The Xeno- Series: Where to Start?
The Xeno- series is a bit different from our other Where to Start? subjects in that it is, in reality, three different projects. All created under the leadership of Tetsuya Takahashi, their shared prefix accompanies general themes and science-fantasy settings. The Xeno - prefix refers to "something strange or foreign to a group," which is a core narrative concept throughout all the games. While all the games share this prefix, they are vastly different, sharing similar themes of displacement, understanding the human condition, and even xenophobia. The games are deeply inspired by biblical imagery, religious ideology, and philosophical concepts, such as the works of Freud, Jung, Nietzsche, and even the New Testament.
Our goal with this Where to Start? is to give overviews of what to expect from each game and how they are all related. While there are obvious starting points, this is a series where some of the titles may be challenging to acquire, but if one can, they are absolutely worth investigating.
by Michael Baker , Amaan Bhimani , Cassandra Ramos, Alex Fuller , Jordan McClain , Joe Tingle , and Sam Wachter
A Brief History
After working on Final Fantasy titles and Chrono Trigger in the 1990s, Tetsuya Takahashi co-created his first major project, Xenogears, on PlayStation, with the help of Soraya Saga and Masato Kato. Initially conceived as a concept for Final Fantasy VII but made into its own project due to storyline and themes being deemed too dark, it is considered one of the most groundbreaking RPGs in terms of story and world-building, taking heavy influence from philosophers such as Freud and Jung. However, its very large scope meant that the full product wasn't as complete as envisioned, forcing much of the later story to be told through cutscenes.
After realising that Square was more focused on the Final Fantasy series, and unlikely to revisit Xenogears or any similar project, Tetsuya Takahashi left the developer to co-found Monolith Soft, which is responsible for all the remaining Xeno- titles, and started as a subsidiary of Namco. A direct continuation of Xenogears was not possible due to Square holding the rights to it, so its first title was instead the first entry in a series called Xenosaga . The series is more science fiction heavy, taking place in outer space in a future where humans have left Earth and involving an alien race called the Gnosis, but also borrows from some Biblical imagery and the works of Jung and Nietzsche, the latter referenced in each of its subtitles. Much like Xenogears , Xenosaga was also hindered by its ambition, and the eventual trilogy, while being well received, didn't live up to its sales targets, and its intended scope ended up reduced.
Following Namco's merger with Bandai, shifts in the corporate leadership meant that Monolith Soft was under a lot less creative freedom. However, Nintendo was on hand to provide support and took over as Monolith Soft's parent company, with the studio creating titles including Soma Bringer and Super Robot Wars OG Saga: Endless Frontier . During this period, Tetsuya Takahashi had begun work on the project that would become Xenoblade , built on the concept of frozen bodies of two warring gods, intended to help rebuild morale after the tribulations of Xenosaga . While ambition once again rose to cause potential issues, Monolith Soft had perhaps found the ideal partner in Nintendo, which gave it the time needed to fully realise the game. That time was ultimately justified when Xenoblade Chronicles ended up becoming a big success. Monolith Soft has since built on that success, and Xenoblade has become one of the most well-received RPG series out there, with its mainline trilogy and one adjacent title becoming top-drawer fixtures of the Nintendo Switch.
Xenogears
Available on: PlayStation
This is where it all started, and Xenogears set the foundation for much of what defines the Xeno - franchise as a whole, especially with regard to scope. For a PlayStation game, it has a remarkably dense, layered, and well-translated script and plot that demands full attention throughout, lest players risk missing key details or characters. That said, if you’re seeking out one of the most emotionally deep, challenging, and daring stories ever put to an RPG or video game, period, Xenogears rewards your attention like no other game, with a groundbreaking vision that remains impressive even today. It is set in a world where two powers have been at constant war for centuries, and both side has been excavating giant mechs from ancient cilivisation to try and gain the upper hand, following a young man who is forced to navigate the conflict after it hits the village he has set root in. While the early pacing is a little rough and the game’s second disc is admittedly abridged from the full vision, Xenogears is still a complete and beautiful experience.
By and large, Xenogears is a relatively simple and easy RPG to pick up, and there’s very little to worry about regarding excessive difficulty or confusing gameplay systems. The combat system is straightforward turn-based fare with an easy-to-understand combo system. Further, Xenogears offers some of the most brilliant audiovisual offerings of its era, with masterful presentation and dizzying scope throughout the journey. If players are looking for giant mechs, a rich world, breathtaking cinematics, and a heartbreaking plot, Xenogears is a great place to start, and though it requires both attentiveness and patience, it’s arguably the most concise and digestible place to understand what Xeno- is all about when considering time investment.
While Xenogears is unquestionably a masterpiece, it unfortunately remains exclusive to the original PlayStation and has never been rereleased or ported, and physical copies are quite expensive, making it hard to recommend from an availability standpoint. It is also worth noting that if players start here, Xenogears ’ visuals translate best to a CRT television, and it is best experienced on one. For those in Europe, it is also, unfortunately, one of the titles that did not get a PAL release.
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht
Available on: PlayStation 2
Xenosaga Episode I is a complex game in several respects, and unless you’re already well-versed in turn-based combat, this is perhaps the hardest non-Japanese-exclusive Xeno- game to recommend; though for the RPG-adept player, there are many interesting and remarkable facets. Set in a far future after humanity has colonised galaxy but lost Earth and evolving around the threat of the mysterious alien Gnosis, it’s a very polarizing game, and it largely serves as a setup to a grander vision that is carried on Episode II and III , so if you’re expecting a satisfying conclusion at the end of this game… don’t. This is doubly true because the Xenosaga series was intended to be a six-part series, but due to poor sales and development struggles, it was cut down to three episodes, making it significantly more abridged than even Xenogears ’ infamous second disc.
From the outset, the interactive elements are quite intimidating and daunting, with three separate point systems governing character growth: Ether Points for Ether skills (essentially magic), Skill Points to extract abilities from equipment, and Tech Points to learn powerful Tech attacks. You can expect to spend quite a long time in menus allocating these and tinkering with your characters, especially because the combat demands smart, competent allocation. Players use AP to execute powerful Tech Attacks, and Episode I ’s combat makes sure that every single AP and move matters. Both enemies and player characters have a Boost meter, which allows them to interrupt the turn order, and there’s a constant Event Slot roulette spinning turn-by-turn, which can increase experience and points gained, increase the critical rate, increase the amount of Boost gained, or do nothing at all.
Episode I is highly demanding with many overlapping systems, but if players are willing to take the time to understand them, it is really satisfying -- especially when some boss battles take close to thirty minutes. It’s not just the interactivity and combat that take time; so do the cutscenes, with Episode I sporting some of the longest ever put in a game: one sequence runs for nearly forty-five minutes. Nevertheless, they are very good, and if you love bombastic space operas with insane ship designs, aliens, philosophical and religious undertones, and a void-like, haunting atmosphere, X enosaga Episode I conveys the grandeur and emptiness of space, human identity, suffering, and existentialism in a very profound and interesting way. This is done without the textual density of Xenogears , with a lot more showing than telling.
If players start with Episode I , you’re going to want to be in for the long haul -- make time, and a lot of it, not just for the entirety of the experience, but for individual play sessions, too. Xenosaga Episode I remains exclusive to PlayStation 2. However, unlike its two sequels, this game was a Greatest Hits release, making physical copies both abundant and cheap. Also, like Xenogears , Xenosaga Episode I did not get a release in Europe, though strangely, both of its sequels did.
Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse
Available on: PlayStation 2
When considering Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse , we must take into account both the Gut and the Böse . And for the Gut , we can say that the second game continues the plot set up by the first game. Turning that over to the Böse , it is also a game that depends strongly on its predecessor. While this is not unusual for a direct sequel, it still means Xenosaga Episode II is working from the same basic foundation of Episode I -- even more so than Episode III , which takes the endgame conditions of II and makes its own new foundation. The second game in this trilogy feels less like an arc of the plot and more like an extension of the first game’s , to the point that in the DS conjoined version, it is difficult to say, without a priori knowledge, exactly where one game hands over to the next. So when we talk about starting the series here, with the second installment, we aren’t beginning from the start of a new arc, but rather in the middle of an ongoing arc, and that makes a world of difference.
Although it is a continuation of Episode I , the game came at an interesting place for Monolith Soft, as Tetsuya Takahashi gave control over its development to a largely new team, looking to allow some of its younger talent to grow. Gameplay-wise, Episode II is noticeably simpler than Episode I , choosing to eschew equipment, shops, and currency entirely while also making use of a much more rudimentary skill learning system. Ether skills are no longer individualized by character, with a shared skill tree, and Tech Attacks cannot be upgraded, meaning the three different point systems from Episode I are gone. While the Boost and Event Slot features from the first game remain, combat revolves around identifying enemy weaknesses using the ABC system of high (A), mid (B), and low (C) attacks, building up “Stock” to use combos, and then finally executing them to break the enemy, making for a slower battle system that is arguably just as strategically complex as Episode I , but without the same degree of required micromanagement over character progression. There are also a lot more sidequests than in the first game, and mechs feature much more prominently in combat.
Episode II also looks and sounds completely different from the previous game. It features a significantly more realistic, less anime-inspired visual style, comparatively shorter cutscenes, and different voice actors for much of the main cast; many of Episode I ’s actors reprise their role in Episode III , most notably main character Shion Uzuki, meaning this game will stand out quite starkly. The soundtrack is also entirely different soundtrack, with Yuki Kajiura, Shinji Hosoe, and Ayako Saso taking over from Yasunori Mitsuda.
Most who have completed the Xenosaga series laud the first and third games, with Episode II being seen as a good-at-best and a rough but necessary bump in the road. Unless one is wholly averse to Episode I ’s lengthy menus and cutscenes, and happy to rely on a plot synopsis of it as a predicate -- or in Europe, which did not get the first game, but oddly did get this one -- there’s no real reason to start one's Xeno- experience here.
Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra
Available on: PlayStation 2
Being the third entry in a series often means that it is not a great place to start for a newcomer. Sadly, this is true of Xenosaga III . Moving from the liked first entry to the disliked second entry surely should equal an excellent finale, correct? Despite Monolith Soft hoping for more games in the Xenosaga series, this final installment drew a lot of praise from critics. After resigning from Vector Industries, Shion allies herself with an underground group known as Scientia to investigate Gnosis Terrorism. Meanwhile, Canaan, Jr., Jin, chaos, MOMO, and Ziggy are investigating a landmass that originated from Lost Jerusalem. Nefarious evils begin to appear, leaving Shion and her companions to uncover the mystery surrounding the Gnosis and their connection to Lost Jerusalem. Much like the previous games, the storytelling is very dense, but for those who stick with it, they are rewarded with a satisfying payoff as everything comes together, even if parts of the story feel as though they have been condensed from something larger.
While combat in Xenosaga Episode III is still turn-based, both the regular party battles and mech-based E.S. battles go by a bit quicker and are more friendly to players. Normal battles focus on gaining Boost, which can be used to allow characters two actions in a single turn or deliver a special character attack, by attacking while trying to prevent Breaking, which will hinder a character's action for a round. However, players may find combats a bit too easy, especially if they obtain all the spells and items from side quests. E.S. fights are more of a battle of attrition and don't require much strategy, though their boss fights do require a bit more thought and planning. There's a lot to manage in the game's combat system, but thankfully, a lot of it is very straightforward.
Unfortunately, Xenosaga III is a tough starting place, given it's the end of a trilogy, and one that expects players to know the previous entries. The game was only released on PlayStation 2, and again not in Europe, with copies of the game going for $300+ dollars on the secondhand market. The game was also not released in Europe, meaning access to this title in that region is next to impossible. Anyone who loves space operas will find lots to enjoy with the Xenosaga trilogy, but caution is advised against starting here, as the amount of lore can be overwhelming, and having context to past events is a must.
Xenosaga: Pied Piper
Japan only: Mobile Phones (coming to PC, Nintendo Switch)
Xenosaga: Pied Piper was released on mobile phones in Japan in 2004, offering those who can read Japanese a complete story that takes place a century before the events of Xenosaga Episode I . Released in three chapters, the game follows Federal Police Special Operations member Jan Sauer, better known by another name in Episode I , who is tasked with investigating a terrorist attack on a Federation hyperspace transport network. Jan soon learns that there is discourse between the Federation and the Immigrant Fleet theocracy, which worships a strange artifact known as Zohar.
Sporting simple turn-based combat, Jan and his companions explore various space environments. The primary element to the game's combat system comes in the form of Boost Points, which allow a character to interrupt an enemy's turn and perform an action early. There's very limited information about Pied Piper to be gleaned in English, though currently, there is hope of an English fan translation in the works. Currently, this is a mobile game that, unless one can read Japanese and somehow has access to a Vodafone or i-mode, is very difficult to obtain, making it a challenging place to start, even before considering potential merits. However, the second part is soon to be taken care of, with publisher G-MODE bringing the game to PC and Nintendo Switch , though still in Japanese only.
Xenosaga I & II
Japan only: Nintendo DS
If you are proficient in the Japanese language, then the DS port of Xenosaga Episode I and Episode II is surprisingly easy to recommend. The most amazing thing about this bundle is that it exists at all, being a fully sprite-based rendering of the first two games in a PlayStation 2 series. (Much of what was made for it would go on to form the basis of the Super Robot Wars OG Saga: Endless Frontier games, but that is a recommendation for another special feature.)
The strongest reason to recommend this game is that Monolith Soft took the opportunity to streamline much of the narrative, with entire levels reduced to secondary plot summary material, while keeping the core narrative intact. The transition between the first and second games is seamless, making the two into a reasonably well-organized whole. It even added material in a few places, including a new NPC who goes on to play a role in Xenosaga Episode III .
As a bonus, many of the aspects of combat and assorted other gameplay that proved annoying to gamers in the PlayStation 2 iterations have been removed. On the other hand, touch-based mini-games were added. It all balances out.
Sadly, this game was never released outside of Japan, so a decent understanding of the language is required. However, to anyone studying Japanese who has also played through the original games a time or two, it could prove to be an excellent study aid. The first meaning of gnosis is ‘knowledge,’ after all.
Xenoblade Chronicles
Available on: Nintendo Wii, New Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch
Being the first game in its own distinct series and readily available on Nintendo Switch, Xenoblade Chronicles is easily the best place to start. While the Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy's story isn't as connected from point to point as, say, Xenosaga , it does enhance a player's experience to start at the beginning. Xenoblade Chronicles 's philosophical themes and allusions to Gnosticism are also present in Xenogears and Xenosaga , and the game can familiarize players with these aspects as a whole. The game itself takes on a wildly different setting from the previous Xeno- games, set on a world built on the bodies of two titans, the Bionis and the Mechonis. It follows Shulk, a young man living on the Bionis, who finds himself battling with the mechanical Mechon from Mechonis. After the game's beginning events and blessed with an apparent ability to see potential futures, he sets out on a mission that takes him all over the titans, which leads to an incredible narrative full of twists and turns.
Xenoblade Chronicles is a fantastic game, and arguably the best RPG on the Nintendo Wii. It has a wonderfully engrossing story, a vast, richly detailed world, a well-developed, likeable cast of characters, excellent art direction, an enjoyable, engaging battle system, and plenty of side quests. The gameplay itself also offers a marked departure from other Xeno- games, with its real-time combat drawing effectively from the strengths of MMOs, and large open areas to explore with stunning views, fascinating ecosystems, and plenty of things to find within. It's also worth noting the incredible music score from Manami Kiyota, ACE+, Yoko Shimomura, and Yasunori Mitsuda, which goes hand in hand with the excellent British voice acting, giving the game great audio chops to back its compelling narrative. That audio strength remains a feature across the entire trilogy.
Initially released on the Wii, the game was subject to one of the more interesting localisation stories of recent generations. It launched in Japan in 2010 and was localised by Nintendo Europe, releasing in the region in August 2011, with unashamedly British English voice acting that has helped to strongly link the gaming and acting industries in Britain. The great reception to the game quickly caught on, as did the fact that it had not been announced for a North American release alongside other titles, The Last Story and Pandora's Tower , leading to a dedicated community effort named "Operation Rainfall". Although how much impact the campaign had on the release decision itself is up for debate, it certainly helped draw Nintendo's attention to the potential popularity of RPG releases and give the games plenty of deserved attention.
With so much going for it, Xenoblade is an easy game to fall in love with. While how well the latter Xenoblade Chronicles games compare to the first is a matter of opinion, they all share similar hallmarks in terms of open worlds, battle systems, stories, and themes. If a player enjoyed the first game, it'll be very easy to get into the rest of the Xenoblade series. It later received a version on the New Nintendo 3DS — which itself was a porting marvel from Monster Games — before getting a Definitive Edition release on Nintendo Switch, easily found in stores and on the eShop. The Switch's Definitive Edition updates the user interface, has remastered music, and enhances the visuals, making it even easier to get into the game. It also adds a new epilogue called Future Connected , which helps connect it a bit more to the other titles, though it is much less of a must-play than the other expansions in the trilogy.
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Available on: Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
Xenoblade Chronicles X is easily the most sci-fi of the Xenoblade games. While the main trilogy is ultimately interconnected, Xenoblade Chronicles X largely stands on its own with its story of mechs, aliens, and humanity's fight for survival on a hostile planet, blending many features of the genre. Fully embracing a single open world to explore, Xenoblade Chronicles X takes a refreshing gameplay-first approach, with the story and characters forming the foundation of the world and the rest of it being built through player interaction. Through roaming the sprawling biomes of the planet Mira, hunting down key resources, and slipping by dangerous native lifeforms, players feel humanity's desperation for themselves, as they claim another region of land in the name of mankind.
The game is set in a distant future where Earth comes between the crosshairs of two unknown intergalactic forces, leading to its destruction. Being forewarned, humanity was at least able to create some ark ships to attempt to find a new home for the lucky frozen people on board. One of these ships crash-lands on the planet Mira, with players controlling their own customised character who wakes up and joins the colonisation effort. Players are able to freely explore the planet, taking on various missions and quests between main story events.
The open-world game design is some of the best out there. The battle system goes even further into MMORPG comparisons and offers a variety of classes to master, and team builds to experiment with, including a big change to gameplay halfway through that revolutionises both exploration and combat while keeping things exciting in the second half. However, its longevity comes down to whether players can accept a story that frequently takes a backseat and if they manage to click with the gameplay. It's a colossal game with the ambition and confidence that makes Xeno- what it is, yet that scope can be exhausting at the same time.
Despite a lot of surface similarities to the other Xenoblade games, Xenoblade Chronicles X definitely stands apart from them. Alongside the setting and gameplay focus, another area that is perhaps exemplified is the music from Hiroyuki Sawano — otherwise best known for his scores from numerous anime series, including Attack on Titan — whose style of mixing electronic and orchestral elements very much gives the game its own audio feel. The differences do mean that if one were to start here, they are getting a notably different experience from other games, as even with its sci-fi allure and immersive world, its story lacks the density and overall quality of its siblings. However, for players with a strong love for sci-fi, open worlds, and gameplay-first design philosophy, Xenoblade Chronicles X is an incredible game with 100+ hours of fun to offer.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Available on: Nintendo Switch
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is perhaps the grey sheep of the Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy. It is certainly the most divisive, able to evoke both deep love and fiery hate. Moving the series to the world of Alrest, the game continues the theme of its populace living on titans. However, here the titans float on top of a sea cloud and are very much alive. In addition, its populace is joined by powerful weapon-like beings called Blades, which are summoned from Core Crystals and connected to a master called a Driver. The game follows Rex, a young scrap salvager who gets caught up in intrigue and a mysterious plot after he inadvertently becomes the Driver for a legendary Blade called the Aegis.
The game is rich in content, inviting in its premise, beautiful in the totality of its story and themes, yet each roaring achievement is followed by an asterisk weighing it down. Less than helpful tutorials, a combat system that withholds most of its fun until the late game, and a gacha mechanic that can delay story progress are just some of its gameplay sins, while some predictable early plotting, cliché villains, and overabundance of anime tropes like fan service and off-key comedy can keep the story from taking root in many players’ hearts. It's a step down from the first game in terms of polish and consistency, and its problems are such, but not so irredeemable, that a remaster could improve upon it massively.
However, the second half does much to blunt its sharpest thorns. The story picks up significantly, reaching emotional and philosophical highs dissonant with the first half's banality. The characters that start trite and tropey outgrow their archetypes and reveal previously unimaginable depths. Combat changes both feel and dimension, going from clunky and limited to smooth and free. It's a level of evolution between halves that makes playing it as a series veteran an all-in gamble, let alone starting with it.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is perhaps a game more of its time than the other games in the trilogy, which are highly likely to be more easily justifiable in the future as timeless classics. The consistently high quality of the first and third games in the Xenoblade trilogy makes them better starting points and, as a whole, simply better games. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 certainly has the potential and worth to become one's favorite, but that's a risk better taken with a Xeno- game or two already under the belt.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country
Available on: Nintendo Switch
Torna ~ The Golden Country occupies an interesting space in the series, announced as an expansion to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 but acting as both a distant prequel and standalone title, albeit quite a bit shorter, running around twenty hours overall. It reveals events that have a major impact on the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and the backstories of Lora, Jin, Addam, and Mythra. Its nature means the plot is not fully contained within Torna , but it is still a very strong, mature story worth experiencing.
Torna features some adjustments to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 ’s real-time battle system, primarily to cover the preset roster of the party. In Torna , Blades and Drivers are both able to be the active participant in combat, and players will need to switch between them depending on the situation. Attributes and health are shared across the Driver and Blade team, though the swapping mechanics alleviate some of the healing pressures. It takes place exclusively on two titans: the new nation of Torna and the returning Gormott from the main game, with the latter providing a fun familiarity and some notable changes to highlight the different time period. The side content is also strong, hearkening a bit closer back to that of the first Xenoblade game, with plenty of interesting questlines.
While the game can be played before Xenoblade Chronicles 2 , it arguably makes more sense to play it after, as its story does a superb job of expanding the main game’s lore, and some elements of the story will dampen certain reveals in the main game. However, with an appreciably mature story, it’s an excellent overall experience for those looking to see more of the world of Alrest.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Available on: Nintendo Switch
Starting a new game series from its initial entry is a noble undertaking. In the case of Xenoblade , though, you’d have to play at least 300 hours of other video games before you could consider yourself “current” enough to recognize most of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 ’s allusions to previous games. And while the game’s various easter eggs, references, and tie-ins certainly make for a heightened narrative experience, is any video game truly worth that level of commitment? Why not just play the best one?
While all of the Xenoblade Chronicles games are quality JRPGs, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 takes what worked from the previous entries and significantly refines it. The battle system takes on the same real-time hybrid combat of the previous games, but feels much better implemented and tutorialized, minimizing the frustration that often caused players to drop the previous titles before they’d gotten to the good parts. The game boasts an addictive job system that feels reminiscent of the Octopath Traveler series , where each character can learn every job and simultaneously hold two of them at once, which in turn allows for all sorts of creative mixing and matching abilities. While all of the Xenoblade games are epic-length undertakings that will see players spending dozens of hours fighting repetitive enemies in large, open spaces, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 ’s near-constant feed of new job levels and abilities functions like little gumdrops that undoubtedly help keep players feeling a satiating sense of progress as they move through the game’s massive world.
Gameplay aside, however, the Xeno series is perhaps most beloved for its lofty ambitions in what it has tried to do in the realms of cinematics and philosophically themed sci-fi storytelling, taking place in a world of perpetual war that combines elements of the previous two games while having its own distinct rules and secrets for players to uncover. Fortunately, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 embodies perhaps the greatest fulfillment of the series' creative vision yet. The game’s cinematic sequences are excellently directed, and feature an English voice cast that brings some of the most memorable and relatable characters in the series to life. , the game is not as purely cinematic as, say, Xenosaga Episode I , its cutscenes are also reasonably lengthened and never overstay their welcome or ruin the momentum of the game. All of long-time series director and writer Tetsuya Takahashi’s favorite tropes are here -- characters break free of cyclical eternal struggles and stand up against oppressive deities -- but this time, it’s without the “freshman college philosophy major” levels of name-dropping that have sometimes undercut the series in the past. In short, most of what makes Xeno - stories special is here, just done in a way that is bound to appear to veterans and newcomers alike.
All of the Xenoblade Chronicles games are worth playing, but there’s a valid argument to be made that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the best Xeno- game yet due to its refined gameplay, higher level of accessibility, and incredible story, which finally sees the series fully meet the mark of its own ambition. While other titles are certainly interesting in their own ways, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the way to go if you’ve only got time to play one anyway. However, there are certain major story beats that connect the game to the previous two titles and get much more mileage if players have experienced those first, so if specifically seeking a starting point, then the recommendation would be to come here after Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 .
Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed
Available on: Nintendo Switch
Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed is a bit like Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country in that it acts as both an expansion and a distant prequel to its parent title, though unlike Torna , Future Redeemed is not available standalone. It follows Matthew, a survivor from the independent City, as he searches for his sister Na’el and any other fellow survivors. Joined by enigmatic companion A, he travels through the region of Cent-Omnia, which is not available in the main game. In a similar manner to the heroes of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 , he breaks two soldiers out of their eternal war, also encountering two very familiar characters for series fans, eventually setting up events that lead towards the future of Aionios.
Future Redeemed makes no bones about it being the entry that properly connects the trilogy, and is perhaps the ultimate fanservice in the best meaning of the phrase. It is thoroughly emotional and manages to wrap everything up in an incredibly satisfying manner with exceptionally deep connections and details across the series. The writing, localisation, and presentation are Xenoblade at its best, adding one final batch of brilliant characters. Like Torna before it, Future Redeemed also provides some small but significant tweaks to the gameplay of the main title, with the adjustments working well to fit its shorter twenty-hour runtime and keep things fresh.
Effectively acting as a combined epilogue for all three mainline Xenoblade games, Future Redeemed is naturally not the place to start and really should be experienced after players have played the rest of the trilogy first. Nevertheless, it’s a fantastic love letter to the series, providing one final delight to a stellar collection of titles.
The Xeno- series has quite a unique journey from Xenogears to its way through the Xenoblade series, and we hope you enjoyed part one of our deep dive into this long-running franchise. Would you recommend a specific starting point? Join the conversation by dropping a comment below!
The post The Xeno- Series: Where to Start? appeared first on RPGamer .
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