So, today marks the one year anniversary of this reveal:
I know a lot of you guys aren't particularly fond of them but I just can't express enough how thankful I am that Xenoblade 2 was given a second chance. Even with all its faults, no game in recent memory has left such a lasting and positive impression on me like it, and I'll never not be delighted that it's been immortalized in Smash to this extent.
I know I'm late but you know I have to say something.
So, I owe a lot to Smash, such as helping me make friends and leading me to SmashBoards where I got to meet you all and become a writer. So it says a lot when I say that one of the most significant things that Smash has done for me is introduce me to Xenoblade. Honestly before the Aegis' announcement, I had no interest in the series. I thought it wasn't for me since I tend to struggle to get into JRPGs and especially with 2 I had some misconceptions of the game as I'll put it.
But when Pyra and Mythra were announced, I was like "Well I got into Dragon Quest and ARMS when their fighters were announced so I'll give Xenoblade a go". Plus I had gotten into the habit of trying out every DLC fighter's game so I can join in on the hype as well. So the next day after the Aegis' announcement, I bought Xenoblade 2 barely knowing anything about it. That may seem like a dumb decision but throughout my 22 years on this planet I've only regretted buying a game a handful of times so this kind of situation usually works out for me.
So I booted up the game and the rest is history. Let me say that Xenoblade 2 is one of the most heartfelt and beautiful games I've ever played. To put it into perspective when I beat the game, well first I ended up losing sleep that night because of my crying and my mind racing with everything that happened at the end, but also I did not want to play or watch any other game other than Xenoblade 2 for a good two weeks. In a way this was torture because whenever I went to play the game again I couldn't enjoy the gameplay because my mind would wander and I would get emotional. So it was a cycle of listening to Xenoblade 2 music, looking through the art book, and playing Smash just for the Xenoblade content.
Fortunately I managed to move onto other stuff but now that Xenoblade 3 has been announced I'm back to being obsessed again and am currently going through a new game+ run. There is just something really magical about this game, I almost want to live in Alrest. Despite it being a world full of dying titans to live on, it's actually kind of peaceful and beautiful in a way. It's a weird dichotomy that made me latch onto the game.
I could go on and on but the point is I'm very grateful to Smash for introducing me to one of my favorite game series of all time and I'm so relieved it has been immortalized.