Xenoblade Chronicles is a series of action role-playing games made by Monolith Soft and released by Nintendo. It is part of a larger series called the Xeno metaseries, which gives the series its name. The series was helped create and directed by Tetsuya Takahashi.
The first game in the series, Xenoblade Chronicles, was released for the Wii in Japan in 2010. It was later released in Europe and Oceania in 2011. At first, Nintendo did not plan to release the game in North America. However, a fan campaign called Operation Rainfall showed enough interest, so the game was finally released in North America in 2012 and received good reviews. The series continued with Xenoblade Chronicles X in 2015 for the Wii U, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 in 2017 and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 in 2022 for the Nintendo Switch. Some games in the series have received additional story content through downloadable expansions, and remastered versions have been released on newer platforms.
Xenoblade Chronicles has been praised for its world design, music, stories, and themes. It has sold more than 8.74 million copies worldwide. The series has also appeared in other video game franchises, such as Super Smash Bros. and Project X Zone.
Gameplay
The Xenoblade Chronicles series uses a real-time battle system where players control characters directly during fights. Party members automatically attack enemies when they come close, but players can also perform special attacks called "Arts" manually. These Arts can only be used after a waiting period called a "cool down." Some special attacks, called "Talent Arts," become available only after characters perform enough automatic attacks. Both players and enemies have a limited amount of health points. When health points reach zero, the battle ends. If the player's character loses all health and cannot be revived, the game ends. Players can restore health by using healing Arts during battles or by letting health recover outside of battles. Winning battles gives experience points, which help characters grow stronger by leveling up and learning new Arts. Players must choose which Arts to use for each character before battles begin. These choices are made on a screen called a "Battle Palette."
Exploration is an important part of the Xenoblade Chronicles games. Players can move freely through large open worlds. Discovering new places and landmarks gives experience points. Once landmarks are found, players can use them to travel quickly to those locations.
The Xenoblade Chronicles series is known for its diverse music. The main composers are Yoko Shimomura, Hiroyuki Sawano, and Yasunori Mitsuda. Other composers who have worked on the soundtracks include Manami Kiyota, ACE (a musical group made up of Tomori Kudo and Hiroyo "CHiCO" Yamanaka), Kenji Hiramatsu, and Mariam Abounnasr.
Plot
Although each game in the Xenoblade Chronicles series has its own story, the numbered games are connected through the origins of their fictional worlds. Klaus, a scientist, was sad about Earth’s condition and wanted to restart the world to create a new universe. His coworker, Galea, tried to stop him to prevent the world from ending. She could not change his mind, so he began an experiment using the Conduit, an alien object that provided endless energy and acted as a portal between dimensions. This experiment created the worlds of Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
Some time after the events of these two games, the two worlds were on a path that would cause them to crash into each other, called the Intersection. To save their worlds, people from both universes worked together to build half of a structure called Origin. This structure would hold the memories and souls of both worlds to help them restart safely. However, the artificial intelligence of Origin became corrupted by the fears of the souls it contained, leading to the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
In the series’ timeline, Xenoblade Chronicles is the first game to take place. Its story, Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected, happens one year after the main game. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 occurs in a different world at the same time as Xenoblade Chronicles. Its prequel, Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country, takes place 500 years before the main game. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 happens some time after the previous games and shows the future of the worlds from Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Its downloadable story, Future Redeemed, is a prequel that connects Xenoblade Chronicles 3 to earlier games, set centuries before it. According to Tetsuya Takahashi, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 concludes the story that began with Klaus’s experiment but does not end the series.
While the Xenoblade games do not share the same setting, their universes are connected, except for Xenoblade Chronicles X, which is a spiritual successor to the first game. The worlds of Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected are set on two giant creatures called the Bionis and the Mechonis. Xenoblade Chronicles X takes place on an alien planet called Mira. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and its prequel take place in the world of Alrest, which contains many giant creatures that house different nations. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is set in the world of Aionios, a large continent that includes areas from both the Bionis and Alrest.
Each game in the series introduces new characters to make the stories accessible to newcomers. Although the developers say the games are standalone, some characters return as part of the larger story. Shulk, the main character of Xenoblade Chronicles, and Rex, the main character of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, appear in the downloadable story of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 called Future Redeemed. Similarly, Melia Antiqua and Nia return as queens in Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
Some characters appear in multiple games but are not connected by story. Like Cid in the Final Fantasy series, the name Vandham appears in every Xenoblade Chronicles game, even in earlier versions of the series. Jack Vandham, Vandham, and Guernica Vandham appear in Xenoblade Chronicles X, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3, respectively. In Xenoblade Chronicles, a version of Vandham was renamed Colonel Vangarre in the English version.
The Nopon are small, winged, hamster-like creatures that appear in every game. Though they look cute, many Nopon act in clever or greedy ways. Each game usually includes a Nopon character who is either a playable companion or a travel partner. Another recurring theme is a creature resembling a gorilla, often named Territorial Rotbart, who appears at or near level 81. This monster is typically found in an early area of the game and is known for being tough to defeat.
Development
After the Xenosaga series did not sell well, the staff at Monolith Soft felt sad and discouraged, which led to the series ending early. In July 2006, Tetsuya Takahashi had an idea about people living on giant titans. He wrote down the idea and created a 3D model. This inspired Monolith Soft to develop Xenoblade Chronicles, an action role-playing game for the Wii. The project was first named Monado: Beginning of the World, but the name was changed to Xenoblade in Japan to honor Takahashi’s work on the Xeno series and his efforts on the game. The story follows Shulk and his friends as they seek revenge against the Mechon for attacking their home. As they travel on the backs of titans, they discover the secrets of a powerful weapon called the Monado.
Xenoblade Chronicles was released in Japan on June 10, 2010. Nintendo of Europe announced they would publish the game, adding “Chronicles” to the title. The game was released in Europe on August 19, 2011, and in Australia on September 1, 2011. At first, Nintendo did not plan to release the game in North America. Fans started a campaign called Operation Rainfall to persuade Nintendo to bring the game to North America along with The Last Story and Pandora’s Tower. After months of waiting, Nintendo of America confirmed the game would be released in North America in April 2012. It was released as a GameStop exclusive on April 6, 2012. Later, the game was ported to the New Nintendo 3DS as Xenoblade Chronicles 3D in 2015 and remastered as Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition on the Nintendo Switch in 2020.
After completing Xenoblade Chronicles, Takahashi’s team began developing a new game for Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U system. Originally called X in 2013, the game was renamed Xenoblade Chronicles X and released in 2015. Set in a different universe, the game follows Elma and her team as they race to retrieve the Lifehold, a structure holding thousands of lives, after Earth is destroyed in an interstellar war. The game was released on the Wii U in 2015.
Development of a new Xenoblade Chronicles game began in 2014 while working on Xenoblade Chronicles X. The game was released in 2017 for the Nintendo Switch. It takes place in a world of dying titans, where Rex meets the living weapon Pyra and promises to take her to the paradise of Elysium.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country is set 500 years before the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. The story follows Lora and Jin as they fight Malos and his army to protect their kingdom, Torna, before its fall. The game was released in 2018 on the Nintendo Switch as a standalone title and an expansion for Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected takes place one year after the main story of Xenoblade Chronicles. Set on the Bionis’ Shoulder, a location not explored in the original game, it follows Melia, Shulk, and Riki’s daughter Nene and adopted son Kino as they work to reclaim the city of Alcamoth. The game was released in 2020 on the Nintendo Switch as part of the Definitive Edition remaster.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is set in the world of Aionios, where two nations, Keves and Agnus, are at war. The story shows the futures of Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Protagonists Noah from Keves and Mio from Agnus must unite to face a greater threat. The game was released in 2022 on the Nintendo Switch.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed is a major story expansion for Xenoblade Chronicles 3, released in 2023. Its story takes place centuries before Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and connects the events of the game to earlier titles in the series. Monolith Soft compared the size of Future Redeemed to Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is a remastered version of the original Xenoblade Chronicles X, released for the Nintendo Switch in 2025. It includes improvements and a new story ending.
Regarding the future of the franchise, series director and producer Genki Yokota said the series will continue as long as possible. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 concludes the story arc of Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. However, Tetsuya Takahashi said the series is not over. He encouraged players to imagine what might come next after playing Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Future Redeemed. Series director Koh Kojima expressed interest in creating Xenoblade Chronicles X2.
Reception
Xenoblade Chronicles sold almost 200,000 copies in Japan by the end of 2013. Later, the game sold more copies in Western countries than in Japan. By December 2015, Xenoblade Chronicles X sold about 377,000 copies in Japan, France, and the United States. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 sold 1.42 million copies by June 2018, becoming the best-selling game ever made by Monolith Soft. Its sales did better than expected in Western countries. Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country also sold more copies than expected in Japan. By December 2022, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 had sold 1.86 million copies.
Legacy
The Xenoblade Chronicles series appears in different types of media. Shulk can be played as a character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U versions and in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Pyra and Mythra appear together as a single character in downloadable content for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Dunban from the first Xenoblade Chronicles game, as well as Rex and Nia from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, are available as Mii Fighter costumes in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. A Shulk amiibo figure was released in February 2015. This figure works as a non-player character (NPC) opponent in Super Smash Bros. and unlocks costumes based on Shulk in Yoshi's Woolly World and Super Mario Maker. Fiora from the first Xenoblade Chronicles game appears as a playable character in Project X Zone 2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild includes the outfit worn by Rex in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Amiibo figures of Pyra and Mythra were released on July 21, 2023, and function as NPC opponents in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Amiibo figures of Noah and Mio from Xenoblade Chronicles 3 were released on January 19, 2024. Good Smile Company has created several figures based on characters from the series, including Pyra, Mythra, KOS-MOS, Melia, and Nia.