Xenoblade Chronicles X: a special RPG masterpiece bursting with magical moments
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is an almost-forgotten Wii U classic. It’s now been given a second chance at life on the Switch – and just as well. Few other RPGs have enchanted me as much as this unique space epic.
I’ve fallen in love with Xenoblade Chronicles X. Eighty-five hours in, this sci-fi role-playing game has enchanted me with countless magical moments.
Originally released in 2015 for Nintendo’s flopped Wii U console, the game faded away without any fanfare. Now, the release of the Definitive Edition is giving it a second chance on the Switch. Nintendo’s development studio Monolith Soft has provided the Switch version with new content, enhanced the graphics and made a number of improvements to the flow of the game.
If you’re keen on sci-fi and JRPGs, you should definitely give this underrated masterpiece another shot.
A hopeful story with plenty of WTF moments
It’s 2054. Earth has been destroyed by an intergalactic war and humanity is teetering on the brink of extinction. A small group of survivors has escaped aboard a huge spaceship. In a distant galaxy, their ship crashes on the planet Mira.
You play as a member of the BLADE unit, a military organisation tasked with exploring and taming the new planet. Which is easier said than done, given your new home is riddled with horrible aliens and robots hungry for human flesh.
As is typical in Xenoblade games, these initially desperate circumstances develop into a hopeful story, garnished with numerous unexpected WTF moments. At the centre of it all, the philosophical question of what it means to be human shines through.
There’s just one downside to all this. Xenoblade Chronicles X mostly uses side missions to tell its story, so the plot doesn’t unfold in a linear way. That means if you just follow the main quest, you only get to experience a fraction of the magic that makes the world unique. This approach can be taxing at times, but it also feels really rewarding. The more time you invest in the side quests, the better the story gets.
Fans of the original will be pleased to see the nasty cliffhanger from the Wii U version finally resolved in the Definitive Edition – including an additional game world. Unfortunately, the new story content feels overloaded and too rushed. The clumsy ending will stoke controversy among fans.
A gigantic, brutal game world
Alongside up to three other BLADE members, you explore the merciless planet with the character you’ve created. The map is divided into hexagons, each with different research missions to complete. You and your group have to find parts of the wrecked spaceship, eliminate potential threats and set up research probes to collect rare resources.
Xenoblade Chronicles X’s open world feels overwhelming. You’re just a little, helpless worm, somehow trying to survive in the midst of gigantic monsters. The camera can be positioned super far away from your game character, giving you a better feel for the size of the world and its inhabitants.
In contrast to other RPGs, Mira’s regions aren’t clearly divided by level. Even starting out, I come face to face with creatures far above my character’s abilities. Hordes of powerful monsters make every research mission feel like running the gauntlet. I’ve rarely felt so helpless and tiny in a game.
The coolest mechs I’ve ever seen in a game
After about 20 hours of exploring the planet on foot, I encounter a gameplay twist that turns everything on its head: my crew and I get Skell licences. Skells are huge, armed mechs reserved for particularly talented BLADE members.
On board one of these killing machines, I no longer feel like a little, helpless worm. Areas that seem endless on foot can be explored in no time at all with a mech. Even some of the gigantic enemies that torment you on foot suddenly stop seeming so huge.
Fifteen hours of gameplay later, the game delivers yet another jaw-dropping twist of events.
I unlock an upgrade module for my Skell, allowing me to fly it. The first test flight gives me goosebumps. My mech, which weighs several tonnes, fires up its newly installed jet, slowly takes off and flies towards the sunset.
Suddenly experiencing the once so vast-looking world from a completely new perspective after so much game time is an indescribable feeling. It’s as if I’m playing a totally different game. Wild.
This magical mech moment unfolds to a dreamy, catchy song (Don’t Worry by anime composer Hiroyuki Sawano). Known for his work on titles such as Attack on Titan and Solo Leveling, Sawano also composed the rest of the game’s unique soundtrack. I’d describe it as an intergalactic mix of rap, rock, electro and orchestral music – sensational stuff!
The MMO combat system is like crack
The Xenoblade games are known for their special real-time combat systems, reminiscent of the ones in MMOs. In Xenoblade Chronicles X, it’s the same story.
When fighting aliens, you have a maximum of eight special attacks at your disposal. These are listed at the bottom of the screen. After using an attack, there’s a cooldown before you can try it again.
Mindlessly firing off special attacks doesn’t lead to success. To hold your own against powerful opponents, you need to pay attention to timing, attack sequences and your character’s position. If you do that, you’ll trigger combos and special effects that deal more damage or come with other advantages such as healing.
When it comes to particularly large enemies, it’s advisable to fight them in mechs rather than on foot. The mechs’ combat system works in a similar way – the robots are just much slower than your character. However, their attacks do have a lot more oomph.
In certain situations, a special indicator starts filling up during battle. Once it’s full, you can activate Overdrive mode. For a limited time, you deal more damage and your attacks cool down much faster.
It’s an adrenaline rush and a dopamine bomb rolled into one. From an objective point of view, the screen is pure chaos. Flying damage figures, screen-filling particle effects and countless pieces of information on attacks create absolute sensory overload.
But the more practice and experience I get, the more my tunnel vision hones in on the order in the chaos. I fall into an ecstatic flow state, acting instinctively with perfect timing instead of thinking. Attack, combo, cool down, repeat. I’m one with the controller, one with my character. What a thrill!
High flexibility and complexity
Just as the tediously told story and long wait for the mechs took its toll on me, the combat system tested me in a similar way.
In the first few hours of the game, I was completely overwhelmed by all the possibilities and flexibility. The sheer number of statistics, numbers and special effects in the complex menus made my head spin. There’s an almost infinite number of options when it comes to combining different classes, weapons, attacks and skills. As a result, I was scared I’d use up my hard-earned resources on the wrong items and skills.
The wide selection of party members makes the upgrade system all the more complex. Over the course of the game, you unlock 22(!) characters who you can take with you on missions and upgrade.
Again, if you keep at it and put in enough time, you’ll be rewarded. The more game time I rack up, the more I recognise a structure behind all these interlocking systems. I can then systematically put together builds that match my playstyle exactly. Hardly any other games in the genre offer so much flexibility and scope for experimentation.
Optimisations and new content
Fans of the original will be pleased about the extra content provided on top of the bonus story chapter. The Definitive Edition boasts additional party members with exciting stories, new items, weapons, armour and even new Skells.
Something particularly deserving of praise is the extent to which Monolith Soft has revamped and simplified the menu navigation. It’s also adjusted the pace of the game. One example of this is the fact experience points are now distributed to all party members during battle. This significantly reduces unnecessary grind and allows the game to progress faster.
The presentation of the game has been improved too. Planet Mira’s rugged terrain charms you with its vistas and revised atmospheric lighting. Compared to the original, the world looks much sharper. The magic Monolith Soft has managed to work with outdated Switch hardware is pretty unbelievable.
Too bad the developers didn’t take the opportunity to give the survivors’ base, New LA, a graphical refresh. The makeshift spaceship city lacks detail, suffering from refresh rate drops and pronounced pop-in effects. Many cutscenes also look out of date, sporting ugly NPCs and stiff animations. Even so, these are comparatively minor flaws in a fantastically beautiful overall piece of work.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition will be available for the Switch from 20 March. The game was provided to me by Nintendo for testing purposes.
In a nutshell
Xenoblade Chronicles X: a unique RPG masterpiece bursting with magical moments
Despite its optimised game mechanics, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is still a very complex and sometimes exhausting game. However, if you’re willing to put in the time and energy required, you’ll be rewarded with countless magical, goosebump-provoking moments.
The fantastically beautiful sci-fi game world is packed with dangers and surprises. Meanwhile, the addictive combat system lends the game an incredible amount of flexibility and variety. Plus, the brutal mechs are some of the coolest I’ve ever controlled in a game. To sum up, Xenoblade Chronicles X is one of the best role-playing games and one of the best Switch games of all time.
Pro
- Unbelievably beautiful open world
- Challenging, complex RPG mechanics
- Countless surprises and magical moments
- Meaningful new features and additional content
Contra
- New story chapter doesn’t quite win me over
- Presentation is technically outdated in places
Header image: Nintendo
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Domagoj Belancic
Senior Editor
Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.chMy love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.
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