36:15 Not really, there are several times in both the original and remaster when I lost a difficult fight because visions did not trigger reliably and I got obliterated by a sudden super move(a big example is actually the funny dances the kind of monster this guy on screen belongs to use, but it also happens with many more attacks). That is why I sometimes have to do the same thing as in Future Connected where I just preemptively spam shield like a fool so that my party is safe from a theoretical partywipe out of nowhere. Of course, only when the enemy actually does have a supermove to begin with. 47:42 Well, that is the case in the original on Wii and N3DS. But with FC beaten, you get Level 12 books that remove the loot grinding by essencially replacing the other books. Good change, right? Nope. It is actually even worse somehow because it makes you infinitely grind the same challenge battle content and even tho I am almost done with this grind-e-rino after months(at least until I have to stock up items for other reasons), it completely deflates the 100% experience. Each Xenoblade game I have played except Torna and Future Redeemed has multiple "serious grinds" and I am genuinely sick of doing them by now. Monolith, that is not how you do a fun postgame experience, stop it. (And for some reason, non-RPGs actually copied this concept. 100%ing Kirby and the Forgotten Land is incredibly easy. it is also something I will never do again in my life because the grind to get everything maxed is unbearable.) Also yes, I played FC first before DE because I already played the original. 1:14:56 And that is more of a FR thing than a 3 thing too. Really, the inciting incident of 3 is better teased in Xenoblade 2 challenge mode DLC where the archsage straight up says Shulk and Fiora cannot physically enter Alrest because the worlds are incompatible and there is potential for a doomsday scenario(sounds familiar?). The issue with FC is that it revolves around characters who have no clue, so they keep yapping about potential causes that are off the mark(like Shulk saying the world may just be too new or sth). If anything, the Fog Beasts tended to misdirect people into thinking they are Xenosaga related. The confusion could have been avoided imo if they released one more paid DLC for 2 that would have been the "third alrest campaign"(that btw canonically happened, we just never saw it) because then the pattern of fogbeasts showing up in both worlds would have actually given us a clue for 3. But I get if that was simply impossible, FC alone already had virtually no budget reportedly, which explains the odd cutbacks it has compared to literally any other Xenoblade game. 1:22:22 Mumkhar:"Can you kill them? Us?" Shulk:"Ye. Except when I can't anymore." Also, it feels scuffed that there is at least one faced mechon in the game that is a unique monster. The game explicitly rewards the player(with an affinity coin, a symbol of bonds) for actively going against the vibes of the story, which is hilarious. 1:26:23 Honestly, I love how it changes the context of the final battle-dialogue a bit. Out of context, it sounds like it's just the usual "u aren't worthy, mortal!"-spiel, but the truth is that he keeps yapping about how Shulk shouldn't have visions because that is his own complex biting him. It is unbelievable to him specifically because he himself lost the ability to see into the future 15 minutes ago, he's slightly freaking out. 1:31:18 There is also a vision that continues baffling the community that kind of makes option 3 in the list a bit more definitive that ties into "a lot of visions were actually correct". When the group finds Melia for the first time, Shulk gets a vision that is never addressed again. It's a vision of Lorithia's later death, except...diffrent. Because it is a vision of a completely diffrent timeline than what we end up playing in the game. Melia is the last partymember to join because the other two are missing and Shulk never even freed Zanza, he still has the Monado 1. This fight was somehow predetermined by fate to the point where it is the exact same even with such major divergences. Btw, my theory still remains that the reason for it happening diffrently is Alvis showing up to unlock Purge. No purge, no Shulk helping Melia against the Telethia and no Shulk helping Melia, (no Riki) no special treatment in the capital(Melia would likely still bail them out of fancy detainment and join once she returns tho because they still save her. Twice.) and that throws off everything afterwards. Of course, can't talk about odd visions without going slightly off-topic and also talking about the one thing that is by all accounts a straight up plothole. The vision of Melia in the tomb. It is a vision of her being ambushed and killed by the Telethia that's there. But then she is later ambushed by Tyrea and the Telethia only comes in later...and I genuinely have no idea why. Shulk didn't change this, Zanza didn't change this and as far as we know, Alvis didn't change this either. As I don't recall any hint as to Tyrea being somehow special that the Monado cannot pick up on her existance, this just kinda comes and goes out of nowhere. And like, am I missing something? Nobody except me seems to have picked up on this and the Wiki more or less even claims the events in the tomb to be according to the vision until the party arrives when it isn't.

Alcamoth is such a good and bad thing. The city is pretty, but man is it a pain to traverse while questing. It is home to one of the best events in the game, as well as one of the worst paced parts of the game. And it's in an area that kinda suffers from the same things. Alcamoth and Eryth Sea really makes you question your motivation to do quests and explore.

1:15:46 I agree! I just finished future connected this morning, and still can’t believe we were baited into thinking that Tyrea would be playable. I was disappointed when finding out that you only need Melia for those two quiet moments.

Scott the Woz… I’m sorry 😂

THE XENOBLADE 1 RETROSPECTIVE OF ALL TIME!!!!! you did such an incredible job man, all of the time you spent working on this video paid off tenfold. i really love the way you talk about the story/characters and just the overall feelings that come from this game especially. the ripple effect of that xenoblade 2 video will always be insane to me and its awesome to see how far you’ve come!

I would really recommend you try Dragon Quest XI, NieR Automata, or Final Fantasy VII Remake sometime, DQ11 is a more traditional RPG but it modernizes it in a way and the DQ series has such an amazing feel it was perfect for the first RPG I loved, and still my favorite game of all time. NieR Automata is a very non-traditional action RPG with such a weird post apocalyptic vibe and such deep storytelling, and FF7 Remake was an amazing game with amazing characters and story and combat that I didn’t even need to play the original game to love

This is such a good video😭

Now I'm feeling bad, bc I haven't opend the affinity chart once 😅

On the note of Tyrea being a party member in Future Connected, I feel like they could have made her play like Homs Fiora, but filling the rest of her Arts with some of Dunban's Arts. I feel feel they could have made the fog rifts more explicit by having the fog beasts be based off of Xenoblade 2's enemies

Shame FC sucks in combat and aesthetic but at least it has the best OST in the series!

I love hearing about other people's experiences with the games that made such a big impact on me personally. I remember hearing about XB1 for the first time, and immediately importing a copy from the UK, and being glad it eventually got an actual NA release. At this point I've sunk well over 1000 hours into the series, and still find myself drawn to all these characters and stories.

The third monado isn’t willed into existence, Alvis is the monado, if Alvis is a supercomputer, the monado is an admin key to control him, Alvis chooses to give shulk the monado 3 because he deems shulk worthy of his power, he sees that shulk will make the right choice with it

So I do think shulk convincing dunban not to kill mumkhar is great, I entirely disagree on the reason, an important thing to note is in that scene, shulk is wrong and the game wants us to know that, it illustrates it through mumkhar’s next action, it’s an extension of the ideas about bionis and life from it that Zanza programmed into the Homs when he created them to preserve his own life, and more foreshadowing about zanza, at this point shulk already knows mumkhar is acting of his own will due to the conversation at valak mountain

I think the fog king was good for theory crafting because it was an enemy from Xenoblade 2 cloaked in fog, the first sign the worlds were merging

Fantastic work man. Really enjoy your content on the series. Just like you said, this game didn't manage to make me cry the way its sequels did. However, there were several times that it got me quite emotional and even a bit teary-eyed, mostly coming from Riki. For me the highlights are his conversation with Dunban in the fallen arm's beach, his heart-to-heart with Shulk in the Distant Fingertip and especially his reaction after Kalian's death. At first sight Riki might look childish and oblivious but he is actually very perceptive about the fears and worries of the other party members, and is always there to confort them almost like a fatherly figure. It's ironic at so many levels, particularly when it happens with Dunban who is the de facto father and role model of the group. Even Dunban himself was surprised, and he grew to respect Riki a lot more after that exchange. It's hard to explain, but for some reason this archetype of innocent comic-relief characters that suddenly drop some of the most genuinely emotional and touching lines in the game get me every time. Same thing happened with Poppi in XC2 and she grew to be one of my favourite characters from that entry.

12:55 You're not super far off here, but you're missing a little. Remember how Fiora really died but returned after Mayneth revived her body? It's similar, except Zanza was more malicious. Zanza says he picked Shulk because he was young and hadn't "developed a sense of self" yet. Fiora was more likely to still exist once the body was revived, but Shulk was able to create and retain a sense of self, against what Zanza expected. Shulk and Zanza are like a simpler Noah and N. I believe Zanza leaving the body came from the death, but there was another soul they didn't realize was there.

Thanks for another great video!!! Can't wait to see your Xenoblade 3 version of this (no pressure though, take as much time as you need, I will be here). In the meantime, I will be one of those people who recommend pieces of media to you: You really should try out the Trails series if you haven't already. With everything you've been saying about this game and also Xenoblade 2, I have a feeling you might fall in love with that series as well. I know it's my second favorite series in gaming - after Xenoblade. And the gap between the two isn't even that big. So that's saying something. Besides, there is something people have dubbed the "Xenoblade to Trails pipeline"... because there is a huge overlap in fans between these two series and not few of those are fans of Trails because they were fans of Xenoblade first and got recommended Trails based on that. So you should come join the hivemind 😎. I know Trails is a commitment, what with 11 (localized) games, but it's worth it trust me. 😎

happy belated 2nd anniversary!

mmm i think i'll revisit XB2 sometime soon. great video!

Great video! It may not be my favorite in the series (it still is in my top 25 games), but you really encapsulated what makes this game really great. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on 3 and FR.

quest 64 better

Absolutely incredible video. Very well thought out and portrayed. Personally my opinion on this game has sullied a little over the years with how people lord it over as this perfect piece of art that nothing in the series can hold a candle to, but I still love it even over a decade after first playing it Can't wait to see your thoughts on 3 and FR

It's not fair to compare how much time you expended playing xbc1 and xbc2, xbc2 is much more longer. I 100% xbc1 in about 140h. I have 220h in xbc2 and I still have things to do to 100 it. And I'm not counting the extra blades you can get on a ng+.

Got damn this is a good vid

this one hit just as hard. also based af another torigoth night enjoyer

Small channel that makes really good long form content? I'm eating

Love watching your videos. Every video has so much passion for the media you love. The xenoblade videos being my favorite

first video of yours i've found, an absolute pleasure to listen to your thoughts and i'm glad this popped up on my recommended. i've loved this game since i first played it in 2013 and hearing others speak to the same always makes me so happy. looking forward to checking out your other stuff. hope your day is well

This is video is great.

great video essay on the ups and downs of what has been my favorite game for more than a decade (until the 3rd entry to this series came out) the impact it has on the people who play it is what i think really makes it (and the rest of the series) legendary

absolutely insane to me that such a well edited video of this length has so few views. I watched your video on xenoblade 2 a few years ago and have been subbed since, I hope your channel blows up soon because you really deserve it man! (also, the subtitles are much appreciated as someone with a hard time processing spoken word occasionally.) this is the quality I expect of channels with hundreds of thousands, so I feel safe in saying you're incredibly underrated. keep up the good work!

Yes, I watched this whole thing in one sitting. It's the Xenoblade fan in me. Anyway, AMAZING analysis. This video proved this series is my favorite. I can hear someone gush about it and it just makes me realize how much I love it. I have so many friends that write off this series purely because it's 'too anime.' )Despite all of them taking in copious amounts of anime content) I really hope one to change their mind so they can finally experience this brilliant series. This is one of those series that really changes the way you think about things. Whether it's life, the future, or just jrpgs and gaming. For me, this game fundamentally changed what I looked for in video games. I used to really only play Pokemon and thought I didn't need a game to have a good story. But man after this series, if a game has a bad story I can hardly even stick with it. Such a beautiful franchise.

Having replayed it recently, I think the original Xenoblade is a game I respect more than really *love* in all of its aspects, but there's no denying that it is one of the most influential games of the past ~20 years and it deserves all the praise it gets. It's still one of my favorite games and one that I would not be the person I am without. It's grindy, it can be slow and tedious, and I don't feel as attached to the world and characters as I am to those of its successors, but I get lost in those environments and how engrossing they are and the cast is so endearing that it all just...works.

Back to the original i see.

played this game back in 2013 when the rumors of Shulk being in smash bros started spreading, was already halfway in when he actually got announced and I knew he was worthy of standing there with gaming's greatest. being such a fan for such a long time has also made me happy to see all the people who have joined in along the way and had their lives changed by such a great message. Xenoblade 1 always remains my favourite. the only other rpgs I think have come to having a party as lovable as Xenoblade 1's are the other Xeno games (that includes Xenosaga!), Legend of Dragoon, and Chrono Trigger.

You can’t have a rainbow without Reyn baby

Fantastic work on this video! ^_^ The way you highlighted the thematic storytelling of the game helped me to realize many things I missed the first time around. I am both entertained and impressed by how you discuss the highs and lows in the game's exploration and combat system. Finally, your passion when you talk about this game and series and the impact its left on your life is genuinely inspiring. It encourages me to reflect more on my own experiences with gaming generally and this series specifically, as I feel like there's just so much meaning and insight out there for me to discover!

As someone who's been playing the series since Xenoblade came out on the Wii, it's always something special to see someone play it for the first time. Great video

this video is one of the very few that truly captures what i adore about this game. i remember buying this game on the wii when i was 12, not long after the passing of my grandmother and still struggling with the grief that filled me. i originally bought it so i could escape and not have to think about it, only to come out of it being able to truly deal with the grief i was feeling at the time. was it graphically a good game? no. was it mechanically a good game? debatable. was it the best fucking game i've ever had the honour to touch? absolutely. any time i feel alone, struggle with existential dread, i play this game specifically. it reminds me that it's okay to feel pain, to feel anger, to struggle, but the important thing is to never lose hope and look at what you can do to make things better.

Just finished this, truly an excellent video dude, you pretty much encapsulated exactly why this is one of my absolute favourite game ever. Much like you mentioned, there are certainly plenty of things to criticise, some of which were improved in some of the later entries (i.e. writing of women is a bit ehhh, side quests are bad, combat is a bit rigid), but at the end of the day, there truly is just so much to love (and you've even given me some newfound appreciation for characters I was previously somewhat mixed on i.e. fiora). Well done on the video, here's hoping there are many more excellent vids to come. Also yes, future connected is mid lol

Oh boy, here I go *watching multi-hour long Xenoblade essays* again!

Thinking that we were not going to get this game because America was thought to be uninterested is scary o.o Thanks operation rainfall :)

>Over 2 hour video >Nia pfp I wonder if you like Xenoblade xD (I love the series, and 2 is my favorite game of all time)

1:22:20 Still in the midst of watching this (and thoroughly enjoying it so far), one thing I will mention here is that I always had the interpretation that all of the mass produced faced mechon were simply disabled by the party as opposed to being directly killed by them, since A) Their defeat animations are them falling over and fading away as opposed to blowing up like Metal Face or any other mechon does and B) I *believe* that there is a line of dialogue from Linada at some point where she mentions how she wants to recover people in the faced mechon in order to try and safety turn them back into Homs, but admittedly I don't know if that's legit or if I'm just making it up. Definitely still funny tho EDIT: Did a bit of googling, allegedly the information about the party just injuring the mass produced faces is also mentioned in the Monado Archives art book, tho that obviously is supplementary material only officially released in Japan.

this is such a well cited video

11:28 there's also the fact that the sword is used to drain the Bionis' ether and, as we see in XC2's Tantal, low ether usually leads to cold climates!

I'll excuse Future Connected's existence as the sole 7/10 game in a series full of 9/10s (including the full sci-fi spin-off and the other DLCs/story add-ons) because it gave use two things of immense worth: Time to Fight! (Bionis' Shoulder) And another occasion of seeing Tyrea's hilarious "flying" animation as she goes back to her home planet

Just binged all of youre long form xenoblade chronicles videoes. Now i cant wait to see youre final video on xb3 and FR

Amazing video, I especially loved your perspective on the characters. Even if there already are many videos about this game, you still mentioned plenty of interesting stuff and made me think about certain aspects in new ways!

The most remarkable side quest in XC is Colony 6. And that is only because it gives you visual and gameplay feedback. I only did sidequests for unlockable arts and things related to party members. The affinity chart alone is not enough motivation for me.