Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition review - A monumental RPG revisit that soars
The potential job ahead of me is one I undertake with trepidation. Condensing the epic and expansive world of Mira, its large cast of characters, and bountiful mechanics and features is a daunting task. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is a gargantuan game, both in terms of scope, and hours of enjoyment. A game that, on the surface, looks like a brief but thrilling RPG, styled like a 2000s anime, quickly turns into a sprawling adventure that sometimes feels as overwhelming as it does thorough.
Despite investing a ludicrous number of hours into the game leading up to this review, I started writing this with the knowledge that I can’t have seen everything Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition has to offer. There are hundreds of quests, a plethora of items to find, creatures to hunt, enemies to fight, and systems to fathom. Even after so many hours, I couldn’t possibly be as thorough as the original developers who designed so much for players to do, and the remastering team, who so lovingly recreated the cult classic for the modern Nintendo Switch audience.
The opening of Xenoblade Chronicles X is understated. Waking up a passenger of the spaceship, The White Whale, crashed on an alien planet after the Earth has been destroyed by a race of hostile aliens, this is supposed to be a daunting start. While the scope of the planter of Mira is still hidden at this point, the game sets out to give players every piece of information they’ll need. Queue a wealth of menus, tutorials, and tips that can quickly feel a bit too much.
It’s all needed, though, because this is a game with so much to do, it feels obscene. There’s a reason why there are tutorials for combat, world traversal, shopping, interacting with characters, how these characters feel about each other, researching local wildlife, and much more. Our hero, designed by the player with extensive customisation options - some new to this version - is the classic amnesiac drafted in to save the universe - it’s an overwhelming premise. The feeling of overwhelm is mirrored by the player as we navigate menus with submenus, and more beyond those.
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Why am I saying so much about learning how to play? Well, because even 20 hours in, you’ll still be seeing these pop-up tip boxes, because there’s simply that much to remember. It’s not a bad thing, each tip gives way to a new slice of joy, whether that’s in researching new weapons and armour, piloting your skell (the game’s mech suits), or placing research or mining probes.
If you played the original version of this game 10 years ago, you’ll have no need for my explanations. You are likely most interested in how this ‘definitive’ edition looks, sounds, and plays. For you, I can say that the remastering efforts are incredibly impressive. Not only does this iteration of the game look lovely from every angle, but it feels more expansive than the original in a variety of ways.
The new story content is a welcome addition, the extra controllable characters are worthy of a spot on your team, and the additional skells are great to use. These are small details, somewhat easy to overlook in a game with over twenty characters to recruit, vast customisation options for skells, and countless missions twisting through the narrative. What’s more important, are the gameplay changes that overhaul the game, making it feel fresher than ever.
For example, combat has been revitalised. You still oversee a four-person party, controlling one character, who auto-attack using basic actions. These are either melee or ranged attacks. You can directly choose from a number of abilities, performing more impactful actions, while repositioning your character in real-time. Now, there’s a better system in place for the overdrive ability, which is kind of an ultimate attack, chaining together abilities in a combo. Colours dictate the inputs in this combo, making it simpler than previously. There’s also a ‘recast’ metre now, which allows you to skip the cooldown on an ability and recast it quickly - perfect for supporting your teammates. This is limited to a metre that builds up as you fight, meaning it’s best used against tougher opponents.
Battles are as thrilling as they were 10 years ago, with a whole host of abilities across your main character and potential teammates. Each action can be changed out, upgraded, and tactically chosen to enhance each others. This means, while you can’t tell your team what ability to use when, you can make sure they have the best actions to choose from. There’s still the chance to interact mid-fight, too. So, if one of your teammates calls out for a melee attack, and you select it in time, you’ll synergise dealing more damage, or healing one another. This all adds a level of strategy while keeping alive the thrill of real-time battles.
Another major addition to this edition of the game is an improved ‘follow ball’ which is a glorified mission marker, painting a trail in the air, guiding you to mission objectives. It’s an optional feature, but well worth using if the world of Mira feels vast, and honestly, it always does.
Mira, humanity’s new home world, is utterly gorgeous. The Switch improves the design of the environments, creating stunning vistas, delightful details, and a true sense of scale. It often feels like Mira goes on forever, and to think this was designed and built over a decade ago, shows what wizards Monolith Software is. There was not a moment that passed where I wasn’t flabbergasted by the level of detail here, whether that’s in the design of each biome of the planet, right down to the dialogue for seemingly random NPCs that provide hints to places which can be explored. Every step feels like true exploration, and this goes for the meandering wildlife, too.
Small creatures will scurry around nearby, while skyscraper-sized aliens plod along in the distance. I swear, every time I explored a new zone and saw a mammoth alien nearby, the Jurassic Park theme played in my head. And all of it, the distant mountain peaks, or the hulking creatures, can be seen, explored, battled, or hunted.
It’s here that some players may experience some difficulties. Because the world of Mira is completely open - you can walk to any place from the start of the game - it means that there will be times when you’ll die to a random level 65 alien, even when minding your own business. Because these aliens freely roam, there will be a point where you’re farming a low-level creature for materials, and some monstrosity gets accidentally targeted, joins in the fight, and flattens you in one attack. It’s a frustrating side-product of such an open world.
This is an even bigger frustration when you’re tasked with an early mission deep in the depths of a dangerous biome. On one of my earliest missions, I had to talk to a downed skell pilot, but on approaching him, I was constantly swarmed by level 31 aliens, while I, a lowly level 10, just kept getting murdered. It happens in critical story missions, too, where I died and lost progress because some random high-level beast decided to pick a fight.
I will also note that sometimes Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is too obtuse for its own good. Some missions are locked behind very vague objectives or gameplay mechanics that take hours to initiate. When obtaining my skell licence, in order to pilot the mechs, I had to earn a certain amount of money from placing probes. However, the probe I needed was a random drop, and I was farming for hours just to achieve this and push on with perhaps the best part of the game.
To a degree, this can be forgiven, because the game is so old, there are guides out there for clueless players. However, a revitalising of some of these more frustrating moments would have been welcomed.
What isn’t frustrating, is pretty much everything else. When I overlook these issues, all I can see is a brilliant, multifaceted game, with a tremendous level of depth. If you want an engaging story of survival, you’ve got it; endearing characters, all fully realised? Each member of the Blade army is a star. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is in turns funny, emotional, twee, bombastic, and dramatic. Sure, some of the dialogue is a bit corny, but it makes up the game’s charm.
Underneath the story there are robust mechanics that heighten every aspect of the gameplay. You can get closer to your teammates using dialogue options, or taking on affinity missions, which expand their backstories. The battles can be swayed by choosing new classes, unlocking different abilities and upgrading them using points earned from fighting and exploring. Placing research and mining probes gives valuable currencies which can be invested in manufacturers who will design new weapons, armour, and perks to be attached to them, buffing certain stats.
This is, for lack of a better comparison, a single-player MMORPG. Though you can, if you choose, venture online to take down some of Mira’s biggest foes alongside friends, this wasn’t something I could test during my review period with the game. Hunting bigger and bigger foes is part of the colonisation efforts, and these monster materials go towards new gear, steadily improving your hero, party, and the skells.
Once you’ve got your hands on a skell, suddenly the game shifts into a very different beast. Essentially strapped into a bi-pedal robot vehicle, exploration feels more effortless, fights aren’t as much of a pain - though can still be very challenging - and it makes you feel, quite rightly, badass. It takes quite some time to reach this point, I think I was playing for 25 hours before I climbed into a skell, but once you’ve got the licence, you’re rewarded with a new level of freedom.
Over 1600 words into this review, and I’ve still not touched on the probe system, which expands the world while providing money and materials; there are thousands of weapons and armour parts to use, before you even start customising your skell; the different party members bring new things to both story and battles; and the character design is bursting with imagination.
After so many hours playing, I still haven’t seen or experienced everything here. This was a special game back on the WiiU, and while that feeling is still here, so are some of the frustrations. It’s going to be an overwhelming experience for some, and others will see such an expansive game as too much of a time sink. However, millions of others are going to embark on a journey of exploration filled with amazing moments, superb characters, and tremendous fights, all packaged in a new, shiny wrapping, worth the wait.
Pros: Stunning open-world, tremendous depth of systems and mechanics, engaging story and cast
Cons: Frustrating balancing issues, can feel very overwhelming
For fans of: Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft, Persona
8/10: Excellent
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is available now for Nintendo Switch. A review code was provided by the publisher. Read a guide to our review scores here.
Topics: Reviews, Nintendo, Nintendo Switch