Improvements in many facets, The tragic tale of Torna gives new insight and appreciations into Xenoblade 2
Torna - The Golden Country is a triumph of a standalone experience by Monolith Soft building off the foundations of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. They somehow managed to alleviate most of my concerns I had for the original but also improving the flow of gameplay, providing a great short narrative and decent tracks coming off this standalone that really surprised me with how much effort they put into this that it actually made me appreciate the original second game more.
Torna's narrative is excellent as it focuses on some of the important drivers of extremely unique blades along with the blades themselves that explain how they became to be and I honestly liked every single one of them here. Even Mythra had some great development here which I was a bit shocked by considering I wasn't a huge fan of her in the original but she gets some love here and I'll also mention being able to control them was a huge treat too. The only thing that hampered the pacing for this game is the side quest grind you have to do that felt like the developers were padding out the run time here. You essentially have to do like a huge majority of the side quests here to continue with the story at a certain point and despite doing them fits in a narrative sense and didn't take too long due to the nature of it being a much shorter game, it was kinda annoying wanting to know the story ended and essentially being walled off until I did most of the side content which I can't even call side content which is suppose to be optional but I do think the finale made it worth that extra three to four hours worth of work anyway.
I actually like how Torna streamlined most of the gameplay from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 while not completely destroying the fun you can have with it while adding new mechanics that really make it flow so much better. The best part is you're not relegated to a random numbers game on getting the right blades and instead given a unique cast of characters that give you all the tools you need to get into the meat of the combat system which I think makes for a much better experience. You already have every element and the ability to perform perfect driver combos along with arts for tagging out characters which the game includes. You essentially have three teams of a driver and two blades each and you mostly play around swapping a lot while still making sure you're making the right elemental combos like you did in the previous game. Actually being able to play as some of the coolest blades from the original was such a huge treat for me personally and loved how each of them provided a unique gameplay style. A huge quality of life mention is how they actually managed to give you the ability to review mechanics and tips now despite never having this relegated in the main game for some reason. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this more traditional approach to the second game's combat which I feel I managed to get more out of here due to actually having all the things you need to make some insane burst at the right times.
Apart from actually looking less blurry in general due to the new engine, Torna also boasts a few tracks that are a surprising but light departure from the other soundtracks. The highlight to almost no one's surprise is the battle theme which manages to fully embrace the jazz direction they went in with this soundtrack along with a few more somber tracks used here as well which knocked it out of the park during those specific moments. Xenoblade providing excellent soundtracks is nothing new so Torna continuing the trend is only a huge positive from here at this point.
Now I want to go on record saying despite enjoying the second game, it did have a few problems that hampered me from enjoying it as much but I always felt like it had a lot going for it with the depth of the combat systems, amazing soundtrack and the story and narrative but after playing Torna, my appreciation for the title has grown a bit. Exploring Torna itself felt like I was experiencing a part of the game's lore that I could have never explored in the first place which made it feel almost a bit surreal to me. It goes without saying but if you enjoyed the second Xenoblade, this one is a no brainer. And if you were a bit skeptical of the second game like I was then Torna might change your mind or grant you that appreciate for it at the very least. One of the best standalone/downloadable content in modern times that somehow feels like a sizable improvement over the original game.
Torna - The Golden Country is a triumph of a standalone experience by Monolith Soft building off the foundations of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. They somehow managed to alleviate most of my concerns I had for the original but also improving the flow of gameplay, providing a great short narrative and decent tracks coming off this standalone that really surprised me with how much effort they put into this that it actually made me appreciate the original second game more.
Torna's narrative is excellent as it focuses on some of the important drivers of extremely unique blades along with the blades themselves that explain how they became to be and I honestly liked every single one of them here. Even Mythra had some great development here which I was a bit shocked by considering I wasn't a huge fan of her in the original but she gets some love here and I'll also mention being able to control them was a huge treat too. The only thing that hampered the pacing for this game is the side quest grind you have to do that felt like the developers were padding out the run time here. You essentially have to do like a huge majority of the side quests here to continue with the story at a certain point and despite doing them fits in a narrative sense and didn't take too long due to the nature of it being a much shorter game, it was kinda annoying wanting to know the story ended and essentially being walled off until I did most of the side content which I can't even call side content which is suppose to be optional but I do think the finale made it worth that extra three to four hours worth of work anyway.
I actually like how Torna streamlined most of the gameplay from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 while not completely destroying the fun you can have with it while adding new mechanics that really make it flow so much better. The best part is you're not relegated to a random numbers game on getting the right blades and instead given a unique cast of characters that give you all the tools you need to get into the meat of the combat system which I think makes for a much better experience. You already have every element and the ability to perform perfect driver combos along with arts for tagging out characters which the game includes. You essentially have three teams of a driver and two blades each and you mostly play around swapping a lot while still making sure you're making the right elemental combos like you did in the previous game. Actually being able to play as some of the coolest blades from the original was such a huge treat for me personally and loved how each of them provided a unique gameplay style. A huge quality of life mention is how they actually managed to give you the ability to review mechanics and tips now despite never having this relegated in the main game for some reason. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this more traditional approach to the second game's combat which I feel I managed to get more out of here due to actually having all the things you need to make some insane burst at the right times.
Apart from actually looking less blurry in general due to the new engine, Torna also boasts a few tracks that are a surprising but light departure from the other soundtracks. The highlight to almost no one's surprise is the battle theme which manages to fully embrace the jazz direction they went in with this soundtrack along with a few more somber tracks used here as well which knocked it out of the park during those specific moments. Xenoblade providing excellent soundtracks is nothing new so Torna continuing the trend is only a huge positive from here at this point.
Now I want to go on record saying despite enjoying the second game, it did have a few problems that hampered me from enjoying it as much but I always felt like it had a lot going for it with the depth of the combat systems, amazing soundtrack and the story and narrative but after playing Torna, my appreciation for the title has grown a bit. Exploring Torna itself felt like I was experiencing a part of the game's lore that I could have never explored in the first place which made it feel almost a bit surreal to me. It goes without saying but if you enjoyed the second Xenoblade, this one is a no brainer. And if you were a bit skeptical of the second game like I was then Torna might change your mind or grant you that appreciate for it at the very least. One of the best standalone/downloadable content in modern times that somehow feels like a sizable improvement over the original game.