Xenoblade: Future Connected! Restrospective Review! - YoVideogames

[briansilva]

Future Connected feels like taking a well deserved vacation, the calming area music, the fantastic battle theme, the comfy areas and the whole vibe of the expansion is just very soothing to me, it isn't life changing like Torna or Future Redeemed, but it is still a great joy to play through.

[slicessenpai]

I really like Future Connected and the little cherry on top for Melia's arc. I also really like Kino and Naenae, they're incredibly adorable, even if they're not the deepest characters (but when is the Nopon party member ever that 😅).

If I had to pick some criticisms, the extra super boss you fight at the end of the Ponspectors quests is a bit of a BS spike in difficulty and the villains are not the best. The monster villain is hollow and just there to set up world intrigue; while the human villain is criminally under utilized.

All and all, I'll agree with Simons' score here. It's a nice dessert that doesn't overstay its welcome.

(Also Shulk with a hoodie is so cool 🤩)

[Landmasters]

Ah Future Connected, seeing that teaser in the reveal knowing the Shoulder would get some love had me extremely hyped because I thought perhaps it would be worked into where it was originally planned for the main story...and well we didn't get that...and the quality isn't very good either

I was happy to explore the Shoulder as a fan, but this expansion hurt my love for XC1 and since this is called "Definitive Edition" it's not something I can ignore (on top of my issues with the base game of DE). The map is garbage, the new party members aren't great, the Prospectors are obnoxious, the battle system feels off lacking visions (hence why a main story integration would have been better), the villain while great for theories isn't interesting, the wacky antics from 2 bleed in and it's jarring, and the story payoff just doesn't redeem these negatives.

Even with Melia being one of my favorite fictional characters ever I couldn't look past the fact that Monolithsoft had fumbled for the first time. Sure X was something I put down, but that was more on my end getting overwhelmed and not getting over the initial hump. ...and that trend would sadly continue into 3, because while Future Connected was a massive disappointment it was more of an addition, 3 was the grand finale and is potentially the most disappointing game I've experienced in recent memory