Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Now that the settled dust has arisen, how does it compare to XC1 and XCX?

I like this one the best. Gameplay is more dynamic and robust, story is more developed, all of the world is memorable and the world feels full of life and occupants. consistently good soundtrack, not just a handful of noteworthy tracks. readable character design.
I like the first half of xenoblade 1 a lot, and bionis/ mechonis I would say is still the best location out of the bunch. my biggest grip is the game feels very go to one point a to b to c. and quests aren't thought out as well in terms of implementation or accessibility.
XCX has a great use of open world exploration and semi nonlinear game play, with a good emphasis on quests.
The xeno series still has pretty shit endings though.

Pretty good.
Carries on the ideas and themes and tone of XB1 well, though this one is a little more constrained.
Combat is more fun though there's less gross variation in Arts. The only complaint I have is that most main-story bosses don't seem designed to use the combat system to its fullest

I'd like to see monolith get a better writer, while the director keeps his focus more on charting plot points and world building. He's not a bad writer, but he's pretty average when all things are said and done. (he has trouble with those endings though) But he has a fantastic sense of world building.

I had too many issues with it to truly enjoy it. By the time I was finished I was thinking "I'll likely never replay this game" rather than "I can't wait to fuck around in post-game".

WHY IS TORA SO SHIT

I MISS RIKI

FUCK

Feels like a more fleshed out and yet streamlined at the same time version of XB1.

Compared to XCX they're seperate entities as XB2 focuses on Tank, Heal DPS with varying elemental attributes and building up to chain attack, whereas XCX focuses on class-specific arts and using the overdrive skill in your Skell/Doll to deal maximum damage (similar but different to chain attack).

The story in XCX also doesn't really get great until the end and just leaves you hoping for a sequel.

GIVE ME THE FUCKING NG+ PATCH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

I've only played X1 and X2, and I can't even finish X1 because it's so boring. I'm like 25-30 hours in and the idea of going for another 60 or so to complete the game kinda annoys me. And while I know it's vain to say this...the graphics are total dogshit. Xenoblade 2, on the other hand, I've easily put in 170 hours into. Everything from the battle system to the depth of the quests and even side quests (especially blade quests) is incredible. Every character has a surprising amount of depth to them, the world is a joy to explore, and this weird blade to titan to blade ecosystem is so odd but works so well.

pre-order when?

why is anonopon so tricky ricky??
Tora is great nappon!
Tora is best nappon in all of xenopon universe!!

Do some good stuff while taking so steps back at least it's being patch to fix some of the ui and stuff.

It's good. Gameplay is the best (though postgame XCX is stupid fun), story is in the middle. The biggest disappointment is how easy the superbosses are. Also the core crystal system is objectively, absolutely, completely, inexcusably retarded.

Pros:
>Fun combat system that rewards the player for learning it
>Characters are very customizable while still feeling unique
>Excellent Supporting Cast with Nia and Poppi as the most memorable standouts
>Well designed worlds with varied concepts. Uraya, the Spirit Crucible, and World Tree are particularly great
>Excellent OST
>game does well to minimize missable content
>Immmensely satisfying final twist

Cons:
>RNG fucking everywhere
>Field skill homework assignments during some of the most intense moments of the story
>While the Titans are well designed they also feel disconnected as a series of levels instead of a world.
>Rex, Pyra, and Mythra fall flat as protagonists
>With the exception of Nia, The Supporting Cast. though very likeable, largely fails to see significant character development.
>The middle of the story gets bogged down by filler before picking up in Chapter 7 at which point the game starts to feel too linear
>The game has some good ideas for its villains but seems to have no clue how to handle them

All in all, it isn't the best game I played in 2017, but it is the most fun and the one I dumped the most time and emotional investment into

X>2>1

All rare blades should have had named core crystals that instead of having to roll for, when you saw a core crystal drop from an enemy or a chest you knew right then whether or not it was a rare blade. The rolling mechanic is the worst fucking part about the game and the reason why I refuse to replay this game without NG+.

>has trouble with those endings
I thought XB1 and XB2 ended well enough
>thinking Tora is shit
defend yourself or GTFO

The game started feeling linear before chapter 7.

I actually agree with this post 100%. The only additional complaint I have on top of what's listed here is the RNG bullshit associated with core crystals.

I think it holds up pretty well. My personal rank is Xcx>2=1 but to be more precise it's like this

Story: Xc1>2>xcx
Xc1 had great moments but xc2 is overall more decently written and there are barely any plotholes that break the story

Characters:XC2>XC1>XCX

X had way too many characters and and were pretty uninteresting which is a surprise coming from this series

World: X>Xc1=Xc2

Music: Xc2=XCX>Xc1

I only remember like 5 songs from xc1

Combat: Xcx>Xc2>xc1

X and 2 have more variety than xc1 and soloing superbosses is hella fun

...

XC2 suffers the same shit as Persona 5.
The next mainline game will make it irrelevant because the only improved things were game mechanics.

Better than 1 in almost everyway

Different than X.

>largely fails to see significant character development.

It's not that they fail and it's more like they are already developed. Their stories didn't start when they met Rex you know? Zeke,Morag,Tora are better characters than Nia

Takahashi is one of the greatest writers in Vidya, he's also not the only writer

>Takahashi is one of the greatest writers in Vidya
How can you say this when he shits out one of the most basic protags in X2 around?

Xenoblade X, without a doubt. I think I mostly love it for the skells, and the Wii U gamepad was kinda neat, to

Protagonists arnt the only aspect of stories

I feel more connected with a character when I see the impact the events of the story has had on them. That's what I see with Nia that I don't see with the others.

>The only additional complaint I have on top of what's listed here is the RNG bullshit associated with core crystals.

It's the first Con listed

>Now that the settled dust has arisen, how does it compare to XC1 and XCX?
Pretty badly, only thing XC2 does better than XC1 is battle mechanics. And there is no point comparing to X, cause that just sad.
Well, figures. Rushed production, quitting sets during development - now it's obvious why XC2 blows so hard.

They're still incredibly important considering the screen time they get.

I don't know how this happened when the rest of the game shows he knows how to write good characters.

But once you enter Elpys, the map designs become linear too. Elpys, Morytha, and the World Tree all have clearly defined start and end points.

Reminder the games are all connected

X>2>1

all things considered, Rex really isn't in terms most of the themes of the story. Mythra/pyra is though

he wanted to make a story young people would remember many years after they grew up. Why he chose to bring all the themes of xeno back alongside that is beyond me, but I'm glad he did

How is X connected? Just another dimension?

>he wanted to make a story young people would remember many years after they grew up

What does that even mean?

I really loved it. Didn't play X, but I thought the story, characters, and gameplay were very different and very good in comparison to 1. The game is much more obviously flawed than 1, though everything it did right redeems it.

Very much looking forward to the upcoming update.

a story that sticks with you after childhood. Maybe that's why he juxtaposed all the adult themes with childish characters

How would writing Rex to be more interesting make the game less memorable, and why is he literally the only character with this problem?

you think a character like Fei is relatable to kids?

>tfw assman
>tfw plenty of milkers in XC2 but no dumpers

Kill me Pete

A character like Shulk is who's far better than Rex? Are any of XC2's main characters unrelatable?

Too bad the game is way too weeabo

There is but the retarded hero friendzoned it

Most likely, that's the only one that can't be explained yet. I suspect we'll get more answers in the future.

dhalia is both, plus kora

I agree shulk was a better character than Rex for the purpose of the story
>Are any of XC2's main characters unrelatable?
to children? Brighid and Mythra come to mind

Pretty much inferior in every way, a poor knockoff. Gameplay mechanics advanced, but you kind of expect it with the series at this point. Worst entry in the series, hope they don't make any more Xenoblade if they're gonna make another one like 2.

Much better gameplay wise
just below it story wise

so its just as good

>Brighid and Mythra come to mind

Those are the blades, but we agree that the core party members are all fine. Why could Rex have had as much personality as they do?

And I still don't know where this discussion comes from. Can kids relate with Mario? How's he doing with the youth these days?

it's not, X isn't part of the xeno multiverse, at least not yet

Rex has plenty of personality, I just don't think he was a proper fit for the themes of the game outside of the bonds between people

>Can kids relate with Mario?
absolutly

"far better" is kind of pushing it. Shulk is quite bland too which only gets praise because his VA performed his role amazingly well compared to the boring jpn va.

If kids can relate to a middle aged Italian then they can relate with whatever Takahashi could come up with.

Rex lacks good lines even if his VA were competent. And the Monado is a more fascinating weapon than Pyra is

>If kids can relate to a middle aged Italian then they can relate with whatever Takahashi could come up with.
absolute brainlet. Mario doesn't go through multiple existential crises

>And the Monado is a more fascinating weapon than Pyra is
except they're the same thing you fuck

>Monado is a more fascinating weapon than Pyra
>when they are the same fucking thing

>except they're the same thing you fuck

Except the Monado doesn't have teen romance melodrama strapped to its hilt or whine about how its afraid of its own power

And its full power doesn't run on a timer.
Pneuma is cray fun to use but fleeting. The Monado III is yours to keep.

>Except the Monado doesn't have teen romance melodrama strapped to its hilt or whine about how its afraid of its own power
as opposed to having a literal non character attached to it?

>as opposed to having a literal non character attached to it?

The Monado was constantly granting Shulk new powers up to the point where he became a god. At best Mythra is a shittier version of the Monado

The Monado is mysterious compared to having a pair of tiddies that revives you.

that has nothing to do with what I said, I wasn't referring to shulk when I said non character

Objectively correct opinions coming through

>Combat
XB2 > XBX > XB1
>Customization
XBX > XB2 > XB1
>Soundtrack
XB1 > XB2 > XBX
>Exploration
XBX > XB1 > XB2
>World design
XBX > XB1 > XB2
>World building
XB2 > XB1 > XBX
>Characters
XB1 > XB2 > XBX
>Character Development
XB2 > XB1 > XBX
>Story
XB2 > XB1 > XBX
>Writing
XB1 > XB2 > XBX
>Nopon
Tora > Riki > DUDE LETS EAT TATSU LMAO
>Cute girls
Xenogears > all

"The Monado was constantly granting Shulk new powers up to the point where he became a gary stu"
Fixed

>he wanted to make a story young people would remember many years after they grew up.

No one is going to remember this game in 5 years. It will be irrelevant like Xenosaga games. Only Xenogears and Xenoblade 1 will be seen as classics at the moment unless the new games are even better.

I liked that in Xenoblade 2, it felt like the entire party was involved and were fleshed out and developed.
In Xenoblade 1 only Shulk, Fiora and Melia had meaningful development and standout roles in the overarching plot.

Oh, I know what you meant. Alvis' job was to guide Shulk to his true potential as the Monado's wielder. He doesn't need a "personality" because he knows the player's more interested in what seeing the Monado itself can do.

Spotted the Rexfag who thinks that a character having any semblance of purpose or backstory makes them a gary stu

>Mythra/pyra is though
And who do they orbit?

That's unlikely considering that it's already the best selling Xenogame in history with more merchandise than any of them has gotten

>>Characters
>XB1 > XB2 > XBX
>>Character Development
>XB2 > XB1 > XBX

Swap these

The irony is that Shulk's an even more generic protagonist than Rex is. Shulk's entirely carried by Xenoblade 1's superior writing and his god-tier English voice actor, from a trope perspective Shulk's an even bigger walking cliche.

Hey don't forget Dunban having to deal with both of his war buddies being fucking assholes

Aside how easy it is to get completely fucking lost in this game I actually really enjoy it.
For a game series I knew jack shit about I'm happy I got this.

>swap these
But then it would be objectively wrong.
Xenoblade 1's characters are objectively better but Xenoblade 2's characters are objectively deeper.

>Xenoblade 1's characters are objectively better
They really aren't

But Shulk at least uses the fun cliches like "protag kills God with the power of friendship to the tune of rock music and a choir" instead of "Dense protagonist doesn't understand what it means when a girls says "I love you"."

But 2's characters are better but don't really grow with the story. 1 has most of its cast going through an arc of some kind during the story. Shulk, Fiora, and Melia are obvious. Dunban has his conflict with Mumkhar, Sharla has her romance with Gadolt, and Reyn has his background romance with Sharla.

I don';t know, I think Reyn, Dunban and Riki are extremely charming characters that hit the right notes better even if they're as deep as a puddle.

>spotted the Rexfag
Rex was meh but Shulk wasn't much better if you think about it

Don't pretend Shulk wasn't dense as fuck when it came to Melia either.

>1 has most of its cast going through an arc of some kind during the story. Shulk, Fiora, and Melia are obvious. Dunban has his conflict with Mumkhar, Sharla has her romance with Gadolt, and Reyn has his background romance with Sharla.
That's the biggest problem with 1 though. Outside of the characters' arcs, they didn't really do anything else meaningful in the story beyond being support while the story focused on Shulk, Fiora and somehow Melia for whatever reason. In XB2 it felt like the party was much more involved in everything throughout the game.

Selling doesn't matter my guy. Dark souls 3 outsold Dark souls 1 and please tell me which game people will look fondly too in 10 years?

The only good things about Xenoblade 2 was its combat and world which obviously the next game will most likely do better thus making this game redundant in history.

>"Dense protagonist doesn't understand what it means when a girls says "I love you"."
For the last time. Rex fucking knew what Nia meant. He was attempting to diffuse the situation, because at the time, he was literally about to acquire the one thing he needed to save the girl who was the fucking REASON him and everyone else went down into a literal death chamber in the first place, and the last thing he needed was to have one of his partners start crying and sobbing, and he certainly wasn't going to go "WAIT I JUST REALIZED THAT YOU'RE THE ONE I LOVE NIA, LET'S FORGET ALL ABOUT PYRA WHO IS THE REASON WE'RE EVEN HERE RIGHT NOW." God damn.

>1 has most of its cast going through an arc of some kind during the story.

So like XC2 then right? Tora had chapter 4 that ended up being a huge foreshadow for later events, Morag had chapter through 5 and Zeke started with chapter 3 until he joins but then they aren't sidelined like in xc1 sinc they all have feats for the chapters they aren't that relevant.

didn't they admit later on that rex was pretending to be dense because he knew telling nia "no" would devastate her?

>cliches are only good if I like them

Yes Rex says it in battle dialogue and chapter 10 confirmed it

Shulk was much better because I could actually root for him. Rex lacked any traits or moments that made me see him as a character I would truly like to succeed

>Don't pretend Shulk wasn't dense as fuck when it came to Melia either.

Shulk was a pasty nerd. It makes sense for him not to be the best in social situations, and Melia never flat out told him she loved him. To top it off, getting laid was not his number one objective
>Outside of the characters' arcs, they didn't really do anything else meaningful in the story beyond being support while the story focused on Shulk, Fiora and somehow Melia for whatever reason.

There's nothing wrong with a story having a focus on its main characters as long as they take advantage of their screen time which Shulk and Fiora do unlike Rex and Pyra

>This game will be forgotten because of a hypothetical game I invented in my head


With Morag and Zeke it feels like you're being told more about stuff that already happened than seeing them grow with the story itself

It's not made clear one way or the other. Idiots trying to say otherwise like
Are relying on headcanon although I would like to meet the dipshit who honestly believes saying "I love you too" is how you let a girl down gently. The fact that it's even debatable is a problem as is the way people REEEEEE if you dare criticize the game's writing of its romance subplots.

I said "fun" not "good". Different things. The fight with Zanza is cliche but it's fun

Shulk would NEVER take this crap where he gets assualted for sleeping in the guys room by a slut who slept next to him.

>This game will be forgotten because of a hypothetical game I invented in my head

You know its true, why do you think nobody remembers X anymore?lmfao

Nobody liked X when it came out

>Are relying on headcanon
No, I'm relying on common fucking sense.

Common sense says that you don't say "I love you too." when friendzoning a girl. That scene only makes sense if you assume Rex is too stupid to understand what he is saying

>NEVER take this crap
>pussies out after Melia slapped him

>Dark souls 3 outsold Dark souls 1
source

And it's pretty confirmed ingame that Rex never misunderstood.

At best the game confirms that he figured it out later, but nothing in that scene itself makes him look like he has a clue what is going on.

Context matters.

Stop for a second and read the rest of my post.
>the last thing he needed was to have one of his partners start crying and sobbing
If he were to stop and go "whoa uhh nia I don't really like you that way" the entire atmosphere would be ruined, both in-canon and from a viewer's perspective. It's absolutely ridiculous to claim that others are making assumptions based off their headcanon, then turn right around and say that Rex was just dense and genuinely misunderstood based off of YOUR headcanon.

Case closed, not even worth arguing this further.

and why would he? He's fighting the spirit of addam and a flesh eater pops out of nowhere, confesses her love, then goes back to fighting

xc1>xc2>>>>>>>xcx