Man, I thought XBC1 was just okay. I'd probably hate 2. I just get no joy out of "plays like an MMO, but isn't" style RPGs.
You're one of the only people I've heard that like 2 better than X. Most people say 2 is the worst one.
Well, I've never played an MMO before so Xenoblade is entirely unique as far as I'm concerned, and I'm not a fan of regular RPG turn based combat, so the more action oriented real time combat of Xenoblade kept me interested enough to delve into the universe.
Dunno why people think 2 is the worst one, it's not a bad game at all, unless they're just allergic to 'anime' I guess.
X on the other hand, is a mess of a game that I couldn't even finish because progression was gated and I couldn't even accept the next story mission.
1 is the clear winner story-wise, but I guess I could see how some would favor 2 over it if they played it first, since the best moments in 2 are just taking after the first game, so it depends on which one you experienced first. The gameplay of 1 and 2 aren't so dissimilar, but 2 gets massive point reductions for the gacha bull**** and it also has gated progression points like X (but were thankfully actually passable this time, but still pointless roadblocks).
World design in the first game also strikes a perfect balance of big but straightforward, X's worlds are gargantuan wastelands with nothing in them and 2's are the smallest of the bunch with confusing layouts. It took me forever to find the path forward on one of the first worlds in the game and the map didn't help at all (there was even a part late game where I was only able to progress through a
secret area, I don't know if that was intended and thus the worst kept secret area ever or if I cheesed it and the intended path forward was so out of the way I just never found it).
Oh yeah, and the first game has phenomenal music, the second game has great music, and X is like sticking a pencil in your ear.