Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Houston, we have a problem

And a mighty big one at that. See, I was fumbling with my Switch yesterday, trying to erase my Project Octopath Traveler demo save data, and... Heck, I sure you guess what happened, dear fellow gamers: clumsy little me selected the wrong save data, and that's how I ended up accidentally wiping my XC2 save data off the face of the earth.

I should be absolutely crestfallen, even furious; but weirdly enough, I'm not. I daresay that I actually feel a bit relieved by that turn of events. The Spirit Crucible Elpys dungeon at the end of Chapter 7 was a bit of a turning point for me, because it forced me to a) switch to Morag as my MC because I couldn't stand the way Roc's wings blocked my view when handling Rex, and b) bond and assign Blades to stack up enough elemental ability levels to progress. As I did that, a whole new world of gameplay opportunities opened in front of my very eyes, and I suddenly realized how much I had missed in the preceeding 60 hours by refusing to experiment with Blades: exclusive elemental combos, passive buffs, restricted areas only accessible with Blade abilities, you name them. It was a bit of a bittersweet moment, and I couldn't help but wish I had pored over the whole Blade system and made it mine long before the game actually forced me to do so. Of course, it's entirely XC2's fault for letting me run free for so long before suddenly coercing me into Ability harnessing and Blade bonding, but still... That whole affair severed the fast-paced flow I had managed to create pretty much since the beginning of my playthrough, and generated mixed feelings I certainly didn't need.

I was also growing tired of the story, which in my opinion took a turn for the worse in Chapter 7. (SPOILERS!) I joked in my last post about how Pyra "Tits are life" and Mythra "Ass is hometown" were really two facets of the same steamy coin; well, lo and behold, the game did it again with Nia! While regular Nia is your token cat girl in a body suit, Blade Nia is your no less token bunny girl in a leotard. Honestly, that design choice soiled her character ever-so-slightly for me. I also really don't like where the story is headed when it comes to Blades and their relation to humans, and I have that horrible inkling that the game is going to reuse concepts and story elements from Xenoblade Chronicles — which would be the most dreadful outcome ever as far as I'm concerned, because I found that game's story cheesy and clichéd beyond belief. I sincerely hope that the Architect will not turn out to be one of XC's main characters; and yet, I know I have to steel myself for such an outcome, because this is technically a sequel we're dealing with. (End of SPOILERS.)

So what's in store for XC2, you may ask? Well, I don't know yet. I need a couple of days to digest that brutal interruption; but technically, I still crave some XC2 action. In fact, I'm really eager to replay the game's early stages with all my accumulated mastery of its many systems, and get a blast out of knowing exactly what to do and doing it swiftly. Also, I switched to the British dub at the beginning of Chapter 7 (I had rolled with the Japanese dub until then) and found myself really loving it, so I'd like to watch again all the cutscenes in english. And talking about cutscenes, maybe I'd like to skip them and watch them later, when I feel like taking a break from the game's grindy action. Oh, and I'd also like to handle Morag more, because a) she's an awesome fighter and b) she looks amazing, and I'd rather stare at her poised and noble figure than at Rex's ass crack and speedos. In short, there are plenty of things I'd like to do differently. This wouldn't be the first time I restart a long and rather complex RPG right after an aborted playthrough, mind you. I did that with DQIX and Fire Emblem Fates; and from my experience, it's a great way to maintain my drive to play (the last boss is still standing, dammit!) while allowing for a much cushier and smoother ride thanks to the game's mechanics being still so fresh in my mind. At any rate, I'll mull over this and see you later with more XC2 tidings, dear fellow gamers. In case you were eagerly waiting for my progress reports and final impressions about the game, I apologize profusely for my clumsiness; and as usual, thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!