. I beat it back in 2018 and im gonna guess it took me about 5 months, which honestly isn't that bad but back then I thought it was about a year's time.
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!
This is my definitive xenoblade i dont GAF what others say. I played this during one of the hardest points in my life and i was so absorbed and obsessed with the combat and story that I somehow found a JRPG fun for once. This game gets shit on alot for bad voice acting and horny bait and i used to be one of those people until i played the game. This is one of my favorite games of all time guys pls play it.
A grating, hyperactive narrative that indulges every obnoxious JRPG trope the first one managed to avoid. Soldier through it and you’re rewarded with a sublime combat system that improves on the first game’s, with enough variety to last you upwards of a thousand hours. I’m mixed on this one, but its strengths are undeniable.
This game is a major step down for me from the first game in nearly every area. I bought a Switch just to play this, keep that in mind...
To start, half of the narrative is fluff and filler that dosen't amount to anything. Chapter 4 in general is almost entirely filler, but the sections leading up to that are as well. This would not be a problem if the game was not already 75 hours minimum. What isn't filler in the first half is then just tonally disconnected sections and a warped mess of bad comedy mixed with serious moments. The voice acting, no matter which way you play with dub or sub, is terrible. The direction was just poor and slapped together. A majority of the side content is an even worse grind than the first game, everything being locked behind timers, literal walls in your path to prevent you from progressing, Im not kidding. There are just giant portals in your way with no rhyme or reason and you need to jump several thousand times or run in circles or just waste your time waiting for merc missions just to complete them. It also has a gacha system that forces you to grind until you get good units. (It is not monitized, but still a poor system.)
There are basically zero tutorials as well, and ones that exist cannot be viewed again unless you go out of your way to find them.
The game is not all bad. It still has wonderful music, some of the characters are likeable. The second half of the story is quite good. It has lots of content. And the gameplay gets fun eventually. Yet none of these can save the massive flaws baked into the game.
I know many love this one, but even after 2 full playthroughs, I just have no desire to ever finish it 100%. It is a slog to endure with hardly any payoff. I don't think i'll ever love this game.
To start, half of the narrative is fluff and filler that dosen't amount to anything. Chapter 4 in general is almost entirely filler, but the sections leading up to that are as well. This would not be a problem if the game was not already 75 hours minimum. What isn't filler in the first half is then just tonally disconnected sections and a warped mess of bad comedy mixed with serious moments. The voice acting, no matter which way you play with dub or sub, is terrible. The direction was just poor and slapped together. A majority of the side content is an even worse grind than the first game, everything being locked behind timers, literal walls in your path to prevent you from progressing, Im not kidding. There are just giant portals in your way with no rhyme or reason and you need to jump several thousand times or run in circles or just waste your time waiting for merc missions just to complete them. It also has a gacha system that forces you to grind until you get good units. (It is not monitized, but still a poor system.)
There are basically zero tutorials as well, and ones that exist cannot be viewed again unless you go out of your way to find them.
The game is not all bad. It still has wonderful music, some of the characters are likeable. The second half of the story is quite good. It has lots of content. And the gameplay gets fun eventually. Yet none of these can save the massive flaws baked into the game.
I know many love this one, but even after 2 full playthroughs, I just have no desire to ever finish it 100%. It is a slog to endure with hardly any payoff. I don't think i'll ever love this game.