Maybe this was discussed already, but how does the combat in this game compare to the original? I'm currently replaying Xenoblade Chronicles and am having more fun now that I've had a complete understanding of the battling and other RPG mechanics from the start. However, I do feel like most enemies - and I suppose battles - are very same-y, and one single party setup and strategy can work for about every monster and boss until the later parts of the game. I just don't feel like encounters are as varied and test your tactical skills like in other JRPG's. (Really, though, Xenoblade's combat system is mostly great and this is one of few issues I find in it.)
How does Xenoblade X compare? All I've heard is that the combat is faster and more action-oriented. Are encounters more varied?
I'm one of those in the camp that feels that the combat in X was dumbed down in comparison to Chronicles. I actually thought there was a lot more strategy in Chronicles than in X.
In Chronicles, I changed my party a lot until I found the
best possible party, and I stuck with that, or one of the two variants thereof, and I cleaned up with them. I was unstoppable. But in Chronicles, there was a lot more variety with your tactics. Enemies had spike damage, some were untoppable, etc.. Giving gems to your characters could turn them into damage tanks or agility tanks, depending on what you did. And there was the whole affinity between characters thing, which made it so if you had the right people in your party, each member received even more attributes. It was awesome figuring out the right combination and when you found the right one, it was so satisfying. Not to mention that chain attacks actually meant something.
In X, the combat system is little more than paint-by-numbers. The NPCs say something, each statement is in a certain color, and then you pick an art that matches that color, and that's combat. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's simple and lacks any real strategy. I've yet to use overdrive more than 5 times, and I'm comfortably killing everything.
On its own, the combat in X is okay at best. It's not bad, but it isn't good. Compared to Chronicles, it's terrible, shallow, and a step backwards. But that's what you asked. Compared to XBC. The biggest problem people made with this game (myself included) is to compare the two. There is no comparison. Chronicles is a far far far far
far superior game than X. So don't compare them. Play X for X. It isn't XBC, it's X.
