As a huge fan of XC2, I’d just like to see that picture explained in some capacity in the DLC. From how the second game is written and how it ends, to that picture… it’s a big jump. It challenges our views on certain relationships and even the lore of the world. I don’t really have an issue with it and I’ve previously said I don’t necessarily agree with a lot of criticisms thrown at the picture.
But as a fan, I want to know how - in an ending where Zeke calls Pneuma the girl Rex loves, in which Nia pushes Rex towards the girls giving him a nod of acceptance and approval, and the game concluding on the screen ‘and thus boy met girl‘ - we get to the family situation we see in XC3.
I’ve seen people retroactively point to certain parts of XC2 to try explain it, but I don’t think it’s really there, or it’s not enough for me personally.
Now, if they give me that context, great. I love Rex and that picture, particularly given Rex’s characterisation in XC2, doesn’t stir any negative feelings towards him within me.
So from my perspective, I want the story behind that picture. It’s a five second shot that completely flips the world of XC2 upside down. And it’s just casually tossed in there.
Thought Rex was set up with Pyra and Mythra? Well, Nia‘s in the mix too and by the way she’s holding a baby… who we are going to heavily infer to be Mio in the postgame content.
And if Mio hadn’t been linked to Nia and presumably Rex, it would be easier to compartmentalise it from the larger story of XC3. But one of the two main heroes in XC3 is, supposedly, the daughter of the XC2 protagonist. Which begs the question, where’s Pyra and Mythra? What happened to the other kids? How did they all have kids anyway?
You would have had all these questions regarding the picture anyway, but using Mio in such a direct way in XC3 just kind of… not rubs it in your face, but makes the questions feel more pertinent and linked to the world of XC3 than they needed to be.
It's not just that Rex seemingly had children with all three women, it's not that they could have children to begin with it, it's not that Mio is probably Rex's daughter, it's all of it stacked on top of each other with no context.
I've written at length about how XC3 uses bits and pieces from XC and XC2 as window-dressing, but doesn't really forge meaningful connections. I've said Nia and Melia being the queens means nothing and that they could have been anyone - their presence doesn't impact the story at all.
And then there's this... the one opportunity they had to make Nia being in this game actually mean something. You've got Nia, Mio and M all in the same game, a couple of wistful looks and a family photo, and literally none of it amounts to a payoff for those involved. It's crazy. Mio doesn't even question why she looks exactly like Nia with the same core crystal - not even in any incidental dialogue.
I think if they'd took the story contents of that picture and fleshed it out in the game itself, some might be happier with it. I think it's awesome that
@Tye connects to it in a strong way.
And despite XC2 not really building to it as nicely as I would have liked (if this was always the plan), I'm relaxed about it. I just hope, as a huge fan of XC2, warts and all, we get something that bridges the gap between what we see in that game and in XC3.
The story behind that picture fascinates me and I hope Takahashi and co give me some sense of closure on it - whether that be a one-off conversation in the DLC or whatever. I don't need the details, but I'd like some sense of how it developed.
If I get nothing? Well, I love all the characters involved, so as long as they're happy, I'm fine with it. But I'll be disappointed if we don't get something as it's such a huge grenade to throw into the XC2 story, five years after the fact.
