REVIEW: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a highlight of 2022 on Switch

It was a big surprise when, earlier this year, Nintendo announced Xenoblade Chronicles 3 for the Nintendo Switch. Seen as a big and unexpected title, fans of the franchise of excellent RPGs and also of the Big N console started to wait anxiously for the release - which arrived at the end of July in stores.

But between expectations and the like, does the game live up to them? The answer you can check in the review of showmetech Next:

Pain in Xenoblade Chronicles 3

The first point that should be highlighted in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is that as much as its visuals and some creatures (I'm looking at you, Nopons) seem to move towards a cute aesthetic, the reality is actually different: the game is one of the Nintendo's darkest exclusives.

To understand this, it is important to get the notion that dark means something violent from our minds. In Xenoblade this is achieved through a thematically heavy plot in the sense that the characters are rebelling against everything they know and were created to know.

Think with me, in our daily lives, if we learn of something that directly involves our life and that was not prepared, we are melancholy and destroyed, mainly because we are very accustomed to routine. Also discovering that the world works in different ways as a result of decisions from centuries ago that have nothing to do with us is another factor that makes people not stay in full mental health, and so on.

In Xenoblade 3, this is the main point of the narrative: Noah, the protagonist, along with his companions, after obtaining the power of Ouroboros, realize that the world they live in, in which they are soldiers whose life is summed up in fighting for someone they don't even know who he is, works almost like a grinder. military meat. Why do they have to go through this?

It is this question, then, that permeates the entire game, with the young protagonists learning together that things don't have to be that way and that they can change all that. Filled with scenes in which the characters begin to act like the teenagers they are after a life where such emotions were not allowed, the game's message is clear: the system exists, but we can live outside of it - although, as a good RPG, the The answer to achieving this goal is to increasingly fight more evil and often divine creatures, something that should be fully on your mind when getting the game.

Eat, eat, eat!

Leaving the theme and entering the combat, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 continues to stand out, although this is perhaps the point that most alienates people, after all, not everyone ends up liking the structure of playing something that uses the systems of MMO.

or combat of Xenoblade 3 takes everything from the previous titles and puts it together in a very interesting package. When drawing the sword near an enemy (or being attacked by them) the melee begins, with the basic attack occurring automatically, as long as the opponent is at the correct distance.

While the player-controlled character and the other members of the party fight exhaustively, the Switch's four action buttons are associated with different techniques referring to the game's classes. Each has a specific effect and a duration of time. cooldown, and when used in certain combo orders, in addition to generating effects such as stun, monster posture break, cancel attacks and the like.

The system then requires you to know how the chosen techniques work best – whether it has better damage hitting the opposing shore or forward, whether it should be used in the middle of an attack to stop it, or any other contextual situation. With that, the game takes on a curious rhythm that often reminds me of even strategy titles, with each fight working almost like a cake recipe to know exactly what to do and how to defeat the enemy in the fastest way.

But in the midst of all this, we have the great news of Xenoblade Chronicles 3: The system of Ouroboros. In it, two characters from party merge into a mighty giant robot, capable of dealing extreme damage and changing the pace of battle permanently - the thing is, at least in the main campaign, they're not exactly needed other than as a boost in more complicated bosses, especially if the combat strategy has been mastered.

The same, however, cannot be said of them in extra contents, which often have much more difficult conflicts, in which the union interlink, as the system is called in-game, becomes necessary to overcome challenges – while greater care in choosing skills is also important.

a touching track

And putting together both the narrative pain and the exciting combat moments, we have one of the most fundamental aspects of the experience that is playing. Xenoblade Chronicles 3: the soundtrack. Permeated by the use of flutes throughout the songs, along with intense guitars in conflicts and acoustic guitars in open spaces for exploration, the game gains somewhat intimate tones that help the player to connect with the characters.

Even more important is the fact that Noah e mioh, two of the protagonists, are offsets – soldiers who must play a flute on the battlefield so their comrades killed in combat can go to the afterlife. The instrument in the context of the game and in its use in the soundtrack gains important tones as a result, making the players almost have a certain union and brotherhood with the characters, and that they also understand the pain of losses, even if fictional. It's touching and strangely impactful, being able, in certain contexts, to bring tears to your eyes.

Conclusion

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is an excellent title Nintendo Switch and perhaps one of the most robust experiences on the console. Although not commented on during the text, it suffers, however, from the same problem as its predecessors: a performance far from ideal - which, we also admit, is something expected from the console of the Big N, mainly five years after launch.

But considering the experience as a whole, this becomes an almost irrelevant point in the great context of the game, capable of touching and telling a contemplative story – risking falling into catchphrases, practically art in the form of electronic entertainment.

If you get the chance, play. I guarantee you won't regret it.

See also:

REVIEW: Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered for PC