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Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is – at least as of this writing – the latest release in Monolith Soft’s epic sci-fi role-playing series. An enhanced remaster of 2015’s “black sheep” – the only entry among four to-date with a letter designation tacked on at the end – XCX has the significant distinction of being a bit more akin to the Xenosaga trilogy.
The Xenosaga trilogy was Xeno mastermind Tetsuya Takahashi’s second attempt at bringing the prefix to bear upon the gaming industry. The third, as it happens, is the one that’s truly clicked – Xenoblade Chronicles has four well-received entries and counting, and they’ve
Xenosaga’s Smaller Connections To Xenoblade Chronicles
If you want the shortest possible answer, Xenosaga only connects to the Xenoblade Chronicles series in relatively small ways. Part of the reason for this, no doubt, is that Bandai Namco owns the rights to Xenosaga. But that’s not to say they’re irrelevant ways.
Indeed, a great deal of Xenosaga’s world and story elements have been clearly reconfigured throughout the Xenoblade titles. Things such as the Conduit, a concept which increases in importance throughout the numbered trilogy of Xenoblade Chronicles games, are blatant adaptations.
KOS-MOS herself, one of the major characters of the Xenosaga series, appears as a recruitable Blade in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. But this is a noncanon cameo – albeit a very cool one – and she’s even joined by T-elos, another Xenosaga character.
While these are both, as we’ve said, noncanon crossovers, if you do acquire both Rare Blades, be sure to have KOS-MOS in the party toward the conclusion of T-elos’ quest, as you’ll get a bonus cutscene.
There are parallels between Xenoblade’s characters, too, in the same fashion as can be said between Xenogears and Xenosaga.
Xenogears, for the uninitiated, is the oldest Xeno game, released in 1998 via Square (now Square Enix) – who, much like Bandai Namco and Xenosaga, maintain the rights to Xenogears.
So, yes. By and large, the connections between Xenosaga and Xenoblade Chronicles are thematic, both due to undoubted rights issues and Tetsuya Takahashi taking things in a largely different direction with this latest and most successful series.
But…
Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed And Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition
We’re keeping things as vague as possible, yet nonetheless, it’s worth mentioning that the following contains spoilers to a very real extent.
In Xenoblade Chronicles 3‘s post-launch epilogue-esque DLC (kind of but also kind of not; it’s complicated), Future Redeemed, things take a turn for the decidedly interesting regarding Xenosaga’s relations to the series.
Both Vector Industries and Dmitri Yuriev, an important Xenosaga organization and Xenosaga character, respectively, are name-dropped. In fact, right at the very end of the DLC’s storyline, we see a shining light heading toward the planet from space.
Some have speculated that this is, in fact, KOS-MOS. Her arrival is highly akin to something seen during the ending of Xenosaga Episode III, the final title in that series.
Next up is Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition. Note the distinction; this is specifically in reference to the added story content from the Switch remastered version of the game.
Not only do events from all three numbered Xenoblade Chronicles games blink past a dominant character near the conclusion of this extended epilogue (which, frankly, serves as a real ending that the original version of X never received), but something very reminiscent of Future Redeemed’s aforementioned content occurs here.
Again, we’re trying to keep things vague. But, suffice it to say, there is reason to suspect that either elements of Xenoblade Chronicles X will be brought forward into further Xenoblade games to come, or elements of Xenosaga will be, or both.
If Xenosaga proves to be the case, the ramifications may be far more severe than the smaller fare we’ve previously mentioned. It’s even possible that Xenosaga’s own events will be reimagined in the Xenoblade Chronicles universe, or should we say, multiverse, in years to come.
