Xenoblade Chronicles is a game series that continues to surprise us—starting with the fact that it a series. The first game on the Wii seemed like a unique fluke, an ambitious one-off that took ages for a North American localization. It was then ported to the 3DS, and a sort-of-sequel, Xenoblade Chronicles X, came to the Wii U. Then the Switch got Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and another port of the first game. That’s impressive for an unconventional RPG that feels like an MMO and has a story as outright weird as its spiritual predecessors Xenogears and the Xenosaga trilogy. And now we have the $59.99 Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on the Nintendo Switch. This is another fun, sprawling RPG with a fascinating, contemplative story that pushes the Switch a bit past what it can comfortably do, yet the game can easily devour your time between its main and side quests. It’s clearly for series fans more than anyone else; newcomers may be a bit turned off by the game’s style and scope. Still, if a da...
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a massive JRPG with a unique story and deep combat that's tempered by all-too-familiar gameplay mechanics.
Huge game with lots of exploration; Contemplative, fascinating story; Fairly complex combat system
Repetitive quest structure and silly collectables; Graphics are hindered by the Switch's hardware limitations