Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the Worst Game I'll Play for Eighty Hours

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is an absolute gem hidden behind the worst game I've played in a while. It's fun, campy, long, portable, and hates the fact you want to play it. Here's some of the games major faults, and why it deserves a spot in your backlog anyways.

[Seraphim]

Xenoblade 2 is a great game. While it doesn't have the touch and charm of Level 5s Ni No Kuni in it's own right it's a great game. As is Tora! "Tora dream of sausages the size of Poppi!" While i do agree the location marking of the compass can be a bit troublesome the game in it's entirety is solid. That said, a lot, if not most of the voice acting is egregious. Especially but not limited to Rex. The combat is good, blades are great, worlds are wonderful, story so far isn't great but it's good, etc, etc, and most importantly, for me, the game is incredibly engaging. Yes it's no Ni No Kuni, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Final Fantasy, Tales of, but it's a wonderful title that has me wanting to play 1 and hoping for a 3.

[Princess_Pilfer]

My problem with 1 is twofold.
1: I don't really like any of the characters and so the story fails to engage me.
2: You're kinda railroaded into a faily specific playstyle, because even though you can control characters other than the protagonist, you more or less have to play the protagonist (who uses a specific weapon and skillset) or the bosses and tougher mobs will destroy you with mechanics.

Those might be my only 2 real problems with 1, but between them they totally killed the game for me, between them they make the game boring. I'm enjoying Xenoblade X a lot more, because I get to pick a playstyle that suits me and I actually like some of the companions.

[Seraphim]

I haven't even felt the need to use other characters. Aside from the occasional times I need to do "X" w/ "X" blade because the CPU just isn't doing it. Though I guess I also don't want to play a Tank and Zeke is annoying. Though I have thought about riding Dromach around because it seems to covers more ground than Rex.

I've definitely been feeling the issue regarding play style. Mainly because you get [some] awesome blades but often I find myself with them on the characters I don't need or would use them with. I think making the blade transfer orbs more available to allow players the choice of freely putting blades with their appropriate drivers would do wonders. This would allow more player choice in choosing which character does what while allowing Driver - Blade combos that are most beneficial. Early on I had 3 orbs and used 1 but I'm incredibly reluctant to use any more when I don't know how many are obtainable. While I'm missing something like 13 [?] special blades still I don't want to waste those precious transfers and regret it. Lately I find myself shooting for a special and when I get one it's not the class I want for that character.

Overall though I like the system. The problem is if you want to change a characters roll you have to rely on getting those special blades that have that class on that character.

[dillydadally]

I keep going back and forth about getting this game, and your post makes it even harder.

First of all, you said it wasn't Ni no Kuni and I hated Ni No Kuni and don't understand how that game was popular. The battle system had poorly thought out controls, the monsters respawned way too soon, the story was meh, the characters were annoying (especially lamp nose), and worst of all, I've never played a game that treated you like an idiot more and thought it had to lead you along and tell you absolutely everything. It treated you like it was baby's first rpg. So the fact that you say it wasn't Ni no Kuni scares me.

Second, in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, the voice acting sounds cringe worthy, the battle system way too complex and questionable, and I hate games that rely on shallow fetch quests and such, which I've heard it has.

So... do you think I should avoid the game or try it?

[manninpj]

"Baby's first RPG" is such an interesting idea. Mechanically, Xenoblade doesn't hold your hand but definitely feels tonally immature. Like if Disney made a 100 hour jrpg. Be warned, the cutscenes vary from really endearing to almost unbearable. I did shut my console off after both the super anime maid tropes scenes happened, but other cutscenes feature poorly synced up audio and mouth animations. No where near as bad as the Sonic Adventure series, but pretty close.

The map issue is completely inexcusable in my opinion but I do have fun playing it in general. Plus, if you are an RPG fan, hey you can take this with you where ever you go. The switch isn't lacking in software by any means, but this (for the time being) is the only massive jrpg on the system.

Long story short, XC2 is a good game with some really tough pain points

[Seraphim]

@dillydadally

I also said, "Yes it's no Ni No Kuni, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Final Fantasy, Tales of, but it's a wonderful title that has me wanting to play 1 and hoping for a 3."

I say it's no Ni No Kuni because it doesn't have the same level of finish or charm. Like I've said, the voice acting is egregious, perhaps the most of any RPG I've played. But it's also something I've gotten over because the worlds are great, I like the level design, blades and the combat system are actually rather good, etc. Also, though not everyone will appreciate and enjoy this I very much like some of the writing and some of the heart to hearts. This is a game that could have been a classic like the previously mentioned. Instead it's just a solid game that has some faults. Each individual will find their own faults though. Overall though it's a good RPG thats managed to keep me engaged, wasting too much time doing stupid stuff I needn't do, laughing, and just flat out enjoying my time playing it. To each their own but despite whatever flaws one might find with it I think it's worth a play and an RPG worth owning.

[Princess_Pilfer]

It's not that I *needed* to use other characters In the first Xenoblade, it's that I didn't like the protagonists playstyle, but can't really switch away from it because mechanics often require frequent use of protagonist specific abilities.

It sounds like Xenoblade 2 improved that from your description, but it also sounds like it maybe didn't improve enough.

Xenoblade X gives you a semi-custom avatar, with 6 classes (depending on how you count) that you can switch between at for free at no cost, and if you max one out then you can use it's weapons and skills while in a different class. So basically, you can create your own playstyle (though obviously some work better than others) and change it whenever you want, which is a *huge* improvement.

Also, I liked having the custom protagonist. Because Shulk is kinda boring, and it's taken me ~3 seconds to figure out that the protagonist in Xenoblade 2 is *incredibly* irritating (watching like 10 minutes of gameplay was all it took) so even I hated all the other characters in X (which I don't) it the semi-custom one is already a large improvement.

[Prince_TFK]

Xenoblade 2 is awesome. While it is obvious that it doesn’t have alot of polish and caring that most Nintendo games are known for (because maybe Nintendo want it get it released by 2017), it is still a Nintendo game at heart, which mean that it is fun and worth playing for a long time.

[Princess_Pilfer]

A nintendo game at heart? Noooot really? Nintendo didn't make it, they just own the studio that did. Monolith Soft has been doing their thing for like 2 decades now, with ~half that time being under Namco Bandai. It's a weird ass Monolith Soft game at heart, just like everything else they've done.

[Segata]

It's a Nintendo game because they fully own Monolith. Monolith also has a studio in Kyoto that helps with Zelda and Mario Kart. Is Uncharted not a Sony game by your logic? ND made games before Sony owned them.

[SUPERMOORE1025]

That is the stupidest thing I heard all day. How can you say it's not a Nintendo game when they own the studio lol

[Princess_Pilfer]

I wasn't the one making a claim that all games made and/or published by Nintendo (or sony or whatever) have some overriding design philosophy that Xenoblade somehow shares.

If you wanna disagree, disagree with what I actually said.

[Magnetar]

I’m enjoying it way more than ffxv.

[shingojacky]

Xenoblade 2 has flaws here and there. It's kind of disappointing for I had so much expectations after I finished the first title on 3DS. Oh well, of course it's way better than FFXV though, apart from graphics.

[LegoIsAwesome]

Lol. I enjoyed it more than botw.

[Gemmol]

Xenoblade 2 a great game, i have 125 hours in it and at level 80 for each teammate........sucks for anyone who did not enjoy, i wonder how the worldwide sales doing because its one of the few games i see where 20 or more people on my friend list have it.........

[chris235]

it‘s an exclusive. in this day and age this is very bad business practice. it‘s like paying to deliberately miss out a huge part of your demographic. makes no sense anymore. no one is going to buy an unattractive gadget to ay a mediocre rpg.

[Sirk7x]

You're trolling, but regardless: When the owner of the hardware also owns the studio, you get exclusives. That's like asking for Pokemon on PS4, Halo on Switch, or Uncharted on Xbox.
Also, I believe it's the best selling game in the series so far, and in its first 10 months the Switch is one of the fastest selling consoles in history, meaning many consumers definitely don't find it unattractive.

[Prince_TFK]

At this point I don’t think people should reply to his trolling anymore. Just ignore him is better.

[rainslacker]

I finally decided to get the Switch because I wanted to play Xenoblade more than any other game they have for the system. BOTW and Mario Odyssey just sealed the deal for me. I've been a fan of Monolith Soft Xeno games since they first started with Xenosaga.

I haven't decided where I stand on XC2 yet, but I've enjoyed all the other games in the series.

In any case, this is a 1st party Nintendo game. They haven't lost out on anything for making it, except maybe fans of the prior games in the Xeno loosely thematically related franchises that aren't willing to buy a new system to partake in the games. However, fans of JRPG's probably aren't buying the system for just this game, as the Switch is going to have a lot of JRPG's, just like how the PS4 has a great lock on fans of that genre.

[Sonkai165]

One of the best games I played

[aqu3ous]

Completely agree with the author! Hahah

[Segata]

For a game, you have not played. Good for you

[Ikenda]

"Worst game i played for 80 hours"... If you change the title to "I'm an idiot" it has the same gravity and saves you precious time for writing clickbait articles... Xenoblade 2 is not even controversially great... Is just great... Just put down and play some JRPGs from the last decade back to back and you will see for yourself... Well not you, you are obviously just clickbaiting so you'll be opinionated... The rest of the people who might be confused from articles like this..

[FullmetalRoyale]

Meh-meh?! You no like Tora??
;)

I love this game. I’ve had issues with all three of my favorite games of 2017(Yakuza 0, Xenoblade, Persona 5.) But also with all three the good completely makes up for the flaws, and then some. I like so much about it, and it’s just fun to play. I’d definitely buy another one.

[Segata]

One of the best RPGs of 2017 yo. You're wrong.

[manninpj]

Persona 5 is so good though.

[Segata]

It's good but I enjoyed XC2 a lot more.

[rainslacker]

While I haven't come to a final conclusion on the game yet, I'd have to say that it's not as good as Persona. It's not a bad game by any means, but I'm not finding it as fun or as good as XC1, or other Monolith RPG's.

[AnnaDea]

Xenoblade 2 is a really good game.But compared the story and characters to Xenogears and Xenosaga it´s quite laughable. How this is penned by the same guy that wrote cues from German existentialism is beyond me. Surely Nintendo that demanded that the games would be more easily access to the market, hence the shounen crap.

[danitanzo2]

It was his idea, not nintendo. Read some interview about the game

[AnnaDea]

Monolith Soft is owned by Nintendo. Like every other studio in the world you need to provide a rough draft and idea before you get funds for the project.

Xenogears was proposed as Final Fantasy VII but was declined because they thought it would be a little to dark as a main entry in the series, hence it became its´s own game.

The plot in the series became way too shallow and simple since Nintendo got involved. Xenoblade had an awesome one but still pale compared to the predecessors. XBX is pure piss and X2 became the Shounen fest as it is.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Honestly, aside from the fact that I was assured quality just from being so similar to the original game, what sold me on Xenoblade 2 over everything else, was the music.

The music made me love an ice and snow level.
I HATE ice and snow levels.
I can't say that about many other games.

Having said that, the game is in desperate need of more story [thank God there's DLC for that on the way], because I want more of what I've already seen and loved, and it really needs that promised New Game Plus, because while the side quests are fun, at some point it gets a bit tired to trek through the areas knowing there's not much content left in them outside of battles.

I've scraped this game so cleanly sidequest-wise thus far that what's left is basically connected to affinity charts, which can sometimes take a while to fill out due to the requirements sometimes being vague.

Overall, if I had to list a flaw I really don't like, it's Tiger Tiger.
Basing Poppi's growth around such a grind-fest of a minigame was a mistake.
A big mistake.
Which is a shame because she's so damned lovable. Her base form especially, but her second and third forms just as much.

Oh, and I guess the merc-mission-grinding, too, for the rare blade Ursula and a few others.
I like the idea of being able to send common blades that I don't have use for out on missions to level them up and get rewards from them once they're fully "grown", but tying any of the main story content or blade story content to merc missions that sometimes take forever to wait for them to complete, was just irksome.

I will say that the combat was well done, though; give any character the right blade combination and you can pretty much use any character combination you want with just as much ease as the original 3. [though I gotta say that it HURTS to only have access to 2 light-type blades out of everything else in the game. Full bursts are harder due to that.]

[rainslacker]

xeno franchises in any denomination have never been lacking in their soundtracks. I have to say that Gears, Saga, and Chronicles still rank up there as some of my favorite soundtracks of all time. Ys only ranks higher for me, and I feel Nier is now in the top 10.

[3-4-5]

It feels too "kiddy" to me and I'll completely play some games made for kids...It just has a weird vibe to it...like it's trying to hard to be something without actually achieving it.

I really can't stand the stupid squiggly colored lines that connect you characters in battle. That is the main reason I can't buy it.

I found the battle systems in these games to be very boring.

[michellelynn0976]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is my favorite rpg of all time. I simply love the endearing characters, the deep story, complex battlesystem and solid game play. I am already on 140 hours in the game and I just keep playing and playing.

[Lime123]

Is it your favorite because it's Nintendo game?