Like many other people, I assume, I find it a struggle to be healthy. Sleeping habits, good food, and working out. I have failed at all of them. Back in March, though, I was getting better. Shutting off all electronics and reading an hour before bed, all that grown-up stuff. And then, my pre-order of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition came through the door and ruined everything. And all I can say is it was totally worth it!
This is something I was praying would happen for years. Back in the days of the much-maligned Wii U, I went to great lengths to play the original. I brought a console and a physical copy of the game. It didn’t work. I brought a digital copy, but the Wii U didn’t have the internal space to download it. I brought an external hard drive, it worked for about 10 minutes, and it crashed during one of the first cutscenes. So, I brought a second Wii U, and it worked. This was back in college when I didn’t have the funds for this. The fact Xenoblade turned out to be worth all the hassle is a miracle. The only additional charge this time was picking up the Switch Pro Controller, because Xenoblade demands only the best way to play.
I could genuinely praise the original version of Xenoblade Chronicles X all day, and the Definitive Edition took everything and improved it immeasurably. My friend made an interesting observation the other day that nowadays remasters are basically just a fresh paint job, but not in this case. There are new features, characters, and an epilogue to end the story properly. It was a cliffhanger in the first release that ended rather abruptly, so it is great to see it finished.
The world of Mira is even more stunning on the Switch, with its huge world and majestic creatures. It takes a while to explore on foot, which would usually be annoying, but I could happily trundle along just admiring the gorgeous view. And that moment you unlock the Skells Flight Module and can view the scenery from midair.
It is such a breathtaking moment all over again, until you accidentally run into one of the many powerful floating enemies. Then it becomes a breathtaking moment, but you are also bursting into flames. Also, free-falling in a giant mech will never not make me giggle. You look ridiculous doing it.
The Definitive Edition even made the combat system better, which I already adored. It is an action RPG where you always auto-attack, whilst managing your skills and their cooldowns. There are extra effects for letting them recharge twice, or even three times, when you activate Overdrive. All this to say, you need to be precise when you kick out an attack.
Another aspect to combat is your NPC companions, and things called a Soul Voice. Basically, they will ask you to use a certain type of skill, and if you do, you will both recover HP and get a bonus effect. However, you only have a certain amount of time to do it, and a lot of the time, you will only have one skill of that type. Of course, because everything is a punchline to the universe, it will be on cooldown when your ally is on the brink of death and is asking you to use it.
You were scuppered if this happened back in the original version. The Definitive Edition comes to the rescue again, however, this time with Quick Cooldowns. This is a resource that lets you immediately activate a skill a certain number of times per fight. It is such a simple addition, but it is such a noticeable effect. The combat system to one of my favourites in all gaming.
Having the online services back for Chronicles is such a delight too. Being able to hire other people’s characters, complete missions together, and tackle giant megabosses is amazing. I could happily spend all my time playing this solo, but the coop fights are pretty fun once in a while. Also, praise to Nintendo, their online services are very well priced.
Xenoblade Chronicles X, you may have set my wallet and now my health back on two separate occasions, but you have been totally worth it. When the Definitive Edition was announced, it was a dream come true. Having now spent an eyewatering amount of hours on it, I can safely say that Monolith Soft managed to make perhaps the single greatest remaster we will ever see.
