amphibious_ReViews

We had all known the standalone chapter of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was coming at some point. It was announced alongside the expansion pass with a "by December 2023" release date, and had received a teaser in February that got me very hyped. I don't think anyone was prepared though when the full trailer dropped in April that announced the release date was a mere week away! I had been holding out for the possibility of a physical edition like there was with Torna , but with no sign of such a thing in the trailer, I downloaded the DLC that same night. I was in the final chapter of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and cleaning up the side quests at that point, but I kicked it into high gear just to be ready. Even so, I was not prepared for what Future Redeemed had stored up for me. This is a game specially handcrafted for the biggest fans of the Xenoblade series, and that means it was made for me. Serving as a prequel to Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Future Redeemed answers a lot of question

I was heavily invested in Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition when Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was formally announced. Even though I had been hearing the rumors for weeks, maybe months, at that point, the Nintendo Direct still had me giggling like a toddler on their birthday. Upon seeing a game that combined the worlds of the first two numbered entries, brought back old characters, and just looked excellent in its own right, I was sold before the trailer was half-finished. I was just wrapping up Future Connected when my pre-order arrived, but I was pretty quick about starting what would become one of my favorite video game experiences of all time. It was a slow journey, as I became a dad less than a month after the game was released, and a new Pokémon game came out in the middle of my playthrough, but oh boy was this the best thing I've played in a long time. It took a good while for me to understand my feelings about this game, but I can now confidently say that Xenoblade Chron

Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected has a reputation for being short, skippable, and simply not as good as Torna: The Golden Country . While I agree that it can't quite stand up to  Xenoblade Chronicles 2 's special episode, which felt far more like a standalone game, I think Future Connected has way more to offer than people tend to give it credit for. It may not have the longest runtime or the deepest game systems, but it still felt like a complete and well-rounded adventure, and I was thoroughly satisfied with it. Future Connected acts as an epilogue to the original Xenoblade Chronicles , but focuses on bringing closure to Melia's study, which was easily the most tragic of the main cast. The focus on Melia led to some creative decisions that, frankly, I loved! The most obvious of which is the playable party of characters. Instead of reintroducing the whole cast of the original game and finding some way to explain what each of them has been doing between games, your

After I beat Xenoblade Chronicles 2 , I immediately bought Xenoblade Chronicles 3D and, just as immediately, proceeded to never play it. I definitely wanted to, but with it stuck on my 3DS , I felt more inclined to play my growing library of Switch games instead. Luckily, the game made the leap a few years later with some pretty impressive quality-of-life and graphical upgrades. Now that I have finished it, I'm glad I got to play the Definitive Edition, but I know this game is a fantastic experience regardless of the platform you choose to play it on. The premise for Xenoblade Chronicles starts out pretty simple. Playing as a young man named Shulk and his growing group of companions, you must try to save the giant titan on which you live from an onslaught of autonomous war machines known as the Mechon. However, no small part of what makes the Xenoblade series so good is the fact that the is so much more going on than you understand at first, and you won't fully understand i

When I learned the DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 came with an entire standalone prequel game, I was ecstatic! I was already loving the base game, and this was the most ambitious DLC I had ever seen, so there was a lot for me to get excited about. I didn't play it right away after beating XC2 since I figured it would be better to pace myself with the series, but it wasn't until I started hearing rumors of Xenoblade Chronicles 3  years later that I actually made it around to it. While the game is short and the story lacks a lot of the depth that the series is known for, I still think that Torna has earned its place as a recognized entry in the Xenoblade series. While I believe it to be a standalone game, I highly recommend only playing this after beating Xenoblade Chronicles 2 . Mechanically, I really enjoyed contrasting how the two games approached combat and sidequests; having obviously been cut from the same cloth, they still both have something unique to offer. Plot-wise

Thanks to wonderfully constructed mechanics and an engaging story, Xenoblade Chronicles 2  is probably the best RPG that I have ever played. I was intrigued enough by the trailers and announcements for this game that I broke my usual rule to play games in order of release, and I am so glad that I did! This game is so well crafted, with beautiful worlds, lively characters, deep growth systems and a ridiculous amount of content. I played this game more than I played Breath of the Wild  and I still have so much more to do! As an entry in the Xenoblade Chronicles  series, veterans will be quick to pick up the combat and exploration that this game offers, but it is introduced in such a way that even newcomers shouldn't have a hard time getting acquainted with the mechanics. However, the story was definitely my favorite part, with engaging and humorous characters, exciting twists and turns, and a world full of impactful side-quests. The only part of the game that really bothered me