Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Alana says you should do all of the sidequests in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 because they're that good. Or at least most of them…
The Xenoblade series is known for many things. Incredible soundtracks, beautiful worlds, philosophical ideas and questions, and – most importantly – billions of checklist-type sidequests will have you collecting the same item or killing packs of monsters repeatedly.
Okay, that last one doesn't sound appealing, but sidequests are an essential part of RPGs, and — hear me out — Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has some of the best both in the series and in the genre.
I've long been a bit of an advocate for Xenoblade's sidequests – not because I want people to put themselves through the pain of repetitive fetch quests or menial tasks – but because I think they really enrich the game world. They get you to explore more hidden areas, form human connections, and help you grow and improve communities. As a result, you get an even greater sense of how the Bionis, Mechonis, and Alrest – present and past – work and how each society/settlement functions. But just thinking about filling out the Affinity Chart in Xenoblade Chronicles, or getting every Rare Blade for their quests in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, or the story-gating in Torna - The Golden Country gives me the shivers.
Doing all of the sidequests is still going to be intimidating, for sure, but I urge you to seek out what you can.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is an exercise in "lessons learned" in many ways, and its sidequests are one area in particular that the game has improved upon its predecessors. These are the most consistent quests in the series, with incredible writing and character-building moments that deserve to be seen. They’re also the most accessible ever because they're not as overwhelming as in previous games. You don't get tons of new sidequest icons every time you enter a new location, and you never feel bombarded.
Most of the previous games' fetch quests have now been boiled down to Collectopaedia Cards, requests for items that Colony dwellers put up for you to hand in (virtually, without going to them in person). They're now just little unobtrusive checklists that never hide any story or character development behind them. I don't ever feel like I have to do these, whereas, in previous games, I did.
So that leaves the much-meatier (hear that?) Standard Quests and Hero Quests. The former are your typical sidequests, while the latter unlock Hero characters (and their respective classes). Admittedly, sometimes these too can be a bit checklist-y, but nearly every time, the writing and characters won me over, because pretty much every single sidequest ties into the game’s main themes, giving Aionios' numerous characters purpose, letting them grieve, or allowing them to form friendships.
There will be very minor spoilers about some Hero Quests, Colonies, and a few of the game's villains going forward. However, there are no main story spoilers.
One of my favourite Standard Quests sees Noah helping a rookie off-seer, Schoon, learn to send off the dead. She doesn't think she can do it and struggles with her confidence. What could have been a very cold, sad quest turns into a beautiful acceptance and understanding of death, and an examination of a blossoming friendship. It's gorgeous and melancholic, and this is just a normal sidequest.
What elevates it, beyond the empathetic writing, is that off-seeing is an in-game mechanic and story focus in the game — a small funeral-type affair for fallen NPCs that garners Affinity points for whichever Colony that person was associated with in life. Both Noah and Mio are off-seers, and this quest gives us an insight into how Noah in particular deals with this role, while also showing us how the other residents of Aionios cope with it. All of these little details work together and help bolster your emotional attachment to the characters – and I'm not just talking about the main cast.
Then, on the complete opposite end of the scale, you have Dorin and Bambam, a hilarious pair from Colony 4 who eventually leave their 'home' and end up in some pretty amusing situations. And while Noah and his friends are often dismayed at the trouble these two get themselves into, they never really put them down, continually helping them throughout the duo's multiple escapades. So even in this mournful world, there's still a dash of humour, because the people who live there are humans (or Nopon, or High Entia, or cat people… you get it) and still live as normal a life as possible despite the ongoing war.
How you acquire some quests is yet another thing that helps make the world and the Colonies feel lived in. You can get quests by finding question marks on the world map which are usually near unusual monuments or places. Other times, you'll see a little "i" above a character's head, which means you overhear that character's conversations. Then, your party discusses the conversations over a meal, going over the intricacies and – if needed – deciding to take the initiative and help. Other times, you'll get some fun dialogue (that almost always involves teasing Lanz), fascinating world-building, or some truly touching moments.
When you do get quests out of these conversations, it feels much more natural than simply coming across a random person who just happens to need ten Slugger Bunnits slaying right this very second. Even when the sidequests do fit those "collect X amount of this item, kill X amount of that enemy", I didn't care because I felt like the characters' reactions and Colony relations improving was more than enough reward.
Pretty much every single sidequest ties into the game’s main themes, giving Aionios' numerous characters purpose, letting them grieve, or allowing them to form friendships.
A few quests I've picked up have also taken me back to places and made me find landmarks I'd missed or Unique Monsters I'd passed by. One particular quest from Colony Iota has you explore a level 40 area branching out from the Eagus Wilderness. My jaw dropped when I got there — sprinkled with soft, glowing trees, flora of all different shades of blue and purple, and fruit that glistens in the dark, I was both staggered at how much bigger the Fornis Region map was still and at just how serene and beautiful this area is.
I would never have known about the hidden storage that Colony Iota kept there without this quest, and I would've potentially missed an entire area. Stumbling across it by accident would have been amazing too, but the added element of it being tucked away and a sidequest with meaningful stakes and character relationships being forms made it all the more wonderful.
Hero Quests might be even better at tying this world together. These focus on a particular Hero – oftentimes a Colony Commander – and do a huge amount to establish your party's relationship with them (past and present), their relationship to Keves and Agnus, their Colony, and the world at large. Some of these are actually gained through the main story, but even the ones that aren't still feel important.
One of the first optional Heroes you'll likely get is Zeon. His quest involves you helping him save his Colony from an impending Agnus invasion. The war is a pervasive part of the game, but what shocked me was who else popped up in the quest – a Consul, a member of a group of armour-clad people who seem to hold all of the chips in Aionios. Many of these turn up in the story, while others hold an iron fist in some of these quests. Having this group — however over-the-top they seem to be – appear in these sidequests makes the subplots feel just as important as the main story. The narrative beats in the main story permeate everything – they're present everywhere and affect everything.
What branches off from Zeon's Hero Quest are a number of new Standard Quests, some of which give insight into his leadership or the people who serve under him. And eventually, you'll be able to carry out an Ascension Quest, a second Hero Quest that 'unlocks' the Hero's full potential (along with the class). Zeon's Ascension Quest is a perfect example of what I mentioned earlier – I don't care so much about back and forth or fetch quests if the writing is good. And seeing how much Zeon has changed, and does change throughout this quest, is remarkable. It's also a perfect reminder of the tangible difference Noah and his friends are achieving in Aionios; Zeon's attitude has shifted in multiple different ways because of the party's actions, and we get to see how his Colony and subordinates react.
Zeon is just one example; I don't want to spoil any other Hero Quests, but almost all of them do something meaningful that helps enrich Xenoblade Chronicles 3's world and narrative. The fact that most of them aren't a chore to get through is a real treat, making these sidequests utterly essential to the narrative.
All of these little details work together and help bolster your emotional attachment to the characters – and I'm not just talking about the main cast.
When I started diving into the quests properly and thinking about how they helped develop the world and characters, I immediately thought back to Xenoblade Chronicles X. In the Wii U exclusive, the sidequests shine and feel like the real story of the game because they helped me understand the characters, the planet Mira, and explore this vast, alien world.
I think Xenoblade Chronicles 3 takes it a step further. The quests all branch off from points in the main narrative and help to feed into the game's main themes. They show Noah's kind nature and willingness to change things and the world. They let characters discover things, develop, and learn naturally – both playable and non-playable. They teach us about Aionios, the Colonies, and the different ways of life. All of this makes this stunningly vast world all the more personal and a little bit less scary.
Doing all of the sidequests is still going to be intimidating, for sure, but I urge you to seek out what you can (at least do the Hero Quests!) and discover new pockets of Aionios, and new people in each of the Colonies, that you'll fall in love with.
How are you finding Xenoblade Chronicles 3? Are you enjoying the sidequests so far? Share your thoughts in the comments!
RPG lover first and Nintendo fan second, Alana is often found overthinking battle strategies, characters, and stories. Fortunately, she’s also easily pleased by anything Yoshi-related, creepy-but-cute Pokémon, and SEGA air pirates.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a lovely game for sure but as usual it suffers from the most convoluted battle system. I mean I got the hang of it but the tutorials in the game are so bad the Player is more or less left to trial and error and don't get me started on Chain Attacks. Without the help of Youtubers I would have been completely lost almost with some of these mechanics.
Not a good look for a game tbh. I mean what do you do? swing a weapon to fight creatures, such a thing does not need to be overly complicated.
They are really stretching the definition of "sidequest" is this game. So much of it is integral to the story. I'm on 65 in chapter 5 and I still have no idea what going on. ?
Great article and I 100% agree. XC3 has the best side quests I've ever experienced. I'm over 100 hours into the game and can't get enough of it.
I'm giving them a rest for a while. I'm overleveled and hardly making progress as is with all of the side content in this game!
@RubyCarbuncle you can re-read the tutorials at your leisure in the menu.
Yep, a lot of the side quest have interesting substories or just have a lot of heart. I'd definitely recommend doing them
@RubyCarbuncle The tutorials were a bit annoying with all their "Press X to open the menu, now press A to select Character, now select Noah, now select Accessory, now equip an accessory on Noah, now switch to Eunie etc" but they did their job, I had absolutely no problem understanding the battle system unlike with XC2
Oh yeah, they're great. After beating the main plot, I usually pop in and out of the game to do some quests I've missed. Which is something I don't usually do unless I'm really invested.
I know this has been asked before, but do you guys recommend I play the earlier games before 3? Or can I enjoy it as a stand-alone?
That's what I been doing and still on chapter 3 and some chapter 2 sidequests. Doing the extra/sidequest or NPC quest give the player a better understanding of the game and why events are as they are. But I figure we get whinners, oh because I don't read. Very poor gaming habits. As the Review says makes the story more enriching expect SpeedRunners won't matter. Not all games need to be finished to be truly enjoyed for it's development. I'm still trying to finish BOTW 3 bosses in.
The side quests very much remind me of Xenoblade Chronicles X and the joy I found in the stories there. While they are not necessary to the main story, they do bring life into the world and it’s people.
As for the combat, it is overwhelming at times but the tutorials did a fairly good job if you go into the menus and use them. It feels like a mix of Xenoblade Chronicle’s X and 2 with all the customization. There are still three roles (attacker, defender, support) but the classes being a lot of variety to how you accomplish it. I struggled at first because I treated the classes of the roles identically. Each has a style of play to them. However there is one that you can get in Chapter 5 that is just insanely fun and has sent me searching through the land to make it better.
Overall they have done a great job with everything. It is a slow start for the story to make sense, but I have enjoyed it.
@RubyCarbuncle I had no issues using the tutorials. Maybe if people go and use the built in tutorial lessons they have a better understanding of the controls. That's how I got my controls down. Also you can do the tutorials over and over to get the key control memorized. So it's not the game but the player not reading and going through the tutorials to have a better gaming experiences.
@Sonos Each has their plot and storyline and timeline. You can find this out on Youtube someone made a video for the series explaining this. But if anything play all three and you will enjoy them.
@Sonos I've played all 3 Xenoblade games plus Xenoblade X and I can tell you that no, you do not need to play the other games first.
Great article. Personally I'm close to wrapping up the main story now and only collecting all the heroes. And I'll spend new game plus doing "everything" the game has to offer.
@Sonos All titles are stand-alone but they borrow a somehow same battle system. It's not the same but it has some similarities. All have different story and you can play as different titles. Is not a continuation in story despite the fact that it's xenoblade 1, 2, 3 etc. So, you can play them in any order you like.
@RubyCarbuncle You've totally missed the point of the battle system if this is how you feel about it. But no worries, the game has an autocombat setting so you don't have to learn the combat if you don't want too. Except for bosses. You'll have to beat the bosses on your own.
The only side quests I've liked in recent times were in Elden Ring, which pretty much require a guide to figure out how to progress in the right order & the extra story content is great. Really didn't have the checklist fetch quests that I hate. Dragon Quest XI also had some good ones
I've only done a few as they're barely starting to open up but they seem pretty standard to me. Hero quests are like the blade quests in 2 where the specified character gets a little sub story and the standard quests are your usual quests which can range from fetching this, kill that but with a little bit of story attached to give you more incentive to do it and sometimes even lead to hidden areas
Not that it's a bad thing, I always enjoyed doing the side quests even in XB1 if only to give me an excuse to go out and take in the views and listen to the amazing ost. And there was just a weird sense of satisfaction seeing your affinity chart in 1 being filled to the brim with lines lol
It feels that way, tbh.
All the sidequest in XC3 are encouraging me to explore the world and find its hidden secrets. And they dive into some great and hilarious character moments too!
Some are really good, some get me reaching for the skip button. And whose idea were those campfire ‘talks’ to activate side quests? It’s useless and makes going through these quests a lot more cumbersome than it needs to be.
But it’s Xenoblade, so there’s always going to be a million things I love and then some features that make me wanna pull my hair out.
@RubyCarbuncle I was going to argue with you, but looks like you're already getting chewed out enough, so I'll just say I like chain attacks way more than previous games. To start off, not sharing a resource with revives means I'm actually willing to use it against tough opponents. Working out how to get a longer chain or breaking it enough to get 300+% is also really satisfying, and each new hero adds a couple more twists to the system.
@Sonos You can definitely play it as a standalone and still understand the story about as well as anyone else does, but playing the previous games adds a lot, too. One of the cooler details is that the game world is the result of the previous two worlds getting fused together, so you'll frequently come across familiar landmarks or hear bits of the previous soundtracks in the new one. The other thing is that 3's Queens were both pretty important characters in previous games, though I haven't gotten far enough to see if that will have a significant emotional payoff for long-time fans.
I'm trying to balance seeing everything in the game with not being comically over-leveled for the main story. I basically comb back through every colony after each chapter, and do everything within 10 levels of the current chapter. I also avoid areas with monsters that are 10+ levels over the current chapter, and try to avoid using bonus exp completely after I really overleveled myself doing Teach's quest early on.
Haha.. if you think THIS is tough, just play Xenoblade 2. Now THAT game has one of the worst, if not THE worst, battle systems of all time. They made it far, FAR better in this game and it's a ton of fun.
Jebus, I'm not sure I have time for 100 hours of additional side quests, no matter how good they are. At least the ones I do end up doing won't feel like a waste of time.
Thank you for this soapbox, team. XC, the whole series is made with much talent. It's a pleasure to discover each quest. Might be a bit of fill in, but always crafted with love
Honestly, I’m hoping I get more affinity for the side quests as the game goes on. I felt side quests in the first game were tedious, and the side quests in the first two chapters had been largely disinteresting to me as well, but at least it seems like the game is on the verge of opening up more in chapter 3 and onward.
Question for those that may have completed the game or gotten further into it: if right now I’m feeling that the game is solid but not quite monumental at the beginning of Chapter 3, when does the game cross that threshold into the Switch GotY bombast it’s had? Just curious if I’m crazy for not being swept up quite yet.
@somnambulance My “damn, this is majestic” moment came somewhere in chapter 4. If you’re not into it by the end of that, it might not be for you. But I guess it really depends what you’re looking for.
I do wish they would have taken some more time to make the world feel a bit more alive. The vines don’t move when you’re climbing, and the water doesn’t splash. Lots of forgotten low res textures as well. I’d prefer a smaller world with some more polish.
... Really? The water ''doesn't splash'' ''The vines don't move'' THOSE are your complaints? Forgetting about how abundant the world itself it, bursting with life and with all kinds of crazy monsters, people and stuff to do?
... But sure, go ahead and complain about that ''the water doesn't splash''. Lmfao.
@RubyCarbuncle The battle system does take a while to grok. Oh man, the strategy (making the builds over class/ouros, accessories, gems, and art(s)) and inheritance coupled with the timing of tactics in battle make it incredible deep and rewarding.
There are a silly number of tutorials and practices.
Agree with you on Chain Attacks though! That took me a while and I now love the risk/reward of the imperfect information.
@SwitchForce I never really understood speed runners and trophy hunters. Showing my age I suppose.
@Mauzuri I did. I found Xenoblade Chronicle 2's system easier and more enjoyable than 3's. I found Blade Combos confusing at first but by the end of the game I was a master at them and inflicting thousands of even tens of thousands of HP worth of damage. It was just exhilarating.
Came here to say this: God forbid people not wanting to have their time wasted, NL. Xenoblade could use the criticism now more than ever, as the 3rd game attempted to be a culmination of everything the series did best, and it still has issues. -Fetch quests -Most obnoxious battle dialogue in the series -Very slow combat, makes Xenoblade 1's seem really fast by comparison -Chain attacks are the worst implemented version yet -Performance issues when doing combat -Obnoxiously long cutscenes, please just let me play the game -Shallow, Saturday morning cartoon-tier villains Every time I come here I see people rave about this series being some sort of pinnacle of game design; it's very clearly not. It's just a decent game. (No I'm not replying to any toxic Xenoblade fan response, have a good day.)
Just wanna say I read all of your replies, thanks for the Feedback. I'm enjoying the game so far and I hope everyone here continues to do so as well.
@Thenewguy Nah I have the hang of it now but thanks.
Ok, but it really sucks when you are done with all the sidequests only to find out you are overleveled spending your next hour just running through map unbothered by any enemies when progressing the story. I recommend doing hero quests as soon as you can then the story stuff and then sidequests. I do sidequests once I am 5 to 10 levels above the recommended level on hard mode.
@Mr_Fox Interesting. I’m definitely enjoying it so far, but trying to see where it becomes a 10/10 for most people. Right now, for me, it’s just a strong action oriented JRPG with visuals that rival the previous high water marks for what the Switch can do. With all the delays this year, I’m definitely taking the full journey, whether it’s an 8/10 or 10/10 for me, or somewhere in-between, but I’ve got to admit I’m curious if it’ll grab me more than it does now. I dropped XC2 (blasphemy on NL, I know), but did enjoy the first one and see why it’s a classic.
Suggesting people do all the sidequests is a super quick way to ruin the game. Doing a single area of all sidequests will overlevel you enough that you can no longer farm CP to unlock classes for everyone while progressing the story.
@a_brave_new_geek It's for YouTube likes and clicks. It doesn't really give a good gaming experience to gamers in general. The one I think give insights how to play is Digimon Survive. I watched this and figure how to fight and talk to win more.
@Altun Suggesting people do all the sidequests is a super quick way to ruin the game. Doing a single area of all sidequests will overlevel you enough that you can no longer farm CP to unlock classes for everyone while progressing the story.
For real ... have you tried that and found a Red level 21 when your only level 20 on the same landscape battling lower monster? I am guess you don't know that. X3 has high level monsters on the same area. So one needs better play this game before making dumb comments like this. Try killing Red monster levels that are Level 21 when your Level 21 or under and you will see why taking quest to increase your levels will benefit more. If you don't side quest you will never get the Hero's as well without doing this.
@SwitchForce Good luck getting enough cp to level classes from the ONE UNIQUE MONSTER IN EACH AREA .
@Altun Guess people don't play X3.
@SwitchForce It is a fun game, but it is a horrible suggestion to tell people to do every side quest because of the cp gain.
@RubyCarbuncle Completely agreed, it’s one of the most convoluted systems I’ve ever seen in a game. Once chain attacks came into play my eyes rolled back so far into my head they nearly got stuck.
That said, playing it on easy mode it’s pretty easy to breeze through fights and just ignore all the nonsense. It’s just a shame I can’t feel more involved with the battles given how core they are to the game. Great for people who like how the battles work, but for me if it were more of a straight action RPG it’d elevate it from a great game to something proper special
This is what I like about side quest in Xenoblade Chronicles X. You simply complete the quest and didn't have to report back. I still find the QoL in that game superior to the rest of the series but that's just my opinion.
@Altun You can just choose to ignore the bonus XP at camps. This keeps you from going massively overlevelled while still being able to sidequest a tonne. Source: I did a tonne (I'm shooting for 100%, I mainly just have the Rampaging Arduran equivalent mission to go) and only levelled up at camps once when the enemy was significantly a higher level than me.
@somnambulance Without spoilers, there's a standout section in the later stages of the story that genuinely made me feel things. And in terms of gameplay, once you begin to master and understand the chain attack system, the game flows a lot smoother. Having more classes also opens up the option to build a very smooth, freeflowing set of arts that keeps up the constant engagement.
@Sonos Play XC1, then XC2, then XC:TornaTheGoldenCountry, then this. XC3 is playable without knowledge of the other two, but it doesn't truly shine, in my eyes, without playing them.
Seems weird to cite XC3 as "lesson learned" when we got so many incredible sidequests in XCX. It's more along the lines of, "lesson forgotten, then half-remembered."
I've just properly moved onto Hero and side quests in the game this weekend, and suffice it to say they've composed most of my playtime today. XD Until now, one of my very few overall complaints of the Xenoblade series is the lack of meaningful side quests, barring XCX and its excellent world building.
I'm happy to say that quests are handled MUCH better in XC3 (so far) compared to the previous numbered titles and are mostly well written. I only just started the game a week ago and have put almost 20 hours into it already. With my schedule, that's when you KNOW a game has its claws in me.
I may just be experiencing burn out from playing X1, X2/Torna but why in the hell are there so many tutorials? 11hrs in and I'm still getting tutorials. If the game needs to stop the game every time any aspect of the game is played, you're doing it wrong.
Also, the sidequests are fine. Don't do them all though, just pick them up and finish them whenever. Most good items/xp/cp come from exploring and taking down elite monsters.
I'm pretty much a completion-ist and not for trophies, and not that Nintendo cares about those either. I'm 50 hours in and only like the 4th or 5th colony or chapter. I almost double what the standard playing time is on most games, and enjoy every minute of it.
@Justaguest If you're over leveled you could always up the difficulty. At least on Hard you know you're winning because of solid team building.
The sidequests in this game are a cut above. They're meatier, meaningful and engaging. And there are far fewer, so you don't feel completely overwhelmed. I'm kind of shocked given the tedious fetch Quests of previous entries. They really did step it up in XC3.
@Ralizah I'm about to start Chapter 5, am level 48, and have done all but 2 sidequests in the game, as they are around Lv 57 Quests.
My tip is don't use bonus XP. Just bank it and skip most fights until the level gap shrinks. I'm about 10 levels over atm and thank goodness for it, because some of these bosses I've encountered along the way have tested me to my limits. I have a good 6-7 levels banked though, to use later if needed.
@FettucciniAlf The game is doing it RIGHT. People complained XC2 wasn't explained well enough and the tutorials needed to be more accessible. They've done that. If you don't want to read them and think you can figure everything out on your own (which I don't recommend, but you do you) you can turn off tutorial tips from the menu.
They literally give you the choice, so there's no reason to complain. Don't wanna see em? Just turn em off. Problem solved. Just don't come complaining later if you're lost, confused and don't know what to do.
@larryisaman Xenoblade thrives on its depth. This is an RPG for those who want something more to sink their teeth into than basic, run of the mill RPGs. For RPG vets, depth is needed to engage the player.
I understand it's a lot to take in if you're new, but once you master it, it's SOOO rewarding. Chain attacks are a crucial staple of series combat and this game does it better than ever.
If you want to get a grasp, this is an excellent tutorial rundown of how chain attacks work.
@FettucciniAlf You're gonna have to buckle in or give up now. MonolithSoft has developed an increasing fondness for dropping in new mechanics throughout a whole game. I'm 70+ hours in and I still don't know what those blue shard things are for.
@JaxonH I haven't used the bonus EXP since the tutorial for it. Just doing a lot of the side-quests and exploring is way overleveling me compared to what's recommended for the story as is. Being too overleveled will ruin my CP gains from battle, and just makes fights a pain in general.
@Ralizah Wow. I used all my bonus XP up until Level 40 when I realized I was starting to get overleveled. At Lv 50 I'm about 10 over, having done essentially all sidequests up to this point. I only skipped Bonus XP for the last 10 levels or so. You must do a lot more battling than I do.
I think skipping most battles will help (and there's usually a mid game difficulty spike that should help even things out). Barring all that, Hard mode is always an option.
Xenoblade X was by far the best in terms of sidequests. Is 3 better than X in terms of sidequests?
@roboshort I'd say so. Almost every sidequest has some sort of interesting narrative element to it, and there's very few that involve randomly hunting around for items so far. It's about on par with Torna: The Golden Country in terms of side-quest quality, I'd say.
@JaxonH I do a lot of battling, yeah, which is probably why I've maxed out the majority of the hero classes I've unlocked so far (more than half). Also enjoy tackling enemies above my level. And, with any fight with an elite enemy, I get oodles of xp, since you not only get an experience multiplier for defeating them as is, but if you trigger a chain attack and pull it off successfully, you'll often kill the enemy and trigger overkill, which seems to grant experience multipliers of its own. Although I think it caps out at 1000%.
I thought about trying out hard mode, but I hear it's really, really hard compared to normal. With that said, even if I chicken out now, I do want to do a 100% replay at some point with all of the DLC content installed (because, let's be real: I'll be done with this before most of the DLC in the season pass is out), and I'll probably go for hard mode at that point.
@Anachronism I've played over 200 hours of this series, I'm sure I'll tough it out despite those particular set backs. I feel like I've played much better paced games since Torna came out, so this is like a nostalgia whiplash of sorts.
Blue shard things? I feel like there are a lot of items (under key items and elsewhere) that are supposed to be sold or used for something specific. Hell, I just learned that only Healer classes can revive. I've clearly got some reading to do in the tips section.
@JaxonH I saw the option to turn off tutorials but chose not to turn them off because this was a new game with newer mechanics than the last few titles. What I didn't expect is to be dealing with it every 30min (equipping accessories, gems, tips for tip menus, ZL shortcuts) None of these needed to stop the game. Just saying that unless it's your first JRPG, these tutorials are excessive, not bad. Too much of anything can sour the experience.
Also, XB 2 was definitely confusing and I didn't grasp most of the systems til the last half of it. That game was almost pure nonsense and 90% sexualization; It does not get a pass.
@Ralizah Idk how far you are, but Im at the end of chapter 4, at Level 49, and suddenly enemies jumped from 39 to THREE level 43 Unique Bosses you must fight simultaneously, as they block the main story path.
I suspect I'd be struggling with this if I didn't have those levels.
On another note, I beat two of them and then the game crashed with an error. First crash in years I can recall. Thankfully auto save put me right back before the 3 Uniques.
@larryisaman Agreed. Despite what the guy above said I did use the in game tutorials but they weren't detailed enough at explaining the mechanics otherwise if they were then why are so many people looking up tutorials on YouTube? I really dislike it when a game gets criticised and rightfully so in this case and people just blame you like the guy above is doing which admittedly did annoy me.
@Mauzuri Laugh all you want. I’m an art director so yes, I’m going to pay attention to those things. I didn’t say you had to agree. It doesn’t take a crazy amount of effort to make small plants move a little bit as you walk through them. If I’m hovering through some static asset, that totally breaks the immersion for me. I don’t care how many enemies there are.
I'm only partway into Chapter 4 with around 50 odd hours of playtime; I've been completely surprised with the level of character development that the side guests have provided so far, for not only the Hero's that join the party but those in other RPG's NPC's that would've just been passed off as one time quest givers. It makes me want too go out of my way to complete them. Some JRPG's main stories don't even hold a candle to some of these quest lines. For those playing the game I highly recommend to try and give a few of them a go if you have the time.
@JaxonH I've been 8 or so levels above what the game expected me to be since mid chapter 4, so I haven't had any issues there. I'm now well into ch. 5, which is... well, all I'll say is that it's pretty unforgettable so far, and shaping up to be the best in the game.
No crashes for me so far, although I've been restarting the game semi-frequently to get around the reported memory leak issue. Something similar caused problems with XC2's final boss and epilogue for me, and I don't want to repeat that experience.
@SwitchForce @JaxonH As I said, it’s great that this game appeals to those like yourselves with its complexity. There’s obviously an audience for it and I’m happy it at least has a mode for people who don’t want that level of depth- its a decent halfway point between giving those who want the challenge what they want while still making it accessible to those who don’t. I’ve tried playing on normal with all the Xenoblade games and I will frankly never enjoy mechanics in any game that demand so much. I’m just saying that for me personally, it would be a more enjoyable game with a simpler battle system. I love everything about the Xenoblade games except the combat and it’s a shame that I don’t love everything about them as a result. Some things just don’t appeal to everyone.
@eaglebob345 Same. 90 hours, probably half way of chapter 5. Any time i say myself "today its only main quests !!" i see a question mark on the map or a chest or a named monster and its all over again.
I think i eventually finish the game by the end of this month... when i will reache the 250+ hours marker. Its like BotW all over again !
I don’t know how people could complain that the combat in this game is too complex. Most of the combat system can essentially be broken down into “wait for thing to charge and then use thing.” For boss battles you might have to be more precise in the timing of your uses of the different things that get charged, even then it isn’t too difficult. If you are low on hp, spam whatever healing arts you have. If you or your ai starts a combo, try to continue it. The order of the combo isn’t all that complex either since it isn’t that long. The only thing that can get a little complex is the chain attack, but the game does allow you to replay that tutorial until it is understood.
@RubyCarbuncle I completely disagree. Tips + training drills explain the battle mechanics perfectly. Youtubers basically teach you how to exploit the game, which is fine, but completely unnecessary for the main story. The two previous games were really bad in explaining stuff. Xenoblade 3 is so much better in that department.
I personally don´t like the new missions in XB3. In many cases it is just annoying.
Especially the observation missions with the yellow (I) are just to make the play time longer. "Now we need to talk at a rest point." In previous games you just talked right away. Now you need to go to a rest point (even so if it is just right there), click through, listen to the same samples all over again, just to continue a discussion. Annoying. In many cases jut to get 100 EP as there is no real mission in the background, which is even more annoying.
Not part of the topic, but why did they reduce the samples? After more or less every fight the same dialog about being the MVP or complains about pushing to hard. This is on "remember me" level of XB2.
On the other hand you have so many cool audio samples most of the players probably never hear. E.g. when using different party members to open a nopon container or even when changing the lead to a new character.
Many things in this game feel repetitive. There is always a supply drop at the same predefined location, which e.g. somehow do not open unless you kill the birds flying over them. This makes no sense at all. Why didn´t they make the enemies always one or two levels higher than the player. So they attack and you cannot open the chest. That would make more sense than searching for the right animals to kill so the box unlocks.
However these boxes are just cheap ways to enlarge game play. Same for the factories. Just dump a couple of the same things, add some monsters, 20 minutes of game play added without the need of doing anything complex.
I also hate the tons of invisible walls, when you are on a quest. "we should not go there!" Why? I just want to get some of the items and see what is behind there, but no. The open world game is restricting me and I have to finish the mission (e.g. "The hunter" at the sparkly pond)
The containers and flutes I can see as collectables. On the other hand they removed the real collectable cards. Yeah, you can now search for persons multiple times to gain EP, but why not having the old way, too? They increased the amount of collectables compared to the other games, but limit their use. Especially when using the factories a few times.
I don´t know how many nopon coins I wasted (automatically sold) before making use of them (when finding the place to do so). On the other hand ether is full all the time and gets sold automatically, too.
While the game feels finished, stable and all, it feels unbalanced and rushed at places.
XB3 looks, sounds and plays great otherwise. While I like XB3 overall, I feel annoyed every time the game forces me to do things, I did multiple times. Like there is no way to speed up the cooking stuff, while you can skip every other plot.
@SwitchForce What on earth are you talking about? I’m enjoying the game for the things I enjoy about it and can look past the things I don’t- I even called the game great. Chill out and go outside mate
Definitely like the game, accidentally over leveled a bit, doing to many side quests or too much exploring definitely can put you over the main quest levels, not huge for me though.
My only issue is, I like the story, but why is it after every main story, hero quest boss fight I feel like “yes I took that fool out” and after every one the game cuts to an anime scene where the party is getting beat down and barely hanging on lol. I always feel like I just wasted time winning this fight for right after, the game makes it feel like I lost or barely won, the cut scenes are amazing though, straight out of an anime.
@SwitchForce Ah thanks, makes sense that the trophy and speed running thing is a bit of a vanity/competitive thing. Maybe if I was a kid again, I'd be into it.
@RubyCarbuncle the tutorial is actually much better than XC2 lol, it took me a few trial & error to fully understand chain attack but it actually did a good job at explaining everything.
Is that your first xeno game? if yes, then it will probably be a bit overwhelming for you and i completely understand that
@hd94 Nah but it has been a while since I played a Xenoblade Chronicles game though so perhaps I was a bit rusty. I've gotten the hang of everything now.
@Bahamut_GR If you say so however I stand by what I said. Many people resorted to looking up YouTube tutorials so no the tutorials were not that good overall.
@RubyCarbuncle I really appreciate the graphics for the Xenoblade Chronicles series but the battle system just isn't for me... it's a shame but I peek at photos and videos about it every time they pop up on screen. Gorgeous really but I couldn't get me to enjoy it for this style of battle system...
XC1 sidequests were a (bunch of) joke(ers). Nothing but MMO fetch quests that never felt like they were worth doing, and the affinity chart was a mess. Antiquated and bad even for antiquity.
XC2 did a lot better, the quests themselves were actually good, it's just that you got quests in the first 2 hours you didn't even get to the location of until the last 2 hours. Most of the game was picking up quests you couldn't actually do until the end of the game, or not even knowing the quests existed because you had to chance upon them by being in the rigtht spot at the right time of day unless you looked up a list online to find them all. And several quests had multiple parts where you had to complete one or two quests before taking on another, and you might not even have one or two of the requisite quests yet, and you might not be able to finish them until late game, so you spend forever trying to solve a quest that can't be solved until you solve another quest that you don't have yet and can't do until the final act. The quests themselves were great, but they were delivered so badly that XC1's MMO fetch seemed better at times.
XC3 finally seems to have (mostly) figured out how questing should work, which is weird considering the pedigree of Monolith that it took so long. Some of it is still a bit off at times, but it's leagues better.
@Ralizah I can't tell what counts as "overleveling" and doing too many sidequests or not. I'm level 30, I keep finding sidequests from the colonies and doing them, I think I've finally ran out of available sidequests (that I've found?) that are near my level, and my next main quest is level 17 recommended, yet on my way there I keep finding more caves, canisters, and husks that I go brush up against lv35's to get.... lol
@Judal27 The affinity chart is what sells the sidequests for me. I want a complete chart.
@MarioLazor 100% agree. After completing the game in New Game+ and levelling all colonies to max I feel this is a good game. That's it. I still don't understand why people are going crazy for it.
Side quests are "meh". Yes, they try to add a bit of story, but if these stories are not interesting, I will simply skip them. The battle system has nothing special, XBC2 was more complex, but it involves more strategy and planning in exchange for bigger satisfaction.
The sound is very good with a mix of the first two games. The story is weird, it has some highs and lows, but it never got me too excited and this is my major complaint. Philosophical questions are great, but after some point in the game everything feels too repetitive and uninteresting. And yes, cutscenes are waaay too long sometimes.
XB 3 has easily the best side quests out of any game ever. In my first playthrough I actually missed the entire second half of the narrative which opens through the hero and main cast ascension side quests. A good example of this is Shania. In my first playthrough I stupidly skipped Sena's side story (yeah yeah it's not really about Sena blah blah heard it million times) and therefore the story of Shania ended in her suicide for me. Little did I know I missed one of the main philosophical points of the game's overall narrative that opens up with Shania's true motives.
If you play the game and simply leave the heroes to the rank 10 after acquiring them, you'll be as dumb as I was. The stories leading to the rank 20 coronations are not just sidequests but important part of the main story. It's foolish to complain this or that was underdeveloped if you just skipped everything like stupid old me and ran to the end of the game. For this, my second fresh playthrough was much more fulfilling than the first, further cementing Xenoblade 3 as my all time no. 1 favorite game.
I liked the game but for me there are too many side quest to be done.
Ahh another article necrobumped from NL... I finally beat the game. I did all of the sidequests before the end. Game was very good until the last chapter. Unless the future DLC brings the story back together then I think I'll pass on investing anymore time into it. Not looking for a prequel either. I'd rant more on this but I feel it's unfair to give away spoilers.
I did all the side quests in this game; man, they were pretty enjoyable! They were such a drastic improvement over XC1 and XC2. I said this somewhere before but I actually ended up recognizing NPCs from every colony and remembering their quests lol.
I can't help but feel some of the side stuff should have been in the main game, honestly. Still, the quests feel much more substantial than in 1 (said reluctantly cos I'm a bit of a fanboy) and come highly recommended ?
@Sonos the games are tied and that shouldn’t be dismissed however it isn’t designed as the main focus of the games. Each world is isolated with its own characters and motivations even with the first two games taking place at the same time (or rather ending at the same time) that you can play them separately or in any order but knowing the story for all three helps them make a bit more sense. But they aren’t designed to function as a story trilogy in the traditional sense.
@RubyCarbuncle Agree. Batlle system of Xenoblades needs to restart, make it simpler and more action rpg. What they have became complex and boring as hell. They're not games for everyone because of the battle system, thus this will be a game for minority untill they do this.
I don't even want to play it's main quest.
Damn still had not finish this game yet and I'm already looking forward to its expansion pack. I just hope Nintendo don't announce a Xenoblade Chronicles 4 yet, if anything we need a port of Xenoblade Chronicles X for those who had missed that masterpiece of a game for the Wii U.
Convoluted battle systems in Xenoblade is nothing new and is just keeping series tradition alive.
It’s been even memed on with the typical battle screen and the UI vomit doesn’t help either.
I think the side quests are the best part of 3. Which is suprising seeing as how 1 and 2’s sucked
3 has the besy side content
X needs to be ported to switch because my stupid wii u stopped working and I can’t play it
@tanasten If anything, I think the complexity of the battle system in the Xenoblade Chronicles games is what makes the combat so interesting. It's the exact opposite of just mindlessly button mashing your way through countless fights. I can't understand for the life of me why anybody would prefer a dumb-down, button mashing ARPG over an RPG with a versatile battle system that is both highly refined and extremely dynamic. The immersiveness of the battle system is one of the best features the series has. Leave the button mashing to the beat'em ups and action-adventure games.
Am I the only one who hated having to discuss the side quests in a camp every time? After the QOL of XBC1 side quests where you didn’t even have to talk to the quest giver anymore, it was a huge step back.
@tanasten Hate to admit it, but you’re right. I tolerate the battle system, but is there anyone who really prefers it over a more more intuitive hack & slash approach?
@SunDownSamurai I agree it's somekind of signature, but I still think that XC1 battle system was the best one, thanks to the premonition stuff that was lost in future games. Torna had a really fun linking system, but all the others are messy hell too me. XCX and XC3 are the worst ones because of the class system in my opinion. You can find some fun in it but strategy and timming is drown compared to XC1, at least in my opinion.
XCX long/short range mix was awesome, and I miss it a lot thought.XC3 bringing the water battles finally is an awesome step forward.
But again, anyone can play FFVII remake and enjoy the game, not happening with the Xenoblade series. That's something they need to fix up to grow the series.
Took a break from it for now...going S&V and not DQ treasure. More backlogs then I can expect.
Thanks to this article I've discovered a wealth of great side content in Xenoblade 3. Previously I had played only a handful of early game side quests that were frankly kind of boring and awful. I decided they just weren't worth the time. Now though I've gone back and have been immersed in cool and interesting side quests for several hours already, and I can see that I've only scratched the surface, too. Thanks for helping me get even more out of the game!
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