I have experienced a type of fatigue when it comes to fantasy JRPGs. The genre is absolutely inundated with them and while there is always a good one around the corner, there’s always the desire for a palette cleanser. A game that goes for a different vibe, a game that champions a different aesthetic, a game like Xenoblade Chronicles X..
Leaving the Wii U jail, Xenoblade Chronicles X (XCX) released a definitive edition earlier this year. Definitive editions are the xenoblade’s series special term to add to the sometimes confusing pile of remake/remasters spectrum. X’s definitive edition added a bunch of new content: a new story chapter, ported the game over to the Switch, and gameplay changes that made the whole experience smoother.
But what to me is the most refreshing about XCX, is that it actually feels like a full sci-fi game. JRPGs, among the ones I played, do have a tendency to have sci-fi elements. However, these elements typically come at the very end. The final dungeon is an ancient city from an advanced civilization that died out (This civilization had neat computers), the dragons are actually for real, for real, aliens, or even just fighting the final boss in space.
All of these elements are present, but the large chunk of the game is spent in a medieval fantasy environment.
Xenoblade Chronicles X does something that I always wanted in a JRPG. Its entire premise is set up for telling interesting sci-fi stories that are often not possible in a fantastical setting or even a high-tech setting like FF7. From the beginning, it is established that Humans have met aliens and that they crash landed on an unknown planet. Missions have you meeting with alien races and creating alliances with ones and fighting others, you’re setting up scanners to get a lay of the planet’s topography, even the class system has a unique flavor with there being a psycorruptor and galactic knight class. The whole thing is a breath of fresh air for someone like me that’s been feeling a little burned out on the fantasy aesthetic.
You can also pilot a mech. So that’s like a game of the year contender.
There are other aspects that make XCX an incredible game. The soundtrack is composed by Hiroyuki Sawano, who is famous for composing a bunch of other media such as Attack on Titan, some of the Gundam animes, and Solo Levelling.
The gameplay is the typical Xenoblade mmo combat which I personally find engaging and mashing Starlight Rondo on aliens while Uncontrollable plays in the background is an awesome time. Many of the party members are interesting. Having their own quips during combat and idiosyncracies. I am partial to the alien party members like L. They are fleshed out further in affinity quests.
I would like to say the mechs are cool again.
Ultimately, this is all my personal opinion when it comes to this stuff. I know that for some people, the classic story of a boy from a destroyed village or a jaded knight that cuts the lone wolf act are classics for a reason. They are compelling, but I do like it when we trade the magic spells for laser beams sometimes and the dragons for Space-dragons.
My hope is that Monolith Soft doesn’t abandon the vibe that they had with XCX. Even though the other xenoblade games have heavy sci-fi elements, there’s really no planet like Mira.
Pendragon Press 
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