Topic: Unpopular Gaming Opinions

@Ralizah I'll give 2 that it has the better locations and better heart to hearts, but from what I remember the cast really didn't stick out to me. Most of the characters in 2 just felt sort of like one-note anime stereotypes except for probably Zeke.

All I could remember from 2 is that the battle system isn't well explained, and so that's probably why I despise it, since they don't tell you things that'll make the combat go by faster. For example, the elemental orb thing was never actually explained all that well, and because of that, I never actually pulled it off at all.

@VoidofLight Oh, definitely. The combat tutorials suck. I had to look up videos on youtube to figure out how combat works. Granted, once you get the hang of it, it's fun, and I don't find it inherently kinda broken like combat in XCX (still have never found out how to restore TP while out in the field in that game other than attacking, which breaks the combat, and the reliance on soul voices for healing is the dumbest thing, I swear to god), but they could and should have done a better job of explaining the systems.

Actually, I think the reliability of healing skills in XC2 compared to the other games is probably what I like most about it. I'd still prefer actual healing items, but those little flasks that pop out when you use certain abilities are very nice.

Another thing I liked in XC2 is the setting. I found the Bionis/Mechonis setting in the first game to feel too... mythical. It kinda destroyed my suspension of reality. The idea of humans being dependent on living landmasses like titans and the inevitable wars for resources and military dominion that'd result from such an arrangement really fascinated. In general, I LOVE the worldbuilding.

None of them are bad games, and, frankly, I'll admit that I like Torna: The Golden Country even more than XC2. It's an almost perfect Xenoblade game and addresses all of the faults in XC2. Great characters, no fanservice, best side-quests in the series, the fun camping mechanic... it's my favorite Monolith Soft game overall (Xenogears suffers due to Disc 2, IMO). It's a bit short compared to the main games, but I still found it satisfying. Maybe they just need smaller, more focused projects?

I mean, considering it took them 3 different attempts at a Xeno IP to be able to put out a finished story like they wanted, maybe. I'd probably say they should go back and forth between big and small games (and by "they" I mean maybe the entirety of AAA game studios)

@Ralizah I actually watched a friend play 2 recently, and I will say that the skill system in 2 is handled pretty well. With the blades getting new skills as achievements, while the humans level up like normal.

Also, Torna itself is really good from what I've played, and I'm hoping they take their time with Xenoblade 3 to deliver a even better product honestly.

@VoidofLight I agree on the gacha system (after 250h I still don't have all blades). I heard other people complaining about the fact moving stopping the auto attacks but I really never noticed it as a fault (probably because it was the system I got introduced to) and I am allways engaged with cancelling arts, checking trees to build orbs, etc. It is sort of a dance that allways get my full attention. In the first one I feel I am just using my skills as they get available and the AI is dumb as hell. Torna there are things I like as the changing btw blade and driver for instance but I do not like that you can build orbs freely as it removes the strategy.

I really like the gacha system in XC2...

It adds an element of uniqueness to your playthrough (e.g. I ended up with a completely different set of blades to my friend, which I thought was cool) and is a motivation to play New Game+.

Plus it removes what is usually the most annoying things about "gacha" systems...in that it doesn't cost any real money!

The XC2 gacha system was particularly annoying until the patch dropped that allowed you to skip the animation.

All the same, the voice of reason won. Annoyed it too

IMO, the biggest sin of the gacha system in XC2 is that you can't tell it to only skip animations if you're opening a rare blade. So you either waste time watching the same boring common blade opening animations, or you skip everything and miss out on the few occasions you open a rare blade. I know you can go into a menu and rewatch the animation, but it's not the same, y'know?

For me, it was because of the core crystal rarity unless you grind. I probably did things wrong though, since I did none of the sode quests when I first played.

Metroid Prime Pinball is a better pinball game than Metroid Prime is an adventure game.
NSMB2 is the most creative NSMB sequel.
Generation V is the best generation of Pokemon.
Metroid Prime Federation Force has better combat than the Metroid Prime Trilogy.
Kirby Air Ride is the best multiplayer game on the Gamecube.
Pikmin wasn't the best new IP from Nintendo on the Gamecube, it was Chibi-Robo.

Let's just agree that Sakurai made the best multiplayer games on GCN. (Super Monkey Ball 2 would be 2nd if you and a friend could play the main mode simultaneously)

@I-U You misspelt Luigi's Mansion as Pikmin and Chibi Robo for some reason ;p

@jump I agree His spelling is off, he totally meant luigi's mansion, its the best one on the GC.

Replaying the 3D All-Stars version and Wii U eShop version, it is my considered opinion that Super Mario 64 controls very poorly.

You may now take me to the firing squad.

@the_weakest_link I think that's the only (main) Mario game he can actually punch in it. BEST MARIO CONTROLS EVER! ;p

I'd think the thing with Mario 64 is that the controls to any game are going to feel second nature when you've been playing it for 25 years. As such, it's only to the people who've never played it before that the reality of how clunky and counterintuitive they are become truly apparent.

Mind you, it seems like no amount of time can make Sunshine's controls feel good.

@Matt_Barber Imo sunshine plays better than Galaxy (the camera in Galaxy is the worst one in the series and the on small planets is infuriating )

@Matt_Barber Things like: how long it takes Mario to come to a stop; the exact angles on the joystick Mario will skid instead of arc around; the exact velocity that changes an aerial B press from a kick to a dive; the narrow window you need to press A for wall-kicking combined with the fact that the A press is much earlier than anyone would expect; the delay between crouching and standing up; all the places you can't turn the camera for some unexplicable reason, and the fact that it will often move when you're trying to run in a straight line, or lock into one of two angles that are not where you need it to be.

I can recognize all of these faults, and I can't imagine how I managed to grapple with these when I was young. But 25 years later, they've all melted away for me. None of these shortcomings actually inhibit Mario's capabilities, it just makes it harder to execute when you first play, and in some ways it enhances his capabilities. In some ways the difficulty, like in wall-jumping, makes it more satisfying to pull off.

I'm not going to defend these controls or say that it would be smarter if Nintendo continued with some of those design decisions. But it definitely is a bummer for me that a lot of what makes SM64 fun for me will probably never be developed ever again.

I also didn't have a problem with Galaxy's controls. Yeah they're somewhat limited, but in the context of the game they work perfectly. I do think Odyssey has the best controls overall though.