One of the biggest, one of the best.
The first video of Xenoblade Chronicles (née Monado) showed us a lot of what the game would ultimately become. It displayed an RPG with a breathtaking open world, in-environment and real-time combat, and a mix of biological and mechanical art assets. When Nintendo bought Monolith Soft it seemed clear that this game—not Disaster: Day of Crisis—was the subject of their attention. Memories of Monolith’s previous JRPGs seemed to inform the design of this new entry, possibly the first “major” JRPG project announced for Wii. What we couldn’t see from the precious seconds of video were the ways Xenoblade Chronicles would reach beyond expectations while carefully streamlining core functionality that had remained unchanged in many cases since the early days of the genre.
It isn’t necessary to expend too much time discussing the plot of Xenoblade Chronicles, although it is properly full of surprises and exciting bits. The world is an ocean, its only lands the corpses of two hulking titans, permanently frozen in eternal combat. On one, humans, the Homs, have prospered. They’ve ventured from the tip of the toes to the top of the head of their natural paradise. On the other, a race of mechanized horrors, the Mechon, has developed. The Mechon, gifted with the ability to fly, have begun to cross from their home to the home of the Homs with cruel intent: genocide. Only Homs armed with the Monado, a magical sword, can stand up to the Mechon.
What Xenoblade Chronicles does transcendently well can be split into two categories. The game is a master class in world building: the scope, detail, and history are stunning and for long-time Nintendo fans must feel impossible. The game is also a revelation in the innumerable ways it rounds the corners of the JRPG genre.
When I speak to people who have played Xenoblade Chronicles they have, without exception, first commented on the stunning vistas the game serves up at every bend. You can reach anything you see, no matter how far in the distance. Perhaps the most stunning moment I’ve ever experienced in a video game was dropping into a deep ravine, following the river downstream, and reaching a secluded—seemingly hidden—area containing a deep crater rimmed by towering, shimmering waterfalls. It took a large amount of time to reach this hidden wonder, and the game rewarded me with experience points (as if simply finding this place wasn’t reward enough). The world is full of these moments, but even the less dramatic sights can take your breath away. Building a world on the bodies of two golems is an immensely creative idea, and it sets up the chance to spy parts of the golem in the distance. There’s something about realizing that the mountain ahead is actually the sword of a giant beast that makes scaling it all the more rewarding.
It isn’t just the size of the world and its features that are exciting. The breadth of unique elements within the world is worthy of more praise than I can muster. The diversity of creatures, from small rabbits to staggeringly powerful giants is met with a diversity of environments and even characters. Walking through a bioluminescent forest was a nice change from the pasture I plodded through earlier, but once darkness fell the haunting beauty of the setting really captivated. The creativity baked into the world of Xenoblade Chronicles is something I’ve never seen before, and is without parallel. Even if there were only one golem it would be the most creative world I’ve ever seen, but once you see everything on the first you get to explore the very different second. It is unbelievable.
As stunning a world as Xenoblade Chronicles creates, the legacy it should leave is the innumerable ways it polishes conventions of the JRPG genre. Future developers should look to this game. The world is dotted with checkpoints that serve both as places to continue from in the event of death and as beacons for the teleportation system—allowing instantaneous travel from any point to any other point already visited. It’s a simple change that saves literally hours of travel. Death is entirely unpunished—you’re simply moved back to the nearest checkpoint. In the case of boss battles it even allows you to simply retry. A huge inventory of items prevents the “out of space” problem most RPGs have. The in-environment combat allows you to see enemies from a distance and give them a wide-birth. Don’t want to fight? Just run. As long as one party member survives any battle, the entire party is revived/healed instantly. Even movies can be skipped, if you choose, but only after confirming with a second button press – because the only thing worse than an unskippable movie is one accidentally skipped.
Xenoblade Chronicles is a tremendous experience. It is easily the best RPG on the Wii, and quite probably the best JRPG of this console generation. Without expending too much effort discussing the game’s localization history we should all be thankful for the community putting pressure on Nintendo of America to release this masterpiece. Because, that’s exactly what Xenoblade Chronicles is: a masterpiece.