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Discussion Xenoblade 3 - DLC #4 Trailer - Release April 25th

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Síriocaz said:
I'm suspecting Rex and Shulk haven't been in Aionios for too long. Let's remember that, before becoming N, multiple ancient Noahs tried several times breaking the curse to no avail. That is, until one version of him and Mio manage to conceive a child (who now we know it's Ghondor) and both of them reached the Homecoming and disappeared. Then Z brings them back as N and M.

This essentially means that a lot of time had to pass before the Noah that became N was born (I think the Chapter 6 mirage showed at least five adult Noahs, which means ~50 years summarized before him), and there's no way Shulk and Rex lived that long. It seems the guys we play as aren't too older than the ones that appear in that cutscene where they scream at Alvis.

So there's something else at play, I believe. Either they somehow slowed their aging or they were revived/woken up at one point, and this same process could've made them amnesiac or something. With that in mind, it's likely they haven't met more than 2 or 3 versions of their children, if any. Otherwise, what the kid in robes told Noah in Chapter 6 wouldn't make sense to me.
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It struck not everyone popping in this thread has finished the game so I'll just spoilertag this:
I've been assuming the characters that somehow survived the collision just have their aging paused while inside Origin. Melia also stays the same age for 1000+ years despite High Entia only having a lifespan of 400-500 years (her dad was in his mid 300s for instance and looks 50-ish). We've also got Riku not aging for 1000+ years so some weird stuff is going on with aging. I'm not sure if long-haired Shulk and eye-scarred Rex are actually all that older than in the Alvis scene or just scruffier/more tired and exhausted.

Regardless though, would people like to play as amnesiac Shulk and Rex that don't remember xc1 and 2?

chocolate_supra said:
Wait what?
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EtherPenguin said:
I've been assuming the characters that somehow survived the collision just have their aging paused while inside Origin. Melia also stays the same age for 1000+ years despite High Entia only having a lifespan of 400-500 years (her dad was in his mid 300s for instance and looks 50-ish). We've also got Riku not aging for 1000+ years so some weird stuff is going on with aging. I'm not sure if long-haired Shulk and eye-scarred Rex are actually all that older than in the Alvis scene or just scruffier/more tired and exhausted.


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Their aging being paused by Origin seems plausible, that would make Shulk and Rex clear candidates for actually knowing their children.

Didn't Riku say he was one of the "Seven Ancient Nopon of X Thing" or something like that, btw?

EDIT: And, honestly, Rex and Shulk knowing their children die over and over is really messed up. Maybe they could've killed them at one point.

It's still not as messed up as N killing his own son so he can ensure the immortality of his wife against her will, though.
 
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Síriocaz said:
Didn't Riku say he was one of the "Seven Ancient Nopon of X Thing" or something like that, btw?
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I thought he did but then a lot of people said it just meant he was like a mentee to the ancient nopon or just in the line of succession for the role or something like that. There had been memes of Riku being immortal or Alvis since the game came out due to stuff like his involvement with the legendary smiths and the lucky 7 so it was funny to see it confirmed as an actual thing (well, immortal, not the Alvis thing).

I recall there was something in Ino's quest about nopon having some deal with Moebius or being forbidden somehow from sharing too much with humans and playing dumb. Not sure how that works exactly but maybe those theories about all nopons being immortal inside Aionios are right. Minana didn't have any hint of greater longevity though. Exactly how nopons fit into this world has been my biggest question since the game came out.
 
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chocolate_supra said:
Where in that cutscene is that kid identified as Ghondor..? Or am I totally misunderstanding the statement?
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Oh, the kid being Ghondor specifically is just speculation. But looking at Matthew's resemblance to Noah and his sister's resemblance to Mio, it's pretty likely their descended from this boy. Noah and Mio even comment on how each other looks like Vandham and Doyle when they see the founder statues. I guess it could be Ghondor's dad or grandfather though. I'm sorry I misunderstood what you were asking.
 
Idk, to me ghondor being N's son thematically makes no sense and it would literally make N an irredeemable character. Having to resort to "characters didn't age because of x" doesn't look to me like Monolithsoft level writing. If we add something like 35-40 years from N trying to fight moebius and giving up (Noah even calls N a coward and kind of implies that N gave up easily, after watching his memories), it seems to me that it would line up nicely with the ages of most characters we see in the trailer. Guess we will find out. We also don't know what are those "keys" that Melia and Nia are supposed to have.

Regardless, very excited for this!
 
hushh said:
Idk, to me ghondor being N's son thematically makes no sense and it would literally make N an irredeemable character.
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N was already irredeemable. Killing his own son would just drive the point home further.

I don’t see the issue, personally.
 
Based on Ghondor's age and the fact that he has two most likely around 18 year old grand children implies that N already is a Moebius for around 60-80 years Enough time to get cold enough to kill his own son.

Also would N even recognize Ghondor as his own son as he killed them? Or is it just a leader of the city he has to kill without thinking too much about it.
 
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Re: heteronormativity
Hey, at least Sena is the daughter of a lesbian couple
 
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While I wish for more queer representation I think the heteronormativity makes sense in context of the city. This is still a war society and while they are anarchistic they basically are in need for offsprings to keep their society running. We actually see a lot of this prpoblematic sides of the city ingame, they are basically a war society preparing most of their citizens for war since young age. Would still be nice if there were some queer couples at least aknowledged.
 
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I’ll never be able to understand the overwhelming praise for the stretch from Chapter 5 to start of Chapter 6; and the heteronormativity of the City is one aspect of that (glad I didn’t have to bring it up myself, lol). Couldn’t help but roll my eyes as the game jumped through all the Shinzo Abe-approved talking points about the true freedom of being in a heterosexual relationship and having children.

Definitely doesn’t come off as intentionally malicious or anything; it’s more like the existence of queer people didn’t really come to mind for anyone on writing staff while plotting out that segment of the game. It’s a very weird feeling for a game that also include Juniper.
 
Another thing about the city.

I didn’t think the pay off to reaching it was worth it. Wasn’t an interesting place in my opinion. And the cutscene after cutscene dragggged.

Elysium it wasn’t.
 
MondoMega said:
I’ll never be able to understand the overwhelming praise for the stretch from Chapter 5 to start of Chapter 6; and the heteronormativity of the City is one aspect of that (glad I didn’t have to bring it up myself, lol). Couldn’t help but roll my eyes as the game jumped through all the Shinzo Abe-approved talking points about the true freedom of being in a heterosexual relationship and having children.

Definitely doesn’t come off as intentionally malicious or anything; it’s more like the existence of queer people didn’t really come to mind for anyone on writing staff while plotting out that segment of the game. It’s a very weird feeling for a game that also include Juniper.
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You mean that part where the party visits the hospital?
 
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I haven't watched the latest trailer and I'm sorta staying away from news since it's coming out so soon, but do we have any sense of the scope of Future Redeemed? The name makes me think it may be along the lines of Future Connected, but I remember at one point they said they were aiming for something Torna sized.
 
MondoMega said:
I’ll never be able to understand the overwhelming praise for the stretch from Chapter 5 to start of Chapter 6; and the heteronormativity of the City is one aspect of that (glad I didn’t have to bring it up myself, lol). Couldn’t help but roll my eyes as the game jumped through all the Shinzo Abe-approved talking points about the true freedom of being in a heterosexual relationship and having children.

Definitely doesn’t come off as intentionally malicious or anything; it’s more like the existence of queer people didn’t really come to mind for anyone on writing staff while plotting out that segment of the game. It’s a very weird feeling for a game that also include Juniper.
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Personally, as a non-heteronormative person, I loved the revelations and cutscenes from the city. Taking these "lab-made" war children with such a warped understanding of how life works, and confronting them with the truth, resulted in something deeply touching, at least for me.

Of course I would have loved to see way more diversity in the City, but I think that's a separate matter. At least Juniper shows that MS is making some baby steps in the right direction.
 
Nmanic said:
I haven't watched the latest trailer and I'm sorta staying away from news since it's coming out so soon, but do we have any sense of the scope of Future Redeemed? The name makes me think it may be along the lines of Future Connected, but I remember at one point they said they were aiming for something Torna sized.
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All we have officially is the aiming at Torna sized thing.

Unofficially they accidently left in the FR cutscene names when wave 3 released and per datamining
there's more then Torna.
 
The City isn't anarchist, is it?
I guess we don't know much about it? There's a Mayor iirc? On the other hand it is riven by political factionalism. And there appears to be a hereditary class system.
What we do know is that the social structures of the city rob people of the freedom to choose.

I feel the story was at its most brilliant when it was undercutting the sentiment of the Chapter 5 opening.
 
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The City segment was my favorite in the game, and probably my favorite in gaming for quite a long time. When you put it in the context of what has been the life of those characters and the world they know, it's a very powerful scene. Loving someone, aging, simply enjoying life, remembering loved ones who have passed. Overall, i think they got the tone right. Of course, more representation would make it a lot better.
 
The City, like a lot of XC3 in general, feels like a strong idea with some missed potential. Given that the soldiers of Aionios only have 10 years to live, I think it's understandable as to why children are considered so important and liberating; it's one of the only ways they have to leave a legacy behind. And, given that the City is compromised of descendants of those soldiers, it checks out that that line of thinking would persist. But seeing both the soldiers or the descendants grappling with their own sexuality or identity within those heteronormative expectations would've been really nice to see, and would've been another way to expand upon the theme of life, purpose, and legacy.

It really speaks to how fantastic the general premise of XC3 is when a game this good could still have this much missed potential with its writing. Feels like MonolithSoft simultaneously dropped the ball and knocked it out of the park at the same time.
 
Do we know at what time the game Will drop? April 25th it's National Day here in Italy, I Hope in a morning time drop, I would play the hell out of It all day long.
 
Vyplo said:
Do we know at what time the game Will drop? April 25th it's National Day here in Italy, I Hope in a morning time drop, I would play the hell out of It all day long.
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It's releasing on the 26th in Japan, so I'd guess pretty late on the 25th
 
Thunder84 said:
The City, like a lot of XC3 in general, feels like a strong idea with some missed potential. Given that the soldiers of Aionios only have 10 years to live, I think it's understandable as to why children are considered so important and liberating; it's one of the only ways they have to leave a legacy behind. And, given that the City is compromised of descendants of those soldiers, it checks out that that line of thinking would persist. But seeing both the soldiers or the descendants grappling with their own sexuality or identity within those heteronormative expectations would've been really nice to see, and would've been another way to expand upon the theme of life, purpose, and legacy.

It really speaks to how fantastic the general premise of XC3 is when a game this good could still have this much missed potential with its writing. Feels like MonolithSoft simultaneously dropped the ball and knocked it out of the park at the same time.
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Xenoblade 3 also feels weird that you can see parts go the game where they cut certain story stuff out.

I don’t know. But after beating it. It felt like a game that was suppose to be much longer then it actually ended up being.
 
DecoReturns said:
Xenoblade 3 also feels weird that you can see parts go the game where they cut certain story stuff out.

I don’t know. But after beating it. It felt like a game that was suppose to be much longer then it actually ended up being.
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Same here. I've wondered since the beginning if FR is sort of like Torna where it was initially meant to be part of the main game but got cut and moved to DLC in order to focus development more on the core group.

Though I do recognize how unlikely it is for them to do that twice in a row. But still, I left 3 feeling like chunks were missing and now here comes story DLC that seems to be a significant chunk of exactly what I felt was missing. It's weird. I'm glad we're getting it, but it's weird. 😅
 
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Xenoblade 3 started updating. The moment is approaching

the-office-steve-carrell.gif


So close. So very close.
 
HockeyBird said:
Xenoblade 3 started updating. The moment is approaching

the-office-steve-carrell.gif


So close. So very close.
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Yeah! I was playing (Ino ascension quest singing “don’t forget me, don’t forget me!” while fighting) and got the notification. But after that I restarted the game and I’m still at version 1.3.0 … so weird, I though maybe I was imagining things but yeah I’m not the only one that got it.

We should be at version 1.4.0 or even 2.0.0 even with the content time-locked, don’t we?
 
ika said:
Yeah! I was playing (Ino ascension quest singing “don’t forget me, don’t forget me!” while fighting) and got the notification. But after that I restarted the game and I’m still at version 1.3.0 … so weird, I though maybe I was imagining things but yeah I’m not the only one that got it.

We should be at version 1.4.0 or even 2.0.0, don’t we?
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It's a pre-load, it'll most likely be at 2.0.0 when the patch goes live Tuesday night.
 
ika said:
Yeah! I was playing (Ino ascension quest singing “don’t forget me, don’t forget me!” while fighting) and got the notification. But after that I restarted the game and I’m still at version 1.3.0 … so weird, I though maybe I was imagining things but yeah I’m not the only one that got it.

We should be at version 1.4.0 or even 2.0.0 even with the content time-locked, don’t we?
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It'll update to 2.0 once they push out another small patch on tuesday
 
Is this the first time a patch has been available for preload on Switch? I know for new releases they do it but this is the first time I've seen it done for a patch/DLC.
 
For me personally, The City was one of the stronger parts of the game, especially the cast's reaction to seeing a baby for the first time.
The contrast between the mechanized, military world the main characters come from where they are endlessly cloned, and the beauty of procreation and the innocence of a newborn was really powerful.
The duality of nature and technology is part of the core DNA of the Xenoblade series, even down to its hulking mecha and fantastical landscapes, and expressing this in terms of humans themselves being reduced to mass produced weapons, vs being able to have a life outside of this role was one of the best expressions of this concept.

Just my two cents, anyway. Could more have been done with it? Yeah, but still found what was there to be great.
 
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I do hope its more like the dlc of 1. I didnt like the city quests from xeno 2. Felt like sidequest instead of actual story progress.
Also, new music.
 
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I want to sort of gently disagree with some of the opinions here. My issue with the heteronormativity of the city isn't one of a lack of representation, it's about how the nature of that aspect of the story interacts with the themes of the rest of the game. I love Juniper, but the presence of queer characters isn't sufficient to overcome a lack of queer themes.

I absolutely agree with how well the revelations in chapter five landed. Xenoblade games often like to contrast the ambitious, world shaping ideas of their villains with the beauty of the everyday lives of NPCs. You see it in the first two games in a million different ways, so the choice in three to withhold that, to let the main cast fumble in the dark towards new possibilities before finally being shown that the better world they want to build is a real possibility, works well and is executed perfectly. It lands, in the moment, in a really emotionally effective way.

But. The problem I have with it is that it too neatly answers the questions the rest of the game raises. The quests in colonies post liberation show a whole range of possible lives and futures for the people of Keves and Agnes. Maybe it's potato farming, but maybe it's building machines, or teaching kids. But the weight of narrative emphasis behind the truthes revealed in the city lends the effect of suggesting that, actually no, this isn't another option, this is the correct answer. This is the true, real way to live a free life, and those other things are good, but not The Answer.

This, I think, is where the heteronormativity of the game lies; because I think a lot of players will actually agree with that narrative implication. "Yeah, my job is important, but the absolute most important thing is my wife and kids." That, obviously, is a thing that resonates strongly for a lot of people, and so it's pretty easy to leave it uninvestigated. But as a Childless Gay™ playing the game, I loved the story, I loved chapter five, but a few weeks later I found myself asking "wait, hang on though" the more I reflected on this part of the game's story.

Side quests in the city, and especially everything to do with Shania (the best character) present the idea that there are factions in the city with different philosophies and ideologies, but the narrative of the game never really gives these any space. They're treated less as worthy questions about the assumptions that underlie the cities status quo, and more as obstacles in Monica and Ghondor's way. The game, ultimately, chooses direct through line thematic clarity over interrogating its own ideas. It's a choice that I understand, but not one I prefer.
 
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Can't say I expected the return of Future Connected music. The fog looks to play a way bigger role in FR than the main game. Maybe we'll actually learn what the fog king was.

Something else of note is a new equipment type with its own dedicated slot for changing out your chain attack completion bonuses:


The description mentions hero chains, and I think people will rush to assume that means heroes are returning (I already see it in the comments for the tweet). But if you look at the image or run it through google translate's image translation, you'll see the bottom effect is the completion bonus and the top effect is the hero bonus. So each party member is considered a hero inside FR's chain attacks and all six will have a hero chain gimmick like the heroes in the base game. You can see this in the other video they posted, the golden box for hero bonus pops up over each of them.

On the other hand, Panacea seems to spend a lot of time with the party. So there's still some hope for heroes. Her own tweet mentions that she works with Shulk and looks up to him as her master. There's really no doubt she's Reid.

edit 2: Oh, and Panacea has the same Japanese VA as Sharla.
 
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Panacea is absolutelly Reid because the tweets mentions that Shulk is her mentor. And she has the same voice actress as Sharla in Japanese, yeah, absolutelly Sharla/Reyn daughter.





And I love blossom dance Shulk.

 
Toad King said:
Is this the first time a patch has been available for preload on Switch? I know for new releases they do it but this is the first time I've seen it done for a patch/DLC.
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Patches don't preload, but DLC has been able to for a couple years now. The patch will release at the same time as the DLC unlocks.
 
Lots of interesting stuff on Twitter today. We’re so close now. Still don’t think the chain attack finishers feel as crunchy as XC2’s though…
 
So is this out tomorrow in the UK (25th) or Wednesday (26th). I'm guessing either way, I won't be able to start it before work tomorrow morning?
 
Lukus99 said:
So is this out tomorrow in the UK (25th) or Wednesday (26th). I'm guessing either way, I won't be able to start it before work tomorrow morning?
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Wednesday I think.

It’s a bugger, I misread it as Monday initially. Then I saw the date as the 25th, before realising that was the American date.

It’s the 26th for us - the day I have to go into work and have got a meal out booked for the evening.

Pain. :(

No idea what time it’s available though.
 
I am so impressed with what I've seen so far, it's the right kind of fan service. There's direct tributes to Xenoblade and Xenoblade 2 through Shulk, Rex and their associated characters alongside the amalgamated environments whilst keeping the core focus on N great-grandson, Matthew.

I have a lot of theories but instead of assuming what's going to happen with this response, I'd rather list what I hope to see in this DLC because it's arguably achievable if the narrative intersects with what I hope for in Future Redeemed.

I want to see further character development of Z, Y and X, they're clearly the Moebius trinity who are the most influential and antagonistic of the bunch. From the clip we've already seen of Z, his character development looks promising so I hope the same for Y and X because they're both interesting Moebius characters.

I'd also like to see further character development for Triton and Dirk. Both of these characters have ambiguous enough pasts that they can be further fleshed in Future Redeemed just like how Minoth was fleshed out in Torna: The Golden Country. It'd also be nice to see the growth of minor characters like Teelan and Iona just to see how different they are in the future.
 
FINALLY got my act together and finished Xenoblade 3. Without getting into spoilers:

I... don't know how to feel about the DLC now? I know some fans were upset the main story didn't have more past characters from 1 and 2 after the marketing really pushed the whole "merged worlds" angle, but I ADORED the story of 3.

The whole point is that you can't live in one moment forever just because it's easy. You have to keep moving forward. It felt very intentional that the game had elements of the past 2, but built into something completely new and fresh. I really thought the story of 3 was surprisingly "mature" (in a different way than what is usually associated with games).

So now the DLC just being like... "actually here's Shulk and Rex going on a big adventure together" feels counter-productive.

Nonetheless, I will play it. And probably love it.
 
I just cant make up my mind.

I really want to play this expansion, but I also want to finish Octopath 2 ahead of TotK launch and I most definitely wont have time for both.

Gah! Not a bad struggle to have, but a struggle no less :p
 
Mbolibombo said:
I just cant make up my mind.

I really want to play this expansion, but I also want to finish Octopath 2 ahead of TotK launch and I most definitely wont have time for both.

Gah! Not a bad struggle to have, but a struggle no less :p
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My same dilemma! I have decided to finish Octopath and put off the xeno expansion until after I finish TotK, so maybe around July lol
 
LonkFromPA said:
My same dilemma! I have decided to finish Octopath and put off the xeno expansion until after I finish TotK, so maybe around July lol
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Yeah it's probably what I'm gonna do - also let's me live in the dream a bit longer that they'll announce a physical version of Future Redeemed at the same time they share more info about the Noah and Mio amiibo.
 
Well I bought it

Dammit

I'm too excited to wait. If they announce a physical version later then I guess I'll just double-dip. I'm sure this was their plan all along. They saw me coming a mile away. 😩
 
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