Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Hangups - Delayed Input with Kyle Bosman

[@fabiofabiobio]

She smiles, she cries. The duality of cat-woman.

[@AntiNihilist]

Nia: She's loud and sassy, BUT she speaks Australian

[@SamM_Scot]

@@AntiNihilist Nia is Welsh :-)

[@fabiofabiobio]

@@AntiNihilist She smiles, but spiders crawl out of her mouth every time she does She cries, but her tears hang down her face like long, thick spider webs

[@kaizoaudio1798]

Yes. Eunie would get a TON of fan art of her eating spiders. YOU will now get fan art of her eating spiders.

[@rinaldus4512]

Kyle missed his chance with Eunie to explain Tsundere to us.

[@Dimchek970]

I guess he respects us or somethin'...

[@knleonhart]

Tsundere? Kaguya? GOAT?

[@tomato3456]

That "BUT" segment really hit the nail on the head. I'm incredibly invested in all six of those hypothetical characters. Seven, counting Woober.

[@Venerablenesses]

Yeah, I kinda want to learn game dev, so I can do bossyman's version.

[@brendbuttarnar3813]

“EUNIE, NO! YOU CAN’T EAT SENA!”

[@TheTjums]

I want to google Woober but I also don't want to be spoiled. Now that's a spicy conundrum!

[@Dyskresiac]

I can't speak for 3, but many of the characters in 2 had a "But" except it was buried deep in the story. The payoff is there. The "cat girl" especially. Admittedly, burying it in spoilers doesn't exactly do the Initial Interest justice. 1 was the same. So there's a good chance these characters have them as well.

[@Twilord_]

So does that mean Xenoblade would get more fans if the unusually character depth compared to most video games (not just JRPGs) weren't framed by massive spoilers.

[@shulk9371]

The thing is that said juxtaposition would want to be hidden to the viewers at first to let them learn about these people

[@Renoistic]

He did say (and I agree) that he has zero faith in the writers actually doing anything interesting with them. And considering X1 and 2 he really has no reason to (I still liked most of 1's characters, but they have very little meat to them).

[@wenyntrout]

@@Renoistic I agree, and I think this is a very important point. A character doesn't necessarily need to be complex to be compelling or memorable. I found both XC1 and XC2's casts very memorable because of their personalities alone. The knuckleheads Reyn and Zeke, the badass Dunban and Morag. I don't adore them because of their personal journeys throughout the games (because they all have very little of that), but they're loveable nonetheless. Shulk and Rex feel like the major "story" characters, and that's perfectly fine.

[@tylerdohoney1544]

I love the entire Xenoblade series and even I agree that every juxtaposition offered in this video would absolutely be an improvement in every way.

[@HGRezende]

As a fan of Xenoblade, you cannot believe how excited I was with that graph (It was missing from 2 and it is back now so it was actually hype to see it xD )

[@sbgwieser2208]

same

[@nyrisj]

Do we know if the collectopedia is back. I never had more fun picking up thousands of the same random blue orbs just to check off my completion.

[@nathanielcassim]

@@nyrisj It’s on the bottom right of the affinity chart

[@nyrisj]

@@nathanielcassim it's seriously an underrated feature that helps drive exploration.

[@MrGregory777]

I audibly screamed, NOOOO!, when I saw the graph. It was one of the worst things in XC1. So much finding and talking and waiting and setting time

[@ps3wizard45]

the implications of one party member being a chronic spider-eater and another being cursed to turn into a baby spider are tantalizing

[@quagthias]

This is Kyle's least favorite episode of Delayed Input BUT... it's the one that goes viral. We love it though.

[@BlueDragoon97]

I love how in his attempt to make Mio more interesting he accidentally described Rindo from NEO: TWEWY.

[@GomerJ]

As somebody 60 hours into this game and loving it, watching this after the fact, I am laughing my ass off picturing the characters with Kyle’s juxtapositions in place and now I badly want that version of the game.

[@gankt]

2:54 This is the world of Poonwabia

[@Sh1ken]

I was dreaming. Even though I haven't met Bosman in person, there he was, sitting on a bench. I look at him. He looks back. He wants to say something... and the first thing I heard was a fucking car horn.

Classic Kyle move.

[@skyedogg]

That final "he could take off the mask" made the whole bit worth it. You got me Kyle

[@TheCanipaEffect]

Xeno3 is one of the games I'm most hyped for this year, and this was also one of my favourite Delayed Inputs. Nintendo's always had a hard time marketing these games because they want to keep so much about the story under wraps. Which makes sense, since it's full of twists and turns, but also they conclude that they can't say much more about someone than "They have beefy arms".

[@azimulhoque1497]

That's the thing with any big JRPG that isn't FF or DQ. Kyle hasn't played any of the Xeno games so he doesn't trust them to deliver despite them delivering every single time. Definition of saving the best for last.

[@nyrisj]

Yeah, Kyle assumed that because they didn't say much that they didn't have much to say. If this was any generic anime game, I might feel the same but Xenoblade 1 and X easily prove that that's not the case. I didn't play 2.

[@EccentricSandal]

It's crazy to me how people complain about characters being 1-dimensional in trailers.... but then you've got stuff like Kingdom Hearts 3 trailers out here spoiling the entire plot because of these initial complaints about 1-dimensional characters in trailers, only for people to complain MORE. Conceptually, it just doesn't work to market a jRPG that way. Nintendo and Monolith know that. But people only see what's being shown to them and assume that's how the entire game is going to play out.

[@nyrisj]

@@EccentricSandal I pre-ordered the first game on Wii purely from the info put on it's UK website. I hadn't even watched a trailer yet, but just hearing the title theme and reading about the mechanics 100% sold me on it and the game delivered.

[@BigBarkleyValley]

He played Torna.

[@golfer435]

Here's the thing though, a character's tag line is not always or the only place you can get that hook. Take mio for instance. This direct laid one thing very clear about Mio, she is a kind and compassionate off-seer who only has 3 months left to live. That's interesting because it makes us question what she's going to do about it and it makes us want to see how she's going to use those final 3 months.

[@eowade9211]

But no, seems like wondering if Noah suffers from kleptomania is much more interesting... After all, some people like to insert needles in their scrotum. Who are we to judge?

[@golfer435]

@@eowade9211 That's the thing though, these are the kinds of questions that someone who is writing the characters should be asking not necessarily someone who is marketing the game as a whole

[@suplextrain]

The only thing that stand out about the character is the "3 month left to live" part, which has nothing to do with the character. Taking the most boring character ever and just giving them 3 months left to live doesn't magically make them interesting as characters.

[@eowade9211]

@@suplextrain The fact that she has only 3 months remaining won't define the character? Are you serious dude? What about the fact that she is also an off-seer? Don't you have question about that? Why do they need to help those spirits to reach the beyond? We also know that she is from Agnus. Why? Why is she fighting for Agnus, what are her goals? Why do Agnus and Keves are in war, when they receive their order from the same persons? What role will she have in all of this? It also seems that she can take the remaining time of others, how does this works? Who is ready to sacrifice her time for her to linger a bit more? Also why is she fighting her partymember in ouroboros form, so AFTER they teamed up? There is so many question you can ask yourself. And i'm much more intrigued by this presentation, than let's say the beginning of Last of Us (good for you dude, your daughter died. But i don't fuckin know you, so why the fuck would i even care?)

[@Jacob_G9]

@@suplextrain honestly, the Question of "Why does everyone have 10 Terms and 10 Years each" Makes a interesting Plot for a game, And one of your characters being at the edge of that Final term is good at setting a reason to try and Find the cause and stop it.

[@johnforkner]

The idea of juxtaposition within characters is why the OG Muppets were so endearing.

[@COlimar788]

Thank you for these good good videos, they make my day a little brighter!

[@ShallBePurified]

What I get from this video and a lot of other people who can't get into Xenoblade is they need an immediate hook or twist, which is not what Xenoblade is about. The criticism of the characters being "boring" isn't true when you play through the games, because they are revealed to be more than what they initially show you. But if you lack the patience to play to that point, you'll never see that. I've seen other people say, it's due to impatience, which I understand. Time is limited and people have other stuff they need to do, so investing dozens of hours to get that payoff may not be worth it for some people. I feel this way about other games. So what does Xenoblade do to get people invested early on? I'd say it's the combat and world. Most Xenoblade fans get hooked on the battle system or exploring the world with its wacky design and interesting premise right away. Or they get hooked on the story in the early sections to play to find out more.

[@miket.1933]

But the same "impatient" people play 40 hours of trash Death Stranding because it will probably develop into something great maybe, who knows just because it is from Kojima.

[@LordlyWeeb]

​@@miket.1933 Nah, Death Stranding is cool too.

[@blueray222]

Most slow burn games are kryptonite to the modern gamer after all, unless its doused with accolades like FF XIV. There's much less patience to discover a game or story as it opens itself up to you now, which is a massive shame for games of such fantastic quality like Xenoblade, the pre-release articles and opinions calling 3 'messy' or 'boring', etc, speak volumes to that.

[@OGR-4394]

Then advertise that.

[@LordlyWeeb]

@@OGR-4394 They did

[@aaronhanson235]

It's a bummer Kyle stubbornly refuses to give the Xenoblade series a chance after not liking Torna. I feel like XC1 would be right up his alley

[@CyclonSilver]

I mean, I thought Skies of arcadia or Toy Commander would be up his alley for sure. It's difficult to know with Kyle, he tends to obsess over things in ways difficult to see coming. And the moment his perspective is pushed one way, it's usually stuck on that one side from what I've seen. To be fair, that's not something rare. But from someone as good at analysis and thought articulation as he is, it's just kinda weird.

[@phant0mdummy]

It is YOUR bummer. He don't like it. Whatever. I'll never touch StarCraft I don't care for that style game. No bummer.

[@shawnje3072]

You can tell he hasn't gotten very far in either XC1 or especially 2 because that juxtaposition section would fall apart. I'll concede that the characters usually do fall into common anime tropes but, the writing is tight (no the va lol) and the plot morphs enough to allow them to evolve in interesting ways. Your brief hoke about the community chart-yes this is my sole major problem with the series. Large, cluttered guis 😩

[@adriahrin3284]

"(not the va lol)" did you not ever hear shulk voice acting or something?

[@17Haru17]

The writing in Xenoblade 1 is god awful. Multiple love triangles in that game! Unbelievable. You can like it, but stop pretending it's something good to anyone outside of the fandom.

[@Deebus]

@@17Haru17 it’s not awful, you just didn’t like it lol

[@BenkaiDebussy]

IMO the biggest sign that this one won't be heavy on the anime tropes is that there's a scene near the beginning of the game (chapter 1 content from previews below, moved down just for people who want to avoid any information before release) ... that is sort of like the Starship Troopers shower scene where the Keves party members + other Keves army people are all in a coed shower/bath together and there's zero "male gaze camera" and no one acts even remotely flustered by it. Lanz and Eunie stand up in the bath and start arguing, and Noah just sits there chilling. Kinda feels like it's making some sort of statement - they basically put the "hot spring" scene at the beginning of the game, but without any of the tropes associated with it.

[@OGR-4394]

The juxtaposition is purely so the character has something more than a common archetype to start with

[@EmrlsCommunity]

Imagine if Lanz was built for up-close combat, BUT has a very low accuracy. He'd be hit or miss. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

[@AstreaGT]

Thank you for being just a national treasure. These videos get me through the day.

[@MrMarvell]

Some very good points, but I can guarantee that the characters will not be boring. All xenoblade characters so far have been so likeable and have great in depth backstories. And I have 100% faith that this will continue

[@CJ_Raider]

You can’t guarantee anything. It’s subjective. I played the first game and half the second. I think the most interesting characters were shulks girlfriend because she got turned into an android and pyra/mythra because they are two different personalities sharing a body. Everyone else I can’t remember. I remember the villains in 2 were probably the most interesting characters in both games.

[@LithningWolf]

@@CJ_Raider ugh

[@CJ_Raider]

@@LithningWolf You can “ugh” all you want dawg. These can games have amazing and addictive combat systems. I play them for those reasons. I just can’t stand a lot of the anime tropes and “comedy”. I can just only hope the voice acting and direction is a lot better than it was in 2.

[@LithningWolf]

@@CJ_Raider There is literally nothing " anime " in the first Xenoblade

[@CJ_Raider]

@@LithningWolf The character designs and costume designs, including the overt fan service, is very anime. Now don’t get me wrong. It’s not nearly as abundant as part 2, which is why I like it more, but “literally” is a strong word.

[@logic_error]

I'm glad Kyle is advocating for spider eater representation, it's about damn time.

[@rudeboyspodcast]

Goes great with some garlic and hummus

[@puppy14]

Appreciate your opinion, but I've never been more excited to pour another 300+ hours into multiple playthroughs of this gem. I can see how this looks like a convoluted mess to the average gamer.

[@omensoffate]

God I hate the xenoblade fanbase because of comments like this

[@puppy14]

@@omensoffate Why? Because I enjoy a game? I hate the Call of Duty series but I don’t go crapping on their fans, if they want the same game every year for $60, go for it.

[@LukeSkywalker-zv3xy]

I get your feelings but the big things about most xenoblade character(especially the great ones) is that their juxtapositions are always kept hidden at first. Here are some examples (spoilers) Shulk-a nerdy science boi that’s chosen by a legendary sword BUT his every action fuels a cruel and unfeeling god Melia-princess of a super advanced race of bird people BUT that same race is doomed to destroy itself and she must grapple with leading her race out of extinction Nia-a plucky young thief who stole her fathers blade BUT secretly was an attempt to revive her dead sister and must live with that guilt Malos- a typical moustache twirling villain that wants to destroy the world BUT that desire to destroy the world comes from an deep seeded sense of self loathing and suicidal urges fueled by an anger and rage for the world that isn’t his.

[@jefurihartono1630]

@@MAXISORAWIGGLES thats all jrpg. Cloud is just a terrorist swordman lol

[@OxygenC2]

@@MAXISORAWIGGLES No, it means you're impatient. JRPGs are notorious for being long. Penalizing Xenoblade for doing what Final Fantasy and Persona is stupid

[@LukeSkywalker-zv3xy]

@@MAXISORAWIGGLES no half of these things are implied within the first few hours, you may not be able to pinpoint these things but there is enough mystery to keep them compelling not to mention all of these characters are just fun to watch already. I’m sorry but I don’t want to be spoiled on the big twists these characters will have and neither do most people. Going into a xenoblade game as blind as possible is the best way to go into one and I’m glad the marketing team realized this time around.

[@nyrisj]

@@MAXISORAWIGGLES The descriptions could have been much better. The "buts" are definitely going to be there, they just didn't include them in this direct. Simply knowing they all only have 10 years of life is a pretty big BUT.

[@golfer435]

@@MAXISORAWIGGLES the depth to the characters is the selling point. It makes it hard to sell on characters alone, but it hooks you deeply when you do finally see it.

[@pugetsoundwaves]

It's a shame because Xenoblade is without a doubt one of the greatest JRPG franchises and IMO the best continuous story of any video game series of all-time if you're willing to invest all the time it takes to get through. But I get the gameplay isn't for everyone, but once it clicks and you figure it out the combat, especially in 2 and looks like 3 is the same, is fucking AWESOME.

[@MrMarvell]

100% I'll never forget the moment when the combat clicked for me in XC2, it was so satisfying and rewarding!

[@tyhjyys]

went most of my first playthrough of xc2 completely misunderstanding the elemental orb system. wouldnt experiment with any of the systems there to power you up either. i played it so wrong but 2 still doesnt have a tutorial section to be fair. then it clicked instantly on my second run. used different class blades and pouch items and had a good time exploring. the nintendo direct for 3 made sure to point out that they fixed all the things that hold the combat back for most people. i think more people should be willing to pick this up

[@SENATORPAIN1]

If you think this is the greatest story of all time then you are really going to enjoy Tetris.

[@FuIIDiveVR]

:P

[@omensoffate]

It has its flaws but it’s pretty iconic

[@Greywaren24]

I'm super excited about Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and I laughed out loud with this video. Good job.

[@Boohahascaredyou]

Gotta say, I can barely take the slander here, but at least the weird AF "but" segment gives some amusing quirks to imagine the characters having in an alternate universe.

[@297fihsy]

Kyle, I have a lot of patience for you and usually not much patience for JRPGs (particularly those with this much nonsense on the screen). But Xenoblade is glorious and I won’t hear otherwise

[@maxw.1334]

someone didn't watch the bonus bit

[@twincherries6698]

To be fair I think he was just voicing out his own opinions and preferences which I think is perfectly understandable. When I first saw what the gameplay would look like for this one I instantly knew it would just inherently turn many people off

[@SetsuneW]

Pained by a vision of the future of cosplayers always having to politely turn down people bringing them spiders to eat.

[@coneg2714]

Awaiting the Eunie eating spiders fanart, thanks for throwing that concept into the world Kyle

[@CassidyListon]

"BUT he makes everyone call him 'Daddy'." We all laugh, but this idea allows room for interesting/funny conflict with other party members that are self-serious or emo. And making the PLAYER change his name to Daddy is genius.

[@patrickthewolf840]

Well South Park made your name Douchebag no matter what you entered lol

[@XanthinZarda]

And a lot of people seem to be stating, "Oh, they all start out as flat tropes and then expand upon their characters!" It's like _[Explicative], it's a 200 hour JRPG, why don't you skip the slow burn and give the fully developed characters from the start?_ That way, _even stranger twists and turns can be introduced_ instead of us having to wait for the _shocking reveal_ that the girl who can't cook actually has secretly been a master chef this entire time, but due to her _TRITE, YET TRAGIC BACKSTORY,_ she hasn't approached a cooking pot in 5 years.

[@myhlanoelsalsa8690]

At first I thought that the "but" juxtaposition would just be a writing 101 lesson to superficially judge the characters, but it might just turned into my main tactic to explain why I think XC2's party is my favorite JRPG team of all time What a great video

[@FireFury190]

I love all the "buts" you had. Those made me laugh and I hope Xenoblade fans make funny art reenacting them. *But* your juxtaposition proposal has a hole in it in that if you lay that out to the audience right away you're pretty much spoiling that character's entire arc. Which would give people just as much reason not to play the game in the same way you say not showing enough won't drag people. Basically "Why would I watch this character's story if I already have an idea where it's gonna go?". Not to mention people want to go into this story as spoiler-free as possible. Cause people were already worried this direct was gonna spoil so much of the story. So showing the bare minimum of the story's premise and characters should be enough to draw people. Cause the last thing we need is for the trailers to spoil the entire story like a lot of movie trailers do.

[@OGR-4394]

It spoils nothing

[@ben66562]

Right but the examples he gave of breaking bad and barry don't spoil anything, while still being intriguing and making you curious about the story. If someone told you to check out one of these shows and said "oh dude you gotta watch breaking bad. It's about a chemistry teacher whose family is important to him" you probably wouldn't care too much. If all they said was "it's about a guy who cooks meth" you probably wouldn't care either. Like kyle said it's the juxtaposition that makes them interesting. It's both of these things "mild-mannered chemistry teacher, BUT he cooks crystal meth"- that makes an interesting premise. Knowing those two things doesn't make me say "oh well thanks a lot. no point in watching it now." It's the exact opposite. That's the whole reason you would.

[@Jon_Cummins]

The thing about xenoblades is that they’re so damn long that they can’t tell u too much in the trailers, they have to save everything for the epic 100+ hours.

[@theretherebearbears7631]

I'd be worry if I can read every characters depth right away from the trailer. Like how much they got to spoil for that?

[@OGR-4394]

Nobody is asking for character depth in a trailer, just something interesting on the surface.

[@ben66562]

​@@OGR-4394 right. Breaking Bad could have still been a good show if all you knew about it at the start was he was a chemistry teacher who loves his family. But if all you heard about the show was "he's a regular chemistry teacher whose family is important to him" then you probably wouldn't have put it on your watchlist. Which is all kyle is saying here.

[@LittleNamMan]

As a writer, I can tell you for certain creating an interesting character goes further than just a "this character does this but..." since at the end of the day the concept can sound nice on paper, but go poorly if some dude decides to create a character whose only gimmick is those two things. Real people have more than two sides to them, there isn't just a "they do this, but they also do this", a real person does many things and based off the different things they do builds the character they are and present themselves as. Xenoblade, I can tell you now, is very good about exploring those littler details when it comes to its characters. XC2 did this especially well. The amount of little details I still remember about the characters from that game make them just as memorable as the cast of literally Chrono Trigger. And while it may be my bias since this is my favorite game series ever, there are not a lot of JRPGs out there that go into those little character details like Xenoblade does. This, to me, makes their cast feel more real than any character in any JRPG I have come across. The only real exception is the Tales Series, which is filled to the brim with that stuff. That is the only series I can tell you does it better, if not the best.

[@OGR-4394]

As a writer, would you ever describe your characters to people the way that trailer did?

[@LittleNamMan]

@@OGR-4394 Tbf, if my series ever got shows or something, I am not sure how much control I would have over the production of that, I would say a game trailer has the difference of including the guy who is making the game right off the bat more-less the guy who is making a book and someone wants to turn that into a show. So overall for a book trailer, I feel it would be a completely different kind of trailer anyways, not just in describing the characters, but literally every aspect of it. Also I usually don't like advertising my characters in a story, and the most I'll do is advertise maybe the main character and what they might want to do or how they view the world considering it is the character you will be following throughout 100% of the story.

[@GigaMan91]

I can relate to Taion. Remembering names is difficult.

[@lukemoonwalker8444]

Faces are EASY, names are hard :C

[@Saz103]

I can see your point but I think think your take is nothing more than surface level, a 100hour epic assumably finale game isn’t gonna spoil the main characters draws initially.

[@SENATORPAIN1]

i think his point is that overall the characters are never going to be interesting.

[@LordlyWeeb]

​@@SENATORPAIN1 And there's no way he can know that, and there's no way he ever will. The game isn't out yet, and he'll never play it.

[@SENATORPAIN1]

@@LordlyWeeb jokes aside he makes it pretty clear that a 25 minute trailer did nothing to make a character seem interesting.and I would have to agree with that.

[@LordlyWeeb]

@@SENATORPAIN1 And I disagree. It did.

[@SENATORPAIN1]

@@LordlyWeeb which character is interesting.

[@TonyDaExpert]

As a huge Xenoblade Fan I respect your opinions especially with the explanations we usually don’t get. Usually in the past the trailers make the characters and story seem more generic than they are, I seen many people be surprised by it from their first impressions of them or even the trailers themselves when getting deeper into the games. Of course it’s not guaranteed this time will be the same but following history the trailer is not super indicative of the actual game’s story it’s just portraying it in the most generic way possible(again according to history dunno if this time it’s different). As far as gameplay goes, yup it’s not for everyone if you understand it and like actively thinking about connecting all the pieces to connect all your strategies together it’s super fun. However it takes time usually to reach that level of understanding and if you have not gotten to the point where you can envision what your strategies are in real time it can definitely be not interesting. The game is massive, has a huge and unique world to explore and an overloaded amount of content which definitely can scare people off and I completely get it. Most of it is optional but it’s still a lot. When you think about it this series has usually people who don’t care much about it or people who really love the game to where it’s one of their favorites. That’s because to people who don’t get overwhelmed, you are getting an amazing world to explore with unique world design, super deep combat with tons of depth and expansion, a super ambitious story in which most jrpgs don’t like doing anymore(maybe it’s not as marketable since you can only experience the best of it when you already own the game.) A game with a ton of content, a beautiful world with some of the best world design, a deep combat system, and a super ambitious story which almost no one sees coming. That’s why many people love this series so much, for those who love thinking deeply about both story and gameplay.

[@TonyDaExpert]

BOTW is super intuitive and simple to get into, it’s like playing with a toy that can be expanded on greatly. It’s fun for almost everyone that plays it. Xenoblade meanwhile is like trying to become a professional at a skill many people will see it as boring, you need to read/watch and study a lot and it can be very off putting and not many want to put the effort and rightfully so if they don’t have the time or it’s not for them. But those that do will find much more then they expected. A game that has a strong story and a strong world and no sacrifices in its content, it’s not something I see often but it’s definitely something that isn’t for the majority of people.

[@pokelogikx]

Ill try the "this but this" with the 6 main characters based on what we know from all the info we have First Keves Noah the funeral rights director for the Keves faction but people who want out of the war keep dying around him Eunie Brash and blunt Medical Gunner who prolly studied healing to an extent but is actually pretty dumb in most other things (like cooking) Lanz Defender and blunt guy but he is constantly hung up by the deaths of some of the folks around him who he feels is his fault for not doing enough now for Agnus Mio Funeral Rites driector for Agnus but she has 3 months left to live and wants out of this war somewhat Taion A quick thinking battle tactician but there is a strong tension between him and his mentor Sena Small in stature Tomboy but constantly feels to push herself to do more so we already notice that there is a bit of an interesting dynamic between the pairs Noah who keeps experiencing close friends dying whenever they feel disheartened by the war is paired up with Mio who is not only on a timer but wants to just be done with the war as a whole Eunie and Taion so far seem to be the strong independent but somewhat less learned girl and the mentored guy who has strong lingering attachments to his old mentor (we dont know of what kind) Finally Lanz, and admittedly youd have to dig around for this one but its still something you find out earlyish in the game appareantly, Feels responsible for some of the deaths of his allies during his academy training days and feels like he needs to do more to protect his freinds is paired up with Sena who feels a similar need to contribute more putting her at odds with Lanzs comfort zone so to say. They Juxtapose small things within themselves as characters and then have a larger Juxtaposition between themselves as pairs. At least that's what I'm seeing from following the material and most of my initial impressions from the direct.

[@OGR-4394]

Good start, now for a challenge fit each of them into a single short sentence

[@pheria]

Illustrative, entertaining, and delicate to Xenoblade fans like myself. :P I've never had a problem with you disliking some games I love, I think it's cool to see how you feel about them and giving them a shot is great. Rush 2049 from Never Too Late To Dreamcast is another favorite of mine, which you also didn't enjoy, but I still enjoyed watching you try it. Your feelings about games don't take away from mine, I just like hearing whatever they are. I know my own gaming tastes as well, and converting people into liking what I like isn't going to make a game any better for me. I do want things I like to succeed of course so I will mention things to people, but that's about the extent of it. I watch reviews pretty much the same way. I can usually already tell if I want to play a game or not, I'm just curious how others feel. The critical thinking and reflection to explain why here took some effort plus was explained in an entertaining way. Nicely done!

[@defeatingvetis490]

I am almost always listening to these Delayed Inputs while driving home from work and the effing car horn always startles me!

[@MonsterMJ]

i think this game can be amazing great episode kyle thanks

[@connordavisj]

The car horn is in every episode and I still manage to forget it's coming by the time a new episode comes out.

[@keen96]

idk man, if you looked at XC1 and 2's trailer you wouldn't be able to judge the character's depth by them. Hell this probably applies to almost every story ever marketed. There is value in characters being "immediately" interesting, but that's as far as that goes, it's all in the execution of the work and Monolith has an insane pedigree in delivering amazing stories and characters. so honestly to me all that you talked about the story and characters rang extremely hollow; I've seen amazing premises suck in execution and I've seen seemingly generic characters have insane arcs and depth. As for the gameplay in the end it's just taste. I love being bombarded with menus and buttons and options, that's my shit; I hate the freedom granted by games like Minecraft, I don't like tactics combat. None of those things are good or bad in and of themselves. Even if I have my reasons for liking or disliking them, someone else could think the opposite for the exact same reason. But of course, I can see why some people would be put off, tho I for one I'm super excited.

[@levankirvalidze1575]

woooosh

[@Dieozam]

I couldn't have said it better myself. Really good dissection man!

[@WarrenEBB]

@@levankirvalidze1575 woosh like "slam dunk" or woosh like "it went right over your head"?

[@WarrenEBB]

XC1 and XC2 had 24 minute trailers?

[@Myoldusernamewasgood]

Boy when Yumi turns into spiders, Kyle is going to look Soooo silly.

[@AlabastreAizo]

Why can't I find fanart of Eunie eating spiders???

[@mioc7741]

Xenoblade 2 had so much depth with its characters. I’m sure 3 will be the same. Xenoblade is like a friend. You get to know their exterior but as you play the game you get to know a deeper part of them. I think Mio is by far the character we’ve seen the most complexity from. She is afraid to die and yet refuses to take from her friends. Basically it seems like she’ll try and shoulder to much and have to learn to let others help her.

[@misterzia01]

I completely agree with you, we've barely seen anything about xenoblade 3 to be jumping to conclusions about the characters. like I can understand kyle's lack of interest, but xenoblade game always feature significant character development and if you knew about it, you'd spoil it for yourself so Monolith can't exactly spoil the story since the high quality narrative is a big reason for why the games are so popular in the first place. for example: shulk is a meek kind scientist. Sounds pretty boring right? why? because this was pretty much the same description I was given when watching a trailer for Xenoblade chronicles. Now let me do it kyle's way. Shulk is a meek kind scientist, BUT he's obsessed with killing edward scissor hands. you see, I made it sound interesting too, but in the process, I spoiled the game which would take away from the overall experience. Before I played Xenoblade chronicles 2, I made similar assumptions about the characters like kyle. Rex is a good kid who wants to save the world. Again sounds boring, I thought Rex was your standard anime harem trope MC, and ms. big tits was in love with the biggest loser for literally no reason. Then I played the game and I realized that Rex is actually a very compassionate person who wants to convince the one he loves that life is worth living. So let's make it interesting. Rex is a good kid who wants to save the world, BUT he's a crutch for his suicidal gf. There, I made it interesting but in the process removed the build up to that truth. To each their own, I'm not going to hate someone for not liking what I like, but I do find it hilariously weird that kyle judges a book by its cover when talking about characters that have traits that aren't obvious in 10 second clips.

[@ShallBePurified]

If you rewatch the trailers for Xenoblade 2, you would also see how little we know about all the characters from just trailers. So it wouldn't make sense to draw any final conclusions from trailers alone. I prefer they not show too much and let us discover more of the twists and development in the game, instead of spoiling the character development before the game comes out. For example, Mega Mind had a spoiler that spoiled the entire twist and development of Mega Mind in the trailer before the movie came out. And it was a really good development that would've been better if you didn't watch that trailer.

[@omensoffate]

Christ you xenoblade fanboys getting butthurt over a joke video

[@davidwindsor2579]

Riki is the best Xenoblade character because he fits your requirement for juxtaposition. He’s a middle-aged family man who’s more mature than the rest of the cast BUT he’s a furry mascot character who uses baby speak

[@trueNahobino]

Please tell me you're joking

[@yoshisaur2693]

i disagree with most things you said but this was super entertaining to watch lol, ill definitely watch more of your vids and sub

[@keyboard_g]

Woober is a spider farmer.

[@Twilord_]

So you'd be more interested if they teased the massive spoilers for each character, like describing Mythra as: "Hot headed, stubborn and arrogant love interest who saved your life - but is tricking you into taking her to the one place on the planet where she can commit suicide" Something like that?

[@futurehaxz]

literally bro

[@BenkaiDebussy]

As a side comment, that plot point bugged me because you have Pyra threatening to commit suicide with the Siren targeting laser, which apparently would have worked since Malos, another Aegis, took it seriously.

[@OGR-4394]

You missed the point.

[@adgd]

Great episode!

[@zenithquasar9623]

Hysterical!

[@austinganje5391]

Someone needs to show this to Enel

[@zacharyqueyrouze6604]

I never played any of these games, until chronicles 2. I loved it. Kyle just try 2

[@d_shuffles]

Xenoblade 3 is a dream and im here for it haha.

[@Kanann]

If Kyle is more famous we will have shit ton of girl eating spider fanarts

[@orijimi]

At a glance I saw 'girl eating spider farts'.

[@MogDog9]

Torna has forever soured Kyle on the Xeno series and that’s kind of sad.

[@aaronhanson235]

Yeah. What's worse is he thinks that playthrough is representative of the entire series. He has no idea what he's missing out and refuses to accept that he could be wrong about that. It'd be like if someone played Dirge of Cerberus and then never played another Final Fantasy game or played Triforce Heroes and then never playing another Zelda game. Kyle doesn't realize that one game isn't an effective sample size for judging whether or not if an entire series is for you.

[@LordlyWeeb]

One of the best parts of the series soured him on it, meaning he just wants to not like it.

[@aaronhanson235]

@@LordlyWeeb Yes. He only played it because it's technically the shortest standalone Xenoblade game so he could say to his viewers that he's beaten a Xenoblade game. If he went into the series wanting to like it he wouldn't have played the prequel DLC to a game he'll never play. Most people don't just play Torna without playing 2 because it doesn't make much sense to do that. Kyle was just looking for an excuse to hate Xenoblade and chose to ensure he would have a bad experience to avoid being wrong about his blind disdain for Xenoblade

[@Jacob_G9]

@@aaronhanson235 It's also weird because Torna is considered PEAK Xenoblade combat and story.

[@LithningWolf]

@@Jacob_G9 I don't think it is, it lacked impact and stakes just by being a prequel.

[@vini64]

4:45 great Barry reference, Kyle, definitely my favorite TV show of recent times

[@BobberWCC]

The best intro yet.

[@Pullthatshark]

This one unexpectedly KILLED me. Sena would for sure be a much more complex character if she turned into a spider. Would definitely mix up the gameplay a lot and I think it’s a huge missed opportunity.

[@nicholassullivan1239]

I mean..... He's not wrong?

[@nognaught]

The best cold open yet!

[@obba40]

I mean its a meme but how you judge character on some seconds on gameplay and voiceacting. No one makes these arguments for FF16 protagonist for example.

[@XanthinZarda]

On the other hand, if the writing is still that bad _squints; checks Mobygames real quick_ after that many games, maybe he has a point that they shouldn't be this flat and one note. Consider if you would, the P5 protags. You could tell something was there from the get-go.

[@trueNahobino]

@@XanthinZarda Or it's that the characters are so deep that they can't say anything else without spoiling their juxtapositions and surprises.

[@Vladimirwlr1234]

A lot of people are making these exact arguments about the FFXVI protag.

[@obba40]

@@XanthinZarda and what of 20 seconds of character?

[@LithningWolf]

And many people actually know forehand FF16 is not gonna be that good lol

[@snugmode]

He makes everyone call him Daddy but he's from PoonWoobia

[@rayminishi689]

Everyones focused on "Launch and Smash" returning Yet theres a part where "Daze and then Burst" happens. Is Burst new? No ones answering that

[@milktoast9140]

It is, and I imagine they didn't include it to avoid overwhelming new fans by showing multiple combo systems back to back. Not to mention that they may not be the easiest to understand at a glance. Xenoblade combat is a lot more fun to play than it is to watch imo

[@dannybski9620]

brows looking sharp this week kyle

[@matthewr1426]

Laughed a lot in this one, thanks Kyle!

[@skinnyluigi]

Barrett is brash and blunt but delicate at his core. I got nothing for Tifa and Aerith.

[@XanthinZarda]

It's almost as if the producer was just afraid to use the actual term, since that would reduce her back to single dimension: _Tsundere._ It's not even a complete personality, it's literally a single word... In fact I wouldn't be surprised if all the protagonists were the literal stock Japanese character archetypes.

[@Katie-hb8iq]

When it comes to characters, the past games and torna have already demonstrated they know how to write characters, make interesting and compelling arcs, and make them relatable. I felt they did a good job not spoiling these arcs and letting you experience them playing the game. Also, don't quit your day job.

[@omensoffate]

Eh xenoblade 2 was a mess

[@عبدالرحمنهندي-ل2ط]

@@omensoffate I disagree

[@omarreyes7626]

@@omensoffate not at all, both heroes and villains had really complex and relatable stories, it was far from a mess.

[@dugtrioramen]

@@omensoffate It was pretty messy, but it came together nicely in the end

[@Vin50000]

@@omarreyes7626 well malos and jin maybe but the rest of torna, at least in base game, is just kind of their to die and get a grey scale flashback

[@azimulhoque1497]

Before people get mad, Kyle also didn't like Automata. These type of high concept narratives within anime bullshit isn't for him unless it has the words Final and Fantasy in the title

[@Jacob_G9]

ooohhhhhhh, Yeah this whole thing makes more sense.

[@SamM_Scot]

Shame you're only seeing this on very basic suffice level not giving any of them a chance, cause Xenoblade excels at world building and character development. I was in same position at one time, but decided to give it a chance after hearing everyone rave about it back in the day with first on Wii and I'm so glad I did. Not every game series is for everyone I suppose :-)

[@LithningWolf]

Well great fucking games are supposed to be for everyone but hey

[@WhatTheAlva]

It's funny because I wouldn't be surprised if one character eats spiders at night or can't remember anyone's names. These games will usually have some pretty hilarious banter but only during sidequests

[@XanthinZarda]

Cool, why put that in the side where people are likely turning their minds off?

[@WhatTheAlva]

@@XanthinZarda It helps with the pacing. The silly hijinks shouldn't happen when lives are in danger (when the story is happening). It should happen inbetween breaks, when the characters are chatting in a campfire, or helping someone with an initially trivial request that turns out to be incredibly ridiculous.

[@nyrisj]

@@XanthinZarda Because if Link had to help a lady find her chickens during the main plot of Zelda, the narrative would be stupid. But also, what video games are you playing where you turn your mind off?

[@XanthinZarda]

@@nyrisj A lot of them. Minecraft, Dwarf Fortress, Progress Quest, Burningsand, Warioware, et al.

[@jebus9001]

Kyle, this video right here has the achieved the highest gut laughs per minute out of me

[@ianp5367]

So as a huge Xeno series fan I loved the direct, and was actually happy they didn't show too much of the charaxters. Have full faith I'll end up loving them. With that said didn't you play Torna Kyle? haha Figure if you enjoyed the combat enough finishing that game you'd also be into this.

[@CyclonSilver]

It was part of "Sakurai's law", which is a rule of his that he has to play a game from the series every single Smash dlc character comes from, to completion. He picked Torna for Pyra and Mythra because it was the shortest. He... liked it for an hour, and the rest was basically soft torture.

[@ianp5367]

@@CyclonSilver Oh damn, that stinks. Well at least he gave it a whirl

[@Julio3324]

How Kyle's entire life is a bit will never not fascinate me lol. Well played, good sir.

[@Julio3324]

Also he's slowly becoming the Fantano of video games, for better or worse, and I'm here for it lol.

[@TheSpeedfoever]

Well I'm excited for this game I still need to play XC1 and XC2 first thing to catch up on! I'm hoping you give them a try and love it Kyle I know you will love it! I have spoken! *Insert car honk here*

[@Pejo198l]

I haven't laughed so hard in a while, great episode.

[@have345]

Best intro ever

[@BonsaiBeard]

I played through the entirety of Xenoblade 2 and nearly never got the topple smash thing to happen

[@dennisgrandt6385]

Saaaaame.

[@ill_luck]

Well you gotta make sure you actually have blades and arts that can inflict those things to begin with

[@MenacingThreat]

Happy Early 40K⚡️

[@basementreviewer788]

Quite the arrogant take from someone incapable of learning the combat system of the franchise - yet you claim to know not only how good writing works( silly contrast for the sake of contrast, with no thematic purpose), but also to understand these characters you heard just a few lines from.

[@GradMeat]

You know I haven't really thought about that. Now that I think about it your right about the characters seeming less interesting than before. I Mean I'll still buy the game since I love xenoblade but I do hope they do some good things with them when I actually buy the game. Edit: they did sooo good with them I love this game. My second favorite group in the three games. 2 will always be number 1 cause of zeke.

[@MarkusAxunIllianus]

It is weird. I watched the direct. And as soon as I heard the words "quite satisfying", I knew this would be in here.

[@The_SOB_II]

This episode's central theme of juxt... Junctionpo.... Jethrolomew... Jentrificati... Juxtaposition is absolutely geniouse.

[@twincherries6698]

Commenting on this helps algo marketing for both Kyle and Xenoblade, which I'm down for.

[@ancientflames]

THIS is the world of Ladonkatron, it's largest nations Gorpzonk and Zelurios have been at war for thousands of years. The Ladonkatronians have access to an acient ally in the dragons they ride called Frozoolites while the Zelurions have powerful mechs to combat them called Yildarks. Their war has left much of the surface of Ladonkatron scarred, but the catastrophies of the war have created a new elemetn on the battlefield called "Heuronite" this new element is a near limitless source of power and has only caused hostilities to increase over the last decade. That's where you come in, your name is Tetrianicus, you are a knight of Zolandar and a member of an elite squad known only as "Extremidos" you're goal: infiltrate the highest ranks of a secret organization called Necroduronda who has been orchestrating this war from the beginning and topple them from the inside to end this age long war. The thrilling story comes to it's conclusion is DigiCross X 3rd: Tales of Zolandar, Yildark edition

[@CyclonSilver]

And yet, and yet! ... clearly, they don't market this series very well. But suffice to say, it's no accident that it has as many fans as it does.

[@XanthinZarda]

The Nations of _KEITH_ and _AGNES_ Localization team couldn't even hit up some Greek or Latin, huh? I get it, not everywhere can be the _Principality of Zeon,_ and yet a little flourish adds _so much._

[@neuroflare]

He doesn't want to set it up as this weeks biggest gaming event because that was actually when he co-hosted a trivia show at Minn Max. That was the biggest gaming event this week.

[@guidoblok]

I remember when i never touched a xenoblade game and was thinking of shulk in smash 4 to be a cheap starwars rip-off.... Then I actually player xenoblade chronicles on the wii and I realized I have never been so wrong in my entire life. Xenoblade chronicles games dont have characters that look visually amazing but the interesting part gets revealed if you get to know them in the story. A hero is defined by deeds not by looks.

[@Saz103]

Tbf though the first games story is basically the heroes journey the star wars comparison isn’t to far off lol.

[@LithningWolf]

@@Saz103 It's basically not the heroes journey AT ALL lol, have you played through the entire game ?

[@LukeSkywalker-zv3xy]

@@LithningWolf there’s nothing wrong with comparing xenoblade to the hero’s journey it’s a staple of storytelling and xenoblade implements it perfectly

[@LithningWolf]

@@LukeSkywalker-zv3xy Well yeah but for like half of the game really

[@wg7297]

Kyle, this one really cracked me up

[@MagoMistgun]

Looking back at this is kinda funny that FF7 Rebirth is gonna trick Kyle into basically playing Xenoblade

[@deffloyd]

Dig the space farmer look .

[@buzzybuzzbuzz760]

Kyle going through his space phase.

[@PazuChill]

I'm glad they didn't show off any character depth in this showcase. I want to play the game for that. I'm pretty confident it'll be in there because it existed in 2, and also in 1 in more subtle ways.

[@michaelmoratto]

Hell yeah I'll take a list of 15 Doc Brown Spider Monsters

[@FrothingFanboy]

The very last line made the episode.

[@gasboy122]

Cute overalls Bosman.