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Xenoblade Chronicles (universe): Difference between revisions
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As a series of science-fiction fantasy action RPGs, the ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' games introduce a combat system reminiscent of those in modern MMOs, with party members automatically attacking enemies when in range with weak strikes. The bulk of combat is handled with character techniques called Arts, which are governed by a cooldown system that does away with the traditional magic points. Battles are not turn-based and instead take place in real-time, with enemies roaming about the overworld, able to be engaged at the player's discretion. Enemies can direct their attention, or "aggro", to certain party members, and it is actively encouraged for particular techniques. Certain creatures are also "uniquely named" and act as overworld mini-bosses; it is not uncommon to find a unique monster roaming about in an otherwise tame landscape. The series actively encourages exploration of these sprawling landscapes as the party earns experience points for discovering new locations and Landmarks, and the player can freely fast-travel to and from these Landmarks upon discovery. The time of day can also be changed at any point from the start of the game to the player's convenience, adding to the quality-of-life improvements the series brings to the genre. In terms of character progression, there are usually hundreds of side quests that can be engaged at the same time and rewards come in the form of experience, equipment, and currency. And finally, bonds can be forged in towns and between party members to boost their affinity and effectiveness in battle in the latter's case, typically in the form of personalized conversations called Heart-to-Hearts which require certain prerequisites for the necessary characters. The following synopses lay out the premises for each installment of the ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' series: | As a series of science-fiction fantasy action RPGs, the ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' games introduce a combat system reminiscent of those in modern MMOs, with party members automatically attacking enemies when in range with weak strikes. The bulk of combat is handled with character techniques called Arts, which are governed by a cooldown system that does away with the traditional magic points. Battles are not turn-based and instead take place in real-time, with enemies roaming about the overworld, able to be engaged at the player's discretion. Enemies can direct their attention, or "aggro", to certain party members, and it is actively encouraged for particular techniques. Certain creatures are also "uniquely named" and act as overworld mini-bosses; it is not uncommon to find a unique monster roaming about in an otherwise tame landscape. The series actively encourages exploration of these sprawling landscapes as the party earns experience points for discovering new locations and Landmarks, and the player can freely fast-travel to and from these Landmarks upon discovery. The time of day can also be changed at any point from the start of the game to the player's convenience, adding to the quality-of-life improvements the series brings to the genre. In terms of character progression, there are usually hundreds of side quests that can be engaged at the same time and rewards come in the form of experience, equipment, and currency. And finally, bonds can be forged in towns and between party members to boost their affinity and effectiveness in battle in the latter's case, typically in the form of personalized conversations called Heart-to-Hearts which require certain prerequisites for the necessary characters. The following synopses lay out the premises for each installment of the ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' series: | ||
*'''{{iw|xenoserieswiki|Xenoblade Chronicles}}''': The first game is set on a world of endless ocean, with the world's terra firma being the standing towering corpses of Bionis and Mechonis, two colossal gods who dueled long ago and have remained locked in their positions from the battle. Eons later, new life arose out of their bodies and formed civilizations and societies, such as the humanoid Homs and other organic lifeforms on the Bionis, and mechanical beings like the predatory Mechon on the Mechonis. When a Homs colony on Bionis is attacked by the Mechon, a young Homs named [[Shulk]] obtains a mystical sword called the Monado, which is capable of damaging the Mechon and gives its chosen wielder the gift of foresight. Shulk and his friends initially set out for a Mechon stronghold to exact revenge, but over the course of a journey filled with twists and turns, they are provided a deeper examination of the conflict between the two sides, and eventually, of the true workings of the world itself. ''{{iw|xenoserieswiki|Xenoblade Chronicles 3D}}'', a port of the original Wii title, was developed by Monster Games and released for the [[Nintendo 3DS|New Nintendo 3DS]] on April 2, 2015 in Japan, Europe, and Australia, and on April 10, 2015 in the Americas. The handheld port was lauded for preserving the scale and frame rate of the original game while also including additional side content such as a jukebox and character model viewer, but skepticism was cited for the port's considerably downgraded visuals. The original Wii version was made available for digital download much later on the Wii U eShop in Europe on August 5, 2015 and in the Americas on April 28, 2016. A full high-definition remake of the game with added story content, titled ''{{iw|xenoserieswiki|Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition}}'', was released for the Nintendo Switch in | *'''''{{iw|xenoserieswiki|Xenoblade Chronicles}}''''' (2010): The first game is set on a world of endless ocean, with the world's terra firma being the standing towering corpses of Bionis and Mechonis, two colossal gods who dueled long ago and have remained locked in their positions from the battle. Eons later, new life arose out of their bodies and formed civilizations and societies, such as the humanoid Homs and other organic lifeforms on the Bionis, and mechanical beings like the predatory Mechon on the Mechonis. When a Homs colony on Bionis is attacked by the Mechon, a young Homs named [[Shulk]] obtains a mystical sword called the Monado, which is capable of damaging the Mechon and gives its chosen wielder the gift of foresight. Shulk and his friends initially set out for a Mechon stronghold to exact revenge, but over the course of a journey filled with twists and turns, they are provided a deeper examination of the conflict between the two sides, and eventually, of the true workings of the world itself. '''''{{iw|xenoserieswiki|Xenoblade Chronicles 3D}}''''', a port of the original Wii title, was developed by Monster Games and released for the [[Nintendo 3DS|New Nintendo 3DS]] on April 2, 2015 in Japan, Europe, and Australia, and on April 10, 2015 in the Americas. The handheld port was lauded for preserving the scale and frame rate of the original game while also including additional side content such as a jukebox and character model viewer, but skepticism was cited for the port's considerably downgraded visuals. The original Wii version was made available for digital download much later on the Wii U eShop in Europe on August 5, 2015 and in the Americas on April 28, 2016. A full high-definition remake of the game with added story content, titled '''''{{iw|xenoserieswiki|Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition}}''''', was released for the Nintendo Switch on May 29, 2020. | ||
**'''''{{iw|xenoserieswiki|Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected}}''''' (2020): The new campaign was released with the ''Definitive Edition'' in 2020, and was made available from the start. It also recycles an unused place, albeit altered in some places, as the main settling, which was found in both the original Wii release and in the ''Definitive Edition''{{'}}s files and was known as [https://tcrf.net/Xenoblade_Chronicles/Bionis%27_Left_Shoulder Bionis' Left Shoulder]. A year after the events of ''Xenoblade Chronicles'', Shulk and Melia use Junks to fly to the Bionis' Shoulder, but a beam originating from Alcamoth hits the ship and they crash into a lake near the Purifying Falls on the Shoulder. There, they encounter Riki's littlepon Kino and Nene being attacked by Volffs. They meet a group of High Entia refugees who warn them from a mysterious being invincible to any attack - the Fog King - roaming around Alcamoth and that they had given up any hope of moving back. Melia decides to visit anyway since it is her duty as Empress. | |||
*'''{{iw|xenoserieswiki|Xenoblade Chronicles X}}''': A spiritual successor to the original game was initially teased as "X" by Monolith Soft as their next project in early 2013. The successor's title was finalized during E3 2014 and released for [[Wii U]] in Japan on April 29, 2015 and on December 4, 2015 overseas. ''Xenoblade Chronicles X'' is set on the planet Mira, an alien-populated world where humans have established their home after the Earth was destroyed in a war between two opposing alien factions. Players can customize their main character's appearance and voice with a wide array of options. The game features battle mechanics similar to the original ''Xenoblade Chronicles'', with emphasis on its Arts system and interactions with party members. Characters can use both melee and ranged weapons and can pilot humanoid mechs called Skells to fight and traverse the game's enormous world, complete with smaller supplementary tools to aid in exploration and discovery. ''Xenoblade Chronicles X'' is the largest first-party game on the Wii U, weighing in at over 23 gigabytes digitally and at one point almost needing a second disc to fit in all of its content. The game was generally well-received by critics for its freedom and wider tools for exploration, but fans were more divided at the drastic shift from a focus on story as well as its soundtrack and user interface. | *'''''{{iw|xenoserieswiki|Xenoblade Chronicles X}}''''' (2014): A spiritual successor to the original game was initially teased as "X" by Monolith Soft as their next project in early 2013. The successor's title was finalized during E3 2014 and released for [[Wii U]] in Japan on April 29, 2015 and on December 4, 2015 overseas. ''Xenoblade Chronicles X'' is set on the planet Mira, an alien-populated world where humans have established their home after the Earth was destroyed in a war between two opposing alien factions. Players can customize their main character's appearance and voice with a wide array of options. The game features battle mechanics similar to the original ''Xenoblade Chronicles'', with emphasis on its Arts system and interactions with party members. Characters can use both melee and ranged weapons and can pilot humanoid mechs called Skells to fight and traverse the game's enormous world, complete with smaller supplementary tools to aid in exploration and discovery. ''Xenoblade Chronicles X'' is the largest first-party game on the Wii U, weighing in at over 23 gigabytes digitally and at one point almost needing a second disc to fit in all of its content. The game was generally well-received by critics for its freedom and wider tools for exploration, but fans were more divided at the drastic shift from a focus on story as well as its soundtrack and user interface. | ||
*'''{{iw|xenoserieswiki|Xenoblade Chronicles 2}}''': The third entry in the series was revealed during the Nintendo Switch presentation in January 2017. Tetsuya Takahashi understood the criticisms that fans had about the previous entry on Wii U regarding the shift away from a rich story, among other complaints, and thus strove to address them in this title. The game features heavily anime-inspired character designs as opposed to the more realistic styles in ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' and ''Xenoblade Chronicles X''. Similarly to the former, the game takes place on the backs of gargantuan beings called Titans in a new world called Alrest. The story follows a young hot-blooded salvager named [[Rex]] as he sets out to take his new friend [[Pyra]] home to Elysium, a paradise where humans lived in harmony with their divine father, the Architect, at the genesis of the world. The gameplay features a new party dynamic where party members are either Drivers or Blades. Blades imbue Drivers with powers and weapons, while Drivers deploy said powers and weapons. Players can conjure new Blades by finding and touching Core Crystals, each with its own elemental and weapon typings. ''Xenoblade Chronicles 2'' was released worldwide for the Nintendo Switch on December 1, 2017. The game was lauded for bringing the focus back to a pure fantasy setting, a complex story filled with twists and turns, a return to the music score of the original game, a diverse voice cast, and a party of likable original characters along with the quality-of-life gameplay improvements to personalize the experience. To commemorate the game's launch, Rex's Salvager Armor Set was also released as free equipment for Link in ''The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild''. An Expansion Pass would be developed and release its contents throughout 2018, including additional side quests, more options to customize the difficultly, familiar ''Xeno'' series characters as recruitable Blades, and an entire prequel campaign | *'''''{{iw|xenoserieswiki|Xenoblade Chronicles 2}}''''' (2017): The third entry in the series was revealed during the Nintendo Switch presentation in January 2017. Tetsuya Takahashi understood the criticisms that fans had about the previous entry on Wii U regarding the shift away from a rich story, among other complaints, and thus strove to address them in this title. The game features heavily anime-inspired character designs as opposed to the more realistic styles in ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' and ''Xenoblade Chronicles X''. Similarly to the former, the game takes place on the backs of gargantuan beings called Titans in a new world called Alrest. The story follows a young hot-blooded salvager named [[Rex]] as he sets out to take his new friend [[Pyra]] home to Elysium, a paradise where humans lived in harmony with their divine father, the Architect, at the genesis of the world. The gameplay features a new party dynamic where party members are either Drivers or Blades. Blades imbue Drivers with powers and weapons, while Drivers deploy said powers and weapons. Players can conjure new Blades by finding and touching Core Crystals, each with its own elemental and weapon typings. ''Xenoblade Chronicles 2'' was released worldwide for the Nintendo Switch on December 1, 2017. The game was lauded for bringing the focus back to a pure fantasy setting, a complex story filled with twists and turns, a return to the music score of the original game, a diverse voice cast, and a party of likable original characters along with the quality-of-life gameplay improvements to personalize the experience. To commemorate the game's launch, Rex's Salvager Armor Set was also released as free equipment for Link in ''The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild''. An Expansion Pass would be developed and release its contents throughout 2018, including additional side quests, more options to customize the difficultly, familiar ''Xeno'' series characters as recruitable Blades such as Shulk, Fiora, Elma from the ''Xenoblade'' series, and {{iw|xenoserieswiki|KOS-MOS}} and {{iw|xenoserieswiki|T-elos}} from the ''Xenosaga'' series, and an entire prequel campaign released on September 14, 2018. | ||
**'''''{{iw|xenoserieswiki|Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country}}''''' (2018): The campaign takes place 500 years before the events of the base game in the Kingdom of Torna. While looking for Haze, Lora and her Blade Jin find a young boy named Mikhail in the destroyed Porton Village and decide to look over him. The next day, they find a big crater near Feltley Village and meet Addam, the prince of the Tornan royal family and his Blade Mythra who attacked them. | |||
*'''{{iw|xenoserieswiki|Xenoblade Chronicles 3}}''': The fourth entry in the series was revealed during the Nintendo Direct of February 9, 2022 and originally set to be released for September 2022. From the reveal trailer, and according to Shinya Takahashi, the game ties together the futures of the worlds of both two previous numbered titles. ''Xenoblade Chronicles 3'' was released worldwide for the Nintendo Switch on July 29, 2022, earlier than its original release date. An Expansion Pass would be developed and will release its contents throughout 2022 and 2023, including color variants and new outfits for the cast, the return of Challenge Battle Mode from ''Xenoblade Chronicles 2'', new quests for heroes of the ''Xenoblade'' series, and a brand new untitled scenario for December 31, 2023. | *'''''{{iw|xenoserieswiki|Xenoblade Chronicles 3}}''''' (2022): The fourth entry in the series was revealed during the Nintendo Direct of February 9, 2022 and originally set to be released for September 2022. From the reveal trailer, and according to Shinya Takahashi, the game ties together the futures of the worlds of both two previous numbered titles. ''Xenoblade Chronicles 3'' was released worldwide for the Nintendo Switch on July 29, 2022, earlier than its original release date. An Expansion Pass would be developed and will release its contents throughout 2022 and 2023, including color variants and new outfits for the cast, the return of Challenge Battle Mode from ''Xenoblade Chronicles 2'', new quests for heroes of the ''Xenoblade'' series, and a brand new untitled scenario for December 31, 2023. | ||
==In ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''== | ==In ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''== | ||