Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition as you can tell from the title, is a remake of Monolith Soft's classic Japanese action role playing game and first entry in the Xenoblade Chronicles series. It’s one of the most eagerly anticipated JRPG’s on the Switch.
The original game was released all the way back in 2011 on the Nintendo Wii and was one the system's stand out titles, also spawning a sequel that was released on the Switch in 2017 and a port to 3DS in 2015.
The setting of the game is really fascinating, it takes place on the bodies of two giant long dead Titians, the Bionis and Mechonis. These giants were locked together in battle until they seemingly vanquished each other.
Mechanical life spawned from the Mechonis and biological life from the Bionis, with the Mechon attacking humans on sight and the two being at war ever since.
You play as Shulk, a human inhabitant of Colony 9, which is invaded by dreaded Mechon. Just when all seems lost Shulk decides to use a magical artifact he was studying, a sword called the Monado.
This isn’t just any fancy sword; No, the Monado is the only blade that can kill the Mechon. Shulk is also able to tap into its strange power and glimpse into the future. This allows him to know his enemies' moves and counter them making Shulk a formidable fighter, it also allows him to see the possible deaths of his comrades.
With the Monado in-hand Shulk plans to track down the leader of the Mechon and take revenge for the attack on his home. On his journey he meets others who want to end the war and stop the Mechon.
The game strikes a balance between a light tone with humour and darker moments, contemplating war and death, which is a hard tightrope to walk and few games manage it as well as Xenoblade.
The world and characters look great, featuring a stylised anime look. The character models are visually amazing especially compared to the original soft fuzzy textures.
Xenoblade operates at a dynamic resolution of 378p at it’s lowest when there’s a lot happening on screen and 540p at its’s highest in handheld mode. When docked it runs between 540p and 720p, with a solid and stable frame rate of 30fps.
This has caused some controversy as fans expected higher resolution, with some saying that those visuals aren’t too far off the obsolete Nintendo 3DS version from 2015. Personally, I thought the game looked amazing, with plenty of detail on the characters and environments.
The game's musical score has been lovingly remastered and enhanced and, thanks to the more advanced hardware of the Switch, it sounds better than ever. For nostalgic fans you can change the score back to the original in the Options menu.
The UI has received an overhaul, streamlining menus and making it easier to navigate systems including equipping items and tracking quests as well as numerous other improvements.
The world is huge and has a grand sense of scale, the Titans are occasionally visible in the distance which only adds to the feeling of the vastness.
Traversing the landscapes is a joy as this game also rewards exploration with hidden areas, items and creatures to kill for raw materials. It’s reminiscent of Zelda Breath of the Wild but with smaller more contained spaces.
Thankfully you can also fast-travel, which is useful for side quests. Load times for fast travelling was also very short as you will be backtracking often.
Fighting in Xenoblade is reminiscent of MMOs like World of Warcraft. You target an enemy and your party will auto attack in real time.
However, you also have abilities which are called Arts, which you can use these on enemies to inflict extra damage or status effects, like knock down.
Arts can be levelled up to increase their effectiveness and new ones can be learnt to further customise combat and increase your arsenal of moves.
You also have a combo meter allowing your team to attack together to really dish out the punishment.
The direction from which you attack is very important as some Arts work better from behind or from the side, making you really think about how to get the drop on your opponent and how to maximise damage.
These elements add a nice sense of strategy to battles and keeps fights engaging and fun.
You can even switch out your party leader on the fly meaning you can try out other characters in combat and see if there move set better suits the moment.
The quest system is also very reminiscent of online role-playing games. Lots of fetch quests, travelling to kill a certain type of animal, and sometimes even legendary variants that are more challenging but drop better loot.
These quests can be pretty tedious but help you gain items, especially early on, showing you the ropes and forcing you to explore.
Character relationships are managed through the affinity system, allowing you to form closer bonds with other characters and especially party members.
Once you’ve gained enough affinity you can receive quests and with your party you can share abilities and activate special cut scenes with them called Heart-to-Hearts.
Extra content is also included in the definitive edition with the "Future Connected” epilogue which takes place one year after the main story in an area original cut from the core game.
This adds approximately 11 hours, as well as additional side quests to the game making this expansive RPG even more epic.
While the game isn’t overly challenging there is no penalty for dying in Xenoblade. If you die, you just go back to the last landmark you visited, this really lowers the stakes of combat and makes the game less exciting.
The biggest negative I found was the voice acting. It’s exaggerated and over the top, with painfully British accents and cheesy dialogue, although took a while to get used to - it suits the anime style of the game.
Verdict
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition features a huge, unique and beautiful world, as well as gripping story and deep exploration. It is a fantastic addition to the Switch.
Xenoblade is still really engaging due to its clever combat and several fascinating game mechanics and systems adding an element of strategy to battles.
It’s a worthwhile purchase for fans of the original game and newcomers. In fact, it’s shocking that a ten-year-old game can feel so fresh and still be one of the best JRPG’s on a modern Nintendo system.
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition is out 29 March for Nintendo Switch as a physical or digital download, the game retails for £49.99
