Xenoblade Chronicles 2 sold 1.31 million copies.

[Super_Boom]

leedlelee said:

I don't feel like there are any major plot twists that turn the story on its head...

I'd say that finding a completely modern city beneath the clouds was a pretty huge twist. If that didn't turn the story on its head for you, then I have no idea what would qualify exactly. :P

Personally, I like that Rex himself remained a normal guy the whole game, as I was fully expecting him to be some special person. The whole "fated hero" thing is overdone, honestly.  

Also, if we're comparing it to the first game, it's a bit off an odd statement, given both games essentially have the same final twist with Klaus, only much more fleshed out in XC2's case.

leedlelee said:

And most of your party members aren't given much depth beyond being standard RPG party members...
They don't grow or discover themselves along the way, Nia being the big exception...
Meanwhile in the first game, Shulk, Reyn, and Dunban were motivated by the loss of Fiora, Sharla by the loss of her fiancé, Melia by the loss of her father, and Rikki by the accumulation of immense debt...
Each of these characters grew and either found a sense of purpose, a sense of closure, or in Melia's case, ended up losing even more...
I found this missing in XC2...

This is also a complaint I don't really get, since I found the cast in XC2 much more interesting on average. Sure, more could be done with Morag and some of the Blades, but Zeke was fantastic, and Rex's character arc in chapter 7 was one of the high points of the game. Going from naive optimism to severe loss, rekindling his resolve, and finally maturing and learning what it means to be a hero. The part where he asks Pyra and Mythra "Do you love this world?" gives me chills every time I watch it. He finally stopped caring about himself, and is fully invested in how others feel.

Personally I find character death to be an extremely lazy way to propel character development, and I'm glad XC2 limited it to certain non-essential characters. There are far better ways to show character growth than just have them lose someone and get over it. 

And come on, Riki really? XD If that counts as character growth than Tora blows him out of the park. Not that I would cite either anyway...they're mostly there for comic relief.