If the universe of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is not unrelated to its two predecessors, it is still self-sufficient and can therefore be approached without any problem by beginners. It is indeed with new heroes, another era and even a new world that we are dealing with. The game's scenario introduces us to the lands of Aionos, which are plagued by a perpetual clash between the Keves and Agnus nations. Both feed on the vital energy snatched from opposing fighters and are organized in the same way. The young soldiers are brought up solely with a view to warfare, fight for ten years (if they do not die before) then take part in the ceremony of the Great Return which brings them back into the bosom of the Queen... which also resembles very strong at end of life. This fate is hardly enviable, and certain events will bring three fighters from Keves (Noah, Eunie and Lanz) and three from Agnus (Mio, Taion and Sena) to desert and collaborate. We won't tell you much more about the scenario, because it is conducive to many twists and turns that are best discovered during the game. We will content ourselves with specifying that our young heroes will be confronted for the first time with others with the concept of old age and wrinkles, which does not lack spice for the old gamers that we are. Note also that Noah and Mio are both soul carriers, capable of bringing peace to the deceased. This feature serves both the scenario, the atmosphere (the scenes where multiple light particles escape to the sky to the sound of Noah and Mio's flutes are not lacking in poetry) and the gameplay (freeing the souls of the soldiers fallen in battle increases the affinity with the colony to which they belonged).
EVE, ANGE & LION
The game constantly oscillates between action, emotion and humor, helped in this by a good English version (Japanese voices are also available) and sublime symphonic and grandiloquent music that really makes a strong impression! On the other hand, the sound mixing surprisingly gets tripped up from time to time, the punctual absence of music or sound effects then introducing a few moments of hesitation. As far as graphics are concerned, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is necessarily limited by the weak capacities of the Switch, on which it is released exclusively. But we have seen much worse elsewhere! Here the aliasing remains very reasonable, no extreme slowdown is to be reported, certain landscapes extend as far as the eye can see, the special light effects burst out from all sides, and the game quite skilfully manages the change in resolution between the gameplay and cutscenes, so that they look their best. Some sequences are also worthy of a real anime. So of course, at times we find ourselves dreaming about what all this would look like on a PC or next-gen console. But the artistic direction remains fortunately strong and successful enough to satisfy our pupils as it stands. The universe manages to marry nature and technology in an elegant way. The fantastic animals that roam the world rub shoulders with the giant robots of the soldiers, while oversized swords and healing spells coexist during battles. The excessiveness seems to be the only common point of the different elements composing the universe, but nevertheless this one remains permanently coherent, credible, and interesting. The fact of crossing from the beginning of the adventure creatures far too strong for our level also helps to make the world alive and to give the illusion of functioning independent of the player's actions.
THE ART OF WAR
Japanese role-playing requires, however, the sinews of war remains the combat system. And hang on tight, because that of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is firing on all cylinders! First of all, it features six fighters, sometimes joined by a seventh guest. Then, it highlights two fundamental elements: automatic attacks (it is enough to remain motionless near an enemy for our character to hit him) and positioning (the power of certain blows is increased tenfold if they are carried out on the flank or back). To this must be added the Arts, special attacks equipped with a recharge gauge, which are also available in Signature Arts, Master Arts and Posture Arts. We'll spare you the details because there would be enough to fill dozens of pages of an old-fashioned game manual. It should be noted, however, that the soldiers of Keves recharge their arts gauges over time while those of Agnus are based on automatic attacks. Must also be taken into account the combos to destabilize the enemies, and the feints to be made by chaining certain attacks with the right timing. The game also offers a whole system of roles (fighter, healer, protector) broken down into several classes. The characters can also change class at any time, in order to increase their class rank and acquire the mastery of ever more varied Arts. This also opens the way to the fusion of Arts when two Arts from different classes are simultaneously charged during a fight.
And while most games would have stopped there, or before, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 pushes the plug even further by offering a Sequence mechanic, the gauge of which fills up according to the combos and feints made. Once triggered, team members can cast Arts in turn, without any response from the opponent, with certain conditions to be met in order to prolong the fun and send even more devastating Arts. The game also offers a soldier fusion mechanism, which is also very important from a scriptwriting point of view. It allows certain duos to temporarily take on the form of Ouroboros, that is to say a giant robot. Special arts, overheat gauge and unlockable upgrade tree enrich this system. Let's not throw any more and recap how the fights work: you have to position yourself correctly, change class, change targets, change characters, give orders, perform feints, get out of combos, manage enemy hostility, trigger Sequence mechanics, transform into Ouroboros, and use Arts, Signature Arts, Master Arts, Posture Arts, Arts fusions and skills. And we are far from having everything detailed! This abundance of mechanics, to which we can add for example the creation of objects, the kitchen or the making of gems, risks intimidating, even disturbing, certain players. Expect tutorial messages to still appear on screen after several hours of play. 'interface. Between the multiple icons displayed superimposed on the action and the colored lines which delimit the areas of effect and permanently indicate who is targeting whom, we sometimes do not know where to turn. But this excess actually sticks quite well with the general spirit of the game, which dares a lot and succeeds in almost everything it does.
