Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Hands On Impressions

Release Date: December 1, 2017

Mode: Single-Player

Composer: Yasunori Mitsuda

Genre: Action Role-playing game

Developer: Monolith Soft

Publisher and Platform: Nintendo

Here comes some down-low Nintendo love for the upcoming Xenoblade Chronicles 3. I kid. Sorta. If you follow Jason’s Video Games Source Youtube you know I been making gameplay videos of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 lately. This is preparing me for Xenoblade Chronicles 3. It’s a win win the way I see it because I never played Xenoblade Chronicles 2 until now pretty much. I am starting to see why this series has a serious cult-like following.

I played JRPGs like Persona 5 and Final Fantasy etc. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 comes off as a big JRPG but probably not Final Fantasy or Persona 5 sales wise big. It’s not to say it isn’t as good as those games. From the hours I invested into Xenoblade Chronicles the quality is right up there with your Final Fantasys and Personas. I’m enjoying myself a lot after playing through Chapter 3. I am wondering where this story is going to go. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has some unique presentation features. For one the world takes place on a moving Titan.

You have some deep gameplay elements centered around your “Blades” aka Pyra and Karyn which are your partner in and out of battle. You have large creatures roaming the land, cities with merchants, Inns and NPCs. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has that high fantasy presentation and also a high technology presentation sorta like Final Fantasy XV did which I like. Combat to me feels slow for some reason. It’s not bad just slow. It has automatic attacking with blade art commands sprinkled in. I recently defeated Vandham in-game and that was a challenge the first attempt (I actually died). Got him down the second try on normal difficulty.

Music and dialogue in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 up to Chapter 3 has been very memorable, at times down right funny in-combat. MEH MEH MEH! Sorry, but Tora had me laughing everytime in combat he says that line. He says it very fast too. Matter of fact, Nia and Pyra also have funny special attack dialogue sequences when they yell out their taglines in battle. Music is a big part of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. From the open world orchestra to the fast pace intense music in combat you know full well music was a important point in the development process.

I’ll come clean if I haven’t already. I only wanted to play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to get ready this week for the coming sequel Xenoblade Chronicles 3 releasing on the Nintendo Switch this Friday. As I get deeper into Xenoblade Chronicles 2 I am finding myself getting more tied to it mentally. Furthermore, I am getting more hyped for this coming Friday due to the quality these games obviously represent. In a way, it’s bitter sweet for me playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 before 3. I might not ever return to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 after 3. But I had a hell of a time – Jason