Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Thoughts

Minor spoilers ahead…

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was released in 2017 on the Nintendo Switch by Monolith Soft and marks the third instalment for the series after Xenoblade Chronicles X. There are 10 chapters and each chapter has its own title screen image which gives each section its own theme and the story has good pacing. I mentioned before about there being a Square Enix tie previously and in this one Tetsuya Nomura, who is best known for his Final Fantasy character designs, is behind the designs of the Torna organization. There is plenty here that sets it apart from its predecessor; the battle system is more complex and extended, the art style has changed to a more anime theme and there’s mini games such as a retro arcade game named Tiger! Tiger! that you can play to acquire items. Of course, there’s the signature Xenoblade-esque grand sense of adventure and one you could lose yourself in for hours upon hours. Even nearly 5 years on, this title has a large following, helped by being released the same year as the Nintendo Switch itself.

The story takes place in Alrest, a world covered in a sea of clouds and humans live on Titans. Our protagonist this time is a young man called Rex, an orphaned salvager who lives upon a Titan he affectionately calls Gramps, otherwise known as Azurda. Two words you will hear a lot are Drivers and Blades. The Drivers are those who can summon powerful beings from crystals known as Blades. They both work in partnership with one another in and outside of battle. Rex is hired by Argentum Trade Guild Chairman Bana to aid the Drivers Jin, Malos, and Nia, who are part of the organisation Torna, in the salvage of an ancient ship. Torna is an organisation who wants to capture the legendary Blade who is an Aegis named Pyra who has very strong powers, capable of destroying the world. They find Pyra resting within the ship and Rex is fatally stabbed by Jin. Rex then finds himself in the field of Elysium with Pyra who gives him half of her Core Crystal in order to revive him. Their lives are tied with each other and together they seek to go to the paradise where they met named Elysium. Elysium is located at the top of the World Tree that they must climb and it is also where they find a man known as the Architect. Together, they must fight against fellow Aegis known as Malos.

Other than Rex who is accompanied by a smaller version of Gramps, the main playable Drivers are Nia who was originally a part of Torna but defects, Tora who is a Nopon and creator, Mòrag who is the Special Inquisitor of the Empire of Mor Ardain and Zeke, a flamboyant prince. Their accompanying Blades are Pyra, Dromarch, Poppi, Brighid and Pandoria. At the end of Chapter 3, Pyra’s literal other half Mythra appears so Rex ends up with two Blades who can switch places. Rex as a lead character is fine, he isn’t an extraordinary lead but he is likable enough, helped by the fact that he sounds like a regular lad from Manchester. Nia is a Gormotti cat lady who doesn’t hold back and comes off as rather sarcastic and cynical, which I like. Pyra is another standout character for me, I find her design rather unique if not slightly impractical. Pyra has more of a mild-mannered personality, especially in comparison to Nia. Of course, her feistier half comes out in the form of Mythra. In the original Japanese, Pyra is known as Homura, meaning flame and Mythra is called Hikari, meaning light. For me, the female characters are more interesting here. The Heart to Hearts are improved as you only need the relevant characters instead of building up their affinity meaning character development isn’t being locked behind specific requirements.

The battle system is rather varied. You play as a party of three and each character attacks with their Blade. You have an auto attack but you cannot move around while doing it. There are also some familiar enemy names such as Brog and Bunnit. You collect different Blades and when you get new Blades they are at random, depending on what Core Crystals you have it can improve the odds of getting a rare Blade. The game saves when you get a new Blade to avoid any cheating, but you can release ones that you no longer want. I find the concept of the Blades interesting as they are sentient weapons who are tied to their Driver and once their Driver dies, they return to a Core Crystal and eventually reawaken with no recollection of their past. Then eventually they turn into a Titan. While they have immortality, in a lot of ways it is more of a curse. Drivers usually have to have a certain aptitude but there are exceptions like Rex and also Poppi is an artificial blade created by Tora as he didn’t have the ability to become a Driver the traditional way and she takes on different forms such as Poppi QT. Later on, it is revealed that Nia is in fact a Blade herself and afterwards you have the option of using her as a Blade with Rex.

Graphically, the art style is a lot more anime this time, but once again there are some gorgeous worlds to behold. Many screenshots were taken as the environments just look so detailed and vast. One of my favourite areas is the Kingdom of Uraya which is located inside the Titan Uraya where the party are swallowed up. Usually I’m not too fussed about cave sections but there’s a lot of shimmering scenery and pretty trees within. There’s some controversy with the sexualisation of the female characters as a lot of them have skimpy outfits and large busts – it can be a little distracting at times. Even the humour is quite anime. There is a scene early in the game where Pyra is being roped up by Rex who is struggling as she is too heavy to pull up. It’s a bit of a strange joke given how obviously slender she is, but in Japan speaking openly about people’s weight is not a taboo subject. Some jokes hit the mark a bit better, later on there is an instance where Nia calls Zeke a one-eyed monster referencing his eye patch without knowing what it actually means.

In terms of sound, the music is excellent once again and each place has a Day and Night theme. Some noteworthy themes are Loneliness, a piano theme which plays during certain cutscenes like Rex talking with Pyra about her hidden power. I also really like the theme for Fonsa Myma in the day, it sounds so much more than a city theme – more like you’re entering Disneyland or somewhere magical. My favourite night theme is the Kingdom of Uraya with its incredibly atmospheric and ethereal vibes. I also really like the battle theme Still, Move Forward, it has little hooks that sound so retro. The song title reference with You Will Recall Our Names is a nice nod too. The voice acting is fairly diverse here too. For example, Rex is Northern English, Pyra/Mythra is American, Nia is Welsh, Morag is Scottish. The voice acting quality is a little more mixed this time round, characters like Nia have very good voice acting and Rex overall is decent, but does suffer from some questionable screams and lines at points, but you can clearly see he improves as the story progresses.

In 2018 there was an expansion; Torna – The Golden Country. This is a prequel that takes place 500 years prior and as we know from the base game, Mythra’s power caused destruction and led to the creation of Pyra as a means of easing the guilt. The story begins with Lora and her Blade, Jin traversing a forest and Lora is in search for her mother. Lora and Jin soon meet Addam who is Mythra’s original Driver and Mythra herself and they are also playable characters. You also meet familiar characters like Brighid and you are then introduced to Hugo, the Emperor of Mor Ardain during the Aegis War. As well as Brighid, he has the blade Aegaeon and Lora also has Haze, known as Fan la Norne in the base game. The battle system has been tweaked too so you can switch between your Driver and Blade in battle with ease, which gives a more equal footing for the Blades. Areas like Torigoth in Gormott are revisited, although here it has been burned down. There is also a Community mechanic, meaning you complete side quests for people and your community levels grow. There are also campfire scenes where you rest and can also interact with others like in a Heart to Heart. It’s a good chance to get a further look into characters that were only touched upon before as well as seeing old favourites.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is an intriguing adventure with a world I enjoyed exploring as it is very story driven. Frankly, after playing both that and Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition back-to-back I am exhausted – but in a good, rewarding way. The obvious question is did it surpass the original for me and I honestly have to say no, but that’s not to dismiss it by any means. I just think I connected with the story and characters more in the first instalment and it ultimately left more of an impact. I’m rather fond of characters like Pyra, Mythra and Nia and I find the Driver and Blade dynamic interesting. I think had I not played the Definitive Edition of the first game; my opinion may well have been different. Although if you’re missing any favourites from before, Shulk and Fiora also make an appearance in some post-game unlockable content. Despite this being a standalone sequel, there are very obvious connections revealed in Chapter 10 which tie in with the original Xenoblade Chronicles and makes up the fundamental twist in the story. This makes me super curious about what is in store for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 which will be released September 2022. I can’t wait to see how both stories tie in!

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition: Thoughts

Minor spoilers ahead…

Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2020. It is an open world RPG game developed by Monolith Soft. Interestingly, a lot of the team are Square Enix alumni and the Xenoblade series is a spiritual successor to the Square game Xenogears. The original game was for the Nintendo Wii, released in 2011 for Europe and it was even ported to the 3DS in 2015. Xenoblade Chronicles had an interesting beginning; originally it was released in Japan and then later in Europe. There were no initial plans for a North American release so this meant that all the cast are UK based for the English localisation – and I love this as it gives Xenoblade its own little unique identity. Following a successful fan campaign, it finally saw the light of day in America. Comprised of 17 chapters, the premise is set on the frozen bodies of two titans who were at war, known as the Bionis and the Mechonis. These titans represent the biological versus the mechanical world. The people of Bionis are known as Homs (otherwise humans) and the Mechonis is home to a race known as the Machina.

The story unfolds by showing the events of one year prior with comrades Dickson, Dunban and Mumkhar fighting a Mechon army in the Battle of Sword Valley. Dunban then sustains an injury which paralyses his one arm. In the present time, our protagonist is the engineer Shulk. He is residing in Colony 9 where Dunban and his sister Fiora also live. Colony 9 is attacked by the Mechon and Shulk discovers his ability to wield the sword named the Monado, which Dunban had previously used a year ago. This mysterious sword also grants Shulk visions of the future and allows him to foresee and then alter future events. An enemy named Metal Face is immune to the Monado however, and kills Shulk’s childhood friend Fiora. This tragic event pushes Shulk and his friend Reyn to set out on a journey with revenge in mind. They soon meet the medic Sharla and we soon see Dunban again. Later they are also joined by Melia, a mixed High Entia and Homs mage and Riki, a Nopon which is sort of akin to Moogles from Final Fantasy and they speak in a cutesy, third-person way. The twist is that Fiora is alive but her body has become mechanised and she doesn’t initially recognise the party. Together, Shulk, Reyn, Sharla, Dunban, Melia, Riki and Fiora pursue the true enemy known as Zanza. There are twists along the way, particularly towards the end which is a great as I love a good story twist.

This version of Xenoblade Chronicles is a complete remake of the original. I am new to the Xenoblade Chronicles series, so I was pretty surprised to see just how different the original Wii game looked from footage I have seen – it has not aged well and looks blockier and darker. The Switch version is so much brighter and really benefits from the upgrade. The interfaces and menus look far improved too. Shulk particularly looks a lot different from his original appearance, but for the better. The 3DS version looks similar to the Wii version, but more pixelated. I honestly don’t think I could go and play these versions now. The Definitive Edition includes an epilogue named Futures Connected which wraps up Melia’s story with the assistance of Shulk and Riki’s two children, Nene and Kino. The story begins in a familiar lush, green land located on the Bionis’ shoulder and while you can play it first, it is far better to play after completing the main story. There is also a post-game title screen change to one of the party looking out together which is a nice touch. Admittedly, for quite a while I didn’t even notice that there are no CG cutscenes. Every cutscene you see are from the in-game graphics and they are very easy on the eye which is good as the game is very cutscene and story heavy.

Speaking of graphics, they make traversing the expansive open worlds an absolute delight, particularly when you are travelling through the sprawling environments of the Bionis. I loved areas like Makna Forest where you meet Melia, it’s so vast and pretty and the area before that evokes Northern Lights vibes. There is just so much detail here, especially as the areas go between night and day. For example, Satorl Marsh looks so different between night and day, by night it is a shimmering marsh and by day the lights fade and it looks a lot plainer. There are also little villages and cities to visit too – Colony 9 where you begin your journey, Frontier Village where the Nopon live and Melia’s city of Imperial Capital Alcamoth. I think towards the end of the game on the Mechonis was where things began to drag slightly as you go through mechanical area after another, I was missing the lush green lands that the Bionis had to offer, but the payoff is there in terms of story. This world will draw you in though and the way in which it is displayed makes everything about this title so epic. You can fast travel between areas you’ve visited which does prove to be useful in such a large world.

The battle system plays like a single player MMO as you lock onto targets (or they lock onto you) and you have free movement. When you’re close enough you can auto attack but you also have the option of using different commands/arts which are helpfully colour coded. These arts have a cool down period so you can’t just spam them either. Your other characters in battle will be AI operated. Of course, as Shulk has the Monado he can use its specific abilities too such as Enchant to be able to attack Mechon. The Monado also lets him pre-empt attacks to come to either him or his teammates and you can warn party members of an impending attack. You don’t have to stock up with items like potions here, you can revive your teammates and after battle your HP will regenerate. I had Sharla in my team for the whole game as she has very helpful healing abilities. As well as equipping your characters with weapons and armor, there’s outfits to unlock to customise your character’s appearances without affecting their equipment setup. I temporarily put most of the characters in swimsuits because it looked funny and then soon after we were in Valak Mountain which is a very snowy area. It also looked quite funny during serious cutscenes as it carries over. Other than that, I kept them fairly close to their usual attire, but it’s good to have a play around.

The Heart to Heart mechanic is an interesting concept as it helps enhance character development and encourages the player to have different characters battle together in your party as once you gain enough affinity points you can unlock little scenes between different characters when they have downtime. Two characters have a conversation and if you say the right thing, the other’s affinity rises, say the wrong thing and it lowers. You learn little extras about the characters that you wouldn’t normally see. For example, Sharla likes fruit and Dunban does not. Of course, there are more interesting ones than that. I really like the one between Melia and Sharla when they discuss Melia’s feelings towards Shulk. Shulk is oblivious and once Fiora is back in the picture there is not much chance of any feelings being reciprocated towards Melia, but Melia is happy to stand aside for Shulk and Fiora to pursue their feelings and even shows her support for a possible Sharla and Reyn romance. It’s pretty obvious that Shulk and Fiora become a couple. There’s a scene after Shulk and Fiora fall from the Galahad Fortress onto the beachy Fallen Arm of the Mechonis and he revives/kisses her. It’s really sweet how he is so happy that she remembers him. Even Dunban openly says that Shulk and Fiora should get together which makes a nice change from the typical overprotective brother trope.

The soundtrack is composed by Manami Kiyota, Yoko Shimomura, ACE+ and Yasunori Mitsuda, of Chrono Trigger fame. I thought I recognised Shimomura’s work as the battle theme Time to Fight! Sounded similar to the battle music in Final Fantasy XV that she composed as well. Early on, I was drawn to the Tephra Cave music with its mysterious, retro feel and bass tones. There is a continuous Day and Night cycle and this also affects what music plays. For example, the music for Gaur Plains in the day feels like an exciting, grand and epic adventure is unfolding. By night, it sounds like the perfect tune for a calm midnight walk. Thoughts Enshrined which plays during certain cutscenes sounds poignant but has a layer of hope within. I also like the theme for Frontier Village with its flute, Shulk and Fiora with the piano and violins and Eryth Sea feels very atmospheric and ambient with the background vocals. You Will Know Our Names is a pretty epic tune which heard during unique monster battles which shows things are about to get tense. I also really like the battle theme from Future Connected, it’s very jazzy.

As mentioned, the voice acting was based in the UK and as a British person, I really do appreciate the localisation as it is so common to have games dubbed with a US cast with perhaps the odd British or Australian accent. There are some notable UK based names such as Jenna Coleman who is best known as Clara Oswald in Doctor Who, Kellie Bright who plays Linda Carter in EastEnders and better yet, Julie from Ali G and even Peter Dickson who is best known for voice overs such as the X Factor. For me, Shulk’s voice actor Adam Howden has the standout performance. He captures so many different emotions along the journey and can certainly shout and scream when needed. Of course, when Shulk is not screaming “I’ll kill you” like in the early iconic scene, he is speaking in his well-spoken, pleasant-sounding Southern English accent which is how he sounds for the majority of the story. I believe the aim was for him to sound educated and not posh which I think they achieved. Reyn has a cockney accent going on so that works as a good foil for their personalities. Some enemies like Metal Face have strong cockney accents too. Generally, most of the cast seem to have a Southern/standard English accent of some sort.

Xenoblade Chronicles is a game that I never even considered playing as it just wasn’t on my radar, but I am so glad I did and in the best way with the Definitive Edition. The fascinating lore, the lovable characters and the epic world it is in makes for a compelling and rather unique tale. I mean, I cannot think of many stories where the world is literally set on a titan and you’re wandering around on its different body parts and even inside its body. The story and characters are one of those where it’s left an impression, even after finishing. The soundtrack is one of the best I’ve heard in a while, it has the right mix of epic, atmospheric, relaxed and engaging themes. On a personal note, this game will be memorable as I started it at 29 and ended at 30, so this makes it the first game I’ve played in my new decade. I played Xenoblade on a whim and now I’ve played it, I definitely want to look into Xenoblade 2 now. I must admit, after connecting so much with the story and characters I find it hard to believe I’ll have the same with the sequel (which has an unrelated cast and story). But equally I am optimistic as I seem to have found myself a good series here.