This game changed my life. This was my most anticipated game for almost three years, and yet it still somehow exceeded all my expectations. I don't expect to experience anything like that in my life ever again.

Xenoblade Chronicles X is an incredibly special game. Two years before Breath of the Wild popularized open-air game design fueled by player curiosity, Xenoblade X invites players to explore a world so bizarre, intriguing, and inviting that you won't help but be able to become enamored with the freedom Monolith Soft has given you.

The world itself is the key ingredient that makes this game work so well. Each of the game's continents feel distinct and visually captivating, yet manage to tell a cohesive story about this world and the hostility it has towards human life. When you acquire Skells and the flight module, exploring the world becomes so seamless and immersive that hours will evaporate by.

The music, while maybe cheesy on a first listen, makes for one of the greatest soundtracks of all time. From epic orchestral to arrangements to modern pop music, this soundtrack is some of Sawano's very best work.

The combat system is incredibly versatile and addictive. While Overdrive does admittedly break the game in half and throws balance out the window, keeping an Overdrive going becomes a minigame unto itself, akin to how Chain Attacks work in other Xenoblade games.

Quests often tell intriguing stories and/or do what they need to - get you out into the world and consistently ignite your curiosity. There will be hours-long instances where you get distracted by so many different things that quests will get put on the backburner for dozens of hours, and yet, everything you do in this game is so compelling and rewarding.

I absolutely love this game and, with a modern port/remaster, I think many people will see that it's one of the greatest games of all time.

Almost 3 months of gaming. A few other games were played in the meantime, a bit of Helldiving, a trip to Gotham, but Ivalice had this firm grip that I don't regret spending 80+ hours on. It's a hell of a game from start to finish. The gambit system is great to get the hang of, automating your party makes you feel real big brained. FF12's general structure is great and TZA's second license board gives you a lot to experiment with.

Of its flaws, the game can drag dependent on your means of progressing the content. Those hunts in tandem with story content sure took me awhile. Some characters also fall short in the writing department, Penelo being the go-to example. FF12: The Zodiac Age is an easy recommendation, but buckle in cuz it's a long one.

I liked this quite a bit. It's a quiet and contemplative experience chock full of decent puzzle elements to keep you intrigued and a few non-human enemies to dispatch in a sparing way now and again.

Some puzzles and checkpoints are quite infuriating, however, and the camera angling does you few favours. The 'rage' mechanic is extremely hit-and-miss right up to the end and on top of that - there's some very buggy areas.

I played this on the PSP and it looked incredible for that system. It's well-lit and has very crisp details despite the graphical downgrade. perhaps some of the control issues I had are due to that system, but looking at video walkthroughs (which were a godsend), it seems those playing on the PS3 had similar issues.

Fun overall but I doubt I'll replay this one.