The sense of scale can be seen in the expansive overworld, which not only sprawling landscapes but also remnants of gigantic creatures that tower like mountains over the land. Stepping into Aionios is like entering a grand fantasy setting boasting large locales and an assortment of otherworldly creatures both big and small. Like the two Xenoblade games before it, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 serves up a grand world that boasts impressive flora and fauna as well as sweeping vistas as far as the eye can see. Worldbuilding is the calling card of the Xenoblade franchise and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is no different. The overuse of terms like “snuff” and “sparks,” however, can feel forced and makes the characters sound odd in English, even though the dialogue is perfectly fine in Japanese. I get the need to be creative with dialogue involving curse words to reach a broader audience, for example. Such changes, however, should further improve on the narrative as opposed to making the dialogue lose context or even trivializing it at times. As someone who understands Japanese, I certainly understand the need to not translate everything literally all the time, which is frankly necessary for good dialogue in some cases. The English localization, meanwhile, is solid overall and has some amusing moments to boot with its creative use of slang terms straight out of the game’s unique world. At the same time, there are also cases when the localization can take too much liberty with its translations, particularly with the dialogue. The more anime-style story can be especially an issue for folks who prefer their role-playing games to have a more western type of narrative. Although the story itself is excellent, the storytelling has its share of stumbling points where it either loses focus or gets stuck in some well-worn tropes typically seen in Japanese anime. Whether it be the machinations of those in power behind the scenes, the sad and sobering deaths of both friend and foe, or the formation of unlikely yet strong friendships forged in the fires of conflict, the story of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is easily one of its strengths. Like a novel in video game form, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 carefully crafts a tale that unfolds onscreen through numerous scenes that slowly reveal the heart of its drama.
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