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.