9 Reasons to Play Xenoblade Chronicles X While You Wait For the Switch 2

Originally released on the ill-fated Wii U, Xenoblade Chronicles X is often seen as the black sheep of the series. Due to low console sales, many gamers never had the opportunity to play the game back in 2015, missing out on one of the most ambitious JRPGs Nintendo had published at that time.

With the numbered series now concluded with Xenoblade Chronicles 3, the future of the franchise remains a mystery despite it being more popular than ever. What better time than now to go back and check out this overlooked entry in the series?

Here are 9 reasons why you need to play Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition.

Xenoblade Chronicles X Is A Great Starting Point For New Players

Xenoblade Chronicles X is the perfect place to jump into the series. Unlike the numbered entries, which all take place within the same universe, Xenoblade Chronicles X takes place in an alternate universe where Earth is completely destroyed during a war between two alien factions, with humanity serving as collateral damage.

The survivors crash land on the mysterious planet of Mira and are forced to make the best of their situation and rebuild society from scratch, all while fighting to survive on a planet full of hostile lifeforms. 

Whereas the series tends to blend fantasy with science fiction, Xenoblade Chronicles X leans fully towards sci-fi, with alien races and technology being the focal point of the story, along with a version of humanity armed with nothing more than gigantic mechs, ambition, and the will to survive.

Although the series has evolved and moved on since the original 2015 release, Xenoblade Chronicles X shares a lot in common with Xenoblade Chronicles 1, with it featuring a similar combat style, as well as many battle arts that have been carried over.

Heart-to-heart events and affinity levels between characters are present in Xenoblade Chronicles X, giving players unique cutscenes that build upon the backstory of your team, which grants bonuses as you build your relationship with the 22 members of the Blades that you bring with you on your adventure to save humanity.

It wouldn’t be a Xenoblade without the familiar Nopon race, and they appear once again in Xenoblade Chronicles X, continuing to be the furry constant across all of the series.

Keen-eared players will also recognize Shulk and Fiora’s voice actors, both can be chosen as the voice of the game’s main character, a great nod to where the series began.

If you’ve played through the numbered entries like me, you might notice the many connections to the future entries that followed this game, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3, which I wasn’t aware of previously. Elma, your main companion throughout the game, is available to use in Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s Challenge mode (After beating one hell of a tricky challenge!).

The “Full Metal Jaguar” class was available to use in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and one I really enjoyed using while playing the game. It originated in Xenoblade Chronicles X and is also Elma’s class, further strengthening the connection to the main series, as well as highlighting the influence this side entry had on the series, despite being one that flew under the radar for many players due to its low sales.

There is more than enough content to keep existing Xenoblade fans engaged, without alienating newcomers to the series. If the other games are anything to go by, the new additions to the story that come with the Definitive Edition will give lore nerds like me enough sustenance to create a bunch of new theories. Since playing the game, I have been trying to piece together any connection with the main games, or even any hints of the future of the series.

The Only Game In The Series To Feature Character Customization (And There Are A LOT Of Options)

For the first time in a Xenoblade Chronicles game, you can create your character and customize their appearance. Canonically, your character is called Cross, but you can name them something different, allowing you to become a resident of Mira. When customizing my character, seeing the subtle nods to the wider Xenoblade universe was definitely appreciated as a long-term fan, particularly with your slogans, including “Alrest’s own Artificial Blade” and “Agnian Off-Seer”.

References to other entries can be found throughout the character customization. The face paint options allow you to add Nia’s face markings or select the same hairstyle as Mythra. I have seen this used a lot when playing online!

Like Xenoblade Chronicles 1, you can also choose the appearance of your gear, without changing any of the stats. This means that your character can look stylish throughout your playthrough rather than be a mishmash of different armor sets you gather throughout your playthrough.

One of the biggest additions in Xenoblade Chronicles X is Skells, these are gigantic mechs that you can pilot to take down the tougher enemies and Tyrants found throughout Mira. When you unlock Skells, at around 30 hours into the game, you can choose the colors for different parts of the Skell, the paint finish, and the light colors. If you want to get really creative, you can color coordinate your team of four Skells to match each other or the characters that pilot them.

You will be spending a lot of time in your barracks as you progress through the story and take part in support missions, so you may want to make it a place you can call home. In Xenoblade Chronicles X, you can choose the color of the walls, the floors, and accent items, and you can also pick wall decals of different division logos, or even chibi versions of the characters, and various artworks.

This is the most in-depth the series has gone in terms of customization, and I would love to see this return in future entries in the Xeno series.

Xenoblade Chronicles X Features Major Gaming And Anime Voice Actors

If you’re an anime fan, then you will likely recognize many of the voices in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, with characters being voiced by actors who have starred in shows such as Attack on Titan, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Naruto, Hunter X Hunter, and many others. Gaming fans will also recognize voices from the recent Marvel’s Spider-Man games, Pokémon, Spyro, Street Fighter, and Final Fantasy 7 Remake/Rebirth, to name a few.

You can choose from ten different voices for your player character, split between male and female. Unfortunately, your character doesn’t have any dialogue during cutscenes, and instead, they can only be heard during emotes and shouting during battle. This feels like a misstep, especially due to the pedigree of talent that is selectable.

Male Voice Options Include:

• Adam Howden – Shulk in Xenoblade Chronicles 1
• Bryce Papenbrook – Eren Jaeger (Attack on Titan)
• Yuri Lowenthal – Spider-Man (Marvel’s Spider-Man), Sasuke (Naruto)
• Keith Silverstein – Vector the Crocodile (Sonic), Hisoka (Hunter x Hunter)
• Robbie Daymond – Kenshiro (Fist of the North Star), Hunter (Spyro)

Female Voice Options Include:

• Carina Reeves – Fiora in Xenoblade Chronicles 1
• Kira Buckland – 2B (Nier: Automata), Jolyne (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
• Mary Elizabeth McGlynn – Nina (Tekken), Cetrion (Mortal Kombat), Doctus (Xenosaga)
• Cristina Vee (Valenzuela) – Shantae, Noel (BlazBlue), Bennett and Xingqiu (Genshin Impact)
• Cat Protano – Misha (Honkai: Star Rail), multiple roles in Monster Hunter Wilds.

I went with Kira Buckland—hard to resist when she voices both 2B and Jolyne, which resulted in my main party being unintentionally voiced entirely by voice actors from JoJo.

For the remainder of your teammates, the voice cast just continues to be stacked. Elma and Lin are two of the most prominent characters in the games, and you will hear them the most throughout your playthrough, and they have great voice talent behind them.

Elma is voiced by Caitlin Glass, best known for voicing Cammy in Street Fighter and Mina from My Hero Academia. Lin is voiced by Cassandra Lee Morris, best known for voicing Morgana in Persona 5 and Elphelt Valentine in Guilty Gear Strive.

When it comes to the supporting characters, arguably the biggest name is Lao, voiced by Matthew Mercer, most well-known in gaming as Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Yusuke from Persona 5, and Vincent Valentine in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

Matt Mercer is very well-renowned in the anime community, with an insane number of shows to his name. Some of his largest roles include Jotaro in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Levi from Attack on Titan.

Lao features quite prominently throughout the game and goes through a lot of character development, with some interesting twists as the game goes on. If you’re a big fan of Matt Mercer like me, he’ll no doubt end up being a staple member of your team!

Other characters that surprised me were Doug, voiced by Patrick Seitz, another well-known voice actor. Seitz is known for playing Dio in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, as well as Ragna in the BlazBlue series, as well as Kenpachi in Bleach, and Endeavour in My Hero Academia.

This means that you can have Jolyne, Jotaro, and Dio from JoJo in your party. You can also have Eren, Armin, and Levi from Attack on Titan, too.

Irina, a healer and support character, is voiced by Carrie Keranen, known for playing Lux in League of Legends, as well as Caroline and Justine in Persona 5.

Resident Evil fans‘ ears will immediately prick after hearing the voice of HB, immediately recognizing him as DC Douglas, the voice behind Albert Wesker, as well as Raven from the Tekken series.

My favorite party member is the lovable alien, L. The friendly Xenos wants to learn all he can about human culture and knowledge, dropping a lot of funny dialogue throughout battles and cutscenes, often incorrectly saying iconic phrases. L is voiced by Ray Chase, a fantastic voice actor best known for playing Guile in Street Fighter, Tengen in Demon Slayer, and Ryoman in Jujutsu Kaisen.

The Soundtrack May Sound Familiar To Attack On Titans Fans

No matter which of the original three games you prefer, the constant between them is an incredible soundtrack. Whether you’re exploring the environment, battling with regular beasties, watching main story cutscenes, and fighting against big bosses, the music of the Xenoblade Chronicles series never fails to deliver.

The more modern music of Xenoblade Chronicles X fits well with the futuristic sci-fi landscape and comes from composer Hiroyuki Sawano, who is known for working on a lot of well-known anime such as Attack on Titan, Solo Leveling, and Seven Deadly Sins. And as an avid fan, the music in this game sounds incredibly similar to Attack on Titan, which is known for its spectacular orchestral score, and really adds to the mood of the game.

The Open World Is Beautiful With Five Continents To Explore

It wouldn’t be a Xenoblade game without unique environments, beautiful planet design, and stunning landscapes, that have Monolithsoft’s signature blend of fantasy and sci-fi, and Xenoblade Chronicles X has all of this in buckets.

The planet of Mira has five continents to explore, all with varying biomes, terrains, and weather conditions. One area has electromagnetic storms, giving electric damage every second, another has beautiful auroras dancing across the sky, whilst dense fog and sandstorms affect others.

Monolith Soft does a great job of making the environment feel more alien and foreign, whilst also creating challenges for how the player handles and adapts to these changes.

Even the “starter area” has breathtaking views over cliffs, tangled forests, and lakes crawling with a wide variety of creatures, majestic-looking animals soaring across the sky or rushing across the plains, and some other more grotesque alien-looking beasts waiting to be defeated.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Has Made Many Improvements To The Original Wii U Version

It seems that Monolithsoft has done well in addressing some of the bugbears of fans of the original Wii U release of Xenoblade Chronicles X. Many quality-of-life improvements have been implemented to improve the general player experience.

• Improved visuals and a cleaner interface – as you would expect, the graphics of the Definitive Edition are much improved on the Wii U version, which provides a level of quality you would expect of this era of next-gen gaming
• New playable characters that you can add to your party. These include the pink-haired fighter pilot Liesel, Nielnail, a humanoid alien archaeologist, fascinated by Earth culture, as well as a new Skell to pilot, the Hraesvelg
• An additional chapter of content, which takes place after the credits, instead of being in another section on the main menu like in the main series
• A new Quick Cooldown system has been introduced – you have a pool of energy that you can use to skip the cooldown period for your arts, which resets after every battle. You can increase the size of your Quick Cooldown Gauge with energy disks, which you can collect through surveying Mira
• All of your characters now get experience points, even if they are not in the active party, allowing for more flexibility when swapping members of your party, as you will no longer need to grind to even out the levels on the characters that you haven’t used as frequently.
• The speed at which characters gain affinity has now increased, making affinity quests more attainable, as older fans previously had issues with the amount of time taken to build affinity between characters
• You can now change characters in the main menu, whereas in the original, you had to locate them in the main city and speak to them.
• You can now change the time of day in the main menu, instead of having to find a rest stop or bench, a feature that is also present in the numbered series
• FrontierNav is now located on the main menu, whereas it used to be on the Wii U gamepad
• Some mechanics have been simplified from the original version of the game – Blade points and Division points no longer exist, and you now instead gain rewards for surveying Mira
• Improved tracking for quests, with a feature that sends a line out in front of you, leading to your location 
• Multiple save slots
• Sections of the map can now be highlighted for easier navigation
• Hard-to-read fonts have now been changed for the text

RELATED: Xenoblade Chronicles X File Hints at Nintendo Switch 2 Next Gen Upgrades

You Can Pilot Your Own Mecha With Skells

When watching the trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles X (and as a fan of Gurren Lagann), the idea of piloting my own mecha in a Xenoblade game got me so excited. Although Xenoblade Chronicles 3 allowed you to pilot a ship, this is a fresh feature not seen before in the main series.

With these giant mechas known as Skells, you can defeat large, powerful enemies with relative ease, travel more quickly across the terrain, climb to hard-to-reach locations, and eventually, even fly in them.

It takes roughly 30 hours of gameplay to unlock the Skells, and around 15 hours after that to unlock the skill needed to fly them. Many areas aren’t available to explore without the ability to fly; it unlocks a lot more content, making it well worth the wait, whilst giving you time to get to grips with the basic combat mechanics of the game before introducing such a big game-changer.

The Definitive Edition of the game also adds a new Skell, named Hraesvelg, for players to pilot, as well as an incredibly overpowered Skell once you complete the exclusive post-game content.

Xenoblade Chronicles X Features An Online Mode For The First Time

For the first time, you can now play Xenoblade online with your friends! A new addition to the series, which allows you to play some online missions together, as well as being able to recruit online players’ avatars as NPCs to add to your party. 

There is also a mode called Global Nemesis, which is a monster that has thousands of lives, which online players chip away at over a set period until it is defeated, granting all who participated some incredible awards that are worth the effort.

You can join or create a squad of up to 32 players, with the ability to speak on in-game chat, trade items, share information, and carry out squad tasks together for rewards.

Squad tasks can consist of defeating enemies, controlling enemies, and collecting items. By completing a certain number of these tasks, you can unlock access to Squad Missions, which you can complete with a squad of up to four people, granting greater, sometimes exclusive rewards.

Xenoblade Chronicles X Will Keep You Busy For Over 100 Hours

Xenoblade has always been renowned for its’ vast open worlds, with a near-endless supply of extra content to keep players occupied – We all remember the Colony quests in Xenoblade Chronicles 1, the many Blade quests in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Let’s forget about the quest where you have to steal the emperor’s underwear), and the Hero and Ascension quests in Xenoblade Chronicles 3; to name only a few.

Xenoblade Chronicles X is no different – Affinity quests are one of the more common side quests that you get in the game, which build up your affinity (relationships) with other characters in your party. Rather than in the other games in the main series, which required certain characters to be in your party to proceed with the quest, Xenoblade Chronicles X has “restricted” characters, meaning characters are required not to be in your party when it involves them so that you can interact with them for these quests.

As well as this, there is the usual large slew of regular side quests, which can be picked up either in the main city of New Los Angeles or outside on various continents, some requiring you to be at a certain point of the story, so you accumulate more things to do, the further in the story you go. 

The game also has eight job roles, known as “Divisions”, for you to choose from when you start. Each of these job roles dictates the kind of tasks that your character will be given and adds a massive amount of flexibility to tailor the game to what kind of tasks you prefer to do, a very nice addition that you don’t see in a lot of games.

• Curators – Survey Mira’s various locations and collect materials
• Harriers – Defeat dangerous enemies
• Interceptors – Defensive Bodyguards
• Mediators – Essentially the law in Mira, operating as a kind of police force
• Outfitters – Support the development of arms manufacturers’ research and development, developing better armor and weaponry
• Pathfinders – Plant beacons across Mira to clear the map and gather data
• Prospectors – Explore Mira and collect minerals, mining Miranium and discovering locations 
• Reclaimers – Search for pieces of the White Whale ship after it crash-landed

There is also the FrontierNav, which is an interactive map available to the player, with hex tiles that are unlocked as you plant probes (essentially location beacons) at different locations. The more of these that you place, the more of the map becomes clear for you to view, as well as granting you rewards for doing so. If you select the Pathfinder role, this will be your primary objective: to plot out a full map of Mira for humanity’s research and development of the planet.

You can aim to survey all of Mira – each hex on the map that is cleared gives you a list of survey tasks to complete to go towards the percentage of each continent on the FrontierNav, and be granted rewards for doing it! 

One thing that has been noticeably missing from the Nintendo Switch, especially as they are featured in every other main gaming platform, are achievements. Xenoblade Chronicles X features over 200 in-game achievements, a new addition to the series (and one that many will be glad for).

This will give achievement hunters much more to aim for and extend the lifespan of the game. Many of these are unlocked through natural playtime, such as completing various aspects of the story, unlocking party characters, collecting items, completing side-quests, and annoyingly…sucking at the game – Thanks Monolithsoft for giving me three achievements for getting my entire party wiped out. Despite this, it is always great to see the Achievement Unlocked banner pop up at the top of the screen.

Xenoblade Chronicles X was once a hidden gem on a forgotten console. But with the Definitive Edition, it is finally getting the spotlight that it deserves. If you missed this game 10 years ago, do not miss it again. This is the perfect game to tide you over until the Nintendo Switch 2 is released, and a perfect way to wrap up this era of the Xeno franchise.