Yesterday was a fantastic day to be a Xenoblade fan. Not only did the Nintendo Direct reveal a brand new game in Xenoblade Genesis, a shadow-dropped Switch 2 Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition has added a new minigame I never knew I needed: Xenoblade Kart.

Or at least, that's what JRPG fans are calling it. While the headlining changes to Xenoblade Chronicles on Switch 2 are the resolution and frame rate boosts, Monolith Soft has also added Ether Jets, all-new, high-speed vehicles you can use to zip around the Bionis and Mechonis faster than ever before. Unlocking these also comes with an unexpected bonus – the Nopon Grand Prix minigame.

Nopon Grand Prix has a couple of different modes. Score Attack sees you zoom around collecting crystals, trying to reach checkpoints as quickly as possible, whereas Battle Race lets you race against the other party members around different courses, like a JRPG-flavored Mario Kart. Upon unlocking the Ether Jet, I immediately gained access to courses in all corners of the huge open-world, including Makna Forest, Alcamoth, and Valak Mountain.

Different characters even have different driving stats – Shulk is an all-rounder, for example, while Reyn has the fastest top-speed but poor acceleration.

The whole thing is delightful, despite feeling wildly out of place. Although it certainly has its lighthearted moments (like, basically any time a Nopon is on-screen), Xenoblade Chronicles' main narrative has a pretty serious tone to it. It's a quest full of death, driven by revenge and heartache, and all sorts of other big topics that I won't spoil here. The concept of Shulk and the gang taking a break from their journey to hunt down those behind the deaths of their loved ones just to race around a forest is a little odd, to say the least, but don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining in the slightest – nor are other fans.

"They're calling it the funniest DLC of all time," one fan writes, sharing a clip from the Score Attack mode. Another says: "Now that I've had a few hours to process this is the funniest thing ever. Of all things to add as an upgrade to xb1 it's xenoblade racing. It's so surreal but I wouldn't have it any other way."

"XENOBLADE KART IS REAL," as one fan puts it on Reddit, and that name (and variations of it) is already catching on elsewhere.

"Xeno Kart is honestly some of the most fun I've had with this series," another fan says. "Challenge modes are great inclusions, but I don't think it comes as a surprise that stuff like this is what really grabs my attention. I hope they continue to add goofy modes like this into future games!"

"'I hope they randomly patch Mario Kart into your favorite 16 year old atmospheric JRPG with no warning' isn't an impossibility anymore," reckons another fan. "It's real. It's threatening. It could be waiting for you at any moment."

Who knows, perhaps Xenoblade Genesis could have a mode like this, too? I hope so, anyway – this is too fun to give up.

Be sure to check out our roundup of everything announced at Nintendo Direct June 2026 to keep up with all the latest news.

Nintendo has confirmed that Nintendo Switch 2 Edition versions of the entire Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy are coming this year.

While it may have been overshadowed by the announcement of Xenoblade Chronicles Genesis coming in 2027, Nintendo has confirmed that the entire Xenoblade trilogy will be getting a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. That starts today with Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, before Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3 get the same treatment throughout the year.

Naturally, they'll all be getting performance boosts, with Nintendo confirming 4K resolution and 60fps docked, and 1080p resolution and 60fps handheld, as well as enhanced resolution and framerates for in-game cutscenes. But what's more interesting are the other things coming to the RPG trilogy.

Xenoblade Chronicles 1's Switch 2 Edition launches today (with a physical release launching on July 30) and will be getting voiced Heart-to-Heart conversations, new equipment designs, and the crown jewel, a "new high-speed vehicle." Nintendo also shows what looks like a racing mode being added to the game featuring these vehicles.

As for Xenoblade Chronicles 2, its Switch 2 Edition is going to launch digitally on July 30, with a physical version set to release on October 1, 2026. This game is getting a new rare Blade and Blade Quest, as well as new equipment designs for Pyra and Mythra. Its big new addition, however, is a new "mercenary squad battles" mode where you control the blades themselves.

Finally, Xenoblade Chronicles 3's Switch 2 Edition is releasing a lot later on December 3, both physically and digitally. This update features a new Hero and Hero Quest, newly voiced event scenes, and "new defensive battles against waves on enemies" which looks like a horde mode. Hopefully they fare better than the disastrous Switch 2 Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles X, which fans said actually made the JRPG look worse in handheld mode, but we'll soon find out as people dig into the new version of the first game today.

JRPGs struggle to break 3 million sales, Xenoblade lead once said, and after his hesitance to focus on cutting-edge tech, Xenoblade Chronicles X's wonky Switch 2 edition may have proven him right.

Xenoblade Genesis has been announced with a surprising amount of fantasy RPG in there, and it's coming in 2027.

After four years, a new entry in the Xenoblade series has been confirmed for the Switch 2. And we got a pretty substantial look at the game with a number of cutscenes being shown off. Unlike the Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy which mixed sci-fi and fantasy, this new entry is going hard on the fantasy RPG aspects of the series.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was already confirmed to be the end of the main narrative that began in some very spoilery events in Xenoblade Chronicles 1, so to see something so different here isn't exactly a surprise.

Akin to Fire Emblem: Three Houses, you'll be attending a school named Lekuos, with large-scale battles shown off in various cutscenes, implying you'll be waging war throughout the game. We also saw some of the open world with horse riding and dragon flight seemingly confirmed as traversal options.

Before showing the new Xenoblade game however, Nintendo confirmed that all three Xenoblade Chronicles games will be getting Nintendo Switch 2 Edition releases. They'll all be getting 4K resolution and 60fps docked and 1080p resolution and 60fps handheld boosts, with enhanced resolution and framerates for in-game cutscenes too.

On top of that, the Switch 2 Edition versions of all three games are getting bonuses. The first game is adding a "high-speed vehicle" and voiced Heart-to-Heart conversations, the second is getting "mercenary squad battles, "a new rare Blade and quest, while the third is getting a wave-based horde mode, a new hero and quest, and voiced event scenes.

Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition Nintendo Switch 2 Edition releases today digitally, with Xenoblade 2 set to release on July 30 digitally. Sadly, fans of 3 have a bit longer to wait as the Switch 2 Edition won't release until December 3. Let's just hope they are better than the Switch 2 Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles X.

JRPGs struggle to break 3 million sales, Xenoblade lead once said, and after his hesitance to focus on cutting-edge tech, Xenoblade Chronicles X's wonky Switch 2 edition may have proven him right

Xenoblade lead Tetsuya Takahashi and former Tekken boss Katsuhiro Harada both previously agreed that JRPGs have a problem when it comes to overcoming big sales milestones, but they had mixed opinions when it came to a potential solution to overcome it.

Takahashi and Harada – the latter of whom might be best known for his contributions to Bandai Namco's fighting game series, but as he noted at the time, previously led marketing for the Tales of series (and went on to be general producer of Tales of Arise) – discussed this together in a 2019 4Gamer interview that's recently resurfaced on ResetEra (machine translated). Takahashi – who directed Xenogears, Xenosaga: Episode 1, and served as executive director on all the Xenoblade games – asked Harada what he thought the sales limit was for the JRPG genre, noting that he thought there was a bit of a barrier around the two to three million mark.

Harada noted that for JRPGs, passing even the one million sales mark is surprisingly difficult, with things like fighting games generally much quicker to sell. This is a hurdle that Takahashi admitted he'd been looking for a way to overcome for some time.

Pondering a potential solution, Harada suggested that perhaps the answer could be putting a focus on the latest technology, noting that players in America seem to be particularly drawn to games with cutting-edge tech – he looks to Final Fantasy 15 as an example. Takahashi, however, wasn't quite so certain, pointing to budget constraints as a barrier to this.

The Xenoblade lead went on to compare the current sales of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Monolith Soft's most recent game at the time – to other Nintendo behemoths, with Harada giving the example of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (which Monolith Soft actually assisted with). They agreed that IP is a truly powerful thing when it comes to driving sales.

In the years since, it's fair to say that Xenoblade still hasn't reached the staggering highs as some of Nintendo's more mainstream franchises when it comes to sales. Since that interview, the excellent Game of the Year nominee Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was released, but in March 2023, around eight months after launch, it'd sold 1.86 million copies – not a bad number by any means, but still stuck before the two to three million barrier Takahashi spoke about, despite its critical acclaim.

As for focusing on technology, we also recently saw the launch of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition's Switch 2 version – the first in the JRPG series to get any dedicated Switch 2 enhancements. Ironically, fans quickly called it "disappointing," with visuals actually worsened in handheld mode where its upscaling has a tendency to make distant objects appear blurry. Despite launching on February 19 this year, this still hasn't been patched.

Obviously, it wasn't for this reason that Takahashi previously expressed hesitance towards going all-in on all the newest, shiniest technologies, but it's unfortunate that the studio's first attempt to capitalize on Nintendo's latest console may have had the opposite effect when it comes to drawing new players. It's not clear how many sales Xenoblade X's Switch 2 edition brought in, but sadly even the base Switch 1 version didn't seem to have stellar sales, as they weren't even mentioned in Nintendo's first financial report after its launch. To be fair, its March 2025 release date didn't give it long to rack up its number of copies sold before this, but it clearly wasn't an immediate hit on the same level of some Switch 1 games.

Monolith Soft has long been praised for its game dev wizardry in being able to get such vast, beautiful open worlds running so smoothly on the regular Switch 1, so its Switch 2 debut does feel like more of an unfortunate blip than a sign of things to come. Personally, I'm still hopeful that the devs will take these learnings on board, and if the remaining Xenoblade trilogy get enhancements, too – or better yet, if a whole new JRPG is made exclusively for the Switch 2 – the visual improvements will be a bit more, well, there.

While you're here, be sure to check out our roundup of the best JRPGs you can play today.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition became the first in the 16-year-old JRPG series to get a Switch 2 upgrade on February 19 – but fans have already taken issue with what they now dub a "very disappointing" purchase, reportedly prompting refunds from Nintendo.

The base game itself broke free from Wii U prison one year ago with a well-received Switch 1 port, the Definitive Edition, only to now be revamped in 2026 with improved visuals once again for Nintendo's new console – or, at least, that was the plan.

Folks aren't exactly thrilled with the upgrade, which is supposed to feature a shiny 4K resolution "at a smooth frame rate of up to 60 FPS" when docked and the same frames with 1080p in handheld mode.

A quick look at the game's Reddit forum shows as much, with one post warning, "Don't run this version handheld, until the visuals are fixed!" Another simply offers a meme about the game while docked versus while running in handheld.

Over on YouTube, there are also plenty of discussions regarding the new Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition upgrade, along with comparisons of the older Switch 1 port side-by-side.

Nintendo is refunding Xenoblade X upgrade patch from r/Xenoblade_Chronicles

So, what has come of all this? Refunds, apparently. In mere days post-launch, people are alleging that Nintendo is indeed granting refund requests to saddened fans.

A thread on the matter outlines how one player apparently managed to snag their money back, with comments showing others claiming to have also received a refund. They state that they asked for the refund while "saying that the image quality of the upgraded version is worse than the original game (which is true)."

The poster continues: "They said that they normally don't refund digital games but can do in this case after analyzing the problem." They explain that they requested a refund in the first place due to the Switch 2 Edition not being the "Nintendo quality I expected," and people replying largely agree.

Some call the upgrade "really disappointing," while others amusingly declare, "it looks worse than the Wii U version" from 2015. Another writes: "This is not OK for charging $5."

Unsurprisingly, though, not everyone agrees. Various responses show players who are happy enough with the upgrade – but with so many evidently disappointed fans, I wouldn't be too surprised myself if Nintendo really was offering refunds.

Looking for more? Have a quick browse through our roundup of the best JRPGs to play right now – if you're done with Xenoblade Chronicles X, of course.

Out of nowhere, Nintendo has revealed that Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition both has a Switch 2 Edition and it's available right now, and hot on the heels of the shadowdrop, fans of the beloved JRPG series are praying that the main trilogy could be next.

Xenoblade Chronicles X broke free from Wii U jail last March with its excellent Switch 1 port, but now, Switch 2 users can now buy an upgrade pack to improve the open world JRPG's visuals even further. Per a Nintendo press release, "The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of the game adds up to 4K resolution at a smooth frame rate of up to 60 fps when playing in TV mode and up to 1080p and up to 60 fps in handheld mode."

While the changes themselves aren't exactly wild or unexpected, it's still very nice to see the game get a bit more TLC, especially after it was left forgotten on the Wii U for so long. What's more, though, this marks the very first Xenoblade game to get a Switch 2 upgrade, which as one fan says, means "the door has been opened for Xenoblade Chronicles 1/2/3" to get the same treatment, and the sentiment across the fanbase is loud and clear: "I don't care, I'd buy them all again."

"NOW GIVE THIS TO THE MAIN TRILOGY," one pleads to Nintendo on Twitter, adding that if the devs do, "MY LIFE IS YOURS."

"DO IT FOR THE REST OF THE SERIES," another demand reads in the trailer's YouTube comment section, as another writes: "Now we need to do this for the rest of the Xenoblade Chronicles series especially 2."

For now, Nintendo hasn't made any mention of the main trilogy getting similar upgrades, so we'll just have to watch this space – I'm sure the fact that this particular upgrade got shadowdropped is going to have fans behaving very normally as they build their hopes up for random releases for the other games. While the Xenoblade Chronicles X upgrade pack is available digitally now, a physical Switch 2 Edition is also launching on April 16.

I spent 10 years waiting for the answers to Xenoblade Chronicles X's haunting cliffhanger ending, and it was worth the wait

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is without a doubt the very best way to experience Monolith Soft's underrated sci-fi JRPG, and the devs just made it even better after fixing one of my most minor criticisms, which, it turns out, was a bug all along.

A massive part of what makes Xenoblade Chronicles X so special is its gorgeous, sprawling open world. Its stunning, varied biomes are all accompanied by an atmospheric soundtrack that really helps pull you into the weird and wonderful planet that is Mira. As you'd expect, this music shifts to a battle theme when you engage in combat, but it's afterwards that there was – until now – a slight issue.

For some reason, unlike the original release on the Wii U, the Switch port of Xenoblade Chronicles X saw its environment music go right back to the start of the track whenever you left a battle. It was by no means a major issue, but it always felt slightly off – any momentum the music had built up was lost, which was slightly immersion-breaking. Now, though, Monolith Soft has ironed it out altogether.

Amongst the various fixes implemented in ver. 1.0.2, which was rolled out yesterday, the patch notes read: "Fixed an issue where environment music would start from beginning after end of combat." Rejoice. Up until now, it wasn't clear if this was simply a weird design decision, but clearly not, and I'm not the only one pleased about it.

"THANK YOU MONOLITH," one enthusiastic fan yells on Twitter, sharing the patch note. "LET'S FUCKING GO," says another, as another adds: "OH MY GOD YES." No, they're not overreacting – it's a very good update, folks.

Elsewhere in the update, a crash during a specific quest has been fixed, an issue where the "destination marker for Material Tracking and Squad Tasks" was not showing up has been resolved, "confirmed vulnerability bugs" have been addressed, and more. You can check out the full patch notes for all the details.

In a huge win for JRPG fans, it seems that Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition has been a big success, as it was recently revealed to be the best-selling Nintendo Switch game in the United States last month, dethroning the ever-popular Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to claim the top spot.

I spent 10 years waiting for the answers to Xenoblade Chronicles X's haunting cliffhanger ending, and it was worth the wait.

One of the most underrated Wii U games, Xenoblade Chronicles X, has finally been given a new lease of life on Nintendo Switch, and the sci-fi JRPG has had a phenomenal debut month after dethroning Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the console's best seller for March in the United States.

Xenoblade Chronicles X, despite being an absolute gem, had become somewhat forgotten in comparison to the main Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy. For over nine years, it was stuck on a console that sold notoriously poorly, with no other way to play it. This changed with Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, which truly lives up to its name as the best way to play the JRPG, and more importantly makes the game accessible on Switch, introducing it to a massive new audience.

Little over a month after its launch, it's clear that it's taking full advantage of this. According to data shared by Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition's physical sales made it the best-selling premium game on the platform between March 2 and April 5, beating Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Party Jamboree, and more when ranked on dollar sales.

Circana's data accounts for physical sales, as well as digital ones "from digital data sharing publishers," although most of the titles on here – those aforementioned three included – don't include digital sales. It's also worth noting that Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition was released on March 19, so it fought its way to the top spot in little over two weeks.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe may not always be at number one in these charts, but it's the undisputed king of Switch games as the console's best-selling title by an enormous distance. According to Nintendo's own data, by the end of last year, the racing game had racked up 67.35 million sales – almost 20 million more than the runner up, Animal Crossing: New Horizons (which had sold a very respectable 47.44 million copies at the time).

What's more, despite releasing in 2017, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe always seems to be in the best-selling game charts for Switch. Looking at previous data shared by Piscatella, this year, it's not left the top 3 in the US. Needless to say, being able to shift it from the top spot is something worth celebrating, and also proves that Xenoblade developer Monolith Soft has a hit on its hands.

It really deserves it, too. The gorgeous open-world JRPG lets you tear around an alien planet in a transforming mech, fighting for survival as one of the last humans from a destroyed Earth. If that's not worth you shifting over from Mario Kart races for 80 or more hours, I don't know what is.

I spent 10 years waiting for the answers to Xenoblade Chronicles X's haunting cliffhanger ending, and it was worth the wait.

Xenoblade Chronicles X is a game I always wanted to adore. Being part of one of my favorite game series of all time, boasting a spectacular open world, and being home to a (mostly) captivating narrative, the sci-fi romp was always, on paper, destined for greatness. The reality of the Wii U release, however, wasn't so perfect, with more than a few frustrations in the way to dampen the overall experience, but finally, with Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, I can love Monolith Soft's unique JRPG the way I always wanted to. Be warned, while vague, there may be some implied spoilers ahead for Definitive Edition's new content.

Back in 2015, the Wii U JRPG invited us all to the mysterious planet of Mira – the new home of the last few survivors of Earth, which was destroyed after being caught in the middle of an alien war. Mira itself – a stunning open world expanse with five distinct biomes – was (and is) a technical marvel, full of secrets to uncover and creatures to fight, alongside a plethora of party members to meet, all with their own side stories. However, there was an unfortunate amount of clunkiness that slowed everything down. Changing party members meant seeking out the exact places on the map that particular individuals were found in order to manually ask them to join you. The day and night cycle, crucial to encounter certain enemies and progress some missions, could only be altered by visiting specific spots like benches.

Whole different planet

Mercifully in Definitive Edition, these things have been improved, and alongside a suite of other fantastic quality-of-life improvements, playing Xenoblade Chronicles X has never felt better. Even if you adored the original, believe me that it'll be hard to ever imagine going back to it after getting your hands on this one – while part of me does miss the Wii U GamePad and its ever-present FrontierNav map, it's a small price to pay for a vastly enhanced overall experience.

While quality-of-life changes are nothing to be sniffed at, for any returning fans, easily the most crucial improvement that Definitive Edition has made is to its story. For almost 10 years now, I've been haunted by the words, "It's something about this planet." The decision to end what was otherwise a perfectly pleasant narrative on a series of not one, but two back-to-back cliffhangers that were never addressed was always baffling. It left me wholly underwhelmed a decade ago, exasperated, in fact, that the main driving force of the plot became instantly irrelevant in a post-credits scene that did nothing other than add a mystery doomed to be unanswered on the Wii U until the end of time. Needless to say, the promise of extra story content in the Switch re-release was all I needed to convince myself to dive back into Mira a second time, and I'm relieved to report that it was worth the wait.

Unlike Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, you really have to work for this additional story. Rather than being able to access it on the title screen from the get-go, this content is baked right into the main plot, added on as a brand new Chapter 13 (which is split into three separate chapters called 'Acts') set after the original ending, and expanding the overall package by roughly 15 hours.

Without getting into any specific spoilers of what this section contains, I can confidently say that I was satisfied with the answers it provided, although it's worth noting that, to my surprise, these points weren't the main focus of the extra narrative. As shown in Definitive Edition's trailers, a new (or rather, old) threat is on the scene in the form of the Ghosts, who eagle-eyed fans will recognize as one of the warring alien factions who contributed to the destruction of Earth at the beginning of the game. Considering that these guys were never elaborated on previously, the lore drop here is a welcome one, and it helps the story feel cohesive, as if it was supposed to be like this from the start.

During the course of Chapter 13, we also get access to a whole new area (with a banger of a fresh battle theme, to boot), although it's got to be said that overall, this might be the least exciting part of the added content. It's not like any of Mira's existing regions, being relatively compact and generally lacking in the interesting landmarks that made the likes of Noctilum, Primordia, and Sylvalum fascinating to explore, and the time spent in it is also limited. Believe me, for story reasons, you won't really want to spend hours upon hours trawling it, either. While enjoyable to have a change of scenery for a while, you'll definitely want to keep your expectations in check when it comes to what this specific part of the map adds.

Future connected

After 80 hours in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, though, perhaps what's struck me most is how after all this time the JRPG finally feels like a Xenoblade game. The original version famously had no notable connection to the first Xenoblade (to which Xenoblade Chronicles X was the only successor at the time, preceding Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on Nintendo Switch), and none of the later releases in the series successfully tied XCX into the overall narrative, either. In fact, I'd argue it was often easy to forget you were playing a Xenoblade game at all – the vibes always felt wildly different, and other than the real-time combat system, appearance of the Nopon, Telethia, and smaller nods like Lin's Monado-shaped hairclip, it almost felt more like a game with Xenoblade references rather than an actual part of the series.

Fast forward to 2025, and while there's still no requirement to play the main trilogy before embarking on X, there is actually a reason to do so, and on more than one occasion I had to pause the game to process what I was looking at. It's something special for a decade-in-the-making re-release to light a new fandom fire in me all these years later – though I'll leave you to enjoy the juicy details for yourself (and prepare for the lengthy online theory crafting to come).

It may have taken 10 years, but I'm thrilled that Xenoblade Chronicles X fans have finally been given the closure they deserved after being left hanging for so long with more questions than answers. Admittedly, I've now been given even more questions that I've been pondering nonstop since I finished the expanded game days ago, but this time they're driven by intrigue and a sense of wonder rather than the frustration of feeling like a book you were reading ran out of ink partway through. Excitingly, I still feel like there's room here for a sequel, even if it's not what I had in mind as a teenager desperate for an explanation about those cliffhangers, and maybe now that the JRPG has escaped the Wii U, it'll finally gain the attention it deserves in order to make that happen.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition was played on Nintendo Switch, with a code provided by the publisher.

For more fantastic games, be sure to check out our roundup of the best JRPGs.

The enhanced Nintendo Switch port of sci-fi JRPG Xenoblade Chronicles X has been out for a grand total of one day, but it took dedicated fans just hours to break its combat system in order to deal millions of damage in a single hit.

If you're a person with great taste and played XCX on the Wii U, this might not come as a massive shock. The JRPG has a lot of complex combat mechanics and stats that can be, frankly, incredibly overwhelming to look at, and it'd be very easy to play through the whole thing without fully understanding how everything works. On the other hand, if you really, really understand the tools in front of you, it's possible to craft character builds that can one-shot even the highest level enemies in the game when you're right at the start of your adventure, trivializing what should be tricky fights.

Over on Twitter, Xenoblade content creator and speedrunner Enel has perfectly demonstrated exactly how powerful you can become in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, after hitting the game's maximum damage cap using one of the newly added Battle Arts (basically, moves). Using a Caro enemy as a training dummy, we see the player making use of Overdrive – which is basically, without debate, the most powerful combat mechanic available in the game. Using it in this case, Enel can increase damage sixfold, as well as reduce the enemy's resistance to attacks by 100, not to mention allow the playable character's Arts to go into "tertiary cooldown," giving them increased additional effects (depending on the Art, this is sometimes just greatly boosted damage).

After applying a buff and waiting until another party member's "Soul Voice" activated to prompt the player to use a melee attack, Enel finally hits Hercules Blow – a new Longsword Art added in Definitive Edition, for a staggering 99,999,984 maximum damage in one strike (the 100 million number that pops up afterwards is from the entire duration of Overdrive, including the attacks Enel used when getting ready to deploy the big move). "New Arts are so broken LOL," Enel writes, and that seems to be putting it lightly.

Not every tool at Enel's disposal is actually visible on the screen, mind you – for a start, we don't see the player's gear for a proper look at the overall build. There are loads of "augments" that can be added onto weapons and armor for significant bonuses in battle, for example, and I'm guessing that plenty were used here. It's also not clear what buffs the other party members could have been applying. Here's hoping we get a full look at the complete setup at some point – there's no better way to deal with a troublesome story boss than to get a new loadout and simply hit the delete button on them, right?

Sci-fi JRPG Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is tied with Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 as the 3rd highest-rated game of the year on Metacritic so far.

In a huge win for JRPG fans everywhere, Xenoblade Chronicles X's souped-up Switch port is a certified banger, and is so dang good that it's currently tied as the third highest-rated game of the year so far on Metacritic.

Once an underrated Wii U gem left behind on Nintendo's previous-gen console, Xenoblade Chronicles X is pretty different to every other game in the Xenoblade series, but in some of the coolest ways possible. Not only does the sci-fi JRPG take place in a stunning and utterly massive open world, but play long enough and you're able to roam the whole thing while piloting "Skells," which can seamlessly transform between being big ol' robots you stomp around in, cars to zoom across the land with, to flight-ready mechs. It's a fantastic time, made even better by a loveable cast of characters and intriguing story, and Definitive Edition has sought only to better that experience with a host of quality-of-life improvements and even "new story elements."

Needless to say, there's plenty of reason why Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition has scored so well on Metacritic today. At the time of writing, 50 critic reviews have given the JRPG an average score of 88, which is the exact same as Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (although admittedly, Warhorse's RPG currently has more reviews making up that average).

Notably, this is only one point below Monster Hunter Wilds' average score of 89, and three below the current highest-rated game of the year, Split Fiction. There's really not much in it separating them all, and it's a joy to see so many fantastic 2025 games populating our screens barely three months into the year.

If you've never played Xenoblade Chronicles X before (or if you're ready to return to Mira) its Definitive Edition launches on Switch on March 20, making for a very busy day alongside Assassin's Creed Shadows' release.

Xenoblade developer Monolith Soft has already made some of the best JRPGs of all time, but its representative director says its "aim for higher quality will never change."

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is fast approaching, and a new trailer has given us another look at some of the changes and additions coming to the Switch port of one of the best Wii U JRPGs. However, one of the things fans are most excited about isn't anything to do with the game's content, but its text size.

The latest trailer has showcased more of what battles look like in the expanded port, and as veteran BLADE members will immediately notice, there's a big visual difference. While the Wii U version's UI was sleek and stylish, actually being able to read your Battle Arts (essentially, moves) in the middle of a frantic fight was always a struggle since the text was so tiny. I know I personally relied more on the icons to know what I was pressing, but that still meant memorizing them all and all of their effects rather than being able to just, y'know, check. 

Thankfully, it seems that the devs at Monolith Soft noticed this issue too because, as has been highlighted by Twitter user @NSuperGamerGuy, "THEY COMPLETELY REDID THE UI, AND IT LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER." Most notably, you'll no longer need to squint your eyes to read what your Arts are and what they do, but it also appears that an on-screen guide explaining the Overdrive mechanic has been added. This is one of the most powerful tricks up your sleeve in the JRPG, but it was famously poorly explained in the original, so many players didn't fully understand how to use it. Hopefully, this is a sign that the port makes a bit more of an effort to get everyone on board.

All in all, these changes are going down very well: "I spammed Arts without thought back then because I literally couldn't be bothered to get up from my sofa and get closer to the TV every time I wanted something done. This is good," one fan writes. "Looking forward to finally learning how Overdrive works after 10 years," says another.

These crucial changes aside, I've got to say I'm personally most hyped about the added story content. Certain scenes in the new trailer (which I won't highlight for the sake of spoilers) look like they directly follow the game's original ending, and Xenoblade Chronicles X enjoyers have been hoping for a follow-up to that since, well, forever. Fingers crossed it'll be able to give us the answers we've been waiting for. 

For more games like Xenoblade Chronicles, be sure to check out our roundups of the best JRPGs and best RPGs.

Nintendo now fully owns Monolith Software, more than a decade after both companies first got into bed together.

Monolith Soft has long been producing games and series with Xeno in the title, starting with Square Enix's Xenogears, Bandai Namco's Xenosaga, and now Nintendo's Xenoblade games. It also supports everything from Super Smash Bros. Brawl to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but its relationship with the Big N didn't start with a clear-cut acquisition.

Nintendo acquired 80% of the studio's shares in 2007, before also buying 16% more from its previous parent company in 2011, giving the console maker a 96% stake in the company for over a decade. Monolith Soft's co-founders Hirohide Sugiura, Tetsuya Takahashi, and Yasuyuki Honne held onto the remaining 4% for years, though it seems like they've now given the rest over as well: the Monolith Soft official website now lists Nintendo as its sole shareholder with ownership over 100% of its shares. (Good spot, Automaton.)

Nothing will properly change between the two companies since Monolith Soft has been almost exclusively working on Nintendo projects for more than a decade at this point, but it's an interesting development regardless, especially as major Nintendo buyouts are few and far between. 

For now, Monolith Soft is gearing up to break Xenoblade Chronicles X out of its Wii U prison cell next year. The JRPG powerhouse is probably also working on the next Xenoblade game - or maybe even a totally new thing - that we might even see pop up on the incoming Nintendo Switch 2. 

Before we get ahead of ourselves, catch up with the 25 best games of 2024. 

At long last, Nintendo has confirmed that a Switch port of the excellent Wii U JRPG Xenoblade Chronicles X is on the way, and while that's fantastic news for all fans of gorgeous open world games, I'm not sure anyone is more excited than one of the original version's final survivors. 

Back in April, Nintendo turned off the 3DS and Wii U's online servers, putting an end to the online modes for all those previous-gen games, including Xenoblade Chronicles X. However, dedicated 3DS and Wii U fans didn't want to go out without a fight, and many made it their mission to stay connected to their favorite games for as long as possible, refusing to turn off their consoles. The last standing server survivor on Mario Kart 7 is actually still connected, or so it seems with the latest update last Friday. Anyway, one of these players was Twitter user @DaeronSingollo, a Xenoblade X fan who managed to cling onto the JRPG's servers for 158 hours – almost a week – after they were supposed to go down.

"This is Daeron, the last survivor of Mira," the player writes on Twitter, right after Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition's announcement. "It's been 4,887 hours since the server has gone offline, I have established a connection with the lifehold. I repeat. We will be operational in 3,392 hours. I repeat. We will be back in 3,392 hours! BLADES, RISE UP!"

As valiant as Daeron's efforts were, it's worth noting that it was someone else who managed to hang in there as the longest-surviving Xenoblade Chronicles X player in the end. The title actually went to @xc_omoroid, who managed to stay connected until May 21, just over six weeks after the servers went down. Looking at their Twitter account, they're clearly very excited about the port announcement too, sharing one particularly exciting part of the trailer and saying (translated by Google): "Everyone who has played the game had their heart stop at this scene. (I'm posting this tweet from the afterlife.)"

Daeron is right, though, there's really not too long to go until we can all return to the planet Mira. The port is set to release on March 20, 2025, so there are less than five months to go. With the promise of "newly added story elements and more," that day really can't come soon enough.

In the meantime, be sure to check out our picks for the best JRPGs you can play right now.

One of the last great Wii U exclusives has finally escaped the prison of Nintendo's underloved console. The publisher has just announced Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, an upgraded remaster of a JRPG it seemed Nintendo itself had forgotten.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is set to launch on March 20, 2025, and is priced at $59.99. "This visually enhanced version includes newly added story elements and more," Nintendo says as part of its announcement, and that's the extent of the information we've got so far. You can check out the trailer below for a taste of what to expect from the new visuals, at least.

With the release of Xenoblade Chronicles X, the entire Xenoblade series is now playable on Switch. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3 launched as Switch titles from the jump, while the original Wii game got a Switch remaster in 2020. Xenoblade Chronicles X isn't directly connected to the main trilogy (even if there are a couple of familiar elements, like its cute Nopon characters), but up until now it's been the one missing piece for anybody who wants to play the full series on Switch.

With the announcement of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, we now have four first-party upcoming Switch games announced for next year. We'll see Donkey Kong Country Returns HD in January, Xenoblade in March, then Metroid Prime 4 and Pokemon Legends: Z-A at currently unspecified dates later in the year. What this all means for Switch 2's eventual release remains to be seen, but it looks like Nintendo's current-gen platform is going out with a bang.

You'll certainly find Xenoblade Chronicles represented among our list of the best JRPGs. 

Xenoblade Chronicles developer Monolith Soft has undoubtedly created some of the greatest JRPGs of all time, but the company is still striving to reach greater heights. 

That's according to a newly translated interview found in the developer's 2024 Company Brochure (translated and reported by Nintendo Everything, and verified by GamesRadar+ using machine translation), in which representative director Hirohide Sugiura reflects on the company's past 25 years and looks ahead into the future. Something that's reiterated throughout is the fact that Monolith Soft aspires for even greater success, as it's not yet completely satisfied with what it's already achieved. 

"I do not believe we've had enough of the satisfaction that comes from success and achievement," Sugiura says. "This is definitely something Monolith Soft will pursue for as long as it exists, and perhaps may never be obtainable."

Furthermore, Sugiura says that "as long as Monolith Soft exists, our drive to never be satisfied with the status quo and aim for higher quality will never change." He certainly wants it to keep existing, too, as he hopes it "can keep going for 100, 200, or even 500 years." At this point, I'm going to need a time traveler to tell me what happens in Xenoblade 4 through 50. 

While Monolith Soft is arguably best known for developing the Xenosaga series, as well as the aforementioned excellent Xenoblade Chronicles games, its work isn't limited to these, as it's also assisted in developing a number of other major releases for Nintendo. These include The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Animal Crossing: New Leaf and New Horizons, and all three Splatoon games. Needless to say, the developer has played a significant role in bolstering the Nintendo Switch's strong first-party game library across a variety of different genres. 

One thing that's continually been impressive about Monolith Soft's Nintendo Switch Xenoblade games is just how well they run and look. All three games (as well as the DLCs for 2 and 3) have enormous open worlds with detailed and varied biomes, which look all fantastic, and rarely experience performance issues even when hectic real-time battles are unfolding on the screen. While the studio hasn't confirmed that any new installments are in development at the time of writing, it's very exciting to imagine what it might be able to do with newer hardware. Speaking of which, Nintendo has confirmed that it'll be revealing its Switch successor at some point this fiscal year, so it should get an announcement sometime before March 2025.

For more games like Xenoblade Chronicles, be sure to check out our roundup of the 25 best RPGs you can play right now.

The Game Awards darling 'Flute Guy' is apologizing for not using a shinobue to perform music from Xenoblade Chronicles 3 during the event, and I think I speak for everyone when I say: you're forgiven, Flute Guy.

In case you missed the whole shebang, Venezuelan-born flautist Pedro Eustache captivated the world for his skill and enthusiasm during a performance at this year's Game Awards. Eustache was quick to passionately thank his new fans in a recent video, and now he's reanalyzing, and possibly overanalyzing, a specific detail from his performance from that night.

In an interview with The Verge, Eustache expressed regret that the modified flute he used to play music from Xenoblade Chronicles 3 isn't the same as the instrument used by characters called off-seers to send off fallen soldiers.

"So in one part of the arrangement, it was very specific for me to play this [flute]," he said. "And I'm so ignorant that I found out that the original instrument from the game is a shinobue, and I have two of them! Next time, I'm going to play this Japanese shinobue. I beg forgiveness for all the Xenoblade gamers. I will do them honor next time."

To be clear, I can relate to the feeling of wanting to perfect a piece of work, even after it's been put out there, and especially when it gets a lot of attention. That said, I don't think there is anything about Eustache's performance that night needs an apology. If anything, we should be apologizing for not giving him some kind of award. Flute Guy, if I had an award to give for best musical performance at a games award show, it would be yours and yours only.

Here's everything that was announced at The Game Awards 2022.

About 30 hours into our time with Xenoblade Chronicles 3, curiosity leads us to check the tips menu, just to see how many times our adventure so far has been interrupted by a tutorial window. Nudging the analogue stick downwards as it rapidly scrolls through them takes us around 20 seconds, covering more than 150 individual tip categories - several of which have more than one page to read. That might sound terribly off-putting, but we're simply stating the facts rather than complaining. We've long grown accustomed to the traditional Japanese approach to tutorials, particularly in JRPGs and the like, so the frequent interjections are nothing new to us. 

Spread out over such a period of time, it doesn't feel nearly as irritating in practice as it might seem on paper. And Xenoblade Chronicles 3 does, in fairness, have a significantly larger range of features than most games. Heck, we could have simply listed them all in our review (found in issue #375 of Edge) and we would have long passed the word count before we'd got halfway down the list. (A small selection of the ones we didn’t have room to mention in the review: rest stops, soldier husks, supply drops, ether channels, fabricators, collectopaedia cards, refighting unique monsters, rebooting Ferronis hulks.)

Finding balance  

There is, in other words, an awful lot to take in - and training drills are available from the menu at any time to refresh your memory. These are a fine way to punch home mechanics you might have forgotten about or otherwise neglected for a while, as well as helping you learn about best practices in combat in a virtual context where the pressure is off. It is almost certainly the ideal way to internalise more advanced techniques that were less exhaustively explained at the time, and there are a few JRPGs we can think of that would benefit from a similar approach. That said, a lot of the systems, particularly the first few to which you're introduced in painstaking detail, will be familiar to those who have played the previous two Xenoblade games. 

What makes it worse is Monolith Soft's patronisingly thorough approach to explaining it all. It walks you through a number of fairly basic JRPG mechanics (gem crafting, equipping new skills) step by step, forcing you to follow its instructions with a blue pointing hand that indicates which menu option you need to select next on each screen. At times it doesn't so much feel like the game is catering to those who didn't play the first two titles in the series (which is fair enough; this is a standalone tale that requires no prior history with the series) as people who have never experienced a JRPG before. 

In one or two cases, we begin to wonder if it's trying to accommodate people who are completely new to video games - though the idea that this would be anyone's first game is quite hilarious. The desire to be welcoming to players of all ages and levels of experience is laudable, even if this seems like approachability taken to its logical extreme. But therein lies the problem: this isn't suited to players who know the series well, who know about positioning and targeting lines and Art cooldowns and linked attacks and combos and would rather like to get on with things, thank you very much. 

There are difficulty options, plus display and notification settings to make the screen less cluttered. There are options for subtitles and dialogue text speed. You can enable auto-battling outside fights against bosses and unique monsters. There is even an option to change the arrangement of the party in the background of the main menu. But there is no allowance for Xenoblade veterans to skip any of the tips for features with which they are already intimately acquainted. Shouldn't developers consider experienced players as well as newcomers when designing tutorials? Because not everyone needs their hands held quite so tightly. 

This feature first appeared in issue #375 of Edge magazine. For more great articles like this one, check out all of the subscription offers at Magazines Direct.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 represents a "a stopping point" for the series, but it won't be the last game in the series.

In an email sent out to folks who bought the game in Japan (via MyNintendoNews), Xenoblade Chronicles 3 senior director Tetsuya Takahashi agreed emphatically with suggestions that the latest installment is the "culmination" of the series, which began in 2010 with Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii. "We at Monolith have put everything we have cultivated over the past twelve years into it," Takahashi said.

He went on to confirm, once again, that there will be more games in the Xenoblade series, but he also makes it clear that the third game marks the end of a chapter for the series.

"It is also a stopping point to me. This title depicts the conclusion of the Xenoblade story that began with Klaus’s experiment," said Takahashi.

Somewhat curiously, Takahashi suggests that Xenoblade Chronicles 3's four expansions, one of which is available now, will tease the future of the series.

"While it is a conclusion, that does not mean it is the end of the Xenoblade series. It is just a stopping point in my mind. I think that everyone who played this title and the additional stories in the Expansion Pass can imagine what lies in the future for Xenoblade."

The second wave of DLC is due out by December 31, the third is scheduled for sometime before April 30, 2023, and the fourth and final should launch by December 31, 2023.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 just came out, but it's already looking like a worthy candidate for our list of the best Switch games.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is far bigger than the second game, and its DLC will be a similar size to Torna - The Golden Country.

Earlier today, on July 28, Nintendo published the third and final volume of its interviews with three key creatives on Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Throughout the new interview, co-game director Koh Kojima reveals that the total walkable area in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is "over five times larger" than that of Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Considering Xenoblade Chronicles 2 wasn't exactly a small game by any means, the sequel is nothing short of massive. Elsewhere in the interview, producer Genki Yokota reveals that the amount of content in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 outstrips the amount of content in both the previous two main games in the series.

Elsewhere in the chat, Yokota brings up the forthcoming DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which is slated to include all-new story content. Yokota reveals that the developers at Monolith Soft are considering making the DLCs "volume of content" as large as that of Torna - The Golden Country.

For those unaware, Torna - The Golden Country was a post-launch story chapter for Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and it was so big that it received a standalone release separate from the base game. Considering Monolith Soft is weighing up a similar amount of content for Xenoblade Chronicles 3's new DLC, that's saying something.

Finally, Yokota casually confirms that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 won't mark the end of the series. "Yes, it will still go on! I want to keep it going as long as possible!" the producer says when asked about Xenoblade Chronicles continuing after the latest release.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 launches tomorrow on July 29 for the Nintendo Switch. Be warned: if you're looking forward to the new sequel, spoilers are already floating around on internet forums and social media sites, as retail copies of the game shipped early at the beginning of this week. 

Earlier this month, scalpers were already reselling Xenoblade Chronicles 3's Special Edition for well over $300. 

Xenoblade Chronicles 3's developers struggled with creating its main protagonist.

Speaking to Nintendo in a newly published interview, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 co-game director Koh Kojima reveals the process behind developing the game's protagonist, Noah. "No, it was a hellish process of trial and error..." says Kojima with a laugh when asked if the development process for the visuals of the main characters was smooth.

"We especially struggled to decide on the design concept for Noah," Kojima says, adding that series creator Tetsuya Takahashi didn't like what freelance artist Masatsuga Saito drew for the main characters. From then, Kojima adds, it was a process of "trial and error" until the development team eventually landed on a finalised look for Noah and his companions.

"Saito-san came up with all kinds of illustrations, but somehow none of them quite looked like Noah…" Takahashi says. It turns out Takahashi wanted Noah to be seen as a philosopher or poet, but without being overly "pompous" and definitely without any sense of being "weak-willed." Monolith Soft originally came up with some designs that were too fierce, Takahashi reveals.

Just yesterday, in another interview with Nintendo, Kojima revealed that when he was initially pitched the core concept of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 by Takahashi, he thought it "didn't sound like Xenoblade at all." The themes of "unreasonable power" are a far cry from the Xenoblade games of the past, but Takahashi's vision eventually won over Kojima.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 launches later this week on Friday, July 29. Retail copies have shipped early to customers, however, so be warned that spoilers for the sequel have made their way online, and are doing the rounds on forums and comments sections. 

Head over to our upcoming Switch games guide for a complete look over everything else on the horizon for Nintendo’s console. 

When Xenoblade Chronicles 3’s director heard the initial story concept of the new game, he didn’t think it sounded like Xenoblade Chronicles at all.

Speaking to Nintendo in a new interview, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 co-director Koh Kojima reveals he had some reservations after hearing the premise of the new game. “At first, I thought it didn’t sound like Xenoblade Chronicles at all,” he explains.

What series creator Tetsuya Takahashi pitched Kojima on was a story surrounding “unreasonable power,” which the series creator says is at the core of Xenoblade Chronicles 3’s story. “I think that ‘power’ actually takes many forms,” Takahashi told Nintendo of the original story concept. “And that it is not about philosophy, justice, or righteousness, but more often, it is about something as simple as dignity or greed.”

If you’re looking forward to Xenoblade Chronicles 3, you’ll want to be extra vigilant online. Over the past weekend, retail copies of the sequel shipped early to fans worldwide, leading to spoilers leaking on various internet forums and social media sites. Additionally, the ROM of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has somehow made its way online, leading to some playing the new game on brand new platforms like the Steam Deck.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 launches later this week on Friday, July 29, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. 

Head over to our upcoming Switch games guide for a complete look over everything else on the horizon for Nintendo’s console. 

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has leaked online and broken its street date, leading to spoilers out in the wild for the new RPG.

As reported by Eurogamer, multiple Twitter users have noted that copies of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 are being sold for upwards of $100 online as a result. The copies are reportedly genuine, meaning people are playing it ahead of its release date on July 29.

You will want to be extra vigilant on online forums and the comments sections under Nintendo’s official social media posts. If people are already playing Xenoblade Chronicles 3, it’s highly likely story spoilers will make their way online before launch this coming Friday, so if you’ve been looking forward to the new RPG, now might be a good time to disconnect for a while. 

That’s not all, though. A ROM of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has also reportedly leaked online, meaning players can port it to other systems and render it fully playable on brand new platforms. Take the example just below, where a YouTuber has managed to get the new RPG running on a Steam Deck.

This is far from the first time a Nintendo-published game has leaked online before release. Earlier this year, numerous details about Pokemon Legends Arceus made their way online before launching thanks to leaked retail copies, meaning players got to glean new information about the game (as well as potential spoilers) before it was even out in the wild.

For now, though, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will launch in full later this week on July 29, and if we know anything about the RPG series, it’s set to be an immense game in every sense. Here’s hoping that Nintendo can control these leaks before Pokemon Scarlet and Violet introduce a brand new generation of Pokemon later this year in November. 

Check out our upcoming Switch games guide for a full list of all the other big titles coming to the console in the near future.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3's Collector's Edition can't be pre-ordered in Europe.

When Xenoblade Chronicles 3 launches next week on July 29, it'll boast the Collector's Edition seen just below for customers around the world. The same can't be said of Europe though, as Nintendo has revealed that "due to unforseen logistical challenges," the Collector's Edition can't be pre-ordered before the game launches in Europe.

What's more, the Collector's Edition won't actually launch on July 29 alongside the game in Europe. Instead, Nintendo has plans to launch the Collector's Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 later this year in September for customers in Europe, in a version that won't include the game.

It's actually a fairly simple solution to the problem for Nintendo. Instead of making players purchase a copy of the game twice - once at launch and then again in the Collector's Edition in September, the company is instead offering the rest of the contents of the fancy edition entirely separate from the game later on.

Those in Europe can already register their interest in the relaunched Collector's Edition for September. Simply head over to Nintendo's European website and entier your email address to receive a notification when pre-orders for the September launch are eventually live.

Without the game then, the delayed version of the special edition will contain a special box, steelbook container, and a huge art book encompassing characters and other details from Xenoblade Chronicles 3. When pre-orders went live for the special edition over in the U.S. earlier this month, scalpers were quick to buy up stock and charge upwards of $300 for the special edition. 

If you're looking for something to play on Nintendo's console right now, check out our guide to the best Switch games.

A new Nintendo Direct is coming later this week - and it's dedicated entirely to Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

Earlier today on June 20, Nintendo revealed an imminent new Nintendo Direct presentation, scheduled for later this week on June 22, kicking off at 07:00 PT/10:00 ET/15:00 BST. The presentation will be focused entirely on Xenoblade Chronicles 3, it appears, and should last for approximately 20 minutes in total.

This will likely be the last time we get a proper look at Xenoblade Chronicles 3 before it launches around the world the next month. Currently, Monolith Soft's forthcoming sequel is set to launch on the Switch on July 29, after originally been pencilled in for a launch a few months later in the year in September 2022.

Previously, we've seen an extensive look at the sequel's retooled combat system, which focuses on the brand new "Interlink" feature, in which party characters group up for huge attacks. These characters are protagonist Noah, followed by Mio, Eunie, Taion, Lanz, Sena, and Zeon, and you can change up classes for characters on the fly as you progress through the game.

All things considered, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is certainly shaping up to be the big summer launch for the Nintendo Switch. With Mario Strikers having already launched earlier this month, and the musou spin-off Fire Emblem Warriors - Three Hopes coming later this week, all eyes will be on Xenoblade Chronicles 3 for the next month or so.

Check out our upcoming Switch games guide for a look at everything else coming to Nintendo's console in the near future. 

The recent Xenoblade Chronicles 3 trailer quietly confirmed the return of a character from the original game.

Earlier this week, the trailer below debuted to announce the July 29 release date for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (a revision of its initial September release date). Now, some eagle-eyed fans have noted that if you watch the trailer with captions turned on, none other than Melia appears at approximately the one minute 41 second mark.

"Henceforth, all orders are rescinded," the shadowy figure murmurs, with the captions revealing it to be Melia who's speaking. It looks like one of the protagonists from the original Xenoblade Chronicles will be returning to play some sort of role in the forthcoming sequel, later this year July.

In fact, the Xenoblade Chronicles wiki page lists Melia as the ruler of a place called "Keves" in Xenoblade Chronicles 3. There's no source listed for the information, however, so take this with a pinch of salt for now, as we also don't actually know anything about this new location in the third game.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has been rumored since mid-2021, after a report claimed the unannounced sequel was in the "final stages" of development. The sequel wouldn't be announced until half a year later in February 2022, closing out a Nintendo Direct with two brand new protagonists playing charming flute melodies. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 might be a brand new venture, but at least we now know it'll be calling upon one former star at the very least.

Head over to our upcoming Switch games guide for a full look at everything else Nintendo has planned for 2022.

Nintendo has released a handful of updates introducing some of Xenoblade Chronicles 3's new protagonists, and there's a surprisingly sad reason they're always playing the flute.

In case you missed it, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was revealed in a stunning trailer during last week's Nintendo Direct. The trailer shows off beautiful, diverse environments, a few key characters, and lots of pretty haunting flute tunes. Over the last few days, Nintendo has been sharing information about Xenoblade Chronicles 3's heroes, including the dual protagonists Noah and Mio.

Noah is a Keves soldier who wields a bright red blade in combat, while Mio is a soldier of Agnus who uses her impressive speed to dodge attacks and fight back with her ring-shaped weapons. Tragically, Noah and Mio are what developer Monolith Soft calls "off-seers," which are people who mourn for lives lost on the battlefield.

"'Fighting to live…and living to fight' is the harsh reality of Xenoblade Chronicles 3's world," reads a tweet from Nintendo. "As 'off-seers', both Noah and Mio have mourned for the loss of many lives, a burden that can be felt from the music played on their flutes."

Nintendo has also revealed descriptions for a pair of supporting characters as well. Lanz is a long-time pal of Noah's who uses his immense strength to wield a huge sword that doubles as a shield. Meanwhile, Sena is a deceptively tiny soldier of Agnus whose weapon of choice is a giant hammer.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is due to launch exclusively on Nintendo Switch in September.

Here are the best Switch games you can play right now.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was announced during today's Nintendo Direct, with a September 2022 release window. Check out the announcement trailer just above.

The first trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 shows off some gameplay and cinematics set in a sprawling, diverse world full of towering cliffs, snowcapped mountains, and plunging waterfalls. Contrasting with the beautiful natural landscapes are massive mechanical monsters occupying land and sea, as well as futuristic, built-out settlements. Nintendo's description says Xenoblade Chronicles 3's story "ties together the futures of the worlds depicted in Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2," the latter of which released in December 2017 on Nintendo Switch.

Xenoblade Chronicles is an open-world action-RPG with fast, real-time combat and a focus on exploration. The first game in the series launched way back in 2010 on Wii, eventually getting a definitive edition on Switch in December 2020. A spiritual successor of sorts, titled Xenoblade Chronicles X, was released on Wii U in 2015. But then in 2017, a proper sequel simply called Xenoblade Chronicles 2 launched on Switch. So, technically, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is actually the fourth entry in the series, even though Xenoblade Chronicles X didn't have any narrative connection to the prior games. 

Nintendo confirmed that the two leads are named Mio and Noah but hasn't said much about where Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will take the story beyond a central theme of "life." That said, it sounds like it may show us what became of Alrest following the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, as well as the Bionis and Mechonis from the original game.

For what to play in the wait for Xenoblade Chronicles 3, here are the best Switch games available right now.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is reportedly in the works for Nintendo Switch and may be revealed as early as this year. 

A new report from Fanbyte, following up on newly surfaced rumors sparked by a trace comment from English Xenoblade Chronicles voice actor Jenna Coleman, claims that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is not only in development, but is already in the "final stages" of production and approaching release. The report adds that the game was originally meant to be revealed this year, but has been pushed back by a combination of pandemic-related bottlenecks and optimization issues. It estimates that the game could arrive as early as the first half of 2022, though that timeline and other details are subject to change.

According to the report, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is set long after the events of the second game and features a few returning characters from the franchise, including Coleman's character Melia, hence her apparent knowledge of the sequel. The aforementioned optimization issues are said to be related to the game's technical ambitions, which would see more on-screen characters and enemies than the series' previous entries. 

Developer Monolith Soft, which is also contributing to development on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, has yet to confirm another Xenoblade game, but we know the studio has been actively hiring for a related project for some time. The studio's dedicated Xenoblade recruitment page, when run through Google Lens and Google Translate (and my own elementary Japanese knowledge), mentions multiple roles tied to a project in some way succeeding the first three Xenoblade games. 

It's possible that the January 2022 release of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, a big new open-world Pokemon game, was one of the factors behind Xenoblade Chronicles 3's reported delay. Monolith and Nintendo have only gotten closer since the release and runaway success of Breath of the Wild, and it's reasonable to assume the publisher would want to space out its stable of big open-world releases. That's just a guess though, and in any case, it sounds like we'll get official word soon enough. Perhaps we'll see it in a fall Nintendo Direct? 

The ever-growing list of upcoming Switch games may be due for an update soon. For now, check out the games that are definitely coming out in the next year and change. 

The UK launch sales for Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition on the Nintendo Switch doubled the sales of the Wii original.

As Games Industry reports, the Definitive Edition of the game - which I keep wanting to call the Definition Edition for no good reason - also topped the UK sales charts in its release week, finally pushing Animal Crossing: New Horizons into second place after three weeks at the top. Note that this data only covers physical sales, not digital downloads. 

Xenoblade Chronicles was originally released on the Wii in August 2011, so season-wise, the launch period for the new Definitive Edition is fairly comparable. Xenoblade Chronicles 2, originally released for the Switch in December 2017, is another useful comparison. The Definitive Edition has fallen just short of the second game's launch sales, which can largely be attributed to the holiday rush. 

Several factors likely contributed to the higher launch sales of the Definitive Edition. Lifetime Nintendo Switch sales are now just over half those of the Wii, but the Switch audience is more accustomed to - and hungrier for - hardcore JRPGs like Xenoblade. The Xenoblade series is also more established nowadays, having seen one game on the Wii, one on the Wii U, and now two (not counting Torna - The Golden Country) on the Switch. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has left many stuck at home, may also have contributed. I can think of few better ways to spend 100+ hours of quarantine than playing a new Xenoblade game. 

Here are all the upcoming Switch games for 2020 and beyond.

It's a big world out there

In a year filled with huge, open worlds, Xenoblade Chronicles X's total landmass is the largest of them all, and its systems are unbelievably complex. The problem with Xenoblade is that it's not always obvious what does what, as the game explains some of its largest, most convoluted concepts with a few lines of text then expects you to figure things out on your own.

Once you understand the game's pacing and structure, it turns into an experience unlike anything this year, but it can take hours upon hours of trial and error to get there. So I've jotted down a few pointers to help get you acclimated to your new home planet as quickly as possible. Some of these tips will assist you in the initial moments, while others will be more relevant a dozen hours in - but if you keep these in mind, you should be able to navigate your surroundings without getting too lost.

Read the manual

This seems like a weird suggestion to make, as many games are completely ditching manuals in favor of easing players into complex concepts with guided tutorials and interactive instructions. Xenoblade Chronicles X is not that kind of game. You'll find over 50 pages of information in the on-disc manual, and all of it is required reading. While Xenoblade throws up a splash screen every now and then when you're faced with a new layer of systems, they only offer a cursory glimpse, often leaving out tons of important information. If you want a deeper understanding of everything from combat, to shops and quests, to the online functionality, make sure to take a few minutes and read the manual.

Take your time

Mira's a big place, and it's got a lot going on. It's easy to feel overwhelmed by all the different missions, monsters, and concepts Xenoblade throws at you in the opening hours of the game. Don't sweat it. Just take your time, soak in the sights, and do what interests you, whether that's following the story or faffing about planting data probes. Practically everything you do earns you experience, too, whether it's fighting monsters or simply wandering into a location you've never visited before. Eventually, you'll figure out Xenoblade's unique rhythm for yourself, and everything will start falling into place.

Grab every blue crystal you see

As you explore Mira, you'll find blue crystals dotting the landscape. Pick these up at every opportunity, as each crystal is essentially a random item drop, and you'll need to stock up constantly. Sometimes you'll need them to complete a quest, and much of what you pick up can be used to upgrade your equipment. You can also 'spend' an item to register it in the Collectopedia, and the more items you register, the more bonuses you can earn. So yeah, if you see a blue crystal, pick it up. Always.

Pay attention to your teammates in combat

If one of your party members shouts a command (also known as a 'soul voice'), its corresponding ability will start flashing on your ability bar. Once you see it flash, activate it to give your team an HP boost and special stat buffs. And if you're surrounded by enemies, press the Start button and direct your crew to focus their fire on one enemy at a time. Working in concert with your squad will often mean the difference between victory and defeat, so stay aware and respond accordingly.

Don't forget to upgrade your skills, equip arts, and customize soul voices

There are three different things to level up in Xenoblade Chronicles X. First, there's your character level, which determines your overall stats and what items you can equip. There's your class level, which grants you access to a variety of different arts (combat abilities) and skills (passive buffs). Finally, you also have a BLADE level (which I'll go into more in a few slides). Leveling up, exploring the world, and completing other actions in the game will grant you ability points you can use to upgrade how powerful your skills and arts are. Thing is, the game doesn't really tell you when you've got new abilities to peruse or when you have enough points to upgrade something, so make sure to pop into your menu every now and then and change up your loadout.

And, if you're feeling up to it, take a peek at your soul voices and customize them to your liking. These will grant you various stat buffs when certain conditions are met during battle, and you're given a lot of freedom in choosing what they do. Don't worry too much about it though - you can get through the entire game without messing with any of it.

If you get beaten too badly in a boss fight, you can lower the difficulty

Sometimes you come across a boss that completely demolishes your party. There's a pretty easy way to get around this - just lose three times in a row. The game will then ask if you want to temporarily lower the difficulty to get through the fight. There's no in-game punishment for choosing this, and as far as I know, you're not locked out of any rewards or content either. So if you just want to plow through a particularly difficult fight, you can take the easy way out without fear of reprisal.

And don't be afraid to change your class

Your created protagonist can choose from a variety of different classes, and these all affect how you approach combat. Some favor offense, some are more well-rounded, and others take on a more secondary role, favoring party buffs and other skills to let your team handle the dirty work. Once you hit each class' max level (of ten), you'll unlock the next, more specialized class in line. You can switch classes at any time, and there's no punishment for doing so, so mix it up if you start to get bored with your current set of skills.

Don't sweat your Division choice too much

And that's about it. Divisions don't really mean anything significant. A Pathfinder can do everything an Interceptor can do, and you're not locked out of any abilities. While there is a specific set of Division quests you can complete, you can switch your Division at any time by visiting the BLADE Barracks without any negative effects. Don't waste too much time trying to decide - just pick one that sounds interesting and keep playing like you normally would.

Know what the different types of missions do

'Normal missions' are a bit more involved, story-wise, and are usually found by interacting with specific people. These will unlock a variety of things, introduce you to new alien races, or even introduce new gameplay quirks or customization options. Then you've got your 'Affinity missions', which you can undertake with specific party members. These do everything from unlocking new characters to bring with you on your adventures, to fleshing out your squad's backstories. Lastly, there are story missions, which require you to complete with a variety of other tasks in order to access them. You'll want to take on a variety of missions in order to level up, earn money, and unlock more of what Xenoblade has to offer.

Load up on as many missions as possible

The best way to get the most out of Xenoblade without getting frustrated with it is to load up on as many quests as humanly possible before striking out into the field, and keeping an eye on the more boring fetch or kill quests while you complete the more interesting Normal, Affinity, or Story missions. You can accept 20 Simple missions at a time, as many Normal missions as you want, and you can only accept one Affinity or Story mission at a time - and there's no way to cancel an Affinity or Story mission in progress once accepted, so keep that in mind.

Because Xenoblade only points out specific locations to you when you have a tangible objective, hunting for items for fetch quests can be a crapshoot at best. That's why you should avoid loading up on these quests at the BLADE terminal and instead check in every now and then to see if you have the required amount of items you need before taking them on. Accept the quest, exit the terminal, and voila - mission complete and instant reward.

For the love of God, level up your Mechanical skill first

As you gain XP, you'll level up your BLADE rank in addition to your class and character levels. Each new level of your BLADE rank gets you additional customization options in your barracks, as well as the opportunity to increase one of your field skills. These are skills you need to interact with the various artifacts and salvage you find out on the field (effectively acting as Xenoblade's version of treasure chests) as well as planting data probes. You don't gain these abilities right away, though - you have talk to Eleonora next to the BLADE Terminal in the Administrative District to acquire them.

For the love of God, max out your Mechanical field skill as soon as you can. While you'll miss out on a few various treasures until you level up your Archeological and Biological field skills, you need the Mechanical skill to plant data probes - which unlock fast travel points and additional sources of income and a vital mineral called miranium - and you can only plant a data probe if you have a high enough level for that particular spot. Data probes are incredibly important, so make the Mechanical skill your highest priority.

Pay attention to Mira's ecology, and plan accordingly

Mira is huge, and it has its own unique ecology. Level 55 dinosaurs will march in the grass, minding their own business, while level 20 monsters will slice you up if they catch wind of you. Animals of all shapes, sizes, and strength co-exist together, and you need to quickly learn how everything works if you plan on making any headway.

Most animals won't attack you unless they're threatened, so it's possible to stroll through areas that are filled with ridiculously powerful beasts without worry. But if there's an icon of an eye or a lighting bolt hovering next to them, watch out. That means they're likely to attack if they see or hear you walking near them, and you'll have to be much more careful maneuvering around them. Running away is a perfectly viable option if one ends up sniffing you out - simply mash the B button to exit completely out of combat, and sprint as fast as you can until it loses interest.

Pay attention to the weather and time of day, too

The weather and time of day will also affect your travels. Monsters are typically stronger at night, and certain monsters are only found at certain times of day, so finding a spot where you can fast forward time (denoted by a clock icon on your mini-map) will help you here. Also, certain weather patterns can enhance or detract from your stats - rain makes you more susceptible to lightning damage, dust storms can impact your health, etc. Keep the weather in mind when you're attempting to take on a particularly powerful beast.

Use your mining and data probes

Early on in the game, you'll learn how to plant data probes at various locations throughout Mira. Data probes can be planted by visiting sections denoted by a green survey icon on your Gamepad's map, then finding a beam of light jutting out from the ground and mashing the A button when you get there. Data probes are very useful - they open up convenient fast travel spots throughout Mira, and they allow you to gather additional funds and resources at regular intervals simply by playing. Adjacent data probes link together, eventually forming a web that sprawls across the globe, and you can increase their output exponentially by linking like probes together.

By using the map, you can choose which types of probes are planted where. Doing so allows you to customize your overall output, whether you want to focus on earning money or additional resources and miranium.Make use of this feature and exploit it as soon as you can, as it's a great way to keep your pockets lined without selling off all your items. You can earn additional probes by completing quests and finding treasure out on the field, and you should be changing your less potent probes for more effective ones as soon as you find them. Put a little effort into your probe map and you'll rarely (if ever) find yourself completely broke.

Spend miranium to level up your weapon and item shops

You earn miranium by setting up mining probes, and it's useful for a variety of reasons. Certain citizens require miranium to complete quests, you can use it to refuel your giant mechs - called Skells in Xenoblade's world - and most importantly, you can use it to upgrade the weapon and item shops you have access to.

Completing Normal missions can sometimes unlock new arms dealers, and their items are accessible at a terminal back in the Administration District in New Los Angeles. While these dealers will gain experience by simply using their gear, you can spend miranium at another terminal nearby to upgrade them faster. Doing so unlocks all new sets of stronger armor and weaponry, while upgrading items already available. There's a cap on the amount of miranium you can hold at a given time, and you earn miranium at set intervals thanks to your mining probes, so make sure you stop by frequently and funnel some to your favorite shop.

Don't just use the same couple of party members

It's really easy to stick with the same handful of characters in your party, especially since most of the Story missions require that you bring Lin and Elma with you. But changing your party isn't just a great way to keep combat from getting stale - it's also vital for accessing many of Xenoblade's late-game quests.

Each potential party member has an Affinity level with your protagonist, and it goes up incrementally as you complete quests and fight monsters with them, or choose different dialog decisions. Certain story and Affinity missions require the use of specific party members, and your relationship with them needs to be at a specific level for you to be able to undertake those missions. If you haven't used them at all, that usually means you'll have to grind for a while until that character likes you enough. Plus, it just helps to rotate your party often, as they don't gain XP when they're sitting on the bench.

If you don't want to get stuck near the end of the game, use Gwin for a bit

A specific ProTip in reference to the last slide: if you don't want the main story to come to a screeching halt near the end of the game, make sure you take Gwin until you build up at least one heart's worth of Affinity points. There's a particular Affinity mission centered on him that needs to be completed before accessing a certain story mission near Xenoblade's climax.

As soon as you're able, drop what you're doing and complete your Skell proficiency exams

After you finish chapter six, you'll finally receive a group of Skell proficiency exams. They're a huge pain in the ass, but complete these as soon as possible so you can start roaming around Mira in your gigantic transforming robots. After finishing chapter nine, you'll also find a mission in New LA that will grant your Skell the ability to fly, so finish that one right away, too

Some general Skell tips

Piloting a Skell is a vastly different experience from running around Mira on foot, and there are some things to keep in mind. Your Skell's abilities are tied to the weapons you equip, and you'll likely need to shop for a few upgrades when you get one, otherwise you're only going to have access to the default auto-attack. When you use one of your skills, you expend fuel. Run out of fuel, and your Skell becomes useless until your fuel recharges - which can take a long time. Also, when your Skell runs out of health, a QTE prompt appears on the screen. Fail the QTE prompt, and you lose an insurance point. Lose three insurance points, and you'll either have to part with a salvage ticket or pay a hefty fee to get your Skell back.

New Skells and Skell upgrades can be purchased via the the computer terminal in Armory Alley in the Administration District, and Skells can be assigned to your party members or reclaimed after destruction at the terminal in the BLADE Barracks. Try to buy at least three additional Skells when your party members reach the appropriate level, as there are missions later in the game that all but require their combined firepower.

Xenoblade Chronicles X is a strange game, even by JRPG standards. The distant planet of Mira is harsh and unforgiving, filled with verdant plains and giant beasts, and Xenoblade unceremoniously plops you into the middle of it all and expects you to figure most of it out on your own. It's a lot to take in, and its opening hours are often as overwhelming as they are awe-inspiring. But if you can sift through its bewildering, convoluted systems and its lackluster plot, you'll find an adventure that's still well worth undertaking - and you'll get to pilot a giant mech while you do it, too.

Caught in the middle of a conflict between two rival alien factions, humanity makes the best effort it can to flee Earth's imminent destruction Battlestar Galactica-style, and ends up crash-landing on Mira, thousands of light-years away. So here you are, on a planet that’s filled with structures and rock formations that would never in a million years exist on Earth, and it's your job to carve out a space for humanity's survival. That means surveying the planet, gathering resources, fighting massive, screen-sized Tyrants and other, lesser beasts, planting data probes, and taking on odd jobs and requests from the citizens of New Los Angeles, the last bastion of the human race.

This struggle for survival becomes Xenoblade's overarching plot, and by making it the focus, Xenoblade avoids many of the pitfalls that plague narrative in open-world games while introducing a few new ones of its own. On the one hand, it makes sense for you and your crew to dink around for hours just chipping away at side quests because your work is usually a net positive for humanity as a whole. Unfortunately, this shift in focus makes for a passive narrative, with the biggest story beats happening to you, instead of because of you. It takes nearly a dozen hours for a proper villain to make itself known, and even longer for a conflict to arise out of it. While Xenoblade's sense of narrative scale is admirable, its big story beats are spaced too far apart, becoming brief punctuation marks after hours upon hours of other activities. It makes for a plot that ends up feeling sparse, and as a result its biggest twists fall a little flat.

But while the overarching plot is relatively weak, Xenoblade more than makes up for it by filling out the world with tons of interesting side stories. I helped a guy build a hot rod that would let him travel back to the future, inspired a newly-discovered species' newfound love for frozen pizza, and so much more. These vignettes are well worth taking the time to discover, vacillating between goofy and heart-wrenching and everything in between, and do a lot to flesh out both the world you're exploring and the people and species you come across while rewarding you with new items to buy or unlocking additional gameplay quirks. Best of all, these quests are able to do it without dumping a ton of lore over your head.

When you're not hoofing it to your next quest destination and soaking in the breathtaking sights, you'll spend your time fighting the indigenous wildlife in a fast-paced strategic combat system reminiscent of MMORPGs like World of Warcraft. Xenoblade's twist is that many of the skills used by various party members will combo with your own - follow up your buddy's stagger attack with your topple attack and you'll cripple your opponent for a few precious seconds. It's a complex, frenetic, multilayered system, and figuring out which combos work best keeps combat fresh, even when you have to grind a bit to level up your party.

Then you get your own Skell - Xenoblade's name for its giant transforming mechs - and they change everything about how you interact with the world. After spending over 30 hours exploring Mira on foot and getting intimately familiar with its layout, the Skells allow you to speed through - or, eventually, fly over - previously insurmountable obstacles. Xenoblade really wants you to earn it too, taunting you with glimpses early on and forcing you to undergo a series of fetch quests and trials to prove you deserve to own one.

Once you get one, you'll find that combat is similar, though your attacks have a lot more punch. There's also more risk involved, as you'll need to watch your fuel and health levels as you use them. Run out of fuel and you won't be able to use abilities in combat; blow up your Skell and there's a chance that you'll lose it for good unless you pay a hefty repair fee. Skells provide a unique risk/reward hook to the gameplay - and let's be honest, they look rad as hell.

In addition to fighting the native flora and fauna, you'll have to scour the globe for randomly-generated item crystals, and that's where much of Xenoblade's grind sets in. Most missions involve some combination of finding particular items or defeating a certain set of monsters, and require you to smartly navigate the environment to find your objective. Unfortunately, many of Xenoblade's quests don't explicitly tell you where you need to go, leaving you to wander each of Mira's five ridiculously large continents for hours while you hunt down arbitrary item drops. It's best to just load up on as many side quests as you can and whittle away at them while you take on the more unique affinity and story quests, or you'll drive yourself crazy for hours looking for a single 'California sunset'. You really shouldn't have to do this, but it's the best way to keep things moving forward, and at least you get some regular rewards for your efforts.

If all of this sounds like a lot of information to handle at once, that's because it is, and Xenoblade shoves you into the deep end with only a few tutorial messages to get you up to speed. There are dozens of incredibly deep intertwining systems that are given a screen or two of explanation before you’re thrown to the grexes. I didn't really understand the importance of setting up mining probes until after I realized you can spend miranium to upgrade weapon shop inventories; or that it's important to switch out characters often because certain vital story quests are locked off until you develop a strong enough bond with your teammates; or that running away from battle is a perfectly viable option after discovering a quest objective on the other side of an area filled with monsters 20 levels higher than your current party.

I wish Xenoblade made a better effort to explain all this stuff in-game, rather than forcing you to read the on-disc manual to understand everything, but the longer you play, the more information you'll be able to absorb and process. Plus, the lack of punishment from dying and the plentiful fast travel points encourage experimentation and exploration, and once you start coming to grips with its unconventional structure and rhythm, the planet's unique ecology, and the rest of its mechanics, Xenoblade begins to open up considerably. That's when Mira truly becomes an intoxicating place to explore - it just takes 20-30 hours to get comfortable with all of its moving parts.

Putting in that effort is worth it, though, because Xenoblade Chronicles X looks spectacular - and I don't just mean 'for the Wii U', either. Mira may be a dangerous place to live, and traversing its perils can be frustrating at times, but all of that washes away when you turn a corner and gaze upon a lush jungle filled with a vibrant ecosystem. Moving through the world is a blast, too, considering how fast you can run and how high you can jump. And the world is so consistently interesting that it's almost enough to make you forget it took the near-eradication of the human race for you to end up here in the first place.

Like Mira itself, trying to get a grasp of Xenoblade Chronicles X can be inscrutable and vexing at times. But in a way, that quest for knowledge often mimics the plight of the humans who find themselves stranded on the alien planet that becomes humanity's new home. Understanding Xenoblade's complexity isn't easy or always immediately obvious, but stick with it and you'll find a vast, untamed land where simply existing is its own reward.

This week on Caught Up we're busting out one of the prettiest games of the year: Xenoblade Chronicles X. Sure, the title may be a mouthful and some of you might not even know what a "Xenoblade" is, but in a year dominated by open-world juggernauts, XCX can hang with the best of 'em. Grab a giant mech and come join Max and Dave as they brave the untamed landscape of New Los Angeles and see how it stacks up to old Los Angeles (surely it's an improvement). All that, plus last week's hottest news stories, right here on Caught Up!

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Dig the show? Check the Caught Up! archives for past episodes, and tune in Monday through Thursday on our Twitch channel to see them LIVE. Here's the schedule:

Monday: Caught Up 6:30PM - 8PM ET/3:30PM - 5PM PT
Maxwell McGee and company take you inside the world of gaming this week, playing what's new and discussing everything that's happening in the news.

Tuesday: I Got Next 3:30PM - 5PM ET/12:30PM - 2PM PT
Anthony John Agnello hangs out with fascinating folks from every walk of life, playing their favorite games. This is you chance to chat with creators from the world of music, film, comics, and everything else under the sun.

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Sometimes you just look at a game and wonder: what in the f*&% is that?! Hosts Ludwig Kietzmann, Ashley Reed, and the rest of the GR+ crew check out gaming's strangest treasures.

Thursday: How It’s Done 4:30PM - 6PM ET/1:30PM - 3PM PT
Arthur C. Clarke said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Maybe that's why video games seem so remarkable. We meet with the creators of the best games to demystify the process.

Nintendo welcomed viewers to the uncharted expanses of planet Mira in a lengthy Xenoblade Chronicles X livestream on Friday. Viewers got to see plenty of combat, exploration, and even how to customize your very own giant fighting Skell robot in over an hour of play. Don't worry if you missed out - you can catch it all below.

The Arts combat system will be quite familiar for players of Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, as well as the original Wii version. Since the main character is fully customizable this time around, you're also not stuck wielding the Monado Blade the whole time. Each class seems to favor a unique weapon pairing: one swaps between knives and machine guns, while another fights with spears and sniper rifles.

If futuristic pointy sticks and firearms aren't doing it for you, you can always jump into your very own Skell, customized with slots upon slots of special equipment and color settings. And if you're more in the mood for exploring than fighting, you can turn your giant robot into a giant robot motorcycle and tool around looking for new places to drop probes. The GamePad will track your regional location while you watch the action (and try not to get stepped on by giant monsters) on the main screen.

Xenoblade Chronicles X will hit Wii U in Japan on Wednesday, and its release is still set for later this year in Europe and North America.

There is a moment about three hours into Xenoblade that ranks among our videogame favourites. Two young pals, brought up in the confines of a cosy colony, seek to avenge the death of a close friend. Their world resides on the corpse of a massive slain titan, so the journey takes them from a safe nook behind its knee, through subterranean cartilage, to the giant’s thighs.

As you step onto the rolling plain percussion begins to thump out a glorious uplifting tune, while the camera pans out to reveal herds of fantastical creatures roaming a field that stretches into the horizon. Finally free of those tangled caves, it throbs with the spirit of epic adventure. And it gives us chills just thinking about it.

Xenoblade is all about moments of scale, as each new area reveals how nature has reclaimed the giant’s body. An elbow becomes a knobbly mountain, its exposed back sprouts a lush forest. There’s even a sweaty swamp in the folds around the crotch. As such it’s a game that made perfect sense on the Wii, where a massive TV screen saw the heroes dwarfed by their surroundings. Shrunk down onto a five inch 3DS display and those surroundings are dwarfed by your own titanic hands clutching at either side. It’s not an obvious choice of game to port, especially when it’s designed to sell the New 3DS model – it won’t run on the original handheld.

Or perhaps that’s the point: this could be an act of technological willy-waving intended to show what the improved CPU can manage. If so, consider us impressed. The game’s a neat approximation of its console big brother, maintaining that mega scale by sacrificing micro elements. Textures are muddier and smaller creatures fade into view as you approach them, but never to the point that it loses the feel of a busy ecosystem. If its tininess means detail is lost when the camera is at a usable distance, zooming back in reveals customisable costumes and your robot enemy’s clanking gears are present and correct. Cutscenes, all in-engine, hold up particularly well.

Yet all this does make combat harder to decipher. The command bar takes up more of the screen and zooming out to better frame the action makes it hard to judge enemy positions – a key tactical point, as some attacks do extra damage from the side or behind. Larger boss creatures are prone to serious frame rate drops when all three party members start launching special attacks that better resemble firework displays. It generally makes for rougher battles compared to the Wii version, but it’s manageable. Much is fixed by having the camera sit closer to the action, though this does require you to adjust it more often to keep darting enemies in the frame – easy enough, due to the New 3DS’s analogue nubbin.

And it’s a battle system worth staying for. Taking inspiration from Final Fantasy XII – you pick fights at will with free-roaming creatures – you control a single hero, balancing auto-attacks with special Arts. Some Arts need correct positioning to work, others combine with your chums’ for added damage – keeping an eye on the flow of a fight and Art cool-down times creates thrilling, urgent scraps. Hits also charge up team chain attacks which grant brief command of all party members to queue up specific moves. As affections deepens between your team these chains grow ever longer. Running circles around a snarling robot fiend using only the power of friendship is pretty rad (though it’d end in nothing but tears in the office…).

On this rock-solid foundation, Monolith build all kinds of cleverness. Like a mystical soothsaying sword that alerts you to incoming fatalities and gives you ten panicked seconds to alter your grisly fate. Or the ability to change your party leader at will, giving you a whole new set of Arts to master. Then there’s the substrata of minor bugbears that have been wiped out: the party auto-heals at the end of every battle, there are no potions or items to manage and, most importantly, death merely boots you back to the nearest landmark, all character progress intact. As so many JRPGs struggle to find their place in the 21st century, Xenoblade delivers one of the most confident visions in years.

It’s as if Monolith created a giant list of everything you hate about JRPGs and banned it outright. You can save anywhere, anytime. You can warp to any landmark, instantly – the impressive loading-free jumps of Wii are intact on 3DS. You can pick your fights and run away from any battle. You don’t have to return to a quest giver for a reward, as it’s gifted to you the second the task is complete. Even better, your Mystic Meg-like sword will warn you if a random object will be used in a future side-quest, so you don’t accidentally bin it. That sound you hear is the Final Fantasy XV team desperately rifling through Monolith’s bins. And if they’re not, they should be.

And all this is just the nuts and bolts that enable an adventure rich in character, epic in scale, and set on one of the most imaginative worlds ever built. The Monado-wielding Shulk may not have the iconic style of an FF protagonist – though he, and his friends, can be stripped down to their swimwear for a laugh – but he has a lot of heart, not to mention a plummy British accent.

We’re not as sold on the cockney robot villains or the dreaded “It’s Reyn time!” soundbite spouted by Shulk’s lumbering companion, but it’s something everyone has to live with, as the Wii’s alternative Japanese voice track does not make the 3DS cut. We’re afraid it’s Reyn time, all the time. Dock a few points if you wish.

As is probably clear, Xenoblade is a game we have real affection for, not to mention an 80 hour save file still sitting on Wii. And that’s 80 hours without finishing hundreds of quests and with most of a destroyed colony still in need of rebuilding. In this light, the concept of having a tiny Xenoblade in our pocket to chip away at is enticing enough to outweigh the flaws. It may not be the best version of Xenoblade, but it’s a version of it – and that makes it a whole lot better than most.

A healthy dollop of mysterious story, a zesty garnish of British voiceover work, and a meaty main course of MMO-esque combat - this Xenoblade Chronicles 3D trailer is like an abbreviated version of the game itself. Except you can't play it. Because it's a trailer.

The roughly three-and-a-half-minute video titled "Heir to the Monado" follows Shulk and Reyn as they set off on one of their early adventures, finding themselves deep in a spider-infested cave. Shulk trips out for a bit on a chilling vision of the future and discovers a protective new use for his mysteriously powerful Monado Blade, saving Reyn's life as he does. You know, typical cave stuff.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D will be the very first New 3DS-exclusive game when it releases on April 2 in Europe and April 10 in North America, making use of the improved system's revved-up processing power and new input options (including amiibo support for the Shulk figurine)

If you don't want to get a New 3DS but like what you've seen of the game so far, you could always try to track down a copy of the Wii version.

While PlayStation, Xbox and PC owners have been revelling in transformative RPGs over the last few years, Nintendo’s Wii U has had to settle for the offcuts, with naught but a Mass Effect 3 hand-me-down and a two-year-old rejig of the Monster Hunter formula. All that is about to change, however, as Xenoblade Chronicles X gets set to stake a claim. The devs have lifted the sheets and given us a peak at some proper gameplay, showcasing its vast open world and morphing mecha robot-cars. Meanwhile, a sneaky bit of digging elsewhere has revealed an almost Dark Souls-like approach to multiplayer…

Seemingly, Chronicles X will support direct online play for up to four, enabling you to join forces to tackle in-game quests together. But perhaps equally intriguing is that up to 32 players can collaborate online in order to share information unearthed across the world map.

Said map is planet Mira, a whole new area which the future denizens of Earth have crash-landed on. Unknown and uncharted, Mira is a vast landscape, full of rolling hills, fiery lakes and moonlit beaches ripe for exploring. Just how you go about this seems refreshingly open.

As you trot around, the map is displayed on the GamePad screen and split into segments. Each of these is a blank slot of adventuring potential until you reveal its contents. To do this you have to traverse the world to unlock Frontier Net spots, which fill your grid with info. There could be monsters needing a good seeing to, or treasures ripe for pilfering, among plenty other tasks.

Back in your home city of New Los Angeles you’ll find a huge number of NPCs waiting to be nattered with, providing a sense of local flavour. Complete enough quests for certain citizens and you can strengthen your bonds with them, and they’ll then introduce you to their pals for even more missions to undertake. Early shots show an interlocking spider diagram of NPC relationships in-game, implying an intriguing tracking system is in place.

It seems that your main concern while exploring, however, will be with rescuing cryogenically frozen humans who have been flung into the far reaches of the planet when your ship first crashed. Doing this will raise your rep with BLADE (the suitably acronym-ed Beyond the Logos Artificial Emancipator), a faction based out of NLA who hand out quests as well as Doll licenses.

Dolls? These giant machines will become essential for getting about, considering the size of the landscapes, but you’ll need to earn the right to pilot them through completing BLADE quests. Manage to suit up inside one and you’ll be able to flit between ground-based vehicle modes and sky-tearing mecha faster than you can say “Roll out!” Which is about as fast as we’ll be picking up a copy of this come launch, likely late in 2015.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is set to release on April 2 in Europe, but Nintendo's decided it's really feeling April 10 for North America. Don't get too antsy about the brief wait if it affects you, though - it's a lot better than the eight-month gap between the original Wii version's European and North American releases.

Nintendo revealed the date in a new three-minute story trailer for the game which re-introduces the powerful Monado Blade and the war between the Homs and the Mechon. Of course, you're already familiar with the story if you were one of those savvy few to play Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii.

But for you series stalwarts, Nintendo also revealed that Shulk amiibo you've cleared a place for on your mantel (you do know where to get one, right?) will help you earn in-game tokens. Just tap it to your New 3DS' screen to get a hit of music-and-character-model-unlocking tokens. Not an amiibo fan? You can also feed your unlockable habit by StreetPassing with other owners of the game.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is the first New 3DS exclusive title, so it's nice to see it make use of the system's assorted input gizmos as well as its boosted processing power. Stay tuned to GamesRadar+ to see how it all turns out.

If you didn't play Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii, you missed out on one of the most unique JRPG experiences of the last generation - and you were far from alone. Luckily, Nintendo is making it all better, confirming an April release for Xenoblade Chronicles exclusively for the New Nintendo 3DS XL (as well as the smaller New Nintendo 3DS in Europe *sob*).

The massive adventure has been shrunk down to fit on Nintendo's new flagship handheld, remade with brand-new 3D visuals. Xenoblade Chronicles will also take advantage of the dual-screen system by offering map and character data on the bottom screen, as well as allowing direct camera control by using the C-stick nubbin.

Not much else is known about the anticipated re-release, but as soon as we find out more, we'll be the first to let you know.

Monolith Soft's upcoming Wii U JRPG, tentatively called X, might not have a title just yet, but it's something we've been looking forward to ever since its announcement back in January 2013. New gameplay footage surfaced during February 2014's Nintendo Direct--and while there's still no word on any sort of release date, we do know that it's supposed to launch sometime this year.

So, what do we know about the unnamed game? Well, a decent amount, actually. There are controllable robots, giant monsters, a huge, seamless world--and it appears that there's some sort of multiplayer element, which could be pretty cool so long as it doesn't become a Monster Hunter clone. In any case, here's everything we know about the game so far.

Updated on February 13 with information on co-op play and equipment loadouts.

Here we get a from-the-back glimpse of the man we presume to be the game's main character. His noticeably black hair indicates that he is not Shulk, the protagonist of Xenoblade Chronicles. Unless, you know, Shulk decided to dye his hair.

And that's definitely no Monado strapped to his back--just your average 3,000-pound sword that he uses to slice through the hides of towering monsters. He doesn't resemble any of the other cast members from Chronicles either, so we can only assume he's an entirely new character.

Seriously, take a look at that landscape. To the left, you can see the mist from waterfalls covering the lake, while a monster's chilling on the beach. Admittedly this scene is a tad on the brown side, but it's pretty nonetheless.

We really expect X to take full advantage of the Wii U's superior hardware (er, compared to the Wii anyway). Considering Xenoblade Chronicles had a vast world that you could explore, this will no doubt be significantly bigger and more detailed.

Here's where things get interesting. The box on the left side of the screen is a chat interface, suggesting this game supports some sort of cooperative play. You can see online handles of players within the chat box. Starting at the top of the chat box, the Japanese text translates to:

"Hello, nice to meet you."
monocap: "Nice to meet you, too!"
kojimaru: "Good evening."
moniburl: "What should we do today?"
monocap: "Huge!"
kojimaru: "Whoa!"
moniburl: "Wha?"
monocap: "Ok, let's do it!"

Also notice the placeholders for Players 1-3, again suggesting you can form a party with other players online. As for the main character, our guess is you'll create a custom character from scratch. The Japanese text under "LV" in the top left corner translates to Anficoerias, which appears to be the name of the giant enemy.

Okay, hopefully we're totally wrong here, but there's a possibility X is taking notes from Capcom's wildly successful (in Japan) Monster Hunter games. During the footage from a recent Nintendo Direct, we saw four players take on a huge, beast-like monster.

After fighting it for several minutes, they finally downed the thing. And then this screen popped up. Now, hopefully, you just get some sweet ass loot for taking on some of the tougher enemies throughout the story. But we'll be a bit bummed out if the entire game is just Monster Hunter with mechs. Hmm. On second thought, that might be pretty cool, but it's not exactly what we want from a game in the Xeno franchise.

Flyable mechs are something Xenoblade Chronicles was sorely missing. In X, however, you can not only pilot mechs (called Dolls) as a mode of transportation, but they'll also play a huge role in battle. Some monsters are absolutely gargantuan in size, and beefing up your attacks by wearing a humongous suit of armor is undoubtedly the best way to take them on.

Just know that you'll have to rely on fuel as a resource to move and attack (hardly a new thing with the Xeno series). There will also be some aerial battles, in which you'll be flying a Doll around a huge creature while blasting away at it with your weapons. We can't wait to see how much this affects the flow of battle, if at all.

Not only does this slick cycle seem like a fast way to get around, it has a ginormous sword affixed to its anterior. That's... a good way to kill monsters, we guess? Whatever--it looks awesome.

But here's the best part: this is actually a Doll that has transformed into a ground vehicle. Need to start flying? It can quickly turn back into a full-blown mech at any time.

As seen in any of the available game footage, combat looks almost exactly like that featured in Xenoblade Chronicles. Auto-attacks on enemies will occur so long as you're in range of their hit boxes, and you'll select an ability from the battle palette to amplify damage or inflict status effects upon your foes.

Take notice of the center ability icon: It's the chain attack icon from Xenoblade, and in that game allowed you to perform a simultaneous attack with your party members for huge damage.

Recent footage of battles from X showcased characters quickly swapping from swords to guns and back again, with combat abilities changing depending on the equipped weapon. We'd imagine this will come in handy when a towering monster is rushing at you instead of a teammate and you need to dish out damage while retreating.

Even more exciting: you can quickly hop into your Doll (assuming it's nearby) and fight from within a mech. Doing so is perhaps a bit overkill when you're fighting regular monsters, but the option will no doubt be useful when facing some of the more powerful ones.

See that bulbous green thing sprouting from that giant bug's body? Hopefully it's not what we think it is, because it's about to get removed with a giant sword. After chopping it off, the main character proceeds to attack other sections of the humongous insect.

Now, if you can target certain parts of an enemy's body, that could allow for some really cool strategy elements, especially if you're playing with a group of friends.

Do you recognize the name? Kunihiko Tanaka is the man who designed the characters in 1998's Xenogears, as well as episode 1 of Xenosaga. He was noticeably absent from Episodes 2 and 3, as well as Xenoblade Chronicles, but has returned to work on X.

So, too, has Tetsuya Takahashi, the man who directed Xenogears, Xenosaga Episode 1, and Xenoblade Chronicles. He's got some credible past experience under his belt, and it's fitting he be the one to call the shots when it comes to this new game's design. Finally, Hiroyuki Sawano is composing the game's score. His background is primarily in anime and Japanese television, but what we've heard from the gameplay footage has us mega excited.

Near the end of X's reveal trailer, there's an image of Shulk, the protagonist from Xenoblade Chronicles. Perhaps this new game is a direct sequel with an online component? Or maybe the image of Shulk is shown simply as a graphics comparison, meant to highlight the leap from the Wii's visuals to the Wii U.

Regardless, the splashy 'X' symbol that comes at the end of the trailer all but confirms this is a new entry in the Xeno series. Whether it's a sequel to an existing Xeno franchise or the start of a whole new one remains to be seen.

Did you have any info we seemingly missed? Do you think the new Xeno game will end up being a story-driven co-op RPG, or perhaps a Monster Hunter clone? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

And if you're looking for more, check out 9 frustrating levels that nearly made us break our controllers and 9 crazy overpowered RPG bosses that almost made us rage quit.

Most of the Bionis has seen better days. After the Mechon attack, many residential areas were devastated - including the once-thriving Colony 6. Though reconstruction of this now-smoldering crater it is completely optional, there is a great sense of satisfaction to be had from seeing a huge city sprout up from a pile of rubble over the course of your 80-hour playthrough. Ok fine, we did it for the achievements and rewards. Just don’t tell the residents; they worship the ground we walk on.

Intro

Rewards

Housing

Commerce

Nature

Special

Immigrants

Demon King Dragonia

Intro 

Once the storyline allows you to, find Juju in the Refuge Camp on the Bionis’ Leg and tell him to move to Colony 6. Just make sure to wrap up any Refuge Camp side quests you want to before doing so, as they will disappear once the refugees leave. Once Juju is at Colony 6, talk to him to learn about this whole process.

There are four areas of Colony 6 - all of which can be built up to level 5 - that need reconstructing, each requiring specific items in the forms of monster drops and collectibles. There are some important things to know before you get started:

- Many of the items and collectibles needed for the highest levels of reconstruction require you to be extremely strong (~ lv70) and have access to the game’s final dungeon, meaning Colony 6 cannot be completed until you’ve nearly finished the main game.

- It is possible to trade or over-trade with specific NPCs around the world for some of the items, but the area affinity requirements are usually extremely high (around 3-5 stars). As such, we’ve only mentioned a trading alternative when it is actually feasible.

- There are certain collectibles needed for reconstruction specific to areas that become inaccessible late in the game. However, all is not lost if you forget to grab them; leveling up Colony 6’s Special portion allows random collectibles to spawn inside Colony 6, and a lv5 Special portion will produce every possible collectible - though the specific items drops are random and you should only rely on this as a last resort.

These are the aforementioned collectibles that can be locked out:

- Art Core Coils from Galahad Fortress and Red Frontiers from Sword Valley. Make sure to get two of each before fighting the final boss of Mechonis Field. Also make sure to get 2 Azure Hollyhocks from Mechonis Field before finishing the Agniratha area, for the field will be locked out after this.

- Make sure to get 2 Lewisia Silvers and 3 Blue Light Amps from Agniratha, as well as 2 Angel Engine Xs and 2 Black Styrines from the Central Factory before finishing those areas.

Rewards

Each time you max out one portion of the colony, you earn an item as a reward. Bump all portions up one level, and you’ll also get a reward each time. Here is the list of rewards:

Housing to lv5: Oriental Glasses (Unique with Initial Tension III gem, 100 phys def, 110 ether def)

Commerce to lv5: Titan Arms (Heavy unique with Pierce Resist V gem, 150 phys def, 90 ether def)

Nature built to lv5: EXP Up IV gem

Special built to lv5: Master Glasses (Unique with Ether Up VI gem, 120 phys def, 135 ether def)

Colony to lv1: Ultra-compact reactor (for mobile gem crafting)

Colony to lv2: EXP Up III gem

Colony to lv3: Topple Up IV gem

Colony to lv4: Debuff Resist V gem

Colony to lv5: Titan Plate (Heavy unique with Damage Heal V gem, 230 phys def, 155 ether def)

Housing

Lv0 - Lv1: 9000g

- 2 Spotted Volff Hides: Dropped by Ugly Volffs. Find them at the Volff Lair on the southwestern part of Bionis’ Leg

- 2 Steel Silks: Collectible from Tephra Cave

Lv1 - Lv2: 19000g

- 4 Bunnia Scent Wood: Dropped by Ogre Bunnia. Find them in Satorl Marsh, near Nopon Refuge

- 1 Fossil Monkey: Collectible from Makna Forest orover-trade bonus from Rasha in Frontier Village, ground floor

Lv2-Lv3: 55000g

- 1 Eks Iron Heart: Dropped by Makna Eks, found at Eks Watering Hole in Makna Forest

- 4 Sturdy Armor: Dropped by Flavel Andos, found on the Hovering Reefs in Eryth Sea

- 2 Oil Branch: Collectible from Eryth Sea

Lv3-Lv4: 120,000g

- 5 Ponio Hoof Seal: Dropped by Lampo Ponio. Found on Fallen Arm near the Giant Mechon Debris landmark

- 3 Royal Volff Hide: Dropped by Caelum Volffs. Find them on Fallen Arm (night)

- 3 Warning Lamp: Collectible from Fallen Arm

- 2 Retro Diode: Collectible from Mechonis Field

Lv4-Lv5: 300,000g

- 2 Vang Star Wings: Dropped by Tempest Vangs in Windy Cave on Bionis’ Leg

- 3 Gogol Horns: Dropped by Gogols. Find them just north of Raguel Bridge on Bionis’ Leg.

- 2 Red Frontiers: Collectible from Sword Valley

- 2 Black Styrenes: Collectible from Central Factory

- 3 Rainbow Zirconias: Collectible from Colony 9, or easy trade with Dionysis of Colony 9.

Commerce

Lv0 - Lv1: 10000g

- 2 Igna Hide Jackets: Dropped by Fighter Ignas. Find them in the Igna Territory of Satorl Marsh

- 2 Amblygon Turtle: Collectible from Colony 6

Lv1 - Lv2: 22000g

- 3 Hode Planks: Dropped by Hyle Hodes. Find them in the Hode Lair or Abyss Basin of Makna Forest

- 2 Ready Coils: Collectible from Ether Mine

Lv2-Lv3: 55000g

- 3 Shiny Kromar Hide: Dropped by Kromars. Find them on the Seal Islands or Reef 7 of Eryth Sea

- 2 Slick Kromar Stone: Dropped by Kromars. Find them on the Seal Islands or Reef 7 of Eryth Sea

- 2 Blue Ladybird: Collectible in High Entia Tomb

Lv3-Lv4: 100,000g

- 5 Piranhax Fishmeal: Dropped by Fair Piranhax. Find them at Inlet Beach or Radiocarpea Coast on Fallen Arm

- 8 Silver Antol Fibre: Dropped by Antols. Find them around Digit 1 on Fallen Arm

- 3 Sour Turnip: Collectible from Fallen Arm

- 2 Mossy Panel: Collectible from Mechonis Field

Lv4-Lv5: 250,000g

- 1 Ocean Elixer of Life: Dropped by Kyel Lexos. Find them on Freight Road in Colony 6 during rainstorms. Only appears after you gain access to the second part of the Bionis’ Iterior.

- 4 Ancient Sardi Meat: Dropped by Throne Sardi on Hazzai Cape in Colony 9

- 2 Art Core Coils: Collectible from Galahad Fortress

- 1 Fortune Feather: Collectible from Agniratha

- 4 Hill Fireflies: Collectible from Bionis’ Leg

Nature

Lv0-Lv1: 5000g

- 2 Sharp Hox Spurs: Dropped by Easy Hoxs. Find them on the Bionis’ Leg

- 2 Dark Grapes: Collectible from Tephra Cave

Lv1-Lv2: 18000g

- 2 Quadwing Bags: Dropped by Copper Quadwings. Find them in Satorl Marsh

- 3 Emrpess Beetles: Collectibles from Frontier Village

Lv2-Lv3: 40000g

- 3 Jagged Tail: Dropped by Eryth Hilns. Find them at Showdown Cliff, Latael Shore, or Reef 1 in Eryth Sea

- 2 Despair Clover: Collectible from Eryth Sea

- 2 Ice Cabbage: Rare collectible from Valak Mountain. Try the Lava Cave or the path between Lava Cave and Harict Chapel at night.

Lv3-Lv4: 99000g

- 3 Caterpile Silk: Dropped by Royal Caterpiles. Find them in Windy Cave on Bionis’ Leg. Also an over-trade bonus from Sylviane in Colony 9’s commercial district (night).

- 3 Hox Daylight Spur: Dropped by Dark and White Hoxs. Find them under Raguel Bridge on Bionis’ Leg

- 3 Oil Oyster: Collectible from Fallen Arm

- 3 White Plum: Collectible from Fallen Arm

Lv4-Lv5: 280,000g

- 3 Ardun Elder Beard: Dropped by Magnis Arduns. Find them near Rho Oasis on Bionis’ Leg

- 1 Tokilos King Egg: Dropped by Leg Tokilos: Dropped by Leg Tokilos. Go to Zax Guidpost landmark on Bionis’ Leg and drop down to the ledge where they rest (giant blue birds).

- 2 Lewisia Silvers: Collectible from Agniratha

- 2 Black Beetles: Collectible from Ether Mine

- 2 Black Liver Beans: Collectible from the section Bionis’ Interior available late in the story. Trick: During the day, face the heart door and turn around. If the collectible cannot be seen on the large red artery in the distance, face the door and again wait 15 game minutes. Turn around and it should be there. Retry until you have two beans. We found this spot to have the highest spawn rate for the Black Liver Bean.

Special

Lv 0-Lv 1: 8000g

- 1 Light Rain Element: Dropped by Aqua Nebula. They are found on the Bionis’ Leg (when raining) , Satorl Marsh (near merchant), or the path leading to Colony 6 (when raining).

- 1 Kneecap Rock: Collectible from Tephra Cave

Lv1-Lv2: 25000g

- 2 Dust Elements: Dropped by Caris Nebulae. Find them near Bridges Two and Three in Makna Forest

- 3 Sea Berries: Collectible from Eryth Sea, Trade with Talia (just outside Imperial Palace in Alcamoth)

Lv2-Lv3: 50000g

- 2 Squall Element: Dropped by Bono (different from Buono) Nebulae. Find them in Eryth Sea

- 2 Snow Element: Dropped by Reef Nebulae. Find them around Nofol Tower on Valak Mountain

- 3 Lemonade Sky: Collectible from Makna Forest.

Lv3-Lv4: 130,000g

- 3 Flexible Selua Cells: Dropped by Largo Seluas. Find them in the first lung area of the Bionis’ Interior accessed once you reach near the end of the game’s story.

- 3 Steel Selua Cells: Dropped by Wool Seluas. Find them in the spinal nerve tower area of the Bionis’ Interior accessed once you reach near the end of the game’s story.

- 2 Rainbow Slugs: Collectible from Fallen Arm. Most common at night during a rain. Search around the Distant Fingertip secret landmark at the top of Digit 2.

- 2 Azure Hollyhocks: Collectible from Mechonis Field

Lv4-Lv5: 400,000g

- 2 Inferno Elements: Dropped by Cratere Nebulae in the Kitchen at Prison Island, second visit near end of game.

- 2 Bolt Elements: Dropped by Solare Nebulae. Find them on Prison Island, second visit near end of game.

- 3 Blue Light Amps: Collectible from Agniratha

- 2 Angel Engine Xs: Collectible from Central Factory

- 3 Rabbit Diodes: Collectible from Colony 9

Immigrants

Once reconstruction of Colony 6 begins, you’ll find NPCs around the world who are willing to make a move. However, some will not join the colony until certain conditions are met. Here is a list of every potential immigrant as well as their prerequisite(s) for joining Colony 6. Check the minimap in the corner of each screenshot for further reference.

Colony 9

Werner

Found foraging for scrap at the Mechon Wreckage site landmark during the day. Housing must be lv1.

Rosemary

Found at night in the Commercial District, near the bridge. You must talk to her as Shulk, and housing must be lv4.

Oleksiy

Found at night in the northern part of the Commercial District. Housing and special must be lv4.

Peppino

Found in an alley in the southern part of the Residential District at night. Housing must be lv4 and Colony 6’s population must already be at least 70.

Nic

Found at night hiding in the central, northern section of the Military District. Housing must be lv5 and you must have already asked Nopo’rikh (from Alcamoth) to immigrate.

Perrine

Found at night in the hallway leading to the weapon development lab in the Military District. Housing must be lv3 and Special lv2. If you recruit her, you cannot recruit Mefimefi.

Mefimefi

Found at night in the center of the Military District. Housing must be lv3 and Special lv2. If you recruit him, you cannot recruit Perrine.

Frontier Village

Hoko

Found during the day on the 6^th floor. Housing and commerce must be lv2.

Pokapoka

Found at night on the ground floor. Housing must be lv2 and the population at least 30.

Norara

Found during the day, underneath the Entia pod in the northwest corner of B1. Housing must be lv3 or one of the last two NPCs from the above Colony 9 list must be residents.

Berryjammy

Found at night at Apex Lake. Housing and nature must be lv3

Gowago

Found at night around Riki’s House. Housing must be lv3 and population at least 100. Berryjammy must already have immigrated. Recruiting Gowago means you cannot recruit Minana.

Minana

Found near the 2F store during the day. Housing must be lv3 and total reconstruction percentage 55. Berryjammy must already have immigrated. Recruiting Minana means you cannot recruit Gowago.

Alcamoth

Recruits from Alcamoth will move away from the city after a certain point in the story (you’ll know when, we just don’t want to spoil anything). These “alternate” locations are also given below. Just know that NPCs will never be at the alternate locations before the aforementioned story event.

Talonyth

Found at during the day next to a fountain south of the main entrance. Housing and commerce must be lv1.

Alternate: Found at the old refugee camp on the Bionis’ Leg.

Ma’crish

Found during the day on the steps near the shop on Melfica Road. Housing must be lv2.

Alternate: Found at the old refugee camp on the Bionis’ Leg.

Nopo’rikh

Once Ma’Crish moves to Colony 6, she will give you a quest. You can then find Nopo’rikh around the farm in Colony 6. Housing and special must be lv2.

Yura

Found at night near or under the main escalator. Housing must be lv3 and the total reconstruction percentage 25.

Alternate: Found inside the Harict Chapel on Valak Mountain.

Jer’ell

Found during the day on a bench under the main escalator. Housing must be lv4.

Alternate: Found at night near the Sororal Statues in Satorl Marsh. Check underneath the stairs.

Don Argentis

Found at night, northeast of the Fountain of Eternity landmark. Housing and nature must be lv4.

Alternate: Found at night just north of the Reservoir in Frontier Village.

En Argentis

Found at night south of the Fountain of Hope landmark, near the semi-circle fountain. Housing must be lv5 and Don Argentis must already have immigrated. Recruiting En Argentis means you cannot recruit Zel Argentis.

Alternate: In the grass near the Entia pod near the Ether Plant in Eryth Sea, at night.

Zel Argentis

Found at night south of the Fountain of Hope landmark, near the semi-circle fountain. Housing must be lv5 and Don Argentis must already have immigrated. Recruiting Zel Argentis means you cannot recruit En Argentis.

Alternate: Found during the day near the Sororal Statues in the Satorl Marsh. Check the eastern edge of the platform, just left of the Entia pod.

Fallen Arm

Neonik

Found during the day just east of the Ether Light. Housing and nature must be lv5.

Shilx

Found during the day near the two shopkeepers. Housing and commerce must be lv5, and Colony 6’s population must be at least 120.

Demon King Dragonia

So you’ve just completed the reconstruction of Colony 6 and given a home to 150 Homs, Entia, and Nopons. Pat yourself on the back if you haven’t already passed out from exhaustion! Unfortunately, the Colony cannot reach 100% completion until you finish defending the Ether Planters from monster attacks, and if you’ve been following the guide up to this point, this bad lad should be waiting for you at Hope Farm:

Above: Well, shit

Yep, that’s a lv99 Demon King Dragonia. After your many hours of collecting, fighting, and recruiting, you’ll still need to take down this ridiculous monster in order to get the achievement for boosting Colony 6 up to 100%.

How to easily defeat the Demon King Dragonia

But there is hope! Even if you are not of a high enough level to fight this dragon legitimately, you can use Melia’s reflect skill. Even though we were only in the high 70s, we waited for the dragon to target Melia with its “Fatal Crush” move, then activated reflection. If you time this properly, the dragon’s skill will bounce off of Melia and end the battle instantly.

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING VIDEO CONTAINS A CHARACTER WHOSE PRESENCE IN THE PARTY CONFIGURATION MAY CONSTITUTE A SPOILER. THE DESCRIPTION BELOW THE VIDEO CONTAINS NO SPOILERS.

A more detailed strategy: Keep Reyn out and anyone else who likes to draw aggro out of your party. Begin the battle by summoning aqua twice for precautionary health regen (use summon copy) then summon and use bolt as quickly as possible. This will draw the attention of the dragon. Maintain your distance to avoid his normal attacks, and soon enough Shulk will have a vision of one of the Dragon’s specials. If the special is not fatal crunch, use Melia’s hypnotize to put the dragon to sleep. When it awakes, it will use a different skill - hopefully Fatal Crunch. Wait until the last remaining second of the vision bar to drain, then activate reflection. Done and dusted.

Remember Japanese RPGs? We all thought they were kind of awesome when games like Chrono Cross and Star Ocean 2 and Suikoden were the norm. But that’s ancient history. In more recent times JRPGs have stumbled, stagnating to the point that they are once again truly niche. That’s probably why Xenoblade Chronicles, the most vital and exciting JRPG in years, only barely made it to America after the biggest fan outcry since that whole Greedo shot first thing.

Like Final Fantasy XII before it (specifically its much-improved International edition), part of what makes Xenoblade great is its willingness to experiment. While it’s definitely a JRPG, it happily incorporates a lot of new ideas, many from Western-style MMORPGs. Turn-based battles are out, real-time autoattacks are in. Monsters are easily avoidable when you don’t want to fight, but aggro if you’re too bold. Magic points are replaced with ability cooldowns, and a huge overworld beckons with half a zillion nooks and crannies to map.

The story feels thin at first, but carries the day thanks to the characters’ good-natured camaraderie - which reminded us of Skies of Arcadia - and some strong emotional notes toward the end. But you won’t only be playing for the story: you’ll be playing because you’re addicted to Xenoblade’s sublimely streamlined grind. It’s easy to blast through a dozen simple side quests in an hour, reaping the rewards and watching your characters’ stats fly skyward. Many quests don’t even require you to return to their giver; just complete its requirements and the rewards are magically wired to your inventory.

The battle system is just as slick and hassle-free. Your character autoattacks whatever you target, and you can trigger cooldown-limited, special attack “Ether Arts” at your leisure. Some Arts inflict a status called Break, others turn Break into the more debilitating Topple, and yet others turn Topple into the completely paralyzing Daze. With the proper configuration of your three-character party you can lock enemies into a continual cycle of Break-Topple-Daze, which can be a winning strategy in tougher encounters.

In another novel twist, the more your heroes like each other the better they’ll perform in battle, leading to more frequent, higher-damaging Chain Attacks. Just fighting together improves their relations, but you can move things along by having them exchange gifts. Most named NPCs also have feelings about your party, which improve as you help them out. Filling in the huge character relationship chart that tracks all of these details will be part of the fun for obsessive do-everything types.

The game’s beautiful and creative environments are another huge asset, in the most literal sense. Xenoblade takes place in a civilization that’s sprung up on the corpses of two massive, ancient giants, and this unorthodox history gives the visual designers massive leeway to create sometimes strange, often stunning vistas. If you like the blue skies of classic Sega games you’ll fall in love with Xenoblade’s verdant grasslands, luminous interiors, and otherworldly atmosphere. It’s kind of the Wii equivalent of PS2’s Dragon Quest VIII, another late-life release with a great soundtrack and a dazzling overworld.

The only real fault with the visuals comes due to the Wii’s well-known hardware shortcomings, and while Xenoblade pushes the system hard, there’s no denying that 720x480 looks busted on today’s HD screens - the edge aliasing alone is sharp enough to cut glass. That the environments and battle pyrotechnics look great anyway is a testament to the game’s fantastic art direction.

All is not well in paradise, unfortunately, as two distinct flaws took some wind out of our sails. First, the AI that controls your two other characters in battles has shortcomings. It is fairly solid, all things considered, often throwing out Topples when you inflict Break, healing at appropriate times, and so on. But it’s still just an AI, and we sometimes wished we could do more than just hope that the AI would do the right thing - it didn’t always.

Further, the AI only has so many pre-set routines, and it simply cannot operate outside of them. These routines do not account for certain highly useful Arts combos, so if you want to take advantage of such tactics you’ll need to control the character in question by hand, which we did not always want to. This is at its worst with the mage character; the AI does not play them well, so we felt resigned to controlling the mage whenever they were around. Xenoblade’s combat would greatly benefit from a system that lets you customize your allies’ AI in great detail. Ultimately, Xenoblade’s battles lose some luster simply because they never grant you full control of your party.

But the game’s most egregious flaw is its distinct lack of difficulty. We spent 10 hours in just the first town (not hard to do), seeking all the quests and increasing our popularity. This was a mistake. Performing anything more than the bare minimum of quests rapidly leveled up our characters to the point that the game lost all semblance of challenge by the second major area. This state persisted for most of the game, which often turned the formerly enjoyable questing into going-through-the-motions tedium. Sure, you could skip all the optional stuff, but who wants to do that? The balance is so lopsided that we felt punished for simply consuming the game’s seemingly never-ending content.

While the lack of difficulty is a major bummer, it doesn’t overshadow Xenoblade Chronicles’ many other accomplishments. It offers a singularly beautiful world, streamlined, interesting gameplay, likeable characters, and a fantastic soundtrack - for these reasons alone it’s probably the best RPG on the Wii. Lest you think we’re damning it with faint praise, there’s no denying that Xenoblade is invigorating and engaging like few recent games of its kind, giving us reason to hope that this once-proud genre may yet have better days ahead. Visit the strange world of Xenoblade for 100-odd hours and see if you don’t feel the same.

For months fans of Japanese RPGs have been lobbying Nintendo of America hard to bring over some JPRGS games that garnered much acclaim in their native country. The one that US fans clamored for the most had to be Xenoblade Chronicles, as it’s been fully localized and out in Europe for too long with no word from NOA. Now, after some gave up hope, Nintendo has confirmed a US release for 2012, and according to one source it’ll be a GameStop exclusive.

Early this morning Nintendo made it official on its Facebook stating:

“It's confirmed! Next year, Wii players throughout North America can wield the Monado blade and join the epic battle between the Homs and the Mechons in Xenoblade Chronicles. Like this post if you're ready for an adventure on the surface of two frozen Titans!”

This was followed by several official images of the game and hundreds of comments of thanks. Nintendo's official page for it lists the game as coming out April 2012, and one rumor points to it being a GameStop exclusive. This image of planned GameStop Wii releases was posted on the famous gaming forum NEOGAF

We’ll keep you posted as we learn more, but how about we just take a moment and just celebrate the fact that a whole new hemisphere will finally be able to enjoy this game. Take note everyone; don’t throw out your Wii after beating Skyward Sword, ok?

UPDATE: We just received email confirmation from Nintendo that Xenoblade Chronicles will be a GameStop exclusive in the US, though you'll also be able to purchase it directly from Nintendo online as well.

AsJRPG fans, weusually begin anticipating a game before it's even announced outside of Japan, and that usually means crossing our fingers and waiting to see ifit getslocalized for our country. Lamentably,all too often these games never see a broader release. In the case of Wii-exclusive JRPGs, one group is actually doing something about our plight - Operation Rainfall, a fan-organized group dedicated to pressuring Nintendo of America to localize specific JRPGs for North American release. They have a plan, and they need your help.

Above: Xenoblade Chronicles

Online petitions are usually laughably impotent at actually effecting change, but what makes Operation Rainfall different is its organized efforts to comprehensively target specific games and petition on their behalf through all possible means - physical mail, emails, messageson Nintendo's Twitter and Facebook page, phone calls, and so on. The three games they're focusing on to begin with are Xenoblade Chronicles (also called Xenoblade in Japan and previously announced as Monado: Beginning of the World), The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower (box art pictured right).

Perhaps most persuasively, the campaign has directed fans to preorder Xenoblade Chroniclesvia itsAmazon placeholder page, to show Nintendo that there is in fact interest from North American fans. The collective effort was so successful that the game reached #1 in Amazon's top 100 games sales list on June 25th.

The Operation Rainfall campaign has a larger goal of getting more Japan-only JRPGs localized for North America, but what makes it effective is its targeting of specific games. Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story both have tentative plans for release in Europe, so let's hope Nintendo of America takes notice and brings them here too at the same time.

If you want to help, head to Operation Rainfall'sofficial sitefor more information.

Jun 27, 2011