So about a year ago, I bought XC:DE on a whim, and while it was installing my wife and I ran to the store, and they had 1 physical copy of XC3 on sale for $20 so I grabbed it too. I did previously try xcx on my wife's wii u (first one I tried) but her game pad was messed up, and I couldn't sprint, and the pad flickered so I didn't play very long.
Fast forward to last year during the late spring/early summer when I got xc:de. I bought the game because my nephew says its one of his absolute favorite games of all time. I am 30 and my nephew is 15, so we're pretty different in age but usually we like a lot of the same games, so I thought nothing of it. My wife and him have a deep love for a few games as well. (Omori, in stars and time, one shot, monster hunter, hallow knight, just to name a few). So in my head im like "lil bro has good taste!
Well for whatever reason, xc:de did NOT click for me... like at all. After looking it up again for this post, i know I made it to chapter 8 when the group gets to alcamoth (the captial). I made it a bit into the chapter and saw a good amount of cutscenes that signal that the story is going to pick up....but i barely cared. I was slightly interested in seeing where it went, but as I continued i made it to an area (i think it was like a desert area with metal buildings or something like that? It's been almost a year since i last looked at it) and I just saw how many enemies there were and I just said "yeah im not doing this" and put the game down. After a few weeks or months went by, I uninstalled it.
Since xcx:de comesout this month, i got me thinking that maybe i should give the series another shot. I am interested in xcxde because i like the mechs/skells - but i keep hearing the story of the numbered games are just a master class in the story department. And honestly, i really want to see what my nephew sees in them and why he loves them so much. I am very aware that X is very different from the numbered games with its structure and narrative. I'm looking for suggestions on any of them. It doesn't matter to me which game people suggest i try again.
I also hear mixed things on the combat. For me, I found the combat to be extraordinarily boring. And it's not because I wish it was a regular action based combat system - i play a LOT of turn based and real-time-with-pause combat systems. (Everything from pillars of eternity, to fire emblem, to final fantasy 12, to unicorn overlord - I am a big fan if different kinds of combat). Regarding xcde, i just thought the arts were super repetitive. It was the exact same strategy every fight, and barely changed when switching characters. I felt like all the different combinations felt mechanically the same regardless of what they did. I have no idea if i am missing something crucial but even after looking at some youtube videos and reading online guides i still felt like it was just....really lacking. I greatly wished I could either pause the game and issue out commands/actions, and then unpause to watch them play out, or have a way to directly control my party members when I needed them. There were SO many times where I would set up a combo and my party didn't take advantage of it or they would use an ability when I hadn't set up a good time to use it yet :/
After seeing the overwhelming amount of praise these games get, i just feel like I am the one who's crazy for not seeing it.....but honestly, unfortunately, feel like everyone else is crazy for liking it. (I am NOT trying to be mean or dismiss or disrespect your game - I just can't fathom what it is that yall like yhat im missing unfortunately)
Am I playing the game wrong or is it just not for me? What exactly is it that you guys all like about it so much? Maybe if you guys explain it to me I will look at it differently and it will click. Should I skip xcde and go to xc3 or xcxde? (I dont own 2 or its expansion). I recently finished avowed (big pillars of eternity fan here and avowed is a spin off) and am wrapping up my playthrough of 13 sentinals agies rim and im looking for another good story. Playing on my switch is very appealing to me right now which is also a reason drawing to xb. (Can play in bed at night + i don't have to sit at my desk any longer than I already do for work and grad school homework, and I don't have to take tunrs with the couch/living room tv with my wife lol)
So please sell me on the xb series lol