[950th Review!] Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (NSW) Review

It's here! It's SuperPhillip Central's 950th review, and boy, is it a big one! I don't just mean big as in a big-name game, or big as in a big review, either. It's more like, "this game took a long time to beat because it was so big" type of big! Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition launched this past May, and I finally completed both the base game and the all-new epilogue, Future Connected. Here is my review on the game.

A Vision of Beauty

There's always these games that you play, you love, but you never get the chance to finish. For nearly ten years, Xenoblade Chronicles was my Moby Dick, a great gaming whale that I just couldn't overcome. I played a decent way through the Wii original, and then with the hope of the game coming to a handheld with the New Nintendo 3DS version, I failed to even touch the game. Now, Xenoblade Chronicles arrives on the Nintendo Switch with Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition. Complete with a new epilogue (as if I needed more game to play), new quality of life features, and the same stuff I adored about the original game, could I finally play through Xenoblade Chronicles completely? The answer is yes. Not only that, but I absolutely LOVED it.

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition is set in a fantasy world where a long time ago, two titans clashed blades in battle, the Bionis and the Mechonis. Eventually they critically injured one another in combat and grew dormant. Afterwards, life began flourishing on their colossal bodies, and becoming home to various races of people and creatures. It is on Bionis that intrepid engineer Shulk, his best friend Reyn, and longtime acquaintance Fiora live peacefully at Colony 9, a village surrounded by beauty and peace. However, one day that peace turns into violence when the mechanical and robotic Mechon invade and attack the colony. During a skirmish with the Mechon, Shulk harnesses the power of a sword called the Monado to engage with the enemy and helps repel them. Now, with revenge fresh on their minds for the Mechon's attack on their home, Shulk and Reyn set out from Colony 9 to explore the Bionis, seek justice against the Mechon, and further understand the mysterious power of the Monado.

Shulk answers the question, "Did Phil really enjoy Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition?"

It's hard not to grow enamored with the world and characters of Xenoblade Chronicles. Shulk is a hard worker who is always willing to lend a hand and help out when the going gets tough. His ability to wield the Monado comes up as one of the main focal points of the story, especially when he witnesses a vision yet cannot help with the outcome regardless of the fact. There is a particular moment early on in the story that serves as a catalyst for the adventure. Meanwhile, his best bud Reyn is a cheeky chap, headstrong, bold, and a bit of a numbskull sometimes, but you can bet he's always looking out for Shulk. The rest of the party members that join Shulk's cause are similarly likable. Better yet, they each serve a purpose in and out of battle, too, so there's no superfluous party members to speak of in Xenoblade Chronicles.

You can say that again, Reyn.

The world of Xenoblade Chronicles is extraordinarily vast and expansive, and most of the time in the game is spent exploring the huge, open-world-esque areas of the Bionis and later Mechonis. Your curiosity is generally rewarded, too, either by finding new discoveries like landmarks that can be warped to at any time and other points of interest, or encountering impressive vistas. And believe me, there are a lot of great views to take in. One of the first major areas of the game, Gaur Plain, offers beautiful, natural land bridges, while the Satorl Marsh is unassumingly dreary during the day, but by nightfall it glows with tremendous brilliance. 

Gaur Plain is an early delight to explore and find new discoveries in.

Of course, it pays to be careful while exploring as if you get too close to a particular strong enemy, they won't be as shy in coming after you. It's quite normal to be wandering about with your party at level 10 while some parts of areas feature monsters well in the 80s. Thankfully, dying doesn't have a tremendous penalty, other than taking up some of your time. You're placed at the last warp point you reached, and you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and pick up from there.

Battles play out in real time in Xenoblade Chronicles. They begin either by you locking onto a foe and engaging in combat or an enemy becoming aware of you and attacking. Normal attacks happen automatically as your characters are in close proximity to enemies. You can select specific Battle Arts that work best when positioned correctly in relation to a targeted enemy. For instance, Shulk's Back Slash attack understandably works best when a foe is facing away from you with their back towards Shulk. Each move possesses a "cool down" period before they can be used again. When you auto-attack an enemy enough times, you can eventually use your character's Talent Arts, which are specific moves tied to that character. Shulk utilizes his Monado for all of his, performing feats like allowing the other party members to damage Mechon-based foes, or defending characters against enemy Battle Arts. 

Position yourself well in battle to deal more damage to foes.

As you successfully use Arts in battle, a blue Party Gauge at the top left corner slowly builds up, up to three segments. If a character falls in battle, you can pick them up using one of these three gauge segments. If all three segments are empty and all characters die, it's game over. The Party Gauge isn't just for defense, however; it's also used to perform a Chain Attack, allowing you to use multiple party members' moves one after the other to inflict heavy damage at once to an enemy. This depletes the Party Gauge completely, though. In harder battles, it becomes a strategy and choice between keeping the Party Gauge full in case you need to revive a party member or going for a full offensive on a boss, for instance.

Speaking of boss battles and just tough battles in general, when a party member is about to hit with a devastating attack, many times Shulk will have a vision during the battle. This allows him to alert a party member, which in turn grants them the ability to prepare a defense or way to counter it, or gives Shulk the opportunity to put the brakes on the enemy's impending assault with Shulk's own Monado Art. Like reviving allies and performing Chain Attacks, warning other characters costs a segment of the Party Gauge. The only big issue with this mechanic, however novel and cool it is, is that it can happen way too often in certain battles. Sometimes visions can happen multiple times within a short time span, really breaking the flow of battle, especially because you have to watch the enemies' foreseen attack play out in real time. Still, though, it's a small gripe to an awesome and otherwise well executed concept.

Early on, the Monado is the only effective weapon against the Mechon.

When you're not engaged with epic battles or exploring the expansive lands of Xenoblade Chronicles, you're probably going to have your hand in quests. There are a tremendous number of side quests in the game, which might make a completionist go insane, but for everyone else, they're a terrific way of gaining experience points, money, and equipment. Side quests generally fall into one of three categories: eliminating a certain monster or monsters, collecting specific materials, or conversing back and forth with various NPCs. Thankfully, Monolithsoft has made tracking quests much less of headache than compared to the Wii original and even the New Nintendo 3DS port of the game thanks to being able to track quests, see exclamation points on the map to see where you need to go, among other helpful information that was lacking in past iterations of the game. It's also all easily accessible with a simple press of the down direction on the D-Pad to instantly pop open the Quest Log. 

Exclamation points on the mini-map indicate where quest items and enemies are located.

The Quest Log isn't the only place that things have been streamlined for a better, higher quality, more efficient experience. The menus in general are simple to use, conveying information that is readily available and accessible at any time. It was an utter pain in the original Wii game to view how equipment changes would affect your character. No longer so in the Definitive Edition. Not only can you see the detailed effects of newly equipped weapons, armor and crafted gems in an easier way, but you do so without as much menu-surfing. It's especially cool that you can set a base armor set for your character, so no matter what you equip to them, they'll stay visually in the same outfit. Though I preferred to change things up for aesthetic purposes, myself.

The quality of life improvements don't stop there, either, as the Affinity Chart provides an abundance of info that the past Xenoblade Chronicles incarnations failed to share. For example, the location of characters is properly displayed, so there's no running to a FAQ or making your own out-of-game Excel spreadsheet to keep track of things. Plus, each glimpse of an NPC provides a look at what materials, gems, weapons, and armor they are up for trading. All of these changes make for a much more enhanced experience, so much so that I can't imagine going back to the old versions of the game--even for novelty reasons. If only they were there in the previous versions, but I guess the old saying is true--the third time IS the charm!

Other changes to this new and improved edition of Xenoblade Chronicles include "super quick" fast travel, allowing you to warp to locations across an area quickly, or change areas entirely in a speedy manner. It makes clearing side quests a less laborious and most importantly timely effort than in the Wii original. There's also difficulty options, such as Casual mode, where enemies deal less damage and you have a sporting chance against enemies that are twenty levels ahead of you. There's also Expert mode, which allows you to lower your party's individual experience levels to make the game more challenging, yes, but also to give your characters more experience from defeated enemies. Either way, with Casual and Expert, now the need to grind and boost your party's levels to reasonable heights for end-game quests and areas is also a less laborious and more time-saving one.

There's far less clutter on screen in battle, and it's easier to read everything, too.

Finally, there's a 10-15 hour epilogue to the main adventure of Xenoblade Chronicles in this Definitive Version with Future Connected. It sees a new area of the Bionis to explore, as well as a snappily paced story that features Shulk, Melia, and two Nopon companions, Nene and Keno. It's a satisfying cap to the adventure, offering a start at level 60 for the party, as well as an engaging story with new characters and the wonderful exploration and discoveries of the new Bionis Shoulder. The latter is especially enjoyable thanks to all of the unique areas spread about the relatively small region. There's plenty to see and do across the shoulder, and it's particularly great to have Quiet Moment interactions between party members be fully voiced this time around unlike the main game. To be fair, the main game featured a heck of a ton of a lot more of these events, so that would have been an obvious logistical nightmare to voice them all on top of the utterly immense script. 

The gameplay is similar to Xenoblade Chronicles' main game, save for some aspects, such as Shulk not having his visionary Monado abilities, for instance. Additionally, the main side quest this time around is the search for various Nopon Ponspectors, who after you perform a mission for them, they join your team and form a nice line of miniature attackers in battle and as you explore. Instead of a Chain Attack when the Party Gauge is full, you can unleash a Ponspector Union Strike, granting one of three different abilities. These are regen, de-buffing the enemy, or an all-out heavy attack on the enemy. These attacks are a great reward for acquiring every Ponspector on your team, not just for the destination of having a powerful team on your side, but because the journey is fun, too.

I'm quite impressed by how good Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition looks on the Nintendo Switch compared to the Wii original. The characters and enemies have the most sensational enhancements, looking absolutely fantastic in both detail and animation. Meanwhile, environments are even more jaw-dropping than they were on the Wii, and they were also amazing to look at then. From the added shaders in play to the new lighting and improved textures, this game looks gorgeous. The voicework is excellent, too, and quite possibly one of my favorite dubs period. Meanwhile, the music has been rearranged to fantastic effect, harnessing even more emotion than before. 

Don't mind me. Just admiring the vegetation here while running around in Eryth Sea.

The "Definitive" part of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition isn't just there to make for a fancier game title. It's there because it's absolutely true. This is the best version you can play of Xenoblade Chronicles, one of the absolute greatest JRPGs on not just a Nintendo console, but any platform. The epic 70+ hour journey will delight, surprise and mystify you with its excellence, the exploration and sense of discovery will constantly reward you, the battle system will engage you from beginning to end, and the new QoL features will make you wonder how you ever enjoyed the Wii original. Even the epilogue in Future Connected delivers on more terrific goodness if the base game isn't enough for you. Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition makes a great game from the Wii an even better game now on the Nintendo Switch.

[SPC Says: A]

Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (NSW) Review

With January's month of reviews all over and done with (and you can see all of those reviews conveniently listed in the Review Round-Up), let's make haste to our first review for the month of February, Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition for the Nintendo Switch.

Light up the darkness in one captivating, heartfelt tale

It seems like the gaming world has gone a bit insane recently. Up is down, left is right, Nintendo's The Wonderful 101 is bound for other platforms, Sony is rumored to put Horizon: Zero Dawn on PC, and Microsoft now has Ori and the Blind Forest: Definition Edition available on the Nintendo Switch. What else is on its way? At any rate, I'm pleased as well as amazed beyond belief to see the award-winning game arrive on the Switch with everything intact and looking as gorgeous as ever. Of course, beauty is only skin deep, but fortunately, Moon Studios' game has more than enough substance with its strong gameplay and hard-hitting story to back up its phenomenal good looks.

Without a doubt, Ori and the Blind Forest is a superbly crafted experience in its presentation. The hauntingly beautiful and gorgeous world of Ori and the Blind Forest is accompanied and by an oftentimes understated soundtrack. This soundtrack's subdued nature makes it so when the music does swell up during particularly emotional moments in the story, the effect is even more profound.

You'd need to have a heart of stone to not to feel anything during this opening.

Speaking of the story, it features many muted moments where on several occasions there is little to no dialogue to speak of, only that of an omniscient narrator. Mostly though, the story is told through the environment and through text-less scenes, such as the roller coaster highs and lows that are the opening scenes. These show off a mother/child-like relationship that ends with Ori winding up as an orphan when a storm makes all of the plant-life and vegetation within the forest of Nibel wither and decay, starving their one true friend. All alone and without much power to their name, Ori goes off on a mystical journey to revive the forest alongside a helper character named Sein, who not only serves as a beacon to provide the player with helpful quest information but grants Ori unique abilities as well.

Ori and the Blind Forest has a Metroid-like structure to it, offering a wide open world to explore, though most of it is locked away from the player at first. As the player and Ori gain new abilities from remnant trees throughout the world, gained through a linear path, more and more of the forest of Nibel opens up and becomes accessible. The abilities Ori learns and obtains have both offensive and mobility purposes to them. For instance, the Charge Flame can not only attack enemies with a concussive blast, but it can also detonate and blow open specific walls. Then, there's the Bash that allows Ori to launch themselves off enemy projectiles, launching them back into enemies with proper aiming, as well as also to gain altitude to reach otherwise inaccessible places.

One of the earliest new moves Ori becomes bestowed with, the Wall Jump.

Though this leads into one of the lesser parts of Ori and the Blind Forest, and that's the game's combat. While there are plenty of moves to utilize to thwart enemies eventually, starting off in Ori's journey, the best means to dispatch foes is to just jam on the Spirit Flame button to launch fiery shots that home in direction on enemies to slowly but surely take them out.

Danger? Danger is Ori's middle name. Though, Ori would need to have a last name
 to have a middle name to begin with. Technicalities and all that.

Moving around as Ori feels wonderfully fluid, offering a great degree of control and a simultaneous lightness and tightness. Though Ori has a limited selection of moves when it pertains to mobility at the beginning of the game, they're quickly given new means to move around areas, including a wall jump and double jump. Both of these are invaluable for getting around the expansive forest of Nibel, and as you can expect, they set up more taxing and enjoyable platforming challenges. The aforementioned Bash attack also brings even more set pieces of platforming goodness into the mix as well. New abilities are introduced at a steady enough pace that you're not bored with Ori's current arsenal of abilities, nor are you overwhelmed by all of the different buttons to use them. That's because you get plenty of time to grow accustomed to new abilities before new ones are introduced.

An example of Ori using the Bash attack to launch themself over these prickly thorns.

The environments in Ori and the Blind Forest are abundant with details and full of unique sights. Each zone is drastically different from one another, lush, dense, full of bountiful beauty and exquisite nature, and offers mazes of pathways and rooms to get lost in. Thankfully, a helpful and easy-to-read map system clearly marks Ori's location and the location of quests showing where Ori needs to go to next. Through finding map markers and placing them in specific statues, pieces of the map reveal themselves automatically. It helps to get a better grasp of Ori's surroundings and how to reach certain destinations in this interconnected wonderland. Perhaps my only issue with the environmental and level design in Ori and the Blind Forest is how the environments could mask what is safe terrain to land on and what isn't, occasionally resulting in taking damage or worse, death at times.

Even still, death isn't too much of a drawback in Ori and the Blind Forest, thanks to a smart save system. Not only are there specific points on the map where Ori can warp and save your data, but Ori can summon save points--one at a time--called "soul links", as long as they have enough energy cells, one of the major collectibles in the game. Soul links not only require spending energy cells, but they also can't be summoned immediately one after the other. It takes a little while for a soul link to charge up so a new one can be summoned again. Generally, like I imagine most players will do or have done, I summoned a soul link before and after a particularly harrowing platforming challenge or section of area so I wouldn't have to redo too much of my progress if (and let's face it--when) I died again.

As a Metroid game in structure, Ori and the Blind Forest has a multitude of optional collectibles to hunt that greatly assist in completing the game. These range from health-increasing orbs, energy cells, and ability orbs, which can be used in a basic but effective skill tree to increase Ori's effectiveness in combat, in exploring, in mobility, and in just staying alive.

Enemies, puzzles, and hazards await Ori in their grand adventure to revitalize the forest of Nibel.

And there are times when staying alive is indeed a challenge, as you'll die a lot in your initial run through the game. This is especially so during chase sequences, where Ori must outrun some form of environmental danger before it overtakes them. This results in some breakneck, fast, and frenetic platforming, but it also results in a lot of trial and error. Deaths come often from not being aware a platforming hazard was coming before it's too late. Still, the game's ample checkpoints and makeshift save points ensure that you won't be replaying lengthy stretches of the game, so it never feels overly cheap or frustrating.

Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition on the Nintendo Switch includes several difficulties to choose from. I played on the Normal difficulty and felt challenged enough, but there are Easy, Hard, and the *gulp* one-life modes to try out. Achievements are available both in-game and via linking your Microsoft Account, and these add to the 8-10 hour initial run-through you'll have with the game.

I don't think there are enough to synonyms for "beautiful" to describe this game.

Now, Nintendo Switch owners without an Xbox can see for themselves what the gaming world has known for over four years now: that Ori and the Blind Forest is a breathtaking game, most definitely worthy of playing. Seriously, you owe it to yourself if you have any semblance of a fandom for platformers or Metroid-style games to check Moon Studios' stellar outing out. What it lacks in super-satisfying combat, Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition more than makes up for in basically everything else--sensational, jaw-dropping visuals; a muted, ambient soundtrack that knows when to pack a punch when it's absolutely necessary; a heart-tugging, emotional journey; and immensely rewarding and great-feeling gameplay.

[SPC Says: B+]

Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition (NSW) Review

We have arrived at SuperPhillip Central's first review of May, and it's for a 2D platformer that just can't stop getting ported. Who am I to complain, though, when it's a game that's as excellent as Rayman Legends? It's the Nintendo Switch's turn at the game, with what Ubisoft is calling the definitive version. It's Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition for the Switch. Let's check it out.

The legend continues on Nintendo Switch.

Rayman Legends was one of the standout titles on the Wii U, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. It has since been ported to nearly every platform under the sun, including PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PlayStation Vita. Now, the game gets yet another shot in the spotlight with a console it should be most welcome on, the Nintendo Switch--home to lovers of the platforming genre (thanks to a certain mustachioed plumber among many other Nintendo creations). The Switch version of Rayman Legends labels itself as the "Definitive Edition". Is this the case, or is the port a definitive dud?

Let's skip all pretense here and allow me to answer that question immediately. Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition is the total package here with all of the content of past ports and a new Kung Foot tournament mode included (though the latter isn't that big of a deal). At the game's launch, Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition suffered greatly from poor performance and long loading times. This has since been patched to run as smooth as the lanes of a well-maintained bowling alley. Rayman Legends looked gorgeous when it originally launched in 2012, and it still amazes thanks to the awesome work put in by the Ubi Art engine and the artists who utilized it. A delightful orchestral soundtrack backs up the action, and there are certain in-level triggers that happen where songs will seamlessly conclude or change to their next section after specific parts of levels are entered or completed. It's a wholly fantastic, bombastic score, worthy of listening to outside of the game.

If anyone has earned the right to strike a pose, it's Rayman.

Rayman Legends itself is the same game as it ever was, a sequel to Rayman Origins. The game contains five worlds based on various themes, and each possess a plethora of levels in them that range from incredibly creative to devilishly difficult. They're all aces, regardless. What's fun about Rayman Legends is how the game constantly introduces new mechanics into its levels. Unlike a Mario game, these mechanics aren't one-off experiences. Instead, they linger throughout a world, constantly reiterating on themselves, and creating new scenarios and challenges in the process.

Look out below!

The second world of the game, Toad Story, introduces wind tunnels that Rayman can use to gain as well as maintain altitude or slowly fall to the ground. This mechanic returns in the rest of the levels in the world but in different ways. There are wind channels to guide Rayman through a corridor of thorny vines, wind channels to keep Rayman elevated over a continuous bottomless pit for one level, and wind channels to navigate a crumbling castle. Whereas Mario games take a mechanic and exhaust every idea out of it in one level, Rayman Legends goes the distance, takes off, and runs with them.

With all of this wind blowing through this corridor, I hope Rayman doesn't get an
ear infection! Wait a minute. Does Rayman even have ears?

The levels keep pumping out new ideas or new twists on existing ideas that Rayman Legends remains refreshing to play from beginning to end. One level has you infiltrating an underwater base to press two buttons on opposite sides of the base to unlock a door to the final area of the level. The way to each button is simple enough, but when one is turned on, the power shuts off and the backup security systems engage. What could be a careless joyride through the level turns into a careful stealth section, dodging lasers and lights in spectacularly fun fashion.

Stealthin' like Sam Fisher, boys.

Meanwhile, another level shrinks Rayman down to a much smaller size. This allows him to walk along wires that he would otherwise grab hold of and slide down them in his regular size, as well as be able to enter small tunnels and channels that he otherwise wouldn't be able to go. While he can't defeat enemies as tiny Rayman, he can use foes as platforms and a means to bounce up to higher areas.

Sometimes Teensies are placed in some truly precarious locations.
That melon smell is never going to get out of this one's robe.

There are also some spectacular music levels that unlock at the end of each world that have you hopping, bopping, and smacking at a breakneck pace to the music. While many of these music stages contain hazards that are somewhat unexpected (and will kill you), making for the requirement to try them multiple times before you finally reach their conclusions, they remain enjoyable.

The music levels require good timing to reach the end. Don't platform while off the beat!

Even still, there is a bunch of refashioned levels from Rayman Origins in Legends--pretty much the majority from that game. These are a nice throwback to Rayman Legends's predecessor, and the new locations of hidden goodies make them worthwhile to replay if you've already burned through them in the original Origins.

Like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions, the Murfy levels of Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition have you controlling Rayman in the levels while pressing what I like to call the "Murfy Button" to have his winged friend interact with the environment--slicing ropes, moving platforms, tickling enemies, etc. While you're limited to this type of interaction in the campaign, you can play all of the Murfy campaign levels how Wii U owners did by using the touch screen to control Murfy while the rather smart AI controls Rayman or which ever character you choose to play as. Being able to both play as the character doing the actual platform and also being able to play as Murfy, interacting with the level, is something that I don't recall other versions of Rayman Legends having, making an argument that the Definitive Edition on the Nintendo Switch really is the definitive version of Rayman Legends.

Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition is bursting from the seams with content, whether it's finding all of the captured Teensies, collecting enough Lums in each level, completing the ambushed levels (where you have a set amount of time to rescue three Teensies before they're rocketed off one-by-one), scratch tickets to collect that unlock new content within the game, daily and weekly online challenges, the Kung Foot mini-game (yay, I guess?), and much more. If you somehow missed one of the hundred or so ports of the game, then Rayman Legends on the Nintendo Switch is a surefire purchase for platforming paradise. For everyone else, perhaps you'd like to own the Switch version of Rayman Legends, as the game definitely is definitive.

[SPC Says: A-]