Played Xenoblade Wii, then Xenoblade 3D, Xenoblade X, Project X Zone 2, Xenoblade 2 and most recently Xenoblade Definitive Edition.
Monolith Soft is my favourite developer. I enjoyed the Wii it was a good little console, but it would be fair to say that my interest in the Wii U, the Switch are directly tied to my experience playing the original Xenoblade.
It was an influential game on my tastes. The grand story, great battle system, genre defining soundtrack, memorable characters, a fully realised world to explore the length and breadth of, tightly choreographed cutscenes with excellent British voice acting. I remember watching the trailer on the Nintendo Wii channel over and over, the IGN review as well, I wanted this game and it lived up to my expectations.
3D was a good port, but ultimately a novelty and a New 3DS showpiece. I played about 80 hours but never got round to finishing it.
Xenoblade X I adore. Mechs are always cool and this game does mechs right. What other open world mech games are there? I can't think of any. While the main story didn't reach the highs of Xenoblade 1, there was a lot I enjoyed about the side content that was on offer. I sunk over 300 hours into this game and still didn't do everything. (It's also my favourite soundtrack of the Xenoblades, despite also being the funniest).
Project X Zone 2 is not very good. It's got the characters, the music, but the gameplay just isn't there. It's repetitive and each level takes an eon. I love strategy games, but for this one they needed to go back to the drawing board as there is very little fun to be had with the strategy elements. I intend to finish this some day, taking it very slowly.
Xenoblade 2 I like a lot. It has the best battle system in the series, with Torna the Golden Country being the absolute pinnacle of that. The story and the music I liked, but the game gets bogged down with some of the design choices. Quests, merc missions, gacha and field skills hurt the game for me, but I'm glad they at least tried something different. It's a great game and my most played game on Switch with 100's of hours, but my least favourite of the main 3.
Xenoblade Definitive Edition is my favourite game of all time. It is a remake with zero compromises. There is not one element that isn't the same or better than the original. That's rare for Nintendo and the industry as a whole. It's a technical marvel that Monolith Soft took this decade old game and not only ported it flawlessly, but re-examined every aspect of the game for ways they could make subtle improvements. After replaying it years later, my passion for this game is just as strong as when I first played on Wii. The visuals are a bigger jump than you typically expect with a port with added reflections, UI, new lighting effects and character models. It's night and day when you compare how Mechon look in the original vs definitive edition. The re-arranged music gives the soundtrack that extra oomph you never realised was missing, and if you want the old music you can change it back with the press of a menu option. The new quality of life features make the Wii and 3DS versions seem antiquated in comparison, and there's a whole new post game story?! Are you kidding me! I love this game and I'm glad that the definitive edition truly lives up to its name.
When will Xenoblade 3 be announced?
I'm feeling gullible and I want to believe these recent rumours, so I'm going to say that the announcement is imminent.
Do you want Monolith Soft to make games outside of the Xenoblade series?
Yes I would love that. Please be as creative as possible, but I hope that they continue making RPGs, as this is clearly their forte.
Have you played any of the Japan only titles?
No I haven't, I would like to though.