I'm nearing my end of this game (story wise) and I just wanted to say it's been such a blast the whole time. I believe the character development really hit the nail on the hammer in this game on a whole new level from the previous one. The connection so far doesn't seemed forced rather it all connects in a way where we are no longer just left at the end of the first Xenoblade (what in the world just happened and why are we in space and I get why i'm seeing this but still.. why is it relevant now?!).
It's all coming together and the final pieces to the puzzle are starting to appear. Even though the sidequests did a great job at distracting me and core crystals tended to take most of my time when opening them in hopes of a new rare blade, I had a really fun time and can't wait to continue on replaying and exploring new areas I might of missed and fight some of the higher level monsters!
Apologies for the short ramble just wanted to let this out.