Topic: Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Harry's second video is up now. I reckon he's a bit more of a gamer than he's letting on with the way he was nailing those art cancels.

For those who've not seen it yet, Skye Bennett (Pyra VA) did an entire run through of XC2 and Torna.

So it looks like this game has sold 1.72 million units from release to the end of September! It already has outsold XCDE. I don't think it'll reach XC2 but I think it'll definitely pass the 2 million mark

I'd bear in mind that, like a lot of Nintendo's output, the games have been steady sellers long after their launch windows.

XC2 only just broke the million mark at launch - still a big deal because it was the first of the series to do so - and took nearly three years to get to two million, so XC3 is already well ahead of it on that basis.

Only 3 months in and it's already outsold XCDE? Thats great news it definitely outsell XC2 since it took years for it to sell past 2 million copies.
Let's go for 3 million baby!

Finally completed the game to a point where I consider it 100%, basically did everything that is not grinding. I guess I still need to do the DLC, but I am going to wait to see if a physical release will happen with the expansion.

Loved the game. I have a really hard time ranking the entries of the series (except X, which is at the bottom for me). They all have their pros and cons. XC3 felt the most balanced though. Can't wait for Monolith's next game.

Anyone else find it weird that the characters in this world have sayings about Ponios but there are no Ponios in the game or is it just me?

There's a Ponio Fossil collectable you can find, but no live ones.

They could still have sayings about them the way we'd talk about extinct species like woolly mammoths or dinosaurs.

@Matt_Barber Wasn't aware there was an item with that name. There are so many collectibles that they blend in for the most part. That said, it makes me wonder, when exactly did they fossilize. I haven't finished the game yet, I'm currently in the final dungeon, but generally it takes quite a long time for something to turn into a fossil, at least in our world, so it makes me wonder. That said, it's probably something you shouldn't think about too much. It's just a fun detail.

On another note, I've been staying away from this thread for the most part, but now, after 150 hours, I'm just about to finish the game. I got the game at launch and I've been taking it way slower than other people I know. One of my friends played over 100 hours in two or three weeks and burnt himself out so he rushed the end of the game. I call this game: "Side content, the game". The story is great but the amount of optional stuff to do is staggering. At points, it's bit too much. The balance between story and side stuff was way off at one point, though it's up to you when you want to do what. I'm really glad to have seen all the different things the game has to offer. A lot of character development is tied to side quests and it'd be a shame to not experience them.

My favorite thing about this game is the world which is pretty unsurprising, this being a Xenoblade game. The world is vast and feels alive. I have hundreds of screenshots and videos of places that simply looked cool. Also, the game looks and runs great in handheld mode. Makes me wonder what kind of magic they used to make the experience so smooth.

As for the cast of characters, the main cast is so good, I can't pick a favorite. I find myself constantly thinking: "I really like Taion." and next I know I have the exact same though about any of the other characters. Even the accompanying Nopon are good. The recruitable characters are also strong. I love my potato boy. They are also surrounded by other characters who help run things in their respective colonies. The supporting characters get a good bit of screen time and you learn to know them. Even the rest of the NPCs, that may only have a quest or two dedicated to them, have more things to say than a major story character in a game like Pokémon.

The only negative thing I can say at this point is that the menus could use some work. Some of them are pretty bad and clunky to use. I also don't like how every single minor thing is highlighted. Makes it harder to notice when you actually have something that demands your attention. I tend to clear the highlights whenever I happen to open the menu even though a new one appears as soon as I pick up one collectible. I guess the tutorials weren't the greatest but that was a long time ago. Bit too hand-holdy but they actually teach you stuff unlike Xenoblade 2. Difficulty is also on the easy side even though I switched over to Hard early on but balancing a game like this is a nightmare and it would never have perfect difficulty for every single player. I don't really see it as a negative, just something that I wanted to point out.

This seemed to turn into some kind of mini review or something. Anyway, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the best game I've played this year. Worth noting I also played the latter half of both Torna and Xenoblade 1 (+ the new stuff in Definitive Edition) in preparation for 3. Both games are really good but 3 takes an easy win.

Since XC3 got nominated for Best Soundtrack at The Game Awards I may as well say that Mitsuda getting the sole nomination credit was pretty silly. He was the director but not the one composer for the game. ACE+ and Kenji Hiramatsu did standout jobs in their own right!

Kiyota was there too but IMO her musical style is getting a little ld.

I just got this and am 5 hours in.....It is amazing and I am loving it so far!

Finished the game. Thoughts on ending:
I can't believe Poppi was the one to get me shed a tear again. The final boss took forever but other than that, I really liked the ending.

SPOILERS:

I just finished it. I’m not sure how to mark spoilers, so I just put the warning at the top. Now I just need to finish the last few quests and UMs.

I thought people said Chapter 5 was the emotional climax!😂 I’ve never cried so hard in a game before as I did in that final cutscene. I honestly thought the worlds would stay together, and all the party member’s reactions to having to leave each other broke me. I heard a few things about Chapter 5 before playing it, so it was super sad, but I didn’t believe she would be permanently gone. Between what was happening and the references to the other games, I just couldn’t hold it back. Completely didn’t see it coming. I’ve yet to play 2, so all of the references to that were exciting, but less than the reference to the first. I had seen that one image of the cast from 2, but I just assumed it was from 2. Also, is Rex with Pyra, Mythra, AND Nia?😅

@Late the way you described the main cast is a perfect representation of how I feel.😂

I'm guessing the DLC expansion will be an epilogue rather than a prequel given that there really isn't an opportunity story-wise to do a prequel expansion, but we shall see.

I sure hope so.

@Mrkittyhead For future reference, spoiler tags are [ spoiler ] text here [ /spoiler] (without the spaces).

I've reached the game's end credits, so no harm done here.

@Mrkittyhead Did you do the post game quests?

Well, I'm afraid there is a big prequel tease in the game.
In the City, there's the memorial hall with the statues (can't remember what it's called) of the six founders of the City, the first Ouroboros. There's short descriptions for each of them along with unique designs (even a mysterious seven founder) so I think the dlc is gonna focus on their battle against N, maybe? Or maybe the founding of the City.

Honestly, it doesn't sound as exciting as Torna, there probably won't be any returning characters except maybe an older incarnation of Noah and Mio? Two of the statues apparently look like them . But hey, at least we'll have some more background on the story! and some new Ouroboros forms hopefully!

There's definitely a lot of potential for an epilogue, but I think they'll keep it for the full-blown sequel.

I sure hope it's even half as good as Torna was! That was fantastic.

(Thanks @Tyranexx for explaining the spoiler tags, I'm new here, so I sure hope it works)

@Vortexeo not yet. I’ve taken the whole day to process; rewatching the scenes, seeing people’s reactions and thoughts, etc. I’ve just unlocked Melia and Nia though, and I’ve started the first quest between Agnus Castle and The City.