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StarTopic Xenoblade 3 |ST| Σ Become One

Reader mode
Joseki said:
I’ve played 85 hours, I’m at chapter 7 and I’ve done almost all the ascension quests.

I honestly miss Rex and I think the game doesn’t have enough humor. This is by far the game with the least amount of humor in the series, even in the side quests.
I don’t dislike it, but I don’t think it will end up being my favorite, even if for sure it’s the entry with least flaws and more polish.

At one point playing something reminded me of Nier Automata, and one thing that immediately stood out to me comparing both games is how Nier is equally bleak but at the same time it’s very much also pretty funny.

It kinda feels like Monolith over corrected because people bitched about XC2.
Click to expand...
Actually. This isnt Really a over correction. Takahashi previous games before Xenoblade weren’t as humorous as XC2 if I recall.

Xenogears had its few moments. But it was a super serious game throughout. Granted it’s been years so maybe I’m forgetting a bit about it. It also a game where there’s no VA.

I honestly think he just wanted to tell a more serious story.
 
DecoReturns said:
Actually. This isnt Really a over correction. Takahashi previous games before Xenoblade weren’t as humorous as XC2 if I recall.

Xenogears had its few moments. But it was a super serious game throughout. Granted it’s been years so maybe I’m forgetting a bit about it. It also a game where there’s no VA.

I honestly think he just wanted to tell a more serious story.
Click to expand...

I think I just expected a tone much more like X. The story starts with humanity almost wiped out completely, a few survivors left are about to be completely wiped out too, but the people living the world just have their daily lives.

And you have small aliens going crazy for pizza, a crazy religious alien race and some weirdos eating junk.





Also I don’t know who decided to take the Nopon speech out of Riku but it’s so jarring to hear him speak almost normal English while the Italian localization kept the “noponese” modifications because they were there in Japanese.
 
0
Wooowwwww, this whole time I had a soundtrack glitch. After completing the story, you get to recruit certain characters and used them in battle and nothing special in terms of music. I quit the game and try out Diofield demo for a while then go back to Xenoblade. I get into a random fight and the battle track changed!

Nia's and Melia's battle tracks are freaking amazing man. How the hell did they make a jazz soundtrack more Jazzy??
 
0
TheMoon said:
blessed be you two

you think it's okay if I share that over in the purple OT with the Xeno community there?
Click to expand...

As long as you credit me, go right ahead!

And be sure to point them in my direction if anybody wants to contribute - most fields are freely editable but some are not.
 
One thing I love about this game that wasn't really a thing in 1/2 are bespoke music tracks for cutscenes. Most of the music tracks in previous games played double-duty for multiple scenes, often times many many more than that, while there are a bunch of one-off tracks in 3 for major cutscenes. It also allows the tracks to match the flow of the scenes much better.

Yep, gotta shout out the final cutscene in Chapter 5 for this. A seven-minute magnum opus that crescendos three times, timed perfectly with the scene.



I cannot wait for the soundtrack release.
 
Finally able to put some real time into this now that I have a week off from work.

I got to the point in Chapter 3 where everything really opens up and decided to go do a bunch of side stuff. I accidentally stumbled on like 4 Heroes, countless sidequests, unique monsters, etc., and now I'm like 12 levels over-level as I venture back to the main path. Oops!

Either way, I'm having a blast. A question for you all: I have been cycling my characters through classes the moment they hit rank 10 to make sure they're all leveling up. Do I need to be doing that? A piece if me sort of misses just getting into the groove of one dinstinct playstyle, but I just have the feeling I should be doing the swapping.

Also, the story is super intriguing so far. Just hit a particular cutscene involving Eunie that really caught me off-guard, and yet so many pieces are starting to fall into place surrounding the central mysteries of the game.

I'm smellin' a time loop reveal incoming
 
Potentially unpopular opinion, but honestly I thought the main campaign took a major nosedive after the absolutely brilliant eclipse sequence.
  • After such an emotionally grueling month, Noah and Mio barely get any time by themselves to talk about what happened. They very clearly love each other by that point, and yet they don’t get anything between them whatsoever until they finally kiss at the end.
  • Both of the required side stories and the ship building quest feel very out of place. Mio’s in particular is kinda nonsense, both in how it retcons Miyabi’s death (who we barely knew about up to that point) and Cammuravi’s (who we also barely knew up to that point). Honestly, Miyabi should’ve been a Consul, and both side stories should’ve happened before the final act, which in turn should’ve just been freeing Nia, then immediately storming Origin.
  • The backstory behind Aionios, or more particularly what happened when the worlds collided, is conveyed absolutely terribly. How did Z form? How did he capture Melia? Why did he sit on his ass for so long instead of nabbing Nia too? How did the City form? How did Riku get his hands on Lucky Seven if Melia had made it thousands of years prior? Why are certain flake clocks, like Miyabi’s, a different color? There’s some stuff I’ve kinda inferred, like how the residents of the city initially came from the children of those trapped by the 10 year term limit, but there’s so much thats unexplained that it just feels sloppy. Maybe I missed something, I dunno.
  • Z is just a bad Persona antagonist shoved into the body of a Kingdom Hearts antagonist. No emotional attachment whatsoever, which undermines the spectacle that they made his boss fight out to be.
  • Speaking of which, my god was that final boss fight dreadful. Competing with XCX for the worst in the franchise. Absurdly long and constantly interrupting the fight with undeserved action sequences. The derpy Chain Attack music interrupting the final phase was funny as hell at least.
  • I’m more than fine with the worlds splitting apart, but the fact that the game barely even hints at it is just terrible. So much of the final act resolves around personal choice, and yet up until the very end there’s absolutely no weight given to your choice. If the party knew they’d be split up and reflected on that, then it’d be great. Instead, their choice just feels like the overwhelmingly obvious one with no downsides, only to then last second try and make you regret what you’ve done. It’s handled terribly.
  • Speaking of the worlds splitting, you’d think they’d play into the idea of Aionios being erased a whole lot more. The people of Aionios are themselves living beings, but the game acts like they don’t really count, and only the “true” world matters. Hell, the city residents will just be erased entirely, and even if they’re reborn, they won’t be the same people. There’s so much potential there to play into the idea of finding purpose in life, and whether your actions need to be remembered to have value. Seeing characters grapple with this idea would’ve given their choice to split the worlds apart the emotional weight it desperately needs.
  • In general, the story beats of the final act just felt kinda confused. There was a very clear setup through the first 5 chapters of experiencing and understanding life under the flame clocks, and then contrasting it to life in the City. The final two chapters feel scattershot, mostly alluding to the idea of choosing your own destiny, which doesn’t really play into the previous theme at all besides the generic connection of life.
If there’s something I’m missing here, I’d love to know, because I ultimately still love this game. The side content, world design, music, and arts combat are all superb, and I cannot wait to dig into the postgame. If I could learn to love the final act too, I would be ecstatic, but I just don’t see that happening right now.
 
So, I've been formulating my thoughts on the story for the past couple days, and:

I really don't like the story and the way it was handled.

I feel dissatisfied. And I can't blame that entirely on my hopes and expectations that I had going into it - this is how I feel even without the context of the previous two games.
There are far too many questions and loose ends for me to feel comfortable saying I like the story of Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

This is my understanding of the order of events.
Most of this is derived from vague and flowery language alongside inconsistent facts and events. There are still quite some fuzzy areas, so if anybody has a magical formula that makes this all make sense, please let me know what I'm missing or have wrong.

My primary source material is the following consecutive statements from Nia, while she explained to the party the origins of Aionios and of Moebius:

And then... the time [ of the universes' collision ] was upon us.

[worlds' destruction is shown as the universes collide]

The reboot process failed to initiate.
Instead, in that instant, the worlds became still.
By the will of Moebius.
Click to expand...

Based on what we are shown and told, the order of events is as follows (as far as I can piece together):

1. The universes learn of each other - Nia, etc. (Universe A) and Melia, etc. (Universe B) discover each others existence by analyzing the rifts appearing in their respective worlds.

2. Melia and Nia learn of the collision - By sending data and radio signals (the "language of light") through these rifts, Melia and Nia were able to communicate with one another and determined that their universes were doomed and there was no way to stop their collision and ensuing destruction.

3. Melia and Nia create Origin - Melia and Nia create Origin, a supercomputer intended to persist beyond the destruction of their universes and house a "copy" of everything from both universes together in one single new universe. Everyone will still die in the collision - only the data survives and "lives" beyond.

4. Origin's boot sequence fails - At the time of the universes' collision, Origin was booted up for the first time - but it failed. The extent of its failure is unknown; we just know that it "failed".

  • The timeline of this failed boot is unclear.
  • On one hand, it must have happened before the universes' collision, because Moebius took control of Origin after its failed boot, and Moebius stopped time in both universes after he took control of Origin in order to prevent the universes' collision.
  • The only other option would be for the collision of universes, Origin attempting a boot and then failing, Moebius coming into existence, Moebius taking over Origin, and Moebius stopping time to have all happened at the same time.
  • How was Origin booted up before the universes collided?
  • Origin was created in two halves, one in either universe, which implies that the collision of the universes is what would bring both halves together and start its boot up sequence. So how could Origin boot up if its halves were in different universes?

The following events are described under the assumption that everything happens at the exact same time.

5. Moebius / X, Y, and Z appear - After (and possibly because of) Origin's failed boot sequence, an entity called Moebius springs into existence from the fears of all the life (data) contained within Origin coagulating together into fear incarnate. Moebius inexplicably takes the forms of at least three individuals, calling themselves X, Y, and Z, with Z being their "ringleader".

- The nature of X, Y, and Z in relation to Moebius is unexplained. There is no reason why a being such as Moebius would need to take these alternate forms.

6. Z takes over Origin - Z hijacks Origin in order to create his own pocket universe over which he can rule, assuaging his existence as fear incarnate.

- He also builds himself a little theater where he can watch over his creations using a film projector.

7. Z stops time to prevent the collision - Somehow, assumedly using the power of Origin, Z freezes both universes in time, preventing their progress toward their collision.

- I imagine Origin did not originally have Time Stop as one of its intended functionalities, so Z's ability to do this is completely unexplained.

8. Z creates Aionios - Now with all the time in the world, Z uses the data contained inside Origin to create his own pocket universe where time flows "naturally" as it once did in the two real universes before he stopped it. Whether this pocket universe was created around Origin or inside Origin is not sufficiently explained.

  • On one hand, Origin can be found within Aionios, making it impossible (and recursive) for Aionios to also be contained within Origin.
  • On the other hand, Origin was located in two halves, contained in the universes that were colliding, so in order for Aionios to exist "outside" Origin, it would be residing in two halves across universes that are frozen in time.

Here are some assorted questions. I'll keep adding them as I think of them.

Moebius / Z
- Why did they decide to create a villain that had no prior justification of existing in the trilogy thus far instead of tying it to the story as a whole?

Origin
- Ultimately, the world of Aionios was a simulation created using the power of Origin. So why was Origin contained inside its own universe?

The Swords
  • Was was the purpose of the Sword of Origin / Sword of the End to the story?
  • Lucky Seven was a single sword created by 7 Nopon, whereas the sword it is hidden within is Noah's manifestation that he's had in every lifetime. So is our present day Noah the only Noah that has Lucky Seven in his sword?
  • What was the significance of the Sword of Origin changing to the Sword of the End?
  • How was Noah's sword(s) significant to the final boss?

And that's without considering the story's role as a conclusion to the "Klaus saga".
I didn't need for Xenoblade 3 to connect to the first two games, and I appreciate that it did - but the way that they decided to connect the games was so tenuous, so contrived, that I can't help but feel disappointed.
 
lol at No. 15 calling us normies

Cammuravi's line when you pick him as a Hero is "I'm eager to get out there" and the delivery makes it sound like he's telling his buds that he's finally ready to start dating again after going through a messy breakup

Which... I guess he is, in a way
 
Fiona’s accent comes and goes lol

Also probably the weirdest Hero Quest. Feels like I didn’t get what was going on. And I think I accidentally skipped a cutscene and didn’t noticed. New game plus then.
 
chocolate_supra said:
So I have some weird thoughts about XB3, which I am plopping here because I'm.. I think about halfway through and I have some semi-spicy takes at this point, but since Xeno games tend to have a big rug-pull moment in the back half I thought it'd be fun to lay out my uninformed reactions so far so I can revisit them later if this game ends up turning them inside out and making me feel like a dumb:

Xenoblade 1, X, and 2, all had what I've been calling a "Gaur Plains moment," the point where the first big, green, wide open place takes my breath away. The surreal topography and sheer vastness of the terrain popped my brain in all three of those games, at Gaur Plains, Primordia, and Gormott. I can kinda tell the point in 3 where it was supposed to happen I think: when the music changes for Kilmarris Highland. But for some reason (maybe how narrow the area is), I just didn't get that gut punch reaction of "holy cow this is majestic." It's gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but.. it didn't hit the same. For some reason.

The topography itself was another weird one. I've come to expect these impossible, imaginative terrain features from XB games, and as lovely as everywhere is here, it seems almost.. too grounded? If that makes sense? Not as surreal as before? It feels less like Xenoblade and more like Zelda. Which again, is not inherently bad (it's still a better game world than most games I've played) but it just caught me off guard how different it feels compared to my expectations. It's like all the "oh wow" moments that I am having with the terrain are not from the terrain design itself, but the references to the past games (the curved spires of Bionis' Leg, the hand of the Fallen Arm, etc). Like the individual areas don't seem to have their own personality to quite the same degree that places like Noctilum, Sylvalum, Uraya, or Leftheria did. And where's my bioluminescent forest, XB3?

So to be clear: it's absolutely amazing, gorgeous, well designed, but.. somehow different from what I expected. So it seems kinda strange even though it's incredible. Also different is how the area music hasn't been quite as memorable to me as the other entries. Instead it seems like they went for absolute broke on the battle and event themes, which is the inverse of the other games where I loved the area themes more.

And the gameplay, they nailed it. This is the first Xenoblade game where I feel like I almost understand the battle system, and am actually enjoying grinding. It's awesome.

XB3 is also hands-down by favorite cast of the entire series. By far. I'm also very much invested in the story, whereas in past Xenoblade games I was enamored with the lore and the world they built more than the actual step-by-step of the story and character beats.

So to summarize, and why this all feels weird to me, it's like they took my loves and expectations of the Xenoblade series thus far and inverted them. In past entries I loved the personality of the areas but found their size lacking, here I find the personality lacking but the scale absolutely amazing. In past entries I found the area music to be incredible and the battle themes to be okay, here I find the area themes to be okay but the battle themes are absolute bangers getting stuck in my head. In past entries I couldn't get into the battle system, but here I find myself grinding for fun. In past entries I found the world and lore more interesting than the characters, and here we have my favorite cast in all of Xeno.

It's crazy how consistently everything I expected has been turned upside down with this game. 😅 And I absolutely love it to pieces. What a blast this is. I can't wait to see what else they do with what they've set up.
Click to expand...
Already eating my words.
The Great Sword's Base and its accompanying remix of the Sword Valley theme are just 👌
 
bellydrum said:
So, I've been formulating my thoughts on the story for the past couple days, and:

I really don't like the story and the way it was handled.

I feel dissatisfied. And I can't blame that entirely on my hopes and expectations that I had going into it - this is how I feel even without the context of the previous two games.
There are far too many questions and loose ends for me to feel comfortable saying I like the story of Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

This is my understanding of the order of events.
Most of this is derived from vague and flowery language alongside inconsistent facts and events. There are still quite some fuzzy areas, so if anybody has a magical formula that makes this all make sense, please let me know what I'm missing or have wrong.

My primary source material is the following consecutive statements from Nia, while she explained to the party the origins of Aionios and of Moebius:



Based on what we are shown and told, the order of events is as follows (as far as I can piece together):

1. The universes learn of each other - Nia, etc. (Universe A) and Melia, etc. (Universe B) discover each others existence by analyzing the rifts appearing in their respective worlds.

2. Melia and Nia learn of the collision - By sending data and radio signals (the "language of light") through these rifts, Melia and Nia were able to communicate with one another and determined that their universes were doomed and there was no way to stop their collision and ensuing destruction.

3. Melia and Nia create Origin - Melia and Nia create Origin, a supercomputer intended to persist beyond the destruction of their universes and house a "copy" of everything from both universes together in one single new universe. Everyone will still die in the collision - only the data survives and "lives" beyond.

4. Origin's boot sequence fails - At the time of the universes' collision, Origin was booted up for the first time - but it failed. The extent of its failure is unknown; we just know that it "failed".

  • The timeline of this failed boot is unclear.
  • On one hand, it must have happened before the universes' collision, because Moebius took control of Origin after its failed boot, and Moebius stopped time in both universes after he took control of Origin in order to prevent the universes' collision.
  • The only other option would be for the collision of universes, Origin attempting a boot and then failing, Moebius coming into existence, Moebius taking over Origin, and Moebius stopping time to have all happened at the same time.
  • How was Origin booted up before the universes collided?
  • Origin was created in two halves, one in either universe, which implies that the collision of the universes is what would bring both halves together and start its boot up sequence. So how could Origin boot up if its halves were in different universes?

The following events are described under the assumption that everything happens at the exact same time.

5. Moebius / X, Y, and Z appear - After (and possibly because of) Origin's failed boot sequence, an entity called Moebius springs into existence from the fears of all the life (data) contained within Origin coagulating together into fear incarnate. Moebius inexplicably takes the forms of at least three individuals, calling themselves X, Y, and Z, with Z being their "ringleader".

- The nature of X, Y, and Z in relation to Moebius is unexplained. There is no reason why a being such as Moebius would need to take these alternate forms.

6. Z takes over Origin - Z hijacks Origin in order to create his own pocket universe over which he can rule, assuaging his existence as fear incarnate.

- He also builds himself a little theater where he can watch over his creations using a film projector.

7. Z stops time to prevent the collision - Somehow, assumedly using the power of Origin, Z freezes both universes in time, preventing their progress toward their collision.

- I imagine Origin did not originally have Time Stop as one of its intended functionalities, so Z's ability to do this is completely unexplained.

8. Z creates Aionios - Now with all the time in the world, Z uses the data contained inside Origin to create his own pocket universe where time flows "naturally" as it once did in the two real universes before he stopped it. Whether this pocket universe was created around Origin or inside Origin is not sufficiently explained.

  • On one hand, Origin can be found within Aionios, making it impossible (and recursive) for Aionios to also be contained within Origin.
  • On the other hand, Origin was located in two halves, contained in the universes that were colliding, so in order for Aionios to exist "outside" Origin, it would be residing in two halves across universes that are frozen in time.

Here are some assorted questions. I'll keep adding them as I think of them.

Moebius / Z
- Why did they decide to create a villain that had no prior justification of existing in the trilogy thus far instead of tying it to the story as a whole?

Origin
- Ultimately, the world of Aionios was a simulation created using the power of Origin. So why was Origin contained inside its own universe?

The Swords
  • Was was the purpose of the Sword of Origin / Sword of the End to the story?
  • Lucky Seven was a single sword created by 7 Nopon, whereas the sword it is hidden within is Noah's manifestation that he's had in every lifetime. So is our present day Noah the only Noah that has Lucky Seven in his sword?
  • What was the significance of the Sword of Origin changing to the Sword of the End?
  • How was Noah's sword(s) significant to the final boss?

And that's without considering the story's role as a conclusion to the "Klaus saga".
I didn't need for Xenoblade 3 to connect to the first two games, and I appreciate that it did - but the way that they decided to connect the games was so tenuous, so contrived, that I can't help but feel disappointed.
Click to expand...
Building off of your point of Z somehow creating everything before time began to flow, he did a spectacularly terrible job of it. You’d think he’d capture Nia, as well as completely remove any traces of Origin metal.

There’s also the annihilation events, which aren’t explained in any capacity, nor the true identity of Moebius (which apparently the characters figured out? Guess I missed that memo). Honestly, it feels like they just threw a bunch of interesting ideas together without thinking about how they would justify them, resulting in some absolutely terrible logic that just doesn’t make any sort of sense.

It’s a good thing that the character development is so strong through the first 5 chapters, because it hard carries the story the more I reflect on it.
 
omg omg omg
Taion's reaction to the baby is my favorite character moment in the game so far, holy shit

Totes adorbs ❤️
 
So I'm still really enjoying the game and everything, but I fought a few boss and unique enemies just now and I wanted to vent that I really really think the chain attack mechanic in this game was a huge swing and a miss by the devs. These should be the most fun battles in the game but I honestly kind of dread them this time around because I know I'll be spending an outsized portion of them in the chain attack menus and the mechanic is just so goddamn boring here. And it's incredibly powerful, which actually kind of makes it worse lol. If I were just going off story, characters, and side quest design this would easily be my favorite game in the series, but the combat (particularly "significant encounter" combat) is keeping it from distancing itself from the others, which I think is unfortunate. The fortunate thing is that the others are still really great games, but it's a bit sad in a way.

Of course now I look back and see there was a lengthy discussion on chain attacks just two pages ago lol. Sorry for rehashing it I just do not like the system at all this time around and wanted to vent a bit.
 
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bellydrum said:
So, I've been formulating my thoughts on the story for the past couple days, and:

I really don't like the story and the way it was handled.

I feel dissatisfied. And I can't blame that entirely on my hopes and expectations that I had going into it - this is how I feel even without the context of the previous two games.
There are far too many questions and loose ends for me to feel comfortable saying I like the story of Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

This is my understanding of the order of events.
Most of this is derived from vague and flowery language alongside inconsistent facts and events. There are still quite some fuzzy areas, so if anybody has a magical formula that makes this all make sense, please let me know what I'm missing or have wrong.

My primary source material is the following consecutive statements from Nia, while she explained to the party the origins of Aionios and of Moebius:



Based on what we are shown and told, the order of events is as follows (as far as I can piece together):

1. The universes learn of each other - Nia, etc. (Universe A) and Melia, etc. (Universe B) discover each others existence by analyzing the rifts appearing in their respective worlds.

2. Melia and Nia learn of the collision - By sending data and radio signals (the "language of light") through these rifts, Melia and Nia were able to communicate with one another and determined that their universes were doomed and there was no way to stop their collision and ensuing destruction.

3. Melia and Nia create Origin - Melia and Nia create Origin, a supercomputer intended to persist beyond the destruction of their universes and house a "copy" of everything from both universes together in one single new universe. Everyone will still die in the collision - only the data survives and "lives" beyond.

4. Origin's boot sequence fails - At the time of the universes' collision, Origin was booted up for the first time - but it failed. The extent of its failure is unknown; we just know that it "failed".

  • The timeline of this failed boot is unclear.
  • On one hand, it must have happened before the universes' collision, because Moebius took control of Origin after its failed boot, and Moebius stopped time in both universes after he took control of Origin in order to prevent the universes' collision.
  • The only other option would be for the collision of universes, Origin attempting a boot and then failing, Moebius coming into existence, Moebius taking over Origin, and Moebius stopping time to have all happened at the same time.
  • How was Origin booted up before the universes collided?
  • Origin was created in two halves, one in either universe, which implies that the collision of the universes is what would bring both halves together and start its boot up sequence. So how could Origin boot up if its halves were in different universes?

The following events are described under the assumption that everything happens at the exact same time.

5. Moebius / X, Y, and Z appear - After (and possibly because of) Origin's failed boot sequence, an entity called Moebius springs into existence from the fears of all the life (data) contained within Origin coagulating together into fear incarnate. Moebius inexplicably takes the forms of at least three individuals, calling themselves X, Y, and Z, with Z being their "ringleader".

- The nature of X, Y, and Z in relation to Moebius is unexplained. There is no reason why a being such as Moebius would need to take these alternate forms.

6. Z takes over Origin - Z hijacks Origin in order to create his own pocket universe over which he can rule, assuaging his existence as fear incarnate.

- He also builds himself a little theater where he can watch over his creations using a film projector.

7. Z stops time to prevent the collision - Somehow, assumedly using the power of Origin, Z freezes both universes in time, preventing their progress toward their collision.

- I imagine Origin did not originally have Time Stop as one of its intended functionalities, so Z's ability to do this is completely unexplained.

8. Z creates Aionios - Now with all the time in the world, Z uses the data contained inside Origin to create his own pocket universe where time flows "naturally" as it once did in the two real universes before he stopped it. Whether this pocket universe was created around Origin or inside Origin is not sufficiently explained.

  • On one hand, Origin can be found within Aionios, making it impossible (and recursive) for Aionios to also be contained within Origin.
  • On the other hand, Origin was located in two halves, contained in the universes that were colliding, so in order for Aionios to exist "outside" Origin, it would be residing in two halves across universes that are frozen in time.

Here are some assorted questions. I'll keep adding them as I think of them.

Moebius / Z
- Why did they decide to create a villain that had no prior justification of existing in the trilogy thus far instead of tying it to the story as a whole?

Origin
- Ultimately, the world of Aionios was a simulation created using the power of Origin. So why was Origin contained inside its own universe?

The Swords
  • Was was the purpose of the Sword of Origin / Sword of the End to the story?
  • Lucky Seven was a single sword created by 7 Nopon, whereas the sword it is hidden within is Noah's manifestation that he's had in every lifetime. So is our present day Noah the only Noah that has Lucky Seven in his sword?
  • What was the significance of the Sword of Origin changing to the Sword of the End?
  • How was Noah's sword(s) significant to the final boss?

And that's without considering the story's role as a conclusion to the "Klaus saga".
I didn't need for Xenoblade 3 to connect to the first two games, and I appreciate that it did - but the way that they decided to connect the games was so tenuous, so contrived, that I can't help but feel disappointed.
Click to expand...
Ironically, you made me appreciate Z a bit more with this.

I didn’t really get the whole “manifestation” thing, but the take that he’s actually a conglomeration of soul data taken from Origin that was the fear of the people in the world of XC1&2 about the future of their worlds, and spit out in human form is lowkey… a great meta-narrative reference AND ties in with the theme of XC3 much moreso than him being Klaus V3 would’ve imo. Like, that would qualify as the great “sci-fi twist” of this game for me. If origin can house the data of thousands of conciousnesses and all of their emotion, than that interpretation makes sense. The dread and fear was so overwhelming that Moebius, a bug in the system, was created.

Need to play the rest of the ending to address the other thoughts you had though.
 
DunningSmith said:
So I just did the Miyabi Hero Quest, and I'm a bit confused here (maybe it's because im too tired).
Can someone explain how Cammuravi and the rest came back to life?
Click to expand...
When they died they returned to their cradles like with Ethel, Moebius Y's experiments which led to Miyabi's original death was to figure out how to take a term 1 soldier and transform them into a later term soldier through accelerated aging
 
Neverx said:
When they died they returned to their cradles like with Ethel, Moebius Y's experiments which led to Miyabi's original death was to figure out how to take a term 1 soldier and transform them into a later term soldier through accelerated aging
Click to expand...
Makes sense, but how did they get their previous memories back?

Also I keep reading that people don't like the fact that XBC3 has less humour. I wanted to write a big post regarding the subject, but I think I'll wait unitl I beat the game. What I will say is that XBC3 is not the outlier. If you played previous Xeno games (Gears, Saga), then you'll see that this was always the norm. Hell, I'd say even XBC1 has less humour than 3. If anything, I think XBC3 has plenty levity, the only """""problem"""" is the fact that it's mostly relegated to side-quests and campfire-discussions and the main-quest stays mostly serious.
But well, in the end, it's a deeply melancholic game, so it kinda fits.
 
I like how I stumbled upon a quest concerning Triton's relationship with the City right after I wonder about if anyone there will ever acknowledge the party hanging out with one of Moebius. Great stuff.
 
0
I see I'm still behind. I finally finish Chapter 5 and now everyone is spoiler tagging chapter 6 and 7, lol. I'll get there! But it'll probably be a while at this rate, although I can sink some good time in this weekend.
 
Easy difficulty is one of the best things ever to happen to the series for me; as someone who plays game to relax, it's so amazing to not have to worry about running into the difficulty spikes that frustrated me so much in the launch version of Xenoblade 2, and not having to spend hours grinding to brute force my way through main story chokepoints. It just flows so nicely now for a gamer like me.

I'm around 13 hours in and about halfway through Chapter 3 right now, and while it's too early to say for sure, it's definitely showing the potential to be the new best game in the series in my opinion.

They've absolutely nailed the characters this time around, the small interpersonal moments are just so beautifully done. It manages to balance epic large scale and intimate small scale storytelling in a really impressive way.

Also, is it just me or has (Minor chapter 3 spoilers) Takahashi been reading Lord of the Rings recently, they way they go through the mines or Moria- I mean Uraya, to avoid traveling through enemy territory haha.

There are minor things I don't love, but on the whole I'm enjoying the characters, story, progression, combat, and music so darn much that I really have no significant complaints, I am just relishing the feeling of being swept away on an grand adventure that is as earnest and heartfelt as it is epic.
 
I'm in the middle(?) of chapter 5, in the big area and have a question
Is there an upgrade to the boat that I should be waiting for before trying to fill in the map? Or if I'm committed to doing it will it never get easier?
 
BassForever said:
I'm in the middle(?) of chapter 5, in the big area and have a question
Is there an upgrade to the boat that I should be waiting for before trying to fill in the map? Or if I'm committed to doing it will it never get easier?
Click to expand...
I have not beat the game yet but I don't think there's any upgrades
 
0
BassForever said:
I'm in the middle(?) of chapter 5, in the big area and have a question
Is there an upgrade to the boat that I should be waiting for before trying to fill in the map? Or if I'm committed to doing it will it never get easier?
Click to expand...
On this note, no spoilers please but does anyone if this game does the XC1 thing where once you find every Location and Landmark and Secret Area, the whole map fills in for the zone? Because while that wouldn't matter in some places it'd be VERY useful for Chapter 5
 
DunningSmith said:
So I just did the Miyabi Hero Quest, and I'm a bit confused here (maybe it's because im too tired).
Can someone explain how Cammuravi and the rest came back to life?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I cannot
 
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DunningSmith said:
So I just did the Miyabi Hero Quest, and I'm a bit confused here (maybe it's because im too tired).
Can someone explain how Cammuravi and the rest came back to life?
Click to expand...
The experiments Y were doing on Omega ultimately resulted in a special pod that can mature soldiers to their 10th term. Since 10th term soldiers provide the most sustenance to Moebius, it provides an easy way to accelerate the process.

Cammuravi, Mwamba, and Hackt, all underwent this process after being reborn. Miyabi likely somehow survived the explosion and was captured by Y, hence why she’s only a 9th termer and was able to remember Mio, while the other 3 had no memories of their previous lives.
 
BassForever said:
I'm in the middle(?) of chapter 5, in the big area and have a question
Is there an upgrade to the boat that I should be waiting for before trying to fill in the map? Or if I'm committed to doing it will it never get easier?
Click to expand...
SammyJ9 said:
On this note, no spoilers please but does anyone if this game does the XC1 thing where once you find every Location and Landmark and Secret Area, the whole map fills in for the zone? Because while that wouldn't matter in some places it'd be VERY useful for Chapter 5
Click to expand...
Yes and yes to both of you

Regarding the first one
I wouldn't necessarily wait though, it's just a speed boost.
 
DunningSmith said:
Also I keep reading that people don't like the fact that XBC3 has less humour. I wanted to write a big post regarding the subject, but I think I'll wait unitl I beat the game. What I will say is that XBC3 is not the outlier. If you played previous Xeno games (Gears, Saga), then you'll see that this was always the norm. Hell, I'd say even XBC1 has less humour than 3. If anything, I think XBC3 has plenty levity, the only """""problem"""" is the fact that it's mostly relegated to side-quests and campfire-discussions and the main-quest stays mostly serious.
But well, in the end, it's a deeply melancholic game, so it kinda fits.
Click to expand...
On chapter 4 right now, but honestly I haven't found the game any less funny than XC1 or 2. It's just the comedy is less slapstick and more subdued, which is more to my taste anyways. I'm definitely audibly laughed at some scenes.
 
Phendrift said:
Maybe a hot take but Milick Meadows theme is better than Gormott with the exception of THAT one part in Gormott.

Gaur Plains still the GOAT though
Click to expand...
Can't agree, milick easily has the weakest theme of the three grassland areas for me (actually might prefer primordial over it too)
 
Thunder84 said:
I’ve got the opposite order myself. Gaur Plains is overrated in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Zeal543 said:
Can't agree, milick easily has the weakest theme of the three grassland areas for me (actually might prefer primordial over it too)
Click to expand...
The 20 seconds choir part part of Gormott is like one of the most beautiful and breathtaking melodies I’ve ever heard in my life, but the rest of the song is…. repetitive isn’t the right word, but maybe, static? It’s the same strings at the same blaring volume for the entire song besides that

Gaur and Millick are more varied and diverse instrumentally, and feel more dynamic if that makes sense
 
0
I can honestly say I have never felt as disappointed with a game I really like as I currently feel having finished Xenoblade 3. The game succeeds at its core goals (namely its characters and their interlinkages) admirably, has a excellent soundtrack, and great combat systems, with a lot of QoL changes the series sorely needed. If I were being reductive and perhaps more objective, I'd probably assign it a 8/10 rating; I really like the game and think it succeeds at what it focuses on. However, I don't think it works as "a culmination of Xenoblade 1 and Xenoblade 2" much at all.

Unlike previous Xeno games, which had their worlds as an area of focus, Xenoblade 3's world feels like an afterthought, with little going into it beyond just melding Xenoblade 1 and Xenoblade 2 areas. Don't get me wrong, the areas are fun to explore and are well designed, but their histories, lore, and general reason for being feel undervelopped, with the world's technology, peoples, and cultures having a similar underdevelopped feeling. To best demonstrate this feeling, I've put a few unanswered questions related to the world that I feel are important below:

  • What consolidated the feelings of regret that constitute moebius into this form? Z surely did not just poof into being. The same goes for Noah and Mio, who seemingly represent the feelings of atonement between N and M. What mechanism brought them into being?
  • What are nopon's role in the world in this game? They seem to be independent of the life harvesting systems, they don't have irises, and they seem to age normally. Why then has nobody questioned why Nopon are able to live for so long? Perhaps this, alongside their lack of a concept of aging, could be explained through Moebius's control of their culture. However, the reverse question, why haven't the Nopon questioned why humans are so short lived, is not.
  • What's the deal with anhilation events? They were among the first things we see in the game and receive several mentions in the story, but the actual cause and effect of them is completely unexplained. This is important because these anhilation events seem to occur despite the seeming stasis the world is in, and if they accumulated, could undermine the "endless now" Z and the moebius aimed to create. Its a fundamental flaw in moebius' ideology, yet it goes unmentioned.
  • What's the deal with the black fog? Is it related to the fog we saw in Future Connected? If it is, why has its effects changed from corrupting entities to its current effects, namely interfering with moebius and their systems (such as the irises)? How is it related to the annihilation events?
  • Why must the worlds' split apart at the end, and why wasn't it made more clear that this would be the end result of the party's philosophy? This could have been used to add a bittersweet element to the Ouroboros' choice. They know their choice will lead to them being separated, but they choose to do so anyway. As it stands now, it feels like a surprise twist that only serves to add a contrived bittersweet twinge to the ending.

Ultimately, it feels as though the world was written in service to the characters in this game, with it being changed and altered as needed to fit the needs of the plot. This is as opposed to previous Xeno games, where the world itself was created first and interesting places for characters were found within it. Moreover, it feels like they never at any point had a lore bible to explain the fine details of this world, which is notable for a series that started with a game that had a 300+ page publicly released lore bible.

In a vacuum, all of this is fine; as I mentioned earlier, the core focus, both emotionally and thematically, lies with the characters, which I think are really well handled and well executed. The problem lies at the intersection of 2 points: (1) This game was presented, both by Nintendo and by Takhashi himself, as a culmination of Xenoblades 1 & 2. and (2) The only substantial connection this game has with Xenoblades 1 and 2 is its world. The only characters connecting to the older games - Nia and Melia - have little screentime for justifiable reasons, so the job of culminating Xenoblade 1 and 2 is left to the world, which crumples under that burden. While its nice knowing that the core ideas that Rex and Shulk fought for continue on, very little is actual resolved here. Heck, neither the conduit nor the trinity processors, which were the key things underlining the worlds and plots of the previous 2 games, are even alluded to. Thematically, Xenoblade 3 is similar to past games, but that doesn't make it a culmination, it just makes it a retread.


"Xenoblade 3 is a really good game."


In my head, there are two versions of me. One of them is saying that. Its telling me that "The game has great character writing and uses them to deliver emotional beats that go toe to toe with the best of older games." The other one though? It keeps shouting "This is how the worlds, sagas, themes, and stories you cherished are concluded! This hollowness, this incompleteness, this sense of lost potential with a concept they'll never revisit again is how it all concludes!" And it won't stop getting louder. Perhaps in a few years time the first voice will win out. But for now, its hard for me to not feel disappointed.

Xenoblade 3 excels at what its trying to be; its just that it isn't what I wanted it to be nor what I was told it would be. And, as a huge fan of the series, it really hurts.
 
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sorry Xenoblade 1 fans but chapter 5 is better than any story thing in that game

although I don't think the start of chapter 6 really lived up to it

just as a side note one random minor nitpicky thing that I just wanna post because it's bugging me

that whole traitor subplot thing just made me keep thinking about how silly the idea that moebius wasn't already aware of where exactly the city was is considering they literally have a prison camp with over a thousand people from it, it just really feels like a stretch that they wouldn't have tortured it out of someone or whatever long before then
 
0
Brewster123 said:
I can honestly say I have never felt as disappointed with a game I really like as I currently feel having finished Xenoblade 3. The game succeeds at its core goals (namely its characters and their interlinkages) admirably, has a excellent soundtrack, and great combat systems, with a lot of QoL changes the series sorely needed. If I were being reductive and perhaps more objective, I'd probably assign it a 8/10 rating; I really like the game and think it succeeds at what it focuses on. However, I don't think it works at all as "a culmination of Xenoblade 1 and Xenoblade 2" much at all.

Unlike previous Xeno games, which had their worlds as an area of focus, Xenoblade 3's world feels like an afterthought, with little going into it beyond just melding Xenoblade 1 and Xenoblade 2 areas. Don't get me wrong, the areas are fun to explore and are well designed, but their histories, lore, and general reason for being feel undervelopped, with the world's technology, peoples, and cultures having a similar underdevelopped feeling. To best demonstrate this feeling, I've put a few unanswered questions related to the world that I feel are important below:

  • What consolidated the feelings of regret that constitute moebius into this form? Z surely did not just poof into being. The same goes for Noah and Mio, who seemingly represent the feelings of atonement between N and M. What mechanism brought them into being?
  • What are nopon's role in the world in this game? They seem to be independent of the life harvesting systems, they don't have irises, and they seem to age normally. Why then has nobody questioned why Nopon are able to live for so long? Perhaps this, alongside their lack of a concept of aging, could be explained through Moebius's control of their culture. However, the reverse question, why haven't the Nopon questioned why humans are so short lived, is not.
  • What's the deal with anhilation events? They were among the first things we see in the game and receive several mentions in the story, but the actual cause and effect of them is completely unexplained. This is important because these anhilation events seem to occur despite the seeming stasis the world is in, and if they accumulated, could undermine the "endless now" Z and the moebius aimed to create. Its a fundamental flaw in moebius' ideology, yet it goes unmentioned.
  • What's the deal with the black fog? Is it related to the fog we saw in Future Connected? If it is, why has its effects changed from corrupting entities to its current effects, namely interfering with moebius and their systems (such as the irises)? How is it related to the annihilation events?
  • Why must the worlds' split apart at the end, and why wasn't it made more clear that this would be the end result of the party's philosophy? This could have been used to add a bittersweet element to the Ouroboros' choice. They know their choice will lead to them being separated, but they choose to do so anyway. As it stands now, it feels like a surprise twist that only serves to add a contrived bittersweet twinge to the ending.

Ultimately, it feels as though the world was written in service to the characters in this game, with it being changed and altered as needed to fit the needs of the plot. This is as opposed to previous Xeno games, where the world itself was created first and interesting places for characters were found within it. Moreover, it feels like they never at any point had a lore bible to explain the fine details of this world, which is notable for a series that started with a game that had a 300+ page publicly released lore bible.

In a vacuum, all of this is fine; as I mentioned earlier, the core focus, both emotionally and thematically, lies with the characters, which I think are really well handled and well executed. The problem lies at the intersection of 2 points: (1) This game was presented, both by Nintendo and by Takhashi himself, as a culmination of Xenoblades 1 & 2. and (2) The only substantial connection this game has with Xenoblades 1 and 2 is its world. The only characters connecting to the older games - Nia and Melia - have little screentime for justifiable reasons, so the job of culminating Xenoblade 1 and 2 is left to the world, which crumples under that burden. While its nice knowing that the core ideas that Rex and Shulk fought for continue on, very little is actual resolved here. Heck, neither the conduit nor the trinity processors, which were the key things underlining the worlds and plots of the previous 2 games, are even alluded to. Thematically, Xenoblade 3 is similar to past games, but that doesn't make it a culmination, it just makes it a retread.


"Xenoblade 3 is a really good game."


In my head, there are two versions of me. One of them is saying that. Its telling me that "The game has great character writing and uses them to deliver emotional beats that go toe to toe with the best of older games." The other one though? It keeps shouting "This is how the worlds, sagas, themes, and stories you cherished are concluded! This hollowness, this incompleteness, this sense of lost potential with a concept they'll never revisit again is how it all concludes!" And it won't stop getting louder. Perhaps in a few years time the first voice will win out. But for now, its hard for me to not feel disappointed.

Xenoblade 3 excels at what its trying to be; its just that it isn't what I wanted it to be nor what I was told it would be. And, as a huge fan of the series, it really hurts.
Click to expand...
What would you rate it if you wasn't objective?
 
I finished chapter 4 and started playing chapter 5 until the map opens up again.
MS doesn't play around when it comes to music. When I enter the Swordmarch region, the theme sounds serene but something has been nagging me all the time. Then reality hit me like a hammer when these leitmotifs played and I realized that I was listening to the Sword Valley remix. I really need to pay attention to the upcoming Eryth Sea theme.
Somehow the reveal of the City hit me extra hard despite the fact that it's just a city of ordinary human. Part of the reason is how much I invested in both the thematic and narrative development of the story in XC3 compared to previous entry. For me XC1 exceled in narrative development while XC2 gears more into thematic development with the titans and the conduit's reveal. Back to XC3, seeing the City gave me hope that humanity is not lost, and they can prevail the catastrophic events happening around the conduit.
 
Brewster123 said:
I can honestly say I have never felt as disappointed with a game I really like as I currently feel having finished Xenoblade 3. The game succeeds at its core goals (namely its characters and their interlinkages) admirably, has a excellent soundtrack, and great combat systems, with a lot of QoL changes the series sorely needed. If I were being reductive and perhaps more objective, I'd probably assign it a 8/10 rating; I really like the game and think it succeeds at what it focuses on. However, I don't think it works at all as "a culmination of Xenoblade 1 and Xenoblade 2" much at all.

Unlike previous Xeno games, which had their worlds as an area of focus, Xenoblade 3's world feels like an afterthought, with little going into it beyond just melding Xenoblade 1 and Xenoblade 2 areas. Don't get me wrong, the areas are fun to explore and are well designed, but their histories, lore, and general reason for being feel undervelopped, with the world's technology, peoples, and cultures having a similar underdevelopped feeling. To best demonstrate this feeling, I've put a few unanswered questions related to the world that I feel are important below:

  • What consolidated the feelings of regret that constitute moebius into this form? Z surely did not just poof into being. The same goes for Noah and Mio, who seemingly represent the feelings of atonement between N and M. What mechanism brought them into being?
  • What are nopon's role in the world in this game? They seem to be independent of the life harvesting systems, they don't have irises, and they seem to age normally. Why then has nobody questioned why Nopon are able to live for so long? Perhaps this, alongside their lack of a concept of aging, could be explained through Moebius's control of their culture. However, the reverse question, why haven't the Nopon questioned why humans are so short lived, is not.
  • What's the deal with anhilation events? They were among the first things we see in the game and receive several mentions in the story, but the actual cause and effect of them is completely unexplained. This is important because these anhilation events seem to occur despite the seeming stasis the world is in, and if they accumulated, could undermine the "endless now" Z and the moebius aimed to create. Its a fundamental flaw in moebius' ideology, yet it goes unmentioned.
  • What's the deal with the black fog? Is it related to the fog we saw in Future Connected? If it is, why has its effects changed from corrupting entities to its current effects, namely interfering with moebius and their systems (such as the irises)? How is it related to the annihilation events?
  • Why must the worlds' split apart at the end, and why wasn't it made more clear that this would be the end result of the party's philosophy? This could have been used to add a bittersweet element to the Ouroboros' choice. They know their choice will lead to them being separated, but they choose to do so anyway. As it stands now, it feels like a surprise twist that only serves to add a contrived bittersweet twinge to the ending.

Ultimately, it feels as though the world was written in service to the characters in this game, with it being changed and altered as needed to fit the needs of the plot. This is as opposed to previous Xeno games, where the world itself was created first and interesting places for characters were found within it. Moreover, it feels like they never at any point had a lore bible to explain the fine details of this world, which is notable for a series that started with a game that had a 300+ page publicly released lore bible.

In a vacuum, all of this is fine; as I mentioned earlier, the core focus, both emotionally and thematically, lies with the characters, which I think are really well handled and well executed. The problem lies at the intersection of 2 points: (1) This game was presented, both by Nintendo and by Takhashi himself, as a culmination of Xenoblades 1 & 2. and (2) The only substantial connection this game has with Xenoblades 1 and 2 is its world. The only characters connecting to the older games - Nia and Melia - have little screentime for justifiable reasons, so the job of culminating Xenoblade 1 and 2 is left to the world, which crumples under that burden. While its nice knowing that the core ideas that Rex and Shulk fought for continue on, very little is actual resolved here. Heck, neither the conduit nor the trinity processors, which were the key things underlining the worlds and plots of the previous 2 games, are even alluded to. Thematically, Xenoblade 3 is similar to past games, but that doesn't make it a culmination, it just makes it a retread.


"Xenoblade 3 is a really good game."


In my head, there are two versions of me. One of them is saying that. Its telling me that "The game has great character writing and uses them to deliver emotional beats that go toe to toe with the best of older games." The other one though? It keeps shouting "This is how the worlds, sagas, themes, and stories you cherished are concluded! This hollowness, this incompleteness, this sense of lost potential with a concept they'll never revisit again is how it all concludes!" And it won't stop getting louder. Perhaps in a few years time the first voice will win out. But for now, its hard for me to not feel disappointed.

Xenoblade 3 excels at what its trying to be; its just that it isn't what I wanted it to be nor what I was told it would be. And, as a huge fan of the series, it really hurts.
Click to expand...
Yeah, honestly, the more I think about it, the more I realize that the story was heavily carried by the characters. This does work for a while, and quite excellently at that, but it starts falling apart the moment the focus shifts squarely onto actually "fixing" Aionios.

Long term, my opinion is probably going to turn on how the DLC plays out. With the banner seeming to heavily imply Shulk and Rex involvement (and the founder statues I'm pretty sure heavily hinting they were still alive when Aionios formed), I'm starting to wonder if what happened is Monolith is so gun shy about continuity lockout (somewhat understandable given their history) that they shifted a bit too much of the stuff that directly ties into the overall narrative into that, to the point where it kinda undermined the main game story a bit. Or at least I kinda hope that's what happened.
 
Jannyish said:
So I was just minding my business playing Chapter 4 and...

... unexpectedly, shit hit the fan, and I thought "wow Chapter finale already? But the progress bar on the mission menu wasn't even halfway before I stumbled into thia cutscene..." & sure enough, things went crazy but the chapter isn't even over lol

Sometimes I do wonder how many Chapters this game has, but I am choosing to stay disciplined and won't look it up. Please don't tell me, I want my reaction to it being the end be genuine (there is a lot you can only tell about a story when you don't alrd know when it's gonna be over... that's smth only a game can give you since you can see how much book is left or how much time is left on your video progress bar for movies, so I wanna savor it).


I guess you're right, they wouldn't. Since I already bought the headphones, and chances are I already have a PS5 also, otherwise why would I buy headphones that say PS5 on them.

But sometimes companies be petty like that so you never know. In this case, since it does work, I do think Sony should make that fact more well known (I just assume it would work with eg a pc as well). Can only work to their benefit.
Click to expand...

....how did I play this game for 90 hours without noticing quests have a progress bar in the menu till I read it in this thread?
 
Lord Azrael said:
Also on the topic of heroes. I have a theory about the last silhouette, so don't open if you don't want to hear my potentially very wrong ramblings

The last silhouette definitely looks like the invisible mechs that have been showing up in side quests from time to time. The side quest to introduce them was even part of the main story, and they have a suspicious amount of build up/appearances in side quests, so I definitely think that's a quest line that will culminate in a new hero.

But also, there was a brief shot in the direct of a hero machina girl that doesn't match any of the silhouettes as far as I can tell. So unless there's some secret hero shenanigans (which I still hope for, but if they did that it would be for returning characters rather than someone new), I'm thinking she's a mech pilot or something? Like that mech dragon lady from 2

I don't really want confirmation one way or the other, just putting it out there for fun
Click to expand...
Caaaaalled it

Got all the heroes now. I'm gonna be doing a loooot of side content before proceeding with the story now lol. I was already overleveled so unlocking the classes on everyone has been a pain, had to knock around some level 70s
 
0
I'm just reaching 24 hours played and I'm pretty sure I'm nearing the end of chapter 3. Just finished Manana and Riku's Hero quest and am almost out of the Urayan Tunnels. I'm really glad that the game opened up with this chapter because I found myself agreeing with those saying they overcompensated with the tutorials in chapters 1 and 2.

The cast kept me interested from the start though. Noah is absolutely reminding me of Shulk, but in my eyes that's a positive. I'm drawn in by Lanz as well. He's very perceptive and delivers his opinions unapologetically, he manages to be a great friend to those he trusts. Taion is also pretty interesting. I'm curious to learn more about his past because there's a lot of setup going on there. Eunie just had a few intriguing scenes before the Manana/Riku quest began as well. I feel like there's still a lot to unearth here, but it's been pretty nice getting to know these characters.

I'm also enjoying the gameplay for the most part, it's a new spin on the Xenoblade formula as expected. Cooking and gems seem relatively straightforward and the Ouroboros upgrade trees are simple enough. Regular battles are usually pretty quick, which is another major positive. I also enjoy experimenting with the class system and unlocking skills, everytime someone hits level 10 I make sure to change things up. As for the chain attacks, they seem interesting and they're pretty powerful. The music that goes along with them is fantastic too that's for sure.

The biggest positive however is definitely the side content. I really love all there is to do in the world. Although I do miss the quick movement and lack of fall damage X allowed us, I can already see just how much care they put into this. Above all, the level of integration feels like such a natural progression from X. Sometimes it's fantastic to see just how seamless it is for one area to morph into another or where the areas connect.

One thing I don't understand is why would they remove the ability to see all the location names on the map? It's a really odd decision that kinda takes away some incentive in filling the map out. And locking access to leveling down until the post game is also the biggest roadblock to enjoying all this content 100% freely. After DE, why would you nerf expert mode? It was entirely optional, if you don't want to allow it for everyone at least leave the option to turn it on. This is my biggest negative of the game at the moment. It's sort of been a balancing act for me going between side content and the story as a result. I'm being really careful not to complete everything I come across so I'm not incredibly overleveled. It's a big frustration, but I am still exploring because the world is just so incredible.

Getting back to a more positive note, I love how pretty much all the area music I've been hearing seems to have some interpolation since it obviously just makes sense here and I'm really curious to see what people uncover. I think there's definitely some The Fallen Land in the Eagus Wilderness music, which is probably my favorite area theme so far.

Also I don't really mind long cutscenes, the first Takahashi game I played was Xenosaga so I'm pretty used to that but it's a bit crazy to see them go full circle here. Xenoblade 1 and 2 have a lot but I could never put my controller down and have some snacks this early like with Xenosaga. Like I said I'm used to it so it's no big deal, and apart from some odd dialogue I'm really enjoying the cutscenes.

Some other nitpicks:
  • You can put me in the group that's not a big fan of the Spark 'swear', I really would've preferred a different word.
  • I also wish there were more one liners since we have a fixed party this time, at least they all seem to be pretty short this time.
I'll still maintain that overall, I'm in love with what's here right now. I love the music and the world, and I'm curious to see where the story goes. Sorry this post got pretty longwinded, hopefully I can collect my thoughts a bit more for the next time I post my impressions.
 
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I suppose I’m close to the endgame because I have been able to unlock the 20th rank of most of my teammates… except Taion (for now). I did so many quests and exploration that with the Bonus XP, I’m at level 77 and even after spending a LOT, still own 3 million gold.

Never had any money problem with this game, without farming at all nor even selling anything.
 
0
bellydrum said:
As long as you credit me, go right ahead!

And be sure to point them in my direction if anybody wants to contribute - most fields are freely editable but some are not.
Click to expand...
sweet! are you the same "b3llydrum" over there whom I've just directed to the spoiler thread? name and avatar are just different enough that it could be a coincidence :p
 
rickyson33 said:
....how did I play this game for 90 hours without noticing quests have a progress bar in the menu till I read it in this thread?
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Well to be fair the bar is very unassuming. There is no number there (like a percentage) that cues you in to it being a progress bar so most people would probably gloss over the line and categorize it as a design choice xD
 
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EtherPenguin said:
Yes and yes to both of you

Regarding the first one
I wouldn't necessarily wait though, it's just a speed boost.
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does the speed boost make it harder to move the boat around? I figure what I'll do is find and circle all the islands now (I've already done the whole perimeter), and then with the speed boost fill in the empty space between islands by using auto-accelerate
 
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