Xenoblade Chronicles 3 trailer hides a returning character

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Turns out Melia's back for the new adventure

Xenoblade Chronicles 3
(Image credit: Nintendo)

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"Henceforth, all orders are rescinded," the shadowy figure murmurs, with the captions revealing it to be Melia who's speaking.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.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.