Genre: RPG
Developer: Monolith Soft
Publisher: Nintendo

The previous game had its visual foibles, such as an absurdly low resolution-- but it still managed to use lots of clever lighting and color theming to make each area look aesthetically pleasing. This title then uses the same engine, but clearly the same level of care has not gone into the various zone layouts, as they look haphazard with jagged walkways and hills everywhere. There is also an almost total lack of lighting of any kind, and little-to-no ambient occlusion. The character designs are reasonable, but would look a lot nicer in 4K. This isn't a bad looking game, featuring nice draw-in distance and lots of geometry-- but it is a step down from the second title.

The same batch of composers did the music for this one as the last title, and it's about what one would expect: a mix of orchestral music with some violin thrown in-- nothing particularly remarkable, but it gets the job done. The flute as an instrument plays a prominent role, and sounds good. The game's English voice acting is clearly done via the same subcontractor as in the second title, so expect more well done, thematically-fitting British Isles-style productions.

The combat engine is vastly improved over the second title; it feels much more polished and customizable, although it is questionable why it needs so many different mechanics: the player spends the first few hours sitting through an almost comical number of tutorials and "tips" prompts. Unfortunately, and unlike the previous game, there are tons of boring fetch quests and filler content. Many of the mechanics, such as the "flame clock" gauges for the various colonies are either half-baked or don't appear to do anything whatsoever!

To their credit, Monolith Soft likes to put new spins on their formula. Remember "X" on the Wii U? The issue with this entry is that it can't figure out what it wants to be: it has this superficial veneer of a strategy game, with a loyalty system, threat gauges, and other mechanics-- but the game's flow is that of an essentially linear JRPG, relegating any overarching strategy element pure window dressing. The game's story starts out really interesting, and the opening ten-or-so hours are gripping-- but then things devolve into doing boring side quests for town NPCs. This third numbered Xenoblade Chronicles game is solid and worth a play for hardcore JRPG fans, but it's not nearly as consistently engaging or good looking as the second title.