Xenoblade Chronicles 3 News and Discussion

[Fabulously Olivier]

On 6/20/2022 at 6:06 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

remindMe! June 2023

With Sakurai's own waffling about his career, I'm not confident that he'll be at the helm of Smash 6. In which case, we could expect a longer development cycle than past games. On top of that, we haven't seen a Smash title release in the same year as its console since Melee on the Gamecube. Getting a proper "Switch Successor" next year is already dubious (so long as the system, and its games, keep on selling), and a same-year Smash title even more so.

But hey, it could happen.

Oh god, we're approaching the singularity where every vaguely anime-looking franchise gets Musuo'd, aren't we.

Ace Attorney Warriors when?

Actually, Xenoblade has been pitched in musou circles for a while. It isn't as requested as the likes of Final Fantasy, Power Rangers, Lord of the Rings, or Star Wars, but it's solidly wanted.

 

From a publisher perspective, musou is also a really easy answer to spinoffs in any setting where large scale battles could conceivably happen. They are made quickly and efficiently by a 3rd party company with lots of staff. And the formula is one that literally anyone could competently not only play, but main their favorite characters with minimal hiccups. 

[Etrurian emperor]

Gray the dark, dual wielding cowboy just looks adorably edgy. 

[joevar]

Xenoblade direct really makes me want to buy it asap. it seems taking plenty of notes from previous games, shave off some of the tedious parts, and improve vastly from before. battles looking more flexible than ever with big cast of character fighting at once. and fusing is just right with that amount of party member on screen

funnily enough for me, despite already seen previous trailers, this Xenoblade Direct really make realize i really dig the artstyle and outfits design. didnt find any "cheap fanservice-y" character so far. unlike XB2 where the 3 main characters are actually the worst offender in that particular part. 

also everyone must have notice the two leader of opposing nation/faction that wore mask is obviously a teaser for people who already played previous games. whats with their obvious hairtyle

[vanguard333]

Well, I just watched the Xenoblade 3 direct, and, honestly, my opinion hasn't changed: it looks interesting, but I probably don't want to buy it.

With Xenoblade games, the world always looks very interesting, the characters and the story probably aren't bad, but the combat is extremely unappealing to me. I really don't like MMO-style combat, and with Xenoblade games, you're basically playing an MMO alongside AI, which can seriously vary in quality. Perhaps that's one reason they now have it that you can swap characters at any time, as now someone can say, "Well just swap characters if you don't like the AI for them".

The only Xenoblade game I was able to finish was Xenoblade Chronicles X (and even then, I didn't 100% it), and the reason I finished it was that, even though the combat was still lackluster, the exploration was superb; the world was a ton of fun to explore, especially after unlocking skells. The world of Xenoblade 1 was interesting and very well designed, but it was not fun to explore.

At this rate, I would just wait for a Xenoblade X-2, but it's never going to happen; Xenoblade X undersold because it was on the Wii U and they're not going to port it to Switch because it's too big for the standard cartridge, so they'd have to use the special cartridge they used for the Switch port of the Witcher 3, which they only use for a game they think will be guaranteed to sell.

 

Honestly, after watching this, I'm tempted to go back and replay Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana. Like Xenoblade, it's a fantasy RPG with too many plot twists, but it at least has fun combat.

[Aiddon]

Mmmm, delicious character classes

[Fabulously Olivier]

I'm sure I'll pick it up after I finish slogging through XBC2 and hopefully enjoying Torna and XBC1DE more.

[Sire]

As tempting as it is for me to pick this up Day One, I may end up waiting a bit for the DLC to come out.
-- I don't want to get burned out by the main game, only to find out that over time the game received good QoL updates and other things.
-- Also, I'm likely to be playing Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes for a while instead...

Also, I have yet to get Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition. While I've seen bits and pieces of Future Connected, I haven't experienced that storyline and would like to before I delve into XC3. (Heck, I want to replay the first Xenoblade before delving into Future Connected, so things will take a while...)
-- As for XC2, I still need to complete all the side quests, max out all the Blades, and take on the Challenge Battles more. The downside is that I haven't played it properly in ages, so the strategies I used and knowing what I need for optimal setups are forgotten. I am on NG+ which helps a bit, but trying to figure everything out again sorta sucks.

[Etrurian emperor]

I had my doubts about the new villain group, but now I've got to see them I rather like them.

I think Fire Emblem can learn a thing from Mobius. Like the Aghartans Mobius are shadowy group of villains manipulating the world from the shadows, and like the Aghartans they all might just as well be named ''Evil McVillainson'', but unlike the Aghartans the consuls of Mobius are also charismatic, theatrical and threatening. 

Just like Metalface and Malos before them it doesn't matter that they don't have any nuance, because they make such a spectacle of themselves whenever they're on screen. I rather like the juxtaposition between their demonic, monstrous appearance and their very human body language. They're also kinda...sissies for the lack of a better word. The way they speak, and the poses they strike with their bodies are somewhat spoiled, girly and campy.  One Consul leans on a rock in a very stereotypical sissy way, and the other is kind of a male Karen who talks very refined only to suddenly include very vulgar phrases mid sentence. 

[Zapp Branniglenn]

So we have some characters with American accents now? I do NOT welcome this change.

I'm in Chapter 3 and the game's battle system is fun. Especially now that I can switch characters in battle. Wow, years of debate with Xenoblade fans about whether the battle system can accommodate this feature just went up in smoke. I feel vindicated. This is a gloomy game though. Every Xenoblade hits you with some shock value tragedy just to confirm that this IS a universe where people can die (at least, temporarily they can), but I'm nearly ten hours in and haven't seen the Gaur Plains equivalent. It's all wasteland and desert. Final Fantasy 12 vibes for sure. I wonder how many people will drop this game as well, complaining about all the sand? And the cutscenes man. Every time I'm past a 20-30 minute stretch of cutscenes and dialogue scrolling, my brain naturally recaps "what did we learn?" and then inevitably brainstorms how those few bullet points of information could have been communicated more efficiently. Or how much dialogue can simply be moved into one of those Discuss chats. Noah gets asked why his sword is so weird, and he has to give his whole life story. He didn't even answer the question by the end! Monolith Soft needs a team of editors for sure.

Overall my first impressions of the game are that we have evolved very little from Xenoblade 2. The battle system made that one obvious fix. And I guess the characters are sensibly dressed. But other than that nothing stands out as being THE reason why you'd have to check this game out. It's very okay thus far. And doesn't benefit from the "How did they make a game THIS Big on THAT under-powered system" spectacle that 1 and 2 benefitted from. 

[vanguard333]

I haven't played Xenoblade Chronicles 3. The Xenoblade games are a series I really wanted to like because of their really imaginative stories and science-fantasy worlds, but I've never been able to enjoy them enough to finish them outside of Xenoblade X. I can't say anything about Xenoblade 3, but I can say something about how it was advertised, mainly because I wanted to ask a question.

One thing I remember about Xenoblade 1, X and 2 was how much their imaginative worlds was front-and-center in their advertising. For Xenoblade 1, they showed off that everyone lives on two dead giants and how there's a war between humans and robots and a sword that can predict the future. What you see front and center is the Mechonis and the Monado. Similarly, with X, the advertising was all about a remnant of humanity crashing on the Planet Mira and needing to explore and survive on the hostile planet; what you see front-and-center is the planet and a giant Skell, and for 2, again: everyone lives on living giant animals and people can use living weapons called Blades; what you see is Rex holding the Aegis while overlooking the world tree and one of the Titans.

For Xenoblade 3, however, while there was some of that imagination on display in the trailers, with a war between two nations with both sides using seeming clone armies that have a lifespan of 10 years that can be repeated up to nine times, but I got far less of a sense of, "that looks interesting," and far more of a sense of "I recognize that". This time, what's front-and-center is an image of the Mechonis Sword and one of the Titans. So, I was wondering, for those who have played 3, is that reflective of the game? Is it less new world & ideas and more "we're continuing on from 1 and 2"?

[Etrurian emperor]

9 hours ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

So we have some characters with American accents now? I do NOT welcome this change.

Wasn't that already the case in Xenoblade 2? Human characters having British accents and Blades American ones?

[Lord_Brand]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was the case with Pyra and Mythra at least. Nia has a Welsh accent, so it's not a strict rule of course.

[Etrurian emperor]

Not that I mind but I notice some asset recycling going on.

Take Valdi for instance. Its fairly obvious that he's an edit of Rex's model. The small size, the bare arms, the tank on his back and even the neckguard. Or how Ethel with her longcoat and dual blades is kinda similar to Morag. 

[King Marth 64]

14 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Wasn't that already the case in Xenoblade 2? Human characters having British accents and Blades American ones?

Xenoblade Chronicles X had American Voice Actors because the characters from Earth were Americans. And they did got Catlin Glass to reprise as Elma in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Rest of the casts in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 & 3 were voiced by British VAs.

[joevar]

Early/Mid Impression so far: 
3 chapters in

Dub vs Sub. I almost always play using JAP dub for JRPG (if available). Its not about language superiority, but about Voice actor superiority. anyone that watch anime long enough will know it. VA in Japan are competitive to the point of a bit cruel. not good/unique enough? off to chopping block. so their voice tend to fit more dramatic JRPG setting.  But one intro in, i already notice its not direct translation between japanese voice and english text. so English voice it is. for better or worse its British dub! No offense to british accent user, but the insult doesnt like an insult, lol. so its kinda funny and refreshing to me, with main cast VA mostly nailed it. while other is so-so

Graphic. its xenoblade by monolith soft. they always make NIntendo hardware cry. update your hardware FFS nintendo... vegetation only start to pop out closer than 100m is very noticeable to me. Char design is the best imo out of all xenoblade entries. many xenoblade char in previous entries  makes me cringe looking at their outfit, especially 2. but now they looking like bunch of teenagers on a road trip on spring/summer which thematically correct and nice imo. (i would choose to wear their outfit over FF15)

favorite char so far: Ethel. Definetely not because i'm horny or because i like big tities onee-san. She's like Dunban from XBC1, someone the MC look up to, indebted to, and with enough power and fame to boot. Alas, they ultimately fails to become the main character and not get that juicy MC power-plot. With level headed-ness fit for a commander, she's a nice supporting cast. Oh, also she use dual-wield sword, another cool factor. That jiggle physic tho, coupled with biggest bazzongas that not even Eunie can match, surely catch my attention. In short, best fan-service for me

gameplay: its xenoblade mechanic. MMO like battle but singleplayer, with biggest active party to date. bonus exp for Level up is underrated mechanic. in a massive JRPG where its easy to under-level or over-level depending on what type of freak you are (story freak, or completionist freak) this bonus EXP for lvl up can somewhat balance both side. use it for skipping content, dont use it if planning to complete all content. same with nopon coin, basically premium currency thats limited in avalability that can be used to skip fetch quest, class progression. really nice QoL.

sound: didnt expect to like all the battle soundtrack. even soundtrack with flute grew on me, even though i dislike it when first announcement trailer drop. turns out the addition of flute can help differentiate it from past xenoblade ost.

the only gripe (spoiler ch 3)

Spoiler

the game now tells us twice that the journey to destination will take considerable time, and that Mio will have barely enough time left when they reach it if on time... then the game tells us theres quest in early game area, new accessible area after getting traversal skill also in previous areas. like c'mon, shouldn't we go to destination asap. why encourage us to backtrack now. lmao.

the completionist in me scream to not left those hanging quest and optional area and risk failing it if i progress the story.. sigh

about villain so far, the "consul":

On 7/31/2022 at 6:05 AM, Etrurian emperor said:

I think Fire Emblem can learn a thing from Mobius. Like the Aghartans Mobius are shadowy group of villains manipulating the world from the shadows, and like the Aghartans they all might just as well be named ''Evil McVillainson'', but unlike the Aghartans the consuls of Mobius are also charismatic, theatrical and threatening. 

Just like Metalface and Malos before them it doesn't matter that they don't have any nuance, because they make such a spectacle of themselves whenever they're on screen.

agree with this this. villain like Metalface  fit nicely into "chaotic" character, they are also overbearing but amusing in its own way. while Fire emblem villain more often than not imo falls into textbook "Evil", too serious for their own good.

so the consul and also metalface  is the kind of villain you are more than happy to just bash your skull and have fun fighting it, all that pep talk in between is just excuse to hit them harder.

On 8/1/2022 at 11:33 AM, vanguard333 said:

Is it less new world & ideas and more "we're continuing on from 1 and 2"?

havent reach half of the game, but feels like answering that will be spoiler, and that possibly leads you to not playing it, based on your impression of numbered xenoblade (this in itself is already an answer if you guess hard enough or complete xeno1 & 2)

[vanguard333]

56 minutes ago, joevar said:

Haven't reach half of the game, but feels like answering that will be spoiler, and that possibly leads you to not playing it, based on your impression of numbered xenoblade (this in itself is already an answer if you guess hard enough or complete xeno1 & 2)

I'm probably not going to play the game anyway. Xenoblade Chronicles is a series that I've wanted to like but, outside of Xenoblade X, I haven't been able to do so. They present interesting worlds and stories, but I've never been able to enjoy the gameplay: exploration is boring outside of X, and I don't like the MMO-like combat.

[joevar]

33 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

I'm probably not going to play the game anyway. Xenoblade Chronicles is a series that I've wanted to like but, outside of Xenoblade X, I haven't been able to do so. They present interesting worlds and stories, but I've never been able to enjoy the gameplay: exploration is boring outside of X, and I don't like the MMO-like combat.

oh, its safe then. i understand, some things are not meant to be. just like how i hate FE3hopes (and warrior) for its gameplay and wont touch it at all, despite loving FE series.

in that case, the answer is

Spoiler

yes. its direct continuation of 1 and 2. while 1 & 2 are two different worlds, but  plot-wise are created/birthed from the same original world. While 3 is both 1 & 2 mashed together. since character from both entries are there. this already teased back then in Future connected from XBC:DE. so, many pieces and bits you see from 1 & 2  in 3 is intentional

i might be slightly off the mark about detail tho since i havent completed it yet.

 

Edited August 5, 2022 by joevar

[vanguard333]

8 hours ago, joevar said:

oh, its safe then. i understand, some things are not meant to be. just like how i hate FE3hopes (and warrior) for its gameplay and wont touch it at all, despite loving FE series.

in that case, the answer is

  Hide contents

yes. its direct continuation of 1 and 2. while 1 & 2 are two different worlds, but  plot-wise are created/birthed from the same original world. While 3 is both 1 & 2 mashed together. since character from both entries are there. this already teased back then in Future connected from XBC:DE. so, many pieces and bits you see from 1 & 2  in 3 is intentional

i might be slightly off the mark about detail tho since i havent completed it yet.

 

Thanks. Yeah; I already knew about how the first two games were connected. I guess I was more wondering how much of the stuff in 3 is from 1 & 2 compared to how much of it is actually fresh.

 

Incidentally, a video of the ending of Xenoblade 3 recently appeared on my recommended videos on YouTube, and the thumbnail showed an image of certain Xenoblade 2 characters, and I have to ask if the image really was in the XC3's ending or not:

Spoiler

A photo of Rex married to, and having had kids with, Pyra, Mythra and Nia.

…Are we sure Rex was inspired by shonen protagonists and not isekai protagonists?

 

Edited August 5, 2022 by vanguard333

[joevar]

10 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

and the thumbnail showed an image of certain Xenoblade 2 characters, and I have to ask if the image really was in the XC3's ending or not:

Spoiler

yes. thats part of the ending. if you have already seen the promo image for upcoming DLC, its obvious both XBC1&2 MC will also appear in future dlc. 
thats also what makes people baffled, an actual gigachad harem in nintendo game, what a brave move LOL. personally i like it, since XBC2 itself already hinted at it through main menu screen (just search internet about XBC2 screen)

 

[Etrurian emperor]

I stand by what I said about the consuls earlier. They're delightfully vile and the juxtaposition between their very human movements and monstrous forms is interesting. But the longer the game goes on the more one trait of them becomes problematic.

There's just way too many of them, and most of those are antagonists of sidequests. There being so many consuls, and them dying so quickly after introduction makes the consuls seem very expendable. They're more of a ''villain of the week'' rather than truly hatable and threatening antagonists like Metalface. Most of them being stuck in sidequest hell also doesn't really play to their strengths. K can ham it up and take all sorts of extravagant poses in his monster form, but sidequests don't have the budget for such a thing.

[joevar]

On 8/10/2022 at 1:32 AM, Etrurian emperor said:

I stand by what I said about the consuls earlier. They're delightfully vile and the juxtaposition between their very human movements and monstrous forms is interesting. But the longer the game goes on the more one trait of them becomes problematic.

There's just way too many of them, and most of those are antagonists of sidequests. There being so many consuls, and them dying so quickly after introduction makes the consuls seem very expendable. They're more of a ''villain of the week'' rather than truly hatable and threatening antagonists like Metalface. Most of them being stuck in sidequest hell also doesn't really play to their strengths. K can ham it up and take all sorts of extravagant poses in his monster form, but sidequests don't have the budget for such a thing.

i already expect it honestly. by the time they introduce themselves using alphabet. i know theres going to be lots of them.  so going into chapter 2 i already expect no less than 10-15 going to be fought in the course of main story, and rest of them either not fought, or reserved for some side villain for future DLC

as for hatable villain in the vein of metalface, consul D is obviously going for that. what with him being Dic-- ... i feel some deeper thought involved in choosing the letter for each of them here. either way i actually glad some(many?) of them only meet-able via sidequest. so not everyone has to go through all list of alphabets, only for completionist.

K is perfectly oKay. loves it when we fought him in first phase. "its the big bad boss, boo!" . simple, yet best delivery line, lol

[Etrurian emperor]

Its always nice to see a character defy expectations. I had extremely low expectations for consul N. He struck me as your average aloof villain. The boring one compared to D and J's theatrics. Him being more conventionally attractive and looking eerily similar to Noah also had me guess he'd be a lot like Jin.

Instead it turns out he's very emotive as well and really, really pathetic. 

Spoiler

It was quite fun to see N begin the Homecoming scene all smug and exited only to completely change his tune when it dawned on him that the Mio he insisted on killing before the eyes of the party was actually his Mio, and that she rejected him. Then the overly smug villain quickly turned into a whining, sobbing mess. 

 

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

I am at chapter 3.

I have a question: Why cannot I do quick travel at most part of the game?

I started a quest which forces me to travel back (and also explained it to me), but game does not allow me to do it.

It was really weird honestly.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

4 hours ago, Eunie said:

I am at chapter 3.

I have a question: Why cannot I do quick travel at most part of the game?

I started a quest which forces me to travel back (and also explained it to me), but game does not allow me to do it.

It was really weird honestly.

There are some story sequences where you can't fast travel from the current location. Or the location you're trying to get to is just inaccessible for the cutscene script that's supposed to play out when you arrive. When this happens, try some other landmarks nearby where you're trying to go. Usually one that's not on top of your objective will be accessible and it'll be just a short walk from there.

[joevar]

On 8/14/2022 at 2:03 PM, Eunie said:

I am at chapter 3.

I have a question: Why cannot I do quick travel at most part of the game?

I started a quest which forces me to travel back (and also explained it to me), but game does not allow me to do it.

It was really weird honestly.

when the game doesnt allow you fast travel to certain point, it means either of two things:

you're not supposed to go there "plot-wise" at that point. or the fast travel point is behind the cutscene trigger point, in which case you can fast travel to a point a bit further from it, then walk to the objective. usually because the scene will trigger when you arrived there. 

saying "most part" actually kinda wrong imo. it will also be weird if you could fast travel beyond what the story currently at, or you fast travel to a colony only to trigger cutscene you "just" arrived there when moment ago you already inside of it via fast travel

---------------------------------------------------------

my thought about attaching letter to the consul actually has some meaning (to most of) them still stand. Look at consul J.

Spoiler

his helmet and his monster form should clearly remind us about Jester/Joker. and his whole backstory basically people making fun of him and J just laughed it off instead of fighting it. basically what a jester usually all about. some other consul also fit some word but the most obvious is J

 

Edited August 16, 2022 by joevar