Soapbox features allow our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random things they’ve been chewing on.
Today, Alana declares that Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has one of the best DLCs ever in Torna – The Golden Country, and ponders what this could mean for Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed. Beware of XC2 spoilers…
We’re sitting on the cusp of Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed, the story DLC for last year’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3. I didn’t expect to be writing this in April, and it seems like we’re at a pretty important point in the Xenoblade series right now.
At this point, I’m pretty confident in saying that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is my favorite entry, though that could change depending on Future Redeeded. But I don’t find myself delving into every single detail of the third main game. Instead, Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country, the series’ previous DLC story, shines brightly in my mind.
Torna – Golden land is great. This prequel to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a massive, game-sized piece of story content that does much, much more than anyone expected. For a Xenoblade ‘game’, it’s a bite-sized slice of delicious cake, an immersion into the ocean of Xenoblade, and a fantastic encapsulation what Xenoblade game is. I think it’s one of the best DLCs ever made.
In the same way as The Witcher 3 Blood and wine and hearts of stone
it’s a bite-sized slice of delicious cake, an immersion into the ocean of Xenoblade, and a fantastic encapsulation what Xenoblade game is.
With Torna – The Golden Country you already know what’s going to happen, at least if you’ve played the main game. The events of Torna are what set the stage for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 — the closing of Aegis, the destruction of the Tornan Titans, and the danger and power of Malos — so it doesn’t fill in any necessary gaps. You’ve also heard of many of the characters you’ll be controlling throughout the main story — Lora, Addam, and Hugo (who aren’t mentioned by name in the main story of Xenoblade Chronicles 2). The real magic of this DLC is the emotional, human weight it gives to those past events that help elevate the main game.
Lora is one of the best protagonists in any RPG. She is strong, kind, compassionate and optimistic. Most importantly, she cares about people more than anything else. I liked Lora based on what I saw of her in the base game, and she balances soft seriousness and playfulness as she talks to Jin about their unusual fighting style – where the two switch between holding Jin’s katana. She quotes Jin, squeezes his cheek, and when he removes her hand, she walks forward, arms swinging, remembering the day he saved her life.
I know I’m not making her sound spectacular or even unique; Lora embodies many traits that are atypical of an RPG protagonist, but the contrast between her tender side and the horrors of the Aegis War around her is what makes her stand out, and her grounded personality makes her incredibly easy.
The personal stories of these people and their worlds act as vessels for a larger story.
Lora is the core of Torna – the Golden Land. Even if it is set during the Aegis War, this is about her story and her impact on the people around her during the war. Jin is one of the main antagonists of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but we see moments of his pain and his past throughout the game. He gets his redemption at the very end, and in Torna we see a more ‘human’ side of Blade. If you’ve played the main game, then you know what happens with Lora and what Jin does and becomes as a result, but seeing their relationship blossom on screen is truly beautiful, and it makes those moments even more difficult.
Both Addam and Hugo also work perfectly with Lora. Addam is cheerful and loves farming, even though he is a prince, but he hides a heavy burden as the driver of one of the most powerful blades in the world, Ithra. And Hugo, the young emperor of an entire nation, is a noble person who is interested in machines, but he also struggles with the weight of his people and the act of ruling. You can see how Lora fits into this dynamic before the trio gets together.
Lora shapes all of these characters — Ithra, who is quite different from her appearance in the base game, is Blade who struggles with empathy, and Addam clearly struggles with his inability to help. But as she watches Lora grieve for her mother and grow during the journey, you can see how the Aegis War and the people, especially Lora, have changed her. Xenoblade Chronicles may always be about lofty, allegorical, philosophical questions, but what carries those themes are the people. The personal stories of these people and their worlds act as vessels for a larger story.
Even when you know what’s going on, it’s hard not to get choked up…
This is especially true of Torna, which is triggered by a lot of side quests. Unfortunately for many people, you can’t even to win game unless you have completed a certain number of side quests to help build your community and repopulate the royal capital of Auresco. It’s not my favorite way of structuring things, and like many Xenoblade sidequests they often just involve fetching items and killing monsters, but the Torna – The Golden Country quests help you get to know the people of Torna and the Gormott Titans. Almost every side quest has a purpose, and every NPC has a reason to join you, whether you’re fixing lamps in town or collecting bugs for an enthusiastic child.
