Impressive expansion that adds onto my favorite game
When Alpha says something so double spinning edge phobic you gotta hit them with that Alrest stare
DOUBLE SPINNING EDGE
This review contains spoilers
Future Redeemed was an unexpectedly early surprise in April. This DLC was basically a full on old-school expansion, clocking in around 30-ish hours for me and my semi-completionist habits. First and foremost, this was the same level of polish and detail that I've come to love from Xenoblade Chronicles (a continuing and surprising trend with the DLC expansions).
This expansion (which is what I'm going to call it from here on out) delivered all the XC fan service that we expected from the base game: Shulk and Rex, Colony 9, and Trinity Processor nonsense. And the music, continuing the trend of the expansion music being jazzier, delivered fully. Furthermore, the combat and party management was like a constrained (and thus more manageable) take on the systems from the base game.
I loved the inclusion of "map completion" showing you the different activities or unique monsters that remain in an area. It made it so satisfying to hunt down all the different points on the map and encouraged you even more to explore the big, beautiful maps that Monolith Soft are now known for making. I didn't finish fighting all the superbosses, but I did a LOT more than I normally would.
This is right up there with Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country as one of the best Xenoblade Chronicles experiences.
Honestly, Future Redeemed was a top-tier game and it wasn't even its own release.
This expansion (which is what I'm going to call it from here on out) delivered all the XC fan service that we expected from the base game: Shulk and Rex, Colony 9, and Trinity Processor nonsense. And the music, continuing the trend of the expansion music being jazzier, delivered fully. Furthermore, the combat and party management was like a constrained (and thus more manageable) take on the systems from the base game.
I loved the inclusion of "map completion" showing you the different activities or unique monsters that remain in an area. It made it so satisfying to hunt down all the different points on the map and encouraged you even more to explore the big, beautiful maps that Monolith Soft are now known for making. I didn't finish fighting all the superbosses, but I did a LOT more than I normally would.
This is right up there with Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country as one of the best Xenoblade Chronicles experiences.
Honestly, Future Redeemed was a top-tier game and it wasn't even its own release.
killed myslef when shulk and rex came on screen peak
So fucking peak. I have some nitpicks with certain points gameplay-wise, but they're very small. Absolutely makes up for XB3's kinda weird climax, and it makes me beyond excited for the future of Xeno.
perhaps the peakest DLC ever released
peak fiction.
i will get back to this when i do my xenoblade 3 review
I didn't think Monolith could top their excellent work with the base game, but somehow they managed to make one of the best RPGs I've played that's been released in recent years. Then again, I think that's because this game champions the idea of "Less is more" in spades, and perfectly uses it's more limited runtime and scope coupled with the set up and leg works every previous game has done to make this game's scenario and setting work as effectively as possible.
Note, I will be spoiling the main story here unlike my base XB3 review since I have more to say, but I will give a warning before I do so.
Firstly, the gameplay is somehow even better here than the base game. One of my main complaints with base 3 is that I feel it's overwhelming with too much to see and do, and while it's nice to chip away at over time, if you're just trying to binge the main story while seeing a good amount of quests, it will take a long time and leave you at a loss for what to see and do for awhile, and just feel incredibly daunting, especially if you're an adult with limited free time and a job like me. This game completely nips that problem in the bud by having a good amount to do, but not be too insane in scope. I feel that shorter RPGs are very underrated these days in terms of respecting your time and being better at streamlining its mechanics, while also packing a meaningful experience into a succinct timeframe. As much as I enjoyed the base game, bigger isn't always better.
The exploration here is better than it's ever been, and that's because they learned from Xenoblade 2 Torna's DLC expansion's mistakes. While the Community Affinity system in that game was great, it's biggest problem was that it was required and not optional, and would gate you from literally beating the game for several hours of playtime, even if you worked to do quests ahead of time. Here, it's all optional, but you're subtly encouraged to do so by actually being rewarded for exploring the world via many rewards beyond just EXP and items. Growing stronger and fulfilling objectives like the returning Collectapedia from Xenoblade 1 was so satisfying and addicting. Not only that, the environments and setting being more directly connected returning ones from Xenoblade 1 was another genius way to incentivize the exploration and be good fanservice for fans, so it works doubly in the games favor.
Another great aspect of this progression system is how it's tied into the combat. Because the gameplay is more streamlined, we don't have an expansive class system with tons of options to choose from here, but that works in the combat's favor. Because everyone is limited to one class, the game goes hard on making the progression system in how they get stronger a lot more succinct and rewarding, and making the characters more broken in their roles in ways that couldn't really be done in base 3. My favorite aspect of this was the additional Accesory slot that changed up Chain Order bonuses and let you really mess around with what characters can do what effects to make Chain Attacks that much more engaging and fresh, and give you such a strong edge in racking up the damage in such cool fun ways. I got so incredibly addicted to this, far more than the base game where I felt pretty limited due to how most of the character's completion orders other than the Heroes tend to be pretty eh. Very nice improvement. I also appreciate having Break Arts that aren't solely dependent on positioning in a pinch compared to the base game, as well as having a much more convenient and reliable Smash option that wasn't hard to get like the base game. Both of these changes really helped me pull off more combos than I could in the base game and made the combat that much more enjoyable and strategic, but fair with your control over it this time around.
The music is even better here than in the base game, with generally more memorable tracks, both new and with old homages to Xenoblade 1 and 2 songs from the past in great ways, but it helps that there's less areas that you spend more time in overall in this game, which helps memorability.
Now here come the story spoilers, you have been warned.
While Xenoblade 3's main game was a pretty strong thematic sequel to Xenoblade 1's themes on the cyclical nature of war and revenge, Future Redeemed is very much a direct sequel to Xenoblade 1's narrative as a whole. FR takes full advantage of the fact that it has 3 full games (and an epilogue's) worth of build up for its story, and wastes no time just jumping into the meat of the plot from the get go, no slow burn beginning this time which I appreciate this deep into the series. We get Matthew and Na'el's backstories fed to us via flashback after the journey's already started, and the game capitilizes on addressing remaining questions left over from the base game, as well as resolving plot threads left untied from what happened after Xenoblade 1 and 2's respective endings, which was super satisfying to see finally answered. I know a lot of people think FR raises more questions than it answers, but I disagree. If you have full Xenoblade lore knowledge, FR gives more than enough in terms of overt answers and implied answers for you to piece together the full story of Xenoblade 3 as a whole and how it follows up 1 and 2. The only things left unanswered are the Xenosaga teases near the end, which is pretty clear set up for future Xenoblade games, so that's intentional and not a big deal for the moment in my opinion in terms of being "unanswered".
The cast is as strong as ever, which is great to see not toned down from the base game's quality of writing, and it helps that half the cast are returning characters who had their arcs completed and are more fleshed out as adults who've been through it all. Rex for example I think works a lot better as a character here after having seen him push through with his ideals even after losing his mentors, lovers, and children and still fight to make the world a better place as a more gruff adult. Shulk and Alvis are still as endearing as ever as well, and their bonds with the rest of the cast are so nice and truly enrich the story. Having heart to hearts be incorporated into Shulk, Rex and Alvis revisit old sights and such was a genius idea as well gameplay wise.
The themes of FR inverting the base game's while following up Xenoblade 1 and 2's themes of seizing the future and pushing through a cruel world with hope to rebuild the world better than before in the face of adversity hit so much harder now after seeing how the world has fallen into a worse state than they were in 1 or 2's scenarios. But it makes the triumph at the end all the more sweeter as a result too, and is definitely the pinnacle of Xenoblade's themes as a whole of working towards the future, endlessly. The characters and world of the series isn't stagnant, and doesn't live in an endless now of eternal peace, as that's just now how humanity is. There will always be problems, but we must work through them together for the entirety of our lives in pursuit of something better. That's how life is, and Xenoblade Chronicles as a whole captures that perfectly.
Overall, I'm incredibly impressed with this game, and I wish more episodic direct installments of shorter length were more viable in today's market sadly. Here's to hoping Monolith can do more of these going forward. Their future looks incredibly bright after this magnum opus of a work from them.
Final Playtime: 27 hours, 14 minutes.
Note, I will be spoiling the main story here unlike my base XB3 review since I have more to say, but I will give a warning before I do so.
Firstly, the gameplay is somehow even better here than the base game. One of my main complaints with base 3 is that I feel it's overwhelming with too much to see and do, and while it's nice to chip away at over time, if you're just trying to binge the main story while seeing a good amount of quests, it will take a long time and leave you at a loss for what to see and do for awhile, and just feel incredibly daunting, especially if you're an adult with limited free time and a job like me. This game completely nips that problem in the bud by having a good amount to do, but not be too insane in scope. I feel that shorter RPGs are very underrated these days in terms of respecting your time and being better at streamlining its mechanics, while also packing a meaningful experience into a succinct timeframe. As much as I enjoyed the base game, bigger isn't always better.
The exploration here is better than it's ever been, and that's because they learned from Xenoblade 2 Torna's DLC expansion's mistakes. While the Community Affinity system in that game was great, it's biggest problem was that it was required and not optional, and would gate you from literally beating the game for several hours of playtime, even if you worked to do quests ahead of time. Here, it's all optional, but you're subtly encouraged to do so by actually being rewarded for exploring the world via many rewards beyond just EXP and items. Growing stronger and fulfilling objectives like the returning Collectapedia from Xenoblade 1 was so satisfying and addicting. Not only that, the environments and setting being more directly connected returning ones from Xenoblade 1 was another genius way to incentivize the exploration and be good fanservice for fans, so it works doubly in the games favor.
Another great aspect of this progression system is how it's tied into the combat. Because the gameplay is more streamlined, we don't have an expansive class system with tons of options to choose from here, but that works in the combat's favor. Because everyone is limited to one class, the game goes hard on making the progression system in how they get stronger a lot more succinct and rewarding, and making the characters more broken in their roles in ways that couldn't really be done in base 3. My favorite aspect of this was the additional Accesory slot that changed up Chain Order bonuses and let you really mess around with what characters can do what effects to make Chain Attacks that much more engaging and fresh, and give you such a strong edge in racking up the damage in such cool fun ways. I got so incredibly addicted to this, far more than the base game where I felt pretty limited due to how most of the character's completion orders other than the Heroes tend to be pretty eh. Very nice improvement. I also appreciate having Break Arts that aren't solely dependent on positioning in a pinch compared to the base game, as well as having a much more convenient and reliable Smash option that wasn't hard to get like the base game. Both of these changes really helped me pull off more combos than I could in the base game and made the combat that much more enjoyable and strategic, but fair with your control over it this time around.
The music is even better here than in the base game, with generally more memorable tracks, both new and with old homages to Xenoblade 1 and 2 songs from the past in great ways, but it helps that there's less areas that you spend more time in overall in this game, which helps memorability.
Now here come the story spoilers, you have been warned.
While Xenoblade 3's main game was a pretty strong thematic sequel to Xenoblade 1's themes on the cyclical nature of war and revenge, Future Redeemed is very much a direct sequel to Xenoblade 1's narrative as a whole. FR takes full advantage of the fact that it has 3 full games (and an epilogue's) worth of build up for its story, and wastes no time just jumping into the meat of the plot from the get go, no slow burn beginning this time which I appreciate this deep into the series. We get Matthew and Na'el's backstories fed to us via flashback after the journey's already started, and the game capitilizes on addressing remaining questions left over from the base game, as well as resolving plot threads left untied from what happened after Xenoblade 1 and 2's respective endings, which was super satisfying to see finally answered. I know a lot of people think FR raises more questions than it answers, but I disagree. If you have full Xenoblade lore knowledge, FR gives more than enough in terms of overt answers and implied answers for you to piece together the full story of Xenoblade 3 as a whole and how it follows up 1 and 2. The only things left unanswered are the Xenosaga teases near the end, which is pretty clear set up for future Xenoblade games, so that's intentional and not a big deal for the moment in my opinion in terms of being "unanswered".
The cast is as strong as ever, which is great to see not toned down from the base game's quality of writing, and it helps that half the cast are returning characters who had their arcs completed and are more fleshed out as adults who've been through it all. Rex for example I think works a lot better as a character here after having seen him push through with his ideals even after losing his mentors, lovers, and children and still fight to make the world a better place as a more gruff adult. Shulk and Alvis are still as endearing as ever as well, and their bonds with the rest of the cast are so nice and truly enrich the story. Having heart to hearts be incorporated into Shulk, Rex and Alvis revisit old sights and such was a genius idea as well gameplay wise.
The themes of FR inverting the base game's while following up Xenoblade 1 and 2's themes of seizing the future and pushing through a cruel world with hope to rebuild the world better than before in the face of adversity hit so much harder now after seeing how the world has fallen into a worse state than they were in 1 or 2's scenarios. But it makes the triumph at the end all the more sweeter as a result too, and is definitely the pinnacle of Xenoblade's themes as a whole of working towards the future, endlessly. The characters and world of the series isn't stagnant, and doesn't live in an endless now of eternal peace, as that's just now how humanity is. There will always be problems, but we must work through them together for the entirety of our lives in pursuit of something better. That's how life is, and Xenoblade Chronicles as a whole captures that perfectly.
Overall, I'm incredibly impressed with this game, and I wish more episodic direct installments of shorter length were more viable in today's market sadly. Here's to hoping Monolith can do more of these going forward. Their future looks incredibly bright after this magnum opus of a work from them.
Final Playtime: 27 hours, 14 minutes.
7/10
Queria saber por que diabos as dlcs hoje em dia estão conseguindo ser mais sucinta e efetiva em quesito textual, temático e as vezes design tbm, superior ao jogo base.
Dito isso, eu gostei genuinamente dessa dlc, apesar de muita coisa que não gosto de xenoblade 3 estar aqui, senti que eles conciliaram melhor os problemas com o gameplay, no fim foi uma jornada boa e me fez ficar com vontade de um dia rejogar o 3 base novamente.
Shulk e rex são personagens ok pra ruins em seus jogos, mas aqui pqp eles finalmente viram algo bom porra.
Matthew sola todo o elenco do 3 base
A personagem da A... deixa desejar
Nikol And Glimmer (Kageroi no jp) deixam a deixar pkrl, apesar de ter sides boas envolvendo eles, infelizmente isso pesa na reta final.
Num geral essa dlc foi melhor que o jogo base, mas deixo perguntas abertas que n deveria, as respostas são coesas mas não são boas, finalizei um pouco feliz por que minha experiência foi positiva num geral, mas xenoblade é uma montanha russa.
Queria saber por que diabos as dlcs hoje em dia estão conseguindo ser mais sucinta e efetiva em quesito textual, temático e as vezes design tbm, superior ao jogo base.
Dito isso, eu gostei genuinamente dessa dlc, apesar de muita coisa que não gosto de xenoblade 3 estar aqui, senti que eles conciliaram melhor os problemas com o gameplay, no fim foi uma jornada boa e me fez ficar com vontade de um dia rejogar o 3 base novamente.
Shulk e rex são personagens ok pra ruins em seus jogos, mas aqui pqp eles finalmente viram algo bom porra.
Matthew sola todo o elenco do 3 base
A personagem da A... deixa desejar
Nikol And Glimmer (Kageroi no jp) deixam a deixar pkrl, apesar de ter sides boas envolvendo eles, infelizmente isso pesa na reta final.
Num geral essa dlc foi melhor que o jogo base, mas deixo perguntas abertas que n deveria, as respostas são coesas mas não são boas, finalizei um pouco feliz por que minha experiência foi positiva num geral, mas xenoblade é uma montanha russa.
I love Xenoblade 3 but this DLC surpassed it in my opinion with one of the greatest protagonists and just insane nostalgia. I was immediately brought back to my childhood seeing some of the areas, it's the best payoff fans of the series could have ever asked for. We have some absolutely insane bazongas with the new cat girl Na'el, this kitty could give you enough milk for a whole bowl of honey nut Cheerios.
Enjoyed it, but not as much as I expected. Music is still great, exploring is nice and feels rewarding, but the story was a bit confusing to me.
It's pretty welcoming to returning players (I've finished XC3 around one year ago) and there are enough tutorials to get by.
The presentation is as always just incredible.
Looking forward to what will come out next from Monolith.
It's pretty welcoming to returning players (I've finished XC3 around one year ago) and there are enough tutorials to get by.
The presentation is as always just incredible.
Looking forward to what will come out next from Monolith.
I was walking in circles around my room for over an hour after finishing it last night and am still trying to collect my thoughts. A beautiful finale to the entirety of Xeno and everything I could have ever asked for.
I have never felt such satisfaction upon finishing something before and am so glad I played Gears and Saga beforehand. I played this series, especially 3 and FR, at the best possible time in my life, purely by chance, and don't think its themes would have resonated with me as deeply as they did had I played it at any previous point in my life. I'll never forget what it has taught me and will forever treasure it. Sagabros we won
P.S. DABURU SUPININGU EJJI
I have never felt such satisfaction upon finishing something before and am so glad I played Gears and Saga beforehand. I played this series, especially 3 and FR, at the best possible time in my life, purely by chance, and don't think its themes would have resonated with me as deeply as they did had I played it at any previous point in my life. I'll never forget what it has taught me and will forever treasure it. Sagabros we won
P.S. DABURU SUPININGU EJJI
as a conclusion this game was soo so perfect and future awaits makes me cry every time I hear it.
-possibly one of the best endings to the trilogy they could have done
-they gave closure to every loose end and every character. very nostalgic
-i love the father-son dynamic of Shulk and Nikol and father-daughter dynamic of Rex and Glimmer, they were pretty fitting and wholesome, seeing the protagonists of the old games try to be dads (which Shulk is way better at). also love the canon implications that Panacea is Reyn and Sharla's daughter, Linka is Zeke and Pandoria's daughter, and Riku is Riki's son. there's also the non-canon stretches people have made such as Ashera being Dunban's daughter
-when Matthew said "one day it might even be you" on who's going to stop Moebius, it's a cool line that teases the plot of the base game, but it doesn't really make sense why he'd say that in context lol
-the lore dump of Earth in 2054 was super cool, especially all the radio talk in the background which went over my head because I haven't played the older Xeno games but it's still cool
-I didn't quite get the ending when Matthew was leaving, was he setting off to build a new City?
-WHO IS RIKU??? WHY IS HE EVERYWHERE AND AS OLD AS TIME
-they gave closure to every loose end and every character. very nostalgic
-i love the father-son dynamic of Shulk and Nikol and father-daughter dynamic of Rex and Glimmer, they were pretty fitting and wholesome, seeing the protagonists of the old games try to be dads (which Shulk is way better at). also love the canon implications that Panacea is Reyn and Sharla's daughter, Linka is Zeke and Pandoria's daughter, and Riku is Riki's son. there's also the non-canon stretches people have made such as Ashera being Dunban's daughter
-when Matthew said "one day it might even be you" on who's going to stop Moebius, it's a cool line that teases the plot of the base game, but it doesn't really make sense why he'd say that in context lol
-the lore dump of Earth in 2054 was super cool, especially all the radio talk in the background which went over my head because I haven't played the older Xeno games but it's still cool
-I didn't quite get the ending when Matthew was leaving, was he setting off to build a new City?
-WHO IS RIKU??? WHY IS HE EVERYWHERE AND AS OLD AS TIME
Once again, unable to think of a joke because of an overdose on Peak.
Perfect conclusion to the saga but man I was so close to 100%ing but didn't wanna grind. Music fire ofc and combat still on fleek!!!! The ending as a whole was just wild won't get in depth but OMG had me out of my chair like xc2 did.
A lot of this game is absurd fanservice, but it is such delightful fanservice that i dont mind it. Most of the characters were just ok, but the story was quite interesting and it felt like a great way to end the series. Gameplay was just as fun as the base game. Side content was just alright, it felt fine but not necessary.
It is about equal to base 3, maybe slightly better just because a shorter length lets it be more focused. Must play if you are a fan.
It is about equal to base 3, maybe slightly better just because a shorter length lets it be more focused. Must play if you are a fan.
A great expansion of Xenoblade 3.
The story is good, elaborating on the world of Xenoblade 3.
The added mechanics to combat are nice as they still allow for customization without having the class system.
The story is good, elaborating on the world of Xenoblade 3.
The added mechanics to combat are nice as they still allow for customization without having the class system.
cried a lot, I mained mashu because punching types are my favorite kind of guy to play. Glad I finally learned where the heck shulk was. Felt my heart breaking and reconstructing itself as the credits rolled, 3 >100 hour games, a trilogy finished but not over, I hope the gangs are happy wherever they are.
Peakest DLC from Xenoblade franchise atm
I'm going to cum
Isso é literalmente uma fanfic
2/20 backlog 2024
A genuine treat for longtime Xenoblade fans. It ties all the games (not you, Xenoblade Chronicles X) together beautifully even though you're left with more questions than answers after the credits have rolled.
A genuine treat for longtime Xenoblade fans. It ties all the games (not you, Xenoblade Chronicles X) together beautifully even though you're left with more questions than answers after the credits have rolled.
I'm trembling, the ending is insane, I cried, I screamed..
Never any medium made me feel like this, I don't have a bad thing to say about this, it's perfect, it's peak!
Just play Xenoblade, it's so Good!
Never any medium made me feel like this, I don't have a bad thing to say about this, it's perfect, it's peak!
Just play Xenoblade, it's so Good!
final boss goes hard
subtle reference many of you may not have noticed: the character "matthew" is a reference to noah, from xenoblade 3. for more information on this, google n femdom rule 34
This is the reincarnation of Jesus in video game form. This is a biblically legendary conclusion/bridge for what's to come. Mega glad I played Xenosaga first as well. The satisfaction from all the payoffs here is a rare treat that I don't get to feel that often in gaming. I am so absurdly excited for whatever the Xeno series has in store for us next. I hope we get to see Kos-mos again personally.
What a beautiful coda to this amazing trilogy of games. It tied together all three games in such a satisfying way, and showed that the ties between each entry run deeper than I could've imagined. On top of the fantastic story, the systems are great as well. My goat Collectopedia is back along with several other new ways to explore and interact with the world. Absolutely loved every second of this DLC, what a perfect farewell to the series as it stands