Xenoblade is the New Final Fantasy

Xenoblade is the New Final Fantasy. Ever since the aftermath of Final Fantasy XII, the series has been subpar. Xenoblade, still in its infancy, eclipses modern Final Fantasy in every facet.

[guywazeldatatt]

It took time for Takahashi to learn to balance religious and philosophical overtones, RPG gameplay, open-worlds, and story, but he's finally done it. This is the best RPG series out there right now.

[MadLad]

I could only give you JRPG series on that and, even then, you can't rule out the Persona series.

[guywazeldatatt]

Persona is good no doubt. Personally I do prefer the proper SMT games and am ecstatic for V on the Switch; Persona and Xenoblade are completely different kinds of games. I love them both for what they are, but that being said again they are different kinds of RPGs. Which is great, I wouldn't want everything to be like the Xenoblade games.

[Eonjay]

What is this idea that a game can only be good if you can crap on another game? A series can be good and stand on its own without saying it needs to trump another series.

[Big_Game_Hunters]

Persona isn't in the same running though.

[mikeslemonade]

Xenoblade it ain't even close. I have it preordered though and it's arriving Monday. But xenoblade isn't even better than any of the modern final fantasys. It's limited on gimped hardware.

[indysurfn]

With trails of cold steels next entry coming from vita to PS4 I would have to say it is at best third.

1 The legend of hero....trails of cold steel III
2 Persona's
3 ni no....

[davand114]

Persona, SMT, and Xenoblade are the three best RPG series out there right now. SMT and Xenoblade steer more towards hardcore RPG's than Persona does, but all 3 are fantastic.

[Sono421]

Dark link is a Nintendo die hard fanatic, whenever he says something positive about anything Nintendo it shouldn't be taken seriously. Only when he says something negative will it actually be taken seriously, and he has no one to blame but himself.

[xPaYDaYx]

Lol Pokemon for Christ's sake has more depth. I'll give the interesting world bit to the Xenoblade series though.

[drizzom]

With how FFXV turned out to be utter dogshit I would happily embrace Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to hold that crown.

[Servbot41]

As much as I love Xenoblade, I'd say the best JRPG series is probably SMT, as it's vast and contains multiple different types of JRPGs.

[AdonisIsBeast]

I agreed with nearly everything you stated in this article until the part that said the Switch would eclipse the PS4

That’s going to be tough

[remixx116]

Lol yeah that's a bit of fanboy sputter, I mean damn the console just came out and has a great year of games but the ps4 has been utterly explosive these last 2 years and 2018 is shaping up to be just as good.

Not to mention when it comes to jrpgs sorry but the ps4 still holds that crown. Ni no kuni 2, persona 5, nier, ff12 remaster, disgeae 5, ff7 remake, bloodborne...its really not much of a competition.

[pietro1212]

It's not. Story wise the Xenoblade series don't touch Minolith's older titles and his time at Square except for may Batemn Kaitos and Xenosaga 2. His recent titles aren't as good as Persona 3, 4 and 5. His best work will always be Xenogears.
As for the author of the article FFXII is one of the greatest F2F titles.

[PhoenixUp]

“Ever since Final Fantasy XII, the series has been subpar.”

Hey screw you author FFXII was awesome and is one of the highest rated games in the series.

FFXIV is one of the best and most popular MMOs currently on the market and comes second to only WoW in active users.

FFXV is an amazing game.

[guywazeldatatt]

when they changed directors like late in development they made changes and the story never quite clicked. that was the consensus then, maybe not now, and that was what I gleamed. also, if you look on metacritic it's more accurate to look at the score of the remaster/remake, as the standards of games have changed. I personally didn't like the combat and thought the story didn't quite fit.

MMO FF is way different than mainstream titles.

FFXV is overrated and not as open-world as they would have you believe. there are some makings of a great game, but put them all together and it's just okay.

I was born in the mid-to-late 90s, so I've been playing the series for a very long time. IMO, Xenoblade is poised to take its place as the best JRPG series of our generation and dethrone FF. In fact, it already has, and the reviews kind of show that.

[Nyxus]

Your birth took multiple years?!

[guywazeldatatt]

@nyxus sorry mid-to-late 80s.

[Razzer]

LOL

[PhoenixUp]

Many people did in fact enjoy FFXII’s story. Maybe you did not like it or the gameplay, but many people did. It’s widely regarded as one of the best titles in the series for a reason and should not be written off as subpar to make an flawed point.

It’s not always accurate to look at a remake’s or remaster’s Metascore since the rerelease will always get a lower score than the original in most cases.

However even if you do, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age currently has an 86 on Metacritic which is the same score that Xenoblade Chronicles 3D got and is higher than both Xenoblade Chronicles X & Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which further debase’s your claims of it being mediocre. If FFXII is subpar then the entire Xenoblade franchise is subpar, especially when you consider the original Final Fantasy XII got the same aggregate score as the original Xenoblade Chronicles.

Final Fantasy XIV still has to be accounted for since it’s still a mainline title and has just as much talent & effort working on it as the non-MMO mainline titles. FFXIV’s resurgence in quality is not something that can just be swept under the rug because it’s inconvenient to the narrative your article is trying to make.

How is Final Fantasy XV overrated when you don’t see people claiming it’s one of the best games in the series like so many frequently do with Final Fantasy VII? FFXV still has various qualities that put it above various other RPGs. Just because it’s not the best game of all time doesn’t mean you can write it off entirely. The last two Xenoblade games also have flaws but you don’t see me saying neither of them hold any above average merit.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 currently holds an 84 on Metacritic. It ain’t going to take the title of king of the RPG genre anytime soon. In fact Pokémon is the one that holds that title since it’s the highest selling franchise in the genre. Final Fantasy for some reason is frequently called the king even though it’s sold less than Pokémon. Xenoblade can be great, but it isn’t dethroning anybody.

[guywazeldatatt]

Not all Xenoblade 2 reviews are out yet. Xodiac Age had how many reviews? 74. And an 8.0 user score, although I dunno if it was brigaided or not.

Xeno 2 has about 56 reviews so far with a user score of 86. I mean this could go back and forth but ultimately FFXII, even if it was after, set the stage for FF to devolve to what it is now. which is mediocrity and that makes me very sad. The best games are remasters.

[PhoenixUp]

Even if all the reviews for XB2 aren’t out yet, my point still stands. Whether XB2 stays at 84 just like XBX before it or goes to 85 or even 86, it still has a score in a similar ballpark as FFXII: TZA and still a lower score than the original FFXII. Also keep in mind that Metascores don’t usually fluctuate upwards dramatically after a game has had 55+ reviews, so XB2 will most likely remain at the 84 it’s at right now.

With this in mind I still don’t see how you can say Final Fantasy XII is subpar but somehow excuse Xenoblade Chronicles for getting similar scores.

I really don’t get that kind of statement. FFXII is still widely regarded as an awesome game, not a subpar one. Even if you want to bring up FFXIII, that in no way has any bearing on FFXII and I don’t see why it would in any case. That’s like saying RE4 is a lesser game because of RE5, Star Fox 64 is a lesser game because of Star Fox Zero, Super Mario 64 is a lesser game because of a Super Mario Sunshine, Banjo-Tooie is a lesser game because of Banjo-Kazooie: N&B, Crash 3 is a lesser game because of Crash 4, Jak 3 is a lesser game because of J&D: TLF, Sonic Generations is a lesser game because of Sonic Forces, and so on and so forth.

Again as I’ve factually proven, to say Final Fantasy XII is mediocrity is to say the entire Xenoblade series is mediocrity which would render this entire article pointless. In fact when did scoring in the 80s, which the majority of Xenoblade Chronicles games have done mind you, become the mark of a mediocre game?

[guywazeldatatt]

I actually didn't call FFXII mediocrity; it did have its problems but this article explains a lot:

http://www.usgamer.net/arti...

FFXII may have started it all, that's what I kinda meant; I need to check the article and if I fucked up man i'll literally change it right now. But because of FFXII's problems, it pretty much screwed SE's plans, but that's all on SE and not really on FFXII, no matter the issues I may have with parts of the game. It's lightyears better than any installment since, but, at the same time it pales in comparison to X, IMO.

[PhoenixUp]

You say that you didn’t call FFXII a mediocre title, yet your description clearly calls FFXII subpar.

Obviously titles such as FFXII, FFXIII, FFXIV, & FFXV have had development issues. However that’s a different matter entirely. This is about the quality of the end product, which your description is clearly implying and not the development history.

Hell Persona 5 had a development history as long as Final Fantasy XII’s, yet you don’t see people bringing that up since P5 got great reviews just like FFXII before it. Only reason it’s more prominent with FFXII and the latter entries is because Final Fantasy is a more prominent franchise than Shin Megami Tensei.

FFXII has the same 92 score on Metacritic as FFX though and their remasters(85 for FFX/FFX-2 HD & 86 for FFXII HD) have similar Metascores as well. So no it doesn’t pale in comparison objectively speaking. Each title has its own unique pros and cons so you can’t definitively say is better than the other since it would come down to personal preferences at that point.

[guywazeldatatt]

in my description I didn't properly communicate what I meant to. the aftermath of FFXII left SE a mess. the director got sick, he left, they scrambled like crazy and it changed the game and story. that's a fact. thanks for the discussion, it's been informative.

[PhoenixUp]

If you’re talking about the development of the series, then you should’ve worded it as such. The way it’s written now heavily implies that you assume the quality of the titles have gone down after FFXI.

[rainslacker]

The story was alright, just not as epicly sweeping as you see in the other games. My only issue with the game was that it felt that the characters in the game didn't really have any impact on the world. This was likely more from the whole Invalice overworld that involved several other games, so the story was only part of that world.

The game play was really good, and overall the game was pretty good, but I felt it's story wasn't up to par with the themes and presentation of other FF games. Even FFXIII had characters that were a major part in what happened in the world like other FF games, although I wouldn't say it was a great story for a FF game.

[ShadowWolf712]

You had me right up until "FFXV is an amazing game".

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed.

[bigmalky]

XV is an awful FF game. It lacks soul like many modern games. Pre XIII games are good to great FF, anything after is heartless guff with the brand name attached for quick sales.

XIV does not count, despite the numbered entry, it's an MMO, not a single player RPG.

[shingojacky]

"FFXV is an amazing game."

Oh, no...

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

I'm definitely having more fun with Xenoblade 2 than I anticipated, and I can easily see this becoming a strong staple series for Nintendo to continue making entries in, long into the future, just like Final Fantasy.

Honestly, the best thing Square-Enix has done lately for Final Fantasy fans, was to create Bravely Default, in my personal opinion.XD

[guywazeldatatt]

if they bring Bravely Default to Switch, which I think is a must, (the series that is, plus the two that are out), I really think Nintendo could dominate the RPG scene, even without Kingdom Hearts. And then there's Ocopath Traveler. It's great to have this kind of support honestly for the system. I'm kind of shocked.

[Prince_TFK]

The disagree ninjas are on the loose lately, especially in Xenoblade articles. Its like they are scared of something lol.

[Vanfernal]

Nintendo doesn't make these games... Only publishes them.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Monolith is a first-party Nintendo studio; Nintendo naturally had internal team members helping to make this game.

[coffeemaster]

Maybe I’ll even like this game more than FFXV

[guywazeldatatt]

I will admit I personally, and I'm not the only one, who felt Final Fantasy XV wasn't totally open-world, but maybe my exceptions were wrong and I was looking at that wrong. I kinda realize that now, but this is a great game. My problems with XV go way beyond the world though. It feels like SE just cares about money these days. FFX is still my favorite.

[muttsurini]

well most final fantasy games are not 100 percent
open world like ff7 and ff10, and they are great additions on the franchise.

[Segata]

I platinumed FFXV and will tell you all the Xenoblade games are better than FFXV. One of the best things Nintendo ever did was purchase Monolith.

[SegaGamer]

It would need to be turn based to be the new Final Fantasy.

[pietro1212]

Final Fantasy stopped being turn based once they introduced the atb system

[TheGamez100]

Well any other jrpgs better than final fantasy since 12 imo lol. Loving the heck out of xeno2 so far. Definately one of the few great jrpgs in a while.

[PlayableGamez-]

HA!!

[richyque]

Its been 6 years since nintendo fans can celebrate anything positive, wii u got crushed and buried making nintendo ditch the DEDICATED home console business. where were these people at when wii u need them? they were all playing their 3ds.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Exactly. Nintendo only makes Portables now.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

The Switch is a part of their home console market just as much as their handheld.

The only one's saying it's just a portable are those that are scared of Nintendo being a threat to other systems; it acts as a convenient excuse for haters to fall back on, should Switch ever come close to the others in sales.

It's pathetic to see so many Nintendo home console haters so salty over a hybrid doing so well in two markets at once.

[tehpees3]

@ _EDMIX_

And Sony only make home consoles now. Why are you trying to pretend Vita didn't exist? It existed. It was released this generation. Explain yourself.

[quent]

Well for the last good ff was 12, only the persona and Xenoblade series really hold my attention when it comes to rpgs, that 1 2d hybrid coming out on the switch though is giving me some serious ff6 vibes and looks incredible as well

[quent]

Well for me the last good ff was 12, only the persona and Xenoblade series really hold my attention when it comes to jrpgs, that 1 2d hybrid coming out on the switch though is giving me some serious ff6 vibes and looks incredible as well

[richyque]

still in its infancy, eclipses modern Final Fantasy in every facet. Except for graphics, gameplay and storytelling. Xenoblade is ok but in no way is it better than final fantasy. Thats my OPINION just like the biased author that wrote this piece.

[Prince_TFK]

Says a guy who just talk shit about Nintendo fanbase just a few comments up. Yeah I’ll take your unbiased opinion over the author’s.

[balance2theforce]

Just report these guys man. If we keep getting into it with them it's just going to derail the thread and just dirty it up. They don't want the topic to be about the actual game since it's seen as a positive. They're just doing what another famous wind bag is doing at the time and just throwing out a lot of distractions. Let the moderators handle these losers.

[MeteorPanda]

l can't buy this game. The voice acting is so budget l can't handle it lol. It's literally people reading off scripts and nothing else. It's so isolated. the characters don't even seem to be talking to eachother it's so goddamn weird

[Shiken]

The voice acting is hit or miss. It is no where as near bad as people make it out to be, and in some places quite decent. However it does have its fair share of moments where the actors miss their mark and it just sounds way off.

However you can use the Japanese voices with english subs, so there is a way to avoid it completely.

[MeteorPanda]

oh do stop. l watched this game on twitch at different parts to see if it gets better. no. it does not. They do not. budget voice acting is budget. The main character is literally 14 and has a jon snow voice.

[Shiken]

Proof of main character's exact age?

And I never said it was not budget, I said it was hit or miss. And again, if you cannot handle the bad parts, use japanese voices with subtitles.

[MeteorPanda]

I...don't want to play it in a language l dont understand sadly, especially in live cutscenes. Theres other games for me i guess.

[kevnb]

Go for the Japanese audio.

[Segata]

Then switch to the Japanese audio.

[Featuring_Dante]

Wishful thinking of gamers and their underdog complex.

[giovonni]

I have the game with the system under the tree. Is it really a good game?

[GameBoyColor]

it's a great game if you like jrpgs pretty hardcore and are willing to switch to japanese dub to avoid the funny but awful dub. The game is massive and has a lot to do which is turning people off apparently lol

[giovonni]

Ah,ok I enjoy RPGS, however I have never played... or at least think, a jrpg. Damn, are the dub overs that awful?

[GameBoyColor]

Yeah the dub is pretty bad, some miscasting and none of the voice actors seem to have gotten the direction they needed in scenes throughout the game. Then there is the battle voices lol. You could try it out though cuz you can change audio whenever you want in game which is a nice touch.

[giovonni]

Oh lord, I'm going to have a good laugh on the morning of the 25th.. well, the night.. I have to work

[NotanotherReboot]

Just got this. Going to play it later this week when I go to London

[kevnb]

To me it’s the first Xenoblade Chronicles series, and I love it.

[SR388]

Xenoblade is way better!... FF sucks shit and has done for a long time

[Elda]

Nope!

[bluefox755]

Completely disagree. The game is good, it sits at a solid 84 on metacritic, just like the last game, but far from "the new final fantasy". If any game deserves that crown it would be Persona 5.

[ecchiless]

Xenogears > All the next xenos

[jelloaceomega]

Person disliked this comment never played nor understand the Xeno games legacy.

[monkey602]

For those of us who haven't played the first (me) and are interested in the 2nd (also me) is it necessary to play the original or would it be okay to dive in from here ?

[OnionThief]

You don't need to play the originals to get into the Xenoblade 2, no. Though that being said the combat and quest structures will honestly be quite a shock if you're not already accustom to it.

I would honestly watch gameplay in person and attempt to get a hands on before buying. The system isn't for everyone at all, and it's very disconnected to the player.... Most of the combat is stood completely still not touching through controller while your character autoattacks, as you wait for your cooldowns.

The term "single player MMO" gets thrown around a lot for modern Xeno titles and to an extent it's easy to see where they're coming from when they say it.

[Gemmol]

game shows you how to play so you do not need to watch others play, anthe game do not continue from the first game

[Segata]

Every game is a stand-alone story. All you will miss is references but all the games make references to all the Xeno games even Saga and Gears. Nothing important to the story. So go ahead and play the game without worrying about missing anything.

[Auron]

Only had a few hours with this game and im really diggin it if you own a switch and enjoy rpgs this is a no brainer!

[Cy]

FF12 and FF15 are great games. Xenoblade games are uninteresting worlds filled with busywork.

[Shiken]

Says the person who has never played Xenoblade 2.

But yes, I loved FFXV as well. Why can't we just admit that both are great jrpgs and just play the games?

[OnionThief]

Unfortunately you've got that completely wrong, as someone who is very dissatisfied with the modern Xeno series the worldbuilding is the one thing that Monolith excel in.

I believe the combat is rather dull, the sidequests are tedious, the voice acting is atrocious and the graphics/framerate can really get poor at times. But on no account would I ever say that Xenoblade 2 has poor worldbuilding, the lands are beautifully imagined and crafted experiences.

[Zarock]

Persona 5 and ffxv are much better games period.

[septemberindecember]

Persona 5 is, but I completely disagree with FFXV being better.

[GameBoyColor]

I disagree with FFXV completely lol. The game isn't even complete yet.

[Segata]

Nah man FFXV is decent but not great. Persona 5 is fantastic and Xenoblade series is much better than any recent FF game.

[pietro1212]

Persona 5 > Nier Automata > Xenoblade Chronicles 2 > FF XV

[xPaYDaYx]

No, it's not lol. It's your traditional anime JRPG. They come out in droves every year. Maybe in another decade if it's still around it might be considered one of the greats and can compete with Persona, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy and the many others that dominate that genre. The only really impressive thing about the Xenoblade games is the world(s) that are portrayed in the games. The worlds are amazing in every way but the characters aren't really that strong. There has only been 3 Xenoblade games, it needs more time to flush out. Have you heard the gameplay? It's literally anime characters screaming at all times and all the characters fill their tropes no better than any random anime show/game.

[PygmelionHunter]

Why does it always have to be one or the other with these articles?

[Father__Merrin]

If xzenoblade was multiplat then the author wouldn't have opened his trap. As it's Nintendo only he feels the need to let a little bit off

[Segata]

Xenoblade series reminds me more of Phantasy Star before it became Online.

[StormSailor]

No way and never

[Last_Boss]

Boy, when you shoot for the moon!! This series has an extremely long way to go to achieve that.

[Jaypi03]

I don't want Xenoblade to become the next Final Fantasy, I don't even think Final Fantasy knows what it is anymore, the series started out on a simple but good story and built from there, now with FFXV you have to watch a movie ahead of time to get most of it, and even what they give you isn't much to care for.

FFXIV is pretty good story wise from what i've heard, but it's an paid mmo so a lot of people may not experience it. I think we shouldn't try to say "X is the next Y" because it kinda marginalizes it. Xenoblade series so far is great for it's open worlds, likeable cast, unique monsters and seemingly limitless exploration, most games tout that if you see something you can go ahead and go there, but Xenoblade actually lets you do that without invisible walls.

I mean we can compare it to Persona but that's apples to oranges. Persona is more character focused, mixed with dungeon crawling, along with dating sim elements, these features aren't really present in Xenoblade outside of character bonding.

Let them all stand on their own I say, Xenoblade series is great, Persona is great, and Final Fantasy when done right can be great.

[Wrex369]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 so far for me is a solid game. Seriously amazing sound track, addictive mechanics with a meaty combat system that makes the other systems feel worthwhile. But it's not revolutionary. It's rough around the edges, but worth the money.

[MonChiChi]

Get at me when xenoblade 15 is out.

[shuvam09]

As much as I like XC, I've gotta ask this...
ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???

[Gemmol]

he talking current day final fantasy, not the past where it was great

[VersusDMC]

"Eclipses modern final fantasy in every facet" Hyperbolic statements... the mark of a shitty writer. FFXV looks better than xenoblade. The writer is only praising xenoblade this much because it's on the switch. Nintendo fanboy rant.

[WeAreLegion]

This is how you get hits, everyone.

[Bismarn]

Overhyped, melodramatic trope-fest? Not quite up to par with Final Fantasy but getting there.

[leahcim]

well 84 on metacritics... new FF?

[ninsigma]

Had no interest in the first but I've toyed with the idea of getting the 2nd. I'll look more into it when I've less games to play. In terms of FF, yeah 12 and 13 I really hated. 15 is ok. Enjoyed it for what it was. Gameplay and the things to do in world are fun but there's a lot of flaws in the over arching tale and I don't much care for the characters. I also haven't cared for going back to play any of the DLC either. Lots of great things being said about xenoblade so maybe there is weight to such a statement!

[tehpees3]

Final Fantasy was going downhill and downhill. Its just a brand name now. I disagree that it is like Final Fantasy because they are both different experiences but if anybody states that current FF games are better then Xenoblade they either have poor taste in JRPGs or just haven't played enough to know what real JRPGs are.

Hint: not FFXIII Trilogy, FFXIV or FFXV.

[Segata]

It's closer to new Phantasy Star.

[meka2611]

While I am enjoying the game I cannot say it's the new final fantasy. Main thing for me is the battle system is an online mmorpg battle system. That's proly my only gripe, make it an action RPG system; I hate mmorpg systems of point and click and you just attack, seems lazy to me. Still loving the game though.