Gaming Review: The Xenoblade Chronicles Series

My name is Leicester - host of the show and lifelong gamer.

There is such tribalism around Xenoblade. It's obvious why. Some people aren't anime fans, some are. Some people just like to enjoy a game that takes them out of reality and some want overly detailed stories.

Here's my take. I maintain a specific order of "good" as:

Torna: The Golden Country (the XBC2 DLC)

Yes, A DLC is in my opinion the best of the series. It took the fundamentals that 2 brought and improved on them in almost every way. I also felt that the Auresco citizens and the King were so well done, nothing has come close in how distinct their personalities were. People complained about the sidequests, despite the fact that EVERY JRPG does that - especially people's favorite Final Fantasy VII Remake (aka "Episode Midgar") and Rebirth (aka "Episode Sephiroth"), as well as Dragon Quest IX, and even Future Redeemed (below). They all do it, so to me that's not an excuse. Torna was and is peak of the series in my opinion.

The only negative: the inability to explore the other Titans, Minoth kinda slapped in there without real substance, and how short it was.

Future Redeemed (the XBC3 DLC)


The real Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and what we should have gotten instead of the base game, the only thing holding this back from being #1 is the lack of a New Game Plus. I thoroughly enjoyed everything else.

I wasn't really a fan of some of the quests, but it wasn't enough to detract from enjoying the game. I also felt that Glimmer was unrealized and could have been more than she was, but that's a nitpick. Also, you never really get confirmation about the events at the end; everything is subtly implied rather than explicitly stated.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2


The most contentious of the series for sure, 2 did an amazing job of telling the story it wanted to tell, plus excellent world building and character development. For those with a sense of humor, there's none better in the series than 2. Those that just want serious robots should skip it.

Navigation was a pain because of a confusing map, and the gacha mechanics for blades was poorly implemented. Some didn't like the need to have certain Blades to get past certain areas - but the same basic mechanic was in XBC3 and Future Redeemed (ladders, "you can't go this way yet" blocking, etc.). In fact, it's worse in XBC3 because it even affects warping where it frequently won't let you warp close to your destination. In 2 that only happens in Gormott when the Cloud Sea is risen, which makes sense, not just an arbitrary restriction.

Probably the main complaint I had was Mikhail and the fact there was no direct acknowledgement of his travels in Torna with Mythra and Brighid (just "people I loved"). Having it told that he was bitter and angry at Mythra for the loss of Milton would have helped explain his allegiance to Jin (who had a similar motivation over the loss of Lora).

Future Connected (the XBC1 Additional Content)

Yes, again, an optional epilogue is put ahead of the main game. Future Connected was better than people gave it credit for, for one main reason: it was no longer "the Shulk Show" and gave a chance to learn more about what happened to the remaining High Entia after the events of the main game. But it also features some of the best music in the series (Torna is a very close second) and the Bionis Shoulder was a pleasure to explore end-to-end. For something you got free with the base game this was a quality experience overall especially if you're in the Shulk/Melia camp.

The only negative with FC was that battles tended to be rather difficult prior to getting all of the Nopon. Then once you got them, you were blatantly (blissfully?) overpowered. Balance simply isn't/wasn't a thing here. Also there's no New Game Plus, a huge miss.

"Tales of Aionios" (named commercially, Xenoblade Chronicles 3)


People keep asking why I call it that. It's obvious. It has the exact same flow, exact same tropes, exact same segments, same lack of fanservice/comedy/fun, same deus ex machina, exact same camping, etc. as Tales of Arise. It also has that "smeared Vaseline look" going on that Arise has instead of the anime look and feel of the others.

I said this game isn't bad, it's not. It's just not as good as the ones I put above. It's what we should have gotten as DLC ("here's what then happens in the distant future"), because playing the game gives you no context for at least 4 chapters, then slams it all at you and still doesn't make much sense as it devolves into Kingdom Hearts storytelling (including "nobody dies").

And that's my biggest two qualms with this game. First, the story is nonsensical and tries too hard. Second, none of the protag users die - there are tons of "popcorn farts" - situations where it looks like key characters are going to die in heroic fashion, only to either be revived or somehow averted. It's annoying how much this happens.

The other complaints: baddies that don't make you feel anything. In fact, one Moebius gets punched by Mio and goes flying. From a PUNCH (an anime trope in an otherwise completely non-anime game). Inconsistent relationships (one moment they're sharing a co-ed bath with no concerns, i.e. naked, the next has the men running away from changing clothes in front of the girls, i.e. underwear). Retcons from 1 and 2 aplenty. A war you just don't care about. Too many robots (might as well call it "Xenogears Evolved") and they're not really explained in connection with 2. Map doesn't stay unlocked for New Game Plus. Half the cutscenes are just uninteresting banter (and the cutscenes are LONG). It goes on and on.

Again, not a bad game. Just not better than what's above.

Xenoblade Chronicles 1


See, I was having fun with this one until Sword Valley. From that point on, the game became absolutely intolerable. Those stages limit the ability to actually enjoy it properly; they're terrible, too long, too confusing, too dark, etc., to the point they were forced to add a nav marker because they knew it was just too confusing to get around. It's a shame, because it starts out so strong and the characters themselves are actually good (unfortunately, the best character is not a permanent one). It also has the most annoying quests and the story isn't that great until the very last segment.

I would argue though that 1 has the best battle engine of the series, generally speaking. It's the most accessible for new players, it's the least confusing, it's got the least gimmicks and it's got the most feeling of being actually in control of things. Future Connected had some of this, but the limited character types there put XBC1 ahead of it in that single category.

Xenoblade Chronicles X ("Cross")


Apparently people only like the open world of this, because I think this is a terrible game. The only thing I like is the first station/town/area and general exploration. Everything else was simply terrible to me. Part of that might have been the Wii U and reliance on the Gamepad; not sure.