It's not that bad at all really.
Especially if you like 2.
But I'm inclined to say that it's much less safe to assume that people who liked 2 would like 1 (or X, even less).
So I'm interested to see what people who only played 2 think about 1. Please come back to give your feedback.
What is kind of consistent I'd say would be the musics nd large areas. On these 2, you shouldn't be disappointed.
The rest can vary immensely, even part of the exploration actually (which is tied to the "large areas"). The games are very different.
Perhaps what I loved most about 2 was it's style. The lively, exuberant cast, the variety of Blades, the self-indulgent cutscenes, the flashy Arts and Chain Attacks, the art style, the tongue-in-cheek ridiculousness of everything from Zeke to Giga Rosa.
It was just such a fun, joyous (well... mostly) experience to me, featuring a cast I became truly invested in.
Now XC1 seems to be a far more grounded and restrained experience from what I can tell. I'd imagine this is why many prefer it but I fear it may be the opposite for me. Everything from the battle system even down to the character designs just seems a little 'less.'
Now in practice this may work extremely well, especially if it suits the narrative, but I'm certainly not going in expecting another XC2 or anything quite like it, so I think I have my expectations in check.
