Christi Junior on Nostr: Xenoblade 3 Writeup Prologue: https://detroitriotcity.com/notice/AjOZdaQg6QbRd1EXtg ...
Xenoblade 3 Writeup
Prologue: https://detroitriotcity.com/notice/AjOZdaQg6QbRd1EXtg
Chapter 1: https://detroitriotcity.com/notice/AjQTcjhzuEOUi2SwO8
Chapter 2: https://detroitriotcity.com/notice/AjSiYohTIDnuf0jEzA
Chapter 3: https://detroitriotcity.com/notice/AjUd1czlgC4vLbYsoi
Chapter 4: Confronting the Queen of Keves
1/6
Chapter 4 again begins by introducing us to a future antagonist, namely Cammuravi, the strongest Agnian warrior and Ethel’s rival. In an epic opening cutscene, we see this man singlehandedly turn around a battle between two colonies, with him and giant mech laying waste to a Kevesi army. And he’s not even the main threat our heroes will face this chapter, because the Moebius have figured out that if a single colony commander accompanied by a single Consul won’t cut it, doubling up on both should dramatically increase their chances of victory. But more importantly still, this is the chapter when one of the Queens, the High Entian ruler of Keves, finally makes her move.
Until now Xenoblade 3 has felt like a completely standalone story, knowledge of prior Xenoblade games not really adding much at all beyond recognition of various landmarks, races and references. However, there has always been that one, glaring exception, evident from the reveal trailer: the two Queens of the warring nations blatantly being returning main characters from Xenoblades 1 and 2. Or, are they? The way they behave make them look like straight-up villains, and they keep hiding their faces behind these creepy masks. But at the same time, the physical and even vocal similarities seemingly leave no other explanation. Of course, the Queens could be imposters, but for what purpose; the soldiers of Keves and Agnus have no knowledge about the events of prior games, so what good does impersonating old heroes do?
One thing was certain: whatever their true nature, the Queens would prove to be key to many of Aionios’s deepest, darkest secrets, and so getting to actually confront one or both of them would be a defining moment in the story. And THAT’S what Chapter 4, the game’s high point so far, will be leading up to.
For the record: My guess was that the Queens were the real deal, and that their seemingly evil, ruthless actions were done for the sake of the greater good – the reason being that the merger of the two worlds had resulted in such a profoundly unstable fusion (evidenced by the Annihilation Effect) that complete and instant planetary destruction is only kept at bay (somehow) by the continuous sacrifice of soldiers. Our Queens are thus forced to keep the war going to avert an even greater calamity. Granted, the blatantly cruel and evil Moebius didn’t at first glance fit with this theory, but they could still work as vile opportunists who had threatened to derail this whole Necessary War unless they were given part of the energy and lifeforce generated by the war, thus usurping power from the Queens and further worsening the living conditions of the soldiers in the process.
That said, there was always the possibility that our favorite Bird Lady and Welsh Catgirl really HAD been turned evil by the events of a hitherto unexplored backstory, and that we would have to put them down – a possibility any true Xenoblade fan would deeply dread. Suffice to say, the final few hours of Chapter 4 had me sitting on pins and needles.
The chapter starts off calmly enough though – with Colony Lambda turned friendly, doing Isurd’s Hero Quest was a no-brainer, before the party travels from Great Cotte Falls (which marks a triumphant return of Makna Forest’s stunning waterfalls) to High Maktha Wildwood (your classic post-apocalyptical city overrun by nature, though slightly more chaotic than the norm). This leads into Juniper’s Hero Quest, which is actually mandatory and unlocks the rope sliding skill for a genuinely valuable new traversal option. I’ll say my piece on Juniper herself (yes, *herself*, enbies aren’t valid, cry about it nigger) once finally going over Xenoblade 3’s Based Morality Score in the next chapter, but for now I’ll mention that her Class is pretty much the only Attacker Class in the game I don’t really like, but her first Hero Quest storyline is pretty interesting, and certainly unique. (UPDATE – Juniper’s Archer class, while flawed, can be quite effective in the right situations, as I’ve found out during my new playthrough).
Prologue: https://detroitriotcity.com/notice/AjOZdaQg6QbRd1EXtg
Chapter 1: https://detroitriotcity.com/notice/AjQTcjhzuEOUi2SwO8
Chapter 2: https://detroitriotcity.com/notice/AjSiYohTIDnuf0jEzA
Chapter 3: https://detroitriotcity.com/notice/AjUd1czlgC4vLbYsoi
Chapter 4: Confronting the Queen of Keves
1/6
Chapter 4 again begins by introducing us to a future antagonist, namely Cammuravi, the strongest Agnian warrior and Ethel’s rival. In an epic opening cutscene, we see this man singlehandedly turn around a battle between two colonies, with him and giant mech laying waste to a Kevesi army. And he’s not even the main threat our heroes will face this chapter, because the Moebius have figured out that if a single colony commander accompanied by a single Consul won’t cut it, doubling up on both should dramatically increase their chances of victory. But more importantly still, this is the chapter when one of the Queens, the High Entian ruler of Keves, finally makes her move.
Until now Xenoblade 3 has felt like a completely standalone story, knowledge of prior Xenoblade games not really adding much at all beyond recognition of various landmarks, races and references. However, there has always been that one, glaring exception, evident from the reveal trailer: the two Queens of the warring nations blatantly being returning main characters from Xenoblades 1 and 2. Or, are they? The way they behave make them look like straight-up villains, and they keep hiding their faces behind these creepy masks. But at the same time, the physical and even vocal similarities seemingly leave no other explanation. Of course, the Queens could be imposters, but for what purpose; the soldiers of Keves and Agnus have no knowledge about the events of prior games, so what good does impersonating old heroes do?
One thing was certain: whatever their true nature, the Queens would prove to be key to many of Aionios’s deepest, darkest secrets, and so getting to actually confront one or both of them would be a defining moment in the story. And THAT’S what Chapter 4, the game’s high point so far, will be leading up to.
For the record: My guess was that the Queens were the real deal, and that their seemingly evil, ruthless actions were done for the sake of the greater good – the reason being that the merger of the two worlds had resulted in such a profoundly unstable fusion (evidenced by the Annihilation Effect) that complete and instant planetary destruction is only kept at bay (somehow) by the continuous sacrifice of soldiers. Our Queens are thus forced to keep the war going to avert an even greater calamity. Granted, the blatantly cruel and evil Moebius didn’t at first glance fit with this theory, but they could still work as vile opportunists who had threatened to derail this whole Necessary War unless they were given part of the energy and lifeforce generated by the war, thus usurping power from the Queens and further worsening the living conditions of the soldiers in the process.
That said, there was always the possibility that our favorite Bird Lady and Welsh Catgirl really HAD been turned evil by the events of a hitherto unexplored backstory, and that we would have to put them down – a possibility any true Xenoblade fan would deeply dread. Suffice to say, the final few hours of Chapter 4 had me sitting on pins and needles.
The chapter starts off calmly enough though – with Colony Lambda turned friendly, doing Isurd’s Hero Quest was a no-brainer, before the party travels from Great Cotte Falls (which marks a triumphant return of Makna Forest’s stunning waterfalls) to High Maktha Wildwood (your classic post-apocalyptical city overrun by nature, though slightly more chaotic than the norm). This leads into Juniper’s Hero Quest, which is actually mandatory and unlocks the rope sliding skill for a genuinely valuable new traversal option. I’ll say my piece on Juniper herself (yes, *herself*, enbies aren’t valid, cry about it nigger) once finally going over Xenoblade 3’s Based Morality Score in the next chapter, but for now I’ll mention that her Class is pretty much the only Attacker Class in the game I don’t really like, but her first Hero Quest storyline is pretty interesting, and certainly unique. (UPDATE – Juniper’s Archer class, while flawed, can be quite effective in the right situations, as I’ve found out during my new playthrough).