The Xenoblade Chronicles series, developed by Monolith Soft, has carved a unique niche in the realm of Japanese role-playing games. Known for its expansive worlds, intricate narratives, and innovative gameplay, the series has garnered a dedicated global fanbase. For newcomers, understanding the series’ evolution provides valuable insight into its ongoing appeal.

Origins of Xenoblade

The journey began with Xenoblade Chronicles, released for the Nintendo Wii in Japan in 2010. The game’s concept originated in 2006 when Tetsuya Takahashi envisioned civilizations thriving atop colossal titans. This vision materialized into a vast open-world RPG, initially titled Monado: Beginning of the World. The name was later changed to Xenoblade to honor Takahashi’s previous work on the Xeno series and his dedication to the project. 

Despite critical acclaim in Japan, there were no initial plans for a Western release. This led to “Operation Rainfall,” a fan-driven campaign advocating for the game’s Western localization. The movement’s success culminated in the North American release in 2012, showcasing the series’ passionate and influential fanbase. A community that continues to grow with each new entry now getting released. 

Expanding the Universe

Following the original, Monolith Soft developed Xenoblade Chronicles X for the Wii U, launched in 2015. Unlike its predecessor, this title introduced players to an alien planet, this one being Mira, and further emphasized exploration and survival in a sprawling open world. The game was praised for its ambitious scope, though there were some critiques when it came to the game’s complex systems and user interface at the time. 

The series continued with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 for the Nintendo Switch in 2017, returning to the narrative-driven roots of the original while introducing new characters and environments. Its expansion, Torna – The Golden Country, provided additional context and depth to the already large storyline found in the base game, further enriching the series’ lore.

The story continued to evolve with Xenoblade Chronicles 3, released for the Nintendo Switch in 2022. Positioned as a culmination of the narratives established in the first two mainline games, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 introduced players to the world of Aionios, a land torn apart by war between two factions, Keves and Agnus. The game expanded on the series’ signature open-world exploration and real-time combat, allowing players to control a party of six main characters while introducing the new “Ouroboros” fusion mechanic.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 received widespread acclaim for its deep storytelling, emotional character arcs, and refined gameplay systems, cementing it as one of the best JRPGs on the Nintendo Switch. It was later expanded with Future Redeemed, a story DLC that connected the events of the previous titles, further tying together the series’ overarching narrative.

The Dedicated Fanbase

The Xenoblade Chronicles series boasts a passionate and dedicated fanbase. Communities across forums and social media platforms engage in discussions, share fan art, and delve into the series’ intricate lore. The success of campaigns like Operation Rainfall underscores the community’s commitment, demonstrating their ability to influence localization decisions and bring beloved titles to a broader audience. If it weren’t for that initial push to help get the game out of Japan, who knows if the series would have hit the highs that it has, or even had the opportunity to get any of the sequels.

Now, in March 2025, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition has just been released for the Nintendo Switch, offering both veterans and newcomers an enhanced experience of the 2015 classic. This remastered edition introduces several notable features including:

Enhanced Visuals and Performance: running at a higher resolution than ever before.

New Story Content: With additional narrative elements, including a brand-new story chapter that delves deeper into the game’s universe. 

Additional Characters and Customization: The remaster introduces new recruitable characters and offers expanded customization options for the protagonist. 

Quality of Life Improvements: Streamlined mechanics, making progression more straightforward. Additionally, the user interface has been refined for clarity, and tutorials have been redesigned to better guide players through the game’s complex systems, eliminating some of the core critiques of the original game.

These updates not only refine the original experience but also make the game more approachable for newcomers. The expansive world of Mira, combined with the improved mechanics, offers a compelling entry point into the Xenoblade universe. Keep an eye out here soon for our full review of Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition which will be going up over the next couple of weeks.

Final Thoughts

The Xenoblade Chronicles series stands as a testament to Monolith Soft’s dedication to crafting rich, immersive worlds that resonate with players worldwide. With the release of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, there’s no better time for newcomers to embark on this epic journey. Whether drawn to its expansive landscapes, intricate narratives, or the passionate community that surrounds it, the series offers a unique and rewarding experience for all who venture into its realms.

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Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition is more than just an up-resed port of the original Wii game. They’ve completely remade the character models, now featuring a more anime-esque art direction, the environments look alive and vibrant and the game’s textures have been massively improved over the low-res grainy textures of the original that were even considered dated at the time of initial release 10 years ago.

New visuals are one thing, but one much appreciated change I loved in the Definitive Edition were it’s quality of life improvements that make the game much more enjoyable to play. Menu’s are much easier to read and manage, the user interface within combat has become a lot clearer, and while it doesn’t make combat easier, it does make it easier to understand what the icons do.

Xenoblade Chronicles is set eons after an epic battle between two titans, Mechonis and Bionis. Civilisation now resides upon the frozen corpses of the titans, with organic lifeforms living on Bionis and the game’s main antagonistic force, the Machina living on Mechonis.

The main story follows a young boy named Shulk, an 18 year old scientist that resides on Bionis in an area known as Colony 9. We meet Shulk at the beginning of the game where he is studying a mysterious weapon known as the Monado. When Shulk’s home is suddenly attacked by the Machina, he discovers during the heat of battle that the Monado grants it’s wielder visions of the future. Following the attack, Shulk sets off on a quest based on revenge but filled with plenty of self discovery, great characters and deep development along the way.

As with many great JRPG’s, Xenoblade Chronicles is mostly as fantastic as it is because of it’s cast of characters and it’s overall story. Joining Shulk on his journey are a number of side party members that you’ll meet throughout your journey, who not only provide some great character moments, they also fit many of the standard archetypes you want to find in an RPG. There’s Reyn who is essentially the tank character, Sharla who’s specialty is ranged attacks and healing and Melia who acts as the party’s mage just to name a few. Sure the game is full of many overused JRPG tropes but it’s unique setting upon the titans and it’s deep, dense and beautiful world kept me constantly engaged and wanting to find out more.

Xenoblade Chronicles utilises a real time combat system. The combat is also somewhat automated as party members will auto-attack enemies within their range. You can freely manoeuvre the battlefield and the strategy side of combat emerges with the use of Arts, special abilities that can be used throughout battle that unleash more damaging attacks and effects. Knowing when to use these can be critical at times as both the Combat Arts and Talent Arts work on cool-downs or become available after landing a certain number of hits in the enemy, meaning you should try and utilise them at the best possible times and try to manage them so that they’re available to be used when and if needed.

The game’s Vision system allows you to see visions of the future within battle thanks to Shulk’s Monado. It grants you the ability to see the enemies’ future attack and target. Providing you a quick opportunity to get the upper hand and combat the upcoming move or make sure the other party member destined for the attack is able to defend or prevent it from occurring. I really liked the uniqueness of this system and how cleverly it incorporated the story behind the Monado directly into gameplay so that we the players could also use it’s special ability to see the future and plan for it much like Shulk can.

Another great system that separates. Xenoblade Chronicles from many other JRPG’s is the inclusion of its Affinity system. This system tracks the relationships between party characters and logs the status of how other NPCs and villages view you. Completing side quests for these NPCs will increase your affinity with them and can even make additional story moments available. Completing ‘heart to heart’ moments will also allow you to increase affinity with other party members and can affect how they perform together as a team within combat.

If you’re an existing fan of Xenoblade Chronicles, I’m glad to tell you that Definitive Edition does include some brand new content you’ve never played before too. There is a brand new story mode called Future Connected which is available to you right from the start of the game if you wish to check out the new content first rather than after the lengthy main game. Future Connected is a new epilogue story set one year after the events of the main game and focuses on Shulk and Meila as they explore a brand new area that wasn’t accessible in the original game, Bionis’ Shoulder. This experience lasts around 10 or so hours and while it doesn’t add anything groundbreaking to the overall experience, it is certainly a nice cap on top of an already fantastic game.

Final Thoughts

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition definitely provides value for money. The main story alone will take around 70 hours to complete, but there’s easily over 100 hours of gameplay on offer here for those players that want to spend more time completing the many side quests, building character affinities and of course completing the new Future Connected epilogue. I can’t commend the effort Monolith Soft have put into this release of the game. Not only has it been graphically overhauled and had it’s soundtrack remastered, it’s packed full of quality of life improvements that make it such a joy to play and also comes life’s with a brand new epilogue story, making sure even long time veterans of the game have something brand new to jump into and enjoy.

A Nintendo Switch review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

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