Torna, at least writing-wise is much, much better (for one, it's writing is genuinely good, though still not on Xenoblade 1's level), but some of Xenoblade 2's DNA is still there (there's still a sleepwalking scene, though it at least occurs off-screen).
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LTTP: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 | Huge... Tracts of Land
- Thread starter cowbanana
- Start date
Xenoblade 1 writing, except the 3 chapters that focus on Melia and thankfully Future Connected, is genuinely "let's watch some paint dry" level of engaging.
XC does a lot of things right, writing is definitely not one of this.
I have a love/hate relationship with this game. I hate the over-sexualisation of certain scenes, characters and Tora but I love the character-driven narrative and world design. The game is a UI nightmare with poor button mapping and battles are a slog until you have a good party with rare blades but the world of Alrest is visual eye-candy and is a reminder of how talented Monolith Soft is with their game design post-Nintendo.
It is, I don't recall any moments in Torna that portray overt sexualisation. The same can be said for Future Connected.
It is, I don't recall any moments in Torna that portray overt sexualisation. The same can be said for Future Connected.
Not enough is said about how overcomplicated the battle system is. You know that whole thing where you make the different colors appear and then burst them or something? I literally never used that (I completely forgot about it after its tutorial, in part because they vanish forever) until I was stuck on the penultimate boss fight. I eventually looked up what I was doing wrong and saw how that one aspect of the battle system was suddenly mandatory at the very end of the game.
I just started this game myself and I'm not sure what I make of it.
I'm on chapter 4 now and I'm not sure I love the story or characters. There are attributes to them that are enjoyable (I do like Rex's attitude at times with his naive cheekiness) but overall I'm a little unimpressed with the narrative direction. I also find the villains a bit surface-level and not as well built up as villains in, say, old final fantasy titles.
Battle system is also a bit underwhelming as well. I find that it's hard to make any real choices with the mechanics, and it's frustrating when Nia decides she wants to switch away from healing to attacking. It would be nice to have direct control over each character's blade at a given point, with some time slow-down to compensate for more fine grained control.
So I have basically 2 questions
a) Does the game pick up? At least from a gameplay example, are there more mechanics down the line that give me more opportunities of choice?
b) Does XBC1DE have a better story and combat system? Or is it roughly the same experience?
I'm on chapter 4 now and I'm not sure I love the story or characters. There are attributes to them that are enjoyable (I do like Rex's attitude at times with his naive cheekiness) but overall I'm a little unimpressed with the narrative direction. I also find the villains a bit surface-level and not as well built up as villains in, say, old final fantasy titles.
Battle system is also a bit underwhelming as well. I find that it's hard to make any real choices with the mechanics, and it's frustrating when Nia decides she wants to switch away from healing to attacking. It would be nice to have direct control over each character's blade at a given point, with some time slow-down to compensate for more fine grained control.
So I have basically 2 questions
a) Does the game pick up? At least from a gameplay example, are there more mechanics down the line that give me more opportunities of choice?
b) Does XBC1DE have a better story and combat system? Or is it roughly the same experience?
Xenoblade 2 definitely a flawed game but it's overall still great I think. Glad you enjoyed it OP. Monolith Soft is second to none in crafting amazing environments that just beg to be explored. Going through one of these games feels like a long, fantastic journey. Couple that with the outstanding OST (XB2 was robbed so damn hard on OST awards) and the fantastic cinematic cutscenes (that are supported by set OST, the major "Counterattack" cutscenes are so good) and you've got yourself a pretty enjoyable RPG.
You are in for quite the ride with Torna, OP. Best SP DLC Nintendo's done so far. Just a tip, do the sidequests as you come across them. Don't ignore them.
You are in for quite the ride with Torna, OP. Best SP DLC Nintendo's done so far. Just a tip, do the sidequests as you come across them. Don't ignore them.
Keep digging, the villains especially are probably the star of the show. Chapter 4 is a bit of a 90 degrees deviation to the main plot, from mid-point of chapter 5 the game turns back to the "main plot".
DE and 2 are pretty much the same gameplay and structure, they are very, very similar.
What are you talking about? I can't even imagine playing through the game without doing elemental bursts, it's how you place debuffs on enemies as well as throw up huge numbers.
Chapter 5 onwards is serious stuff. All the characters and villains get a lot of development. Stick with it and you will be rewarded in those regards.
I'm impressed that you tolerated the game for seemingly 60+ hours without doing elemental bursts - which is the big issue I have with Xenoblade 2's combat.
You either follow a flowchart with almost no room for deviation in the main story, or regular enemies take minutes to kill. It's the main reason why Spirit Crucible Elpys is the worst dungeon in any JRPG (as you're limited to level 1 specials - which means no elemental orbs).
It was honestly something that really stood out to me on my replay. XC1 is all about the spectacle and intrigue of its plot, which makes for a great first impression, but then you notice how flat a lot of the characters really are. There are exactly 2 morally gray characters in the entire game
Egil and Tyrea
Have fun with Torna cowbanana !!
I WISH the gameplay for the base game was based on Torna's style. Dx
Because they love the series; just sometimes parts of games aren't good.
Wow thrilled Emil is taking on XB2 (the XB1 playthrough was fantastic)!! He must have researched a lot. o_O
I still have really stark loves for some parts of the game as much as I hate (questionable designs and gameplay design choices), but it is lovely in certain parts. I don't love the game, it's my least favourite in the trilogy (XB1 had a neater/original story; XBX had significantly less restricted fields/movements), but it does some things quite alright that I hope it makes for a more polished game with whatever the next title is.
I WISH the gameplay for the base game was based on Torna's style. Dx
Because they love the series; just sometimes parts of games aren't good.
Wow thrilled Emil is taking on XB2 (the XB1 playthrough was fantastic)!! He must have researched a lot. o_O
I still have really stark loves for some parts of the game as much as I hate (questionable designs and gameplay design choices), but it is lovely in certain parts. I don't love the game, it's my least favourite in the trilogy (XB1 had a neater/original story; XBX had significantly less restricted fields/movements), but it does some things quite alright that I hope it makes for a more polished game with whatever the next title is.
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This really caught me by surprise when played the remaster. Only characters that get some development are Shulk and Melia. While the plot is there, the lack of development for the other characters really detract from the experience. Special points to Sharla and Riki; you could remove them from the entire game and you wouldn't even notice.
Hmm, alright, I'll keep pushing through myself then. I'm kind of slowly moving through this game over quarantine, and I guess I don't have anything new to switch over to anyway so why not. :)
I thought both Xenoblade 1 & Xenoblade X had much more entertaining battle systems than XB2. I liked the story in Xenoblade 1 a lot more as well.
EDIT: Specifically, I like how in Xenoblade 1 each character feels mechanically distinct with their own abilities & equipment. I feel like the combat is more interactive in Xenoblade 1 whereas in Xenoblade 2, it felt like what the enemy was doing didn't make much of a difference in what you were supposed to do.
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a) Chapter 4 is the low point of the game where everything grinds to a halt. There are a bunch of mechanics that haven't been introduced yet that help tie the various systems together and just having more blades increases the diversity of combat. The plot also starts to get a lot more interesting.
b) Imo XB2's story is much more compelling than XB1's, but the general opinion puts them roughly equal with one another. Combat wise XB2 is way, way better with a much wider set of characters and abilities and more interesting mechanics. XB1's combat would be fine if it incorporated arts cancelling like XB2 to speed things up, but as is it simply goes too slowly and requires too much repetition to be super enjoyable.
On the whole XB2 is a bigger, more diverse game with higher highs and lower lows while XB1 is more consistent but smaller and less spectacular.
Oh no Sharla has a development.
She goes from lusting over Reyn's muscles as soon as she saw him, to remembering she was supposed to have a previous love interest, to "oh well, I guess it's just Reyn now".
The hate for Mythra's sleepwalking scene is incredibly funny when Sharla's entire arc in the first game is a pendulum between Gadot and Reyn because the plot demands it.
User Banned (3 days): Antagonizing other members
Glad you enjoy the game OP. even with flaws Xeno2 is a very memorable game. one day I will comeback and do the Ng+.
also another fun part of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 LTTP is to guess which one of the 'LOVER' of Xeno2 will post first.
also another fun part of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 LTTP is to guess which one of the 'LOVER' of Xeno2 will post first.
Imagine.
January 2021, Nintendo announces the first General Direct since September 2019. There is your Bayonetta 3, your Mario whatever, BotW2, some 3rd party games...
"but before we go, we have one more thing"
It's the dark, erotic, violet Takahashi game, and it's Xenoblade 3
"Coming 2021"
From what I recall, the last 3 chapters of the game are where the plot really hits the throttle, things start to accelerate huge, and the game becomes really hard to put down.
a) There's one mechanic introduced later on, but that's at the end of Chapter 7. If you're not liking this game now, then don't be an idiot like me and quit while you're ahead.
b) Much, much better, in every aspect from exploration (which don't piss you off constantly with field skills), writing (which actually takes anime tropes in a compelling direction) and combat (which is quick and snappy, if basic).
I put well over 100 hours into the first one earlier this year and about 60 in 2 directly after and had a great time. I thought I might burn myself out but I got through the entire story. Will play Torna sometime next year. Straight up a great game........ that would have been much better if Nomura designed all the characters himself. The best designs in the game were Nomura's 100%, and if he did more I wouldn't have cringed so much playing through the game with all those pandering, god awful designs.
Yeah, I enjoyed Torna a lot more because it seemed to dial back the fanservice comedy. Even the sleepwalking scene worked better for me in Torna as (not) viewing it through a wall as a 3rd party made it feel less wish fulfillment and more absurdist.
Yeah, the battle system was flashy but after hours of playing, it felt static, lengthy and non interactive. It didn't really matter what the enemy was doing, just stack orbs until late late game when I started making YouTube builds. I'm grateful for the patches (or DLC?) that let you dial the difficulty sliders back. The free QoL updates to XB2 were expansive and impressive.
lol it's true. Upon replaying the game via remaster, it's clear that XB1's characters are by far its weakest point and that the characters in XB2 are far better. Not even sure you can give XB1 a "well at least its designs are better" with most of the outfits for Sharla and Seven being complete garbage. At least there's no Dahlia, I guess.
i hated with passion the field skill system and they could have been more generous with the blades %drop since it's a single player game, but everything else was great
Xenoblade Chronicles was absolutely engaging, Future Connected was the underwhelming experience.
I think a lot of this is because the narrative of XC1 is heavily about Shulk, he's indisputably the main character and the center of the plot, and everyone else is there to further his motivation or growth, largely at the expense of their own. XC2 seems to have been written with the ensemble cast more as a priority, and I would argue that Pyra/Mythra are the central characters rather than Rex, who is more the Nick Caraway to their Jay Gatsby. They, along with the Torna characters, are who really drive the story and who the story feels about.
Fun game. Issues galore that many have already said in this post, but the combat stands out to me as the most satisfying JRPG combat I've played. XC1 is fun, don't get me wrong, but by the late-game it starts being less satisfying. There's a finer line between tough and easy in XC1 compared to XC2, in my opinion. Not played X though, and I love build variety so I'd anticipate loving XCX's combat more. Turn-based stuff has dropped off a cliff for me excluding a few ones like Octopath.
Damage sponginess I'm never against personally (complicated reasons), but I was super happy to see the in-depth difficulty adjustments they added to 2. XC1's remaster was helped boatloads with Expert Mode, should be in every single RPG out there imo. Screw overlevelling and screw skipping content to have a challenge.
Also that Ost. Don't forget me!
Damage sponginess I'm never against personally (complicated reasons), but I was super happy to see the in-depth difficulty adjustments they added to 2. XC1's remaster was helped boatloads with Expert Mode, should be in every single RPG out there imo. Screw overlevelling and screw skipping content to have a challenge.
Also that Ost. Don't forget me!
I don't even want to think about the time he spent on research.
What gameplay design choices are so bad to hate?
-You don't have to engage in the gacha thing (you don't even have to spend money on it, like in other titles).
-people said they didn't understand the battle mechanics. Yes, at first glance, it seems overwhelming, but I like some more complex stuff and I think it's really satisfying when you understood it
-the menus were also not 100% thought through, but again, not a deal breaker
-the field skills do not hinder you in the main story as long as you read about it in the tutorial and unlock skill throughout the game
TBF no one cares about Sharla lol
She's literally the character they dump fanservice on and as a back-up character for harder battles. The girl is sorta the butt of the joke on most fronts.
XB2's battle system annoys me. The strategy is the same for mostly all tough fights and just changes based on accessories. I did not enjoy combat as much as I'd have hoped. Torna at least simplifies it so you don't have to micromanage a ton of gacha characters.
The cast is charming, is the best I'll say, and the dramatic/action-focused scenes are very well done.
XB1 has a much more grounded experience (literally too, since it's Titans are stationary). XB2 definitely pulls off "oppulence" with more extravagant scenes and polish (which makes sense being 7 years older), but if you don't mind that dialing back on the anime comedy routines and a much less complicated gameplay loop (easier traveling, leveling, less micromanaging and fewer characters to focus on) then it might be more up your alley.
Have to agree with this. Not even being Melia my favorite character could force me to continue playing Future Connected. Battle music is nice and I'm glad Melia takes charge of the plot. That's all could say about Future Connected.
I am a sucker for single players games with good osts and wide areas to run around in and take in the sites. Environmental design was also rather well done in my opinion. Lots of fun areas to explore with treasure scattered about to encourage exploration. Was my crack I would explore each area for hours looking for cool stuff.
character design wise I am hopeful they tighten things up by the next game. They had a lot of guests artists come in and contribute to the game and one of the only guests artists that felt like they were trying to not go too far was oddly enough Tetsuya Nomura. Everyone else had a big "horny on main" vibe going. I also think a redesign of Nia's highleg leotard outfit would be for the best. Even the game itself rarely used the outfit after you unlock it late into the game.
character design wise I am hopeful they tighten things up by the next game. They had a lot of guests artists come in and contribute to the game and one of the only guests artists that felt like they were trying to not go too far was oddly enough Tetsuya Nomura. Everyone else had a big "horny on main" vibe going. I also think a redesign of Nia's highleg leotard outfit would be for the best. Even the game itself rarely used the outfit after you unlock it late into the game.
Sorta answered these earlier, but real quick
-You don't have to engage in the gacha thing (you don't even have to spend money on it, like in other titles).
I don't like the randomizer. Less is more to me. Half the rare blades are super sexulized which is also a turn off.
-people said they didn't understand the battle mechanics. Yes, at first glance, it seems overwhelming, but I like some more complex stuff and I think it's really satisfying when you understood it
I liked the battle system up until the big ending areas -- the strategy stays the same for too many fights.
I liked it a lot in the middle of the game...! It's more about the speed you can build elemental combo to wreck enemies, and if you don't, most of them "rage" and start OHKO-ing you. :/
It's got a lot of layers, but the tactical element is the prep before the fight than the fight itself.
-the menus were also not 100% thought through, but again, not a deal breaker
Not a deal breaker, but there is WAAAY too many characters to micromanage. Having to boot up the affinity screen (and without a shortcut button) was a lame way to lock skills (they should have been automatic).
Easy fix: You don't need to be reminded what the controls are for this game all the time. The directional buttons should have been shortcuts
-the field skills do not hinder you in the main story as long as you read about it in the tutorial and unlock skill throughout the game
They take way too long to get through, the amount of "field points" adds up between secret areas and just wanting to pick plants on the field. If you don't have the character, then into the menu you go to grab the "Pokemon" with the "HM" you need....then back once again to get rid of the crappy character you used for just this purpose. >_<
It wasn't that good (Torna is like a million times better; but I def feel I got what I paid for...literally). But honestly it was a really good bonus as far as utilizing dummied out content; and gave a fan favourite character some time to shine. It might not have added much, but I love that it was there all the same; the Bionis Shoulder was an incredible area that we otherwise stayed hidden till now.
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Yeah I agree with this as well. Another thing I like is that the non-central characters in XB2's cast had their own stakes in the story fleshed out and revealed over time. I think they pretty much delivered most of the XC1 cast to you upfront when they joined the party and they just sorta hung around just because, Melia probably being the one exception.
Yeah, I couldn't get past the terrible design. Couple that with pretty bad performance on the handheld, the mentioned convoluted system, gating field access behind particular blades which are acquired in a gatcha system (in a game without MTX, why???) and a bad map. The story was also sophomoric and the writing wasn't particularly great, at least the first 10-15 hours I managed to force myself to play this in the hopes it would get better. Just terrible effort all throughout, and I am absolutely puzzled that people find this game any good. I guess different strokes for different folks and all.
It was terribly disappointed after XB1, and even XBX was still better despite its many faults. Triple Meh with a Meh Squared on top. Here is a Meh cat just to show how meh I found the game:
This is a game with no option to look back at tutorials, they didn't give an update patch with a tutorial option.
This game throws so many mechanics at you yet there's no way to revisit them when you're more familiar with the game?
Definitely can say that XC2 is my favorite Xenoblade game and loved the 100 hour ride I was part of. OST is banging as expected too.
But...
Is it that hard to give Rex some proper pants? Couldn't even do it for the DLC like they did with Pyra? The onesie was a permanent bother.
But...
Is it that hard to give Rex some proper pants? Couldn't even do it for the DLC like they did with Pyra? The onesie was a permanent bother.
What I do like about the Xenoblade games is the genuinely fun and fantastical worlds to explore- they make a change from the usual rural villages and dour cities. Xenoblade X was one of the few sci-fi games that had an alien world that really felt like alien wilderness rather than a blasted rockscape.
One of my favorite games ever, fucking 10/10 for me.
I don't talk about it on Era much because the community just shits on it and anyone who likes it again and again. I see someone called it the most divisive game on Era, and it might actually be true. It's insane the amount of attention this game continue to get in every thread in the community.
I don't talk about it on Era much because the community just shits on it and anyone who likes it again and again. I see someone called it the most divisive game on Era, and it might actually be true. It's insane the amount of attention this game continue to get in every thread in the community.
I really enjoyed the battle system, music, and exploration. The battle system does feel clumsy until you have enough blades to cover most combos and elements but after it starts rolling it feels very satisfying. I enjoyed the gacha. I like rolling, I just hate spending money on it.
Wow, you put much effort in your answers. To not waste your time much longer, I can only say that
- The radomizer doesn't bother me that much and I don't have the urge to collect all blades.
- Yes the preparation, ie. the choice of characters and blades is the most important part. Still, the battles have kind of a rhythm to me. Pushing the buttons at the right time, smashing the b-button. Breaking the orbs one after the other... I just like the flow of this combat.
- Monolith Soft has to put more effort in UI design. That is certainly true.
- The field skills take to much time and it is annoying that you have to select the blades manually onto your party. We agree on that 100%.
In conclusion, the negative points doesn't bother me that much as you and I get more satisfaction from the combat.
User banned (1 Week): Metacommentary. Dismissing sexualization of women and minors as "harmless"
Pretty much my thoughts as well (though I wouldn't call it one of my favorites).
But yeah, if this game wasn't a major mainstream Nintendo release, I have a feeling the sheer amount of pressure from most of the community here would end up getting this harmless Nintendo game aimed towards teenagers, on ERA's banned games list.
It was a big mistake to not put the tutorials in the options. I remember to have looked once at the OT here, because I didn't understand a mechanic.
I actually don't think it is the majority, just some members who can't let it go after three years.
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