Xenoblade Chronicles 3 | Epic Switch JRPG Finale

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 delivers a sweeping JRPG on Switch, with deep exploration, emotional storytelling, and an outstanding soundtrack to close the trilogy.

Performance issues and complex combat mechanics occur, but the narrative depth and mechanical scale provide a fitting conclusion. The journey remains a masterpiece for fans of the genre.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 At a Glance

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Background

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the fourth entry in the Xenoblade Chronicles series by Monolith Soft but the third game on the Nintendo Switch. Xenoblade Chronicles X, is one of the other entries in the series but is ‘stuck’ on the previous Nintendo console, the Wii U. The Xeno series has been around since 1998’s PlayStation title Xenogears which interestingly enough was one of the pitches for Final Fantasy VII by Tetsuya Takahashi and Soraya Saga.

They were told the project was ‘too dark’ for Final Fantasy, but they could develop it as their own project, which would later be known as Xenogears.

Takahashi’s aspirations led to Final Fantasy creator and former Square Executive Vice President Hironobu Sakaguchi to place Takahashi as director (Siliconera Staff, 2010). Since then the series has Xenosaga on the PlayStation 2, Xenoblade Chronicles for the Nintendo Wii, Xenoblade Chronicles X for the Wii U, a remake of Xenoblade Chronicles 1 for the Switch, and two sequels on the Switch as well.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Experience

From February to now, I’ve completed Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, the Future Connected DLC, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, the Torna: The Golden Country DLC, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3. At the time of writing, I have not finished Xenogears, the Xenosaga trilogy, or Xenoblade Chronicles X. My personal favorite in the Xenoblade Chronicles series is the first game.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Impressions

They found a way to take the gameplay elements I liked from Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 2 and combine them together with their own twist to make 3 work. You have two different factions in the game and one gameplay style of one is playing like Xenoblade Chronicles 1 which would be Keves. With the other faction, Agnus, you are doing your auto attacks until the gauge fills for you to use your actions like Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

You also have a class system that functions very to the Final Fantasy job system, so using Final Fantasy V experience does work wonders here with mastering a class and moving onto another one. The art style of the game, music, movement, interlinking, and the other quality of life adjustments Monolith Soft has made here is praiseworthy. The feeling of the movement speed being too sluggish for the world is gone, and the misleading quest tracker of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is nowhere to be found.

The field skills that became a point of contention with the previous game is also nowhere to be found here either. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 truly feels like a game that has used the shortcomings and triumphs of its previous entries and utilized that well to make a successor that is the refinement and culmination of what was done right before it.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Verdict

I enjoyed this game far more than I thought I would, and do feel as though that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has done everything it possibly could to not only appeal to the divided fan base of XC1 and XC2, but also wrap everything they did neatly with a bow on it. The art direction is a more subtle look of XC2, and the plot is arguably more emotional than either of the prior two games.

The well-designed fast travel system of XC1 resurfaces again here as well and, with all the other quality of life and refinements in XC3, make this game a blast to play.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 TLDR

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Review References

1. Siliconera Staff (2010, June 30). Soraya Saga on Xenogears and Xenosaga.