PSIUser658
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Sonic Lost World
2013
The game is called Sonic Lost World, and yet in the beginning the lost world is no longer lost since they found it, what a sick joke.
Oh and the game is balls as well and a bit disappointing since I enjoyed this game when I was younger, but I can say the same for base 06 so that's not saying much.
Oh and the game is balls as well and a bit disappointing since I enjoyed this game when I was younger, but I can say the same for base 06 so that's not saying much.
Zelda Unleashed
Xenoblade Chronicles
2010
After nearly a decade of knowing about it, playing a bit of the Wii version, playing a good amount of 2, and then taking two years to finish it for some reason, I finally finished it and its incredible. See you in 10 years when I log Xenoblade X.
This review contains spoilers
Everyone has at one point has had their most anticipated game. For many years I thought that time came and went for me but then I played Final Fantasy VII Remake and FF7 in general became my favorite thing on Earth. So naturally for me my most anticipated game became Final Fantasy VII Rebirth if you want my thoughts briefly as someone who loves Final Fantasy VII more than anything this game exceeded my high expectations and game 3 has a lot to live up to riding this entry especially. Rebirth compared to Remake is structurely a lot different Remake was a game set only in Midgar and was extremely linear with limited to barely any exploration. Rebirth on the other hand lets you go all around Gaia and explore to your hearts content there's lots of activities to do and rewards to find along the way. To say the amount of content in this game is massive is an understatement there is so much to explore and so much to do it can be a bit overwhelming at times actually. I haven't felt this compelled to sink hours and hours into exploring long after finishing the game since Xenoblade Chronicles definitive edition. Final Fantasy for a while was criticized for being too linear and while I personally don't think the style is the issue seeing how they created the open environments here really took my breath away. Gaia is simply stunning seeing her finally in her HD glory when for years I've only seen her as PS1 polygons it feels good it feels so amazing. The combat here well Remake was already my favorite combat system ever put in a game and Rebirth makes big improvements to it and now it's even more fun than it was in Remake which made me really happy to see the devs actually improve stuff between games like that. In Remake Clouds Aircombat was clunky and jank and there was no flow to it he just did it automatically too you couldn't control when it happened. In Rebirth you get to choose if Cloud enters Aircombat which on its own wouldn't be huge however they fixed the feeling of the Aircombat and now it feels much more smooth and fun to do they even added an air dodge it made me feel like I was playing Advent children at times which in this context is a great thing to wrap up Aircombat you can also engage in it with ground foes too just adding more tools overall to his already amazing kit for more on the combat system just revisit my Remake review I went into good detail there my main takeaway is they took that and expanded upon it and made it better than it already was. Final Fantasy VII orginal was a game that when it came out it was ground breaking for the amount of different types of gameplay it had in time these became known as mini games and as much as I love og 7 the mini games did not age well at all. Here in Rebirth theres countless mini games you can play whenever you desire some of which offer hard difficulties for them all of them are pretty well designed and really fun it's awesome to play a FF7 game with so much variety of mini games and have them actually be really fun I've enjoyed almost every mini game. There were points while playing Rebirth when I would get so hooked into some mini games when they finally ended I would snap back to reality and think "oh wait I'm playing FF7" because they simply are that diverse and different from the main game it adds so much variety I love it. The example of a mini game I'll use here is the frog mini game in this one you play as a frog and you have to survive as long as you possibly can to get max rewards and this is just one small example of the types of mini games you can find within Rebirth. If part 3 also has mini games I can only hope they are on the same tier of quality as the ones in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Alright now it's time for the big stuff it's time I talk about the story and characters as it's the reason FF7 is my favorite of all time while yes it also being one of my favorite games to play also helps the story is what keeps me so invested I'll also talk about the music in this section too because I feel it's most appropriate here. Spoilers ahead for og and this new trilogy of FFVII games. Final Fantasy VII is a game where I love the cast because I can see myself within so many of the characters on a relatable level for me from here on out this review will get a bit personal I'll do a few examples. Cloud is a character where I relate to his backstory so strongly I was in that position once myself and seeing another person who was just like me it resonates with me that's why I love him. Tifa with her unending kindness and love for others despite all the traumatic things she's been through inspires me to be a better person and to try and be as loving as I possibly can be she's phenomenal I love her. And Aerith Gainsborough is a character who I'll just admit I see myself so strongly within her she feels like in many ways she is who I am. Now on why that is sorry to disappoint but it's something I personally aren't comfortable getting into but believe me when I say she means the world to me for everything she is and that she stands for. Now that all that is out of the way I want to discuss how Rebirth adapts from the party leaving Midgar to forgotten capital. A lot of it to me felt so familiar but also so distinct. The emotions in this one are higher than the previous from beginning to end I found myself crying countless times during this game. One thing I personally enjoy about this trilogy and specifically Rebirth is even if a result is the same the way we get there could be exactly how it was in og or it can be slightly different I enjoy seeing how they connect the dots from point A to point B it's rather enjoyable to me and a highlight to me. There was a few points in the story's pacing I felt were a bit unnecessary but I'd be lying if I said they took away from how much I was enjoying it I can definitely see others having a bigger issue but for me I was so happy with my journey I couldn't have enough of it. One aspect I enjoyed greatly was them bringing stuff from later in the story earlier into itll make their inclusion later in the story feel more natural. Gongaga being required this time was amazing the region is so beautiful and what it added to the story I thought was brilliant it was setting up for some amazing stuff in part 3 while being amazing in its own right I can't wait to see how they pay it off. Cosmo Canyon Aerith has a speech where she talks about her feelings and it resonated with me so hard on a personal level I hadn't felt so seen like that in a long time I was a mess that day your the best Aerith life you so much. Another thing in Cosmo Canyon that I enjoyed was new lore about the black materia in og the black materia basically just exists to summon meteor and that's it. In Rebirth it's explained that the materia exists because the Gi created it to destroy the planet since they cannot return to the lifestream they invented it in order to seek freedom from their prison. I really enjoy this new addition because while their mindset I find really flawed and selfish I find it compelling and I understand why they made the black materia. To the next part Zack was the big mystery in Remake and we got a lot more of him here all of his scenes were really intriguing and had me asking questions while they didn't answer everything I do feel I understand a lot more hoping part 3 will fully unlift the curtain in this regard. Now let's talk about it the part that will be controversial just like Remake the final chapter. Rebirth ends at the forgotten capital which if you know anything about it you know it's the place where the saddest moment in gaming happens. Even after all these years we couldn't stop it from happening again the devs hinted at maybe it could have a different result but no to me they made a statement that they weren't gonna get rid of themes and emotion of the original with how they carried it out. While I can see so many having issues with how it was carried out I choose to see it as an emotional moment that I'll never forget as long as I live it truly struck my heartstrings during the entire Final boss I was crying my eyes out devastated I know from an objective standpoint it gives the story more weight but it hurts me so much I can't believe they took her away from me like that again. The final boss is really sick on its own the fight itself is so cool and in some ways it feels like something straight outta a fan fic I'd write the only issue I have with the final boss is to me it felt inappropriate to have such a hype and long final boss immediately after the saddest moment of the game. I'll take a quick break to talk about the music before I wrap up the soundtrack is simply phenomenal all the new arrangements and genres are breathtaking with how they sound the boss themes as hype as ever the character themes emotional the world themes really set the mood the music here is simply one of the best things to grace my ears. No promises to keep in particular means a lot to me the song in question is the main vocal theme of Rebirth and it comes from Aerith's point of view and listening to it after rolling the credits on Rebirth dude it hurts so much it really gets me in the feels so much when I hear it. Nobou Uematsu you made another phenomenal piece thank you for giving her a song that incredible again. To wrap up there is a part of the final scene that has some uncertain of the future and while I can understand that from what I've received from these 2 games so far in the trilogy I don't feel the need to be worried I have faith in the vision and I hope part 3 sticks the landing. Aerith Gainsborough is my favorite part of any piece of fiction ever she means more to me than words could ever say I know it's silly but I mean it she is my world. I'm so happy Rebirth is the game she gets to have her farewell in because it's truly a masterpiece in my eyes and I'll be forever grateful for everything she has given me and all the times she's helped me. Thank you, Aerith.
Persona 3 Reload
2024
Ever since Persona 5 got popular back in the day, I’ve always been interested in the franchise, considering the fact that I love RPG’s. But that was before I had a job and I only had some Nintendo consoles, the Xbox 360, and PS2 so I decided I wanted to get Persona 4 which I would get years later but never got around to due to me not having the time. I would then get a hand me down PS3 2 years ago where I decided to finally get MGS4 and the original Persona 5, and then P5 Royal and the other two games were announced for Switch. I got P5R and P4G and yet never got around to them. But the one I was interested in the most was Persona 3, considering the fact that people said it had the best story in the franchise. When the remake was announced, I was considering playing the original with the “control all party members” mod but of course I never got around to it. So I decided to make Persona 3 Reload my first Persona game I’d play and after playing it, this is truly something special.
This game is basically a combination of a life simulator, a JRPG, and a dungeon crawler. Instead of the normal magic system that is used in most RPG’s, you use Personas which can also level up along with your party members if you use them. The main character can also use multiple Personas meaning that you can also fuse multiple Personas in order to create new ones and get new abilities. Apparently the battle system in this game is taken straight from Persona 5 from what I heard. This game is a turn based RPG with a great combat system where if you strike an enemy’s weakness, you get to go again and even switch to party members in order to strike the other enemy’s weakness so you can unleash an all out attack. There is a lot that goes into the system including stat buffs and debuffs which can be quite useful in certain situations.
There's also the dungeon you explore, Tartarus. Tartarus is a 260 floor dungeon that takes the entire game to finish and only appears during the dark hour. While it can get a little repetitive at times which is one of my only two gripes about the game, the tower is still pretty fun to explore and find treasure, and the mini bosses are a highlight of the game and are quite challenging.
The life simulator aspect is executed brilliantly, where you can make bonds with other people in the town and once you max out their social links, you will be able to fuse more powerful personas so it's even useful for the battles as well. Not all the social links are winners but there are some standouts like Akinari and Aegis. And apparently this is the first Persona game where they are all voiced which is surprising but better late than never I suppose.
And then the soundtrack, HOLY SHIT THIS SOUNDTRACK SLAPS SO FUCKING HARD HOLY SHIT. Even though I like the original opening of the original game a bit more, “Full Moon, Full Life” is a close second and a banger in general. This soundtrack might be one of my all time favorites in any piece of media right next to the Silent Hill games, Once Upon A Time in America, La La Land, and Oppenheimer.
The story is something I don’t really want to get into in order to avoid spoilers but I will say this, this is a slow burn considering the fact that this takes place over the course of one year. And it's a very emotional and sometimes devastating story about life and death and it's also very entertaining as well thanks to the characters being as charming and great as they are, you can even date some of them as well, though thankfully in this version of the game you can just have normal friendships with them if you want to max out all the social links unlike in the original PS2 release. And the finale is probably my favorite finale in any game ever and that ending is truly something special.
Overall, I think this might be the best RPG I have ever played since Final Fantasy VI and this the first time I’ve adored a game this much since Metal Gear Solid 2, just wow. You know what, it might be my new favorite RPG and one of my favorite games of all time. I’m now interested in playing other games in the future including Persona 1, 2, and 2 2 (BAYBEEE HERE COMES THE MONEY!). It might be awhile before I play 5 through considering the fact that its twice as long as this, but I don’t know how that can surpass this considering the fact that this is a straight up 11/10 game and easily my Game of the Year, not even so far I don’t think FFVII Rebirth will even surpass this even though that looks a lot of fun.
Also for an RPG this took me only two weeks to finish compared to the FF games I’ve played last year and especially Xenoblade 1 (which I will finish this year), even though they are also fantastic. I guess that goes to show how much fun I’ve had while playing this game.
This game is basically a combination of a life simulator, a JRPG, and a dungeon crawler. Instead of the normal magic system that is used in most RPG’s, you use Personas which can also level up along with your party members if you use them. The main character can also use multiple Personas meaning that you can also fuse multiple Personas in order to create new ones and get new abilities. Apparently the battle system in this game is taken straight from Persona 5 from what I heard. This game is a turn based RPG with a great combat system where if you strike an enemy’s weakness, you get to go again and even switch to party members in order to strike the other enemy’s weakness so you can unleash an all out attack. There is a lot that goes into the system including stat buffs and debuffs which can be quite useful in certain situations.
There's also the dungeon you explore, Tartarus. Tartarus is a 260 floor dungeon that takes the entire game to finish and only appears during the dark hour. While it can get a little repetitive at times which is one of my only two gripes about the game, the tower is still pretty fun to explore and find treasure, and the mini bosses are a highlight of the game and are quite challenging.
The life simulator aspect is executed brilliantly, where you can make bonds with other people in the town and once you max out their social links, you will be able to fuse more powerful personas so it's even useful for the battles as well. Not all the social links are winners but there are some standouts like Akinari and Aegis. And apparently this is the first Persona game where they are all voiced which is surprising but better late than never I suppose.
And then the soundtrack, HOLY SHIT THIS SOUNDTRACK SLAPS SO FUCKING HARD HOLY SHIT. Even though I like the original opening of the original game a bit more, “Full Moon, Full Life” is a close second and a banger in general. This soundtrack might be one of my all time favorites in any piece of media right next to the Silent Hill games, Once Upon A Time in America, La La Land, and Oppenheimer.
The story is something I don’t really want to get into in order to avoid spoilers but I will say this, this is a slow burn considering the fact that this takes place over the course of one year. And it's a very emotional and sometimes devastating story about life and death and it's also very entertaining as well thanks to the characters being as charming and great as they are, you can even date some of them as well, though thankfully in this version of the game you can just have normal friendships with them if you want to max out all the social links unlike in the original PS2 release. And the finale is probably my favorite finale in any game ever and that ending is truly something special.
Overall, I think this might be the best RPG I have ever played since Final Fantasy VI and this the first time I’ve adored a game this much since Metal Gear Solid 2, just wow. You know what, it might be my new favorite RPG and one of my favorite games of all time. I’m now interested in playing other games in the future including Persona 1, 2, and 2 2 (BAYBEEE HERE COMES THE MONEY!). It might be awhile before I play 5 through considering the fact that its twice as long as this, but I don’t know how that can surpass this considering the fact that this is a straight up 11/10 game and easily my Game of the Year, not even so far I don’t think FFVII Rebirth will even surpass this even though that looks a lot of fun.
Also for an RPG this took me only two weeks to finish compared to the FF games I’ve played last year and especially Xenoblade 1 (which I will finish this year), even though they are also fantastic. I guess that goes to show how much fun I’ve had while playing this game.
F-Zero
1990
If you miss a turn in Mario Kart, you continue. If you miss a turn in F-Zero, you could die.
Mother: Encore
TBD
Encountered a soft-lock right near the end of the demo but still experienced about 90% of what was there. I'm not going to rate this anything by nature of it being a demo anyways, but I just wanted to take some time to talk about MOTHER Encore. I don't talk about it all that much on Backloggd, but MOTHER and I have very lengthy history - I was around for the Starmen.net heyday, I distinctly recall the Fangamer merch releasing for the first time, I cosplayed Ninten and Ness at a bunch of cons as a pre-teen: point being, I was there. EarthBound and the first MOTHER in particular are games I hold really close to my heart and care about deeply. At another point in my life, I also really cared deeply for the fan-community and all of the exciting projects that popped up left and right in those days.
With that said, I absolutely want to congratulate the MOTHER Encore team on releasing a demo that so clearly envisions a new, fresh take on MOTHER - a game that they clearly love as much as I do - and for said demo to have already garnered the attention that it has. A great MOTHER fan work releasing is a victory for the fans overall. I see the confidence all across this demo and I'm confident that this team will absolutely deliver on this promise and make the game they see the potential for this to be.
... With that said, I'm also not really sure that we look at the original MOTHER the same way. The team's interpretation of this game seems to be a melding of the blueprint of MOTHER with the latter entries' - particularly 3's general bombast and loudness of its presentation (compared to 1 and 2) in a way that feels... dissonant from what the original game's tone and model was going for? The original MOTHER, and to an extent MOTHER2, have this sort of feeling about them, a sort of ambience that hangs over the experience, a sense of adventure with a tinge of melancholy that doesn't come necessarily from the dramatic story beats of 3, but more just a simple presence of unease, or nostalgia, or just a wordless something. It's a good deal of why, despite liking MOTHER3 a lot, I see it as a strong divide from the first two games and don't quite hold it so personally these days. MOTHER, more so than any RPG I've ever played, just captures the spirit of adventure. It's a desolate but expansive world, and things look samey but spread out - you can wander aimlessly and find train stations, or zoos, or accidentally encounter enemies and plot beats you're not prepared for. But that's in the name of adventure. It's in the name of the spacey, weird feeling that comes with being a kid, walking around alone outside for hours, and just feeling slightly apart from the world.
Encore by and large feels too busy to ever quite hit that tone. For that matter, I think basically every game MOTHER inspired does too, by and large. That's part of what makes the original game so unique. That's part of why I question this alleged necessity for a remake. It's not a perfect game but I question how much it's appreciated on its own terms.
All the best to the Encore team, and as another ages-old fan - I really hope the best for this project and chances are I'll be there to play the whole thing. That Starmen.net is still in me. You let me hit the lamp. With my hand. Basically, I'm appalled at the lack of Ninten Oreo references here.
With that said, I absolutely want to congratulate the MOTHER Encore team on releasing a demo that so clearly envisions a new, fresh take on MOTHER - a game that they clearly love as much as I do - and for said demo to have already garnered the attention that it has. A great MOTHER fan work releasing is a victory for the fans overall. I see the confidence all across this demo and I'm confident that this team will absolutely deliver on this promise and make the game they see the potential for this to be.
... With that said, I'm also not really sure that we look at the original MOTHER the same way. The team's interpretation of this game seems to be a melding of the blueprint of MOTHER with the latter entries' - particularly 3's general bombast and loudness of its presentation (compared to 1 and 2) in a way that feels... dissonant from what the original game's tone and model was going for? The original MOTHER, and to an extent MOTHER2, have this sort of feeling about them, a sort of ambience that hangs over the experience, a sense of adventure with a tinge of melancholy that doesn't come necessarily from the dramatic story beats of 3, but more just a simple presence of unease, or nostalgia, or just a wordless something. It's a good deal of why, despite liking MOTHER3 a lot, I see it as a strong divide from the first two games and don't quite hold it so personally these days. MOTHER, more so than any RPG I've ever played, just captures the spirit of adventure. It's a desolate but expansive world, and things look samey but spread out - you can wander aimlessly and find train stations, or zoos, or accidentally encounter enemies and plot beats you're not prepared for. But that's in the name of adventure. It's in the name of the spacey, weird feeling that comes with being a kid, walking around alone outside for hours, and just feeling slightly apart from the world.
Encore by and large feels too busy to ever quite hit that tone. For that matter, I think basically every game MOTHER inspired does too, by and large. That's part of what makes the original game so unique. That's part of why I question this alleged necessity for a remake. It's not a perfect game but I question how much it's appreciated on its own terms.
All the best to the Encore team, and as another ages-old fan - I really hope the best for this project and chances are I'll be there to play the whole thing. That Starmen.net is still in me. You let me hit the lamp. With my hand. Basically, I'm appalled at the lack of Ninten Oreo references here.
Four years. Four long years have I waited for this game. It just goes to show how much patience can pay off.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was one of the first games I got for my Switch, and I fell in love with it almost instantly. It quickly became one of my favorite games of all time. Sure, my opinion on it has soured a TINY bit since then, but I still adore it.
Even so, Tears of the Kingdom wipes the floor with its predecessor in just about every way. I know a lot of people are pissed off by a third of the map being copy-pasted from Breath of the Wild, but this game makes just the right amount of changes and additions to keep it feeling fresh. The redone towers make it much easier to get across the map, and the new caves are a genius addition. I sometimes felt like the previous game wasted some of its large landmasses by not featuring any caves to explore, which this game more than delivers with. The new sky islands are a blast to explore, as are the challenging yet rewarding depths. Also, rather than being essentially big shrines, this game has actual dungeons, and they are outstanding. They feel like a perfect blend between the new gameplay style and the old one present from Ocarina of Time to Skyward Sword.
Of course, you can't have fun exploring a world if what you could do yourself isn't equally as fun. Don't get me wrong, I loved the Sheikah Runes and Champion Powers, but Rauru's Arm and the Sages are honestly even better. Ultrahand is a genius evolution of Magnesis that lets you get creative with building different contraptions (I must also props to Autobuild for letting us save them). Fuse lets you take advantage of certain weapons and items, mixing and matching effects to become as strong and skillful as possible. Ascend makes climbing mountains a breeze, and Recall... serves its purpose. You can also call the sages' avatars to fight along side you and use their abilities once you beat their respective dungeons, and they're a big help. Between fuse, ultrahand and the sages, Tears of the Kingdom appears to have taken Twilight Princess' crown for the best combat in a Zelda game. I wish I could continue, but I'm still stuck trying to process this game's brilliance, so I think I'll save it for later.
I have only been playing this game for the past week, but I see myself playing it for much longer. Games like these only come once in a blue moon, where every quality is cranked up to the max and everyone and their mother won't stop gushing about it. Tears of the Kingdom is undoubtedly one of the best Switch games, one of the best Zelda games, and one of the best Nintendo games. I am more than willing to wait ten years or so for the next 3D instalment if this is the quality such a wait can yield.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was one of the first games I got for my Switch, and I fell in love with it almost instantly. It quickly became one of my favorite games of all time. Sure, my opinion on it has soured a TINY bit since then, but I still adore it.
Even so, Tears of the Kingdom wipes the floor with its predecessor in just about every way. I know a lot of people are pissed off by a third of the map being copy-pasted from Breath of the Wild, but this game makes just the right amount of changes and additions to keep it feeling fresh. The redone towers make it much easier to get across the map, and the new caves are a genius addition. I sometimes felt like the previous game wasted some of its large landmasses by not featuring any caves to explore, which this game more than delivers with. The new sky islands are a blast to explore, as are the challenging yet rewarding depths. Also, rather than being essentially big shrines, this game has actual dungeons, and they are outstanding. They feel like a perfect blend between the new gameplay style and the old one present from Ocarina of Time to Skyward Sword.
Of course, you can't have fun exploring a world if what you could do yourself isn't equally as fun. Don't get me wrong, I loved the Sheikah Runes and Champion Powers, but Rauru's Arm and the Sages are honestly even better. Ultrahand is a genius evolution of Magnesis that lets you get creative with building different contraptions (I must also props to Autobuild for letting us save them). Fuse lets you take advantage of certain weapons and items, mixing and matching effects to become as strong and skillful as possible. Ascend makes climbing mountains a breeze, and Recall... serves its purpose. You can also call the sages' avatars to fight along side you and use their abilities once you beat their respective dungeons, and they're a big help. Between fuse, ultrahand and the sages, Tears of the Kingdom appears to have taken Twilight Princess' crown for the best combat in a Zelda game. I wish I could continue, but I'm still stuck trying to process this game's brilliance, so I think I'll save it for later.
I have only been playing this game for the past week, but I see myself playing it for much longer. Games like these only come once in a blue moon, where every quality is cranked up to the max and everyone and their mother won't stop gushing about it. Tears of the Kingdom is undoubtedly one of the best Switch games, one of the best Zelda games, and one of the best Nintendo games. I am more than willing to wait ten years or so for the next 3D instalment if this is the quality such a wait can yield.
Let me just start by saying this. Xenoblade has been a series I’ve had a weird experience with. Xenoblade 1 was once the game I thought perfection was, but over the years I’d find my tastes change and would soon find it lacking in many areas.
Xenoblade X was my first game I ever properly played in the series and it took me a while to warm up to it and it’s differences. Xenoblade 2 was a game I kind of avoided for years before being convinced to check it out. It soon became my second favourite game of all time.
So…for all I know, this opinion could change within the next few years. But for now, this game holds a special place for me. And I feel confident in calling it a masterpiece.
This is not something I could say for any of the games before it. Xenoblade 2 had a great story, but was held back by rushed aspects and divisive artstyle which I can understand, if not as bothered by it as most.
And Xenoblade 1, for how impressive it was on a technical level, unfortunately doesn’t hold up as well as I remembered in how it handles its story. And the gameplay would only be improved from this game forward.
So Xenoblade 3 feels like the best of all these games, just about. The story, in my opinion at least, was well made and had me genuinely emotional at several moments. That’s mainly due to the writing being much better than ever before, feeling like the English localization was given free reign to mold the characters into people who feel real and relatable.
It’s an emotional core that attaches you to the struggle these characters deal with, experiencing their happiness, sadness, relief, regrets…it was hard not to crack a smile at every charming thing they said.
The gameplay was also super fun to get into. It was a lot at first, but the game for the most part is balanced enough to give you breathing room, as long as you know how the classes work and how best to use them.
It’s a battle system that evolves as you grow stronger, giving more options throughout and leading to a result that’s chaotic, but understandable cause of how much you’ve learned about every single part of it. Organized chaos, if you will.
The world at first felt very linear, but I found by just going off the beaten path it can open up a ton and reward you with so many amazing sights and hidden goodies. It’s insane how many cool stuff you’re allowed to just…never see in this game.
That goes doubly for side content. The side quests in this game are similar to the main story. Well written and charming to go through. The characters don’t just stand and nod to what’s happening, they actually interact and have witty lines talking about what’s going on.
The music is probably the part that’ll grow on me the most as time goes on. It’s not as bombastic or energetic as 2 or even 1’s, but I don’t think it’s trying to be. This isn’t a world with a bustling society. It’s a land of war and barren lands made up of ancient relics from past games. It has a melancholy feel that gives the game weight to its narrative, which is already very heavy in its subject matter.
If I had any issues, it’s three main things.
1. There’s a weird lacking of post battle dialogue. In every past game, you’d sometimes have the party members have a small exchange after battling an enemy which can be pretty fun. This game though has none of that, so you’ll often hear the same recycled lines countless times.
2. The chain attack theme, while great, is unfortunately a bit annoying during specific story fights where the tone is supposed to be much different. It caused me to often avoid activating it cause of that fear of losing the tension. Thankfully, this is something that could easily be fixed with an update, so hopefully this ages badly.
3. And, not to spoil anything, but the final boss has a big issue with how it’s designed. If you lose at any point in it, you have to do the entire boss over again. It’s not bad, but it’s obvious the first phase wasn’t meant to be replayed multiple times, and I really hope this is something addressed in an update as well.
At the end of the day though, this game still hit me harder than any other has to my memory. It’s an insanely well crafted experience taking the best of the series and bringing it together into a definitive package. Xenoblade 3 is a masterpiece, and I’m so glad it got the chance to exist in spite of the series rough beginnings.
Xenoblade X was my first game I ever properly played in the series and it took me a while to warm up to it and it’s differences. Xenoblade 2 was a game I kind of avoided for years before being convinced to check it out. It soon became my second favourite game of all time.
So…for all I know, this opinion could change within the next few years. But for now, this game holds a special place for me. And I feel confident in calling it a masterpiece.
This is not something I could say for any of the games before it. Xenoblade 2 had a great story, but was held back by rushed aspects and divisive artstyle which I can understand, if not as bothered by it as most.
And Xenoblade 1, for how impressive it was on a technical level, unfortunately doesn’t hold up as well as I remembered in how it handles its story. And the gameplay would only be improved from this game forward.
So Xenoblade 3 feels like the best of all these games, just about. The story, in my opinion at least, was well made and had me genuinely emotional at several moments. That’s mainly due to the writing being much better than ever before, feeling like the English localization was given free reign to mold the characters into people who feel real and relatable.
It’s an emotional core that attaches you to the struggle these characters deal with, experiencing their happiness, sadness, relief, regrets…it was hard not to crack a smile at every charming thing they said.
The gameplay was also super fun to get into. It was a lot at first, but the game for the most part is balanced enough to give you breathing room, as long as you know how the classes work and how best to use them.
It’s a battle system that evolves as you grow stronger, giving more options throughout and leading to a result that’s chaotic, but understandable cause of how much you’ve learned about every single part of it. Organized chaos, if you will.
The world at first felt very linear, but I found by just going off the beaten path it can open up a ton and reward you with so many amazing sights and hidden goodies. It’s insane how many cool stuff you’re allowed to just…never see in this game.
That goes doubly for side content. The side quests in this game are similar to the main story. Well written and charming to go through. The characters don’t just stand and nod to what’s happening, they actually interact and have witty lines talking about what’s going on.
The music is probably the part that’ll grow on me the most as time goes on. It’s not as bombastic or energetic as 2 or even 1’s, but I don’t think it’s trying to be. This isn’t a world with a bustling society. It’s a land of war and barren lands made up of ancient relics from past games. It has a melancholy feel that gives the game weight to its narrative, which is already very heavy in its subject matter.
If I had any issues, it’s three main things.
1. There’s a weird lacking of post battle dialogue. In every past game, you’d sometimes have the party members have a small exchange after battling an enemy which can be pretty fun. This game though has none of that, so you’ll often hear the same recycled lines countless times.
2. The chain attack theme, while great, is unfortunately a bit annoying during specific story fights where the tone is supposed to be much different. It caused me to often avoid activating it cause of that fear of losing the tension. Thankfully, this is something that could easily be fixed with an update, so hopefully this ages badly.
3. And, not to spoil anything, but the final boss has a big issue with how it’s designed. If you lose at any point in it, you have to do the entire boss over again. It’s not bad, but it’s obvious the first phase wasn’t meant to be replayed multiple times, and I really hope this is something addressed in an update as well.
At the end of the day though, this game still hit me harder than any other has to my memory. It’s an insanely well crafted experience taking the best of the series and bringing it together into a definitive package. Xenoblade 3 is a masterpiece, and I’m so glad it got the chance to exist in spite of the series rough beginnings.
Tetsuya Takahashi has become a strong contender for the title of my favorite video game director. I was enthralled by the gripping story and captivating world of Xenoblade 1. I was on the edge of my seat fighting the complex battles in Xenoblade 2. And here we are in the third game, bringing forth the best of both worlds. The six main characters are all incredibly endearing in their own ways. The world is massive and an utter delight to explore. The combat is by far the best in the series, merging speed and strategy into one. The story is a philosophical powerhouse, doubling as an emotional tour de force. I may still SLIGHTLY prefer the first game, but Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is still one of the best RPGs I have ever played. It's pretty much a given that Elden Ring will win game of the year at the Game Awards, but to me, this is still the game of the year in my heart. I cannot wait to see what Monolith Soft does next.
Spark you, Takahashi. But, at the same time, thank you.
Spark you, Takahashi. But, at the same time, thank you.