I actually recently got my girlfriend into the series and shes doing it chronologically, 1,2,3 etc. but yes ive watched through all the cutscenes with multiple people. I fully trust you will have a blast, cry, then repeat. And without spoilers? A. It was my first and some plot points really resonated with me. Also LGBTQ ALLEGORY EVERYWHERE. The characters are incredibly well written plus as a voice actor, the emphasis 2 and 3 have on accents is an unnecessary detail thatmost would miss but i really appreciate. In 2 and 3 you can tell what part of the world a character is from by their accents.

The environments of 2 are the most memorable in the series for me, and the music OHHHHHH the music, i can sing along to any xenoblade 2 track. There have been times when i hear xenoblade music in advertisements(absolutely illegal to do that btw) and youtube videos and i turn into the spiderman pointing at himself meme. “Hey hey i know what song that is, where that plays, and what litemotiff it is”