Character identities, relationships, lost histories, plenty. By starting with Torna, you’re learning things before you would in the main game, sure. Obviously it’s not the first prequel to do this, all prequels do, but Torna is the first time I’ve felt like the narrative was built with this in mind. But playing Torna first changes the way you experience the main game in a way I’ve not seen before. It only really forefronts the plot side of things towards the end, and if that shift sits well with you, you’ll probably get along with the main game. And the focus on characters and relationships gives it legs outside of it’s connection to Xenoblade 2. There’s a lot of minor fixes I wish were in the main game too.

It’s mechanics are streamlined, dropping the micromanagement of the main game in favor of a set party, making it a more traditional RPG. The most recent Nintendo Direct called Torna a “perfect place to start” for newcomers, and I don’t think I can fault that, despite my initial scepticism. And that’s real fuckin’ facinating to me. That, or it’s the most depresing, grim and foreboding 20 odd hours you’ll ever experience.

Depending on if you’ve finished Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or not, Torna ~ The Golden Country could be a lovely, sometimes quite twee, 20-odd hour rpg(30 if you’re meticulous) about some likable folks making friends and having hijinks, on the way to saving the world.

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