When Nintendo announced a few months ago that they were going to release spruced up Switch 2 versions of all the Xenoblade games, I was absolutely delighted. Despite loving JRPGs a ridiculous amount, I had somehow managed to miss out on the entirety of this beloved series. What better way to play them for the first time than with shiny new versions, and as I expected I adored the first game. Now only a couple of months later I’ve been able to play its sequel and see how the series evolved. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition is just as magical as the first game, and just as essential as any of the genre giants for JRPG fans.
In Xenoblade Chronicles 2 you play as Rex, a young salvager with an absolutely delightful Yorkshire accent. Rex lives a rather charming life on the back of his dragon grandad, but diving off islands to collect junk doesn’t exactly pay well. This means when a massive payday is offered for going on a top secret mission he jumps at the opportunity, and gets himself in some trouble which will change his life forever.
Trouble might be a bit of an understatement, because Rex is stabbed through the chest and killed in the first hour. Fortunately for our hero though Pyra comes in and saves the day, granting him life by sharing her core crystal with him. Pyra is a legendary Blade called the Aegis, which means she’s really important, powerful, and wanted by pretty much all the baddies. The story only gets wilder from there, and introduces a smorgasbord of characters ranging from a sassy Welsh rogue with a tiger bubby to a round fluffy fella who’s horny for robots. It’s JRPG nonsense through and through, and captivating in both the silly moments and the dramatic ones.
Before you get to experience all the wonderful story of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 though you’ll have to do some fighting, and this has been overhauled pretty heavily from the first game. You’ll still actively move around as your character automatically attacks enemies, but your special attacks (arts) only charge now when you hit enemies instead of over time. You also stop attacking as you move now, which means pottering around to get into position to backstab is more of a tactical decision than a no brainer. At first I thought this made combat feel a touch more stilted, but I soon realised there was more to this sequel than met the eye.
Much like in the first game, arts have all sorts of exciting effects that can work well together. I started the game trying to ensure my allies were good at attracting attention so I could backstab foes for massive damage, but as I unlocked more skills across more Blades (more on that soon) I experimented with different builds with different strategies. Even without thinking too hard arts can be massively powerful though, especially if you time them as you swing the sword for an auto attack to gaim a bonus Art Cancel boost.
Whereas in Xenoblade Chronicles 1 all your characters had set roles, the sequel enables you to change things up thanks to Blades. These magical followers all grant you different skills and elemental affinities, and can be created and upgraded in all manner of ways as you progress deeper into the game. They even all have special bonus powers that help you explore deeper into the world or unlock chests out of battle, which now apparently functions in a less annoying way than it previously did.
In true Monolith fashion, the world of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is utterly magical and frankly almost unmatched in the genre. Locations don’t just look gorgeous, they also have interesting origins and themes. Towns are bustling with life and things to do even from the very start of the game, with side quests and shops galore. You could easily lose hours and hours to this game without progressing in any meaningful way, and I know this because that’s exactly what I did over and over again.
It just always feels so worth doing as many side quests as possible, because you know you’ll earn more money to buy ridiculous amounts of gear, or gain materials to cook better stat boosting meals. You’ll get to fight more monsters which net you more skill points to power up arts, all while helping unlock new skills for your Blades. The depth is pretty outrageous, and makes it a hard RPG to put down.
If you’re a Xenoblade die hard and not a newcomer though you already know all this, and care more about the Switch 2 Edition upgrades. Well technically speaking the game is pretty much perfect, with a silky smooth framerate (which previously only targeted 30fps) to go along with the gorgeous updated visuals. There’s also Merc Assault which is a new mission mode where you control your Blades instead of just equipping them, and is much more action oriented. These admittedly get a little repetitive if you play them too much, but are a bloody brilliant way to level up Blades you’ve been neglecting.
I fell in love with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 thanks to the Switch 2 Edition, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Bosses feel like such huge steps up in difficulty so often, even at the very start of the game. This doesn’t ever stop being a little frustrating, especially when it feels like you’re doing nothing wrong. The combat also takes longer to get going than it did in the first game, with less to really do at the start of battles until you unlock later skills. I also found some of the character designs a little offputting, with female characters especially with utterly ludicrous body shapes and armour that just feels unnecessarily pervy.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition is yet another must play JRPG in this series. The world and characters can easily compete with your childhood favourites, and once the combat gets going it’s strategic and engaging. There’s no better way to enjoy this all timer, so upgrade today and don’t look back.
