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. mikas323
    Mar 19, 2022
    0
    I loved the graphics but i didn't like the mechanics with blades and voice acting is horrendous...rex is pathetic and with no charm...i hated the main char with all my will...the game is very sexualizated and porn..world map is confuse with alot design flaws....battle is slow and takes alot time to kill normal enemies...
  2. IssaTeejay
    Feb 14, 2018
    10
    Turn-off from the start and looks like a 30$ game.

    Bought it due to good review, however I had difficulty trying this game out because of ugly looking protagonist and overall visual/aesthetics being underwhelming. But now I am enjoying the game more than I did with Zelda botw. The combat is like a hybrid of jrpg & mmos done quite right. I've read negative comments regarding to combat-    Turn-off from the start and looks like a 30$ game.

    Bought it due to good review, however I had difficulty trying this game out because of ugly looking protagonist and overall visual/aesthetics being underwhelming. But now I am enjoying the game more than I did with Zelda botw. The combat is like a hybrid of jrpg & mmos done quite right. I've read negative comments regarding to combat- saying its too slow or too messy. I won't disagree since that was my first impression too. However, it would be nice if you guys stayed around till mid Chapter 3 or Chapter 4 in which the combat pacing starts to pick up, and also to watch youtube regarding to the combat system since the tutorial isn't very good at explaining. Once you get the gist of the combat, you'll realize it isn't slow nor is it messy.

    All in all, if you have an urge for JRPGs or games like old Final Fantasy series, mmorpgs, or even rpg pokemon games, then this game is for you. Looks like a 30$ game, but if by the sheer amount of contents (probably 3 to 4 times more than modern triple A games), its definitely worth 60$.    … Expand
  3. 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
  4. Jessey
    Apr 4, 2018
    9
    Music, story, characters and landscape are all awesome, and you can really feel sucked in to the story and can't stop playing to explore the world more and more.

    Only downside is that I feel for some people the combat system might get boring after a time.

    But still I definitely recommend everyone to play this through.
  5. aGrumpyDin0saur
    Mar 4, 2022
    4
    After playing the absolute Masterpiece that is Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition I immediately went out and purchased the sequel expecting it to be not as good as the original but still a great 80/100 time with fluid combat and an epic large-scale story but what I got was a worse experience in every way possible compared to the original. Buckle up because this is gonna be long...After playing the absolute Masterpiece that is Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition I immediately went out and purchased the sequel expecting it to be not as good as the original but still a great 80/100 time with fluid combat and an epic large-scale story but what I got was a worse experience in every way possible compared to the original. Buckle up because this is gonna be long...

    First of all, if you like or even love this game and haven’t played the original on switch then I HIGHLY request you do because maybe you’ll be able to understand where I’m coming from. (This review won’t have story spoilers for the original game).

    To start, combat in this game feels worse, you can no longer identify which enemies are hostile or docile until you get close and see if they attack you or not. In the first game there was a symbol that told you so.
    The game punishes you for moving around an enemy in combat as you can no longer auto attack while moving and not to mention that movement speed in combat is excruciatingly slow making the combat feel sluggish. Normal enemies are complete damage sponges and since they're normal enemies, they're not hard fights. So, I always found myself in easy, unengaging and long fights. however, the boss battles seem fine to me since they actually pose a challenge (sometimes).
    AND DONT GET ME STARTED ON THAT STUPID GACHA MECHANIC! this game feels like its design to be a mobile game with the slow-paced progression and gacha mechanics.

    The story feels like a first draft accompanied by plot holes and unanswered questions. I would like to over them, but I want this to be a spoiler free review. Admittedly I didn’t beat the game (because I couldn’t stand the combat anymore) so I watched the rest of the games cutscenes on YouTube so I might be missing something important story wise, but I doubt it since I was over 80% done.

    To start, the protagonist (Rex) is actually the worst protagonist I have ever witness, he is a reckless baby that gets bailed out of trouble MULTIPLE TIMES by other cast members and instead of facing consequences or reflect on his behavior he gets rewarded by gaining more power to use in combat. Rex’s english voice acting is cringeworthy whenever he's in combat. it would've been nice if Rex's arc was about growing up and owning responsibility but nope, a baby biggening to end with no character arc whatsoever.
    Two more nit-picks about Rex, in combat he’ll sometimes UNIRONICALLY say “We’ll beat them, with the power of friendship!” Like come on. Also type in “bad character design” on google and guess who’ll show up.
    Nintendo must've thought they struck gold with that design considering its in Smash and BOTW.

    I also want to talk about the female lead Pyra for a bit. All I have to say is that she has a personality of a cup of distilled water and she’s the biggest waifu bait I’ve ever seen in a game and judging by the amount of Pyra profile pictures I see on YouTube comments and live streams I can say those people took it hook, line, and sinker.
    I won’t be talking about the over sexualization of women in this review but I what it to be known that because of it I can’t take the majority of the female cast seriously.

    So, what do I think this game did right? Some of the locations are pretty (only on docked mode) (and only some locations because a lot of them are drab looking). The OST is a banger, there are some side characters I actually like aaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnd that’s it. Not to mention the numerous annoyances I decided to leave out. If you learned anything from this review hopefully it’s that you get the original instead.    … Expand
  6. hifumitogo
    Apr 12, 2018
    9
    Oh boy I rated this game higher than Zelda BoTW. Definitely a MUST play title for every JRPG fans! Prelude: I bought this game mainly because of the promo price from an online store, hype from my local country's Nintendo groups, and basically Switch doesn't have too many game choices after I am done with Zelda and Odyssey.
    Honestly I actually felt regretted over this purchase in the    Oh boy I rated this game higher than Zelda BoTW. Definitely a MUST play title for every JRPG fans! Prelude: I bought this game mainly because of the promo price from an online store, hype from my local country's Nintendo groups, and basically Switch doesn't have too many game choices after I am done with Zelda and Odyssey.
    Honestly I actually felt regretted over this purchase in the beginning due to few reasons. BUT as I proceed through the game, I am starting to get hooked deeper and deeper.
    The plus:
    1. The story is very engaging although I dislike its pace. The story is just like watching an anime (a teen anime to be precise), get hooked by the story and the suspense all over the cut scene. The setting of the story is very fresh and cool for me too. Cloud sea, world tree, titans, salvaging….
    2. The depth of the game. The longer you play the game, the more things you will learn e.g. the VERY DEEP combat mechanics (blade combo auto attack cancel, arts cancel, blade switch), pouch items, affinity, huge item choices to match with your play style, just like your usual JRPG. It’s very satisfying to see all the skills on the affinity charts are unlocked.
    3. Waifu! We have Pyra, Mythra, Morag, etc. Nuff said.
    4. The content. Many things or places to explore. Play it and you will know about it.

    The minus:
    1. The disgustingly bad graphics in handheld mode. The graphic just looks sooooo bad in handheld mode. It’s just very bad until the extent I can’t believe this game runs on a Switch. However, it looks much better in dock mode. Anyway I am just too lazy to play in dock mode (Switch is meant to be primarily played in handheld mode right). And few hours in, you won’t be bugged by the bad graphics anymore lol.
    2. Awkward camera.
    3. Map is somehow hard to navigate for me.
    4. Childish dialogue. Again, get used to it and you will enjoy the game without any problem.
    Overall the game has so much potential if the graphics in handheld mode is as good as dock mode.    … Expand
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. Link99
    Nov 19, 2018
    10
    Mejor rpg de la historiae storia. Dnfjfjfjfjfjfjfjfndndjdjejejejdbdndndjdjdjdj
  11. thecasualgaymer
    Feb 16, 2021
    1
    I feel like I'm missing out on an inside joke about why everyone loves this game so much. I was excited to try out its fantastic gameplay I've heard so much about, and yet found myself bored or revolted almost every second of the 25+ hours I put into it, with the single exception of enjoying a beautifully crafted world.

    It's tutorials are awful and endless, but what really killed it for    I feel like I'm missing out on an inside joke about why everyone loves this game so much. I was excited to try out its fantastic gameplay I've heard so much about, and yet found myself bored or revolted almost every second of the 25+ hours I put into it, with the single exception of enjoying a beautifully crafted world.

    It's tutorials are awful and endless, but what really killed it for me was the characters and story. I may have eventually enjoyed combat if I had stuck with it long enough, but I was unable to watch (or listen to) the horrid character designs that looked like they were made by a horny 13 year old and unable to listen to voice acting so bad I'm convinced someone got conned by the actors who did it.

    As a usual fan of JRPGs, I was massively disappointed.    … Expand
  12. ScottPilgrim
    Feb 21, 2022
    10
    i love the character designs in this game, sad that xenoblade 3 is filled with generic looking characters compared to this masterpiece.
  13. aGrumpyDin0
    Dec 7, 2021
    3
    After playing the absolute Masterpiece that is Xenoblade Chronicles DE I went out and purchased the sequel expecting it to be not as good as the original but still a great time with fluid combat and a epic large scale story but what I got was a worse experience in every way possible. Buckle up cause this is gonna be long...

    First of all... if you love this game and haven’t played the    After playing the absolute Masterpiece that is Xenoblade Chronicles DE I went out and purchased the sequel expecting it to be not as good as the original but still a great time with fluid combat and a epic large scale story but what I got was a worse experience in every way possible. Buckle up cause this is gonna be long...

    First of all... if you love this game and haven’t played the original on switch then I HIGHLY REQUEST you do because maybe you’ll be able to understand where I’m coming from. (This review won’t have story spoilers for the original game). To start, combat in this game is objectively worse, you can no longer identify which enemies are hostile or docile until you get close and see if they attack you or not. In the first game there was a symbol that told you so.
    The game punishes you for moving around a enemy in combat as you can no longer auto attack while moving unlike the first game, making the combat feel sluggish.
    The moves you manually use in XBC games are called “Arts”. In the first game you had 8+ different Arts and you can use them immediately at the start of any battle. In XBC2 you can only use three different Arts at a time and you can’t use them immediately until dozens of hours into the game so you can unlock the ability to do so, making the combat feel restricted.
    Normal battles take WAY longer than the original and since the stat boosts from leveling up are not as impactful as the original, it makes the game more grindy and time consuming. So in short, the combat is more sluggish, restricted and grindy. The story feels like a first draft accompanied by plot holes and unanswered questions unlike the first game which tied everything together perfectly an satisfactorily. Admittedly I didn’t beat the game (because I couldn’t stand the combat anymore) so I watched the rest of the games cutscenes on YouTube so I might be missing something important story wise but I doubt it since I was over 80% done. To start, the protagonist (Rex) is awful, he is a reckless baby that gets bailed out of trouble MULTIPLE TIMES by other cast members and instead of facing consequences or reflect on his behavior he gets rewarded by gaining more power to use in combat unlike Shulk in XBC1 who takes great responsibility of his power and considers the consequences before using said power. Rex’s voice acting is cringeworthy whenever he lets out a battle cry and in one cutscene he was talking somewhat calmly but was flailing and panicking in the cutscene ALSO unlike Shulk who’s voice acting is AMAZING! Two more things about Rex, in combat he’ll sometimes UNIRONICALLY say “We’ll beat them, with the power of friendship!”. Also type in “bad character design” on google and guess who’ll show up. I also want to talk about the female lead Pyra. All I have to say is that she has a personality of a cup of distilled water and she’s the biggest waifu bait I’ve ever seen in a game and judging by the amount of Pyra profile pictures I see on YouTube comments and live streams I can say those people took it hook, line, and sinker. I won’t be talking about the over sexualization of women in this review but I what it to be known that because of it I can’t take the majority of the female cast seriously. (Skip ahead a paragraph to avoid vague/minor spoilers) Moving onto the main villain of the game... he was supposed to be a “twist villain” but it was so predictable for me, and later on Rex and friends asks why he’s doing the things he’s doing he says something along the lines of bECaUse iM tHe bAD GuY cAuSE Im bORn BAd BecAuSE IM ThE BAD GUUUUUUUUUY!
    The main villain in the first game was good because they actually had logic and reasoning to go with their plan rather than blind hatred. One of the other villains of the game is too edgy it hurts. Speaking of the same villain, He could’ve killed Rex and any other form of opposition in quick work but just chooses not to until it’s too late because he let Rex get too powerful.

    In short, I don’t like the villains... and that also goes for a TON of the side characters. So what do I think this game did right? Some of the locations are pretty and jaw dropping (only on docked mode) (and only some locations because a lot of them are drab looking). The OST is a banger, there are some characters I actually like aaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnd that’s it. If you learned anything from this review hopefully it’s that you get the original instead.    … Expand
  14. KazutoKirigaya
    Aug 20, 2022
    0
    Come on no body can tell me that the bosses in this game are fair or cool! Every Boss on this game is a piece of **** I The game but the Bosses are trash.
  15. vora_bat
    Jan 1, 2018
    4
    This game is weak .It is weak in so many aspects. The combat is boring and slow. The story-line is simple and blank. Characters are cringe. The game feels like a bad anime. I don't understand how an adult person can like this game.
  16. vape
    Feb 14, 2018
    3
    Yeah this game is not something i'd recomend to a lot of people unless you want to see anime boobs but don't know what a google is. Let's just cut the **** gameplay is a bore, story is very poorly acted by the protagonists, though the antagonists surprisingly had good acting. The music is top notch but you barely hear it in game since your party never stops shouting pointless voicelines,Yeah this game is not something i'd recomend to a lot of people unless you want to see anime boobs but don't know what a google is. Let's just cut the **** gameplay is a bore, story is very poorly acted by the protagonists, though the antagonists surprisingly had good acting. The music is top notch but you barely hear it in game since your party never stops shouting pointless voicelines, The way you unlock blades is extremely boring, the worlds look kindof nice but then you realize the grass renders well within the camera and that looks really bad, exploration is kinda boring as movement in this game is quite slow and uninteresting, the story is good and bad, the bad guys are alright like jin and malos, but then the protagonists are just not well acted and not very well written, pyra is very boring, rex is both boring and annoying, nia is alright i guess but her voice acting is pretty bad. Morag has alright voice acting and brighid is an alright written character, i like the diary thing with her. If you like being bored, you'd probably love this game, but for me i'd much rather just sleep, i finished the game and beat the final boss and i still felt the gameplay was just boring.… Expand
  17. Sharebear420
    Jun 7, 2019
    1
    Too much anime bullcrap and mediocre characters. Not only is there cringe fan service but
  18. toonlinkman
    Dec 17, 2018
    10
    What makes this game is the story. Some may say it is the story of the characters not the story, but what ever it is allowed me to persist with this game right until the end. It took me about 6 months because I would play other games instead of this. I didn't really enjoy it until about chapter 6. Then I slowly started really understanding the combat. The story was so gripping and one ofWhat makes this game is the story. Some may say it is the story of the characters not the story, but what ever it is allowed me to persist with this game right until the end. It took me about 6 months because I would play other games instead of this. I didn't really enjoy it until about chapter 6. Then I slowly started really understanding the combat. The story was so gripping and one of the best I have ever seen. If it wasn't for this great story I never would have stayed until the end and discovered what a gem this game is. As soon as I finished the game I played it again. This time completing it in about a week.

    The graphics are a bit of a disappointment. I hoped for 900p docked. The in-combat voice acting is repetitive and boring. However the story voice acting is good.

    Overall of one my favourite Switch games.

    I have now played through this game three times. The more I play the more I like it. Increasing the score to 10.    … Expand
  19. 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
  20. dennislam
    Dec 29, 2017
    6
    Pros:
    - Wonderful music
    - Exciting story and animation
    - Astonishing and attractive open world setting

    Cons:
    - Extremely boring and repetitive combat system (Currently in chapter 7 with over 80 hours in into the game)
    - Combat pace is slow. At level 20, it still costs over a minute to KO a level 12 monster
  21. Kenmei
    Jan 12, 2018
    6
    I personally wasn't a fan of the first two games in the series, both Chronicles 1 and X, but I was hoping that this game would buck that trend. And, while I thought this game was better then the first two, it still didn't do enough for me to stand out from the crowd in a very cluttered JRPG scene. There are tons of similarities from the previous two games in here that fans of those willI personally wasn't a fan of the first two games in the series, both Chronicles 1 and X, but I was hoping that this game would buck that trend. And, while I thought this game was better then the first two, it still didn't do enough for me to stand out from the crowd in a very cluttered JRPG scene. There are tons of similarities from the previous two games in here that fans of those will enjoy. However the series continued reliance on a very inactive battle system, very similar to an MMO battle system, and the horrible side quests that mostly focus on extremely random RPG elements to complete did nothing to hook me. Even if the storyline here was more interesting then the previous two entires, with a good cast of characters (even though they all were seemingly ripped straight from a Guy Ritchie movie with how British they all were). I was hoping to see a bit more change with the elements from the previous games that everyone admitted were just tedious. Instead those elements are very obvious from the start and I could never get over them. Thankfully for the Switch, this wasn't the game that needed to sell consoles during the holiday season. I was really hoping for more from this game but the series in general seems to be a bit stagnant at this point.… Expand
  22. 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
  23. Clean
    Oct 10, 2022
    0
    Xenoblade 2 is an horrible game.
    -Bad, grindy and repetitive combat system. Seriously, I hate auto-attacks.
    -Bad map design. How could Monolith design a great Hyrule in Botw but a sh*tty Alrest is beyond me. -Bad Gacha mechanics, unfitting for a non-F2P game. -Field Skills suck and the kill the game's flow. -Mercenary missions are repetitive. -Like the 1st one, most of the game's    Xenoblade 2 is an horrible game.
    -Bad, grindy and repetitive combat system. Seriously, I hate auto-attacks.
    -Bad map design. How could Monolith design a great Hyrule in Botw but a sh*tty Alrest is beyond me.
    -Bad Gacha mechanics, unfitting for a non-F2P game.
    -Field Skills suck and the kill the game's flow.
    -Mercenary missions are repetitive.
    -Like the 1st one, most of the game's sidequests are fetch quests.
    -Su much anti-Qol elements. For example, Merc Missions can be cleared only with in-game time, not real time. So, If you start an 15 minute mission, close the game with 10 minutes left and return to it 10 minutes later, You'll still have 10 minutes left. Seriously?
    -Tutorials suck, they don't explain game mechanics well... and you cannot re-view them!
    -Graphics are bad. Also, who thought giving different artist for different characters in a 3D game was a good idea? Characters feel imported from other games, they clash with each other and the rest of the game, making the game's style inconsistent. Same goes for NPCs.
    -Portable mode is just... argh, my eyes are bleeding!!!
    -English voice acting is earbleeding.
    -Battle lines are repetitive.
    -Too much irritating anime stereotypes, clichès and tropes that ruin the story.
    -Character design sucks sh*t, especially Rex, Pyra and Mythra.
    -Characters are stereotyped and unlikeable. I dislike the entire cast, especially Rex, Pyra and Mythra. I hate them with a burning passion!
    -Excessive fanservice, like moments where the camera pans on Pyra and Mythra's bodies, even in serious moments. This is a game made by perverts for perverts! Disgusting!
    -All of the forementioned story and character-related flaws make the game a cringefest.
    The only good qualities of Xenoblade 2 are the music and the world's atmosphere, but those two aren't without flaws, too: for example, I hate the music you hear in the infamous Mythra sleepwalking scene.
    Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is not only the worst game I've ever played on Switch, but also one of the worst games I've ever played in my entire life. I hate it with a burning passion, I regret buying it. Had I the chance, I would not onlt go back in time and avoid buying it, I'd try to delete it from existence!
    I've played 1 and X too, and while I disliked them too 2 was leagues worser. To be honest, I realized I never actually liked Xenoblade games: other games or even watching stones are more entertaining than this smoking sh*t of franchise. At this point, I'll definitively skip 3 (and I'm glad I'm skipping it looks like some people are disliking this too). I think this franchise is overrated, as well their developer Monolith Soft (but not when they make other NIntendo games as I love BotW), and I think they should stop with Xenoblade and make something completely new and fun, not another niche garbage like Xenoblade.
    In closure, I absolutely advise you to NOT BUY Xenoblade Chronicles 2. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!    … Expand
  24. Sabrewulf1
    Feb 27, 2018
    9
    for us oldies that been jrpg gaming for 40 years and know and understand the jrpg gameplay mechanics.. yes this is the real deal
    outstanding game..
    loses a percent for frame rate as it does actually make difference when salvaging to get the 'excellent' on all the timed hits.. the lag is a switch issue tho not the game
  25. ObjectiviTea
    Feb 18, 2018
    6
    This game is horrible. It has made me cringe so many times. I made an account on this website just to warn anyone that is looking to play this game... Don't buy it. If you do buy it, don't buy the DLC. I played the original Xenoblade and I loved it. The original Xenoblade had a great story and great characters. Most importantly the original Xenoblade had a feeling that it wasn't justThis game is horrible. It has made me cringe so many times. I made an account on this website just to warn anyone that is looking to play this game... Don't buy it. If you do buy it, don't buy the DLC. I played the original Xenoblade and I loved it. The original Xenoblade had a great story and great characters. Most importantly the original Xenoblade had a feeling that it wasn't just another Japanese RPG, it had a very European feel. And the mouths didn't move like I was watching some old Bruce Lee English Dubbed movie (as it does in Xenoblade 2 :( ). I can tell that there is still a bit of Monolith Soft in there. There are good things scattered throughout this game. But Nintendo put some... person... in charge of the team for this game or something and they just screwed everything up. I really wanted to love this game as I did the original but it is just so bad that I can't. I got to this cutscene in the third world and I was watching it with my sister and it was just so painful to watch and she agreed. I couldn't play it anymore after that and I don't know if I can pick it up again.… Expand
  26. Ayumi324
    May 30, 2019
    4
    HONEST REVIEW - NO BIAS - NO FANBOY

    To begin with, this is my first time playing a game in this franchies.- I've played final fantasy games, i've played tales games.- i've had every single nintendo / playstation console as well as played a lot of PC games. So an actual honest Review. Now for starters. what you can expect. Story, It is excellent, nothing to say there. Combat.    HONEST REVIEW - NO BIAS - NO FANBOY

    To begin with, this is my first time playing a game in this franchies.- I've played final fantasy games, i've played tales games.- i've had every single nintendo / playstation console as well as played a lot of PC games. So an actual honest Review.

    Now for starters. what you can expect. Story, It is excellent, nothing to say there.

    Combat. Horrific. This game is like Runescape.- you can't even hit while walking you must remain still.- and let the fight play out, and then as you hit, you build up gauge, which you spend to use on special attacks "Arts" the worst part is, let's say 3 enemies front of you, you killed the first one? Bam.- your gauge is reset. it's pathetic really to kill 3x enemies where gauge resets every single time so you can't use your arts, and just have to watch your dude auto them super boring. I swear i felt asleep several times, but promised a friend to play it for the story, so i did.

    Game Mechanics : You can jump, that's cool, but when you are climbing ladders, walls , you must wait as if it is a game belonging to the 90's you played zelda botw? fine you can jump while climbing. this is QoL update really, - they love to waste your time it's a game made december 2017, so i call it a 2018 game.- and they never heard of fast climb.

    while you play. you get 99 notifications. and the game thinks you wish to read everything 24/7. the worst part is that, it doesn't just explain you tutorial, it talks to you as if you have an AI partner who wants to remind you of things. "Btw did you know" "Oh yeah you should totally do this" it's just waste of everyone's time.- like they type so much I fking forget daheck the hint was to begin with. So i'm like thanks for talking so much daheck were you saying again?

    So yes.- this game, has a story, You will enjoy it, it's cool, characters are amazing. but seriously. when it comes to gameplay. it could fking use a huge upgrade.

    This is my honest review, 0 % **** everyone who disagree's with me are just fanboys. except i'll accept if they enjoy the combat system. that's alright personal preference, but these clunky gameplay.- no way, you have to lie to admit that it's actually a good idea.    … Expand
  27. Garbagio
    Jan 19, 2019
    5
    As a huge fan since Xenoblade and I went back and played almost all the developer's library this is probably the weakest game they've put out since saga II. That being said it's worth a play if you're a fan of 1 not so much X though. The combat is dumbed down from X with many combat features being removed/downgraded. Auto Attacking in previous games served little purpose besides interimAs a huge fan since Xenoblade and I went back and played almost all the developer's library this is probably the weakest game they've put out since saga II. That being said it's worth a play if you're a fan of 1 not so much X though. The combat is dumbed down from X with many combat features being removed/downgraded. Auto Attacking in previous games served little purpose besides interim damage while you waited for arts to charge on a timer but now they charge with it instead. There's ways you can change this with the new pouch items which is basically a brand new kind of equipment except it's on a timer and you can only hold an incredibly limited amount of them (Until late game you gain access to shop deeds) Auto attacking is now restricted to when your character is standing still so now positioning yourself in combat is now tedious instead of challenging. Because of this height no longer matters in the game. This slows down combat A TON in the early game. You wont get that familiar speed until well after the midway point of the game. But when you finally hit NG+ you'll enjoy almost instant arts charges and ridiculous combos faster than even X. Also removed: the soul voice mechanic but now instead we get... a button press. party members get a button you can push to do a super move. This is probably one of the bigger losses combat wise. Aura arts are also all gone. There's no more build variety now everyone fits solidly into Healer, DPS, or Tank, while characters can maintain multiple roles between them you're gimping yourself a bit by doing so. Returning from 1 though is Chain attacks which are now INFINITELY WORSE, made more powerful by the orb mechanic. when you set up these easy to execute blade combos that inflict orbs onto enemies. You can now control EXACTLY how long your chain attack lasts with these and these ALSO has a damage bonus. if it wasn't for mid-battle cutscenes you could easily just take a boss from nearly full health to dead with just one chain attack, given you aren't severely under leveled. To make matters worse you don't execute specific arts now you execute specials which are super moves that normally take a little while to charge but if you successfully bust orbs while in a chain attack you steadily progress until you're literally unleashing super moves after super moves. New to 2's mechanics is the Blade system, which is a generic Gacha system. you're given a core and you awaken a random blade and just hope it's a unique one and not one of the random generic ones. Thankfully they don't charge for these but it's still incredibly obnoxious. Other removed features is the UI customization, the affinity chart (Instead we get these skill trees that are called affinity charts but are nothing like prior affinity charts), the collectopedia, the quest system is revamped for better or worse I couldn't decide, 1 and X's incredibly robust equipment system (most characters get at max 3 slots with no visual changes except for weapons), The amount of arts was reduced significantly, there is FAR less options for long range weapons as well. Weapon switching is now on a cooldown (this one is timed). As for the world there isn't much to say here. It's not nearly as nice to look at as X or even 1. The areas aren't connected. you just sail to different continents. There's one area that's literally just a massive field with nothing but enemies in it. It's just a huge step down there. The story is infinitely worse than X or 1. Say what you want about X but it at LEAST showed promise and a cohesiveness that a sequel could easily fix. 2 has some great ideas but it is executed so horribly and it turns into the MOST generic shonen plot you can think of which becomes worse because there's multiple chances for it to break but the characters make the MOST inane choices to drag the plot back onto the generic shonen rails. Not to mention how obnoxiously contrived it is. Near the beginning 3 characters decide to take the direct approach and go right to the final area of the game, BUT it's guarded by a beast and a giant hole in the sea that are both well known about. Except one of them knows a way to go almost DIRECTLY there and she literally forgets about it until the last 10 hours of the game. Literally everything between the party setting out to the World Tree in ch 3 and when the characters land on the Cliffs in ch 7 is just complete filler, because one character forgot that the place existed. They turn around and immediately get swallowed by a Titan which is INCREDIBLY CONVENIENT because it has a mercenary group whose leader just so happens to have a dead son who the main character reminds him of and he just so happens to know a guy who has an in with the effin Pope who just so happens to know how to get past the void but not before he sends you out on his filler quests. And that's just 1of the contrived plot points, there's at minimum 3 points the party survive a huge fall because of a random updraft.… Expand
  28. jyphel
    Jan 5, 2023
    0
    Worst Jrpg all of 3, cheating IA, monsters of 50+lvl popping from behind killing you in an instant , monsters falling in an instant from the sky, convoluted system obliging you to go and forth all over the world to lvl blades. And on and on... side content is obliged due to the convoluted systems in the game;

    All 3 are the worst Jrpg on all consoles. They re lucky to be on Switch.
  29. nhughes
    Nov 13, 2022
    0
    Very hard to get into this game. I couldn't play for longer than 30 minutes.
    If you enjoy good games like COD i'd stick away from these types of games. The graphics are shocking.
  30. rainbowcoating
    Aug 24, 2022
    1
    1/10 absolute **** game. The only saving grace is the graphics but even that falls apart, cause the game doesn't let u **** play without interrupting with some bogus tutorial or cut scene. Speaking of cut scenes, the voice acting is horrendous and the character models make me want to kill myself. Even the combat is **** but that's to be expected considering it is a jrpg. Would not recommend.
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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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