What a fantastic game. The core plot was original and moving. The endless side stories and side characters added depth and breadth to the experience, letting me play and play for hundreds of hours on end. The beautiful setting, music by the renowned Yasunori Mitsuda, and great character designs made every moment spent in the world of Aionious beautiful. Many famous voice actors played roles in this game, but I was impressed with Mio, Noah and Sena not being famous seiyuu at all but still doing their jobs perfectly. There's so much talent in this world, complete unknowns can deliver lines that make you cry when seconds ago you thought your emotions were under total control. The power of voices.
Basically in Xeno 3 you circle the world, meeting people and solving their problems along the way, most of the story isn't about you, it's about all these random people you get to work with and help. Humorously, sometimes the problem is farming potatoes, or sprucing up a prison, or breeding cattle. Anything goes. But whenever you want to progress the plot things become very serious again very quickly, and the story returns to being very much about the main cast. The romance between Mio and Noah is incredible, with a well-earned kiss in the sunset at the end. Sena turning from someone who is constantly saved to someone who saves other Sena-like girls who weren't as lucky as her is perfect. (Nagiri and Shania). Eunie remembering her tragic past sends shivers up your spine, and it's great to see her and Taion overcome it by gradually building up their courage to be higher than their fear. Lanz is, well, Lanz.
Mashiro and Colony Mu are the best people you meet along the way. I could spend forever with them. From their emotional introduction all the way to their cheerful meal together end, every moment with Colony Mu shined. It's funny that I grew so attached to them because they were only introduced very late into the game, in the last zone. But they have so many side quests that the game ceases to be 'late,' because just dealing with Mu is half the game. ^_^.
I knew from Xeno 3's pedigree that it would be a great game, but I never imagined it would be this good. It blows the previous 2 installments out of the water. It's right up there with Final Fantasy 7 for lovable characters and moving, deeply fleshed out story. It's probably even better than Xenogears, though the music and gameplay of Xenogears was better. But the modern graphics, the sheer scope of the game, I think you can say this is the best Xeno ever. I'm so glad the current year still comes out with masterpieces that can compete with what came before. It isn't a continuous downward slide on all fronts. There's stuff like this and Kimetsu no Yaiba coming out, which are competitive with the all-time greats. We aren't completely out of new ideas. Fire Emblem: Three Houses isn't that old either. . .
There's still some after story content available where I can adventure with Nia and Melia which I'm sure to do because I liked both those girls from the previous games. But I don't know if I'll try and get super strong just to win super hard fights. I don't think the fighting system in this game is particularly good or fun, so playing just for the fights is a little much. I was playing for the plot, if there's no more plot there's no more point. Plus I still need to beat Live A Live now that Xeno 3 is out of the way.
If you haven't bought a Nintendo Switch and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 yet, you should do yourself a favor and do so. Every good game is on the Switch these days. Life without a Switch is a complete waste.
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