That’s especially true when each character is given so much time in the limelight, with every party member getting extensive personal histories and fully voice-acted optional side quests that flesh out their backstories and provide additional color. Sure, they aren’t the most original characters – I’ve definitely seen their like in half a hundred games and shows before – but after so many hours with these lovable scamps, I’ve come to regard them all as my chosen family. Whether you’re hanging out with the brash meathead Lanz and his simple charms or spending time with the studious bookworm Taion, it was really hard for me to not grow to love the ragtag band of misfits and ne’er-do-wells that comprise your party. The good news is that, even when the story drags a bit the characters shine brightly, with very few exceptions. Some of that is fine, but in a game that took 150 hours to complete it might’ve been better to trim out some of the unessential parts. Add in some severe pacing problems, like one section that has you go undercover to perform menial tasks, or another that has you trotting across the world to collect pieces of metal, and I often felt like my time wasn’t being respected with so much filler padding out the adventure. Not to mention the fact that just about every anime story cliche in the book has been included in the maximum doses legally permitted. Some sections had so many exhaustive cutscenes occurring one after another that a painful sense of deja vu crept over me and dragged down what was an otherwise interesting development.
The concepts and characters almost never stop shining, but it’s not always told with finesse, and oftentimes three lengthy cutscenes are used to accomplish what might have just as well been covered with a single line of dialogue.
For those like myself who have been following along from the beginning, there’s plenty to enjoy that felt like a nice reward for keeping up with the series for all these years.īut while the story and world are delightfully weird, they aren’t always effectively used, especially when it comes to the extremely hit-or-miss writing that has characters retreading the same developments over and over again and beating you over the head with the story’s themes and ideas. There are definitely references and tie-ins to Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 2, but they’re not crucial to anything so you aren’t likely to take notice of them at all unless you know what to look for. Even those who have never played a Xenoblade game before will be able to enjoy this extremely self-contained story.
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