For a game that was never planned to see the light of day outside of Japan, Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition capping off Nintendo’s most recent Direct is kind of a big deal. After a successful fan campaign, dubbed Operation Rainfall, Xenoblade Chronicles was finally available worldwide after its 2012 American release.
Ever since, it has steadily climbed its way into the upper ranks of Nintendo’s exclusive titles. The first title received relative commercial success selling around 200 000 units by the end of 2013. Critically, the game was a massive success, receiving rave reviews from major publications and fans alike. With Xenoblade Chronicles 2 selling over 1.7 million copies and becoming Monolith Soft’smost successful title, Xenoblade Chronicles has firmly established itself as one of Nintendo’s flagship RPG franchises.
This all circles back to the end of last Direct. For a privilege that’s been held by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and the Breath of the Wild sequel in the past, to close off the direct with an RPG Nintendo of America never wanted to localise in the first place shows they’ve clearly changed their mind; Xenoblade Chronicles is more important than it once was. And it isn’t too lofty to assume that this remake means big things either. Outside of a HD overhaul and updating the artstyle to fall more in line with Xenoblade Chronicles 2, we aren’t exactly sure what is going to make this ‘edition’ so ‘definitive.’ Although for fans of the original, the September trailer may hint at how this will expand upon the original.
While most of the content shown off seems to carry straight over from the original title, a new, albeit brief scene following the title screen is the trailer’s biggest reveal. The following shot featuring Shulk and Melia shows off what is presumably the Bionis’ Shoulder, an area cut from the original release of the game.
Comparing the scene with a shot of the Bionis’ shoulder from a cutscene in the original game, the two areas strike somewhat of a resemblance. While there are obviously differences in the artstyle, lighting and camera angle, the natural features, such as the overhanging multi-layered landscape and precarious floating paths, point to our mysterious new area being a restoration of cut content from the original game. While most of what role the Bionis’ shoulder was initially meant to play is unknown, the placement of its internal ID suggests it may be placed between Frontier Village and Eryth Sea. This would appear to be the case as the capital of Eryth Sea, Alcamoth, is visible from the area in a later shot. This implementation would furthermore smooth out the jarring transition between Frontier Village and Eryth Sea, leading further credence to this speculated position. Extensive coverage of remnants of the Bionis’ Shoulder left within the game’s files can be found at The Cutting Room Floor, providing an idea of what may eventuate in the remake.
Honing in on Shulk’s back, the Monado seems to be displaying a new, more bulkier design. The possibility of a redesign of the original model is ruled out by a shot earlier in the trailer. While it could be one of the Replica Monados from the endgame, it seems unlikely as it neither matches any of the existing six designs nor aligns with the timeline we established before (assuming this shot is immune to a revisit or developer shenanigans). For similar reasons, it’s unlikely this new blade is an updated design of the Monado II.
So this means the game will either let you customise the Monado outside of the plot, or there are new plot elements that affect the Monado in one way or another. If the Left Shoulder is to connect Frontier Village and Eryth Sea, the addition of expansive new story content to adjust the pacing accordingly wouldn’t be outlandish, if somewhat unexpected.
Another point worth discussing is voice work. From the scenes that appear in the trailer it appears all the voice work is carried over from the original game. Although since the Heart-to-Hearts in Xenoblade Chronicles’ sequel are fully voiced, many have speculated that we can expect a similar treatment here.
After following Xenoblade Chronicles 2, the possibility of a refined battle system is certainly pertinent. While the games play similarly, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 did much to refine the often clunky battle system of the original. Where the original had you scrolling through a lengthy list to select combat arts, the sequel sped up the process by assigning arts to three of the face buttons. Due to the fact that this allows access to less arts at any given moment, perhaps a compromise may be reached that involves dividing combat arts into sections, or using more efficient radial menus. While this is entirely speculation, on several occasions prior to XC2’s release, the developers and Nintendo staff mentioned an effort to increase the accessibility of the series, so it would certainly be a strange move to leave the combat system as is.
This last bit of speculation delves into spoilers for both Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2, so be warned. In the conclusion of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, there are direct references to its relationship with the first title featuring direct rips of dialogue from the original. Seeing that this connection was made within the sequel, it’s fairly reasonable to expect that there may be some alterations that affect the conclusion in order to allude to the second game. With the appearance of the Bionis’ Shoulder it’s not unlikely that entirely new story content may be featured, and from that it can be expected that details teased in the endgame of the sequel such as Alvis’ identity as Ontos may be expanded upon in one way or another.
This could all be a result of reading into what we’ve been presented too hard, but with the restoration of cut content, it seems Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition is really going out of its way to earn the ‘definitive’ name. In its unfinished state, the Bionis’ Shoulder is currently the largest area in the game featuring its own village, town and unique architecture, so its reimplementation should not be taken lightly. While most of what’s been outlined above is speculation or guesswork at best, there certainly is precedent for these features to appear following their introduction in the three games that have been released since the original’s 2010 debut.
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition arrives on Switch sometime in 2020. Check out more Switchness below:
– 15 Best Switch Horror Games You Should Play
– The Switch Would Be Irresistible With Achievements
– 15 Best Switch Single Player Games You Should Play
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