Current Events > Xenoblade Chronicles was quite the journey

(+) Yeah! (+)

Back in 2017 I beat Xenoblade Chronicles and at 75 hours it was the most time I've ever put into a game (i see some people putting like a thousand hours in online games or animal crossing but I get bored of stuff easily so 75 hours is a lot for me).

It's cool to explore such a huge world and the gameplay is very addicting, leveling up doesn't feel that slow either. I think the exploration is the main thing that keeps it from ever feeling slow or repetitive. You're always finding new enemies, gaining new habilities, etc.

I guess

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It's ok.

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Good game overall but it was on pace to be one of my favourites until the last few hours were the worst I've ever seen a game shit the bed.

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Panthera posted...

Good game overall but it was on pace to be one of my favourites until the last few hours were the worst I've ever seen a game shit the bed.

Play Condemned 2

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I truly loved the games story, characters, setting, music, etc. but I honestly dont see myself playing it again.

I think I just didnt get certain aspects of the gameplay because I would find myself progressing through the story just fine but then Id hit a wall where Id get to an insanely difficult boss or something and then would have to go and grind for a couple hours just to be able to beat it. Grinding should never be mandatory. And its not like I was skipping fights with enemies to rush through the game, either.

Also Im just not a fan of games where you dont really control your character in combat. There is nothing more infuriating to me than seeing a character swing their weapon at an enemy, seeing it make contact, but the word MISS popping up over and over and over and over.

Plus, I just dont have the time to devote to a single game that takes like 70-80 hours to beat.

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It was solid, but not as good as Xenogears or Xenosaga

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rexcrk posted...

I think I just didnt get certain aspects of the gameplay because I would find myself progressing through the story just fine but then Id hit a wall where Id get to an insanely difficult boss or something and then would have to go and grind for a couple hours just to be able to beat it. Grinding should never be mandatory. And its not like I was skipping fights with enemies to rush through the game, either.

Isn't being very easily overleveled one of the main complaints of the game?

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KainWind posted...

Isn't being very easily overleveled one of the main complaints of the game?

Then I mustve been playing the game incorrectly.

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I loved it, took me about 100 hours to finish the DE and Future Connected. The world just felt so vast and intricate

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I feel like the game goes downhill once you get to Mechonis

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Yeah but sadly it suffers from the Star Ocean curse of putting out a worse game each sequel

I finished it for the first time a few days ago.
I am currently trying to work out what to do with myself now that I can't go through the motions for the first time again.

I'm actually really pleasantly surprised this topic appeared right when I was wondering what the best way to turn a conversation toward it would be.

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KainWind posted...

Isn't being very easily overleveled one of the main complaints of the game?

It's more that being overleveled just kind of breaks the game due to how accuracy scales so much based on level differences. If you play through the game fairly linearly it never becomes an issue but if you really explore and do all the side stuff you can you can definitely reach a point where most enemies pretty much can't ever touch you and things can get a bit dull.

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Yeah, I just beat it last week. It's a fantastic game, but I'm glad I'm finally done with it.

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I can vouch for the accuracy thing too. There were times I tried my luck against higher levels I thought I could out-strategize and got walled by constant misses.

Also the final boss couldn't hit me 9/10 times. I didn't really like the end so I'm trying to treat the final boss forgetting to take his blindfold off as something amusing rather than anticlimactic at least.

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rexcrk posted...

Then I mustve been playing the game incorrectly.

My guess is either you did basically no sidequests or you tried fighting the optional high leveled enemies that were randomly mixed in with the rest.

Anyway this is one of my favorite games. I bought the definitive edition on switch as soon as it came out and loved it again my second time playing it. The sequel story thing was really cool too and Melia is .

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Panthera posted...

Good game overall but it was on pace to be one of my favourites until the last few hours were the worst I've ever seen a game shit the bed.

At what point did it start going downhill for you?

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Xenoblade is one of the best games ever until it crashes and burns at the end.
Xenoblade 2 is an awful pile of anime tropes for the first third of the game and then has one of the most cathartic endings ever.
They're two halves of a greater whole.

The DE added that Expert mode thingy so you can limit your Dunban grindset and not be overleveled.

The game's still ridiculously easy to break though.

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One of my favorites.

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ViewtifulJoe posted...

At what point did it start going downhill for you?

I can pinpoint the exact moment the decline started, during the cutscene after the Egil fight when Dickson shoots Shulk. That on its own isn't too bad, although it goes on to be pretty shit how it was both super obvious he was evil and also super dull how he ended up just being blandly evil with minimal character, it just marks the moment where a scene I was really enjoying goes downhill and the game never recovers from there.

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Riki Heropon! Riki save Shulk. Riki saved world! (Riki had such a fun silly voice/personality)

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Panthera posted...

I can pinpoint the exact moment the decline started, during the cutscene after the Egil fight when Dickson shoots Shulk. That on its own isn't too bad, although it goes on to be pretty shit how it was both super obvious he was evil and also super dull how he ended up just being blandly evil with minimal character, it just marks the moment where a scene I was really enjoying goes downhill and the game never recovers from there.

Had a feeling it'd be round there. I stopped buying into any stakes around there too, I'd been a little worried about all the dumping on Reyn despite him being a good dude possibly leading to him making a sacrifice somewhere and Fiora was the highlight of the game until the evidence she'd be fine unless Shulk was going to outright fail to protect her stacked up too high. The part where Dickson and Zanza basically just volunteered themselves as last hurdles for the collective hero team to beat and go home really left me with a sour taste after what was legitimately the most engrossing game I've played in way too long. At least Metal Face went out of his way to deserve what he got and Egil had the gall to try and look like the good guy in the end after the shit he pulled. The last two pretty much just decided to fight.


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