Last month I could have written a really short article celebrating the reveal of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (!) and the obviously great things it meant for Nopon. However, that Nintendo Direct was crazy. The shadowdropping of a Deadly Premonition Switch port meant after all these years of me wanting to play it, I finally had a convenient opportunity. Then once I played and beat it, I was instantly motivated to watch all of Twin Peaks — the surreal mystery horror drama television series from the early 1990’s of which Deadly Premonition could be defined as an “inspired ripoff” in the best possible way. Sublime experiences.

You could say the last couple of months have been pretty “Halloweeny” for me, so I think it only makes sense for Noponic to cap October off with something tonally appropriate. In that case I think what the site has prepared is pretty apt — an article examining a very Halloween-ish Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Blade and her long departed Nopon Driver, to which the word “mystery” is an understatement.

Meet Kasandra, the Rare Blade who maintains her cheery disposition even while bringing misfortune upon everyone she encounters.

In case you haven’t played Xenoblade Chronicles 2, a “Blade” is a weaponized lifeform who is linked to a “Driver” after the latter summons them forth from a Core Crystal. After the Blade’s Driver dies, the Blade returns to its Core Crystal to one day be reawakened, possessing no memories of its past life.

Hence we don’t hear much about Blades’ past Drivers since the Blades themselves don’t remember them. However, Kasandra’s former Driver was met with a fate so grim that the news imprinted itself on minds across Alrest, meaning people exist who can fill us in at least a little. Such information is documented in the “Greedy Monster” info item, obtainable from either an Ardanian informant or a Nopon salvager in Argentum named Razzlydazzly, telling the current whereabouts of a monster known to have swallowed a “famed Driver” whole. Razzlydazzly specifically confirms him to be a Nopon, which makes perfect sense when you consider how comical Monolith Soft finds the idea of Nopon edibility.

Upon hunting down and slaying what turns out to be a Unique Monster named “Gluttonous Marrin”, the player will recover Kasandra’s Core Crystal, implied to have been trapped inside Gluttonous Marrin’s belly ever since her Nopon Driver got eaten.

Behind this prompt, Gluttonous Marrin lies defeated.

…Of course, she’s unaware of any of this, so only upon starting her Blade Quest do we get true details regarding her past. After Kasandra and the rest of the party agree to fix a Gormotti’s broken windmill, they run into a Nopon named “Kupon” who recognizes Kasandra from time he spent engaging in Nopon merchantry with her old Driver. Kupon has very bad memories of his experiences with Kasandra, having been the victim of her trademark bad luck when a rock suddenly fell on him while in her presence 20 years ago, and now a tree in their modern encounter. Continued Kasandra-onset misfortune is felt by various characters throughout the quest.

Only foolpon deal in absolutes, but he’s probably earned the right to a few generalizations.

The name of the Driver goes unprovided by Kupon. However, if you had talked to Razzlydazzly after starting Chapter 4 but before acquiring the “Greedy Monster” info item elsewhere, it’s revealed to us that the famed Nopon Driver (who according to Razzlydazzly possessed even higher status as a legendary salvager) was one named “Noporikh”.

Razzles tells an enthralling tale, using language so crisp as to communicate that “Noporikh” has no apostrophe in it. (I explain below why that’s super important!)

This is…noticeably a bit strange, as a Nopon in Xenoblade Chronicles 1 goes by the name “Nopo’rikh”, which is a name demonstrably of High Entian assembly (see the apostrophe use) that was given to him after he spent so much time living with a High Entian named “Ma’crish”. Nopon names have been reused before (see XC2’s Tora and Bana who share names with XCX and XC1 Nopon respectively), but “Nopo’rikh” is more specific than even the likes of “Brobro” (aka the DLC Nopon who gave Mythra the same “Massive Melee Mythra” costume that her Spirit would soon be donning in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate), so we’re lucky Noporikh steers clear from cultural punctuation touches and thus isn’t the exact same. To think of the can of worms that would be opened if Noporikh was cursed with a distinctively-foreign earmark for a place that Alrest has no relationship with!

Whatever Noporikh looked like, I doubt it was very similar to this. If anything he more closely resembled Nopo’rikh’s This Year’s Heropon counterpart, who doesn’t resemble the original Nopo’rikh at all.

So onto more important matters: Who was Noporikh the Driver? How did he acquire Kasandra’s Core Crystal? And what may have been the impetus for the dark fate that eventually befell them both?

As has been noted, Noporikh was a Driver and salvager of great reputation, despite Kasandra’s being quite the negative one at least in the eyes of Gormotti Nopon. This means Noporikh may have bonded with Kasandra pretty late in life, preventing too much “guilt by association” from taking hold. As for where and how Noporikh attained the “Lucky Core Crystal” in which Kasandra resides, we can only guess. He was a traveler and known all over, so there’s no reason to believe Kasandra’s origin is tethered to Mor Ardain. Given his salvager credentials he may have fished her out of the Cloud Sea like Rex did, just via a Salvage Point on a different Titan. Or maybe he simply bought her, considering we learn from Zeke that cores are often sold using “pretty pictures” of whatever Blade is inside. In any case, there’s no denying that Noporikh was gifted. Resonating with a Core Crystal requires one to possess a certain energy, with attempts by those who don’t have it resulting in injury or even death. Considering that a Nopon Driver is rare in and of itself (no one in Tora’s family could become one and were lucky to get off with mere nosebleeds), Noporikh’s talents were likely just as “amazing” as Razzlydazzly described them.

Noporikh’s Driver and salvager careers were clearly interlinked.

While Kasandra’s Driver generally enjoys immunity from Kasandra’s setbacks due to her cursed mask presumably caring about self-preservation, the bad luck isn’t 100% nondiscriminatory beyond that scope and in some cases clearly prefers going after those who bring it upon themselves. (“Karma’s a bitch!” after all.) This makes you think about Noporikh’s own moral fiber and potential karmic ramifications that not even being Kasandra’s Driver could save him from, because it’s worth noting that Nopon aren’t always the nicest of people. See Bana, Chairman of the Argentum Trade Guild, who was respected by Nopon as a merchant model prior to the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but was corrupt and ruthless all the while. If the “famed” Nopon Driver and salvager eventually got too big for his figurative britches, well…you can see where I’m going. (And his salvager trade of course explains why he was where he was before being devoured by a nautical beast — Kasandra along with him.)

Keep in mind that since the Lucky Core Crystal is one that never got sent back to Indol for cleansing, Noporikh’s “print” is still on Kasandra’s Blade data in a manner similar to how Elder Arachno’s is still on Wulfric’s, and means influence Noporikh had on Kasandra at the time of resonance could continue to be part of her ongoing Blade evolution. Perhaps Kasandra’s sunshiney temperament is in part due to Noporikh having been the kindest, most nicest Nopon Alrest ever did see (even if that changed dramatically post-resonance). Alternatively, dark secrets nestled deep within Noporikh’s heart were essential for the crafting of the same cursed matter that would eventually turn Driver and Blade alike into fish food (meaning Noporikh influenced the mask more than he did Kasandra). Or maybe they even looked similar, for which you can use your own imagination and not mine. At any rate, what I’m personally willing to bet Nopon Doubloons on is that Kasandra’s prior resonance with a Nopon Driver influenced the Nopon knowledge proficiency she lays claim to in modern times.

Note: This video is my own homemade fan material and Tiger! Tiger! is NOT a scenario in which Field Skill “Nopon Wisdom” is made use of in-game. But the point is that here I’ve made the quote for it accessible. (And here I’ve made ALL of Kasandra’s quotes accessible, complete with timestamps.)

Kasandra’s possession of “Nopon Wisdom Lv. 3” — quite the impressive and distinguished feat when it comes to Blades not named Poppi — is the true legacy left behind by Noporikh in my book. And it’s also…precisely why I recommend all Nopon party members make like a Kupon and remain on their best guard, because if Kasandra knows everything there is to know about Nopon, then you can bet that mask does too!

One might say…a Deadly Premonition.

*spine-chilling rattling intensifies*

If it weren’t already apparent, Rawk is quite the Kasandra freak and at this rate will have screen captured every possible frame of Kasandra animation by the year 2070. (Noponic also might even have five articles by then!)