Xenoblade 3 really is a one of those game you don't see coming. It was announced in Feburary 2022 and was set for release in September 2022 and then suddenly bumped up to July. That didn't leave a lot of time for it to simmer in my mind that we were in fact getting a followup to one of my favorite game series.

So Xenoblade 3’s story is amazing. The setting is this war-torn twisted mashup of the first two game’s locations and the game really does a great job establishing this new setting. The narrative hits all the right points, establishing and fleshing out each of our main six protagonists as they struggle to fight against the systems that bind them. Unlike the first two entries, I cannot say there’s a weak character in this game, they all have moments to shine especially through side content. Even the optional side “heroes” feel super fleshed out, unlike XC2, they feel fully integrated into the world and their characterization feels natural. Back to the main plot, I feel it’s twists and turns aren’t as heavy as the previous games, but it really doesn’t need to be. The protagonists don’t make stupid decisions, they act logically, and you can tell they’ve been fighting for a long time. It’s only their circumstances and adversaries that really cause them to struggle in their fights, not the folly of the characters themselves. The only weak point about this game’s story for me is some aspects of the ending. It’s ending is heartbreaking and narrative fits with the overarching themes of the game, but the main villain honestly is easily the weakest in the series followed by a contradictory explanation of how the world our characters live in works. It could’ve been a bit fine-tuned but a cannot say it hurts the highs of the narrative too much.

The gameplay is interesting. While I do think overall it’s slightly weaker than XC2’s combat system, I can’t say its bad at all. There has been so much optimization of the combat system that you never have to worry too much about item and armor optimization which plagued the first two games. The interlinking system is honestly fun and the way you can inherit any class allows for so much customization and tweaking that its fun to experiment with any number of different combinations of classes and arts. Chain attacks are really fun and dynamic, trying to optimize that 100% gauge can be exhilarating. However, I do think sometimes they go on for a little too long and I would often find myself ending chain attacks early just because how tedious they can get. However, this new chain attack system does make me enjoy fighting unique monsters for the first time in the series. If you know what you’re doing, you can completely stomp on most competition and the exhilaration you get when demolishing a large portion of a unique monster’s health is second to none. There’s just a bunch of nice quality of life improvements to the combat system that it’s hard to go back to previous entries cause this game feels so good to handle.

Overall, one of the best games of this decade may have just released and I urge JRPG fans to not let this one sit out. You will get the most out of this game by playing the previous two entries first but its not necessary. This may be one of my favorite experiences I have enjoyed in my life.

Reviewed on Aug 24, 2022


Comments