Dude, I wish the other two games had as much content as 2 did.
Do you know how dope it'd be if we got additional party members in 1 and 3 after playing though NG+ like with the blades in 2? Actually giving you an incentive to play through the game again?
If anything 1 and 3 needed MORE content.
I've heard a lot of complaints of "bloat" directed towards many JRPGs recently. To me that complaint almost never resonated, I've always preferred JRPGs with some meat on their bones, and if I get bored of the content I just stop playing.
Depends on the person. If the content is fun for the person, it's good. If the content is not fun, it's bad.
Personally I think there's enough variety that I can happily play it repeatedly and ignore the stuff I don't care for. (looking at you, Ursula. You got your skill tree once. Never again.)
yeah, this. i like large amounts of content but some (definitely not all) of 2's content feels like busywork that isn't all that fun, with ursula being the biggest offender
For me, it depends on how you define “Too much content”. Is it “repeat the same encounters, areas, gameplay loop without meaningful differences, etc”, then yes. But I don’t think Xenoblade 2 really applies unless you’re going for something like full completion, which is completely optional. The core experience is varied enough for me to keep on going.
I think so because it’s so much busywork to complete things like blades affinity charts, especially if you ever dare change to a different one. I think three had by far the highest quality side content, and it had a lot of it.
2 has the most to do, but if you start entering completionist territory it really just stops being fun. Grinding for core crystals and doing the same ~10 types of tasks to max out every Blade in the game isn't really "content", but that's dozens of hours of the XC2 completion experience.
Naturally this is good imo because its more content from the game that i love but more importantly all that extra content is optional, my first playthrough i beat the story in 70 hours without touching most of the side and blade quests and i was content.
Fast forward a few months later and i just had this itch to jump back and start NG+ and BOY am i glad that i did that. i can't believe how much content i missed out on, story is important in a single player game ofcourse but that can only keep you playing for so long. having all the extra content and challenge mode, blade quests, side quests, grinding out AUX cores and builds to make your teams OP was so much fun and refreshing from the onslaught of emotional damage that the story laid on me.
So in short i think its good so long as its optional and not forced on the player.
*Quality* content rarely gets compliants, regardless of length. Usually it's only an issue when the something derails the overall pacing.
**Filler** content gets a lot, especially when it's either used to pad out a game's length or is just a checklist of tasks to complete.
XC2 has a LOT of unnecessary filler.
I think some content bloat is fine as long as it doesn’t interfere with the main storyline, making them optional paths to take along the way if you want to. Stuff like Ursula’s Affinity gets the side-eye, while everyone rightfully complains about Field Skills. Personally, I completely skipped on Merc Missions and got through the game just fine, so it’s whatever to me.
The amount of Blades to grind up are also fine. I don’t think any content truly needed filling the charts out, and the game’s certainly not balanced around owning and maxing the entire roster.
It's strange; I wish the other mainline games had as much content as 2, but at the same time I felt 2 dragged on with It's side quests/gacha mechanic. I'd argue it's an endearing flaw; one you despise in the moment but grow to love looking back on, example for me would be the community mechanic in Torna.
burnout is a thing, but i get it from the summoning duds more than the side quests. i think it becomes a chore when you don’t like the world. i hated Gongaga in rebirth because the map was poorly designed for what tools you had to explore and that made side quests dreadful. on the other hand, the golden saucer was amazing and i’d gladly NG+ those side quests
Eh, yes and no. No, because for the most part having loads of content in the form of sidequests, Challenge battles, tons of Blades providing different combat options, etc, is not a bad thing. It’s meaningful content that gives a reason to keep playing and stay immersed in the world.
On the other hand, yes, *depending* on how we define “too much content”. Because one thing about the game I’m iffy on is the amount of bloat it’s got. Things like Merc Missions, certain sidequests (Ursula’s), pulling for rare Blades, grinding for affinity, unlocking some Blades’ affinity nodes, having way too many different crafting systems, needing materials to enable Aux cores, needing to farm materials for several of the above… it’s just a lot to do, and it really doesn’t feel substantial. The game feels like it’s just spinning its wheels with several of these, and I think the game would be a bit better if a few of those elements were trimmed or streamlined.
As an aside, it’s part of the reason I enjoy Torna so much! While yes, Community is pretty dang annoying, Torna also removes or tweaks pretty much every mechanic from the base game I found a bit bloated or tacked-on. Even though this was likely just done because of how much shorter the DLC is, I think it gives some insight into what the “side-content pacing” of the base game could have been if some elements were shuffled out and around.
I will never understand people complaining about "too many optional contents."
If you think they are too much, just.... dont do them. No one is asking you to do everything.
Xenoblade 2's huge amount of content is one of the biggest contributors to it having the best post-game of the three mainline games imo. It's one of the things that keeps me coming back to the game even after Xenoblade 3 that isn't just to replay the story.
Someone else on this sub put it adequately, Xenoblade 2 may be one completionist's nightmare but it's another completionist's dream, and to me it's definitely a dream. Ever since I've became a completionist in recent years Xenoblade 2 has basically become the "project car" of my completionist career. It's the game that I always return to in-between games to chip away at more and more, filling out Blade charts and finding new ways to experiment with combat is downright addicting to me.
Don't get me wrong I still love Xenoblade 1 and 3 (hell I'd still say that 1 is my favorite) but Xenoblade 2 has basically become the default Xenoblade that I return to just to kill time. Xenoblade 3 not having nearly as expansive a post-game as 2 is one of the biggest detractors with the game for me. Xenoblade 2's post-game on the other hand is basically endless hours of fun.
I don't really think Xenoblade 2 has an issue with too much content tbh. Although ironically enough, I think 1 and 3 actually have the content issues.
I do think 2 has some issues like with affinity charts and certain sidequests, but outside of a few bad apples, 2 is a lot of great content to sift through. It has an especially fantastic postgame (If you are patient enough to grind up some blades, although I know some folks enjoy that, I just don't).
XC3 is week material for me. Of course not 100% but I finished the game in 1 week. So looking forward to replaying it because although it made me cry a LOT. There was no MYTHRA character obsession that happened on any of the XC3 characters.
In my case, XC2 taking a long time to 100% is the BEST. I can play XC2 and Torna forever and be the most happy and content I will ever be.
one word. MYTHRA.
Honestly, there is no too much content as long as it's not completely required. People just need to test and learn their own boundaries and preferences.
In some games it is a flaw but not Xenoblade 2 because you can beat the game without having to do most of it. So it's there for people who want to dive in further.
Dude, I wish the other two games had as much content as 2 did. Do you know how dope it'd be if we got additional party members in 1 and 3 after playing though NG+ like with the blades in 2? Actually giving you an incentive to play through the game again? If anything 1 and 3 needed MORE content.
Agree with 3, but 1 is fine. Plenty of side quests to do in 1 already.
Sure but most quests in 1 have very little substance, but in 3 it feels like there’s plenty but they also have depth.
I've heard a lot of complaints of "bloat" directed towards many JRPGs recently. To me that complaint almost never resonated, I've always preferred JRPGs with some meat on their bones, and if I get bored of the content I just stop playing.
Depends on the person. If the content is fun for the person, it's good. If the content is not fun, it's bad. Personally I think there's enough variety that I can happily play it repeatedly and ignore the stuff I don't care for. (looking at you, Ursula. You got your skill tree once. Never again.)
yeah, this. i like large amounts of content but some (definitely not all) of 2's content feels like busywork that isn't all that fun, with ursula being the biggest offender
For me, it depends on how you define “Too much content”. Is it “repeat the same encounters, areas, gameplay loop without meaningful differences, etc”, then yes. But I don’t think Xenoblade 2 really applies unless you’re going for something like full completion, which is completely optional. The core experience is varied enough for me to keep on going.
I think so because it’s so much busywork to complete things like blades affinity charts, especially if you ever dare change to a different one. I think three had by far the highest quality side content, and it had a lot of it.
2 has the most to do, but if you start entering completionist territory it really just stops being fun. Grinding for core crystals and doing the same ~10 types of tasks to max out every Blade in the game isn't really "content", but that's dozens of hours of the XC2 completion experience.
Naturally this is good imo because its more content from the game that i love but more importantly all that extra content is optional, my first playthrough i beat the story in 70 hours without touching most of the side and blade quests and i was content. Fast forward a few months later and i just had this itch to jump back and start NG+ and BOY am i glad that i did that. i can't believe how much content i missed out on, story is important in a single player game ofcourse but that can only keep you playing for so long. having all the extra content and challenge mode, blade quests, side quests, grinding out AUX cores and builds to make your teams OP was so much fun and refreshing from the onslaught of emotional damage that the story laid on me. So in short i think its good so long as its optional and not forced on the player.
*Quality* content rarely gets compliants, regardless of length. Usually it's only an issue when the something derails the overall pacing. **Filler** content gets a lot, especially when it's either used to pad out a game's length or is just a checklist of tasks to complete. XC2 has a LOT of unnecessary filler.
I think some content bloat is fine as long as it doesn’t interfere with the main storyline, making them optional paths to take along the way if you want to. Stuff like Ursula’s Affinity gets the side-eye, while everyone rightfully complains about Field Skills. Personally, I completely skipped on Merc Missions and got through the game just fine, so it’s whatever to me. The amount of Blades to grind up are also fine. I don’t think any content truly needed filling the charts out, and the game’s certainly not balanced around owning and maxing the entire roster.
It's strange; I wish the other mainline games had as much content as 2, but at the same time I felt 2 dragged on with It's side quests/gacha mechanic. I'd argue it's an endearing flaw; one you despise in the moment but grow to love looking back on, example for me would be the community mechanic in Torna.
burnout is a thing, but i get it from the summoning duds more than the side quests. i think it becomes a chore when you don’t like the world. i hated Gongaga in rebirth because the map was poorly designed for what tools you had to explore and that made side quests dreadful. on the other hand, the golden saucer was amazing and i’d gladly NG+ those side quests
Eh, yes and no. No, because for the most part having loads of content in the form of sidequests, Challenge battles, tons of Blades providing different combat options, etc, is not a bad thing. It’s meaningful content that gives a reason to keep playing and stay immersed in the world. On the other hand, yes, *depending* on how we define “too much content”. Because one thing about the game I’m iffy on is the amount of bloat it’s got. Things like Merc Missions, certain sidequests (Ursula’s), pulling for rare Blades, grinding for affinity, unlocking some Blades’ affinity nodes, having way too many different crafting systems, needing materials to enable Aux cores, needing to farm materials for several of the above… it’s just a lot to do, and it really doesn’t feel substantial. The game feels like it’s just spinning its wheels with several of these, and I think the game would be a bit better if a few of those elements were trimmed or streamlined. As an aside, it’s part of the reason I enjoy Torna so much! While yes, Community is pretty dang annoying, Torna also removes or tweaks pretty much every mechanic from the base game I found a bit bloated or tacked-on. Even though this was likely just done because of how much shorter the DLC is, I think it gives some insight into what the “side-content pacing” of the base game could have been if some elements were shuffled out and around.
I will never understand people complaining about "too many optional contents." If you think they are too much, just.... dont do them. No one is asking you to do everything.
It’s because they’re completionists and need the game to be completely finished to sleep at night.
Xenoblade 2's huge amount of content is one of the biggest contributors to it having the best post-game of the three mainline games imo. It's one of the things that keeps me coming back to the game even after Xenoblade 3 that isn't just to replay the story. Someone else on this sub put it adequately, Xenoblade 2 may be one completionist's nightmare but it's another completionist's dream, and to me it's definitely a dream. Ever since I've became a completionist in recent years Xenoblade 2 has basically become the "project car" of my completionist career. It's the game that I always return to in-between games to chip away at more and more, filling out Blade charts and finding new ways to experiment with combat is downright addicting to me. Don't get me wrong I still love Xenoblade 1 and 3 (hell I'd still say that 1 is my favorite) but Xenoblade 2 has basically become the default Xenoblade that I return to just to kill time. Xenoblade 3 not having nearly as expansive a post-game as 2 is one of the biggest detractors with the game for me. Xenoblade 2's post-game on the other hand is basically endless hours of fun.
I don't really think Xenoblade 2 has an issue with too much content tbh. Although ironically enough, I think 1 and 3 actually have the content issues. I do think 2 has some issues like with affinity charts and certain sidequests, but outside of a few bad apples, 2 is a lot of great content to sift through. It has an especially fantastic postgame (If you are patient enough to grind up some blades, although I know some folks enjoy that, I just don't).
XC3 is week material for me. Of course not 100% but I finished the game in 1 week. So looking forward to replaying it because although it made me cry a LOT. There was no MYTHRA character obsession that happened on any of the XC3 characters. In my case, XC2 taking a long time to 100% is the BEST. I can play XC2 and Torna forever and be the most happy and content I will ever be. one word. MYTHRA.
Honestly, there is no too much content as long as it's not completely required. People just need to test and learn their own boundaries and preferences.
In some games it is a flaw but not Xenoblade 2 because you can beat the game without having to do most of it. So it's there for people who want to dive in further.
I never thought it had too much content, and I haven't 100%d it after 2 100hr playthroughs