BULLSHITBLAZING
I don't know kiddies I think I'm all Doom 3'd out after playing it nonstop for almost a week.
Never played this before cause when I last played Doom 3 I was a dumb stupid kid that thought this slow horror shit wasn't Doom. Don't let that fool you, it is Doom and this ain't bad, but it's more of what already came before it. Cool to see some new areas of the UAC facility explored and this basically combines (most) all the monsters and weapons from base Doom 3 and ROE into a single package. It's also only around 90 minutes making it abridged and blitzed Doom 3 which is cool if you got a hankering for Doom 3 but don't feel like going through the 7-8 hour Doom 3 campaign. Probably the most action packed Doom 3 anything too thanks to its short length. Also most likely contradicts everything in the main Doom 3 story, but who cares all Doom canon now according to 2016 and Eternal.
Gonna go ruin all this Doom 3 goodwill with the Doom movie since let's be real it's the final part of this Quadrilogy. The Alien Resurrection of Doom 3 if you will. This was really all an exercise to see how many times I could say Doom 3 in this review of an expansion of Doom 3 that ends the Doom 3 saga.
Never played this before cause when I last played Doom 3 I was a dumb stupid kid that thought this slow horror shit wasn't Doom. Don't let that fool you, it is Doom and this ain't bad, but it's more of what already came before it. Cool to see some new areas of the UAC facility explored and this basically combines (most) all the monsters and weapons from base Doom 3 and ROE into a single package. It's also only around 90 minutes making it abridged and blitzed Doom 3 which is cool if you got a hankering for Doom 3 but don't feel like going through the 7-8 hour Doom 3 campaign. Probably the most action packed Doom 3 anything too thanks to its short length. Also most likely contradicts everything in the main Doom 3 story, but who cares all Doom canon now according to 2016 and Eternal.
Gonna go ruin all this Doom 3 goodwill with the Doom movie since let's be real it's the final part of this Quadrilogy. The Alien Resurrection of Doom 3 if you will. This was really all an exercise to see how many times I could say Doom 3 in this review of an expansion of Doom 3 that ends the Doom 3 saga.
Basically kind of like the Eternal DLCs/expansions, picks off where the original game ended in terms of difficulty and like those if you liked Doom 3 (I do) you will like this. The problems you had with Doom 3? They're not entirely gone here. I will say though the lowered camera fuckery when soldiers shoot you is 100% id realizing they made that shit mad annoying in the base game and thank god for that. Biggest major difference now though is the Super Shotty is back and after that point I never looked back at the awful Doom 3 base shotgun ever again. Not to say the SS is perfect since it still seems to have some issues with spread, but I'll take it. The new additional weapon "The Artifact" is cool with its bullet time effect, but I'm gonna be honest the Soul Cube stealing demons health and making it your own? Much cooler. Neat to see all these things become in game power ups in the new Doom games though. Once again proving those games don't distance themselves from Doom 3, but celebrate it just as much as the others.
Brisk 2 and a half to three hour playtime is perfect for this. Will be doing The Lost Missions next.
Brisk 2 and a half to three hour playtime is perfect for this. Will be doing The Lost Missions next.
2019
Replaying this for the first time in over a decade in a post 2016 and Eternal world really is eye opening to what a dumbass shithead kid I was back then. Now while I still prefer those games and the first two Dooms to this, to call Doom 3 bad is genuinely insane. Doom 3 is just as valid to the franchise as any of the other games and Doom 2016 owes so much to it. It's genuinely wild how much it takes from this and not just obvious things like the Hellknight design, but even the design and general engineering of the UAC facility, weapons, and equipment feels so familiar across both to a degree.
id were honestly off the goop to be pulling off lighting like this in 2004 much less having the balls to go full horror with a game franchise that had in the minds of people become remembered as big demon slaughter fest or the funny comic. Really if I have any problems with Doom 3 is that unlike previous Doom games which I feel start strong and end kinda dull. Doom 3 starts strong and gets kinda dull and sluggish around the middle then picks the fuck back up towards the end with massive enemy gauntlets that keep you on your toes. Oh, and the boss battles kinda suck, they're really easy and most of the time amount to just shoot it until it dies. Yeah sure, you can make the argument this is usually the case for Doom, but if you've played Doom 3 you know exactly what I'm talking about. YOU DON'T EVEN FIGHT THE CYBERDEMON HEAD ON YOU KILL GOONS TO POWER THE MCGUFFIN THAT HURTS IT COME ON.
That aside very good game.
id were honestly off the goop to be pulling off lighting like this in 2004 much less having the balls to go full horror with a game franchise that had in the minds of people become remembered as big demon slaughter fest or the funny comic. Really if I have any problems with Doom 3 is that unlike previous Doom games which I feel start strong and end kinda dull. Doom 3 starts strong and gets kinda dull and sluggish around the middle then picks the fuck back up towards the end with massive enemy gauntlets that keep you on your toes. Oh, and the boss battles kinda suck, they're really easy and most of the time amount to just shoot it until it dies. Yeah sure, you can make the argument this is usually the case for Doom, but if you've played Doom 3 you know exactly what I'm talking about. YOU DON'T EVEN FIGHT THE CYBERDEMON HEAD ON YOU KILL GOONS TO POWER THE MCGUFFIN THAT HURTS IT COME ON.
That aside very good game.
2020
Gonna be honest kinda underwhelmed by this. It is more classic Doom and if you like classic Doom you will like this game. Period. This is also unfortunately it's biggest fault as it just feels like a darker and browner retread of classic Doom; a sort of flux state between Doom 2 and Doom 3. That being said there's a biting late 90s edge to this one that a lot of the M rated N64 games had that I can one hundred percent get behind. The game also oozes atmosphere easily one of the moodiest games of that era and the weird ambient score ocasionally broken up by weird distorted sounds of people screaming and moaning or babies crying just adds to that. I just wish the game itself was as fun to play as the other Doom games...
I don't think there's any inherently bad Doom game and this is definitely not a bad game, but this is for sure probably the weakest Doom for me now. Maybe if I give it another shot down the line, but if we're talking about N64 FPS's I'd rather be playing the first two Turok games. Also, fuck the Lost Souls in this one whoever programmed most encounters with them to spawn above AND behind you deserves to get kicked in the nuts.
I don't think there's any inherently bad Doom game and this is definitely not a bad game, but this is for sure probably the weakest Doom for me now. Maybe if I give it another shot down the line, but if we're talking about N64 FPS's I'd rather be playing the first two Turok games. Also, fuck the Lost Souls in this one whoever programmed most encounters with them to spawn above AND behind you deserves to get kicked in the nuts.
2020
Got a hankering for this again after last playing it like mid 2020 during the early pandemic days and honestly? Simple as hell game, but loads of fun, even if it runs like absolute dogwater on my PS4 Pro. Love that the game ain't that long either. 12 hours doing everything this playthru and around 16 my first time around. Wish more open world/sandbox games were around this long to be honest.
Really hope this gets a sequel that goes full psychopath like Jaws Unleashed which was clearly what they were going for with a lot of it. Right down to the armored boat final boss. Oh and please more apex battles those are actually genuinely sick.
Well what else can I say besides sometimes you watch Avatar: The Way of Water twice within a week, get hit with James Cameron's autistic love and respect of the ocean, and the next thing you know you're playing Maneater squinting so you can pretend you're Payakan during the climax.
Really hope this gets a sequel that goes full psychopath like Jaws Unleashed which was clearly what they were going for with a lot of it. Right down to the armored boat final boss. Oh and please more apex battles those are actually genuinely sick.
Well what else can I say besides sometimes you watch Avatar: The Way of Water twice within a week, get hit with James Cameron's autistic love and respect of the ocean, and the next thing you know you're playing Maneater squinting so you can pretend you're Payakan during the climax.
2022
This game must have been cursed or some shit with the insane and super quiet development time and then the shit that went down like 2 weeks before it came out.
Rules and goes hard as fuck both literally and figuratively. This shit way harder than 2 almost hitting some of the psychotic insanity in Bayo 1. It really do suffer from an issue I've been having with a lot of Platinum's outings since Nier Automata though and it's that it feels they get way too ambitious with the amount of gameplay elements they want to put into a single game and it does hamper the experience somewhat. Also, not a fan of the two weapons loadout they went for here. Loved having different weapons mixed and matched equipped on my hands and feet. Don't have that here and you end up just defaulting to either two light and fast weapons or a light and heavy weapon which gets kind of old and just takes away player freedom and expression that the first two games had. Offset of this is that it still feels good as fuck to play and see combo go up like most Platinum games.
Demon Slave thankfully feels better than the fake stands in Astral Chain which was my worry going into this after giving that a shot (but who knows the goodwill of this may make me go back to that...and I may end up liking it) and with Nucleus of Talos equipped that lets you move around and attack? May just be the best combat gimmick they've added to any of these.
Not gonna lie, don't even know how I feel about where the story goes since it feels like a quick cop-out to catch up to where DMC6 will probably go post V. Like they tried to make Bayonetta 3 and 4 at once and it just feels like they speedrun through the whole THE NEXT GENERATION shit, but if they can iron out some of the frustrating parry mechanics with Viola I can see Bayo4 being just as fun and challenging as the previous ones.
Rules and goes hard as fuck both literally and figuratively. This shit way harder than 2 almost hitting some of the psychotic insanity in Bayo 1. It really do suffer from an issue I've been having with a lot of Platinum's outings since Nier Automata though and it's that it feels they get way too ambitious with the amount of gameplay elements they want to put into a single game and it does hamper the experience somewhat. Also, not a fan of the two weapons loadout they went for here. Loved having different weapons mixed and matched equipped on my hands and feet. Don't have that here and you end up just defaulting to either two light and fast weapons or a light and heavy weapon which gets kind of old and just takes away player freedom and expression that the first two games had. Offset of this is that it still feels good as fuck to play and see combo go up like most Platinum games.
Demon Slave thankfully feels better than the fake stands in Astral Chain which was my worry going into this after giving that a shot (but who knows the goodwill of this may make me go back to that...and I may end up liking it) and with Nucleus of Talos equipped that lets you move around and attack? May just be the best combat gimmick they've added to any of these.
Not gonna lie, don't even know how I feel about where the story goes since it feels like a quick cop-out to catch up to where DMC6 will probably go post V. Like they tried to make Bayonetta 3 and 4 at once and it just feels like they speedrun through the whole THE NEXT GENERATION shit, but if they can iron out some of the frustrating parry mechanics with Viola I can see Bayo4 being just as fun and challenging as the previous ones.
2019
Bought this like 2 years ago and only really started it a year ago. Was not expecting it to be as long as it was and kept getting sidetracked by other games.
Do not go into this expecting Zone of the Enders (I did cause I'm fucking stupid), this is basically Armored Core meets Monster Hunter story/mission/grind structure for better or worse. The most "feels good as fuck to play, but with dogshit story" game I've played in a hot minute, but that's okay what really matters with video games is that it's fun foremost and a good story can come after. Will probably still be playing this for a few more weeks or even months after learning of all the post campaign/co-op mission content available.
Anyways, banger OST and mark me down as excited for a sequel that further improves on the already stellar combat and perhaps delivers on a better told story.
Do not go into this expecting Zone of the Enders (I did cause I'm fucking stupid), this is basically Armored Core meets Monster Hunter story/mission/grind structure for better or worse. The most "feels good as fuck to play, but with dogshit story" game I've played in a hot minute, but that's okay what really matters with video games is that it's fun foremost and a good story can come after. Will probably still be playing this for a few more weeks or even months after learning of all the post campaign/co-op mission content available.
Anyways, banger OST and mark me down as excited for a sequel that further improves on the already stellar combat and perhaps delivers on a better told story.
Rose stuff is cool if a bit short, but that's usually the case with extra story sections in RE games. Love that it's earnestly schlocky without ever falling into irony poisoning over how silly and melodramatic it is. Don't know if I'll go back to try to finish it faster or on harder difficulties but after running through the main game like 9 times now I'm all but burnt out on RE8.
Third person mode also cool and surprisingly enough makes parts of the game way easier. I can go for either or even if I eventually just went back to first person after a couple of runs.
Merc mode stuff I never really touched cause I didn't like it to begin with in this game and I only did enough to get the 30 kills combo for some extra points to get the infinite S.T.A.K.E. in the story mode lmfao. RE5 remains the peak for merc mode.
Pretty good content for the price though. Initially feared it was gonna be like 40 dollars for some reason, but it's only 20.
Third person mode also cool and surprisingly enough makes parts of the game way easier. I can go for either or even if I eventually just went back to first person after a couple of runs.
Merc mode stuff I never really touched cause I didn't like it to begin with in this game and I only did enough to get the 30 kills combo for some extra points to get the infinite S.T.A.K.E. in the story mode lmfao. RE5 remains the peak for merc mode.
Pretty good content for the price though. Initially feared it was gonna be like 40 dollars for some reason, but it's only 20.
Replayed (really going back and finishing a second playthrough I dropped around a year ago) over the course of the long Halloween weekend after Shadows of Rose dropped and yeah, this got crazy replay value once you know where everything is and are trying to do or get to acquire EZ money to upgrade your weapons. It really helps to make the grind for infinite ammo and unlockable weapons much funner when you can blitz through the game in like 2 hours.
Finally gave Village of Shadows a try and it's cool and the enemy remixes do be keeping you on alert but holy fuck that Chris section SUCKS in that mode.
'ate Eastern Europe
'ate giant babies
'ate mega-maniacal freaks
luv the S.T.A.K.E.
luv the infinite WCX
luv evil milfs
simple as!
Finally gave Village of Shadows a try and it's cool and the enemy remixes do be keeping you on alert but holy fuck that Chris section SUCKS in that mode.
'ate Eastern Europe
'ate giant babies
'ate mega-maniacal freaks
luv the S.T.A.K.E.
luv the infinite WCX
luv evil milfs
simple as!
2017
This game janky as fuck replaying it for the first time in 5 years in a post Resident Evil 2/3 Remake world, but it's janky in a really nice way unlike the first one which was genuinely just a janky mess of glitches and half baked gameplay ideas. A lot of frustrating features put into it as misguided ideas of "challenge" this ditches a lot of that for a more standard action horror fare like Dead Space and Resident Evil 4 and it's all for the better. Instead of the useless light on fire mechanic that does fuck all since there isn't a Crimson Head equivalent, in 2 you just get a good old stomp prompt. Instead of bosses just instantly killing you if they so much as bump into you they now have tells for big attacks or have moves that hurt but don't just send you back to the last checkpoint. Letterboxing being an option is a godsend even if it feels less intrusive here too which is insane to me after how annoying it could be in the first game. It's little changes like this that you think wouldn't matter that end up mattering in the long run. Interchanging the levels from the town of Union that you explore like Silent Hill with more linear levels when you enter a bigger building is so good too. Keeps the game from becoming too much of either and stops it from overstaying its welcome despite. One of my biggest pet-peeves with any kind of horror game is when they go on for too long. This is the rare occasion where one of these goes past the 12 hour mark and I'm still enjoying my time by that point and I really think it's all from the town exploration to linear levels and back way the game is set up. If 3 ever happens hope they keep this up or even go full single big explorable location with shortcuts and backtracking ala RPD or the Arklay mansion. Just give me a third game holy fuck.
Love Sebastian in this too, going from stoic noir man that's boring despite a cool vest to jock Harry Mason was the best thing they could have done to salvage what little charisma he had in the first. Almost feels like how much he talks to himself throughout is kind of parodic of how much video game characters won't shut the fuck up in open world games.
This being a sequel though would I recommend the first game still? Yeah, but only if you want to see the evolution into a better, funner, and more exciting and emotionally investing improvement. Other than that I'll say what I very rarely say and that's to just read the wiki and skip to the sequel.
The best and most likely only remake of Silent Hill 1 (the game that should actually be getting a remake) that we'll ever get.
Love Sebastian in this too, going from stoic noir man that's boring despite a cool vest to jock Harry Mason was the best thing they could have done to salvage what little charisma he had in the first. Almost feels like how much he talks to himself throughout is kind of parodic of how much video game characters won't shut the fuck up in open world games.
This being a sequel though would I recommend the first game still? Yeah, but only if you want to see the evolution into a better, funner, and more exciting and emotionally investing improvement. Other than that I'll say what I very rarely say and that's to just read the wiki and skip to the sequel.
The best and most likely only remake of Silent Hill 1 (the game that should actually be getting a remake) that we'll ever get.
2020
Unironically paused and went on rule 34 after that Drain Deimos scene the first time I played this.
Wish this wasn't fucked over by the short "clearly meant to be RE2 DLC, but then released as a 60 dollar stand alone game instead" dev cycle. At least it plays like a dream.
Wish this wasn't fucked over by the short "clearly meant to be RE2 DLC, but then released as a 60 dollar stand alone game instead" dev cycle. At least it plays like a dream.
2019
This shit so good I'm so glad survival horror games where you can defend yourself while also keeping stock of just how much you waste doing so and you have to actually learn the layout of places to traverse them faster on repeat playthroughs are back. Now if you'll excuse me it's time to go into the Ada tag on some more than reputable sites.
2014
idk why the platforms this version is on isn't just included in the original entry on here, but whatever this shit rules. Future proofed as fuck. Could pass off for day 1 360 launch title visually and it was all hidden behind 6th gen 480p crust.
The definitive classic survival horror experience and may very well just be the definitive horror game.
The definitive classic survival horror experience and may very well just be the definitive horror game.
2013
GTA VI leaks got me kinda hyped to reinstall this but my real want to replay it came from Pikamee's playthrough a few years back. Sadly for some reason the game didn't want to work then so here we are now lmfao.
Holds up pretty well besides the usual Rockstar jank and herding towards completing missions in a specific way the developers demand unless you want to fail and very obviously looking like a 2013 PS360 game no matter how much gloss the 8th and 9th gen consoles and PC releases add to it.
Probably the best overall "game" of Rockstar's HD era so far in which I actually have fun playing through it (even doing replays with the rereleases) while something like Red Dead 2 is on the opposite end where I'd rather be watching it as some insane sicko mode Oscar bait film than playing or doing replays of it. Somehow also probably the funniest game I've ever played. Still get laughs outta so many sequences and dialogue to this day. Immensely quotable and immensely satisfying final third.
Hope 6 is just a vile and crass Michael Bay rendition of Florida crossed with The Beach Bum the same way this felt like a vile and crass Michael Bay rendition of California.
Anyways, California fucking sucks. Incredible music choices for the licensed tracks still go and search a bunch of them up to this day. This shit really came out 10 years ago huh...
Holds up pretty well besides the usual Rockstar jank and herding towards completing missions in a specific way the developers demand unless you want to fail and very obviously looking like a 2013 PS360 game no matter how much gloss the 8th and 9th gen consoles and PC releases add to it.
Probably the best overall "game" of Rockstar's HD era so far in which I actually have fun playing through it (even doing replays with the rereleases) while something like Red Dead 2 is on the opposite end where I'd rather be watching it as some insane sicko mode Oscar bait film than playing or doing replays of it. Somehow also probably the funniest game I've ever played. Still get laughs outta so many sequences and dialogue to this day. Immensely quotable and immensely satisfying final third.
Hope 6 is just a vile and crass Michael Bay rendition of Florida crossed with The Beach Bum the same way this felt like a vile and crass Michael Bay rendition of California.
Anyways, California fucking sucks. Incredible music choices for the licensed tracks still go and search a bunch of them up to this day. This shit really came out 10 years ago huh...
This review contains spoilers
I am officially mentally ill and not okay.
May be suffering some sort of whiplash from finishing this. I don't think mentally I was ready to actually finish it and now I'm coping by simping for fictional white women.
Guess getting my few problems with it out of the way first are probably the best route. So imma be frank but the villains in this kinda lame. Moebius is full of goons with fantastic designs, but I really wish we only focused on a couple instead of making them the entire Alphabet. D and J are fantastic and the emotional baggage attached to the latter makes for some incredible emotional roller coasters from hate to sadness to ambivalence and pity. Downright great stuff. D peak cyclepath glad we got another villain like that. Easily the most vile and disgusting of any of the goons across this trilogy (or quadrilogy if you want to count X). Metal Face from Xenoblade 1, but without a shitty death and way more entertaining even after the reveal. The other Moebius goons while evil just feel too samey. I LOVE WAR CRIMES BRO PLEASE NOAH LET ME KEEP PLAYING WITH PEOPLE'S LIVES WHAT THE FUCKKKK YOU PRICK and after the first 5 or so they really do start to feel like busy work in the same vein as freeing outposts in a Far Cry game or MGSV feels hell even Elden Ring to be honest. This rings especially true if you decide to free every colony like I did. Music wise too this game while better than 1 doesn't hold a candle to X and 2s OSTs which is a shame cause the tracks that go hard as fuck like Moebius or when they sneak in shit like Drifting Souls in the Cloudkeep is so gooooood but I feel the area themes (and some battle themes) are a bit lacking don't expect anything crazy like Gormott, Tantal or Mor Ardain I feel they really hit gold with the first giant green area these games always have and then never hit the same energy after. Shame, but not a bad OST by any means you're on crack if you'd say that. Fuck the Chain Attack theme overriding boss music especially after learning that some change dynamically after a certain health threshold. As for probably my only other major complaint I think I may have set some wrong expectations going into this cause story wise this didn't hit me emotionally as much as 2 did. Which is a shame cause the entire concept of an endless war is PRIME material for a lot of really sad shit. Granted when it hits emotionally it fucking hits. People not being able to shut up about Chapter 5 and the beginning of Chapter 6 are 100% valid in their reactions. That shit had my eyes stinging when I finally regained control after I'm assuming an hour of cutscenes. Maybe if I return to it with a full new ground up playthrough in 5 years like Xenoblade 2 I'll be an actual emotional wreck this time...
Those things aside HOLY FUCK THIS RULED as with Xenoblade 2 the gameplay is yet again a massive improvement over the first one and I'm glad I can be kind of smug and say "I was right" seeing people preferring the arts of the Agnus characters over the Keves ones. And BY GAWD that final battle with Nia and Melia teaming up is peak fan service I was hooting and hollering like a fucking chimapzai at like 3 in the morning. And while I mentioned early that D may be the highlight of the WE DO A LITTLE TROLLING type villains of the game the real standouts on the Moebius side are N and M which was downright gut wrenching stuff paired with the stellar performances. I'm one of those motherfuckers that says Xeno2s dub is fine but in this there ain't no weird awkward shit it is great from start to finish. Also I'm so glad I'm able to sit down and say shit like N is just Jin from 2, but pathetic which just makes him Gendo. Right down to the same cathartic realization of how much he'd fucked up.
And that's where the true emotional core of Xenoblade 3 lies. Realizing your mistakes and moving on instead of wallowing in your self pity stuck to move on or as the game so eloquently puts it "The Endless Now". And boy let me tell you when it finally hit me what the characters meant by "not being able to see each other anymore" I could feel them tears welling up. I mentioned that emotionally it may not be moment to moment after the first three chapters like Xenoblade 2 was, but Xenoblade 3 very much like 2 has such a powerful feeling of catharsis and finality and hope by the end that I think I'm just left coping with the fact I won't be able to experience it all again for the first time, but eventually I too will have to move on while keeping this whole past week and a half close to my heart.
Anyways if this review seems like total nonsense and insane rambling its because it is and I'm still coping, but it don't matter what you think I got to see Poppi again and got confirmation of MILF Mythra within the span of 20 seconds so I won in the end lmfaoooo
May be suffering some sort of whiplash from finishing this. I don't think mentally I was ready to actually finish it and now I'm coping by simping for fictional white women.
Guess getting my few problems with it out of the way first are probably the best route. So imma be frank but the villains in this kinda lame. Moebius is full of goons with fantastic designs, but I really wish we only focused on a couple instead of making them the entire Alphabet. D and J are fantastic and the emotional baggage attached to the latter makes for some incredible emotional roller coasters from hate to sadness to ambivalence and pity. Downright great stuff. D peak cyclepath glad we got another villain like that. Easily the most vile and disgusting of any of the goons across this trilogy (or quadrilogy if you want to count X). Metal Face from Xenoblade 1, but without a shitty death and way more entertaining even after the reveal. The other Moebius goons while evil just feel too samey. I LOVE WAR CRIMES BRO PLEASE NOAH LET ME KEEP PLAYING WITH PEOPLE'S LIVES WHAT THE FUCKKKK YOU PRICK and after the first 5 or so they really do start to feel like busy work in the same vein as freeing outposts in a Far Cry game or MGSV feels hell even Elden Ring to be honest. This rings especially true if you decide to free every colony like I did. Music wise too this game while better than 1 doesn't hold a candle to X and 2s OSTs which is a shame cause the tracks that go hard as fuck like Moebius or when they sneak in shit like Drifting Souls in the Cloudkeep is so gooooood but I feel the area themes (and some battle themes) are a bit lacking don't expect anything crazy like Gormott, Tantal or Mor Ardain I feel they really hit gold with the first giant green area these games always have and then never hit the same energy after. Shame, but not a bad OST by any means you're on crack if you'd say that. Fuck the Chain Attack theme overriding boss music especially after learning that some change dynamically after a certain health threshold. As for probably my only other major complaint I think I may have set some wrong expectations going into this cause story wise this didn't hit me emotionally as much as 2 did. Which is a shame cause the entire concept of an endless war is PRIME material for a lot of really sad shit. Granted when it hits emotionally it fucking hits. People not being able to shut up about Chapter 5 and the beginning of Chapter 6 are 100% valid in their reactions. That shit had my eyes stinging when I finally regained control after I'm assuming an hour of cutscenes. Maybe if I return to it with a full new ground up playthrough in 5 years like Xenoblade 2 I'll be an actual emotional wreck this time...
Those things aside HOLY FUCK THIS RULED as with Xenoblade 2 the gameplay is yet again a massive improvement over the first one and I'm glad I can be kind of smug and say "I was right" seeing people preferring the arts of the Agnus characters over the Keves ones. And BY GAWD that final battle with Nia and Melia teaming up is peak fan service I was hooting and hollering like a fucking chimapzai at like 3 in the morning. And while I mentioned early that D may be the highlight of the WE DO A LITTLE TROLLING type villains of the game the real standouts on the Moebius side are N and M which was downright gut wrenching stuff paired with the stellar performances. I'm one of those motherfuckers that says Xeno2s dub is fine but in this there ain't no weird awkward shit it is great from start to finish. Also I'm so glad I'm able to sit down and say shit like N is just Jin from 2, but pathetic which just makes him Gendo. Right down to the same cathartic realization of how much he'd fucked up.
And that's where the true emotional core of Xenoblade 3 lies. Realizing your mistakes and moving on instead of wallowing in your self pity stuck to move on or as the game so eloquently puts it "The Endless Now". And boy let me tell you when it finally hit me what the characters meant by "not being able to see each other anymore" I could feel them tears welling up. I mentioned that emotionally it may not be moment to moment after the first three chapters like Xenoblade 2 was, but Xenoblade 3 very much like 2 has such a powerful feeling of catharsis and finality and hope by the end that I think I'm just left coping with the fact I won't be able to experience it all again for the first time, but eventually I too will have to move on while keeping this whole past week and a half close to my heart.
Anyways if this review seems like total nonsense and insane rambling its because it is and I'm still coping, but it don't matter what you think I got to see Poppi again and got confirmation of MILF Mythra within the span of 20 seconds so I won in the end lmfaoooo