It's so weird being british and seeing people saying that the british voice acting is one of their only complaints. To me it's the same kind of experience that I suppose americans experience all the time with most media. Xenoblade was my first gaming experience where I was able to experience voice acting that felt as natural and real to me as I expect most american voice acting does for americans. Made me connect much more with the game than if it had had american voice acting
Too bad Xenoblade 2 takes two steps back for every step forward. Yeah, its combat could've been better than the first game, but it's a shame the controls are less ergonomic and every battle takes longer than it should due to damage-sponge enemies, on top of the poorly-implemented blade system. Torna was everything Xenoblade 2's base-game should've been, and makes me wonder why we couldn't have got that the first time round (considering how tedious field skills became). Though I suppose if Monolith Soft didn't have that misstep, we wouldn't have got the peak of the series' combat in Xenoblade 3.
@NintendanGX Enemies in 2 are only spongy if you play poorly, which is understandable, because the game has poor tutorials. If you know what you're doing though stuff is over quick
@NintendanGX the thing is, xbc2's combat is straight up the opposite of what you described. Problem is that the game teaches you how to play it so poorly its pretty much nessicary to watch a video guide or read one just to get it. Game is stupid fun when you understand it
This series is amazing. There's a reason XBC3 SOMEHOW got nominated for game of the year despite being a JRPG, a genre which never even gets considered under normal circumstances unless they slap a coat of action and western appeal over the top. An honour only shared by persona 5.
Still sucks it didn't win best OST. Everyone knew XC3 wasn't gonna win GotY because it was going up against Elden Ring and God of War, but the majority felt that best soundtrack really should have been the area it won in given how amazing it is. As well as how important music was to the story with the off-seer's melody.
@@FireFury190 saw that same discussion under another xenoblade video and fully agree with what was stated there, that being that nomination is more important than winning since winning is literally just a popularity award, everyone who listened to the xc3 soundtrack can say that its the best soundtrack of the year(ofc still subjective, but u get the point), but if far less people have played xc3 compared to god of war then there was just no chance of winning, so just think about the nomination as the main point
Totally agree 👍 The nomination alone was so impactful, I remembered when I was the only one who played xenoblade 1 on my circles and got no friends to talk about it. Now everyone practically know that it's one of the best jrps ever made
I saw that you were wondering why this game is called Xenoblade, and I know why. Originally it wasn’t called Xenoblade at all it was called “Monado: Beginning of the World” but Satoru Iwata told Tetsuya Takahashi (the game’s director) to change the name to honor the legacy of the previous Xeno games. So he did, and thus the name Xenoblade was born. Also about Future Connected, the story of the epilogue was brand new, but the area it takes place on (Bionis Shoulder) was cut from the original game. They repurposed it for the new story they wanted to tell.
Quick correction, we don't know for certain that it was Iwata who suggested Takahashi change the title. Iwata was the one who told the story, but he never specified if it was him or someone else who suggested the title change.
My favourite tidbit about people discovering XC1 through smash is how surprised they are to find out Shulk, while still being a good boy- is also someone not afraid to scream about literal genocide at the beginning before he goes through his whole arc. Cracks me up every time.
Well I was surprised when I found out he is a scientist and "spends too much time on the lab", from his voice in Smash and the things I heard about him from the community (mostly comparing Rex to him...back in 2018) I thought he was some kind of stoic warrior guy, total opposite lol
Not early 3 though, it's funny how you are stuck with Noah and kinda have to do combos to finish enemies quickly and then the game switches to Mio and her ridiculous art spamming, Zephyr is such a fun class xd
35:27 - Very glad that you brought this up, as it's a mindset I've noticed more and more people adopting online too; this hyperfixation on whether or not a character's gone through any significant "arcs", and using that to determine their worth, all the while ignoring everything else they bring to the table. Sure, characters having tangible arcs in which they go through life-changing experiences are great and I wouldn't fault anyone for summing up their opinions on certain characters around those aforementioned arcs, as they're undoubtedly what leave the biggest impacts in retrospect, but I just can't see eye to eye with that thought process. There's far more that goes into developing a character than just sending them on character journeys and calling it a day (although they do play a big role). Plus, like you said, there are far more methods of doing so too. And there's no greater example of this than the Legendary Heropon, Riki, himself. The Beach cutscene with him, Melia, and Dunban alone should be proof enough that there's value in the little things that a character does, and that not everyone needs to go through a grand character transformation/development to be a well-fleshed-out character.
Actually it was a beta map used for testing by the developers and never intended for the main game. They decided to properly use it for FC because it fit the story they wanted to tell. And probably because many fans found out about it and wanted to see it added in properly.
@FireFury190 well if you want to get even more technical, it was more than likely planned to be used to bridge Makna Forest to Eryth Sea as in the code it was found to be placed between those two areas. I think it eventually became a testing map for stuff like chests, draw distance, and swimming.
@@MiguelHernandez-lo5lg Maybe. But they never said that during the interview about Future Connected. That's where we learned the Bionis Shoulder was a test area.
The reason it's called Xenoblade is actually because Satoru Iwata requested the name be changed to honor it's creator Tetsuya Takashi since this was one of his works. And him being the brainchild of Xenogears and Xenosaga. The original title for the game was actually Monado: Beginning of the World. And it was never intended to be a Xeno game. Hence why it lacks some tropes that other Xeno games tend to tackle. As for why Chronicles was added in the western versions while in Japan it's simply called Xenoblade, who knows. Maybe it was to appeal to the JRPG crowd that like synonyms for the world "story" in the title. Future Connected wasn't cut from the original game. The area Bionis Shoulder the story takes place on was actually a map that the developers used for testing and left in the game's code. The story was completely new and made for DE as an incentive for people who played the original to get the remake. As well as serve as a conclusion to Melia's character and provide a hint to the future of the series. The reason Xenoblade was a Gamestop exclusive was because Nintendo of America originally didn't intend to bring the game to the west. This is why Xenoblade's dub is very British as it was localized and released by Nintendo of Europe. This is also why with the exception of Xenoblade X all the core games are localized and dubbed by NoE for consistency. They would release it in 2012 but as a Gamestop exclusive likely because they weren't confident it would sell well at normal retail. And given how the franchise is now they were clearly wrong.
Eh you say it lacks tropes, but I see some, mechas are obvious, people of the world being fuel for...beings I won't mention, story beginning as something attacks the party's home, and other psychological crisis really
I said it on Twitter and Ill say it here: Xenoblade Chronicles is just amazing. From its characters, world, music and so on there is something just MAGICAL about it. I also was SUPER curious on your thoughts about this game for A LITERAL YEAR LOL. Amazing video as always man and I am very curious/excited to hear your thoughts on the later installments!
I love how Xenoblade isn't afraid to be itself. Whatever crazy/wacky/ridiculous idea it has, it works it in and tries hard to maximize its potential while still exuding such confidence and sincerity.
If you plan on playing 2 and 3 I think it would be good to know that they are all very unique in the way they present the stories. All 3 have somewhat similar themes and plot points, but are different in their respective execution. That is a reason why there is such a big divide in the community about which game is better, and sides who only like one or two games, but hate or dislike the others. I would say that it's very often just a case of beeing different and not worse. Although 2 and 3 also have their fair share of criticisms, no doubts about it.
I feel like chain attacks are at their best in XC1 honestly. I can't stand how if you defeat an enemy during a chain attack in XC2 and XC3 you just uselessly beat up an already defeated enemy rather than moving onto the next target like in XC1.
@@QuanNguyen-yw3ft You're guaranteed 3 rounds, and if you have high affinity between party members it pretty consistently goes to 5. It's not guaranteed, but it is pretty consistent and in my opinion less of a time waster than XC2 and XC3 chain attacks while also being a lot more useful since you can take out a target and move on to the next mid chain attack.
@@somedude3820 u do know u can end the chain attack early in 3 right? (i forgot whether u can end it early or not in 2). They gave reward by beating up a dead enemy, additional exp.
@@abrahampardede7557 Yes, but it's still a waste of time if you want that reward. It's either end early for no reward, or beat up a dead enemy uselessly.
Xenoblade 2 is still my favorite game of all time. "Arts should recharge as you land hits on enemies." You should really play Xenoblade 2. Also be warned though the game has a horrible tutorial and is a slow starter but when it HITS that game HITS.
@@mrcat4508 yeah XC2 is very decisive among the community, but I still love all of the game in the series, even though XCX blue balls you in the ending.
44:39 Yes!! Exactly! Thank you so much for defending this scene! I've seen so many people hate it simply because he won't let Dunban kill him. They see it as "Mehhhh, cuz killing is wrong!" Shulk wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he didn't see Fiora in the face unit.
@@KrimsonKattYT The point was to show that Shulk was no longer out for revenge. He wanted to focus more on the why. He thought all mechon were evil until he saw Fiora inside.
@@KrimsonKattYTYes but Shulk thought killing someone of your kind isn't worth it for revenge...regardless of what they have done, I see why some people dislike it
2:10 So, a quick bit of history for you. Back when it was still in development, they had originally titled the game 'Monado: Beginning of the world'. But, when Monolithsoft was wrapping up development on the game, Takehashi was chatting with his good buddy Satoru Iwata, the then President and CEO of Nintendo, and Iwata suggested that he change the name to Xenoblade as an homage to the previous works that Takehashi had created when he made Xenosaga under Namco and Final Fantasy 7- I mean Xenogears under Squaresoft. (Not joking, Xenogears was actually one of the contenders to be FF7).
Love to see new people become Xenoblade fans! My favorite series of video games. Xenogears and Xenosaga are also fantastic, they are absolutely worth checking out for anyone interested.
Having played each Xenoblade Chronicles game, it's simple but effective combat, memorable cast of characters and absolutely memorable worlds and stories made it easily one of my favorite game series.
So, my one point. Egil's reason for destroying all of Bionis wasn't because he hated them. . .he was trying to insure that Zanza couldn't use all the life on the Bionis to awaken it again in order to destroy the Mechonis. He chose to take the route of 'These lifeforms existing mean that mine will be wiped out' and understood it wasn't because of their choices. . .but the choices of an enity that would destroy everything. When he and Shulk fight, Shulk is trying to get him to commit to finding another way. Zanza, at this point, can still wipe out all life on Bionis regardless of what anyone else wants, and in fact starts the process. Not saying Egil was in the right, just that he had. . .somewhat valid motivations for the choices he made.
I will say, the later Xenoblade games fixed your issues with both the arts (doing exactly as you suggested, at least for 2 and agnian arts in 3) and the chain attacks (with 2 extending chain attacks based on how well you set up orbs ahead of time with a hint of quick time events like 1 and 3 functioning off of orders activated by filling a meter with party member actions and a chain attack gauge with a fixed maximum). Even the sidequests got a decent bit better! I think that the later games are definitely worth a playthrough if you can find the time, though it's a good idea to find a good video tutorial on how 2's combat works ahead of time because of its... iffy tutorials. Overall, this was a great retrospective on Xenoblade 1! The Xenoblade series is definitely one of, if not my favorite series!
Speaking of Shulk having to rethink his thoughts on the Mechon, the faced Mechon being humans was teased _so early on._ Remember when Shulk said that the Monado can't hurt people? Cue the first Metal Face encounter.
I think a lot of fans forget just haw few plot points are real surprises. The game straight up tells you so much so early. the only real surprise is that last one, and even then there are hints towards it.
I bought this game when it was remastered in 2020, and it ended up being a huge part of my life for the first stretch of Covid. Since then, I’ve played 2 and 3, all of their extra stories (which are basically standalone games with the exception of Future Connected), Xenogears, and Xenosaga. It is very easily my favorite franchise of all time, and that’s honestly based on the Blade games alone. Super glad to see you got into this first game, and I’m really hoping you try and enjoy the more recent installments just as much. If it entices you at all, the combat systems in 2 and 3 (for most fans) EASILY outclass the one in this game. Way more options, a lot more layers, and a good deal more control (for one, art recharge is based on auto-attacks landing and not time). Heck, XC3 straight-up puts all available party members in battle at once and lets you change control of those members at any time mid-battle. You therefore have access to 42 different arts at any time. I’ll even say this: I think that XC2 might have my single favorite battle system in any game, at least once I understood it fully (needed the internet to achieve that lmao). Definitely a genuine fault of those infamous tutorials, but essentially if you ever feel that 2’s combat is slower than 1’s, then you’re missing something.
I'm with you that XC2 has the best combat of any game I've ever played. Although I do feel like the odd one out whenever 2's tutorials are brought up. I figured out the battle system on my own just based on what the tutorials said. Now don't get me wrong, they're still not good, and certainly don't tell you everything, but it's not impossible to learn the game from them.
@@conorb.1901If I remember correctly the game explains well how to do specials and combos, but even after that I still didn't know what I was doing, it might just be me being stupid, but I remember doing a Blade combo for the first time and thought "what was that? Did I do that??"
@Fermin-hw5pd if I remember correctly (it's been over two years since I did a fresh playthrough of 2, let alone one where I didn't skip the tutorials since I already know how to play), the game only barely touches on fusion combos despite them being a pretty central mechanic, and not even a hard one to take advantage of. The other thing I find weird is that they explain full bursts during the Akhos fight in Garfont, but you won't have the capability to actually pull one off until much later (and that's ignoring how it's usually better to go with fewer orbs anyway). Really the only things I didn't work out through my own experimentation my first playthrough were the nuances of fusion combos and things that aren't listed anywhere such as stability or just range.
@@conorb.1901 Don't remember fusion combos being mentioned at all, hence why I forget about them, they extended the time windows for combos or something? And they did a lot of damage? Also, the range is not mentioned, never, I learned about it in one of Enel's videos and it's hilarious
@@Fermin-hw5pd like I said, it's been quite some time since I've actually read the tutorials, so I'm bound to have forgotten a lot of what they say. I might be thinking of that one sidequest in Torna that has you do fusion combos. But again, for such a useful and powerful mechanic, being able to extend your blade combos and dramatically boost damage, it really should have been explained somewhere.
The first suggestion about how arts shouls recharge on hit rather than on time is actually something implemented into the gameplay of 2 and 3 (and even gets a story reason for why it changed in 3)
Xenoblade was the first big JRPG I ever played. I remember playing as Shulk in Smash 4 3ds and thinking his stage was awesome but I had no real way to play the game back then. Fast Forward to the year the 3ds port came out and my dad got it for me as a surprise birthday present that year and I was super excited to finally see what this game was all about. Then I played it. Suddenly video games weren’t just about racing cars or knocking my friends off platforms, They were a world of their own, full of mystery and characters with their own struggles and goals. The first cutscene with Metal Face is something that has stuck with me for nearly a decade at this point. The voice acting, the music, and the animations came together to create such an incredible hook, it felt like at that moment I had discovered a new depth of what a video game could be. However, I was a dumb kid and RPGs had a lotta words that I wasn’t super interested in reading. So saying that I struggled my way through this game would be an understatement. It took me till about halfway through the game to find out how art books and art levels work for example. I would slowly come to learn the game’s mechanics through picking up the game and putting it down( usually to being stuck at a boss with mechanics I didn’t understand) and eventually after about a year and a half found myself at the road to Zanza. That night I was going to fell a god. With my poorly equipped and underleveled team of Shulk, Riki, and Sharla the fight began. I died a lot. I was finding out strategies to slowly work my way through the fight with what I had and eventually I acquired the god slaying sword. When that theme played I knew that I had to win no matter what. And eventually with one last “Back Slash!!” the god was no more and me and my friends wished for a world with no gods. Needless to say I love this game. No matter how many other games I play, I don’t think I’ll get to have an experience like that again.
Great video, but i do have some pointers. Autoattack vs arts: the point of auto attacks IS to charge the special of the character and generating little aggro so that you can also do the positional arts to gain party gauge. Art Cooldowns arent an issue if you take into consideration aggro generation. Spamming all your strongest arts as fast as possible makes the enemy aggro to your dps putting them at risk which is bad since revives are hindering your chain attacks. This is why you felt the need to put aggro down and stealth gems to shulk when this is completely unnecessary if you pace yourself. Also i will not tolerate the slandering of haste gems. Haste effect not only "gives a bit extra autoattack damage" but also charges the talent art faster which is crucial for characters like shulk. Gem crafting felt really fun to me. the games tutorials are enough to get the basics but for optimal strategies youll have to plan out your crafting better. Sometimes you need to separate effects from gems but using characters that specialize in gentle flames and cylinders so that you can get 2 cyliders that have only one effect. Crafting those together with riki and reyn can easily net over 500% (not that getting anything over 300 matters) Also, great that you put a spoiler warning in the beginning but it felt a bif funny that at the middle of the video so talk about wanting people to enjoy the story for themselves, but at that point you had already shown a clip of literally the final cutscene :D Side quests are split into 3 groups, mainstory side quest, named npc quests, and standrad quest. Standard quests are the basic kill x enemies, and collect x items. They exists to reward exploration not to enforce it. I think you skipped the named npc quests too much since they actually all have stories woven within and all affect the affinity chart which is one of the main foci of the game, i think you shouldve elaborate on the affinity mechanic.
The original Xenoblade is one of my all time favorite games. It's story and themes are something I grew to love and appreciate how well-done and written the narrative is growing up, and expertly weaved into the game. Shulk is one of my favorite MC's ever, a guy who's self-aware of his flaws who relies on his friends for help while learning to be a better human himself. I remember my kid brain being continually blown away at it's massive size and scale, as I grew and understood technicalities more, its even more impressive to see the Wii running at a great state. While XC2 & 3 improve the combat by a ton, I view XC as a story first, gameplay second type of game.
So Xenoblade isn't quite part the same series as gears and saga. Ok well not gears. It was recently connected to saga. Also Future Connected was NOT cut from the base game. Just the map on which its set.
I hope monolith never stops creating games and sagas like this. In or out of the xeno universe. Just the way they handle their characters, the story and the gameplay is just soooo good.
While introducing many of its own issues, like an unergonomic control scheme, damage-sponge enemies that make most combat encounters a time-consuming chore just so the new chain-attack system can work, locking unique blades behind RNG like it's a gacha game, and making the act of swapping blades between party members a nightmare in such a roundabout way by forcing them to consume an item just to do this simple task. Make no mistake, for every improvement Xenoblade 2 makes over the original, it ruins at least two other things in the process, and it's an overall sloppier and poorly-designed game, regardless of how much fun you or I personally had (and trust me, I spent over 400 hours of the game, combing through all the optional content). Torna is further proof of this, as every issue with the base game is addressed in that expansion, and it's a shame we couldn't have had that level of quality the first time around. Though Xenoblade 3 took every good idea 2 had and found the best way to make use out of them, while maintaining a quality standard akin to the first game, so I'm happy in the end.
@@NintendanGX enemies are not damage sponges. i can understand the gacha hate, but you can get through the story easily without any gacha blades. if you should be complaining about anything, it's the terrible tutorials. do you know what fusion combos are? this is one of the mechanics so poorly explained that anyone not watching a video on how combat works will miss them, despite these giveing massive boons that help a ton, includeing makeing it easeier to finish a blade combo. that thing about needing an item to swap weapons? it's for the better in my opinion. working with what you got can be amazingly fun. step 1 to fix xenoblade 2. port the tutorials from torna back into base game xenoblade 2. step 2, we are practicaly done. things aren't as bad as you are making it out to be. besides the tutorials, it's not poorly designed.
@@kittenfan7664my problem is that fusion combos make the combat just as if not more formulaic than XC1. Even Chain Attack has been nerfed to “big damage button when 3+ orbs”instead of being versatile like saving a topple juggle or someone from death. Sure items help speed the process up, but you end up going back to the same store to constantly stock up on them cuz you can only carry a certain amount and each one lasts ~1 hour. Switching blades doesn’t really alter how you play since the end goal is still the same (orbs for CA). Canceling and recharging arts by hit are brilliant tho. I just wish I could auto attack while moving. I just wish I didn’t have to ruin the pace by walking away mid-fight to pick up treasure/potions.
@@NintendanGXcontrol scheme that follows the face buttons as opposed to needing to scroll through 9 arts at all times. Xc2 improves heavily on xc1, stop capping
Really good video! The best part about your situation now is that you still have 2 main games and 2 DLC's to go which all are peak fiction. Can't wait to hear more of your journey.
Still early into the video, but wanted to leave this here already: Something that already tells you HOW great the first Xenoblade Chronicles is is that I did play the 3DS version first (and for excessive amounts of time at that) and it STILL became and stayed my favourite game until the DE and later on XC3 came out. Edit: Man, I LOVE your analogy regarding XC1 sidequests. Couldn't have said it any better.
Always love to see new Xenoblade fans! So a few things I'm sure have already been stated in the comments: Xenoblade wasn't supposed to be related to the previous Xeno games in any way. It was originally called Monado: Beginning of the World. You can actually see this name in the English e3 trailer for the wii game (it was announced for the west, and then localization was cancelled because Reggie did not like the game for some reason). But yeah, since the other xeno games are owned by Bandai Namco and SE, there would be no legal way to connect them outside of some themes and reused concepts. BUT due to some VERY recent revelations and some collaboration from Bandai Namco in the third game's expansion, that doesn't seem to be the case any more which is exciting. 2. Future Connected is brand new. Was never an epilogue in the original game. The area is a unused area from the first game, but the story is new and used to connect it to the other games in ways I'm not going to outline due to spoilers.
My first experience with this incredible series was on Wii and I love all the games so much that its become one of my all-time fav IPs in gaming. The world building, characters and music for all main game series is near unmatched in my opinion :-)
Now am gonna defeand side quests in the game a bit. first i have to say is that most of the side quest is as straight forward as you say but some of them honestly took me by surprise. the hole red pollen side quest is really interesting and the lore you get from some of the side quests are facenating and helps expand the worlds lore.
I will say, Xenoblade 2 is definitely gonna be up your alley given what you said on combat, it's also stellar, hope you can get to it one day and fall in love with it too.
I actually love XC2 more than 1 and maybe even 3. Thought I understand that 3 technically fixes 2's problems and has the best gameplay, I felt disappointed by 3s ending to the point that I haven't touched the DLC other than future redeemed. While XC2 was cleared second time and I even got torna finished second time on separate physical release
@@rumotu Really all the games are phenomenal, but when it comes to XC3's ending... MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW! . . . . Reminder that the endless now should not exist, and at the end of XC3, it's implied Mio and Noah meet once again. It's bitter that everything had to be let go, but that's the point, that's the Mobius inside you making you feel bitter about it, meanwhile the sweetness, the non predetermined future, is Ouroboros. I felt similarly at first and then realized that it was a profound intention to invoke the reaction of Mobius, so we can realize we'd be part of the problem, wanting our play to resolve neatly, but XC3 makes a point to not have a fully happy ending, tears are shed, things are sad, but eventually they do get better. All you have to do is let go of the now, and embrace the future.
@@rumotufuture redeemed is phenomenal, but it will leave you wanting more. I wish future redeemed was the main game and 3 base was dlc in terms of length tho, I really wanted to learn more of what happened to the OG protags and friends
I hope this means you'll be playing the rest of the series! I love 1 dearly, but 2 and especially are 3 are some of my absolute favorite games of all time. Overall the series is of incredible quality and are some of the best games ever made. Monolithsoft is something else!
3:09 my first experience was on the N3DS and I loved it sooo soooo much. It took me around 130 hours to complete the story, but I was hooked. Having this huge world with me at anytime was such an amazing experience. I never felt that the 3DS did the game a disservice, because the art style was so good. I fell so in love with the game that I also got Xenoblade Chronicles X for the Wii U afterwards. It was very different but still a great game. I also played XC2 and the remastered version but I’m waiting for a switch pro for the 3rd game because for some reason the graphics annoy me for the 3rd game. But I’m looking forward to playing that one too.
I got xenoblade 3 a bit ago and im currently playing it Its my introduction to the series and its an absolute masterpiece If all games in the franchise ( i think we have 4 games so far) are on this level of quality then this may turn into my Favoriten gaming franchise
So the setup of 3 is one and two merging. you may have picked a bad place to start. 1 and 2 run in parallel so you can do those in either order. But two filters people out big time.
@@stregas70501 & 2 aren't totally vital to enjoying 3, there's a bit of missing context for a couple endgame reveals but 3 itself outlines everything on its own well enough. The DLC, however, relies completely on having played everything else prior and is sorta the real conclusion to the trilogy. X so far has no actual connection to the numbered games, though after 3's DLC some may argue it'll be relevant eventually.
@@talonhowe8131 so you saying its the Trilogie conclusion Is it confirmed we wont have xenoblade 4? Also how long is the playtime of the finale dlc? And last thing We di only have 4 xenoblade games right? Sry to bombard you with questions
YOU FOOL! My first experience with Xenoblade Chronicles was on the New 3DS and I loved it, been wanting a chance to play the game since Shulk was revealed too for Smash, though the Virtual Console version was probably a better way to enjoy the game even though it was basically shadow released with me knowing.
about chain attacks, and i know i'm going to get slack for this they definitely were at their best (though not their flashiest) in 2, not torna, though that streamlining was fun for a shorter experience, but maingame 2 having to actually strategize around what to bring with you to both give yourself more chances to extend the chain attack (before it even comes to one) and then actually extend it (when it comes to one) is just great
I'm really hoping that this game pushes you to give Xenoblade 2 and 3 a shot. I got into this series pretty recently myself and while none of them are perfect, I've fallen in absolute love with these games and their ability to tell emotional, character driven stories in beautiful and visually unique worlds. Xenoblade 3 in particular is one of the best games I have ever played
Even with its flaws, I can’t help but say that 3 might be my favorite of the trilogy. I think 1 is the most polished and refined for what it is while 2 is… a mixed bag to put it lightly. To this day I still can’t decided if I liked it a lot or was really disappointed in/annoyed by it (probably both)
This right here, I'm so glad you were able to experience this amazing game. Xenoblade as a franchsie is probably my favorite game series of all time. I'd love to see if you end up giving 2 and 3 a shot too!
I am happy that you are learning to love Xenoblade Chronicles. It has a lot of symbolism for me because well, I actually got into the series thanks to Xenoblade Chronicles and I got the game as a gift from my girlfriend, when the game came out as a Gamestop exclusive, mostly because Nintendo of America didn't had faith in the game only for Operation Rainfall to convince them otherwise. I own the game on the Nintendo Wii, New 3DS and Nintendo Switch. You know I am a fan.
My first Xenoblade game that I played was the 3DS port and I thought it played and sounded fine, it's actually a really good port that isn't bogged down at all
My first experience was indeed the N3DS version, and I absolutely loved it. Also, the side quests are actually cannon surprisingly. Colony 6 side quest, and Melia's family side quests are interesting I think. I did find myself hopping a lot though on the N3DS, because it felt faster than running XD
Welcome to the fandom! I’d love to see your thoughts on the other entries in the series, if you decide to play them (which it sounds like you should consider)
Nam talking about Xenoblade? Now that's a huge W, everyone should play Xenoblade at least once on their life. It genuinely became my favorite series and Future Redeemed made me love even more Xenoblade too. I really wish the series keep being so consistently amazing(i know XC2 is controversial but it's also a masterpiece)
So the thing about Xenoblade was that it was originally just called "Monado: Beginning of the World" and it was someone at Nintendo who told Takahashi to call it Xeno something in respect to their past work. I won't spoil anything but there's now a second reason its Xenoblade now.
Im the exact same way, i never knew who he was, but I loved his design and gameplay in smash, and the game and series is phenomenal! Edit: Yes, 3ds was my first game before getting the switch version!
it is, indeed, peak fiction. i got into this franchise with DE during lockdowns of 2020, and it’s easily my favorite series of games i’ve ever played, and DE is the only game I consider to rival Majora’s Mask as my favorite game of all time. loved your video
The 3DS version looks shockingly decent when upscaled in emulation. And it's nearly half the size of it, so I think there's still reason to own it. The 3DS version was the first version I played.
Seeing this video just reminds me how much I love this game. I've fallen in love with the series as a whole, including Xenogears and the Xenosaga trilogy, but this game is really something special. I just remember how enamored I was by the characters, the music, the story, and the world as a whole. It was one of the formative games from my teenage years that would solidify my lifelong love for RPGs as a whole, right alongside Persona 3 and EarthBound.
I like that a lot of the small criticisms with the battle system in this video were addressed in 2 and 3 later on, such as the tactics menu. Bit weird that none of the other games of the series were really mentioned at all, but that also means that the game can be taken in as a standalone experience which is great! Good video
I think the thing I love most about xenoblade 1’s combat is the resource management especially in fights with unique monsters and higher level enemies, balancing use of the party gauge, talent arts and everything else while being hounded with visions and needing to strategise around this Stuff creates an extremely satisfying loop to play within
I finished the game literally yesterday and today I saw this video in my recommended, impeccable timing lmao And don't worry, I don't think you can praise a piece of media too much. Critiques about its flaws will eventually fade but the love for it can last a long looong time. And remember: Today, we use our power to fell a god, and then seize our destiny!
i got xenoblade on my wii when i worked at gamestop around 10 years ago, when i finally got the remaster i was blown away. so many quality of life changes. this game has become one of my favorite rpgs of all time
14:41 While you may already know this and have just phrased it poorly; holding zr and pressing certain directions on the dpad will change their behaviour. IIRC: Up = Focus one target, Down = Run away/dont attack and L/R = Attack closest enemy. While im not sure about the combat efficacy of Attacking random targets with each party member is definitely questionable and situational, it does provide the party control that you were asking for.
Auto attacks are actually signficant. Its like a traditional mmo where in longer difficult fights dps autos can end up being a very significant percentage of their total dps. Dps seven can legitimately be constantly fighting for aggro with dunban and reyn even without arts because of how much damage she can do built to buff her auto attacks
3:04 Oh hey, that's me! The Wii version was not easily available (VERY low print run, so almost immediately $100 on eBay), so my first experience was on the 3DS. And to be fair: It's a perfectly fine version of the game. I'd not pick it over the Switch version, but that version didn't exist. There is actually a fourth version of sorts: The Wii U Virtual Console version of the Wii original. It actually allows playing with the Wii U GamePad instead of the Wii Remote, and it was $20 - so the Wii U VC Version of Xenoblade Chronicles was by far the best version to play until the Switch version came out. (Some people still prefer it because the Switch version made the characters look "more anime". I get it, but don't agree: Switch Version is hands-down the best one)
The trilogy hits so many spots for me. I absolutely loved exploring the world. Having the world filled with high-level encounters early on made the world feel alive. Non-MMOs had the tendency of only placing beatable encounters in your way. Tanking also took a lot of notes from MMOs that made tanking super fun even with the 3 player party. Topple-locking in the first game and insane chain attack scaling in all 3 games pretty much break every encounter in Late/Post-Game but that's kinda nitpicky because you have to setup your characters in a very special way for it
The big thing about auto attacks in Xenoblade 1 is that you can get a lot of hits out very rapidly depending on your build, and these hits will generate aggro extremely quickly. Even if another character is dealing crazy damage with arts, the enemy can still be aggro'd onto your crazy multi-attack dodge tank like Dunban or Seven.
2:20 Actually the name is because of Iwata, in an Iwata ask to Tetsuya Takahashi, the mind behind the Xeno series for the most part, he reveals that originally he was going to call it "Monado, the beginning of the world", but it's because of Iwata telling him to not give up on the Xeno franchise that he name it Xenoblade Chronicles.
Wow, all this time and I never realized chain attack continuation in Xenoblade DE were random! Here I thought that I was just doing something wrong... I just didn't feel like going more in depth since I was doing fine anyway, and didn't need to learn where in the chain I was messing up. And I'm someone who did every little side quest & all the affinity grinding I could 😅
I have very strong love/hate relationship with the xeno series but Xenoblade and Xenogears are masterpieces imo and are some of the most beautiful and creative games out there.
As someone who got into Xeno not with Blade but Saga, and knowing your style of video, not only would I LOVE for you to cover the Xenosaga trilogy, but I honestly think those games would be great fits for your channel.
Xenogears is such an amazing piece of art that it doesn't just make you love the game but makes you follow all of Takahashi's work. It happened to me when it first came out and I've seen it happen to countless other people on YT and Twitch.
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Will play Xenoblade 2 and 3, along with the DLCs?
Xenoblade is such a cool series. It was so cool they invented British people to tie in with the game.
It's messed up that there's a real country of people that talk like Xenoblade characters
Klaus's experiment not only created Xenoblade universe in fiction but also British "people" irl too unfortunately
common VincentEternal W
@@notaj_ 🤝
It's so weird being british and seeing people saying that the british voice acting is one of their only complaints. To me it's the same kind of experience that I suppose americans experience all the time with most media. Xenoblade was my first gaming experience where I was able to experience voice acting that felt as natural and real to me as I expect most american voice acting does for americans. Made me connect much more with the game than if it had had american voice acting
I'm listening to it right now, and I reached his opinion on cooldowns, it's funny that he described XC2 combat exactly when talking about cooldowns.
Chain attacks too!
Too bad Xenoblade 2 takes two steps back for every step forward. Yeah, its combat could've been better than the first game, but it's a shame the controls are less ergonomic and every battle takes longer than it should due to damage-sponge enemies, on top of the poorly-implemented blade system. Torna was everything Xenoblade 2's base-game should've been, and makes me wonder why we couldn't have got that the first time round (considering how tedious field skills became).
Though I suppose if Monolith Soft didn't have that misstep, we wouldn't have got the peak of the series' combat in Xenoblade 3.
@NintendanGX Enemies in 2 are only spongy if you play poorly, which is understandable, because the game has poor tutorials. If you know what you're doing though stuff is over quick
@NintendanGX the thing is, xbc2's combat is straight up the opposite of what you described. Problem is that the game teaches you how to play it so poorly its pretty much nessicary to watch a video guide or read one just to get it. Game is stupid fun when you understand it
sadly I fear if he does a review of 2 only for the terrible tutorials will stop him from enjoy it as the incredible game that is.
This series is amazing. There's a reason XBC3 SOMEHOW got nominated for game of the year despite being a JRPG, a genre which never even gets considered under normal circumstances unless they slap a coat of action and western appeal over the top. An honour only shared by persona 5.
Still sucks it didn't win best OST. Everyone knew XC3 wasn't gonna win GotY because it was going up against Elden Ring and God of War, but the majority felt that best soundtrack really should have been the area it won in given how amazing it is. As well as how important music was to the story with the off-seer's melody.
@@FireFury190yeah goty sucks
@@FireFury190 saw that same discussion under another xenoblade video and fully agree with what was stated there, that being that nomination is more important than winning since winning is literally just a popularity award, everyone who listened to the xc3 soundtrack can say that its the best soundtrack of the year(ofc still subjective, but u get the point), but if far less people have played xc3 compared to god of war then there was just no chance of winning, so just think about the nomination as the main point
Totally agree 👍
The nomination alone was so impactful, I remembered when I was the only one who played xenoblade 1 on my circles and got no friends to talk about it.
Now everyone practically know that it's one of the best jrps ever made
"Despite"
I saw that you were wondering why this game is called Xenoblade, and I know why. Originally it wasn’t called Xenoblade at all it was called “Monado: Beginning of the World” but Satoru Iwata told Tetsuya Takahashi (the game’s director) to change the name to honor the legacy of the previous Xeno games. So he did, and thus the name Xenoblade was born.
Also about Future Connected, the story of the epilogue was brand new, but the area it takes place on (Bionis Shoulder) was cut from the original game. They repurposed it for the new story they wanted to tell.
Respect for Satoru 🙏
He knew..... he knew... the game was special, and he showed Respect by honoring the legacies
How nice of Shesez to let Monolith use the Bionis Shoulder area (he created it for his Xenoblade boundary break video)
Quick correction, we don't know for certain that it was Iwata who suggested Takahashi change the title. Iwata was the one who told the story, but he never specified if it was him or someone else who suggested the title change.
Yeah but it had to be from one the executives, It had to be. Cuz all of the support monolith got so far. We eating good 👍 these past few years
@@Fermin-hw5pd lmao
My favourite tidbit about people discovering XC1 through smash is how surprised they are to find out Shulk, while still being a good boy- is also someone not afraid to scream about literal genocide at the beginning before he goes through his whole arc.
Cracks me up every time.
Well I was surprised when I found out he is a scientist and "spends too much time on the lab", from his voice in Smash and the things I heard about him from the community (mostly comparing Rex to him...back in 2018) I thought he was some kind of stoic warrior guy, total opposite lol
More people seem to be shocked that he’s a soft-spoken nerd rather than a standard hot blooded anime swordsman type
11:50 "Instead of relying on strict cooldown timers, arts should recharge when you land hits" XC2 and XC3 say hi lol.
Not early 3 though, it's funny how you are stuck with Noah and kinda have to do combos to finish enemies quickly and then the game switches to Mio and her ridiculous art spamming, Zephyr is such a fun class xd
@@Fermin-hw5pdso basically I should play mio?
@@helloguy8934 You have to when you are forced to play as her, but it's not Mio herself but her class, Zephyr
@Fermin-hw5pd So wait being keves or the other thing doesn't matter in this case?
@@Fermin-hw5pd how do you play the zephr class optimally anyway?
35:27 - Very glad that you brought this up, as it's a mindset I've noticed more and more people adopting online too; this hyperfixation on whether or not a character's gone through any significant "arcs", and using that to determine their worth, all the while ignoring everything else they bring to the table. Sure, characters having tangible arcs in which they go through life-changing experiences are great and I wouldn't fault anyone for summing up their opinions on certain characters around those aforementioned arcs, as they're undoubtedly what leave the biggest impacts in retrospect, but I just can't see eye to eye with that thought process. There's far more that goes into developing a character than just sending them on character journeys and calling it a day (although they do play a big role). Plus, like you said, there are far more methods of doing so too.
And there's no greater example of this than the Legendary Heropon, Riki, himself. The Beach cutscene with him, Melia, and Dunban alone should be proof enough that there's value in the little things that a character does, and that not everyone needs to go through a grand character transformation/development to be a well-fleshed-out character.
3:30 Correction: The Bionis Shoulder itself was cut from the game. The story scenario is new.
Actually it was a beta map used for testing by the developers and never intended for the main game. They decided to properly use it for FC because it fit the story they wanted to tell. And probably because many fans found out about it and wanted to see it added in properly.
Bionis shoulder technically appeared in OG XC1 in two short cutscenes. So technically it wasn‘t unused, but almost.
@FireFury190 well if you want to get even more technical, it was more than likely planned to be used to bridge Makna Forest to Eryth Sea as in the code it was found to be placed between those two areas.
I think it eventually became a testing map for stuff like chests, draw distance, and swimming.
@@MiguelHernandez-lo5lg Maybe. But they never said that during the interview about Future Connected. That's where we learned the Bionis Shoulder was a test area.
The way this man pronounced Nopon as "Nay-pon" and Egil as "Eh-jill" physically hurts considering how much the characters pronounce both words
Gave me ign flashbacks.
This makes me think he didn't actually play the game 😅
@@PrestoJacobsonI'm pretty sure his Canadian
@@bobothetransdimensionalhob2659 ah.
@@bobothetransdimensionalhob2659As a Canadian, we can definitely say “nopon” correctly
While it is true, that some of the foreshadowing is pretty obvious. Some others are pretty brilliant.
„In my head, there are two versions of me.“
The reason it's called Xenoblade is actually because Satoru Iwata requested the name be changed to honor it's creator Tetsuya Takashi since this was one of his works. And him being the brainchild of Xenogears and Xenosaga. The original title for the game was actually Monado: Beginning of the World. And it was never intended to be a Xeno game. Hence why it lacks some tropes that other Xeno games tend to tackle. As for why Chronicles was added in the western versions while in Japan it's simply called Xenoblade, who knows. Maybe it was to appeal to the JRPG crowd that like synonyms for the world "story" in the title.
Future Connected wasn't cut from the original game. The area Bionis Shoulder the story takes place on was actually a map that the developers used for testing and left in the game's code. The story was completely new and made for DE as an incentive for people who played the original to get the remake. As well as serve as a conclusion to Melia's character and provide a hint to the future of the series.
The reason Xenoblade was a Gamestop exclusive was because Nintendo of America originally didn't intend to bring the game to the west. This is why Xenoblade's dub is very British as it was localized and released by Nintendo of Europe. This is also why with the exception of Xenoblade X all the core games are localized and dubbed by NoE for consistency. They would release it in 2012 but as a Gamestop exclusive likely because they weren't confident it would sell well at normal retail. And given how the franchise is now they were clearly wrong.
Can't leave out Kaori Tanak who is Takahashi's wife and co-writer for Xenogears
Also for XenoSaga
Eh you say it lacks tropes, but I see some, mechas are obvious, people of the world being fuel for...beings I won't mention, story beginning as something attacks the party's home, and other psychological crisis really
@@Fermin-hw5pd Xenoblade is basically a remix of Xenogears in a lot of ways.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF SIDEQUESTS!-Chuggaconroy taught me that and made a great running gag in his playthroughs
Not sure if he mentioned it, but special shoutout to the music. That’s what first made me fall completely in love with this game. Stunning OST.
I said it on Twitter and Ill say it here: Xenoblade Chronicles is just amazing. From its characters, world, music and so on there is something just MAGICAL about it. I also was SUPER curious on your thoughts about this game for A LITERAL YEAR LOL. Amazing video as always man and I am very curious/excited to hear your thoughts on the later installments!
I love how Xenoblade isn't afraid to be itself. Whatever crazy/wacky/ridiculous idea it has, it works it in and tries hard to maximize its potential while still exuding such confidence and sincerity.
If you plan on playing 2 and 3 I think it would be good to know that they are all very unique in the way they present the stories. All 3 have somewhat similar themes and plot points, but are different in their respective execution.
That is a reason why there is such a big divide in the community about which game is better, and sides who only like one or two games, but hate or dislike the others.
I would say that it's very often just a case of beeing different and not worse. Although 2 and 3 also have their fair share of criticisms, no doubts about it.
I like how the chain attacks are handled in 2, 3 and their respective expansions. 1 had the idea that just had a decent execution.
I feel like chain attacks are at their best in XC1 honestly. I can't stand how if you defeat an enemy during a chain attack in XC2 and XC3 you just uselessly beat up an already defeated enemy rather than moving onto the next target like in XC1.
@@somedude3820 but in 1 it's all random so you can't even plan it out for extra rounds like in 2 and 3
@@QuanNguyen-yw3ft You're guaranteed 3 rounds, and if you have high affinity between party members it pretty consistently goes to 5. It's not guaranteed, but it is pretty consistent and in my opinion less of a time waster than XC2 and XC3 chain attacks while also being a lot more useful since you can take out a target and move on to the next mid chain attack.
@@somedude3820 u do know u can end the chain attack early in 3 right? (i forgot whether u can end it early or not in 2). They gave reward by beating up a dead enemy, additional exp.
@@abrahampardede7557 Yes, but it's still a waste of time if you want that reward. It's either end early for no reward, or beat up a dead enemy uselessly.
Xenoblade 2 is still my favorite game of all time.
"Arts should recharge as you land hits on enemies."
You should really play Xenoblade 2. Also be warned though the game has a horrible tutorial and is a slow starter but when it HITS that game HITS.
Still my least favorite game in the franchise minus the one I haven't played
@@mrcat4508 yeah XC2 is very decisive among the community, but I still love all of the game in the series, even though XCX blue balls you in the ending.
@@Ken-lv4ww *devisive
@@neoaurakid**divisive ;)
@@saschb damn
44:39 Yes!! Exactly! Thank you so much for defending this scene! I've seen so many people hate it simply because he won't let Dunban kill him. They see it as "Mehhhh, cuz killing is wrong!" Shulk wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he didn't see Fiora in the face unit.
@@KrimsonKattYT The point was to show that Shulk was no longer out for revenge. He wanted to focus more on the why. He thought all mechon were evil until he saw Fiora inside.
@@KrimsonKattYTYes but Shulk thought killing someone of your kind isn't worth it for revenge...regardless of what they have done, I see why some people dislike it
I guess you could say, we’re all “REALLY FEELING IT”
One of my favorite Heart-to-Hearts is the one where Riki says that he and his wife would be willing to take Shulk in as a new family member
And my favorite is the one where Dunban says "If someone gave me a fruit, I wouldn't know what to do with it."
2:10 So, a quick bit of history for you. Back when it was still in development, they had originally titled the game 'Monado: Beginning of the world'. But, when Monolithsoft was wrapping up development on the game, Takehashi was chatting with his good buddy Satoru Iwata, the then President and CEO of Nintendo, and Iwata suggested that he change the name to Xenoblade as an homage to the previous works that Takehashi had created when he made Xenosaga under Namco and Final Fantasy 7- I mean Xenogears under Squaresoft. (Not joking, Xenogears was actually one of the contenders to be FF7).
Love to see new people become Xenoblade fans! My favorite series of video games. Xenogears and Xenosaga are also fantastic, they are absolutely worth checking out for anyone interested.
Having played each Xenoblade Chronicles game, it's simple but effective combat, memorable cast of characters and absolutely memorable worlds and stories made it easily one of my favorite game series.
So, my one point. Egil's reason for destroying all of Bionis wasn't because he hated them. . .he was trying to insure that Zanza couldn't use all the life on the Bionis to awaken it again in order to destroy the Mechonis. He chose to take the route of 'These lifeforms existing mean that mine will be wiped out' and understood it wasn't because of their choices. . .but the choices of an enity that would destroy everything.
When he and Shulk fight, Shulk is trying to get him to commit to finding another way. Zanza, at this point, can still wipe out all life on Bionis regardless of what anyone else wants, and in fact starts the process. Not saying Egil was in the right, just that he had. . .somewhat valid motivations for the choices he made.
Fun thing for 2:10
Xeno is an English prefix meaning foreign or strange
So foreign blade chronicles for it's English title :)
I will say, the later Xenoblade games fixed your issues with both the arts (doing exactly as you suggested, at least for 2 and agnian arts in 3) and the chain attacks (with 2 extending chain attacks based on how well you set up orbs ahead of time with a hint of quick time events like 1 and 3 functioning off of orders activated by filling a meter with party member actions and a chain attack gauge with a fixed maximum). Even the sidequests got a decent bit better! I think that the later games are definitely worth a playthrough if you can find the time, though it's a good idea to find a good video tutorial on how 2's combat works ahead of time because of its... iffy tutorials. Overall, this was a great retrospective on Xenoblade 1! The Xenoblade series is definitely one of, if not my favorite series!
Speaking of Shulk having to rethink his thoughts on the Mechon, the faced Mechon being humans was teased _so early on._ Remember when Shulk said that the Monado can't hurt people? Cue the first Metal Face encounter.
I think a lot of fans forget just haw few plot points are real surprises. The game straight up tells you so much so early. the only real surprise is that last one, and even then there are hints towards it.
@@fluxk7506I mean, I think foreshadowing has always been on Xenoblade’s strengths
I'm impressed that you talk about the story without mentioning Alvis. Great video!
I bought this game when it was remastered in 2020, and it ended up being a huge part of my life for the first stretch of Covid. Since then, I’ve played 2 and 3, all of their extra stories (which are basically standalone games with the exception of Future Connected), Xenogears, and Xenosaga. It is very easily my favorite franchise of all time, and that’s honestly based on the Blade games alone. Super glad to see you got into this first game, and I’m really hoping you try and enjoy the more recent installments just as much.
If it entices you at all, the combat systems in 2 and 3 (for most fans) EASILY outclass the one in this game. Way more options, a lot more layers, and a good deal more control (for one, art recharge is based on auto-attacks landing and not time). Heck, XC3 straight-up puts all available party members in battle at once and lets you change control of those members at any time mid-battle. You therefore have access to 42 different arts at any time. I’ll even say this: I think that XC2 might have my single favorite battle system in any game, at least once I understood it fully (needed the internet to achieve that lmao). Definitely a genuine fault of those infamous tutorials, but essentially if you ever feel that 2’s combat is slower than 1’s, then you’re missing something.
I'm with you that XC2 has the best combat of any game I've ever played. Although I do feel like the odd one out whenever 2's tutorials are brought up. I figured out the battle system on my own just based on what the tutorials said. Now don't get me wrong, they're still not good, and certainly don't tell you everything, but it's not impossible to learn the game from them.
@@conorb.1901If I remember correctly the game explains well how to do specials and combos, but even after that I still didn't know what I was doing, it might just be me being stupid, but I remember doing a Blade combo for the first time and thought "what was that? Did I do that??"
@Fermin-hw5pd if I remember correctly (it's been over two years since I did a fresh playthrough of 2, let alone one where I didn't skip the tutorials since I already know how to play), the game only barely touches on fusion combos despite them being a pretty central mechanic, and not even a hard one to take advantage of. The other thing I find weird is that they explain full bursts during the Akhos fight in Garfont, but you won't have the capability to actually pull one off until much later (and that's ignoring how it's usually better to go with fewer orbs anyway). Really the only things I didn't work out through my own experimentation my first playthrough were the nuances of fusion combos and things that aren't listed anywhere such as stability or just range.
@@conorb.1901 Don't remember fusion combos being mentioned at all, hence why I forget about them, they extended the time windows for combos or something? And they did a lot of damage? Also, the range is not mentioned, never, I learned about it in one of Enel's videos and it's hilarious
@@Fermin-hw5pd like I said, it's been quite some time since I've actually read the tutorials, so I'm bound to have forgotten a lot of what they say. I might be thinking of that one sidequest in Torna that has you do fusion combos. But again, for such a useful and powerful mechanic, being able to extend your blade combos and dramatically boost damage, it really should have been explained somewhere.
The first suggestion about how arts shouls recharge on hit rather than on time is actually something implemented into the gameplay of 2 and 3 (and even gets a story reason for why it changed in 3)
Great use of You Will Know Our Names at the end. I really hope you get through the other games. I feel you will really like XC3.
11:40 my guy just explained how Combat Arts work in XC2
Xenoblade was the first big JRPG I ever played. I remember playing as Shulk in Smash 4 3ds and thinking his stage was awesome but I had no real way to play the game back then. Fast Forward to the year the 3ds port came out and my dad got it for me as a surprise birthday present that year and I was super excited to finally see what this game was all about. Then I played it. Suddenly video games weren’t just about racing cars or knocking my friends off platforms, They were a world of their own, full of mystery and characters with their own struggles and goals. The first cutscene with Metal Face is something that has stuck with me for nearly a decade at this point. The voice acting, the music, and the animations came together to create such an incredible hook, it felt like at that moment I had discovered a new depth of what a video game could be. However, I was a dumb kid and RPGs had a lotta words that I wasn’t super interested in reading. So saying that I struggled my way through this game would be an understatement. It took me till about halfway through the game to find out how art books and art levels work for example. I would slowly come to learn the game’s mechanics through picking up the game and putting it down( usually to being stuck at a boss with mechanics I didn’t understand) and eventually after about a year and a half found myself at the road to Zanza. That night I was going to fell a god. With my poorly equipped and underleveled team of Shulk, Riki, and Sharla the fight began. I died a lot. I was finding out strategies to slowly work my way through the fight with what I had and eventually I acquired the god slaying sword. When that theme played I knew that I had to win no matter what. And eventually with one last “Back Slash!!” the god was no more and me and my friends wished for a world with no gods. Needless to say I love this game. No matter how many other games I play, I don’t think I’ll get to have an experience like that again.
you have such a treat in store for you if you have never played xenogears! also kudos on the musical outro, good stuff
Great video, but i do have some pointers.
Autoattack vs arts: the point of auto attacks IS to charge the special of the character and generating little aggro so that you can also do the positional arts to gain party gauge.
Art Cooldowns arent an issue if you take into consideration aggro generation. Spamming all your strongest arts as fast as possible makes the enemy aggro to your dps putting them at risk which is bad since revives are hindering your chain attacks.
This is why you felt the need to put aggro down and stealth gems to shulk when this is completely unnecessary if you pace yourself. Also i will not tolerate the slandering of haste gems. Haste effect not only "gives a bit extra autoattack damage" but also charges the talent art faster which is crucial for characters like shulk.
Gem crafting felt really fun to me. the games tutorials are enough to get the basics but for optimal strategies youll have to plan out your crafting better. Sometimes you need to separate effects from gems but using characters that specialize in gentle flames and cylinders so that you can get 2 cyliders that have only one effect. Crafting those together with riki and reyn can easily net over 500% (not that getting anything over 300 matters)
Also, great that you put a spoiler warning in the beginning but it felt a bif funny that at the middle of the video so talk about wanting people to enjoy the story for themselves, but at that point you had already shown a clip of literally the final cutscene :D
Side quests are split into 3 groups, mainstory side quest, named npc quests, and standrad quest. Standard quests are the basic kill x enemies, and collect x items. They exists to reward exploration not to enforce it. I think you skipped the named npc quests too much since they actually all have stories woven within and all affect the affinity chart which is one of the main foci of the game, i think you shouldve elaborate on the affinity mechanic.
40:30
I was about to say Elden Ring but then I remember Xenoblade came out 12 years before that game .
Looking forward to possible reviews on XC2 and XC3.
11:50
You just described Xenoblade Chronicles 2
The original Xenoblade is one of my all time favorite games. It's story and themes are something I grew to love and appreciate how well-done and written the narrative is growing up, and expertly weaved into the game. Shulk is one of my favorite MC's ever, a guy who's self-aware of his flaws who relies on his friends for help while learning to be a better human himself.
I remember my kid brain being continually blown away at it's massive size and scale, as I grew and understood technicalities more, its even more impressive to see the Wii running at a great state.
While XC2 & 3 improve the combat by a ton, I view XC as a story first, gameplay second type of game.
So Xenoblade isn't quite part the same series as gears and saga. Ok well not gears. It was recently connected to saga.
Also Future Connected was NOT cut from the base game. Just the map on which its set.
Arts in Xenoblade 2 and 3 do recharge out of auto attacks.
I hope monolith never stops creating games and sagas like this. In or out of the xeno universe. Just the way they handle their characters, the story and the gameplay is just soooo good.
If you get around to it XC2 fixes a lot of the issues you have woth combat. It even implements that auto-attack recharge thing you mentioned
While introducing many of its own issues, like an unergonomic control scheme, damage-sponge enemies that make most combat encounters a time-consuming chore just so the new chain-attack system can work, locking unique blades behind RNG like it's a gacha game, and making the act of swapping blades between party members a nightmare in such a roundabout way by forcing them to consume an item just to do this simple task.
Make no mistake, for every improvement Xenoblade 2 makes over the original, it ruins at least two other things in the process, and it's an overall sloppier and poorly-designed game, regardless of how much fun you or I personally had (and trust me, I spent over 400 hours of the game, combing through all the optional content). Torna is further proof of this, as every issue with the base game is addressed in that expansion, and it's a shame we couldn't have had that level of quality the first time around. Though Xenoblade 3 took every good idea 2 had and found the best way to make use out of them, while maintaining a quality standard akin to the first game, so I'm happy in the end.
@@NintendanGX enemies are not damage sponges. i can understand the gacha hate, but you can get through the story easily without any gacha blades. if you should be complaining about anything, it's the terrible tutorials. do you know what fusion combos are? this is one of the mechanics so poorly explained that anyone not watching a video on how combat works will miss them, despite these giveing massive boons that help a ton, includeing makeing it easeier to finish a blade combo. that thing about needing an item to swap weapons? it's for the better in my opinion. working with what you got can be amazingly fun. step 1 to fix xenoblade 2. port the tutorials from torna back into base game xenoblade 2. step 2, we are practicaly done. things aren't as bad as you are making it out to be. besides the tutorials, it's not poorly designed.
@@kittenfan7664my problem is that fusion combos make the combat just as if not more formulaic than XC1. Even Chain Attack has been nerfed to “big damage button when 3+ orbs”instead of being versatile like saving a topple juggle or someone from death.
Sure items help speed the process up, but you end up going back to the same store to constantly stock up on them cuz you can only carry a certain amount and each one lasts ~1 hour. Switching blades doesn’t really alter how you play since the end goal is still the same (orbs for CA).
Canceling and recharging arts by hit are brilliant tho. I just wish I could auto attack while moving. I just wish I didn’t have to ruin the pace by walking away mid-fight to pick up treasure/potions.
@@copynpastekevin4389 now THIS, THIS is great criticisum.
@@NintendanGXcontrol scheme that follows the face buttons as opposed to needing to scroll through 9 arts at all times. Xc2 improves heavily on xc1, stop capping
Really good video! The best part about your situation now is that you still have 2 main games and 2 DLC's to go which all are peak fiction. Can't wait to hear more of your journey.
Still early into the video, but wanted to leave this here already: Something that already tells you HOW great the first Xenoblade Chronicles is is that I did play the 3DS version first (and for excessive amounts of time at that) and it STILL became and stayed my favourite game until the DE and later on XC3 came out.
Edit: Man, I LOVE your analogy regarding XC1 sidequests. Couldn't have said it any better.
I had about 550 hours in the 3DS version 😂
@@izaak6632 Oh wow, you're even more hardcore than me then 😂 For me it's like 250-300 hours
Always love to see new Xenoblade fans!
So a few things I'm sure have already been stated in the comments:
Xenoblade wasn't supposed to be related to the previous Xeno games in any way. It was originally called Monado: Beginning of the World. You can actually see this name in the English e3 trailer for the wii game (it was announced for the west, and then localization was cancelled because Reggie did not like the game for some reason). But yeah, since the other xeno games are owned by Bandai Namco and SE, there would be no legal way to connect them outside of some themes and reused concepts.
BUT due to some VERY recent revelations and some collaboration from Bandai Namco in the third game's expansion, that doesn't seem to be the case any more which is exciting.
2. Future Connected is brand new. Was never an epilogue in the original game. The area is a unused area from the first game, but the story is new and used to connect it to the other games in ways I'm not going to outline due to spoilers.
My first experience with this incredible series was on Wii and I love all the games so much that its become one of my all-time fav IPs in gaming. The world building, characters and music for all main game series is near unmatched in my opinion :-)
Now am gonna defeand side quests in the game a bit. first i have to say is that most of the side quest is as straight forward as you say but some of them honestly took me by surprise. the hole red pollen side quest is really interesting and the lore you get from some of the side quests are facenating and helps expand the worlds lore.
I will say, Xenoblade 2 is definitely gonna be up your alley given what you said on combat, it's also stellar, hope you can get to it one day and fall in love with it too.
I actually love XC2 more than 1 and maybe even 3. Thought I understand that 3 technically fixes 2's problems and has the best gameplay, I felt disappointed by 3s ending to the point that I haven't touched the DLC other than future redeemed. While XC2 was cleared second time and I even got torna finished second time on separate physical release
@@rumotu Really all the games are phenomenal, but when it comes to XC3's ending...
MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW!
.
.
.
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Reminder that the endless now should not exist, and at the end of XC3, it's implied Mio and Noah meet once again. It's bitter that everything had to be let go, but that's the point, that's the Mobius inside you making you feel bitter about it, meanwhile the sweetness, the non predetermined future, is Ouroboros.
I felt similarly at first and then realized that it was a profound intention to invoke the reaction of Mobius, so we can realize we'd be part of the problem, wanting our play to resolve neatly, but XC3 makes a point to not have a fully happy ending, tears are shed, things are sad, but eventually they do get better.
All you have to do is let go of the now, and embrace the future.
@@rumotufuture redeemed is phenomenal, but it will leave you wanting more. I wish future redeemed was the main game and 3 base was dlc in terms of length tho, I really wanted to learn more of what happened to the OG protags and friends
I hope this means you'll be playing the rest of the series! I love 1 dearly, but 2 and especially are 3 are some of my absolute favorite games of all time. Overall the series is of incredible quality and are some of the best games ever made. Monolithsoft is something else!
My first time playing this was a blind play-through on my 3ds, it was dope.
Hello, its me. While my first attempt at finishing this game was on the Wii, my first, actual time finishing the game was done entirely on the N3DS.
Can’t forgot Friendship when you’re talking about main character strengths 😂😂
I like that u give a spoiler warning 30 minutes in despite having already spoiled Seven several times before that lol
3:09 my first experience was on the N3DS and I loved it sooo soooo much. It took me around 130 hours to complete the story, but I was hooked. Having this huge world with me at anytime was such an amazing experience. I never felt that the 3DS did the game a disservice, because the art style was so good. I fell so in love with the game that I also got Xenoblade Chronicles X for the Wii U afterwards. It was very different but still a great game. I also played XC2 and the remastered version but I’m waiting for a switch pro for the 3rd game because for some reason the graphics annoy me for the 3rd game. But I’m looking forward to playing that one too.
I got xenoblade 3 a bit ago and im currently playing it
Its my introduction to the series and its an absolute masterpiece
If all games in the franchise ( i think we have 4 games so far) are on this level of quality then this may turn into my Favoriten gaming franchise
So the setup of 3 is one and two merging. you may have picked a bad place to start. 1 and 2 run in parallel so you can do those in either order. But two filters people out big time.
@@samreddig8819 so i have to play 1 and 2 to get the full scheme
Where is Xenoblade X on the timeline?
@@samreddig8819 also pls donz say too mucj i just arrived in the city
@@stregas70501 & 2 aren't totally vital to enjoying 3, there's a bit of missing context for a couple endgame reveals but 3 itself outlines everything on its own well enough. The DLC, however, relies completely on having played everything else prior and is sorta the real conclusion to the trilogy.
X so far has no actual connection to the numbered games, though after 3's DLC some may argue it'll be relevant eventually.
@@talonhowe8131 so you saying its the Trilogie conclusion
Is it confirmed we wont have xenoblade 4?
Also how long is the playtime of the finale dlc?
And last thing
We di only have 4 xenoblade games right?
Sry to bombard you with questions
The first time I played Xenoblade was on the new 3DS after Shulk was revealed for Smash. Loved Xenoblade ever since
hope this vid blows up king. really enjoyed listening to this last night while grinding in a few games
YOU FOOL! My first experience with Xenoblade Chronicles was on the New 3DS and I loved it, been wanting a chance to play the game since Shulk was revealed too for Smash, though the Virtual Console version was probably a better way to enjoy the game even though it was basically shadow released with me knowing.
Also just wanna say out of any Xenoblade game, 1 probably has some of my favorite cutscenes in a video game. The lines are iconic
"You idiots! What the hell are you playing at?!"
about chain attacks, and i know i'm going to get slack for this
they definitely were at their best (though not their flashiest) in 2, not torna, though that streamlining was fun for a shorter experience, but maingame 2
having to actually strategize around what to bring with you to both give yourself more chances to extend the chain attack (before it even comes to one) and then actually extend it (when it comes to one) is just great
Yay finally! Finally covering the 3rd of my RPG triforce (Persona and The World Ends with You are the other 2 parts). SO EXCITED LET'S GO!
That's quite the set.
Which persona may I ask?
@@samreddig8819 I meant just overall series for all 3.
@@samreddig8819 If I had to pick just one though..... 2, 3 or 5.
I'm really hoping that this game pushes you to give Xenoblade 2 and 3 a shot. I got into this series pretty recently myself and while none of them are perfect, I've fallen in absolute love with these games and their ability to tell emotional, character driven stories in beautiful and visually unique worlds. Xenoblade 3 in particular is one of the best games I have ever played
Even with its flaws, I can’t help but say that 3 might be my favorite of the trilogy. I think 1 is the most polished and refined for what it is while 2 is… a mixed bag to put it lightly. To this day I still can’t decided if I liked it a lot or was really disappointed in/annoyed by it (probably both)
Have you played Xc2 Torna and Xc3 Future Redeemed? If not YOU MUST
This right here, I'm so glad you were able to experience this amazing game. Xenoblade as a franchsie is probably my favorite game series of all time. I'd love to see if you end up giving 2 and 3 a shot too!
I am happy that you are learning to love Xenoblade Chronicles. It has a lot of symbolism for me because well, I actually got into the series thanks to Xenoblade Chronicles and I got the game as a gift from my girlfriend, when the game came out as a Gamestop exclusive, mostly because Nintendo of America didn't had faith in the game only for Operation Rainfall to convince them otherwise.
I own the game on the Nintendo Wii, New 3DS and Nintendo Switch. You know I am a fan.
My first Xenoblade game that I played was the 3DS port and I thought it played and sounded fine, it's actually a really good port that isn't bogged down at all
Homie is not cooking with some of these proposed changes LMAO, I normally love your SMT videos but some of the takes here baffled me
My first experience was indeed the N3DS version, and I absolutely loved it. Also, the side quests are actually cannon surprisingly. Colony 6 side quest, and Melia's family side quests are interesting I think.
I did find myself hopping a lot though on the N3DS, because it felt faster than running XD
Welcome to the fandom! I’d love to see your thoughts on the other entries in the series, if you decide to play them (which it sounds like you should consider)
Nam talking about Xenoblade?
Now that's a huge W, everyone should play Xenoblade at least once on their life. It genuinely became my favorite series and Future Redeemed made me love even more Xenoblade too.
I really wish the series keep being so consistently amazing(i know XC2 is controversial but it's also a masterpiece)
Till this day Shulk is still my favorite guest character that made it in.
So the thing about Xenoblade was that it was originally just called "Monado: Beginning of the World" and it was someone at Nintendo who told Takahashi to call it Xeno something in respect to their past work. I won't spoil anything but there's now a second reason its Xenoblade now.
Satoru Iwata was the one who asked for the name change. Aka the late Nintendo President.
Pretty sure it was Iwata who wanted to call it Xenoblade
Im the exact same way, i never knew who he was, but I loved his design and gameplay in smash, and the game and series is phenomenal!
Edit: Yes, 3ds was my first game before getting the switch version!
now on to XB2 and 3
it is, indeed, peak fiction. i got into this franchise with DE during lockdowns of 2020, and it’s easily my favorite series of games i’ve ever played, and DE is the only game I consider to rival Majora’s Mask as my favorite game of all time. loved your video
The 3DS version looks shockingly decent when upscaled in emulation. And it's nearly half the size of it, so I think there's still reason to own it. The 3DS version was the first version I played.
Played this game when I was very depressed years back. It helped me through a really difficult time and I can’t thank it enough.
Played 1 and 3 and both are among my favourite games of all time, this series is truly something special
Ditto, what are your thoughts on 2? I'm more of a fan of Torna part of it.
Seeing this video just reminds me how much I love this game. I've fallen in love with the series as a whole, including Xenogears and the Xenosaga trilogy, but this game is really something special. I just remember how enamored I was by the characters, the music, the story, and the world as a whole. It was one of the formative games from my teenage years that would solidify my lifelong love for RPGs as a whole, right alongside Persona 3 and EarthBound.
I like that a lot of the small criticisms with the battle system in this video were addressed in 2 and 3 later on, such as the tactics menu. Bit weird that none of the other games of the series were really mentioned at all, but that also means that the game can be taken in as a standalone experience which is great! Good video
He hasn't played the other games yet.
He hasn't played them xd, he said he didn't have time until recently
I think the thing I love most about xenoblade 1’s combat is the resource management especially in fights with unique monsters and higher level enemies, balancing use of the party gauge, talent arts and everything else while being hounded with visions and needing to strategise around this Stuff creates an extremely satisfying loop to play within
I still get chills and feel like crying whenever I hear xenoblade's music 😭
I highly recommend playing Xenoblade 2 and 3 if you have the spare time. They are literally peak fiction.
I finished the game literally yesterday and today I saw this video in my recommended, impeccable timing lmao
And don't worry, I don't think you can praise a piece of media too much. Critiques about its flaws will eventually fade but the love for it can last a long looong time.
And remember:
Today, we use our power to fell a god, and then seize our destiny!
Great video. Watched Chugga's LP years ago, then finally got around to playing it when it came to the Switch.
You dont learn it loves you back and you love it simply feeling it 101
i got xenoblade on my wii when i worked at gamestop around 10 years ago, when i finally got the remaster i was blown away. so many quality of life changes. this game has become one of my favorite rpgs of all time
14:41 While you may already know this and have just phrased it poorly; holding zr and pressing certain directions on the dpad will change their behaviour. IIRC: Up = Focus one target, Down = Run away/dont attack and L/R = Attack closest enemy. While im not sure about the combat efficacy of Attacking random targets with each party member is definitely questionable and situational, it does provide the party control that you were asking for.
Auto attacks are actually signficant. Its like a traditional mmo where in longer difficult fights dps autos can end up being a very significant percentage of their total dps. Dps seven can legitimately be constantly fighting for aggro with dunban and reyn even without arts because of how much damage she can do built to buff her auto attacks
3:04 Oh hey, that's me! The Wii version was not easily available (VERY low print run, so almost immediately $100 on eBay), so my first experience was on the 3DS. And to be fair: It's a perfectly fine version of the game. I'd not pick it over the Switch version, but that version didn't exist. There is actually a fourth version of sorts: The Wii U Virtual Console version of the Wii original. It actually allows playing with the Wii U GamePad instead of the Wii Remote, and it was $20 - so the Wii U VC Version of Xenoblade Chronicles was by far the best version to play until the Switch version came out. (Some people still prefer it because the Switch version made the characters look "more anime". I get it, but don't agree: Switch Version is hands-down the best one)
The trilogy hits so many spots for me. I absolutely loved exploring the world. Having the world filled with high-level encounters early on made the world feel alive. Non-MMOs had the tendency of only placing beatable encounters in your way. Tanking also took a lot of notes from MMOs that made tanking super fun even with the 3 player party. Topple-locking in the first game and insane chain attack scaling in all 3 games pretty much break every encounter in Late/Post-Game but that's kinda nitpicky because you have to setup your characters in a very special way for it
The big thing about auto attacks in Xenoblade 1 is that you can get a lot of hits out very rapidly depending on your build, and these hits will generate aggro extremely quickly. Even if another character is dealing crazy damage with arts, the enemy can still be aggro'd onto your crazy multi-attack dodge tank like Dunban or Seven.
2:20 Actually the name is because of Iwata, in an Iwata ask to Tetsuya Takahashi, the mind behind the Xeno series for the most part, he reveals that originally he was going to call it "Monado, the beginning of the world", but it's because of Iwata telling him to not give up on the Xeno franchise that he name it Xenoblade Chronicles.
11:40 XC2 "oh boy do i have a surprise for you"
Wow, all this time and I never realized chain attack continuation in Xenoblade DE were random!
Here I thought that I was just doing something wrong... I just didn't feel like going more in depth since I was doing fine anyway, and didn't need to learn where in the chain I was messing up.
And I'm someone who did every little side quest & all the affinity grinding I could 😅
I have very strong love/hate relationship with the xeno series but Xenoblade and Xenogears are masterpieces imo and are some of the most beautiful and creative games out there.
As someone who got into Xeno not with Blade but Saga, and knowing your style of video, not only would I LOVE for you to cover the Xenosaga trilogy, but I honestly think those games would be great fits for your channel.
3:03 That person was Etika (RIP) before he played 2.
Xenogears is such an amazing piece of art that it doesn't just make you love the game but makes you follow all of Takahashi's work. It happened to me when it first came out and I've seen it happen to countless other people on YT and Twitch.