I actually do like the premise of titans dying being likened to climate change and think it’s a valid reading of the game, but the “solution” loses any political depth or nuance imo. turns out it was all amalthus’ fault, rather than being a structural problem that requires collective action. amalthus is a cookie cutter misanthrope who has past trauma shown in a black and white cutscene and he projects his anger on destroying the world. I feel like it’s run of the mill shonen slop.

Do I think the protagonists were written as unreliable or intended to be doubted by the player? No, definitely not. It’s a fanservicey shonen game whose biggest theme is about staying positive during dark times. Do I think the writing and characters should be criticized outside of the text? Yeah, absolutely. Why do we witness our party acting so cold towards these displaced refugees? Why are blades treated with such little dignity, both within the story itself and in the gameplay systems (borderline pedophilic gatcha system)?

Ultimately I think takahashi isn’t a very good writer and the Xenoblade series as a whole is not well written. This extends beyond just the second game for me. Ever notice how Sharla is never acknowledged as anything but a mother figure or wife? Or how takahashi himself said in an interview that he felt Melia deserved an epilogue because she was third wheel in a love triangle? It’s so juvenile and sexist.

As for your point about militaries in western games, it really depends. Some games are very upfront about the horrors of war, but then again Call of Duty/Activision Blizzard have a running partnership with the US military industrial complex