It's also worth noting that this is her Eng VA's first role and for a first role, she did a good job (actually, pretty much all of the English VAs were newcomers). At the end of the day, it's personal preference, but i much prefer the English dub because it makes the world feel so much more alive. Also Nia's Welsh accent is 10/10. Shoutouts to Morag for being Scottish. Also being able to understand the talking during battle. Also, JP Pyra's screams make my ears bleed.
Well, while thats nice and all, it doesn't change the fact of its quality. If you get operated, you want a satisfying result too, or would you be okay with some bad news, attached to "It was his first operation"?
But I digress.
As said, I do like most of the english cast. Thats why I was so conflicted in changing over, since I'd be missing out on the combat chatter after a victory. And well, JP Pyra's screams are... pretty standard. Atleast she isn't pulling a Rex Scream.
Really? I had the exact opposite experience. If anything, how you described 2's quests is exactly how i would describe 1's quests. Map issues aside, very rarely did i feel lost when doing a quest in 2. Compared to 1, where i constantly had to have the Wiki open because quests were so vague. "My son is lost in Eryth Sea. Please find him" Haha, do you know how big Eryth Sea is and also how Eryth Sea is the worst area in Xenoblade 1 in terms of navigation? 2 actually tells you where to go, which is a big plus when the world is huge. I hear X also had very vague quests but i haven't played it so...
Eh, I never said Xeno 1's was better. I just pointed out flaws that could be improved on in general. If somethings bad, its bad, comparing it to anything won't do much, except making the other thing look bad too.
And I guess you are right, it often -was- the map issues now that I think back on it.
And collection, well. I dislike how the one rare drop falls off a cliff occasionally, but generally it's the same. Collecting junk is time-saving, but less explorative, and while its rewarding, it's hardly done with much thought. I often just put my mum on salvage duty while I was buying dinner, since its that... well, repeditive. But you can complete it better, thats for sure.
Haha, wait until Ch.7. Ch.7 is probably my least favorite chapter in terms of gameplay because it asks for Field Skills too many times to progress the story. Thankfully, most of it is just elemental mastery that you can stack with Common Blades.
Ah, I'll look forward to it then. I got most of my skills by now onto 2-3 levels. Affinity is honestly pretty nice. I just wish Nopon wisdom was more common tho... I want this one specific door to open in the guild.
I felt that way too but it's not because the regions themselves are small. Quite the contrary, they are very big and there's lot to explore. The reason they feel small at times is because they're all isolated. Gormott doesn't connect to Uraya and Uraya doesn't connect to Mor Ardain and etc. That said, i do appreciate some regions being smaller, such as Argentum and Indol. Those two areas are the perfect size for what they are.
Eh, I'd say size-wise yes, but... still. I feel often like:
"There is no way, that an entire war can be done, with this little land. I thought the war was -about- gaining land. Refugrees swarming from one titan to the other. Why is there so much space left/used?!"
That said, X is still the best Xenoblade in terms of exploration. I don't need to play X to know that.
Agreed.
Anyway, for me personally, i'd rank Xenoblade 2 above 1. 1 has the less predictable story but 2 has the better characters. I don't mean in terms of likability (because both casts are great) but in terms of relevancy. As much as i love him, Riki contributed basically nothing to the plot of Xenoblade 1. Sharla and Melia's relevancy also varied throughout the game. Meanwhile, every character in 2 contributes something to the plot and none ever really get shafted (except for maybe one of the villains. I will say that 1 still had the better villains). They all have their own character arcs.
Well, I dunno about relevancy, but some of Poppy's relevance was a bit shoehorned... even if I adore her. But yeah, I can agree with the characters. It's definitely a very strong point about Xenoblade 2, since I struggled who to replace once I got the 4th member.
And since I hate Tiger Tiger... well, you can figure who got the axe.
Gameplay-wise, 2 is superior to 1 in many ways. I already offered my thoughts on the quests but in terms of combat, 2 is better. 1 had great combat too but it basically did boil down to "run around while you wait for your Arts to charge and then use them in the right spot". 2's combat had a much better emphasis on strategy and positioning. Canceling auto-attacks into Arts feels great and once you unlock the skill that lets you cancel Arts into Arts, battles become so much better. Setting up those Blade combos and going all out in Chain Attacks feels super satisfying. Really hope some of 2's elements carries over into the next Xenoblade game.
Thats rather debateable. Combat is definitely better and more scenic in 2, but shulk's arts were far more interesting to think about, aswell with the entire skill-system, that was frankly, far better solved than in Xeno-2.
And well, as said. It has many fresh ideas, which still need refining. It certainly will be an magnificent next game, if they'll add on, instead of dismiss.
Music-wise, both soundtracks are great, but i gotta give the win to 2. The composer said he wanted to have 2's OST be better than 1's. He succeeded imo.
Well, agreed. Music is in general better. Some single tracks from XC1 may be better, but overall XC2 is the winner.
the Expansion Pass. Said New Game+ will offer new things
Oh yeah, I forgott the dlc. I might give it an ng+ after all, depending on if I can carry over stuff. And if they patch a goddamn skip-option for blade-summons, and... 'other' things.
That said, i'm far from done with this game. I may have beaten the story last week but i still have a lot to do. Where's my KOS-MOS, game? I also need a few other Rare Blades but where's my KOS-MOS, game?!
I should play Xenosaga eventually.
Ouph, Xenosaga will take you alot of stamina. And Kos-Mos, I never got why its so insanely sought after. I might miss something about it? (Well, except its strength.)
