Xenoblade Chronicles 3 review: Stunning scenery has the edge over storyline and swordplay

(Switch) ***** Age: 15+

Ronan Price Twitter Email

August 09 2022 10:17 AM

You’ll never risk hand-crippling bouts of RSI when you pick up the fourth (yes, fourth) in this RPG saga, which is as much known for its sweeping vistas as its deep combat and sprawling storyline.

Story occupies the dominating role in XC3 as the producers unfurl an elaborate tale of two nations locked in an endless war. Such is the level of exposition via cut-scenes that you can put down the Switch for 10 to 15 minutes at regular intervals while the characters talk at length. Thus, there’s no danger of getting hand fatigue with such long gaps between monster battles .

The chattiness would be bearable if the dialogue wasn’t frequently cheesy or downright laughable. The script often resembles offcuts from some children’s animé rather than a megabudget project owned by Nintendo.

As consolation, many of the conversations are fully voiced at a serviceable level, albeit in mainly regional British accents for no discernible reason. And the overarching narrative does manage to maintain enough intrigue with its good-vs-evil switchbacks. Side-quest and campfire chats nicely fill in the back-stories of the main characters as two bands of sworn enemies are thrown together to fight a greater menace.

The spine of the XC3 plot effectively puts these six soldiers on an extended road trip. Despite some frothing villains and red-eyed demons, it’s the growing camaraderie that holds the narrative together as the heroes journey towards the giant sword that adorns the front of the box and is almost always visible in the skyline.

With even old alliances against them, the party travels through a series of breath-taking but dangerous lands, each location competing to outdo the last with eye-catching scenery and a menagerie of hostile beasts.

XC3 begins early on to stack up its combat systems and dozens of hours later is still introducing new layers of complexity. It’s manageable at first, especially on easier difficulty levels, but after a couple of chapters most battles fill the screen with their symbology. Targeting lines criss-cross, icons hover over enemies and friends alike, while damage numbers fly off like confetti. Learning to interpret the important details is pivotal because your six party members can wield two or three levels of magic and physical arts each. All of them become interwoven when brawling with bosses, requiring you coordinate your attacks even though you directly control only one character.

You could go crazy trying to understand all the possible different builds. Some players will relish trying to find the optimum combination of class and ability. Others will simply be overwhelmed.

Despite almost collapsing under the unwieldy weight of its own ambition, XC3 still succeeds in its mission to entertain through wide-eyed tourism in the company of an agreeable band of brothers (and sisters). If you’re not a fan of Japanese RPGs, you’ll probably struggle to stay motivated amid all its bewildering strands. But the more devoted will find themselves still enthralled after 50 hours, after 100 hours and who knows more…