Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition might be my most anticipated game of the year. Yes, I know it’s a game I can already play on the Wii U if I dig it out of the cupboard (then spend several hours waiting for it to load), but this new version sounds way more exciting.
It’s updating the visuals to better align with the definitive version of the original Xenoblade and the two sequels that followed, while rolling out a number of quality of life changes that are bound to make the cult classic JRPG more appealing to a wider audience. For years, it has been trapped in Wii U purgatory, and for a long time I expected it to remain there with Nintendo never bothering to port it over. But now, as a swansong for the original Switch, it awaits on the horizon. So let’s dive into the latest trailer and what exactly it featured.
Xenoblade Chronicles X Can Finally Reach Its Full Potential On Switch
Despite my love for it, Xenoblade Chronicles X was quite a janky game back on the Wii U. A lot of these quirks were due to its sheer size, and even now I struggle to think of another title that can match it in terms of scope and ambition. You spend dozens of hours going around its alien planet on foot before finally earning the right to pilot a Skell. Then it becomes so much grander, but again and again you will be bumping into awkward graphical issues or a lack of polish that is very unlike the Monolith Soft of today.
I’ll never forget sprinting through New Los Angeles and clipping through cars and scenery in the metropolis because the developers didn’t think it was a priority to add collision to anything. In retrospect, I get it, but in a definitive edition it will be incredible to see these flaws ironed out alongside other inconsistencies in presentation, such as the infamously hard to read interface on the Wii U with ludicrous amounts of text that for some reason was needlessly small no matter what display you happened to be playing on. It was a nuisance, compounded further by having to look down at the GamePad and back to the telly so often to manage some of the game’s core mechanics. On Switch, those problems will vanish.
We’re Also Getting A Brand-New Epilogue Chapter
Like Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition before it, X is also receiving an epilogue if the recent trailer is any indication. After fading to black and showing the title card, we emerge to a new environment and dialogue not in the original game. Fans seem convinced it will address the post-credit scene that didn’t receive resolution ten years ago, and I would put my money on that being the case. Much like Future Connected, there is a chance we will see older versions of existing characters and emerge into a world state that is drastically different.
I’m hoping we’ll see some new gameplay mechanics introduced as part of the epilogue too, as previous excursions like this have felt like miniature expansions with a fresh narrative that stands apart from the base game. Monolith Soft has a perfect opportunity to do such a thing here, and hopefully, it goes to even wilder places than the original game. I don’t think much of the new environment so far though, but will reserve my judgments until I get to see more of it for myself.
There’s Also A New Character With A Gorgeous Mech To Boot
At the 1:50 mark in the recent trailer, a new character appears in a white skin suit piloting a Skell that we’ve not seen before. She wasn’t in the base game, and seems to be offering assistance to the player. Maybe we can summon her in battle, or use a Skell in earlier parts of the game instead of spending 30 hours trying to unlock one.
It would help make the world more enjoyable to explore from the off, while newcomers can get through tough battles and obnoxious walks across the open world without giving up right away. No matter what their purpose, I’m a huge fan of their design and the big grinning mask they’re wearing. Slay.
Certain Mechanics Are About To Be Way Less Confusing
Xenoblade Chronicles X has a lot going on, with mechanics like Overdrive and the probing you can do on the GamePad to gather resources all hard to wrap your head around. Looks like the Switch release is going to make things easier to digest by including tutorials which can be returned to whenever you like and streamlining certain elements of the game, so it isn’t like pulling teeth trying to remember everything you need to be doing at all times.
Everything we’ve seen so far from Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition makes it seem like its long-awaited return will be worth the wait when it arrives on March 20. Hell, maybe we’ll know more about the Nintendo Switch 2 by then, too.
