Xenoblade X Definitive is done! Here's my thoughts, mostly about Chapter 13 (Spoilers ahead):
-Guess who cried his eyes out at another Xenoblade game ;-; Specifically when Al and the Ares came back, and the consciousnesses of the main cast's loved ones were silently reassuring them.
-I really Chapter 13 as a whole! I heard that a number of people don't like it, with the main reason being Mira being erased. That's something I totally understand, given how much progress and investment was sunk into it, not just in the game but for the past ten years since the original version released.
I myself am alright with it, it's bittersweet overall. I will miss Mira, but then again, the numbered titles also result in major lands as we knew them being effectively gone (to the extreme degree with Aionios, though I guess that one wasn't ever "real" in the first place). For what it's worth, I think the fact that we boarded as many people as possible as well as copied Mira's genetic data, means that the spirit of the planet itself will be maintained in the future. That is something I have a strong feeling about.
-Another point is Lao remaining dead which, again, is bittersweet for me. I wanted to know what his deal was at the end of the OG game, but I'm accepting of his fate. He's still a significant player given the concepts introduced in Chapter 13, so I doubt it'll be the last time we hear about him. He'll just be a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to the next game.
-I was a little confused at the beginning because the cliffhanger of the OG game was that it was the planet Mira itself that was keeping the characters alive, but the lore drops in the new content are so incredibly juicy to me that I'm fine with it now.
Specifically, for X, it's very apparent to me now that the mechanics of mimeosomes and the consciousness being stored in a separate place as massive amounts of data is pretty much a dead ringer for the Origin Project that Nia and Melia spearheaded in Xenoblade 3. So I surmise that there was always an intent to string X into the continuity of the numbered titles, so in retrospect, I think it turned out extremely well.
It might be seen as a retcon, but IIRC, X was always meant to be a story and game bigger than the OG 2015 release, so while some details might have gotten changed or altered, I imagine that the events of Chapter 13 were at least a part of that draft.
-Void is fascinating, because while the last moments of the story gave him his backstory, he works better in my mind as this... concept, almost. Honestly, in the same way that Z in XC3 did. While Z represented the fear of the constant uncertainty of possibilities, Void was caught in a more definitive binnary, where his curiosity and thirst for knowledge contrasted heavily with his deep rooted-and unknown to him-fear of being nonexistent. So when faced with that choice, he ran away. So much like Z, as a character Void isn't anything special, but as a thematic gear for representing a concept in the story? Very good.
-I'm also glad the thread of the Samaarians got treated well, knowing more of Elma's home planet and the influence they hold. The only disappointing part is how the greater Samaar federation probably doesn't exist anymore, or at least won't be factor in the near future, given how we're in different universe territory. Since the Ganglion were noted to be a very small fraction of the federation, there were tons more options for units of it to appear, but I guess Void was more of an interesting avenue, so meh.
-I posted about him already, but Al is such a sweetheart. His endless love of humanity and living is really apparent, and is a magnificent contrast to Void in a myriad of ways, such as how he goes full throttle into his future while Void is constantly running away. He slipped into the main cast quite easily, though I will be sad that he never got to experience Mira fully aside from a few brief moments.
-I didn't want to post about it right away because I wanted to get my full thoughts on it through context, but now that I've finished the game...
AAHHHHHHHH THE NUMBERED TITLES ARE CONNECTED TO X!
I was geeking out so hard when Al was recounting his visions while in the rift. And I think most agree that the new planet that the X characters arrive at during the final scene is the reformed world at the end of Future Redeemed, right? Or perhaps it's somewhere else but in the same universe. We did see a flying shiny object heading towards the restored world (at first I thought it could've been KOS-MOS's body at the end of XS3), so it could be the White Whale 2.
Regardless, the implications of it all really excite me, bringing me to my next point.
-I strongly expect that the next Xenoblade game, whatever it might be called, will tackle greater "outer world" concepts. We got a taste of it in Chapter 13 here, but it leaves so many open possibilities that I can't imagine it'll just be dropped without some exploration.
Specifically, the parallel world/universe aspect, the origins/functions of the Ghosts, where the Conduit came from and the mystery surrounding it, and-my favorite of the bunch-the collective unconscious, known in this game as the Rift.
All of these things were tackled in a different form in Xenogears (the Ares Prime heavily reminds me of the Gears in that game due to its form as well as its seemingly "living" soul and being) and Xenosaga (the Ghosts evoke the Gnosis and that trilogy heavily dealt with the collective unconscious), so now that Monolith and Takahashi are under a company that has treated them well, I think it's not a surprise that these ideas have been reintroduced. Though there could still be the potential for Gears and Saga to be connected to XC since I don't doubt that the minds behind the stories at Monolith can connect them somehow if they wanted to.
Ahhh, it's so exciting to think about!
-Now for the game as a whole, this is exactly what a Definitive Edition should look like. It patched up interface issues, improved the UI, gave new doo-dads and abilities to better our experience, and overall made the game smoother and more fun to play. Just to name a few of my favorite additions, there's Quick Cooldown, the extended Overdrive time, the Overdrive Guide, the improved followball and mission tracking, quick change for party members, increased affinity point gain and leaked experience and BP. For the very first time, I've completed all heart-to-hearts and affinity missions, due in no small part to how convenient this version of the game made access to them. Getting to organically close out character moments in this game without having to look at youtube clips was magical.
-There are two main things about the game I can say I don't like as much. The first is its combat system. There are a bit too many moving parts and things to consider if you want to get a lot out of this game, and for someone who doesn't have the time to put into learning it, X can be very, very hard and unrewarding. There's a lot of emphasis on Overdrive, Skell customization and augments, and since those are all mainly gained from grinding for exp and materials, it's quite... unexciting. I slipped back into it naturally since I have experience with the game, but it can still be a bit to complicated for its own good.
The second problem I have is the centralization of the Avatar, not in the story, but in the gameplay. They are, by a long shot, the best character in the game because they get access to all the greatest skills and arts, with the ability to customize once you reach class mastery. Due to this, as well as the sheer size of the playable/party cast, there is very little reason or incentive to play as a different character other than your Avatar. Of course, its still good to give them good arts and skills when they're on the ground with you, as well as good Skells if you got the funds. But ground gear and stat wise? Doesn't really matter at all, since there's too many characters to upgrade again and again just to consistently come up short compared to your Avatar. Now, the primary character being centralized in gameplay isn't new for Xenoblade, because Shulk, Rex and Noah were all consistently in the top ranks for your party comp. But still, it felt like there was still a reason to switch to characters other than them, unlike here.
Aside from those things, X is great on the gameplay front. The seamless open world, fluid movement and eventual flight access make it a singularly exceptional world to traverse and explore, even when stacked up to the other games. And for what it's worth, the parts of the combat I do like are the appendage system and the dual weapon wielding for varying arts. The sidequests are well written and great at shaping the world of Mira and its inhabitans as believable people, especially the ugly and corrupt parts. Lin and Lao said it best, those bad parts are still what makes us human.
-All in all, it was a stellar ride from start to finish. I loved getting to revisit Mira all over again and I'm greatly anticipating where Xenoblade will go next.
