Categoría: Nintendo

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (review)

~ Ichiro Yamazaki ~ Deja un comentario

Platform: Nintendo Switch
Developer: Monolith Soft
Publisher: Nintendo
Year: 2022

Introduction
Months ago I wrote my expectations about this game and promised to return here to give a full analysis and evaluate if it was that good.
Without a doubt, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was one of the most wanted entries from 2022 for most switch owners and, according to the game’s director, this one is the culmination of the series, but not the end of it.
On this post I’ll try to describe the most important properties of the game and measure the core features of it.

Plot (No Spoilers)
First of all, a valuable asset for the plot is that we get a full background story about each and every main character from the team. This means they are all built at some depth, and I’d dare to say they also topped the main cast from the previous entries on this aspect.
In addition to this nice feature, we’ll enjoy a lot of unexpected and exciting situations throught the course of the game, and all these chain of events get better to the point we can’t stop playing it to discover what’s next.
Cinematic direction is neat and impeccable too, it cleverly mixes cutscenes from the current situation with background stories, and activity from the enemy as well. Besides, it has Xenoblade DNA after all, so, all the fighting cutscenes are amazing to watch and enjoy on the screen.
I also observed a meaningful improvement to the script compared to what was shown on XC2, and these are good news. Mistakes and flaws from that game are gone here: plot devices, plot armors, plot holes, tropes, abuse on open interpretation style are no more. I’d say this story is more serious, darker and tragic than past entries.
In my opinion, the only real problem with the plot is that it’s not fully convincing the way it intertwines with the other game’s stories, there are some plot holes and missing explanations, instead of something more concrete, straigtforward.

Gameplay
This third entry has a lot of new features that will be explained next.
One of these new features are the character classes, which include more than 20 classes, allowing for a decent, state-of-the-art customization for battle. And these classes work like jobs like the other RPGS: each one has specific goals, roles and art/skill sets.
Interlink is another new and interesting mechanic: pairs of main characters can transform into a single being to obtain more power and attack with a powered up art set, which inflicts more damage and effects. This mixed form is called Ouroboros and it’s a limited advantage that ends when its special bar fills.
In addition to these new features, a lot of valuable allies (called heroes) will join the fight as well. Once they are recruited, they can participate on any combat but the only rule is: at most one heroe per battle can participate.
Chain Attack is back and, in my opinion, this is the very best implementation. This time, the attack is organized into character Orders that allow to inflict damage and get additional effects like buffing/debuffing. Each order is completed after a special chain attack bar is filled, and, after it’s finished, then we can continue with another character Order. During a Chain Attack, the Order bar is filled with regular art attacks that we can freely select.
The number of orders to be used depends on the performance of the Chain Attack but we can also pick Heroes’ Orders and Ouroboros’ Orders as well.

Fortunately, some gameplay mistakes from the past are gone on this game: grinding for hours to get some levels is not needed (XC1) but we don’t need to farm Affinity Charts either just to unlock a new area (XC2).
Side-quest designs are better on this game, because some optional Heroes require to fulfill their quests in order to recruit them, and this is more rewarding and fun than the traditinal-boring fetch quests or «beat monster» quests.

Other stuff
Excellent soundtrack, specially all battle themes.
Very good character art that doesn’t need fan service to capture our attention.
Extremely good world design which provides a lot of climate and environment variety, and there are a lot of details to discover while exploring the huge Aionios planet.
Good voice acting.
Side content is very fun to play and extends the game duration for more enjoyment.
Overall, stable frame rate and acceptable graphic detail considering switch’s limitations (docked mode, didn’t try portable mode).

Conclussion
From the technical, artistic and entertainment point of views, this game has surpassed my expectations by a mile away. Xenoblade 3 is just the perfect culmination for these masterpieces, and they are all recommended for every RPG lover.
Score: 9.5

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (reseña)

~ Ichiro Yamazaki ~ Deja un comentario

Plataforma: Nintendo Switch
Desarrollador: Monolith Soft
Publicador: Nintendo
Año: 2022

Introducción
Hace meses escribí cuales eran mis expectativas de Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (https://consolesuniverse.wordpress.com/2022/06/17/xenoblade-chronicles-my-expectations-about-xenoblade-3-post-contains-spoilers-about-the-first-games/), y prometí regresar para analizar el tercer juego, y evaluar que tanto ha cumplido con lo esperado.
Esta tercer entrada es una de las más esperadas de 2022 para la mayoría de los propietarios de switch, y, en palabras del director, es la culminación de la trilogía, pero sin poner fin a la franquicia.
En este post intento describir a detalle las propiedades más importantes de Xenoblade Chronicles 3, y poner el medidor en los aspectos clave.

Historia (No spoilers)
Un primer punto a favor de la trama es que se tiene completo background de cada miembro del equipo, de manera tal que tienen una escritura más completa que el main cast de entregas pasadas.
Existen muchas situaciones impredecibles y emocionantes en cada chapter.
Se tiene una inteligente e impecable dirección cinemática de la trama, la cual presenta cuidadosamente la actividad del enemigo, escenas de la situación actual y a la vez, explora el pasado de cada personaje de forma congruente.
Mejora muy significativa del guión comparado con el XC2, pues prácticamente todas las fallas de aquel juego desaparecieron (plot armors, plot decives, tropos, abuso de narrativa de libre interpretación).
Sin decir ningún spoiler, esta historia es bastante más seria, oscura, sutil y a la vez trágica que previas entregas.
Probablemente el único verdadero problema con el manejo de la trama es la manera en que se entrelazó con la historias de los demás juegos, ya que dejaron huecos o bien poca información, lo cual causa libres interpretaciones en lugar de tener algo concreto y directo.

Gameplay
Esta tercer entrega incluye un set de nuevas características que serán abordadas a continuación. Principalmente, el sistema de combate ha cambiado por completo, y solo conserva algunas propiedades esenciales que han estado en todos los Xenoblade.
Una de las novedades es las clases, las cuales son arriba de 20, permitiendo un nivel aceptable de personalización del equipo para las batallas. Las clases funcionan como jobs de cualquier RPG: cada una con fin específico y habilitando muchas variables al combate.
El Interlink permite la transformación de parejas en un solo ser (Ouroboros), el cual adquiere un set de artes especiales y más poderosas. La forma de Ouroboros es una ventaja limitada ya que tiene una barra de carga que se consume mientras está activa esta forma.
Adicionalmente, un conjunto de personajes aliados no jugables (llamados héroes) se unirán al equipo para apoyar durante el combate. En cualquier momento, cualquiera de los héroes desbloqueados puede ser seleccionado para entrar al equipo, y solo un héroe puede participar a la vez.
El Chain Attack vuelve y en mi opinión, mejor que nunca, ya que se vuelve más dinámico y diverso ya que funciona por Chain Orders: cada personaje posee un Order especial que provee bonificaciones al equipo o debuffs en el enemigo. La cantidad de Orders que se permite usar depende de cómo se desarrolló el Chain Attack, y además es posible generar un Ouroboros Order para infligir más daño o bien, utilizar el Order del héroe que actualmente está apoyando.
Afortunadamente, la fallas de gameplay de entregas pasadas no vuelven aquí, de manera que no volveremos a perder nuestro (valioso) tiempo grindeando niveles o farmeando Affinity Charts para desbloquear áreas. Además, el gacha tampoco regresa y existen mejoras significativas en la manera en que fueron diseñados los side quests. Los héroes son desbloqueados y se unirán al equipo tras terminar sus respectivos quests, lo cual es bastante más divertido que los tradicionales quest de buscar ítems o derrotar enemigos random.
Otra nueva característica es que se añadieron campamentos, los cuales permiten fabricar gemas que habilitan mejoras, cocinar para mejorar recompensas en batalla, subir de nivel, tener conversaciones con el equipo o bien guardar el juego.

Otros
Muy buen soundtrack, especialmente los temas de batalla.
El arte de los personajes es tan impecable como diverso, y en esta ocasión no se necesitó recurrir a ningún fan service.
En general, mucha creatividad en la construcción del mundo, el cual abunda en detalles, diversidad de áreas y enemigos. Aionios tiene áreas peligrosas, otras muy fantásticas, otras más sci-fi y algunas tan sutiles que vale la pena detenerse y disfrutarlas.
Voice acting estupendo, tan bueno como el del primer juego.
El contenido opcional prolonga la duración del juego significativamente y proporciona muchas más horas de diversión.
Frame rate estable la mayor parte del tiempo, y nivel de detalle gráfico aceptable, considerando las limitaciones de Switch. Esto es en docked mode, nunca probé en portátil.

Conclusión
Desde el punto de vista artístico, técnico y de entretenimiento, el juego se ha elevado muy por encima de mis expectativas. Xenoblade 3 es una culminación excelente para una trilogía de obras maestras, dignas de ser todas recomendables para cualquiera que se diga amante del RPG.
Calificación: 9.5


Fire Emblem New Mystery of the Emblem – Notes about Maniac mode

~ Ichiro Yamazaki ~ Deja un comentario

After clearing Hard a couple of times, I decided to try Maniac instead, and checked for myself a new level of challenge. Thus I have learned this mode has a lot of meaningful changes, and this causes immediate consequences on how we proceed on each map.

So I’ll explain everything at detail about what I’ve found:

-Some units become fully benchable, useless. Units who were weak or underleveled on Hard continue to be this way (of course) here. But this time, the set is extended with more people who just don’t help at all on the battlefield. Non promoted late recruits like Maris and Athena are not needed but get in the way. And investment can’t be done on them because this mode is all about focusing on helping our core group.
Bantu couldn’t tank anything on Hard, much less on this mode. But Draugh, Macellan, Dolph, Sheena and Horace have the same flaw now, becoming completely helpless. All of them get doubled by any enemy. And the enemies have high strength this time which renders all armored soldiers useless.
Early cavaliers become benchable later, because neither of their stats go that high to become effective, and this mode is all about getting the upper hand with more Speed/Strengh/Skill.

-Arran is actually needed on the first chapters, he is very helpful on the first battles because his stats are above the enemy and equips Silver Lance. However, it’s clear he won’t make it to the half of the game, because at that point, most of our team is promoted and they surpass him. While this may be obvious, it’s still worth pointing it out because we can bench him on easier modes without a problem (but not this time).

-A lot of chapters, and specially at the beginning, are about taking a defensive stance rather than taking the initiative. This means, we can’t just charge at the enemy like before, we need a defensive formation then beat them on the next turn. And this is a big change compared to hard mode.

-We need to pick and build our avatar unit strategically considering stat caps, weapons and the fact this mode requires high Spd to survive and fight back correctly. I picked a Peg Knight which in turn promoted to Falcon Knight, and she quickly became an MVP. However, I believe Myrmidon, Mercenary and Fighter are all nice choices too.

-Silence staff doesn’t exist anymore and it’s replaced by a Recover staff on the chapter where it appeared. So, forget about spamming it at the Dragon’s altar and prepare a different strategy.

-It’s fully recommended to improve Tiki’s stats through boosters and the Drill Grounds. With the right investment she can destroy any dragon in just one round, which gives us the upper hand on the last maps.

-Reclassing makes more sense than ever and it succesfully increases some stats and solves problems. It’s recommended to change Ogma to Myrmidon because he gets more Spd/Skll, which means more quick criticals (we just lose the Axes, but he still has decent defense/HP).
Or we can reclass Palla to Paladin if there are many archers.

-To get the upper hand against Gharnef, you better give all Spirit Dusts and some Talismans to your best mage, don’t waste them or distribute them across the team.

-Hardin can’t be doubled by anyone, so I applied the same strategy from Hard and it worked like a charm: I equipped Palla with Brave Axe and helped her with Again staff. She gets the job done but you can switch her for your best axe fighter and they will prevail.

-Save at least 2 or 3 uses of Again staves for the last battle against Medeus. Or save at least 1 use of Hammerne to repair an Again staff. This is really needed because he can’t be doubled by anyone, and the Falchion is the only weapon that applies meaningful damage on him.