At the end of the day, XC3 is the culmination of everything the franchise has been building up towards since the first game on wii back in 2010. 3 does a lot to incorporate everything the team has learned over the years. The battle system is sublime, and the QOL the team took to heart and learned a lot from 2. Characters for me personally were good, but I didn't necessarily feel the same connection I did to the ones in 2, or even 1 for that matter. The music was phenomenal, majority being the battle themes, but I didn't remember nearly as many city themes as I did in 2. Overall, I really enjoyed 3, phenomenal game, when it hits, it hits hard and I'm really expectant of the future dlc that may or may not move it up even further in my favorites. XC2 is still the one I have the most personal connection with and adore, but 3 can be considered a new standard in its own right. Xenoblade Chronicles is one of my favorite series, and if this is indeed the end of an arc, it ends on a high note.