Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (2022)
Do you need to play 1 or 2 before this one? No. Genuinely, no.
-the world is an endless war between Keves & Agnus, two warring nations. Every person lives for exactly 10 years, and lives to fight. Stealing other people’s lives is one's only purpose in life
-soldiers from Keves, Noah, Eunie & Lanz, then randomly get forced to work w/ soldiers from Agnus (Mio, Taion, Sena) to survive, gain mysterious powers (Ouroboros) and become outlaws to both nations. Desperately, they struggle to at first survive, and then, change the world so no one will have to fight & kill anymore
-the game deals quite extensively with death and legacy and mourning, and characters coming to terms (or not) with their own mortality.
Trapped in endless cycle of death/rebirth, can you choose compassion? Can you choose to let go when faced with loss? Or will you cling forever to loved ones and perpetuate the endless cycle just for your own moment of eternity?
The Main Characters (from left to right)
Noah, an Off-Seer (sends off the dead by flute-playing) who dislikes fighting yet has been entrusted with a very special sword
Mio, another Off-Seer with only 3 months left to live, the days of which she counts down in her journal as she wonders about what legacy she’ll leave behind
Eunie, a Healer with a blunt personality who is as fiercely determined to kick ass as she is to watch her friends' backs
Taion, a strategist whose past has made him very cautious and skeptical and who employs that in order to keep his dear friends alive
Lanz, a Defender who puts up a confident, brash front to hide his insecurites and the guilt he feels over a friend’s death
Sena, a cheerful Attacker who tries her hardest to fit in and hides her loneliness
Recommendation
Pros & Cons:
+a massive 100+ hours game with loads of optional Hero quests and fun recruitable characters. Pretty much every NPC in this game is unique and there are so many little communities to do quests in and help build up! You get to build ties between different settlements too which unlocks even more content and interactions between different allies, so the world feels very lived-in, even as huge as it is (and gorgeous, of course!)
-you will miss out on good stuff if you don't sink massive time into it, which is something all XC games share
-can also get Very heterosexual at certain moments
+can be used as a starting point for the franchise just fine. Pick it up now or recommend it to a friend!
