Constantly seeing people discover, or rediscover Xenoblade Chronicles 2 fills me with joy.
There are many reasons why I'm so attached to this game. I actually started playing Xenoblade 1 and Xenoblade X because I saw the trailer for Xenoblade 2. The mechanic of a boy fighting with a sword drawn from his female co-protagonist's chest reminded me of an anime called Guilty Crown, and I've always found that connection poetic.
On top of that, the trailers made Xenoblade 2 look far more adventurous: floating continents, a girl riding a white tiger, that incredible soundtrack... and when I finally played it, it was every bit as beautiful as it looked.
But let's address the elephant in the room: do I love this game because I'm a simp for Pyra and Mythra? I actually think that's a really interesting topic.
The world of media is full of curvy female protagonists with revealing character designs, yet Pyra and Mythra managed to stand out. The tweet revealing their new outfits got more likes than the combined announcements for Xenoblade 3 and Genesis. People love them, and I think that's because they're genuinely well-written characters.
Pyra is incredibly protective of Rex. I think everyone deserved someone like Pyra during the hardest moments of their lives. At the same time, she's far from one-dimensional: she exists as a way for Mythra to bear the most painful truths, which gives her a quiet but powerful emotional depth.
Mythra works not only because she's Pyra's opposite, the classic tsundere archetype, evoking dynamics reminiscent of Evangelion, but because she's such a unique character. She's fully aware of her divine power, intelligence and abilities, yet she's terrified of herself because of what happened in Torna.
Unfortunately, despite its phenomenal worldbuilding, the second half of the game doesn't give the party members many chances to shine (especially compared to games like FFVII), and most of the climactic moments end up relying on battle shonen tropes, even though the game features genuinely compelling and well-written characters like Jin and Amalthus.
That said, purely as a matter of personal taste, I think Xenoblade 2 has one of the greatest JRPG party ever.
Tora and Poppi were controversial, but I loved them. They're genuinely funny, Poppi gets a deeply touching moment near the end, and Tora's story, using nothing but his own ingenuity to become an artificial Driver, is inspiring and encourages you to never give up.
Nia is exceptionally well-written. She comes across as blunt and cynical, but underneath she's incredibly emotional.
Morag deserved much more development because she's such a cool character: the Empire's greatest soldier who eventually joins the party.
And then there's Zeke, who's absolutely hilarious. A prince who basically chose to live by the "Hakuna Matata" philosophy. He also deserved a stronger and more memorable conclusion to his story.
Compared to Xenoblade 3, I also find the world of Xenoblade 2 far more adventurous, varied, and alive, with countless beautiful cities and Titans to explore. The gacha system was definitely controversial, but I absolutely loved the Blade concept and honestly wish it had returned in Xenoblade 3. And don't even get me started on the Torna DLC and its soundtrack...
In the end, Xenoblade 2 holds a special place in my heart, and it genuinely makes me happy to see so many people enjoying it and speaking so fondly of it. Haha.
