Hello all! Starting with this review, I am going to start changing how I do things. For this one and going forward, I am going to try to simplify my reviews even more by eliminating things such as “charm factor” and the * for if it is a fun game despite its review score. Also, I will be making adjustments to the overall ranking list at the bottom for any that received any “+#” on top of their score based on charm. This will make my reviews be out of 100, instead of possibly being out of 115, and therefore easier to understand. In the past, I wanted to have a way to break ties for games that have similar quality, but in the end it is always leading to me explaining myself in these threads and I want to eliminate that.
Also, as I’ve already done and you will note at the bottom of this review, I included a “non story” grade for the game. So please, if you don’t care that much about story, then that is the score you should look at. If you do, then look at the normal score for the game I give. In the future, I also plan on making a separate column for games that don’t receive a story penalty. So there is an update, hope you enjoy this review!
Xenoblade Chronicles Review (3ds)
After 82 (ish) hours of gameplay, spent over years of playing and almost chucking this game out the window, I have finally beaten it and I have finally discovered why this game was so beloved that an entire gaming movement forced it to be localized (Operation Rainfall or something like that). While visually subpar to the Wii version (and certainly to its sequels), this game blew my mind by how much stuff they shoved in it; it is a massive game with massive maps and a massive story. Did I mention it was massive?
The gameplay itself is what made me quit playing multiple times throughout the years, but this time I was determined to beat it before Chronicles 2 came out (I beat it last night shortly after 2 showed up at my house for delivery). Once you get used to the gameplay, which does take a while, it actually becomes enjoyable! I’m so used to single player games, but I eventually appreciated how fun it can be playing as a team of characters, especially on those chain attacks. The music/soundtrack is amazing (I think better than much of the X soundtrack).
The controls were difficult. Often times you had to press buttons multiple times for the commands to be received (not a hardware issue, I can assure you), switching which enemy your targeting was almost impossible sometimes, you just had to keep clicking L or R until it finally happens. Overall, I got used to most of it, but still not great controls. This caused the fun to die a little in the game, and the grind could get quite bad towards end game. Basically, without spoiling anything, if you haven’t gotten your affinity up in certain areas by the end of the game, then you won’t be able to do the truly rewarding (experience wise) quests, which leaves you with two options; A) Do all the precursor quests (if you can, cause some won’t be available at this point) for absolutely nothing valuable in order to build affinity to do the rewarding quests or B) just go out and grind monsters to level up. I chose B, because I got annoyed at my affinity being a 1 start pretty much everywhere by the final boss fight. That was annoying, but other than those two things I enjoyed the game. One last thing to note here is that I’ve never played a game in which a single level can make such a drastic difference. If you’re fighting a level 85 monsters as a 78, you’re going to miss everything, but as 79-80, you will hit almost everything and be able to beat them.
The story was the most stunning part about this game. I was NOT expecting full length movie(s) worth of cut scenes (if you combine them all) with very impressive voice acting. The lines and dialogue could be cheesy at times, but mostly it was an amazing story filled with plot twists and revelations I wasn’t expecting in the least. Honestly, they could easily turn this game into a movie, it was that good of a story.
Overall, I’m glad I didn’t chuck this game out the window, and I feel very accomplished that I beat it.
Originality: 15/20
Graphics: 7/10
Art Style: 7/15
Story: 30 /30
Music: 5 /5
Controls 2 /5
Is it fun? 10 /15
Total –
76 / 100
Non story– 66 / 100
Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition – 100
Warhammer: Total War = 98
Zelda Skyward Sword-98
Mario Rabbids Kingdom Battle - 96
Shovel Knight – 95
Shadow of Mordor = 95
Zelda Breath of the Wild - 94
Hyrule Warriors – 93
Batman: Arkham Asylum - 93
Zelda Minish Cap – 92
Bayonetta 2 = 91 NR
Bayonetta (Wii U) – 91 NR
Zelda Oracle of Ages – 91
Metroid Fusion – 91
Paper Mario – 90
Overwatch – 90
Zelda Twilight Princess – 90
Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon - 90
Guildwars 2 – 89
Mario and Luigi: Dream Team – 89
Shadow of War - 88
Pokemon X – 88
Kid Icarus Uprising – 88
Darksiders 2 - 88
Fire Emblem Awakening – 88
Portal 2 – 87
Portal – 87
Assassin’s Creed 4 Wii U – 86
Zelda Windwaker HD – 86
Mario and Luigi: Bowsers Inside Story – 86
Mass Effect - 84
Super Mario Maker = 84
Dishonored - 84
Animal Crossing New Leaf – 84
Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark - 84
Paper Mario Sticker Star – 83
Rome 2: Total War - 83
Zelda: A Link Between Worlds-83
Mario and Luigi Paper Jam - 82
Batman Arkham Knight - 81
Batman: Arkham Origins – 81
Mario and Luigi: Super Star Saga – 80
Trine – 80
Zelda: A Link to the Past – 78
Civilization 6 – 77
Mass Effect 3 – 77
Xenoblade Chronicles 3ds - 76
Mass Effect 2 – 76
Mr. Shifty - 74
Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D – 74
Black Ops 2 - 74
Rome: Total War-74
Yoshie’s Wooly World – 73
Super Mario 3d land – 72
Diablo 3 – 72
Just Cause - 71
Paper Monster Uncut (Wii U) - 70
Red Alert 3 – 70
Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze - 68
Snake pass - 66
New Super Mario Bros. U – 66
New Super Mario Bros.Wii – 57
Assassins Creed 3 – 57 NR
Player Unknown Battlegrounds – 53
Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition – 53
Mighty Gunvolt Burst - 47
Puzzles and Dragons Z: Mario Edition - 46
Kirby Squeak Squad – 43
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3d – 42
Yoshi’s New Island - 27
Project X Zone - 18
NR means Not Recommended based on inappropriateness.
