The torna dlc is some of the most effort I've seen put in an expansion of any video game ever; the developers didn't need to go this hard and yet they did. They essentially made another game (with a completely retooled combat and sidequest system) and sold it to the people for less than retail price. Doesn't get anymore awesome than that
Not only all of that, but basegame dlc was included in the price as well including new blades, challenge levels, and of course, returning characters from xc1
@@princeofhyrule2205 worked both ways, if you bought the expansion pass, you got Torna digitally. If you bought Torna physically, you got all the DLC for the base game.
This DLC just gets sadder the more you think about it too. Like, you know how picking on Mythra was often used as comic relief? She's a simpleton, brash, coarse, bad at cooking, so powerful she's a danger, and so on. Well... Pyra isn't any of those things... When everything got so bad that Mythra's mind snapped she made sure the resulting splinter personality would be everything she couldn't be.
@@iviyohane yeah no, Pyra and Mythra grew into two entirely different people, you see it in how the two interact with each other sparsely happens but it does. there is a great video explaining why the two are amazing characters on youtube i'd look at it
And so many people like Pyra more than Mythra, which was the point of Pyra in the first place. Mythra knew she would never be loved as herself, so she made Pyra as her perfect self. Even fans of the game fell for the personality Mythra created.
And Xenoblade 3 better give happy endings all around. I'm not counting on it, but with who you can recognize in the trailers and what they've been through, they _deserve_ happy endings.
10:19 “It’s so painful when you know their fates.” That’s the experience of playing Torna in a nutshell. You go in knowing that every one of these characters is either going to die or live hundreds of years in misery
Even then, judging by the visions that Klaus creates in Chapter 10, Azurda apparently has some hidden resentment at having to live for over a thousand years.
Yep, you will get many ups and downs during those thousand years Like getting 1 million G in debt for failed romance (Base game side quest) or getting camped by crazy girl (DLC Side quest)
A lot of people just see everyone making fun of Mythra as haha funny but really it shows why she had such a hard time opening up in the main game. And why she was so shocked when someone like Rex showed up and treated her like her own person and not a weapon to be feared.
Agreed. It’s also what lead to her creating Pyra. Her self-esteem wasn’t good and she was putting up a front about it. Her PTSD coinciding with her low self-esteem brought about a self that was different then her in a ton of ways. She wanted to create a better person. She wanted to hide she couldn’t handle the stress. So she put someone else in control. And her low self-esteem and the front I was talking about is one from the general atmosphere and thoughts of Adam. Adam did care, but he was also afraid. Blades share a deep bond with their driver. She probably understood that impression from the first time she was awaken. Anyways her front is that she acted sorta full of herself, and then more people played along with that. Whether it would be serious. Jin confronting her at the camp fire upon first meeting or the cooking scene. Every little bit contributed and then it just burst. She wasn’t able to handle all that she did.
@@day7163 thats why rex was there rex helped her see there was a better way you forget she became close with rex the more she spent time with him sure she was stressed but she never gave up and rex wanted her to see he was there for her till the very end
I like that you can see the similarities more between Mythra and Malos here. Both are confident and brash, but Addam was of course so afraid of Mythra's power and the pain it could cause that it spread to Mythra. So instead of becoming nihilistic and purposeless, feeling the only choice would be to destroy everything, she ended up being a scared and guilty mess that wanted to die so she wouldn't hurt anyone.
@@NerdStrikesBack That doesn t apply to Malos tho.He became how he is because of his driver (forgot his name) no hated humans and the world.So because Malos is a blade first and foremost he too had the same vision as him so he ended up being a baddy
@@darkcavelierxx6996 That's the exact point the other person was making, the two started at the same position, but ended up wildly different due to their Drivers influence
To be fair though, she really wasn't. Malos was the one who destroyed the city with the first beam which likely was the ultimate cause of his injury. She blames herself because she pretty much forced Milton to remain in town, and that is why she feels responsible. The town was supposed to be a safe place. However as we saw, even if Milton had been with the party, it was not guaranteed that he would survive the fight anyway, given Hugo did not after the explosion. Pretty much Malos is to blame here, but Mythra takes it very hard... as you notice, only Mikhail blames her, and because she told them to stay in town.
@@warailawildrunner5300 Totally, it's definitely a survivor's guilt of sorts that Mythra feels. As the other aegis she considered herself responsible for stopping Malos and when she couldn't, she took that personally. And from Mikhail's perspective it is her fault, since he is a child and has to blame someone, but of course we know that, as you say, it likely would have been just as dangerous if they had come with. The whole finale as it relates to Mythra's arc, the transformation into Pyra and how she has all the traits that perfectly mask Mythra's insecurities and guilt... it's all so well done.
Torna is basically what every DLC story should be. It's substantial on its own and adds so much to the main story it stems from. Torna is what everyone wanted BotW's DLC to be, and what everyone wanted Age of Calamity to be, but neither came even close to the impact Torna had. Even rewatching the cutscenes from the main game hit so much harder when you know what happened in Torna.
You go into this DLC a happy bean, but come out a SAD DEPRESSED ROTTING CORPSE. Torna is one of the best DLCs ever to any game and I'm so glad you got to experience it! More like: Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~The Roast of Mythra~
"In the course of a lifetime, a man will see uncountable meetings and partings. Yet, as your life’s candle sputters and dies, whose face is it that smiles to greet you? Happy is the man that can sleep in the comfort of the smile he sees then." No, I don’t wish for ‘forever.’ Even just for one moment, it’s enough if it’s with her. And yet, what is the man to do who has not been afforded that chance? The road stretches on without end. I cannot but walk down it. As long as I can keep walking, I can hold out hope that one day, the time may come when I see her smile again.” Jean-Paul Sartre is a dead French Philosopher some of his views on our being, how we as beings are born into the Void that is life, out of nowhere. All that is left is our conscious Being and even more important - how others see us. According to him, what we yearn for is to be seen by others as we see fit, and we avoid those who would see us as anything else in more extreme cases With love you give that special someone, who you see as more important, your Being. You want them to see you just as important as you do for them, thus creating a strong bond, but when that other people die or stop loving you back, they leave with your Being. And you're empty, gotta restart from the beginning. with this type of philosophy it paints Jin as and even more tragic character then he already was, essentially he died the moment he became a flesh eater.
@@dipshitsiclethemighty3054 Malos is what happens when someone is created with their purpose already known. Malos was doomed to always go after destruction, because of who awoke him. Malos doesn't fit into the stuff I said about Jin, it's clear that some of these philosophies i highly reccomend the video Despair and Hope: Existentialism in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, i'm not gonna link it cuz it breaks comments using links but it's a criminally low viewed video that talks about some philoshpy in the game.
Xenoblade 2 is honestly Takahashi's most scencere dive into existentialism (although almost all his games delve into it). It's all over the game but the last speech in Torna really does tie it in a nice bow.
@@GigasGalvantula Ah yeah I’ve seen that video. I pretty much share those exact thoughts on it word for word lol. Idk what you were intending to write after ‘it’s clear that some of these philosophies’ but it didn’t come through. I already have my own ideas but I just wanted to hear yours out of interest. For me, Jin’s relationship with Malos is a perfect oxymoron, as the most destructive being in the world who Jin should hate tremendously befriending Jin of his own free will sounds like the most inspiring stuff ever, but it’s the most tragically unhealthy relationship ever. Out of everyone who could have come to Jin in his worst place and time mentally, it was him, and between the words Malos spoke to him about humans and blades and whatnot combined with seeing Mythra’s chaotic destruction despite being on his side and that being the reason for Amalthus’s raid on Spessia, it’s clear to see that Jin joins him for his own reasons, as well as Malos likely knowing that he could manipulate him but grows to genuinely care and despair for him. Despite being an agent of death, Malos births Jin’s third life.
@@dipshitsiclethemighty3054 "For me, Jin’s relationship with Malos is a perfect oxymoron, as the most destructive being in the world who Jin should hate tremendously befriending Jin of his own free will sounds like the most inspiring stuff ever, but it’s the most tragically unhealthy relationship ever. Out of everyone who could have come to Jin in his worst place and time mentally, it was him" This is so well said, thank you for expressing your thoughts as this framing is helping me look at it in a new way. I always thought it was so interesting how Malos expressed his pain for Jin's situation right before the final boss of 2, but I've had trouble expressing why exactly. You're right though, the fact that Jin becomes the character who renews Malos's desire for destruction, especially when it was Malos who created the snowball effect leading to Jin's grief in the first place, is so wild. And meanwhile, Malos wants to destroy when the only thing that would truly fulfill Jin would be if Lora was back. Man, this series is so good.
I guess we know what Torna stands for now... Torna-part! In all seriousness, thank you so much for posting your playthrough of Xenoblade 2 & Torna, and I can't wait for you to play through Xenoblade 3 in July!
28:36 I believe it's shot like this because it's based on one of the flashbacks from the base game. That flashback was either one of the first times we saw Jin being a good guy, or one that put emphasis on his kind nature, so a dramatic reveal with the camera like that made sense there... Ends up being a little goofy here tho :P
Also, I did not expect Mythra's... "Roar of anger and sorrow"(?) at Malos in the final Torna battle to instantly make me shed tears. God damn, that was some raw stuff... Felt her pain right in the soul. Skye Bennett is great.
The ending is perfect! The cinematography was great. The song "Moment of Eternity" is a song for Jin from Lora "I don't wish for forever. Even just a moment of Eternity. If it's with her, it's enough" -Jin
More specifically, it's mostly a number of things she wished she had said to him when she was dying, but couldn't bring herself to, as mentioned in the main game. Which is extra sad...
38:01 an interesting note about this scene is that it seems to be implying a connection between Adam and Rex. Here Malos is commenting on the color of Adam's eyes and in the base game, during their first fight on the ancient Ship, Malos says "Ahh, but with those eyes... I guess I should have been more warry from the start" to Rex. There are also small moments where Adam uses some of Rex's animations, like rubbing the back of his head when he's embarrassed (24:56), which implies that Rex likely inherited some of his mannerisms from his ancestor.
Rex is a descendant, maybe even reincarnation. We don't know much about his family background but apparently Rex might be the last member of the Tornan royal family, even more relevant than Zeke.
I think it's implied that Rex is just a descendant of Addam, many times over Addam proclaims his intention to go back to the simple life after all of this is over. He never really wanted to be king, and so it makes sense for him to found the colony of leftheria. Plus that being where the sword is in XC2 that rex and co. wind up going to in the later part of the game. What's more fascinating is the allegory of Addam being the "beginning" of mankind that would eventually lead to the birth rex to rise up and save humanity from their own hubris. Very fascinating religious and philosophical subtext.
Also, if you look up the beta design for Rex, he was originally supposed to have white hair! I’m still surprised the beta designs for Pyra and Rex were scrapped since it makes more sense for the story of base XBC2.
@@deredere-sama5995 Well, apparently the director wanted to avoid using the typical JRPG trope of having the main male protag be another muscular man in the JRPG landscape, so they chose to go the opposite way and gave Rex a more childlike appearance.
Creating an experience like Xenoblade is not an easy thing to do. Risks must be taken to push the viewers and even the creators to new limits. Stories like these will rarely become mainstream successes often taking a back seat to the tried & safe works that can be easily replicated.. and despite all that we as a people crave works like Xeno to stimulate our locked away emotions.
@@nickter745thebold8 can you? Yes. Start with small stories. Very small. So that you can grasp beginnings and endings. On each story you can focus on one specific thing. Be it character development, character relations, world building, twists, etc. As you grasp how to connect these things then you can do two or three of these at once and see how well you can manage them. Expect for it to be hard and not to come out well at first. That's how you start. Slowly you'll take good things from here and great things from there and use those for your next step. Till eventually you are creating massive stories that are interconnected. Even the Xeno series tried and failed to tell a massive story twice before getting into Xenoblade and being successful Look up and read books on those specific things too. Character development, world building, etc
22:30 Chuggaaconroy went into detail about why this makes sense emotionally. Like Lora, Emile is at a point in his life where he has moved past hatred for his abusive father figure into indifference. It was weirdly cathartic when he stopped giving a shit and began to live his life as if that father never existed. He, like Lora, has let the malice dissipate.
I never imagined I'd like Lora so much, ahhhh it's all so very sad. Mythra's pain, the deaths, they really twisted the knife on this one. But I loved it, I can't help but adore games that make me feel and cry. I'm so excited for our XC3 journey.
I've never not cried when jin said it's enough if it's with her I hope xenoblade chronicles 3 is just as good if not better then this game not long to go until it comes out
The ending song, A Moment of Eternity, is just amazing. The vocals by Jen Bird carry so much emotion, and they heighten the lyrics. No matter how you choose the interpret them, the lyrics really hit you like the biggest truck possible. Then, Jin's final monologue is just another, even more massive truck that barrels over you. Really glad you got to play Torna. Looking forward the future Xenoblade 3 vids, cuz knowing Takahashi and company, that game is gonna cause some intense water-works for everyone.
And so we come to the end....until XC3. Truly a wonderful experience watching these videos, thank you for all the effort you put in to gives us something amazing. A great series.
@@iviyohane Not only that, during the DLC everyone was picking on her and at the end Milton's death and everyone else protecting themselves and pretty much looking at her like she was a monster made her create Pyra, a being completely opposite ta what everyone called her during the game (e.g. simpleton, bad at cooking, brash and etc...)
@@iviyohane no. But interestingly when mik asks if amalthous remembers what he did when implanting core crystals...in the flashback mik was a child watching a male gormotti being implanted with a core crystal. He doesn't look grown. It's very likely that, like gort, Milton didn't have a final design in base game but the fact it was a male gormotti might speak volumes to who it's supposed to be and why it would make mik angry remembering it. I can see amalthous being scummy enough to promise bringing the dead loved ones back to life. Refugees would clamor to him, to faith in such bad times, making them easier to target and manipulate.
It doesn't matter how many times I watched the ending of both XC2 and Torna,I always end up crying.Can't wait until July too,I miss playing Xenoblade so much
@@anonymoushuman8443 No, since everyone in the village finds a cure for her. But obviously everyone still dies anyways. That’s why the sidequests are so sad because getting to know an entire town of people before it is gone makes it sadder.
Mini rant: one thing I hate about the dlc is Team Lora's AI. Ma'am everyone is dying, can u stop cutting ur health in half and switch to Haze? Also, yes, the standard torna battle theme is an absolute bop
Yeahhh, Lora's ai really sucks. Why yes Lora, I would love for you to start the battle by immediately halving your health, and then switching to Jin, thank you. Granted controlling team Lora is incredibly overpowered, so it kind of balances out. A shame Haze is the only healer, really makes it hard to *not* control team Lora.
After analyzing Jin deeper, you can spot that his arts changed 500 years later, the final song for Torna is "A moment of eternity", he has an art called "empty moment" and the other one is "Stunned Swallow" that comes from an art that Lora had called "Swallow's flight" and it uses the same animation where he spins his sword attacking as a duo with Lora in his special IV
1:22:27 The road stretches on without end. I cannot but walk down it. As long as I keep walking, I can hold out hope that one day, the time may come... When I see her smile again. That hope keeps me afloat... I used this as a quote to remind myself to keep walking forward until I reach my destination
It also puts in perspective why pyra is the way she is and why Mythra took so long to come out again. Looking back, I was an idiot choosing pyra over mythra.
You know it's so funny, I don't usually watch hour long videos but I've watched every single video of Sarah's Xenoblade 1 and 2 playthroughs. Each video managed to entertain me all the way through!
The way they handled the ending, which we already knew almost everything about, is truly brilliant. Restarting the main game/rewatching cutscenes hits a lot different after playing torna dlc
Fun fact: The story of Torna was originally going to be part of the base game as a flashback between chapter 7 and 8, but it was cut. So they made it a separate story as DLC. It even has its own physical copy. Which means Monolith Soft wrote the story of Torna AT THE SAME TIME as the base game!
I imagine it was probably supposed to be a lot shorter though so i’m ultimately glad we got it as dlc. Also seems like they didn’t have all the details totally ironed out. Like Addams appearance or Hugo’s existence
@@Rubyshedinja33 yeah but it’d be so interesting for them to actually have forced you to play through that to know why they still living characters are the way they are
12:18 100% correct. All happy scene have a sad undertone because of this. It’s nice seeing them happy but the knowledge of how they end up really gives the sadness in everything they do or say.
In regards to that final message, I have watched your full playthrough of Xenoblade and I've had so much fun seeing your reactions to everything and seeing your genuine enjoyment of the games. Every Xenoblade fan has felt the feelings of joy and grief that you've experienced in this experience, and we all can agree that we wouldn't change it for anything...so, on behalf of the Xenoblade community and myself, I think we should also thank you for showing us your experience and sharing these moments with us, as we would with any Xenoblade fan, new or old. We'll all be waiting for Xenoblade 3, so we can experience it, or as Dunban would say, so we can seize our destinies...together.
I'm replaying the World tree sequence rn and the mikhail flashback scenes hit so much harder after you've played this, even though now I know he survives!
The fact that we pretty much knew the ending and they were still able to push our emotions as hard as they did and make us care was no easy feat. They absolutely nailed this game! I can honestly say I've never cried so hard in a game before. I still tear up months later just thinking of that one scene. The animations there are too good.
Me starting XC2 a couple months ago: "Wow, Jin's mask is so stupid-looking. What a dumb character design idea." Me after beating XC2 and Torna: •crying uncontrollably at the sight of Jin putting on his mask*
Highly recommend playing the main game after dlc one more time, there are a lot of scenes that hit harder after DLC and just makes you appreciate how well done and how powerful this game is, I treasure XC2 as my favorite game of all time…. I can watch people react to it time and time again yet somehow l feel yours was the most genuine one, thanks for palying!
Thanks Sarah for sharing your journey with all of us through my personal favorite game series of all time. Can't wait to join you on the journey through Xenoblade 3!
1:12:41 that's were you realize that Pyra was not planned by Mythra, Pyra is the result of PTSD of Mythra suffer due the trauma, Pyra is the materilization of her Dissociative identity disorder who wants to hide all her flaws :(
Man Torna really messed me up with how tragic what Jin goes through is so it's fun seeing others go through it. I still remember tearing up seeing him burn the photos and his diary. It's great you had fun and now I'm looking forward to see if XC3 will somehow have something just as tragic, if not more
Sarah, these videos are excellent. Your warm, real reactions to this teriffic, incredibly intense epic mirror my own and as I don't know anyone else who plays these games, watching your reactions quells my thirst to talk to someone about it. I just recently played 2, now finished Torna and need to finish them again in New Game +. Only then am I allowing myself to move on to XB1 and finally 3. What epic, human storytelling. And you show the emotions of someone who really appreciates it. Thank you and all the best, I'll eventually watch your XB3 videos once I'm ready to let the XB2 cosmos go. Cheers, Alex
I'm so glad this series connected with you as strongly as it did! It's my favorite series and means so much to me, I always love seeing others get similar enjoyment from it. Can't wait to experience 3 with everyone this summer!
It's so hard not to feel emotional during the ending I played torna so many times, I don't really cry anymore, but it's still very emotional Torna is a game that is very near to my heart, and seeing you love it makes me glad
Oh my God that was actually one of the best DLCs to an already brilliant game. It somehow exceeded my expectations. Every fight scene with Malos when the soundtrack starts going hard as heck it always hits!! I also agree with your take on not showing Lora's death. Milton served that purpose for the emotional torment and the burning of the photo at the end was more impactful that way. P.S. On a coincidental note, your final XC2 video came out right in time for the last Iftar of the last day of Ramadan. The eve of the celebration of Eid tomorrow after a month of Ramadan is always bittersweet 😄 Perfect timing AND perfect emotional beat. Can't wait for XC3 (and all other future non-XC videos of course 😁) Thank you again for sharing your candid reactions and the effort you put into editing these massive videos! Have a wonderful day 🗝️
Honestly the dlc for this game is phenomenal and really puts a new light on almost everything in the base game. One of the specific things is just how pyra came to be, who she is, and why she was created to be like that. I feel the base game focuses heavily on Pyra, to a point where when I got to the decision on who to pick for the name I felt it was almost a given to pick pyra. But honestly this dlc completely flips my thought on that single choice. Mythra creates pyra because everyone around her sees her as a monster, as someone who they don't want to be with. To try to remedy that Mythra literally creates a completely second being to herself to shelter her away from the pain and anguish she was feeling. Mythra is stubborn and abrasive, so pyra is gentle and kind. Mythra is a terrible cook, so Pyra becomes one of the best. Pyra is a means for Mythra to try to show the world that she is better, that she can be better. I understand that by the time of the base game Mythra and pyra are basically separate people, but at this point it just feels wrong to pick to call her True form pyra after everything this dlc shows. Makes it feel like Mythra still isn't good enough, and that she is better off hiding away. This dlc makes me feel like Mythra really is her true form, and pyra is merely what's been hiding underneath the whole time.
Pyra is her own person. Pyra has her own thoughts, her own feelings, and her own personality. If she wasn't her own person, she wouldn't have gotten her own body at the end. In short, Pyra deserves to exist and Pyra deserves to be loved just like Mythra.
Geez. The ending of the story of this DLC just emotionally destroyed me when I first finished Torna ~ The Golden Country...and it doesn't get any easier on repeat viewings. 😢 XC2 and Torna spoilers below. - - - - Mythra's trauma that resulted in her creating Pyra and made both of them suicidal in the long term being the death of the Torna titan and Milton is a tearjerker on its own. Add to that what happens to Lora and the rest of the Tornan refugees who survived the Aegis War only to be killed by Amalthus's attempt at killing Mythra/Pyra, not knowing Addam and them had long left that place as well as Jin's fall from his despair at losing Lora and just the entire premise of that by the time Pyra/Mythra awaken, most of their friends are either dead or allied with Malos in his goal of destroying the world... For an extra gut punch...the music that plays at 1:08:02 as the Tornan King overlooks his dying nation while determined to go down with it, known as "Walking With You", is the same theme that plays during Mikhail's heroic sacrifice to stop Amalthus from using Indol to destroy the World Tree. T__T (That music almost always plays during scenes of tragedy in these two adventures, but those two uses of it for Mikhail's sacrifice and the death of Torna respectively are the two instances where it just broke me.) I look forward to Xenoblade 3, but what scares me is that the overall premise there already seems rather gloomy. I'm already sensing powerful scenes of tragedy with likely just as powerfully sad music to boot. I can only hope that there'll be moments of happiness to go along with it. Xeno games beginning with Xenogears (but also applying to Xenosaga and especially Xenoblade) are usually good at this, so we'll certainly see by the end of this week.
i'm not a very emotional person but i bawled my eyes out after i played all of the Xenoblade games and still tear up to this day. they all have such amazing stories and this is actually one of my favourite videogame series of all time ever. i am so excited but at the same time so not ready for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 this month.
yup, "torna - mythra is a simpleton" is really a great dlc, honestly loved it, but it was just too little to have me kill the superbosses. really a pain in the ass, killing ophion was simpler.
idk what to say. im so thankful you uploaded this. ive had this for years since launch and i could not beat torna. after seeing this man its just wow too much happened i enjoyed watching the whole thing. now i know how Pyra was born, emotional damage led to Pyra thats DEEP omg damm mythra went through alot. this video changed my view of mythra she really IS the original. i always view pyra as the og since thats how xc2 starts off but torna changes everything i appreciate her more now. cant wait to watch your xc3 journey!
Thank you Sarah! This has been such an amazing trip with you through XC2, seeing you connect with these characters. I can honestly say that your videos have been what I've looked forward too the most of any series these few months. Been going through a tough time myself since february, when I craduated from my dream study and now no job is to be found because of the pandemic. So I've been stuck far from friends and family and will be until I find a decent job. Reliving this amazing story again really helped me, I remember being afraid to finish Torna because you'd know how it turns out for the heroes. I was also surprised how much I loved the characters, especially Adam, I fully expected him to be this boring proper guy, but he was always so positive and uplifting. And of course, Laura and Jin really stole the show, I think it would have been easy for them to just make Mythra the main character, she has an interesting character arc. Instead they chose Laura and Jin, and focused on the bond between Driver and Blades, and the curse of living beyond a loved one. It's sad that it is over, but I am thankful for what we got and also to you Sarah for all your work you put into editing this. Thank you!
This was devastating especially if you completed every side quest with the NPCs. Almost everyone of them was in the capital and then Malos just fires that beam and all the stories and the people there just vanished in an instant. And then it comes back to your party still fighting to stop Malos but at the same time already knowing that they have failed to protect those that were important to them.
Xenoblade 2 and Torna are really the perfect package, I'm glad we got such a good dlc to expand the universe a lot more. I can't wait for all of us to experience Xenoblade 3 together, I expect this entry to be some sort of finale for the chronicles series so I'm anticipating an absolute banger of a game. I can't wait!!!
It's amazing to see new people get into Xenoblade, and to see how much it impacts them, it truly is a special series, and I cannot wait to start playing Xenoblade 3!
What a journey through all these Xenoblade videos. So many emotions and love it how you arent afraid to show how you really feel. When you find something that has big impact on you, and you see somebody else go through all the same emotions is something really special. Thank you for this and now we are ready for XC3!!
I just noticed that Mythra story is similar to Fei in the beginning of Xenogears. Both tried to protect everyone by controling mecha without beeing totally conscious but they end up beeing the murderer by killing their friends because of the battle
Sarah worked so hard getting this video to ~90 mins! Awh, I had so much time hanging out in chat and following the playthrough! I'm so glad I came across Sarah through her Xenoblade videos! Wishing everyone the best for the third game, I'll be following Sarah for sure! 🥰🥰
Thank you so much for that end card you inserted during editing. It has been a joy to watch your playthroughs and experience everything again but this time as a community. Yes, Torna is amazing, and your understanding and appreciation of the series has made everything so much better. Thank you so much for your hard work!
Oh I didn't expect to watch the whole Torna experience today and feel all these feels 😭 Thank you for these videos, it has been, a wonderful time 💕 First Milton and then Hugo, my heart... (I knew what was coming but like you said, it made it even worst😅😥) See ya in XC3, so excited to play it first and then see your reaction🤗✨
Your playthroughs of the xenoblade games have been absolutely incredible to watch, I teared up a lot of the same emotional beats and I enjoyed watching a lot of the combat encounters too, your entire journey was delightful to watch. I actually bought and played torna when watching your VODs of the main game, because I realized I never did since when I beat the game I took a pretty monumental break from it. Going back and completing it was one of the best decisions I ever made, it was insanely fun and also horrifically gut-punching and tear-jerking. I wish I could experience the whole story over again, and that's exactly why it's so nice to watch playthroughs like yours, it's like reliving everything over again. I'm so excited for when XC3 comes out, I just know I'm not prepared for the inevitable scene where Nia talks about whatever tragedy caused her to be a warlord. It was hard enough hearing her talk about her family the first time through...
This expansion was simply amazing, I'd say in some aspects It's even better than the base game. It's really great to be able to know the other side of the story, in the past, and the trauma it created for the antagonists of the base game.
I’m so glad to have seen your videos on Xenoblade. You love them as much as I did my first time through. The Xenoblade community just wants to see others loving the franchise we fell in love with. I love this community almost as much as I love the games themselves.
Thank you for uploading this! Your reaction to the XC2 ending and how you spoke of anxiety really hit home with the struggles i've had the last few years. Genuinely made me cry along side you haha
something i really love about this expansion is how Adam, in the base game we get the impression that he's some larger then life wise mythical figure and then this DLC immediately humanizes him by showing us he's a giant dork, love that characterization also Adam went to presumably start the family that eventually leads to Rex
its simpler than that, they didnt had a definitive design for him during the base game, so they gave him a very vague and ambiguous look, then when Torna came out his design was finished and even used in the scenes that were flashbacks in the main game, call it retcon if you wish. although they still referenced his "placeholder" look by using it when you first meet him.
I have never cried actual tears at a game before... But since Mythra is one of my favorite JRPG characters alongside Nia, seeing her completely broken like that by the end made me tear up like crazy!
So another bit that makes the very ending scene (during the credits) sad is when you remember that Lora said she had thought a long time about what she would say to Jin when she inevitably died before him, but when the time came she couldn't bring herself to say goodbye like she wanted. And then you listen to the lyrics of the end credits song, A Moment of Eternity, and realize that most of it are things she wished she had said when the end came, but never got to.
Absolutely loved seeing your full Xenoblade 2 journey, I first found your channel through your Xenoblade 1 videos and getting to reexperience both of those games through you has been a treasure. Hopefully I can catch you streaming Xenoblade 3 when it comes out!
This whole DLC really adds new meaning to Mythra's awakening and Vandham's funeral. She either is waking up mere hours after accidentally killing multiple countries and four of her personal friends or she's waking up after 500 years fixating on that fact. She was serious when she said she never wanted to wake up again.
It also makes addam's words in the spirit crucible hit even deeper. He realized after so long that mythra desperately needed someone to confide in her pain, sorrow and fears, and how he failed to deliver that because he was afraid of her too. So he trusts Rex to be the one who finally accepts her for who she is, to give her a reason to live again. Man 😭
Thanks so much for sharing your journey through the Xenoblade series with us! Watching your playthrough of Xenoblade 2 really put things into another perspective and I came away appreciating more things about it. Onwards, to 3!
You know, for how janky the cutscenes of XC2 can seem sometimes, I'm always amazed over how breathtaking the fight scenes in this game look. And they only doubled down on that in Torna. I can't think of many other games that have such consistently smooth choreography and camerawork in their fight scenes (especially with in-engine cutscenes). Every single one is just so exciting to watch and works so fluently. And from what we have seen in the trailers, XC3 will have both the amazing overall cinematography of 1 and the fantastic fight choreography of 2. Man, I love Monolith
"Of course you have a common blade" is the best insult I've heard in years Edit: a competitor would be "but you could be the driver of a common blade, that's an option."
Glad you shared your Xenoblade experience with us! This game series holds a very dear place in my heart, and seeing you love and appreciate it as well just makes me smile. Here's to having more fun in the next game!
I have seen numerous reactions to XC2 and Torna and the ending still hits so bad. Thank you for picking up Torna and XC2. I'm glad you enjoyed the experience.
Thank you for all you Xenoblade content. I cherish it so much because your reactions are always so heartfelt and really close to mine! I will miss it, but fortunately Xenoblade 3 will be there soon... I wish you the best!
I loved your playthrough of xc2 and torna so much! So well edited and all the emotions. I'm really happy the game helped you the way it did and I'm glad I've been a part of this. Keep doing what you do this was amazing! Can't wait for xenoblade 3!
dang Sarah u actually made me cry with that paragraph at the end :') Xenoblade is such an awesome series, I can't wait for them to port Xenoblade Chronicles X to switch so u can experience that too, I'm really glad the franchise has picked up as much as it has, it's truly an incredible work of art that never fails to deliver an amazing message, and I hope they keep making them, so that I can keep watching ur reactions to them lol
It really is a thrill seeing someone new to the series playthrough the game as someone who finished all these games years ago knowing them in and out, watching you play through them really made me feel like i was playing through these games for the first time again myself so i cant wait for july to see you sob all the way through 3!
Torna is the best dlc if ever played. It was handled with so much care gameplay and story wise. When playing it i got so emotional and the ending is so sad (especially for mythra) that i wish i could have more however i don't wish for forever even just for one moment its enough...with this game
We LOVE YOU Sarah can't wait for Xenoblade 3. I loved watching your reactions of iconic moments in Xenoblade 2. I lowkey started crying when I rewatched it.
I didn't know you but I check the final of xenoblade 2 reaction and this video in a row. Thanks for reviving that Xenoblade moments. I cried... again :') Greetings from Barcelona.
The torna dlc is some of the most effort I've seen put in an expansion of any video game ever; the developers didn't need to go this hard and yet they did. They essentially made another game (with a completely retooled combat and sidequest system) and sold it to the people for less than retail price. Doesn't get anymore awesome than that
Not only that, but they used a different, upgraded engine for it compared to the base game. As a testbed for Xenoblade 3 development.
@@badlatency9979 exactly
Not only all of that, but basegame dlc was included in the price as well including new blades, challenge levels, and of course, returning characters from xc1
@@princeofhyrule2205 worked both ways, if you bought the expansion pass, you got Torna digitally. If you bought Torna physically, you got all the DLC for the base game.
Iceborne
This DLC just gets sadder the more you think about it too. Like, you know how picking on Mythra was often used as comic relief? She's a simpleton, brash, coarse, bad at cooking, so powerful she's a danger, and so on. Well... Pyra isn't any of those things... When everything got so bad that Mythra's mind snapped she made sure the resulting splinter personality would be everything she couldn't be.
When you put it this way… 😭
I also think it's clear she based alot of what Pyra is off of Jin before everything happened to him too.
But then the Architect's visions show us that "Pyra" is still part of Mythra and she could've been like her if given time and affection.
@@iviyohane yeah no, Pyra and Mythra grew into two entirely different people, you see it in how the two interact with each other sparsely happens but it does. there is a great video explaining why the two are amazing characters on youtube i'd look at it
And so many people like Pyra more than Mythra, which was the point of Pyra in the first place. Mythra knew she would never be loved as herself, so she made Pyra as her perfect self. Even fans of the game fell for the personality Mythra created.
Xenoblade 1 leaves you with happy tears.
Xenoblade 2 leaves you with bittersweet tears.
Torna leaves you with sheer sadness and pain.
And Xenoblade 3 better give happy endings all around. I'm not counting on it, but with who you can recognize in the trailers and what they've been through, they _deserve_ happy endings.
xenoblade x gives you confusion and questions and help ive been waiting seven years
@@soupahmario5869 Can we get a Switch port soon?
@@NotMyRealName6 IVE BEEN WAITING FOR FIVE YEARS
@@soupahmario5869 I want to get to know Elma as well as I know the other best girls.
10:19 “It’s so painful when you know their fates.”
That’s the experience of playing Torna in a nutshell. You go in knowing that every one of these characters is either going to die or live hundreds of years in misery
exactly
Except Azurda who just kinda vibes
Even then, judging by the visions that Klaus creates in Chapter 10, Azurda apparently has some hidden resentment at having to live for over a thousand years.
Yeah, so true.
Yep, you will get many ups and downs during those thousand years
Like getting 1 million G in debt for failed romance (Base game side quest) or getting camped by crazy girl (DLC Side quest)
"Ok, I'm gonna start Torna" - Famous last words before disaster
literally that with any xeno game
@@Ovalishperogative Xenoblade 1 at least ends you on a happy note. This one does not care and WILL destroy you
@@Ray_SB ya you're right, but i still cried at all the endings😭😭
@@Ray_SB I think that's actually not correct. But if I tell you why you won't be able to unsee it.
@@seedofwonder It does end on a happy note tho, fiora is alive and colony 9 is still standing and racism is basically over.
A lot of people just see everyone making fun of Mythra as haha funny but really it shows why she had such a hard time opening up in the main game. And why she was so shocked when someone like Rex showed up and treated her like her own person and not a weapon to be feared.
Agreed. It’s also what lead to her creating Pyra. Her self-esteem wasn’t good and she was putting up a front about it. Her PTSD coinciding with her low self-esteem brought about a self that was different then her in a ton of ways. She wanted to create a better person. She wanted to hide she couldn’t handle the stress. So she put someone else in control. And her low self-esteem and the front I was talking about is one from the general atmosphere and thoughts of Adam. Adam did care, but he was also afraid. Blades share a deep bond with their driver. She probably understood that impression from the first time she was awaken. Anyways her front is that she acted sorta full of herself, and then more people played along with that. Whether it would be serious. Jin confronting her at the camp fire upon first meeting or the cooking scene. Every little bit contributed and then it just burst. She wasn’t able to handle all that she did.
@@day7163 thats why rex was there rex helped her see there was a better way you forget she became close with rex the more she spent time with him sure she was stressed but she never gave up and rex wanted her to see he was there for her till the very end
I like that you can see the similarities more between Mythra and Malos here. Both are confident and brash, but Addam was of course so afraid of Mythra's power and the pain it could cause that it spread to Mythra. So instead of becoming nihilistic and purposeless, feeling the only choice would be to destroy everything, she ended up being a scared and guilty mess that wanted to die so she wouldn't hurt anyone.
@@NerdStrikesBack That doesn t apply to Malos tho.He became how he is because of his driver (forgot his name) no hated humans and the world.So because Malos is a blade first and foremost he too had the same vision as him so he ended up being a baddy
@@darkcavelierxx6996 That's the exact point the other person was making, the two started at the same position, but ended up wildly different due to their Drivers influence
The anguish in Mythra’s voice when she realized she was to blame for Milton’s death was so well done by Skye Bennett! Always tugs at my heartstrings!
To be fair though, she really wasn't. Malos was the one who destroyed the city with the first beam which likely was the ultimate cause of his injury. She blames herself because she pretty much forced Milton to remain in town, and that is why she feels responsible. The town was supposed to be a safe place. However as we saw, even if Milton had been with the party, it was not guaranteed that he would survive the fight anyway, given Hugo did not after the explosion.
Pretty much Malos is to blame here, but Mythra takes it very hard... as you notice, only Mikhail blames her, and because she told them to stay in town.
@@warailawildrunner5300 Totally, it's definitely a survivor's guilt of sorts that Mythra feels. As the other aegis she considered herself responsible for stopping Malos and when she couldn't, she took that personally. And from Mikhail's perspective it is her fault, since he is a child and has to blame someone, but of course we know that, as you say, it likely would have been just as dangerous if they had come with.
The whole finale as it relates to Mythra's arc, the transformation into Pyra and how she has all the traits that perfectly mask Mythra's insecurities and guilt... it's all so well done.
Torna is basically what every DLC story should be. It's substantial on its own and adds so much to the main story it stems from. Torna is what everyone wanted BotW's DLC to be, and what everyone wanted Age of Calamity to be, but neither came even close to the impact Torna had. Even rewatching the cutscenes from the main game hit so much harder when you know what happened in Torna.
It's funny considering how Torna was gonna be a part of the main game, stuck in prior to Morytha.
Torna ~ The Golden Standard
Man idk how zelda is the franchise thats the face of Nintendo alongside Mario, it should be xenobalde its so much better than both games.
@@jackjohnson8305 now we're just coping lol
@@arosbastion7052 Ain't no way BOTW with its garbage ass story is better than xenoblade bro.
You go into this DLC a happy bean, but come out a SAD DEPRESSED ROTTING CORPSE.
Torna is one of the best DLCs ever to any game and I'm so glad you got to experience it!
More like: Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~The Roast of Mythra~
You go into Future Redeemed a sad depressed rotting corpse, but come out full of beans!
10:15 "It's so painful when you know their fate." The perfect timing of this for people who have played the game when she's just met Milton.
Torna title screen 0 hours in: _"That piano goes hard."_
Torna title screen 20 hours in: *lying on my bed crying*
"In the course of a lifetime, a man will see uncountable meetings and partings. Yet, as your life’s candle sputters and dies, whose face is it that smiles to greet you? Happy is the man that can sleep in the comfort of the smile he sees then." No, I don’t wish for ‘forever.’ Even just for one moment, it’s enough if it’s with her. And yet, what is the man to do who has not been afforded that chance? The road stretches on without end. I cannot but walk down it. As long as I can keep walking, I can hold out hope that one day, the time may come when I see her smile again.”
Jean-Paul Sartre is a dead French Philosopher some of his views on our being, how we as beings are born into the Void that is life, out of nowhere. All that is left is our conscious Being and even more important - how others see us. According to him, what we yearn for is to be seen by others as we see fit, and we avoid those who would see us as anything else in more extreme cases
With love you give that special someone, who you see as more important, your Being. You want them to see you just as important as you do for them, thus creating a strong bond, but when that other people die or stop loving you back, they leave with your Being.
And you're empty, gotta restart from the beginning.
with this type of philosophy it paints Jin as and even more tragic character then he already was, essentially he died the moment he became a flesh eater.
Interesting insight, but what about Malos? How would he fit in?
@@dipshitsiclethemighty3054 Malos is what happens when someone is created with their purpose already known. Malos was doomed to always go after destruction, because of who awoke him. Malos doesn't fit into the stuff I said about Jin, it's clear that some of these philosophies
i highly reccomend the video Despair and Hope: Existentialism in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, i'm not gonna link it cuz it breaks comments using links but it's a criminally low viewed video that talks about some philoshpy in the game.
Xenoblade 2 is honestly Takahashi's most scencere dive into existentialism (although almost all his games delve into it). It's all over the game but the last speech in Torna really does tie it in a nice bow.
@@GigasGalvantula Ah yeah I’ve seen that video. I pretty much share those exact thoughts on it word for word lol. Idk what you were intending to write after ‘it’s clear that some of these philosophies’ but it didn’t come through. I already have my own ideas but I just wanted to hear yours out of interest. For me, Jin’s relationship with Malos is a perfect oxymoron, as the most destructive being in the world who Jin should hate tremendously befriending Jin of his own free will sounds like the most inspiring stuff ever, but it’s the most tragically unhealthy relationship ever. Out of everyone who could have come to Jin in his worst place and time mentally, it was him, and between the words Malos spoke to him about humans and blades and whatnot combined with seeing Mythra’s chaotic destruction despite being on his side and that being the reason for Amalthus’s raid on Spessia, it’s clear to see that Jin joins him for his own reasons, as well as Malos likely knowing that he could manipulate him but grows to genuinely care and despair for him. Despite being an agent of death, Malos births Jin’s third life.
@@dipshitsiclethemighty3054 "For me, Jin’s relationship with Malos is a perfect oxymoron, as the most destructive being in the world who Jin should hate tremendously befriending Jin of his own free will sounds like the most inspiring stuff ever, but it’s the most tragically unhealthy relationship ever. Out of everyone who could have come to Jin in his worst place and time mentally, it was him"
This is so well said, thank you for expressing your thoughts as this framing is helping me look at it in a new way. I always thought it was so interesting how Malos expressed his pain for Jin's situation right before the final boss of 2, but I've had trouble expressing why exactly. You're right though, the fact that Jin becomes the character who renews Malos's desire for destruction, especially when it was Malos who created the snowball effect leading to Jin's grief in the first place, is so wild. And meanwhile, Malos wants to destroy when the only thing that would truly fulfill Jin would be if Lora was back.
Man, this series is so good.
Torna the game that stabs you in the feels and just when you think it’s done, it twists the knife
Twist the knife while punching you with it's other hand then stomps on you while you lay on the ground
Nope, Torna is the knife, you stab yourself willingly and are surprised that it hurts
I guess we know what Torna stands for now...
Torna-part!
In all seriousness, thank you so much for posting your playthrough of Xenoblade 2 & Torna, and I can't wait for you to play through Xenoblade 3 in July!
Dang, you didn’t hold back with that remark.
Convinced Monolithsoft hid the final Gort fight from the ESRB. What an emotional credits sequence.
28:36 I believe it's shot like this because it's based on one of the flashbacks from the base game. That flashback was either one of the first times we saw Jin being a good guy, or one that put emphasis on his kind nature, so a dramatic reveal with the camera like that made sense there... Ends up being a little goofy here tho :P
Also, I did not expect Mythra's... "Roar of anger and sorrow"(?) at Malos in the final Torna battle to instantly make me shed tears. God damn, that was some raw stuff... Felt her pain right in the soul. Skye Bennett is great.
The ending is perfect! The cinematography was great. The song "Moment of Eternity" is a song for Jin from Lora
"I don't wish for forever. Even just a moment of Eternity. If it's with her, it's enough" -Jin
More specifically, it's mostly a number of things she wished she had said to him when she was dying, but couldn't bring herself to, as mentioned in the main game. Which is extra sad...
It also ties in nicely to his signature move in the base game, “empty moment”.
38:01 an interesting note about this scene is that it seems to be implying a connection between Adam and Rex. Here Malos is commenting on the color of Adam's eyes and in the base game, during their first fight on the ancient Ship, Malos says "Ahh, but with those eyes... I guess I should have been more warry from the start" to Rex. There are also small moments where Adam uses some of Rex's animations, like rubbing the back of his head when he's embarrassed (24:56), which implies that Rex likely inherited some of his mannerisms from his ancestor.
Knowing this now put an image in my head of a grown-up Rex having the body of Adam. XD
Rex is a descendant, maybe even reincarnation. We don't know much about his family background but apparently Rex might be the last member of the Tornan royal family, even more relevant than Zeke.
I think it's implied that Rex is just a descendant of Addam, many times over Addam proclaims his intention to go back to the simple life after all of this is over. He never really wanted to be king, and so it makes sense for him to found the colony of leftheria. Plus that being where the sword is in XC2 that rex and co. wind up going to in the later part of the game.
What's more fascinating is the allegory of Addam being the "beginning" of mankind that would eventually lead to the birth rex to rise up and save humanity from their own hubris. Very fascinating religious and philosophical subtext.
Also, if you look up the beta design for Rex, he was originally supposed to have white hair! I’m still surprised the beta designs for Pyra and Rex were scrapped since it makes more sense for the story of base XBC2.
@@deredere-sama5995 Well, apparently the director wanted to avoid using the typical JRPG trope of having the main male protag be another muscular man in the JRPG landscape, so they chose to go the opposite way and gave Rex a more childlike appearance.
Creating an experience like Xenoblade is not an easy thing to do. Risks must be taken to push the viewers and even the creators to new limits. Stories like these will rarely become mainstream successes often taking a back seat to the tried & safe works that can be easily replicated.. and despite all that we as a people crave works like Xeno to stimulate our locked away emotions.
Thanks for using tattle
To be honest, I wonder how and if I can write my own story to be at least as good as Xenoblade?
@@nickter745thebold8 can you? Yes. Start with small stories. Very small. So that you can grasp beginnings and endings. On each story you can focus on one specific thing. Be it character development, character relations, world building, twists, etc.
As you grasp how to connect these things then you can do two or three of these at once and see how well you can manage them. Expect for it to be hard and not to come out well at first. That's how you start.
Slowly you'll take good things from here and great things from there and use those for your next step. Till eventually you are creating massive stories that are interconnected.
Even the Xeno series tried and failed to tell a massive story twice before getting into Xenoblade and being successful
Look up and read books on those specific things too. Character development, world building, etc
22:30 Chuggaaconroy went into detail about why this makes sense emotionally. Like Lora, Emile is at a point in his life where he has moved past hatred for his abusive father figure into indifference. It was weirdly cathartic when he stopped giving a shit and began to live his life as if that father never existed. He, like Lora, has let the malice dissipate.
His story at the end of the lets play was heartbreaking. Bless his heart
I never imagined I'd like Lora so much, ahhhh it's all so very sad. Mythra's pain, the deaths, they really twisted the knife on this one. But I loved it, I can't help but adore games that make me feel and cry. I'm so excited for our XC3 journey.
I've never not cried when jin said it's enough if it's with her I hope xenoblade chronicles 3 is just as good if not better then this game not long to go until it comes out
The ending song, A Moment of Eternity, is just amazing. The vocals by Jen Bird carry so much emotion, and they heighten the lyrics. No matter how you choose the interpret them, the lyrics really hit you like the biggest truck possible. Then, Jin's final monologue is just another, even more massive truck that barrels over you.
Really glad you got to play Torna. Looking forward the future Xenoblade 3 vids, cuz knowing Takahashi and company, that game is gonna cause some intense water-works for everyone.
Yeah it's crazy how despite not showing Lora's death the song + Jin's monologue make it just as emotional even without it
And so we come to the end....until XC3. Truly a wonderful experience watching these videos, thank you for all the effort you put in to gives us something amazing. A great series.
The part where Mythra got heartbroken at the end really hurts me..
Milton's death is what caused Pyra to be born. A character who wasn't mentioned in the base game at all...
@@iviyohane Not only that, during the DLC everyone was picking on her and at the end Milton's death and everyone else protecting themselves and pretty much looking at her like she was a monster made her create Pyra, a being completely opposite ta what everyone called her during the game (e.g. simpleton, bad at cooking, brash and etc...)
@@iviyohane no. But interestingly when mik asks if amalthous remembers what he did when implanting core crystals...in the flashback mik was a child watching a male gormotti being implanted with a core crystal. He doesn't look grown. It's very likely that, like gort, Milton didn't have a final design in base game but the fact it was a male gormotti might speak volumes to who it's supposed to be and why it would make mik angry remembering it. I can see amalthous being scummy enough to promise bringing the dead loved ones back to life. Refugees would clamor to him, to faith in such bad times, making them easier to target and manipulate.
I bow before David Menkin - Malos' voice actor. He is incredible :OOO
It doesn't matter how many times I watched the ending of both XC2 and Torna,I always end up crying.Can't wait until July too,I miss playing Xenoblade so much
"Poor Mythra." Was the only thing I said when the credits rolled.
This DLC made me see Mythra in a new light.
I am so glad she loved Torna (I knew she would) but also I wish she did up to community level 5 because the final sidequest legit made me tear up.
I never got to do the last one because it said that its only available on new game plus after beating it once. It was all the unique bosses right?
@@kylewood4488-b9r Nah that’s not what I meant. It was the one with the sick girl and everyone from every sidequest before goes and tries to help her.
Does she die
@@anonymoushuman8443 No, since everyone in the village finds a cure for her. But obviously everyone still dies anyways. That’s why the sidequests are so sad because getting to know an entire town of people before it is gone makes it sadder.
It's not certain she dies, remember that there was both a shelter constricted and evac ships built. She could have gotten on a ship. Hopefully.
Mini rant: one thing I hate about the dlc is Team Lora's AI. Ma'am everyone is dying, can u stop cutting ur health in half and switch to Haze?
Also, yes, the standard torna battle theme is an absolute bop
Yeahhh, Lora's ai really sucks. Why yes Lora, I would love for you to start the battle by immediately halving your health, and then switching to Jin, thank you.
Granted controlling team Lora is incredibly overpowered, so it kind of balances out. A shame Haze is the only healer, really makes it hard to *not* control team Lora.
@@lizard1255 yes exactly! I wanna mix things up and play Addam or something
12:38 "of course you have a common blade"
DAMN SARAH, YOU DIDN'T HAD TO DO THE MAN LIKE THAT
Yes, she did. HAVE YOU SEEN GORT!?
In hindsight, i bet that's not even his blade lmao
@@ShadowSkyX and not just a regular blade
Is flesh eater
After analyzing Jin deeper, you can spot that his arts changed 500 years later, the final song for Torna is "A moment of eternity", he has an art called "empty moment" and the other one is "Stunned Swallow" that comes from an art that Lora had called "Swallow's flight" and it uses the same animation where he spins his sword attacking as a duo with Lora in his special IV
This community is indeed beautiful, and thanks for being a part of it!
1:22:27
The road stretches on without end. I cannot but walk down it. As long as I keep walking, I can hold out hope that one day, the time may come... When I see her smile again. That hope keeps me afloat...
I used this as a quote to remind myself to keep walking forward until I reach my destination
I think Torna really helps put perspective on how Rex changes the people he meets ajnd helps them try for a positive future
it makes me wanna go back and play it bc rex is such a kind boy
It also puts in perspective why pyra is the way she is and why Mythra took so long to come out again.
Looking back, I was an idiot choosing pyra over mythra.
You know it's so funny, I don't usually watch hour long videos but I've watched every single video of Sarah's Xenoblade 1 and 2 playthroughs. Each video managed to entertain me all the way through!
The way they handled the ending, which we already knew almost everything about, is truly brilliant.
Restarting the main game/rewatching cutscenes hits a lot different after playing torna dlc
Fun fact: The story of Torna was originally going to be part of the base game as a flashback between chapter 7 and 8, but it was cut. So they made it a separate story as DLC. It even has its own physical copy. Which means Monolith Soft wrote the story of Torna AT THE SAME TIME as the base game!
I imagine it was probably supposed to be a lot shorter though so i’m ultimately glad we got it as dlc. Also seems like they didn’t have all the details totally ironed out. Like Addams appearance or Hugo’s existence
@@tuckersins9904 it was cut because they felt it'd be odd not to see rex and the gang for a long time however
@@Rubyshedinja33 yeah but it’d be so interesting for them to actually have forced you to play through that to know why they still living characters are the way they are
The physical copy came out a year after the original game was released
@@arandompatrat9202 As the DLC did. The story event and the physical launch didn't stray too far apart, if they did at all.
12:18 100% correct. All happy scene have a sad undertone because of this. It’s nice seeing them happy but the knowledge of how they end up really gives the sadness in everything they do or say.
"No.... I don't wish for 'forever'. Even just for one moment... It's enough if it's with her"
Powerful Words Man, Powerful Words.
And N from xc3 wants eternity 2 men who lost everything they loved reacting to it differently
In regards to that final message, I have watched your full playthrough of Xenoblade and I've had so much fun seeing your reactions to everything and seeing your genuine enjoyment of the games. Every Xenoblade fan has felt the feelings of joy and grief that you've experienced in this experience, and we all can agree that we wouldn't change it for anything...so, on behalf of the Xenoblade community and myself, I think we should also thank you for showing us your experience and sharing these moments with us, as we would with any Xenoblade fan, new or old. We'll all be waiting for Xenoblade 3, so we can experience it, or as Dunban would say, so we can seize our destinies...together.
I'm replaying the World tree sequence rn and the mikhail flashback scenes hit so much harder after you've played this, even though now I know he survives!
28:37 because this flashback is in the original game and it revels that Jin was part of Addam's crew
The fact that we pretty much knew the ending and they were still able to push our emotions as hard as they did and make us care was no easy feat. They absolutely nailed this game! I can honestly say I've never cried so hard in a game before. I still tear up months later just thinking of that one scene. The animations there are too good.
Me starting XC2 a couple months ago: "Wow, Jin's mask is so stupid-looking. What a dumb character design idea."
Me after beating XC2 and Torna: •crying uncontrollably at the sight of Jin putting on his mask*
Highly recommend playing the main game after dlc one more time, there are a lot of scenes that hit harder after DLC and just makes you appreciate how well done and how powerful this game is, I treasure XC2 as my favorite game of all time…. I can watch people react to it time and time again yet somehow l feel yours was the most genuine one, thanks for palying!
Thanks Sarah for sharing your journey with all of us through my personal favorite game series of all time. Can't wait to join you on the journey through Xenoblade 3!
1:12:41 that's were you realize that Pyra was not planned by Mythra, Pyra is the result of PTSD of Mythra suffer due the trauma, Pyra is the materilization of her Dissociative identity disorder who wants to hide all her flaws :(
'Life is a cycle of suffering and the only escape is death'
OMG new SarahKey XC reaction video 😳
Man Torna really messed me up with how tragic what Jin goes through is so it's fun seeing others go through it. I still remember tearing up seeing him burn the photos and his diary. It's great you had fun and now I'm looking forward to see if XC3 will somehow have something just as tragic, if not more
I really do love crying along with Sarah every Sunday 😭😭😭
Sarah, these videos are excellent. Your warm, real reactions to this teriffic, incredibly intense epic mirror my own and as I don't know anyone else who plays these games, watching your reactions quells my thirst to talk to someone about it. I just recently played 2, now finished Torna and need to finish them again in New Game +. Only then am I allowing myself to move on to XB1 and finally 3. What epic, human storytelling. And you show the emotions of someone who really appreciates it. Thank you and all the best, I'll eventually watch your XB3 videos once I'm ready to let the XB2 cosmos go.
Cheers, Alex
I'm so glad this series connected with you as strongly as it did! It's my favorite series and means so much to me, I always love seeing others get similar enjoyment from it. Can't wait to experience 3 with everyone this summer!
It's so hard not to feel emotional during the ending
I played torna so many times, I don't really cry anymore, but it's still very emotional
Torna is a game that is very near to my heart, and seeing you love it makes me glad
Oh my God that was actually one of the best DLCs to an already brilliant game. It somehow exceeded my expectations. Every fight scene with Malos when the soundtrack starts going hard as heck it always hits!! I also agree with your take on not showing Lora's death. Milton served that purpose for the emotional torment and the burning of the photo at the end was more impactful that way.
P.S. On a coincidental note, your final XC2 video came out right in time for the last Iftar of the last day of Ramadan. The eve of the celebration of Eid tomorrow after a month of Ramadan is always bittersweet 😄 Perfect timing AND perfect emotional beat. Can't wait for XC3 (and all other future non-XC videos of course 😁)
Thank you again for sharing your candid reactions and the effort you put into editing these massive videos! Have a wonderful day 🗝️
Torna's story is so heartbreaking & I don't usually cry playing videogames but this yime I cried 😭
Lots of SADNESS!!! This DLC was great. It never disappoint us.
Torna made me love Jin even more. I feel so bad for him🥺
Honestly the dlc for this game is phenomenal and really puts a new light on almost everything in the base game. One of the specific things is just how pyra came to be, who she is, and why she was created to be like that. I feel the base game focuses heavily on Pyra, to a point where when I got to the decision on who to pick for the name I felt it was almost a given to pick pyra. But honestly this dlc completely flips my thought on that single choice. Mythra creates pyra because everyone around her sees her as a monster, as someone who they don't want to be with. To try to remedy that Mythra literally creates a completely second being to herself to shelter her away from the pain and anguish she was feeling. Mythra is stubborn and abrasive, so pyra is gentle and kind. Mythra is a terrible cook, so Pyra becomes one of the best. Pyra is a means for Mythra to try to show the world that she is better, that she can be better. I understand that by the time of the base game Mythra and pyra are basically separate people, but at this point it just feels wrong to pick to call her True form pyra after everything this dlc shows. Makes it feel like Mythra still isn't good enough, and that she is better off hiding away. This dlc makes me feel like Mythra really is her true form, and pyra is merely what's been hiding underneath the whole time.
Pyra is her own person. Pyra has her own thoughts, her own feelings, and her own personality. If she wasn't her own person, she wouldn't have gotten her own body at the end. In short, Pyra deserves to exist and Pyra deserves to be loved just like Mythra.
Geez. The ending of the story of this DLC just emotionally destroyed me when I first finished Torna ~ The Golden Country...and it doesn't get any easier on repeat viewings. 😢
XC2 and Torna spoilers below.
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Mythra's trauma that resulted in her creating Pyra and made both of them suicidal in the long term being the death of the Torna titan and Milton is a tearjerker on its own.
Add to that what happens to Lora and the rest of the Tornan refugees who survived the Aegis War only to be killed by Amalthus's attempt at killing Mythra/Pyra, not knowing Addam and them had long left that place as well as Jin's fall from his despair at losing Lora and just the entire premise of that by the time Pyra/Mythra awaken, most of their friends are either dead or allied with Malos in his goal of destroying the world...
For an extra gut punch...the music that plays at 1:08:02 as the Tornan King overlooks his dying nation while determined to go down with it, known as "Walking With You", is the same theme that plays during Mikhail's heroic sacrifice to stop Amalthus from using Indol to destroy the World Tree. T__T (That music almost always plays during scenes of tragedy in these two adventures, but those two uses of it for Mikhail's sacrifice and the death of Torna respectively are the two instances where it just broke me.)
I look forward to Xenoblade 3, but what scares me is that the overall premise there already seems rather gloomy. I'm already sensing powerful scenes of tragedy with likely just as powerfully sad music to boot. I can only hope that there'll be moments of happiness to go along with it. Xeno games beginning with Xenogears (but also applying to Xenosaga and especially Xenoblade) are usually good at this, so we'll certainly see by the end of this week.
i'm not a very emotional person but i bawled my eyes out after i played all of the Xenoblade games and still tear up to this day. they all have such amazing stories and this is actually one of my favourite videogame series of all time ever. i am so excited but at the same time so not ready for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 this month.
yup, "torna - mythra is a simpleton" is really a great dlc, honestly loved it, but it was just too little to have me kill the superbosses.
really a pain in the ass, killing ophion was simpler.
idk what to say. im so thankful you uploaded this. ive had this for years since launch and i could not beat torna. after seeing this man its just wow too much happened i enjoyed watching the whole thing. now i know how Pyra was born, emotional damage led to Pyra thats DEEP omg damm mythra went through alot. this video changed my view of mythra she really IS the original. i always view pyra as the og since thats how xc2 starts off but torna changes everything i appreciate her more now. cant wait to watch your xc3 journey!
Thank you Sarah!
This has been such an amazing trip with you through XC2, seeing you connect with these characters.
I can honestly say that your videos have been what I've looked forward too the most of any series these few months.
Been going through a tough time myself since february, when I craduated from my dream study and now no job is to be found because of the pandemic. So I've been stuck far from friends and family and will be until I find a decent job.
Reliving this amazing story again really helped me, I remember being afraid to finish Torna because you'd know how it turns out for the heroes.
I was also surprised how much I loved the characters, especially Adam, I fully expected him to be this boring proper guy, but he was always so positive and uplifting.
And of course, Laura and Jin really stole the show, I think it would have been easy for them to just make Mythra the main character, she has an interesting character arc.
Instead they chose Laura and Jin, and focused on the bond between Driver and Blades, and the curse of living beyond a loved one.
It's sad that it is over, but I am thankful for what we got and also to you Sarah for all your work you put into editing this.
Thank you!
This was devastating especially if you completed every side quest with the NPCs. Almost everyone of them was in the capital and then Malos just fires that beam and all the stories and the people there just vanished in an instant. And then it comes back to your party still fighting to stop Malos but at the same time already knowing that they have failed to protect those that were important to them.
Xenoblade 2 and Torna are really the perfect package, I'm glad we got such a good dlc to expand the universe a lot more. I can't wait for all of us to experience Xenoblade 3 together, I expect this entry to be some sort of finale for the chronicles series so I'm anticipating an absolute banger of a game. I can't wait!!!
Mythra's final scream is gut-wrenching
Anyways, can't wait to see XenoBlade 3's DLC top this (and Future Connected I guess)
"see you later partner" is still my favourite scene in the game, it's so badass! I'll never forget the way he Spins around and falls!
Thank you for your XC2 reactions ❤
It's amazing to see new people get into Xenoblade, and to see how much it impacts them, it truly is a special series, and I cannot wait to start playing Xenoblade 3!
What a journey through all these Xenoblade videos. So many emotions and love it how you arent afraid to show how you really feel. When you find something that has big impact on you, and you see somebody else go through all the same emotions is something really special. Thank you for this and now we are ready for XC3!!
I just noticed that Mythra story is similar to Fei in the beginning of Xenogears. Both tried to protect everyone by controling mecha without beeing totally conscious but they end up beeing the murderer by killing their friends because of the battle
Sarah worked so hard getting this video to ~90 mins!
Awh, I had so much time hanging out in chat and following the playthrough! I'm so glad I came across Sarah through her Xenoblade videos! Wishing everyone the best for the third game, I'll be following Sarah for sure! 🥰🥰
Once again, this game manages to completely freaking destroy me.
Thank you so much for that end card you inserted during editing.
It has been a joy to watch your playthroughs and experience everything again but this time as a community.
Yes, Torna is amazing, and your understanding and appreciation of the series has made everything so much better.
Thank you so much for your hard work!
Oh I didn't expect to watch the whole Torna experience today and feel all these feels 😭 Thank you for these videos, it has been, a wonderful time 💕 First Milton and then Hugo, my heart... (I knew what was coming but like you said, it made it even worst😅😥) See ya in XC3, so excited to play it first and then see your reaction🤗✨
Your playthroughs of the xenoblade games have been absolutely incredible to watch,
I teared up a lot of the same emotional beats and I enjoyed watching a lot of the combat encounters too, your entire journey was delightful to watch.
I actually bought and played torna when watching your VODs of the main game, because I realized I never did since when I beat the game I took a pretty monumental break from it. Going back and completing it was one of the best decisions I ever made, it was insanely fun and also horrifically gut-punching and tear-jerking. I wish I could experience the whole story over again, and that's exactly why it's so nice to watch playthroughs like yours, it's like reliving everything over again.
I'm so excited for when XC3 comes out, I just know I'm not prepared for the inevitable scene where Nia talks about whatever tragedy caused her to be a warlord. It was hard enough hearing her talk about her family the first time through...
This expansion was simply amazing, I'd say in some aspects It's even better than the base game. It's really great to be able to know the other side of the story, in the past, and the trauma it created for the antagonists of the base game.
I’m so glad to have seen your videos on Xenoblade. You love them as much as I did my first time through. The Xenoblade community just wants to see others loving the franchise we fell in love with. I love this community almost as much as I love the games themselves.
Thank you for uploading this!
Your reaction to the XC2 ending and how you spoke of anxiety really hit home with the struggles i've had the last few years.
Genuinely made me cry along side you haha
I can honestly say that I have never not cried when Jin says it’s enough if it’s with her
something i really love about this expansion is how Adam, in the base game we get the impression that he's some larger then life wise mythical figure
and then this DLC immediately humanizes him by showing us he's a giant dork, love that characterization
also Adam went to presumably start the family that eventually leads to Rex
its simpler than that, they didnt had a definitive design for him during the base game, so they gave him a very vague and ambiguous look, then when Torna came out his design was finished and even used in the scenes that were flashbacks in the main game, call it retcon if you wish. although they still referenced his "placeholder" look by using it when you first meet him.
I have never cried actual tears at a game before...
But since Mythra is one of my favorite JRPG characters alongside Nia, seeing her completely broken like that by the end made me tear up like crazy!
So another bit that makes the very ending scene (during the credits) sad is when you remember that Lora said she had thought a long time about what she would say to Jin when she inevitably died before him, but when the time came she couldn't bring herself to say goodbye like she wanted. And then you listen to the lyrics of the end credits song, A Moment of Eternity, and realize that most of it are things she wished she had said when the end came, but never got to.
Absolutely loved seeing your full Xenoblade 2 journey, I first found your channel through your Xenoblade 1 videos and getting to reexperience both of those games through you has been a treasure. Hopefully I can catch you streaming Xenoblade 3 when it comes out!
This whole DLC really adds new meaning to Mythra's awakening and Vandham's funeral. She either is waking up mere hours after accidentally killing multiple countries and four of her personal friends or she's waking up after 500 years fixating on that fact. She was serious when she said she never wanted to wake up again.
It also makes addam's words in the spirit crucible hit even deeper. He realized after so long that mythra desperately needed someone to confide in her pain, sorrow and fears, and how he failed to deliver that because he was afraid of her too. So he trusts Rex to be the one who finally accepts her for who she is, to give her a reason to live again. Man 😭
They named the country Torna because it was Tornapart by Mythra.
Too soon, ik.
It was a delight to follow along on your journey with this game. It really is one of the most emotional and heartbreaking games I‘ve ever played
Thanks so much for sharing your journey through the Xenoblade series with us! Watching your playthrough of Xenoblade 2 really put things into another perspective and I came away appreciating more things about it. Onwards, to 3!
You know, for how janky the cutscenes of XC2 can seem sometimes, I'm always amazed over how breathtaking the fight scenes in this game look. And they only doubled down on that in Torna. I can't think of many other games that have such consistently smooth choreography and camerawork in their fight scenes (especially with in-engine cutscenes). Every single one is just so exciting to watch and works so fluently. And from what we have seen in the trailers, XC3 will have both the amazing overall cinematography of 1 and the fantastic fight choreography of 2.
Man, I love Monolith
"Of course you have a common blade" is the best insult I've heard in years
Edit: a competitor would be "but you could be the driver of a common blade, that's an option."
Glad you shared your Xenoblade experience with us! This game series holds a very dear place in my heart, and seeing you love and appreciate it as well just makes me smile. Here's to having more fun in the next game!
I have seen numerous reactions to XC2 and Torna and the ending still hits so bad. Thank you for picking up Torna and XC2. I'm glad you enjoyed the experience.
Thank you for all you Xenoblade content. I cherish it so much because your reactions are always so heartfelt and really close to mine! I will miss it, but fortunately Xenoblade 3 will be there soon...
I wish you the best!
I loved your playthrough of xc2 and torna so much! So well edited and all the emotions. I'm really happy the game helped you the way it did and I'm glad I've been a part of this. Keep doing what you do this was amazing! Can't wait for xenoblade 3!
dang Sarah u actually made me cry with that paragraph at the end :')
Xenoblade is such an awesome series, I can't wait for them to port Xenoblade Chronicles X to switch so u can experience that too, I'm really glad the franchise has picked up as much as it has, it's truly an incredible work of art that never fails to deliver an amazing message, and I hope they keep making them, so that I can keep watching ur reactions to them lol
It really is a thrill seeing someone new to the series playthrough the game as someone who finished all these games years ago knowing them in and out, watching you play through them really made me feel like i was playing through these games for the first time again myself so i cant wait for july to see you sob all the way through 3!
Torna is the best dlc if ever played. It was handled with so much care gameplay and story wise. When playing it i got so emotional and the ending is so sad (especially for mythra) that i wish i could have more however i don't wish for forever even just for one moment its enough...with this game
We LOVE YOU Sarah can't wait for Xenoblade 3. I loved watching your reactions of iconic moments in Xenoblade 2. I lowkey started crying when I rewatched it.
I didn't know you but I check the final of xenoblade 2 reaction and this video in a row.
Thanks for reviving that Xenoblade moments. I cried... again :')
Greetings from Barcelona.