After recent events in my life that hindered me from
purchasing new games, here I am again with a new game and a new console:
Nintendo Switch and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. After playing 70 hours of gameplay,
I am here to report on my findings. There’s a lot to unload here, so bear with
me.
Title: Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Initial Release Date: Dec. 1, 2017
Artists: Eiji Takahashi, Masatsugu Saito
Composers: Yasunori Mitsuda, ACE, Kenji Hramatsu, Manami
Kiyota
Series: Xeno
Writers: Tetsuya Takahashi, Yuichiro Takeda, Kazuho Hyodo
Gaming Platform: Nintendo Switch
Superb graphics and a culmination of art
With the release of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, this has
tested and proven the true power of the Nintendo Switch. It was wonderfully
designed by its developers that it combines a bit of cuteness and beauty into
one awesome bundle. The main cast is beautifully designed by its designers and
also the rest of the monsters, locations, villains, and even the NPCs. It does
not look boring at all.
The best part is the fact that different designers and
artists collaborated with the game developers of this game. They made their own
BLADE characters with their own signature designs and artwork. This made each
rare BLADEs to look unique each time they were summoned.
The special effects are on point as well. Nothing seems
to be wrong in its designs and it definitely makes every scene look better with
power blasts and lightning effects.
The only thing that I have noticed was its slowdowns in
loading up the rest of the graphics. Sometimes when players skip travel to
another location, only the raw 3D models would load up and the rest of the
design will slowly load. It can be disregarded, but I can easily notice it when
it happens and it kind of annoys me a bit.
Graphics: 9
Fun gameplay and tons of things to do
Another feature of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 that I love is
its gameplay. Players have so many things to do in this game that you will burn
a lot of time in doing so. There are so many sidquests to finish, each with its
own story to enjoy. From what I have played so far, there are only a few
minigames to play like Tiger Tiger, which plays like an old school game and
salvaging for parts. Each game has its own purpose and they are equally
important to finish.
The main gameplay in fights is not boring at all and each
battle is exciting, even if your party is overpowered. Getting the right timing
to press certain buttons in order to release powerful attacks make it more
engaging for the players. You can also freely make your character move around
in the battlefield for a better position.
Gameplay: 10
Game has a deep story to follow, gets you hooked
If you are a fan of stories, plot twists, intriguing sub
plots, and more, you are going to love this game. While I may have not finished
the game yet, I can already tell that this is going to have some sort of a plot
twist at some point that will blow my mind. All of the characters in the main
cast are interesting enough to get curious of and I love how they mixed certain
genres.
The comedy is pleasing too. It’s not that embarrassing to
view or annoying to hear, but every comedic scene is pleasing and lighthearted.
Well, at least to me that is. I didn’t see any scene that fell flat on its
comedy, so that a big plus for me.
The main character is not annoying at all. He quickly adapts
to the situation he’s in and does not annoy the rest of the party unlike a
certain game and movie that I know of… *cough* AC3 *cough*
Story: 10
Download Japanese voices ASAP
I will make some parts of this category short and I will
focus on the one that really matters: the voice dubs. First off, I love the
music in this game. I really want to purchase the special edition to listen to
the soundtrack, but I didn’t have the cash so I took the standard edition. The
game is blessed to have such wonderful musical tracks included and I really
love listening to it. Battles are intensifying with the battle tracks and
exploration is such a soothing journey with another track. A truly well done
inclusion for the game
Now, let’s talk about the DUBS. First off, who the bloody
hell did the voice acting for the English version??? They are so off and cringy
that when I turned it on and replayed a certain scene, I almost vomited in my
mouth. Seriously, everything was so off! A certain scene was intense and
dramatic, but the voice sounded so relaxed, and it felt like he did not care
for it at all. I applauded and loved other voice acting in other games like
Xenoblade Chronicles X, but this is just… ugh…
The Japanese voice acting, on the other hand, is just
perfect. Every scene, every battle, every voiced interaction felt almost lifelike
because you could feel the intensity, care, drama, and every emotion that they
could convey with just a voice. This is why I mostly like Japanese dubs over
English dubs. I can only count a few games that have perfect English dubs.
Music, Voice Acting, Sound Effects: 6 (English)/ 9 (Japanese)
Replayability value high due to sidequests, future DLCs
After finishing the game, this will not let you stop
there. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 offers a lot of sidequests to finish and few DLCs
to acquire after its launch date. They will get to experience new sidequests,
new BLADE characters, and more. So the fun will not stop after the story ends.
Replay value: 8
Overall, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a solid video game to
play. You will enjoy tons of hours, fight different types of monsters, finish
tons of sidequests with interesting stories, excellent Japanese dubs, beautiful
graphics, and an enjoyable journey. Just download and turn on the Japanese
dubs, a’ight? Because English dubs… *shudders*
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