Kuro 2 from the beginning was in a weird place stuck behind the launch of Ys 10 while also needing to lead into and set up Kuro 3 without too big of a cliffhanger despite being the second game in the series. This results in a game clearly reflective of these necessities, one whose position is one of the most unique in the franchise with it being closest to Sky FC but at the same time acting as a second entry. Compared to the past second entries the overarching story isn't driven forward in terms of long lasting events but instead driven forward through the cleaning up of the after effects of the previous game to set the stage for the 3rd entry resulting in a game entry closer to a 1.5 than a 2.

The place this approach has the biggest downsides is the characters. Due to it not wanting to progress the overarching story too much most of the main cast are put to a standstill in terms of character development (outside of quatre) and because of the need for this standstill the main antagonists have no real connection to them. In order to get around this standstill and allow for personal motivation for the cast, Swin and Nadia were brought back to help carry the emotional weight of the story. However, due to them being gone for a third of the game, they don't have as much development as they could have with Swins arc having little to no time to develop. Nadia and Swin and being in contrast to the twins whenever it was around were handled well but still could have been expanded if it got more time although it did get a nice conclusion in the final connect event. Although the main cast is put at a standstill it doesn't mean they are stopped more so just putting a limit in their progression. This is best seen in the final connect events with almost all of them setting up or further cementing the character's arcs for the next game. Although the main cast didn't get as much attention, one place that did get good development was the supporting cast. Characters like Cao, Ashen, and Kasim all got more fleshed out while others like Gouran, Mirrabelle, Hermes, and Dominique all got their role in the story going forward properly established. In terms of antagonists, it's in a weird position since the closest thing to a central antagonist is the 8th genesis itself, something that can't really be considered a character. In order to allow the genesis to function, the role of antagonist switches between oathbreaker and the garden master. Oathbreaker and the twins end up being interesting antagonists whenever they are on screen but in the grand scheme, they are mainly in the story to introduce the Twins while establishing oathbreaker as a real threat going into the next game. With the garden master although he feels like a constant threat and the background of his character itself is interesting since he gets introduced so late in one big info dump and with him mostly operating in the shadows he is a pretty weak antagonist. Although his character does help to give a bit of development to Swin and help show what genesis’s time travel does, his lack of screentime puts him on the lower end of antagonists in the series.

The actual plot of the game from the get-go was in a weird position due to the limit it has on affecting the overarching story and although it stumbles on some story beats it effectively accomplishes the cleanup and setup it needed to accomplish. Up until chapter 3 is pretty much entirely dedicated to clean up and it does this well by it tying up the loose ends that needed to be resolved and most likely wouldn't have much of a place going into the next entry (genesis collection, dg cult, and its survivors, Van leaving Aramis, zecht arms, garden). Chapter 3 is by far the most criticized part of this game due to its execution. While none of the routes are bad with the latter ones having some of the highlights of the game and them all fleshing out various characters the sheer number of them combined with the lack of actual plot progression happening in the earlier ones can cause the game to feel very tiring. The focus on time travel in this part also doesn't help with its potential consequences not being introduced until after making it feel like one big deus ex machina throughout this chapter removing any feeling of tension. Although it's not handled the best story wise the genesis and its time travel abilities are effectively introduced in this chapter and although a bit too late setups potential consequences of it for the next game. The final chapter however is able to wrap up the story effectively with it providing some nice resolution to the 8th genesis and C while also giving some hints about the next franchise. The central theme of anyone being possible of committing any sin if their viewpoint is changed is interesting and although it was handled decently well from chapter 3 onwards it missed out by not having incorporated the pre chapter 3 stuff into it more

The ost is solid with it having fewer lows and is more consistent then Kuro 1 but never reaches the same heights. Although Koguchi Singa and Sonoda are all better then they were in Kuro 1 Jindo was the highlight of Kuro 1 while all of the songs he contributed are great not as many reach the heights as the best of Kuro 1.

While not much of the gameplay has been changed the little things they do add fix most issues there were with the original. The turn bar being fixed makes the battles easier to understand and plan ahead while improvements to stun with the chain attack feature give the battle a better progression flow. The transition from field based to turn based is still amazing and the addition of arts still keeps it simple while also making it more viable for non physical attackers. Although it fixes almost all of Kuro 1s issues the turn based part of the combat still isn't as deep as hajimari but everything else about it is probably the perfection of turn based battles with its improved on the field aspect making it one of if not the best combat systems in the series

Although the game is in an awkward position and has some missteps everything it accomplishes well is still to the level of the past entries and with it being a sequel to Kuro 1 it is able to ride off the foundations laid into a game very much deserving of being in the series although one of the weaker entries.

Xenoblade 3 is certainly a Xenoblade game with it having all of the strengths and flaws of the past 2(3?) while adding as well.

In the story, the first 5 chapters in Xenoblade 3 are genuinely amazing and although the last 2 are still solid a lot of the flaws from the early game are very much caught. The thematic writing is easily the best in the blade series but the character writing is still not top tier it's a big improvement over 1 and 2 however some characters like Noah don't get this treatment. Noah's character writing is some of the weakest and hits the game pretty hard, especially towards the end with scenes that should have been a great character moment falling more flat than they should due to his character not getting fleshed out properly enough beforehand. With the existence of N, it's quite disappointing how little time to develop he got since it would make the relationship all the greater. With his character the times he did have moments that should have been fantastic character development it's based on character traits that were never mentioned before the scene leaving it to feel more like a revelation than development. Outside of Mio, the other 4 are varying levels of serviceable to great but the writing shines in the interactions between the 6 making them feel more real than almost any other jrpg. Mio is the clear standout out of the 6 main part members with her moments in chapters 1-5 being some of the best in the series. Although chapters 1-5 have decent character writing post chapter 6 the plot takes hold and almost none of the main cast get any real development leaving a few characters high and dry which they somewhat try and rectify in the character side stories to varying degrees of success. This could be fine but considering how the development there wasn't anything special it starts to hurt towards the end especially since Z's character is close to non-existent making it hard for the characters to carry the dramatic tension of later parts. On the antagonist side outside of Shania J and N, it's mostly jobbers which although could be fine ends up hurting the story more than it should with them coming off as comically evil compared to the aforementioned 2 whose role continually furthers the idea of having the true antagonist be the world itself. Out of all the red Moebius, the only standout one is J with his role allowing some character growth on both sides and allowing further expansion on the key ideas. N although coming in late was the biggest highlight with his character being incredible while also tying and furthering the main themes and strengths of the game and almost carrying the last 2 chapters on his back. Noah falling flat hurts him however it diminishes the heights his character could have reached. Z being the main antagonist while not bad in concept the way they execute him hurts him, especially in how the early chapters overly humanize him instead of the more conceptual being representative of the world and the core themes that he is. Having him be a more conceptual entity while fine in concept compared to something like the CS series that has a similar antagonist however the other antagonists are developed and used enough to take the weight of the characterization necessity off of the Z equivalent allowing him to truly function as a conceptual being. Characters that potentially could have taken this weight like N appear too late into the game and are too reliant on Z forcing Z to take more weight as an antagonist than he should.

Another of the most glaring issues is the game's desire to not have the standard jrpg info dump which for the most part is done well especially in the early chapter however there is a reason games like this have them. In the latter half a lot of key concepts never get explained like Lucky seven/Sword of End/Origin/Noahs name he never revealed purpose, sonar detection, maker, Riku Melia connection, and to a lesser extent just the overall working of the concepts in the world. making it more confusing and harder to get invested than it should. The story in the first 5 chapters is very good with some of the best moments of any Xeno game and while still fine in 6 and 7 the issues especially the aforementioned issues with characters bring it down from the previous heights making it not land as gracefully as it could have. Although it is still able to deliver on its core themes and a satisfying conclusion it felt like it was forced to rely on a more Ikuhara esc ending with it putting all its weight on its core theme which while it does work it doesn't have as big an impact as the xbc1 and 2 endings do to it not committing to this approach from the get-go. Chapters 1-6 compared to 7s method of storytelling is a big part of this with 1-6 although not focusing on lore still providing an adequate amount with almost all of the character development happening here compared to the little explanation entirely plot and thematic driven 7. While not being unable to answer a lot of things that were never properly explained and put off for later in the earlier chapters is jarring and hurts the plot, the way 7 itself is handled also contributes to this.

Having a story with little explanation for lore and focusing on the thematic side can work and can be seen in stuff like Lynch or Ikuharas works and the Zaregoto series the difference is these series are still character-driven allowing the lack of lore to work. By having all the character development be done with their role being merely an opposition and the story being entirely thematic and plot-driven, this is not such a case. In addition to thematic driven having it be almost entirely plot-driven makes the lack of lore and explanation drastically harm the story, especially how intertwined the plot and world are of this game, and without the characters to fall back on like the aforementioned works it led to this chapter while still solid to not fully deliver as it could have. Although the story has issues the setting used in the story is easily one of the best out of any jrpg with it feeling perfectly built around the game's theme similar to 2 while still keeping the creativity as 1. Regardless, as a whole, the story still has some amazing moments and was able to have me invested throughout the entire time.

While the early game's ideas of life and death and living knowing you are going to die were incredibly interesting and very well done it felt like it ended up just being Mios arc causing it to vanish after chapter 6 which was a bit disappointing but understandable since it was only meant to be further the idea of the importance of choice and the future. This was done very well in retrospect but during playing felt a little disappointing since once the narrative fully shifted to the core theme it felt a bit jarring considering how much importance it had in the earlier chapters. While Xbc1 and 2s main themes were tied into the future and past respectively 3s use of the present was a nice way to end the trilogy and was able to use it to be thematically richer than 1 while also better developing and exploring its themes than 2. Although subtly used at the beginning concerning death Xbc3s main theme of the scariness of the future outcomes of making choices in life and the desire to stay in the endless present was handled very well with its utilization of some of the side characters being the highlights. Through the side characters, the theme was able to be explored from multiple angles very well with Ethel, Senia, and N all allowing very different aspects of the consequences of choice and the lack thereof to be properly weaved into the story all while encompassing it all in Z and his desire to stay in the present. Although it comes at the cost of the character and story writing none of the past Xenoblade games have been able to explore its core themes and the off branching ideas this completely. In addition, it also can tie in the themes of the cycle of violence from Xbc1 and hope and despair from Xbc2 quite nicely with 2s fitting perfectly with the story although 1 felt a bit disconnected and died off post chapter 5 mainly being relegated to sidequests. This game easily had the best thematic writing of the series and although it came at the cost of the aforementioned story and character issues at least for me its thematic writing made up for it.

The writing in the sidequests and the NPC are also more fleshed out than in the past games with all the hero quests and most side quests adding to the story and world with the amount of filler fetch quests being substantially reduced.

Although the story has some clear flaws it's a game, not a book, and has more to it than just its story with the gameplay and soundtrack both being superb. The gameplay is probably the best in the series with combat having the most customization within the series and with the updated chain attack system still having room to go above and beyond in terms of strategizing mid-game almost as much as the elemental system in 2 while being easily understood. Map design is also great although especially in the early areas feels a lot more closed off than 2 did making it harder to get lost but also being more restrictive. Like all past blade games, the soundtrack is consistently superb, potentially having the best emotional songs in the series.

The soundtrack is one of the best for any jrpg ever compared to the insane heights 2 set it's debatable whether it hit or not with the field themes being the most noticeable. While the field themes are all at least good with there being some insane standouts like Millick Meadows and Agnus colony night and considering its focus less on percussion and mostly wind instruments it's still only just competing with 2 and event without the percussion-heavy songs in 2 like songs Tantal night and most of the other night variants are competing with the best 3 can offer in terms of field theme. Battle themes are more consistent than 2 and almost always perfect fitting. The emotional songs are also easily the best in the series with them being less leitmotif reliant than 2 but can also stand on their own better. Although in terms of leitmotif usage it's more varied with them mostly being reused from past games there is still a decent original one although its use doesn't have the same impacts that 2s main ones had.

Cutscenes are phenomenal, especially in directing, and although the shots aren't overly insane it has great use of close-ups and camera movement within the action scenes making it stand out from other game's cutscenes. Graphically while very impressive for the switch it's still rough around the edges. Due to it being more detailed and having a less vibrant than xbcde and 2 it's got a lot higher highs and lower lows than the 2 especially in bigger areas but almost all laws are made up for when it can look its best in the cutscenes.

Whether this is the best or worst Xenoblade game is debatable but regardless it is still a Xenoblade game and although in some areas it's worse than others it was able to bring together the highs from all 3 while adding some new to make a genuinely great game.