Masahiro Sakurai, the mind behind the Super Smash Bros. games, has praised Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Source Gaming on Twitter has posted a summary of what Sakurai had to say, translated from Sakurai’s column in the latest Famitsu issue. Here is the summary given, translated by @brando_themando and @PushDustIn. Here are some of what Sakurai had to say about the game.
- Sakurai cleared Xenoblade Chronicles 2 during his New Year’s vacation. He had to dedicate a lot of time to it because of the immense amount of content, but says having so much to do also creates a real sense of growth and development
- Sakurai praises the game’s sprawling world, unique story and rich soundtrack. He thinks the map’s use of high and low terrain and its variety of areas makes it great for an open world game.
- From a developer’s perspective, he considers Xenoblade 2 a considerable achievement. Says Monolith Soft’s assistance to Breath of The Wild’s development might have improved their own open-world know-how.
- It took him a really long time to play, but for open world games, big is the right way to do it. He thinks the feeling of freedom, doing things in the order you like and going on adventures with your crew is an essential aspect of open-world games.
- There are things you can’t get by just rushing through the game. If you take your time, and dig deep, there’s a lot to love. It’s a rare type of game, so if you’re going to play it, then plant your feet and take on the challenge.
When someone as prolific as Masahiro Sakurai is praising your game, you know you did something right! I cleared the initial game in about 100 hours, but I’ve put over 170 hours into the game. There are still blades I need and I’m still working on quests at level 78.
With Sakurai’s praises, this creates a definite possibility that characters from Xenoblade 2 will make it into Smash Bros. on Switch. It’s great to hear Sakurai praise one of the best Switch games to come out.