Topic: Xenoblade Chronicles 3

@Xyphon22 Never once did anyone attack you though. They disagreed with you, but they never attacked you or your character.

Also to call it scummy is disingenuous when these lore details don't even make much of a difference in terms of the actual story. Like what @RygelXVIII said, you don't need to know that Lucky 7 is Fiora or that N's sword is Logos in order to understand the core messages or ideas of the original game's story. All that was important to know is that Lucky 7 is implied to be a Monado, and that it's a symbol of Noah- and by extent the people locked in Origin's hope for a better future.

On top of this, the game still alludes to Logos being in N's sword. Future Redeemed pointed to both Matthew and N's weaponry when Rex mentions how if those two were there, it would be different to A. We know that Matthew's gauntlet draws from Pneuma's power somehow given that her core crystal is seen within the weapon, so the scene alludes to it without even needing to state plainly "Oh, he's in N's sword."

As for Riku not giving just anyone Lucky 7, that's mostly because it's clear he was waiting for a very specific person to come along and wield the weapon. It's a sword of immense power, and if handed to the wrong person- it could very well spell disaster. I always figured he gave Noah Lucky 7 because Noah detested fighting from an early age. He wasn't like the other Kevesi soldiers, who didn't mind fighting, but only fought because he had to do so. It's why he ended up changing professions to becoming an Off-seer. It also probably had to do with how Riku was familiar with N, and thought that Noah being around had to have been for some reason or another.

I do admit it's possible I missed or forgot a connection or three between XC3's base game and Future Redeemed; by my own earlier admission, it's been some time since I finished the main game. Though I did re-watch a plethora of cutscenes before starting FR that I thought would be important. Mainly related to the City and M/N. I must say, the movie ending cutscenes of Chapter 5 in XC3 definitely hit different when one goes in with the knowledge that comes later.

@RygelXVIII Good point; I think a lot of my confusion stems from the lore. Not really the plot of Future Redeemed or some of its connecting elements. I did get a kick out of the references that I recognized from the previous Xenoblade titles and 3.

@VoidofLight I'll admit your interpretation for Shulk, Rex, Riku, etc. does make some sense, but I'm admittedly not satisfied with it. If a Reddit thread I found from a year or so ago is any indication, we're firmly in hypothesis territory when it comes to the lifespans of those from outside of Aionios. I'm not under the impression they're immortal/can't die; it just seems odd to me when their lifespans seem insanely long in direct contrast of the others. Ignoring those in the Agnus/Kevesi cycle of course, since their lifespans are limited by Moebius to ten years/terms. In the grand scheme of the games though, I suppose this detail doesn't ultimately matter. I'm just one who likes knowing the "why?" of something if I'm genuinely interested in how its gears turn, so to speak.

Fair point, Fiora's soul being in Lucky Seven was alluded to in Riku's conversation with Shulk, though not mentioned outright. I might have mentally merged that conversation into Riku's exchange with Matthew. As for Pneuma's soul, to me her core crystal being present is essentially the same thing. I did find the Logos theories after my previous post, but as you say it doesn't seem to be confirmed.

As you mentioned, that DOES seem to be what Rex was alluding to there. I completely misinterpreted that part; I thought he was referring to Pyra/Mythra. It seemed odd that he'd refer to Logos/Malos in that way, but then I remembered that Logos, at his core (pun not intended), isn't a bad guy; his incarnation of Malos was warped by Amalthus's influence and how he perceived Alrest.

The bread and butter for any JRPG is interpretation and unsubtly hinting at things but not going as far as saying anything outright. It's one of my pet peeves with the genre. It's probably more down to localisation efforts than anything, and things get way too smoothed over when translating into English, but it doesnt make it any better.

I remember reading a direct translation of Ganon's lines in BOTW; in English Zelda says that "He has given up on reincarnation and assumed his pure, enraged form" but in Japanese it's the complete opposite: "This form was born from his obsessive refusal to give up on revival…". Things can get lost in translation very easily and even twisted.

@jedgamesguy Honestly for me, JRPGs tend to over-explain things in a plain fashion. Go into detail and spell everything out to the player. Xenoblade 3 was sort of a breath of fresh air in that regard, since it actually took a more subtle approach to that. It hinted at a lot but confirmed little- and the characters didn't say how they felt, but rather showed it with their own actions. The one thing I loved in 3 is Eunie and the Dog tag. How she looks at the dog tag in the prison cell, retreating back into the thoughts of a past life. it's such a small detail, but it gives a ton of depth to her character.

I did catch that part with Eunie and the dog tag after rewatching some of XC3's cutscenes in preparation for FR. That PTSD bit about Eunie's background was handled pretty well IMO.

We're probably too far removed from XC 3 at this point, but I would like to see a physical release for Future Redeemed in 2025.

@Magician same, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. It certainly deserves a "full release" like that. Best game in the series by a LARGE margin to me but I think that's the natural thing for most people who played the entire numbered trilogy.

I can't see them doing that @Magician. Torna worked because it was pretty standalone. You could play it technically before 2, and it wouldn't ruin the experience of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It also was far longer in form, lending itself well to being pretty much it's own physical game.

Xenoblade 3 Future Redeemed relies on you to play all of the games beforehand, including Xenoblade 3. It's a far shorter DLC- and serves to wrap up the loose ends of 3 whilst also the trilogy at large. Highly doubt that it would be able to be sold as a physical copy given how dependent it is for the other games in the trilogy.

@VoidofLight Future Redeemed worked as well in its format, whilst it is a smaller story it was part of a larger dlc with other waves of content. Future Redeemed I think is my favourite story of the series.