Everyone knows there’s no better time to do sidequests than when the fate of the world hangs in the balance and you’re the only one who can help. And I haven’t said I won’t save the world, I just want to pick a few herbs and deliver a few bowls of soup first. What’s that thing called, the Broken Window Theory? If I had been solving all the little problems all along, maybe things would never have gotten this bad. Yeah… right.
Well, wishful thinking aside, the real reason I’m doing sidequests now is because I was promised 100+ hours of gaming when I picked up Xenoblade Chronicles 2. My brother who played it before me says his save file reads 166 hours. So I was dismayed when I reached chapter 9 out of 10 after only 65 hours. 65 dull and dismal hours. Clearly I was focusing my energies in the wrong area. If I want to enjoy this game, I’ve gotta kick the story to the curb and go exploring!
This is a good time to do all that stuff because my party is now level 63 on average with over 100,000 gold in the bank. I can splash money around to develop neglected cities, I can afford expensive salvaging cylinders and I can go foraging in areas I had previously run away from. It’s pretty funny how enemies that used to attack aggressively now whistle nonchalantly and pretend not to notice me because I’m 40 levels higher now. Even a monster that was scripted to leap out at us went “RAWR! Oh… uh… good morning, ma’am. Just, uh, getting my daily exercise, don’t mind me.” :-DDDD
There are only two flies in my ointment right now. The first is the pre-filled map, which cuts the joy of exploration by 50%. But I’ve mentioned that before and it’s not going to change now. It is what it is and I’ve made the decision to enjoy the game regardless. Besides, I still get a kick out of discovering new landmarks.
The bigger problem is the risk that I’ll spend so much time on sidequests that I get tired of the game and fail to finish it. To reach 166 hours means another 100 hours on top of what I’ve already played so far. Does Xenoblade Chronicles 2 even have that much content? By all accounts it does, but will I even remember what the story is about by that point? I mean 166 hours is definitely getting my money’s worth, but I’d still like to finish the game if at all possible and I know it won’t happen if I fool around too much.
That’s why I have to take preventive measures to avoid that. Let’s see, I’m almost 70 hours in.
Hmm, I think I’ll fool around for another 5 hours then continue the story. Once I’m about to face the Very Definitely Final Boss then I’ll go back and do whatever I want for the next 100 hours. That way when I’m finally sick and tired of XC2 I can trash the baddies with my sure-to-be-overpowered team and watch the ending. Tadaa, it’s foolproof! To the fray!
