Superlosia I thought it started pretty damn quickly for a JRPG lol, I mean you get Pyra in the first like two hours and then it goes from 20-100 in one cutscene
I heard people say it started slow before I started playing. I am a very patient person, so it isnt a problem for me, but it did prepare my expectations. I start playing the game and almost immediately it throws you into some exciting scenarios and kicks the action into gear. I am baffled that people think this is a slow game.
I've put in 17 hours in only 3 days WHILE studying for my finals and I must say that, despite its many flaws, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a hell of a game. The combat itself is truly engaging, nothing is more satisfying than hitting that Level 3 Special Combo. As always great review Ben! Would love to hear you debate the more intricate details of the game in a Frame Trap.
I'm 15 hours into this game at a point where I should rightfully be at only 10. The soundtrack is glorious and despite the negativity the english voicework is making me grin from ear to ear. Every game won't be for everyone, but I'm glad I get to mindlessly love it. L & R Ben, Great Review
Nice review. Can't believe some of the comments here questioning Ben's integrity or whether the review is genuine, when the score pretty much mirrors the overall score from other outlets.....
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has been getting some amazing review scores. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Review Scores: RPGamer- Perfect 5 Exceptional Famitsu- 35/40 NintendoLife- 9 out of 10 DualShockers- 9.5 out of 10 GBAtemp- 9.2 out of 10 RPG Fan- 90% GameXplain- Loves it! MyNintendoNews- 8.5 out of 10 SA Gamer- 8.5 out of 10 OpenCritic- 86% Mighty! RPG Site- 9 out of 10 TheSixthAxis- 9 out of 10 Trusted Reviews- 4.5 Stars out of 5 Eurogamer- Recommended! Digitally Downloaded- 4 Stars out of 5 Metacritic- 85% NintendoWorldReport- 9.5 out of 10 WeGotThisCovered- 4 Stars out of 5 USgamer- 4.5 out of 5 EPNdotTV (TH-cam)- 9 out of 10 GameRevolution- 4.5 out of 5 Attack of the Fanboy- 4.5 out of 5 Loves it! GamingBoulevard- 9 out of 10 Nintendo Insider- 9 out of 10 WCCFtech- 8.8 out of 10 Gaming Nexus- 8.8 out of 10
Hey another pretty good review, EZA usually have a pretty positive, civil comment section too. Let me go see what they have to say. "WOW, GAEM SUKS" "HOLY SHIIT VOICE ACTING" "FUCKING WEEB GAMEW FOR WEEBS GA:SEGIHN:LDIKHG:ILEW" ...Alright, nvm, looks like I shouldn't have done that to myself. Nice review though.
Why is it the only people who are bitching are the ones who never played the game and the ones who did play it are saying it's good? It really makes you think doesn't it?
Because they have opinion? And of course those who bought the game will try their best to defend the game, they bought it! You don't buy 5 tickets of Miley Cyrus concert if you don't like her or her works.
Alex Cole the people who are bitching are people who have never played the game and jumping on the “voice acting is sooooo bad omg” bandwagon so they can feel like they’re part of the wave
The negativity around this game is crazy to me. I've read a lot of the (relevant) forum discussions and it paints the game in an very bad light. Not that the game has no flaws but there's just so much nagging. The TH-cam comments for this are something else. People are basically calling Ben's competence into question, as if he doesn't know what he wrote or what he truly feels. If you don't like the game, fine but don't do that. At least nice to see that Ben can find value and fun in it. Good review.
I think the reason why this game is catching flak is twofold: The first being that we are currently enjoying an embarrassment of riches. We've gotten so many good games this year, many with great writing, voice acting, music, etc... In the JRPG genre alone we've got Nier Automata and Persona 5. That has raised people's expectations quite a bit. Secondly: This is the direct follow up to Xenoblade Chronicles, one of the best JRPGs of all time. It has some serious shoes to fill. So you have a recipe for double disappointment if the game doesn't knock its various aspects out of the park. And middling performance in a certain area will be met with ire (for example: the character designs and VA work).
BurnerMan54 I honestly think that 10% is actual valid criticism from fans of the Xeno games and the other 90% is from people that just want to troll everyone that likes Nintendo or join the bandwagon or Sony fanboys lol. Those same people are the ones that ignore the 100 positives over here and focus on the 2 negatives over here and then call the game bad because of it. Also the same people that will get defensive if you criticize their favorite game citing “what about the 2 negatives over here” and they say “oh well that doesn’t matter look at the rest of the game”. But when it comes to Xenoblade all of a sudden it’s ok to focus on the 2 negatives and not the 100 positives
The mods ban those they don't agree with - so this is bound to happen when you create an echobox. It does give some good fodder for Cringe Dumps though.
I dont understand why there is so much shitposting about this game and review "I haven't played the game but it doesn't deserve a good score" "how dare a person who likes jrpgs review a jrpg it only gets a 4/5 cause he's biased" Get over it, the game is good.
Half is Sony and Microsoft fanboys like the ones who bombarded Breath of the Wild with negative reviews, the other hald is SJWs who are angry that the blade characters tend to be sexy women.
I absolutely loved this game. Owned it since launch, but finally got to play it during the lock down. 139 hours later, I am so amazed. This is one of the greatest games of the decade. The story and characters and environments and world building combines to something that far surpasses most rpgs. A+ game. It has it's flaws... a lot of annoying stuff like field skills and poor maps/waypoints due to elevation, but if you get past that. everything else is just awesome. I feel really connected to this game, the world, the characters. Some of the cutscenes are tear-jerkers. Other than one set of cutscenes at the end, I thought the cutscenes were all pretty great. I was truly gripped to the edge of my seat the entire time.
I just bought the game. I got up to the Malos and Akhos fight in Uraya and I was playing in the Normal mode and it was infuriating. When I was in the middle of a combo on Akhos, he would activate his Shackle Moves, thus, breaking the combo. When it didn’t, Malos taunted, making me unable to finish my combo again. My question is , would I be considered bad if I started on easy mode or is the game considered easy on normal mode?
@@daffyfable1983 i know this is late by 3 months but play however you wants i mean some guy out there plays a custom hardmode in which he doesn't use the inn leveling system + never do salvaging outside of quest and the other plays custom easy mode by just buying meat like chargrilled grumbird and cake item afterall doing that you really can sped up your arts combo, yeah its all bout playstyle i guess, in my case i grind till level 40 since uraya to get some chip so i'd never get any problem at least until the second malos and jin fight on morytha
@@daffyfable1983 I recommend watching XC2 tips from Enel. He will demystify the battle system and you will become a lot better within minutes. The game doesn't do a great job explaining things despite all the tutorials. A lot of people complain that the battle system is slow, but it's actually not - the game doesn't teach you about animation cancels and how to charge specials faster or anything like that. But to be honest, as good as the battle system, if that is the thing getting in the way of plaything through the story, I would say lower the difficulty and enjoy the story since it's worth playing regardless. And also do the blade side-quests.
I don't get why people say the game starts off slow. The pace is perfect. I did not feel like the first ten hours were just the tutorial at all. Sure, you don't have all the features right away, but that's for the better. You don't want to get overwhelmed by everything like in X.
The first ten hours are pretty much a tutorial on the go, and I don't mind at all. It flows nicely along with the story and progression and is definitely worth listening to. Either way the first 10 hours are the tip of the iceberg, once you get to the first large area the real fun begins.
@@BeowulfCav Dude not even close to the first 10 hours maybe the first 3 or 4 might feel a little slow but after that it takes off. I feel like everyone saying this has never played the game cause that's complete bullshit.
@Armand Silva A lot of sidequests and takes a solid 30 to 40 hours for that story to kick in... it's really good but... I think people are looking back on that game with rose tinted glasses.
Ben, I bought this game prior to this review based on your feedback before and I am enjoying it so far. I think your review is nicely balanced and there is no disparity between the content and the score which I think is super important. It's obvious you really took your time to evaluate the systems, the world, characters, etc. and you tried to find a sweetspot between all the things you could have written about and the things that you absolutely needed to write about. Thank you for all the work you put in this review (this of course also goes to Ian and Brandon), I think it paid off! L&R
Played it for the first time this month- without having played XC1 or X- and I must say, it's now become one of my favorite games of all time. Probably my top 5, for sure. That's all; have a good day :)
I swear, for as good a game as Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is, the division in the camps is ridiculous. Camp 1: Xenoblade Chronicles 1 die-hards who believe the first game was so perfect any changes in 2 just destroy the fun of the game making it a horrible mess. Camp 2: The idiots who haven't played or studied the game who just say that the game is generic Waifu anime crap, with horrible voice acting and a bland and uninteresting cast of characters. A lot of these people likely do not own a Nintendo console, have never played any game in the series, and are just hating on the fact that Nintendo got a new and massive RPG. Camp 3: The Xenoblade fans who are saying they like it, not as much as the first one but way more than X and consider it a great game. Camp 4: The camp I find myself in, this group may or may not be veterans to the series but were interested in a new JRPG for the Switch and view the game to be great (Not Perfect) on its own merits when you divorce it from the firestorm of controversy.
I'm in camp 5: I love the game just the same as Xenoblade 1. It's my Switch game of the year together with Breath of the Wild and before Mario. Also i like it more than Persona and Nier. It's not perfect, but it makes some things almost perfectly and the flaws aren't severe enough to make the game less satisfying.
I can't imagine it's easy for Ian to edit together game footage that matches what's being said, especially for a game as deep and intricate as this looks, props to Ian. Or Ryan Thompson. Whichever she's known for behind the computer.
After beating the game and going back over some reviews, the party speaking during combat went over a lot of the reviewers heads lol. Most of it isn’t random and helps point out key things like a new enemy joining the battle or specials being ready
This comment section really doesn't embody the love and respect mantra. Come on people - we can do better. As for the game itself, I like the characters(albeit a few odd design choices), the story is very engaging and the soundtrack is god like. The combat is just decent so far but it keeps getting better the more I play. Overall the game does have problems in terms of presentation - certain areas look great and run fine, other places have resolution and fps drops which takes you out of the game a bit. I also think the game looks a lot worse in hand held mode in certain areas in the game. Overall I think it is a flawed game with a lot of great stuff in it which totally salvages it in the end. Good review Ben.
Alexander Chilton Love and respect is good, but that doesn't mean that everything should be approached with a positive outlook. And I'll say this again. This franchise should drop the "Xeno" part from its title. That word(?) is nothing more than a cashgrab now.
budakbaong siah That's not what I am saying and that's not the criticism 90% of the comments are saying. There is a big elaborate comment for example that basically tells Ben that he is lying to himself. Why would people write shit like that about a game they haven't played or probably don't even have any interest in? It is straight up bullying and pressure for giving a game a better score than their very limitied knowledge think it is worth and I can't stand it.
This game is seriously excellent imo. There are obvious flaws here and there mostly when it comes to UI, but it's so fun to play it's hardly a problem.
I like Ben. He gave Persona 5 a 5/5. He gave this game a 4/5 and Nier Automata a 4.5/5. I subbed. This guy has the same ratings I gave each individual game. I know who my go to is now for reviews :)
You’re definitely not the only one! I don’t think an art style should prevent a game from getting a good score! I think that some things in terms of sexualization went a bit...overboard.... but it’s only a small nitpick. I personally loved the game!
@@jenerossitea9247 I posted this a year ago. I don't feel like going back and figuring out the context behind what you're responding to. So cool story bro.
Throwing some positivity in here. Ben's points are well discussed and come from a place of experience with the genre. Nothing wrong with disagreeing, but it's a video game review not a political treatise. Remember, someone disagreeing with your opinion doesn't mean they don't like you. Thanks for the review, Ben! Great work as always. I was already sold because I'm a huge Xeno fan, but it's always cool to see what others think.
The man liked the game and he scored it accordingly. He also took into account what he found as issues into the score (why he gave it an 8 and not a 9 or 10). I don't see a problem w/ the review at all.
I'm curious as to what the difference in opinion is that Ben is willing to give this 4/5 stars and yet Damiani thinks of it as a "massive disappointment"
Really curious myself. I'm 13 hours in and for the first 10 of those I thought the game was complete shit. It's gotten a bit better since then, but even for JRPG standards a 10 hour start is excessive. Seriously, that's the full length of some games.
So happy that Ben liked the game, after seeing Damiani's tweet, I thought the whole crew didn't liked it, oh well, different opinions, so far I love the game, don't really understand the people that say this is inferior to the original Xenoblade, this definitely carries the essence and love of the first one, unlike X , which tried for a more Sci-Fi and Serious/Edgy feeling, this definitely puts a lot of emphasis on character, you can tell just from their designs and personalities, also, the voice acting is soooooo great in English, this alongside, the other two Xenoblade, are those kind of games that sounds as good both Japanese or English, specially Nia's voice.
Guys, why are you so tied up on presentation over gameplay? That's a Nintendo Exclusive game, that not how they roll. And more, most people who played are having fun, how is the opinion of those who didn't play more important?
Just came around to playing this. Awesome sense of scale. Godlike worldbuiling and soundtrack. Great and unique mixture of exploration, combat, dungeon crawling, collecting / card game elements and story-driven quests. Complex levelling systems and party customization. Takes some time to really get into all of the complex combat mechanics, but once it *clicks* with you, it is really captivating. Same goes for the story. First half is driven by the great atmosphere and wonder to find out more about the world, second half is driven by plot and really unfolds the overarching narrative. Underrated game. 9/10 all day long.
Holy spoilers batman! Look away now, or just keep the audio playing in the background, if you don't want to get spoiled with some of the later party members you'll get in the game. @Easy Allies: Great review, but *please* at the very least put spoiler warnings when showing major things that are not in the official trailers.
The only problem I had in this game was the start, the first chapter is a "I never played an JRPG" tutorial with a ton of cutscenes, but once you get pass of that and the mechanics start to expand the game feels BIG.
My one problem with Xenoblade series is that there are too many asinine side quests. Rather just have a focus on the story and any side quests be more meaningful/well developed instead of a TON of stupid fetch/kill quests like an MMO and that the side quests be more toward the end of the game or so.
Ive never played one and I've heard they great but the main thing keeping me from wanting dive in outside of console exclusivity is the interface. This interface seems a bit improved which makes me want to try this. But overall it seems so overwhelming and at the same time super uninteresting. From the old games it felt like there was a disconnect from what I saw on the screen and the feedback from damage counters and stuff. I know super weird complaint but interface does alot for me. The menus in nier automata were what originally kept me from wanting to jump in.
Some are timed to go away/not be doable after a point in the story and some of those don't happen without doing other side quests. So it feels like I have to do them all asap so I can make sure to get every quest done and get the loot I can and see all the possible things in the game. It's more of a completionist mindset issue, sure, but it's still an issue for someone like me (why I started this all with my opinion on it :P)
Feelin' DanDy Yes, people don't have to do the bad sidequests. But that doesn't make those sidequests disappear, does it? If those asinine quests are the only kind of sidequests that available, what should the played do? And by saying that people should ignore those bad sidequests, you are just proving their point. Those sidequests are so bad that you could only ignore its existence to make it tolerable.
Don't watch the review if you care that much about spoilers. I think it's fine allies. If you are that sensitive then just skip to the end to see final score.
The localisation and voiceover sounds fantastic, which is a far cry from Breath of the Wild's English effort. Getting a real Ni No Kuni vibe and that's no bad thing. This game looks like a must-have!
Played 24 hours of this since Friday, the combat system becomes more engaging the more you play, and the story+characters become more interesting the more they get fleshed out. The game could've stayed in the oven for a couple months tho, technically it's still a bit lackin. A Spring 2018 release would have been perfect
Haven't played many traditional turn based RPGs in a long time, I've become more into Action RPGs like Monster Hunter and Dark Souls. Not sure this is the right one either for me to jump back-in, as it looks heavy on menus and very long conversations. However, looks like it's a must for those that want a very good game in this beloved genre. So long as you like menus, a lot of plot, and quirky characters.
+Nuvendil Well actually Origins is turned based in tactical mode. But yeah I wrote wrong on Chronicles 2. It does seem you still select your actions in a way like a turn based RPG but the only thing you wait on is meters which outside of the flashy stuff can be spammed ongoingly. It is a bit different from what I thought it is, so may look into the game at somepoint. My only other issue is the long story, though as long as it's fun to watch may be worth checking out.
Bobby May Cry I haven't played it yet, but if it's like Takahashi's previous works, it's outward simplicity at the start is misleading. Twists and escalating adventures are his specialty. And what major cutscenes I have looked at (Monolith Soft have two distinct kinds of cutscenes with two distinct levels of presentation value) are very well animated.
+Nuvendil Less about the quality and more the tedium, as stated at the start I just don't play many of these kind of RPGs. One being the overwhelming amount of menus and the other main reason is lengthy stories. I play games more for gameplay, getting lost in a gaming world isn't really my appeal, and while I know the game will have plenty play time, not sure I'm up for putting the controller down for an hour because it's 'story-time' I like a nice story in games as a bonus but not if it takes me away from what I want to enjoy in the game overall in the first place. Hence my scepticism on Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
People going on and on about a number at the end of the review. He gives great arguments on the good and bad throughout the video, giving people more than enough reason to be interested or not. The star at the end is always up to the reviewer's general impressions so obviously if the person likes it it'll be high, read/hear the actual content and language (to filter out the opinion if you will) for the actual recommendation on whether or not this is your kind of game.
Excellent review. Although it would've been good to comment on the dub, and mention the free Japanese voice patch you can download. I'm also surprised that the undocked mode being ugly wasn't mentioned.
Just beat chapter 3 and dam. That boss was bad ads and the ending cut since for that chapter. I can't to home from work tommrow to find out what happens next.
There are also some issues with the game being in handheld mode or tabletop mode as some people call it. For one it's more prone to crash for some reason. Two the game just doesn't look that good in handheld mode. I haven't really run into anything else that hindered my overal experience, this game is fantastic. I'm already 30+ hours in and I love it.
This undoubtedly sets up an exemplar on how a professional review should be. In essence, this is exquisite writing with attention to wording and to thoughts that support the well-enunciated expression. I don't like to name them because that would sound ill-intentioned, but the reviews from certain media outlets sound very unorganized, and hence, seemingly written by uneducated people who don't have the foggiest how to appreciate games. So they fail in a stark contrast against Easy Allies' reviews, which are often the best imo in the circle.
Ok I'm confused. People who hate JRPG's are mad because you rated what is a REALLY good(we can all probably agree not all time great) JRPG 4 stars? I will probably never buy another Call of Duty like ever......so why would I care if a game I don't like or enjoy gets a good review. These products are marketed to wide demographics, and i would imagine 90% of the people who put out Destiny reviews probably liked Destiny. That game is about as deep as a puddle in comparison but if it gets scored an 8 I doubt anyone would care.
It's really refreshing to see main characters with British Accents that aren't using Received Pronunciation, but the actual performance, of the main character sounds really weird to me. He's from where I live, Lancashire, but he's trying to go a bit more Northern than he actually is. It sounds a bit odd. Edit: Or maybe it's Welsh he's going for, but he's not Tapping his Rs, which is a really significant characteristic of Welsh accents. Like I said, it's odd.
I doubted this could match the quality of the first game which is to this day, one of the best jrpgs ever made. But I'm sure this will be fun in its own limited way... I'll probably pick it up sometime next year.
Will be buying the Collector's edition tomorrow even though I don't have a Switch yet and won't buy it for a couple of months the least. Still have time to enjoy the original and try out X as well.
EZA says that the repeating phrases during combat becomes annoying and repetitive. I say, you can easily go into the volume settings and turn down the volume on those settings so it really is not an issue.
Started it, but it’s slow and I put it down. I’ll get back to it soon, still dipping into Persona 5... The side quests I did were abut disappointing, not just because they were typical fetch quests, but because the map marker leads you to your destination, making them feel even more pointless.
This game is a amazing game experience, some people are full of BS. But its nothing new. Just play the game an you will see what I'm texting about. Great masterpiece 👏🏾👏🏾👍🏾
This is easily in my top 5 of the year and may beat Mario Rabbids as my favorite Switch game. Party spoilers are bogus but I half suspected that character would be a party member anyway. Glad they are to be honest.
Hello! Just a friendly tip: You don't always target the inner circle on the quick time prompts. You target whichever is light blue and it'll vary between activities.
So what’s the consensus on which is better XC or XC2? I own the original on my 3DS and never played it but would skip it to play this one on the Switch if it is the no doubt better game
There is a gitch sometime after you get the 4th party member where you will have to face a boss, and if you had that 4th character in your party instead of Rex, you will be stuck with 2 party members to fight the boss. Not a fun experience so keep that in mind. When you see the name Skyfist Remington, switch Rex back into your party.
I’ve seen a lot of love and a lot of hate for this game, but this was the first review I’ve watched that explained both shortcomings and positives really well
Slow start, but man. Once it grabs you, it never lets go. Loving it!
Superlosia I thought it started pretty damn quickly for a JRPG lol, I mean you get Pyra in the first like two hours and then it goes from 20-100 in one cutscene
Exactly, for a JRPG it has a pretty quick start. I don't know why people say it's slow. It's like they've never played a game of the genre before.
I heard people say it started slow before I started playing. I am a very patient person, so it isnt a problem for me, but it did prepare my expectations. I start playing the game and almost immediately it throws you into some exciting scenarios and kicks the action into gear. I am baffled that people think this is a slow game.
So wts issue hard to navigate?
lol ff8 and ff9 started slow as hell lol.
I've put in 17 hours in only 3 days WHILE studying for my finals and I must say that, despite its many flaws, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a hell of a game. The combat itself is truly engaging, nothing is more satisfying than hitting that Level 3 Special Combo. As always great review Ben! Would love to hear you debate the more intricate details of the game in a Frame Trap.
150+ hours in. Story beat, starting Torna DLC. I'm so glad I took a chance on this one!
I'm 15 hours into this game at a point where I should rightfully be at only 10. The soundtrack is glorious and despite the negativity the english voicework is making me grin from ear to ear. Every game won't be for everyone, but I'm glad I get to mindlessly love it.
L & R Ben, Great Review
Nice review. Can't believe some of the comments here questioning Ben's integrity or whether the review is genuine, when the score pretty much mirrors the overall score from other outlets.....
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has been getting some amazing review scores.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Review Scores:
RPGamer- Perfect 5 Exceptional
Famitsu- 35/40
NintendoLife- 9 out of 10
DualShockers- 9.5 out of 10
GBAtemp- 9.2 out of 10
RPG Fan- 90%
GameXplain- Loves it!
MyNintendoNews- 8.5 out of 10
SA Gamer- 8.5 out of 10
OpenCritic- 86% Mighty!
RPG Site- 9 out of 10
TheSixthAxis- 9 out of 10
Trusted Reviews- 4.5 Stars out of 5
Eurogamer- Recommended!
Digitally Downloaded- 4 Stars out of 5
Metacritic- 85%
NintendoWorldReport- 9.5 out of 10
WeGotThisCovered- 4 Stars out of 5
USgamer- 4.5 out of 5
EPNdotTV (TH-cam)- 9 out of 10
GameRevolution- 4.5 out of 5
Attack of the Fanboy- 4.5 out of 5 Loves it!
GamingBoulevard- 9 out of 10
Nintendo Insider- 9 out of 10
WCCFtech- 8.8 out of 10
Gaming Nexus- 8.8 out of 10
Hey, but i guess Ben is bais for JRPG (LOOOL).
I've played this game for 26 hours so far. In 3 days. It is simply phenomenal.
Tyke it’s boring, too bad.
26 hrs in 3days?? Step up your game
I played 11 hours in 1 day, it is amazing
+John Bob beware of the troll
John Bob go away troll lol
11h in and minor gripes aside (blurry graphics in handheld, etc) it's a game worth playing for any switch owner that enjoys JRPGs
Man, Nintendo has just been killing it this year with the Switch. So many good titles.
Hey another pretty good review, EZA usually have a pretty positive, civil comment section too. Let me go see what they have to say.
"WOW, GAEM SUKS"
"HOLY SHIIT VOICE ACTING"
"FUCKING WEEB GAMEW FOR WEEBS GA:SEGIHN:LDIKHG:ILEW"
...Alright, nvm, looks like I shouldn't have done that to myself.
Nice review though.
Weeb game for weebs
Why is it the only people who are bitching are the ones who never played the game and the ones who did play it are saying it's good? It really makes you think doesn't it?
Its a Switch exclusive, everything Nintendo will get hate in some way or another.
Plus is Anime inspired so there you go...
Because they have opinion? And of course those who bought the game will try their best to defend the game, they bought it! You don't buy 5 tickets of Miley Cyrus concert if you don't like her or her works.
yeah, really hammers home the concept of "post-purchase rationalization"
So, you can have a valid opinion about a game you never played?
Alex Cole the people who are bitching are people who have never played the game and jumping on the “voice acting is sooooo bad omg” bandwagon so they can feel like they’re part of the wave
one of the best rpg i've ever played
That moment when the little anime girl sounds like a middle-aged Scottish woman
lol same one from Planet zoo tutorial
She’s welsh you dense potato
@@dylanheywood2144 I'm a burger, actually.
SHE'S NOT SCOTTISH!!!
@@golfer435 I KNOW!!!
The negativity around this game is crazy to me. I've read a lot of the (relevant) forum discussions and it paints the game in an very bad light. Not that the game has no flaws but there's just so much nagging. The TH-cam comments for this are something else. People are basically calling Ben's competence into question, as if he doesn't know what he wrote or what he truly feels. If you don't like the game, fine but don't do that. At least nice to see that Ben can find value and fun in it. Good review.
I think the reason why this game is catching flak is twofold: The first being that we are currently enjoying an embarrassment of riches. We've gotten so many good games this year, many with great writing, voice acting, music, etc... In the JRPG genre alone we've got Nier Automata and Persona 5. That has raised people's expectations quite a bit.
Secondly: This is the direct follow up to Xenoblade Chronicles, one of the best JRPGs of all time. It has some serious shoes to fill.
So you have a recipe for double disappointment if the game doesn't knock its various aspects out of the park. And middling performance in a certain area will be met with ire (for example: the character designs and VA work).
BurnerMan54 I honestly think that 10% is actual valid criticism from fans of the Xeno games and the other 90% is from people that just want to troll everyone that likes Nintendo or join the bandwagon or Sony fanboys lol. Those same people are the ones that ignore the 100 positives over here and focus on the 2 negatives over here and then call the game bad because of it. Also the same people that will get defensive if you criticize their favorite game citing “what about the 2 negatives over here” and they say “oh well that doesn’t matter look at the rest of the game”. But when it comes to Xenoblade all of a sudden it’s ok to focus on the 2 negatives and not the 100 positives
I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of these people came from the hell hole called ResetERA.
That was one of the discussions I was referring to. The thread over there is something special.
The mods ban those they don't agree with - so this is bound to happen when you create an echobox. It does give some good fodder for Cringe Dumps though.
I dont understand why there is so much shitposting about this game and review "I haven't played the game but it doesn't deserve a good score" "how dare a person who likes jrpgs review a jrpg it only gets a 4/5 cause he's biased" Get over it, the game is good.
Half is Sony and Microsoft fanboys like the ones who bombarded Breath of the Wild with negative reviews, the other hald is SJWs who are angry that the blade characters tend to be sexy women.
@@AlexG-tf9bi on the opposite end, Nintendo fanboys bombarded botw with positive reviews. Game is mediocre at best
This and Xenoblade Definitive Edition make an amazing Duo! The Switch has so many great games now it's hilarious!
I think Pyra looks great. I love her design and outfit. Come at me.
SIMP
@@lucaa.6406 INCEL
@@IAmAwesomeSoAreYou what darling 😂
You probably a dude
Major W my man.
This game does have some flaws that frustrate, but in my opinion the good parts outshine those flaws and in the end i think this is a good game.
I absolutely loved this game. Owned it since launch, but finally got to play it during the lock down. 139 hours later, I am so amazed. This is one of the greatest games of the decade. The story and characters and environments and world building combines to something that far surpasses most rpgs. A+ game. It has it's flaws... a lot of annoying stuff like field skills and poor maps/waypoints due to elevation, but if you get past that. everything else is just awesome. I feel really connected to this game, the world, the characters. Some of the cutscenes are tear-jerkers. Other than one set of cutscenes at the end, I thought the cutscenes were all pretty great. I was truly gripped to the edge of my seat the entire time.
I just bought the game. I got up to the Malos and Akhos fight in Uraya and I was playing in the Normal mode and it was infuriating. When I was in the middle of a combo on Akhos, he would activate his Shackle Moves, thus, breaking the combo. When it didn’t, Malos taunted, making me unable to finish my combo again. My question is , would I be considered bad if I started on easy mode or is the game considered easy on normal mode?
@@daffyfable1983 i know this is late by 3 months but play however you wants i mean some guy out there plays a custom hardmode in which he doesn't use the inn leveling system + never do salvaging outside of quest and the other plays custom easy mode by just buying meat like chargrilled grumbird and cake item afterall doing that you really can sped up your arts combo, yeah its all bout playstyle i guess, in my case i grind till level 40 since uraya to get some chip so i'd never get any problem at least until the second malos and jin fight on morytha
@@daffyfable1983 I recommend watching XC2 tips from Enel. He will demystify the battle system and you will become a lot better within minutes. The game doesn't do a great job explaining things despite all the tutorials. A lot of people complain that the battle system is slow, but it's actually not - the game doesn't teach you about animation cancels and how to charge specials faster or anything like that. But to be honest, as good as the battle system, if that is the thing getting in the way of plaything through the story, I would say lower the difficulty and enjoy the story since it's worth playing regardless. And also do the blade side-quests.
Weebo gonna weebo
This is such a deep, engrossing and emotional game. Love it to bits :)
This is the game that for me made the switch ultimately worth the purchase. I am hooked.
Jeeses99 they literally said it was this specific game that made the switch worth it. No other game made them feel like it was worth it but XC2....
Great review, i'm less than 10 hours into the game and i like how it explains everything step-by-step.
Why can't we as people come together and just appreciate scottish cat-girls?
Welsh
She's not Scottish. That is Welsh
I don't get why people say the game starts off slow. The pace is perfect. I did not feel like the first ten hours were just the tutorial at all. Sure, you don't have all the features right away, but that's for the better. You don't want to get overwhelmed by everything like in X.
The first ten hours are pretty much a tutorial on the go, and I don't mind at all. It flows nicely along with the story and progression and is definitely worth listening to. Either way the first 10 hours are the tip of the iceberg, once you get to the first large area the real fun begins.
@@BeowulfCav Dude not even close to the first 10 hours maybe the first 3 or 4 might feel a little slow but after that it takes off. I feel like everyone saying this has never played the game cause that's complete bullshit.
First Xeno game i have played, glad i got it.
@Armand Silva meh. To linear
@Armand Silva A lot of sidequests and takes a solid 30 to 40 hours for that story to kick in... it's really good but... I think people are looking back on that game with rose tinted glasses.
Ben, I bought this game prior to this review based on your feedback before and I am enjoying it so far.
I think your review is nicely balanced and there is no disparity between the content and the score which I think is super important. It's obvious you really took your time to evaluate the systems, the world, characters, etc. and you tried to find a sweetspot between all the things you could have written about and the things that you absolutely needed to write about. Thank you for all the work you put in this review (this of course also goes to Ian and Brandon), I think it paid off! L&R
Played it for the first time this month- without having played XC1 or X- and I must say, it's now become one of my favorite games of all time. Probably my top 5, for sure.
That's all; have a good day :)
I swear, for as good a game as Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is, the division in the camps is ridiculous. Camp 1: Xenoblade Chronicles 1 die-hards who believe the first game was so perfect any changes in 2 just destroy the fun of the game making it a horrible mess. Camp 2: The idiots who haven't played or studied the game who just say that the game is generic Waifu anime crap, with horrible voice acting and a bland and uninteresting cast of characters. A lot of these people likely do not own a Nintendo console, have never played any game in the series, and are just hating on the fact that Nintendo got a new and massive RPG. Camp 3: The Xenoblade fans who are saying they like it, not as much as the first one but way more than X and consider it a great game. Camp 4: The camp I find myself in, this group may or may not be veterans to the series but were interested in a new JRPG for the Switch and view the game to be great (Not Perfect) on its own merits when you divorce it from the firestorm of controversy.
I'm in camp 5: I love the game just the same as Xenoblade 1. It's my Switch game of the year together with Breath of the Wild and before Mario. Also i like it more than Persona and Nier. It's not perfect, but it makes some things almost perfectly and the flaws aren't severe enough to make the game less satisfying.
I'm in Camp 6: The weird person who loves all the Xenoblade games and won't constantly bitch about them.
And camp 7: the people who like X the most. They exist.
The only issue i had with the original was the wii's shit graphics & controls, litterally kept me from playing it.
I have an issue with the wall.
I can't imagine it's easy for Ian to edit together game footage that matches what's being said, especially for a game as deep and intricate as this looks, props to Ian. Or Ryan Thompson. Whichever she's known for behind the computer.
After beating the game and going back over some reviews, the party speaking during combat went over a lot of the reviewers heads lol. Most of it isn’t random and helps point out key things like a new enemy joining the battle or specials being ready
This comment section really doesn't embody the love and respect mantra.
Come on people - we can do better.
As for the game itself, I like the characters(albeit a few odd design choices), the story is very engaging and the soundtrack is god like. The combat is just decent so far but it keeps getting better the more I play. Overall the game does have problems in terms of presentation - certain areas look great and run fine, other places have resolution and fps drops which takes you out of the game a bit. I also think the game looks a lot worse in hand held mode in certain areas in the game.
Overall I think it is a flawed game with a lot of great stuff in it which totally salvages it in the end.
Good review Ben.
Alexander Chilton
Love and respect is good, but that doesn't mean that everything should be approached with a positive outlook.
And I'll say this again. This franchise should drop the "Xeno" part from its title. That word(?) is nothing more than a cashgrab now.
budakbaong siah
That's not what I am saying and that's not the criticism 90% of the comments are saying.
There is a big elaborate comment for example that basically tells Ben that he is lying to himself. Why would people write shit like that about a game they haven't played or probably don't even have any interest in?
It is straight up bullying and pressure for giving a game a better score than their very limitied knowledge think it is worth and I can't stand it.
This game is seriously excellent imo. There are obvious flaws here and there mostly when it comes to UI, but it's so fun to play it's hardly a problem.
I like Ben. He gave Persona 5 a 5/5. He gave this game a 4/5 and Nier Automata a 4.5/5. I subbed. This guy has the same ratings I gave each individual game. I know who my go to is now for reviews :)
Am I the only one who doesn't care about the anime artstyle and is enthralled about almost everything this game has to offer?
You’re definitely not the only one! I don’t think an art style should prevent a game from getting a good score! I think that some things in terms of sexualization went a bit...overboard.... but it’s only a small nitpick. I personally loved the game!
@@hildabane Actually it is a very big nitpick. A very Very VERY BIG nitpick...
@@Zachlandia in you're opinion sure. keyword being You're.
@@jenerossitea9247 I posted this a year ago. I don't feel like going back and figuring out the context behind what you're responding to. So cool story bro.
This my absolute favorite game om the Switch. Must play
Throwing some positivity in here. Ben's points are well discussed and come from a place of experience with the genre. Nothing wrong with disagreeing, but it's a video game review not a political treatise. Remember, someone disagreeing with your opinion doesn't mean they don't like you.
Thanks for the review, Ben! Great work as always. I was already sold because I'm a huge Xeno fan, but it's always cool to see what others think.
Super slow start but it gets better around the 20 hour mark. I'm not a JRPG fan but trust me it's worth playing
The man liked the game and he scored it accordingly. He also took into account what he found as issues into the score (why he gave it an 8 and not a 9 or 10). I don't see a problem w/ the review at all.
I didn't even notice the spoiler, if anything all the comments drew my attention to it.
I'm curious as to what the difference in opinion is that Ben is willing to give this 4/5 stars and yet Damiani thinks of it as a "massive disappointment"
Really curious myself. I'm 13 hours in and for the first 10 of those I thought the game was complete shit. It's gotten a bit better since then, but even for JRPG standards a 10 hour start is excessive. Seriously, that's the full length of some games.
I'm on the complete other end of the spectrum. I've played for 17 hours and I've been having the time of my life just exploring everything.
Just a difference in opinions.
I completely agree with Bens review. Great game
TinyPrinceGames I just picked it up earlier today and put 2.5 hours into it, starts off a little slow but i'm loving it so far.
ben is blind to active criticism of franchises he really likes
So happy that Ben liked the game, after seeing Damiani's tweet, I thought the whole crew didn't liked it, oh well, different opinions, so far I love the game, don't really understand the people that say this is inferior to the original Xenoblade, this definitely carries the essence and love of the first one, unlike X , which tried for a more Sci-Fi and Serious/Edgy feeling, this definitely puts a lot of emphasis on character, you can tell just from their designs and personalities, also, the voice acting is soooooo great in English, this alongside, the other two Xenoblade, are those kind of games that sounds as good both Japanese or English, specially Nia's voice.
OMG!!! I missed that voice reviewing games 😭😭😭 Glad I found y’all after GameTrailers! *subscribed* :3
Guys, why are you so tied up on presentation over gameplay? That's a Nintendo Exclusive game, that not how they roll. And more, most people who played are having fun, how is the opinion of those who didn't play more important?
This game is a masterpiece, warts and all. One of the best games I've ever played. If only I could play it again for the first time...
Great review Ben, and great edit too Ian (aside from the spoiler I guess, but really, I think it was very well paced)
Love Ben's reviews so much!
Just came around to playing this. Awesome sense of scale. Godlike worldbuiling and soundtrack. Great and unique mixture of exploration, combat, dungeon crawling, collecting / card game elements and story-driven quests. Complex levelling systems and party customization. Takes some time to really get into all of the complex combat mechanics, but once it *clicks* with you, it is really captivating. Same goes for the story. First half is driven by the great atmosphere and wonder to find out more about the world, second half is driven by plot and really unfolds the overarching narrative. Underrated game. 9/10 all day long.
Holy spoilers batman! Look away now, or just keep the audio playing in the background, if you don't want to get spoiled with some of the later party members you'll get in the game.
@Easy Allies: Great review, but *please* at the very least put spoiler warnings when showing major things that are not in the official trailers.
The only problem I had in this game was the start, the first chapter is a "I never played an JRPG" tutorial with a ton of cutscenes, but once you get pass of that and the mechanics start to expand the game feels BIG.
My one problem with Xenoblade series is that there are too many asinine side quests. Rather just have a focus on the story and any side quests be more meaningful/well developed instead of a TON of stupid fetch/kill quests like an MMO and that the side quests be more toward the end of the game or so.
Ive never played one and I've heard they great but the main thing keeping me from wanting dive in outside of console exclusivity is the interface. This interface seems a bit improved which makes me want to try this. But overall it seems so overwhelming and at the same time super uninteresting. From the old games it felt like there was a disconnect from what I saw on the screen and the feedback from damage counters and stuff. I know super weird complaint but interface does alot for me. The menus in nier automata were what originally kept me from wanting to jump in.
But you don't have to do them so...it's not like the game forces you to.
Some are timed to go away/not be doable after a point in the story and some of those don't happen without doing other side quests. So it feels like I have to do them all asap so I can make sure to get every quest done and get the loot I can and see all the possible things in the game.
It's more of a completionist mindset issue, sure, but it's still an issue for someone like me (why I started this all with my opinion on it :P)
Feelin' DanDy
Yes, people don't have to do the bad sidequests. But that doesn't make those sidequests disappear, does it? If those asinine quests are the only kind of sidequests that available, what should the played do? And by saying that people should ignore those bad sidequests, you are just proving their point. Those sidequests are so bad that you could only ignore its existence to make it tolerable.
This one seems to have a lot less side quests (I've played over 40 hrs)
I finished the game a hour ago, i love it!
Don't watch the review if you care that much about spoilers. I think it's fine allies. If you are that sensitive then just skip to the end to see final score.
Dude I love this guy's voice. I'm so glad I found this channel
The localisation and voiceover sounds fantastic, which is a far cry from Breath of the Wild's English effort. Getting a real Ni No Kuni vibe and that's no bad thing. This game looks like a must-have!
Played 24 hours of this since Friday, the combat system becomes more engaging the more you play, and the story+characters become more interesting the more they get fleshed out. The game could've stayed in the oven for a couple months tho, technically it's still a bit lackin. A Spring 2018 release would have been perfect
Haven't played many traditional turn based RPGs in a long time, I've become more into Action RPGs like Monster Hunter and Dark Souls.
Not sure this is the right one either for me to jump back-in, as it looks heavy on menus and very long conversations.
However, looks like it's a must for those that want a very good game in this beloved genre. So long as you like menus, a lot of plot, and quirky characters.
Bobby May Cry well one thing to note is this isn't turn based, it's real time, like say Final Fantasy XIV, Dragon Age Origins, etc.
+Nuvendil
Well actually Origins is turned based in tactical mode. But yeah I wrote wrong on Chronicles 2. It does seem you still select your actions in a way like a turn based RPG but the only thing you wait on is meters which outside of the flashy stuff can be spammed ongoingly.
It is a bit different from what I thought it is, so may look into the game at somepoint. My only other issue is the long story, though as long as it's fun to watch may be worth checking out.
Bobby May Cry I haven't played it yet, but if it's like Takahashi's previous works, it's outward simplicity at the start is misleading. Twists and escalating adventures are his specialty. And what major cutscenes I have looked at (Monolith Soft have two distinct kinds of cutscenes with two distinct levels of presentation value) are very well animated.
+Nuvendil
Less about the quality and more the tedium, as stated at the start I just don't play many of these kind of RPGs. One being the overwhelming amount of menus and the other main reason is lengthy stories.
I play games more for gameplay, getting lost in a gaming world isn't really my appeal, and while I know the game will have plenty play time, not sure I'm up for putting the controller down for an hour because it's 'story-time'
I like a nice story in games as a bonus but not if it takes me away from what I want to enjoy in the game overall in the first place.
Hence my scepticism on Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
A Welsh accent in a JRPG? Well I never.
DespicableOne it's not the first.. ni no kuni
People going on and on about a number at the end of the review. He gives great arguments on the good and bad throughout the video, giving people more than enough reason to be interested or not. The star at the end is always up to the reviewer's general impressions so obviously if the person likes it it'll be high, read/hear the actual content and language (to filter out the opinion if you will) for the actual recommendation on whether or not this is your kind of game.
Excellent review. Although it would've been good to comment on the dub, and mention the free Japanese voice patch you can download. I'm also surprised that the undocked mode being ugly wasn't mentioned.
Thanks for a great review Ben
I like Nia's design, it reminds me of the Mime from FF Tactics
Just picked this up, it’s gonna be my first Xenoblade title, I’m 100% using the Japanese audio though. I hate the English voices.
Just beat chapter 3 and dam. That boss was bad ads and the ending cut since for that chapter. I can't to home from work tommrow to find out what happens next.
Thank you for writing this review. I now have even more reason to buy this game for my birthday/summer vacation.
There are also some issues with the game being in handheld mode or tabletop mode as some people call it. For one it's more prone to crash for some reason. Two the game just doesn't look that good in handheld mode. I haven't really run into anything else that hindered my overal experience, this game is fantastic. I'm already 30+ hours in and I love it.
This undoubtedly sets up an exemplar on how a professional review should be. In essence, this is exquisite writing with attention to wording and to thoughts that support the well-enunciated expression. I don't like to name them because that would sound ill-intentioned, but the reviews from certain media outlets sound very unorganized, and hence, seemingly written by uneducated people who don't have the foggiest how to appreciate games. So they fail in a stark contrast against Easy Allies' reviews, which are often the best imo in the circle.
Thank you for reviewing the reviewer. 9/10, would read your comment again.
Ok I'm confused. People who hate JRPG's are mad because you rated what is a REALLY good(we can all probably agree not all time great) JRPG 4 stars? I will probably never buy another Call of Duty like ever......so why would I care if a game I don't like or enjoy gets a good review. These products are marketed to wide demographics, and i would imagine 90% of the people who put out Destiny reviews probably liked Destiny. That game is about as deep as a puddle in comparison but if it gets scored an 8 I doubt anyone would care.
It's really refreshing to see main characters with British Accents that aren't using Received Pronunciation, but the actual performance, of the main character sounds really weird to me. He's from where I live, Lancashire, but he's trying to go a bit more Northern than he actually is. It sounds a bit odd.
Edit: Or maybe it's Welsh he's going for, but he's not Tapping his Rs, which is a really significant characteristic of Welsh accents. Like I said, it's odd.
I'm more in shock that Nintendo managed to get this out in 2017 with no delays.....wtf
I doubted this could match the quality of the first game which is to this day, one of the best jrpgs ever made. But I'm sure this will be fun in its own limited way...
I'll probably pick it up sometime next year.
Will be buying the Collector's edition tomorrow even though I don't have a Switch yet and won't buy it for a couple of months the least. Still have time to enjoy the original and try out X as well.
If 5 stars is your highest rating this game deserves a solid 6.
EZA says that the repeating phrases during combat becomes annoying and repetitive. I say, you can easily go into the volume settings and turn down the volume on those settings so it really is not an issue.
"Cant have a rainbow without Reyn Baby!"
Might replay this game this Christmas as a 1 year anniversary
Good review loved the first and enjoying this even more.
Was looking forward to hearing your guys' thoughts. Thanks, gents!
Great and fair review,I love this game
Started it, but it’s slow and I put it down. I’ll get back to it soon, still dipping into Persona 5...
The side quests I did were abut disappointing, not just because they were typical fetch quests, but because the map marker leads you to your destination, making them feel even more pointless.
Can you fly a mech like in Xenoblade Chronicles X? (Or fly in any way or form for that matter)
12 minutes. SETTLE IN BOYS
is japanese voicetrack patch already availible ?
it came out on release.
Thanks mate : D Then its settled.
Great review, Ben! So detailed and comprehensive. Love it!
9:45 "Seem like the enemy got THE POINT"
This game is a amazing game experience, some people are full of BS. But its nothing new. Just play the game an you will see what I'm texting about. Great masterpiece 👏🏾👏🏾👍🏾
This is easily in my top 5 of the year and may beat Mario Rabbids as my favorite Switch game. Party spoilers are bogus but I half suspected that character would be a party member anyway. Glad they are to be honest.
Hello! Just a friendly tip: You don't always target the inner circle on the quick time prompts. You target whichever is light blue and it'll vary between activities.
8 is a tough score. The fanboys get offended you didn't score it higher, and the critics think you gave an 8 to a stinker, just because you're a weeb.
I fucking love this game. I'm only a few hours in but it's so good.
So what’s the consensus on which is better XC or XC2? I own the original on my 3DS and never played it but would skip it to play this one on the Switch if it is the no doubt better game
Okey time to get this
This sounds like the most intriguing RPG since The Witcher 3.....and Octopath Traveler is just to come....I need a Switch. NOW!
Excellent review as always, guys.
DON'T FORGET ME
I found this review helpful and enlightening. It helped me realize that this is not the game for me, but that's a review's job! Good work, Ben.
2:22 , that rock texture
Power of Switch
Does Rex always have to be in your party or you can use any three characters you want?
Rafael Francisco Turri You can control any character in battle or outside (although you can't change in battle).
Insert Username but even if you are not controlling rex, does he have to be in your party?
Rafael Francisco Turri Not at all (But it will take a while before you get the fourth party member to replace him).
Insert Username thanks for the answers
There is a gitch sometime after you get the 4th party member where you will have to face a boss, and if you had that 4th character in your party instead of Rex, you will be stuck with 2 party members to fight the boss. Not a fun experience so keep that in mind. When you see the name Skyfist Remington, switch Rex back into your party.
I’ve seen a lot of love and a lot of hate for this game, but this was the first review I’ve watched that explained both shortcomings and positives really well
Yesssssssss! The only review that matters.