Xenoblade 2's Nightmare Tutorials | Xenoblade Chronicles 2: A Loving Critique - Chapter 2

masterplusmargarita
masterplusmargarita
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Published 2022-08-01
As we continue through Xenoblade Chronicles 2 we wind up in Gormott Province for the game's second chapter. This might be the place where the game frees up the player to go where they want, but it's a prison for nitpickers like myself who feel the need to criticize every single little tutorial.

Tutori... I mean timestamps:

00:00 Introduction, a thoughtlessly placed piece of music and a very intentionally placed camera.
02:40 Driver levelling: Affinity Charts, Weapon Arts and character stats (tutorial and analysis)
05:34 Blade "levelling": Core Chips and Affinity Charts (tutorial and analysis)
07:20 I like Lower Gormott
07:56 Gramps' "death" is a shockingly bad cutscene
09:41 A cameo by the devil
10:01 A good tutorial for once! Blade Combos rock.
11:45 Playing as Nia: An awful, quit-worthy moment
14:55 Wrapping up Lower Gormott
15:24 Gormott proper: An incredible first impression, and why Xenoblade exploration and levelling is so rewarding.
19:43 Sidequest: Knocked About Nopon
20:13 Anime comedy scenes, Blade infodump, and some good character introductions
25:56 Great comedy and great serious storytelling
28:28 I love Torigoth so much
30:22 Blade Resonance: One of the best systems in the game, but rightfully controversial
35:51 Electra Blade review - best of an awful bunch
37:43 Helping Tora build his Artificial Blade. The birth of Poppi, and the (beginning of the) death of my good will for Tora.
41:14 Poppiswap and Tiger Tiger: Cool idea, rough execution
42:21 Sidequest: Paying it Forward
43:33 Sidequest: The Case of the Crane
45:11 The Titan Battleship, a rare dungeon
46:32 Boreas Blade review - a flexible healer
48:40 Dughall brings up a good point and a bad (technically correct) tutorial
51:15 The best action scene in the game
54:35 Wrapping up

After editing this audio I hear the word "tutorial" in my dreams now.
All Comments (3)
  • @teenprez
    I’m replaying this game to stream it on Twitch right now, and just how JARRING this section in lower gormott is blew me away. It’s almost like the designers were actively trying to keep you from enjoying any of the good parts about writing and environment by undercutting dramatic moments with misplaced jokes and tutorials every thirty steps.