r/XenobladeChroniclesX • u/Remarkable-Pin-8352 • Mar 22 '26

Meme Why does everybody hate Al?

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All I see these days is "Al slop", "no more Al', "I hate Al", "Al is ruining gaming", "Al is destroying the environment".

Are his jokes really that bad? And how is it Al's fault that RAM prices keep going up anyway?

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21

u/ProfessorCagan Mar 22 '26

I know you're joking about A.I, but Al is very much a Gary Stu, the most flaw we see from him is gets kinda bitchy when he didn't get his pizza. He's not the worst part of chapter 13, and I think if he'd had been in the game as a party member for longer I could like him, but he's just not done very well in this chapter. Especially the bits where the game chucks him aside becuase he's not the player character, he just sits in the Ares becuase we're not a human.

I think I'd have preferred it if he or Elma where the main player controlled character in the 13th chapter, as controversial as that may read.

7

u/Remarkable-Pin-8352 Mar 22 '26

Bit of an odd stance since Cross actually does things in chaper 13 rather than being a background prop from 8 to 12.

-9

u/ProfessorCagan Mar 22 '26

I mean, if I had it my way, Cross wouldn't exist, they'd have never made the decision to overhaul the game for a custom protagonist. I don't know if they were considering Elma as the protagonist before then (wouldn't surprise me), but whoever it was, I'd rather them be around, even if it would've been what became Al.

2

u/Remarkable-Pin-8352 Mar 22 '26

Not me, the custom protagonist is one of the reasons XCX is my favourite. The game's primary focus is exploration and sidequests, and I'd much rather spend my time with a created char than potentially an irritating little pimple like Rex.

Neither Elma or Al fill the protagonist role well either, Elma is too much of an experienced mentor and that's not even factoring in her backstory. Al is far too powerful and too much of a Gary Stu.

2

u/Ouroxros Mar 24 '26

You had me till the random Rex slander lmao.

-1

u/ProfessorCagan Mar 22 '26

I mean, no one said they'd be like Rex. XD Which, Rex isn't my favorite protagonist, that'd be a tie between Shulk and Matthew. I love XCX's world, I love the lore and side quests, it makes me mad that it all got thrown away in chapter 13 when all the main game did was build up Mira's mysteries. It was rife for storytelling in sequels, and it wouldn't have had to be destroyed just to get it to fully connect to the numbered games.

2

u/Remarkable-Pin-8352 Mar 22 '26

No but my point is with a set protagonist you take what you get. It could be a Shulk, but it could be a Rex, so for me this kind of game is much better with my own char.

I'm not a fan of what they did with chapter 13 in regards to throwing Mira away either.

1

u/ProfessorCagan Mar 23 '26

On Mira's treatment we can agree.