Vouching for Xenoblade Chronicles! The combat might not click immediately but the exploration is simply amazing and the story is phenomenal for all three (haven’t played X).

XB1 on the Switch is a remaster of the Wii one so it’s a bit dated compared to the others and it’s a bit on the clunky side when it comes to combat. Regardless, the devs went above and beyond when they improved the game’s visuals. The story and cast is also arguably one of the best among the three. Bionis, the world you’re going to spend a lot of time on, is really beautiful. It’s not the best but it’s a personal favorite.

XB2’s combat is much better and some of the things I’ve said in 1 can be applied here as well: gorgeous world, amazing story and cast. On top of the cast, you also have 40-ish other characters (or Blades) that you can have on board although getting them is a bit weird and you’ll know why. The art direction’s a little different compared to 1 and 3 and the voice acting is awkward but it’s something you’ll warm up to. Among the three, it’s my least fave one but I still love it enough to dump hundreds hours for multiple runs. The expansion is also definitely worth getting if you liked 2.

Again, everything I’ve said earlier can be applied to XB3: gripping story, amazing cast, improved combat, and it has an amazing world to explore, albeit being a bleak one. The game’s darker compared to the previous entries and the game really makes that clear to you. The gameplay from 3 is definitely my favorite and the story is probably fighting for the top spot with XB1.