for more in-depth thoughts, check out my dedicated Xenoblade 3 page here!

the period between Xenoblade 3's announcement and release was INSANE. nobody was expecting it to be announced when it was; from the very first lines of its trailer in the Nintendo Direct, my brain went "British people? -> XENOBLADE", and i screamed so loud that my mum came out of her office to check that i was okay lmao :'') the hype of its announcement was surpassed perhaps only by the announcement a couple months later that the game's release date had been pushed up by some months. y'all, the fandom was eating WELL.

the day that Xenoblade 3 came out, i'd snatched only a few hours' sleep -- i probably seemed a little feral to the poor game store employee who sold me my copy lmao :') i'd happened to arrive right as she was taking down the display they'd had up; i asked if i could have it and though she seemed a little bewildered she gave it to me and now it's hanging on my wall !!

Xenoblade 3 was the installment that nobody expected and everybody longed for. it's a trilogy ending done right. it connects the stories of Xenoblade 1 & 2 in such a definitive and satisfying manner, and (along with the associated DLC, Future Connected) concludes the overarching story beautifully. the gameplay is just so polished, too -- the quality-of-life changes introduced are just. chef's kiss !!!