This review contains spoilers
Obligatory start off my saying that XC1 is my favorite game ever
This game is pretty alright. Nothing really sticks with me that much, unlike other games in this series. I'll start with the negatives and work my way up.
I don't think the combat is that great. The class system is fun, but overall the fact that every character uses every class just makes things feel rather generic. None of the characters really feel all that different from each other, mechanically, which is a shame given how well they're all written outside of combat. The combat is both too simple for me to really be engaged when I'm playing one character and is too complicated for me to really enjoy switching between people mid combat. Even 120+ hours in, I still felt at least a little bit disoriented any time I tried to do a midcombat switch, but staying in place with just one character just feels like autopilot. There were literally multiple phases of the final boss itself where I just found myself just completely checked out, not even thinking about the game. Hard mode, which I was playing on, also tends to just make all of the fights take longer, which exacerbates the issue. Chain attacks in particular were my least favorite part. XC1's chain attacks were satisfying and fairly quick. X's overdrive was complex and fast. XC2's was about setting pins up throughout the combat and then knocking them all down, but even the longest XC2 chain attack was much quicker than anything XC3 does. XC3 chain attacks just feel like doing math with RNG thrown in, and since a good chain attack has like 5 rounds to it, there's a lot of menuing involved. Every round is ended with an unskippable cutscene with no QTEs that you've probably seen 50 times, so you're just awkwardly sitting there waiting until you can press buttons again. This process takes several minutes and is not very engaging, personally. Also, the chain attack music overrides almost all other music in the game, and is not very good. All this comes together and I find myself not even wanting to do chain attacks in this game, even though in other games they're arguably the most satisfying part of the combat.
The story in this game is kinda weird. The first half of the plot is basically just your party traveling to a location, with the only really good scenes before you get there being from the cast members talking to each other. Once you get there, it's a macguffin hunt, though admittedly there is the big scene at the end of chapter 5. I would have more issues, but I think overall the game's story does a good job representing the game's themes, especially with the support from the sidequests. I also do like how the game is very unafraid to challenge its own themes with characters like N and Shania.
XC3's villains are kinda shit. The ones that are good don't get enough screentime, and all the rest of them are just generic Moebius people that I couldn't list a single memorable trait of if I tried. Compared to other Xenoblade villains, XC3's was a pretty big letdown.
Some positive stuff: the game's cast is quite good. Unlike other Xenoblades, I don't really feel like anyone ever reaches a point where they've been used up. Everyone always feels pretty relevant, they all have their own roles in the dynamic, and the character dynamics in question flow well both for lighthearted conversation and heavier topics. I don't really think there's anyone in the cast that I'd elevate to favorite xenoblade character status, but overall they all fit together very well.
My favorite part of the game is the side content. Every quest feels handwritten. Hero quests and ascension quests were where I got most of my enjoyment, but even the regular side quests were entertaining and generally didn't contain that much busywork. I think in general the quests did a very good job of carrying the themes of this game; even after a huge upheaval to your life, there is much potential for good things to happen, something that very much supports the game's main theme in that even if change is scary, it isn't always bad. I still think I prefer X's side content overall, but it's still quite good.
soundtrack also raises it's score a bit i gotta say
This is my least favorite Xenoblade, other than Future Connected, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It does some cool things, and I absolutely intend to come back later and play more of the side content.
This game is pretty alright. Nothing really sticks with me that much, unlike other games in this series. I'll start with the negatives and work my way up.
I don't think the combat is that great. The class system is fun, but overall the fact that every character uses every class just makes things feel rather generic. None of the characters really feel all that different from each other, mechanically, which is a shame given how well they're all written outside of combat. The combat is both too simple for me to really be engaged when I'm playing one character and is too complicated for me to really enjoy switching between people mid combat. Even 120+ hours in, I still felt at least a little bit disoriented any time I tried to do a midcombat switch, but staying in place with just one character just feels like autopilot. There were literally multiple phases of the final boss itself where I just found myself just completely checked out, not even thinking about the game. Hard mode, which I was playing on, also tends to just make all of the fights take longer, which exacerbates the issue. Chain attacks in particular were my least favorite part. XC1's chain attacks were satisfying and fairly quick. X's overdrive was complex and fast. XC2's was about setting pins up throughout the combat and then knocking them all down, but even the longest XC2 chain attack was much quicker than anything XC3 does. XC3 chain attacks just feel like doing math with RNG thrown in, and since a good chain attack has like 5 rounds to it, there's a lot of menuing involved. Every round is ended with an unskippable cutscene with no QTEs that you've probably seen 50 times, so you're just awkwardly sitting there waiting until you can press buttons again. This process takes several minutes and is not very engaging, personally. Also, the chain attack music overrides almost all other music in the game, and is not very good. All this comes together and I find myself not even wanting to do chain attacks in this game, even though in other games they're arguably the most satisfying part of the combat.
The story in this game is kinda weird. The first half of the plot is basically just your party traveling to a location, with the only really good scenes before you get there being from the cast members talking to each other. Once you get there, it's a macguffin hunt, though admittedly there is the big scene at the end of chapter 5. I would have more issues, but I think overall the game's story does a good job representing the game's themes, especially with the support from the sidequests. I also do like how the game is very unafraid to challenge its own themes with characters like N and Shania.
XC3's villains are kinda shit. The ones that are good don't get enough screentime, and all the rest of them are just generic Moebius people that I couldn't list a single memorable trait of if I tried. Compared to other Xenoblade villains, XC3's was a pretty big letdown.
Some positive stuff: the game's cast is quite good. Unlike other Xenoblades, I don't really feel like anyone ever reaches a point where they've been used up. Everyone always feels pretty relevant, they all have their own roles in the dynamic, and the character dynamics in question flow well both for lighthearted conversation and heavier topics. I don't really think there's anyone in the cast that I'd elevate to favorite xenoblade character status, but overall they all fit together very well.
My favorite part of the game is the side content. Every quest feels handwritten. Hero quests and ascension quests were where I got most of my enjoyment, but even the regular side quests were entertaining and generally didn't contain that much busywork. I think in general the quests did a very good job of carrying the themes of this game; even after a huge upheaval to your life, there is much potential for good things to happen, something that very much supports the game's main theme in that even if change is scary, it isn't always bad. I still think I prefer X's side content overall, but it's still quite good.
soundtrack also raises it's score a bit i gotta say
This is my least favorite Xenoblade, other than Future Connected, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It does some cool things, and I absolutely intend to come back later and play more of the side content.