Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (2017)

The game was absolutely fantastic to say the least To think that I expected this to bad prior to the release is hilarious to me, I cried for 4 minutes straight during the end scene, last time that happened was with Nier Automata. The gameplay seemed like it would get repetitive at first, but honestly? It's super fun and addictive. As for the localization? It's somewhat bad, they fit the dialogue to the british dub and made dumb changes with names, like morag and tora calling rex 'rex-rex' instead of 'big bro' (aniki). However i'm glad nothing plot relevant was changed, the personality of characters seemed intact, I love the entire cast, even the two characters I hated got a really good redemption. I also really appreciate the dual audio and applaud the devs for including it. Because of some minor annoyances like field skills affecting story progression and my playtime glitching,

I rate Xenoblade Chronicles a 9/10.

Playtime: 85+ hours according to switch profile 107:52:18 In-game time

“Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?” -Isaiah 10:15 [ESV]

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2017 was a great year for games. From Nintendo’s new hybrid console/handheld to a variety of award-winning exclusives all around to the little gems that popped up here and there, it the first year in decades where I played more brand new games than retro ones. In 2017 I enjoyed amazing titles like Final Fantasy XV (to an extent), Wulverblade, SteamWorld Dig 2, Super Mario Odyssey and GOTY The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. There is much more for me to sample from 2017, besides, like Horizon Zero Dawn and Cuphead.

So where does Xenoblade Chronicles 2 stand among the giants? Let me begin with what Xenoblade 2 is and then I’ll explain my level of interest leading up to its launch, and finally I’ll discuss my impressions on the game.

Closing out our terran solar cycle, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a sprawling, open-world JRPG developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo as an exclusive for the Nintendo Switch. It follows on the heels of the first Xenoblade Chronicles as its sequel and it belongs to the Xeno metaseries, which began way back in ’98 with Xenogears on the PlayStation One. This series is noted for tackling psychological, philosophical, and theological themes in their separate and frequently unrelated stories.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 began development as a response to fan feedback concerning Xenoblade Chronicles X, an intermediary title between the first game and its direct sequel. Xenoblade X altered the structure of the original Xenoblade by swapping out the traditional JRPG flavor for a mission-based framework. Xenoblade 2 was developed with an emphasis on anime appearances versus the more realistic art in the previous games and special attention was taken to telling the story in Xenoblade 2 with a cinematic approach. This is plain to see in the expressive and vibrant (if sometimes stereotypical) anime-influenced characters as well as numerous cutscenes.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 follows a new cast that lives in a dying world. Rex is a young orphan boy who becomes involved in the hunt for the Aegis, Pyra, a powerful and ancient entity known as a Blade. Briefly, Blades are weapon-entities that are attached to Drivers who use their abilities for combat.2017-09-03-23_18_25-Xenoblade-Chronicles™-2-for-the-Nintendo-Switch™-console-Official-siteRex and Pyra begin their search for paradise, Elysium, which Rex believes resides at the top of the World Tree. The existence of such a place is his hope for the world as people are living on the backs of gigantic living islands called Titans floating around in the Cloud Sea. The Titans are reaching the end of their long lifespans so a new home for civilization must be found.

Think Waterworld where Kevin Costner is Rex, Pyra is that little kid with the map tattoo, and the myth their looking for is dry land: Elysium.

However, Rex finds himself in the middle of a power struggle for the Aegis with a host of villains out to get Pyra and use her abilities for their own whims. Along the way, Rex and Pyra begin to encounter questions of destiny, free will, and ontology. Drivers are mortal but Blades live forever, though if their Driver dies then a Blade returns to its original crystalline state. The next time a Blade is awakened from their crystal, they will have forgotten everything that happened previously, including their former Driver. This is too much to bear for many Blades, driving the quest for several characters to reach ascend the World Tree, reach Elysium, and question the Architect, the creator of this world.

Catching hints of the theological questions raised by Xenoblade 2 piqued my interest, and I already knew that the Xeno games were known for this. However, my interest in the game first began when Nintendo unveiled the game as part of the Switch’s reveal in January of 2017. It immediately appeared to be a robust JRPG and mainline title, and I’ve got a soft spot in my heart of hearts for the JRPGs of yore. Further, the initial trailer revealed that Yasunori Mitsuda was attached to the project. That got me excited.

Mitsuda is known among video game music fans as the composer of the soundtracks for Chrono Cross, Shadow Hearts, and Xenogears. His passionate, intense labor on the soundtrack for Chrono Trigger is legendary and the end result is one of the most beloved scores in gaming. Seeing his name as composer for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 sent a thrill right through me! But Xenoblade 2 wouldn’t be arriving for a long time, though I in January. All I had to do was wait.

As Breath of the Wild came and rocked the world, then Arms, Splatoon 2, and eventually Super Mario Odyssey, December neared and with it Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Along the way an extended gameplay presentation for Xenoblade 2 appeared. This is where a little apprehension set in.

I suppose it was hard to maintain interest in the gameplay while the presentation was being narrated by Sterling Holloway’s Winnie the Pooh. This soft-spoken voice that was at times barely audible ended up belonging to Gramps, one of the smaller Titans and Rex’s own personal mode of transport at the start of the game.

Then came the controversy.

Click here for the full review... https://thewellredmage.com/2018/01/19/xenoblade-chronicles-2/