'Revived Masterpiece: "Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition" Returns Stronger Than Ever'

I didn't need to be convinced. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition However, after spending dozens of hours with one of the biggest and most impressive games Nintendo has created, a single moment solidified this remastered version as one of the finest titles available on the Nintendo Switch for me.

After deciding to explore uncharted territories, I ventured into three out of the game’s five stunningly beautiful and environmentally varied continents. Wanting to push my limits even more, I headed towards the northern reaches of Sylvalum—a place marked by pristine white sands and luminescent round trees that light up under the starry sky. Reaching this destination proved challenging as I had to carefully navigate through areas teeming with foes capable of taking me down in mere seconds should they spot me.

But when I arrived, Sylvalum’s incredible theme music I had entered the area, and by now, I was completely trapped inside. Moving deeper into the landmass, I stumbled upon a massive lake where the water was shallow enough for me to cross on foot. Without warning, the atmosphere turned unbearably foggy, nearly blinding me. As I cautiously crossed the lake, I suddenly found myself darting beneath the towering legs of an immense extraterrestrial deer as big as a tall structure. Though it paid me no mind, witnessing that creature materialize out of the haze provided quite a shock, emphasizing just how perilous and strange my surroundings truly were. Xenoblade X ’s setting can be at its best.

Xenoblade X Originally launched on Wii U in 2015 with seemingly only around 27 players experiencing it, focuses entirely on scenes such as these—small yet powerful reminders of human beings' minuscule presence within the vast cosmos. No other open-world game has made me consistently feel quite so tiny in such an incredible manner. The alien world called Mira, where the story unfolds, wasn’t designed for creatures my size; it’s far too grand and unforgiving for someone like me. Xenoblade X brings this up at every chance he gets.

Everything stated about the Wii U version also applies to this new Switch release. However, failing to mention what MonolithSoft has done beyond just enhancing graphics and adjusting user interfaces wouldn’t be fair. The developers took significant strides forward rather than settling for minor improvements. They made thoughtful changes across multiple menus and systems, along with adding exciting new narrative content. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is truly the way to play this almost-forgotten classic. You can finally put your Wii U in the closet for good.

Man in the Mira

Xenoblade X , which is narratively unrelated to the numbered trilogy I’ve gushed about on this website before, has kind of a bummer of an opening. Before you can even take control of your player-created silent protagonist, Earth has been destroyed in the crossfire of a war between two hostile alien civilizations. We weren’t even part of the fight; we just got in the way of it.

To make matters worse, seemingly only one colony ship managed to slip away in all the chaos: the White Whale. After some more alien war nonsense, the White Whale makes an emergency crash landing on the uncharted planet Mira. The survivors manage to retrofit the ship’s habitat area into a half-built city called New Los Angeles. They get to work not only on figuring out how to survive on Mira, but also on retrieving the Lifehold, a lost part of the White Whale that is the key to the future of the human race.

While that is a solid jumping-off point for a JRPG story, not even a terrific remaster can save Xenoblade X From its most significant flaws. Specifically, the primary storyline takes a really It takes quite a while to establish itself firmly. Certainly, it includes several intriguing revelations at the beginning which help maintain the player’s interest, yet it lacks the robust, character-focused, emotionally driven narrative present in its predecessors. Xenoblade The game. Monolith Soft has significantly improved their visual presentation over the past ten years since this title was released on Wii U, which is quite evident. Many aspects of the storyline have also evolved considerably. Xenoblade X is delivered through wooden conversation scenes where anywhere between three and six people stand still in a circle for a while. It’s no match for the excellent cutscene direction of something like Xenoblade 3 .

Fortunately, there is an abundance of delightful and humorous writing to discover. Xenoblade X is brimming with an abundance of additional missions that you definitely shouldn’t skip. These supplementary tasks greatly enhance your overall experience. The primary storyline itself is also well worth exploring. does Eventually uncover intriguing themes to explore (such as who departs Earth before its demise, and who has the authority to decide?), but it requires an extended period to reach this point.

Nintendo likely prefers that I avoid spoiling the new storyline elements, particularly since they mostly occur following the initial game’s disappointing cliffhanger conclusion. Although I won’t delve deeply into the specifics of what transpires within it, this additional segment serves as a more definitive finale to the journey compared to its predecessor. Moreover, it aligns better with the overarching themes present throughout the rest of the series. Xenoblade Games filled with deeply heartfelt emotional moments concerning the presence of deities, angels, and even Heaven itself.

And indeed, for those who enjoy the other three Xenoblades People will have numerous topics to dissect and speculate upon in future YouTube videos and Reddit discussions.

Get ready to complete many missions.

Similar to the initial release of the Wii U version, Xenoblade X Definitive Edition starts off with a somewhat restrictive set-up for crafting your protagonist, an unnamed, memory-less shell without clear motivations. Although Monolith Soft has enhanced the customization tools with additional appearance choices, the binary male/female gender selections seem outdated compared to modern advancements in role-playing games over the past ten years. It makes sense that incorporating varied pronouns would be challenging due to pre-recorded dialogue from over a decade back, yet these omissions remain noticeable today.

Anyway, after you create your small character and progress through a rather challenging and clumsy introductory section, Xenoblade X sends you on an endless journey to discover Mira and assist humanity in establishing a new settlement. While there is a sequential set of primary storyline episodes to finish, unlocking these (particularly as the narrative progresses) frequently necessitates completing what appear to be non-essential tasks or interacting further with its various features.

These typically consist of affinity missions, with each mission centered on a distinct playable character from a group exceeding 20 members. The affinity missions feature complete voice-acting performances and occasionally offer exclusive boss battles. They are often considered the highlight. Xenoblade X what it provides in terms of written supplementary content.

The primary issue I have with the quest design is that starting a main storyline mission or an affinity mission prevents you from engaging in other story or affinity quests until you finish it. This inflexibility can be frustrating, particularly when your next task within the active quest feels too challenging or uncomfortable for you.

Additionally, there are silent side quests that frequently feature amusing setups and goals, like the one where your task is to prevent a hazardous political hopeful from transforming the whole economy into a pizza-centric trading framework in New Los Angeles. Many of the side missions involve cultural exchange between humans and several different friendly alien species who shack up in NLA over the course of the story.

Let me be honest: During such periods, I appreciate how many missions in this game highlight humans welcoming diversity and forming friendships with unknown immigrants who have no place else to turn. While it doesn't handle every topic with perfect sensitivity, Xenoblade X exhibits a hopeful attitude towards individuals and their capacity to embrace one another that is refreshing to witness at this moment.

Furthermore, there are additional mundane tasks primarily focused on slaying a specific quantity of monsters or gathering a particular number of items. Thankfully, these activities are among what you will encounter. can go ahead if you wish, but it's not something you often do have to do any of them.

When you aren’t questing, you’ll most likely spend your time running around Mira, planting mining probes to expand the map. These also double as a source of regular passive income, making it well worth the player’s while to meticulously plan out their probe network in the in-game FrontierNav menu.

As a lifelong fan of MMORPGs, Xenoblade X His probing rhythm feels familiar and comforting to me. "One more quest, then it's bedtime" often resulted in extended night sessions that eventually added up to an astonishing 96 hours of gameplay until I reached the ending credits. There’s no doubt about it. Xenoblade X It's quite an intense video game, yet I enjoyed myself for nearly all of those 96 hours.

Stay committed, I assure you.

I've managed to write almost 1,500 words in this review without discussing that players gain access to completely customizable mechs known as Skells after around 30 hours of gameplay. This omission feels fitting since the focus has been elsewhere up until now. Xenoblade X provides entry to this revolutionary system. You'll have to spend an additional 15 hours of gameplay until your Skell gains flight capabilities, significantly changing the dynamics from then on.

Many individuals will come across that passage, think "forget this," and opt to engage with another activity instead. Everyone has their preferences, yet I firmly believe that providing immediate satisfaction for enthusiasts of mechs would be beneficial. Xenoblade X A considerably more boring encounter.

In short, Skells change your viewpoint in a manner I haven't witnessed in any other open-world games. Without a Skell, you feel like a tiny bug compared to the large creatures inhabiting Mira. Much of the environment remains unreachable since jumping isn't sufficient, and battling giant beasts often seems futile. However, once you get a Skell, everything shifts; Mira appears on a whole new scale. Suddenly, you can take down more enemies and explore previously out-of-reach areas.

This represents a significant shift for the player after spending 30 hours in the game, yet it occurs again when your Skell gains a flight module. Having the freedom to soar through the skies of Mira introduces an immense transformation, opening up areas you could have only imagined exploring previously. It is here that the true enchantment begins. Xenoblade X unveils this feature: Whatever you can observe visually, you can equally feel through touch. Elements that typically serve as mere background details in other games are intricately crafted objects which you have the option to traverse upon, despite there being no particular necessity for doing so.

I’ve just never played another open-world game that so intentionally and effectively plays with the player’s relationship to the game world itself. You experience three different versions of Mira over the course of the adventure. It’s rad as hell. It also doesn’t hurt that the environmental art direction is outstanding across the board. All five continents are beautiful in their own way, and they all manage to put at least one fun twist on familiar concepts like “green plains” or “jungle.”

Additionally, one of the fresh additions in the remastered version is a Skell capable of transforming into a jet. This undoubtedly offers the most entertaining method for traversing Mira after you gain access to it.

They also resolved the issues with the combat system.

Clearly, battling monsters constitutes a major aspect. Xenoblade X , which is also the part that new players are most likely to be deterred by. Similar to all other games in the series, the combat system closely resembles that of traditional MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft When you focus on an opponent, your character starts attacking automatically as you navigate through a horizontal row of Arts—cooldown-dependent combat skills—located at the bottom of the screen.

As battles unfold in real-time, this game doesn't fall into the action genre category. Instead of focusing on executing flashy combos, your main task is to strategically place your character and monitor cooldowns. What sets this combat system apart is its distinctive approach. Xenoblade X Compared to similar games, this title generally lacks dedicated healing abilities. Although a few Arts can restore health, the primary method to mend your team members involves using specific Arts when prompted by an ally’s call for help, providing minor recovery for all participants.

This system, called Soul Voices, offers ample room for extensive experimentation or complete disregard, much like what I did. Overall, this is far the most build-crafty Xenoblade The game requires extensive tweaking through numerous menu options to assemble the ideal team suitable for various scenarios. This process is highly rewarding, particularly in the latter parts of the game, when your meticulously crafted strategies unfold exactly as envisioned.

The combat in the Wii U version was chaotic yet enjoyable, though it seemed to lack something essential. Monolith Soft addressed this gap in theSwitch edition through the swift cooldown mechanism. When you hover over an ability on cooldown and press a button, you bypass the remaining time and can immediately utilize the skill repeatedly without restraint. However, this action is regulated by a fresh meter that only replenishes once the battle concludes, adding strategy. Otherwise, it might have become unbalanced.

Quick cooldowns make fights substantially faster and more fun. Monolith Soft has hit a satisfying balance of giving players more ways to succeed without trivializing combat. It can still be very challenging, but the player now has a slightly bigger margin for error. I should note that Skell combat is very similar to on-foot fights, but you don’t get access to quick cooldowns. This is a cool disparity that didn’t exist before; combat on-foot is more agile and reactive, while Skell fights are slower and more methodical, as they should be.

They also resolved all the other issues.

The version for the Wii U Xenoblade X It was a challenging game to embrace fully at times. Several aspects of its design required more monotonous leveling up than I liked, and overall, the user interface felt disorganized. However, Monolith Soft’s attempts to address these issues stand out as my most cherished aspect of the game. Definitive Edition port.

Two key alterations pertain to the extensive list of playable characters in the game. Initially, players needed to physically approach each character within New Los Angeles (NLA) and engage with them directly to include them in their group. Additionally, under the Wii U iteration, secondary team members received no experience points when they were not actively participating, forcing gamers to spend considerable time leveling everyone individually. This became particularly draining due to the rigid level prerequisites for affinity quests.

I'm happy to share that the Switch edition enables you to swap out your party members via the main menu anytime, without restrictions. Additionally, all characters gain experience and level up irrespective of their usage frequency. There’s an extra statistic called Affinity, which increases as you interact more with these characters and typically serves as a prerequisite for initiating affinity missions; this too continues to grow over time. much Quicker than it was previously. This makes it effortless to finish all of the affinity missions in the game, which I wouldn’t have accomplished before.

It doesn’t stop there; far from it. Below is merely a selection of additional enhancements the developers implemented compared to the Wii U version:

• You can modify the time of day from the main menu.
• Characters' faces typically appear much improved.
• Objective markers for quests are significantly more helpful than they used to be
• There are now multiple save slots
• You have the option to emphasize particular sections of the minimap, making it simpler to search for items.

To conclude, most of the fonts have been refreshed to adopt the somewhat clinical-looking sans-serif typeface that Nintendo employs universally these days. This change works exceptionally well here. Previously, with the Wii U version, some texts were difficult to decipher. Furthermore, nearly all menus have been revamped to convey as much relevant data as feasible whenever possible. Additionally, significant enhancements have been made to the combat user interface, thereby simplifying readability and enabling quicker reactions compared to earlier versions.

Is Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition worth getting?

Does the sun come up? Is water moist?

In short, Monolith Soft has excelled at refreshing this title without losing sight of what originally made it captivating. They've eliminated many of the minor irritations, yet kept just enough challenge to make gameplay satisfying. Exploring Mira remains perilous, particularly before acquiring Skells.

I assure you I wouldn’t suggest a game that consumed almost 100 hours of my time unless I genuinely believed it was worthwhile. This one truly stands out as the best. Xenoblade Chronicles X It has always been here, and I'm incredibly excited that those who are eager can now finally explore it without having to dig up a Wii U.

The definitive edition of Xenoblade Chronicles X releases solely on Nintendo Switch starting from March 20.

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