A strange, complicated and occasionally frustrating JRPG. Yet, beneath all of that complexity lies a wonderful adventure, a fascinating world and one of the deepest battle systems in the series. For newcomers, this is now unquestionably the version to play
Being the true sequel to one of the most beloved JRPGs of all time is a very tough task to live up to. Xenoblade Chronicles X ventured down a very different path from it, with very little connection to the original game beyond some familiar ideas. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is once again its own unique adventure. You don’t have to play the first game to understand what’s going on here. Think of it a little like Final Fantasy. There are plenty of familiarities running through the series, but ultimately this is a standalone adventure with its own characters, world and story, and it’s all the better for it.
Being the true sequel to one of the most beloved JRPGs of all time is a very tough task to live up to.
Gone are Shulk and his team, replaced by a bit of a nag and his own colourful group of companions. Meet Rex. He’s a salvager from Fonsett Village who happens to have a Titan as his best buddy. Rex is essentially still a young kid who is very wet behind the ears an d can be a little annoying from the outset, as any teenager probably would be when handed the fate of the world, but don’t worry, you’ll warm up to him in due course. His days are filled with treasure-hunting expeditions beneath the Cloud Sea alongside Azurda, the aforementioned Titan. Commonly referred to as ‘Gramps’ by Rex, he guides the youngster early on in his adventures. It’s with his guidance that Rex visits a nearby town to cash in his spoils for the day, only to get roped into the treasure hunt of a lifetime. Leaving Gramps at the cloudy port, Rex embarks on a mission that will change his life and send him on a journey far greater than anything he could have imagined.
A New Adventure Above the Clouds
Early in the game, Rex meets one of his main companions, Nia, who happens to have a sidekick called Dromarch. This beast-like, rather cuddly-looking cat figure is what’s known as a Blade. Dromarch supports Nia, who is known as a Driver, during battles. Each Blade comes with his, her or its own unique abilities and elemental attributes, and it’s one of the major systems that separates Xenoblade Chronicles 2 from the original game. Each Driver isn’t limited to one Blade either. As you progress, several can be assigned to a character, with up to three available to switch between during battle. This creates an enormous amount of flexibility when putting your party together and eventually becomes one of the most addictive parts of the game as you begin hunting for increasingly powerful Rare Blades.
The story eventually goes to some surprisingly emotional places.
There is something rather unique about Rex, though. During his fateful mission, he discovers an Aegis named Pyra. She’s quite the beauty, but there is clearly something different about her. She might initially act like any other Blade, but there’s far more going on beneath the surface. Exactly what that is forms a major part of the story, and the less you know about it beforehand, the better. The relationship between Rex and Pyra becomes the heart of the adventure, but Xenoblade Chronicles 2 builds an excellent supporting cast around them. Some characters are immediately likeable, while others take a little longer to grow on you. The tone can also be considerably more light-hearted and anime-inspired than the original Xenoblade, particularly during its opening chapters. Stick with it, though, because the story eventually goes to some surprisingly emotional places.
These Powerful Blades
The overall battle system will feel familiar to anyone who played the original. Characters automatically attack when positioned near an enemy, gradually charging their Arts. These abilities can range from powerful positional attacks to healing abilities or moves designed to place an enemy into a vulnerable state. Using Arts then builds your Blade Special gauge through multiple levels. Once you reach the desired level, pressing the A button triggers a much more powerful attack. Timing and positioning become increasingly important, particularly once Xenoblade Chronicles 2 starts layering its various systems on top of one another.
As before, enemies can be placed into a Break state, followed by Topple, Launch and finally Smash. Successfully working through this sequence allows your party to dish out some serious punishment. You’re also constantly keeping an eye on your companions, as prompts regularly appear that allow you to combine attacks and elemental properties such as fire, water, wind and others into increasingly devastating Blade and Fusion Combos. It sounds complicated because, well, it is. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 isn’t particularly good at explaining everything either. The opening hours constantly introduce new mechanics, and it can feel like you’re still being taught how to play the game long after you thought the tutorials were finished. Once everything clicks, however, it becomes an incredibly satisfying battle system. You’ll also gradually fill the Party Gauge, represented by three sections. If a teammate falls, one section can be sacrificed to revive them.
There’s a lot to take in, but that depth is precisely what makes the combat so rewarding.
Fill all three, however, and you can instead activate a Chain Attack that can completely change the course of a difficult encounter. Then there are the Blades themselves. Much like your characters improve their HP, strength, ether, dexterity, agility and luck, Blades offer plenty of development opportunities. Weapon Points improve their Arts, Aux Cores provide additional bonuses, while Affinity Charts unlock a huge range of passive abilities and statistical improvements. Understanding how everything works is important because Blades generally fall into Tank, Attacker and Healer roles. Finding the right balance becomes crucial during tougher encounters, especially when Xenoblade Chronicles 2 starts throwing some particularly nasty bosses your way. There’s a lot to take in, but that depth is precisely what makes the combat so rewarding after dozens of hours.
Welcome to Alrest
The world of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Alrest, is enormous and absolutely beautiful. Humanity survives on the backs of gigantic Titans travelling through an endless Cloud Sea, giving each major region its own identity. One moment you’re exploring sweeping grasslands and the next you’re wandering through industrial cities, ancient ruins or strange environments unlike anything else in the game. Seeing wildlife traversing its massive plains is still quite something to behold. As has become customary with Xenoblade, there are also some enemies you’ll want to steer well clear of early on. When Rex is Level 10, and that enormous creature wandering around nearby is Level 80, it’s not going to be a particularly long battle. At least not for you.
That sense of danger is part of Xenoblade’s charm. These aren’t worlds conveniently designed around your current level. Powerful creatures exist alongside weaker ones, and occasionally you’ll find yourself sprinting in the opposite direction after accidentally attracting something that could flatten your entire party with one attack. Characters naturally gain experience through combat and completing quests, but visiting an inn allows you to spend bonus experience accumulated during your travels. At times this can result in surprisingly substantial jumps. There were moments where I returned after a hard day’s work and gained several levels in one go. So, if you’re struggling to overcome a particular enemy, there’s usually another way forward without spending hours mindlessly grinding.
Exploration remains one of the game’s biggest strengths…
Exploration remains one of the game’s biggest strengths, although some of its systems haven’t aged particularly gracefully. Thankfully, the Switch 2 Edition improves one of the biggest annoyances surrounding Field Skills. Blades no longer need to be actively equipped for their Field Skills to contribute towards environmental checks. Simply having the required Blade in your collection is enough. It sounds like a small change, but anyone who remembers constantly rearranging their Blades just to pass a Field Skill check will appreciate it enormously.
Alrest Gets the Switch 2 Treatment
So, what’s actually new in the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition? The most immediately noticeable improvement is performance and image quality. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 now targets 4K resolution at 60fps while playing on a compatible television, while handheld mode runs at 1080p and 60fps. It makes an enormous difference. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was always something of a graphical showcase because of its wonderful artwork and gigantic environments, but the original Switch regularly struggled to present that ambition cleanly, particularly in handheld mode. On Switch 2, Alrest finally gets the hardware it deserves. The increased clarity makes distant scenery easier to appreciate, while 60fps transforms both exploration and combat.
It isn’t flawless. There are still occasional visual quirks and performance hiccups, and the upscaling can produce some softer background detail, but compared to the original Switch release, this is comfortably the best-looking and smoothest version of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. There are some new toys to play with too. The biggest is Merc Assault, a new action-focused mode that lets you take direct control of squads containing up to six Blades during Merc Missions. Instead of simply sending them away and waiting for a timer to expire, you can actually fight as the Blades themselves, freely switching between them and building Special gauges during combat. It’s a neat addition, particularly for longtime players who have already spent hundreds of hours with the original systems.
It isn’t flawless. There are still occasional visual quirks and performance hiccups… but, this is comfortably the best-looking and smoothest version of XC 2!
There’s also a new Rare Blade called MOMO, who comes with two different forms that alter both her appearance and elemental affinity, along with her own Blade quest. Pyra and another ‘someone’ – I’m not spoiling that for newcomers – receive new outfit designs too, which can be unlocked through normal gameplay or by using the corresponding amiibo. Improved HD Rumble has also been added, alongside various smaller quality-of-life improvements. When compared to the Switch 2 upgrade of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, however, the new content isn’t quite as exciting. That game received the Ether Jets, dramatically changing how you could traverse its enormous environments. Nothing added here has quite the same impact. As a result, there’s occasionally an ‘afterthought’ feeling surrounding the additional content. Merc Assault is enjoyable, and MOMO is a welcome addition, but neither fundamentally changes Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
Thankfully, the technical improvements arguably matter more here anyway. The original game was released during the Switch’s first year and regularly pushed that hardware beyond what it comfortably handled. Nearly nine years later, the Switch 2 finally allows Alrest to breathe. For newcomers, this is unquestionably the version to play. For returning fans, the value depends on how badly you want another journey across the Cloud Sea. The additions alone probably aren’t enough to justify another enormous playthrough, but seeing one of the Switch era’s most ambitious JRPGs running at 60fps and with vastly improved image quality is impressive.
And the Alrest is history…
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 remains a strange, complicated and occasionally frustrating JRPG. Rex can get on your nerves, the game throws systems at you relentlessly, and some mechanics are unnecessarily convoluted. Yet beneath all of that lies a wonderful adventure, a fascinating world and one of the deepest battle systems in the series. The Switch 2 Edition doesn’t reinvent it, and perhaps it could have done more, but it finally allows Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to look and perform much closer to the game Monolith Soft always seemed to be trying to make.
REVIEW CODE PROVIDED BY: NINTENDO
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