Was Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Really THAT BAD??

[@potatofarmergyro1720]

I think the game is by far the best of the trilogy when it comes to qol and performance along with gameplay and the voice acting is superb shoutouts to Harry mcentire the goat, the cutscenes and audio quality were top notch as well. I have some issues with the story since it doesn't elaborate much on many important aspects i feel but overall I think the story is brilliant and the characters are top of the line. I don't even have to mention how good the music is cuz you would already know. I think my biggest issue with this game was that I wasn't invested too much on moebius as I expected them to be much greater then they ended up being especially since I'd gone through the highs of xenoblade 2 with Jin, malos and amalthus but N is a fantastic antagonist. I'd say xc3 is my 2nd favorite in the series but yeah xc2 remains my favorite out of the whole series along with just being my favorite game of all time.

[@jairekambui7738]

Xenoblade 2 is goated.

[@nishquikpops]

I do agree the "rogues gallery" of XC2 is much better than 3. I love both Jin and Malos, and Amalthus is such a hateable guy but that makes him an even better villainous character lol

[@potatofarmergyro1720]

I probably will like xc3 way more after the dlc since it's seemingly going to answer a lot of the questions I have.

[@nishquikpops]

@@potatofarmergyro1720 especially the biggest question of all... WHO IS RIKKU?! 😭

[@potatofarmergyro1720]

@@nishquikpops he's just everywhere...

[@darcy7257]

I feel as if future redeemed's story will retroactively make the original story of 3 more fulfilling

[@FallenSenpai]

I'm afraid this wasn't the case 😕

[@cnzy293]

First off XC2 was already a fulfilling story and world without Torna. They were moments in XC3, where you can tell weren’t complete cause something was taken out so they can use it for DLC. XC2 tells you what happens in Torna. Torna shows you what happened. XC3 doesn’t even tell you and is hoping for its DLC to tell and show you what happened. Don’t get me wrong, I love XC3 but a game should be fulfilling to complete on its own. XC2 did this for me but XC3 left me wanting. Of course this is subjective. I’m sure there are people that found XC3 story fulfilling and fantastic.

[@a_rat_named_mouse]

Dang, I wrote a response to this, but it seems it got lost... Either way, aye, Xenoblade 3 is easily the weakest of the three, and very mediocre in general.

[@syannejohnson6545]

I don't understand the hate. Really. Even for Z. While I get he was a little underutilized in the fact that he hardly directly interacted with the main group, I think the idea of a villain that is a concept extremely interesting. Persona 5 did something really similar (no spoilers from me tho) with its villain and I really think its a unique premise. Could have been executed better? Yeh. But I didn't think it was underwhelming. I think people were expecting something similar to the past games. This group of characters is my favorite of the 3. The cutscenes, the models, audio quality were all top tier. The gameplay is probably my favorite. Which is saying something, cause 2's gameplay was phenomenal, but I think 3 is a few inches above it because the character AI is better lol. Plus the insane amount of customization is welcomed. The voice acting was amazing and really pushed the emotional scenes, which were kinda lost on me in 2 (at least in the beginning). I think the music was amazing. While the music in 1 and 2 were more bombastic and catchy, I feel as tho the music in 3 really pushed the narrative. If that isn't your cup of tea, then that's fair, but I really gravitated to that. The quests were awesome! I didn't really care about side quests in 1 or 2 since they just seemed to be glorified fetch quests (still completed them tho). But 3 really brought it with the side quests. It's small, but the fact that characters have unique dialogue for every quest is awesome in my opinion. That is no small feat Being able to unite the freed colonies really helped with the world building. I actually cared about the people of Aionios. All in all this entry had some of the highest highs in the franchise. Yeah there were some lows, but I feel like the highs far outweigh the even the lowest of the lows. I know it's just my take on it, and I'm not trying discredit some of the criticism for this game, but I mean it when I say it might be my favorite of the 3 games.

[@oldschooldogy316]

I tried to like this game, but I couldn't. It was one of the first games that I bought when I bought my Switch OLED almost 2 years ago. Everyone said it was great, but I hated the combat. I hated that my character started fighting on its own when I approached enemies. I thought the visuals were amazing to be on a Switch console, but the combat was horrible. For some reason I don't like most Switch rpgs because I didn't like Zenoblade Chronicles 3, Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, or Shin Megami Tensei 5, and didn't beat any of them. Open world Western action rpgs and Japanese action rpgs and turn-based rpgs are my favorite genres when it comes to games so I was shocked that I have disliked so many Switch rpgs. I like rpgs liked Skyrim, Oblivion, The Witcher 3, Fallout 4, Dragon Quest 11, Yakuza Like A Dragon, etc., but I am finding most Switch rpgs horrible and boring. So far the only rpgs that I have liked on my Switch were The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel V, Atelier Sophie 2, and Pokémon Legends Archeus. I just started Pokémon Violet so I am not sure about it yet.

[@Particle_Ghost]

Same, I returned all 3. The combat was the worst a have ever seen. Check out Tales of Vesperia if you haven't already.

[@jzblue345]

I didn't want this game to end honestly. I kept looking for more stuff to discover, and side quests to do. I can say i was definitely satisfied beyond my expectations with this game. The music, the story, the characters, and the villians are all top tier at least to me.

[@linkalot7415]

For me it’s the worst xenoblade game. But that doesn’t make it bad lmao. Because all the xenoblade games are amazing. It’s just that the others are masterpiece tier

[@nishquikpops]

Omg is that Linkalot?? Dude, I loved your videos pre XC3 release! Thanks for checking out the video 😄

[@lingeringwill9270]

Honestly a lot of the fan reaction has me really glad that I went into the game having watched absolutely nothing. I had only heard a couple songs (the battle theme and the new You Will Know Our Names theme), and went into it with no other knowledge. As the game explained its world and what was going on, I didn't even expect prior characters (aside from the queens who were talked about) to show up, so that wasn't even an issue for me. Instead of complaining about what wasn't there, I was fully invested in the story and arcs of the main 6 and there was so many things that blew my mind along the way. I didn't even know that we were going to have all 6 party members on the field at once, so I was actively groaning in chapter 1 thinking about my party setup then chapter 2 started with everyone and I just about freaked. Overall thoughts, I absolutely love the game. I have Xenoblade 1 just a smidge higher, but a lot of that is just personal preference in that I enjoy watching others play it more and watching their reactions to seeing the story and trying to figure things out only for everything to get flipped on its head. Xenoblade 3 has a great story in its own right, but is a very different style. It's neither bad nor a complaint, just personal preference that I enjoy 1 more. Also, 3 did such an AMAZING job with sidequests, I feel that gets extremely overlooked. A lot of the minor fetch quests are made a side objective (the Iris requests), so all of the other quests feel as though they have more weight to them. I wish other RPGs could have sidequests half as good as how X3 handled them.

[@Hadosama]

I really don’t get all the hate that XBC3 gets. It’s by no means perfect, but i loved it. Yes the villains are pretty meh and well the concept of Z was cool he barely felt like a character. That however does not stop me from loving the aspects of the game that i do. The character interactions where AMAZING. I loved how they grew together as a group, and ofc the bond of Mio and Noah specifically was heartwarming, emotional, tragic. I just loved them. Some of the side stories where very enjoyable. There where definitely some gems among the hero quests. The emotional bits of 3 hit me far harder than anything in the series yet. Parts of the game seriously wrecked me. Well not my favourite battle system. It’s fun enough. The QOL improvements where much loved This comment is getting a bit winded so I’ll just leave off that i had an amazing time with 3 inspite of its weaker parts and am looking forward to the dlc.

[@MathOwz]

I don't think there is a bad xenoblade game. I enjoyed every moment of them all the way through, but if I had to "rate" them. I'd say my order is 2 Torna 3 1 Then in a god tier league of its own Xenoblade chronicles X I'm so ready to play future redeemed tomorrow!

[@nishquikpops]

Yeah I agree! Just like Zelda, there's no bad Xenoblade game. Even with my problems I have with 2, it's still in my top 10 favorite games of all time.

[@MathOwz]

@@nishquikpops I wish I played the first xenoblade chronicles before 2. I'd never heard of the series. Then I saw an advert for xenoblade X which my girlfriend got me for my birthday. I was hooked on it. 1600 hours kind of hooked 😂 Then going back and playing the first was such a sock. It was so different. I just stopped playing. I then bought and finished two and it changed my whole perspective on the series. The story telling was god tier. I then went back to finish the first haha

[@codysvlogdays]

The only actual issue i have with this game is the frame rate in some areas and how blurry it can be. Now part of that is me playing the game on a 4k tv which is understandable but still, thats the only problem i have with the game

[@shaifs5072]

I think Xenoblade has a lot of fans who either don’t care or don’t like the narrative. Narrative, not plot. The themes, the deeper meanings driving the plot and story. Xenoblade 3 takes the narrative that was mostly in the background unless you really understand the narratives of Gears and Saga, and see how it’s all the same narrative, and brings it to the forefront. They think it’s jarring and out of nowhere because they couldn’t see what was under their noses the entire time.

[@a_rat_named_mouse]

As a fan of the Saga and Gears games, this isn't anywhere near my or my friends' gripes woth the game. Largely, it boils down to how the story is presented and written. Moreso than plot, the dialogue and characters are what irks me, oftentimes forgoing nuance for ...really, REALLY ham-fisted "say, don't show". Mio's death is spoken about, in-depth, multiple times, by various characters- many of which ought not really bring it up at all due to everyone already knowing about it at that time. The tree with the fruit that takes a year to ripen was a particularly egregious example of this. All of these repeated uses of her eventual death cheapen it. As if the reversal of her death didn't ruin it entirely on its own. For a game with such a dark and mature tone, they sure do fear actually committing to what could have genuibely been a tragedy. Another key example of this sort of amateurish handling is how Z's dialogue is written. Many cryptic-sounding phrases, but very little depth beyond that. "The endless now" or whatever it was, when it really just means "maintain my status quo". Compare his speeches to those seen in Metal Gear Solid or Knights of the Old Republic II or, one of my favorites, Legacy of Kain. It is the difference between wanting to sound intelligent and profound, and simply being those things. Point being, it isn't so much about the themes or concepts of the game (though even those have already been done to death in the Persona series and other, better written JRPGs), it is how those themes and concepts are executed. No, actually, everything about Mio's character and the morals of her story are done many times better by a character in a Pokémon game, who explains in one or two paragraphs what Xenoblade 3 fails to say in a dozen clunky cutscenes. Edit: lemme add on that this is just about the writing. The voice acting is pretty good- not great, but solidly a positive. The visuals are nice, though the animations often feel stiff as heck. The music is generally quite good, dipping into fantastic at times ...though I find the soundtracks of the first and second Xenoblades outdoing the third's. Lastly, the gameplay is easily the least interesting of the bunch, due to its heavy reliance on its chain attack system and that basically being you watching the same attack animations for (this is not a joke or exaggeration) minutes on end by the time a single boss battle ends. I feel that people don't really catch any of this, though, due to the production values beyond the writing. It also helps that simpler, blunter storytelling appeals to a wider audience.

[@shaifs5072]

@@a_rat_named_mouse a very good analysis but I wasn’t talking about gears or saga fans. They were already in the know. Those of us who were there for the older series are greatly outnumbered by the blade-only fans.

[@a_rat_named_mouse]

@@shaifs5072 Yeah. I know. And I was saying that that is largely irrelevant, due to those problems. Like, sure, it is thematically and narratively linked to Xenosaga- too bad it is still very poorly written and executed besides.

[@shaifs5072]

@@a_rat_named_mouse I don’t think so. In my experience this is the most common issue of blade-only fans when criticizing XC3’s story. What you are talking about is deeper down the iceberg and part of a more serious discussion.

[@puppy14]

I’ll agree there are some nitpicky things, but it was by far my favorite experience with Xenoblade, I enjoyed it even more than 1. The music, the characters, the scenery, it was all so good.

[@nishquikpops]

It's in close competition with 1 in terms of story and world design. For me what overtakes it is the gameplay and combat. I personally think it's the most in depth and easy to understand in the series. I wanna make a video on this too sometime after Future Redeemed.

[@pbague]

"really that bad"? it made contender for GOTY for christ's sake

[@chriswinfrey3744]

I have nothing to add to this. You took all the words out of my mouth. :)

[@thomaswilliams430]

A party of 7 feels wild, changing classes feels tedious to keep the 7 of them balanced, as a dm none of the characters really grab me. I mean it’s an ok game but nothing attention grabbing for me. Also almost everyone talks like they are british

[@crows2708]

I would say the ending is a bit repeating arguement of stepping toward future or not. The points themselves are valid but the cutscene performance can not bring me the hype. However, after rewatching the ending countless times, I look the whole experience from the characters' perspective. At the end, they have no concrete idea of what will happen... they did make their moves but they somehow feel uncertain about it.. The ending did trying to show this struggle. What really bugs me is the lack of action scene in later game😢 But overall the ending is a good try

[@jairekambui7738]

Liked it a lot more than 1 and almost as much as 2. It’s an incredible game. I can somewhat understand some people’s disappointment, but I personally had no real expectations, how could you when the game came out 5 months after it was announced? Xenoblade 3 being disconnected worked perfectly, in fact that’s what I wanted. I wanted a new story with different themes and a new world. Sure it has flaws but the strengths massively outweigh those flaws.

[@nishquikpops]

Yup, no Xenoblade game is perfect, but each of them stand out in their own way!

[@lazerflipz]

XC3 is definitely an amazing game and I feel like it’s the overall best game in the trilogy but it’s my least favorite. I really enjoyed the story and the characters but I’m not a fan of the combat system or the final dungeon/boss fight. That’s my only flaw/nitpick with this game.

[@gamerraito2153]

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is an interesting beast to me. On one hand, it became one of my favorite games of all time - top 5 easily - but on the other hand, I'd say I lean toward the camp that was disappointed in its story elements despite having a positive opinion about the narrative overall. I went into this game with decently high, yet reasonable expectations. Seeing a ton of returning elements like the species from both XC1 and XC2 together, Melia and Nia returning, as well as a whole party member that straight up LOOKS like Nia, almost SOUNDS like Nia, uses the same WEAPONS as Nia, and has a FLESH EATER CORE CRYSTAL like Nia got me pretty excited for XC3's crossover aspect! However, I wondered how they would implement it all because it'd be bad if all those elements overshadowed XC3's original content. So, my prediction was that the first half would contain little to no crossover with past games so we could get properly attached to the characters inhibiting Aionios and then the second half would go much harder on the crossovers. Well, I was right on the money... kinda. I love the XC3's main party, Aionios and how it reflects the games' central themes via its world building/side quests is mesmerizing, and as said prior I overall enjoy the story! Speaking of, what I noticed was I least enjoyed story... whenever the crossover stuff became relevant mostly. There were still some cool moments like seeing Nia and Melia again, having them fight with us, and the last-minute references in the ending were fun! But I think, at least atm, XC3 had the least impactful lore and didn't really do much to progress Xenoblade Chronicles as a whole. It's interesting how you bring up the perspective of "What will humans do now that the Zohar/Conduit no longer exist" yet I'd argue XC3 didn't do a good job at that. Everything basically just resets back to each worlds' initial states before they cancel each other out and everyone - except seemingly Noah which is the only plot thread I see that could provide the impact I found the ending lacked - lose their memories. So, I have to ask, did the events of Aionios matter in the grand scheme of things? Like, if we never had XC3's story would anything really be lost aside from a good story and lovable cast of characters? To me... XC3 didn't feel like it progressed anything. Compared this to XC2 where it gave plenty of clarity to XC1's ending, established a connection between the games, and made both stories matter as Shulk killing Zanza retroactively killed the Architect and lose the Conduit which had ramifications on XC2 in turn as it caused Elysium to collapse, and the Architect gave Rex and co. his final gift right before dying. XC3 essentially created its own lore from what was left over from XC1's and XC2's, but by the end, XC3 just feels like filler to me because it undoes everything that occurred in Aionios as if it didn't exist. I do love XC3's ending however since I think it's a great ending for XC3 as a standalone story. It ties into its themes superbly well and I loved all the final character interactions! Just as an end to the trilogy, it feels underwhelming. Even then, I do have issues with XC3 as a standalone experience like how the lead up to the ending feels rather tame after the amazing peak that was the end of Chapter 5 and beginning of Chapter 6. Especially when compared to XC1 and XC2, whose leads ups kept escalating and escalating to the point of feeling like I was on a wild ride the whole way through, XC3's endgame is... good, but not particularly as exciting. And although I love the main party, for a group who literally tried to kill each other not long ago, I feel like they got along... a little too quickly/smoothly? There were some scenes where the party's relationship was rocky after joining up, but it felt minimal, and I would have loved more interparty conflict after hearing what type of group Ouroboros is. And I don't think I even need to mention how boring the antagonists are, aside from N and M who are legitimately great! Overall, I love XC3, I really do, but there are definitely elements of it that made it the most disappointing story in the trilogy for me. Future Redeemed will likely address my issues, but they're still there and I'm already iffy as hell about hiding information for DLC when imo, Torna wasn't needed to understand the mysteries and characters of XC2; it just gave us a clearer picture.

[@omegawario7479]

I don’t dislike Xenoblade 3 but I do genuinely believe it is the worst in the series. - Villains not as good - Combat is extremely boring and repetitive (every fight for me was spent building up to the “win” button that is chain attack, which was 5 minutes of building tp and watching the same cutscenes) - Exploration was not as fun, didn’t feel rewarding, and the environments were mostly uninspired and not particularly fun to navigate - The entire ending sequence after Mio’s homecoming really left a terrible taste in my mouth. Absolutely none of the grandiosity or climax of the last two games because the game gave us no reasons to feel any emotions toward Z and N was already “dead” by this point. (That reminds me, this game was so focused on death yet most of the characters who die in the story literally come back, destroying all of the impact)

[@PlanOrdo]

I don't think I looked at much beyond stuff that was shown in the direct. The track record of 2 and 3 were enough to get me to buy the game. I will say though that XC3 does have a more somber tone to it compared to 1 and especially 2. So I could see how some were disappointed. If there was one thing I believe it lacked, it would be what I've called and "Engage the Enemy"/"Counterattack" moment. Theres several scenes in the previous title where those tracks hit and its GO TIME. Other than that, loved everything throughout.

[@nishquikpops]

I feel like Weight of Life fits the role of the Engage the Enemy/Counterattack song but it only plays twice 😭

[@jorgelgarcia6619]

I played and loved all 3, but 3 was definitely the best one for me. I felt more connected with the characters in the than all the other games.

[@munchrai6396]

While I did really enjoy Xenoblade 3's base game and storyline, this game has so far had a very minimal amount of extra content especially when compared to the absolute flood from the previous game. Best example of this is each game's New Game+, which are pretty much polar opposites at this point. One adds barely anything and is simply a way to replay the game, while the other is the best way to play the game with a ton of quality of life improvements and a full set of 6 new characters. Would love to know when/if we're going to get the additional heroes in the DLC because I'd really like to have everything available before I even touch New Game+

[@darkgod8398]

There are some people who don't like the game. But I see almost every buddy like the game. I hear lot of people like the story and music. Most people who has played the game think it should have been game of the year. And I think XenoBC 2 is better then 1. But is see most people say the 2 game is the weakest and the best game is between 1 and 3.

[@thenonexistinghero]

I've just finally gone through Future Redeemed after putting it off for so long... and yes, the game is easily the worst game in the franchise (with XC1 and XCX being the best ones). The story in 3 is just all kinds of messed up and awful. Just not very consistent and Future Redeemed didn't really fix any of the issues. It has some excellent emotional highlights, but there's just too much that doesn't make sense and the FR DLC only makes some of the unexplained worse. The ending also just awful. But my biggest issue is that XC3 just takes XC1 and XC2 and just takes a huge dump on it, their stories and their characters (with Rex being so pro-active in a certain area being the only good thing that came out of it). Shulk, Nia, Melia, etc... all of them are nothing like their originals. Also no idea why you were thinking the DLC was gonna explain most things. Didn't happen in Torna for XC2 and even before going through FR I already knew there were going to be a ton of things left unanswered (and yes that was the case). In terms of gameplay, level/world design and combat I also think it's the worst in the series. The world design is okayish, but it just wasn't as fun to explore as any of the other games (honestly don't understand why they don't just make it more like X which has by far the best exploration of any XC game). The combat just feels very simplified, there's not much depth to it. You have up to 7 characters running around on the battlefield to pay attention to, so instead they removed stuff like affinity mechanics and several others and simplified it so it is more possible to keep track of it. It just doesn't feel very varied or exciting, it all just comes down to doing a chain attack and winning through it (they're just way too long). Definitely doesn't help that the menuing system is by far the worst in the franchise. Sorting options are trash, no options to save favourite equipment setups, constantly browsing for minutes on end through endless lists to find the 1 thing you were looking for, limited item space forcing you to sell stuff (which you have to decide 1 by 1 if you can sell something or not so it takes a lot of time as well), etc. There's just so many bad things about the gameplay of the game. Overal, it was still a pretty decent game. I 'enjoyed' it somewhat when I went through and it's the same for the DLC. But outside of some emotional story highlights, I just wasn't too fond of the characters. The actions scenes look flashier than previous games, but the action itself is flashy for the sake of being flashy while in the other games it feels more weighted. Characters did what they did because they had to, but in here it feels like they just went extra with the flash without adding the proper substance. I can't help but put XC3 on the bottom of the XC franchise. It's really a shame though. XC1 made me a huge fan. Was excited about XCX the day it was announced and while it wasn't perfect, it still delivered and was one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had in a game with unmatched exploration and unforgettable memories. XC2 was... not as good as either, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. The 1st 2 games I think are amazing, XC2 I think of as just great. XC3 however... it killed my faith in the franchise. It ruined the stories and endings of both XC1 and XC2. And instead of being excited when a new Xenoblade game is announced... I will be skeptical when they announce XC4, XCX or some other new XC game.

[@a_rat_named_mouse]

I would describe the game as "decent", aye. Perhaps a 6/1o. I usually feel like it might even teeter as low as a 4/1o, though, simply due to how much of a slog both the cutscenes AND the combat are. The writing, for me, is the weakest part -in and of itself, sure, but also because the game insists you listen to everything it wants to say (multiple times) and it demands you take it super seriously. It almost boasts about having such a dark, gritty, hopeless setting and premise ...while then refusing to kill off vital characters, going so far as to walk back even Mio's death. After forcing me to sit down and hear out a dozen conversations about her death, death in general and what the value and purpose of life is. It just comes off as absolutely spineless and hollow.

[@sanicguy4145]

2 is my favorite xenoblade game but I honestly think 3 is the best one.

[@Mifuneerasmus]

Xbc 3 had a fantastic ending for it's story but definitely didn't wrap up anything from the trilogy. Every game has had a theme about seizing the future and this one was really about overcoming the fear of the future. Letting go of the comfortable present and grow up and achieve more. I've heard a lot about Japanese men being hermits, basically incels, who just stay at home and have no drive to make a better future for themselves, here in the US we have a growing population of these people and this is a message that we need to hear. I wonder if Takahashi had this thought in mind.

[@benclapp6100]

Personally, after 2 being one of my favourite games of all time, this game felt like an absolute trainwreck. Compared to 2, the only things I can say it did better is the lack of gatcha, and slightly better main character designs. It failed in almost every other way for me. I mean, from the very begining it failed on basic plot points - you never make a story where EVERYTHING is against you as you have no interactions = the first few chapter were desolate and I could see they quickly had to try and find a way to get out of the hole they wrote themselves into. The Mobius villains were horrendious throughout. I mean cheese doesn't even cover it, and even if the chapter 5 events caught my interest for a moment and was clever, it didn't last. Then the ending...oh boy It was absolutely terrible in every respect from the final boss onwards. The ending was effectively the cardinal sin of endings 'oh, they forgot everything/it was all a dream' I was so, so dissapointed at this game after 2 it was unreal how much they messed up with the story.

[@2yoyoyo1Unplugged]

I want to know who the hell said that this was the grand consensus of the community. Most people adored 3, just like 1 and 2, especially with how Future Redeemed capped things off. You sure this question even needs asking? Although I will say next to 2 it still just doesn’t match the highs, in some specific ways.

[@gilbertoperalta2172]

I think differnt from you about XC3. I really like it, but I think it has no right to be called a culmination of the claus saga. Hell, this could have actually been XC4 and everyone would have been happy. I am sure the DLC will bring more stuff to the table, and in a more direct way, but then Takahashi should have mde the DLC XC3 for a culmination and a setup for new things. XC3 and the claus experiment are almost non related, That I kind of wander if this should have been XC4. Also for the fan service call backs, I think it was a lacking point in the game. I think 40-ish hours of the character we want (and them being secondaries to the story) is not enough, thinking that we most likely will not see them again. I am exited for the DLC, and want to play it a soon as get home, but I can only wonder if releasing the main game and the dlc as such was the right call. Honest question; Do you think if this (main game XC3) was actually XC4, we would have been having this discussions? Lets hope for tthe best.

[@nishquikpops]

I personally feel like the story of Aionios and Mobius is Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Future Redeemed being Xenoblade 3 would also feel a little weird bc idk if it's long enough to explore a lot of themes that XC3 explores. But both stories (base game and FR) together make a good ending to the Klaus Saga. We might even get an epilogue to the events of XC3 at the end of Future Redeemed. Just like how 2's story was fleshed out with Torna, I think it'll be the same with this. And they'll work hand in hand to be a good ending. And with FR exploring a lot of things that might have been a bit vague in 3 (Mobius, fog, Ourobuos, etc.) we might see the events of 3 in a different way. I guess we'll just have to wait and see though. FR's release is so close!

[@gilbertoperalta2172]

@@nishquikpops as I always say. I hope to be wrong and you right. I guess well have to play it to see. I might stop by in case you stream it.

[@nishquikpops]

@@gilbertoperalta2172 I probably won't stream it bc I wanna savor the experience for myself 😆 But expect a lot of videos on it after I beat it!

[@geraldthegoose1685]

There was just something about xc2 found family that I just didn't feel with xc3

[@shinnok5337]

In my opinion, nothing in XBC3 can be worse than the field skill checks in XBC2.

[@RaidenKaiser]

It's my least favorite in the trilogy it's weakest combat and story but to go so far as to call it bad is just silly it's still a really good game.

[@JustJulyo]

Every Xenoblade is special for its own way. Personally speaking 2 is my favorite with 3 having the best gameplay but 1 is such a great story to playthrough and a fulfilling side quest of rebuilding a whole colony But with this dlc coming out soon, if its going to be anything similar to Torna then consider this the best Xenoblade of all time!

[@nishquikpops]

Yeah we'll just have to wait and see... As of now it's 7 hours away!

[@JustJulyo]

@@nishquikpops the wait is painful!

[@Diamoondust]

I loved the game but it wasn't exactly what I expected. The main cons are the economy of the game (coins were worthless), shops were useless, how annoying gem crafting is, cooking not working for a good while at launch, the stupidity that are the nopon coins. Apart from those LOW lows I liked it a lot and still do.

[@nishquikpops]

Omg I played the game a few days back and my party is literally swimming in cash lol. There were so many good accessories you get from side quests that I never really purchased any from any of the colonies.

[@CapsuleCorpStudios]

Everyone like a different Xenoblade most. For me its XC2, because as a standalone game, it has the best and complete story (because of Klaus explaining what happened to the world). I don't really understand why u said that XC2 started low. I mean .. Rex died, Awakened the Aegis, the fight with Malos on the ship, the fight with Morag .. thats not a low start, thats what kept me going even with the bad battle system XC series has.

[@MathOwz]

Does anyone know how to access the story dlc? I just turned my switch on now and it's 10pm. It updated my game and said software is ready to start at launch. Where do I access it? 😂

[@nishquikpops]

From what I know it won't release till 9pm est in America on the 25th. Not sure what that would be for everywhere else in the world. It's basically going off of the Japanese release date. Anyone else with more info pls let us know!

[@MathOwz]

@@nishquikpops I really do hope it doesn't release the same time for everyone. 9pm est is 2am for us in the UK.....on the 26th. That would break my heart

[@coreymckee4844]

​@@MathOwz dude "break your heart". Its no big deal. Just wait abit longer. Your being over dramatic. Lol

[@MathOwz]

@@coreymckee4844I mean, it was a bit of sarcasm but there we go

[@MathOwz]

@@nishquikpops it seems to be the 26th for us in the UK. I checked the listing on the eshop. The 25th aligned with my day off. I'll probably have to wait another week to play it now. Very sad times 😂

[@AD-uq7cg]

For me, the emotional roller coaster of the end of chapter 5 and beginning of chapter 6 alone make this game as must play. I loved this game. For me, where it falls short is in its world. While it is well developed, I just didn’t care about it as much as the worlds of 1 and 2. All of that said, if the first 2 games are a 10/10, this game is still a 9/10 at worst!

[@sowianskiwojownik5973]

Part of what makes Aionios feel less impactful is that it feels artificially created, and that whatever impact people from Keves and Agnes made of it, means little by the end of the game.

[@AD-uq7cg]

@@sowianskiwojownik5973 agreed!

[@N.A.S-DTDW]

Where are the people that say 3 is the worst xenoblade??? There is no way in hell.

[@mismismism]

I don't think it's the worst of the 3, I was extremely put off by the huge over sexualization in 2 personally which badly ruined the experience and tone for me. Xenoblade 3 had some big problems though. I really did not like the story, it felt kind of immature somehow, inconsistent character reactions everywhere, cartoonish villains, it just badly fell off like halfway through for me. But what made me stop playing was the leveling system, they have so many side quests and side bosses, a class that needs you to go and take on side bosses, but someone thought blocking you from getting exp for your classes if you beat anything like 2 levels below yours, was a good idea with no way to prevent leveling or reduce levels until you've beaten the game. I already disliked the story and the constant sudden grinding halts to progression irritated me so badly. Like the game punished you for wanting to explore the open world and do the side content they have all over the place. At very least they could have made it that you can only level up manually to prevent that issue.

[@infern24]

what world building? we learned nothing about the events that created aionios outside the brief summary by nia. you all need to quit hyping up the base game like its better written than 1 and 2 when it isn't. wait for the dlc, if it fleshes out the origins of aionios, then you can say it has good world building or the best, but quit overhyping it and looking down on people that don't like 3. I get tired of that nonsense just like I'm tired of you all overhyping 3's soundtrack like its more award worthy than xenoblade 2 when 3 only had good battle themes and vocal themes and xenoblade 2 outclasses its ost in everything. to have proper worldbuilding, you need lore and backstory to the world and characters, and in this case a fused world, you need lore about how the world came to be and need to explain the events that happened to 1 and 2's world to have proper worldbuilding done right. you act like I don't understand world building when I prefer classic dragon ball over z for its worldbuilding and lore, I prefer megaman starforce over battle network for its lore and character development and emotional story, I prefer xenoblade 2 over xenoblade 1 for its lore of its ever changing world and the character development and story with the trinity processor and klaus and mythra's backstory. I prefer sonic over mario for the characters and character development and stories and the lore of the emeralds. and I could keep going. point is, its not that we don't get the world building and character development and lore in 3, its that it lacks it because they rushed to the final boss and saved the lore for the dlc. so quit acting like our opinion is wrong when you don't understand how we think or feel at all. also I could argue they aren't moving away from xenogears and xenosaga and the fog beasts are gonna be the new gnosis threat, but I guess you missed fog beasts being enemies in the dlc right?

[@JamesCarpeDiem]

uhh, wow.

[@TheWeeabooKid]

The whole plot of xb1s world and xb2s world being 2 halfs of a split world and then them combinding back together and it being destroyed in an annihilation event only for it being reborn completed again would have been a better ending to the triology as a whole.

[@LHJosh]

Think 3’s criticism comes from the lack of geo-locational development within the main story, could be imo tho Great vid.

[@nishquikpops]

Thanks for checking it out!

[@coreymckee4844]

In evrey part of the game its superior to the other games. As for the story, idk.. it didnt really click for me. Maybe ill learn to appreciate it over time. But for now i still rank "XC: DE" story as superior. And i really didnt like XC2.. I really hope the XC3 dlc gives the game the proper ending it needs. Though im not sure.. cause from the fottage ive seen, it seems like a prequel to XC3 which is what i dont want..

[@nishquikpops]

DE had a fantastic story! 2's story took some time for me to really digest and understand so I kinda understand where you're coming from.

[@MugenLord]

I did an entire video about this and was surprised that there were a lot of people who felt the way I did. Xenoblade 3 had the weaker story compared to the previous 2 game. It wasn't a bad game overall because I enjoyed my time with the game but the story was just lacking. The story felt more like a "Tales of" kind of story rather than a Xenoblade story. In my opinion the Wave 4 DLC story should have been the base game for Xenoblade 3, something I was hoping it was when it was first announced.

[@nishquikpops]

I'll check out your video later! 👍

[@MugenLord]

@@nishquikpops I subscribed awhile ago btw, cool channel.

[@007English007]

Weakest of the series for me. There’s a lot of strong individual components in XC3, some are best in class, but the way it all comes together is unsatisfying. It also feels… a little safe. Aionios is a make-believe world constructed from iconic landmarks from previous games. But it doesn’t recontextualise the iconography it pillages wholesale, rather it points at them and winks at fans, without doing anything meaningful with them. The world is drab, lacking in personality and stuffed full of cookie-cutter outposts. I hope you like tents! The final two chapters feel so rushed too, with random side stories thrown in, a dull triforce fetch quest tossed in to waste time and what is undoubtedly the longest, dullest, most uneventful final dungeon in the series. The game peaks 20 hours before it ends and just stumbles over the line in a finale that thematically makes sense, but feels really unsatisfying narratively - both for XC3 and as a game meant to tie up the Klaus Saga, as per Takahashi’s own words. It leaves so many of its own mysteries and key story points unexplained, and doesn’t even attempt to close off the larger story. Pointing to the DLC and hoping it absolves XC3 for its sins isn’t good enough in my opinion. Torna was an excellent piece of supplementary material that just enhanced and enriched the base game. At this stage, we’re relying on FR to provide key answers many of us feel we should already have. If you’re a huge fan of the wider series, the DLC looks like it’s going to do more for the high level narrative than a 70-hour game. Again, not great. All this said. XC3 is still a great game that I really like - I love it in spots but can’t quite bring myself to say I love it overall. I have huge issues with the combat too, but I’ve only got so much energy… lol

[@nishquikpops]

If you don't mind me asking, what were your issues with the combat? Also thanks for the response! I can see a lot of where you're coming from, especially with FR being somewhat required to get the full experience. But I also think it'll be a nice supplement like Torna was. Like I said, 3 was the story of Ourobuos which we got and I personally enjoyed that. Very excited for the release of FR tomorrow though!

[@jairekambui7738]

I agree about the fetch quest and origin, very long slog with not much going on but enemies. Though the first game is still my least favorite and You’ll never convince me that going back to Prison island was more interesting than Origin. Both pale in comparison to the amazing experience of going through the World Tree and the Orbital Station though. One of my favorite final areas ever.

[@cnzy293]

@@nishquikpops when you get to the postgame, it’s become evident that XC3 lacks depth in comparison to XC2. For example, the land of challenge. In XC2 I really needed to make proper builds to beat them, it show me how much depth the game had. Which food should I eat? Should I use the party gauge to revived or chain attack? Do multiple fusion attack in a blade combo to increase the chip damage. There’s was so much depth and options. In XC3 I beat all the challenges with the same build on the first tried. There was no real challenge. The game gives you so much power with the ouroboros form, easy chain attack spamming and unlimited revives that it made the game too easy. The peak of the combat is when you meet Juniper and unlock the ability to chain arts regardless of the arts being talent/fusion art. After that the game only has lucky seven for you to unlock and at that point lucky seven just makes you more OP. Not too mentioned, the class system makes everyone feel the same. The different characters then just became generic gameplay-wise since everyone can be anything. I would like to mentioned Octopath Traveller 2. in that game, your character must always keep their base class and can have a secondary class. Each character also have their own special ability that only they have. This makes each character feel more special in a gameplay aspect. The best part was the leveling of class was possible without having to equip the class. Just gather points and invest in classes that have arts and skills that you want to combine with the base class of the main character. Don’t get me wrong, I liked XC3 but if I’m being honest I got rather bored with the gameplay after chapter 5.

[@007English007]

@@nishquikpops XC has seven distinct party members who all have unique abilities. They have access to lots of different arts, allowing you to customise each character how you see fit. Positional are strong, bolstered by the fact you can move around the battlefield quickly and attack while repositioning. The problem the first game has is that the combat system is a bit simple - there’s not a lot of meat on the bone. Though the vision mechanic does give combat some nuance. XC2 does homogenise roles, making characters feel less unique, but it makes up for it with additional systems and the blades. The full driver combo, blade combos, fusion combos and the orb system all come together to create something just as involved, if not more so than the first game. And you’ve got lots of blades to tinker with too - but importantly you can’t move them between drivers at the click of a finger. Each driver ends up feeling distinct based on what blades they end up with during that play through. On a side note - Torna works the driver combo into the vanguard Switch mechanic, introduces red health to encourage character switching and gives each party member a unique talent art. It starts off quicker than XC2 - which is perfect for the shorter game length - and finds a nice middle ground between the first game and second (though it obviously leans towards the second game). In XC3, no one feels special. Everyone has access to everything and you’re constantly swapping through classes to upgrade them. You’ll often get comfortable with a class only to feel like you need to ditch it to start upgrading something else. You’re chopping and changing with no limitations throughout the whole game, making the party feel like an interchangeable group of manikins. The idea is to eventually build super strong classes using master arts and the like, but it’s such a drag. In XC2 you place orbs on an enemy to ramp up your chain attack damage. It keeps you engaged throughout the battle and links general combat to the chain attack system. XC3 has no such system, you just kind of spam arts until it’s time to chain attack. And chain attacks take forever to complete. Ouroboros forms feel slow and clunky for much of the game - super slow movement speed and no art cancel to begin with - and don’t offer enough damage to make the switch worth it until the late game. Positionals aren’t as strong in XC3 as they are in XC, but they’ve removed the bonus you got in XC2 for cancelling into an art from the final hit in a three auto attack string. What does this mean? You have less reason to move around than in XC, and have less reason to stay planted than in XC2. I also think the combat is just less readable. Six characters to control, multi-coloured rings slapped all over the floor, characters changing in and out of new costumes every hour, etc. I do like the hero system and the combat system is fine overall. The dash is also a nice addition even if it feels unnecessary. Character switching could have been a big deal, but the game does nothing to incentivise it - you rarely if ever need to switch apart from in one boss fight. XC3’s combat just lacks the personality of the other games for me. XC had more distinct characters and the vision mechanic made fights more unpredictable. XC2 introduced a lot of new features and leans on its smartly designed interlocking systems to keep you engaged. The Land of Challenge really exposes how shallow XC3’s combat can feel. It was figured out in a couple of weeks. It took years to get the best times in XC2. I think FR’s combat system already looks better than we got in XC3. Can’t wait for it! :)

[@007English007]

@@jairekambui7738 World Tree is by the far the best I agree. I also agree the Prison Island revisit is a massive drag - it just doesn’t last as long as Origin, so that’s why I give it the nod! The pay-off is better too! :)

[@Fheara_Nyakki]

Is totallyt he worst and boring one of the serie. 1 was beautiful, beautiful cuscenes, beautiful music that wanted me to watch more (Engage the Enemy? Satorl Marsh Night? Beyond the Sky in the ending?). Then I played 2, that oen were fun, lot of Blades to play with and all (I still prefer 2 above all them tho). And then 3... I played it for a while then dropped it cause huh didnt feel to continue, is boring... boring characters, boring areas and story, I don't know wtf ppl find in this game. Of course is still better than mmo xenobalde X ... because thats what xenoblade x feels like