Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - The Weight of Life | Reacting To Video Game Music!

[@Spark31Gaming]

Fun fact about the flutes for this game. They custom made them based on the flutes that the characters use in the game just for the soundtrack

[@JessesAuditorium]

Video games are cool aren't they?

[@yotambraunshtein9786]

Yeah that's incredible designed specifically to play the offseers tune

[@Paulina_the_luna]

Yeah that's so cool! Shinobue flutes I believe they are 💕

[@shugafakker]

@@JessesAuditorium unreal things u can find on them

[@pikespeakaudio8898]

On the one hand, it's a shame this song only plays twice. On the other hand, I'm glad it doesn't come around too often, because it makes those two scenes so impactful.

[@SoirirSoirir]

Unlike like Engage the Enemy or Counterattack (both of which are still stellar tracks btw), this track near-perfectly matches the pacing of the scenes it plays in, which just elevates it to whole another level imo.

[@ilavain]

@@SoirirSoirir there is something about the way every xenoblade cutscene has everything timed to the music that makes later relistening to the OST that much more impactful

[@banditimaclubyou8388]

It actually plays one thousand times if you put in on repeat and blast it in your car

[@brayoungful]

@@ilavain Music *direction* is definitely underappreciated in games, and all three Xenoblade games absolutely nail it in the cutscenes. Iirc Tetsuya Takahashi does much of the cutting and mixing himself (I'm sure he has professionals polish it, but Yasunori Mitsuda and ACE have said they have been surprised where their music ends up in the finished games).

[@nb_nic]

1:40 yeah all three mainline Xenoblade game covers are "grassy field with giant thing in the background" and this one is a combination of both giant things from the boxes of 1 and 2 which generally describes the design philosophy of this game. a lot of combining what worked from both 1 and 2 (they were very different in terms of design, gameplay, world, etc) and refining those systems and worlds to work together. so like in the first game your abilities were on a timer cooldown but in 2 they were tied to hitting your basic attacks. 3 uses both systems, depending on where each character is from

[@fearthemightyedelgard8137]

One of the best songs in the series, only natural being a combination of Engage the Enemy and Counterattack. Only plays twice, and it makes those scenes so much more impactful. They're basically scripted to the song too, so the ending flare makes more sense. Also the flute is a shinobue, a traditional bamboo flute from Japan. They actually made 2 custom flutes for the specific sound in the OST, and also they look exactly like the flutes in game.

[@qotsage6235]

You are right about Xenoblade games having some type of characteristic sounds/instruments, but thats a good thing imo, since the OST's from the 3 games are all absolute bangers. I would say listen to Moebius Battle from XC3 and You Will Know Our Names from XC1 to hear some of the best battle themes in videogame music.

[@-libertyprimev1-902]

General rule of thumb, when a Battle Theme starts off with nothing but Booming Choir, it's gonna be a good one regardless of how good or bad the enemy is (looking at you Chairman Rosè, Pokemon, on the latter.)

[@demiurge2763]

YES!!! Definitely listen to Moebius Battle and You will Know Our Names!!!

[@Ten_3645]

Idk, but I listen to most of them

[@J2ojuiced95]

The XB3 equivalent to Engage The Enemy and Counterattack, even contains motifs of both those tracks within it. It’s a shame this rarely got used ingame , but it was perfectly synched with those few scenes you actually hear it.

[@thenonexistinghero]

I don't think it's as good as either though. But XC3 does have a few songs that truly standout.

[@kayden2119]

@@thenonexistinghero who asked

[@trilightning]

It fits perfectly with those scenes and that's always the point. It seems to me that they had more tracks in this game to fit to the narrative so they didn't overuse one specific one like Engage the Enemy and Counterattack. I also love the inclusion of the direct callback to Engage the Enemy in the song.

[@kayden2119]

@@NuiYabuko when they say something nobody cares about yeah

[@Sane-Revelation]

The first time this song played in game I actually got teary, like it just felt like this big moment that said "This is a masterpiece" and it was just amazing...

[@TheAHuman]

It fits so perfectly after what just happened with Ethel. It is both somber and a “I am about to kill those two Morbius where they stand” song

[@snsnsnsn2922]

This soundtrack is so unique in its synthetic of flutes and electric guitars. I've heard other songs that do this but this game's music sounds the best as far as I'm concerned. The way they work together in the battle themes in particular is absolutely gorgeous. I've got a hearsay, so take it with a grain of salt, but I think it's funny: the flutes have very important in-game presence, so the game's director, Tetsuya Takahashi, asked Mitsuda to *make sure* that flutes are heavily featured in the soundtrack, even in the battle themes, while maintaining Xenoblade music's character. Mitsuda almost cried because he thought it was "too hard to achieve both at once." Also, Xenoblade 3 has the biggest soundtrack in the series, but Takahashi still wanted more. Mitsuda was like "please just leave me alone." Regardless of the truthfulness of this, I'm more than happy with how this soundtrack turned out. It's absolutely beautiful.

[@planetary-rendez-vous]

Well Mitsuda did it. Keves battle theme is hype as fuck. Hilarious that Mitsuda had enough of composing.

[@lambiepie6436]

The use of the flutes within The main characters is so ingenious. Once the flutes kick in on this track, you’re overwhelmed with emotion because you connect that sound with Noah and Mio. Makes the use of those flutes in the music of this game hit harder. Similar to how hearing the ocarina in the title screen of Zelda hits so hard because you feel like link himself is playing it.

[@FrostedMike]

6:55: People already mentioned the custom flutes. What I wanted to note is that most XC3 soundtrack have either a solo flute in the track, a duet or no flutes, never more. The flutes is what makes XC3's music unique because it ties to the story which have characters who play the flute. One flute represents XC1 and the other represents XC2, and which is in the track depends on the character's origin (Keves for XC1 or Agnus for XC2). Tracks with both flutes are for moments when characters from both sides come to work together. Tracks with no flutes are for the villains.

[@fractioninteraction]

Really enjoye your perspective on XC music, this is also one of my 3 favourite themes from the game, BUT YOU HAVE TO SOMEDAY ALSO REACT TO "BATTLE VS MOEBIUS" from the same game, its one of my other 2 favourites

[@jelyse14]

1:01 lmaooo 1:40 The scene of that image (with the characters standing looking toward it) is used for the box art. Xenoblade 1, 2, and 3 all have box art of a green field, blue sky, some big setpiece, and either a sword in the grass or characters standing facing the setpiece. -Xenoblade's world took place on two giant titans facing off in battle frozen in time, so the box art was of one of the titans (from the perspective of standing on the other) and the sword in front in the grass. -Xenoblade 2's world took place on a bunch of titans moving around a sea of clouds with a giant tree growing out from the clouds, so the box art was of that whale titan (the same one you see here in this video) rising from the sea in front of the giant tree and the protagonists facing it. -Xenoblade 3 is xb1 and xb2's worlds combined, so we have the sword from the first game's titan "piercing" the titan from the second game as the box art for the third game.

[@Arksimon2k]

My favourite track from the game is the one with the flutes almost exclusively, can't remember what it's called. It's got a heavy in-game presence and when they pump that tune up to 11 on the flutes I get shivers.

[@pesky2119]

Homecoming?

[@julien827]

probably a life sent on

[@yuriamusingperson]

Honestly Xenoblade 3's music is one of my favorites next to the first game's and the Kingdom Hearts 2 ost.

[@HayatoEvoker]

Please please PLEASE Do a video with You will Know Our Names, You Will Recall Our Names and You Will Know Our Names - Finale, all in one, I 100% believe you have plenty of requests for all three, and doing a simultaneous reaction to all three of these themes would be FANTASTIC I can assure you, everyone would love that

[@steventhibaudeau601]

This would be amazing

[@staticshock4239]

Crazy how this song is almost this game's "Unfinished Business" since it only plays twice in the entire game and is never heard again. But it left a huge impact on players.

[@XiaNaphryz]

There are so many good tracks from this soundtrack...my favorite battle themes include Chain Attack, Moebius Battle, Tutorial Battle, and Origin Battle.

[@thenonexistinghero]

I don't understand why people like Chain Attack but hate Black Tar and NLA Night theme.

[@embrcelica]

@@thenonexistinghero I've found these days its more the opposite than anything, lots of people love Black Tar but have been hating the XC3 Chain Attack theme because of how intrusive it can be

[@thenonexistinghero]

@@embrcelica I do suppose that's true. Black Tar's widespread hatred hasn't lasted over the years. And yes, I do think the Chain Attack music in XC3 is incredible intrusive. Especially when it interrupts better fighting songs (which is almost every combat song in the game). Doesn't help that it can easily last 5 minutes or so per chain attack and often takes up far more time than the actual songs since the chain attacks just take up that much time.

[@totalradlad]

@@thenonexistinghero Black Tar and NLA get really grating really fast, while Chain Attack mostly just plays in places that it shouldn't. The rest of X's OST is great though.

[@thenonexistinghero]

@@totalradlad Nah man, I still love Black Tar and NLA's day and night themes. Loved them at the start and still love them today.

[@studio_1]

To answer your question, there was a few live performances of certain Xenoblade 1 songs uploaded to Nintendo’s KZbin years ago, to promote the 3DS port. It’s the most you can see how they perform this music live.

[@Vinylmelody1517]

If u react to any other songs from this game, something interesting to note is that a lot of the battle themes have the normal version and the climax version , which plays when an enemy is close to death. This adds a lot to each song and I'd say its important to listen to both versions to get the full version of the song

[@TheMongral]

The thing about this song I love most is how it’s so well choreographed to the scenes in which it plays. The highs coincide with high energy moments in game, the lows with slower parts and it just helps make the scenes it features in absolutely mind blowing. The first time this track plays they even deliberately cut the ending bit off and seamlessly transition into the Major Boss Theme (“Vs. Moebius”), and it’s just so perfect. It changes it from a simple “we’re turning the battle around!” Scene into one where the cutscene started the comeback and the game hands it back to us to finish the job instead of winning the fight for us. I heavily recommend finding a way to watch at least the first scene (which is fortunately not very spoiler heavy and is thus pretty safe to watch without ruining the game for someone) in which this track plays, as having the context makes this already excellent track even better. Xenoblade 3 is one of the few games in the running for my personal GOTY, and the soundtracks quality really shows why that is.

[@marche800]

There were some live studio performances done for Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive edition that were released on Nintendo's channel back when that game was being released

[@ninototo1]

One thing I like about your channel is how you mostly go in blind and get a feel for a game based on the music. It's really cool.

[@magicmayro]

Just finished this game yesterday, perfect timing. I absolutely LOVE Weight Of Life and the whole Xeno 3 ost. Goated in general

[@brianmaeder1255]

The game is incredible, I put over 100 hours in and cried 4 times. If you ever play it, I'll be watching every stream.

[@rhettmitchell]

Only 4?

[@Sherolox]

Wow, that makes me feel bad, I only cried 2 times, but during very typical moments, I’d say.

[@PeachBootyPoppin]

Over 200 hours, and cried like 20 times 😂 lol. There’s only like 2 other games I cried more than once, and both of those I cried maybe 2 or 3 times at the most.

[@ilavain]

@@PeachBootyPoppin you know a game is good when random sidequests are enough to make you cry. Valdi made me cry tears or genuine happiness and I would never expect a character like that to be this well written

[@ilavain]

@@NuiYabuko its very unfinished and will benefit the most from DLCs, way more than XBC2. I am just super happy with the story and gameplay and the characters are my favorite from any game I've ever played (even Heroes)

[@spiderdude2099]

The first time this song plays was SO. FUCKING. HYPE.

[@jelyse14]

Engage the Enemy from xb1, Counterattack from xb2, and this song are all very similar (if you find a video combining all three back to back its crazy how there are so many musical thru-lines across them, I dont even have the proper musical vocabulary to describe it all). The songs from 2 and 3 are made to sound much like, and give the same vibes as, xb1's track. You could say these three songs are their own trilogy, really. They're all used in very important scenes, play all the way through (as there's no loop), and every scene its used for is crafted in-time with the song so it feels natural. The Weight of Life not only follows that same musical sound that the previous two games' songs had, but it also combines parts of both games' songs (xb1's song at 3:20 and xb2's song at 3:31) into this song and then follows it up with the main off-seer's flute song from this game at 3:59. Much like how xb3 combines the futures of the parallel worlds of 1 and 2 to tell a new story of its own. Its been a while since I heard this song out of the game (which only plays it twice so not really enough for you to get used to) so like, hearing that flute start playing the off-seer's song right after the parts of the songs from the previous two games almost made me tear up right now, not gonna lie

[@twilag2201]

I'm so glad you reached to this song, it's so epic in the 2 scenes it's played in and I can't get enough of it! Xenoblade chronicles 3 also has became my favorite game of all time now, it's just beautifully made and written. I hope you'll react to more Xenoblade music in the future because they're soooo good

[@XanderW7381]

Glad we finally got another xenoblade reaction, it’s been a minute

[@nekorion]

6:31 i was playing through xenoblade 1 for the first time pretty recently (im still not done) and my two impressions of the game were 1. exactly what you said, a lush field and big shit in the background and 2. shulk going "im really feeling it" so i assumed he was a happy go lucky type of character I was surprised early on how absolutely aggro shulk is, he threatens to kill people all the time, he is not a calm boy what so ever also while the lush field open sky is a lot of the early game, one of the first times in a long time ive been impressed by an environment was this drab ugly marsh, that as night fell the air accumulates mana and then the entire swamp just lights up in these wonderful blues and purples and suddenly the bare trees look like the have balls of light as leaves and the entire sky is streaking with an aurora. I can't say much for the other games or even farther in the 1st game as im just playing it now, but i can tell you that game goes places

[@nrc345]

You have to listen to the Moebius Battle theme and Brilliant wings too, Xenoblade games in general have such an amazing OST!

[@KARLOSPCgame]

This is the song i do not watch the only audio version This is the song where i like to watch the full on cutscene where it appears ingame so i can listen it again and because the cutscene is made to follow the song its a double whammy

[@Eclosion5]

Scale in general is a very important thing in the Xenoblade Chronicles worlds

[@mariorendon1483]

Im glad you are tackling Xenoblade again. Hope you react to Moebius Boss Theme and Chain Attack Theme of Xenoblade Chronicles 3

[@badlatency9979]

On how much they keep things fresh regarding gameplay, while there are similarities from game to game each one's gameplay is different. 3 for example uses a swappable class system similar to a Final Fantasy job system, which 1 and 2 don't, 2 is based around mixing and matching summoned partners, Torna is built around swapping paired partners in and out of a fight, 1 is built around a future sight mechanic and knowing how to counter what's going to happen, X has a class tree system and mech combat. There's enough in common to know to expect certain conventions, but enough changed every game that it would never feel like a stale repeat.

[@fatyoahi8612]

This is the counterattack of Xenoblade Chronicles 3. It's AMAZING.

[@gufei_ppp9297]

You are actually quite right when you say they have one formular that works and they modify it to become its own thing that isnt just the music this is also quite visible in the combat system of the games they all share the same basis but every game gives its own spin on things where systems share the same name and generell idea but they function completly diffrent in the long run. And this continuing the formular has been such a big deal not just because of consistinsy but the director of all the xeno games tetsuya takahashi has been trying to tell the same story since xenogears but the games always were too niche to get continued till eventually the main character of xc 1 made it into smash and than the second installment has been a massive succes for the developers and now with xc3 he finally got to finish the story he was trying to tell since 1998. And dont get me wrong this isnt just copy pasted just like the music and game play every entry in the xeno series has its own story characters and world but the foundation for all that the new games build upon is a book called perfect works that tells the whole story of the original xenogears that wasnt even nearly coverd in the game.

[@phantomslay5612]

I was waiting for this. Xenoblade 3’s soundtrack is incredible.

[@Paulina_the_luna]

Yay finally react to the XC3 music! I finished the game few weeks ago and have to say it and XC2 are now my favorites and music is beautiful as always, love the flute theme of XC3, you should really hear life sent on so pretty and so many other songs from XC3 oh like the Moebius M fight my favorite of Moebius battle themes, but the game has also XC1 and XC2 mixes too which is cool ✨💕

[@Malficious]

Now you will have to listen to "Moebius battle"

[@blackglurakx2409]

12:34 yeah no completely wrong🤣. It plays only sadly two times in the game and it‘s in both situations heavy and super crazy boss fights and scenarios. Basically Cutscene Music for short.

[@AstralXen]

Really recommend you react to "Those who stand again our path". You should also listen to You Will Know our Names and You Will Recall our names. When you listen to them both, you'll notice the similarities in how they are composed!

[@flik221]

Excited for Jesse to complete the October 2021 requests. 💪

[@Smaug555]

This game has had a complete hold on my brain ever since it came out, glad to see it make an appearance here!

[@GCLU]

Now for the Moebius theme/Aionio's Strongest.

[@sailiealquadacil1284]

Yeah, so, according to the credits, they hired several different choirs, orchestras and ensembles for this one. Xenoblade 2 already had a fully orchestrated soundtrack (choir and orchestra being from Bratislava and Prague respectively), but for this one, they knocked it out of the sparking park. Anúna's back, too.

[@franciscolorena7609]

Someone HAS to request You will know our names Finale man😭

[@LAnite430]

Fr it’s absolute fire

[@lucasboyles8530]

For xenoblade the reason why drums electric guitars violins and sometimes piano is so emphasized is because the first game most of it was a story of life vs machines or bio vs mech and so they have violin and that classical style with mixed in solid beats and electric guitars for the mechanical field and that mix and hybrid became a staple of xenoblade and carried through the games

[@Dannysapphire]

Xenoblade has always had really good music. This game has a really great flute motif. Xenoblade 3 is so far my game of the year and the music is definitely one of the factors on why.

[@steventhibaudeau601]

Xenoblade really has its own flavor. Great video!

[@scarleut6982]

yes very normal thing for xenoblade games to have big monster in background. especially in starter areas

[@10k-Noodles]

These songs hit harder when you're experiencing them.

[@Ngrizz4899]

I think it would be awesome to see a reaction of some xenoblade cutscenes that use your favorite tracks that that you have heard so far. I like this idea so you could compare what feeling you get from the song in comparison to what scenes they are used for in the games. This is unless you decide to play the games like you did for ff7. Either way just love your xenoblade reactions in general, can’t wait for more videos.

[@VirgoTruck]

This is sort of the XC3 equivalent to the first Xenoblade track you reacted to, Counterattack from XC2. Plays at specific story events during the game 😊 for me I think XC3 has the most emotive score that captures the characters and environments overall, though none of the tracks stand out for me as much as my favourites from XC1 and 2. Thanks for the video!

[@thenonexistinghero]

XC3 is kinda lacking in bangers. They went for a different vibe. It's a great listen, but... not quite as memorable overal because there aren't as many tracks with really nice, catchy, sweeping melodies with many memorable sections each.

[@VirgoTruck]

@@thenonexistinghero yeah exactly, still a wonderful soundtrack, just different 😊

[@kayden2119]

@@thenonexistinghero bro you are going commenting on every person hating on the soundtrack grow up lmao

[@thenonexistinghero]

@@kayden2119 I only made a few comments. But you're the one who needs go grow up if you can't take any criticism on something you like. I think Kayden 12 might be more appropriate for your name.

[@kayden2119]

@@NuiYabuko you have clearly not seen what I have seen. This guy is literally going onto every damn youtube channel that looks at xenoblade and comments different negative things about the game. He is literally going around to people interested in the game and telling them it aint good

[@Arekiris]

You should listen to Moebius Battle and Moebius Battle M (Phase 1) back to back.

[@Rainstorm_100]

Check out the game awards performance for xenoblade 3

[@theotakuoftime6465]

For as far as you were saying the music in this one being similar. You did mention that it can be a bad thing but this game plays heavily into the flute motif in both music and the games story. In that sense it sets itself out from the other games. Like you said if you heard this on the street you would think “that’s xenoblade’” but as a big fan of the series I think most people would be able to tell you it’s from 3 just from the flutes alone.

[@azuredeath]

3:20 Engage the Enemy 3:32 Counterattack

[@weertangel7231]

I'm currently playing through Xenoblade chron 3 and while the music is't that inpactful to me, whenever i hear the boss theme start or a song like this i just get chills from exitement :)

[@Skasaha_]

Nintendo released video recordings of some arranged tracks from the earlier games. It wasn't a particularly big orchestra, surprisingly.

[@theLikou1]

One thing to say about this song is that it features themes of other Xenoblade games and the main theme of 3 included.

[@ryanh_dev]

i beleive there are old video recordings of the orchestra recording music for xenoblade 1 on nintendos youtube channel.

[@alexbutnobody785]

The soundtrack was made after all the cutscenes were done. This track shows up a couple of times and is pretty much made to elevate those cutscenes.

[@supergamer1388]

If you choose to react to any other songs in this game, I would recommend listening to 'A Life Sent On' first. A significant portion of the OST remixes this track to some extent or another.

[@Amitlu]

I backup all the comments to saying you should check the Moebius themes out next

[@yasskb]

Next time on Jesse Auditorium: Moebiud Battle

[@MarkCerqueira]

There is a kind of making of for Xenoblade 1 songs. Look it up. It’s amazing.

[@koj30]

There are some videos of live performance but are from the ost of the first game

[@LouisandraGan]

Finally another Xenoblade music reaction, how you can do more coz there are a lot of good music in the franchise.

[@someonerandom5641]

You've gotta listen to Showdown with Z, Act 2. Very interesting theme. I guarantee you will be surprised after listening to it.

[@ShafroFos]

Has Jessie listened to "Engage the Enemy" from XB1 before? I feel like he did, but I can't find any vid.

[@cwongplus4639]

moebius battle!

[@shironalice]

At this point you should just react to the entire OST of the three numbered Xenoblade games, they're just THAT good.

[@Monke80s]

Someone request this man to listen to the Moebius battle theme

[@Fusorf]

Awesome ! If you react to other music from this game, notably the combat themes, I suggest to make sure you find the right full versions as the game’s music changes depending on the combat phase. So it took effort to put back the segmented audio files in the right order. And I believe Nintendo melody did not do that

[@JEWong47]

If you enjoyed this one then please please please please PLEEEEEEASE react to "A Formidable Enemy" I guarantee that track will blow your mind. Legit note for note the best track in the game imo

[@bubbles8067]

Hi Mango

[@keithfilibeck2390]

this song is nothing without the context, which is true of alot of the music you listen to, emotional connection to the song is important and its completely lost on you in this format.

[@jorgegimenotolosana3103]

You know it was a huge musical protect when 2,5 minutes from the credits belong to music

[@GoodOlFiddle]

Jesse, We need to listen to Destiny from Yakuza 6 Jesse.

[@Forgetthereality]

xb3 was too good i envy all who get to play it for the first time

[@sparrowthedeveloper7874]

hello

[@ninototo1]

hi

[@Katie-hb8iq]

XC3 has a strong soundtrack, but for some reason I don't see what is special about this song. It doesn't have the same impact as, say, Counterattack - which is a comparison a lot of people make. I don't feel the goosebumps or anything. Feels rather flat and unoriginal, at least when held up against the excellent tracks this series has put up over the years.

[@aegislight98]

If you have some free time, you really should play these games. Ther the better of the better in games, not only in music. But I'm gonna say it. Xenoblade 3 has the worst music in Xenoblade in general, obviously with exceptions.

[@orvoloco8261]

This man really NEED to play a Xenoblade game to finally understand a thing or three.