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Xenoblade Chronicles 2 [NS] - storyline spoiler-free please!

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    #91
    So I just got past the start of Chapter 10, and I'm told the final boss is within a decent level range of me, so I expect I'll finish this tonight after a bit of a marathon sesh. ~60 hours all-in, and that was pretty much following "path of least resistance" from start to end, so I've done very few sidequests.

    All told, if you were to ask me if I'd enjoyed it, I'd certainly say "yes", and if you're a JRPG fan I'd recommend it.

    That being said, it has a few issues, so I think I'll talk about those here, then do a really positive post once I've finished it.

    When I think about locations from it, I think of a few awesome, interesting places... But so many more irritating ones. At times it's a real slog. I think it's because in most JRPGs you can sleepwalk through the combat once you reach a certain point, but in XB2, you have to practically double the opponent's level before you can do that. I'm not sure whether that's a good or bad thing. I mean on the one hand, a game which plays itself is a bit dull, but on the other hand, it means you have to care about every battle, even when fighting enemies for whom you are obviously going to defeat.

    And you do a lot of combat. That comes with the territory but it's true nonetheless. At least you can sneak around some of it.

    The game's a bit system-heavy, to its detriment, also. There are just so many things; the blade gacha, pouch items, character items, core chips (which have to be found then "refined" too), Trust, Affinity, Fusion Combos, Blade Combos... There's a lot going on, and I'm not convinced all of it was really necessary. There are obvious side effects to this; for instance how some of the characters have moves that are redundant even by the time you first unlock them, e.g.


    ... the three-person attack you get with Pyra, Rex and Nia is just pointless. Even Pyra's "burning sword" is kinda pointless



    ...because combos completely wreck the damage that they do, with none of the investment. This is a shame because in the big battles, you get some really awesome strategic moments with the combat... But I'll save that for the positive post.

    Also, I think the blade gacha is just a bad idea. Simply put, I don't think it improves the game much at all, and I think the game would be better off without it. I've spent the entire game with generic Blades on Nia, because I just never unlocked better ones which were of the healer class, despite spending many cores on her. Later on, this gets a bit better as the rules of the game change (a bit), but still, I strongly feel that characters should've been able to exchange blades between them more easily, and that they should've been unlocked mainly by quests. Basically those "generic" blades? I don't think they should be in the game.

    Also, the inability to disengage some Blades is a problem...


    I have literally NEVER used Morag or Zeke. There just never seemed to be a reason to do so. Sucks also as I really like both characters!

    From pretty much the start, Rex seemed to be a good DPS, Nia was a good healer, Tora was a good tank. The game never gave me a reason to change.



    There are other things too. For instance, I strongly disliked the way in which some progress is gated by the "skill checks" for the Blades. This halted my progress three times during the game, while I put "saving the world" on hold because one door, or a tiny gap I couldn't jump meant I had to go to a town, force-feed a blade a ton of food, find and kill a random frog... I think I get what they were going for, trying to make you keep all the systems running in parity, like juggling, instead of just forging forward in the story, but this needed to be done in smaller bits, rather than just "putting the brakes on" at three very specific points in the game (which, judging by Google search, seem to be pretty universal).

    EDIT: While I'm at it, a few little irritances:

    • Why is the map on a face button but the menu on pause? Unlike every other console JRPG ever. 60 hours now and every time I want to open the menu; EVERY SINGLE TIME, I open the map by accident.
    • Too many battles where you have to kill a boss, only for the following cutscene to have that character alive and well. It just seems weird considering that there are bosses which end when you get them down to a percentage of health.


    Still, that's the negative out of the way. The next post will be more positive, I promise!
    Last edited by Asura; 22-09-2018, 17:32.

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      #92
      P-p-p-pow! End boss down!




      2.7 million damage! My previous record was around 1.6, so that was a hell of a ride. I worked out pretty quickly what the trick would be, so I smashed it on first try.




      Just a hair under 61 hours.

      So, the last post was all about niggles, so this one's going to be about positives.

      Firstly, I think the characters were a real stand-out. The characterisation is pretty consistent, everyone gets their moment in the sun, and I find that you really grow to care about the party unit as the game goes on. Humour is subjective but I found many of the jokes landed.

      That wouldn't work, though, if it wasn't for the second thing - the game's desire to make you care about the party is expressed really well in the gameplay. I know I said before that the combat can be a bit arduous and time-consuming, however, this is because the combat is built around the idea of using each of the characters in turn, building up your eventual attack power by working together and being there for each other when it counts. This means that when you land those huge damage numbers, it feels awesome, because instead of just 1 character blowing off a huge limit break, it's the work of the entire team which brings those big foes down. Those big moments - like my final moment against the boss - feel like that bit inThe Avengers, the long continuous shot with the group working as a cohesive unit.

      That means it isn't just the story telling you that it's Rex and the gang's friendship that's their greatest weapon - you experience it through what you actually do.

      Visually, I wasn't totally-sold on the semi-cel-shaded, 3D-anime-esque but sort-of-not style at first. However, it grew on me. The game has marvellous use of colour, great combat animation, and whilst the animation in the cutscenes isn't always great (the characters use a lot of stock poses), the direction and pacing makes up for it. The environments are wonderful; maybe at times a bit big for the sake of being big, but they still look marvellous, and the day/night/tides/weather cycle helps keep them fresh. The attack VFX is good, though the combat UI is ever-present (this isn't the type of game for someone who wants a minimal UI).

      I went with the English dub, which was unusual for me, but I did so because the dub changes the names of the characters and locations, and I know enough Japanese to find that disconnect jarring in the subtitles (I guess that makes them "dubtitles"). I wasn't too happy about it (I'd ordered the game by the time I found out about this) but in the end, the dub probably helped. Some of the performances, though at times sounding weird out-of-context, were really fitting.

      I particularly liked Nia and Pyra's actors, as well as Morag's. The decision to give every in-game civilisation a different accent (the Gormotti sound Welsh, Mor Ardainians sound Scottish, all Blades sound American etc.) was a novel touch. Plus, as someone who watches a great deal of anime and plays plenty of games, it was very refreshing to play something where every voice actor seemed to be an unknown, rather than hearing the usual suspects.

      The story was good. I think it had a slight issue in that as it's spread over 60 hours, with combat etc. between the cutscenes, sometimes I forgot things that were explained earlier and had to look them up, but I think that's just inherent to the format. Maybe the game needs an in-game glossary? Still, I think it was well-rounded, and didn't feel particularly lacking. It started well, expanded well, and whilst I won't spoil the ending, I will say that it does actually end, insofar as that things come to a satisfactory close.

      So anyway... This was the first JRPG that has held my interest from start-to-end since... Well, the last was probably Solatorobo on DS, which was years ago. I'll be honest, they're a genre I don't often actually manage to complete. That should say something about XC2; I was really driven to try and finish it, even in the parts that I disliked, to get past them and see what was next. If you're after a big story-driven game for Switch, I strongly recommend it, provided you're not put off by some of the trappings of JRPGs (even if the game files off some of the rougher edges).
      Last edited by Asura; 22-09-2018, 20:59.

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        #93
        You forgot to mention the music was pretty amazing.

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          #94
          Originally posted by Blobcat View Post
          You forgot to mention the music was pretty amazing.
          Yeah, that's true. The music was good.

          Comment


            #95
            Just completed the expansion, Torna: The Golden Country. I've enjoyed it, although it feels a bit rushed in terms of story and there's enouhg material between it and the base game for another 20+ hour expansion.

            I've just clocked below 20 hours with a good number of sidequests completed (the backlog only shows 3 left) and about 80-90% of the Blades' skill tree filled. I've level 60 without grinding, so I was overlevelled for the final boss (level 53). There are only three Drivers with two Blades each and all field tests revolve around this limited set of abilities, so no more Blade swapping and menu digging to pass a test, which is a definite plus.

            Combat has been revamped. It's possible to swap between Driver and Blade as the character you control, which changes elemental affinity and special attacks at your disposal. Outside battles you can switch Driver/Blade parties with a press of a button, although after I've unlocked the last affection level I've only played with the main character...technically her name is a spoiler but all trailers show the available cast.
            Anyway, whoever is in your party and not controlling in your party contributes to the battle with support actions, and there are no defined roles like attacker, tank, and healer, though the last Driver joining your party is a tank due to his two Blades and there's only one healer Blade assigned to a character able to spawn potions with a special.
            Blade combos can be performed with any kind of element, you no longer need a specific element to continue. Any Blade Combo "hit" will also bestow an elemental orb on the opponent, so building up for a Chain Attack is considerably easier.

            There are only two Titans to explore: one, Gormott, is smaller than in the base game and with slightly different locations. It strikes a perfect balance between being familiar yet never explored. The background music is a rearrangement of the base track but it adds way too instruments and comes off as a bit overbearing.
            The second location is as big as Mor Ardain in the base game, more or less. It has a good variety of locations and it looks better than any other Titan on the base game, but thi is paid with a more aggressive dynamic resolution almost everywhere. The game still runs at its target 30fps and never slows down, in fact I've witnessed less cases of textures and models loading after fast travelling into a new location.

            The story is OK. It focuses on Adel/Addam and other characters mentioned (and shown) in the base game, narrating the events that led Homura/Pyra to her first location in the base game. It's properly dramatic, with the right amount of comical relief, and hooks to a lot in the base game (secondary characters, items, locations), but I can't help feeling everything's rushed.
            For example there's a secondary character that only really plays a role during the ennding and outside that I've never quite understood why he was with the others; he starts in maybe a couple of very short flashbacks and nothing more, yet the game desperately tries to bright him, players, and other cast member together.
            I wouldn't mind to see more story content from the Xenoblade 2 universe, especially detailing what happens between the expansion and the base game. While those events wouldn't really influence the main characters, it would explore secondary characters and other minor events, giving more closure to every single plot point.

            Torna: The Golden Country doesn't change how Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is played, but thanks to the lower number of locations, smaller cast, and the necessity to adapt some mechanics to these limitations, make this expansion a tighter experience.

            Completing the game changes the background on the title screen just like in the base game and there's even a NG+ option, although I don't really know what that entails as there are no extra Blades to collect.

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              #96
              Originally posted by briareos_kerensky View Post
              Just completed the expansion, Torna: The Golden Country.
              Thanks for this write-up, as I was curious about it. I think I'm going to leave it and just sell my copy, as it's still going for full-whack on Amazon. Much as I've enjoyed it, I think that's enough for me!

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                #97
                Thanks, Asura (briareos too), for the detailed impressions. Not played a JRPG for many years but might rectify that by playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 this winter when the dark evenings draw near.

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                  #98
                  Nintendo emailed me a code for:

                  Gone
                  Last edited by Adam; 27-09-2018, 17:44.

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                    #99
                    Still hack/slashing away at this and up to chapter 6 with just shy of 100 hours on the clock. I've wasted a lot of time recently bonding with blades to get some rares from common core crystals, and have unlocked a decent number so far. I enjoy that they all have different personalities as well as Arts.
                    I think I should get working on the main story more though...but I NEED to get more rare blades!

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                      120 hours and on chapter 7...Still going strong.

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