xenoblade chronicles 2 or octopath traveller

OT is good as an experiment: the short story format is interesting but ends up offering a really repetitive structure. Xc2 without a doubt, and I've played and liked both. It respects your time far more, isn't filled with ridiculous time sinks, is way less repetitive, and the combat requires at least an ounce of thought.ĭragon Quest 11 is likely better than both (with better, longer lasting content especially compared to Xenoblade 2s repetitive nonsense), but you'll have to wait a bit for it. Some of its writing is cringeworthy too, but it's on the level of classic JRPGs, so if you could handle those, get those. Octopath has almost none of these issues.

Unfortunately, most of these hidden things require using the RNG gacha system to access. it's maps are really beautiful and filled with hidden things. Xenoblade 2 pretty much only has one good aspect, and that's exploration. This even goes for regular enemies, which tend to be damage sponges if you don't do the optimal rotation (again without variation or thought). Only post game bosses have a tiny variation in that. The combat system is also very poor - pretty much every encounter is done the same way, you just play down the same rotation. If that's your thing, you may want to give it a try, but if not, it may be better off to give it a pass. Xenoblade 2 has huge issues, from gacha mechanics (many support characters rely on crazy RNG, making you feel like you're playing a bad mobile game, complete with grossly sexist designs and sexualized children in panties) and the story is one of the worst I've seen in a while. Octopath traveler, no contest, it's just a vastly better game. Xenoblade has a lot of boring fetch quests that seem to never end, and while the blade quests try to spice things up, I found most of them to be pretty lame with really poor voice acting (I actually enjoyed the voice acting of the main cast for both games, except Rex's attempts at shouting and his constant cries of 'Pyraaaaa'!).īut seriously, play Dragon Quest 11 if you haven't and are able to. I wasn't crazy about the side-quests of either game, although Octopath does allow more creativity as to how you can complete some of them. The character arcs are hit or miss, ranging from charming to bad. It also presents you with a lot of freedom to progress how you want through the game.

Not as ambitious story-wise, but the characters have less of a chance of annoying you than some of the members of Xenoblade's cast (IMO) and the combat is fine-tuned and fun. The music is also phenomenal, although I can say the same for Octopath.Īs for Octopath, I liked it a lot better. The combat, while seemingly complex, is actually pretty simple and engaging once you get into the groove. If you're alright with that kind of stuff, you might think this is the best JRPG of the generation or something. Personally, I walked away from it feeling like I just wasted 100 hours on a piece of garbage, but that's because I hate most shounen adventure anime and underestimated my ability to stomach a story like that for a game as long as this one. I feel like Xenoblade 2 was tailored for a certain demographic, and for people who like sprawling JRPGs that are equally epic in its scope, narrative, and anime tropey-ness, it fucking nailed it. This misinformation unfortunately persists because it's not apparent until the very end of the game that all the various subplots do indeed come together in a fantastic and memorable way. However I would like to point out as a caveat that several of the complaints about Octopath's story, both in this thread and elsewhere, are not accurate. I really connected with the game and consider it the best RPG published by Square Enix (this is somewhat pedantic but note that I consider this a separate thing than 'published by Squaresoft').ĮDIT: Also, for what it's worth, I respect that a lot of people found Octopath's plot boring and dropped it.

The job system leads to a lot of fun combinations and customization. It's great for bite-sized sessions on the go, or longer marathons at home. The combat is absolutely fantastic, the artstyle is distinctive and beautiful, the soundtrack is gorgeous, NPC interactions are second-to-none in the genre due to the unique path actions each party member has, and there is a ton of content that nevertheless accommodates whatever pace you prefer. I've discussed it at length elsewhere but it's one of the best and most innovative JRPGs in years, a quality product all-around with some phenomenal ideas that are, for the most part, executed skillfully and effectively. I respect opinions but man the first page of this thread is painful for me to read.

Xenoblade chronicles 2 or octopath traveller