DISCLAIMER: my thoughts have changed pretty dramatically on this game since i wrote my original review. I'm leaving it here but my updated thoughts are at the end.
One fateful day in my freshman year of high school, I saw a silly little YouTube video titled, "Xenoblade Chronicles in a Nutshell". It was just a compilation of many characters saying "Monado" and some funny battle or in-field voice lines, but it interested me enough to warrant checking out the game. I didn't want to pay for $60+ a Wii copy, so I just watched some cutscenes and did research and all of that, becoming more and more engrossed in the game over time. I eventually ended up trying Xenoblade 2 when I got my Switch, and the rest is history.
I was SUPER excited for the release of the third game - its concept and themes looked amazing, and it was easily going to be the best project that Monolith Soft ever put out! It didn't quite turn out like that, but it still ended up pretty great in the end.
It's weird, I recognize Xenoblade 3 is "objectively" a better game than the first, but for me there are two critical aspects that keep it back from my favorites list.
First of all, 3's actual story is...not very good. Don't get me wrong, the main characters are fantastic, with genuinely the single best party in the entire JRPG genre. Every one of them bounces off of eachother, is given relatively equal screentime (when you consider the side content, anyway), and feels so alive compared to many of the competition, even within the same franchise. They're all so charming and they're my little srcunklos 🥺. But since the majority of the game consists of "walk here, villian of the week shows up, deal with them," there's very little room for significant plot development. Xenoblade 1 always felt like the plot was moving forward and constantly messing with your expectations, while this game feels rather aimless and without direction for most of it. It also doesn't help that the vast majority of Moebius' cast is incredibly cheesy and one-dimensional, but oh well.
Another big factor for me is the world design. It's easily the best designed from a gameplay standpoint - there's so many QoL changes and design decisions that feel good, but it lacks the shear imagination and awe that the first two's titans provided. I get it, that's the point, this world isn't SUPPOSED to "make sense," but it simply doesn't feel as legendary to explore as the Bionis and Mechonis did to me.
The final major criticism I have towards the game isn't the fault of the developers, but rather Nintendo. PLEASE UPGRADE YOUR POTATO HARDWARE. YOUR DEVELOPERS ARE DYING OVER HERE. The game can still be beautiful and incredibly impressive, but it's still severely limited by the horribly weak system it's tied to. Footage running on Yuzu at 4K 60 is genuinely amazing, and I overwhelmingly wish the game was built for (at least) a PS4 in mind instead of the Switch.
But yeah, aside from that, this rules. Easily the most fun and customizable combat of the series (I'm never going to be able to go back to only being able to play as one character in combat again!), beautiful art design, an incredible soundtrack, great voice direction, stunning cutscene direction (for the big ones anyway), an interesting exploration of its themes, customization leagues above Nintendo's other offerings, and a substantial upgrade to sidequests to make them feel that much more important to the world you're saving.
I think what Xenoblade 3 truly excels at is nailing the important moments in the story. All of the "biggest" cinematics are presented at a level of polish unseen for the franchise, and they easily can hit the hardest. The ending of Chapter 1, the exchanging of flutes halfway through the journey, the O&P fight in Chapter 4, that one scene in the city (you know the one), the ENTIRE PRISON SEQUENCE in 5&6, and of course, the incredibly climatic and satisfying final boss. Even if I was disappointed by the actual plot content, these stellar moments still kept the game exciting and emotional to experience, right up through the credits.
Do I think it's frustrating that the game exceeded at seemingly everything besides having a great story? Yes. Very much so. But even despite that, I can't deny that I had an incredibly fun time in this world, and that it was worth the 100+ hour investment I spent.
And for the record, yass, Eunie's the buss.
EDIT: When I wrote this review I considered it a 4.5/5 thanks to the stellar aspects it has inside of it. But, tragic news. This game has aged so poorly for me man. The halfbaked worldbuilding, the godawful story, the painfully boring exploration, the bloated-to-the-point-of-crumbling customization and combat. It still has the BEST main party of characters I've ever seen in a JRPG and easily some of the best cutscene direction & moments in the franchise, but my god, they CANNOT carry the rest. I still think it's a good-ass game with plenty of fun & emotional moments, but there's no way in hell I can label this series as my favorite in gaming anymore. The ONLY one I genuinely adore is Xenoblade 1 at this point. No way am I picking up the DLC for this, as I've heard its main focus is fanservice and I just want to move on greener pastures at this point.
One fateful day in my freshman year of high school, I saw a silly little YouTube video titled, "Xenoblade Chronicles in a Nutshell". It was just a compilation of many characters saying "Monado" and some funny battle or in-field voice lines, but it interested me enough to warrant checking out the game. I didn't want to pay for $60+ a Wii copy, so I just watched some cutscenes and did research and all of that, becoming more and more engrossed in the game over time. I eventually ended up trying Xenoblade 2 when I got my Switch, and the rest is history.
I was SUPER excited for the release of the third game - its concept and themes looked amazing, and it was easily going to be the best project that Monolith Soft ever put out! It didn't quite turn out like that, but it still ended up pretty great in the end.
It's weird, I recognize Xenoblade 3 is "objectively" a better game than the first, but for me there are two critical aspects that keep it back from my favorites list.
First of all, 3's actual story is...not very good. Don't get me wrong, the main characters are fantastic, with genuinely the single best party in the entire JRPG genre. Every one of them bounces off of eachother, is given relatively equal screentime (when you consider the side content, anyway), and feels so alive compared to many of the competition, even within the same franchise. They're all so charming and they're my little srcunklos 🥺. But since the majority of the game consists of "walk here, villian of the week shows up, deal with them," there's very little room for significant plot development. Xenoblade 1 always felt like the plot was moving forward and constantly messing with your expectations, while this game feels rather aimless and without direction for most of it. It also doesn't help that the vast majority of Moebius' cast is incredibly cheesy and one-dimensional, but oh well.
Another big factor for me is the world design. It's easily the best designed from a gameplay standpoint - there's so many QoL changes and design decisions that feel good, but it lacks the shear imagination and awe that the first two's titans provided. I get it, that's the point, this world isn't SUPPOSED to "make sense," but it simply doesn't feel as legendary to explore as the Bionis and Mechonis did to me.
The final major criticism I have towards the game isn't the fault of the developers, but rather Nintendo. PLEASE UPGRADE YOUR POTATO HARDWARE. YOUR DEVELOPERS ARE DYING OVER HERE. The game can still be beautiful and incredibly impressive, but it's still severely limited by the horribly weak system it's tied to. Footage running on Yuzu at 4K 60 is genuinely amazing, and I overwhelmingly wish the game was built for (at least) a PS4 in mind instead of the Switch.
But yeah, aside from that, this rules. Easily the most fun and customizable combat of the series (I'm never going to be able to go back to only being able to play as one character in combat again!), beautiful art design, an incredible soundtrack, great voice direction, stunning cutscene direction (for the big ones anyway), an interesting exploration of its themes, customization leagues above Nintendo's other offerings, and a substantial upgrade to sidequests to make them feel that much more important to the world you're saving.
I think what Xenoblade 3 truly excels at is nailing the important moments in the story. All of the "biggest" cinematics are presented at a level of polish unseen for the franchise, and they easily can hit the hardest. The ending of Chapter 1, the exchanging of flutes halfway through the journey, the O&P fight in Chapter 4, that one scene in the city (you know the one), the ENTIRE PRISON SEQUENCE in 5&6, and of course, the incredibly climatic and satisfying final boss. Even if I was disappointed by the actual plot content, these stellar moments still kept the game exciting and emotional to experience, right up through the credits.
Do I think it's frustrating that the game exceeded at seemingly everything besides having a great story? Yes. Very much so. But even despite that, I can't deny that I had an incredibly fun time in this world, and that it was worth the 100+ hour investment I spent.
And for the record, yass, Eunie's the buss.
EDIT: When I wrote this review I considered it a 4.5/5 thanks to the stellar aspects it has inside of it. But, tragic news. This game has aged so poorly for me man. The halfbaked worldbuilding, the godawful story, the painfully boring exploration, the bloated-to-the-point-of-crumbling customization and combat. It still has the BEST main party of characters I've ever seen in a JRPG and easily some of the best cutscene direction & moments in the franchise, but my god, they CANNOT carry the rest. I still think it's a good-ass game with plenty of fun & emotional moments, but there's no way in hell I can label this series as my favorite in gaming anymore. The ONLY one I genuinely adore is Xenoblade 1 at this point. No way am I picking up the DLC for this, as I've heard its main focus is fanservice and I just want to move on greener pastures at this point.