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[JORMBO]

Developer: Monolith Soft
Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Release Date Expansion Pass: September 14, 2018
Release Date Physical Edition: September 21, 2018
Download Size: 3.2gb
Genre: Role Playing
Mode: Single-player
Price: Expansion Pass - $30 | Physical Edition - $40 - Contains Torna on a cartridge plus the expansion pass.
Original Game OT: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 |OT| On the backs of Titans we go!

**Please spoiler tag any spoilers from the main game!**


Versions

Story & Features
Guide a group of legendary warriors on a journey through the tragic history that doomed a kingdom and drove a hero down a dark path 500 years before the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Defend yourself from Malos and his forces using all the fury of this refined battle system, allowing you to fight as both the artificial lifeforms known as Blades and their masters, the Drivers.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country features gameplay mechanics very similar to the main game. However, unlike the main game, in which only the Drivers can be directly controlled, players can control both Drivers and their resonated Blades.

In battle, both Blades and Drivers can switch between support and attack positions, with new Battle Arts known as Switch Arts that are immediately performed on a switch to an attack position. Drivers and Blades share the same stats, including Level, EXP, HP, etc.

The expansion is reported to have around 30-40 hours of content.

Characters

Addam:

Mythra (2nd best girl):

Jin:

Lora:

Malos:

Haze:

Brighid:

Hugo (driver of Brighid and Aegaeon):

Minoth:

Mikhail:

The King of Torna:

Reviews

Metacritic - 81

NintendoWorldReport - 85
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country, despite technically being DLC, is a remarkably accessible adventure to new players. For those viewing this simply as a DLC, I expect you’ll be floored by just how new it all feels
Destructoid - 8
The real merit of the expansion is in the details. We're able to better connect with some of the protagonists, villains, and anti-heroes because Torna lets us see the world from their eyes and live through their trials and tribulations. Legends become three-dimensional as a result and in true Xenoblade fashion there's plenty of touching moments.
MMORPG.com - 80
It’s clear now that Torna - The Golden Country is a more refined and much better experience. The story of Lora and Jin, Addam and Mythra, and the rise and fall of Malos is actually far more engaging than the tale of Rex and Pyra was.
RPG Site - 8
While many of its gameplay systems remain the same, Monolith Soft did a tremendous job tweaking battles to make them a bit faster-paced and more digestible all at once. Even though the expansion has its share of problems, like gating progress with forced sidequest thresholds, I still found it a lot of fun and people who loved the world of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will have an absolute blast with this new perspective of the stories they’ve heard before.

Videos

 

[Danjin44]

Nice job with the OT. XC2 by far has the best expansion pass and DLC in JRPG.

 

[digital_ghost]

Great OT. As an Expansion Pass owner I am looking forward to playing tomorrow. It will consume my life like the main game. Going to need alarms for eating, sleeping, etc.

 

[Danjin44]

Great OT. As an Expansion Pass owner I am looking forward to playing tomorrow. It will consume my life like the main game. Going to need alarms for eating, sleeping, etc.

in September we have too many long JRPG like DQXI, VC4 and now this. This why Switch also being handheld system is god sent for people like me.

 

[Akhe]

Awesome!

 

[Danjin44]

When review embargo for this lifts? or the game even going have any reviews in first place?

 

[JORMBO]

When review embargo for this lifts? or the game even going have any reviews in first place?

I wasn’t able to locate any info on this. I left a section in the OT for reviews if we get any. I think we will eventually see some.

Famitsu gave it a 35/40...but it’s Famitsu. They also gave the original game that score.

 

[Danjin44]

reviews:
RPGsite: 8

Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country is a great supplementary experience that adds another layer to the story of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It’s a meaty expansion that clarifies a lot of important details in the histories of several central characters inside the main game. I enjoyed the laid back vibe throughout this story expansion. Its musical score leans hard on mellow jazz tunes that I totally dug, and XC2: Torna’s new battle theme is downright awesome. I also liked quite a few of the new, cozy night themes.
While many of its gameplay systems remain the same, Monolith Soft did a tremendous job tweaking battles to make them a bit faster-paced and more digestible all at once. Even though the expansion has its share of problems, like gating progress with forced sidequest thresholds, I still found it a lot of fun and people who loved the world of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will have an absolute blast with this new perspective of the stories they’ve heard before.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

So they do actualy decided to make this DLC as a standalone game on a cartridge? I mean, at the time of announcement we knew for sure that there'll be only download code for the season pass inside the box and nothing else.

 

[JORMBO]

So they do actualy decided to make this DLC as a standalone game on a cartridge? I mean, at the time of announcement we knew for sure that there'll be only download code for the season pass inside the box and nothing else.

Yes the $40 edition that comes out in a week contains the game on a cartridge and a code to download the remaining expansion pass content.

 

[ebevan91]

Honestly I think I'm liking this more than the main game so far. The scope of the game is smaller so a lot of things are easier to manage.

I'm not completely overwhelmed with side quests like I was in the main game either. I have several pages of quests that I haven't done yet in XC2 but in TGC I'm doing the side quests as soon as I get them, if I can.

 

[Danjin44]

Man, so far I really liking combat, especially the way you can switch between Driver and Blade.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Is it a "new map"?

 

[Danjin44]

Is it a "new map"?

I just started playing the game and so far the area are new.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I just started playing the game and so far the area are new.

Sweeeet. I figured, but since I haven't played Xeno 2 I had no way of judging (from footage alone) how "new" the map was compared to the main game.

 

[JORMBO]

I added a few reviews to the OP. Looks like there are 4 out there now.

Is it a "new map"?

Torna is new. The explorable area of Gormott I believe is the same area as the main game, but with changes to reflect the different time period.

 

[Danjin44]

http://www.siliconera.com/2018/09/1...-and-full-patch-notes-for-ver-2-0-0-now-live/

This a cute picture.

 

[John Day]

Haven’t finished the main game, but damn i can’t hold it, gonna dig into the expansion i don’t care!!

 

[JORMBO]

I’m only three hours in so far, but I think this game would be super confusing for people that haven’t played the main game yet. Not sure why Nintendo said people can start here.

 

[Danjin44]

I’m only three hours in so far, but I think this game would be super confusing for people that haven’t played the main game yet. Not sure why Nintendo said people can start here.

Yeah, even tho its "prequel" it still requires some knowledge of main game or the story can be confusing to some. Thats what PR always say, even SE says that you don't need play other KH games to understand KHIII's story and that absolutely NOT TRUE.

 

[JORMBO]

I'm not sure why they had to gate all the ending stuff behind hitting community level 4. I am community level 2 now so that means I am forced to do hours of generic side quests I would have normally skipped.

It feels like they just wanted to add a ton of padding to justify the stand alone version.

 

[Danjin44]

I'm not sure why they had to gate all the ending stuff behind hitting community level 4. I am community level 2 now so that means I am forced to do hours of generic side quests I would have normally skipped.

Yeah thats most issue people having with this game. I would say the Side Quest in Torna is better than main game, especially when you take the quest you party member actually talk related to quest and not saying same line with like with the main game.

 

[JORMBO]

Yeah thats most issue people having with this game. I would say the Side Quest in Torna is better than main game, especially when you take the quest you party member actually talk related to quest and not saying same line with like with the main game.

I powered through it and it wasn't that bad. A few quests started adding 2-3 people and there were also a few people you could add just by talking to them. It's still useless padding, but I originally thought it would take longer.

Now I can finish the game once my Switch battery charges some.

 

[Komatsu]

I'm loving the game so far, though given that it's about to be released as a standalone, I was expecting it to be a lot longer. The padding is absolutely infuriating.

 

[Danjin44]

I'm loving the game so far, though given that it's about to be released as a standalone, I was expecting it to be a lot longer. The padding is absolutely infuriating.

Yeah the community part was not the best idea but god damn the combat is fun and story so far its pretty good. I personally very pleased with Torna and made entire expansion well worth it.

 

[Ma-Yuan]

Damn can't wait till friday to finally play it ><

 

[jshackles]

Sad this isn't getting more love / hype here on GAF, maybe everyone's waiting for the physical release?

Anyway - I've played the first three hours of this and having an absolute blast so far. I probably wouldn't recommend it to people who haven't played XC2 though, even though it's technically a prequel. This game throws a ton of technical battle info at you basically straight away - stuff that took XC2 a good 10 hours or so to build upon. If you've played XC2 this is all old-hat in Torna, but if you haven't I could see people getting really lost/confused here. Can't wait to sink another ungodly amount of time into this game.

 

[Danjin44]

Sad this isn't getting more love / hype here on GAF, maybe everyone's waiting for the physical release?

Anyway - I've played the first three hours of this and having an absolute blast so far. I probably wouldn't recommend it to people who haven't played XC2 though, even though it's technically a prequel. This game throws a ton of technical battle info at you basically straight away - stuff that took XC2 a good 10 hours or so to build upon. If you've played XC2 this is all old-hat in Torna, but if you haven't I could see people getting really lost/confused here. Can't wait to sink another ungodly amount of time into this game.

Yeah, the combat is absolutely amazing here its much easier to create element orbs around for chain attacks.

 

[Smasher89]

I think I just got a glitch when maxing out morags affinity chart , was supposed to give me a aggro up VI, which is nowere to be found.Edit: same with the wp item, hope i can still beat the final superboss thats left

 

[Danjin44]

Finally finished it and what a game and that ending.

Spoiler

To think the shock of losing Milton that made Mythra turn in to Pyra.

 

[alf717]

Wild question for anyone that bought a physical copy. Have you noticed a long crease in the label going vertically on the reversible label? I ended up with two copies and both have this long faint crease on the front and back in the exact same spots. Looks like a minor label issue but I just wanted to know if anyone else got that. I'll edit this with an image when I get some pics.

Here are some pictures doesn't show it but if you lift em to a light they stick out in the marked area. Sorry I'm that OCD dude that must have perfect labels I'll be jumping into the game tomorrow. Got everything patched up and I'm really looking forward to it.

https://abload.de/img/1p1eb7.jpg
https://abload.de/img/25hdfm.jpg

 

[jshackles]

8 hours in and I just made it to the desert area. Just like XC2, this game is super easy to pick up and play and the fact that you can save "anywhere" as well as system-suspend on the Switch means you can pick up right where you left off which I love.

I've been doing all the side quests and community building stuff I can come across - I want to savor every moment of this game.

 

[alf717]

Just completed the game. This expansion was really good. Ended the game a little on the OP side but it was very fun to play. 2 community quest to do but after spending 5+ extra hours on one I decided it was time to complete the game.

 

[alf717]

Sorry for the double post but I can't believe that this whole time when I was maxing the affinity chart that you could only have 500 max items. I lost all the level VI junk I unlocked cause of not clearing out spots. That really sucks. Just a heads up to anyone else so you don't lose these items.

 

[Chittagong]

Finally had the chance to complete Torna on my diving holiday away from the internet. My thoughts

Gameplay
- Much easier chain / orb system is satisfying...
- ... but also makes the game much easier than the orignal
- The side quests are fun, with quirky little stories...
- ... but the forced Community tiering makes them feel like a grind

Presentation
- Similarly to the main game, Torna has some truly beautiful and memorable locations
- The graphics are beautiful, and the soundtrack is as good as always
- The amount of locations is quite small, however, so you will run the same streets over and over

Story
- After Xenoblade 2 story delivered way and beyond all expectations, I was obviously waiting for a lot from the expansion
- There is so much mythical ground to cover in the run up to the main game
- The story remians disappointingly shallow, even when there is so much they could have done with it
- The main storyline makes sense, but the amount of unanswered questions is too big

Questions remaining after the story
The story left so many questions open. I’ve spoilered them here. Maybe some of them are things I missed when playing the main game.

Spoiler: Story spoilers

- What happened to Addam?
- Why did Addam and Mythra go separate ways?

- Why did Mythra turn into Pyra in the end?
- Why does Pyra end up under water?

- Why did Lora and Jin go separate ways?
- Why did Jin turn evil?
- Why did Mikhail turn evil?

- How did Bridghit come back?

- Is Nuncle actually Gramps?
- What is the significance of the main character in the main game showing up in the ending?

Torna as DLC
- As DLC, Torna is a fantastic package, an all new story with refined gameplay mechanics
- It feels like great value for the price of admission
- Even though the main game was quite the burn out at 110h, the “stand aloneness” of the DLC avoids game fatique
- I got some 18h or game time of the expansion, which is great value in my books

Torna as a standalone game
- I’ve read many people say that Torna would be a great JRPG on its own right
- I disagree to that. While you could complete it, most of the story stuff would fly over your head
- Also the many rewards, systems and upgrade mechanics would be quite overwhelming to a new comer

Bottomline
Great expansion, good value for money, but would have loved more depth in the story.

 

[Danjin44]

Questions remaining after the story
The story left so many questions open. I’ve spoilered them here. Maybe some of them are things I missed when playing the main game.

Spoiler: Story spoilers

- What happened to Addam? He died.
- Why did Addam and Mythra go separate ways? After Mythra turn herself in to Pyra, Addam Sealed her away.

- Why did Mythra turn into Pyra in the end? Shock of Milton's death.
- Why does Pyra end up under water? Addam sealed her there

- Why did Lora and Jin go separate ways? Lora got killed and Jin eat her Flesh and turn in Flesh eater so he wouldn't turn back to core crystal and forgetting Lora.
- Why did Jin turn evil? Did you played the main game?
- Why did Mikhail turn evil? ^^

- How did Bridghit come back? When Hugo died, She turn back in to core crystal and passed down to Mòrag
- Is Nuncle actually Gramps?
- What is the significance of the main character in the main game showing up in the ending? It shows Rex finding Pyra as we in the main game.

Both the main game and Torna answered all these questions.

 

[Chittagong]

Both the main game and Torna answered all these questions.

Hmmm... maybe the avalance of information in the main game made me miss those points. Specifically

Spoiler: Story spoilers

Addam - The only thing that I can recall from the main game about Addam was remembered as a leader who left to explore the world rather than ruling his realm, but I don’t remember that it would have offered details on how he ultimately died. In how Torna was narrated, him being a loved and admired person, I was expecting the tragedy at the end of the game to be his death. It was weird to see him just wander out and about again.

Mythra / Pyra - I missed the bit of Mythra being so shocked about Milton’s death. Her character overall was pretty blase about everything, so it would have been incredibly suprising of her being so upset that Addam would feel compelled to lock her away.

Jin / Mikhail - I remember the flesh eater bit now that you mention it, that it came from good intentions, but how that lead them to a path together with Malos, I don’t remember. Given how much Jin apparently hated Malos in Torna, that seemed like a big event and change of direction.

Bridghit - Makes sense, and seems logically consistent to me.

I think I’ll need to watch a YouTube recap.

 

[UltimaKilo]

I’ve had this game on my Switch since I finished Xenoblade 2 years ago, but never had time to get around to it. I just finished TOTK and in my downloads I have Xenoblade 3 and Torna with time in my hands.

My question: is XC2: Torna worth playing before jumping into XC3? What were your thoughts of the game?

 

[Danjin44]

I’ve had this game on my Switch since I finished Xenoblade 2 years ago, but never had time to get around to it. I just finished TOTK and in my downloads I have Xenoblade 3 and Torna with time in my hands.

My question: is XC2: Torna worth playing before jumping into XC3? What were your thoughts of the game?

XC2 Torna is great if you enjoyed the base game, it basically gives you more story behind Jin and Lora and more story behind Mythra and Adam's past....in my opinion its well worth playing.

 

[UltimaKilo]

XC2 Torna is great if you enjoyed the base game, it basically gives you more story behind Jin and Lora and more story behind Mythra and Adam's past....in my opinion its well worth playing.

Just finished after sinking 29 hours into it. Brilliant game with awesome characters. Improves on XC2 in a lot of ways. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Danjin44]

Just finished after sinking 29 hours into it. Brilliant game with awesome characters. Improves on XC2 in a lot of ways. Thanks for the recommendation!

I’m telling you, Monolith Soft are brilliant at making DLC for JRPGs.

 

[UltimaKilo]

I’m telling you, Monolith Soft are brilliant at making DLC for JRPGs.

It was definitely worth it, a bit tedious at the end, but the story and character development was even better than XC2.

Have you played XC3 yet? The reviews seem to suggest it's the best Xenoblade yet, not just story and game play, but that it pushes the Switch to it's technical limits.

 

[Danjin44]

It was definitely worth it, a bit tedious at the end, but the story and character development was even better than XC2.

Have you played XC3 yet? The reviews seem to suggest it's the best Xenoblade yet, not just story and game play, but that it pushes the Switch to it's technical limits.

Fuuuuck yeah I loved it and Future Redeemed DLC is sooooo good.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

I have a question for those who played the physical version of Torna:

I read that completing Torna unlocks special art in the base XC2 game. Given that the Torna cartridge has a completely separate save file from XC2, is this still the case?

(The season pass Torna saves its data in the XC2 file, but the cartridge Torna does not.)