Xenoblade: Future Connected |OT| On the Shoulders of Titans

JershJopstin · Jul 22, 2020

Pokemaniac said:
So this is interesting. Apparently the version of the shoulder map that appears during the cutscenes in the main story isn't actually a lightly modified version of the new updated version like I had assumed it was. If I'm interpreting this video correctly, it looks kinda like it might actually be the old unused version from the original release with some minor touchups.

That makes some sense. They changed a lot distant scenery to reflect that it's no longer attached to the Bionis; if it was closer to the new map, then they would've had to update it twice, depending on when they made the changes.

This way they just had to copy it from the original game and let the updated textures and engine do the rest.

Xenoblade 3 · Jul 25, 2020

I just started this. The battle theme is so good it actually makes me wanna fight more.

Duonala · Jul 27, 2020

Just finished it last night. Took me 21 hours to do everything and explore every inch.
I enjoyed it very much! Nothing special but it felt great to get back into that world again.

I loved the side quests and was doing them with passion.
And hahaha I knew Bama was Bana from the get go.
His quest was epic and I couldn't stop laughing. The other quests being connected to it was a nice twist too. I thought he was just a reference, who would've imagined him to be the real thing! I was shocked but not really.
Having finished the game, it feels like Bana was the real final boss and I LIKE IT!

Xenoblade 3 · Jul 29, 2020

I just finished this. I really liked it and I wish it was longer.
Also the Heart-to-Hearts(quiet moments) were all great. I appreciated having them voiced and no requirements

Teiresias · Aug 4, 2020

Just started into this and finishing a second playthrough of the DE, and the combat is really frustrating me. Through the original I could reliably take on enemies at least two levels above me.

However, I keep getting my butt kicked here and it seems to be because Kino doesn't actually do his damn job of healing worth a damn. Is there something I'm doing wrong here? I'm using Shulk and Nene and Kino, since that seems to be the only way to have a healer and a tank kind of covered out of the available characters.

TheMoon · Aug 4, 2020

Teiresias said:
Just started into this and finishing a second playthrough of the DE, and the combat is really frustrating me. Through the original I could reliably take on enemies at least two levels above me.

However, I keep getting my butt kicked here and it seems to be because Kino doesn't actually do his damn job of healing worth a damn. Is there something I'm doing wrong here? I'm using Shulk and Nene and Kino, since that seems to be the only way to have a healer and a tank kind of covered out of the available characters.

Kino and Nene are Sharla and Reyn. Just like in the main game, there is zero need for "a healer" to be in your party.

Teiresias · Aug 4, 2020

TheMoon said:
Kino and Nene are Sharla and Reyn. Just like in the main game, there is zero need for "a healer" to be in your party.

Well Kino has all of the healing arts, it would be helpful if he bothered to actually use them.

TheMoon · Aug 4, 2020

Teiresias said:
Well Kino has all of the healing arts, it would be helpful if he bothered to actually use them.

Again, just like Sharla, you can't rely on the AI. That's why you either play as Sharla/Kino or you don't have them in your party and use the others.

Teiresias · Aug 4, 2020

I never had the same issues with Sharla's AI in the main game so that's why we're talking past each other I suppose.

I'll just keep at it and see if I can work around it or just not go after higher level enemies as much as I'm used to doing in the original game.

TheMoon · Aug 4, 2020

Teiresias said:
I never had the same issues with Sharla's AI in the main game so that's why we're talking past each other I suppose.

I'll just keep at it and see if I can work around it or just not go after higher level enemies as much as I'm used to doing in the original game.

Have you played the entire main game with Sharla? Ever tried out Melia? There's a bunch of guides/tips in the OT for that.

Teiresias · Aug 4, 2020

TheMoon said:
Have you played the entire main game with Sharla? Ever tried out Melia? There's a bunch of guides/tips in the OT for that.

Yes, I rotate my party and leader constantly in the main game, it's just when I'd decide to go up against a mob higher level than I'd tend to put Sharla in since I couldn't count on downing it before the HP war of attrition was lost, hence Sharla and her healing arts.

Łazy · Aug 6, 2020

Finished the future part. And all I can say is that it was absolutely pointless if not actively bad.
The story has like one interesting theme but it's handled like an even chapter of Xenoblade 2, with the power of friendship. I have my limit with how far into shônen something can be, especially without a strong plot.
Since when is Melia jumping 4m high doing flips and whatever while charging magic. Seriously... who directed this ?

Battles not only have less features, les characters, but also have an added system that actively makes it worse. The dozen of annoying Nopons running around is ridiculous and the special attack is just obnoxious between the fact that you can skip it and how QTEs are sometimes hard to read with the explosions or movement behind.
Better just find a good "strategy" with what you have and level 4 gems farming as soon as possible to not have to use this horrible lazy addition.

Instead of using time and budget for it they should have made the main game look ok and npt making grass or textures appear 2m in front of you like your on a Captain Tsubasa field.

At least now I'm sure to not have any hope for their future games. And at least if a miracle happens and they still make games I can enjoy, then, good.
They better not butcher XenobladeX.

Edit :Half out of topic but people who say Carna/Sharl is not strong didn't play with her in the right way at all. She can do absurd damage while supporting many different aspects, HP, tension, debuff...
But she needs to get some key arts first and foremost.

LinkStrikesBack · Aug 6, 2020

Łazy said:
Since when is Melia jumping 4m high doing flips and whatever while charging magic. Seriously... who directed this ?

People were doing all kinds of ridiculous acrobatics all the time in the base game cutscenes. E.g. the cutscene where shulk returns towards the end sticks out in my mind particularly, or when mechafiora and fights zanza, What a silly complaint.

And lmao, xenoblade was always shonen as hell, it never even tried to hide it, and future connected isn't significantly tonally different to the base game.

Sorry that it took you a decade to notice, I guess.

Łazy · Aug 6, 2020

LinkStrikesBack said:
People were doing all kinds of ridiculous acrobatics all the time in the base game cutscenes. E.g. the cutscene where shulk returns towards the end sticks out in my mind particularly, or when mechafiora and fights zanza, What a silly complaint.

And lmao, xenoblade was always shonen as hell, it never even tried to hide it, and future connected isn't significantly tonally different to the base game.

Sorry that it took you a decade to notice, I guess.

Spare me with that.
I'm going to waste time saying what has been said hundreds of time already.

Sure every shonen's the same, action in 100% similar in every Xenoblade, whatever. Happy ?
Don't answer it's rethorical.

NioA · Aug 7, 2020

Monolith is always being exceptionally good in making cutscenes with combat and acrobatics and I love them for this.
The scene where the party goes to

Alcamoth and fight the Fog King for the first time

is well executed and I watched it more than one time in the extra section. I wouldn't complain on that, though if you don't like the tone of FC is somewhat understandable that you wouldn't like this powered up Melia.
I loved FC as a side story but I highly doubt that it's indicative of how Monolith wants to proceed with the series

TheMoon · Aug 7, 2020

I'm failing to see how this deviates from anything they've done before in the first place.

ILikeFeet · Aug 7, 2020

I don't think I posted here, but I finished the game why I was banned.

Really good. Even more amazed at how the environment design was practically unchanged from the Wii version (and is even in this game too!).
Kino and Nene are actually good, unlike Riki, Shulk was there, but inoffensive, and best girl got her due. Shame Tyrea wasn't playable.
The simplified combat system was good though there were a couple of bosses that was pretty damn hard since you had no visions. Kept getting practically one shotted with party wipes.
The story was good until the end. It just...ends. all that build up pre-release and in the story and it ends with nothing answered. Kinda shitty

TheMoon · Aug 7, 2020

ILikeFeet said:
there were a couple of bosses that was pretty damn hard since you had no visions. Kept getting practically one shotted with party wipes.

you mean the final ponspector quest boss?

ILikeFeet · Aug 7, 2020

TheMoon said:
you mean the final ponspector quest boss?

No, the unique monster in the tomb with the giant ether crystal stalagtite.

TheGreatLugia · Aug 7, 2020

Łazy said:
Since when is Melia jumping 4m high doing flips and whatever while charging magic. Seriously... who directed this ?

The Cutscene Leads on Future Connected are Norihiro Takami (Cinematics Director on Xenoblade 1) and Mamoru Ohta (Cinematics Co-Director on Xenoblade 1).

Łazy · Aug 8, 2020

Forgot I answered once already.

Łazy · Aug 8, 2020

NioA said:
Monolith is always being exceptionally good in making cutscenes with combat and acrobatics and I love them for this.
The scene where the party goes to

Alcamoth and fight the Fog King for the first time

is well executed and I watched it more than one time in the extra section. I wouldn't complain on that, though if you don't like the tone of FC is somewhat understandable that you wouldn't like this powered up Melia.
I loved FC as a side story but I highly doubt that it's indicative of how Monolith wants to proceed with the series

Takahashi said something like "it's a glimpse in the future of series", or the direction I don't remember. Whether it's from a story, gameplay, performance or direction perspective I'm not looking forward to it.

I'm at a point where I'm worried they could butcher X. Hopefully there are very different leads and they still want to keep some of that mood from older Xeno games that X had a little.

Basically when si see their games I see 3 branches roughly.

- Xenogears > saga ~ X
- Chrono Cross ~ Baten Kaitos
- Xenoblade 1 (~X) > 2

And of course, obligatory F*** Bamco and/or Harrada, whatever

And the 2 branches I like might just be dead while the least appealing is growing the worst direction for me.
And that's what happened to a lot of companies, so I'm not expecting a development that would favor my tastes again. Not that I expect anyone to care or agree. I'm just explaining for the sake of respect.
Could be worse at least I discovered indie games... : P

At that point I just hope for at least bearable characters and battle system. Music is always good and exploration enjoyable.
Guess it bodes well for Xenoblade 2 fans. Good for them.

TheGreatLugia said:
The Cutscene Leads on Future Connected are Norihiro Takami (Cinematics Director on Xenoblade 1) and Mamoru Ohta (Cinematics Co-Director on Xenoblade 1).

Thanks.

Jolkien · Aug 10, 2020

I heard doing future connected unklock higher skil rank in the base game. I've beaten the original Xenoblade a few years ago. Should I begin with FC and then move on to the main game ? What's your recommendation ?

Tibarn · Aug 10, 2020

Jolkien said:
I heard doing future connected unklock higher skil rank in the base game. I've beaten the original Xenoblade a few years ago. Should I begin with FC and then move on to the main game ? What's your recommendation ?

It doesn't really matter. I mean, in the main game, the last levels of any skill (except Monado's) are locked behind farming books from unique enemies, and most players will finish it without most of the books.

Finishing the epilogue adds 2 more levels (that can be bought with money), which also makes the previous 3 levels available without farming bosses, but it's not something you will need unless you play underleveled or want to do the 5 superbosses.

About the epilogue, I finished it yesterday. It was OK, not at the same level as Torna (not even close), the extra development Melia and Tyrea get is nice and the two new Nopon are not as annoying as Tora or Riki (Tatsu it's on his own tier, worst character from a Xenoblade game). New music and area are also good, and the new combat without visions is more challenging. My main gripe is the main story of the DLC, the main enemy does not get any explanation and it's kind of "there". Maybe this is hinting towards a future game, but as it is it's a weak plot device.

About the future of the series, I want them to shake the things a bit. Xc2 was great, after the disappointment XcX was (not that is a bad game, but the weak story and insane amounts of grinding are what I expect from a MMO, not a single player game) it was reasurring to see them returning to the Xc1 formula, but I think we have enough hours of this kind of content already.

TheMoon · Aug 10, 2020

Jolkien said:
I heard doing future connected unklock higher skil rank in the base game. I've beaten the original Xenoblade a few years ago. Should I begin with FC and then move on to the main game ? What's your recommendation ?

the info on that is in the OP btw

I say jump into this if you're a little short on time or if you're in it for the long haul anyhow, do the main game again, then FC, then NG+ for the grindy bits and challenge mode.

Jolkien · Aug 10, 2020

Thanks for the informations guys and I checked the OT but I must not have been fully awake yet.

Mercury_Sagit · Aug 12, 2020

Finished this today, total playtime was ~12h for clearing all the sidequests. Although the story content is shorter than Torna (took me ~30h there), I feel very refreshed as two antagonists got their plots resolved. The main drawback for me is how the Fog King remains a mystery even until the end. To me it looks like Guldo monster from XC2 but of course it is never confirmed or refuted in the game.
Gameplay wise it's also quite easier than the main game since most monsters don't have debuff spike which drags down the pace of the combat. Environmental design is a big step up above the main game, and is on par with XC2 in term of verticality.

Onix555 · Aug 14, 2020

Just finished up tonight after 15hr's, finished most of everything except for a certain nopon sidequest, I really liked this!

Firstly level design and exploration, absolute pog!
Bionis Shoulder V2 was a joy to explore through, with great verticality and paths everywhere, graphics were also nice though using assets from the main game.

Music was mega pog, omega tier battle theme and the overworld stuff was quite peaceful too.

As an epilogue the story was pretty nice, and I liked what I think they set up for the next one

Gnosis War

.
Melia was done justice here, and that's what matters.
Also liked Nene a lot, first time getting a girl nopon MC, I think she was pretty cool and cute.

Also much preferred the quiet times as opposed to H2H's, felt like they had more backstory and emotion.

Overall, I rate it beatbox lizard out of 10

TheMoon · Aug 15, 2020

Onix555 said:
Just finished up tonight after 15hr's, finished most of everything except for a certain nopon sidequest, I really liked this!

Firstly level design and exploration, absolute pog!
Bionis Shoulder V2 was a joy to explore through, with great verticality and paths everywhere, graphics were also nice though using assets from the main game.

Music was mega pog, omega tier battle theme and the overworld stuff was quite peaceful too.

As an epilogue the story was pretty nice, and I liked what I think they set up for the next one

Gnosis War

.
Melia was done justice here, and that's what matters.
Also liked Nene a lot, first time getting a girl nopon MC, I think she was pretty cool and cute.

Also much preferred the quiet times as opposed to H2H's, felt like they had more backstory and emotion.

Overall, I rate it beatbox lizard out of 10

what on earth is pog

King Kingo · Aug 15, 2020

I finished Future Connected a while ago, and I have to admit, it was good but not as good as I was expecting it to be. This epilogue definitely feels like dessert to the Definitive Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles which was the banquet.

I like that the story was a lot more relaxed with its pacing, quests and character interactions. The Bionis Shoulder definitely felt like its own area distinct from the rest of the Bionis despite being an amalgamation of reused assets and enemies. Nene and Kino were fun side characters and their backstories are really sweet. Shulk is only really there because he's the poster boy for Xenoblade Chronicles. He doesn't really have any personal stake which I am mixed with. On the one hand, it's nice to see him take a backseat because the story of Future Connected is not about him, but on the other hand, you could have literally substituted him with anybody else and it really wouldn't have made much of a difference.

Now onto Melia. This is her story and I appreciate that she was fleshed out through Future Connected to give her agency as an individual character. It's nice to see that her status as the Queen of the High Entia is the driving force of the narrative. I'm also super glad that Jenna Coleman returned, and to be brutally honest, I prefer her deeper performance here as Melia as opposed to her voiceover work in the original game, her performance sounds more regal and royal here. I assume that I'm in the minority with that opinion but I genuinely stand by it. The High Entia have longer lifespans than other beings on Bionis so I wouldn't be at all surprised if an elderly Melia is involved in Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

Now onto the spoiler discussion which coincidentally just so happen to be the elements that I am not really in favour of. Just like everybody else, the threats are so anticlimactic. The "Fog King" is the main antagonist for this entry and I don't think that his character model being an altered Infernal Geruldo is just lazy asset recycling on Monolith Soft's part, I genuinely believe they are both connected. But despite those connections and the implications that arise from said connection, the battle is anticlimactic because we're just fighting a beast. That doesn't really leave much of an impression because it never speaks to the cast of heroes.

With that being said, the Fog King is nothing compared to Gaelgar. Gaelgar is the worst antagonist in the Xeno series to date. All he's there for is to give a human threat in the plot, he's super left field and the final battle against him is in a side quest. Now I don't know whether that was done because of budgetary and deadline reasons, or whether it was intentional, but that just further adds to the lack of value of Gaelgar. His obsession with the comingled bloodline of the High Entia is relatively pointless in the grand scheme of Future Connected's plot outside of keeping the politics of High Entia culture relevant in the narrative of the game. The only way I could see him maintaining a shred of relevance is if he is involved with Xenoblade Chronicles 3 as a minor antagonist because again, the High Entia have long lifespans.

This whole epilogue is setting some sort of foundation for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 with Melia talking about an inevitable threat coming in the future in her Heart to Heart with Shulk at Alcamoth and the development of Teelan. Speaking of Teelan, I liked the fact that he was involved in the plot. He's such an obscure character from the main game, but it makes perfect sense to have him be featured for Future Connected as the quest in the original game that introduced him involved rescuing him in Alcamoth after The Pureblood High Entia were transformed into Telethia. If any character from Future Connected has the most likely chance of being in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 then it's Teelan, actually, I'd probably go as far to say that he may end up being part of the cast as a young adult or even an adult depending on the time skip. I also appreciated the characterisation of Tyrea and how she eventually befriended Melia. The Heart to Hearts is better in this game only because there are no happiness requirements and they're fully voiced which adds a deeper layer of personality to the conversations.

Future Connected is no Torna - The Golden Country but I think it wasn't supposed to be that. Unlike the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Prologue, It was a free addition to Definitive Edition to make it stand out from the New Nintendo 3DS release. This epilogue was not necessary but it existed as a treat, and for that alone, Monolith Soft should be commended for that. Tetsuya Takahashi explicitly states that this game connects to the future of Xenoblade Chronicles and that there are elements that definitely hint to what the future of the franchise will be, but I guess Monolith Soft working on Definitive Edition at the same time as the next Xenoblade Chronicles meant that there was only so much financial investment and quality control that could be allocated to what is essentially free downloadable content on budgeted remakester.

Princess Bubblegum · Aug 16, 2020

Just finished this after roughly 20 hours. Overall I really liked it, loved the focus on Melia and it being her story which she desperately needed. Minus some issues like the throwaway villain, I found the writing to be substantially better than the base game, which makes me wish they had just completely remade it. The Quiet Moments are pretty much all good and way better than the Heart-to-Hearts, plus you don't even have to grind for them! I actually liked the Ponspector system and you can tell the localization team had a lot of fun with them, plus having them follow you around felt like a fun nod to Pikmin. In regards to the ending,

the rift in time-space and Fog King are resolved too easily, but I can accept that since they serve a figurative purpose that ties into the story's themes.

I completely ship Melia and Tyrea, the forced "sister" angle doesn't make any damn sense. Nene getting overwhelmed by how convoluted their connection is felt like unintentional meta commentary. Anyway Tyrea is a more interesting potential love interest than Shulk on-top of of being a character that actually has some depth. Plus that final shot pre-credits has no heterosexual explanation at all. I really appreciated Tyrea getting some well earned development and fleshing out, since the Alcomon arc in the main story has too many loose threads. Speaking of which, it's great that this ties into a few quest lines from the main game. It makes me feel rewarded for having gone through the effort as well as them being canon.

TheMoon · Aug 18, 2020

nice that it gets its own accolades trailer!

Zor · Aug 23, 2020

Just wrapped this up after around 10 or so hours and I really enjoyed it. I'm quite sad that the experience is over now. Other than full affinity I did as much as I could, rebuilt Colony 6 up to full, ended spending around 115-120 hours with Definitive Edition and truly loved it. I hope a future Xenoblade game revisits these characters because I loved all of them, with Riki perhaps being my favourite. That I got to meet two of his kids in FC, and that they were absolutely adorable, was such a nice thing too. Also, I was so happy to hear this theme from the original game feature several times in FC. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget this piece of music. So utterly magical:

HylianSeven · Aug 24, 2020

Started this after finishing the base game on Friday.

The ponspectors system is neat and something different. I find myself actually going and doing their quests once I see them on the map.

I'm not really a fan of them having the "meh meh meh" shit on the Nopon on this game. It was annoying in XB2 and it's annoying here too, and the base game didn't do it.

I was pretty disappointed that Nene and Kino aren't really new characters from a gameplay perspective, they're just reskinned Reyn and Sharla.

HylianSeven · Sep 8, 2020

Prosecutor Davrum is ridiculous! I'm level 79 and can't beat him! I initially tried playing as Melia and using two ice, and then attacking with elements for the third. Then he uses Ignis Fire and just destroys my whole squad. I read a strategy of playing as Shulk and using Shield for Ignis Fire, because apparently it's his Talent Art. I tried that, but when I could actually block Ignis Fire, I just ended up dying to other things. I benched Melia and swapped in Kino when I switched to Shulk.

How the hell do I beat this guy?

Also, since visions aren't a thing in Future Connected, how do you know what an enemy's talent art is?

TheMoon · Sep 8, 2020

HylianSeven said:
How the hell do I beat this guy?

turning on casual mode before the battle and leaving the worries behind. I have no regrets.

HylianSeven · Sep 8, 2020

TheMoon said:
turning on casual mode before the battle and leaving the worries behind. I have no regrets.

Okay but like, is there a real answer?

TheMoon · Sep 8, 2020

HylianSeven said:
Okay but like, is there a real answer?

if you check the first few pages for the word ponspector or boss you'll find some comments from people who beat it properly.

HylianSeven · Sep 9, 2020

I gave up on the superboss. I will not turn casual mode on. Maybe I will revisit it some day, but it feels like the only solution at this point is to grind. I tried various gems with no luck, as well as using both Shulk and Melia.

I beat the final boss though, my non-spoiler thoughts: I enjoyed it, but was also rather disappointed partly because Torna showed just how good a Xenoblade bonus story/DLC can be. Torna's combat was dramatically overhauled from the main game where it felt like you were playing a different game. It retained some elements, but was moreso completely new. Future Connected barely touched the combat. It was the same combat minus visions, and replacing chain attacks with ponspectors. Kino and Nene being copies of Sharla and Reyn gameplay-wise was such a disappointment. If you have new characters, they should do something new!

Without spoiling it outside of the spoiler box, I think having played XC2 gives you a better idea about some unanswered questions.
The following is spoilers for XC2 as well as Future Connected.

I think it was pretty obvious that the rift involved the other dimension Claus was partially in in the space station. I still don't completely get what the fog king is though. They never really explained this and just kind of went "Yep, we killed it." I also never saw an explanation of why the Telethia helped. I assume it was because the High Entia part of them were able to take control and try to get their home back?

In one of the side quests, you learn of a Nopon that was distributing a drink that messed with everyone in the town. This Nopon's name was Bana, the name of a villain in XC2. He was also very close if not exactly the same in color, just without the headgear. I can't help but think this isn't a coincidence, and that he either IS the Bana from XC2, perhaps using the rift to get to XC2's world, or that he's just an alternate dimension counterpart.

I feel they could have at least teased a little more if this was really setting up XC3. It just felt like an ending that went "Maybe we'll reference this, maybe we'll never speak of it again."

TheMoon · Sep 9, 2020

HylianSeven said:
I gave up on the superboss. I will not turn casual mode on. Maybe I will revisit it some day, but it feels like the only solution at this point is to grind. I tried various gems with no luck, as well as using both Shulk and Melia.

turning on casual mode and be done with it is the best decision you could make, not brute force this stupid boss.

King Kingo · Sep 9, 2020

HylianSeven said:
In one of the side quests, you learn of a Nopon that was distributing a drink that messed with everyone in the town. This Nopon's name was Bana, the name of a villain in XC2. He was also very close if not exactly the same in color, just without the headgear. I can't help but think this isn't a coincidence.

TheMoon · Sep 10, 2020

Alpha Baymax said:

you openly quoted a part from a spoiler-tagged post and then embedded a video which further adds to the spoiler. please fix that.

Mercury_Sagit · Sep 10, 2020

HylianSeven said:
.

Personally I see the fog king's apprearance to be very similar to one of the Guldo ememies found in XC2 in Morytha, but such explanation does not explain the fog beasts' ability to rile up surrounding wild creatures.
And also I don't think the rift comes from Klaus, since if that was the case then it would already appeared way long before Zanza was defeated, given that the rift had been formed as early as when one half of Claus body flight away, thus even before the world of XC1 came into shape.
About XC1 superbosses, yeah they are fairly gimmicky and impossible to defeat unless you know what to look for i.e. a guide to build your characters. I think I wasted up to 2h just to farm the correct types of ether crystal and 2h just to refine them into gems..... If you are interested I can share my builds and strategies.

mèx · Sep 11, 2020

Finally I got around playing Future Connected, it took me around 18 hours by doing pretty much everything.

All in all it was a nice little addition to the main game, not as good as Torna but that was a given I guess. Bionis' Shoulder was great, leagues better than the majority of the maps of the main game. There is no wasted space, no useless bloat, just good design all around which made the exploration pretty fun. The map is by far the highlight of this epilogue.

As far as the story goes, I did not care much for it, the villains were so half-baked that I did not feel engaged at all in the most climactic moments. But regardless of that, I'm glad that we got a good conclusion to Melia's story arc (and Tyrea's), I think that part of the plot was decently done at least.

What I liked were the character interactions and the Quiet Moments, which were a big improvement over XCDE. I got more attached to Nene and Kino in 18 hours than the likes of Sharla and Riki in 120 hours, taking the time to flesh out your characters always pay off and it shows. They retroactively made Riki a good character too!

Performance-wise, I found it to be… pretty bad. The game got blurry quite often, felt like it was worse than the main game but I might be wrong.

Now let's discuss the real reason for why Future Connected deserves to exist:

it's obviously the Ponspectors. I fucking love them and they must be included in some form in the next game. Meh-meh! :p

I've read most of the spoilers regarding the implications Future Connected might have on Xenoblade 3, but I'm not really convinced. If something is there, it is something minor in the grand scheme of things and Takahashi is just trolling us.

Now the long wait for Xenoblade 3 begins. :(

cowbanana · Sep 15, 2020

After finishing Xenoblade Chronicles DE last week, I played Future Connected over the weekend. What a great little epilogue! I finished everything in 13 hours and that was time well spent.

I leveled up to lvl 80+ in what felt like no time, by using expert mode and always staying 3-5 levels below what I was fighting. I played solely as Melia, with Shulk and Nene tanking on the front lines - I did not use Kino in the party at all (maybe next time). Melia continues to be a monster melting beast in the hands of the player, just like in the main game. Nene and Kino were great characters, dadapon Riki should be proud :)

After doing the final part of the Ponspector quest line at around the 10 hour mark, I just roflstomped the last half of the story and did quest clean up. The story was... alright. I enjoyed it for what it was.

Now it is time to tackle Xenoblade Chronicles 2, where I'm just a little over 10 hours in at the moment. It feels like a very different game in many ways.

OrakioRob · Nov 3, 2020

Beat this last night. While I think the "Future Connected" title is a bit misleading for what you actually get, I think this being advertised as an epilogue is very accurate, and as such I loved it. It's short, it's simple and it works very well in giving more depth to Melia. They also did a great work with Tyrea.

The Bionis Shoulder is a beautiful new area that is fun to explore and is perfectly sized for a 10-15 hour game. The new music is wonderful, the simplified mechanics fit the length of the game... Nice job, Monolith. I wish we got epilogues like this as DLC for all Xeno games. In fact, it would be amazing to get a few short stories like this as DLC for future Xeno games...

Maybe that's what the "Future Connected" title means... No, Orakio, don't to it to yourself!

King Kingo · Nov 4, 2020

OrakioRob said:
Nice job, Monolith. I wish we got epilogues like this as DLC for all Xeno games. In fact, it would be amazing to get a few short stories like this as DLC for future Xeno games...

Maybe that's what the "Future Connected" title means... No, Orakio, don't to it to yourself!

Once we get our X Switch port, we're bound to have an epilogue for that game for obvious reasons.

Pokemaniac · Nov 4, 2020

Alpha Baymax said:
Once we get our X Switch port, we're bound to have an epilogue for that game for obvious reasons.

X needs a lot more than an epilogue. It feels like the plot kind of just ends halfway through.

Sirhc · Feb 25, 2021

Goodsmile Co is waging war on wallets again, new Melia Figure from FC just went up for pre-order...be strong..

https://www.goodsmileus.com/product/melia-antiqua-3061

TheMoon · Feb 25, 2021

Sirhc said:
Goodsmile Co is waging war on wallets again, new Melia Figure from FC just went up for pre-order...be strong..

https://www.goodsmileus.com/product/melia-antiqua-3061

I'm irrationally excited about that grass.

Xenoblade: Future Connected |OT| On the Shoulders of Titans

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One Winged Slayer

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DF Deet Master

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DF Deet Master

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I'll be the one who puts you in the ground.

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Shin Megami TC - Community Resetter

Shin Megami TC - Community Resetter

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Shin Megami TC - Community Resetter

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Shin Megami TC - Community Resetter

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Hasn't made a thread yet. Shame me.

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