Xenoblade Chronicles 2

 Switch
User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2500 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,077 out of 2500
  2. Mixed: 183 out of 2500
  3. Negative: 240 out of 2500
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  1. alxs621
    Jul 1, 2020
    9
    While a relative step down from Xenoblade Chronicles this is still a wonderful RPG, even if it could have used a little more time in the oven.
  2. Ammanochi
    Jun 29, 2020
    9
    I enjoyed my time a lot with xc2, it is a little bit tough to get into at first admittedly but once you push past that you get really into the story, characters and world. People always point to **** character design, but it’s fine imo. I beat it in like 2018, and I still come back to it every now and then even with de and torna out
  3. Mcmardigang
    Jul 18, 2020
    9
    Es un juegazo. Debería tener una valoración mejor por la crítica. La historia es fantástica. Estupendos gráficos. Horas y horas de diversión.
  4. anonymous1112
    Sep 3, 2021
    9
    A really nice RPG game, good gameplay, hundred hours of game.

    - Graphics could be improved for switch support
    - Some very rare bugs
  5. realkinko
    Oct 10, 2020
    9
    This is a fantastic game in so many aspects. It's gorgeous and the story is absolutely fantastic.

    It's often critized for it's combat, but what usually only from people who haven't invested enough time to master the combat. The games combat system may seem utterly simple at first, but it quickly grows very complex without you as a player even realizing it. It wasn't until about 60 hours    This is a fantastic game in so many aspects. It's gorgeous and the story is absolutely fantastic.

    It's often critized for it's combat, but what usually only from people who haven't invested enough time to master the combat. The games combat system may seem utterly simple at first, but it quickly grows very complex without you as a player even realizing it. It wasn't until about 60 hours in until I finally mastered the combat system (after quite a lot of googling) and by then the fights didn't have to last for ages (which they did up until that point). Up until that point it was really just the story that kept me going, but after that it "clicked".

    The only negative thing I have to say about the game is that the side quests are a drag. They're absolutely dead boring for the most time and more often than not simply not worth it.

    I think if they had fixed the side quests, and polished the game in some other aspects, it'd been an absolute masterpiece.    … Expand
  6. Zellgius
    Mar 6, 2021
    9
    One of the best stories in gaming. Lovely characters, amazing artstyle... The combat system is quiet complicated but very rewarding once you get used to it. My only complain would be the english voice acting, aside from tora who has a perfectly fitting voice and an emotionally accurate performance.
  7. ValkyriaDG
    Nov 7, 2020
    9
    Brillante historia, Jugabilidad impresionante y Los personajes también son geniales. Pero tiene problemas de resolución y velocidad de fotogramas en la Switch aunque nada que lo haga injugable. También creo que el estilo artístico fue un Acierto muy importante. En general, una gran elección para los fanáticos del JRPG.
  8. MetaPhysicMeat
    Apr 7, 2022
    9
    This is like a pizza from a foreign country that initially makes you go 'huh?' with all of its unfamiliar toppings but once you take a bite and chew it a little it'll hook you in with its delicious exotic flavors.

    Some points to consider: Cool multi layered maps with tons of nooks and crannies to explore, in-depth combat system with tons of variety requiring a PhD to fully understand,    This is like a pizza from a foreign country that initially makes you go 'huh?' with all of its unfamiliar toppings but once you take a bite and chew it a little it'll hook you in with its delicious exotic flavors.

    Some points to consider: Cool multi layered maps with tons of nooks and crannies to explore, in-depth combat system with tons of variety requiring a PhD to fully understand, interesting characters that yell 'ayyyyyy~yeh' 'don't forget me' 'yerdun' and other great lines and mannerisms that are sure to live rent free in your mind like a recently broke college graduate, orchestral soundtrack sure to make Chopin jealous, chad character design that don't cater to whinny 'naaaaaoooo you can't just sexualize women!' types, stereotypical anime plot and comparatively low tier graphics.    … Expand
  9. LttlGrn4
    Mar 17, 2021
    9
    In short, this game is fantastic! If you want a Jrpg that will keep you occupied with its thoughtful story, deep combat, and character customization, then look no further. Why a 9? The game has a Pokemon Esque mechanic where you bond with these sentient weapons called Blades that you collect and then use in combat. At the start, it is so exhilarating to find out what new Blade you're goingIn short, this game is fantastic! If you want a Jrpg that will keep you occupied with its thoughtful story, deep combat, and character customization, then look no further. Why a 9? The game has a Pokemon Esque mechanic where you bond with these sentient weapons called Blades that you collect and then use in combat. At the start, it is so exhilarating to find out what new Blade you're going to get. Unfortunately, though, you begin to get a lot of repeats in the common rarity ones and this once cool and fresh mechanic becomes extremely repetitive. Also, there were some inappropriate things that one character did that I was not expecting. These moments were few and far between but when they happened, they were very jarring. I have no problem with games with mature themes, but this was different and came without a warning. These, however, are just personal preferences, and they don't necessarily mean the game is bad because I know there are plenty of people out there who are not bothered by this. In the end, this game is nothing short of an absolute masterpiece that had its hooks in me within the first 30 minutes. Monolith really gave it their all when making this game and it shows, and I'm extremely looking forward to what they are releasing next.… Expand
  10. fussi
    Dec 29, 2020
    9
    The game has some minor flaws and quirks, the combat is fun but takes time to get really intresting (although that gets fixed in the expansion). The story is also very intresting and connects the first game in a brilliant way, but the pacing in the middle of the story is a bit slow compared to the rest. At the end of the day this game is worth the time. Absolutley amazing story and plentyThe game has some minor flaws and quirks, the combat is fun but takes time to get really intresting (although that gets fixed in the expansion). The story is also very intresting and connects the first game in a brilliant way, but the pacing in the middle of the story is a bit slow compared to the rest. At the end of the day this game is worth the time. Absolutley amazing story and plenty to keep you playing for many hours.… Expand
  11. AngelOrtiz
    Feb 12, 2022
    9
    I would give this game a 10/10 if the tutorials didn't suck, but once past that, the game is one of the best jrpg out there.
  12. 42yeah
    Jul 6, 2021
    9
    Such a cool game. Captivating stories, super in-depth battles, XC2 has it all. Please buy this game and check it out. -1 for a menu softlock which caused me 3 hrs of progress.
  13. StarmeshWizard
    Oct 23, 2021
    9
    Went into this game with no prior experience to Xenoblade, just thought the special edition box looked awesome so I bought it. Turned out to be one of my favorite games on switch so far. Regarding the way certain characters are dressed and looked, oh well, in the real world people dress even skimpier than that, I dont really care, voice acting is great (yes those are real accents), storyWent into this game with no prior experience to Xenoblade, just thought the special edition box looked awesome so I bought it. Turned out to be one of my favorite games on switch so far. Regarding the way certain characters are dressed and looked, oh well, in the real world people dress even skimpier than that, I dont really care, voice acting is great (yes those are real accents), story os long but great, awesome battle mechanics, reminds me of FF 12, my favorite final fantasy game.… Expand
  14. Memnochs
    Feb 20, 2022
    9
    Un juego absorbente, desde el minuto uno quedé atrapado durante las más de 90 horas que me llevo completarlo.
  15. rome_del
    Mar 1, 2022
    9
    This game, to me, it's a 9/10 only for two minor problems.
    The first one is the combat system. It feel empty and bland, you can only press 5 button to make an attack after an auto-attack and that spetial attack has to reload and you have to wait 6-15 auto-attack to be able to re use it and ,unlike xenoblade chronicles x, you don't have the liberty to move while you're attacking and your    This game, to me, it's a 9/10 only for two minor problems.
    The first one is the combat system. It feel empty and bland, you can only press 5 button to make an attack after an auto-attack and that spetial attack has to reload and you have to wait 6-15 auto-attack to be able to re use it and ,unlike xenoblade chronicles x, you don't have the liberty to move while you're attacking and your auto-attack has to restart.
    The second little probleme is some affinity charts for some blades. Those are really rare ocations like Perun or Dagas but still a little anoing because you have to make good action wich is a very ambigus hint or a special quest wich is not bothering when you're on the post game but when you're first rare blade is dagas it can get a little frustrating to make.
    But overall the game has a very deep and intresting story. It has some funny and emotional moments wich makes you connect with the characters. The world is pretty big and vast to explorate every mistery and compltete some intresting side quests. Not to forget the amazin personalaty of the principal charaters like Zeke, Morag or even Rex. throug the story you can see the evolution of those characters and undestand them by their back story. Plus the principal characters are not the only ones who got a personality. Every blade has it's own personality and the game let you intercat with them so you can know better about them and increase your affinity like Electra wich is a crybaby.
    I'm looking fordward fo Xenoblade Chronicles 3 hopping that they fix those little issues and the story would be as amazing as this one.    … Expand
  16. DarkwingSchmuck
    Jul 28, 2023
    9
    The long-awaited true sequel to Xenoblade Chronicles, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 recaptures everything that made its predecessor so special, and in some ways improves upon it. The battle system is even more refined, and the game boasts an equally as strong story and cast of characters. It's more lighthearted overall than what one would come to expect from a Xeno branded game, and it doesThe long-awaited true sequel to Xenoblade Chronicles, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 recaptures everything that made its predecessor so special, and in some ways improves upon it. The battle system is even more refined, and the game boasts an equally as strong story and cast of characters. It's more lighthearted overall than what one would come to expect from a Xeno branded game, and it does feature a bit more of the worst type of anime tropes than its siblings -- which may be a turn off for some -- but the game has an irresistible sense of charm that never lets up.… Expand
  17. Jaymeson
    Jul 4, 2022
    9
    A incredible game with flaws. I'll start of by saying that I would give this game a 9.7 but metacritic doesn't have points and I think 9 is more fair. The game has my favorite soundtrack ever a incredibly deep complicated and rewarding combat with one of the best jrpg story's of all time. The game isn't perfect though. There are some cringe worthy cutscenes that are few and far between butA incredible game with flaws. I'll start of by saying that I would give this game a 9.7 but metacritic doesn't have points and I think 9 is more fair. The game has my favorite soundtrack ever a incredibly deep complicated and rewarding combat with one of the best jrpg story's of all time. The game isn't perfect though. There are some cringe worthy cutscenes that are few and far between but exist. The voice acting isn't as horrible as people say but it isn't great with some roles mainly rex being awful but some such as malos being excellent. The game is incredibly slow to start and can be pretty boring combat wise for the first 33% of the main story. This game is a incredible buy if you are willing to go through a rough patch at the start. Overall a excellent game with problems.… Expand
  18. Cobalt_Red
    Mar 29, 2023
    9
    Finding on solid system and replayability in a JRPG is one of the most difficult things to do in videgames.
    This game takes what the first one does well and adds stuff on top of it, is fun and satisfying to learn.
    The BLADE system has so many conbinations that it is impossible not to find a shade of mechanics that doesn't give satisfaction to use. The updates since release have only    Finding on solid system and replayability in a JRPG is one of the most difficult things to do in videgames.
    This game takes what the first one does well and adds stuff on top of it, is fun and satisfying to learn.

    The BLADE system has so many conbinations that it is impossible not to find a shade of mechanics that doesn't give satisfaction to use.
    The updates since release have only improved it over time.
    A story of growth and memorable villains to this day make me remember it as one of the most enjoyable games I have finished, along with the first one.

    A return to what makes JRPGs fun.    … Expand
  19. RandomizedGamin
    Jul 24, 2022
    9
    This game was a lot of fun for me as a story enjoyer and a rookie to rpgs. It has so many cutscenes and every character has so much depth and tragedy. It's combat system is also amazing once you understand. But here's the thing. UNDERSTAND. This game has a lot of complicated things adding to the auto attack which is a lot to take in. So as a newcomer, I can see this being an issue. It alsoThis game was a lot of fun for me as a story enjoyer and a rookie to rpgs. It has so many cutscenes and every character has so much depth and tragedy. It's combat system is also amazing once you understand. But here's the thing. UNDERSTAND. This game has a lot of complicated things adding to the auto attack which is a lot to take in. So as a newcomer, I can see this being an issue. It also has a lot of cutscenes, which personally I have no issue with, but for hardcore gamers, they might find this a tad bit too slow or boring. I highly recommend it for gamers who like to spend a lot of time on games, and are interested in the story.… Expand
  20. supdude80
    Jul 26, 2022
    9
    absolutely amazing, and a great sequel to the first game! not as good as the original due to the first third of the game being slower paced, but the last 5 chapters 1000% delivered.
  21. TehPorkkana
    Jul 29, 2022
    9
    I really really enjoyed my time playing XC2. One of my all time favorite games. First chapters suffer from pacing issues and bad tutorials but when the game clicks oh boy does it click. The combat is deep and engaging even after 100 hours. The story is a roller coaster of emotions. Filled with rich characters, surprisingly adult themes and exciting twists. The world and it's characters areI really really enjoyed my time playing XC2. One of my all time favorite games. First chapters suffer from pacing issues and bad tutorials but when the game clicks oh boy does it click. The combat is deep and engaging even after 100 hours. The story is a roller coaster of emotions. Filled with rich characters, surprisingly adult themes and exciting twists. The world and it's characters are really well written. XC2 also has one of the best video game soundtracks I have heard. You will be listening these songs long after you finish the game. I would also strongly recommend to check out the story DLC Torna the golden country. It fixes many of the issues original game had and expands the story. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is not for everyone though. For example I can see how the occasional over the top humor and inconsistent visual design on blades might turn some people off. Combat system is not the easiest to learn but when you get a hang of it you will love it. For me the game is solid 10/10 but it is not perfect.… Expand
  22. Youmustdienow
    Jan 30, 2020
    8
    I’m not big into RPG lore or grinding for hours. Think Xenoblade 2 has some things I really like about adventure games, but still set back by some very annoying fuddy duddy moments that keep it from perfection.

    Takes place on 13 massive open worlds. Bulk of game taken up by 13hr long, slowly paced cutscenes & 100hrs of questing. No exaggeration. Animation ranges in quality. It looks    I’m not big into RPG lore or grinding for hours. Think Xenoblade 2 has some things I really like about adventure games, but still set back by some very annoying fuddy duddy moments that keep it from perfection.

    Takes place on 13 massive open worlds. Bulk of game taken up by 13hr long, slowly paced cutscenes & 100hrs of questing. No exaggeration. Animation ranges in quality. It looks great visually, but conversations go on for eternity while robotic movements lack emotional spark to grip anyone whose not an Anime junky. Combat, though grindy at times, has a lot of interestingly deep, yet simple mechanics. I liked how I could gain money/exp by doing all kinds of side activities. It made each thing you do have a purpose. Camera panning controls is the best feature in a 3D game to date. You can lock into any perspective to hearts desire. It was specifically useful to play using overhead view in spaces with larger enemies.

    For someone who favors streamlined games, I did feel it was punishing that I needed to farm for hours to unlock doors in main story by meeting criteria of character field skills. You can’t just obtain these abilities at will. You need to gamble rare crystals with low probability on top of fulfilling achievement chart style missions. At certain points, I would be acquiring new characters during journey that could no longer use throughout full playthrough. Was working on boosting skills for them, but came to find that character died permanently during a scene. To my dismay, all of my hard work maxing this guy would be rendered useless. By the endgame, a specific world I was fond of for farming got destroyed. Story warned me multiple times to save or I couldn’t continue further to beat the game. It was then where I had no choice but to sacrifice a great area in exchange to see a few more boss encounters & longwinded cutscenes.

    Combat would have these broken moments where Ai would slip off of a cliff. Ai got confused by this & run into walls. During a farming zone battle where I fought a high level enemy, monsters I had killed a few minutes ago auto-spawned as high level beast slipped into area with a horde. Was annoying because it got me killed over clunky design. Flying enemies were hard to reach with normal attacks. Needed to farm until had a Blade Core with a long ranged weapon to inflict a reasonable amount of damage.

    The worst thing about game is the mission trackers. I constantly struggled in Gormott Province. There was a tree blocking where marker told me to follow. It had an up arrow at 30 percent. So I climbed the tree, then it says I’m supposed to be at the bottom. Very frustrating & misleading.

    Although had many issues, the pros outweighed the cons. I liked it because was into the adventuring aspect. Certain moments captured the essence found in Zelda series. Worlds are very largely scaled & big enough to compare in scope to MMOs. Almost would consider genre a Massively Single Player JRPG. Wouldn’t recommend to fans of Ocarina of Time unless they don’t mind pacing through sections that take longer by compulsively tasking for hours. Simple things like selecting multiple items to use at a time would have sped things up dramatically. Was it necessary to not have a load file option during game? A run button would be ever so useful. Not to mention a pause button during battle. Got killed because had to blow my nose. As it stands, game is suited for those who got lost in older Chrono, Mana, Final Fantasy, Xenogears Ips, or those with very patient attention spans.    … Expand
  23. thaesino
    Dec 2, 2017
    8
    Gameplay: 9/10 (In this I am including FPS and overall camera. Something no one on here is talking about is how they handled draw distance. AMAZING JOB on this. When the land is far away it looks almost like a pastel painting; as you get closer, it comes to life almost seamlessly; unless you're a try hard PC master race douche; nothing makes those guys happy... they want to LIVE inside theGameplay: 9/10 (In this I am including FPS and overall camera. Something no one on here is talking about is how they handled draw distance. AMAZING JOB on this. When the land is far away it looks almost like a pastel painting; as you get closer, it comes to life almost seamlessly; unless you're a try hard PC master race douche; nothing makes those guys happy... they want to LIVE inside the game.)

    Story (so far): 6-7/10 (If you hate tutorials, have fun the first 6 hours......)

    Fighting System: 9/10 (Once you get the hang of it, it's all fun)

    Music: 10/10 (Great, great, great job and possibly greatest part of this game)

    Character Dev: 7/10 (Too anime-is for me, but that's why it's a JRPG)

    English Voice Over: 4/10 (Please kill me......... preferably in a British/New Zealander/Australian accent)

    Japanese Voice Over 7/10 (As expected, and that's why they made it available for free day one)

    Time for your money: 10/10 (so much to do......... too much)

    Now, the real question I have is this... Why the f*ck are Pyra's breasts so damn large if Rex doesn't even have a penis? (Sorry, the Rex penis part really struck me because well, usually in other games/animes, there is mystery allowed in the nether regions by using baggy clothes and whatnot... but this is clearly "NO ROOM FOR PENIS" crotch. So I wanted to know, if they made Rex practically androgynous, why did they make Pyra so clearly buxom? Pressure from Nier's 2B?)

    On a more serious note, I do believe the folk at Monolith went a little overboard here on the fan service, and I was quite disappointed with this particular factor. Naturally, I got over it, but for a couple of minutes after her intro (I'm not one of those who watched the trailer), I drew a huge question mark on design choices. I mean, if you play, you'll understand. They're not just big, they're extremely big. They're bigger than Mai Shiranui's (for the oldest crowd); a little less than Taki's from Soul Calibur (for the old-sh crowd); and approximately the same size as Selvaria Bles' from Valkyria Chronicles... in fact, I'd say her whole body IS based on Selvaria, but with someone else's head.

    That's all I wanted to say, and I mostly say it for both sides of that fence. If you like fan service, you'll get some here. If you hate it, or if you think JRPGs should get a little creative and quit the "for little boys" antics, you have been warned.    … Expand
  24. Isneyzhao
    Feb 19, 2022
    8
    Pretty good as a modern JRPG. But has some flaws compared with other successful JPRGs
  25. Narafed
    Dec 23, 2017
    8
    UPDATE AS OF 12/23/2017 Many things have been patched (Previous score was a 7).

    Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a good game riddled with technical issues and poor game design choices. Never have I played a game so frustrating, and yet found myself coming back, I would imagine that some do not ever want to play this game again. Let's dive into the issues of the game. The party AI: The AI    UPDATE AS OF 12/23/2017 Many things have been patched (Previous score was a 7).

    Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a good game riddled with technical issues and poor game design choices. Never have I played a game so frustrating, and yet found myself coming back, I would imagine that some do not ever want to play this game again. Let's dive into the issues of the game.

    The party AI:
    The AI in this game, particularly the hero characters in your party, are extremely stupid. Tanks will try to run around enemies, and run off of cliffs. Healers will stand in environmental poison/fire and die; when you res them they don't move from the spot, and die again in the same spot. I've never played any previous Xenoblade games but if these issues were in the past games it should have been fixed by now.

    Hardware and Software Issues:
    Nintendo advertises a Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Pro Controller, which is cool and all, but it doesn’t work with the game undocked (THIS ISSUE HAS NOW BEEN FIXED AS OF 12/23/2017 VIA UPDATE). This game also has major issues rendering parts of the game particularly when you fast travel to certain areas, like Tora’s house.

    The UI map interface/quest design:
    The map in this game, in its current state, is terrible. Not only is it hard to figure out where you are due to the enormous sub menu you must dig through, the quest indicators at the top provide little to no help, especially later in the game. The quest design from a gameplay perspective could also use a little tweaking; after hours of doing a chain quest only to find out the final part is gated behind your blades field skills seems like a low blow. Not only that but you have to hope you have the right field skills because if you don’t, it’s time to open core crystals for an hour looking for blades that have the skill you need to complete the quest. This is particularly annoying in a couple of the MAIN STORY quests, because you cannot progress until you have certain field skills and level them to certain levels. Thankfully there is an update that will happen for some of these issues (like the map UI) late December. (UI MAP HAS BEEN FIXED SLIGHTLY VIA UPDATE 12/23/2017).

    Save your game often:
    There is a random crash which is happening to many people in the later chapters of the game. As many people know this game doesn’t have “save points”, like so many other JRPG’s do, to remind you to save. So, if you’re mid-dungeon and have to leave the game for whatever reason don’t forget to save. If you do forget to save you’ll find yourself wanting to flush this game down the toilet; have fun slogging through the previous hours of your life leading up to that dungeon all over again if you die at the boss or anything else.

    Despite it’s many frustrating technical issues, and design choices, it still manages to be a good game from a story, and exploration perspective. It’s worth a try, but don’t be surprised if you put this game on the shelf and start playing something else for a while; especially after your tank runs off a cliff side just before you’re about to kill a monster for the first time.    … Expand
  26. LegenDareon
    Feb 6, 2019
    8
    Um grande jogo, não é perfeito e tem alguns problemas de desempenho que deixam claras as limitações do console. Mas que apresenta u mmundo grandioso e cheio de possibilidades.
    Aquisição obrigatória para aqueles que como eu, são fãs de um bom RPG, eu joguei toda a saga Xeno, desde Xenogears, passando por Xenosaga, Chronicles o primeiro, X, e agora o Chronicles 2. Recomendo para quem curte    Um grande jogo, não é perfeito e tem alguns problemas de desempenho que deixam claras as limitações do console. Mas que apresenta u mmundo grandioso e cheio de possibilidades.
    Aquisição obrigatória para aqueles que como eu, são fãs de um bom RPG, eu joguei toda a saga Xeno, desde Xenogears, passando por Xenosaga, Chronicles o primeiro, X, e agora o Chronicles 2. Recomendo para quem curte experiências densas e que requerem dedicação, Se esse for seu caso, terá uma das melhores experiências de RPG dos últimos anos...    … Expand
  27. Afenger
    Feb 13, 2018
    8
    Xeno 2 vem com uma proposta diferente do seu antecessor, aqui temos um enredo muito mais bem produzido. O foco na hhistória fica muito claro desde os primeiros minutos. A trilha sonora é perfeita digna da serie, o sistema de evolucao ficou simples e muito eficaz, as blades e a maneira de se conseguir pelo fato de sorte é frustrante mas é recompesado pelas que conseguimos atraves de quests.Xeno 2 vem com uma proposta diferente do seu antecessor, aqui temos um enredo muito mais bem produzido. O foco na hhistória fica muito claro desde os primeiros minutos. A trilha sonora é perfeita digna da serie, o sistema de evolucao ficou simples e muito eficaz, as blades e a maneira de se conseguir pelo fato de sorte é frustrante mas é recompesado pelas que conseguimos atraves de quests. Parte grafica se falando no switch é fraca, texturizando muita coisa na cara larga, modo portatil é ruim a resolução cai muito chega a atrapalhar. Mas num contexto é um jogo bom.… Expand
  28. jocariba
    Mar 2, 2023
    8
    Muy buen juego, aunque siento que no es mejor que el primero, una gran duración, buena cantidad de misiones principales y secundarias, una cantidad de mapas impresionante, soundtrack insuperable, es una obra maestra con problemas gráficos y de rendimiento debido a la consola limitada donde se encuentra
  29. dislexicpotato
    May 21, 2019
    8
    Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is overall a great game with a lot of things to love. The art style is great, the visuals are really good (for the most part), the voice acting is also solid, the worlds are varied and memorable, the gameplay is satisfying and has a ton of depth and cutscenes are very well done with some incredible action sequences. However the game has its fair share of flaws suchXenoblade Chronicles 2 is overall a great game with a lot of things to love. The art style is great, the visuals are really good (for the most part), the voice acting is also solid, the worlds are varied and memorable, the gameplay is satisfying and has a ton of depth and cutscenes are very well done with some incredible action sequences. However the game has its fair share of flaws such as the resolution which maxes at 720p (underwhelming by today's standards) and often dips below this with the game genuinely looking like a PS2 game in some instances, the frame rate also dips below 30 on numerous occasions. The lip syncing is also non existent which kinda breaks the immersion but isn't too much of a problem and the game doesn't do a very good job at explaining things a lot of the time, as well as the waypoint which is pretty bad at directing you on where to go. Overall, the game is great and definitely worth checking out despite its flaws, I just can't shake the feeling though that this game was rushed to meet the holiday 2017 deadline.… Expand
  30. VTL
    Nov 20, 2019
    8
    Magnifico juego, que por ponerle una pega en los momentos finales se hace un pelin repetitivo y con algun jefe obligatorio con una curba de dificultad mal medida. A nivel de historia es genial y de ambientacion descomunal.
  31. likevin96
    Apr 22, 2018
    8
    Completion: Finished game and a huge number of side quests after approximately 105 hours.

    Pros: - Undoubtedly unique . JRPGs, especially turn based ones, are typically thought of as a fairly stagnant genre, but Xenoblade turns the norm on its head through its extremely unique battle and progression systems. Although there are issues, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 deserves to be lauded due    Completion: Finished game and a huge number of side quests after approximately 105 hours.

    Pros:
    - Undoubtedly unique . JRPGs, especially turn based ones, are typically thought of as a fairly stagnant genre, but Xenoblade turns the norm on its head through its extremely unique battle and progression systems. Although there are issues, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 deserves to be lauded due to its willingness to push boundaries and try something new.
    - Soundtrack is catch and memorable. There are a number of tracks throughout the game that will undoubtedly stay with me. Some standouts include the Argentum and Mor Ardain themes.
    - Battle system is very different from anything else that is out there right now and requires positioning, strategy, tactics, and proper timing to utilize effectively. This is especially true during the earlier parts of the game where you're still getting used to all the different components of the initially overwhelming system. There are a lot of moving parts and mastering them is satisfying.
    - World is sprawling and fleshed out. Alrest feels like it could be a real place due to the plethora of lore and intrigue surrounding it. The large, sprawling areas also contribute to this through the sense of place that results from exploring and wandering around the myriad fantastical lands.
    - I overall enjoyed the story. The characters are one of the strongest points and Rex was much more likable that I had initially expected. This may be due to me playing with the Japanese voices and not having to deal with some of the strange accents the localization team had decided to implement. The pacing can be too slow at times and comedy is not used well (to put it lightly), but overall the drama of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 did in fact compel me to continue my journey.

    Cons:
    - So many aspects of the game waste an enormous amount of time. The Merc Missions were a great idea to better utilize your full roster. However, constantly going into the menu and having to scroll through pages of menus to get a proper team for these missions is annoying and can take you far out of the immersion of the rest of the world.

    Another example of this is in the Blades, which serve as a hybrid being weapons and party members in Xenoblade 2. Making these Blades stronger often requires you to do very specific tasks that make you go far out of your way to do boring tasks such as killing a random mob X times. Although there are ways to get around some of these requirements, they are definitely necessary for progression when it comes to certain Blades and in the earlier sections of the game where you don't have as many Blades to play around with. Furthermore, the drop rates for the Rare Blades are FAR TOO LOW. I understand how the Generic Blades play into the Merc Mission system, but that doesn't make it any more fun to (very slowly) activate dozens of virtually useless Blades.

    However, the most egregious example of this lies in the battles themselves. While strategic and fun, every single battle lasts far longer than they have any right to, especially if you aren't massively overleveled. Defeating an enemy 20 levels under you should happen in the blink of an eye, especially for a game like Xenoblade with no random encounters or any sort of discrete transition into battles, but this is definitely not the case here. It quickly became obvious to me that skipping every single mob I could was the only way to beat the game at any reasonable pace. The enemies have massively inflated health through the entire game and that is simply not fun to deal with in a game that is already so long.

    - You don't have to change your strategy much for fighting different enemies. Although there are elemental weaknesses and species-specific items/abilities, they are often too niche to really be effective and used in any sort of active way for 90% of your battles. Although their appearances and stats change, every single enemy in the game just felt too similar to one another in terms of what my approach should be.
    - Map system is awful and oftentimes the only way to progress is to walk through the area that your objective is in countless times before noticing a hidden pathway or area that will let you progress. The map has no detail in the Z-axis and the objective compass can be as deceiving as it is helpful.
    - Frequent FPS/resolution drops. This is egregiously poor in handheld mode.

    Final Word:
    Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the definition of a flawed masterpiece. The developers reached for the sky and created something truly unique. From playing the game, I am certain that Xenoblade is a game with genuine heart and passion. However, this does not excuse the painfully plodding nature of nearly every aspect of the game, ranging from story to combat. I still enjoyed it - but will forever be disappointed at how incredible the game could've been with just a few more tweaks.

    True Score:
    8.1    … Expand
  32. josei1985
    Jan 12, 2018
    8
    Me ha llevado 120 horas pasarme la historia principal, entre combates donde moría una y otra vez y las secundarias, muy necesaria para subir nivel. En realidad todavía tengo contenido adicional por hacer.

    Soy poco experto en jrpg, apenas he jugado a un par: al tales of berseria y a éste. Francamente, me ha encantado. Desde el apartado artístico, su historia y en muchos momentos he    Me ha llevado 120 horas pasarme la historia principal, entre combates donde moría una y otra vez y las secundarias, muy necesaria para subir nivel. En realidad todavía tengo contenido adicional por hacer.

    Soy poco experto en jrpg, apenas he jugado a un par: al tales of berseria y a éste. Francamente, me ha encantado. Desde el apartado artístico, su historia y en muchos momentos he disfrutado muchísimo del sistema de combate, para nada tan complicado como decían, ya que cuentas con numerosos tutoriales a lo largo del juego. Y según vas avanzando y las posibilidades, combos y demás aumentan, se hace más divertido. Eso sí, te acostumbras a jugar con un blade que, llegado el caso, se te hace un mundo tener que usar otro. Aunque esa es la gracia también, la variedad de blades. Los hay que se dividen por elemento (tierra, rayo, agua,...), por tipo de arma; si son comunes o legendarios/raros, etc y según el arma y poderes que tengan, el combate que hagas será distinto. También puedes elegir el personaje que quieras utilizar sin que sea necesario controlar al protagonista. Los gráficos no es que sean precisamente punteros ni fotorealistas ni es el objetivo, pero el juego es realmente bello, especialmente en algunos "países/titanes" y cinemáticas. La historia al final es muy emotiva, si eres un poco sensible se te saltarán las lágrimas. Pero no yo, yo soy un machote... bueno, casi he llorado...

    Por otro lado, el apartado técnico es bastante mejorable: tirones, bajada de frames,.. y un modo portatil demencial aunque te acabas acostumbrando bastante pronto por el juegazo que tienes entre manos. Tal vez no es un juego al que echarle horas en ese modo, más allá del rendimiento, ya que no es del todo cómodo jugar con los joycon. Con el mando pro es una maravilla jugarlo.

    Otro punto demencial son las misiones secundarias. Dios de mi vida. Qué malas, realmente malas. Mensajero, recolector y similar. Y toooodo el santo mundo para que encuestres los objetos. La historia ya exige bastante tiempo como para alargar el juego artificialmente en este tipo de misiones que no aportan nada. Es el tema que peor llevo de los juegos de hoy día. Porque no son ni uno ni dos los juegos mal planteados en el contenido adicional. Más cantidad no es mejor. Luego están las misiones de mercenarios, que no llevas acabo tú pero asignas a blades para ello, ganando dinero y experiencia.

    En definitiva, para mi un videojuego brutal que todo usuario de Switch debería comprar y que justificaría la compra de la consola para todos aquellos amantes del jrpg que aún no la tengan.    … Expand
  33. MAFIAxMaverick
    Dec 4, 2017
    8
    I'm about 30 hours into Xenoblade Chonicles 2, and I am having a blast thus far. As someone new to the "Xeno" series, but someone who enjoys JRPGs, this is a big win for me. I have a few gripes about the game that force me to take a couple points off (I think it's really an 8.5).

    Pros: Really fun, engaging, combat system. That being said - it's a pretty complex battle system, with a    I'm about 30 hours into Xenoblade Chonicles 2, and I am having a blast thus far. As someone new to the "Xeno" series, but someone who enjoys JRPGs, this is a big win for me. I have a few gripes about the game that force me to take a couple points off (I think it's really an 8.5).

    Pros:

    Really fun, engaging, combat system. That being said - it's a pretty complex battle system, with a lot of different chains and abilities that happen with the press of 5-6 buttons. You really have to be aware of your surroundings too. Want to tackle a strong enemy? Make sure you clear out the smaller ones before you engage or you risk dying after 10 minutes in battle because you aggro'd another enemy and they killed you.

    I'm really enjoying the story so far. There's lot of typical JRPG cliche's, but I enjoy the character interaction and overall story so far.

    The world is beautiful. Each titan is very unique, and even though we're confined to one titan (continent), we get the feel of a huge open world. Uraya has so many different, and awesome, color schemes working in it's favor. It really is a treat to run through the different titans and do some exploring.

    There's a lot customization and progression options as well. I admit, it can get a bit confusing with all the different types of experience for leveling up your weapons, affinity charts, character level, etc. But it's got depth. Depth and different ways to diversify a gaming experience are so important for me.

    Cons:

    The graphics are sub par. The art direction for the game is great, but I thought we'd have better graphics considering what I've seen already from the Switch.

    The map - for a game where we're exploring so many different areas and following quests, the map becomes more of a hindrance than a tool. The only way to pull up the map is to say you're going to fast travel somewhere. The minimap is small and even if you bring up the large overlay, it's not very helpful. Some arrows on the minimap would be awesome for quest direction, because the waypoint system isn't that great. There are times where the waypoint would be in the middle of the screen but it'd say I was getting further away from it. It's a little weird.

    English voice acting is hit or miss. I enjoy it for the most part, but there's some voicing that feels so out of place it ruins the immersion a little bit.

    Would love to see a bit cleaner UI, or at least the ability to customize. There's a lot going on on the screen anytime you get into combat, which is expected. But I don't think they did a great job making key parts of the UI visible through all the chaos, such as HP bars or numbers not really catching the eye. There were several times I didn't realize one of my party members died until I consciously checked the side of the screen.

    Sexualization of female blades, people, characters. I'm sick of seeing this in games, and we get a lot of it in XC2. Not only that, but there's so many cutscenes where it zooms in on a character's cleavage, or rear end. It's just not needed, or wanted.

    Overall, I'm really enjoying Xenoblade Chronicles 2. I would love to see an update that makes the minimap a better tool and a bit of cleaning up the UI. I like the story, I like the customization, and I absolutely love the combat. There are many complaints of battles taking too long, but I'm okay with that based on the way the complex combat system works. I think if you're a fan of the series, or JRPGs in general, then this is for you.    … Expand
  34. Drawnimo
    Mar 17, 2018
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is an amazing experience, but I've found myself being frustrated for about a solid 20% of my playthrough. Some game design choices make no sense (for example, there's a level 80 monster that can one-shot you in the STARTING AREA of the game) and most of the events caused by these choices are designed to annoy the player or halt their progress for no reason. The progress of the story, while phenomenal, is often blocked by ability-specific roadblocks towards the end of the game. All these small kinks and more taint an otherwise perfect game.… Expand
  35. dr0nzer
    Dec 17, 2017
    8
    I was really looking forward to the release of the game as great JRPG's have been short in recent years, when I first got in I loved it but as time progressed I started to dislike it. I'll start by saying that I played this with the Japanese voice pack, English dub for a Japanese title never works regardless of whether it's a game, anime or film.. .It's just no, play it in the language itI was really looking forward to the release of the game as great JRPG's have been short in recent years, when I first got in I loved it but as time progressed I started to dislike it. I'll start by saying that I played this with the Japanese voice pack, English dub for a Japanese title never works regardless of whether it's a game, anime or film.. .It's just no, play it in the language it was created for and you'll get the best experience.
    The story is fantastic! it has such depth in it and definitely kept me coming back, you learn a lot about the characters as they come and go, there is plenty of unexpected twists with some unexpected comical moments, the world is massive, albeit linear in terms of progression it's not big a deal, you can fast travel whenever and where ever you like throughout the story so you can take a break and go salvaging to develop your rating with the cities you've visited or catch up on side quests or see further blade development and then revisit the story where you left of at a later date, the freedom is great and exactly what I wanted, no restrictions on having to do the story at certain points.
    Let's talk about what I disliked... the combat system... it works but it's not that fun, after time it's just tedious and long, you can get from A-B in a few mins, but the battles in between can pad that travel time in excess of an hour if you take on all encounters, consumables aren't really clear.. lots of options but not a clear direction on which is ideally best.
    The menu system is atrocious, too many buttons to press to get to where you want and the navigation can be frustrating, too many menus within menus.
    Obtaining blades is so RNG it's ridiculous... rare cores don't guarantee a rare blade.... legendary cores don't guarantee one either... infact I got 0 rare blades from 3 legendary rolls, most of my blades came from common cores.
    You can feel at times that game reaches it's technical limitations when visiting towns with high density of polygons and effects, the game's fps starts to slow and you notice it, not a big deal but worth mentioning.
    Side quests are just fetch quests and a lot of back and fourth, the chain quests were annoying sending you to fetch and kill stuff all over the world several times over, there's no depth there.

    I completed the game with 81 hours on the clock, I rushed the last 2 chapters because I just got bored of it, the games system started to be a grind and it didn't feel fun, the story became weird as like in a lot of JRPG's towards the end.. I did expect this but it disengaged me more than I anticipated. For me it felt like they tried to cram a lot of ideas into the game but a lot of the areas needed more refinement, it started to feel more like quantity over quality... when that feeling kicks in it I lose interest in the title.
    I did stick it out, I enjoyed my time in the game, would I recommend it ? yes! is it perfect.. definitely not. This could be my first and last Xenoblade purchase.    … Expand
  36. chad_pattan
    Jan 14, 2018
    8
    Let's get the obvious stuff out of the way. This is a Nintendo Switch game. It's not a PS4 game. Don't expect it to perform like a PS4 game. However, it's a strong contender against any PS3 RPG ever released.

    I'm not going to bore you with story. Here are the points that you probably most care about. It is true that the graphics are degraded in mobile mode vs. docked. But that    Let's get the obvious stuff out of the way. This is a Nintendo Switch game. It's not a PS4 game. Don't expect it to perform like a PS4 game. However, it's a strong contender against any PS3 RPG ever released.

    I'm not going to bore you with story. Here are the points that you probably most care about.

    It is true that the graphics are degraded in mobile mode vs. docked. But that should be obvious. It's not enough to impact the game negatively except for framerate drops which seem to happen more frequently than you might expect.

    Music is a standout with excellent compositions and presentation.

    Unlike Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, this is truly a JRPG in the finest sense of the word. There's no "MMO-lite" feelings here. If you want that, this isn't the game for you.

    This is an extremely complex game to master. There's just a lot of things going on - and while the game does things to help you out, it doesn't change that there's a LOT to remember and master.

    If you're not a fan of the way games used to be, with nice, lengthy, meaty cutscenes as a reward for your hard work, skip the game. There are a LOT of cutscenes and they're long. I love this. People who like games like The Witcher won't. You've been warned; don't come on here complaining and putting negative reviews. There are videos all over the place and every reviewer has called this out, if you didn't do research that's your fault.

    I'm not really a fan of the battle system. I'm fine with the "Final Fantasy XII" auto battle. What bothers me is the healing mechanics. There's no way to just adhoc use an item to heal. You either have to steal one (which doesn't heal enough) or be healed by Arts (which doesn't happen frequently enough). The first boss I fought mopped the floor with me simply because there was no way to heal. This seems to just be random chance, because the second time around I beat him having changed nothing in strategy.

    Which brings me to the other negative - unbalanced difficulty and damage. To me, something's wrong if the first boss you come to is stun multi-hitting you for 200HP when you only have 800HP. Then you walk through the next three bosses, come to a boss who kills you out of nowhere. Dinosaurs that can take you out in less than a minute when you're their same level, yet the final boss of the game gets wasted faster than the giant gorilla running around Gormott. It's a joke. I struggle to think of another game with difficulty this unbalanced.

    Lastly, the concept of "armor" is poor. It basically creates artificial difficulty, because you can't properly equip your characters the way you'd like to. Most of the accessories you can equip don't make a significant dent in the aforementioned obscene damage instances. Leveling up happens only at hotels, which means if you're out and about for hours, you might be underleveled simply because you can't get back to a town before fighting the boss. Much of your strength comes from the affinity charts which are tedious to fill out for the most powerful characters in the game. Not nearly as tedious as FFXII's but close enough.

    I also dislike the RNG mechanic for summoning. You basically are rolling dice for every Rare Blade summon, meaning it'll take a LONG time to get them all. I finished the game at 232 hours still missing Vale because I lost patience trying to get her. It shouldn't be like that. They really need to fix that to where Legendary Cores are a guaranteed summon. Even Chaos Rings 3 wasn't this bad.

    Summary: I like the game. Much better than 1/3D by far. I never played X because the Wii was crap. This game feels like it puts things back right, and is a welcome breath of fresh air in a desert of old school "J" RPGs.    … Expand
  37. M1N1B34R
    Jan 11, 2019
    8
    This is one of my most enjoyable JRPG, it have decent graphic, a good story and interesting combat system. The combat system is rather complex but you eventually mastered as the game will force you to use your knowledge on it to progress, If you care abount finishing the story, you could finish the game without too much grinding, i found my self always on higher level as needed as theThis is one of my most enjoyable JRPG, it have decent graphic, a good story and interesting combat system. The combat system is rather complex but you eventually mastered as the game will force you to use your knowledge on it to progress, If you care abount finishing the story, you could finish the game without too much grinding, i found my self always on higher level as needed as the story progress even though not exploring the map thoroughly . If you love JRPG, chance are you will love this game immediately.… Expand
  38. Zappieroth
    Dec 5, 2017
    8
    Xenoblade 2 is one amazing game and goes beyond my expectations.
    I have one minor complaint and that is that the resolution is a little low making the edges of pretty much anything other then the UI and menu's blocky.
    Perhaps an update could fix this with more optimization however I doubt that will ever happen knowing Nintendo. The game itself runs fine at a constant and stable 30FPS.    Xenoblade 2 is one amazing game and goes beyond my expectations.
    I have one minor complaint and that is that the resolution is a little low making the edges of pretty much anything other then the UI and menu's blocky.

    Perhaps an update could fix this with more optimization however I doubt that will ever happen knowing Nintendo.
    The game itself runs fine at a constant and stable 30FPS.
    The attention to detail is also very high close to the standards of BOTW.

    Story and characters are very interesting and whenever something epic or sad happens I care for the characters which I cannot say about many games.

    Soundtrack and sounds are beyond amazing voice over (English) is a bit strange and took me a while to get used to. (Rex the main character speaks British) I think this is the 1st time I ever heard a main character from an anime game speak British. Not even Black Butler (The anime) came close to as British as this.

    But all and all everything is very high qaulity.
    I give this game an 8-10.

    SUMMARY:
    Story and characters are great.
    The music is amazing.
    The English voice over takes some time getting used to.
    And the resolution is a little on the low side.
    The game runs stable otherwise!    … Expand
  39. TheHambro
    Jun 15, 2019
    8
    As someone who isn't well versed in the JRPG genre, I am slowly inching my way into getting into playing and getting more into its games. Having never played a game in the Xenoblade series and looking for an RPG to get into on the Switch, I made the decision to jump right in and see what Xenoblade Chronicles 2 had to offer. Although there are pros and cons, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is aAs someone who isn't well versed in the JRPG genre, I am slowly inching my way into getting into playing and getting more into its games. Having never played a game in the Xenoblade series and looking for an RPG to get into on the Switch, I made the decision to jump right in and see what Xenoblade Chronicles 2 had to offer. Although there are pros and cons, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a fantastic RPG that every Nintendo Switch owner should consider looking into.

    Let's get some of the negative things out of the way. This game needed a bit more polishing to smoothen out some of its rough edges. One of my biggest gripes is that some of the game mechanics are simply not explained to the player, or they're confusing. So it is possible to go through the game without realizing its full potential unless you look them up. The way side quests are handled can be confusing because sometimes the game won't mark a quest on your map properly, which can lead to frustration. Also, sometimes the environment can work against you during combat. For example, you find yourself fighting and killing an enemy next to or over a cliff, which you may or may not be able to reposition, and lose those item drops as a result. Lastly, prepare to spend a lot of time in the menu since you'll need to unlock skills, swap out characters, etc., which may become tedious.

    Now, let's focus on all the good. The soundtrack is simply amazing, I found myself just wandering around and exploring an area just to listen to it. Speaking of, the game rewards you for exploring: looking in every little nook and cranny might yield something useful. The characters develop in a meaningful way, their conversations are well written, which are often very charming and funny. Once the mechanics are understood, the combat can be complex. Finally, for those who like to hunt for every item, this game has much to offer in that department.

    All in all, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a damn fine RPG that is fun, engaging, and will have you sinking, possibly, hundreds of hours into it. Sure, this game is flawed in many ways, but despite that, it really is just great experience throughout. If you are a Switch owner, do yourself a favor and pick this one up.    … Expand
  40. DRainbow
    Jun 11, 2023
    8
    The story and characters are fun and interesting enough to keep you engaged and they are the main reason I even finished this game. The graphics are great for a Switch title and it runs very smooth as well. However, while the gameplay is unique and, at times, entertaining, it's mostly an experience held back by insanely unfair battles even when overleveled. Especially towards the end, theThe story and characters are fun and interesting enough to keep you engaged and they are the main reason I even finished this game. The graphics are great for a Switch title and it runs very smooth as well. However, while the gameplay is unique and, at times, entertaining, it's mostly an experience held back by insanely unfair battles even when overleveled. Especially towards the end, the gameplay got so frustrating, I almost had to stop playing. There is a lot to do in this world and the fact that I really wanted to see how it ends, even when being frustrated at times, justifies a positive score for me.… Expand
  41. roychen
    Jun 13, 2020
    8
    Up to now: I have played for 2 weeks (50+ hours) and I am in chapter 5. There are significant cons of this game, but the game plot and combat system is way better than any other RPG I played this year.

    Cons: There are two large cons of this game. First, literally, the map of this game sucks. You don't get many useful information from your small/large map on the screen. Whenever you need    Up to now: I have played for 2 weeks (50+ hours) and I am in chapter 5. There are significant cons of this game, but the game plot and combat system is way better than any other RPG I played this year.

    Cons: There are two large cons of this game. First, literally, the map of this game sucks. You don't get many useful information from your small/large map on the screen. Whenever you need to find an npc or just try to figure out where you are, you need to press X, and search for a little while in another navigation system. Moreover, the map system is fragmented. In any other open-world RPG like Zelda, Watchdog etc. you will have a large map that illustrates everything. But it's not the case in Xenoblade 2, which is super annoying. Second, the combat system is great, but the tutorial sucks. I don't use the word "suck" very often in my actual life, but I used it twice here, because the map and tutorial of the combat system literally sucks. To be fair, the combat system is super cool but complicated. However, you don't get much out of the super long and fragmented in-game tutorials. I don't understand how the combos work at all, and what's worse, there is no way you can replay the tutorials! Then I searched online and there is some combat guide. Hey, you know what, I understand how the combo system works by spending 10 minutes reading some short paragraphs with picture illustrations. Come on Monolith, can you put some illustrations and tutorials in the game so people can check whenever they want? How difficult would that be?

    Pros: With all that said, it's very hard to start enjoying the real fun of this game. But, if you are patient, and you get through all the initial hurdles of learning the basics, you will realize the game is fabulous. First, for people who like RPG or JRPG, the game plot is very good. Second, the combat system is really, really fun. My problem of RPG is that I get tired of the battles very soon, because all the battles are generally the same and you just repeat your moves. The thing you do is to get your level up, get better equipment, and repeat the moves in a battle. Well, it's still the case that you "repeat" your move during a battle in Xeno 2, but there are so many varieties you can play with. First, different combination of blades will give you different strategies to play with, and you need to focus (in an enjoyable way) to play different combos in the game. It feels so good battling in Xeno 2, because the "reward" or "joy" of playing good strategies and combos is tremendous. There are some other pros of this game, like collecting blades, nurturing them etc., which is super fun and keep you interested in playing this game.

    One critic says only "die-hard" JRPG fans will love this game, but I really want to say any people who loves RPG will love this game. This game will definitely be better if it's released one year later, when it's better polished and all the small problems are fixed. But hey, this game is really worth of a 10/10. Overcoming the initial hurdles, and the real fun is waiting for you.    … Expand
  42. gragabot
    Dec 15, 2017
    8
    Overall I enjoy the game. However, 1.5 pt is taken off for not firing their team who is responsible for the mini map design and make an announcement about it. I'm sure ppl will be so happy if that happen. On the other side, 0.5 is taken off because the way healer works. When you are fighting big enemy, it takes a long walk to get a health potion. And If the surface has slope, just dontOverall I enjoy the game. However, 1.5 pt is taken off for not firing their team who is responsible for the mini map design and make an announcement about it. I'm sure ppl will be so happy if that happen. On the other side, 0.5 is taken off because the way healer works. When you are fighting big enemy, it takes a long walk to get a health potion. And If the surface has slope, just dont bother with getting the health potion, by the time you get to the potion, its likely gone. Other than these two points, the game is awesome.… Expand
  43. Joshua7
    Dec 21, 2017
    8
    I love RPG's and JRPG's. Game can have a grind at times, but can skip most of it if you wish and just enjoy the story. Love it though. I never played the first one and would love if they brought that to Switch.
  44. Iexist
    Jan 3, 2018
    8
    Xenoblade chronicles 2 is arguably one of the best JRPG's of 2017. Featuring a vibrant world, great story and colourful cast of characters with great characterisation and even though the game starts off simple, you'll find that a few hours in, the battle system is surprisingly varying and complex.

    The game takes place from the perspective of main protagonist, Rex, a simple young boy who    Xenoblade chronicles 2 is arguably one of the best JRPG's of 2017. Featuring a vibrant world, great story and colourful cast of characters with great characterisation and even though the game starts off simple, you'll find that a few hours in, the battle system is surprisingly varying and complex.

    The game takes place from the perspective of main protagonist, Rex, a simple young boy who scavengers for a living. He is offered a job which gives him a payment of $100,000 and heads out on a flying ship where he discovers a blade who called herself Pyra. The two sets out on a journey to Elysium. That's the basic premise of the plot. Sound simple? well, it is. The story is very focused, yet I found it to have a very basic layout compared to the complex epic with twists and turns all over of Xenoblade chronicles. Rex was someone I found to be intolerable annoying at the start of the game. However, at about 10 hours in I started to warm up to Rex a bit and found him to be somewhat decent even if his northin Yorkshire accent can put me off. Pyra is just there. She lacks personality and only seems to serve as a plot device rather than an actual human. While she's one of the more interesting characters in this story, she failed to deliver in being engaging as a character in anyway. Coming with these simple, yet likeable characters also comes some surprisingly cringeworthy dialogue and voice acting. Yes, I get it, you called a man in his thirties elderly, calm down.. It's not that funny.

    While the story is a major downgrade from the original masterpiece, the presentation of Xenoblade chronicles 2 is far superior. The art style is a gorgeous anime adventure wrapped inside of beautiful environments, locals and.. fan service? to explore. Additionally, the sound track is ear melting, it really lives up to the standards of the original unlike xenoblade chronicles X with some of my favourites being "counterattack" and "Elysium of the blue sky." But in all of xenoblade 2's beauty, there are some flaws. Some of the cutscenes have some very.. Awkward animations in them. When Rex started touching Pyra's chest I felt very awkward, it was like a less sexual version of hentai and when Pyra started Naruto running all the tension the scene could've had was broken by my laughter.

    While the game isn't perfect, easily the best part of Xenoblade 2 is the new improved combat system. The party gauge has been revived from the grave I though xenoblade X had left it in and thank god is all I can say. You only have access to three arts in this game instead of eight and instead of being cool down based, you have to build up the power to use them by landing regular attacks. The new mechanic this time is the blades, characters like Pyra are known as blades and can be equipped to Rex at any time. Each blade has there own unique special art which can be built up to three different levels, meaning you have access to seven arts on each blade. All five party members can equip up to three blades at a time which you can switch between at will, leaving you with a total of 21 different arts at your disposal. The possibilities are truly endless. There are even more possibilities in battle I haven't even covered. I only have two issues with the new interface: The first one is that you have to be standing still to auto attack. It really breaks up the pace of the fights as at the start of the game you're just standing still waiting for a chance to press Y instead of moving around FEELING like you're actually doing something even when you're not. The other change I'm not happy with is the affinity chart which is a lot more cumbersome to use. Monolithsoft, don't fix what isn't broken.

    In the end, xenoblade chronicles is a gorgeous, vibrant RPG adventure with a simple story and occasionally cringeworthy writing but extraordinarily fun and rewarding combat. If you like JRPG's then you'll love this, if you don't then you'll be somewhere between liking and hating it.

    While the story    … Expand
  45. SappyNoypi
    Apr 17, 2018
    8
    Brilliant story. Awesome gameplay. The characters are cool too. But it has resolution and frame rate issues on handheld. Also I think the art style was a happy accident. It seems like they can't make it too realistic because of hardware limitations. But overall, a great pick up FOR JRPG fans.
  46. formulas666
    Mar 17, 2018
    8
    I thought this was one of the better RPG's I have played in a very very long time. I classify this game as a flawed masterpiece, the flaws are far outweighed by the thing it does right and the immersion factor. The story is everything I want from my JRPG's, convoluted, touching, thought provoking, and well written. The side stories for the individual blades not essential to the main storyI thought this was one of the better RPG's I have played in a very very long time. I classify this game as a flawed masterpiece, the flaws are far outweighed by the thing it does right and the immersion factor. The story is everything I want from my JRPG's, convoluted, touching, thought provoking, and well written. The side stories for the individual blades not essential to the main story is something other developers could learn from. I have over 200 hrs into this title and continue to go back for more. I am still 3 blades shy of a complete set of rares and I am now spending time leveling each individual rare blade and still finding new story stuff for them.… Expand
  47. llDust
    Apr 21, 2018
    8
    This game is good for those who are really into RPGs. The whole game can be overwhelming at first but give it sometime and you will enjoy it. Also, once you start to understand how the combat works you will not want to put it away it is very good.
  48. runeasgar
    Jun 1, 2018
    8
    I was genuinely surprised with how good this game was. The combat system is fantastic, the story is pretty good, and the voice acting was mostly good. Some of the game (I'm looking at you, Ursula; also, summoning specific blades) is suuuuuper grindy, though.. and I didn't find the game to have much replay value at all. Still, well worth the purchase.
  49. AllySky
    Apr 29, 2019
    8
    Perhaps one of the best rpg's on the switch, however that doesn't mean it goes without its faults and flaws. The combat is something no player would want, it's entirely boring, long winded, and overly complicated, this needs to be replaced or tweaked, like many other things in the game. The world design, in particular is mediocre, however the world presentation is amazing, what Nintendo isPerhaps one of the best rpg's on the switch, however that doesn't mean it goes without its faults and flaws. The combat is something no player would want, it's entirely boring, long winded, and overly complicated, this needs to be replaced or tweaked, like many other things in the game. The world design, in particular is mediocre, however the world presentation is amazing, what Nintendo is at fault here is the lack of reason to explore and also the poor script in the story as it goes on which evidently makes you not care anymore. Along with a titans worth of miscellaneous crap that will likely be over looked, this only proves that Nintendo doesn't quite have the formula down, at least for this game.… Expand
  50. FreelancerRai
    Jul 16, 2018
    8
    The Vast world of "Xenoblade Chronicles" has touched gamers alike, and "Xenoblade Chronicles 2" is no exception. The game plays much different than it's predecessors and incorporates characters that fight in pairs. The drivers, which are the player character, and blades, who assist the former. The characters are typical altered tropes, but are incredibly likable, and play different fromThe Vast world of "Xenoblade Chronicles" has touched gamers alike, and "Xenoblade Chronicles 2" is no exception. The game plays much different than it's predecessors and incorporates characters that fight in pairs. The drivers, which are the player character, and blades, who assist the former. The characters are typical altered tropes, but are incredibly likable, and play different from one another, do to certain roles they possess. The soundtrack is also phenomenal, and tracks like "Counterattack", and "Awakening" really engage the player. The Titans of Alrest make for incredible places to visit, and are a notable upgrade from "Xenoblade Chronicles 2"'s Mira, and are quite beautiful to look at and explore through. The battle system is a bit simpler, and it is notably easier to defeat bosses with higher levels than you, while still being difficult when it needs to. However, there are notable shortcomings. Characters often repeat battle phrases WAY too often. The animations can be choppy at times, especially when on the go, which hurts an otherwise fantastic JRPG. Then, the final nail in the coffin, the character designs are...questionable. It wouldn't be a JRPG without this popping up in some form but in the case of deuteragonist Pyra (Voiced by Skye Bennet), her design is ridiculous and makes it hard to take some characters seriously. Thankfully, this does not apply to everyone, and a lot of other designs stand out, say, Fire Blade Dagas. Overall, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a joy from start to finish and is right at home on the Nintendo Switch… Expand
  51. Antidote4
    Jul 22, 2018
    8
    Easily one of the better RPGs available on the Switch. While not as strong on the first one made for the Wii, Xenoblade 2 is definitely one of the better JRPS to come out in the western states and a must have for anyone. The weakness in the game are mostly for the overly complex combat system, where most of the mechanics are never needed. And a cast of relatively forgettable anime fanEasily one of the better RPGs available on the Switch. While not as strong on the first one made for the Wii, Xenoblade 2 is definitely one of the better JRPS to come out in the western states and a must have for anyone. The weakness in the game are mostly for the overly complex combat system, where most of the mechanics are never needed. And a cast of relatively forgettable anime fan service characters.… Expand
  52. ssesses
    Oct 14, 2018
    8
    While frustrating at times, Xenoblade 2 manages to create a world big enough and a story intricate enough to intrigue the player, especially near the end of the game. There is a masterpiece underneath a few mind numbing design choices and terrible difficulty spikes. The combat system is deep and takes time to master, while the rest of the gameplay is monotonous walking. Every singleWhile frustrating at times, Xenoblade 2 manages to create a world big enough and a story intricate enough to intrigue the player, especially near the end of the game. There is a masterpiece underneath a few mind numbing design choices and terrible difficulty spikes. The combat system is deep and takes time to master, while the rest of the gameplay is monotonous walking. Every single chapter is phenomenal, but each chapter has at least one terrible moment. There is so much good, but all that good comes with something terrible. However the good is so darn good and the story goes from an interesting, but relatively forgettable story to an insanely intricate political war by the end of the 8th chapter. The story was so carefully designed, and while the still animation is less than appealing, the fight cut scenes are a wonderful sight to see. If you are willing to go through a few tedious, frustrating moments, this game opens up in an incredible fashion.… Expand
  53. B0rn2_w1n
    Oct 13, 2018
    8
    This is the first Xeno saga game I played. In general, I am quite happy to what I saw.

    Pros: - Battle System (I love turn-based jrps, that´s what kept me away from this saga for a while. However, I have to say the battle system is very well implemented and hard to master (you might need to review/study the battle mechanics for a while if you want to master it). - Difficulty. I´ve just    This is the first Xeno saga game I played. In general, I am quite happy to what I saw.

    Pros:
    - Battle System (I love turn-based jrps, that´s what kept me away from this saga for a while. However, I have to say the battle system is very well implemented and hard to master (you might need to review/study the battle mechanics for a while if you want to master it).
    - Difficulty. I´ve just finished Octopath Traveller and I have to say it is much easier than this XC2, You are gonna die, a lot, period. The world is full of high level monsters you want to avoid and some bosses are quite hard to beat.
    - Music. I am more a a fan of classic music for jrps rather than electronic/modern music, but despite this fact, the soundtrack is amazing
    - Duration

    Cons:
    - Story (It,s decent, but I didn´t fell in love with it)
    - Graphically, it could be more polished

    A game worth playing if you enjoy jrpgs.
    Regards,    … Expand
  54. Pazaak
    Oct 13, 2018
    8
    To be honest this game took me a few tries to get into, but now that I have gotten use to a few things it is a very fun game.

    The reasons: - The compass is garbage and I was relying on it in the beginning as I didn't know where I was going. I feel like it tries to make you walk a certain path instead of saying hey the object you want is north it tries to tell you to walk east then    To be honest this game took me a few tries to get into, but now that I have gotten use to a few things it is a very fun game.

    The reasons:
    - The compass is garbage and I was relying on it in the beginning as I didn't know where I was going. I feel like it tries to make you walk a certain path instead of saying hey the object you want is north it tries to tell you to walk east then south then north. Which ends up being confusing and runs you into high level monsters that 1 hit you.
    - Some of the places quests try to send you to are hard to find. Trying to dodge higher level monsters while looking for a specific area can get annoying and take unnecessary amount of time.
    - The tutorial can really use some work, but with there being youtube to help out it doesn't hurt much.

    After getting past those few things I would highly recommend it to people who are into JRPG's.    … Expand
  55. ValuedReviews
    Jul 2, 2020
    8
    This game's story isn't as good as the original's, but it's still an incredible game. Although it has a slow start (most games of this genre do) it does an extraordinary job of getting you invested in the world and the characters. I recommend looking up a guide explaining the combat since the game does do a great job of it, leading many people to get confused and quit early on.
  56. Spudient
    Nov 11, 2018
    8
    Story was good overall, combat was interesting at first but grew repetitive over time. Randomly generated blades, along with the button mashing required when trying to get a rare blade, made the game feel even more grindy..
  57. Anti_badgame0
    Feb 18, 2019
    8
    Now i want to get this out of the way. Xenoblade 2 is my first Xeno series game, ever but i have seen Xenoblade 1 for comparison. Even if i may be a bit blinded by love for this game (especially Pyra, who's character design i love, but i'll get to that later) it has its upsides and downsides. I'll start with those downsides.

    Cons: The gameplay! Oh goodness the gameplay, the compass    Now i want to get this out of the way. Xenoblade 2 is my first Xeno series game, ever but i have seen Xenoblade 1 for comparison. Even if i may be a bit blinded by love for this game (especially Pyra, who's character design i love, but i'll get to that later) it has its upsides and downsides. I'll start with those downsides.

    Cons:

    The gameplay! Oh goodness the gameplay, the compass system is atrocious! I spent literally 8 hours finishing 4 early side quests because i had no clue where to go. The aggro system when alone is inconsistent at best and lack of explanation for the more sophisticated areas of the game makes it not very beginner friendly until about 15 hours in. Now the gameplay isn't bad at all, but it could be better with some quality of life improvement. I understand Xenoblade 1 wasn't very good at this either.

    What the actual hell is the voice acting? I have cringed many, many times from how abysmal/inconsistent the voice acting is in this game. A lot of times the voice actors seem to forget what emotions are and other times certain lines are delivered like they are from a Triple A actor! What the hell? It detracts from the emotion of those moments, but when the voice acting is good, it's GOOD since the actual actors themselves are good.

    Animations/facial expressions. Look i get the anime art style is not designed with this in mind, but at least show SOME expression. I swear one of the bosses has the same dumbass grin the entire time, even after you beat him. That's another thing. Why can the heroes never canonically succeed? Even after thrashing a boss? It's fun to see your hero overcome a challenge sometimes!

    The Blade system is fun on paper, but in practice. Oof, getting a good Blade is so hard! Sure you can get 'legendary Blade's from common crystals, but it's very rare and, to me, the Blades were MASSIVE missed potential in the combat. It would've been nice to have them fight using a sub-weapon every now and then, without your commands, acting as actual support rather than a limiting anchor, and with combat as free-flowing as the type Xenoblade is known for, an anchor is the LAST thing you need. At least their special moves are nice

    Alright now that's about it for the notable bad sides of this game, let's start on the good!

    The storytelling in this game is amazing! With allusion to past events that isn't to vague or too descriptive, revelations on every corner and a story you advance at your own pace (i overlevel everything, lol) along with relatable villains you really feel for the story serves up one hell of a sometimes silly, sometimes serious dish of feels that's guaranteed to stay with you well past the ending. Good thing there's DLC and a prequel because if you love JRPG stories, you'll love this one!

    The character designs are amazing! Now this is a contentious point but i personally love the character designs, especially of the villains. Despite the cartoonish art style and lack of proper expression, the designs alone tell us a lot about who we're looking at and who they are, that is a sign you've made your character's appearance well. In terms of personality and actual characters. Mmm, not sure, that's a yes and no, some of them are rather boring.

    The open world and care taken into creating this environment where you can fight every enemy you come across (usually with disastrous results) is absolutely wonderful. I've played for hours upon hours just grinding in the open world, taking in its beauty. The artwork for this game is amazing!

    Now if you think Metal Gear Solid had good cutscenes, which it does, Xenoblade 2 has a treat for you. I don't normally enjoy lots of cutscenes, but given the occasionally adorable, sometimes silly, but funny characters, disregarding their occasional boredom, the cutscenes, which use the same art style as the rest of the game, are excellently crafted and executed PERFECTLY with these characters, in my opinion. It isn't enough to propel the game to 9/10 but just enough to save it from 7/10. Especially when said cutscene is a fight. Man those are good.

    The levelling system isn't a favourite of mine. A bit too complicated for your everyday RPG with this 'extra XP' stuff, but it's easy to master.

    Finally. Just listen to the SOUNDTRACK! Even if you don't like these kinds of games, but love a kickass soundtrack, Xenoblade has it for you, and when audio and cutscenes combine, well, cinematic magic happens since the composers did such excellent jobs capturing the feel of every moment in the game. Now i don't like some, like the replacement for 'You Will Know Our Names' from XB1 but it's still REALLY GOOD

    Final verdict. If you like JRPG's, don't mind a bit of bad voice acting and like a good story, you'll enjoy Xenoblade 2. It's a deceptively deep, fun and emotional game i'd recommend every Switch owner try for at least 4 hours    … Expand
  58. ApexRTY
    Jan 31, 2019
    8
    Xenoblade Chronicles 2, albeit not canonically a direct sequel to its predecessor, is a magnificent JRPG that truly captures the spirit of its genre and the unparalleled charm defining the Xenoblade franchise as a whole. The breathtaking open-world of Alrest achieves more than immersing the player in gracing every path, patch of grass, desert surface, snow-covered expanse and artificialXenoblade Chronicles 2, albeit not canonically a direct sequel to its predecessor, is a magnificent JRPG that truly captures the spirit of its genre and the unparalleled charm defining the Xenoblade franchise as a whole. The breathtaking open-world of Alrest achieves more than immersing the player in gracing every path, patch of grass, desert surface, snow-covered expanse and artificial terrain with persistent feet taking them through over 70 hours of play time.

    The game's rich battle system is superbly sophisticated, with the rudimentary premise of shifting your focus on an opponent and attacking built upon well with the pacing of the game as new chapters lead to new layers of compelling gameplay. Characters, regardless of whom you select in your party-of-three, are equipped with a maximum of three blades that are categorised in elements: Fire, Water, Ice, Wind, Earth, Thunder, Light and Dark, each of which are effective in opposition to the contrasting element. Four arts can accompany the chosen blade, offering a plethora of abilities from healing to attacking to shielding. This, might I elucidate on, is only a minuscule portion of the convoluted components of this battle system that urges you to devise a strategy, whether premeditated or improvised, for each and every encounter. Said battles are not just matters of diving head-first into a monster's area of vision hoping to accumulate experience in a grinding session, but also a testament to your preparations. Refusing to ready your party with core chips (accessories attributing to an increase in stats for a given blade), the correct equipment and the needed blades will often land you in a difficult situation to escape from; hence a decent strategy should facilitate you in preventing such conditions.

    In accordance with any and every existing JRPG, their stories will inevitably weave its way into the player's heart, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is no exception to that notion. Rex, a salvager enjoying the pleasure of perceiving life from a simpler perspective is enlisted with a lucrative assignment which both brings about his short-term demise and a touching scene pivotal to the character development of him and Pyra, his newly-awakened blade, as well as the ever-extending plot itself. As new characters ripe with colourful personalities throw their hat into the perplexing story, so does the abundance of side content as the exploration of different Titans conjure up further side quests expanding the world of Alrest further than we know it. It can be said that the beginning four chapters have a sufficient longevity to aggregate a game in itself, with the subsequent six and final chapters developing the plot with more emotional weight and context. The game progresses at your own pace, as you decide whether to power through it casually or designate a handful of additional hours relishing the vast amount of content that the game proudly offers, hence no linear storyline restricts your freedom.

    No JRPG is deserving of its title as such without an exhilarating soundtrack to boot; the Xenoblade franchise adheres to this precedent with more commitment than Brighid's desires to record her shenanigans within her journal. Their divine combination of acoustic and string instruments enhances a thrilling battle beyond the complexity of combat that it offers - this title in particular is no doubt a love letter to the masterpieces that is the original Xenoblade's soundtrack with elements from their music tossed into a heavenly mixture of fresh mechanical rhythms (see what I did there?). Each piece of music exemplifies the situation you are placed in; the awe-inspiring visuals of Gormott is reflected by its adventurous, upbeat cadence whilst an excruciatingly-difficult confrontation with the members of the malevolent organisation Torna is supplemented by music portraying the more serious, meaningful atmosphere.

    Even amidst the successes that Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is accompanied by, there are a number of blemishes that render this game imperfect. Rex's depiction, while great in the demeanour department, is largely overseen by the almost laughable voice acting - especially when raw emotion is filtered through his words. This is evident in Chapter 1 and beyond, though players will eventually grow attached to his Ash Ketchum-esque character. In the English dub, the attempts to sync the dialogue with the animation, of which was only intended to match the Japanese voice acting, is barely adequate enough to accept, but the verbal portrayals of majority of the primary cast is nothing short of excellent. It does further require refinements with the combat system, alongside the art direction and animation which is often distressing and inconsistent as different artists contradict the unrivalled art style of Masatsugu Saito.

    This marvellous Switch title is a genuine must-have for any owners of the hybrid console, hands down.    … Expand
  59. ijol
    Jan 9, 2019
    8
    Breathtaking universe to explore and interesting combat system.
    There are too many trivial side quests though.
  60. DJKrimson
    Dec 5, 2019
    8
    Amazing story, characters, cutscenes, music, visuals etc.

    However, everything takes extremely long time to do. A few fights in my playthrough ended up taking around 25 minutes.. Also, the battle system is unnecessarily complex. It took me like 35 hours and a bunch of youtube tutorials to understand it all. That being said, I would strongly recommend this game if you like jrpgs in    Amazing story, characters, cutscenes, music, visuals etc.

    However, everything takes extremely long time to do. A few fights in my playthrough ended up taking around 25 minutes.. Also, the battle system is unnecessarily complex. It took me like 35 hours and a bunch of youtube tutorials to understand it all.

    That being said, I would strongly recommend this game if you like jrpgs in general and can stand a slow paced game.    … Expand
  61. ZeroXR
    Sep 5, 2019
    8
    A great game. Charismatic characters, Fantastic Japanese dubbing and a beautiful art. Gameplay can be boring for people who don't have the patience to wait for slow narrative. The battle is very good when more skills are unlocked and combinations between the various blades to be found.
  62. Miniqiqi
    Mar 30, 2019
    8
    Almost everything is good. Sadly the combat is very very very bad. Poor animation, slow pace, too lenient hit-box.
  63. Fletch1027
    Feb 21, 2023
    8
    A fun world with great music that someone has a story that can get predictable.
  64. alexbudke
    Jul 22, 2019
    8
    Fantastic JRPG game, with entertaining and well done cutscenes throughout the game. The battling mechanic was unique to me, which kept it fresh through the entire game. There are many tiers of levels and weapons that you could critique for hours on end. If you like stat based games, then this if or you.
  65. Bradaloop
    Jul 29, 2021
    8
    With fantastic music, impressive settings, and a (mostly) engaging narrative, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was an enjoyable and even heart-wrenching experience. Though, subpar voice direction, unnecessarily sexualised character designs, and obtuse and confusing tutorials keep this from being one of the greats. What I think is most important to stress (apart from the gripes above) is that thisWith fantastic music, impressive settings, and a (mostly) engaging narrative, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was an enjoyable and even heart-wrenching experience. Though, subpar voice direction, unnecessarily sexualised character designs, and obtuse and confusing tutorials keep this from being one of the greats. What I think is most important to stress (apart from the gripes above) is that this isn't a game for people with a hatred of anime tropes and that this certainly isn't the easiest game to get into; the battle system refuses to open up completely until about a dozen hours in and you're much better off watching a video explaining the combat than trying to figure out what to do from the limited and downright infuriating tutorials that the game provides.

    Generally, the game gets better as you continue on, with voice direction improving and the battle system becoming more complex for those who wish to engage with all aspects of it. The ending is fantastic and the narrative feels completely resolved by the time the credits roll. Suspend your disbelief, give the game some patience, and iron out any problems you have with the battle system early on and you'll have a great time with this game.    … Expand
  66. haloha
    Aug 4, 2019
    8
    This is a very good game. I really like the heroes of the story, Rex, Pyra, and the others who I won't spoil. The combat is not easy, but anyone over the age of 11 can figure this out by looking it up or reading the tips that you get. One thing I don't like are the tutorial things being shoved down your throat all the time. All you really need is a tutorial for "combat" "chain attacks"This is a very good game. I really like the heroes of the story, Rex, Pyra, and the others who I won't spoil. The combat is not easy, but anyone over the age of 11 can figure this out by looking it up or reading the tips that you get. One thing I don't like are the tutorial things being shoved down your throat all the time. All you really need is a tutorial for "combat" "chain attacks" "reviving teammates" etc... I love the story. You go through several different world called Titans with unique enemies. Once you get to Gormott, you will notice this huge lvl 80 gorilla that will murder destroy you, so watch out. One thing, just gonna say it, I was hoping this game was M rated for... you know, but I guess we all have fanfiction and hentai for that. Anyways, the baddies are very cool IMO. There is ninja guy, uh... black hair guy, black hair girl with a bad temper, yellow hair weird guy, and glasses ninja. Very nice. Overall, a very good game. I would recommend.… Expand
  67. GreenMenace
    Mar 1, 2022
    8
    This game is a titan of a game, pun intended. In my opinion, this AAA title contains the best Nintendo exclusive story on the switch. There’s a good chance it’ll remain that way until the end of the switch’s lifetime. Maybe it’s sequel will outdo it. I hadn’t played the original Xenoblade Chronicles, but you don’t need to in order to enjoy the game because the stories are separate.

    Pros    This game is a titan of a game, pun intended. In my opinion, this AAA title contains the best Nintendo exclusive story on the switch. There’s a good chance it’ll remain that way until the end of the switch’s lifetime. Maybe it’s sequel will outdo it. I hadn’t played the original Xenoblade Chronicles, but you don’t need to in order to enjoy the game because the stories are separate.

    Pros
    Pretty environments
    Likeable characters
    Unique strategy elements
    Rewards for exploring the depths of the game
    Players that like the game have the option to purchase the Torna DLC, which is arguably the best DLC available on Switch

    Cons
    The game suffers from being overcomplicated
    Suggestive themes can get distracting
    Lower rated blades have a painfully bland design
    Not all blades are created equal

    The graphics are enjoyable, but some things, like the menu, won’t age well. There are two menus that players work with, and it can be confusing to navigate. Additionally, there are too many characters with suggestive themes. To the point where it’s just gross. I can live with characters like Pyra and Mythra. I can’t, I just cannot stand some of them because the focus is on the suggestive theme—and it doesn’t match the personality of the character at all. The good news there is that you aren’t forced to use them. It's just a shame to me to find a rare blade with a relatively cool design, only to realize that I can’t enjoy it. Going along with blade design, only rare (5 star) blades have a unique look. 1-4 star blades might have a unique name, but have an identical color scheme, so when you get a new blade, most of the time, it will look identical to all your other ones.

    The other problem with this game is how oddly complicated it is. It wouldn’t be hard to learn if the game would just tell it to you straight. But it doesn’t. It gives you one time to learn a tutorial (where they throw a bunch of information at you and say here it all is, remember it) and then it moves on. It keeps introducing new game mechanics throughout the game, each time putting an emphasis on it and telling you why it’s important. You go through a good portion of the game like this. Then, you’re expected to remember it all. Can’t remember? You have to locate a hint merchant and buy the right hint off of them. You can get around this issue by using the internet.

    Battle requires you to press buttons just before an attack lands. Different blades have different abilities to aid Rex and his companions. I’m disappointed that there is a best “healer”, “tank”, etc. It just means that there needed to be a little more love put into the other rare blades.

    Like many other JRPGs of the same genre, characters feel the need to shout out the name of the move as they’re doing it. It’s weird, but I don’t mind it. You can count on Nintendo to add fun resource gathering methods. There are secret areas to find, rare blades to collect, and skill trees to complete. If you’re a person who likes checklists, this game will make your day.

    Make no mistake, this is a big game. If you’re like me, and you like a good, uplifting storyline, then you’ll like this game. The graphics are passable, it was only bothersome to me on a personal level. As long as you understand what’s going on in the game and what you can actually do, you’ll get the most out of your experience. It really deserves a higher score as it's a great game, but it is inhibited by unnecessary quirks.
    Tips:
    In-game vocabulary gets confusing (don’t even get me started on the phrase “attack canceling”). Drivers are humans, blades are weapons with spirits in them—or something like that lol. Drivers and blades level up differently. Blades level up as you use their various abilities. And to increase a blade’s skill tree, you have to do certain things as specified on the skill you want to upgrade. I went through half the game not knowing how important it was to use a party gauge attack to end fights for better loot and additional experience. I didn’t know until the end how to upgrade blades which meant a lot of meaningless grind at the very end of the game. And I also didn’t know that the orbs showed up for elemental combos on the upper part of the screen, hinting which blade to utilize next, which is a big part of strategy as well. Hope that saves at least one newcomer’s time. Not by minutes, but by hours.    … Expand
  68. Ajite
    Sep 15, 2019
    8
    After playing 65 hours and completed the main story, I can say that the game has a pretty good story, the music is great and the characters are charming but the whole experience has a few flaws. The side quests are a bit dull, it is easy to get lost and the combat system is slow paced.

    In the end, it is a good JRPG but I do not consider it is a masterpiece. The story was good enough to    After playing 65 hours and completed the main story, I can say that the game has a pretty good story, the music is great and the characters are charming but the whole experience has a few flaws. The side quests are a bit dull, it is easy to get lost and the combat system is slow paced.

    In the end, it is a good JRPG but I do not consider it is a masterpiece. The story was good enough to make me want to purchase the season pass.    … Expand
  69. Bondage
    Mar 19, 2020
    8
    This was definitely an experience.
    The world is huge to explore, many fearsome and even cute monsters to encounter and fight, a collection system that encourages grinding, and the best cast of characters I've come across with each one having a unique and loving soul.
    Except the main protagonist. Removing him and making any other cast the main character would have made this the #1 game    This was definitely an experience.
    The world is huge to explore, many fearsome and even cute monsters to encounter and fight, a collection system that encourages grinding, and the best cast of characters I've come across with each one having a unique and loving soul.

    Except the main protagonist.
    Removing him and making any other cast the main character would have made this the #1 game for decades to come. Consider playing in japanese to get that damn yell out of your head, but at what cost? The cost of all the fantastic voice-actors of the english cast too. Nobody wins.    … Expand
  70. JeffGramarley
    Jun 24, 2020
    8
    Buenos efectos visuales sin duda casi no parece un juego de la switch, siendo honesto no tiene una dificultad demasiado pesada este juego para nada que ver con el primer juego de la saga me gustaron los personajes aunque en ocasiones literalmente parece un anime del montón en la historia algo genérico en comedia aunque sea solo relleno si mata un poco más de lo que ya está el ambiente delBuenos efectos visuales sin duda casi no parece un juego de la switch, siendo honesto no tiene una dificultad demasiado pesada este juego para nada que ver con el primer juego de la saga me gustaron los personajes aunque en ocasiones literalmente parece un anime del montón en la historia algo genérico en comedia aunque sea solo relleno si mata un poco más de lo que ya está el ambiente del juego y no te lo puedes tomar enserio. dejando de eso el gameplay y el soundtrack son realmente disfrutables… Expand
  71. MagicMikey
    Aug 22, 2020
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Battle System while innovating wasn't as fun for me personally as Xenoblade Chronincles. I still think this is an amazing game with great characters and beautiful music. Rex for smash… Expand
  72. torjo
    Jun 30, 2023
    8
    Wow! Amazing jrpg!!
    If this is what you are looking for, buy it.
    A cool and inmersive story (although too many waifus in my opinion as a mature man). Many objects, complements, weapons and everything you need to prepare your next combat. But you need time. A LOT OF TIME. I do not recommend it for ocasional players with just a few available hours per week.
  73. Online_NPC
    Oct 28, 2021
    8
    Xenoblade is a JRPG fan's JRPG. There's so much to do in the game with a very deep lore and storytelling as simple or complicates as you want it to be. I'm surprised it runs so well on the Switch, although I played in docked mode, and I've been told the resolution suffers in handheld mode.The music is good, but if you want dialog with emotion to it, go to the eshop and download the freeXenoblade is a JRPG fan's JRPG. There's so much to do in the game with a very deep lore and storytelling as simple or complicates as you want it to be. I'm surprised it runs so well on the Switch, although I played in docked mode, and I've been told the resolution suffers in handheld mode.The music is good, but if you want dialog with emotion to it, go to the eshop and download the free DLC for the Japanese audio pack.

    Graphics: 9
    Gameplay: 7.5
    Audio: 8.5
    Story: 8.5    … Expand
  74. rafario
    Aug 16, 2022
    8
    Its a great game, but forced suggestive moments and weak plot keep it away from the strong plateau where the 1 and 3 are
  75. jorge1102
    May 28, 2022
    8
    Q:為什麼買這個遊戲來玩
    A:RPG是我最愛的遊戲類型，非常喜歡光婀娜多姿的樣貌，因此買這個遊戲
    Q:三個優點 A: 1.主線劇情動畫非常豐富與精采，演出魄力非常強大，打鬥的熱血，感人的劇情，全部都有 2.系統非常豐富與多樣，探索、獨特複雜的戰鬥連擊系統，多樣龐大的地圖，神劍支線、豐富的支線，可玩內容非常多，還有傭兵派遣任務 3.音樂相當出色，配合演出，搭配得天衣無縫 Q:三個缺點 A: 1.價格很硬很貴很不甜 2.導引、提示做得非常爛，很容易找不到東西，要靠攻略、影片，要花很多時間爬文找攻略 3.場景技能有時要求很高，沒達到就過不了任務、開不了門、爬不了牆壁、過不了迷宮，要花時間特別去農，有的還很難達成，農不出來    Q:為什麼買這個遊戲來玩
    A:RPG是我最愛的遊戲類型，非常喜歡光婀娜多姿的樣貌，因此買這個遊戲

    Q:三個優點
    A:
    1.主線劇情動畫非常豐富與精采，演出魄力非常強大，打鬥的熱血，感人的劇情，全部都有
    2.系統非常豐富與多樣，探索、獨特複雜的戰鬥連擊系統，多樣龐大的地圖，神劍支線、豐富的支線，可玩內容非常多，還有傭兵派遣任務
    3.音樂相當出色，配合演出，搭配得天衣無縫

    Q:三個缺點
    A:
    1.價格很硬很貴很不甜
    2.導引、提示做得非常爛，很容易找不到東西，要靠攻略、影片，要花很多時間爬文找攻略
    3.場景技能有時要求很高，沒達到就過不了任務、開不了門、爬不了牆壁、過不了迷宮，要花時間特別去農，有的還很難達成，農不出來
  76. GRX3m0m
    Nov 22, 2022
    8
    Interesting story, beautiful visuals, good game, but extreme difficulty spikes.
  77. Dyron
    Jan 23, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Um bom jogo. Melhorou muita coisa na jogabilidade em comparação com o Xenoblade Chronicles. A ideia das blades foi bem legaUm bom jogo. Melhorou algumas coisas na jogabilidade em comparação com o Xenoblade Chronicles, embora só lá pro meio do jogo, depois de alguns upgrades, ele fica mais rápido e gostoso de batalhar.

    A ideia das blades foi bem legal, e como cada uma tem seus pontos fortes e fracos, e vários modos de combate, me motivou a querer ter todas, principalmente as super raras, que tinham personalidades, histórias e um design em sua grande parte bem legal.

    A história é um ponto forte também, tendo pontos bem originais. O que me incomodou bastante foram algumas batalhas, principalmente no começo, que a missão era derrotar o inimigo, e quando você ganhava a batalha, vinha o CG mostrando você derrotado, e os adversários totalmente bem, como se nada tivesse acontecido. Era muito frustrante você ter um batalha, que algumas vezes era até super fácil derrotá-los, e mostrar que você perdeu no final, e de lavada. Nossa, como isso me irritou. Se queria fazer um inimigo tão forte que a gente não tivesse chance, era só programar a luta pra ser impossível de ganhar. Difícil fazer isso?

    Outra coisa que me incomodou foi as side quests. Além de serem muito mais sem graça que a do Xenoblade Chronicles, são bem difíceis de serem completadas, não pela dificuldade de matar um inimigo ou coletar um item, mas principalmente pelo mapa ser muito confuso com a sua “verticalidade”, e mesmo mostrando uma ! onde fica o objetivo em muitos casos, era um saco conseguir achar o lugar certo que você precisa seguir para chegar naquele ponto.

    Resumindo, é um bom jogo, com boas ideias. Mas comparado com o Xenoblade Chronicles, que joguei anteriormente, peca em muitas coisas, e passa relativamente longe da diversão que tive no mesmo. Venham com expectativas mais baixas, se jogou o anterior e esperava algo do mesmo nível, mas ainda assim recomendo muito para quem se tornou fã do primeiro. Vai ter muitas coisas familiares aqui. E mesmo com todas as ressalvas que fiz, me diverti bastante, e investi mais de 100 horas nele.
    l, junto ao fato de ter o fator de as colecionar, que me    … Expand
  78. TheXxchaKing
    Jul 7, 2023
    8
    + Combat mechanics are the most interesting in the Xenoblade series
    + Soundtrack is absolutely majestic and one of the best ever
    + Story is surprisingly really tight for a JRPG and is interesting from start to finish + Excellent and memorable cast of characters (some for entirely the wrong reasons) + World and various titans are gorgeously realised - Tora and Poppi legitimately made    + Combat mechanics are the most interesting in the Xenoblade series
    + Soundtrack is absolutely majestic and one of the best ever
    + Story is surprisingly really tight for a JRPG and is interesting from start to finish
    + Excellent and memorable cast of characters (some for entirely the wrong reasons)
    + World and various titans are gorgeously realised

    - Tora and Poppi legitimately made me feel higher levels of cringe than I've ever experienced before
    - Gacha mechanics are dreadful
    - Fetch quests were very lazily handled    … Expand
  79. M1sfiT
    Sep 3, 2023
    8
    Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaameeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!!
  80. Risax
    Jan 13, 2018
    7
    I got Xenoblade Chronicles 2 because I heard good things about the first Xenoblade Chronicles and felt bad about never getting it on my own Wii. Overall, this is the first game in the Xeno series I got. Mainly because I don't think Xenogears and the Xenosaga games ever got released in Europe.

    Anyway, on to the review. I got Xenoblade Chronicles 2 about a day before release, and I    I got Xenoblade Chronicles 2 because I heard good things about the first Xenoblade Chronicles and felt bad about never getting it on my own Wii. Overall, this is the first game in the Xeno series I got. Mainly because I don't think Xenogears and the Xenosaga games ever got released in Europe.

    Anyway, on to the review.

    I got Xenoblade Chronicles 2 about a day before release, and I don't think I played for more than an hour. The English voice acting got on my nerves too quickly. The voices didn't seem to fit most of the characters and their shouts during battle sounded flat and easily started to grate on me. It also felt like I was watching an old Kung-Fu flick dubbed in English with how badly the movements of the mouths of characters synced up with what they were saying, but when the patch for Japanese audio was released the next day I found that it was still kind of "iffy"

    Speaking of combat, throughout the game whenever I had to fight I was just...bored. You had to slowly move over to an enemy with you drawn weapon before you could attack, since your character wouldn't swing his weapon while moving. While auto-attacking you do load up skills that can give benefits if you attack at certain times or from positions, but combat never really got exciting. Even when your Blades performed certain moves. Usually that was just a mess of QTEs. Not that your skill level at handling any of this really mattered, because the difference in level between you and your enemy usually determined how easily you would win or lose anyway.

    As for the Blades I mentioned, they are what made me interested in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 in the first place. Now, I have a weakness for sentient weapons. Whether they can talk to their wielder, or have some sort of body of their own like in this game. I just really like it. And I was not disappointed. Aside from the Blades you get through the main story, you can also gain new ones through Core Crystals. And each Rare Blade has a personality, quest lines and Heart-to-Heart scenes of their own.

    Unfortunately, GETTING said Rare Blades is a mess that determines heavily on RNG. I've wasted plenty of Rare and Legendary Crystals, that supposedly up your chances of getting Rare Blades, to get nothing of importance.

    And raising the affinity of said Rare Blades and gaining better skills and actually getting to their quests can be a pain in the ass too. Expect a LOT of slay x amount of monsters in y place. Gather this amount of wood. Deal that amount of damage in one hit. And so on and so forth.

    Aside from the Blades the parts of the game I loved where the music and the areas you got to explore, which all looked beautiful in their own way. Exploring and gathering stuff could be a bit annoying with the way you had to organize your Blades, however. As they can only use their Field Skills when equipped, but it's something you have to deal with.

    Now, I'll try not to spoil much of the story but honestly I thought it kind of dull. If you played RPGs before, the plot and characters probably feel rather clichéd with the all-loving hero that only sees the good in everything and wants to save everyone. The Tsundere chick that keeps tagging along for some reason. The cute mascot character. The serious one and the comic relief. I did like some of the party members and Blades, but honestly I don't think I really ever grew attached to anyone.

    That being said, there are some fairly good twists and darker parts that caught my attention, but those didn't happen until I'd gone about half way through. It also isn't really necessary to play the first Xenoblade Chronicles, but there were some damn important things related to at the endgame that I had to look up. So I probably spoiled myself a little on Xenoblade Chronicles should I want to play it. But that's my own fault.

    Anyway, I've rambled for a while so I'll leave some PROS and CONS before giving my verdict and ending this review.

    PROS:
    +Amazing music
    +Beautiful areas to explore
    +Some good lore and world building
    +Blades

    CONS:
    -Bad English voice acting
    -Boring combat
    -Uninteresting characters and plot
    -GETTING Rare Blades
    -Raising the affinity of Rare Blades

    Overall, Xenoblade Chronicles isn't a bad game. Unfortunately, it isn't great either. I had fun with it, don't get me wrong. I'm sure I easily spent over a 100 hours playing it. But I don't see it sticking in my memory as a game I should pick up again some time to play for the beginning.

    I'd say, get it on sale if you're a big fan of JRPGs and don't have anything else to play.

    Final verdict: 7/7.5    … Expand
  81. SaintJames012
    Jan 22, 2018
    7
    Xenoblade Chronicles is a good game riddled with issues and problems. As a JRPG on the Switch, it is a definite recommendation for anyone who wants a solid game; however against other JRPGs across multiple platforms, it falls flat in its appeal. The issue with XC2 is in the game outside of the main story. The side quests are either laughably bad or frustratingly boring. They consist of oneXenoblade Chronicles is a good game riddled with issues and problems. As a JRPG on the Switch, it is a definite recommendation for anyone who wants a solid game; however against other JRPGs across multiple platforms, it falls flat in its appeal. The issue with XC2 is in the game outside of the main story. The side quests are either laughably bad or frustratingly boring. They consist of one of two different formulas, the first is either a glorified scenic route in which you are required to go to point A only to be told to go to point B then C, or it is a boring fetch quest that requires you to either get ingredients or get loot. What makes the fetch quests especially boring is the game won't tell you where some of them are, so you will end up running in circles trying to find the drop spot for these items. The voice acting for the English setting is pretty bad, as the actors must not have known what emotions were supposed to go with what scene. This is especially a problem for the character Nia, who in some scenes will be animated as hysterical or animated, but the voice actor will deliver the lines in a calm demeanor, undermining the entire point of the scene or otherwise diminishing the emotions that were supposed to occur. The game does boast some pretty fun characters and is smart enough to have them evolve both emotionally and combat-wise over time. The chemistry between the characters is also fairly strong, as cutscenes and dialogue between the many party members is always fun to listen and watch. Combat-wise, the game separates classes into 3 basic types: Attack, Tank, and Healer. These are the baseline for all party members. Added on are elements that allow for combos not only among individuals, but the initiated between the party as a whole. The sense of scale and the world are extremely fun to explore, although there are moments where the game does feel a little unfair. A great example is in a world a couple hours into the game, most of the creatures are fairly low level (about 4-17 for range), but included is a freaking bird that is a level 75. Mind you this is a starting location as soon as the game starts teaching you the more complex aspects of its mechanics. This dumb ass bird moves across most of the map, and if it spots you will attack indiscriminately. Since this is the location for many story and side quests, there are moments where you are stuck, since the bird can kill you one shot, and you cannot run away. This is not the only issue. Combat against creatures can also draw in others in the vicinity. While this does cause many fun brawls and struggles for survival, the enemies will never target each other even if they would do so by the world building standard. If mercenaries attack you on the road, and a herd of big buffalo type creatures join in, the buffalo will not attack the mercenaries as well. Rather everyone ends up attacking you. There are plenty of instances in other titles where the use of the environment and its habitat can be used to your advantage, but in XC2, this does not exist. Sometimes getting from town A to town B is a monotonous, frustrating endeavor because if a single enemy spots you, then you will end up fighting the entire colony of rogue death bees or hungry wolves. Still the game is not all problems. It is still a fun adventure to partake in, and the characters are for the most part likable and interesting enough to carry the story. While the side quests are a drag and grinding is going to be an issue, it can still hold itself as a competent JRPG. The problem is is it not a 10 by any means. If we are being completely honest, this game benefits from being on the switch. If it were to be on the Playstation for instance, it would not hold up against titles like Final Fantasy or Persona. This game is fun, but it is a 7 at best.… Expand
  82. DreamCore
    Jan 8, 2018
    7
    + Great story
    + Interesting combat system
    + Beautiful environments and level design - The map is utterly useless, worst I've ever seen. - Side quests suck and are all the same (gather resources or salvage) but with different "story". Unfortunately you have to do them unless you want to grind. - Enemies has way too much hp. Killing regular enemies with the same or even lower level    + Great story
    + Interesting combat system
    + Beautiful environments and level design

    - The map is utterly useless, worst I've ever seen.
    - Side quests suck and are all the same (gather resources or salvage) but with different "story". Unfortunately you have to do them unless you want to grind.
    - Enemies has way too much hp. Killing regular enemies with the same or even lower level can take up to 5 minues which is the reason why this game is so long. Enemies aren't hard but just takes forever to kill even when using Specials, Blade Combos etc. Three characters beating on a tiny little lizard 5 lvls lower for 5 minutes is just ridiculous.    … Expand
  83. Fenriswolf
    Dec 25, 2017
    7
    At this point the game is so unpolished I can't give it the Rating it could have.
    Hope they will fix it.
  84. Kaprawiec
    Dec 11, 2017
    7
    Update - was 10 now its 7 from me. Great/ now ok RPG.
    Ill leave that its like playing Ghibli Studio animated movie. Idea behind this world is so good that the only thing I can say is that I just love it.
    Now on to what changed my mind - boring, bad designed combat! Its basicall just same combat system as the one in Final Fantasy 12. You run around, and the combat pretty much is getting    Update - was 10 now its 7 from me. Great/ now ok RPG.
    Ill leave that its like playing Ghibli Studio animated movie. Idea behind this world is so good that the only thing I can say is that I just love it.
    Now on to what changed my mind - boring, bad designed combat! Its basicall just same combat system as the one in Final Fantasy 12. You run around, and the combat pretty much is getting done by it self. Im usually not even looking on the screen, because it really doesnt matter in most of fights, they are either to easy or just imposibble to win. Oftenly they also piss me off with stupid crap - example:
    Im on lvl 10, fight with couple of lvl 5 bunnies (hitting them with ridiculously big swords obviously made from cardboard because 1 hit takes 5 lvl lower than me rabbit 5% of its health so the fight drags on forever) and then out of nowhere flies a bird or runs some gorilla on lvl 78 (!?) and one shot kills me. FUN...not... really wtf.
    I was hyped, after reading so much praise about the combat system, but really its bad for me atm. You cant just git gud when enemies oneshot you out of nowhere, and its not like I could run away either, because even when I try they will kill me from mile away.

    Ill update this when I finish the game, but hell, this game doesnt deserve 10.
    And for this stupid Tora character which I really start to hate with all my heart and this dumb infantile "mememe" or what the hell hes yelling all the time when fighting I would rate this even lower, but the game is actually good.    … Expand
  85. Kvr
    Dec 2, 2017
    7
    Bought the game and brouth ik back. The optimalisation is really bad ... lot of fps drops and pop up, also the UI is so demanding.. when you walk in a town the only thing that you see are the icons of the several shops, for me this really takes away from my immersion, also the graphics of Xenoblade X on WiiU looked strangely enough better then this title.
    I can see that this game can be a    Bought the game and brouth ik back. The optimalisation is really bad ... lot of fps drops and pop up, also the UI is so demanding.. when you walk in a town the only thing that you see are the icons of the several shops, for me this really takes away from my immersion, also the graphics of Xenoblade X on WiiU looked strangely enough better then this title.
    I can see that this game can be a good game but for me the technical problems are too much in front of that... the game feels rushed tbh, I will buy it again in a few months when Monolith has optimized it more. For now it not worth my 60 bucks... In this state i give this game a 7.0..    … Expand
  86. moothemagiccow
    Aug 29, 2020
    7
    =OVERWHELMING.=
    I loved Xenoblade 1 and Xenoblade X but this game is overwhelming. If there was a player's guide, it would be the size of an encyclopedia. There are too many options, too many items, too many things to upgrade, too many menus to manage.
    Even watching the battles is overwhelming. You control one character, who has a partner character ("Blade"), and you're on a team with    =OVERWHELMING.=
    I loved Xenoblade 1 and Xenoblade X but this game is overwhelming. If there was a player's guide, it would be the size of an encyclopedia. There are too many options, too many items, too many things to upgrade, too many menus to manage.

    Even watching the battles is overwhelming. You control one character, who has a partner character ("Blade"), and you're on a team with two other people who also have partners. Often the people you are battling also have these partners. It's a mess to watch.

    Each of these characters and each of these partner Blades have items/weapons you can equip, with skill trees that you upgrade.

    You don't just get those items from beating enemies or doing quests. After you get them from enemies or quests, you have to find spots around the map, press the buttons right on time, and dig up materials that activate the items you can equip. To dig up materials, you have to buy a kind of digging license. You can sell excess materials at a specific shop, but there's no real way to remember which materials are important.

    You can upgrade your skill trees by simply playing the game, or you can do discrete tasks like "go talk to people" or "collect and use this kind of potion."

    You can also use multiple "Blades" in the same battle, and there are more Blades than you can realistically manage. You get them in a kind of lottery system that is similar to micro-transaction RPGs (which does NOT cost real money, just in-game items). One goal is to get "rare" blades rather than throwaway, weaker blades. The lottery is another dimension to the game that no one really understands.

    There is a lot more - quests, where you collect items or talk to characters or go places or kill things, then Mercenary Quests where you deploy your blades for 10-45 minutes at a time and can't use them, pouch items that give you temporary upgrades, and I'm sure I'm forgetting like five things!

    =NO EXPLANATIONS=
    I have no idea how much all of this effort actually has on playing the game, because the game is so overwhelming that no player really understands what they're doing. Is this weapon better than the other? Is this skill more worthwhile? It's often too complicated to figure out. When I look something up on google, I see contradictory answers in the same thread. That means people who think they know how to play and are giving advice don't actually know.

    This is because the game RARELY EXPLAINS what is happening or how to play. In the first ten or so hours of the game, you're bombarded with new systems, and the tutorials don't really give you a baseline understanding of what you're doing. Even some of the terms have really similar names. A skill with a Smash effect has a particular effect on enemies, but many skills are called "Quick Smash" etc without having the Smash effect. There are Blade Arts and Blade Combos and Arts Combos and I can't remember which is which.

    =MISSTEPS=
    What's strange is that the game is lacking in a few basic areas. You can't control the rest of your party (much different than previous Xenoblade games) and their AI is stupid. They will, for example, walk off a cliff and die in the middle of a battle. When enemies drop items, sometimes the items will fall off a cliff or fall onto a spot that you can't jump to because you're still fighting. The map is a total mess, and the great little arrow from Xenoblade 1 is replaced with a kind of countdown radar that I regularly get lost with. The big map when you hit X is also really bad. It's very small and has no real detail on it.

    =FUN=
    Despite all this, I like the game! It's fun, I like watching the numbers go up and pretending I know what I'm doing. I play it on Normal and it's actually not that hard! My characters die with some regularity, but it's not often frustrating. I would say among the Xenoblade games, this is my least favorite. It seems to ignore a lot of the steps forward in playability that Xenoblade X took (e.g. the quest menu and map is worse now), and the story is very awkward, dull, and cringeworthy.

    If you have nothing to do during, say, a pandemic, and nowhere to go, you could easily lose yourself inside this game. You could probably play this for 4 hours a day for years. I am baffled that there is DLC because there is so much to do. I don't know what they would add.    … Expand
  87. Cougargames
    Nov 1, 2019
    7
    Overall a good game with a beautifull world and a somewhat good combat espacially the chain attacks
    (even thoe the tutorials are never ending and dont really teach you the mechanics that well)
    a good soundtrack and a somewhat emotionall ending. The bad part bad: writing is non beliavable
    and characters which is espacially bad considering this game is a long game that focuses mainly on story.
  88. freshtodhef
    Feb 23, 2019
    7
    While the game design can be frustrating at times, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a must own for any JRPG fan.
  89. Siggy88
    Mar 2, 2018
    7
    +0- Little brother to Xenoblade (Wii), playing XC first is recommended, but not vital -0+

    A game that feels closer in style to XC than XCX. The game offers an original universe: a sea of clouds on which titans live (some of them are only a few meters, some others are literally organic continents on which people live!). There are several species (humans, Nopons...) living on titans, but    +0- Little brother to Xenoblade (Wii), playing XC first is recommended, but not vital -0+

    A game that feels closer in style to XC than XCX.
    The game offers an original universe: a sea of clouds on which titans live (some of them are only a few meters, some others are literally organic continents on which people live!). There are several species (humans, Nopons...) living on titans, but there are also Blades. They are immortal beings that other living creatures can summon for help.

    +++Good+++

    + good story, although with more clichés
    + team consist of up to 3 characters and one Blade each. You can assign 3 Blades at a time for each char and switch them during battle to adapt your strategy
    + superb OST
    + several amazing characters
    + great variety in environment. Although each individual titan feels a bit useless outside of one or two story-related places (mostly one main city per titan)
    + convenient cutscenes viewer, but you need to restart the game to use it
    + the game gives you the same sense of wonder and curiosity as XC. Every new titan, every new character, every new chapter is a discovery.

    000Meh...000

    0 many QTE and some button mashing in battle. Sometimes even a mix of the two. Erk!
    0 combat system kind of discourages you from moving. You will spend a lot of time in battle just standing around waiting for skills to charge up
    0 devs took good note of all the praise they got for the British VA in XC and decided to do that again. Sadly the cast in unequal in skill and some chars have very thick accents.
    0 oversexualized female characters, you like it or you hate it. Poor Pyra can't even see her feet :'(
    0 a character whose role is so cliché that he complains about it himself (RIP 4th wall) and another character complains about wasting time right after a padding section of the game. That's a bit frustrating.
    0 the game keeps receiving patches, but clearly it has been released a couple months too early for Christmas
    0 tutorials are not great and can only be seen once
    0 the game keeps giving you low tier stuff (lowest level cores for the Blades, notably) nearly until the end. Drops and chest feel underwhelming too often.
    0 resolution is low in handheld mode, but AA is surprisingly good
    0 a lot of menu navigation

    ---Bad---

    - if you don't like games where everyone keeps shouting for no reason this game is not for you. (chars comment on practically everything: sunrise, sunset, fast travel, opening a chest...)
    - the fighting mechanics seem to have been designed with complexity in mind, rather than depth (slow, hard to learn, messy GUI...)
    - a RPG that tries way to hard to be a platformer at times. The jumps are terrible and the collisions are sometimes treacherous.
    - likewise, physics applies to loot too! Items can fall off cliffs and be lost for ever (WTF?)
    - AI is probably as good as in other games in the series, but the more complex geometry of the levels will make your team mates run around, get stuck or jump over cliff often. It gets old real fast.
    - padding!
    - bosses are big bags of HP, fights take forever
    - ridiculous difficulty spikes on some story bosses that will halt your progress and force you to level-up. Then you will tear through everything for the next 3 hours...
    - the way you unlock new Blades is a disaster. It is a GATCHA! And a very bad one. You will have to collect cores in fights and from chests. Using one leads to an unskippable cutscene (nearly 40 seconds total!). To be fixed soon apparently?
    - most of the time you will get a basic Blade from your gatcha. Good luck collecting all the unique ones!
    - upgrades for one of the Blade are locked behind a 8bit minigame. It is not fun, but since it's mandatory...
    - the game spoils many things due to poor design and oversights. For example, you can tell which enemies will become allies later on by looking at the silhouettes in the Blades menu.
    - some cutscenes are just too long
    - inconsistent names of main chars between Japanese and English localization. You can have JP VA with EN subs if you want, but it will be hard to follow.
    - I can tell that at least the French localization tends to be very inconsistent with the English one at times. Overall quality of translation is sometimes amateurish.
    - some weird design decisions: just like in the other games, you heal automatically out of fights, but now there are inns. Their only real purpose is to level-up chars, instead of doing so immediately on the field. Ins feel shoe-horned in the game.
    - very predictable lines of dialogue and many classic character archetypes
    - the game keeps introducing new rules for the universe, but it never takes very long until a new character arrives to brake that rule before you even had time to get used to it
    - ended sooner than expected. I was expecting the game to pull a "Ha! You thought it was over, but there's 15 more hours to go!". It did not.
    - some cryptic things to do to unlock some rare blades...    … Expand
  90. ImperialKnight
    Dec 7, 2017
    7
    This is a very classic JRPG with an "open world" shoe horned in. It's not bad, it's just average. And what's worst, it comes out AFTER Breath of the Wild. It contrasts how well BotW was designed with the world in mind and how in Xenoblade, it's an after thought. The minor irritations within Xenoblade slowly adds up, and eventually you just want to tear through the main campaign and forgetThis is a very classic JRPG with an "open world" shoe horned in. It's not bad, it's just average. And what's worst, it comes out AFTER Breath of the Wild. It contrasts how well BotW was designed with the world in mind and how in Xenoblade, it's an after thought. The minor irritations within Xenoblade slowly adds up, and eventually you just want to tear through the main campaign and forget about the rest of the game.

    The battle system is over complicated. It throw dozens of mechanics at you, but ultimately none of them really makes much of a difference. The mechanics don't allow you to take out much higher level enemies and in the end, it's still a classic JRPG grind for levels to match the enemies    … Expand
  91. LocustOfChiron
    Dec 4, 2017
    7
    This game feels like it's one step forward, two steps back. The changes to Xenoblade Gameplay we've come to love over 2 games are interesting, Specials comboing with the now expanded Topple mechanics are provide nice bursts of extra damage and extend CC, but enemies have huge amounts of HP past a relatively early point in the game and the extra duration really only breaks even with pastThis game feels like it's one step forward, two steps back. The changes to Xenoblade Gameplay we've come to love over 2 games are interesting, Specials comboing with the now expanded Topple mechanics are provide nice bursts of extra damage and extend CC, but enemies have huge amounts of HP past a relatively early point in the game and the extra duration really only breaks even with past stuff like daze. Cool ultra customizable party member, but actually getting the stuff you want to customize him as you want means grinding a minigame until the RNG gives you the thing you want, the list goes on and on. All in all this game is a let down as a member of the Xenoblade family. It's still good enough by it's own merit to be worth a purchase for a JRPG fan, but by bearing the Xenoblade name it'll inevitably have to be compared to the original Chronicles as well as X, and in that regard, it comes up short.… Expand
  92. SuperDylan
    May 2, 2018
    7
    I feel like i am fairly qualified to review this game. I've got every rarer blade. beat the game twice. and i feel as if i have experienced the game with everything it has to offer. so do i recommend it. thats tough
    for a average person who hasn't played that many JRPG's this is a fairly good entry. it as a descent, but cliche story. and the story is probably the worst out of the series.    I feel like i am fairly qualified to review this game. I've got every rarer blade. beat the game twice. and i feel as if i have experienced the game with everything it has to offer. so do i recommend it. thats tough
    for a average person who hasn't played that many JRPG's this is a fairly good entry. it as a descent, but cliche story. and the story is probably the worst out of the series. But it is still an amazing story and it has pretty good characters.

    one of the biggest turn offs for people is that the game has a lot of fan-service. many of the character designs are skimpy and the girls are overly exposed, besides Mia. There is also a lot of **** moments in the game design department. These flaws are the reason why this game is a 7 and not a 10. let me list all of the bs aspects of this game at the end.

    The music in this game is nowhere near xenogears, or xenoblade 1. It sounds pretty forgettable. also the voice acting is borderline tolerable for a lot of characters. while that could be attributed to having boring cringie dialog, there are some really good voice actors such as Pyra, Mythra, sometimes Rex, Zeke, Mia, and the villeins. everything else seams flat and boring. Tora is especially annoying.

    1. there is a level 80 monster that can one shot you in the opening field. this is not only one time. this is many times and over level monsters are a reacureine appearance in this game. in fact Mor Ardain is crawling with level 80 monsters

    2. some of the boss's are bs as well and require shear luck to beat.

    3. the mini game Tiger Tiger is to tedious and boring. this game is used to level up and get new skills for a couple of new party member's (poppi, I'm not naming this a spoiler because its so early in the game. Its in chapter 1)

    4. Some rare blades (like KOS-MOS) require an obserd amount of grindeing, If you want to get every rare blade its going to be tough.

    5. Mercenary missions are boring and they should have had a mini game for them instead of a real time timer.

    in the end i do recommend this game, but it will sometimes test your patience, and durability, take brakes with it, and have a fun time.    … Expand
  93. vince14_evil
    Jan 16, 2018
    7
    How can I say ? It is not a game of the year like Zelda but I had good time played it.
    If you want a kinda like solo-mmorpg, it's the game for you!

    The graphic and the presentation are very disappointing comparing of the first X.
  94. Brentinitis
    Jan 24, 2019
    7
    An overall pretty good but disappointing game. I've been playing these games all the way from Xenogears till now and this is definitely my least favorite of all the games in this franchise. I will say I did enjoy the Story despite a few criticisms I have for it and I like all the main characters... except Rex that is. Unfortunately this game suffers from a lot of really bad game design.An overall pretty good but disappointing game. I've been playing these games all the way from Xenogears till now and this is definitely my least favorite of all the games in this franchise. I will say I did enjoy the Story despite a few criticisms I have for it and I like all the main characters... except Rex that is. Unfortunately this game suffers from a lot of really bad game design. Convenient and streamlined features that were in previous games are just gone with no reason or explanation. For example the loot system was improved going from Xenoblade 1 to Xenoblade X, but in this game they took more than a few steps backward with that. When an enemy drops items and money they fly everywhere and more often than not land somewhere unreachable. This means you could end up spending a long time trying to get an enemy to drop a specific item only to have it fall off a cliff once it finally drops; this is incredibly frustrating and is a problem for the entire game. I could write a book on all the problems I have with this game but I'm deciding to look at the positives. The story is pretty good, I like the characters, I like the music, and the gameplay is fun sometimes. Overall 7/10, if you liked the first one give it a try.… Expand
  95. RdeRuben
    May 1, 2019
    7
    Nice game.
    Best: Combat system
    Worst: Sexist with the female sex.
    Infinite Movie Scenes
    It's an easy game but when it wants it becomes in a wall and u must search guides to continues.
    About 80 hours finish it.
  96. Dazar
    Dec 6, 2019
    7
    Honestly, this game does improve from the last two in many ways, but its gatcha mechanic is horrible. The combat is also pretty stale. Once you can get 8 orbs on the boss and you have Pyra's final form, you win. No question. You win. This applies to even the Superbosses. I know that the orbs do something individually when they are rotating around the boss, but I don't know exactly and itHonestly, this game does improve from the last two in many ways, but its gatcha mechanic is horrible. The combat is also pretty stale. Once you can get 8 orbs on the boss and you have Pyra's final form, you win. No question. You win. This applies to even the Superbosses. I know that the orbs do something individually when they are rotating around the boss, but I don't know exactly and it doesn't matter. Cause you win. I do like that there is a healing, tank, and DPS roles. That is not everybody's cup of tea, but I do like that it is an option. Pity it doesn't matter much due to the orb thing. Honestly, I didn't pick the blades for their specials or passives at one point because you really don't need them, because the orb breaking is so overpowered compared to everything else.

    The characters themselves are pretty good and enjoyable as is the story. The ice rabbit annoyed me but not for the reason other people didn't like her... Her feet, hands, and ears bothered me. Her very fake southern accent was also irritating and didn't fit the design anyway. Music was also good but I liked X more.

    Overall, I would give this game around 6.5, but given how metacritic works I will bump it to a 7.    … Expand
  97. mattlarrubia
    Sep 24, 2020
    7
    Delete Rex and the game would be really great. The gameplay is one of the best in the genre.
  98. MazrimTaim14
    Oct 15, 2019
    7
    Great battle mechanic although it took a long long while for it to come to fruition. Doing battles without access to combos at the start of the game made battles tedious.

    Voice acting could do better. Storywise not that too memorable and a gatcha system in a single player game? the only redeeming quality of it is they at the very least didnt made money out of it by selling cores thru    Great battle mechanic although it took a long long while for it to come to fruition. Doing battles without access to combos at the start of the game made battles tedious.

    Voice acting could do better. Storywise not that too memorable and a gatcha system in a single player game? the only redeeming quality of it is they at the very least didnt made money out of it by selling cores thru microtransactions.

    Map navigation was hell. made looking for the mission spots hard and grueling.

    A nice experience though and a great addition to the library of Switch    … Expand
  99. Poochingus
    Nov 14, 2019
    7
    I love xenoblade games. So why a 7? Well, I'm a realistic person, I don't rate everything a 10 just because I like it.

    Xenoblade 2 is a great game with a lot of rough edges. The most difficult part is the English voiceover. The main character "Rex" has the most embarrassing fake yelling I've ever heard. I have no idea how the director didn't storm into the booth, slap him in the face    I love xenoblade games. So why a 7? Well, I'm a realistic person, I don't rate everything a 10 just because I like it.

    Xenoblade 2 is a great game with a lot of rough edges. The most difficult part is the English voiceover. The main character "Rex" has the most embarrassing fake yelling I've ever heard. I have no idea how the director didn't storm into the booth, slap him in the face and when he yells "ow" tell him, good, now yell like that. He isn't the only one who gives a lackluster performance, "Gramps" the dragon looking creature and animal familiar of the party is just some old guy who reads his lines in a voice. That is it.

    The game's graphics are honestly really good, but like breath of the wild, probably pushes the graphics to the limits of the console. I wish I could have lowered some settings to get fewer frame drops in some cases. I would love to see this game on PC for this reason, so I could max out the settings and see it in its full beauty.

    Storywise this game is quite compelling thankfully, so it can make up for some of the poor acting. Not much else to be said without major spoilers.

    The depth of the RPG elements is what will make you want to play or not want to play this game. If you like complexity, you will enjoy this. If you want a simple straightforward system, you might want to skip this. It has lots of stuff that you will probably forget about.

    In terms of characters, the catcha system is what KILLS the game's fun. You have to open silly little crystals to get new characters to use, and getting good ones is almost impossible. Worse still, each one is bound the party member you open it on. This means you might open a great tank character on your healer party member. It feels bad. Only Rex, the main character is able to use any character you open, which you won't want to do anyhow, because he by default has the objectively best character anyhow.

    Getting over that slog, the ability to chain together elements and combo into huge amounts of damage is even more satisfying than xenoblade 1's chain attacks which were already fun to pull off at the right time. The combat early on may seem slow and boring, but that is to give you time to warm into it, which is good for players who aren't deep RPG players. Once you get a full loadout and party, you will find yourself being mindful in hard fights of when to change, attack, and use combos. With the right line up you can create some really powerful and engrossing parties.

    In the end, I was sad that it ended, and sadly this is one of those games with no post game content like the old days where you load back to the last save before you beat the game. But considering this game was such an early title for the console I can forgive that along with the already large amount of content.    … Expand
  100. TrustedReviews
    Feb 4, 2020
    7
    Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is an excellent addition to any JRPG fan's library, albeit one that has some severe problems holding it back from true greatness. Released globally on December 1st 2017 for the Nintendo Switch system, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the latest entry in Monolith Soft's perceived expanded Xeno series, a sequel to the original Xenoblade Chronicles and a spiritual successor toXenoblade Chronicles 2 is an excellent addition to any JRPG fan's library, albeit one that has some severe problems holding it back from true greatness. Released globally on December 1st 2017 for the Nintendo Switch system, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the latest entry in Monolith Soft's perceived expanded Xeno series, a sequel to the original Xenoblade Chronicles and a spiritual successor to the earlier Xenosaga and Xenogears games.
    Starting off with the game's positives; The soundtrack is soaring and immersive, its wonderful and vibrant and lends considerable strength to establishing atmosphere in the title's many visit-able locales. The characters, although very tropey, are still enjoyable, and over the long course of the game (80 hours for our play-through), you should come to have really bonded with them and their exploits, and enjoy their presence... hopefully. The story, although nothing really special on a surface level, really picks up in the closing chapters, which we will avoid mentioning for the sake of spoilers.
    The exploration and combat is also very solid, if not poorly mismanaged. With this, our gripes with the game must be brought to light.
    The combat is complicated and introduces a lot of mechanics not at all standard in JRPG's, and expects you to learn them quickly, but then offers you no in-game means of double checking the tutorials, an inexcusable feat of incompetence in game design. This was fixed in the expansion, Torna - The Golden Country, but was never fixed in the base game.
    The first explorable area of the game, Gormott, in an area where you're expected to be anywhere between about Level 3 and Level 7, there is a Level 84 monster running around that will one shot you and shoot you back to whence you came upon respawn. This is just not good game design.
    This title is split into chapters, and although we enjoyed our time with the first 50 or so hours of the game, the quality of the title gameplay-wise takes a nose dive off a cliff after that time, although this is the part where the story really picks up. Chapters 7-10 are a nightmarish slog, one that seriously makes us reconsider ever wanting to go and do a New Game +. Bosses are broken, there's a huge difficulty spike seemingly out of nowhere and the crawl through "dungeon-like areas" never, ever seems to end. Needless to say, it's a mess.
    Despite that, in those horrendous boss fights, if you switch the difficulty to Easy (added in an update), you might actually be able to have fun in them. Graphics are serviceable, but blurry in handheld mode.
    Overall, a solid game that any Switch JRPG fan should consider having in their library, but one that falls short from being called a must-own in our books.
    7/10    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

25
#25 Best Switch Game of 2017
3
#3 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2017
3
#3 Most Shared Switch Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 92 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 78 out of 92
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 92
  3. Negative: 1 out of 92
  1. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Mar 2, 2018
    73
    A fight with an ordinary enemy whose level is slightly higher can drag on for minutes, especially if you’re fighting it alone. The combat itself is also rife with problems: sometimes main character even fails to draw his weapon, or locks onto a far-off enemy, while another already is eviscerating him in close combat. [Issue#226, p.64]
  2. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Feb 26, 2018
    80
    Despite some rough patches, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a worthy addition to any Switch owner's library, especially if you have a predilection for RPGs and enjoyed either of the previous entries in the series. [Issue #32 – March/April 2018, p. 75]
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Feb 16, 2018
    80
    Extensive and massive JRPG. Although with a rather cliché story and characters, it comes with a beautiful world and a fighting system growing more and more complex with every hour played. [Issue#282]
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