Rex Chasing Red Flags Makes A Lot of Sense - XenoSpectives Episode 2
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ต.ค. 2023
- Welcome back to another episode of XenoSpectives where we take a look at different perspectives from the Xeno series! In this episode, we take a look at three and a half cutscenes from Xenoblade 2 that show us not only why Rex makes stupid decisions, but also how him doing so is important to the overall story of Xenoblade 2. Thanks for tuning in!
Also, just a quick reminder that a lot of what I say in this video is based on my own opinion which means not everything is necessarily fact. The point of this series is to explore different perspectives (true or otherwise) for fun.
Outro Music:
“Carrying the Weight of Life” - Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Remixed By Dan)
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Sources used:
autoweek.com
Music Used:
"Argentum" - Xenoblade Chronicles 2
"Bana’s Theme" - Xenoblade Chronicles 2
"Argentum (Night)" - Xenoblade Chronicles 2
"Impending Crisis" - Xenoblade Chronicles 2
"Friendship" - Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Music Disclaimer: All Xenoblade music used during the video belongs to the publishers and copyright holders from which they originated and they fall under Fair Use in this video.
Disclaimer: This video was made for the purpose of sharing my thoughts on the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and I am not affiliated with Nintendo, Monolithsoft, or any company mentioned in this video or any of the companies that made the games mentioned or shown in this video. I also do not own any part of anything mentioned or shown in this video. Nintendo is the official copyright holder of the Nintendo Switch and all of it's content. - เกม
I think the best part about Rex's dumb decision making is that the game finds a means of justifying his mindset/ point of view when the gang goes to Fonsett later on, and we hear about Rex's more subdued up-bringing after his parents passed away. You can tell that prior to meeting Jin, Malos, and Nia, as far as the story makes it clear, Rex has never been in a situation of being scammed or lied to on such a grand level (save for Mrs. Nesbitt/ Melolo's cheapskatedness lol). He lacks the life experience needed to actually assess these situations properly as any young, impulsive, and gullible kid would. I think it makes everything retroactively feel much larger in scale and scope when Jin and Malos arrive, because as the player, you KNOW these two dudes are evil off the bat. But the game only allows the player to have as much context as Rex is given as a way of connecting with Rex and his discoveries as the events unfold. I like to think his entire character is a spin on the stereotypical Gary Stu archetype. What is perceived about Rex being a Gary Stu for how he sends money home, is nice to everyone, a good salvager, and good with a sword is only half the picture because of his naiveté. Can't do credit, not picking up on Pupinin's sweet-talk or Bana's demeanor, and his perception of Jin and Malos in their entirety all help showcase how young and immature Rex really is at first. Still find it odd that people say Rex has no character development lol
Yeah, I like how we see pretty much everything in the early game from his perspective. You're right, it helps us connect with him better and relate. That's what makes these stories so powerful - the fact that we can so deeply relate to elements of it and the characters. Thanks for the comment!
I dunno man, a huge amount of this feels like Meta gaming. We know these people are bad, and we know how things turn out, but we have omniscient knowledge, at the very least because we know it's a game/story so we're expecting the plot to go in ways that make sense for that- from Rex's perspective, they're some slightly shady characters that have a well paying job.
Like your "red flags" for Bana are that he's rich, and that he wears a funny backpack? He's the Chairman of the trade-guild, is Rex supposed to just think he's a slimeball and never wanna work in Argentum again? Or that his secretary was making small-talk and light praise when offering him a job, that's not a red-flag, that's completely normal.
Same deal with the Torna crew, a bunch of drivers hiring a salvager isn't strange at all, he's an expert in his field, and them being (probably) higher on the social hierarchy doesn't change that. At worst, Rex has reason to believe the job might be more dangerous than they're letting on, or that they're after something dodgy that they don't want word getting around about, but none of that is his business, he's working on commission/secondment, he does his job and they do whatever they want with whatever he's hauled up. So long as it's not military equipment, it's not his business.
You say that an adult would have been asking questions and wouldn't have taken this job... but there's an entire crew of adult salvagers that work on the job with Rex, clearly a whole lot of adults did take that job. If there was some expectation that the client might turn around and murder them, then they would have been wary- but none of them were so much as on guard or even paying attention, it's clearly just something that doesn't happen, or that they had no reason to believe would happen.
From our perspective, and especially from a meta perspective, we can see where this is going- but from the perspective of someone in that world, just taking another job, I really think it's stretching things a lot to say Rex has made some spiral of bad decisions here.
These are valid arguments, but I think you might've missed the point of this series (which to be clear isn't your fault. I should do a better job at making people aware). This series is about looking at these cutscenes from different and yes, even outside perspectives. It's meant to be a fun way to explore the narrative of the game where I overanalyze things.
The red flags of Bana being rich and wearing a funny backpack (the latter of which was meant to be a joke) weren't meant to be deal breakers for Rex. They were pointed out to show Rex wasn't paying attention, but the the point of this video is to show that this makes sense because he's just a kid. The real red flag there was that he's being offered an unfathomable sum of money to do a job that wasn't well explained. And Pupunin making small talk and praising Rex wasn't the problem. The fact that he wouldn't answer Rex's questions was.
Also, I'm not sure Rex is an expert in his field. Maybe I'm misremembering, but I think he's only ever referred to as an expert by Bana and Pupunin. Sure, he's probably ahead of many other 15 yo, but no one would have reason to care about that. And if the job he's taking is none of his business (unless its military supplies which also wasn't made clear that it wasn't) then why did Bana himself even ask "You take job without hearing details?" and Gramps says in the next scene "Why would you take a job you know nothing about?" Rex has a right to know and if he doesn't feel good about it, he can decline.
You make a far point about all the other adult salvagers taking the job, but they could be working directly for Bana and simply have no choice to accept the job. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember that being clarified one way or another. And while yes, someone getting killed like that doesn't happen often from what we understand, none of the other salvagers have any reason to be on guard. As far as we know, they aren't from Leftheria and have no special reason for being on the job or else I feel like we would've been told that. Jin specifically asks Rex to go with them into the ship because he's from Leftheria and Rex tried to ask why, but no one tells him. When I said an adult likely wouldn't have taken the job, I moreso was talking about an adult with the "special gift" of being a Leftherian as Jin and Malos didn't seem to care who else was on the crew of salvagers other than the guy from Leftheria for some unknown reason.
The point of this video wasn't to say Rex is a stupid kid and shouldn't have done what he did. It was to say Rex is a naive kid who makes stupid decisions (like any kid would) but that this is a GOOD thing for Alrest.
One of the nopon in argentum that gives you your first cylindars describes Rex as ‘an up and coming star of the salvaging world’ so I do think he clearly is a lot better than most salvagers of his age at the very least.
I’d argue that’s still a far cry from being “an expert in his field” as was stated in the comment above.
Being “up and coming” means he’s not there yet. Even if he was the best of his age, that doesn’t mean automatically mean he’s considered an expert. If we want to get technical, that’s as much of a leap in logic as some of my claims, which I stated were my opinions anyway.
Of course there could be other dialogue that confirms he is “an expert” that I missed since it’s been awhile since I’ve played, but I personally don’t think this dialogue helps that argument.
Man I am so looking forward to the rest of this series and it only just started. Great stuff dude
Thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying the series so far!
Rex is not dumb, he's earnest to a fault, he is the exact type of person Pyra needed to meet at the perfect time, which was likely pre-ordained considering Mythra's vision at the end of the Tornan war.
I agree with most of what you said! But I actually never called Rex dumb. I simply said he made dumb decisions which we all do. I also said in the video that all of those decisions were not only understandable given either his age or his current situation, but were also crucial to his character development AND necessary to the fate of Alrest. Like yourself, I also believe everything that happened was preordained considering, yes Mythra’s vision, but also what the architect says at the end of the game as well. Though I happen to believe that just because something is preordained, it doesn’t mean one can’t make their own decisions.
His is written realistically for a 15 year old boy whose livihood basically puts him outside all the crap that goes on in Alrest who grew up in region away from all of it.
I love how dumb/oblivious Rex is at the start, love his development!!!!
Same! It makes him very relatable
I think the cutscene is named after Jin cuz Jin makes the most/biggest impression in the scene. Or at least that was the case with me. Even when Malos tries fighting Rex, I was still more interested in Jin because of his mask.
We are so back
Looking forward for the next video !
Glad to hear that!
what an amazing episode Im watching more, also love xc2 and love its characters
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed
I'm very excited about this series, this game is truly cinema and there is so much in each shot. You gained a subscriber
Thank you for subscribing! I’m glad you’re on this journey with us!
I started playing Xenoblade chronicles 2 right after finishing Xc1 and in the middle of xc3 ( I finished all the trilogy this year X)) and I remember the change of tone being so drastic especially with Rex personality. I was really like " HE'S DUMB! WHY HE NEVER ASK QUESTIONS?!?!?" during a big part of the game 😂😂
Yeah definitely a big shift in tone and I think that’s why some XC1 fans got thrown off and didn’t like 2. I started with 2 so I was thrown off by 1’s shift in tone but still absolutely loved it.
I have to ask, having finished all three this year, which did you like the best either from a story or gameplay perspective?
@@DerajjParallax actually I was kinda part of the Xc1 fandom because I started Xenoblade chronicles with the Wii version back in December 2011. But I never finished the game before this year because I had a 4 year pause without playing video games. I didn't have a switch when xc2 was released and to me it didn't looked like a Xenoblade game.( I even remember playing Pyra and mythra on Super Smash bros without knowing they were from xc2 because their artwork felt too different 😂)
Well for my favourite game it's definitely between Xc1 and Xc3 but I like all the three of them.
*XC1* : it's hard to be objective on this one since it's my childhood game and my personal gem that I was the only one to know when it was released. The gameplay is simple for me but that's ok. The open world is the best of the 3 to me because of the impact it had at the time. I was always excited to discover a new area with its music and background! I think it's definitely the thing I like the most in this game. The story had less impact on me but it's more of an epic story than emotional.
*XC2* : the funny thing with this game is that I didn't really want to play it at first. I mainly bought it because of future redeemed 😂😂😂😂😂😂 so unlike Xc1 and Xc3, I wanted to go really fast. But the game didn't want me to go fast 😂 because of the gameplay. The gameplay is honestly fun when you think about it. The combat is cool when you understand how the orb system works. But I only understand it by playing the torna DLC😂 I also think it has an interesting lore and world building and more emotion than xc1. Even if the story is filled by so much annoying filler moment. When I think about the end of the game with Klaus revelation, or the character arc of Pyra/Mythra, I think xc2 is a masterpiece. But then I think about all the things I didn't like and I have a funny feeling about it. This game is iconic for its qualities and it's flaws😂😅😅
*XC3* Tbh, I expected nothing of this game when I bought it. I was just a big fan of Xc1 and it was enough for me. And when I tried it for the first time, I didn't really like it beside the story that I felt really engaging. It's only during the first Chain attack that I really started to adore this game because I adored the ost and that was a feature that I found was really improved compared to the original.
And then Xenoblade 3 became the first videogame that made me cry ( the scene where Noah says goodbye to his son) story wise it's clearly the one I prefer. I fell in love with all the main party members and I wanted to spend most of the time with all of them. Also the heroes and their quest were sooo cool to do! During the chapter 7 I litteraly stopped the main story for several months just to complete all of them. My complain would be that the game is the easiest out of the three. For xc1 I had to look for the bug of the game to spam levels against Lorithia (because they're no easy mode on the Wii version). But for future redeemed, I put the game in hard mode and the boss is the only one I defeated in one try. Also if I could shut the menu music sometimes 😤😤
But seriously, when I think about Xc3, I really don't know how they can do better for Xenoblade 4. But all the Xenoblade are masterpiece (I still have to play Xenoblade X tough, it's been 8 year that I want to play this game but never had a WiiU and I hesitate to buy I WiiU just for this game)
Now I 'm currently watching let's play of xenosaga 1 after finishing a let's play of xenogears. And damnit, xenogears story was huge! But beautiful!
Oh interesting! I wish I was aware of the first game's existence when it came out lol. I'm pretty sure I only learned about it because Shulk was in Smash 4 and I had no idea what it was. While the order I played these games in was different, I totally get everything you mentioned about them.
Even though XC2 is my favorite because it had the unfair advantage of being the first one I played (similar to you and XC1), I can definitely get behind XC2 being a slog. The story was literally the only thing that kept me going and I only figured out combat and orb stacking at the end of game lol. Torna explained things soooo much better. As for story, I like it the best, but man is XC1 a good story as you mentioned. I think the overall plot of XC1 is its strength and the character development is XC2's strength along with the major twist at the end.
I also hated fighting Lorithia in XC1 (probably my least favorite boss) but my first time playing was with DE so I had it easier lol. I will say I'm proud of not ever using easy mode but the quality of life changes made it not be as challenging I'm sure. XC3 is definitely the easiest of the three I'd have to agree, but I really enjoyed the refined combat system for the most part. I think FR is probably my favorite of the combat right up there with Torna.
As for the story of XC3, I'll be honest, at first I was a little disappointed because I didn't keep my expectations in check, but because we got the answers we did in FR, I can appreciate the main game so much more. The story is indeed incredible and definitely tugs on those heart strings. What I think I love most about all of them though is how they're so different, yet all connected. There's something to enjoy in all of them.
As for X, I also haven't gotten around to playing it, but picked it up a while back before XC3 even came out because I knew it would go up in price. They've come back down quite a bit, but I definitely don't blame you for not wanting to spend that kind of money on a console just to play one game.
Also, glad to hear you liked Xenosaga! That trilogy is next up in the backlog! Can't wait to make videos about them (who knows when that will be lol)
@@DerajjParallax I didn't say I liked xenosaga though since I'm only starting, for the moment I find it the weirdest of the xenogames 😅😂 I said that I loved xenogears story though. It reminded me of some of the best storyline from all the Xenoblade game but more daring, more long , more adult and still interesting and not too complicated. And even as an unfinished game, I still it look good in this way and I didn't felt like something really important was missing. It's almost better because the game would have felt too long 😅 I wish more people had access to this game because they're so much video we can make about with all the content of this game. I wonder why Takahashi didn't want to make the game in two different game though. Like I'm so wondering why xenosaga needed several game with the same character to tell it's story. I have to admit that despite it's popularity, xenosaga series are the title of the xeno series that interested me the least because of the visuals but I'm happy to discover
Solid analysis, but I do think you misunderstand what is happening in these scenes. I don't think what's happening is really Rex making dumb decisions, but rather the scenes are giving a bit of an idea of Rex's routine in addition to adding elements to the world and Rex's character. we get an idea of what Rex does on a day to day basis or similar. and that he's generally on good terms with the guild as a whole as most people we see him interact with are friendly with him. Elements to the world add include the introduction to drivers and blades. but we also get an idea that two countries relations have been getting worse and that conflict could easily break out between them. Melolo even stating that military weaponry is a popular item. And regarding Rex's character, I don't he isn't really shown to be dumb in these scenes. instead what we are given gives the illustration that Rex is a rather skilled salvager confident in himself and his abilities, selfless, and he's effectively an unbridled optimist and naïve. He generally sees the good, cool, impressive sides to things. and these elements can lead him to making questionable and even objectionable choices, but not really to the extent of being dumb ones. I don't think the moment with him and melolo isn't so much her being cheap, but with the idea that he was confident he'd make a good profit before even looking at what he had conveys more likely that Rex simply overestimated the value of what he had or that those items simply aren't in demand. which exemplify his optimism in his overestimation, but also compounds the comment of weaponry being popular. and his desire to not contribute to war being our first look into his naiveite. His moments with bana and Torna could also add to showcasing this. I don't think his lack of questions show him being dumb because as we see there are plenty of other salvagers that come along on the job as well and we don't really know what the process usually is when salvagers receive job requests. Additionally, individuals that Rex makes aware of the job vary in their responses. Melolo being more skeptical and wanting to stay out of it, while the courier would be eager to get involved in work that pays that well. Rather, in these scenes, at most you could say he's simply easily trusting or naïve enough to accept the job because he was recommended the job by the highest person in the guild.
So this is a series where I take a look at many different perspectives from these scenes. I'm sure people have talked at length about how we are given insight into his daily routine so I didn't think it needed to be brought up since thats pretty obvious. I wanted to provide a fresh perspective I haven't heard anyone mention. It doesn't have to be 100% accurate for me to bring it up and its all just for fun.
Also, if I remember right, I don't think I ever called Rex himself dumb, I just said he makes dumb decisions. And while dumb, or more accurately, stupid may be a bit too harsh to refer to his decision making, I think the culmination of the red flags he ignored/was oblivious to lead to him making a stupid choice. But that's also just my opinion.
We also don't know if the other salvagers work directly for Bana and maybe even somewhat protected by him. For all we know, they could've declined the specific job Rex was offered and simply wanted to be part of the crew. It's clear based on his lineage that there's a certain reason they wanted someone like him specifically.
I appreciate your comment and I will try to do better about communicating what this series is about so hopefully there's not so much confusion.
Thanks for this series! And man so many people gave a young dude shit for being young and inexperienced that its nice to see people realoze the whole point is to watch Rex grow up lol.
For sure! I think Rex doing stupid things that make us facepalm is what makes him more interesting than Shulk imo. Don't get me wrong, Shulk is a great protagonist and there's character building there too, but I personally just find Rex's character development far more interesting.
Hey a 100 grand is life changing.
It definitely can be life changing for some. Depends on who you are and how you use it though. These days you might get half of a small to moderately sized house in the south with it if you’re lucky and in the north I imagine that’s barely enough for a down payment lol
I get your point though, to hand a 15 year old 100 grand cash is indeed a big deal
The end of the video when ur like:say it with me class. NOOOO! made me laugh way harder then it should have 😂
Honestly he's a smarter kid than I was
lol same
Sooo do you already know how many episodes Xenospective is going to have?
I don’t have an exact number but I have an idea. It’s going to be a lot though lol
Glad to hear that :)
Look, I'm a cis man, so I'm not qualified to comment on Xenoblade 2's portrayal of female characters, but I do think it's really funny how these dancer ladies at 6:54 are the first humanoid women to appear in a main story cutscene _and aren't even the most scantily-clad in the game_
Yeah, it almost foreshadows that the way they dress is gonna be a theme for others throughout the game lol. I almost put this in the video but decided against it.