Debo626

@IceEarthGuard I was referring to XC2 but point taken. My point in hoping they refrain from revisiting the designs from XC2 is about the overly revealing character outfits in the designs. I forgot XCX was rated T, though I still feel games with that rating should feature outfits more modest than XC2.

@HugoGED Agreed, the character designs in X are awesome now. At the very least, if they could refrain from revisiting the character designs from 2; these are supposed to be kids' games after all.
Can't wait for tomorrow!

@harrystein With that mindset, it's obvious that this type of game is never going to be your thing. So why come on here and make disparaging comments toward people who do enjoy this type of game? My life is full and wonderful, with family and creative projects and a good job and everything, and yet I still played XCX on Wii U for over 900 hours, and am looking forward to at least that over again on Switch. Enjoyment is subjective. Let people like things. If you don't like something, it costs you nothing to keep that information to yourself.
Have a nice day m8.

Can't wait, Thursday is coming, let's go!
Great review PJ, thanks as always for an insightful take.

@Jiggies As many other have already told you, inflation. Also, not one single currency on this planet has as much purchasing power as it did in 2017. Zero of them. It is completely unreasonable to expect newer, more powerful and capable tech to cost the same as the previous generation did 8 years ago. That's such an outrageous statement I wonder if your original comment was meant sarcastically as a troll. Add unnecessary trade wars into the mix and yeah $299 is never going to happen. Tbh I'd rather have a Switch 2 at $399 or higher and know I'm getting something amazing than spend even more money on a less useful competitor console with fewer compelling games.

So hyped for this, I've been wanting XCX on Switch since XC2 hit me as "meh" in 2017. 3.20 can't get here fast enough.
Also, as a general rule, we don't pronounce "X" as "cross" in English, though there are exceptions. No one ever went in for a "cross-ray" at the doctor, for example, to get an internal picture, so I'm not fussed that they're calling it "Xenoblade Chronicles X" as that's all I've ever called it. 🤷
Anyway, so psyched to finally be getting this on Switch, it's going to be amazing all over again.

I've been wanting this since 2017; so excited and can't wait for 3.20!

@Uncle_Franklin Agreed. Hopefully it doesn't happen.

@AlexanderDaniels Thanks for the suggestion, and you're not wrong. But there are a few reasons why that still doesn't appeal to me as much as owning physically.
-preference of having only my player profile on my Switch, so I don't have to select one (additional button click) when starting a gamei suspect I'm not alone on this;
-ease of handing someone a cart far exceeds that of all the time and clicks to set up and confirm another players profile.
-points about trading in or selling remain.
Cool if thay works for you, not knocking it at all. I just still prefer a physical thing I own that they can't shut how one day to save server space or whatever. 😎

Wow, the MonolithSoft team never fails to impress. Rescuing the file size further?! That's insane! They really are masters of their craft, and we're all lucky to live at the same time that Nintendo owns MonolithSoft.
That said, there's no incentive they could offer me that would make me buy digital. I want to own my games, and be able to loan them to friends and family, and trade or resell if I wish. My daughter is having to borrow my wife's Switch right now to play Goat Simulator because we don't have it physically (if it even exists physically) so she can't just let her borrow the game. Nope, physical is its own bonus, and digital will never match it.

@Scarmucci I'm with you; it's hard not to feel like we're being punished for having hobbies involving products made abroad. Sorry but no one in the US makes this product.

@UltimateOtaku91 Lots of people have been looking forward to XCX for years now. I don't think it's the typical "old port" situation with that particular game.

"In-game purchases" has me intrigued. The Wii U original didn't have them, as I recall. Can anyone corroborate?
This was one of my favorite games and I'm wicked psyched it's finally being ported over. Got it pre-ordered from best buy for the cool key art metal plate thing.

I'll be ordering mine soon. I love the Satisfye grips and cases and have had several for my Switch, plus my wife and kids each have one with a cae for their own Switches. Satisfye is the clear easy choice for me grip wise.

Why can't you embed the images instead of forcing us to go to twitter again? Doesn't make sense..

@Lizuka Big letdown and missed opportunity if true. I sincerely hope this information is incorrect. Why go backward? We have an Oled screen now; makes no sense to offer a lesser product as a successor. 🤷‍♂️

@Agenerationofgens How did BotW kill Zelda for you if you were a fan of the first game? I get missing the ALttP "formula" (though I don't agree - it was stale and time for a change) but Zelda 1 was entirely devoid of any "formula" like the later games in the series, so it's curious to me that what's essentially a 3D open-world remaining of Zelda 1 would be so unpleasant for you. That sucks; I hope the next 3D Zelda is more to your liking. 😊

@sanderev I'm familiar with the concept, I just don't buy it or believe it makes any sense. Tiem travel makes the difference of whether there is a timeline split at a final boss fight? That makes no sense. Adult timeline, child timeline I can maybe kind of see as yes there is time travel between those two points in time. But why would adult Link fighting Ganondorf/Ganon = a split? He wins or he loses... Doesn't that same logic apply to literally every other final fight in the series? If not, why not? Seems arbitrary and selective to me. As others have said, Nintendo doesn't really care about the timeline, obviously, so why should we? Especially when their "Official" explanation (a) makes no sense and (b) keeps changing. It'd be funny if Nintendo finally came out and said "you know what? J/K the timeline doesn't matter, none of it works that way or any way, the games are all their own standalone things except direct sequels, and that's that, deal with it." would be hilarious and such an epic troll.

@Scarmucci The "Hero is Defeated" split never made any sense to me. Why doesn't every game split the timeline in the same way then? Link equally has a chance to be defeated every game.

@Twilite9 I'd love to reply and discuss, but the censor-bots are apparently out in force on this article. I wonder why... 🤔

I'm so torn between wanting XC4 and XCX2... It's tough to choose which I want "more" as I want them both equally lol.

Day one; I've been wanting this since Xenoblade 2 was a huge disappointment compared to 1 in 2017. X is up there with BotW and XC1 as my favorite fame of all time. All on one cartridge for a hybrid console? This game always belonged on Switch and the only disappointment about its release is how long it took. Don't sleep on XCX; it may not have as strong of a story as 1, 2, or 3, but the gameplay is amazing and the open world is one of the biggest and best on any console video game outside of MMORPGs.

About time Nintendo! Let's go!

Mostly Echoes of Wisdom, but might also mix in a little MK8D with the family or Rocket League Snow Day & Heatseeker. Have a nice weekend everyone!

@-wc- I actually think Echoes is going to be great. But that reinforces my point, in my opinion. Nintendo focused on great gameplay first, and didn't set a prerequisite of "this game must have a female protagonist." There's a huge difference. I love new ideas in games and other creative media. I don't like when that creativity it stifled by anyone's agenda or ulterior motives.

@-wc- I think my comment still stands. I want a good Zelda game more than I want people who want to play as Zelda to get their wish. 🤷

Nintendo doing a simple iterative generation of the best console concept in history is surprising and delightful. I don't want Nintendo gimmicks. I want a more powerful Switch. Seems like the Big N is learning.

@Quiet2down Agree completely. I just want a good Zelda game. I don't care about the gender of the protagonist in a fictional world. That's a dumb thing to worry about IMHO. The stance of it being "time" or "long overdue" for Zelda to be the main character is shortsighted and prioritizes real-world issues over enjoyable gameplay in a video game. Games are supposed to be escapism, not more real life, so I'm glad there was a real valid reason to have Zelda be the main character and that it wasn't Nintendo getting on some "bandwagon."

@TheExile285 I can understand that. I miss the Master Cycle Zero too; nothing that can be built in TotK is as user-friendly or fun, and none of the devices last forever so you can't even really have a TotK equivalent.
@the_beaver I don't remember which npc said it, but I'm 99% sure someone says that Ganondorf is the source of all the Malice that coalesced into the Calamity. They aren't separate enemies at all; one directly caused another.

@TheExile285 Not having a permanently glowing, more durable Master Sword is one reason I keep going back to BotW. I love TotK, but really miss my supercharged Master Sword. Maybe one day TotK will get dlc, but I really doubt it. Nintendo have moved on.

Doesn't it come out next month, not in two months? It's September 26th right?

@Yoshi3 Don't get me wrong; I love the old games too. A Link to the Past is one of my favorite games of all time. I just feel glad the series moved on from that formula and I'm excited about what comes next. There's no reason to think a future Zelda game couldn't successfully combine a more story-driven game with an open-world concept. The restrictive nature of the linear, forced-sequential dungeons and item progression was not my favorite aspect of older Zelda and I feel BotW and TotK both proved that the developers can incorporate creative concepts into the series without reusing old formats over and over. Feel free to disagree; I disagree entirely with your statement that BotW and TotK are the same game but one with vehicles. That is at least a demonstrably reductionist position that ignores a lot of imagination and creativity that went into TotK.

@LikelySatan Time to get a hobby or a job then huh?

@PinderSchloss This comment invites the question of why people want the "formula" from A Link to the Past to keep coming back. It makes every game feel like the same experience with a different artstyle. I'm glad they broke free of the "formula" in the open world Switch games and I kind of hope they don't ever go back. The "formula" was starting to feel tired and stale after Skyward Sword.

@LikelySatan "DEI Link?" Is that really how you want to phrase that?

Monolith Soft is one of my favorite development teams/companies and I absolutely love their Xenoblade games. I'd love seeing an X2 or even a port of the original X with a "Future Connected" - esque extra story to resolve the ending of the original game. But if they continue the series with XC4 I'm for sure getting it, and I'd check out a new IP from them too. I do hope they keep the Xenoblade franchise going for as long as possible though. There's no reason it couldn't have as many entries as Final Fantasy.

I love both and am glad they're both selling and reviewing well. Botw would probably be my favorite for reasons not mentioned in the comments, but it's a small preference. They're an amazing 2-part adventure. Plus, as a long-time Zelda fan, and to add a different point of view on this topic, I am glad they retired the "formula" from A Link to the Past and OoT; those games and the other "formula" Zelda games were fine for their time but it was long overdue for the series to move forward and move on. Having every game follow the restrictive and linear formula established in the 90s severely restricts creativity and makes every game feel samey. The series objectively has broader appeal now as evidenced by the sales figures. Hopefully the formula stays retired and we get another open world masterpiece, with perhaps more dungeons which are longer and more complicated. I'd also enjoy a more sequential story not presented through memories, as long as it doesn't restrict the game to a linear formula. I prefer open exploration to a linear map.

"Distinct flavour profile" 🤣😂

@PikminMarioKirby I agree with every point except music. Nintendo's eshop music has never been good or enjoyable enough to make up of how much extra loading time is required. With the Switch's eshop already running slow, I'd vote no music right now. Even if music is added without slowdown, I'd want an option to mute it for those of us who don't want to hear it.

I can understand a fine, maybe, but 4 months in prison? Man the UK really hates freedom huh? Good thing the States declared independence.

@Sans_Undertale I've had either good or neutral experiences on reddit, so yeah, I don't have any problem with it. It's helped me many times when stuck in a game.
Twitter on the other hand... 🤮

@SillyG I mean maybe...? I've found decent gaming information, really random stuff that's hard to find, on reddit before. So I don't personally find it to be as bad as twitter, which is always full of angry, uninformed voices.

Would it really cause the sky to fall in if you guys were to implant the images directly into your article, instead of sending us to twitter (i.e. the cesspit of the internet)?

Never calling that platform "X" because Elon comes across like an entitled, arrogant loudmouth. It'll always be "Twitter" as far as I'm concerned, and it'll always be a platform best avoided. This is no loss at all for the Switch. Hopefully Twitter doesn't show up on the next Nintendo console. Games are what matters, not social media.