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.
