Here is a game I’ve waited almost 10 years for. In fact the very first article I ever wrote as Getmorexp was the review for the original version of this game for the Wii U. Normally I’d hyperlink it but where I’ve gotten better at content creation over time I can’t help but cringe a bit at my earlier stuff.

Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition is the Switch remake of Xenoblade Chronicles X for the Wii U. A game that left fans eager for an answer with a massive cliff hanger of an ending. The story follows humanity as Earth was destroyed in a battle between two opposing forces. In a fight for survival humanity crash landed on the planet Mira and must now learn how to live in a harsh and unknown environment. To make matters worse one of the combatants that led to Earth’s destruction followed the humans in order to finish them all off once and for all. It gets worse still as the Lifehold, the housing compartment for the citizens of Earth is missing and we must scour the planet in hopes of finding it before the enemy does.

The story of Xenoblade Chronicles X is a very unique one even for the Xenoblade series. Where most games tell a linear story from start to finish it’s more accurate to compare this game’s story to a spider web. It’s not just one goal but rather the story of how everyone finds their way to survive after the destruction of Earth. Some are hopeful, some have regrets, some are eager to prove themselves and so much more. The game does have a main story divided into 12 chapters, but the chapters are short. The main game focuses on the fight for survival, but the game is far more than that. It’s also how people come together to make a new life and how they bridge the gap between them and the other races that inhabit Mira. So rather than one linear story the “story” of this game is to seek out everyone’s story and see them from start to finish.

Even with the story being so scattered the main part of the story has a lot of mystery as there’s a lot more to the world than what we know. This part of the review is a bit tricky as the game does slow lead to the big reveals but to allude to what it’s slow leading you to in any capacity would be a spoiler. Plus the game brings up surprises seemingly out of nowhere for big shock moments that add a lot to the overall story. What I recommend in the most spoiler free way I can is to really read between the lines of what is said as a lot happens and you’ll want to be very attentive to the details.

So as I said before the game has 12 chapters but that’s to get to the original ending. The definitive edition comes with a 13th chapter that finally addresses the cliffhanger. Again avoiding spoilers is rather tricky but to sum up my thoughts I was content with it. I do feel like there was an original plan for where the developers were going to go with this game, but with the release of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3 since then it’s very clear that things pivoted from that. Some moments from the original cliff hanger ending felt like they were alluding to bigger moments to come only for there to be surprisingly quick explanations for them. Satisfactory explanations but quick all the same. Still it’s great to finally have some kind of resolution to an ending that left me waiting for a decade.

The only real flaw I have for the new content is it does feel a bit rushed in places and the ending is not as satisfying as other Xenoblade games. It’s a satisfying ending on its own but where we’re so used to incredible endings that we got as recently as Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and it’s DLC this ending is noticeably weaker in comparison.

Moving onto the gameplay the combat functions similar to the rest of the Xenoblade series. You have real time combat where you have auto attacks, but also powerful attacks called arts that you can trigger during battle. You have a lot of customization options per character and over 30 characters, plus two new ones, to recruit. This also goes with the story I was talking about earlier as each of these 30 characters has a story to tell and they are all rather detailed and entertaining. Later in the game you unlock mechs called skells that will eventually be able to fly all around the world of Mira. The skells are just as customizable as the characters and are fun to fly around in.

Part of the gameplay is the exploration of Mira itself. Mira is split into six sections. Five for Mira itself and one for the makeshift new home humanity has made and called New Los Angeles. Each of these sections is divided into hexagonal quadrants and each quadrant has an objective to meet to call it explored. Some are mission based, others require items to find or boss monsters to beat. Some require probes to be installed that can help with item collecting and surveying the rest of Mira. There is an overwhelming number of sections to complete and it’s fun to just explore and see where some of these objectives are. It’s not a short process so if you’re not into the whole finding objectives and exploration type games then this is not the game for you. I’m 70 hours into the game as of writing this and I’ve beaten the entire story and surveyed about 70% of the entire world of Mira. Just to give you an idea of the length of the game.

So overall Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition is a nice reminder of just how massive the original game was. It’s an adventure that will take a long time to complete and has new content on top of that. New characters, new story and finally an answer to the cliffhanger that was in the original game. While the ending does feel like a step down in quality compared to previous Xenoblade games it is a good ending and it raises big questions as to what’s next for this franchise.