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

[crispy4000]

2 hours ago, Ghost_MH said:

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.

XB1’s vision never felt held back by the hardware IMO.  There’s copious amounts of pop in, especially in Makna Forest, but they just went for it anyways and it worked out fine most of the time.   There’s not a single part of that game that feels like they reigned it in for technical reasons.  The way it communicated where you were relative to the larger world was simply mind blowing at the time, and not just for a Wii game.

 

XB2 had some pretty ambitious set pieces as well, Tantal most particularly. The game still feels a bit more segmented as a whole.  It’s the only one I wonder if they had to dial things back, since several of the later areas are more vanilla but run a lot better.  It’s like they designed Gormott then realized that they couldn’t do that again with the resolution dips.

[crispy4000]

Man, fuck joycon drift.  It’s been so long since I used my Switch, I wish I would have sent them in for replacement before this game.  They’ve been getting progressively worse as I’ve gone along.  I’ll power through it.

[EternallDarkness]

13 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

Man, fuck joycon drift.  It’s been so long since I used my Switch, I wish I would have sent them in for replacement before this game.  They’ve been getting progressively worse as I’ve gone along.  I’ll power through it.

 

Heck even my pro controller seems to have drift issues

[BloodyHell]

On 8/23/2022 at 11:29 PM, crispy4000 said:

Man, fuck joycon drift.  It’s been so long since I used my Switch, I wish I would have sent them in for replacement before this game.  They’ve been getting progressively worse as I’ve gone along.  I’ll power through it.

They are the worst controller ive ever used. From comfort to build quality, they are absolute turds.

[crispy4000]

1 hour ago, BloodyHell said:

They are the worst controller ive ever used. From comfort to build quality, they are absolute turds.

 

I don't mind the form factor so much, practicality considered.  I'm one of those weirdos that plays with them in the joycon cradle all the time.  I could stop being lazy and use the 8BitDo adapter I own with another controller... but then I'd have to keep something else charged, and synced to it.  Plus the battery life on them is fantastic.  For a long game like this, that's a plus for me, I hate having my PS controllers die on me so often if I forget a day or two of charging.

 

HD rumble is a pretty neat, albeit underutilized tech.  I've got a PS5 now, the DualSense in Astrobot does it way better.  But sliding down those ropes in XB3 did remind me that Switch still isn't half bad at it.  It's impressive I can even feel it so much using the cradle.

 

Do I think they'll improve them in a future Switch?  Yes, and we can hope.  But this drift issue is unforgivable.

[Brick]

On 8/23/2022 at 10:29 PM, crispy4000 said:

Man, fuck joycon drift.  It’s been so long since I used my Switch, I wish I would have sent them in for replacement before this game.  They’ve been getting progressively worse as I’ve gone along.  I’ll power through it.

 

A Small Piece of Paper Might Be All You Need to Fix Joy-Con Drift on the Nintendo Switch

GIZMODO.COM

---

Nintendo hasn't fixed the widespread problem yet, but there's a DIY option.

 

[BloodyHell]

4 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

 

I don't mind the form factor so much, practicality considered.  I'm one of those weirdos that plays with them in the joycon cradle all the time.  I could stop being lazy and use the 8BitDo adapter I own with another controller... but then I'd have to keep something else charged, and synced to it.  Plus the battery life on them is fantastic.  For a long game like this, that's a plus for me, I hate having my PS controllers die on me so often if I forget a day or two of charging.

 

HD rumble is a pretty neat, albeit underutilized tech.  I've got a PS5 now, the DualSense in Astrobot does it way better.  But sliding down those ropes in XB3 did remind me that Switch still isn't half bad at it.  It's impressive I can even feel it so much using the cradle.

 

Do I think they'll improve them in a future Switch?  Yes, and we can hope.  But this drift issue is unforgivable.

I have a pro controller, so I never use the joycons unless im using handheld mode, which is rare. I have giant hands, with wide, thick thumbs, and I find the buttons on them too small and close together.

[crispy4000]

5 hours ago, Brick said:

 

A Small Piece of Paper Might Be All You Need to Fix Joy-Con Drift on the Nintendo Switch

GIZMODO.COM

---

Nintendo hasn't fixed the widespread problem yet, but there's a DIY option.

 

Nintendo ‘fixes’ them for free now.

[Ghost_MH]

Allow me to reiterate. ALL the stairs side quests in this game may as well be mandatory. Nearly every single one if them is story and lore heavy. I'm 105 hours in and working on some interior decorating and it absolutely makes perfect sense.

[EternallDarkness]

3 hours ago, Ghost_MH said:

Allow me to reiterate. ALL the stairs side quests in this game may as well be mandatory. Nearly every single one if them is story and lore heavy. I'm 105 hours in and working on some interior decorating and it absolutely makes perfect sense.

 

interior decorating?

[Ghost_MH]

19 minutes ago, EternallDarkness said:

interior decorating?

 

Not really. I'm being vague about a multi-part mission in chapter 7. A few folks think their colony is drab and you agree to help fund their remodeling efforts.

[Ghost_MH]

All of these her ascension missions are so good.

 

I do have to ask, though. In regards to Ashera's ascension missions...

 

Spoiler

I can't be the only one that felt that if Eunie and Ashera knew what sexual tension was, they'd be doing a lot more than making a death pact with one another. These two tsundere idiots were made for each other. I love their chemistry way more than Eunie x Taion, even if that's the implied relationship here. I'm saddened that most Japanese devs aren't willing to take that extra step with a little LGBTQ representation.

 

[crispy4000]

Still in Chapter 5, killing uniques atm.

[Ghost_MH]

13 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

Still in Chapter 5, killing uniques atm.

 

I'm guessing you've been by Colony 15 then.

[EternallDarkness]

I'm at 103 hours give or take a few minutes and I am still in chapter 6. Kind of put the story aside to explore the map...especially that annoying ocean area...why does it seem like the ship controls better when driving in reverse? 

[Ghost_MH]

Just now, EternallDarkness said:

I'm at 103 hours give or take a few minutes and I am still in chapter 6. Kind of put the story aside to explore the map...especially that annoying ocean area...why does it seem like the ship controls better when driving in reverse? 

 

Thank you. I thought I was the only one that thought the ship drives better in reverse. It seems to be faster and have a tighter turning radius.

[EternallDarkness]

32 minutes ago, Ghost_MH said:

 

Thank you. I thought I was the only one that thought the ship drives better in reverse. It seems to be faster and have a tighter turning radius.

 

exactly, I think they somehow screwed up and reversed the controls

[Biggie]

Almost to the Castle. 

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

Restraining myself from using bonus xp to gain 5 levels at once

[Biggie]

Hit chapter 5. Chapter 4 was so damn good. I’m at 44 hours and everyone is level 48. 

[crispy4000]

Chapter 5 feels almost as open as Chapter 3.  
 

They hit you with a ‘we can’t go back for some time after this’ and it’s got me out questing again.

 

 

[Biggie]

Entered the City. This game is amazing. 

[Mercury33]

So I’m about 10 hours in and loving this game. The amount of new cool things they keep adding to combat is amazing!

 

This is my first JRPG in a very long time and I’ve never been huge into the genre. All of the options for class creation are a little overwhelming. Just curious, is it really necessary to keep them in the other classes to level those classes up? I’d honestly just rather keep them in their default classes all game haha

[crispy4000]

1 hour ago, Mercury33 said:

So I’m about 10 hours in and loving this game. The amount of new cool things they keep adding to combat is amazing!

 

This is my first JRPG in a very long time and I’ve never been huge into the genre. All of the options for class creation are a little overwhelming. Just curious, is it really necessary to keep them in the other classes to level those classes up? I’d honestly just rather keep them in their default classes all game haha

No, but several of the later classes are more fun and do play into your larger moveset choices.  You’ll be glad if you do.  You also get the option to keep their original clothes, so you might as well.
 

There’s also some related quests to class unlocks/leveling that are on par with the main story, that’s another reason to engage with it.

 

There’s an auto build option if you don’t want to do all the tinkering.  Just switching them without doing it still works out fine mostly.

[Ghost_MH]

124 hours is what it took for me to complete the game. It was great. I also REALLY want to know what they gave in store for extra content. I hope we get some actual post-story content because all the post-game content, as far as I can tell, takes place before you fight Z.

 

End game spoilers...

Spoiler

So, if I have this right, XC1's and XC2's universes, the ones that were occupied by either side of Klaus/Zanza, were on a collision course thanks to the parallel events of XC1 and XC2. XC1 Melia managed to get in touch with XC2 Nia and the two formed a plan to create Origin. They did this because the collision of alternate dimensions would completely destroy both, basically ushering in a new big bang.

 

Origin would use the energy of all its peoples' dreams and life energy to basically recreate their own universes after the collision. However, the coalescence of all these dreams and lives included every persons' fear of this not working and that gave birth to Z as a reincarnation of Zanza who, instead, used everyone's life energy to keep the collision of universes from ever happening. Only, that required big dream energy to continue in perpetuity and Z decided that teens are probably the biggest source of dream/life energy so he invented a system where folks are born as teens and then die before they grow too old. The reason Gold colonies are destroyed is because they've fulfilled their dreams and are no longer as valuable as everyone else that is still fighting for their lives or for a promotion.

 

I guess it was impossible to use Origin to create a combined universe where everyone existed at the same time. However, I don't see why it would be impossible to travel between both dimensions at will. Klaus managed to actually LIVE in both dimensions at the same time, so traveling between the two doesn't sound impossible.

 

Also, Rex totally had kids with all three of his blades. A real harem ending was not what I was expecting for him. Looking at Sena, now I wonder who had kids with Brighid.

 

[EternallDarkness]

120 hours and I have reached chapter 7

[crispy4000]

On 8/14/2022 at 3:21 PM, Ghost_MH said:

End of chapter 5 spoilers...

 

  Reveal hidden contents

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.

I turned it off last night right at the

 

Spoiler

Fight with N at the homecoming.  My understanding is that Lucky 7 was stored in his standard blade, and if he couldn’t summon that, then no Lucky 7.

 

Resorting to Oroboros wasn’t unexpected, they’ve taken out most Mobeius that way before.

 

[Ghost_MH]

46 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

I turned it off last night right at the

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Fight with N at the homecoming.  My understanding is that Lucky 7 was stored in his standard blade, and if he couldn’t summon that, then no Lucky 7.

 

Resorting to Oroboros wasn’t unexpected, they’ve taken out most Mobeius that way before.

 

 

Spoiler

Yeah, I was a bit ranty when I wrote that mostly because he really could have used Lucky 7 against N right then and there and just chose not to while he still had access to his blade. That's what set me off. There are actually a huge number of times he should have been using Lucky 7 throughout the game, but chooses not to because it's...too strong or something. It was one of the few very videgame-y things about the game that didn't have a very good in-universe explanation. At least that bit gets fixed later in the game.

 

[Mercury33]

On 9/3/2022 at 10:00 AM, crispy4000 said:

No, but several of the later classes are more fun and do play into your larger moveset choices.  You’ll be glad if you do.  You also get the option to keep their original clothes, so you might as well.
 

There’s also some related quests to class unlocks/leveling that are on par with the main story, that’s another reason to engage with it.

 

There’s an auto build option if you don’t want to do all the tinkering.  Just switching them without doing it still works out fine mostly.

Ahh gotcha. Yeah literally the next time I played I unlocked the clothes option and first “non starter” class. I just felt using the other starting character classes was kinda boring and redundant and was t sure if it was really necessary. 

[Ghost_MH]

36 minutes ago, Mercury33 said:

Ahh gotcha. Yeah literally the next time I played I unlocked the clothes option and first “non starter” class. I just felt using the other starting character classes was kinda boring and redundant and was t sure if it was really necessary. 

 

It is, but you can get some good skills and attacks from the various classes. Like Sena's and Taion's have a passives that increases damage by physical and ether arts by 30%. I'm still using Eunie's Ninja Healer late into the game because it's s free 30% aggro reduction for healers.

[Biggie]

I’m getting Chain attacks in the 500k’s now. 

[crispy4000]

Getting closer to the end I presume.  Unlocked all the heroes except one, but I shudder to think about the number of level cap unlocking quests are left.  Or maybe I don't... because this game is awesome and I don't want to be done with it.

[Ghost_MH]

2 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

Getting closer to the end I presume.  Unlocked all the heroes except one, but I shudder to think about the number of level cap unlocking quests are left.  Or maybe I don't... because this game is awesome and I don't want to be done with it.

 

It's just one ascension quest per hero and then those for the heroes you can recruit post-game. Honestly, some of the ascension quests are some of the best bits of world and character building in the game.

[crispy4000]

22 hours ago, Ghost_MH said:

 

It's just one ascension quest per hero and then those for the heroes you can recruit post-game. Honestly, some of the ascension quests are some of the best bits of world and character building in the game.

Still is plenty, considering I’ve only done 1/4 of them.

 

Just passed the 100 hour mark.

[EternallDarkness]

I'm at 125+  hours and I still have quite a few heroes ascension quests I haven't unlocked and haven't gotten 5 stars for all the colonies yet...but I think I'm at the point where I think I'll just finish up the game and then mess with the rest of the stuff later.