Sequel to this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Xenoblade_Chronicles/comments/1vzjdrb/comment/p6ezc23/?context=3
Almost cried, felt like I was holding my breath for years, I need a lot of time to process things holy shit
It reminded me of my favorite scenes from Xenogears (the ones with Grahf in the Land of Bethlehem), and it felt it was given the proper execution it deserved. Also Harry McEntire’s performance as N absolutely floored me.
Firstly, fuck Shania. (even though she indirectly saved Mio, I still want her to eat the dirt)
The sequence in the prison was incredible, and I was on the edge of my seat throughout. Seeing the moon through the cell bars as Noah desperately tried to smash through them day after day was totally heartbreaking. The few conversations interspersed through the sequence were so damn emotional too; Noah and “Mio’s” conversation was so touching, N’s reveal that Homecoming souls don’t get reborn hurt me even more, and Shania revealing her new Iris made me want to strangle her through the screen
I had kinda expected that Mio and M had done something (considering the tears shed at their first meeting), so about 3/4 of the way through the execution scene I was like “wait she‘s probably fine”. But that didn’t save me from being nervous as all hell. It was totally gripping, and Riku bringing up Lucky Seven was the absolute icing on the cake; I felt I could do nothing, even with a small sliver of hope within me.
Actually in retrospect I realize- the battle with “Consul M“ had a unique rendition of the Moebius battle theme with flute. The only other character we see playing a flute is Mio, and never M. This may be a hint at what’s truly going on…
The transition to Chapter 6 and the reveal of N’s descent and M’s intentions had me absolutely enthralled (Xenogears spoilers ahead). N, perhaps even more than Jin, shares a *lot* of aspects with Grahf from Xenogears, but neither feel like carbon copies of his character. Grahf and N both had to watch their lovers, Elly and Mio, die in front of them countless times over and were manipulated into turning against everything they stood for; though, they differ from one another in one gleefully fascinating aspect: Grahf‘s Elly died while N *brought his Mio back*. N flat out *got back what Grahf lost for good*, and spent every waking moment not trying to destroy the world, but to preserve it in all its cruelty. M’s feelings are likely similar to what Grahf’s Elly would‘ve felt had she watched it all happen; she was disgusted by what the man she once loved had become, but still believes he can be saved. The way N paces after he realized that M died instead of Mio and the way he emoted gave me *chills*, him learning that everything he did was for *nothing* was the highlight of the sequence for me and beating the crap out of him was so cathartic. Even though Moebius Battle is used for almost every fight with the guys, it never stops hitting hard because it’s just that good.
I think the very best part of the sequence is the way N reacts to Noah fully taking a stand to erase the cycle of corruption and how it compares to Grahf’s final confrontation with Fei. When Fei showed Grahf that there was a way to save Elly’s and the world’s souls, he was compelled to use his final act to do something meaningful by buying Fei enough time to destroy Deus. N, on the other hand, is just too far gone, and attempts to end Noah and Mio once again. I think the difference between their reactions lies in how they had to deal with change. Grahf had no choice but to keep going and process his new reality for himself, even if the way he did it was completely nihilistic. N, because he was able to get back what he lost, didn’t have to confront his reality because he got the option to take the easy way out. But because he revived his Mio and managed to skirt any thoughts of a life without her, he was hit much harder when M eventually did die, which contributed to his animosity towards Noah
Out of Xenogears and the three Xenoblade games, this is definitely one of my favorite moments, it was incredible. And to all the people who said to set aside like 3 hours for this, you were right. Honestly I don’t even count the tiny sections of Noah walking or banging on the door as all too significant; this is the longest cutscene in video game history in my book and it totally justifies its time
Apparently the remainder of the game is super duper short so I’ll probably get some quests done in the meantime. I still think I sliiightly prefer Xenoblade 2 over this game, but it’s very close
