Jsc1jake

I've recently finished the game with 120 hours on my save file. X is the only game in the series to be open-world and leans more into sci-fi than the others in the series. For this and many other reasons, X is typically viewed as the "black sheep" of the series, but does not deserve that reputation. Compared to the others, X has a much weaker story but that's made up for in its expansive world and surprisingly deep gameplay as well as the fascinating ideas it comes up with during its story, particularly those revealed in Chapters 5 and 12. The lore is surprisingly deep as well, especially in the side-content. Its side-quests are arguably the best in the series and add a lot to the world of Mira. This game undoubtedly has the best exploration in the entire series. Overall, do not go into Xenoblade X expecting it to be like the others in the series. X does not have Chain Attacks, it has "Overdrive", for instance. The added Chapter 13 and its three "Acts" are unique to the Definitive Edition. Ch. 13 wraps up loose ends and is honestly a fantastical journey in its own right, it's also more story-focused than the previous chapters in the game. It adds more new lore, etc. that will likely be explored in the future of the Xenoblade series. However, the story also tends to feel a bit rushed. As if they were trying to pack up too many ideas all at once. Regardless, Ch. 13, for me, cemented Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition as my second favorite game in the series, only surpassed by Xenoblade 3.

Beautiful game in environment design, story, etc. One of my favorite games of all time, really. Even if I never played the original on Wii or 3ds, not that it matters since the Definitive Edition is just that, the Definitive way to experience the game. While this game isn't my favorite in the series since I believe the games that would come after in the series surpassed it in terms of quality, it's far from the worst. The story is one of the best I've ever seen in a video game, only surpassed by Xenoblade Chronicles 3 for me. Pacing feels great, but the characters, with the exception of the protagonist, Shulk, can come off as dull or uninteresting. They have depth, just not as much as characters in the other games. Regardless, the story culminates into something that feels deserved with only a couple loose ends that are explored in its Extra Story, unique to this version of the game, named Future Connected. Overall, my only minor three gripes with this game is that there's a large difficulty spike near the end of the game (so do those side quests), there is a LOT of missable content and the combat, after playing the other games, can feel too simple. Though that last one is no fault of this game itself, it just shows how good the series really is. About Future Connected. It probably wouldn't be a stretch to call it the worst game in the series. That said, it isn't bad. Its story is rather weak but has its moments, gameplay is mostly the same as the base game with one notable change. Chain Attacks are replaced with "Union Strikes" which are one big strike as opposed to many different strikes that Chain Attacks had. Overall, Future Connected felt more like an afterthought than anything, and can be skipped storywise.

Amazing game and a marvelous conclusion to the trilogy. The story is obviously MUCH shorter than in the base game with only 5 main chapters that are shorter in length compared to the base game's 7 main chapters that were rather long in length. Unless you're a completionist, expect to take around 15-ish hours on this game. If you are a completionist, my estimate would be around 30 hours maximum. WARNING: DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME BEFORE FINISHING THE ENTIRE TRILOGY, IT WILL SPOIL THE STORY OF EVERY TITLE EXCLUDING X. Personally, I didn't enjoy it as much as the base game, but that's to be expected for a shorter DLC story game. Felt the story was much weaker but it definitely had its moments.

Great game, MUCH better than its base game, in my opinion. The story is shorter than the base game but expands upon so much of what I was curious about that just wasn't elaborated upon (possibly due to time constraints). Great DLC, my favorite in the series and almost redeemed the base game for me. A warning though, this game DOES force you to do side-quests in order to progress the story, twice. Other than that, I had no complaints with this game and you could even argue it's good it forces you to do side-quests since it makes the ending more impactful.

I'll preface this by saying Xenoblade 1, X and 3 are three of my favorite games ever, but this one just doesn't feel the same. The only three redeeming factors this game has is combat, music and its villains. Villains in Xenoblade 2 are some of the best in the series and so is the combat, even if I personally prefer 3's combat. Music is very good, as is with any Xenoblade. Everything else is just... so, SO bad. I've never seen characters embody tropes and stereotypes any more than the main cast of this game. Rex, the protagonist, is boring, annoying and childish. He goes through very little development throughout the whole game and his entire personality boils down to one quote "I love you, and all you guys!" he just has no depth. Pyra, the female deuteragonist, is essentially just Hinata from Naruto's personality copy/pasted and is still the same boring character with surprisingly more depth than Rex, but not much more. Moving onto designs. The main cast looks like they're on their way to the circus rather than a cross-continental journey to the top of the world. I don't think this part needs much explaining, but I'll elaborate anyway. Rex's outfit is accurate to his job as a salvager, but looks so goofy it's hard to take him seriously at all. Pyra's outfit does not compliment her personality or occupation as an Aegis whatsoever. An Aegis is essentially a legendary sentient weapon in XC2, you would think that an Aegis would be armored and ready for combat, but nope. It doesn't help her personality either. Pyra is presented as a shy but kind young woman... wearing an outfit like that. One line she says when it turns nighttime in-game is "Oh, and I've started glowing. I'm a bit self-conscious" I wish I could make that up. It's not even just the main cast, either. Many designs in this game are just downright awful and make me wonder how any of them got greenlit. Don't believe me? Look up 'Xenoblade 2, Dahlia'... and I thought Pyra's design was a joke. The cherry on top is that designs aren't changeable unless you buy the DLC and even then it only puts a cover on Pyra and different outfit colorations for Rex. Camera angles are perhaps the worst part about this game. The camera angles tell you that the developers were completely aware of what they were doing. You get upskirt shots of characters even during serious cutscenes and their already goofy designs don't help with that, either. Voice acting as well is atrocious in English, even as someone who watches a lot of anime dubbed. Overall, Xenoblade 2 has a serious tonal dissonance problem. With the goofy designs, I couldn't take any character seriously aside from the villains. Pyra cries into her hands at the mention of her past Driver? I'm actually laughing because the scene tries and completely fails to balance her unserious fanservice design and a serious moment. The two simply are not compatible. I haven't even gotten into game mechanics yet. Field Skills are by far the worst mechanic in the Xenoblade series as implemented here, UI is awful, navigation is worse, tutorials barely teach you its deeply complex combat system, leading most people to follow guides to even understand it and to expand your arsenal, you're required to engage in a gacha game.

One of the best games I've ever played. I've never made a top 10 list of my favorite games but if I did, this game would be a contender for the number 1 spot. Combat is amazing, story is equally as good, worldbuilding is better than even the first Xenoblade in my opinion. When it comes to story, characters and combat, this is the peak of Xenoblade, in my opinion.