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Obliterating My Mental Health with Xenoblade Chronicles

Published on Wed, Mar 1st 2023 Gaming Rectangular HD

Aliensword Records

*major spoiler segments separated by chapters*

Back to reviewing every game in a series. Turns out Xenoblade Chronicles is pretty good, actually. But at what cost? I hit a patron goal months back and I've been playing these games since September. Half a year of this series. I am severely unwell, but taking at least 1 day off, so. That's basically a vacation.

You'll find if you play them, and give them the time of day, they're crafted pretty meticulously - more than the average game, anyway. Monolithsoft loves detail work, character relationships, the grandeur of nature, and tears, so if you play, you'll hit some kind of payoff eventually. Don't listen to anyone calling 'em "too anime," that's just code for "I'm weak and I'm letting everyone know."

Playing through each entry, from the original, to X, to 2, Torna, and eventually 3, I've gained a lot more appreciation than I thought I ever could've heading in. At the KBash Show we like to get at least a little curious about the things we play. So if any of these games seem too daunting, just play Torna, the second game's standalone DLC for a clean entry to the concept with some incredible design. The others are incredible too, but it might take some digging to find the good, at times. Either way, they're quality.

If you stick around this year, I'll be covering Xenosaga and Xenogears eventually.

Hey! Here's my latest on Nioh: https://youtu.be/EEkvWs1q8Es

If you'd like to support the show, you can find me on patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kbash - the next goal is monster hunter!

Credits:
@HeavyEyed - for help with audio!
​@GCVazquez - voiceover #1
@ZacFrazier - voiceover #2
@culIen- voiceover #3
@KingKlonoa - voiceover #4
I seriously can't thank these people enough - please check them out if you get the chance, they're fantastic human beings, hard vouch.
**also thanks to Casey for advice/guidance/opinions about Xenoblade alongside many others. Legitimately couldn't have come together half as well without so many people T_T

Quote #1: https://www.frontlinejp.net/2020/05/25/xenoblade-takahashi-interview-development-on-definitive-edition-learning-from-failure-and-the-future/
Quote #2: https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/wiiu/xenoblade-chronicles-x/0/0/
Quote #3: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/09/feature_xenoblade_chronicles_2_team_talk_torna_female_blades_and_the_ending_that_never_made_it
Quote #4: https://nintendoeverything.com/xenoblade-chronicles-2-director-on-development-inspiration-for-the-world-and-setting-upcoming-dlc-more/

0:00 Xeno
2:14 the 1st chronicle
27:02 ---XBC1 spoilers---
41:01 X
1:03:28 ---X spoilers---
1:11:43 the 2nd chronicle
1:32:26 ---XBC2 spoilers---
1:45:01 Torna
1:53:27 ---Torna spoilers---
1:58:22 the 3rd chronicle
2:14:53 ---XBC3 spoilers---
2:27:04 moving on

#xenoblade #xenobladechronicles #kbash #retrospective #review