Xenoblade Chronicles is profoundly beautiful (series analysis)
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- Опубліковано 14 січ 2024
- Now that the entire klaus trilogy has wrapped within the xenoblade franchise, its time to take a look at just what made this saga so special over the years from a thematic perspective!
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I think something I genuinely love about Xenoblade is how despite the fact that everybody can interpret these scenes slightly differently, everybody can equally appreciate how well designed these games are.
There was rarely, if ever, a time during the trilogy where I wondered if the devs were crazy. Monolith knows how to cook, they've been doing it since 1999 after all.
So imma keep letting them cook, beyond the trilogy and well past their early passion projects.
Yea I agree, like I fully trust monolithsoft with whatever they wanna do next, whether a new xeno game or even a new IP!
"Life, and in term living, is so much more than validating yourself by invalidating others."
What a lesson.
I hope xenoblade and monoliths future xeno games become one of the huge jrpg series like final fantasy or dragon quest
That would be a sight to see lol I hope if the series ever does reach those heights we get a lot more official merch and collectibles!
Xenoblade is well on its way: the three numerical releases on Switch would all rank within the top 30 best-selling single sku releases among the combined ~120 Final Fantasy releases and 50 Dragon Quest releases.
I mean... They're pretty close already... Just going off of popularity and sales alone. And that's just the mainline Xenoblade games. Add Xenogears, Xenosaga, Xenoblade X... And whatever Monolith Soft is going to do in the future, they're flying up that ladder.
It has
@@_7thSage-9405It Is hard to me to think they can do games as good as they did with XC1, XC2 and Xc3.... Improve the gameplay Is easy, but making a universe as amazing as these games... Well, I'll have to wait, lets see If Monolithsoft will can surprise us again in the future!
I am so glad you mentioned how unfairly Pyra is treated by Mythra. It's one of the most interesting aspects of the characters and yet I have never heard anyone talk about it
I know right! The implications of her character are so underrated
In my opinion, it's not adressed because in those moments, they are, essentially the same person. You can say that she's treating herself unfairly, because she hates herself.
One of my personal headcanons with Xenoblade 2 is that after Pneuma reawakens in Chapter 7, Malos is actually ready to give up. From the question to Jin and the Brohug, up to the final conversation with Rex and the party just before the fight with Aion.
Basically, I'm 100% convinced if Jin had said "No" to the question when Malos asked him "Do you still want to do this?" Malos and the Torna crew would have immediately stop their hostilities. Not only that, but Rex, being the giant bleeding heart of kindness he is, would immediately forgive them, and probably find a quiet island in Leftheria for them to settle down undisturbed. And he'd easily convince Morag and Zeke to use their political influence to keep people away from them.
Heck, if that conversation with Jin at the Elysium elevator had gone just a little longer, they might have still been able to peacefully resolve it that way. Of course, then Amalthus has to come in and screws everything up.
Considering Malos's false bravado and bluster just before the Aion fight, he's done. I'm pretty sure the data he stole from Pyra/Mythra/Pneuma's core crystal to repair his own severed or dampened the influence Amalthus had on his core crystal enough that his nihilism and urge to wipe out humanity subsided. But at the point the party confronts him, the rest of Torna is dead, so rather than be the sole survivor, he forces himself to play the villain one last time, essentially committing "suicide by hero," so that if there is an afterlife for them, he could rejoin his team.
Wow that's actually a really cool headcanon I've never even thought of before!
I don't know if I'd take it that far... but Malos definitely matured as a person after finding Jin. After his defeat at Torna, he probably lost a good chunk of Amalthus's influence. I think what he lost there was Amalthus's inability to change his views. Malos did a little soul searching and found a family in his Torna group with Jin. It just happened at a bad time because Jin lost his way (thus reinforcing the cynical world view). Amalthus corrupted Malos and led to Jin hating the world... Malos could have reformed (and I think wanted to, making him look for the good guy who may have been able to redeem him) but he found a broken man that enabled (or even encouraged) his former goal (Jin was probably like, "you were right, bro, let's go f 'em up"). When Jin may have been opening up to Rex's view during the "I'm doing this for you speech", I think at that point Jin and Malos had this symbiotic "do it for my brother" relationship, but they never really communicated with one another that maybe it wasn't what they wanted. They didn't have a lot of time between them after Rex shook their belief, Amalthus's attack, and the end of the plan. (I think they stuck to it because it's what the other said they wanted.)
IDK, I'm still finding new aspects/insights to a game series that I absolutely adore and I love how masterfully crafted this story is.
The only bad thing about this video is that I will have to suppress the urge of sending it to all my friends who have never player a Xenoblade game eternally (because they probably never will).
I've tried my damn hardest but it got to the point where I was just constantly annoying them about it and I felt like I was doing more damage than good. I guess it's just not for everyone.
Even so this video reaffirmed pretty much every reason for why I love this series so much. Xenoblade goes above simply being an amazing series of games it's a fucking life changing experience.
Haha truth be told I've actually had a similar experience! I've tried to get all my irl friends into Xenoblade but none are really interested for the most part. but yea I agree this franchise is life changing for all the best reasons, glad you feel that way as well!
You're not alone dude, once you play XC1 (and also the others I guess), it becomes your life mission to convince others to play this beautiful series. But people... Idk, it's like most people are deaf and blind to true beauty.
I blame how a lot of people lost the ability to understand nuance... those are the kind of shallow people who take one look at anime and think it's childish cartoon bs. It also doesn't help our case that certain people with a huge following bash it for that anime style and/or ignore the deep and mature aspects of the story just because "sexy anime chick is too sexy to have a compelling character arc (obviously 🙄)" and/or "all anime fans are pervs (also 🙄)". IDK, it upsets me but I should let it go. After all, it's their loss.
@@Armament0fJustice Nah my friends like actual anime more than I do. They just didn't like the first 3-4 chapters of XC2 and that's fair.
If they played another game with less fan-service and more action first they might love the series rn. Obviously XC2 attracted a lot of people but it also turned a lot of people off from the series.
I got a friend to play XC1, but he went with easy mode steamrolling everything and not doing sidequests, which is fair, but you don't get the full experience in my view
...then again, he started it 2 weeks before a school year was starting, so...
To focus on the ending of XC2 for a bit. I can say I never knew an ending could make me feel a sadness so great, that it felt like that feeling of hope left me. Only to feel a happiness so overwhelming, that I cried tears of joy.
Rex, Pyra, and Mythra's reaction to that decision. It's such a true genuine human reaction. The girls want to live life to the fullest with the one that gave them so much. But to have the freedom to walk the path for Alrest's future in their own way, was another gift he gave them.
That's why I'm glad they got to live in the end. Cause that life alongside the good and the bad, amounted to something.
After seeing so many people completely whiff the thesis statement of Xenoblade3, it's nice to see someone at least tee things up. I've been severely disappointed by the inability of some to even gesture towards an understading of the narrative.
In conclusion... It's peak
A masterclass video! Hope it gets all the recognition it deserves!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed, I really tried to have this one be well put together lol
was listening to this while at college and man it almost made me actually cry reliving these moments I truly love this series with a passion and though it doesn’t get the recognition it deserves, it’ll be my favorite series for years to come
Xenoblade was a nonexistent franchise for me for the longest time, it’s thanks to Pyra and Mythra that I’m a fan of this franchise. Now Xenoblade has become one of my fav video game franchises of all time. Second only to Kingdom Hearts.
I love 2's story and the way it gives its concept is just beautiful
& I also very agree on the characters being static on 1 and that's something people sometimes don't understand.
Simple, yet complex, is probably the most effective way to describe XC1 I've heard so far. With the exception of Melia, most of the cast are just normal people living their lives at the beginning of the game, and as the story unfolds you see how they all come together by their own circumstances. It felt natural, and while the lack of depth in most of the cast is a reasonable criticism, I felt their base desires were enough to humanize them. Sharla losing her husband and having to move on, Reyn struggling with insecurity in relation to Shulk, Dunban wanting to protect the people he loves while also wrestling with the betrayal of close friends were all snippets of humanity that I thought were elevated by the screwed up world they lived in. Shulk is by far one of my favorite video game protagonists as his choice at the end of the game really stuck with me. Not only relinquishing the power of Godhood, but also committing himself to work through the messy future alongside his friends. It's not a perfectly peaceful resolution, yet Shulk continues to try to find a compromise even into the events of FR. It's a simple, yet beautiful story.
I haven't gotten to play through XC2 yet, but playing FR and watching videos on it has lit a fire to go play it eventually. It seems like a great expansion on the message of 1, and I really want to see the story of Rex for myself. Thanks for a fantastic video!
I played XC1 first, then now in 2024 I played XC2 and man.... That game is so damn good in my opnion, well, not everyone will have the same opnion as the mine, but I hope you will love It too!
XC1 and XC2 are both amazing in my opnion
@pedrobeckup456 I've seen the full story of 2 once when it first came out, so I know where it goes, but like I said, seeing Rex in Future Redeemed made me want to re-experience the story and jog my memory.
Not going to lie though, it's going to be TOUGH to overthrow XC1 for me. There's a lot I love about 1, but Shulk is just my favorite protagonist in gaming because of how much he changes throughout 1 and FR. I can just see a lot more of myself in him than in Rex, but that's no shade to him.
@@bugking1413 then you already experienced the best about XC2 😅
I agree, Shulk Is a better character and protagonist, but in XC2 I like the vilains more. But it dont mind, in the end of the day they were two amazing experiences!
@pedrobeckup456 Fair point lol. But I have a shit memory, and if it's anything like XC1, no matter how many times you see it, it still hits hard.
God this makes me wanna replay them all again. This is my favorite series and it's had such a huge impact and has helped me through hard times. Videos like these are some of my favorite on the internet. Just appreciating why something is great, and showing that love to the world. Xenoblade is a series that inspires me. I have so much passion for it and I wanna share it other people too. The characters, the writing, the world, themes and relationships, just so much. It's just so awesome and it impresses me that people can make stories so well thought out. I feel that movies nowadays kinda lack a lot of this creativity. Don't get me wrong there are some great ones out there but they don't hit you in the feels. They don't make you ask yourself questions about the world or about yourself. But something about video games, especially ones made in Japan, are just so rich with amazing storytelling. And since games can be much longer than movies, there is so much more room for development and they aren't limited. They are imagination. In fact, if you think about it, video games are one of the greatest ways to connect to the minds of the creators, because you are playing a game made from their imagination. Their thoughts, feelings, experiences, molded into an interactive experience. Sharing something like that is really cool. You get to experience another person's imagination at first hand, and that's fucking awesome. This was kinda just a vent but I love this series so much, and I hope that the next entry or arc or whatever carries the same weight, passion and love that this trilogy had. You can tell the people genuinely really really cared about what they were making, the series brimming with character as well as depth. Anyways, I'm a college student with things to do but good video! Later
Yea I completely agree! Games as a medium allow the player to engage with a body of work in a much more intimate manner sometimes, it's awesome when that engagement leads to an experience that genuinely means something to you like with xenoblade
Let me just point out that, from the Klaus arc, Future connect is the first game to actually feature a fully seamless world, and that would happen again only years later on Future Redeemed. Also, it was the game that started adding even more ideias to push exploration, such as finding the Nopon, concepts that would have a important whole later on in 3 and Future Redeemed. Future connect also delivers a higher fraction of important sidequests (unlike 1 base game...). Finally, it is the game that balanced better post game content to not force massive amounts of "grind". The introduced quiet moments were a big step up for the franchise as well. Story wise, the fog beasts are important to Alpha. Its story may not hold super weight for the franchise, but gameplay wise it does.
Those are all good points! Even though it's last on my personal rankings, I still appreciate FC for what you described, and I'm just happy we started getting these extra stories tied to the base games at all lol
Great video. You made some points that were very cool that I never noticed, like Mythra’s awakening in chapter 3 has her remain stationary because she’s spent 500 years hating her power so she tries to be as precise and calculating as possible. Good job pointing that out
Thanks! Yea it's an underrated little detail that really adds depth to how heavyily torna's events affected her
Damn dude, this was emotionally impressive to watch and listen to. No joke, I've been meaning to put together a video detailing the series' themes and philosophy as such, but it looks like you beat me to it, and you've done one hell of a perfect job in doing so. I'd still like to make a video of similarity, but may have to approach the concept differently, so I hope you don't mind! Great work, I love Xenoblade so much, this was awesome ❤️
Thanks, I'm really glad it resonated with you! And I'm sure you'll make a great vid of your own as well!
@@philosophyofanintrovert3935 Thank you my dude, also letting you know I subbed! Gonna have to check out more of your Xenoblade content 👏
7:23
One of those moments that just make you feeling "Damn. Peak writing."
I started with 2 so I'm sure i have a bias but i loved ypur analysis and love for 2. I adore the whole trilogy but 2 just is a core game for me
Yea I know what you mean, it's crazy cause even just working on that part of the vid made me appreciate 2 even more than I already did
This video, genuinely spoke to me. The sheer amount of effort put into the writing, and editing that provided context for said script, is phenomenal. It was so refreshing to see a video breaking down the philosophies, and ESPECIALLY symbolism regarding the series as a whole, and how it merges together. Probably one of the best videos i have ever seen. I never donate to UA-camrs, not even my favourite one. But if I could donate towards this channel. I would've done it already. Can't wait to see more.
Oh nice! I'm happy the vid resonated with you 😃 and yea I tried my best to make this one an in depth look at everything, although I feel like theres even more layers of the series I could've expanded on, but I'm happy with how it came out! I don't know anything about donations, but I really appreciate the sentiment! 😅
I liked your analysis and comments. I think you got the basic ideas pretty well down. I loved all of the games, but my favorite was XC2. I felt that it depicted so well the idea that I have felt for so long, that the world is f'd up and feels hopeless, and I resonated with Pyra/Mythra's expression of the idea "I'm just a burden and cause more harm than good, and I just want to be allowed to disappear". Though, I resonated with so many more than just them. But I loved that the game gave a spin towards optimism and left me feeling that it life is worth more of a try, though it may be hard, and the results aren't going to always be what I expect.
The scene of Lora's passing and her words to Jin that I paraphrase "I wasn't afraid to die, but now that death approaches, I don't want to die. I can't stand the thought that you will forget me" were like a knife to my heart that drove me into tears. I rarely ever cry, but that scene expressed my heart in words that I had felt for long but never materialized. That caused me to restructure my life and my way of thinking and goals in a way that sent shockwaves throughout the years since. I can't express how much of an impact it had on me...
XC3 hit me at the perfect time as I was struggling with moving on from situations I'd put myself into, holding onto ideas that I felt that I needed, fearing change because of its inherent risks. XC3 was helpful to me to put it into perspective that trying to cling to the "good old days" puts the present and the future in jeopardy and that one needs to embrace change and move forward anyway.
The games are beautiful works of art as far as visuals, gameplay, music, characters and more. The stories and themes just make them even more incredible and I think that more people should play them. They have life-changing potential.
This video reminded me of much I love the Xenoblade universe, again. You can argue about what titles have the most depth and about characters etc. but you can’t deny how much care went into crafting it. Every single game including the DLCs, you never not have that sense of wonder. Even the places you recognise from 1 and 2 in the 3rd game.
Man you could write whole essays about these games. Thank you for this video, it’s great!
Ive managed to convince my brother to play Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
Edit: i also 100% agree with your analysis on malos during the end fight. It really feels like malos is only fighting to see if rex's view and ambition are strong enough to change the world.
This was a great video man you understand the story and themes very well indeed! The thing I love about Xenos stories is the nuance, detail, and subtlety they can have. I think the reason why Pyra and Mythra are able to manifest with their own bodies is because by the end of the game, Rex helped them love themselves and the world. This helped make Pyra and Mythra become not so co-dependent on each other and thus they were able to separate. Similar to that, at the end of Future Redeemed you can see Alrest and Bionis fuse at the end which I think was only possible due to the events that took place in Aionios. The party in the base game bringing Keves, Agnes, and the city people together to fight against Moebius lets them see that they aren't so different and realize the desire to live in harmony with each other and strive towards an uncertain future together. In changing everybody's minds in Aionis the Xeno 3 cast allowed the worlds to come together and fuse. This time without destroying each other. Achieving this was allowing them to meet again in the future even if they don't really remember knowing each other. Them bringing the two worlds together at the end is very beautifully poetic because it fits with the theme of ouroboros. The worlds fuse together just like the main cast do and the world becomes whole again like before Klaus split it apart bringing everything full circle just like the symbol of ouroboros itself.
Beautiful video! Xenoblade is a series that means so much to me. It got me through some hard times as well. I’m glad others see the magic I see in it.
Such a fantastic video. This series is written with so much passion.
This series has such a grip on my heart, i can't avoid tearing up just from the music. I feel like a dunce almost crying watching an analysis video like this 😅
Future Connected would have been like twice as good if we got Tyrea as a party member. Part of me wonders if there was some intention to given that Future Connected was more or less made because they had extra time.
This video really hit. You explained so many things super well! I had to stop and pause the video quite a few times to really wrap my head around things and make connections with what you were saying, to make it all make sense in my brain. There were some topics you covered here that no one else in the community really talks about all that often, and I was glad to hear you speak on them. 🤌🏼🫶🏼 Also the composers of this series’ music are so rude bc I also kept having to rewind for another reason, that being me getting lost in the sauce with all the banger music and forgetting to pay attention lol
This was an amazing video, I'm glad it got recommended to me.
I really love this trilogy as a whole, with 2 being my fiest, I've never would've guess it was going to introduce me to one of my favorite series and games.
It is videos like this that make me happy to be a xenoblade fan. I loved your deep dive analysis and comparing this video to your video about Xenoblade 3 being much deeper it is clear to see you have improved a lot of a content creator.
What an amazing video, you really brought up many thing I've never thought about the series. Congrats man!
You reignited my love of XC series again. Thank you for the video.
That's great to hear! I'm glad it resonated with you!
Why this video (and by extension, this channel) has this few views relative to the quality of analysis on display here is beyond my understanding. I hope you know how valuable videos like these are to fans like me starving while we wait for whatever MonolithSoft makes next. Amazing video! 🙏🙏🙏
This is an amazing video! Well structured, well interpreted and a nice voice to listen to. Keep up the good work!!👌
I'm watching this for the second time since it initially came out; if I could give you more than one like, I would.
you put things and concepts i've thought in my head but have never been able to put into words. absolutely amazing video thank you for articulating it all for me. Xenoblade 1 is my favorite
That's awesome to hear! The series is important to me too, glad you got something out of it 🙂
AMAZING analysis!!! Genuinely, so much thanks for creating this! 🥰
Incredible video.
This series has absorbed literally 10's of thousands of hours of my life ever since i watched Chuggaconroy's let's play of XC1 8 to 10 years ago.
There are specific things i'd like to comment about this vid, but they are so many, and i don't think it's worth either of our time.
I'm immensely excited to see, hear, watch and play whatever Monolith Soft has planned for the future. The Xeno-series is one of the most captivating and interesting success-stories within gaming and art in general. We are all incomprehensibly blessed, or i guess 'lucky', to even be playing these games.
This series is a canon event for me
I've always had a particular feeling and emotional resonance with Xenoblade after i got hooked by X on the Wii-U (now i've played the trilogy and DLCs as well). I could never quite put my finger on it. Profoundly beautiful is the perfect way to describe how i feel. Love it
Amazing work dude. You've earned a subscriber and I hope to see the channel grow!
I've always felt that Pyra and Mythra surviving the ending was much stronger writing than detractors paint it as. The themes of the game are about not being dragged down by the horrors of the past but finding the strength to carry on and create a better world even as it's seemingly decaying around you. Making the two explicitly suicidal characters die in a heroic sacrifice with that in mind is just completely thematically incoherent compared to going "sometimes, things actually do work out for the best if you hold on to hope and never stop trying." It's very shonen but so is the entire genre, and it works (especially since 2 is the most explicit coming-of-age story of the series)
That's interesting cause initially I thought the same during my first playthrough! But after thinking on it, I feel like its not so much the fact that they die thats important, but rather their WILLINGNESS to die not out of despair anymore, but for the sake of everyone who helped them make peace with their angst and reach that point of self actualization. That initial mission of saving everyone back in torna is something that mythra (and arguably Adam) failed in because of her unresolved issues. So to bring it full circle by the end and have her use an even greater degree of power with such assurance that it's the right decision this time, I think is really good writing. Also if I remember correctly, someone who worked on the game said once that they added their revival at the end cause a happy ending was admittedly warranted (paraphrasing lol) so I think everything at the end of the game fits in the grand scheme of things
Gran análisis. Una carta de amor a la saga
This is my new favorite video
Finally finished Future Redeemed and very happy to have watched this video. Thanks for make
This is one of the best analysis videos I've watched! You pointed out a lot of interesting interpretations that I'd never really thought of. It's amazing how there are so many layers to this series, and I feel like I'm always learning or realizing something new about the themes, ideas, characters, lore, etc. I completely agree with the sentiment of applying the themes and ideas presented in the series to real life. I feel like this series changed me for the better in many ways. It got me interested in philosophy and psychology and changed the way I think a bit as well. I love all 3 games very dearly as well as the wider Xeno series (Xenogears and Xenosaga), but I think 3 is probably my favorite. Similarly to what you said about 2 for you, 3 came along at the right point in my life where it's themes and story resonated deeply. Guernica's words "What do you all think you're doing? Why the fighting?" really hit me and got me thinking what with all the division we see these days in the real world. And seeing Keves and Agnus come together in unity in the end was beautiful and fills me with a sense of hope for peace and understanding to arise one day in the real world. They learned to put their differences aside and help one another to survive, former enemies became allies and friends. And that theme of forgiving your enemies that we see throughout the series with Shulk and Egil in 1, with Rex, Jin, and Malos in 2, and that is embodied in 3, resonates deeply with me. 3 also made me value life and freedom a lot more than I did prior to playing it as well. The scene where the party are in the City's maternal ward and get to see a newborn baby for the first time made the idea of birth and life, things we often take for granted, feel very magical I guess you could say. And the game shows the importance of "the freedom to choose" as Noah puts it in how characters like N, M, Joran, and Shania were affected by lack of choice. As Noah said in his side story, "And yet...lack of choice is enough to break a person. They struggle, suffer, clawing their way through endless fog. A world without choice...that's wrong!" I think the takeaway from the series, as this is kind of the message that Future Redeemed ends with, is that there will always be those who try to make the world a better place. Shulk and Rex pass the torch on to Matthew, Na'el, Nikol, Glimmer, Panacea, and Linka. And Matthew tells N that "if he can't, someone else will down the line", and that perhaps that person may be N himself (which of course essentially does end up being the case). So we should do our part trying to make the world a better place, because even if it doesn't happen in our lifetimes, someone may eventually create true world peace down the line. The series as a whole is about hope for a better future, and passing the torch on to others who will take our place when we're gone. And I think that's the takeaway message that the Klaus arc ended on.
Very well said! And same here, this series has really affected me as a person and helped me grow, along with my interest in philosophy and overall thought disciplines in general!
3 is my favorite Xenoblade of all time , It’s a masterpiece , What’s yours guys?
Personally it’s between 1 and 3. 2 is great as well, but nothing tops the others for me. X is amazing, it would’ve been my fav if it had a good main story
This is such a good video
Rex is really and interesting protagonist he is nearly always upbeat and it sort of makes one almost not notice your playing in a very dark and doomed world just because of his attitudea nd the way he drags all these complete characters who are all heroes in their own right forward is great and i do include everyone's favourite pev nopon in the list of heroes as he try's so hard
thank you i enjoyed this
First 10 seconds and I already know you cooked. You've got a new subscriber, Greetings from Germany!
Lol thanks! Glad you enjoyed!
Holy crap man this was beautiful. Had me kinda tearful at the end lol
Lol I'm really glad you liked it!
I’ve played these games many times over now, and by your third time through, you start to lose sight of the fact that between the unhinged battle banter, menu surfing, and farming 600 collectibles to make all those damn rice balls, there’s a deep and heartfelt story about picking up the pieces of something broken to remake it better, accepting that what you built won’t last forever either, and trusting that the next person can do the same.
RIP X
14:03 “smash bros" lololol. i mean, you can't deny that every nintendo owner should have smash.
Thank you for making this video 1:05:45
As someone who wanted to share this game and the emotions it brings with it.. well after some time I just gave up on selling it to my friends. Where I'm from I think every game that is "too anime" sadly won't get a fair chance.
BUT I recently got my boyfriend to play it. With great success. He played through the first game and is now near the end of the second.
One of my best memory came from this. We cried together and holded hands during the later cutscenes. Watching the battle and dialogues play out.
We both have to deal with depression on a daily basis and could really connect with pyra/mythra and rex in many ways.
It was therapeutic, simply reflecing.. on life an what it means to be human.
As you said. Xenoblade is not just a game franchise. It is an experience that I'll keep close to my heart forever
That's amazing to hear! I'm so glad you guys got such a meaningful experience out of the games, I totally agree that it's therapeutic in the best ways
it's also criminally underrated! even after being rerelased twice as well as getting some follow up games, xenoblade chronicles STILL remains not as talked about or popular as some of nintendo's other trending IP's such as super mario bros and animal crossing...at least in America i'm willing to bet that xenoblade chronicles is quite mainstream in Japan and England!
One thing I want to add is that N likely never had to end the city, nor did he want to. His goal was killing Ontos, but Ghondor jumping in and the whole situation ending in the city being decimated is what caused him to hide his mental breakdown behind the persona of a villain. When M appears in the aftermath of the burning city N doesn't try to justify anything. He just accepts that it was his fault. And he copes with that guilt by trying to be someone who wanted this. He became a villain to cope with the fact that he couldnt be a hero, to simplify things.
All I want from this series now is a port of X...
An interesting thing I've found about the series is how each game in the series is based on the main character having access to the sword of one of the trinity processor cores- Ontos for Shulk, Pneuma for Rex and very, very heavily hinted Logos for Noah by the end of 3, and this comes with another trinity theme, namely the Trimurti of Hinduism with Ontos acting as preservation, Pneuma as Creation and Logos as Destruction (Shulk is fighting to preseve the people he loves in the face of destruction and rebirth, Rex is working to create a better world in the face of a slowly dying one, and Noah is fighting to tear down a brutally oppressive and dismal regime). I'm pretty sure it's unintentional but I think it's a valid lens to view things in. Plus it's kinda funny to think of Shulk as Nerd Kalki
Though Vishnu is the member of the Trimurti that is most openly androgynous (he's got a feminine form unlike Shiva who usually has to be a fusion with his wife Pavarti to make Ardha, and the series has flirted with this idea since the mythological Aion is derived from a similar idea) which explains Alvis' whole deal in Future Redeemed so at the very least they picked up on a very strong strain of Indo-European collective unconciousness- I'll spare you the long rant on the role of appropriated Hinduism in occult belief, especially in Theosophy.
That's interesting! Intentional or not it seems to have worked. But yea I never knew about any of that so thanks for sharing!
Some other things I’d sprinkle in randomly: Klaus is the world’s Demiurge- the false and imperfect god born of shallow intent and will. When he unleashed the Conduit’s power, he did so because he was tired of strife and endless war. He was also tired of human being’s ignoble actions to constantly conspire against one another. The version of himself that became Zanza wanted to crown himself King.
Also, I agree that I don’t think the XB games (and the like) are really anti-religion. They’re about not fully trusting any institution or organization with full control over self-agency.
Also need to research how the Magnus Opus comes into play here
I think you'll find a lot of Japanese jrpg stories have this philosophy in one way or another. It's a long list if I tried naming every jrpg that ends with the final boss being a reality warping deity. Japan has a history of taking aspects of religions here and there that they agree with (much like the Roman empire), so they culturally have an aversion to organized religion. I'm personally of the same mind because I see why different cultures are valid in believing their own religion, I think that to believe in something is very personal (that we don't have complete control over, so we can't just agree 100% with what is told to us regardless of how much we want to), and that religions are run by and dependent on flawed people (who don't have the full proper interpretation of the religion to teach, regardless of their intentions). This extends to any one organization... we're just people; with all the flaws and beauty that comes with it.
@@Armament0fJustice Beautifully writ. I concur largely that organized religion certainly has played a substantial role in the course of shaping cultures, governments, and the like; however, I would extend that further to even say that the very nature of any institution to subject control over another group of people for a broader purpose ought to be criticized, questioned, and resisted if needs must.
I think Japan certainly rejected Abrahamic faiths by and large but were open to the dharmic faiths to some degree. Irrespective of their stance with religion, I would argue Japan’s collectivist government imposing control (in a sort of culling fashion) on the population remains a greater problem to one’s self agency. I find this to be the true locus of most of these JRPGs because organized religion really never took root in Japan as it did in other places.
Sorry, I couldn't understand anything you said, too busy listening to the god tier music
Guess I'll have to rewatch this video then!
27:14 I think that Addam sealing Pyra/Mythra away is unambiguously the wrong decision. Generations pass after he does, and things only get worse: Amalthus becomes Praetor and consolidates power, Malos begins to recruit the members of Torna, and the titans only further waste away. But, can you really blame either Addam or Pyra? Undoubtedly, both are gunshy about using the power of the Aegis after what happened to Torna. Addam himself apparently resigns himself to founding a small village as far away from the major political players as possible. Though not explored directly, it's just more depth to the tragedy of The Golden Country.
Yea I agree, like you could very much argue adams decision was wrong, but given everything that happens its also understandable
I believe Xenoblade presents conflicting ideologies that live in the minds of all human beings. As you said: "What is the proper way to move forward in life?" To navigate in this existance?
From what I've learned in my short time, it's not about adopting any particular system or philosophy, but leveraging your intelligence to respond consciously to all the situations life throws at you. Beyond good and evil. And realize that the cyclical nature of physical reality is meant to be transcended, and one can choose whether that happens in an instant or takes a millenia. I believe it's what's referred to as "Nirvana."
Yes humanity may take eons to achieve this in the cycle, but nothing stops an individual from transcending at any point in time. Aside from ones own unwillingness and ignorance.
I'm under the belief that if Monolith ever remade Xenosaga Trilogy or Xenogears, it would sell well
What is the theme playing at 46:08 i know its one of the off seer themes but there are so many
It's a track called 'Feelings Upon This Melody' Hope that helps!
@philosophyofanintrovert3935 got it thank you very much mate, i also subbed loved the video
@@philosophyofanintrovert3935 what is song at start?
Hey brother. I'm a philosophy-focused video game analyst myself and I loved your previous work and this one is also fantastic. I've posted my own XC3 analysis a few hours ago. I'd love to get your thoughts on it as a fellow XC fan like me :) Cheers!
Hey thanks, glad you enjoyed! I watched your xc vid and thats cool you're making dedicated vids for each chapter! Very ambitious as theres tons of room to make connections, and nice that you connect your enjoyment to other stuff like eldin ring and physics 👍
@@philosophyofanintrovert3935 My 1st chapter analysis which is on the channel can also be interesting to you as I explored not just concepts like homecoming etc but the game design philosophy of XC3, what world building is and why it feels different in XC3. Also my background with XC1 and XC2 and how much I love those games. If you have the time to watch it, I'd love to get your thoughts on it. I also want to check out your 1st book but I guess the links are no longer providing the free trial altho it has written it is continuing until Jan 31st of 2024?
Man, you should really check out Xenogears and Xenosaga if you haven't already
N, you are gonna carry that weight.
gnosticism mentioned we are so back (miang gang)
For me it's a funny story. I rented the Wii version vrom a rental store but i hated it because the controls where atrocious (yes i played with the wii mote, not an controller) and it was sorta one of my first "traditional" RPG. When i grew older Nintendo luckily released the New 3DS version and that got me slightly hoocked just for X to really reel me in and now got me stuck (please monolith, i need X2, i desperately need a good Mecha game again 🥺)
Anyway, it's funny if we think about the fact how closely Xenoblade slipped into obscurity for westerners as Nintendo originally never intended to release them here and only got swayed after fans uprose and showed them that there was intrest. I also think that sets a very nice picture in general.
I just love xenoblade :3
what song does the video start with?
The track is "Agniratha, Mechonis Capitol" from XC1, hope that helps!
@@philosophyofanintrovert3935 thank you!!!
26:45
OH MY GOD, THANK YOU. The fact that Pyra and Mythra *never once* addressed how Mythra treated Pyra is utterly insane to me. Its like Pyra, as a character, only existed to be Mythra's character development and never have a chance to actually be her own character independentof Mythra. Something the narrative actively tried to do.
This all being said, while I have complete respect now for the parts of Xenoblade 2 and 3 that were good... ultimately I personally just didn't care about the characters or their struggles. In 2, the actions of the important cast just didn't play on me like they did on everyone else. I don't like Mythra or Pyra, Jin has been done better by other characters, and Malos I just didn't really enjoy. Then in Xenoblade 3 I just... didn't care about the main cast. From beginning to end... I found them boring. I did not panic for Mio in the one scene (yall know which one) because I didn't think they had the guts to follow through. Ultimately, what I thought was going to happen did happen and the stakes were lowered to me. It made me think "this is a story which does not make me care about its characters because nothing truly bad is allowed to happen to them." They just chicken out at the last moment.
Regardless of how accurate my view is, I still find respect for what the story actually intended. For me personally, the story just wasn't entertaining enough for me to care.
Honestly that's a very fair and respectable perspective I can see some having, so thanks for sharing! Hopefully the next xeno game has new characters that resonate better for you!
It was smash bros lmao 💀 same bro same
I was so mad at the scene where Pneuma "died". Exactly the same, prancing around my room, just mad. I even thought of taking out the cartridge and crushing it. What stopped was that it wasn't my cartridge, I was borrowing the game back then.
KingK is that you?
i find that most people prasing this series praise it for its story, not for its battle mechanics or other game mechanics.
its playable, but still not much enjoyable compare to other well made turn-based rpg, or real-time rpg. the gameplay of this series is the biggest huddle for newcomers.
Oh I definitely think the gameplay across the series is worth praising, for me theres a ton of intricacies even though I'm not an expert on combat or anything. Xc1 is simple enough for a good time, xc2 struggles w/ clarity but it can get crazy in the best way, and I think by the time you get to xc3, gameplay is very new user friendly while also getting crazy depending on how you experiment. Though ultimately a lot of it comes down to subjective tastes for what you want in your rpgs, like turn based and other real time modes can give a different experience for a different kind of person at the end of the day
1:00:19 no shit 🤣
XB1: The freedom to choose vs a choice being made for you by a god.
XB2: The freedom to choose vs nihilism and stillness.
XB3: The freedom to choose vs the forever now repeated endlessly.
For god so loved the world he gaved his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have enteral life John 3:16
Yep! This franchise is so beautiful. Xenoblade DE, X, 2... okay, maybe not 3, because that one is selectively cel shaded and hideous. But DE, X and 2 are wonderful!
Xenoblade 2 was a disappointment to me, but besides that I love this series! There are problems with them, but they are incredibly thought provoking
Yea theres many layers you can cite and go deep into that I didn't even mention!
No it’s not it’s vastly inferior to Xebogears, Xenosaga, and XBCX. This video is a testament to why insecure gamers are the worst thing in the industry.
it’s an absolute travesty that people proclaiming to be Xenoblade fans make these videos leaving out an entire game. there are 4 Xenoblade games, get it in your heads people. instead of forgetting by far the best one, try ditching the dumpster fire that’s dragging the series down (XC2)
You have a Xenoblade 1 icon, it’s clear that you’re an insecure and thoughtless fanboy who only likes the series for its outward image of “maturity”
Xenoblade X is nothing like the main trilogy and 2 is more intrinsically linked to 1 and 3's messages on top of worldbuilding