yo sawano, mix attack on titan with some ratchet and clank and get the homie to rap on it, this has to be one of the most kickass video game soundtracks of all time.
The definitive edition of Xenoblade Chronicles X puts a capstone on a game that was previously a mixed bag and makes it legendary. What was always fantastic is strong as ever, gameplay wise - you get stuck on a whole different planet, get a bigger gun, then you don't worry about the future; it's alright.
Xenoblade Chronicles X is a game that you really need to sit down and do the sidequests in. I felt like I did a ton and I still didn't seemingly scratch the surface; next time I will do even more now I know the ending. They contain some of the best side character development in the series - most side characters are better than most of the Xenoblade 1 party members (aside from Shulk and Riki, the GOAT). The biggest flaw of the base game is that it draws you in to its main story by introducing compelling mysteries without giving you the answer to any of them and then sequel baits you without giving satisfying closure for any of the fantastic characters or alien species you met along the way - it's not that anything you get given is badly written, it's simply that it feels as if the script got slashed in half. Had I played the game in it's base state, I would've written it of as half a game - and in fact I nearly did. A pile of written cheques that never got cashed in, and a ton of side content that felt ultimately completely inconsequential; the end of the base game cares not whether you did any of it aside from what was mandatory to progress.
Thankfully, the definitive edition adds a Chapter 13, split into three seperate acts, which basically turns the game into Xenoblade Chronicles X.5, with a mission to expand what it was originally trying to be into something grander, answer questions left blatantly unaddressed, and actually tie all the fantastic characters into the main story in a satisfying way. Like Persona 5 Royal, the additional content at the end of this game feels a little jarring when you first enter it, but you quickly acclimate to it and it rapidly grows into the greatest moments of the entire game - especially the final act. There is enough here to work with that it could've been stretched further and made into a sequel, but I ultimately think the definitive edition was the appropriate answer, as the base game's story was simply inexcusably mediocre without the Chapter 13 content to give it some payoff and land it comfortably alongside the rest of the titles in this legendary game series.
Thanks again for your beautiful work Takahashi & team.
