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What is Xeno?
And we’re not just making the tired and too-obvious pun.
Is it a series?
Yeah, and also nah.
Is it a franchise?
Yeah, and also nah.
Is it a series?
We’ll change our answer to yes.
These moments will bring a tear to your eye, but in a good way.
There are, however, notable bright spots.
units, Xenosaga Episode IIs mechs, look great.
It just doesnt save this game from an overarching sense of mediocrity.
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht launched in Japan on February 28, 2002.
These games may be going through their twenties right now, but they still hold up pretty well.
The cutscenes are lush and almost overwhelming in number.
“This is a movie,” some proclaimed.
There’s actually quite a bit of gameplay involved!
A battle system that evolved from Xenogears' non-mech combat, expanding nearly every mechanic meaningfully.
Dungeons with on-screen enemies (notably nixing random encounters!)
and interactive environmental hazards.
Multiple mini-games, including a mech action arena and poker!
No matter the occasion, no matter the narrative weight, it’s just the one song.
It’s short by JRPG standards (though still longer than Episode II).
And, most importantly, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is set in the same canon as the first game.
Uh, more or less.
We’d argue that didn’tquitehappen, but it’s close enough.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 follows in the footsteps of its predecessors, but it changes things up too.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has a notably lighter, more humor-seeking tone than its predecessor(s).
There are heaps of melodramatic moments, to be sure.
The gacha-like Blade acquisition system is another controversial angle.
Don’t worry, you don’t spend real-world money.
Don’t let that dissuade you from giving Xenoblade Chronicles 2 a shot.
There is a lot to love here.
Unlike Xenosaga Episode II, however, Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s system is rad at its core.
You’ll just want to look things up online, trust us.
Whatever you do, don’t skip the expansion, Torna: The Golden Country.
The setting, the alien planet of Mira, and the ability to pilot Skrells - awesome mechs!
- to every corner of the map, meant the studio had its work cut out for it.
What’s the verdict?
Every time we think about Mira, we lament that the game was tied to the Wii U.
Not because the console’s relative lack of horsepower lets it down - it doesn’t!
- but because the game was destined never to be half as financially successful as it deserves.
Xenoblade Chronicles X is stunning.
Thank goodness, then, that it’s slated to be remastered on Nintendo Switch in a few months!
Having enjoyable combat in a lengthy JRPG can be the difference between finishing the game and not.
Here are best combat systems of the genre.
Alas, with the recent shuttering of the console’s online services, that ended.
But the upcoming remaster will restore them - woo!
Thankfully, the major character Elma largely makes up for it.
Xenoblade Chronicles X is, in so many ways, unlike any other chapter in the Xeno metaseries.
Yet what a collector’s item it is.
In almost every respect, Xenosaga goes out on its highest note.
The game deftly balances its necessary exposition dumps and climactic arc-enders with keen character work.
Whew, giving Yuki Kajiura full reins of the soundtrack led to sheer splendor.
There are mechanics in place that you’ll seldom use as a result.
This is hardly a unique issue in RPGs, but it’s a bit of a bummer.
Neither of these have ever been officially translated into English, but the fandom has our back.
There are also some fairly obvious budget cuts involved.
Something more somber than past games.
Something sadder, perhaps.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the most character-centric tale in the series.
Here are the best party members of Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed!
Or 2023, if we’re counting the excellent Future Redeemed expansion.
We very much should.
The interchangeable classes for the squad can lend an unfortunate sense of sameness at times.
Truly, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is more than the sum of its parts.
So much more that it secures this lofty spot on our list with ease.
It’s on the back of the box.
It’s one of those sentences that lifelong Xenogears fans cannot forget.
Xenogears was unlike any of them.
As anyone who’s played it can tell you, that’s Xenogears greatest strengthandits greatest weakness.
If this was almost any other game ever made, it would be a crippling blow.
Xenogears rises above the unfinished sum of its parts.
1Xenoblade Chronicles
Xenoblade Chronicles probably doesn’t hit the insurmountable heights of Xenogears.
But it doesn’t have to.
It still tops our list thanks to one summarizing word: consistency.
The world is spellbinding.
The exploration of it was straight-up revolutionary back in 2010.
The characters range from likable to lovable.
Xenoblade Chronicles, the franchise, was born.
Xeno, the metaseries, was born to an audience the size of which it had always deserved.
I’m really feeling it!
Look out for these underrated Xenoblade Chronicles characters on your adventures.
