I adore theXenoblade Chroniclesseries. I started withXenoblade Chronicles 2, a game that absolutely blew my mind and remains my all-time favorite game, before sinking 100 hours into multiple playthroughs of the originalXenoblade Chroniclesand itsDefinitive Editionremaster. Of course, when the third game came out, I leaped at the opportunity to play it, and two playthroughs later - and after beating its DLC - I’ve put roughly 400 hours into the entire series. However, despite my endless admiration for what is, in my opinion, the greatest gaming series of all time, I’ve never playedXenoblade Chronicles X.
Fortunately,XBCXis on Switch now, endingmyXenoblade Chroniclesnightmareand never-ending desire to have every game on the same platform, finally giving me the opportunity to play it - I bought a Wii U to play the originalXenoblade Chronicles Xbut couldn’t stand the English VA. Now that I’ve sunk a considerable amount of time intoXBCX, I can safely say the wait was worth it. However, what really stood out to me is that, despite my vast experience with the series,I find myself constantly surprised while playingXenoblade Chronicles X.
Xenoblade Chronicles X Is Nothing Like The Others
It Is A Sprawling Open-World
One of the most striking things about thegroundbreaking Nintendo Switch experiencethat isXenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Editionis how radically different it is from its predecessors.While it shares the same name as the other entries, there’s little connecting them in tone, style, or even gameplay- outside of combat. That’s not outrageously surprising as, after all, each numberedXenobladeentry is somewhat different from the others.Xenoblade Chronicles 2is more hopeful than3, and the first game feels like it’s just about finding its footing when it comes to exploration, at least compared to the final entry.
However,they all share some commonalities, from their open zone structure to their pacing, character archetypes, and even setting. TheXenobladefranchise has also always perfectly blended sci-fi and fantasy, with it skewering more towards the latter in every entry outside of3, and even then it still retains the cat people and fantastical forest locales of its predecessors.X, on the other hand, while still undeniably being set in the sameXenoblade Chroniclestimeline, abandons the DNA that both of the previous entries andXenoblade Chronicles 3were constructed with.
Xenoblade Chronicles Xoffers a more keenly sci-fi experience, with alien invasions, futuristic settings, and even giant mechs. It is no longer open area, but open world, something that is absolutely breathtaking to behold the first time you’re truly let loose on Mira. It even completely reshapes how traversal works, with players unlocking access to the gorgeously designed box-art-worthy mech suits called Skells part-way through the game.This new mode of transport gave Monolith Soft the go-ahead to redefine its approach to world design, adding even more levels to the already incredibly verticalXenobladestructure.
Xenoblade Chronicles X Feels More Like An MMO
It’s Structured Differently From Other XBC Games
All of these changes - some minute, others truly gargantuan - makeXenoblade Chronicles Xfeel more akin to an MMOthan a traditional RPG.Xenoblade Chroniclesgames have always felt somewhat MMOy - it is what drew me to them in the first place - balancing ability-heavy combat, gorgeously detailed environments, fun fetch quests, monsters with floating levels above their heads, and central hubs from which the player unlocks all of that region’s content. None of these features are specifically MMO-exclusive, but when combined they certainly give the air of an MMO experience.
Xenoblade Chronicles X On Switch Is A Bigger Deal Than You Might Realize
Xenoblade Chronicles X is finally coming to the Nintendo Switch after nearly a decade, and it’s a much bigger deal than some may realize.
However,Xenoblade Chronicles X, with its plethora of open-world activities, customizable and silent protagonist, and endless cavalcade of fetch quests, feels far more like an MMO than any of its predecessors ever did. To be absolutely clear, I don’t think that is a bad thing. Rather, it’s exciting, a completely and utterly new direction for the franchise, and different from anything that Monolith has ever done before. While this hyperfixation on gameplay comes somewhat at the expense ofXenoblade Chronicles X’sstory, it nevertheless makes it a far more surprising and mechanically engaging game.
It Is Nice To Be Surprised By Xenoblade Chronicles X
It Is Meant To Be A Spin-Off
All of these changes mean that, after 400 hours of epic JRPG content,Xenoblade Chronicles Xstill manages to surprise me.There is rarely a comparable moment throughout all ofXenoblade Chronicles X, no point at which I can lament about how similar it is toXBC2or how it has ripped off elements from the originalXenoblade Chronicles. It is in almost every way a completely original experience, one that at every turn pulls out some new feature or element that, for a fan of this series, is innovative rather than iterative.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Editionfeels so wildly different, that, hit or miss, everything it has to offer feels brand-new.
That’s not to say that theXenobladetrilogy feels iterative, as, of course, each game expands upon the last in meaningful ways, with the final entry serving up one of thebest RPG experiences ever made. Rather,Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Editionfeels so wildly different, that, hit or miss, everything it has to offer feels brand-new. Of course, some of it may feel derivative from other open-world RPGs outside this specific framework. However, even in those instances, it still manages to surprise, as one doesn’t expect those kinds of influences within aXenoblade Chroniclesgame.
Future Xenoblade Games Should Be Different Too
It Is Time For The Series To Move On
After beatingXenoblade Chronicles 3’sphenomenal DLC,Future Redeemed, and realizing that it would be the final entry in the trilogy, all I could think about was how much I wanted Monolith Soft to keep this ride going. I wantedXenoblade Chronicles 4so badly, for Monolith to replicate the success and charm of its expertly crafted trilogy, to never stray too far from its winning formula. However,after having played a substantial amount ofXenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, I realized how restrictive and, frankly, incorrect that line of thinking is.
Xenoblade Chronicles Xproves that Monolith Soft, whether it is creating a sprawling open world, gameplay-focused sci-fi adventure, or a heartbreakingly beautiful narrative journey across the backs of titans, knows what it is doing. I firmly trust that when it eventually strays from theXenobladeexperience - which, by all accounts, it will with its next game - it does so with aplomb. In fact,I am actively rooting for Monolith to create something new, to try its hand at a different style, structure, and setting, one that defies all tradition and rules.
The Wii U Is Officially Dead Thanks To Xenoblade Chronicles X, But Nintendo Fans Shouldn’t Worry Thanks To The Switch 2
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition may have killed the Wii U, but it isn’t that big of a deal, especially thanks to one Switch 2 feature.
It is clear thatXenoblade Chronicles 3is a love letter to the world Monolith Soft has been slowly building across each entry as much as it is a farewell to the design philosophy, worldbuilding, and structure it has relied so heavily upon. Its defining theme is about stepping into the unknown, with its ending song, Where We Belong, serving as Monolith’s last goodbye toXenoblade Chronicles. As such, I hope that whatever Monolith Soft is creating next follows in the footsteps ofXenoblade Chronicles Xand tries something completely new that surprises us all, rather than caters to us.
