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Pre-Release Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Pre-release Discussion Thread (Spoilers from leaks/early copies NOT allowed)

Which side are you on?


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FSoM_lDWQAImx7V


It looks like we can glide from one side to the other of the rocks here
Oh, good catch

I wonder how common these ziplines will be, they're a pretty fun addition (even if apparently they were already in 2)
 
even if apparently they were already in 2
I think there were only two of them and they were extremely optional, almost hidden away. They also just behaved like sliding slopes instead of being a proper rail you could grind on. Guess they liked the idea so much that they expanded on it for 3.
 
Someone did a full cover of the second trailer track:



I can't get enough of this music already, and this isn't even the full version!

Edit: And another!
 
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We know the big Colonies move around. The world is probably designed with that in mind, the towns in this game might be mobile lol
Moving towns sounds a bit ambitious even for Monolith, honestly. Though it would be really cool and would fit the lore.
 
So I know the whole "let's compare Xenoblade to Takahashi's previous works" subject is a bit tired, but I just had some idle thoughts about that which approach it from a somewhat different angle than normal. Normally when making overall plot comparisons, people tend to go back to Perfect Works, since it's one of the the oldest and definitely the most complete source, but there's an interesting pattern that reveals itself if you look at Xenosaga instead. Specifically, comparing the planned arcs for Xenosaga to what's been released so far for Xenoblade.

To give some background, like Xenogears, Xenosaga was originally planned to span 6 episodes, but reorganized a bit into 3 arcs, each having mostly its own cast and supposed to be two episodes long. Obviously this plan fell apart pretty quickly, but roughly what it seems they were supposed to be were:
  1. Shion and co's story (basically the stuff that they managed to actually release under the Xenosaga name)
  2. Xenogears but finished this time
  3. Probably something involving the end of the universe, they never actually got this far
It's pretty well documented that Xenoblade 2 has a lot of major and minor parallels to Xenogears and, by extension, the second arc, but what I realized is that Xenoblade 1 actually bears a lot of similarity to the first one. Specifically:
  • You have the two lead characters being a weapons developer with dead parents and repressed memories of being instrumental to the antagonist's ultimate goal, and a female character with a reconstructed robotic body that's got a second, much older soul contained within it.
  • The mechon and telethia both parallel various aspects of the gnosis at varying points in the story, being nigh invulnerable without specific weapons/abilities to counter them, and a whole bunch of people being forcibly turned into them. In particular, the scenes with High Entia being mass transformed into Telethia pretty directly mirror the scenes where Abel's Ark emerges in Episode 3 and a ton of people start gnossifying.
  • A primary antagonist manipulating things from behind the scenes via semi-omniscience
  • Several characters are secretly disciples of the antagonist who have been made immortal
  • Said antagonist forcing the world into eternal recurrence because they think it's what's best for either them or the world
  • The party ultimately putting a stop to the eternal recurrence by trying to forge a new path by humanity's own hands
It's not an exact match, for sure (and neither is Xenoblade 2 for Xenogears), but the similarities run surprising deep, especially in the later portions of the game.

So, if this is all intentional and Xenoblade 3 roughly resembles that planned third arc, what would that actually tell us? Honestly probably a lot more about gears and saga than Xenoblade itself, since, as I alluded to before, Takahashi has never actually gotten this far. However, it does possibly explain the motivations behind certain aspects of what we've seen of Xenoblade 3 so far.
Specifically, it would suggest that the motivation for the Agnus and Keves conflict is some sort of desperate attempt to keep the universe stable by making sure a lot of people are dying and having the offseers making sure they do so properly.
Though even that is an idea that's already been floating around based on some of the general Xenosaga-y vibes from Future Connected.
 
It keeps blowing my mind to read all these parallels between Xenoblade and Gears/Saga. Maybe something about Blade having a bit more of a fantasy-style aesthetic and Gears/Saga being more sci-fi (even though that's a surface-level difference) makes my brain just refuse to notice similarities.

I'm just happy to hear that maybe after all these years Takahashi can finally get to the finale he wanted (and then afterwards, who knows?)
 
Moving towns sounds a bit ambitious even for Monolith, honestly. Though it would be really cool and would fit the lore.
Yeah, I don't think towns the size of torigoth or fonsa myma will be mobile, but smaller settlements might be. Xeno 2 had around 6 major towns, for 3 we can at least expect the capitals of Agnus, Keves, as well as that big floating structure we saw in the first trailer.
 
Is it the hype, or the game seems graphically better than previous Xeno Switch games?

Btw, are there better teams and developers than Monolith in creating fantasy big worlds, out there? Keep in mind the hardwares they have always worked on/with before citing any other examples
 
Is it the hype, or the game seems graphically better than previous Xeno Switch games?
Even Torna already looked better than the game it was DLC for. It is not the hype, Monolith is really getting comfy with the Switch.

Keep in mind: XB2 (as far as I've read) was in development for quite a while using assumed specs before they even knew what the final Switch specs would be and then had to optimize it at the last minute, and despite all the graphical enhancements they laid on top of XBDE it was still a Wii game underneath. XB3, however, will be the first game they made fully for the Switch, knowing the Switch's capabilities.
And it shows.
 
Monolith Soft show that regardless of the money, time and hardware you have at your disposal, you can’t beat imagination and flair.

Every Xenoblade game is a testament to a studio hellbent on offering something captivating, no matter the limitations.
 
Monolith Soft show that regardless of the money, time and hardware you have at your disposal, you can’t beat imagination and flair.

Every Xenoblade game is a testament to a studio hellbent on offering something captivating, no matter the limitations.
Yeah, even with "limitations” I find the XC worlds way more impressive than FFs recent offerings
 
Nothing comes close to Xenoblade’s worlds period, and the graphics are incredible for the platform.
 
I honestly believe that like XB1 on Wii and XBX on Wii U, XB3 will be the game that can be shown to the people who insist Nintendo can't do graphics. It's gonna be a showstopper, yall.
 
Is it the hype, or the game seems graphically better than previous Xeno Switch games?

Btw, are there better teams and developers than Monolith in creating fantasy big worlds, out there? Keep in mind the hardwares they have always worked on/with before citing any other examples
Not in my mind, no. Especially if we count BoTW as part of their catalog in that regard

Monolith in my mind are the undisputed kings of world design
 
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The last thing I want is a god damn greatest hits full of references that prevent XC3 from having its own identity beyond its predecessors.

I'd rather it not connect to the first two games period than have it be full of "remember this? Remember that??" moments, a la The Force Awakens
 
The last thing I want is a god damn greatest hits full of references that prevent XC3 from having its own identity beyond its predecessors.

I'd rather it not connect to the first two games period than have it be full of "remember this? Remember that??" moments, a la The Force Awakens
Hell, I've been concerned about that since Imran Khan broke the news about returning characters from 1 and 2. I'm relieved to see the main cast is new, but even then the fact that the cast is made up of races from 1 and 2 rather than doing something new is a little disappointing for me. A tiny bit. Not trying to be negative or take away from the hype at all, just saying I really hope this "familiar faces and familiar places" thing is a jumping-off point to a much, much bigger story and setting. In Takahashi I trust. 🤞
 
Hell, I've been concerned about that since Imran Khan broke the news about returning characters from 1 and 2. I'm relieved to see the main cast is new, but even then the fact that the cast is made up of races from 1 and 2 rather than doing something new is a little disappointing for me. A tiny bit. Not trying to be negative or take away from the hype at all, just saying I really hope this "familiar faces and familiar places" thing is a jumping-off point to a much, much bigger story and setting. In Takahashi I trust. 🤞

I mean we got Mr. Wild Ride and the ouroboros in the trailer. There's almost certainly more going on.
 
I mean we got Mr. Wild Ride and the ouroboros in the trailer. There's almost certainly more going on.
So formal, wow.
Mr. Wild Ride.
Wild Ride-san.
🤣😂🤣😂

Yes, I get what you mean, and it's part of what gives me teh hopes. 👍
 
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I'm okay with reusing the races from 1 and 2 and having the environments being mashups. It's always gonna be a balancing act though.
 
I can kinda echo the too similar worries.

I do think the game will have a lot of unique con

But the key art being so close to Xeno 2’s iconography is pretty disappointing, I can’t lie. I mean I love it, it’s my background, but it’s still weird. Can’t explain it
 
The environment we see now looks nothing like the previous games aside from very small purposely placed call backs. The topography designs themselves are different and the assets are brand new. Uraya exists in 2 but we’ve never really explored on top or outside of it. This game remade the whole model and place it on the map.

I also don’t recognize the rock texture in any other games or even ground texture if we’re getting technical here. The grass maybe from DE? That was actually already updated from previous games. DE was in development alongside 3. DE shared some of 3 assets not that 3 is “reusing” assets.

If we go by some of the definitions here than forget BOTW 2, the original BOTW was already reusing the same world.
n0ft4ccyn0c21.jpg

L8wix2T.jpg
 
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The environment we see now looks nothing like the previous games aside from very small purposely placed call backs. The topography designs themselves are different and the assets are brand new. Uraya exists in 2 but we’ve never really explored on top or outside of it. This game remade the whole model and place it on the map.

I also don’t recognize the rock texture in any other games or even ground texture if we’re getting technical here. The grass maybe from DE? That was actually already updated from previous games. DE was in development alongside 3. DE shared some of 3 assets not that 3 is “reusing” assets.

If we go by some of the definitions here than forget BOTW 2, the original BOTW was already reusing the same world.
n0ft4ccyn0c21.jpg

L8wix2T.jpg
If XB3 is gonna be a similar way to how Zelda "reused" old Hyrule locations in BotW, I'm down for that. 👍
 
Does anyone else think Guernica Vandham is kinda sus? I’m not convinced he actually dies…and why does he want the party to find the real enemy? Surely he has an ulterior motive. Also, it would be kinda lame if Vandham is the good guy who dies early on for the second game in a row.
 
I'm not worried at all about about what we've seen so far. It's exactly what I wanted, and expected of Takahashi lol

XC3 being a direct sequel with a fusion of the worlds always made the most sense after XC2. It's still going to be a "new" and unique world, but we're going to see somehow how that world changes because of the fusion.

It's suspicious that they only keep showing us the same two areas so far, so I feel like the second half of the game could be dramatically different. Like a time skip, or going into space, another planet, more domain shift shenanigans.

It all feels like they're being very careful about what they show us so far.
 
So obviously the worlds merged somehow, but here's here's my question:

Will the cause/occurance of the merging be the big mind-blow Xenotwist at the end of the game, or will we find out relatively early on how it happened, leaving the late-game twist to be something totally surprising?

Monolith will figure out a way for us to fly the entire planet around.
A planet ship? MonolithSoft is making Mario Galaxy 3..?
 
I'm not worried at all about about what we've seen so far. It's exactly what I wanted, and expected of Takahashi lol

XC3 being a direct sequel with a fusion of the worlds always made the most sense after XC2. It's still going to be a "new" and unique world, but we're going to see somehow how that world changes because of the fusion.

It's suspicious that they only keep showing us the same two areas so far, so I feel like the second half of the game could be dramatically different. Like a time skip, or going into space, another planet, more domain shift shenanigans.

It all feels like they're being very careful about what they show us so far.
It's this planet, there's something about this planet.
 
I'm not worried at all about about what we've seen so far. It's exactly what I wanted, and expected of Takahashi lol

XC3 being a direct sequel with a fusion of the worlds always made the most sense after XC2. It's still going to be a "new" and unique world, but we're going to see somehow how that world changes because of the fusion.

It's suspicious that they only keep showing us the same two areas so far, so I feel like the second half of the game could be dramatically different. Like a time skip, or going into space, another planet, more domain shift shenanigans.

It all feels like they're being very careful about what they show us so far.
This is where I’m at. I don’t think we’ve seen much of the game at all, in terms of environments. And even the ones we have seen, which share some bits and bobs from the previous games, look very different.
 
Does anyone else think Guernica Vandham is kinda sus? I’m not convinced he actually dies…and why does he want the party to find the real enemy? Surely he has an ulterior motive. Also, it would be kinda lame if Vandham is the good guy who dies early on for the second game in a row.
I think the end of the second trailer is the aftermath of the Wild Ride encounter. Noah and Mio are playing their flutes and blue ether particles are floating around. I assumed that was Vandham's ether and the two were performing the off-seer rights for him.

I hope you're right that it's not as it looks, because it does feel like a repeat of xb2's Vandham right now. I don't think he necessarily has to be secretly shady though. Wanting to end the clock system and the war are pretty good motives.
 
So obviously the worlds merged somehow, but here's here's my question:

Will the cause/occurance of the merging be the big mind-blow Xenotwist at the end of the game, or will we find out relatively early on how it happened, leaving the late-game twist to be something totally surprising?


A planet ship? MonolithSoft is making Mario Galaxy 3..?
I think early on we'll find out how it happened, but the entities behind it will probably be the big sequence of reveals.

Who will likely be Alvis, the Conduit (Zohar), and the wave God-existence. And probably another figure/party behind the scenes.
 
I think the end of the second trailer is the aftermath of the Wild Ride encounter. Noah and Mio are playing their flutes and blue ether particles are floating around. I assumed that was Vandham's ether and the two were performing the off-seer rights for him.

I hope you're right that it's not as it looks, because it does feel like a repeat of xb2's Vandham right now. I don't think he necessarily has to be secretly shady though. Wanting to end the clock system and the war are pretty good motives.

I’m still not convinced that he actually dies in that scene, even if the party is led to believe that he’s dead. What if the flute ceremony was for someone else, though? At one point the Wild Ride creature is seen holding what appears to be a dead Keves soldier (and maybe an Agnus soldier) in his hand.

It would be interesting to see Vandham as a villain of some sort but you’re probably correct lol. I just want a different take on a Vandham character, that’s all.
 
So obviously the worlds merged somehow, but here's here's my question:

The ending of X2 could be purposely misleading, so that we think both worlds merged.

Here is also my crackpot theory, with zero basis:

Somehow someone got access to the data of both worlds and recreated them. In the process the files got corupted (maybe on purpose) and created Venom Melia and Big Boss Nia. This war driven world is a hyper inflation version of the system Zanza used. They could try to resurrect Bionis/Mechonis, or even Zanza himself.

Thank you listening to my TED-Talk in your head.
 
So it seems like the seventh party member will be permanent? because there's no way they get rid of Riku and Mananna
Also that wouldmake it the biggest cast in Xenoblade. Assuming Ethel joins at some point, that's at least 11 characters.
There's basically no way Ethel would join without Cammuravi so it would be at least 12 if they join

That being said, just because the Nopon might be permanent doesn't mean that applies to the rest of the Heroes
 
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So it seems like the seventh party member will be permanent? because there's no way they get rid of Riku and Mananna
Also that wouldmake it the biggest cast in Xenoblade. Assuming Ethel joins at some point, that's at least 11 characters.
I think that seventh slot will be permanent, but who occupies it will be down to story and/or player choice.

It would be cool if you could recruit a bunch of people who you could swap out at camps or whatever.
 
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