*We highly recommend you read Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition review part I of II…
Xenoblade Chronicles is a JRPG that commands your full attention, and it’s a pleasure to succumb to its beautiful aesthetic on Nintendo Switch. Furthermore, its tight mechanics and Nintendo’s controller re-mapping really does make for the Definite Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles. Arguably the best of the infamous rainfall trilogy, North American fans fought (via the majesty of letters and online petitions of course) to get Xenoblade on store shelves. It’s hard to think that Xenoblade was nearly a region-locked exclusive.
Shallot Going On
In part one of my review, we covered the majority of mechanics players will come to expect from their playthroughs with Xenoblade Chronicles. During this playthrough, more battle mechanics are slowly drip-fed to players and is surprisingly less daunting than what was expected.
A key skill when initiating battles is Luring monsters. Often, players will find themselves overconfident and attempt to hit a group of region-specific monsters.
Don’t fall into this trap. It’s quite easy to lure monsters one by one to make battles manageable and to take advantage of post-battle auto-healing. These monsters, however, will also be kindred ones and marked up as such. If this is the case, use the LB buttons to scope out their levels and save beforehand.
Scoping out manageable creatures for experience grinding is also made easier by taking note of a monster’s danger level. The colour of severity is displayed behind the monsters name when viewing them via the bumper activated target window.
Once Shulk starts to wield the Monado for himself (It’s in the games title screen, it’s hardly a spoiler) he will realise that he can change the future by receiving bursts of flashbacks. Whilst this is heavily used in Xenoblades story mechanics, it is also incorporated into yet another battle mechanic. Shulk can either use a defensive physical art to take less damage, Draw aggro from the player who is about to get hit to change the monsters target or use the Monado Art Shield to temporarily deflect the damage. Of course, having a well-timed opportunity to topple or daze opponents will also change the parties future.
In-Game Jewellers
Another important part of Xenoblade Chronicles is crafting, gem crafting to be exact. Monsters will drop various Crystals when defeated, each with their own abilities and values. Taking these Crystals to the Furnace allows players to craft ability buffing gems (think of Materia and Materia slots). Of course, Gem Crafting is a mini-game in itself which requires two party members. A couple of hints would be to use two party members with a strong affinity level and who rank well together when crafting.
Players will need to add together up to eight Crystals to get the Gem strength to over 100%. Getting this figure over 200% puts the crafting process into a ‘Heat State’ which allows gems to raise a rank. Also, entering a fever state when in the shooter role of the Furnace allows players to shoot multiple times to increase the strength of their gems. It’s normally easier to just have Shulk as the shooter at all times.
Xenoblade’s focus on NPC and protagonist relationships is intense, but isn’t a necessary component to completing the game. If players decide to, they can pick and choose their side quests to change affinity levels. This can lead to enemy NPC’s becoming friends and surprise bonuses for players, but equally players may want to skip this portion of the game in favour of progressing the main narrative and training.
Progress
Another strong component of Xenoblade‘s later gameplay is levelling up arts and using skill trees to develop parties affinity and skillsets. As players continue to gain experience, they also gain points for levelling up arts. Choosing and levelling the right arts may be the difference between losing a battle and scoring a swift victory. The skill trees in Xenoblade Chronicles work by lending abilities from other players to build a greater synergy overall for a players chosen party.
Skill trees and broken down into three lanes: Humanity (increases Ether), Integrity (increases block rate) and Intuition (increases agility). Players can switch between these lanes as many times as they wish per party member. As a character gains skill points, new skills are learned from top to bottom. Once an icon is fully visible, the selected party member learns that skill.
A blue icon represents an always active ability, with an orange icon locked to when a player is part of a battle party. A one-person icon affects the party members with the skill, a three-person icon affects party members in battle which the ALL icon affects the whole party.
Casual Access
If the combat is feeling too intense after the first few hours and you need to wind it down to get the full enjoyment out of the game, or if you simply want to just play for the story, Xenoblade Chronicles has your back. By opening the system menu and going into the game settings, casual mode can be set to on or off.
The game also suggests this option mid-battle if you’re having a rough time, not that I’d know that of course… Xenoblade Chronicles is easily playable if players but the time into using battle mechanics early on and put some time into grinding and side quests. This is where the big gameplay pay off lays.
It’s an Onion
Xenoblade Chronicles is a JRPG onion with instructions, advising players to peel back layer after layer until they are confident. Once players are fully clued up, they can rustle those onions up with the games other ingredients. Adding a multi-layered story with generous helpings of action and well-orchestrated difficulty spikes keeps bringing players back for more.
The end result is a well-rounded meal of a game that is satisfying until the last bite. Oh, the extra story chapter in this addition served as a lovely dessert to!
