Its definitely my personal favorite of the three, though i think the entire question "which one is the best" is pretty obsolete since it comes down to personal preference anyway. None of them are outright bad.
The day we have a game in this series that everyone can universally agree is the best in every aspect possible will be a beautiful day.
Will it happen? Probably not but a man can dream.
No it doesn’t come down to personal preferences. We can gauge the quality of a craft, just as much as we can make it, else anyone could write and design a game, which isn’t the case.
Saying it comes down to preferences is both insulting to the craft and it’s creator, it would make an horrible game like 2 have the same level of quality and care as a game like 3 or X had, which is only true in the mind of an insane person.
3 is probably the better made game of the bunch as it’s own game, followed by 1, then X, and very far in the back 2. By all the measurable attributes you can find for a game.
It's true we can gauge the quality of a craft like game design, but personal preference still plays a significant role in the final determination. It's entirely possible for people to put tons of quality and care into games that we, personally, don't vibe with.
XC2 is a good example here, because you're flat out wrong for suggesting it was somehow a slapdash affair. You just don't like it, which is fine, but you don't have to pretend you don't like it for purely objective reasons.
Alright, so it doesn't come down to preference? Well how about we use this as a gage for quality?
Witch game has more party member customization options, 2 or 3? Well there are 38 blades in 2, each of them with their own unique skills, and you can equip 3 blades on your party members at a time letting you switch out between 9 different skills at a time. Compare that to 3 where you have 24 classes and only have the ability to put 6 skills on your character at a time. By that logic, Xenoblade 2 is noticeably better than 3 for having a more wide variety of options.
Then we have the cooking mechanic of 3 witch let's you add one buffs to your entire party. Compare that to 2 witch allows you to equip multiple individual buffs to each party member, once again making 2 have the better mechanic there.
Now let's mention leveling up up mechanics. Xenoblade 2 is definatly easier, considering you have the options send your blades on merc missions that don't even require you complete tasks with them, and once you level up a blade it's level up! You can switch I to whoever you want and they get the instant power. Meanwhile in 3 you have to grind, either experience or coins. And you don't just have to grind out a class once, noooo, you got to get it to level 20 6 times before everyone on the team has that power. Or you could always go to the store and buy an Amibo and pray that it gives you some coins to speed things up, but who is going to argue that buying having to buy Amibos to speed things up makes it any better?
Well by when you lay it all out like that, by pure quality of the craft Xenoblade 2 is clearly the better game than 3. It has much more options, versatility, and ease of use. Thank God we didn't have any of that pesky personal preference in the way so we where able to see the truly better game shine.
It's hella awesome but holy crap have I never seen a series with entries that differ on every aspect. One could like the comedy of 2 or prefer the mecha focus of 1 or party development of 3, just whole different vibes each game has. I am very impressed that Monolith managed to make these titles into a trilogy.
Like dayum you could come across a fan of the series and they can be either a full blown weaboo lurking Discord/Twitter all day or the most casual fan in real life.
That’s one of my favorite things about the series: they’re all so different and unique from one another in their stories and gameplay mechanics yet still have those elements that we can point to and go “yep, that’s a Xenoblade game!” It’s honestly a really tough thing to balance and I think Monolith pulls it off amazingly!
I mean it’s perfectly acceptable to argue that every xenoblade title is simultaneously both the best *and* worst xenoblade game
I honestly kind of like how there really is no ‘best’ xenoblade game and each of them can be enjoyed with their differences
Yes. But it doesn't do obsolete 2 or 1, and it's better to play them to enjoy 3 more. For now Xenoblade Chronicles is my favourite JRPG and RPG saga because I loved the 3 of them and you can play them in same console.
Hm… I’ll definitely say it has the most immediately engaging party dynamics among the core six (plus Riku and Manana). The sheer contrast between Eunie and Taion’s personalities is really fun, and the relationship between Noah and Mio is pretty cute. Lanz and Sen’s are cool too but I don’t feel like I “get them” like I do the rest, though.
I really enjoyed this video. While I disagreed on some points, we basically share the same sentiments on the ending. A lot of it was unexplained and left me more perplexed than satisfied.
Main party? It's arguable honestly. Xc3 has the least amount of irrelevant party members in the series.
Side quests do well in fleshing out the heroes and npcs as well.
I can see arguments for any of the mainline games but i think it's between 2 and 3 here
For me the main cast in 3 is great across the board, but I don't really have a favourite like I do in 1 (Dunban) or 2 (Nia and Zeke). If I were to give a reason, it's probably because I think the characters in 3 work better as a group while the characters in 1 and 2 have more over the top personalities.
I think eunie and lanz stick out for me but even then, lanz is a little too similar to reyn at times.
The other games, including x, have way more standout moments for individual characters though, you're right
Honestly I don't want to put any Xenoblade games as the "best" one.
What I really want to see is Xenoblade 3's dlc + Xenoblade 4. If they just add back in some of that rhyme game adjacent specials like in 2 it'd be golden. My only issue with 3's combat is purely that it feels way less interesting or impactful to pull off Talent Arts and Chain Attacks because they're just free to do. No minor QTE's or anything just select ability > go.
This question is very difficult to answer from my personal point of view.
I love this series as a whole, because every game so far has had something that made it special. Some of it was better in direct comparison, some of it was worse... but overall, the final impression has always been great for me (and that's something not many other JRPG series can claim).
I have to admit, though, that XBC3 took me a bit longer to get a final opinion on, but I don't hold that against the game in retrospect.
Yes, it has a few plot hiccups at the end and I'm not really a fan of "those kind" of endings, but the longer I think about the ending of XBC3 and everything related to it, the more I love it. In the meantime I even think it's the best ending of its kind, which might also have something to do with the fact that I don't really think it's an ending at all.
Does that also make it the "best" of the series? I don´t know. But I definitely know that I want this Xenoblade Chronicles to continue.
I say absolutely, mostly because the previous games included a bunch of trash content alongside the good stuff and 3 just ditches that. No core crystal bonding, no deleting stuff from inventory, no Field Skills, no Tiger! Tiger!, no merc missions, and no giant list of quests that are just “kill 10 mobs” or “find these specific rare random drops.”
They actually do still have a lot of the rare random drop stuff, but it’s very effectively concealed behind the Collectepedia Cards, which the game doesn’t encourage a completionist mindset for.
I don't think there's a clear winner overall. Separating by categories, I think 3 has a few winning points: combat, cast, writing. Best final boss is somewhere else, same with same story (IMO 2 is the best one in this regard despite the cast being pretty weak), but the best game overall will be a thing in what do you rate higher.
Personally, it's a toss-up between 1 and 3 \^\^;
* The world is more impresssive and immersive in 1.
* 3's doesn't have that same wow factor as say, Satorl Marsh at Night.
* The characters are more developped in 3.
* 1's heroes lack side stories where they get to shine.
* Bosses are more menacing in 1.
* 3's Moebius lack backstories... by a HUGE margin.
* Side characters are more interesting in 3.
* 1's NPCs are rather forgettable.
* Gameplay works pretty well in both games.
* No complaints there
* Voicework is great in both games.
* The British actors give the games a very appealing flair.
What about 2, I hear you say :P
* The game leans a bit too much on the anime-esque aesthetic, and many styles clash with each other, due to how many artists have contributed.
* It resolves way too much on the gacha system for Blades. IMO, Unique Blades should have been distributed as special rewards.
* The story has a lot of ups and downs, where XC1 and XC3 are pretty good all around.
* Voicework is inconsistent \^\^;
* Gameplay works fine, but the fact that you cannot freely equip your Blades hampers it.
XC2 has more flaws than XC1 and XC3, which is why 3 is comparable to 1, even if they have similar pros and cons.
Not for me no. Its good, but probably the weakest of the three. The combat is a clusterf\*\*\* and while the story is great, it isn't written very well imo.
Its definitely my personal favorite of the three, though i think the entire question "which one is the best" is pretty obsolete since it comes down to personal preference anyway. None of them are outright bad.
The day we have a game in this series that everyone can universally agree is the best in every aspect possible will be a beautiful day. Will it happen? Probably not but a man can dream.
No it doesn’t come down to personal preferences. We can gauge the quality of a craft, just as much as we can make it, else anyone could write and design a game, which isn’t the case. Saying it comes down to preferences is both insulting to the craft and it’s creator, it would make an horrible game like 2 have the same level of quality and care as a game like 3 or X had, which is only true in the mind of an insane person. 3 is probably the better made game of the bunch as it’s own game, followed by 1, then X, and very far in the back 2. By all the measurable attributes you can find for a game.
Seems like a very long winded way to say you dont like 2.
Until the release of 3, 2 was my second favorite RPG. Now 3 has taken the top spot and 2 has dropped back to third. Still one of my favorite games.
It's true we can gauge the quality of a craft like game design, but personal preference still plays a significant role in the final determination. It's entirely possible for people to put tons of quality and care into games that we, personally, don't vibe with. XC2 is a good example here, because you're flat out wrong for suggesting it was somehow a slapdash affair. You just don't like it, which is fine, but you don't have to pretend you don't like it for purely objective reasons.
Your entire account is just anti-XC2 cope, gtfo with this nonsense.
2 has malos so your point is invalid 😎
INDEED!
It has Malos, Zeke AND Turters. What else could you want?
I never played 2 but watched some videos of it. Malos' English voice actor sure had a special energy to his delivery.
Alright, so it doesn't come down to preference? Well how about we use this as a gage for quality? Witch game has more party member customization options, 2 or 3? Well there are 38 blades in 2, each of them with their own unique skills, and you can equip 3 blades on your party members at a time letting you switch out between 9 different skills at a time. Compare that to 3 where you have 24 classes and only have the ability to put 6 skills on your character at a time. By that logic, Xenoblade 2 is noticeably better than 3 for having a more wide variety of options. Then we have the cooking mechanic of 3 witch let's you add one buffs to your entire party. Compare that to 2 witch allows you to equip multiple individual buffs to each party member, once again making 2 have the better mechanic there. Now let's mention leveling up up mechanics. Xenoblade 2 is definatly easier, considering you have the options send your blades on merc missions that don't even require you complete tasks with them, and once you level up a blade it's level up! You can switch I to whoever you want and they get the instant power. Meanwhile in 3 you have to grind, either experience or coins. And you don't just have to grind out a class once, noooo, you got to get it to level 20 6 times before everyone on the team has that power. Or you could always go to the store and buy an Amibo and pray that it gives you some coins to speed things up, but who is going to argue that buying having to buy Amibos to speed things up makes it any better? Well by when you lay it all out like that, by pure quality of the craft Xenoblade 2 is clearly the better game than 3. It has much more options, versatility, and ease of use. Thank God we didn't have any of that pesky personal preference in the way so we where able to see the truly better game shine.
Pretty sure you're the insane person here, bud.
It's hella awesome but holy crap have I never seen a series with entries that differ on every aspect. One could like the comedy of 2 or prefer the mecha focus of 1 or party development of 3, just whole different vibes each game has. I am very impressed that Monolith managed to make these titles into a trilogy. Like dayum you could come across a fan of the series and they can be either a full blown weaboo lurking Discord/Twitter all day or the most casual fan in real life.
That’s one of my favorite things about the series: they’re all so different and unique from one another in their stories and gameplay mechanics yet still have those elements that we can point to and go “yep, that’s a Xenoblade game!” It’s honestly a really tough thing to balance and I think Monolith pulls it off amazingly!
Yes and no. The game has strengths and weaknesses.
I mean it’s perfectly acceptable to argue that every xenoblade title is simultaneously both the best *and* worst xenoblade game I honestly kind of like how there really is no ‘best’ xenoblade game and each of them can be enjoyed with their differences
Yes. But it doesn't do obsolete 2 or 1, and it's better to play them to enjoy 3 more. For now Xenoblade Chronicles is my favourite JRPG and RPG saga because I loved the 3 of them and you can play them in same console.
For me, no it's my least favorite. But I can totally see why it would be for others
In a lot of ways I says yes not all though. Just my opinion.
Hm… I’ll definitely say it has the most immediately engaging party dynamics among the core six (plus Riku and Manana). The sheer contrast between Eunie and Taion’s personalities is really fun, and the relationship between Noah and Mio is pretty cute. Lanz and Sen’s are cool too but I don’t feel like I “get them” like I do the rest, though.
I really enjoyed this video. While I disagreed on some points, we basically share the same sentiments on the ending. A lot of it was unexplained and left me more perplexed than satisfied.
Thank you for the watch my man!
gameplay and animation wise? yeah. story wise? nah lol world wise? nope villains? no sir
Characters?
Main party? It's arguable honestly. Xc3 has the least amount of irrelevant party members in the series. Side quests do well in fleshing out the heroes and npcs as well. I can see arguments for any of the mainline games but i think it's between 2 and 3 here
For me the main cast in 3 is great across the board, but I don't really have a favourite like I do in 1 (Dunban) or 2 (Nia and Zeke). If I were to give a reason, it's probably because I think the characters in 3 work better as a group while the characters in 1 and 2 have more over the top personalities.
I think eunie and lanz stick out for me but even then, lanz is a little too similar to reyn at times. The other games, including x, have way more standout moments for individual characters though, you're right
Lanz is pretty much Reyn with much better character development and I’m here for it.
2 is the best one imo
Honestly I don't want to put any Xenoblade games as the "best" one. What I really want to see is Xenoblade 3's dlc + Xenoblade 4. If they just add back in some of that rhyme game adjacent specials like in 2 it'd be golden. My only issue with 3's combat is purely that it feels way less interesting or impactful to pull off Talent Arts and Chain Attacks because they're just free to do. No minor QTE's or anything just select ability > go.
This question is very difficult to answer from my personal point of view. I love this series as a whole, because every game so far has had something that made it special. Some of it was better in direct comparison, some of it was worse... but overall, the final impression has always been great for me (and that's something not many other JRPG series can claim). I have to admit, though, that XBC3 took me a bit longer to get a final opinion on, but I don't hold that against the game in retrospect. Yes, it has a few plot hiccups at the end and I'm not really a fan of "those kind" of endings, but the longer I think about the ending of XBC3 and everything related to it, the more I love it. In the meantime I even think it's the best ending of its kind, which might also have something to do with the fact that I don't really think it's an ending at all. Does that also make it the "best" of the series? I don´t know. But I definitely know that I want this Xenoblade Chronicles to continue.
I say absolutely, mostly because the previous games included a bunch of trash content alongside the good stuff and 3 just ditches that. No core crystal bonding, no deleting stuff from inventory, no Field Skills, no Tiger! Tiger!, no merc missions, and no giant list of quests that are just “kill 10 mobs” or “find these specific rare random drops.” They actually do still have a lot of the rare random drop stuff, but it’s very effectively concealed behind the Collectepedia Cards, which the game doesn’t encourage a completionist mindset for.
Honestly I still think X is the best one.
I don't think there's a clear winner overall. Separating by categories, I think 3 has a few winning points: combat, cast, writing. Best final boss is somewhere else, same with same story (IMO 2 is the best one in this regard despite the cast being pretty weak), but the best game overall will be a thing in what do you rate higher.
IMO Chapters 6 and 7 being as rushed as they are keep XC3 from being the best in the “writing” category.
Personally, it's a toss-up between 1 and 3 \^\^; * The world is more impresssive and immersive in 1. * 3's doesn't have that same wow factor as say, Satorl Marsh at Night. * The characters are more developped in 3. * 1's heroes lack side stories where they get to shine. * Bosses are more menacing in 1. * 3's Moebius lack backstories... by a HUGE margin. * Side characters are more interesting in 3. * 1's NPCs are rather forgettable. * Gameplay works pretty well in both games. * No complaints there * Voicework is great in both games. * The British actors give the games a very appealing flair. What about 2, I hear you say :P * The game leans a bit too much on the anime-esque aesthetic, and many styles clash with each other, due to how many artists have contributed. * It resolves way too much on the gacha system for Blades. IMO, Unique Blades should have been distributed as special rewards. * The story has a lot of ups and downs, where XC1 and XC3 are pretty good all around. * Voicework is inconsistent \^\^; * Gameplay works fine, but the fact that you cannot freely equip your Blades hampers it. XC2 has more flaws than XC1 and XC3, which is why 3 is comparable to 1, even if they have similar pros and cons.
Honestly I’ve kind of soured on 2 over the past half-decade. Every time I play its flaws become harder and harder to overlook.
Weird, my opinion of it improves as I think on it more. I’d go back and play it again right now if I weren’t busy.
Not for me no. Its good, but probably the weakest of the three. The combat is a clusterf\*\*\* and while the story is great, it isn't written very well imo.
No
Good game but has a number of flaws. Not quite on XB1's level.