It took me so long to realise that "Our Paths May Never Cross" is a more heartwarming version of "The Power of Jin". It truly is an empty moment without Lora.
I feel both DLC are top tier Nintendo DLC and for personally, there are days where I say this DLC is better then that DLC but in general I often say Torna is better then FR despite loving both. I think FR does do certain things better then Torna such as with the final area. The "Black Mountain" (BM) beats "Tornan Titan Interior" as BM nails the exploration of going up the mountain and partly into Prison Island which is vastly improved. On first playthrough XC1 Prison Island was good but on repeat I would say most Liner-XC1 levels are better in the Aesthetics and the Mechanics. But BM comes out of no where and nails the final area so perfectly that I would say it best in the series so far. The exploration in both DLC are great, however FR was the improvement I wanted from XC2 level design. XC2 had Stella level and Aesthetic design that made exploration fun and engaging however had a big issues in how it tied Field Skills and the potential for exploration and re-exploration of an area. Field Skills was good because it allow the developers to be more creative with the level design, you not just walking up and down a hill or piece of terrain but instead that more active thought going on. Field Skills was also XC2 answer to how game Designer get player to go back and re-explore previous area but it was tied to luck, tied behind the Gacha mechanic which is flawed because Game Designer are now gambling with the player and their opinion on luck driven mechanic. If Player A love the Gacha mechanic and how it diversify playthrough, then Player A might also love the Field Skill. But if Player Z had hate Gacha, then said player mostly won't like Field Skills. That the problem with Field Skills alongside the problem of loading scene or a task that takes 1 minutes to do and how some people don't mind them (within reason) while other people have a major allergic reaction. This is an inherit issues with luck and frankly all Monolith Soft had to do was give get rid of this element of Luck and instead give the player a way to explore new area. We saw this in XC3 base game where the player gain new traversal through Hero Quest which on paper would give the Player more reason to do said Hero Quest to allow for more exploration. However, XC3 level design was a disappointment. It was everything bad about XC1 bigger level design where big level design often lead to the player turning off the brain as they walk without value from A to B but expanded upon an entire game while having a limited colour palette that made most of the location either look dull or blend. Resulting in everything feeling the same. The concept of quick sand, walking on poison, rail grinding or climbing was quickly forgot about as soon as it was introduced as barely used outside of 1 to 3 location. FR fixes all of XC3 level design issues and made exploration the most engaging it has been. My only issues is that I never want to see over 12 Green environment of often the same shade ever again in a Xenoblade game. Aurora Shelf, Yesterdale and the Ragmos Desolation should have all had different colour palette in order to make them feel more different.
Otherwise, I feel Torna better mostly because its a better DLC narrative wise as it has a better story by itself but also as a DLC and how it effect the base game story as both Torna and FR are written to be prequals. Both base XC2 and Torna sets up the narrative of said expansion within the very first scene. We know the date of when the said expansion takes place. We also know how it going to end through the titian of Torna death in the Aegis War and Amalthus later invasion thanks due to XC2 being a narrative that gives enough information for the player that allows them to put the story together. What this then means is that Torna becomes a story of showing the player on how A lead to B and finer details of the lore and how it gives further context on XC2 or changes it while give more depth to character that either already rich in character like Jin, Mythra and Malos or makes us them like with Haze, Lora and Addam. And all of it works because Torna also understand that in order to tell a good narrative, you have to explain, properly set up and give player enough information, you can't try and blue ball the player at every moment or hint to something more. Torna has satisfy story from beginning to end. Meanwhile, FR has the problem of being the DLC to XC3, which has a lot of flaws and it sadly effect FR as XC3 fails to answer question to only question it proposes to the player but also it own worldbuilding. XC3 is advertise as a sequel to XC1 and XC2 and yet is written as something that ignores both prior games and their lore existence and instead aims to be it own story which doesn't work because develop it main character in such a awkward way. It a story with horrible pacing in general. Ch6-7 exist solely due to Ch1-5 failure to be a written as a proper story that gives stakes, set up and development to character outside of Ouroboro's. XC3 also puts no effort into set up it prequal and instead just goes "Here some status of the DLC important characters" and there barely any information on it as XC3 wants to treat FR as it own story despite being apart of it own universe that had impact on it worldbuilding when it comes to N and the City. FR had to fix a lot of things with XC3 and it lore and it did really well but at times for every fix, there remains a problem. Such as N. For some people N writing vastly improved, he was an underdevelopment Antagonist next to M in XC3. FR improves this, he is written to be the opposite of Jin, as rather then opposing and aiming to destroy the world he deems as oppressive, he joins the corrupt side so long as he with M. There a tragic element similar to Darth Vader to N that FR puts into him that makes him an interesting and complex character and it works with how Ch 7 aims to portray him and M character and their relationship. However, there still the problem of M underdevelopment but also how Ch5 portrays N as a sadistic abusive Boyfriend. Regardless of it meant to be self-torture, it ultimately doesn't work with how the rest of XC3 and FR aims to portray N. My biggest grip with FR is how Alpha was defeated with it being relied on a Deus Ex Machina that happen out of no where, is badly explained, contradict prior games and sorta ruin the ending. Xenoblade as a series always had plot element that on the surface / mini understanding seems like Deus Ex Machina but upon analysis and especially Academic analysis are far from it. Shulk 3rd Monado, Pneuma and Master Driver Rex for example aren't Deus Ex Machina as there is development leading to the locking of both. In fact in Pneuma and Master Driver Rex case, was part of the end of goal of Rex and the Aegis Sister character growth and their relationship as they represent them reaching their full potential. For FR, the Deus Ex Machina was the return of Pnuema and specifically Logos but this time it stayed because of FR failing to set up enough for return of them but also giving answers and how they did it.
Personally Torna every day for me baby, I was pretty disappointed with Future Redeemed as I think I've mentioned before on previous videos but I love Torna's story and it's gameplay. I really liked Torna's story not only because it gave us backstory and motivation for key characters, but it helped flesh out the world and feel more alive by introducing new ones that had depth and retroactively boost your love of 2 even more through all it's revelations. And as much as people hated the community system I think Torna's gameplay made up for it by being fun to play. Future Redeemed and by extension 3 as a whole I feel is hurt by being this big crossover game, to where the games own characters and stories take a back seat for lore and I don't feel as connected to a lot of them in comparison, like every time I think about Matthew I'm like "damn I wish you were in a longer game". Also the gameplay doesn't feel too different compared to base 3, which is fine for the most part but I think Torna set the bar high because it's my favorite battle system in the series and it really makes it feel like it's own game compared to base 2. Just my personal ramblings on this though lol
I agree that FR feels overly reliant on references to the earlier games, but I do think that base 3 does actually have its own proper identity and that any references to previous games in it are just subtle nods for the long-time fans without being game-defining by any means.
One random thing I wish Torna had (for one, working party commands, but also) is that in the base game there's an item called "Overclocking Bangle" which retains blade switch recharge based on driver arts, but what if there was an item in Torna that did the same for vanguard switching? An "Overclocking Anklet".
...TBH, I think it comes down more to personal taste. FR definately advertises itself as more fun. The encouragment to platforming with the manuals and it definately think should follow going foward, it is surprisenly challenging with the limited movement options xenoblade characters have to get all of them without falling to their dead. The final battle in both is really with Alpha being able to counteract visions and Siren meter mechanic in Torna. One plus to Torna, it doesn't have any determinetal party members where as Na'el just feels like a anchor. A plus side to FR is it doesn't gate progress which kinda ruins replayiblity of Torna for me but their is NG+ with Torna where their isn't in FR so really if you do everything FR after defeating alpha, the only reason to go back to it difficulty. Torna also gives you a endearing picture if you 100 percent it whereas FR didn't. On a silly note, I have a theory, Ashera is Melia's and Dunban's daughter. We find her the Colony basically right next to Keves Castle, originally Alcamoth, she borrows moves from Dunban, she wears a flower her and Melia's loves flowers and the lack of the wings could be explained that Melia is half homs and Dunban is homs so the human genetics won out. Also, tragedy backstory with the beheading memory for Ashera and well the entirety of XBC1 for Melia. Also, constrast between the perfect born to be Queen mother and the rebellious sort of unruly daughter.
Future Redeemed was way too convoluted, just like Xenoblade 3. I love that game, but it's my least favorite of the trilogy due to its ambiguity. It left a lot of questions unanswered, and most of the answers it gave were too ambiguous. Maybe I'm wrong because it's the only game of the trilogy I haven't replayed. The same goes for its dlc.
Honestly I think Torna is better than FR. The story stands by itself without needing past game context, the gameplay is just more fun (imo). And I’ve had more time to play FR than Torna since I got 3 before 2 (I like 2 better overall) Music is great for both, but Torna’s is probably more memorable because it’s a lot less than FR’s Also the Malos theme in Torna is called Over Despair and Animus and it’s a more somber take on Amalthus’s battle theme Acting God
It's not bad, but it is honestly my least favorite game in the series thus far. It actually kinda sucks that I just feel ok-ish about the game because I can remember specifically going out of my way to buy it physical in the end months of that year, on high mood expecting it to be a super amazing experience, but yeah. After doing everything on the first playthrough, I essencially shelved it and went on to the other games(Though that took a few years because of the few years between starting 2 and picking it back up and really getting into it). A few months ago, I came back to it to finally finish the job and do the rest of 100% in NG+ and...yeah, I still kinda don't get why this even has a NG+ because it has really nothing to offer, not even power fantasy-wise. Maxed out everyone, got time records on all UMs on all difficulties, just left. I didn't even bother fighting Malos a second time because lol. It's still a good game, but idk if I would replay it for its own sake(as in, not playing it for another reason, like recording gameplay for whatever purpose), it just stands out in my memory as being pretty flat and underwhelming in comparison to the other games. I guess the big break for Torna tho is that it actually has its own battle system, which is a honor that the other two sidegames didn't really get. Obviously all of them are gameplay wise edits of their respective maingames, but Torna is the only one that is edited enough to where I can confidently call it a destinct system entirely. That gives it unique value in gameplay and is the major reason besides the story for why I would still recommend playing it, even if I am not too hot on the package as a whole.
Everyone here seems to be unified around the idea that Torna is the be and end all of Good Xenoblade. (gee, wonder why) So indulge me as I start Yappin in defense of FR. (Also some important information about me is that XC3 is my favorite game of all time, 1 & 2 are fantastic, but 3 blows both of them out of the water. Anyway, that's why my opinions will be fundamentally -worse than- different from yours.) tl;dr: If no one else here is gonna defend FR, it might as well be me. Be warned, I kinda wrote a novel here. For me personally, I'd have to go with Future Redeemed. In my eyes, FR holds the framework of Xenoblade in it's perfect from to me. (think what everyone says about Bowser's Fury, but for Xenoblade.) Everything is tracked on the map menu, and EVERYTHING you could possibly do contributes towards the player growing stronger, Namely through Affinity Points and Affinity Growth Kits. Affinity Points are given out for pretty much any form of progress, story-related or otherwise, and (although they are in specific locations, and usually from relics) Affinity Growth Kits are largely the same. It really feels like going for side content doubles as spending your time wisely, and it boasts a stronger sense of cohesion than even XC3 had. While it's true that I am also one of the few people who never had any friction with the Community system in Torna, I think FR beats it out by means of QoL. There isn't much more to say on the matter. Obviously, The Affinity Chart is a better system, (although it could use a facelift next time Monolith makes a game, maybe find a way incorporate the Affinity Growth system?) But if we're talking about Community, FR objectively did it better, in spite of it's smaller scale, and *_Completely disregarding the Torna Community Roadblocks!_* Because again, *_I am one such person who never had a problem with said roadblocks._* Objectively speaking, yes. Torna takes combat. However, in my opinion, I just like XC3 combat more, and it's a blessing in disguise that FR didn't change much. Essentially, XC3 offers the most control to the player in series history. Stutter stepping will be missed, but the massive amount of things XC3 introduces and changes greatly makes up for it in my opinion. With that being said, Here's a defense of some FR-specific qualities of it's combat system that don't apply to base XC3. 1.) You only have 6 (7 in postgame) party members, but it feels like they were constructed specifically to be as absolutely broken as possible once you start upgrading them (helped in large part to the inclusion of Affinity Growth. :) ) I know I just said that XC3 feels better in comparison to XC2, but FR makes the combat feel MORE FUN and active despite of the lack of Stutter stepping. (not to say stutter stepping is _why_ XC2 combat is good, but it makes the combat feel more active in comparison to XC1 combat, for example) 2.) Tactics Manuals are incredible. You effectively get to make your party do whatever you want during chain attacks. There's so much customization here, it's unreal. It's the most "remarkable" and "noticeable" a change in setup has felt for pretty much the whole series, second only to literally changing your party members. (which you can't* do in XC3.) 3.) You could argue this last one is more of a personal note, but there's something I just love about the Unity Combos. Since you can't change your party members in FR, and you're restricted to the same 6, You effectively had to be able to pull off an Arts Combo at any time, so to keep the player from repeatedly and freely inflicting Smash or Burst on everything, they gave Launch the joint functionality of both Launch and Daze, and gave the combo finisher a meter. Effectively, it's just a second (and third/fourth) Talent art, but pulling one off is just so satisfying in spite of it's functional simplicity. That's about everything when it comes to gameplay. I'll spare you the full in-depth analysis of FR's story, but I will say one thing: People say FR is hurt by being a massive crossover game. I disagree; Future Redeemed is one big conclusion to the entire saga up to this point, so it makes sense to return to some characters such as Shulk, Rex, & N. FR isn't meant to exclusively fill the same purpose as Torna. (although is delves into that a bit with N.) it isn't a cut chapter turned DLC, it aims to conclude the whole story and set the franchise on new horizons. (and in MY opinion, it does quite the stellar job at that.) I think that's everything. Now, I'll leave you with a brain-wracking controversial fact: Noah and N are a reverse (and in my opinion, better) Jin. (think about it.)
It's worth specifying, but when I said "FR is one big conclusion," I meant to say that it was written to bring closure to all three games in the series, XC1, XC2, & XC3. That's why I think it makes sense to bring back Shulk & Rex. Obviously the ending of an anthology series doesn't need to bring back everyone, I was saying that FR's purpose was closure, and as such, I find that handling the conclusion in this way is justified. I just don't know if that came across clearly enough.
No. Torna is great, but the community gates are garbage, and anyone in the party not named Lora, Jin, Addam, or Mythra is an afterthought. Future Redeemed isn’t padded out artificially, balances its cast better, and serves as a perfect conclusion to a perfect trilogy of games.
It took me so long to realise that "Our Paths May Never Cross" is a more heartwarming version of "The Power of Jin". It truly is an empty moment without Lora.
1:23 No definitely the former
I gotta go with Torna. Future Redeemed was a great epilouge and fanservice. Torna just felt more fun and unique
I feel both DLC are top tier Nintendo DLC and for personally, there are days where I say this DLC is better then that DLC but in general I often say Torna is better then FR despite loving both.
I think FR does do certain things better then Torna such as with the final area.
The "Black Mountain" (BM) beats "Tornan Titan Interior" as BM nails the exploration of going up the mountain and partly into Prison Island which is vastly improved. On first playthrough XC1 Prison Island was good but on repeat I would say most Liner-XC1 levels are better in the Aesthetics and the Mechanics.
But BM comes out of no where and nails the final area so perfectly that I would say it best in the series so far.
The exploration in both DLC are great, however FR was the improvement I wanted from XC2 level design.
XC2 had Stella level and Aesthetic design that made exploration fun and engaging however had a big issues in how it tied Field Skills and the potential for exploration and re-exploration of an area. Field Skills was good because it allow the developers to be more creative with the level design, you not just walking up and down a hill or piece of terrain but instead that more active thought going on. Field Skills was also XC2 answer to how game Designer get player to go back and re-explore previous area but it was tied to luck, tied behind the Gacha mechanic which is flawed because Game Designer are now gambling with the player and their opinion on luck driven mechanic.
If Player A love the Gacha mechanic and how it diversify playthrough, then Player A might also love the Field Skill. But if Player Z had hate Gacha, then said player mostly won't like Field Skills. That the problem with Field Skills alongside the problem of loading scene or a task that takes 1 minutes to do and how some people don't mind them (within reason) while other people have a major allergic reaction.
This is an inherit issues with luck and frankly all Monolith Soft had to do was give get rid of this element of Luck and instead give the player a way to explore new area. We saw this in XC3 base game where the player gain new traversal through Hero Quest which on paper would give the Player more reason to do said Hero Quest to allow for more exploration. However, XC3 level design was a disappointment. It was everything bad about XC1 bigger level design where big level design often lead to the player turning off the brain as they walk without value from A to B but expanded upon an entire game while having a limited colour palette that made most of the location either look dull or blend. Resulting in everything feeling the same. The concept of quick sand, walking on poison, rail grinding or climbing was quickly forgot about as soon as it was introduced as barely used outside of 1 to 3 location.
FR fixes all of XC3 level design issues and made exploration the most engaging it has been. My only issues is that I never want to see over 12 Green environment of often the same shade ever again in a Xenoblade game. Aurora Shelf, Yesterdale and the Ragmos Desolation should have all had different colour palette in order to make them feel more different.
Otherwise, I feel Torna better mostly because its a better DLC narrative wise as it has a better story by itself but also as a DLC and how it effect the base game story as both Torna and FR are written to be prequals.
Both base XC2 and Torna sets up the narrative of said expansion within the very first scene. We know the date of when the said expansion takes place. We also know how it going to end through the titian of Torna death in the Aegis War and Amalthus later invasion thanks due to XC2 being a narrative that gives enough information for the player that allows them to put the story together.
What this then means is that Torna becomes a story of showing the player on how A lead to B and finer details of the lore and how it gives further context on XC2 or changes it while give more depth to character that either already rich in character like Jin, Mythra and Malos or makes us them like with Haze, Lora and Addam. And all of it works because Torna also understand that in order to tell a good narrative, you have to explain, properly set up and give player enough information, you can't try and blue ball the player at every moment or hint to something more. Torna has satisfy story from beginning to end.
Meanwhile, FR has the problem of being the DLC to XC3, which has a lot of flaws and it sadly effect FR as XC3 fails to answer question to only question it proposes to the player but also it own worldbuilding. XC3 is advertise as a sequel to XC1 and XC2 and yet is written as something that ignores both prior games and their lore existence and instead aims to be it own story which doesn't work because develop it main character in such a awkward way. It a story with horrible pacing in general. Ch6-7 exist solely due to Ch1-5 failure to be a written as a proper story that gives stakes, set up and development to character outside of Ouroboro's.
XC3 also puts no effort into set up it prequal and instead just goes "Here some status of the DLC important characters" and there barely any information on it as XC3 wants to treat FR as it own story despite being apart of it own universe that had impact on it worldbuilding when it comes to N and the City.
FR had to fix a lot of things with XC3 and it lore and it did really well but at times for every fix, there remains a problem.
Such as N. For some people N writing vastly improved, he was an underdevelopment Antagonist next to M in XC3. FR improves this, he is written to be the opposite of Jin, as rather then opposing and aiming to destroy the world he deems as oppressive, he joins the corrupt side so long as he with M. There a tragic element similar to Darth Vader to N that FR puts into him that makes him an interesting and complex character and it works with how Ch 7 aims to portray him and M character and their relationship.
However, there still the problem of M underdevelopment but also how Ch5 portrays N as a sadistic abusive Boyfriend. Regardless of it meant to be self-torture, it ultimately doesn't work with how the rest of XC3 and FR aims to portray N.
My biggest grip with FR is how Alpha was defeated with it being relied on a Deus Ex Machina that happen out of no where, is badly explained, contradict prior games and sorta ruin the ending.
Xenoblade as a series always had plot element that on the surface / mini understanding seems like Deus Ex Machina but upon analysis and especially Academic analysis are far from it.
Shulk 3rd Monado, Pneuma and Master Driver Rex for example aren't Deus Ex Machina as there is development leading to the locking of both. In fact in Pneuma and Master Driver Rex case, was part of the end of goal of Rex and the Aegis Sister character growth and their relationship as they represent them reaching their full potential.
For FR, the Deus Ex Machina was the return of Pnuema and specifically Logos but this time it stayed because of FR failing to set up enough for return of them but also giving answers and how they did it.
Personally Torna every day for me baby, I was pretty disappointed with Future Redeemed as I think I've mentioned before on previous videos but I love Torna's story and it's gameplay. I really liked Torna's story not only because it gave us backstory and motivation for key characters, but it helped flesh out the world and feel more alive by introducing new ones that had depth and retroactively boost your love of 2 even more through all it's revelations. And as much as people hated the community system I think Torna's gameplay made up for it by being fun to play. Future Redeemed and by extension 3 as a whole I feel is hurt by being this big crossover game, to where the games own characters and stories take a back seat for lore and I don't feel as connected to a lot of them in comparison, like every time I think about Matthew I'm like "damn I wish you were in a longer game". Also the gameplay doesn't feel too different compared to base 3, which is fine for the most part but I think Torna set the bar high because it's my favorite battle system in the series and it really makes it feel like it's own game compared to base 2. Just my personal ramblings on this though lol
I agree that FR feels overly reliant on references to the earlier games, but I do think that base 3 does actually have its own proper identity and that any references to previous games in it are just subtle nods for the long-time fans without being game-defining by any means.
The mere MENTION of moving makes me want to activate Aion!! I understand the delay on the Gears playing completely!
One random thing I wish Torna had (for one, working party commands, but also) is that in the base game there's an item called "Overclocking Bangle" which retains blade switch recharge based on driver arts, but what if there was an item in Torna that did the same for vanguard switching? An "Overclocking Anklet".
If future redeemed had new game plus I’d like it a lot more
Yes, next question
...TBH, I think it comes down more to personal taste. FR definately advertises itself as more fun. The encouragment to platforming with the manuals and it definately think should follow going foward, it is surprisenly challenging with the limited movement options xenoblade characters have to get all of them without falling to their dead. The final battle in both is really with Alpha being able to counteract visions and Siren meter mechanic in Torna. One plus to Torna, it doesn't have any determinetal party members where as Na'el just feels like a anchor. A plus side to FR is it doesn't gate progress which kinda ruins replayiblity of Torna for me but their is NG+ with Torna where their isn't in FR so really if you do everything FR after defeating alpha, the only reason to go back to it difficulty. Torna also gives you a endearing picture if you 100 percent it whereas FR didn't. On a silly note, I have a theory, Ashera is Melia's and Dunban's daughter. We find her the Colony basically right next to Keves Castle, originally Alcamoth, she borrows moves from Dunban, she wears a flower her and Melia's loves flowers and the lack of the wings could be explained that Melia is half homs and Dunban is homs so the human genetics won out. Also, tragedy backstory with the beheading memory for Ashera and well the entirety of XBC1 for Melia. Also, constrast between the perfect born to be Queen mother and the rebellious sort of unruly daughter.
Future Redeemed was way too convoluted, just like Xenoblade 3. I love that game, but it's my least favorite of the trilogy due to its ambiguity. It left a lot of questions unanswered, and most of the answers it gave were too ambiguous. Maybe I'm wrong because it's the only game of the trilogy I haven't replayed. The same goes for its dlc.
FC is DE’s DLC
@catalyst539 Well I mean it's not DLC. Just an add on
@@paragonoftorna2548
They were implying that FC was 3’s DLC with their first sentence
@catalyst539 I'm confused but you said FC is DE's DLC when it's not
Honestly I think Torna is better than FR. The story stands by itself without needing past game context, the gameplay is just more fun (imo). And I’ve had more time to play FR than Torna since I got 3 before 2 (I like 2 better overall)
Music is great for both, but Torna’s is probably more memorable because it’s a lot less than FR’s
Also the Malos theme in Torna is called Over Despair and Animus and it’s a more somber take on Amalthus’s battle theme Acting God
I've missed you!
😢
I won't be gone for so long next time🫡
@@paragonoftorna2548 don't leave us! I need my Xeno hype!
It's not bad, but it is honestly my least favorite game in the series thus far. It actually kinda sucks that I just feel ok-ish about the game because I can remember specifically going out of my way to buy it physical in the end months of that year, on high mood expecting it to be a super amazing experience, but yeah. After doing everything on the first playthrough, I essencially shelved it and went on to the other games(Though that took a few years because of the few years between starting 2 and picking it back up and really getting into it).
A few months ago, I came back to it to finally finish the job and do the rest of 100% in NG+ and...yeah, I still kinda don't get why this even has a NG+ because it has really nothing to offer, not even power fantasy-wise. Maxed out everyone, got time records on all UMs on all difficulties, just left. I didn't even bother fighting Malos a second time because lol. It's still a good game, but idk if I would replay it for its own sake(as in, not playing it for another reason, like recording gameplay for whatever purpose), it just stands out in my memory as being pretty flat and underwhelming in comparison to the other games.
I guess the big break for Torna tho is that it actually has its own battle system, which is a honor that the other two sidegames didn't really get. Obviously all of them are gameplay wise edits of their respective maingames, but Torna is the only one that is edited enough to where I can confidently call it a destinct system entirely. That gives it unique value in gameplay and is the major reason besides the story for why I would still recommend playing it, even if I am not too hot on the package as a whole.
Torna is better because it actually has playable Mythra
Pure truth
Everyone here seems to be unified around the idea that Torna is the be and end all of Good Xenoblade. (gee, wonder why) So indulge me as I start Yappin in defense of FR.
(Also some important information about me is that XC3 is my favorite game of all time, 1 & 2 are fantastic, but 3 blows both of them out of the water. Anyway, that's why my opinions will be fundamentally -worse than- different from yours.)
tl;dr: If no one else here is gonna defend FR, it might as well be me. Be warned, I kinda wrote a novel here.
For me personally, I'd have to go with Future Redeemed. In my eyes, FR holds the framework of Xenoblade in it's perfect from to me. (think what everyone says about Bowser's Fury, but for Xenoblade.) Everything is tracked on the map menu, and EVERYTHING you could possibly do contributes towards the player growing stronger, Namely through Affinity Points and Affinity Growth Kits. Affinity Points are given out for pretty much any form of progress, story-related or otherwise, and (although they are in specific locations, and usually from relics) Affinity Growth Kits are largely the same. It really feels like going for side content doubles as spending your time wisely, and it boasts a stronger sense of cohesion than even XC3 had.
While it's true that I am also one of the few people who never had any friction with the Community system in Torna, I think FR beats it out by means of QoL. There isn't much more to say on the matter. Obviously, The Affinity Chart is a better system, (although it could use a facelift next time Monolith makes a game, maybe find a way incorporate the Affinity Growth system?) But if we're talking about Community, FR objectively did it better, in spite of it's smaller scale, and *_Completely disregarding the Torna Community Roadblocks!_* Because again, *_I am one such person who never had a problem with said roadblocks._*
Objectively speaking, yes. Torna takes combat. However, in my opinion, I just like XC3 combat more, and it's a blessing in disguise that FR didn't change much. Essentially, XC3 offers the most control to the player in series history. Stutter stepping will be missed, but the massive amount of things XC3 introduces and changes greatly makes up for it in my opinion. With that being said, Here's a defense of some FR-specific qualities of it's combat system that don't apply to base XC3.
1.) You only have 6 (7 in postgame) party members, but it feels like they were constructed specifically to be as absolutely broken as possible once you start upgrading them (helped in large part to the inclusion of Affinity Growth. :) ) I know I just said that XC3 feels better in comparison to XC2, but FR makes the combat feel MORE FUN and active despite of the lack of Stutter stepping. (not to say stutter stepping is _why_ XC2 combat is good, but it makes the combat feel more active in comparison to XC1 combat, for example)
2.) Tactics Manuals are incredible. You effectively get to make your party do whatever you want during chain attacks. There's so much customization here, it's unreal. It's the most "remarkable" and "noticeable" a change in setup has felt for pretty much the whole series, second only to literally changing your party members. (which you can't* do in XC3.)
3.) You could argue this last one is more of a personal note, but there's something I just love about the Unity Combos. Since you can't change your party members in FR, and you're restricted to the same 6, You effectively had to be able to pull off an Arts Combo at any time, so to keep the player from repeatedly and freely inflicting Smash or Burst on everything, they gave Launch the joint functionality of both Launch and Daze, and gave the combo finisher a meter. Effectively, it's just a second (and third/fourth) Talent art, but pulling one off is just so satisfying in spite of it's functional simplicity.
That's about everything when it comes to gameplay. I'll spare you the full in-depth analysis of FR's story, but I will say one thing:
People say FR is hurt by being a massive crossover game. I disagree; Future Redeemed is one big conclusion to the entire saga up to this point, so it makes sense to return to some characters such as Shulk, Rex, & N. FR isn't meant to exclusively fill the same purpose as Torna. (although is delves into that a bit with N.) it isn't a cut chapter turned DLC, it aims to conclude the whole story and set the franchise on new horizons. (and in MY opinion, it does quite the stellar job at that.)
I think that's everything. Now, I'll leave you with a brain-wracking controversial fact: Noah and N are a reverse (and in my opinion, better) Jin. (think about it.)
It's worth specifying, but when I said "FR is one big conclusion," I meant to say that it was written to bring closure to all three games in the series, XC1, XC2, & XC3. That's why I think it makes sense to bring back Shulk & Rex. Obviously the ending of an anthology series doesn't need to bring back everyone, I was saying that FR's purpose was closure, and as such, I find that handling the conclusion in this way is justified. I just don't know if that came across clearly enough.
No. Torna is great, but the community gates are garbage, and anyone in the party not named Lora, Jin, Addam, or Mythra is an afterthought. Future Redeemed isn’t padded out artificially, balances its cast better, and serves as a perfect conclusion to a perfect trilogy of games.
But Minoth
Obviously not.
It is
@paragonoftorna2548 The community system alone makes Torna lower tier than future redeemed. And that's before the story.
so god damn goated my guy