It's pretty crazy that this 40 dollar expansion has more content than a lot of full priced games.
This is one of the best expansions I've played for a game. It adds so much needed development for some characters from 2. I already loved characters like Mythra and Jin, but seeing more background for them solidified them as some of the best in the series. The main cast here I honestly enjoy a bit more than the main game. Hugo felt a little under utilized, but I enjoyed the main party's banter and personalities. The dialogue was consistently good from the start and didn't hit the same awkward moments that the first few chapters of 2 suffer from. They are all instantly likeable and develop together in a more natural way.
I also appreciate the new combat system. This kept it feeling fresh after playing 2 instead of forcing me to progress through the same battle system again. I think overall I prefer the combat of 2, but Torna's combat is perfect for this expansion and provides some clever narrative context for how blades developed in this world through its gameplay.
I spent a little over 30 hours playing this which is about half the length of the main game. I expected maybe 15 or 20. And honestly...it probably should've been this length because I feel like a good chunk of this game suffered from padding. Longer doesn't equal better.
The pacing is brilliant until later in the game where you are hit with a road block due to the community system. You need to reach community level 4 near the end to continue the story. Community is built by doing side quests. I don't mind this mechanic, but it was a horrible idea to block off story progression until you do a certain amount of side quests. Perhaps I have only myself to blame for not doing side quests very often, but I DID do quite a few in between story missions. Theres not much incentive to do them because I never struggled to keep my combat level up to speed. I never felt under leveled. Usually xenoblade games use side quests to prevent the player from needing to grind. Well I never had to grind so the incentive to do side quests was minimal. I should just do them for the stories right? That'd be great but so many of the side quests are just fetch quests or "bring me this specific item". And on top of that, a lot of items people request you need to craft. Oops, it appears you lack the materials to craft that item so now you need to run around looking for those materials to craft the thing to give to the guy to build your community level to then finally continue the story. It is such a frustrating design philosophy and I feel like it was only implemented to make the game longer. If this game was 5-10 hours shorter I would have still enjoyed it just as much, but being forced to do side quests to get to the part I'm actually interested in totally ruined the pacing of this expansion near the end. Which is a shame because the rest of this game is fantastic.
I know that was rather negative, but in defense of the game, all of that frustration is compiled near the end of the game rather than throughout the whole thing. Not to mention doing side quests right from the start to avoid it later could prevent it. I just didn't know there would be such severe punishment for only doing maybe half of the quests I come across. Like seriously, do every side quest you come across or you'll pay for it later. (then again maybe constant fetch quests through the whole game would ruin an otherwise beautifully paced adventure). I pray the next xenoblade game stays far away from this quest design.
Back to the positives. The main story is great and very focused on its characters. This narrative not only works pretty well as a stand alone story, but it really does make 2 better overall. I would not suggest playing this before 2 because the context of 2's main story is necessary in my opinion, but this is meant to build upon it, and it does so perfectly.
Also the music in Torna has a very strong identity. The touch of jazz within its themes is incredible, and the Torna battle theme might be my favorite battle theme in the whole series. I was surprised how unique the style was compared to 2 and that it didnt simply rehash tracks from the main game. I adore Torna's OST and I think it barely topped the OST of 2.
My only other complaint would be the fact that the locations are pretty repetitive since you don't go to a lot of different areas, but there are still some gorgeous sights to behold.
This was so close to being a 9/10 until the quest design shattered the pacing of the game towards the end.
I was also close to giving it a 7 due to this frustration, but I had to remind myself that it is partially my fault for not consistently completing side quests throughout since its clearly implied to be important, but I still feel the actual design around its implementation is horribly flawed and could've been far less frustrating. Of my 30+ hour journey, I'd estimate 7 hours or so were spent focusing on leveling up community, so its far from a majority of the experience.
If you enjoyed 2 - there is no question that you need to play this. I'd say it's essential to the experience of 2. It's not just a simple DLC that provides some more quests. It adds more depth to its world and characters and in return improves aspects of 2's story. It's cool to see so much thought go into DLC for xenoblade 2. Ignoring the community road blocks, I do feel like there are a lot of things in Torna that are an improvement over 2 which gives me more hope for the future of the series.
This is one of the best expansions I've played for a game. It adds so much needed development for some characters from 2. I already loved characters like Mythra and Jin, but seeing more background for them solidified them as some of the best in the series. The main cast here I honestly enjoy a bit more than the main game. Hugo felt a little under utilized, but I enjoyed the main party's banter and personalities. The dialogue was consistently good from the start and didn't hit the same awkward moments that the first few chapters of 2 suffer from. They are all instantly likeable and develop together in a more natural way.
I also appreciate the new combat system. This kept it feeling fresh after playing 2 instead of forcing me to progress through the same battle system again. I think overall I prefer the combat of 2, but Torna's combat is perfect for this expansion and provides some clever narrative context for how blades developed in this world through its gameplay.
I spent a little over 30 hours playing this which is about half the length of the main game. I expected maybe 15 or 20. And honestly...it probably should've been this length because I feel like a good chunk of this game suffered from padding. Longer doesn't equal better.
The pacing is brilliant until later in the game where you are hit with a road block due to the community system. You need to reach community level 4 near the end to continue the story. Community is built by doing side quests. I don't mind this mechanic, but it was a horrible idea to block off story progression until you do a certain amount of side quests. Perhaps I have only myself to blame for not doing side quests very often, but I DID do quite a few in between story missions. Theres not much incentive to do them because I never struggled to keep my combat level up to speed. I never felt under leveled. Usually xenoblade games use side quests to prevent the player from needing to grind. Well I never had to grind so the incentive to do side quests was minimal. I should just do them for the stories right? That'd be great but so many of the side quests are just fetch quests or "bring me this specific item". And on top of that, a lot of items people request you need to craft. Oops, it appears you lack the materials to craft that item so now you need to run around looking for those materials to craft the thing to give to the guy to build your community level to then finally continue the story. It is such a frustrating design philosophy and I feel like it was only implemented to make the game longer. If this game was 5-10 hours shorter I would have still enjoyed it just as much, but being forced to do side quests to get to the part I'm actually interested in totally ruined the pacing of this expansion near the end. Which is a shame because the rest of this game is fantastic.
I know that was rather negative, but in defense of the game, all of that frustration is compiled near the end of the game rather than throughout the whole thing. Not to mention doing side quests right from the start to avoid it later could prevent it. I just didn't know there would be such severe punishment for only doing maybe half of the quests I come across. Like seriously, do every side quest you come across or you'll pay for it later. (then again maybe constant fetch quests through the whole game would ruin an otherwise beautifully paced adventure). I pray the next xenoblade game stays far away from this quest design.
Back to the positives. The main story is great and very focused on its characters. This narrative not only works pretty well as a stand alone story, but it really does make 2 better overall. I would not suggest playing this before 2 because the context of 2's main story is necessary in my opinion, but this is meant to build upon it, and it does so perfectly.
Also the music in Torna has a very strong identity. The touch of jazz within its themes is incredible, and the Torna battle theme might be my favorite battle theme in the whole series. I was surprised how unique the style was compared to 2 and that it didnt simply rehash tracks from the main game. I adore Torna's OST and I think it barely topped the OST of 2.
My only other complaint would be the fact that the locations are pretty repetitive since you don't go to a lot of different areas, but there are still some gorgeous sights to behold.
This was so close to being a 9/10 until the quest design shattered the pacing of the game towards the end.
I was also close to giving it a 7 due to this frustration, but I had to remind myself that it is partially my fault for not consistently completing side quests throughout since its clearly implied to be important, but I still feel the actual design around its implementation is horribly flawed and could've been far less frustrating. Of my 30+ hour journey, I'd estimate 7 hours or so were spent focusing on leveling up community, so its far from a majority of the experience.
If you enjoyed 2 - there is no question that you need to play this. I'd say it's essential to the experience of 2. It's not just a simple DLC that provides some more quests. It adds more depth to its world and characters and in return improves aspects of 2's story. It's cool to see so much thought go into DLC for xenoblade 2. Ignoring the community road blocks, I do feel like there are a lot of things in Torna that are an improvement over 2 which gives me more hope for the future of the series.