Nintendo Xenoblade 3 [July 29 2022] - reviews from OpenCritic posted

[eventide11]

On 8/10/2022 at 6:49 AM, Biggie said:

You would not like the graphics. They look good for a Xenoblade game on Switch but no where near to your standards. Also the games battle system is an acquired taste. It auto battles but you choose which Arts to use while your character is auto battling. It’s hard to describe if you have never played a Xenoblade game. If your not too into JRPG’s then let me warn you, this is a JRPG lol. The story is great but I’ve played 1,2, and 3. Maybe check out some streams?

Appreciate you bro. You just saved me some change. I liked the first one but I got a little tired of it after a bit. Even the utterly amazing soundtrack couldn't save it after 70 hrs. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Husband finished it last night. 100 hours. I can't even...

[crispy4000]

5 hours ago, eventide11 said:

Appreciate you bro. You just saved me some change. I liked the first one but I got a little tired of it after a bit. Even the utterly amazing soundtrack couldn't save it after 70 hrs. 

I don’t think there’s any single player RPG that doesn’t get tiresome after 70 hours.  But I’m usually glad finishing what I started, especially if the conclusion is good.

 

If you couldn’t stand finishing the first one, this probably wouldn’t change your mind outside of combat being a bit more engaging.

[Biggie]

Finally hit chapter 4 tonight. Still have a few side quest I’d like to finish before moving on. 

[Ghost_MH]

End of chapter 5 spoilers...

 

Spoiler

This is the first time the game's story really upset me. Not because of anything that happened after their capture or whatever. Nothing with the traitor either. No, what upset me was they were struggling against N who was using the Lucky Seven since it can cut through anything and Noah not once decides to use the Lucky Seven, himself. Like somewhere he decided it was too strong to use against people, so he'll only use it against the Flame Clocks, but that thing can be used to bring down Levnises and members of Mobius. How we gonna escape the prison? I don't know, I have a sword that can cut through any material like it was butter, but it's wait kick open the front gates whole Taion tells us that's a word plan. What else could we do? Hey this guy is sealing our blades, what can we do now? I don't know, Noah remember when you couldn't/wouldn't pull out your blade and were given this badass sword that isn't a blade but an actual physical object? The same sword you're having trouble facing right now? Hell, there's a greater than zero chance he could summon Lucky Seven while in prison and just cut through the iron bars holding them in.

 

The fact that this sword doesn't get used more often is the only frustration I have with this game's story.

 

That Riku only decides to remind Noah he has Lucky Seven during the eclipse is a whole other level of obnoxious. It's a plot hole the size of the shadow being cast on the moon bringing about the eclipse.

 

Ok, enough ranting from me. I still really like the game's story, but these kinds of plot holes are wildly frustrating.

[crispy4000]

This whole time I forgot the collectipedia exists.  There’s some good accessories buried in there.
 

[Ghost_MH]

I cannot stress enough how much I love the cast of this game. A JRPG where none of the primary characters are annoying? A Xenoblade game without an obnoxious nopon? Even the decision to make Riku the tsundere of the main cast is great. Manana could have easily wound up as being annoying and they managed to reign her in pretty well.

[crispy4000]

I’m not a fan of the nopon regardless. At least in the first game they were introduced as a more grounded part of the world, later into it.

 

XBX and XB2 both had too much cringe with them.  XB3 skirts the line at times, but doesn’t go overboard.

[Biggie]

The more powers I unlock the more I love the battle system. I’m kicking ass now. I love the cast of characters. Especially the Heroes. The entire game from story, to enemies, to villains is kick ass. 

[EternallDarkness]

okay so I'm way into the game and I have this issue with oroborus skill tree telling me that skill are unlearned....how the frick to I get them to learn the new skills, one of my characters has like 600+ skill points just waiting to be spent

[crispy4000]

9 minutes ago, EternallDarkness said:

okay so I'm way into the game and I have this issue with oroborus skill tree telling me that skill are unlearned....how the frick to I get them to learn the new skills, one of my characters has like 600+ skill points just waiting to be spent

 

Elsewhere on the skill tree?  It's a bit convoluted.  You can have an upgrade for a skill on the complete opposite end of it.

[EternallDarkness]

3 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

 

Elsewhere on the skill tree?  It's a bit convoluted.  You can have an upgrade for a skill on the complete opposite end of it.

 

not that I can see all the paths end with "unlearned skill' Not that it seems to matter all that much as I have no difficulty beating everything I come across but it irks me that I have points to spend and don't seem to be able to 

[Ghost_MH]

3 hours ago, EternallDarkness said:

not that I can see all the paths end with "unlearned skill' Not that it seems to matter all that much as I have no difficulty beating everything I come across but it irks me that I have points to spend and don't seem to be able to 

 

I would still double check further down the skill tree. Some skills are locked behind other ones being unlocked first. The big issue I have is there's barely a recognizable difference between an unlocked and locked skill on the tree. I've found myself cycling through every single skill on the tree to find the one that I hadn't unlocked.

[crispy4000]

It’s the worst part of the UI for sure.  Is Sena’s the one with criss cross patterns?  Whoever has that is just terrible to read.

[Biggie]

45 minutes ago, Ghost_MH said:

 

I would still double check further down the skill tree. Some skills are locked behind other ones being unlocked first. The big issue I have is there's barely a recognizable difference between an unlocked and locked skill on the tree. I've found myself cycling through every single skill on the tree to find the one that I hadn't unlocked.

Yeah I check them all because I can’t tell which ones I’ve unlocked and haven’t unlocked. 

[EternallDarkness]

yes it appears that some that I thought were open were in fact not  

[crispy4000]

Just finished Chapter 4.  Nice mix of predictable twists and cameos with a genuine surprise.  It's the first time I felt like knowing the previous games will play with your head a bit.

 

Spoiler

They could have took "Melia Antiqua" in lots of different directions.  I didn't expect they'd attach the Queen that directly to her.  When you pair it with the rebirth themes, it starts to make sense that it could be a similar manifestation turned awry.  Her fighting style being similar reinforces it.

Then the mask is taken off.  It's a cool moment, no doubt.  I kind of wish they went a different way, but it makes sense with the Consuls pulling the strings.  I visited one of the Keves colonies, and a random NPC was talking about it.  I love that the game is that self-aware.

There's obviously more to the story here ('everyone comes from the queen'), I'm looking forward to seeing that unpacked later with Agnes and the Sword.

 

[Ghost_MH]

9 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

Just finished Chapter 4.  Nice mix of predictable twists and cameos with a genuine surprise.  It's the first time I felt like knowing the previous games will play with your head a bit.

 

  Hide contents

They could have took "Melia Antiqua" in lots of different directions.  I didn't expect they'd attach the Queen that directly to her.  When you pair it with the rebirth themes, it starts to make sense that it could be a similar manifestation turned awry.  Her fighting style being similar reinforces it.

Then the mask is taken off.  It's a cool moment, no doubt.  I kind of wish they went a different way, but it makes sense with the Consuls pulling the strings.  I visited one of the Keves colonies, and a random NPC was talking about it.  I love that the game is that self-aware.

There's obviously more to the story here ('everyone comes from the queen'), I'm looking forward to seeing that unpacked later with Agnes and the Sword.

 

 

Ehhhhh...90 hours in while sparking around and not actually doing any of my actual Chapter 6 missions and I still don't think I've really hit anything that required previous knowledge. There's a lot that does help create theories about why things are the way they are, but I'm not sure they'll make any real difference until the end game. Even then, XC2 did a pretty good job of explaining what was going on at that time in XC.

[crispy4000]

It’s definitely not required knowledge.  It’s also nowhere near the level where XB2 took it by the end, expanding the first game’s end narrative in a truly bonkers way.

 

What I appreciate about XB3 is that references are subtle and sprinkled more consistently.  Mainly in the environment design and some character names and attributes.  XB2 didn’t even hint at a connection until Malos started using Monado arts more than 2/3rds of the way in.

[Biggie]

The game just keeps getting better and better as I go further. Opening up things keeps things really fresh. It so damn good.

[EternallDarkness]

holy crap Chapter 5 spoiler

 

Spoiler

so I got the boat and have circled the lake/ocean whatever damn is that area HUGE

 

[crispy4000]

I’m still just starting chapter 5, need to stop questing and catch up.

[Ghost_MH]

On 8/19/2022 at 11:01 PM, EternallDarkness said:

holy crap Chapter 5 spoiler

 

  Reveal hidden contents

so I got the boat and have circled the lake/ocean whatever damn is that area HUGE

 

 

You can now get the Signifer class. Here's a fun and easy to break the game. The Signifer class has the ability to take whatever buff is on them and apply it to everyone in the party, no matter where they are. They also have the ability to apply a random buff on themselves. If you put two Signifers in the party, you'll end up with with five or six buffs on every party member like 30 seconds into battle.

[EternallDarkness]

Damn the end of chapter 5 was insane....and insanely lonnnnnnnnng

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

I haven’t played 1 or 2 but 3 has been a lot of fun so far. I’ve only just got colony 30 liberated and I feel like there’s still sooo much left to do. 

[crispy4000]

4 hours ago, b_m_b_m_b_m said:

I haven’t played 1 or 2 but 3 has been a lot of fun so far. I’ve only just got colony 30 liberated and I feel like there’s still sooo much left to do. 

These games are massive.  But that‘s part of the appeal.

 

If there’s one major flaw 3 has the others don’t, it’s that it’s so easy to be overleveled, to the detriment of its class system. Don’t level up at camps unless you want to beeline it. (which also feels wrong to do in this game)

[crispy4000]

On 8/21/2022 at 6:20 PM, Ghost_MH said:

 

You can now get the Signifer class. Here's a fun and easy to break the game. The Signifer class has the ability to take whatever buff is on them and apply it to everyone in the party, no matter where they are. They also have the ability to apply a random buff on themselves. If you put two Signifers in the party, you'll end up with with five or six buffs on every party member like 30 seconds into battle.

I picked up an accessory recently that heals with applying buffs, that sounds fun to play around with when I get there.

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

7 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

These games are massive, haha.  But that‘s part of the appeal.

 

If there’s one major flaw 3 has, it’s that it’s so easy to be overleveled, to the detriment of the class system. Don’t level up at camps unless you want to beeline it.

lol whoops. 

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

But that makes sense. My party is at 27 and most things In story I have to fight are 22-23. Might still level up at camps just so I can be OP. 
 

I’ll still find a way to wipe. 

[crispy4000]

4 minutes ago, b_m_b_m_b_m said:

lol whoops. 

I stoped doing it around that point, you’ll be fine.

 

Leveling up classes is slower the more OP you are.

[BloodyHell]

Finally finished this last night. I really enjoyed it. I do think it was too long, but it never got tedious. 

 

Im excited to see what this team does next. I would love to see them create a new rpg for ps5/Series X, instead of continuing to toil on underpowered hardware which clearly influenced a lot of the design choices. 

 

A remake of Xenogears on modern consoles (even a real remaster would be fine) would make me want to give them all the monies, but I know that is a pipe dream. They haven't ever even re-released the og for some reason.

 

Im just ready for the switch to die. 

[crispy4000]

2 hours ago, BloodyHell said:

Im excited to see what this team does next. I would love to see them create a new rpg for ps5/Series X, instead of continuing to toil on underpowered hardware which clearly influenced a lot of the design choices. 

Huh?  Like what?

 

The crazy thing about these games to me is how the design doesn’t feel shackled by the hardware.  Sure, unlike X there is some loading between parts of the world.  But there’s also large amounts of biome diversity within.  It feels like enemy density is a step up from 2 and Torna, so is the scope and size of most areas.

 

If Monolith didn’t build a reputation for this kind of thing over the years (BoTW included), people would be calling this game a miracle.  Just like the first game was on the Wii.

 

I’ll agree that it’d always be nicer see their games on better hardware.  This is their 4th or 5th release on Switch/Wii U spec now.  If anything dampens the impact, it’s that.

[EternallDarkness]

1 hour ago, BloodyHell said:

Finally finished this last night. I really enjoyed it. I do think it was too long, but it never got tedious. 

 

Im excited to see what this team does next. I would love to see them create a new rpg for ps5/Series X, instead of continuing to toil on underpowered hardware which clearly influenced a lot of the design choices. 

 

 

since Nintendo owns them that ain't gonna happen anytime soon 

[Ghost_MH]

1 hour ago, BloodyHell said:

Finally finished this last night. I really enjoyed it. I do think it was too long, but it never got tedious. 

 

Im excited to see what this team does next. I would love to see them create a new rpg for ps5/Series X, instead of continuing to toil on underpowered hardware which clearly influenced a lot of the design choices. 

 

A remake of Xenogears on modern consoles (even a real remaster would be fine) would make me want to give them all the monies, but I know that is a pipe dream. They haven't ever even re-released the og for some reason.

 

Im just ready for the switch to die. 

 

They definitely don't own the rights to Xenogears. That game is still held by Square Enix since it was a Square Enix game made by direct employees. Also, their treatment at SE over that game lead to them leaving the company to form Monolith Soft. I don't think there's any bad blood there, but I wouldn't assume SE would just hand the rights back to the games original creator just out of the goodness of their heart.

 

Monolith Soft is as first party as first party can get. Outside of these games, they spend their time working on the tech side of stuff like Zelda, Splatoon, and Animal Crossing.

 

54 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

Huh?  Like what?

 

The crazy thing about these games to me has been how the design doesn’t feel shackled by the hardware.  Sure, unlike X there is some loading between parts of the world.  But there’s also large amounts of biome diversity within.  It feels like enemy density is a step up from 2 and Torna, so is the scope and size of most areas.

 

If Monolith didn’t build a reputation for this kind of thing over the years (BoTW included), people would be calling this game a miracle.  Just like the first game was on the Wii.

 

I’ll agree that it’d always be neat see their games on better hardware.  This is their 4th or 5th HD release on Switch/Wii U spec now.  If anything dampens the impact, it’s that.

 

This game now than XC2 or XC2 really feels like it's not being held back in any real way. Would 60fps, higher poly geometry, and better lighting be nice? Yes, but this is the second game in the series that really feels like it wasn't held back by hardware. Second because I can never call a technical marvel like XCX held back.

[Brick]

2 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

Huh?  Like what?

 

The crazy thing about these games to me is how the design doesn’t feel shackled by the hardware.  Sure, unlike X there is some loading between parts of the world.  But there’s also large amounts of biome diversity within.  It feels like enemy density is a step up from 2 and Torna, so is the scope and size of most areas.

 

If Monolith didn’t build a reputation for this kind of thing over the years (BoTW included), people would be calling this game a miracle.  Just like the first game was on the Wii.

 

I’ll agree that it’d always be nicer see their games on better hardware.  This is their 4th or 5th release on Switch/Wii U spec now.  If anything dampens the impact, it’s that.

 

Gamefreak would benefit from them helping/making an open world Pokémon game.