Xenoblade Chronicles 3 details its new heroes and the heartbreaking reason they play the flute

Xenoblade Chronicles 3
(Image credit: Nintendo)

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."

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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.

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

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

Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.