Premise:
I recently did a full 100% playthrough of Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna The Golden Country DLC, a shorter standalone experience set before the main game, in reaction to the hype for Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
Prelude on my thoughts on Xenoblade 2 in general:
I tried to get into Xenoblade 2, with two worthwhile attempts, the first being when Xenoblade 2 first launched on the Switch, and the second being after the completion of Xenoblade Chronicles: The Definitive Edition.
Both attempts I felt distaste for the game, the battle system was obnoxious, the humor was cringe, the protagonist was unlikable, the blade system was overwhelming, and the game didn’t take itself seriously unlike it’s predecessor.
For the longest time, my feelings for Xenoblade 2 were dark hearted, but now that I have completed it’s standalone expansion, my feelings toward the main game have become brighter and I wish to try for a third attempt.
Due to how long Xenoblade 2 is, my plan to finally playthrough it will probably start in October and finish around November, after my visual novel reading month of September in which my goal is to read two visual novels.
Thoughts on the DLC:
-While I usually don’t do this, I decided to play the game with the Japanese dub enabled rather than the English one, as I couldn’t tolerate the cringe.
While I wish there was subtitles for the lines voiced during the battles, I found the experience much more exhilarating for the ears, than suffering the culturally appropriating screaming.
When I try Xenoblade 2 again for the third attempt, I will definitely go the subtitle route for my peace of mind.
-I don’t know if the battle system got refined or not, but Torna’s battle system is actually one of the best I have ever played. The way you are consistently switching between blade and driver and stacking up elemental blocks to break was pretty fun.
-The Menus can get overwhelming, but I really admire the game’s affinity charts as it incorporates challenges to complete in the game world
-I really like the Community gimmick, it’s the type of concept I would like to implement myself in a future iteration of Project Saturn 195X’s development. I think the concept of humanizing the folk of the game world, works wonders in conveying a sense of a real culture and civilization.
-The story works, especially towards the end. Nevertheless, the game’s gameplay trumps the story.
-The characters are either well-written or bland, mostly well-written.
If I were to rank the 12 main characters, it would be:
1: Hugo: Well written character + personal sacrifice
2: Lora: Well written character
3: Addam: Well written character minus having an incomplete character arc
4: Jin: Good chemistry with Lora + Hopes & Ambitions
5: Haze: Good chemistry with Lora
6: Mythra: Great design + Great performance in some scenes
7: Milton: Great supporting character, should’ve been the fourth driver
8: Malos: weak chaotic motive, cool design and demeanor
9: Minoth: extra help with an interesting past
10: Brigid: extra help with something of character
11: Aegaeon: extra help
12: Mikhail: he just oddly there the whole time
-One thing I felt that was kinda lacking was how Torna itself, should’ve had it’s culture emphasized to its full potential. Being an allegory of Japan only goes so far. They should’ve had unique history and culture lessons being intwined with the sidequests to enrichen the nation’s lore.
-Another point is the ironic blandness of the titan’s landscape, in summary it’s a dessert surrounded by a forest and a market square at the head of it.
I am led to believe that the Golden aspect of it is due to the desert, although I was hoping one of the terrains was a big supply of gold either being excavated or naturally molded as a landmark.
In all, I felt like Gormott had a more interesting layout out of the two featured.
Although I am grateful that Torna’s final area was included, when it could have been easily cut.
-The top of the Gormott map, seems oddly without purpose. Would’ve left unexplored, if not mindlessly traveled to it.
-I really like the challenge that the Game’s Superbosses, the Golden Monsters present, as they feel like the fights that rely on gimmicks in MMORPGs
While they extended the game time by a week due the grinding required, I found the experience satisfying enough to continue to get that max community reward.
I’m glad they weren’t too hard, as I was fearing that the final Level 100 superboss was going to be an irritating pain to beat, but to my surprised I was able to beat on my third try at level 92.
In terms of gimmicks, the first one had an party wipe ability if gotten to low health, the second was just really strong overall, the third one was the most annoying with its ability to heal consistently, and the final one seems to rely on disabling your bar for using special attacks, until the summoned weaker opponents are defeated.
-In all, I enjoyed the experience of the Torna DLC and find it as a Great JRPG!
I recently did a full 100% playthrough of Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna The Golden Country DLC, a shorter standalone experience set before the main game, in reaction to the hype for Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
Prelude on my thoughts on Xenoblade 2 in general:
I tried to get into Xenoblade 2, with two worthwhile attempts, the first being when Xenoblade 2 first launched on the Switch, and the second being after the completion of Xenoblade Chronicles: The Definitive Edition.
Both attempts I felt distaste for the game, the battle system was obnoxious, the humor was cringe, the protagonist was unlikable, the blade system was overwhelming, and the game didn’t take itself seriously unlike it’s predecessor.
For the longest time, my feelings for Xenoblade 2 were dark hearted, but now that I have completed it’s standalone expansion, my feelings toward the main game have become brighter and I wish to try for a third attempt.
Due to how long Xenoblade 2 is, my plan to finally playthrough it will probably start in October and finish around November, after my visual novel reading month of September in which my goal is to read two visual novels.
Thoughts on the DLC:
-While I usually don’t do this, I decided to play the game with the Japanese dub enabled rather than the English one, as I couldn’t tolerate the cringe.
While I wish there was subtitles for the lines voiced during the battles, I found the experience much more exhilarating for the ears, than suffering the culturally appropriating screaming.
When I try Xenoblade 2 again for the third attempt, I will definitely go the subtitle route for my peace of mind.
-I don’t know if the battle system got refined or not, but Torna’s battle system is actually one of the best I have ever played. The way you are consistently switching between blade and driver and stacking up elemental blocks to break was pretty fun.
-The Menus can get overwhelming, but I really admire the game’s affinity charts as it incorporates challenges to complete in the game world
-I really like the Community gimmick, it’s the type of concept I would like to implement myself in a future iteration of Project Saturn 195X’s development. I think the concept of humanizing the folk of the game world, works wonders in conveying a sense of a real culture and civilization.
-The story works, especially towards the end. Nevertheless, the game’s gameplay trumps the story.
-The characters are either well-written or bland, mostly well-written.
If I were to rank the 12 main characters, it would be:
1: Hugo: Well written character + personal sacrifice
2: Lora: Well written character
3: Addam: Well written character minus having an incomplete character arc
4: Jin: Good chemistry with Lora + Hopes & Ambitions
5: Haze: Good chemistry with Lora
6: Mythra: Great design + Great performance in some scenes
7: Milton: Great supporting character, should’ve been the fourth driver
8: Malos: weak chaotic motive, cool design and demeanor
9: Minoth: extra help with an interesting past
10: Brigid: extra help with something of character
11: Aegaeon: extra help
12: Mikhail: he just oddly there the whole time
-One thing I felt that was kinda lacking was how Torna itself, should’ve had it’s culture emphasized to its full potential. Being an allegory of Japan only goes so far. They should’ve had unique history and culture lessons being intwined with the sidequests to enrichen the nation’s lore.
-Another point is the ironic blandness of the titan’s landscape, in summary it’s a dessert surrounded by a forest and a market square at the head of it.
I am led to believe that the Golden aspect of it is due to the desert, although I was hoping one of the terrains was a big supply of gold either being excavated or naturally molded as a landmark.
In all, I felt like Gormott had a more interesting layout out of the two featured.
Although I am grateful that Torna’s final area was included, when it could have been easily cut.
-The top of the Gormott map, seems oddly without purpose. Would’ve left unexplored, if not mindlessly traveled to it.
-I really like the challenge that the Game’s Superbosses, the Golden Monsters present, as they feel like the fights that rely on gimmicks in MMORPGs
While they extended the game time by a week due the grinding required, I found the experience satisfying enough to continue to get that max community reward.
I’m glad they weren’t too hard, as I was fearing that the final Level 100 superboss was going to be an irritating pain to beat, but to my surprised I was able to beat on my third try at level 92.
In terms of gimmicks, the first one had an party wipe ability if gotten to low health, the second was just really strong overall, the third one was the most annoying with its ability to heal consistently, and the final one seems to rely on disabling your bar for using special attacks, until the summoned weaker opponents are defeated.
-In all, I enjoyed the experience of the Torna DLC and find it as a Great JRPG!