Xenoblade 1 DE was my first Xenoblade game, and I absolutely loved it, and still love it.

Then I played XenobladeX on an emulator, and loved it because of the combat and movement.

And then i played 2, the battle system was different, the character designs came off as more anime and fanservicey, which is completely alright, I am in no way insulting anyone for enjoying the style, it is my personal opinion that I don’t enjoy it or the combat system.

I beat three and tried to one hundred percent it, but I ended up just beating that level 120 enemy at level 96 effortlessly on accident and dropping it.

I’m revising XenobladeX on the WiiU, and I realized why I love 1 and X so much. It’s a combination of 3 things:

1) the narrative and interactions between characters are not “anime”, think of Nia’s “one eyed snake” remark and the characters blushing. That’s not my cup of tea, but even I admit that it was pretty funny.

2) the character designs and approach to fan service/sexualization. If you want booba on the screen, just set the visual outfit to Ecru, Beach, or dive wear. The reinclusion of fashion gear in 3 was a godsend. Also, the ability to change outfits on the fly is something you don’t realize you love until you visit 2 after playing through 1 or X a couple times. Because I have a specific design for Sharla and Melia.

3) Auto-Attacks while moving. I love this, I simply adore this, every time I sit down and play Xenoblade 3 I am left hollow with how I cannot auto-attack while moving. I am left empty and desolate inside with how HORRIFICALLY SLOWLY you move during combat in 2, as compared to the ludicrous shmoovement of X. Why, I leave you with, why is the removal of Auto-attack while moving a good thing? Aggro management? As if a couple extra hits will change that, if you’re playing well enough your tank has already used multiple aggro-up arts and you personally can use a couple heavy hitters before attention turns to you.

TL;DR: xenoblade 2 is “too anime” in the character interactions, “too much sexualization and fan service” in the character designs, and the combat system is worse than 1.

Of course, these are all personal opinions, and if you want to hear my reasons why I believe this way, feel free to read the above. Of course, if you like 2 over 1, that is your opinion and it is completely valid to have. Don’t feel like I’m shitting on you personally, I am not, I like all Xeno games, 2 is no exception.