You know, with all that talk about Xenoblade Chronicles 2 being super hype and the first one being a masterpiece, I actually have a question on Xenoblade. I've been thinking quite seriously about starting up Xenoblade and I want to know how it stacks up to Xenogears and Xenosaga?
This is coming from someone who's played only the Xenosaga trilogy (still yet to get Xenogears on my PS3) and adored Episode 3 (top 5 favorite). I'm willing to get into Xenoblade since I've been recommended to it before but would also like to see a comparison.
"Sigh" even though I am personally super hype for XC2, I aware that in this site at least only me frequently post news and stuff about it... and yes I know other users post Blade news before I could but when it comes to other stuff, nobody seems to care... and on Youtube it seems the only OJ from PlayeEssene is a more well known Xenoblade fan (But some will argue that it is Chuggaconroy, it is true but he is a Let Plays and never really make news report videos) so I hear being super thankful on you having interest with Xenoblade. The first one was indeed a masterpiece for the last gen, X was also consider to be worth playing.
Like most people I actually never got interested with Xenoblade Chronicles until Shulk was in Smash, and then I later check Chuggaaconroy's Let's Plays and got interested with the game. After I bought the New 3ds XL I know that I need to buy Xenoblade Chronicles 3D.
I have only played and finish the first Xenoblade on my New 3DS, and never actually get to play X but I have already watch the let's plays and knowing the story. When they said they are going to make a next Xenoblade focusing on sotry I had always kind of hope that it can be on a handheld and go with a more anime style. So I was surprised and excited they go with that eventually.
I am not trying to belittle Xenosaga or anything but the Xenosaga trilogy in general was considered a commercial failure (That said I am pretty sure Xenosaga is still a very good JRPG). Xenogears was the game that has a very deep plot (Even than Xenosaga and Xenoblade) and a very deep combat system. Xenoblade on the other hand shows the massive open world and with a live turn based combat, and also with a very mind blowing and plot twisting story. X though focuses on the exploration. Whereas XC2 tries to blend both of the story and exploration.
Xenogears, Xenosaga, and Xenoblade Chronicles (Generally called the Xeno series) are all made and directed by Tetsuya Takahashi (Which when the first XC2 trailer shows up his name I immedisately said it is a Xenoblade game) and believe it or not, not sure if you know this but the first Xenogears was started as a concept script for Final Fantasy VII, but Square thought Takahsi's script was too dark for a FF game so they let him make a new project instead but with a limited budget. While the game turned out generally positive it didn't fully meet Takahashi's expectations. Unfortunately (Or fortunately) Square didn't want to focus on Xenogears anymore so Takahashi and many others left Square and found Monolith Soft funded by BandaiNamco, he later made three Xenosaga games which were great but didn't really sell well. So Monolith Soft was sold to Nintendo, and then Takahashi made a new JRPG on the Wii called Monado: Beginning of the World. Satoru Iwata later changed it to Xenoblade to honor Takashi's previous works.
Xenoblade was first released in Japan and then Europe and didn't get localized in NA until 2012, which start the Operation Rainfall campaign. It later did of course but it was a Gamestop exclusive...
Anyway,sorry for the long post but I just want to say if you want to get in to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and play the first one as well then I highly recommend you to play them.