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Nyoro posted:Incidentally I just got around to finally watching the XBC3 direct and wow this game looks incredible I cannot believe I'm restarting my own personal Xenoblade cycle AGAIN 1) Decide I'm not getting it 2) Hype myself up watching trailers and videos 3) Buy the game at launch 4) Spend 100 hours beating it 5) Finish the game exhausted, annoyed at its flaws, and deciding I'm done with the series Tender Bender fucked around with this message at 14:26 on Jul 7, 2022 |
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Jul 7, 2022 14:20
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Ore Bros
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Jul 7, 2022 16:38
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I know there's a ton of cutscenes in this... Are they well paced and interesting? I remember one of the things that dragged XC2 down for me was so many cutscenes feeling like characters just slowly repeating the same things over and over to each other.
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Aug 6, 2022 15:14
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Judge Tesla posted:It's a matter of perspective and what you like in regards to them being interesting, for what it's worth I enjoy the cutscenes but someone else may not, there are a lot of them however. History Comes Inside! posted:I’d say they could easily be cut down by half or more and still get the same information across, there’s a lot of waffling. I’m 40 hours in and the sunk cost along with the fact I don’t have anything else I’m really itching to play right now is the only thing that’s keeping me going. CharlestheHammer posted:2 doesn’t have many cutscenes no. It doesn’t even have as many as one Yea I guess it is just a subjective thing, by halfway through 2 I couldn't stand the cutscenes because I felt like they took twice as long as necessary to just repeat the same points. I can deal with a ton of cutscenes if they're engaging but it's hard for someone else to decide that for me.
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Aug 6, 2022 20:26
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Mr. Fortitude posted:Uh no? It's blindingly obvious what's going on from the opening cutscene. I'm not even sure it'd be a spoiler to anyone who hasn't played Xenoblade 1 or 2 before either because they'd have zero context for what a Blade even is. Like, saying Lanz is a Machina or Eunie is High-Entia is more of a spoiler by your logic. Is what's happening in the opening cutscene with the worlds fusing together, something that's kind of a mystery that's explained in XBC3, or is it something that was in motion at the end of XBC2 and so I should already know it? I played the first two games but genuinely don't remember them well enough, I remember the last boss of XBC2 was fused with the boss of XBC1, because the universes were originally split off from each other and he's two halves of the same dude. But I don't remember if the worlds coming back together on a larger scale was happening there.
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Aug 7, 2022 22:28
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SyntheticPolygon posted:I'm not very far in the game but that's definitely a plot point introduced this game. Not a continuation of anything from the earlier titles. IcePhoenix posted:I feel like you're told at the end of XBC2 that it's a thing that was going to happen but not really what was going to happen as a result. So...both. Ytlaya posted:It's something that can be directly inferred from the first two games, though. We know that the Conduit facilitated the creation of the XC1 universe/dimension, so the disappearance of the Conduit (at the end of XC2) implies that the dimensions will re-merge. So while it's only directly shown in XC3, it's not really a mystery why it's happened. Gotcha, thanks! I was wondering how thoroughly I needed to recap the first two games and seems like the answer is "not very".
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Aug 8, 2022 04:25
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Just started this and the cutscene direction has been really cool so far, been a while since I played something that actually used camera angles and framed shots with real purpose. Tons of custom animations being used for npc's in in-game cutscenes. Feels very un-Nintendo in a good way.
Tender Bender fucked around with this message at 04:14 on Aug 10, 2022 |
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Aug 10, 2022 04:12
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OddObserver posted:That character also made me notice that a lot of characters do some sort of exaggerated hip-swaying walk which is really silly for the setting. I'm super early in but have noticed how often Eunie does a big arched-back, chest-out stretch and just stays in that pose for a while. Still, impressive how much of an improvement this game has been on that front.
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Aug 12, 2022 16:32
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I was curious why there is only one attack stat so I googled and Gamefaqs seems to think that ether attack is based on a combination of the attack and heal stats. Is that correct?
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Aug 13, 2022 00:45
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Ah okay, thanks for clearing that up!
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Aug 13, 2022 01:23
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Is there an actual collectipedia, not just the quest tab? I liked in the first game how you could read entries like "Black Carrot: Reyn thought this rock was a carrot and tried to eat it."
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Aug 14, 2022 05:43
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Is there a way to set defaults on the tactics (Follow Leader, Smash Combo, etc?) Or am I just supposed to manually hit those buttons every combat?
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Aug 14, 2022 19:58
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Maybe I'll feel differently later in the game but off the bat (Partway into Chapter 2) I'm feeling invested in the characters much more than either of the first two games. Partly a consequence of getting all 6 characters early on, there's a lot more happening right away, but they set up some solid dynamics and both the dialogue and cutscene direction are really strong. I liked XBC1 a lot, I never really connected with 2 because I just actively disliked the character relationships that the entire plot revolved around. The high concept setting is confidently presented and while there's some big questions left unexplained they're pretty deliberately left hanging and not the result of sloppy worldbuilding. It's an elegant setup where the characters aren't fish out of water, but still they're convincingly positioned to ask really fundamental questions and learn alongside the player without it seeming awkward like "wait shouldn't someone from this world already know this?" It's compelling so far, I hope it delivers.
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Aug 15, 2022 15:30
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What determines the amount of TP characters start with when you use a chain attack? I just unlocked chain attacks and I think I mostly understand the mechanics except for that part.
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Aug 19, 2022 20:02
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Just finished Chapter 2 and unlocked the skill trees. Lmao there's so many systems in this game, I love Xenoblade. I'm not totally sold on chain attacks in this one, I think I'd like it a lot more if you didn't go to a menu screen and instead the camera just bounced between your characters like in the first game. In terms of gamefeel it feels too much like I'm just pausing the game and adding a ton of damage on the boss.
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Aug 20, 2022 15:12
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Levitate posted:New to the series and just getting into this game, chapter 2 I think, does combat ever feel less…chaotic? Trying to position my controlled character, cancel attacks onto arts, setup combos, and I have no clue what my teammates are doing and barely notice if someone is low on health Battles become a little less chaotic as you get familiar, but I really wish for a few minor UI adjustments. Thinking back to my MMO days. I would gladly install a mod if I could to tweak some stuff, especially the "current target" marker which should be a different color so it stands out. I often spend a lot of time hitting the change target button looking for the marker and trying to find it because it just blends in with the rest of the battle information. I think the class system makes battle more confusing because you're constantly switching which character does which roles, and what arts they have, so unless you've locked into a final build for a character, you don't really get the chance to memorize and get used to their setups. Having said that, as people said you don't really need to be on top of your game in most battles. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing, which ties into how people say a lot of the fights are "easy" on normal. That's true, but it also sorta just feels easy because you're already doing the bulk of the work before battle. Training your party, setting up their builds and skill sets, etc is already half the battle or more (which is the case for a lot of jrpg's). The battle itself is kind of just a test of whether you built the party well.
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Aug 21, 2022 17:36
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I'm kind of torn about gems, it's great that you don't have to farm the mats for each rank and can skip ahead, but on the other hand it makes me feel like I'm "wasting" mats on unnecessary lower ranks. Like oh I can save ether cylinders if I skip rank II and hold out to rank III. I know it's just a me thing.
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Aug 21, 2022 20:03
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The affinity chart laying out almost every minor NPC in the game with connecting lines showing what they think of each other like "Hard working barista" is one of the most insane things I've ever seen in a game, and I'm glad it's back
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Aug 23, 2022 17:26
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Augus posted:XC2 Question: I got up to the big elevator in Chapter 8. About how much game do I have left? Definitely feels like I'm approaching the end though I remember thinking that with Xenoblade 1 and then finding out I still had like 20+ hours left. You're pretty close to the end. I don't remember how long the various events/cutscenes take but there isn't another big act about to unfold or anything.
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Aug 25, 2022 13:48
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One thing I think this series never figured out, and kinda got worse at, is legibly telegraphing enemy actions. It's the one part of combat I feel isn't there. I tend to just be doing my thing wailing on the enemy, and occasionally a big AOE will kill half my party or knock everyone down to red health, and I can see "oh it was a big purple blast" but I almost never see it coming. I do see the names of attacks appear above the enemy health bar sometimes but I'll be honest it usually just blends into all the noise that's happening onscreen with six characters, boss plus adds, aggro lines, multiple different meters and cooldowns to track, etc. The first game had monado visions which let you prepare when bosses did big windups, I wish they'd bring something like that. It also had the super cool mechanic where you'd pick up a random collectible and Shulk would say "Hmm, in the future we'll get a quest where we need five of these" which is an awesome way to integrate plot and gameplay.
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Aug 25, 2022 16:27
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turn off the TV posted:That interaction is probably the most appalling moment in the entire franchise. I don't think that another game has managed to convey such an immense feeling of dread. Not reading the spoilers, still in chapter 3, but from your reply I'm assuming we hear Tatsu's theme start to play during a post-credit scene
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Aug 27, 2022 19:53
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Kingtheninja posted:Just finished chapter 3 and I'm starting to get some hunches about the plot, and I'm super excited to see what's revealed. I also just finished Chapter 3, and yeah. I think I can see where the game's going with the themes of identity and self. This being 1) A JRPG, and 2) A Xeno game, I'm expecting it to get a little too convoluted to execute on those themes in a really satisfying way, but the cutscenes and writing have been strong enough that I'm happy so far. I think that the world being such a clearly artificial construct (not a spoiler, just like, the entire premise of the war and the ten year lifespan makes it clear something is wrong) that all the absurd anime stuff just feels like it fits, even moreso than the first two games.
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Aug 28, 2022 21:43
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I don't know how the DE is in this regard but after playing a few hours on disc I found it worthwhile to buy the digital download on Wii U just because the load times to go in/out of the menu and maps were significantly improved.
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Aug 30, 2022 17:44
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RuBisCO posted:I think the decision to eschew the presence of typical JRPG towns in XB3 is incredibly bold. I don't think it's 100% successful but I think it does a remarkably good job about it, all things considered. Yeah, like this is where the stripped down nature of the setting works for me. There is no fascist propaganda, there's no real culture to speak of, and it makes sense because there's no need or room for those things to have grown. These are just babies grown in vats sent off to fight and killed before they really mature, there's no need to justify the war, or to convince society to support the war, anything like that. It all just is. It's pure metaphor stripped to its base form. I think it synergizes really well with Monolithsofts strengths and weaknesses as a developer. They do worlds, landscapes, and high melodrama well, but I can't say I've ever felt that they really depicted convincing worldbuilding on the societal or cultural level. I couldn't ask "How does this society even function? What do these people do besides the plot?", because the answers would be "It doesn't" and "Nothing." But you can ask that here, because those are the game's answers in the plot text as well as the gameplay text. This game's absurdly contrived premise actually makes the world feel more Real to me. Like, this early NPC who just stands in a corner of the base and wants a clover? That's actually the entirety of his life, because that's all he is in the text. He doesn't have other stuff he does besides what's on screen. He was born in a test tube last year and he's just going to stand here in this base and think about how much he likes clovers until he gets killed or gets a homecoming. And (I'll have to revisit this and possibly laugh at myself once I finish the game, I'm still on chapter 4) I wouldn't even say this game's theme is really "war is bad". The fighting happens, but it's really more about the whole notion of these people being created and living empty lives for this thankless, pointless cycle, than any exploration of why we wage war. Maybe this will change later, but there's even been hardly any "Wow, turns out Agnes people are like this, and Keves people are like this." Once the party joins up they pretty quickly move past the idea that they're even different at all, and the colonies you reach also pretty quickly get past that. The themes so far have been much more in the vein of personhood and identity. How do we respond to trauma and grief, how do we find purpose and meaning, and how does that emerge even in a setting where you have no cultural touchstones to teach it to you or no autonomy to go out there and spend your life figuring that stuff out? What is your purpose when you leave literally the only purpose you've ever had? Again the metaphor is so incredibly focused because of the setting; it's not that these characters were just really devoted to their duty, it's literally the only thing they've ever known! It's contrived, more than a bit navel-gazey, and often overwritten, but I think it's more engaging than similar games have been, and with JRPGs I think you kind of show up for the package deal of a decent shot at its themes, along with Cool Anime Action, heavy melodrama, and fun character moments.
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Aug 30, 2022 23:09
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SyntheticPolygon posted:I'm very glad that pretty much every important npc have much more going on than being patriotic war guys and are all in their own way asking similar questions regarding life, death, and the meaning of this war to our protagonists. In the first few hours I was expecting Noah to be the one guy who has realised war is bad and will need to teach this to everyone else in the world and it's very cool that is not the case. Yeah, same. Like at the end of Chapter 3, Taion gives this explanation of why they do off-seeing, and what it means to the survivors. Presumably this is just stuff he was musing about on his own, since I don't think there are any philosophers or libraries or anything. It's cool that he is the kind of dude who would start thinking about that! I have theories about what this means for their personhood and how that relates to what Eunie found on the battlefield but gonna hold off on speculating further.
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Aug 30, 2022 23:23
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Isurd's voice acting is so stiff, lmao. He stands out like a sore thumb when talking to the rest of the cast
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Aug 31, 2022 02:11
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redreader posted:Sometimes during battle there's a high pitched 'engine starting up' WEEEUUUU noise, as part of some action or something. I think I also hear it when I'm near the two sides' robots fighting each other. What is that noise from? I think it's one of the buff arts, maybe from war medic or thaumaturge?
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Aug 31, 2022 17:56
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ChaosArgate posted:I think part of this might be the intent behind Malos? He was awakened by a Bad Dude who just wanted to watch the world burn, and that imprinted onto Malos himself. I don't particularly think XBC2 explores that idea as well as it could have, but the Malos you see in 2 is one who's realized that he was a villain because of the will of his driver, not so much his own agency, and has found a different purpose now that the conflict depicted in the Torna DLC has long since passed. XBC2 would have benefited tremendously from some kind of coherent art direction for the blades, especially since they're not just side characters but also several of the protagonists/antagonists. This issue kind of gets worse with XBC3's mashing together of races, since there's not even the loose justification of "blades are weirdo constructs"... Except I kind of love the audacity. "Here's a collection of random science fantasy races, and also a bunch of people who can just look like anything for any reason. Someone could have volcanoes for feet and snakes for hair, or maybe they have a hand that's a butterfly. I don't know."
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Aug 31, 2022 22:31
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Endorph posted:if anything part of the reason it sometimes comes across weird is because the accents arent strong enough Hear that, Eunie? Endorph wants something a bit meatier.
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Sep 1, 2022 11:47
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Does the Swelling Blessing gem (increase buff strength) apply to buffs from fields you place on the ground? Or only buffs you directly place on characters? And do fields that heal characters count as buffs, or are they just "healing"?
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Sep 5, 2022 17:39
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Pollyanna posted:Is it just me, or is the acting direction really inconsistent? Some scenes it’ll be pretty good, some scenes it’ll be decent enough to work, some scenes it sounds like a Youtube poop. Sena’s side story in particular sounds like every line is taken from a completely different context, or interpreted in some odd way that doesn’t make sense. Maybe I’m just really sensitive to janky voice acting but it really stands out and sounds unnatural. Some of the side characters are hilariously flat, Isurd sounds like they just called some random intern into the recording booth.
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Sep 8, 2022 01:16
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Anyone else not use Ouroboros very much? I think I spend so much time building the individual classes that I want them all active in combat, and there's so much going on in combat that it's hard for me to think on the fly about the Ouroboros skills in addition to the six characters, plus I'd rather not suddenly "lose" a tank or healer if poo poo's going badly. I'd like to use them more but they mainly see use if someone's about to die and I notice in time.
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Sep 8, 2022 12:21
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Blackbelt Bobman posted:
Oh I totally get that they're useful, I just mean I end up ignoring them because all the other stuff to think about meant they were just this "bonus thing" I overlook. Thanks everyone for the tips, my next project will be engaging Ouroboros.
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Sep 8, 2022 19:14
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Guy Who's Only Ever Played Level-Scaled Games: Wow why did they make this game wrong, how embarrassing
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Sep 9, 2022 02:16
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turn off the TV posted:I think that 3 does an ok job with the win fight lose cutscene situations. They all involve some bullshit trump card being played after the fight ends so there's at least some rationalization there. Yeah "characters have a hard time in a fight that seems easy" isn't even a logical problem it's just a thing that happens sometimes. This game does a better job than a lot of JRPG'S of syncing story to the mechanics and it's kinda dumb to be quibbling over the idea of overleveling an rpg as some kind of broken concept
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Sep 9, 2022 03:30
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I do think 3's world is not very fleshed out. I've said earlier that I liked that because of how deliberate it is and how it enhances the themes. But it is kind of odd whenever the facade of the forever war is broken, because this isn't an actual world with civilizations but the game kinda acts like it is. Like when you break a flame clock, people are like "Oh thanks, we're freed from the flame clock, the consuls aren't gonna be happy about this." But then it seems like... Neither the freed colony nor the consuls approach that situation with any kind of urgency? It doesn't seem like the consuls are particularly worried about getting those colonies back, and the colonies don't seem concerned about that either. There's literally nothing else in existence to think about or do but I guess the consuls don't really care that much or they've got other stuff going on. I'm only in Chapter 4 so maybe that gets explained.
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Sep 9, 2022 13:07
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TurnipFritter posted:(Chapter 4 stuff) The Ethel/Cam thing seemed pretty dumb but I interpreted it as "they knew the consuls had a killswitch on their mechs so they were having a glorious last duel with their final moments"
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Sep 11, 2022 22:26
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The worst thing about this game is that you can't use higher rarity mats to substitute in recipes. Like I can't upgrade this gem because I don't have yellow rarity armu horns, I went to farm them and got a few purple rarity ones but that's not what the game wants!
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Sep 21, 2022 18:19
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Ytlaya posted:The best way I can put it (that someone else also mentioned) is that it feels like XC3 was missing the "final act" that the other games had. Like the vast majority of the game was just a (very good) build-up, but without the part after that which fills out the entire experience. I'm interested in how I'll feel after beating XC3, because what you're describing is exactly what I felt about XC2 compared to the first game.
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Sep 25, 2022 19:47
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 16:55 |
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Mid-Chapter 5, I'm trying to avoid "wasting" CP so I'm barreling through the story to open up ascension quests before I do most of the side quests I'm piling up. I read that most of them unlock in chapter 6; Is pushing through to chapter 6 and then going around doing side quests a good strategy? Or is there any indication of which ones I can already do in chapter 5?
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Oct 1, 2022 18:42
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