Grab a snack, this is one long adventure.
When I was a child, I had a hard time understanding role playing games such as Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger. I attempted to play them, don’t get me wrong, but the idea of sitting around and waiting for my player to attack just seemed absurd. Fast forward past my teenage years and in short I grew to absolutely love RPGs and the sort of narrative tales they presented with sweeping epic dangers. Some of my favorite RPGs are Grandia 2, Dragon Age, Skies of Arcadia, and Mario RPG, and one of the reasons is the sense of adventure some of these titles provide. Right from the start Xenoblade Chronicles 2 opens up in the clouds and slowly zooms to our protagonist Rex, a salvage in the world of Alrest, and the game garnered my attention right from the start.
Open world RPG goodness
I love a good RPG that harkens to the back of adventure, and Rex with his story of salvaging items from underneath the clouds already had me interested. Throw in the fact that there is a crazy backstory concerning a world tree, how the land was born, giant Titans everyone lives on, and super intriguing plot that gets kicked off after within just a few hours, strap in and settle down as this is one RPG that is going to take a long time to complete.
MSRP: $59.99
Price I’d Pay: $59.99
Multiplayer: n/a
How long to beat: 70+ hours
The visuals here are what immediately capture my attention along with the voice acting. Bright colors, huge vistas, with the party traveling across lush forests or dark dungeons with Titans in the distance. Once again I found myself in awe when playing a Chronicles game, and this one is no different. The characters seem mostly all likeable and the story well told, with some absolutely awesome cut scene cinematics. There are some cringe moments in the script and the voice acting seems to follow suit, but overall I enjoyed the characters and the actors themselves, and they furthered my enjoyment of the story versus hampering it. I won’t say much about the music other than I was consistently happy with the soundtrack and I’m looking forward to a full OST release, enough said.
Combat and exploration are going to be the two biggest areas of the game players endure, and for the most part there is plenty of reason to keep folks motivated and playing. Using a system just like the other two games in the Chronicles series, it’s real time and turn based, with the player and AI attacking on their own. Short cut keys with special movies and abilities are unlocked and used as Rex and company level up. In combination with the other AI party members and the blades that players eventually are able to use and equip, there is plenty to keep attention to on the battlefield. To be blunt, there is almost too much going on. Though for those worried, the game has an extremely long process of teaching players during the first 10 to 20 hours. It might seem a bit long winded but I personally never felt the game treated me as if I was dumb, just that it has this extremely slow drip of information and abilities to learn about.
Players are looking at around 70 plus hours at an almost bare minimum for their first play through, and that’s not to include the plethora of side quests. Though the side quests in themselves are extremely repetitive, feel like busy work, and sometimes the in-game compass won’t even give clues on where to go. Luckily, these don’t have to be completed, and the main story offers plenty. Consider side quests here as an excuse to explore and play in the world longer if so choosing. This brings up another huge issue, the map. Not that the world isn’t beautiful and filled with amazing art and creatures. Maps seemed design well enough, but the compass pointing to the location and then working the party though the map can be such a chore. Frustrating, problematic, and just un-fun at times.
A semi-rough classic
XC2 has its fair share of issues, but none of these really impacted my overall enjoyment of the game. The map and compass needed work. The portable mode resolution is extremely low, and while it hasn’t impacted my experience, it’s definitely noticeable and worth mentioning. Crisp and clear visuals isn’t what players get but a portable adventure of this size on the go is still great never the less. The save system is also problematic as it requires players to save manually and with the ease of portability along with sleep mode, long sessions can and will happen. If the game freezes or the system power dies, well there goes hours of progress. So save and save often, and hopefully an auto save feature can be implemented in an update.
It’s been an extremely long time since I’ve played an RPG that’s scratched an adventure itch in a classic sense. Even the other two Chronicles games didn’t capture me the same way this one does. It could be the setup, the character, the world, or some odd combination of a world in the clouds, but regardless it works for me. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 feels like a classic RPG from days past, when the original PlayStation seemed to spew one out every other week, and that’s a good thing.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.