‘Xenoblade Chronicles X’ Looks Both Familiar and New

Xenoblade Chronicles was possibly one of the best games to come out for the Wii and possibly one of the best Japanese role playing games to come out in the last console generation. Its unique setting, combat system, well-fleshed-out and developed characters, phenomenal musical score, and amazing story made it one of the Wii’s gems.

So with the Wii U we get a long awaited sequel called Xenoblade Chronicles X.

Xenoblade Chronicles X is an upcoming JRPG by developer Monolith Soft, published by Nintendo for the Wii U. Without going too far into the story, just know that it takes place in the year 2054, where two alien races engage in a battle near Earth which causes catastrophic damage to the planet. Evacuating the planet, the American evacuee ship the White Whale crash lands on the planet Mira and attempts to establish the new home of “New Los Angeles,” all while still being hunted by one of the alien races. Now on a new planet, you must take on the role of survival of the human race on a new unexploded world.

I have been watching a lot of streams and videos for this game, so my excitement for it is has reached such a high point. The game looks great. I can honestly say it definitely is one of the few games to show the graphic power of the Wii U. The world is amazing. Looking out over cliffs to see the vast landscape is very awe inspiring. I love that this game put great detail in designing the world, even the creatures inhabiting it. Each one from what I’ve seen looks unique and has a level of detail that I’d come to expect from this series. Some creatures are small as squirrels while others can be huge dinosaur-sized beast varying in level and attitude. Character models are very reminiscent of the previous title, feeling like more of an update than a complete rehash. I also will mention the very in-depth character creator, allowing you to create your own silent protagonist to play.

Combat is an in-depth, real-time, action-based battle system. While your player-controlled character attacks in real time, your AI controlled teammates will auto attack with variations in moves and abilities called arts. After using arts, you go into a cooldown state before you are able to do another art, nothing new but Xenoblade has it’s own take on this from other RPG’s out there that has to be played in order to fully grasp.

With a huge emphasis on exploration, the game gives you many tools to do so. For example the day and night cycle returns, allowing you to control the time cycle. This is a great mechanic to return to the game. In the previous game this was useful to do certain missions and advance the story. Another cool addition is the removal of falling damage. May sound minor to some but in the original game this was a hassle since most of the landscape was very high up, one fall could almost kill a character. With this removed it’s so much easier to fight and travel.

Possibly my favorite addition to this game is the Dolls, or Skells. These are mech suits, almost four times the size of a player’s character. The Skells have the ability to fly, traverse water, and can even transform into vehicles such as motorcycles or tanks. This adds a new dimension to the gameplay. These Skells can be customized as well. allowing you to have your own unique looking mech. Also as mentioned these can fly, so yes, aerial battles will also take place in the game. These battles in the mech just make the game look so much better.

Another great selling point is that the game offers co-op online play, allowing players to traverse this world with up to four friends. I can only imagine right now playing this game alongside my friends as we travel this planet all in our own Skells, fighting monsters. That alone sells me on the game.

In the end this sorta sounds like a mini review but with no understanding of the story, but that’s because it’s only in Japanese right now, and the few American streams I’ve watched didn’t delve deep into the story. However, an alien planet setting, amazing combat system, mechs, and excellent music that fits the game flawlessly … I am already sold. This is a game I am heavily looking forward to playing later this year. Xenoblade Chronicles X comes out December 4th on the WiiU.