This review contains spoilers
I find it so interesting when video games do so much that I like, and so much that I hate.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a very interesting game.
The good first:
The environments are top notch. The enemy design is great. The soundtrack is great, though not my favorite involving Yasunori Mitsuda. The combat, once painstakingly understood, is quite good.
The meh (meh meh):
There is a lot to collect and do around the different open worlds, salvaging, collection spots, hidden areas, unique monsters, side quests, blade quests, etc. I don't think all of it was implemented the best, but some of it just wasn't for me or it was brought down by the bad stuff I've yet to mention. The gatcha system of getting blades is something a lot of people seem to dislike, but I think it's actually kinda cool. It is cool from a lore perspective, it's a cool way to get a variety of uniquely designed characters from many designers into the game in a way that they are not tied into the main plot, and it's kind of a novel system, in that it's a free gatcha system that can be affected by the player. The voice acting is dodgy, some of it is good though.
The bad:
The game takes forever to get going (it's a JRPG I know), it really should have done better at starting out. The combat is not explained well. And there are some badly written parts of the story in my opinion (more on that in a second).
The really bad:
This game is gross. All the time. The tropes, the horny energy, it just doesn't go away. I could make two separate tier lists of characters, one ranking them with all of the terrible things written for then to say, and one without. The gross sexual tones are everywhere from the main plot, to the sidequests, to the heart to hearts, something I loved from XC1, but couldn't enjoy this time around because half the time I was hoping for a nice emotional scene and was instead given horrendously sexually charged jokes about the characters. The sexualized designs are one thing, but XC2 goes farther and implements this stuff into camera angles, dialogue, and the story. I hate it.
The Story:
The early chapters are a mess, some interesting things are ruined by the pacing, and the games obsession with withholding information in an unsatisfying way. All the while insisting on a romance plot between Rex and Pyra, which is never not gross and annoying. Rex himself is often either bland, or written to be actively annoying. (Sometimes he was okay). The later chapters begin to do something interesting but it largely fell flat to me. Some character deaths and hardships are made hollow by characters withholding their power for reasons that are not well written. Serious situations are often ruined by horny or annoying writing. Villian motivations are constantly withheld until barely explained or explained in an unsatisfying way. Heroes are very quick to forgive villians in a way that is not well written enough, and is not complex enough to be impactful. The saddest part for me is that the explanation of the world itself that is finally given is pretty great, and the tie in to XC1 was awesome! Everything else around it though was honestly a mess in my opinion.
This game could have been so good, and now I'm just confused on how to feel. XC3 better not have the horny.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a very interesting game.
The good first:
The environments are top notch. The enemy design is great. The soundtrack is great, though not my favorite involving Yasunori Mitsuda. The combat, once painstakingly understood, is quite good.
The meh (meh meh):
There is a lot to collect and do around the different open worlds, salvaging, collection spots, hidden areas, unique monsters, side quests, blade quests, etc. I don't think all of it was implemented the best, but some of it just wasn't for me or it was brought down by the bad stuff I've yet to mention. The gatcha system of getting blades is something a lot of people seem to dislike, but I think it's actually kinda cool. It is cool from a lore perspective, it's a cool way to get a variety of uniquely designed characters from many designers into the game in a way that they are not tied into the main plot, and it's kind of a novel system, in that it's a free gatcha system that can be affected by the player. The voice acting is dodgy, some of it is good though.
The bad:
The game takes forever to get going (it's a JRPG I know), it really should have done better at starting out. The combat is not explained well. And there are some badly written parts of the story in my opinion (more on that in a second).
The really bad:
This game is gross. All the time. The tropes, the horny energy, it just doesn't go away. I could make two separate tier lists of characters, one ranking them with all of the terrible things written for then to say, and one without. The gross sexual tones are everywhere from the main plot, to the sidequests, to the heart to hearts, something I loved from XC1, but couldn't enjoy this time around because half the time I was hoping for a nice emotional scene and was instead given horrendously sexually charged jokes about the characters. The sexualized designs are one thing, but XC2 goes farther and implements this stuff into camera angles, dialogue, and the story. I hate it.
The Story:
The early chapters are a mess, some interesting things are ruined by the pacing, and the games obsession with withholding information in an unsatisfying way. All the while insisting on a romance plot between Rex and Pyra, which is never not gross and annoying. Rex himself is often either bland, or written to be actively annoying. (Sometimes he was okay). The later chapters begin to do something interesting but it largely fell flat to me. Some character deaths and hardships are made hollow by characters withholding their power for reasons that are not well written. Serious situations are often ruined by horny or annoying writing. Villian motivations are constantly withheld until barely explained or explained in an unsatisfying way. Heroes are very quick to forgive villians in a way that is not well written enough, and is not complex enough to be impactful. The saddest part for me is that the explanation of the world itself that is finally given is pretty great, and the tie in to XC1 was awesome! Everything else around it though was honestly a mess in my opinion.
This game could have been so good, and now I'm just confused on how to feel. XC3 better not have the horny.