Well, it finally happened. After years of many an outcry for the game to be ported to their [still] current platform, the Switch, Nintendo have today revealed that yes, Monolithsoft’s Xenoblade Chronicles X is at last making its way onto the system, in the form of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition. Today’s news falls just shy of a near full decade since the acclaimed RPG was originally released on the Wii U, all the way back in December 2015.
Since then, X has often been described as one of the Wii U’s best games, let alone exclusives – on a system that has now seemingly seen each and every one of its unique, highly-rated releases, eventually make their way to the Switch as well, barring one or two. Today’s newly-announced Definitive Edition to X, will also see the inclusion of what Nintendo themselves describe as “newly added story elements”.
The X Factor
In a game that, in contrast to the rest of its series brethren, is a stand-alone tale with no direct connections to the events of the main trilogy of Xenoblade titles. Taking place on the fictional planet of Mira, players instead take on the role of their own custom character as they aid in the establishing and subsequent expansion of New Los Angeles (NLA for short) – a small human colony, forced to flee a now-destroyed Earth after the planet is caught in the cross-fire of two warring alien factions.
So why the campaigning from fans for X to get its own Switch port? Was it really that beloved? For a game with next-to-no ties to the numbered entrants, how did it get so popular? Well, even without the narrative connections, X has many things going for it. The large, intriguing open-world of Mira to explore, the eventual acquisition of a mech to pilot (referred to in-game as a Skell), a soundtrack by composer Hiroyuki Sawamo whose tracks (lyrical and non-lyrical alike) even now stand the test of time as some of the series' best.
While not a direct follow-up, X certainly lived up to the heightened expectations developer Monolithsoft had created for themselves via the original Xenoblade Chronicles back on the Wii. And with X, Monolithsoft’s craft for colossal, intriguing world design and combat encounters was on full display.
Review: Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 features an astonishingly robust class system and highly-customizable characters both on an aesthetic and functional level.
Nintendo have also confirmed that the original game’s multiplayer component will see a return. Players being able to group up to take on multiplayer-specific missions, including extra challenging Global Nemesis Battles. But as you might expect, a Nintendo Switch Online membership will be needed to access this side of the game.
But with today’s news, it means that now every single Xenoblade game can be found on the same platform. Following the similarly Definitive Edition remake of the first Xenoblade Chronicles (originally released for the Wii and ported to the 3DS thereafter); 2017’s sequel and series debut for the platform, 2022’s third entry as well as the two prequel tales for 2 and 3 respectively, 2018’s Torna - The Golden Country and 2023’s Future Redeemed. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition will complete the collection when it releases for the Switch next year on March 20.
