This review contains spoilers
Playtime: ~46 hours
I'm very conflicted with this game. JRPGs take a lot out of you. They are massive time sinks that require you to fall in love with the world, characters, and story in order to drive you forward while having at least serviceable systems in place that keep you engaged in the hours upon hours of gameplay you will undertake. Moment-to-moment actions can often drag but there should be enough there to keep you invested in what you're doing. Xenoblade Chronicles fulfills some of these criteria for a solid JRPG experience for my tastes while also crashing in other areas that make the full experience feel ambitious but underdeveloped.
The greatest strength comes in the world, characters, and story. The only reason I was able to push through my issues with the moment-to-moment gameplay was because I found these elements so compelling. The characters range anywhere between lovable goof-balls like Reyn, cute fur balls like Riki, compelling and dynamic support characters like Fiora, the stoic badass veteran in Dunban, and of course the complex role of the main character Shulk. Each character has a distinct personality and charm to them that rarely gets old. The story takes place on these two massive Titans called the Bionis and the Mechonis (words you will hear constantly throughout the story as if to remind you after the 100th time). The idea of the entire population of the world residing on these two dormant colossi who were once engulfed in a massive battle but who now rest while their inhabitants war against each other is such an interesting concept. As the story unfolds and you continue to learn the secrets of the world and the true history behind the titan's origins and their conflict, the lore and appreciation you feel for the world you are exploring is amplified.
The writing overall is spectacular as well. As mentioned before the main party characters are well-written but even the supporting and side characters are so interestingly portrayed. Characters like Dickson, Alvis, and others are written in such a masterful way which portrays them as always having something more to them. They constantly drop these hints that they know more or are planning more than they let on and each time this happens the resolution to these questions and suspicions you accrue as the player are actually paid off in interesting and fantastic ways. The ending to the story as a whole gets bonkers as well as most JRPGs do with world and galaxy level implications and a plot that has themes surrounding fate, destiny, and godhood. These are the most compelling elements of Xenoblade Chronicles and, though I didn't love the game as a whole, I appreciated getting to the end.
Combat itself isn't my favorite thing in the world. It's not awful by any means. It essentially plays like an MMORPG. Your character auto-attacks as you select different abilities to supplement these auto-attacks which you rotate through as they cooldown. The game also has an interesting way of handling aggro with enemies and your position in relation to the enemy as you will need to place you characters in certain spots for some of your abilities to become more effective. The combat can become a bit redundant and place you on auto-pilot, and additionally I feel strongly that Shulk's move set in particular could have used some extra variety. But overall, it's fun and fast paced when it needs to be.
The main issues I have with this game is the rest of it. The side quests, the level design, the collectables. All of it feels, much like the combat, like an MMO. Except in this case it is an MMO in which the multiplayer component is non-existent. You are often dropped into these sprawling areas which go on for what seem like miles and have various different branching off paths. You often see gigantic enemies in the distance that beckon you to explore their territory or fill you with awe at their sight. There are occasional landmarks that look interesting and encourage you to head toward them. However, in the end there is nothing to do. Exploration is rarely rewarded with anything substantial, traversal takes too much time as there is no way to travel outside of walking. There are fast travel points you can unlock within each level but they serve more as checkpoints than anything else.
Side quests do not incentivize exploration of these ambitious sprawling worlds either. By the time you reach the mid-to-late game, most side quests reward only money which, by that point, you likely have an overabundance of. The only real worthwhile side quests to complete are ones which grant you EXP dumps and even then you may find it quicker to grind by just killing enemies which respawn every time you fast travel. This is not like The Witcher 3 or Skyrim where side quests are compelling enough to warrant completion simply to see what is happening or because there is a small story in there. Instead, to harken back to the MMO comparison, they are these tedious and boring missions that ask you to kill X amount of Y enemy or collect X amount of Y item. There is nothing interesting or compelling about it. It doesn't help that when you do decide to complete a side quest, like say to defeat some enemies, your party constantly screams battle quotes and victory quotes ad nauseam. It got to a point to where I simply blocked their voices out of my head which is kind of absurd.
Xenoblade Chronicles is a game I really wish I loved. It is a game that seems incredibly ambitious for a title originating on the Nintendo Wii. It is one which I fully understand why many felt a special connection to it. I adore the story, world, and characters and will remember them for a long time to come. But, I can't get over how repetitive, redundant, and empty a majority of your time is going to be spent. My advice is to pick this up on Switch, turn on Casual Mode, and just cruise through the main story, picking up some EXP dump side quests or grinding on high level enemies occasionally, simply so you can experience the wonder that is the world of Xenoblade Chronicles. Anything beyond that is just not substantial enough for a higher rating.
I'm very conflicted with this game. JRPGs take a lot out of you. They are massive time sinks that require you to fall in love with the world, characters, and story in order to drive you forward while having at least serviceable systems in place that keep you engaged in the hours upon hours of gameplay you will undertake. Moment-to-moment actions can often drag but there should be enough there to keep you invested in what you're doing. Xenoblade Chronicles fulfills some of these criteria for a solid JRPG experience for my tastes while also crashing in other areas that make the full experience feel ambitious but underdeveloped.
The greatest strength comes in the world, characters, and story. The only reason I was able to push through my issues with the moment-to-moment gameplay was because I found these elements so compelling. The characters range anywhere between lovable goof-balls like Reyn, cute fur balls like Riki, compelling and dynamic support characters like Fiora, the stoic badass veteran in Dunban, and of course the complex role of the main character Shulk. Each character has a distinct personality and charm to them that rarely gets old. The story takes place on these two massive Titans called the Bionis and the Mechonis (words you will hear constantly throughout the story as if to remind you after the 100th time). The idea of the entire population of the world residing on these two dormant colossi who were once engulfed in a massive battle but who now rest while their inhabitants war against each other is such an interesting concept. As the story unfolds and you continue to learn the secrets of the world and the true history behind the titan's origins and their conflict, the lore and appreciation you feel for the world you are exploring is amplified.
The writing overall is spectacular as well. As mentioned before the main party characters are well-written but even the supporting and side characters are so interestingly portrayed. Characters like Dickson, Alvis, and others are written in such a masterful way which portrays them as always having something more to them. They constantly drop these hints that they know more or are planning more than they let on and each time this happens the resolution to these questions and suspicions you accrue as the player are actually paid off in interesting and fantastic ways. The ending to the story as a whole gets bonkers as well as most JRPGs do with world and galaxy level implications and a plot that has themes surrounding fate, destiny, and godhood. These are the most compelling elements of Xenoblade Chronicles and, though I didn't love the game as a whole, I appreciated getting to the end.
Combat itself isn't my favorite thing in the world. It's not awful by any means. It essentially plays like an MMORPG. Your character auto-attacks as you select different abilities to supplement these auto-attacks which you rotate through as they cooldown. The game also has an interesting way of handling aggro with enemies and your position in relation to the enemy as you will need to place you characters in certain spots for some of your abilities to become more effective. The combat can become a bit redundant and place you on auto-pilot, and additionally I feel strongly that Shulk's move set in particular could have used some extra variety. But overall, it's fun and fast paced when it needs to be.
The main issues I have with this game is the rest of it. The side quests, the level design, the collectables. All of it feels, much like the combat, like an MMO. Except in this case it is an MMO in which the multiplayer component is non-existent. You are often dropped into these sprawling areas which go on for what seem like miles and have various different branching off paths. You often see gigantic enemies in the distance that beckon you to explore their territory or fill you with awe at their sight. There are occasional landmarks that look interesting and encourage you to head toward them. However, in the end there is nothing to do. Exploration is rarely rewarded with anything substantial, traversal takes too much time as there is no way to travel outside of walking. There are fast travel points you can unlock within each level but they serve more as checkpoints than anything else.
Side quests do not incentivize exploration of these ambitious sprawling worlds either. By the time you reach the mid-to-late game, most side quests reward only money which, by that point, you likely have an overabundance of. The only real worthwhile side quests to complete are ones which grant you EXP dumps and even then you may find it quicker to grind by just killing enemies which respawn every time you fast travel. This is not like The Witcher 3 or Skyrim where side quests are compelling enough to warrant completion simply to see what is happening or because there is a small story in there. Instead, to harken back to the MMO comparison, they are these tedious and boring missions that ask you to kill X amount of Y enemy or collect X amount of Y item. There is nothing interesting or compelling about it. It doesn't help that when you do decide to complete a side quest, like say to defeat some enemies, your party constantly screams battle quotes and victory quotes ad nauseam. It got to a point to where I simply blocked their voices out of my head which is kind of absurd.
Xenoblade Chronicles is a game I really wish I loved. It is a game that seems incredibly ambitious for a title originating on the Nintendo Wii. It is one which I fully understand why many felt a special connection to it. I adore the story, world, and characters and will remember them for a long time to come. But, I can't get over how repetitive, redundant, and empty a majority of your time is going to be spent. My advice is to pick this up on Switch, turn on Casual Mode, and just cruise through the main story, picking up some EXP dump side quests or grinding on high level enemies occasionally, simply so you can experience the wonder that is the world of Xenoblade Chronicles. Anything beyond that is just not substantial enough for a higher rating.
sairam71
1 year ago