Game Commentary: Xenoblade Chronicles 2

I've never played a Xenoblade or Xenogear before this. In fact, based on the little I've seen of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, I was a little taken aback when it made the Top 10 list for the all time best Switch exclusives. I'm a JRPG fan but from what I've seen of the game, it's steeped in anime cliches and dialogue, has a who knows what battle system, seems like a pain to wade through and overall, just didn't seem like a game that was that good. That is, until I actually played it.

If you're doing just some sidequests with a bit of grinding, you're probably seeing around 85-100 hours of gameplay before you actually beat the game. And that unlocks post game and new game plus. The game is huge and not just in terms of the length. The worlds are expansive and have tons of verticality to them. Even at around 100 hours, I still found areas that I didn't even know existed within the map. This was certainly not what I expected when I saw a preview of it. Besides just simply being big, the game has some exceptional game design put into it. Secrets hidden about, treasures in out of reach places until your 'aha' moment, interesting cultural designs as well. I mean, the list goes on. It's a big, breathing world and that was definitely one of the main reasons  I actually came to like the game.

There are also LOADS of things going on at any one time. Tons of shops to go to, inventory to sort through with items that do a variety of things, a progression system for your Drivers and Blades, an economy system (yes, if you buy and sell more at a particular town, the local economy will get a boost and you'll get a wider selection at reduced prices). This is excluding the combat system which has fusion combos, blade combos, driver combos, combo combos, etc. Who knows what! The game has tons of sidequests that makes use of combat, investigative skills, dialogue options, what have you. It's really just a bundle of mechanics and systems and they all serve to truly provide the bang for your buck.

Gameplay aside, I'm a person who goes for a genuine story which (unfortunately) a lot of older JRPGs fail to nail. I was afraid that this would fall into the same basket what with the bad reputation of the Nopon character from Xenoblade Chronicles X. It's safe to say that no, this game actually has endearing characters with proper motivations and an all around encompassing story that spans an epic by the end. The resident Nopon character, Tora, who apparently still gets under the nails of some people is actually genuinely fun and interesting. This, of course, has a lot to do with Poppi but everyone loves Poppi so it's unfair to play that card.

But truly! Extensive gameplay mechanics, a huge world to explore, great story and characters, I mean the only thing we can ask for is great music too right? For the most part, I'd agree! The game has some kickass tunes from the electric guitar that plays during combat to the sudden tranquility of flutes for the towns. It's some good stuff there. Not Persona level but definitely better than what I expected.

Also, did I mention the awesome cutscenes!? The action in a lot of the cutscenes is SO anime that it actually pays off incredibly well. Huge swords clanking against one another, characters dashing around and disappearing with the speed of light, explosions galore and lots of corny anime shouting. It's some good stuff and I really appreciated the fact that they decided to approach it that way.

Now this isn't a review as with every game commentary but XC2 in particular deserved a somewhat detailed breakdown of what was good because I honestly just had very low expectations of it. It blew my mind and I'm happy to say that I'm very much looking forward to Xenoblade Chronicles 3. I mean, I could play Torna but Breath of the Wild awaits!

Good things aside, there are some definite bad points I'd like for them to tackle and this is an unpopular opinion because as far as I know, fans can replay this game time after time while trying to do a 100% run each time. Like, the full game in its entirety with just one playthrough could take you around 200 hours. I can't imagine sinking 1000 hours into the game. So while those fans might destroy me for chewing XC2 for these negatives, I'll still state them nonetheless.

The combat is honestly kind of lacklustre in my opinion. Lots of mechanics, genuinely rather fun but it's lacking in terms of involvement and depth. You can switch out blades as much as you want and perform all the combos you need to but they're always going to be the same thing at the end of the day. You don't get new skills, you don't get new combos, you don't get a sense of satisfaction for switching between blades. In fact, I honestly just watch YouTube videos while I wade through areas in which I can't avoid combat. Of course, you can play it in a way that makes you very involved but there's no incentive to do so. Enemies are tanky as all hell, attack animations and movements feel sooooo sluggish and it just takes too damn long for a single underlevelled mob!

Did I mention that getting blades rely solely on RNG? Because I HATE systems like that. I don't play singleplayer games for RNG bullshit but the appeal of the game's blades are heavily reliant on it! If I wanted to open lootboxes, I'd play multiplayer games because they're meant to prolong my exposure to the game because it's literally part of the games-as-a-service genre. But singleplayer? If you want to implement an RNG system, use pseudo-RNG. It's more forgiving, it pays out sooner or later and the rewards are of the same calibre. This is not something I can tolerate in today's age of games. Now see, fans actually don't mind this nonsense. I do and it's one of the major reasons this game isn't as good as it should be. Call me bitter but it really is a dumb design decision.

Most of the problems actually stem from the combat system and the RNG but there are also a few complaints that directly relate to the overall design of the game. Because battles take so long and the world takes a hell of a long time to explore, the pacing and playtime becomes an issue especially because a lot of the sidequests are rather contrived. The blade quests are great, don't get me wrong but I didn't do most of the other stuff (which is rare I'd have you know) because it just didn't feel rewarding. Oh yay, new combat chips I can just farm off this stupid mob. More money? I have over a million because you don't need to buy anything in this game! They have so many things on offer but the way they're utilised sometimes makes it more rewarding to not actually use them.

Also, while I did honestly like the story and characters, there are way too many anime moments that even I went 'bleh' for a bit. I played Cold Steel and Tales! I love them! It takes a lot to actually make me irk from anime dialogue but I suppose it can happen. I'm not actually upset about this but it was worth pointing out.

Overall though, I think the game is worth a lot more than the faults it presents. It's a damn fine JRPG that tells a tale that spans the entire globe culminating in a grand finale well worth the wait. But that God damn RNG needs to die. Some people get KOS-MOS after 60 hours of pure grinding while others get her early on in the story by accident. Makes you want to rip your hair out.