Xenoblade Chronicles 3: 10 things to know before playing the masterpiece for Nintendo Switch

Xenoblade Chronicles 3

In the past we would have followed the development of a JRPG like Xenoblade Chronicles 3 for years; in this case, however, we only had to wait a few months: announced in February for September, then brought forward to the end of July, the new work by Monolith Soft is one of the most anticipated video games of the year. And for good reason. The series created by Tetsuya Takahashi has much older roots than its debut on the Nintendo Wii, but Xenoblade Chronicles also had the merit of revitalizing Japanese RPGs, setting new standards in terms of narrative and gameplay.

Many players, however, are only now approaching these fantastic adventures and, in the next few lines, we will give you a crash course on Xenoblade Chronicles and tell you 10 things to know about Xenoblade Chronicles 3 before starting to explore the world of Aionios.

Xeno and Takahashi

Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Noah is the new protagonist Let's start from the basics: the title. While there are swords and blades in every game, even quite important ones, there isn't one called Xenoblade. In reality, the first chapter, the one that came out on Wii in 2011, should have been titled Monado: Beginning of the World, since the Monado or Monade, in Italian, was the weapon wielded by the protagonist Shulk with a very important role in the story. Then it was decided to call it Xenoblade Chronicles partly because Monado: Beginning of the World was a really bad title, and partly to pay homage to the previous works of its writer and director, Tetsuya Takahashi, who, in his own small way, had made the JRPG story with the legendary Xenogears, when he was still working with Squaresoft in the 90s, and then with the XenoSaga trilogy. The latter, produced by Namco, was supposed to be a spiritual prequel to the series that Takahashi had started on PlayStation, but which he had never been able to finish.

Xenonlinks

Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Miyo is a Handrail too At this point you are wondering if all these Xenos are linked together and the answer is nì. In reality, each Xeno is full of references to the previous ones, even if only visual: there are recurring themes, both narrative and aesthetic, but even XenoSaga, which should have been the prequel to Xenogears, is in fact not officially connected to the 1998 game. The Xenoblade Chronicles issue, however, is a little different, and it is not easy to explain without falling into spoilers for those who have never played the titles released so far. We will therefore use a little word that has come into vogue in recent years, especially thanks to films and comics: multiverse. Here, let's say that the Xenoblade Chronicles exist in a multiverse and that there are more or less relevant links, but each title is perfectly autonomous and even Xenoblade Chronicles 3, advertised as the joint future of the series, can be played and understood by a total neophyte who has never approached the saga before.

Operation: Rainfall

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 The truth, however, is that we were incredibly lucky, because the series was in danger of not continuing beyond the first Nintendo Wii title. After being unveiled at E3 2009 and changing its title, Xenoblade Chronicles was destined for a localization for the European market, but not for the North American one. Today it may seem like a meaningless anomaly, but it must be understood that at the time the JRPG genre had entered a deep crisis and was certainly not considered as mass as today. Nintendo had entrenched itself behind a silence punctuated by unlikely reasons and for this reason in America they launched a kind of petition, called Operation: Rainfall, which aimed to convince the big N to locate first of all Xenoblade Chronicles, and then also two other Japanese titles. that had not even been scheduled for a European launch, namely The Last Story by Mistwalker and Pandora's Tower by Ganbarion.

In the end, the operation was successful, thanks to an insistent telematic campaign that went through social media and for bookings on Amazon: it showed that the public was hungry for JRPG and, albeit months late, Xenoblade Chronicles also arrived in North America, followed by the other titles. So he sold enough copies around the world to convince Nintendo to promote the Takahashi series, which is now in its third - indeed, fourth! - chapter.

But how about four? Isn't that three?

Xenoblade Chronicles X, a fight scene No, Xenoblade Chronicle actually has four titles. Five, if we consider the Definitive Edition of the first and, six, if we also include the expansion of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Torna ~ The Golden Country. Now we explain everything, be good. Let's start with the extra title, namely Xenoblade Chronicles X. It came out for Wii U in 2015 and, no, there is still no mention of a re-release, although fans have been asking for it for a long time. The reasons are many: in recent years Monolith Soft has worked on episodes for Switch and then it would probably be very difficult to reproduce the unusual dynamics of the GamePad, which acted as an additional interface, influencing the gameplay. It's a shame, because the Xenoblade Chronicles X story ended with a mighty cliffhanger right at its finest and we may never know where Tetsuya Takahashi was headed. However, it is the most distant title from other Xenoblade Chronicles in practically every respect, starting with the most realistic graphic style.

The first Xenoblade

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, a scene from the game The first game in the series, on the other hand, is easier to recover. Initially released for Wii and then re-released on New Nintendo 3DS, Xenoblade Chronicles has recently been redesigned with a new graphics engine and a revised and corrected anime-style character design. Titled Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, the 2020 re-release for Switch includes, in addition to various gameplay tweaks, also an additional chapter - a real epilogue - entitled A Common Future, which may or may not have something to do with Xenoblade. Chronicles 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles 3. We don't want to give you any more previews, but we tell you that, despite being aged, the first title of the series remains an incredible experience in every respect: from the powerful narrative, to the sophisticated and engaging gameplay, it is an adventure. that we absolutely suggest you catch up if you like Xenoblade Chronicles 3, if only to find out where it all began.

The second Xenoblade

Xenoblade Chronicles 2, a scene from the game Among the first titles triple A to come out for Nintendo Switch, about six months after launch, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 had shown the muscles of the console along with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which had preceded it, and on which Monolith Soft had worked on a technical and, above all, topographical level. Since its character design decidedly more anime than the first episode, but also less sober than the direction taken by the Definitive Edition and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 years later, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 represents the hard and pure JRPG: Takahashi indulges himself with an even more sci-fi narrative , putting in a healthy dose of drama and "gacha" colored gameplay that has raised a lot of controversy. Despite some angularity, the second Xenoblade remains an unforgettable adventure with a crazy cast, enhanced by a great expansion, entitled Torna ~ The Golden Country. It's another must-play chapter, where Xenoblade Chronicles 3 draws heavily on many distinctive features.

As the third begins

Xenoblade Chronicles 3, the transformation into Uroboros is only temporary Monolith Soft wanted to make it clear, from the first announcement, that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is somehow linked to the previous titles: on the cover of the case dominate the sword of the Mechonis and the titan Uraya, two characteristic elements of Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2, respectively, which would have no reason to exist in the same world. The one in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is called Aionios, in fact: here two kingdoms, that of Keves and that of Agnus, constantly wage war, sending their soldiers to the slaughter, who have grown artificially, awakened around eight years of age and destined to die within ten years, or sooner if they are unlucky. Those who reach their tenth year return to their queen in the form of energy. The others, who instead fall in battle, feed the Chronoflame of the nearest colony. function ready (fn) {if (document.readyState! = 'loading') {fn ()} else {document.addEventListener ('DOMContentLoaded', fn)}} ready (function () {window.addEventListener ('message', function (event) {let target_origin = 'https://aff.netaddiction.it'; if (event.origin! == target_origin) return; if (typeof event.data == "object" && event.data.hasOwnProperty ( "type") && event.data.type == "embaff") {let embed_id = event.data.embed_id; if (embed_id == '695') {document.querySelector ('#_ aff_embed_695'). setAttribute ('height ', event.data.embed_size);}}}, false);}) In this terrible scenario the protagonists move: three soldiers of Agnus and three of Keves who will be forced to join forces to overthrow the absurd world order established from the mysterious Moebius.

Six characters in combat

Xenoblade Chronicles 3, the combat system ttimento is frantic and intuitive Noah, Yunie and Lanz belong to Keves, while Miyo, Sena and Taion are on Agnus's side. This already distinguishes them in combat, but each of them wields a different Gladius, that is a weapon that they can materialize from nothing and that represents them, giving them a specific role in battle. Fighting in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 means organizing the team of six protagonists, choosing who defends, who attacks and who heals with the corresponding Techniques: the player controls only one character on the battlefield, but can pass in an instant to the others when he thinks it most appropriate. It is therefore necessary to assign the Techniques to the front buttons of the Joy-Con, manage the accessories and gems that confer different bonuses, set the Skills that improve performance during the fight.

At a certain point in the story, moreover, the characters discover they can merge with a specific partner in the gigantic Uroboros: in this form, the player has a few seconds to unleash much more powerful attacks in the most complete invulnerability. Learning to invoke the Uroboros form at the right time is, therefore, essential to get the better of the strongest enemies.

Heroes and classes

Xenoblade Chronicles 3, the Heroes occupy the seventh place in the team If you think that six characters can crowd the screen during battles, it is only because you do not know that there can be even more: the Heroes are in fact additional characters that we will not be able to control, but that we can attach to the team and who will fight together with the our protagonists in all respects. The Heroes are unlocked by continuing in the campaign or by completing some optional secondary missions, and they do not just give us a hand in the fights, because together with each new Hero, his characteristic class is also unlocked. Noah and the others can then change classes and take on not only those of the six protagonists, but also those of the different Heroes, once certain requirements are met.

The Skills and Techniques learned, if they belong to the Master's category, can therefore also be set when you change class, and this system, which is largely reminiscent of the Final Fantasy Job System, complete with a change of costume, is the backbone of great versatility in the combat system.

A world to explore

Xenoblade Chronicles 3, in the camps you can cook and cut gems The vastness of the world of Aionios it may lead to believe that it is a so-called open world, but it is not ... or almost. The regions are actually huge, so much so that the game offers a quick travel system from the beginning to reach the points of interest already discovered, so it is highly recommended to explore in search of shortcuts, collectibles and fields in which to save the game , spend the experience points earned by completing side missions, cooking and so on. As you progress through the story, you will also unlock movement systems that will allow you to reach positions that seemed beyond your reach, and treasures that may be defended by rare or unique monsters: these fights are more challenging and require good preparation and strategy. .

Despite this, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a game suitable for every need: in addition to being able to choose the dubbing between English and Japanese, for the purists, the options allow you to customize various aspects of the experience, including the level of the difficulty. Basically, the Monolith Soft title doesn't give much trouble, so you can increase the challenge, or even close it to zero, in case you just want to enjoy the story without thinking too much about the gameplay.

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