One of the major cardinal sins I've committed as a self-proclaimed RPG fan is having never touched the Xenoblade series. I could use the excuse of not finding the right time and place to enjoy them, but quite frankly, I didn't want to go out of my way to spend dozens, if not over a hundred hours, with one of them.
That changed with Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. It's a mouthful, absolutely, but you'd still be a couple of subtitles short of doing the game justice with a name that's just as long.
There's nothing I could say that hasn't been said in the past 15 years about the epic, sprawling, larger-than-life adventure that is Xenoblade X. If you feel inclined to ignore this particular adventure due to its lack of recognizable characters (e.g., a Shulk in Xeno 1 or Rex, Pyra, Mythra in 2), I'd suggest you give your head a wobble and avoid making the same mistake of ignoring a true gem as I did for so long.
The Washington Post journalist Gene Park, perhaps one of the most qualified voices when it comes to Xenoblade Chronicles X, described the game as a massive Transformers open-world game.
Getting to that point felt like a chore at times. I'd recommend that you stop and smell the roses, enjoying every aspect of the journey to get to the mechanical promise land, but that would be hypocritical of me. I, like many, came to a point where I beelined the main story, even if a little bit of grinding was still required.
It takes a ludicrous amount of time to get there, but after making my way through the first five chapters of this monstrous JRPG filled to the brim with side quests to tackle, characters to meet, and builds to craft with an overwhelming amount of abilities to mix and match, I finally turned into that Danny DeVito meme: I get it now.
The Switch 2 Edition really enhances how incredible and imposing the game feels. Even as you're flying around, piloting a giant hunk of space metal, you can't help but feel so very tiny. The possibilities are nigh endless. Seeing your mecha transform a la Robotech (a reference those over the age of 35 will catch) made me incredibly giddy on its own, and cruising around the vast open-ended areas, fighting random monsters, felt almost therapeutic. No objectives to complete, no quests to progress, just good old-fashioned grinding for the love of the game.
In a world where the term "forever game" has been coined to describe overtly monetized slop that's filled with battle passes, DLC, and the weaponization of FOMO, Xenoblade Chronicles X could definitely fill that role for anyone who wants to chip away at this monstrosity for months.
Even in handheld mode, draw distances are amazing, and there's a crispness to the image quality you simply couldn't get on the original Switch, let alone the Wii U.
The best way I could describe how ahead of its time and uniquely innovative Xenoblade Chronicles X really is is by using the Soul Voices mechanic as an example. JRPGs are known for their cheesy dialogue, especially in combat, with characters constantly parroting the same three or four generic voicelines. Developers often give the players the ability to remove these, not Monolith. No, no, they made it an actual mechanic. You can select different phrases that will trigger using a wide variety of conditions.
For example, you can choose a phrase to trigger when you draw a ranged weapon that can give you a damage buff or a buff to your Arts (special abilities). Or maybe add a voiceline that triggers when you use an Art with less than 30% HP that will give you a damage buff and extra TP per hit. If there's one thing developers should be copying and somehow haven't seen much of, it's this incredible addition.
Unsurprisingly, Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is the best way to experience a JRPG classic. If you're not enthralled by the story, the game can feel like a bit of a drag, but even then, it's got a strong hook with its deep RPG mechanics and an ace up its sleeve that is mech combat and exploration, making the journey absolutely worthwhile.
And that's it. Stick with us at Gfinityesports.com: your go-to source for all things Xenoblade.
Code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.