Did you ever play a game and, for whatever reason, just call it quits because it didn’t jive with you? Like, you wanted to become sucked into the story and feel a connection to the characters but—try as you might—it just wasn’t meant to be? That’s how I felt with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 for Switch.
I remember my friend Tristan and I were mesmerized by the 2017 reveal trailer showcasing the sequel’s vast lush world teeming with monsters. I recall being intrigued by the story of drivers, blades, and how they’re connected and I was also into the art style with its bright color palette and sci-fi elements.
So why’d I stop playing?
I think a few things happened that ultimately prevented me from giving Monolith’s sprawling RPG the love it deserves. The first is that Zelda Breath of the Wild was a launch title that begged to be explored which ate up a lot of time (and I know I still haven’t seen everything Hyrule has to offer). The second is Mario Odyssey released that same god damn year which ended up dethroning Super Mario 64 as my favorite 3D Mario title. Perhaps the biggest thing holding me back was the combo system coupled with the auto-attacking that’s a staple of the Xenoblade Chronicles series. That’s not to say I didn’t try to give XBC2 some love, because I put about 15-20 hours in on my first run, but then I just fell off with no itch to return.
It’s no secret that 2019 was the year of the RPG for me and this trend has seeped into 2020. I’m actually going to write a separate piece about that, but it was nearly two years later that I picked Xenoblade Chronicles 2 back up and gave it the time it deserved. Because of that, I fell in love. I owe it all to Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age for that. I picked FF XII up for Switch and put some time in, but it just wasn’t grabbing me. Try as I might, I simply had a lack of enthusiasm for the story and characters and I also—once again—wasn’t feeling the auto-attack system, so I put it down. It was at that point in time I thought to myself “If I’m going to play a game with an auto-attack system, I should give Xenoblade 2 another shot. I was getting into the story.”
By the end, I was so in love with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 that I picked up the collector’s edition, the themed pro controller, and the Torna Country expansion.
And that was that. I erased the save of my first play through and started fresh which was a great idea. One of the characters I originally couldn’t stand, Tora the damn Nopon, ended up being one of my favorites. Once I got the hang of the combo system I was racking up points and dealing massive damage to foes and it felt awesome. I enjoyed unlocking new Blades too and got especially exited when I’d unlock a rare one. Think of Blades like Pokémon—they’re characters with special weapons and abilities you bring into battle with you. One cool addition to the Torna Country expansion is that you can take control of these Blades as well (they’re strictly AI driven in the main game). By the end, I was so in love with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 that I picked up the collector’s edition, the themed pro controller, and the Torna Country expansion, but the game—like with nearly everything in life—isn’t without its faults. The lead ladies are incredibly disproportional and Tora has some horn-ball dialogue at one point, but I don’t fucking care. I’d re-buy this game again in a heartbeat if it meant I could play it with high-res visuals rather than the subpar state the game is currently in.
Maybe in another ten years ala Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition.
