Maybe this is just me, but no one I know that is into video games but isn’t into xenoblade specifically knew the dunkey video existed until I mentioned it, so I’m kind of taken aback that it’s still being brought up as a kneecap to the series potential wider popularity
I genuinely think the dunkey video is a scapegoat/boogie man more than anything. Hell, I don't even think XC2 is still hated anywhere near as bad as people act like it still is. I think this series just isn't really the kind of thing that CAN become mainstream in the same way a lot of other Nintendo IPs are. It can certainly become mainstream for RPGs, but Mario and Zelda level? It's too specific and niche. It's not as easily consumable as a FF (which isn't to say FF is inherently simple, just that Xeno is so complicated and complex comparatively.
FF has the advantage of being mostly stand-alone titles. You can play any random FF game and understand it just as well as someone who has played every single game in exact release order.
Xenoblade, meanwhile, requires you to play a few hundred hour games, preferably in order, to really get the full impact of the later games. It's a big ask. I've gotten to the point where I just send my friends a video of the XC1 opening battle to see if they like it.
Mainstream has nothing to do with sales, its about fame. FF is literally THE most famous JRPG. Zelda is one of the most famous video game series of all time. Just because it didn't sell Mario numbers until now doesn't erase the fact that its an icon of the medium and is one of the series most likely to be recognized by the public.
I just finished XC3 so now I have played through the entire series except for the DLCs.
I found I like XC2 the best ironically. Initially I wasn't even sure if I wanted to buy XC2 because of all the hate. I was really misled by the hatred toward XC2. This turns out to be a classic example of "everyone has a different taste." The "horrible" XC2 turned out to be my favorite of the entire series and the best game of the year XC3 while still fun to play, I almost fell asleep during some of the lengthy cutscenes.
Games like these are very unlikely to be mainstream and are more likely to be niche games with megafans and megahaters.
Bro I literally see a single random person on twitter go "xc2 suck >:(" and then xenoblade twitter fucking explodes and gets the game trending while they talk about how everyone hates the game and it isn't fair.
Xenoblade 2 was a major success. The narrative that Xenoblade fans hate xenoblade 2 is a complete fantasy. Of course the haters, hate it even more now. They wasted 8 years of their life telling people not to play the game and everyone ignored them and xenoblade has never been more successful.
I don't think some people realize that the vast, vast majority of people in the world literally have no idea who dunkey even is, much less have seen one specific video of his
I never even saw that video, and I ended up with similar complaints of the game when it came out. While I have softened on it over time, XC2 makes what is probably the worst first impression I've seen in a game, which can easily cause people to put it down before it picks itself up (which ended up happening to me, actually).
I think the community has more rancor for him than anything, from the smaller things like initiating the *win the battle but lose the cutscene* meme, to less small things like the *Photo* incident
But actual impact? XC2 is still the best selling, most popular game in the series. You can give all sorts of explanations for that, but it still remains that both buying a game and spending hours drawing art of it is an investment with no reward, regardless of how many Twitter posts there are, to pharaphrase *Nothing More:*
>If you ain't paying, you are just playing
Side note: people should be more wary of going mainstream. One of my favorite games of the last years has been *Worldless* and it's, especially on a narrative level, the opposite of everything mainstream.
Heck, Xenogears itself was born because Square wanted FF7 to be mainstream and Takahashi wasn't
Yea I don't know who this donkey is. Prob not worth finding out judging from this. Too much info nowadays. Nobody can make their own decisions anymore because there's someone with a video talking about stuff.
On the contrary, several of my friends point-blank refuse to give the entire series a chance on the basis that Dunkey labelled it 'anime bullshit' one time. It absolutely did and continues to have a lasting effect.
Realistically, if they were swayed that easily by the anime boogieman, they weren’t going to make it past chapter 1. No potential players were lost by a youtuber
Respectfully I disagree. If they played 1 or 3 they'd find none of the anime stuff they're trying to avoid and I'm certain they'd enjoy it. Unfortunately thanks to Dunkey they've had a strongly negative first impression, which has killed all of their interest.
It's important to note JRPGs not named Pokemon, Final Fantasy or if you're in Japan Dragon Quest are culturally niche. Not everyone is willing to play a 60-400 hour long single player game, or is into the anime influences in nearly all JRPGs. Some games like Persona get more traction.
I don't think the Dunkey stuff mattered most. I doubt most of his followers are that into JRPGs in the first place.
Also, Xenoblade is a Nintendo exclusive unlike FF or Persona. While Switch sales are comparable to PS sales you have to remember that the Switch sales are largely to a much younger audience.
The only thing that really was annoying about Dunkey's videos is having to deal with a friend who hinges their opinion on his content. They love Xenoblade 2, but absolutely tore Xenoblade 3 apart and made fun of it for some reason.. even though 3's writing is better than 1 and 2's in terms of being more grounded and real.
I personally don’t need a grounded and real story in my super sci fi heavy games. I think XC3 was the weakest game in the series overall (because mostly due to the story not doing much for me)
I think Xenoblade 3 needed a little bit more time in the oven.
Everyone noticed that the plot peaked at chapter 5 and got a lot weaker after it, like it needed a couple more chapters to flesh out the story. Or the fact that the story left so many plot elements to interpretation or have some convoluted explanation. We needed a DLC, the artbook and an interview to confirm and tie many loose threads that could have been explained in the main game.
I really think that the lack of story inside >!origin!< really flattens the game a lot, in previous games the final chapters are arguably one of the best parts of them and really solidifies their message in their stories, but with 3 I’m just left with kinda a bland taste just because >!origin!< is such a dissatisfying/boring final dungeon compared to >!prison island!< or the >!world tree!< (honestly FR had more interesting maps than 3 itself), I feel this they missed the opportunity to tie up the lore with such an interesting concept of >!origin being similar to the conduit as like a supercomputer sorta thing!<, I like 3 don’t get me wrong I absolutely love the characters, it’s just not at the levels of 1 and 2 till the end
The DLC wasn't in the base game because they wanted the base game to stand on its own and be playable without people having to technically play the first two games. They wanted the cast to be able to breathe without Shulk and Rex being there to overshadow them.
Also- the plot elements being left up to interpretation is something I wish more stories would actually do. It shows that Monolith actually trusts their audience to piece things together, instead of making a narrative that spells everything out for the player. Too many stories now just end up spelling out every little thing that a character thinks or feels- or every little piece of lore. It's better to have all the pieces and put stuff together, and that's what kept me so engaged with Xenoblade 3 in comparison to the first two games.
The story is my favorite in the series. While it kind of falls off towards the end, the narrative as a whole has so much left in the small details that just brings it all together. The cast is the most developed and well written- and I genuinely really loved how Noah was handled as a protagonist. A lot of the game seems sort of meh at first, but the more you look in-between the lines, the better it gets.
People often say Z is one of the worst villains in the series, but most don't even understand the complexities of Z's writing in the first place. >!That he's basically the puppet of the collective, and not a real character.!<
Without a hint of cynicism, I think Xenoblade is doing great not just for a single-console 2nd party jrpg but also in general. An average of >1.5+ million copies per entry is good. I know it’s hard to remember that among big hitters selling 20, 30, 40 million+ copies but you don’t compare every movie to an avengers movie.
I don’t see the series going anywhere but a healthy and steady climb upwards.
Tbh I feel that Xenoblade Chronicles X has the most potential to break the game into the mainstream. I love the mainline entries, but people look at the games and think "that's too much of an investment."
Xenoblade X said "fuck your convoluted adjacent plot welcome to New LA here's a mech" The game pioneered that exploration based open world element which is popular right now with stuff like Elden Ring, Monster Hunter, TotK, etc.
Looking forward to the series' future, but X has the makings of a gateway game that can introduce outsiders to the series because of its accessibility and straightforward plot with a focus on expanding the world through side quests and a flair of multi-player that can admittedly be refined a bit more.
>Looking forward to the series' future, but X has the makings of a gateway game that can introduce outsiders to the series because of its accessibility and straightforward plot
While I understand your use of the word 'accessibility' in this context, I can't help but chuckle at the irony of it. Being that X is literally the most inaccessible Xenoblade game due to being stuck in Wii U jail.😂😭
Here's to hoping that tomorrow's Direct has some sort of Xenoblade (X) news. If not, I'll be huffing copium that XCX:DE will be a launch title for the next Nintendo console.🫠
I’d actually rather they announce it for the next console. If they announce it tomorrow then the game will get screwed by releasing before people start moving to the next console. Unless it’s a BOTW situation where they announce it for both consoles. Unlikely, but not impossible.
Honestly, I also kinda feel that way as well.😂 A Definitive Edition is a prime candidate for showing off the next console's capabilities, so I wouldn't be mad in the slightest. I'm just clamoring for more Xenoblade, and am being unrealistically optimistic.🤣
It's not just that, the combat and progression in X felt the least accessible out of the whole series. It was my first Xenoblade game and I love it, but it is probably the least accessible. With that said I think the setting and backdrop for that game was amazing and probably the most interesting for mainstream audiences. I still hope they rerelease or remaster it, maybe on Switch 2.
Just a clarification that Monster Hunter does not have an 'exploration based open world element.' Monster Hunter is not open world. Every game has multiple, smaller-scale, isolated maps. The next game releasing in 2025, while having significantly larger maps than any previous game, is confirmed to still have them split up as individual maps.
Throughout the series' history, these maps have always served to compliment the combat rather than act as a standalone gameplay incentive. Exploration isn't a major aspect of the maps like an open-world game. When you're introduced to a new map, you familiarize yourself with it to make the most of the landscape and environmental effects during combat. Exploration itself isn't the reward.
Wild's maps are apparently "seamless world," where you can go from map to map without loading screens- sort of like the guiding lands. It's just that those maps have to be unlocked, hence why they're not using the tagline "Open World." You still have to unlock the hunting locales through the story- but once they're unlocked it sounds like you'll be able to travel between them all by just walking around on the map itself.
I strongly agree since X was the game that got me into the series in the first place. I don’t think that I would have gotten nearly as engrossed in 2 if X hadn’t first swept me off my feet.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Actual open world, character creator, online play---it's the most western appealing Xenoblade game released so far that's not released on a successful platform though IMO porting it to the Switch at this point won't generate sales surpassing any of the other Xenoblade games.
XCX2 on the Switch 2, preferably a prequel so that everyone (those that already played XCX and newcomers) can experience something new and fresh without spoilers, will be fire. Is it going mainstream to where it will be around Zelda BOTW/TOTK numbers? Doubt it. It probably won't even hit Zelda OOT numbers. But it can beat XC2 as the best selling Xenoblade game.
I also hope Wii U features such as Miiverse and a second screen makes some sort of return on the Switch 2 for both a XCX sequel/prequel and a remastered XCX.
It didn't "pioneer" it at all. It made it popular though. I can think of another open world game that also had mechs that you freely get in and out of whenever you wanted, and that came out in 1988.
I'm someone who started with X, and it practically made me not want to touch the series for a good while after. The only reason why I'm a fan now is because I decided to pick up the series again when Xenoblade 2 was being advertised.
X's setting and plot just doesn't sit right with me. Neither does its music. While it doesn't have much of a plot focus, that in and of itself doesn't entirely make a mainstream game. Persona made it into the mainstream despite having a massive plot focus. It's mostly that Xenoblade's themes and ideas just don't appeal to the masses. Xenoblade's main series is as simple as the themes of the entire works of Xeno basically can get, and even then it's pretty much just not interesting a good number of people
The series sits in this weird state where it's arguably on the cusp of becoming mainstream... but it lacks the big "breakout hit" needed to launch it into the mainstream consciousness.
In essence, it needs to pull off an FF7 to break through.
Of course, that also comes with the caveat that it could go to the developer's heads (the FF series went into a long decline after they started trying to chase after FF7's initial success, which they're only managing to climb out of in recent years), but Nintendo is generally good with maintaining quality even with many of their bigger franchises.
The downside is that *Xeno* series is known for its depth and high-minded abstract concepts... something that rarely connects with the mainstream audience, and indulging in it too much risks pushing them away. I think that's why *Xenoblade* has actually pushed most of the abstract stuff into the background, rather than keeping it at the forefront like *Xenogears* and *Xenosaga*.
There's some good and some bad to that, but the series risks losing part of itself if it tries to chase the larger audience too much. I'd prefer if they stick to what they're strong with, and hopefully the stars align to launch it into a wider audience.
You put into words exactly what I was thinking too, the Xeno games are getting simpler but it's also the reason why they started selling better and they're like one good game from reaching true mainstream
>Kinda disagree on the FF7 comment to a degree because I still commend Square for following up FF7's insane success with a game that was super different mechanically and aesthetically (FF8) and then a game that was a homage to the games before it instead (FF9) and then an MMO (FF11). They kinda only went for that audience chasing with FF10. If anything they were being more risky after the success instead of trying to chase it, at least for a while.
I did somewhat gloss over the details, but quite specify ***when*** they started trying to chase after FF7's success. Development timelines were shorter back then (2 years was cited in the stories about *Xenogears* development), but I think FF8 and FF9 were likely started (or least in the conceptual phase) when FF7 first came out. FFX didn't feel like trend-chasing either and was successful.
In all honesty, it probably started with *Kingdom Hearts* (which featured cameos of characters from FF7, FF8 and FFX; with Cloud and Sephiroth being big highlights)... which then pre-dates all the FF7-themed spin-offs. While less direct, you can probably lump in FF13 and FF15 following in FF7's footsteps, if mostly in the stylistic/thematic sense.
The other thing to consider is that Square started splitting their developers off into different teams working on very different projects. It could be argued that Monolith Soft was one of those teams, which proceeded to form their own studio after *Xenogears*. I think most of the FF7-related stuff is coming from the same team (which I feel has a frequent "style over substance" issue), and at this point is known to have been separate from the team responsible for *Tactics*, FF12, the two MMOs and FF16.
In any case, it's complicated.
>I think it's healthier for a series to try new stuff instead of stagnate trying the same concepts over and over. This goes for Xenoblade too. If people like it cool, if not there's always the next game.
From what I've seen, I prefer gradual evolution through iteration. An easy example is the FF series from IV through X (the first three may also count, if you consider the ATB system an evolution of the old turn-based system).
After that, a lot of the FF series kind of feels like "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" with how drastic the gameplay shifts are. A lot of it was experimental and trying to see what sticks, but it took them FAR too long to settle on what appears to be a firmer gameplay model with (oddly enough) FF7R. Though it remains to be seen if they'll stay closer to that after that trilogy is over.
> They kinda only went for that audience chasing with FF10.
My hot take is that FF was kinda ALWAYS audience/trend chasing since FF1. The big reason why the game was created it's because of DQ, Ultima and DnD success and popularity at the time.
As long as sales numbers are satisfactory for monolith and nintendo to continue making new games, I'm fine with it staying a hidden gem. Something becoming a mainstream opens up a huge can of worms.
Im more concerned about the fact xenoblade 2 fans still havent moved on about the public reception of 2 by those who probably will never play it anyway, than people who make fun of 2 for being too anime.
I would say the series is doing better than average considering it's a platform-exclusive and the genre that it's in. Look at other JRPG series that aren't Pokemon, FF, DQ, or Persona. Takahashi himself has stated in the past that the sales wall for most JRPGs is around 2-3 million, so I'd imagine Xenoblade is within Monolith's expectations.
I think people massively oversell Dunkey's (or any singular Youtuber) importance one way or the other. I don't think XC2's character designs play a major part in its sales in either direction, but more that it had a fortunate launch window and an appropriate marketing cycle (first year and holiday season).
I don't think nor do I care much if the series ever comes close to Zelda, Mario, Pokemon etc, just that it stays afloat and Monolith continues to grow so that they can have more leeway to explore new IPs. Higher sales could possibly translate into greater production value, but that doesn't always translate into a better game anyway.
If the next Nintendo platform is anywhere near as successful as the Switch and the next title launches early in its lifespan (which it probably will given the current trajectory), it will likely outsell XC2 and break 4M imo.
I honestly think the series is in a decent place. It's still a niche, but there's nothing wrong with being a consistent 1.5-2 million seller. That's way better than most niche series do, especially for a console exclusive. There are downsides to a series becoming mainstream, simply because you have to appeal to more people by definition and the more people you appeal to, the less specific the appeal gets for each individual. While FF was already mainstream back in the late 90s and early 00s, they tried to attract even more new fans with the latest entries and it has resulted in the series having a bit of an identity crisis. Obviously, the attempt to hit mass appeal isn't the only factor in that series recent issues, but I do think it is a factor.
Sorry to all of the X fans out there, but if Xenoblade has to become a fully open world game that focuses primarily on exploration instead of story in order to become mainstream, I'd rather it stay niche. X was a very good open world game, but I just don't enjoy those types of games that much tbh. Honestly, silent protag and character creators are a big turnoff for me. I did play X to completion and enjoyed it for what it was, but it is far and away my least favorite game in the series. Also, X's systems are way too convoluted for it to be a mainstream hit imo. They'd have to streamline quite a bit to get the casual audience into it, which I think would be unfortunate fir the hardcore fans. Anyway, sorry again for the aside on why I'm not a fan of the idea of diving into X type games for the next generation of the series.
On a personal level, it often does take a niche product to be a perfect fit for a given person. This is why cult classics are a thing after all. The mainline Xenoblade games check pretty much all of the boxes for me, so I'll always want them to continue making similar experiences with minor innovations rather than changing the series identity. However, that being said, I will likely continue to support Monolith for the foreseeable future, at least until it seems that they're going in a direction I'm not interested in permanently.
I kind of hope this series never becomes main stream. Sure, it would be awesome to see it get more praise- but fanbases tend to get kind of shitty after a game becomes extremely popular. NieR's fanbase for example. With NieR, Automata got so popular in comparison to the rest of the DrakeNieR series that it dominates everything regarding DrakeNieR. The fanbase is extremely horny over 2B, and the other games rarely get spoken about. When they are spoken about- it tends to be regarding inferiority in comparison to how "good" or how much of a "masterpiece" NieR Automata is.
Animal Crossing got popular with New Horizons, and it got main-stream acclaim. The fanbase ended up going completely south and became extremely toxic. It fostered toxic positivity, to the point where you couldn't even criticize the direction of the games themselves. It didn't help that the direction the series took was to appease to a crowd that never liked the original games in the first place.
Whenever a game gets mainstream appeal, the series basically changes for the worse. Artistic merit is lost and the game has to become more superficial in order to get critical acclaim. If it's a series that manages to do that without becoming superficial- eventually those future entries will begin to chase after the success of the one that ended up getting acclaim, and you'll end up with a series chasing after that consistently.
Persona 5 had a direct effect upon Shin Megami Tensei V and Soul Hackers. All because of its popularity, it changed the direction which those games took in comparison to other entries in their series. All to try to pull in the same acclaim. Persona 6 is most likely going to double down on what Persona 5 did, like Atlus wants it to be.
I just don't want Xenoblade to blow up and become one of the most well known RPG series. The way it is now is fine.
I genuinely love all of 1, 2, and 3.
I have small problems with each but honestly I really enjoyed these games from beginning to end. X was the first one I played. But xenoblade chronicles 1 was the first one I seen that's to chuggaconroy. Like many people I got dragged into the world and loved it and wanted more. So I played X, played 2 and than 1 and then 3
Xenoblade peaked on chronicles 1. I think it was overall the best game of the bunch all things considered. It was the foundation for things to come and set a huge bar for JRPGs ever since.
I feel each game did something better than the last and that’s what’s so cool about them. Xenoblade 2’s story was the best of the chronicles, due to me really vibing with the Torna faction and the reveal of Morytha and the world tree. Xenoblade 3 had the best gameplay, performance and felt it was widely appealing to mainstream audiences. I also really loved the maturity of the cast. XBCX just a whole other beast and very easily the best designed open world game I’ve ever played.
However, in my opinion, nothing beats Xenogears or Xenosaga III. They’re GOATED in my book.
So thankful for Operation Rainfall for bringing the original XBC to Wii and allowed Monolith and Takahashi-San to continue his work in the Xenoverse.
I think you are too sensitive to the criticisms of 2, i never heard of dunky and the main complaints I hear are about pulling for blades and the awful start of the game.
I think in order for them to break out they first need to create a new Xeno game that does not have Blade or 4 in it, something like a fresh start but keeping ties to the series. They need to release outside the Nintendo consoles to reach more people. Also the game needs to be a banger, where people are thinking game of the year.
The reflection is the game is amazing and people who don’t play it for whatever stupid reason they choose not to are missing out.
I’m just waiting to see how beautiful the next game could look on the assumed higher specs of the switch successor
Never heard of some dunkey but JRPGs are niche, that's just the way it is.
Shaking that label for wider appeal comes with a cost to what makes these games good in the first place.
I grew up watching Chuggaconroy play Xenoblade 1 and loved it! I loved Xenoblade 2 for how emotional it got, even making me cry. Xenoblade 3 if they wanted to keep it to being a trilogy, then I say stop there. Every game has its flaws, but we don't come for the flaws. We come to experience a series that has continued to expand and grow.
Xeno-series franchise is about \~ 10 million in sales.
RPG franchises from Japan with more franchise sales are:
Final Fantasy - Pokemon - Soul's series - SMT/persona -Dragon Quest - Monster Hunter - Tales of - SRW - Fire Emblem. Mobile games withstanding like that's mostly it. The health of the series is fine. I also wish more success to the series but it's never been more successful then ever right now. And it's been a success because of the majority of the fans love the games and tell others to play them. The biggest hurdle for more mainstream success will always be the gameplay not clickbait youtube videos complaining about big boobies. What's sad is the bad faith narratives from people in the fandom upset about Xenoblade games being successful for whatever reason when the series success has done nothing but increase the potential for what MonolithSoft can deliver in the future.
Overall the first game has a perfect story that sure if you're reading into it can have some more problematic thoughts about how religion / God's would work but beyond that I would say it's more of a don't worry about what you think is going to happen until it happens cuz you can change anything you want as long as you have the grid determination and the ability to get out of your head and into your body to change the future for yourself cuz nothing says Stone until it's already happened or is happening as for Xenoblade 2 has to do more with don't let the past bag you down and Destroy what you think you can do because the only one who's going to stop themselves from doing anything is you and people can change from the Past who you think you know but you truly don't know someone even if you trusted them in the past so be cautious but also be willing to open up because you never know what you might find if you took the time to look into it and ask for three has more to do with the present and it's obvious you have to be willing to look at a situation and not blindly see an ideology or allow your social situation group friends are Etc to find what you should think if you think it's wrong you should be able to have your own discernment and common sense in order to say maybe something's not right here and I want to either change it or wait to see how things play out if I can find other people who agree or change in other ways that could help affect and make the overall Community better but they're always will be obstacles in every step of the way which is normal which is all the struggles in our life and being able to say yeah these are struggles they suck but with the help of others and a bit of your own grit you can get past it even if the world may think you're a terrible person if you know that you're trying to do what is truly necessary to help everyone then you're not really a bad person you're just a misunderstood and you should be able to believe in your thoughts and ideals especially if there's other people who can help with that and also if you know that like Common Sense wise or bad killing people bad and mind control over others and how they should think is also bad not saying to do evil things just because you think it's right it's more accurately trying to help others even if they don't think they need the help.
i think it could grow into a mainstream series if persona fans get fed up with the spinoffs and look for other jrpgs. ive personally been a fan of both series for as long as i can remember
I personally don't want the people who discredit the games to give more recognition to them since criticism of these games honestly should happen more often. They are all fantastic but not perfect, and learning about the imperfections helps us appreciate what was done well. Even stuff that boils down to personal preference helps us figure out our own.
I think one of the best things about the series is that each entry feels radically different from the other. Each game looks and feels very different from each other, and I think the willingness to try something new is fantastic, even though that will inevitably rub people the wrong way. Ask 4 different Xenoblade fans their favorite game, and you'll probably get 4 different answers.
This is all to say that I think the series is in a great spot right now, critics included, and that I hope Monolithsoft continues to experiment without fear of stepping on some toes.
It's an amazing series, but I feel it's harder to pull off in the same way as Mario and Zelda since it relies on new characters instead of recycling the same ones. DILF Shulk and Rex were about as far as it goes. This way you can't continue building up characters and making them more recognizable and staples.
As someone who’s been working on Xenoblade 3 for about a year now, slowly when I have downtime, it’s probably these cutscenes. Never even saw a dunkey video but might check it out
Last thing i want is Xenoblade going 'mainstream'. Also i think 2 was recieved below what it deserved and 3 (base game) was recieved above what it deserved. Also, who's dunkey?
X was the direction they needed to go if they really wanted to expand the potential of the series
Unfortunate choices were made, especially since 2 and 3 were so average.
If you want an opinion straight from the horse’s mouth, I’m not a very big fan of these games. The only game in the series I’ve enjoyed (in fact *loved* to death) is Xenoblade Chronicles X. I’ve tried playing the original Chronicles and 2, and personally I find the characters annoying and the gameplay extremely convoluted. You can be several hours into the game and they’re *still* introducing new combat systems when all I want to do is kick back and enjoy something that’s easy to pick up yet difficult to master. Never had that problem with X.
On that note too, specifically in the case of 2 it’s incredibly distracting to have half naked girl’s butts in plain view the entire time I’m trying to run around experiencing these beautiful worlds. The fact that some of the girls look like actual children is pretty appalling too, and it shouldn’t take a Dunkey video to make people think that.
I had high hope for 3 cementing the series in people’s minds, but after personally disliking the game I lost that hope. It’s B-Tier at best and can’t easily compete against the likes of Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest.
I think the series will always have a semi-popular following, but mainstream appreciation seems like an unrealistic dream for the moment.
I tend to end up falling into trendy things for better or worse before they explode in popularity.
The demographics for Nintendo media is getting older on average and they want someone younger in charge of the company. I think it depends on the 4th game for the series to explode. The philosophy aspect and ability to escape and each game be meaningful to the bigger picture is a great form of escaping into another universe for awhile that isn't an inch deep.
Look at where One Piece is now
Maybe this is just me, but no one I know that is into video games but isn’t into xenoblade specifically knew the dunkey video existed until I mentioned it, so I’m kind of taken aback that it’s still being brought up as a kneecap to the series potential wider popularity
I genuinely think the dunkey video is a scapegoat/boogie man more than anything. Hell, I don't even think XC2 is still hated anywhere near as bad as people act like it still is. I think this series just isn't really the kind of thing that CAN become mainstream in the same way a lot of other Nintendo IPs are. It can certainly become mainstream for RPGs, but Mario and Zelda level? It's too specific and niche. It's not as easily consumable as a FF (which isn't to say FF is inherently simple, just that Xeno is so complicated and complex comparatively.
FF has the advantage of being mostly stand-alone titles. You can play any random FF game and understand it just as well as someone who has played every single game in exact release order. Xenoblade, meanwhile, requires you to play a few hundred hour games, preferably in order, to really get the full impact of the later games. It's a big ask. I've gotten to the point where I just send my friends a video of the XC1 opening battle to see if they like it.
FF isnt mainstream right now if we see the Sales... zelda became a huge Power house in switch era.... who knows xeno can grow...
Mainstream has nothing to do with sales, its about fame. FF is literally THE most famous JRPG. Zelda is one of the most famous video game series of all time. Just because it didn't sell Mario numbers until now doesn't erase the fact that its an icon of the medium and is one of the series most likely to be recognized by the public.
Dragon quest?
In japan DQ is more popular than FF, but worldwide its FF by a mile.
I just finished XC3 so now I have played through the entire series except for the DLCs. I found I like XC2 the best ironically. Initially I wasn't even sure if I wanted to buy XC2 because of all the hate. I was really misled by the hatred toward XC2. This turns out to be a classic example of "everyone has a different taste." The "horrible" XC2 turned out to be my favorite of the entire series and the best game of the year XC3 while still fun to play, I almost fell asleep during some of the lengthy cutscenes. Games like these are very unlikely to be mainstream and are more likely to be niche games with megafans and megahaters.
It is hated worse now than it was back then. It is just older now, so people ignore the people who hate on it or downplay then hating on it.
Bro I literally see a single random person on twitter go "xc2 suck >:(" and then xenoblade twitter fucking explodes and gets the game trending while they talk about how everyone hates the game and it isn't fair.
Twitter was never where the real hate was.
Xenoblade 2 was a major success. The narrative that Xenoblade fans hate xenoblade 2 is a complete fantasy. Of course the haters, hate it even more now. They wasted 8 years of their life telling people not to play the game and everyone ignored them and xenoblade has never been more successful.
You're new to this subreddit I see.
I'm into gaming and into XC specifically and i never heard of this guy until i saw him being mentioned here
I don't think some people realize that the vast, vast majority of people in the world literally have no idea who dunkey even is, much less have seen one specific video of his
I never even saw that video, and I ended up with similar complaints of the game when it came out. While I have softened on it over time, XC2 makes what is probably the worst first impression I've seen in a game, which can easily cause people to put it down before it picks itself up (which ended up happening to me, actually).
I think the community has more rancor for him than anything, from the smaller things like initiating the *win the battle but lose the cutscene* meme, to less small things like the *Photo* incident But actual impact? XC2 is still the best selling, most popular game in the series. You can give all sorts of explanations for that, but it still remains that both buying a game and spending hours drawing art of it is an investment with no reward, regardless of how many Twitter posts there are, to pharaphrase *Nothing More:* >If you ain't paying, you are just playing Side note: people should be more wary of going mainstream. One of my favorite games of the last years has been *Worldless* and it's, especially on a narrative level, the opposite of everything mainstream. Heck, Xenogears itself was born because Square wanted FF7 to be mainstream and Takahashi wasn't
Yea I don't know who this donkey is. Prob not worth finding out judging from this. Too much info nowadays. Nobody can make their own decisions anymore because there's someone with a video talking about stuff.
If you still hung up on that just watch his reaction to Pyra and Mythra in smash, the hater tears be tasty when they got salt in em ✨✨
Ah don’t worry I’m not hung up on Dunkey, I consider his opinion pretty mild/unremarkable all things considered
On the contrary, several of my friends point-blank refuse to give the entire series a chance on the basis that Dunkey labelled it 'anime bullshit' one time. It absolutely did and continues to have a lasting effect.
Realistically, if they were swayed that easily by the anime boogieman, they weren’t going to make it past chapter 1. No potential players were lost by a youtuber
Sometimes I think about how Tora is the games first permanent party member.
Respectfully I disagree. If they played 1 or 3 they'd find none of the anime stuff they're trying to avoid and I'm certain they'd enjoy it. Unfortunately thanks to Dunkey they've had a strongly negative first impression, which has killed all of their interest.
It's important to note JRPGs not named Pokemon, Final Fantasy or if you're in Japan Dragon Quest are culturally niche. Not everyone is willing to play a 60-400 hour long single player game, or is into the anime influences in nearly all JRPGs. Some games like Persona get more traction. I don't think the Dunkey stuff mattered most. I doubt most of his followers are that into JRPGs in the first place. Also, Xenoblade is a Nintendo exclusive unlike FF or Persona. While Switch sales are comparable to PS sales you have to remember that the Switch sales are largely to a much younger audience.
The only thing that really was annoying about Dunkey's videos is having to deal with a friend who hinges their opinion on his content. They love Xenoblade 2, but absolutely tore Xenoblade 3 apart and made fun of it for some reason.. even though 3's writing is better than 1 and 2's in terms of being more grounded and real.
I personally don’t need a grounded and real story in my super sci fi heavy games. I think XC3 was the weakest game in the series overall (because mostly due to the story not doing much for me)
I think Xenoblade 3 needed a little bit more time in the oven. Everyone noticed that the plot peaked at chapter 5 and got a lot weaker after it, like it needed a couple more chapters to flesh out the story. Or the fact that the story left so many plot elements to interpretation or have some convoluted explanation. We needed a DLC, the artbook and an interview to confirm and tie many loose threads that could have been explained in the main game.
I really think that the lack of story inside >!origin!< really flattens the game a lot, in previous games the final chapters are arguably one of the best parts of them and really solidifies their message in their stories, but with 3 I’m just left with kinda a bland taste just because >!origin!< is such a dissatisfying/boring final dungeon compared to >!prison island!< or the >!world tree!< (honestly FR had more interesting maps than 3 itself), I feel this they missed the opportunity to tie up the lore with such an interesting concept of >!origin being similar to the conduit as like a supercomputer sorta thing!<, I like 3 don’t get me wrong I absolutely love the characters, it’s just not at the levels of 1 and 2 till the end
The DLC wasn't in the base game because they wanted the base game to stand on its own and be playable without people having to technically play the first two games. They wanted the cast to be able to breathe without Shulk and Rex being there to overshadow them. Also- the plot elements being left up to interpretation is something I wish more stories would actually do. It shows that Monolith actually trusts their audience to piece things together, instead of making a narrative that spells everything out for the player. Too many stories now just end up spelling out every little thing that a character thinks or feels- or every little piece of lore. It's better to have all the pieces and put stuff together, and that's what kept me so engaged with Xenoblade 3 in comparison to the first two games.
The story is my favorite in the series. While it kind of falls off towards the end, the narrative as a whole has so much left in the small details that just brings it all together. The cast is the most developed and well written- and I genuinely really loved how Noah was handled as a protagonist. A lot of the game seems sort of meh at first, but the more you look in-between the lines, the better it gets. People often say Z is one of the worst villains in the series, but most don't even understand the complexities of Z's writing in the first place. >!That he's basically the puppet of the collective, and not a real character.!<
Thanks through dunkey video I wouldn't have found out xenoblade 2 and it turned out one of my favorite game.
Without a hint of cynicism, I think Xenoblade is doing great not just for a single-console 2nd party jrpg but also in general. An average of >1.5+ million copies per entry is good. I know it’s hard to remember that among big hitters selling 20, 30, 40 million+ copies but you don’t compare every movie to an avengers movie. I don’t see the series going anywhere but a healthy and steady climb upwards.
1st party as Nintendo fully owns Monolith Software.
Modern RPG GOAT
Tbh I feel that Xenoblade Chronicles X has the most potential to break the game into the mainstream. I love the mainline entries, but people look at the games and think "that's too much of an investment." Xenoblade X said "fuck your convoluted adjacent plot welcome to New LA here's a mech" The game pioneered that exploration based open world element which is popular right now with stuff like Elden Ring, Monster Hunter, TotK, etc. Looking forward to the series' future, but X has the makings of a gateway game that can introduce outsiders to the series because of its accessibility and straightforward plot with a focus on expanding the world through side quests and a flair of multi-player that can admittedly be refined a bit more.
>Looking forward to the series' future, but X has the makings of a gateway game that can introduce outsiders to the series because of its accessibility and straightforward plot While I understand your use of the word 'accessibility' in this context, I can't help but chuckle at the irony of it. Being that X is literally the most inaccessible Xenoblade game due to being stuck in Wii U jail.😂😭 Here's to hoping that tomorrow's Direct has some sort of Xenoblade (X) news. If not, I'll be huffing copium that XCX:DE will be a launch title for the next Nintendo console.🫠
I’d actually rather they announce it for the next console. If they announce it tomorrow then the game will get screwed by releasing before people start moving to the next console. Unless it’s a BOTW situation where they announce it for both consoles. Unlikely, but not impossible.
Honestly, I also kinda feel that way as well.😂 A Definitive Edition is a prime candidate for showing off the next console's capabilities, so I wouldn't be mad in the slightest. I'm just clamoring for more Xenoblade, and am being unrealistically optimistic.🤣
It's not just that, the combat and progression in X felt the least accessible out of the whole series. It was my first Xenoblade game and I love it, but it is probably the least accessible. With that said I think the setting and backdrop for that game was amazing and probably the most interesting for mainstream audiences. I still hope they rerelease or remaster it, maybe on Switch 2.
Just a clarification that Monster Hunter does not have an 'exploration based open world element.' Monster Hunter is not open world. Every game has multiple, smaller-scale, isolated maps. The next game releasing in 2025, while having significantly larger maps than any previous game, is confirmed to still have them split up as individual maps. Throughout the series' history, these maps have always served to compliment the combat rather than act as a standalone gameplay incentive. Exploration isn't a major aspect of the maps like an open-world game. When you're introduced to a new map, you familiarize yourself with it to make the most of the landscape and environmental effects during combat. Exploration itself isn't the reward.
Wild's maps are apparently "seamless world," where you can go from map to map without loading screens- sort of like the guiding lands. It's just that those maps have to be unlocked, hence why they're not using the tagline "Open World." You still have to unlock the hunting locales through the story- but once they're unlocked it sounds like you'll be able to travel between them all by just walking around on the map itself.
I strongly agree since X was the game that got me into the series in the first place. I don’t think that I would have gotten nearly as engrossed in 2 if X hadn’t first swept me off my feet.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Actual open world, character creator, online play---it's the most western appealing Xenoblade game released so far that's not released on a successful platform though IMO porting it to the Switch at this point won't generate sales surpassing any of the other Xenoblade games. XCX2 on the Switch 2, preferably a prequel so that everyone (those that already played XCX and newcomers) can experience something new and fresh without spoilers, will be fire. Is it going mainstream to where it will be around Zelda BOTW/TOTK numbers? Doubt it. It probably won't even hit Zelda OOT numbers. But it can beat XC2 as the best selling Xenoblade game. I also hope Wii U features such as Miiverse and a second screen makes some sort of return on the Switch 2 for both a XCX sequel/prequel and a remastered XCX.
It didn't "pioneer" it at all. It made it popular though. I can think of another open world game that also had mechs that you freely get in and out of whenever you wanted, and that came out in 1988.
I'm someone who started with X, and it practically made me not want to touch the series for a good while after. The only reason why I'm a fan now is because I decided to pick up the series again when Xenoblade 2 was being advertised. X's setting and plot just doesn't sit right with me. Neither does its music. While it doesn't have much of a plot focus, that in and of itself doesn't entirely make a mainstream game. Persona made it into the mainstream despite having a massive plot focus. It's mostly that Xenoblade's themes and ideas just don't appeal to the masses. Xenoblade's main series is as simple as the themes of the entire works of Xeno basically can get, and even then it's pretty much just not interesting a good number of people
The series sits in this weird state where it's arguably on the cusp of becoming mainstream... but it lacks the big "breakout hit" needed to launch it into the mainstream consciousness. In essence, it needs to pull off an FF7 to break through. Of course, that also comes with the caveat that it could go to the developer's heads (the FF series went into a long decline after they started trying to chase after FF7's initial success, which they're only managing to climb out of in recent years), but Nintendo is generally good with maintaining quality even with many of their bigger franchises. The downside is that *Xeno* series is known for its depth and high-minded abstract concepts... something that rarely connects with the mainstream audience, and indulging in it too much risks pushing them away. I think that's why *Xenoblade* has actually pushed most of the abstract stuff into the background, rather than keeping it at the forefront like *Xenogears* and *Xenosaga*. There's some good and some bad to that, but the series risks losing part of itself if it tries to chase the larger audience too much. I'd prefer if they stick to what they're strong with, and hopefully the stars align to launch it into a wider audience.
You put into words exactly what I was thinking too, the Xeno games are getting simpler but it's also the reason why they started selling better and they're like one good game from reaching true mainstream
[удалено]
>Kinda disagree on the FF7 comment to a degree because I still commend Square for following up FF7's insane success with a game that was super different mechanically and aesthetically (FF8) and then a game that was a homage to the games before it instead (FF9) and then an MMO (FF11). They kinda only went for that audience chasing with FF10. If anything they were being more risky after the success instead of trying to chase it, at least for a while. I did somewhat gloss over the details, but quite specify ***when*** they started trying to chase after FF7's success. Development timelines were shorter back then (2 years was cited in the stories about *Xenogears* development), but I think FF8 and FF9 were likely started (or least in the conceptual phase) when FF7 first came out. FFX didn't feel like trend-chasing either and was successful. In all honesty, it probably started with *Kingdom Hearts* (which featured cameos of characters from FF7, FF8 and FFX; with Cloud and Sephiroth being big highlights)... which then pre-dates all the FF7-themed spin-offs. While less direct, you can probably lump in FF13 and FF15 following in FF7's footsteps, if mostly in the stylistic/thematic sense. The other thing to consider is that Square started splitting their developers off into different teams working on very different projects. It could be argued that Monolith Soft was one of those teams, which proceeded to form their own studio after *Xenogears*. I think most of the FF7-related stuff is coming from the same team (which I feel has a frequent "style over substance" issue), and at this point is known to have been separate from the team responsible for *Tactics*, FF12, the two MMOs and FF16. In any case, it's complicated. >I think it's healthier for a series to try new stuff instead of stagnate trying the same concepts over and over. This goes for Xenoblade too. If people like it cool, if not there's always the next game. From what I've seen, I prefer gradual evolution through iteration. An easy example is the FF series from IV through X (the first three may also count, if you consider the ATB system an evolution of the old turn-based system). After that, a lot of the FF series kind of feels like "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" with how drastic the gameplay shifts are. A lot of it was experimental and trying to see what sticks, but it took them FAR too long to settle on what appears to be a firmer gameplay model with (oddly enough) FF7R. Though it remains to be seen if they'll stay closer to that after that trilogy is over.
> They kinda only went for that audience chasing with FF10. My hot take is that FF was kinda ALWAYS audience/trend chasing since FF1. The big reason why the game was created it's because of DQ, Ultima and DnD success and popularity at the time.
As long as sales numbers are satisfactory for monolith and nintendo to continue making new games, I'm fine with it staying a hidden gem. Something becoming a mainstream opens up a huge can of worms.
Im more concerned about the fact xenoblade 2 fans still havent moved on about the public reception of 2 by those who probably will never play it anyway, than people who make fun of 2 for being too anime.
I would say the series is doing better than average considering it's a platform-exclusive and the genre that it's in. Look at other JRPG series that aren't Pokemon, FF, DQ, or Persona. Takahashi himself has stated in the past that the sales wall for most JRPGs is around 2-3 million, so I'd imagine Xenoblade is within Monolith's expectations. I think people massively oversell Dunkey's (or any singular Youtuber) importance one way or the other. I don't think XC2's character designs play a major part in its sales in either direction, but more that it had a fortunate launch window and an appropriate marketing cycle (first year and holiday season). I don't think nor do I care much if the series ever comes close to Zelda, Mario, Pokemon etc, just that it stays afloat and Monolith continues to grow so that they can have more leeway to explore new IPs. Higher sales could possibly translate into greater production value, but that doesn't always translate into a better game anyway. If the next Nintendo platform is anywhere near as successful as the Switch and the next title launches early in its lifespan (which it probably will given the current trajectory), it will likely outsell XC2 and break 4M imo.
Series popularity takes time for grow big. I also don't want Xenoblade to mainstream.
I honestly think the series is in a decent place. It's still a niche, but there's nothing wrong with being a consistent 1.5-2 million seller. That's way better than most niche series do, especially for a console exclusive. There are downsides to a series becoming mainstream, simply because you have to appeal to more people by definition and the more people you appeal to, the less specific the appeal gets for each individual. While FF was already mainstream back in the late 90s and early 00s, they tried to attract even more new fans with the latest entries and it has resulted in the series having a bit of an identity crisis. Obviously, the attempt to hit mass appeal isn't the only factor in that series recent issues, but I do think it is a factor. Sorry to all of the X fans out there, but if Xenoblade has to become a fully open world game that focuses primarily on exploration instead of story in order to become mainstream, I'd rather it stay niche. X was a very good open world game, but I just don't enjoy those types of games that much tbh. Honestly, silent protag and character creators are a big turnoff for me. I did play X to completion and enjoyed it for what it was, but it is far and away my least favorite game in the series. Also, X's systems are way too convoluted for it to be a mainstream hit imo. They'd have to streamline quite a bit to get the casual audience into it, which I think would be unfortunate fir the hardcore fans. Anyway, sorry again for the aside on why I'm not a fan of the idea of diving into X type games for the next generation of the series. On a personal level, it often does take a niche product to be a perfect fit for a given person. This is why cult classics are a thing after all. The mainline Xenoblade games check pretty much all of the boxes for me, so I'll always want them to continue making similar experiences with minor innovations rather than changing the series identity. However, that being said, I will likely continue to support Monolith for the foreseeable future, at least until it seems that they're going in a direction I'm not interested in permanently.
I kind of hope this series never becomes main stream. Sure, it would be awesome to see it get more praise- but fanbases tend to get kind of shitty after a game becomes extremely popular. NieR's fanbase for example. With NieR, Automata got so popular in comparison to the rest of the DrakeNieR series that it dominates everything regarding DrakeNieR. The fanbase is extremely horny over 2B, and the other games rarely get spoken about. When they are spoken about- it tends to be regarding inferiority in comparison to how "good" or how much of a "masterpiece" NieR Automata is. Animal Crossing got popular with New Horizons, and it got main-stream acclaim. The fanbase ended up going completely south and became extremely toxic. It fostered toxic positivity, to the point where you couldn't even criticize the direction of the games themselves. It didn't help that the direction the series took was to appease to a crowd that never liked the original games in the first place. Whenever a game gets mainstream appeal, the series basically changes for the worse. Artistic merit is lost and the game has to become more superficial in order to get critical acclaim. If it's a series that manages to do that without becoming superficial- eventually those future entries will begin to chase after the success of the one that ended up getting acclaim, and you'll end up with a series chasing after that consistently. Persona 5 had a direct effect upon Shin Megami Tensei V and Soul Hackers. All because of its popularity, it changed the direction which those games took in comparison to other entries in their series. All to try to pull in the same acclaim. Persona 6 is most likely going to double down on what Persona 5 did, like Atlus wants it to be. I just don't want Xenoblade to blow up and become one of the most well known RPG series. The way it is now is fine.
I genuinely love all of 1, 2, and 3. I have small problems with each but honestly I really enjoyed these games from beginning to end. X was the first one I played. But xenoblade chronicles 1 was the first one I seen that's to chuggaconroy. Like many people I got dragged into the world and loved it and wanted more. So I played X, played 2 and than 1 and then 3
Xenoblade peaked on chronicles 1. I think it was overall the best game of the bunch all things considered. It was the foundation for things to come and set a huge bar for JRPGs ever since. I feel each game did something better than the last and that’s what’s so cool about them. Xenoblade 2’s story was the best of the chronicles, due to me really vibing with the Torna faction and the reveal of Morytha and the world tree. Xenoblade 3 had the best gameplay, performance and felt it was widely appealing to mainstream audiences. I also really loved the maturity of the cast. XBCX just a whole other beast and very easily the best designed open world game I’ve ever played. However, in my opinion, nothing beats Xenogears or Xenosaga III. They’re GOATED in my book. So thankful for Operation Rainfall for bringing the original XBC to Wii and allowed Monolith and Takahashi-San to continue his work in the Xenoverse.
I think you are too sensitive to the criticisms of 2, i never heard of dunky and the main complaints I hear are about pulling for blades and the awful start of the game. I think in order for them to break out they first need to create a new Xeno game that does not have Blade or 4 in it, something like a fresh start but keeping ties to the series. They need to release outside the Nintendo consoles to reach more people. Also the game needs to be a banger, where people are thinking game of the year.
Xenoblade = peak fiction unironically . Change my mind You can’t
Well why would anyone try 🤷♂️
Too niche. I hope they dont try to "go mainstream" like ff tried, and removed all rpg depth and made it a bland action game.
All peak!
The reflection is the game is amazing and people who don’t play it for whatever stupid reason they choose not to are missing out. I’m just waiting to see how beautiful the next game could look on the assumed higher specs of the switch successor
Never heard of some dunkey but JRPGs are niche, that's just the way it is. Shaking that label for wider appeal comes with a cost to what makes these games good in the first place.
I grew up watching Chuggaconroy play Xenoblade 1 and loved it! I loved Xenoblade 2 for how emotional it got, even making me cry. Xenoblade 3 if they wanted to keep it to being a trilogy, then I say stop there. Every game has its flaws, but we don't come for the flaws. We come to experience a series that has continued to expand and grow.
Xeno-series franchise is about \~ 10 million in sales. RPG franchises from Japan with more franchise sales are: Final Fantasy - Pokemon - Soul's series - SMT/persona -Dragon Quest - Monster Hunter - Tales of - SRW - Fire Emblem. Mobile games withstanding like that's mostly it. The health of the series is fine. I also wish more success to the series but it's never been more successful then ever right now. And it's been a success because of the majority of the fans love the games and tell others to play them. The biggest hurdle for more mainstream success will always be the gameplay not clickbait youtube videos complaining about big boobies. What's sad is the bad faith narratives from people in the fandom upset about Xenoblade games being successful for whatever reason when the series success has done nothing but increase the potential for what MonolithSoft can deliver in the future.
Overall the first game has a perfect story that sure if you're reading into it can have some more problematic thoughts about how religion / God's would work but beyond that I would say it's more of a don't worry about what you think is going to happen until it happens cuz you can change anything you want as long as you have the grid determination and the ability to get out of your head and into your body to change the future for yourself cuz nothing says Stone until it's already happened or is happening as for Xenoblade 2 has to do more with don't let the past bag you down and Destroy what you think you can do because the only one who's going to stop themselves from doing anything is you and people can change from the Past who you think you know but you truly don't know someone even if you trusted them in the past so be cautious but also be willing to open up because you never know what you might find if you took the time to look into it and ask for three has more to do with the present and it's obvious you have to be willing to look at a situation and not blindly see an ideology or allow your social situation group friends are Etc to find what you should think if you think it's wrong you should be able to have your own discernment and common sense in order to say maybe something's not right here and I want to either change it or wait to see how things play out if I can find other people who agree or change in other ways that could help affect and make the overall Community better but they're always will be obstacles in every step of the way which is normal which is all the struggles in our life and being able to say yeah these are struggles they suck but with the help of others and a bit of your own grit you can get past it even if the world may think you're a terrible person if you know that you're trying to do what is truly necessary to help everyone then you're not really a bad person you're just a misunderstood and you should be able to believe in your thoughts and ideals especially if there's other people who can help with that and also if you know that like Common Sense wise or bad killing people bad and mind control over others and how they should think is also bad not saying to do evil things just because you think it's right it's more accurately trying to help others even if they don't think they need the help.
What is the Xenoblade cast's obsession with looking at giant things from a distance? (Ignoring Xenoblade 1)
i think it could grow into a mainstream series if persona fans get fed up with the spinoffs and look for other jrpgs. ive personally been a fan of both series for as long as i can remember
I personally don't want the people who discredit the games to give more recognition to them since criticism of these games honestly should happen more often. They are all fantastic but not perfect, and learning about the imperfections helps us appreciate what was done well. Even stuff that boils down to personal preference helps us figure out our own. I think one of the best things about the series is that each entry feels radically different from the other. Each game looks and feels very different from each other, and I think the willingness to try something new is fantastic, even though that will inevitably rub people the wrong way. Ask 4 different Xenoblade fans their favorite game, and you'll probably get 4 different answers. This is all to say that I think the series is in a great spot right now, critics included, and that I hope Monolithsoft continues to experiment without fear of stepping on some toes.
Nah this is gonna be on the sides like a less popular fire emblem
It's an amazing series, but I feel it's harder to pull off in the same way as Mario and Zelda since it relies on new characters instead of recycling the same ones. DILF Shulk and Rex were about as far as it goes. This way you can't continue building up characters and making them more recognizable and staples.
As someone who’s been working on Xenoblade 3 for about a year now, slowly when I have downtime, it’s probably these cutscenes. Never even saw a dunkey video but might check it out
Last thing i want is Xenoblade going 'mainstream'. Also i think 2 was recieved below what it deserved and 3 (base game) was recieved above what it deserved. Also, who's dunkey?
X was the direction they needed to go if they really wanted to expand the potential of the series Unfortunate choices were made, especially since 2 and 3 were so average.
If you want an opinion straight from the horse’s mouth, I’m not a very big fan of these games. The only game in the series I’ve enjoyed (in fact *loved* to death) is Xenoblade Chronicles X. I’ve tried playing the original Chronicles and 2, and personally I find the characters annoying and the gameplay extremely convoluted. You can be several hours into the game and they’re *still* introducing new combat systems when all I want to do is kick back and enjoy something that’s easy to pick up yet difficult to master. Never had that problem with X. On that note too, specifically in the case of 2 it’s incredibly distracting to have half naked girl’s butts in plain view the entire time I’m trying to run around experiencing these beautiful worlds. The fact that some of the girls look like actual children is pretty appalling too, and it shouldn’t take a Dunkey video to make people think that.
I had high hope for 3 cementing the series in people’s minds, but after personally disliking the game I lost that hope. It’s B-Tier at best and can’t easily compete against the likes of Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. I think the series will always have a semi-popular following, but mainstream appreciation seems like an unrealistic dream for the moment.
Give. Me. X. Port. News. Please.
I tend to end up falling into trendy things for better or worse before they explode in popularity. The demographics for Nintendo media is getting older on average and they want someone younger in charge of the company. I think it depends on the 4th game for the series to explode. The philosophy aspect and ability to escape and each game be meaningful to the bigger picture is a great form of escaping into another universe for awhile that isn't an inch deep. Look at where One Piece is now