Operation Backlog Completion 2025
Apr 052023
 

Procyon Studio, the music studio founded by composer Yasunori Mitsuda, has announced a Xenoblade Chronicles 3 soundtrack release, as well as a “Trinity Box” set, with limited editions released on July 29.

On the website, the Trinity Box is listed as including the soundtracks for Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition, Future Connected, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Torna ~ The Golden Country, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Expansion Pass Vol. 4.

(Xenoblade Chronicles X’s music wasn’t composed by Mitsuda, so it makes sense that it’s excluded.)

While it’s exciting to see the soundtracks themselves (the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 soundtrack limited edition even includes two mini replica flutes, among other bonuses), what might be even more interesting is that they include music from the upcoming Expansion Pass Vol. 4.

Volume 4 is the story DLC, which was teased in the February Nintendo Direct. If its soundtrack will be released on July 29, it seems likely that the DLC itself will already be out by then.

The timing also fits. Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s story expansion, Torna ~ The Golden Country was released in September 2018, just over 9 months after Xenoblade Chronicles 2. July 29 will be exactly one year since Xenoblade Chronicles 3 came out, so coming out before then makes sense if we consider Torna’s release an example.

I can’t believe Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has already been out for over 8 months and I still haven’t finished it. I expected to be fully addicted to it, yet I keep putting it aside for games like Fire Emblem Engage. Here’s hoping that I finally get back into it and reach the end in time to get excited for this upcoming story expansion!

Do you think Xenoblade Chronicles 3’s story DLC will be out before the soundtrack releases on July 29? Are you planning to pick up the soundtrack?

Nov 122018
 

After taking a break for horror games during October, I returned to Torna ~ The Golden Country and finished it over the weekend.

Torna is a DLC expansion to Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which I played and enjoyed earlier this year.

Technically, the expansion stands on its own and was even released as a standalone game… but considering how many Xenoblade Chronicles 2 revelations it spoils and how much context from the main game helps, I wouldn’t recommend playing it first.

As a short prequel, however, Torna is excellent. It focuses on Lora and Jin, as well as the other characters they meet on their journey, the most important of whom are Addam and Mythra. If you enjoyed those flashback scenes in the main game, you should enjoy seeing them expanded into a full story.

The combat system is similar to that used in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but with some key differences. You can play as Blades now, so instead of switching which Blade you have active, you switch who is in the lead. The character in the back plays a supporting role, which makes it feel more like everyone in the party is contributing to the battle.

There are a lot of little gameplay changes that make Torna feel like a better experience. Gathering spots now say what type of item it’ll be, there’s no more luck-based core crystal system, and having a fixed set of Blades means you can use field skills without shuffling your lineup around every time.

I also liked the side quests better. While the main story’s side quests felt pretty basic outside of the Blade quests, most of Torna’s quests have their own little stories and characters who change as you complete their quests. This all ties into the Community system, which I loved.

…Well, mostly.

When you meet NPCs in Torna, they’re all added to a list. As you complete side quests and these characters start to like you, they’re added to your Community. It’s a nice way to show the work you’ve done toward helping people, and the way certain quests tied together made me really appreciate this system.

The problem is that Torna uses its Community system for padding, as there are a couple points where you can’t proceed with the main story until your Community reaches a certain level.

I enjoyed the side quests, and I kept completing side quests even after I was able to proceed with the main story, but having mandatory side quests just doesn’t feel right. It took me just under 30 hours to complete Torna, and while that’s sizable for DLC, it would have been even stronger if more time was devoted toward character development instead of locking the story’s progression like that.

Still, the side quests do help make Torna (the country) feel more alive. The story itself is good, with some great moments… but if you go into it expecting the same sort of lightheartedness Xenoblade Chronicles 2 had, just remember what we know about these characters’ pasts from the main game.

Click for implied Torna spoilers
Even knowing all that, I still wasn’t prepared for how sad the ending would be. It’s a hard-hitting ending if you’ve gotten attached to these characters, and just when you think everything’s going to be okay, it’s not.

(On the other hand, now I don’t mind the main game’s contrived happy ending quite as much.)

So if you enjoyed Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and want to see what happened in the past, or if you’re looking for a smaller Xenoblade experience, I highly recommend Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country and I hope Monolith Soft takes inspiration from its strengths for their next game.

Apr 182018
 

After loving both of the previous Xenoblade games, I recently finished Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has seen an odd reception. Some people love it, while other people hate it.

While it has some flaws, I think it’s a pretty fantastic game.

Like its predecessors, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is an action RPG with an almost MMO-like combat system where your characters auto-attack until you use special attacks on a cooldown system. This time, you have three special attacks at a time, based on which Blade you have active. You can switch between three different Blades during battle (technically four, as Rex), which gives you a nice variety of moves.

Blades also have elemental attacks, which you can chain together in a system that seems complicated at first but isn’t so bad once you get used to it. By the end of the game, I loved stacking as many elemental orbs on a boss as possible so I could break them with an Elemental Burst.

As you’d expect from a Xenoblade game, there are many vast areas to explore with secret locations to find and items to gather. This time, it is spread across several “Titans,” massive creatures that fly through the Cloud Sea with civilizations built upon them. That’s a cool setting.

To me, however, it felt a little different from the past Xenoblade games. That sense of exploration was strong at the start, but the more I played, the more it started feeling like a regular JRPG progress, just with some large areas.

But that’s okay! I love JRPGs, so feeling like a regular JRPG isn’t a bad thing.

For me, the most important part of a JRPG is its story. So how does Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s story hold up? I think people sell it short when they claim it’s simple or read too much into the director’s “boy-meets-girl” comment.

I mean, technically yes, the plot kicks off when Rex meets Pyra and agrees to go on a journey with her to find Elysium, but there’s so much more. The quest to reach Elysium itself is because the world is dying, there are numerous points where the story deals with discrimination (mainly anti-Blade sentiments) and other serious themes, and the antagonists are credible threats.

And while it might use some JRPG cliches, it also subverts some in ways I enjoyed.

Click for minor Xenoblade Chronicles 2 spoiler
For example, Mor Ardain is set up to be the typical JRPG “evil empire,” to the point where I assumed going into the game that they’d be at least secondary antagonists. A technologically advanced empire at war to expand its territory and it’s sending a “Special Inquisitor” after you?

But Mor Ardain isn’t evil at all, its expansion is because their own Titan is dying, and the Special Inquisitor turns out to be an awesome character who becomes an ally pretty early on while still remaining loyal to the empire.

Now, I would say the story is more personal. It had grand, world-changing stakes, but most of the protagonists and antagonists are driven by very personal reasons.

There are humorous moments, but also serious moments and tragic scenes. I loved the main cast, especially Mòrag, who might be my favorite Xenoblade character in general.

(Speaking of characters, the fanservice controversy is way overblown.)

Now would it really be a Xenoblade game without some crazy twists? Don’t worry, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 delivers! One of the biggest twists especially delighted me with the cleverness of how it works.

Click for major Xenoblade Chronicles 2 spoiler
While it was marketed as being completely unrelated to the first Xenoblade Chronicles, there is a direct connection.

Not only was that a shock, but I suspect it will work in reverse: if you play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 first and then play the original, you’ll realize the connection then.

But I did call it a flawed game, so let’s get into some of the negatives. There’s nothing major wrong with Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but it has lots of little things that just made me ask, “Why did they think this was a good idea?”

You get new Blades essentially through a gacha system. Even though you don’t spend real money like in the dreaded mobile gacha games, it’s still annoying to use Core Crystal after Core Crystal and keep getting generic Blades, since it’s luck-based.

Then there are the side quests. Some side quests are great, especially since a lot of the fetch quests have been relegated to Mercenary Missions instead, and the Blade quests in particular have their own stories and cutscenes. But the ones that need you to gather tons of a particular type of item? Those annoyed me.

(Meanwhile, Ursula’s tedious quest falls into its own special category of “Why did they think this was a good idea?”)

Switching around Blades to get past field skill checks, sending out mercenary groups manually since there’s no “send again” option, and other minor things just added a bit of frustration to an otherwise excellent game.

Nevertheless, these flaws are just a minor strike against a fantastic journey across a beautiful world. It might drive completionists insane, but if you’re in it for the story, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 delivers.

Click for major Xenoblade Chronicles 2 spoiler
Except I’m not all that crazy about the post-credits scene of Pyra and Mythra returning as two separate people. It felt too deus ex machina.

Yes I know there are theories about how it technically fits with the lore. It still felt contrived to force a super-happy ending.

Although considering Pyra/Mythra/Pneuma is the “child” of the Architect and sacrificed herself to save everyone, I’m tempted to handwave the resurrection part as being because she’s basically Jesus.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 doesn’t feel as epic as the original Xenoblade Chronicles, but it still tells a solid story with great moments and excellent characters, with a beautiful world to explore. If you have a Switch and you’re looking for a good JRPG, this is one you shouldn’t miss.

What did you think of Xenoblade Chronicles 2? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.