Xenoblade Chornicles X (Wii U) – a whole new world

In the face of Fallout 4 and The Witcher 3 could this Wii U exclusive really have the best open world experience of the year?

By sheer accident Xenoblade Chronicles X has become the biggest – and almost only – Wii U Christmas release for 2015. As a hugely complex Japanese style role-player it is not the sort of game any publisher, least of all Nintendo, would normally rely on at this time of year. But beggars can’t be choosers, and hopefully it will work out for the best for all concerned. Because Xenoblade Chronicles X is a game that deserves all the time it can get in the spotlight.



Describing Xenoblade Chronicles X (which, for brevity’s sake, we’re now going to refer to by its Japanese name of XenobladeX) as the best Japanese role-player of the generation does not of course put it up against much in the way of competition, since so few big budget examples of the genre are made nowadays. Those that are tend to be slaves to the genre’s dusty traditions, but XenobladeX shows that it doesn’t have to be that way. In that sense it follows in the footsteps of Wii game Xenoblade Chronicles, but despite sharing a near identical name and a similar combat system the two games are otherwise entirely unconnected.

The story for XenobladeX begins with the destruction of Earth, as the planet is caught up in a war between two alien civilisations and most of the fleeing escape craft are destroyed. One, the White Whale, escapes the carnage and crash lands on the unexplored planet of Mira. The planet turns out to be teaming with gigantic native lifeforms, as well as other secrets that prove even more dangerous. You’re thrown into the deep end by playing the role of – you guessed it – a survivor with amnesia.


To be honest, although the backstory is interesting the actual plot and characters are not terribly enthralling. There’s a few creditable attempts at exploring the nature of xenophobia, but the dialogue is barely serviceable and the characters are dull clichés. And although the voice actors now sound like they’re in a generic anime dub, instead of the amateurish regional British accents of the first game, they do nothing to elevate the material. (There is no Japanese language option.)

The game seems to realise that storytelling is not its strong point though, and there’s actually only 12 mandatory story missions – despite the game featuring hundreds of hours of gameplay. That doesn’t imply you can just whip through the story alone though, as most of the missions require a complex set of requirements to be fulfilled before you can unlock them. But enjoying XenobladeX has little to do with ploughing through the story missions, but instead just enjoying the open world environment and the insane level of detail some of the gameplay systems go into.



What you do between story missions is entirely up to you, with the game offering a choice of eight different careers that ranges from defensive and offensive duties for the military to acting as a mining prospector, civilian diplomat, or extending the sensor net that the city uses to monitor the rest of Mira. (All of which is handily displayed on the GamePad, which proves useful throughout the game.) We tended to favour the latter, as placing probes is a useful excuse to explore the wilderness and ensure you’re always going somewhere new, while also setting up quick travel hot spots.

Xenoblade Chornicles X (Wii U) – the biggest Wii U game of the year (at least in terms of size)

The Wii U may not have the horsepower of the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 but the open world in XenobladeX is an absolute pleasure to explore. Apart from its sheer size (featuring several separate continents) its every square metre is littered with secrets, enemies, and a hugely impressive variety of landscapes.

This includes lots of influences from ’60s and ’70s sci-fi illustrations, that make parts of the game pleasingly reminiscent of Roger Dean and countless Psygnosis covers. Up close the visuals are never as impressive as they look from a distance, but the smooth frame rate and excellent art design shows developer Monolith Soft know exactly how to use the Wii U to its best advantage.

The combat system is similar to to the original Xenoblade Chronicles, as well as Final Fantasy XII. In a sense both games work like a kind of single-player MMO, as you activate abilities and weapons that are constantly cooling down ready for reuse.


You can give specific commands to team-mates or program their artificial intelligence to react in certain ways, but you must also take direct control of your player character. Actions are carried out automatically as you select them but you do have to make sure you’re in the right position to use them effectively, with the game emphasising not to attack enemies head-on and to always target individual body parts where possible.

Even so, the hands-off nature of the combat can lead to some dull encounters against ordinary enemies, whose defeat is merely a matter of time rather than skill. This is not helped by the fact that level grinding by fighting ordinary enemies is actually very rewarding in terms of experience points, often more so than many minor quests.

Another issue is the way the game handles healing and reviving other characters, which is frankly bizarre. Instead of there just being an item or skill to use you have to rely on an impenetrably complex QTE system that the game completely fails to explain properly. But really, it’s not very good at explaining any of its systems, particularly the equally complex crafting. We suspect that was a package deal with the lack of hand-holding though, and if that’s the price it costs then it’s well worth paying.

Later on in the game (too much later to be honest, considering how prominent they are in the advertising) you also get to take ‘Skells’ into battle. These are transforming robot exoskeletons that can turn into ground and air vehicles, and although, as Transformers fans, we might not hold the most impartial viewpoint they’re an absolute joy to use – and genuinely useful given the size of the game world.

Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U) – a forceful new JRPG

On a surface level the combat can almost run itself, and all you really have to do is keep out of the way. But, as with so much else in XenobladeX, below the surface lurks an iceberg’s worth of fiddly details – that will delight both genre fans and more casual players (in that they don’t have to worry about it if they don’t want to).


Levelling up, for example, can be as involved as you want, as you unlock new abilities, called Arts, as well as skills unique to your particular class of character. But skills can also be upgraded with a separate experience point currency, with the amount of stats and diagrams that litter the status pages enough to have veteran role-playing fans salivating at their glorious complexity.

The game also has a surprisingly involved set of online options, including the ability to hire avatars that other players have created. There’s also what seems to be a Monster Hunter inspired co-operative option, although there were never enough players around pre-launch for us to test that.

Xenoblade Chronicles X has its share of frustrations, but in terms of ambition and sheer scale it’s one of the most impressive games of the year. It’s also proof that open world games don’t live or die on the size of their map or the quality of their graphics (even though XenobladeX excels in both areas). Instead it’s a question of whether they create a world you actually want to explore. That’s certainly the case here, in a game that absolutely deserves to be spoken of in the same breath as The Witcher 3 and Fallout 4.

Xenoblade Chornicles X In Short: The best Japanese role-player of the generation and arguably the best open world environment of the year, despite a disappointing story and some arcane systems. Pros: The game world and its creatures are fantastically huge and fantastically well designed. Enjoyable combat and highly detailed customisation options. Skells are excellent. Cons: The story and character are not very interesting. Hands-off combat can be a chore in simpler encounters. Overcomplicated healing and some awful music. Score: 8/10

Formats: Wii U

Price: £49.99

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Monolith Soft

Release Date: 4th December 2015

Age Rating: 12

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