User Score
8.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1336 Ratings

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  1. Jul 1, 2020
    10
    I know perfectly well how hard it is to justify a 10/10 rating and to be honest, I was kind of tempted to give Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition a 9/10 because I felt like it would probably be taken more seriously, but in the end, I just couldn't do it because I just love playing it so much.

    This doesn't mean this game has not flaws because there certainly are some, but it's
    I know perfectly well how hard it is to justify a 10/10 rating and to be honest, I was kind of tempted to give Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition a 9/10 because I felt like it would probably be taken more seriously, but in the end, I just couldn't do it because I just love playing it so much.

    This doesn't mean this game has not flaws because there certainly are some, but it's despite all of them that I've been playing this on a daily basis since it came out a month ago, and I normally tend to switch between games rather quickly once I've finished them.

    What XCDE still does best ist the amazing worldbuilding, storytelling, its highly customizable and varied combat system and the brilliant english voice acting.
    Also the soundtrack, which was already great in the Wii and 3DS releases, has now been greatly overhauled for this version which makes it almost just as incredible as the one found in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, though sometimes the occasional sampled instruments are still just a little bit more obvious.

    Graphically, if you manage to look past some small shortcomings like grass fading in and the resolution not being as good as it could technically be (yes it's a shame but not at all as bad as many people like to make it sound), XCDE manages to impress in quite a few ways. There's the customizable and completely overhauled UI, the added option of appearance gear that lets you choose your characters' appearances independently of their equipment which is even visible in the epic cutscenes, the remade character models which all look nice and clean this time around and of course the breathtaking landscapes that only Monloith Soft manages to craft in this unique way in my opinion (who were in charge of developing Breath of the Wild's world as well, as you might know).

    The story remains the same as in the original, which is both a very good thing and a little bit of a shame at the same time. As amazing and intriguing as it is and as brilliantly as it's told, Definitive Edition would have definitely offered an opportunity to expand on some smaller aspects of it which it doesn't. I still love every part of it, from the characters to the pacing and general flow; there's just no episode in the game whatsoever that doesn't contribute to the main plot at least in some subtle way you might only realize later on or even on a second playthrough. In my honest opinion, this is among the absolute best RPG stories there are on the video game market and it even still outclasses Xenoblade 2s story in a lot of ways.

    As for the core gameplay, one thing I would have liked to see is the AI of party members getting an overhaul. Sadly, that isn't the case and you'll still want to make sure to take control of certain party members yourself if you want to use them, since this really isn't the best AI.
    Yet on the contrary, that is really the only complaint I have regarding the combat system, and that's saying something. Though combat is based on auto-attacks and cooldown-based arts, there's so much going on on screen most of the time that you'll need to constantly pay attention instead of being able to let the game play itself. Every character feels and plays unique and what makes this JRPG combat special is that the characters actually depend on each other in order to unfold their full potential - so not just controlling one character alone actually has a meaning in this case.
    There's also a huge amount of customization for you to do. Part of the fun is trying out which party setups synergize best together, which arrangement of arts and equipment benefit your desired constellation the most and ultimately, which playstyle you prefer. XCDE also encourages experimentation by making you adapt to certain types of enemies because of their unique attack patterns or other attributes such as different kinds of auras. All in all, this makes for a very strategic, varied and also individual experience that can sometimes be very challenging and keep you on the edge of your chair during particularily hard fights. Even doing a bunch of quests on the side, I only managed to be overleveled for about an hour of gameplay before meeting unique enemies that almost stomped my party again.

    Speaking of the quests: Yes, there's a lot of generic ones in there. I highly recommend accepting them as soon as they pop up and just completing them as part of the exploration process, instead of hording them and then trying to grind them all at once, which admittedly can get quite tedious. But XCDE also does go out of its way to make them as easy to complete as possible, showing you exactly where you need to go and even giving you rewards straight after completion instead of having you backtrack to the questgiver in many cases. And there's also some questlines that do tell charming or fun little stories, so be on the look out for those. ;)

    All in all, this remains my favorite RPG to date and I don't regret buying it a second time at all.
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  2. Jun 10, 2020
    10
    Xenoblade Chronicles is one of the greatest games I’ve ever played. It’s got a ridiculously amazing and gripping story, a lovable cast of well-developed characters, a world that you won’t forget, and, (once you understand it), an awesome battle system. If you haven’t played this game, play it. It’s worth it. This remake is great as well, it enhanced the game and does some things that theXenoblade Chronicles is one of the greatest games I’ve ever played. It’s got a ridiculously amazing and gripping story, a lovable cast of well-developed characters, a world that you won’t forget, and, (once you understand it), an awesome battle system. If you haven’t played this game, play it. It’s worth it. This remake is great as well, it enhanced the game and does some things that the original couldn’t. I will say that my only criticism is the resolution (at times). Docked, this game runs at 720p, and while the game does have a dynamic resolution, it never really changes from 720p in docked mode, contrary to what some might believe. In portable mode, this game runs at 540p, and that really does not drop throughout the entirety of the main game. However, this changes during the extra epilogue that this remake offers. During this epilogue, that portable 540p resolution will drop, and the game can look a bit blurry at times. It’s nothing on the level of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but it is worth noting. Other than that, this game is a JRPG masterpiece. If you own a Switch, you need to own this game. Expand
  3. Jun 11, 2020
    8
    So far I'm really enjoying this game I've played the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and i enjoyed that one too, The story so far has been good, the characters meld pretty well with one another and the voice acting is pretty good, The graphics have been significantly updated and Shulk in my view doesn't look constipated anymore, The only downside is the amount of quests your given, after a while ISo far I'm really enjoying this game I've played the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and i enjoyed that one too, The story so far has been good, the characters meld pretty well with one another and the voice acting is pretty good, The graphics have been significantly updated and Shulk in my view doesn't look constipated anymore, The only downside is the amount of quests your given, after a while I started getting bored since some of them were the same like hunting monsters, gathering materials now don't get me wrong some of the quests were fun but others just dragged. Grinding is also another part of this game but its not as excessive at times but if you do the Quests chances are you should be fine. Expand
  4. Jun 11, 2020
    10
    I hesitate to call a game perfect, but it’s really hard to find fault with Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition.

    There is a reason fans gush about this game. This is the type of game that you can get lost in for a very long time. You can spend hundreds of hours with it. The story is darker and more mature than you might expect (especially for a game produced by Nintendo). The game
    I hesitate to call a game perfect, but it’s really hard to find fault with Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition.

    There is a reason fans gush about this game. This is the type of game that you can get lost in for a very long time. You can spend hundreds of hours with it.

    The story is darker and more mature than you might expect (especially for a game produced by Nintendo). The game looks “anime” but the story isn’t as cliched or corny as you might think. It definitely kept me engaged.

    The English translation and voice acting are great. The game was originally translated for a European audience because Nintendo didn’t have plans to bring it to America, so the voices are not American. If you’ve played any of the recent Dragon Quest games or Ni No Kuni, the voice acting is comparable to those.

    There is an option to turn battle dialogue off, which I recommend, because it can get annoying hearing the same few lines repeated thousands of times.

    The best part of the game, to me, is the combat. It has one of the best, most addictive battle systems in any game I have ever played. Seriously. It just has to be experienced to be understood. It’s phenomenal and so fun to play. It’s as deep as you want it to be. What’s so cool about Xenoblade it how customizable it is. You can change your party, assign abilities, reposition your attack commands any way you’d like, and have the experience you want to have.

    Combat is comparable to MMOs in the sense that every ability has a cooldown timer. Where things get interesting is the synergies between party members’ abilities. You can easily sit back and use auto-attack or mash buttons and do fine, but the game rewards players who pay attention and understand the mechanics. When you pay attention to Arts and queue up attacks with synergies, to keep attack chains going. The longer your attack chain, the higher damage you deal and the better your rewards at the end of combat. It’s a very interactive battle system and makes playing truly engaging.

    Now that the Switch allows for button remapping, the customization options for Xenoblade Chronicles are even better. I prefer having the left and right d-pad buttons mapped to the ZL and ZR shoulder buttons and the A button mapped to a R stick press. It makes using Arts in combat WAY more fluid.
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  5. Jun 12, 2020
    9
    Oh. My. God. This game is a giant step up for the Xenoblade franchise. IF you like RPG's, anime, or Breath of the wild, I recommend this game to you. It has everything amazing that the previous game did; amazing story, great combat, expansive and fun world, lots of little distractions, and more. They also improved things, such as side quests. Of course, no game is perfect. I think theOh. My. God. This game is a giant step up for the Xenoblade franchise. IF you like RPG's, anime, or Breath of the wild, I recommend this game to you. It has everything amazing that the previous game did; amazing story, great combat, expansive and fun world, lots of little distractions, and more. They also improved things, such as side quests. Of course, no game is perfect. I think the amount of side quests could have been toned down, and again, not really much reason to be open world, just like the other titles. Expand
  6. Jun 12, 2020
    10
    Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition is the best game I have ever played. When I played the original at the time it was the best game I've ever played despite the game's flaws, most of which were the graphics, the way side-quests are handled, and how the user interface can be clunky to navigate. As a remake of Xenoblade Chronicles; Definitive Edition fixed all of the problems the firstXenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition is the best game I have ever played. When I played the original at the time it was the best game I've ever played despite the game's flaws, most of which were the graphics, the way side-quests are handled, and how the user interface can be clunky to navigate. As a remake of Xenoblade Chronicles; Definitive Edition fixed all of the problems the first game had and completely overhauls the visual for the better. The environments look like how one would imagine them when I visited them on the Wii. This game has the best story I've ever had the pleasure of viewing in any form of media, Xenoblade Chronicles tells a story of revenge and then continues to build on its premise and world until the very end of the game, it is truly a masterpiece in storytelling and I envy anyone who will get to witness the story unfold with the stunning visuals that Definitive Edition offers on top of the amazing writing it already had.

    The game isn't all just story the game is centered around its combat and exploration. The combat takes place in real-time and will keep you on your toes as each enemy has different attacks they can use, and Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition has game mechanics that tie into the story and makes combat all the better for it, as you have to pay attention to the connection between your party members and how they are feeling during a battle(it sounds weird saying it like that but trust me it's really cool).

    Overall, Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition is an absolute masterpiece that should be in every switch owners library of games, for newcomers to the RPG genre of games you should not be worried what-so-ever, this game is very welcoming and slowly brings you into how games of this kind work, even if you have only played Pokemon you will have no trouble getting the hang of things in this game. Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition is a game with fantastic visuals, gameplay, and story. Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition is the game by which all further games released from this point should be judged.

    10/10, but it would be around 10000/10 if that's how the scoring system worked.
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  7. Jun 12, 2020
    10
    It is a great game, its history is beautiful, its gameplay seemed to me most accurate, and what to say about the soundtrack, this time they showed off, 10/10
  8. Aug 3, 2022
    9
    It actually feels like those good old jrpgs, but done in more modern times, the worls is huge, the views amazing, systems are deep and there is huge amount of attention paid to the cutscenes. Sure, Shulk can't spend 10 seconds without shouting about Monado, the visions you get in battle are stupid and just make the battles longer, I still can't help but love this game.
  9. Jun 14, 2020
    10
    My first time playing a "Xenoblade" game and I was not disappointed. I haven't been this invested in a JRPG in a long time if I'm being honest. The soundtrack is memorable, the story kept me engaged, and I loved the characters. Now I understand why people loved it so much since the beginning.
  10. Jun 15, 2020
    10
    Beautiful game, one of the best Nintendo products ever! Under every aspect this game is great, a fantastic story, great battles and amazing landscapes, a must buy!
  11. Jun 18, 2020
    9
    his story is very well written and well thought out, the only flaw is that the characters have little development in it, leaving almost everything to heart to heart, but most are not very good. The lore of this world is very interesting. The beginning of the story is very good, but it could be a little slower and have more content. The fuse that makes Shulk start his adventure was reallyhis story is very well written and well thought out, the only flaw is that the characters have little development in it, leaving almost everything to heart to heart, but most are not very good. The lore of this world is very interesting. The beginning of the story is very good, but it could be a little slower and have more content. The fuse that makes Shulk start his adventure was really cool and well thought out, even generating a good plotwist later, but he "arrived" very quickly. The story was very loud until 15hrs (opinion). I thought that Shulk's visions spoil the story's unpredictability in some points (even if not entirely), that vision of the black tower I deliver 70% of what would happen at the end of the arc for the next 6 hours. There are some very unpredictable events. This game also brings some really cool 'philosophies'.

    I was afraid of the graphics and the low resolution of this game (I am boring with resolution), but it impressed me a lot, it was the most beautiful game of Switch that I played (even more than Zelda). The scenarios, ahhhhhhhh the scenarios, I had never enjoyed scenarios so much in any game as this one, they are very well made, beautiful and differentiated. There are some average scenarios and one or the other bad but in general it is another level.

    The combat in this game is unique, but just because something is unique does not mean it is good. I liked this style of combat, as I am a huge fan of Hack & Slash (which is just to beat the fight) at first I was very surprised (because you don't beat), but I got used to it faster than I thought I would. It is definitely not my favorite style but I liked it. If it was an action rpg I would like it more, but at the same time I can't see this game as being a turn-based game. The characters are very varied and the game encourages you to keep changing characters in your party, many JRPGs fail to do that.

    The soundtrack is quite mediocre. He had 2 OSTs above average and a good one. I think they put a lot of hype in me in the reviews, because you really don't buy trails, persona, nier or final fantasy.

    I found the cutscenes of the story broken. Even so, they are very well done. The animations of the characters outside the cutscenes are pretty bad.

    This game has a very interesting mechanic that I've never seen called Story Memo, which summarizes the part of the story you're in and tells you where you have to go and why, I thought it was awesome.

    The characters. They are the second thing that draws the most attention in the game, the first is the story, but in the end the two complement each other. They are very good and give a charm to the game but as I said the characters do not have much development and interaction between them during the campaign, what good is having good characters if we don’t see them interacting. There are a few moments when this happens but most of the time it is with something more tragic, a drama or tension that is going on.

    The Shulk is a great protagonist, he appears to be a stereotype but takes some unexpected paths, makes mistakes (which generate consequences), knows when he has to act, is op (but not at an absurd level, in addition to having people more op than him ) and is charismatic. It has a decent development for a protagonist in such a great story.

    The loadings are short, especially considering the size of the maps and the "power" of the console. The difficulty curve is definitely not one of the highlights of this game, if you don't like doing useless side quests, for example, you'll be stressed out. The script is incredible (along with the "exclusion" of some characters), the story is good, it has very original parts and others very clichés, but the original and unexpected ones are overlapping. Particularly, I found that the story after the death of an important character took a somewhat exaggerated and nonsense turn. The story ends up being very "interrupted" by the gameplay and exploitation harming it, this is perhaps the biggest flaw in Xenoblade, if they had cadenced the story more and added some smaller arcs (between characters for example) between the big ones the narrative would border on perfection. Another criticism was that they introduced a novel and did not give it a closure ... and I HATE something open.
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  12. Jun 15, 2020
    10
    Xenoblade chronicles is my favorite all time favorite series; I’m so happy they remastered this underrated gem of a game.

    One of my favorite games of all time; glad it reviewed well
  13. Aug 28, 2020
    10
    I will try to be short because there is so much I like about this game:
    world: looks kinda meh/ok on screenshots but when you play its so gorgeous!!
    battle system: I thought I won't like it, turns out it's epic and cool.
    story: damn deep. stayed with me.
    music: my ears are hearing it right now
    overall: god damn exceed expectations 10/10
  14. Jun 19, 2020
    9
    This is a truly honest remake with slight retcon to bring it closer XC2 story-line that overall were implied in that game. With an honest remake, however, comes the same balancing problems in combat from the original game that make certain characters useless in the endgame and the same inconsistent/frustrating AI. The graphical overhaul makes the characters look more defined and someThis is a truly honest remake with slight retcon to bring it closer XC2 story-line that overall were implied in that game. With an honest remake, however, comes the same balancing problems in combat from the original game that make certain characters useless in the endgame and the same inconsistent/frustrating AI. The graphical overhaul makes the characters look more defined and some re-voicing of dialogue in the English release goes a long way. The Future Connected expansion was not my favorite because of what I believe were uninteresting playable characters and bosses, but it does give closure as an epilogue to the main story. FC is definitely a step up from the Torna DLC from XC2, and features peak Monolith Soft world building and geography that takes advantage of dynamic heights, fair pacing and fantastic new music. This is the definitive way to play XC1's story and allows a much smoother gameplay experiences to both the Wii and 3DS releases. Expand
  15. Jun 21, 2020
    9
    The score ‘-1’ for the graph quality, the rest of this game is just great! Looking forward to the XBX remake in switch.
  16. Jun 19, 2020
    10
    Best game I've ever played. Great environments, outstanding music, interesting characters, complex gameplay, and an engaging story. This game has it all. Xenoblade Chronicles is a must play for all JRPG fans.
  17. Jun 21, 2020
    9
    Great port. You have to try this game. If you love RPG or JRPG then this game is a must play.
  18. Jun 26, 2020
    10
    How could a remaster for one of the greatest games of all time be anything but amazing
  19. Jun 23, 2020
    8
    I wish I could enjoy this more than I did with Ys Lacrimosa which got me surprised.

    I didn't know action on this game just doesn't delivers as it did with Tales series or Ys.

    I'm currently playing, but so far story didn't really click with me. I'm intent to finish this game eventually and may change my review score according to it.
  20. Jun 24, 2020
    10
    Me encantó la historia 100% recomendada la experiencia visual y soundtrack son únicos los diseños de enemigos y personajes con características únicas y creativas podría decir que sin lugar a dudas es un juego que debes jugar si tu tipo de juego es el rpg lo vas amar
  21. Jun 25, 2020
    9
    Personally, I think it's interesting. But game system is too old. I think some will think it's boring.
  22. Jun 26, 2020
    9
    Muy guapo y adictivo. Uno de los juegos con una densidad y profundidad de plotwists más alta. Las mecánicas de combate únicas y complejas, provocan que quieras dedicar varias horas a maximizar toda estadística para facilitar el siguinte combate.

    Como úncicas contras, el clásico problema de muchos RPGs, el farmeo innecesario, y que sus misiones secundarias carecen de personalidad.
  23. Jun 26, 2020
    10
    Beautiful for a Switch game, great characters/character design, fun, memorable experience.
  24. Jun 30, 2020
    8
    Loved the original on Wii. Has a ton of options for new players. This game is huge, world is larged chained together areas, 100's of side-quests(a lot of fetch quests in there though) an engaing story that uses anime and jrpg tropes to the fullest. Combat can seem unintuitive and clunky at first, but once you get the hang of it, its pretty cool.
  25. Jul 1, 2020
    10
    The best way to play this legendary RPG, the Future Connected epilogue is an interesting callback to Xenosaga.
  26. Jun 29, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is a whole MASTERPIECE, I could honestly gush about it for hours. The story is one of the best in gaming as a whole, the twists and turns are never seen coming the first time around and when you play through the ng+ you see how much foreshadowing and thought was put into it. It immediately hooks you in with the death of shulks childhood friend fiora, and there’s never a dull moment as he meets new people, unlocks the powers of the monado, etc etc. The gameplay is incredible too, although not as complex as xc2 it’s honestly just so fun positioning yourself and your party, and as lame as it may be topple locking is fun af to do. The world of xenoblade de is so immersive, even the NPCs have a fair amount of character and depth and completing their side quests let you see more about the lives of the people on the bionis and mechonis. The side quests have been improved SO SO much from the original, I found myself actually doing them and enjoying them this time while on the 3ds I did the bare minimum to get eater and armor arts and never did a side quest again. The mechonis core act is honestly better than some games. This review has some spoilers in it and I marked it with spoilers so new people prolly ain’t gonna see it but if anyone is please play this game I can almost guarantee you’ll love it Expand
  27. Jun 30, 2020
    10
    Es una verdadera joya, lo recomiendo incluso para los que nunca han jugado un Jrpg!
  28. Oct 17, 2020
    8
    Overall, a really good game, but I personally enjoyed Xenoblade Chronicles 2 more. The world is easily the best part, it's impressive how open it is for a 2009 game and its lore is super unique. The story is good overall too: it has a strong start, a weak middle, but really brings it home with a suitably epic climax and a wholesome ending. There were some surprisingly intriguing and matureOverall, a really good game, but I personally enjoyed Xenoblade Chronicles 2 more. The world is easily the best part, it's impressive how open it is for a 2009 game and its lore is super unique. The story is good overall too: it has a strong start, a weak middle, but really brings it home with a suitably epic climax and a wholesome ending. There were some surprisingly intriguing and mature Gnostic themes too, a rarity for JRPGs. The combat was fun, but it had some poor aspects like the visions constantly interrupting your gameplay and chain attacks being based on rng (thank God they changed this in Xenoblade 2). Also, grinding is really bad in this game, and is easily the biggest flaw. Tedious and boring side quests don't help with the grind. Ultimately, it's worth playing if you like rpgs, but not all of its elements have aged well. Expand
  29. Jul 10, 2020
    10
    This has been my first xenoblade, and my goodness ... What a great game, what a great story, what good characters, what a great way to create meaningful side missions, the reconstruction of colony 6 is a challenge, its monsters give a lot of life to the world, you always have something to do and you never tire of going back to the same places because there is always something new there.This has been my first xenoblade, and my goodness ... What a great game, what a great story, what good characters, what a great way to create meaningful side missions, the reconstruction of colony 6 is a challenge, its monsters give a lot of life to the world, you always have something to do and you never tire of going back to the same places because there is always something new there. The music is so, so good.

    Its extra is a little lower, but still it is very enjoyable and concludes the story quite well. Although there are still many doubts, which I hope will generate more installments of the saga with the same level, because I will play them more than delighted.

    I loved it.
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  30. Jul 1, 2020
    9
    Great (literally and figuratively) game. Outstanding storytelling, characters with soul, great voiceovers and tons of fun to discover. I recommend this game to every fan of good rpg games. Brilliant experience you can find once a decade!
Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 92 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 88 out of 92
  2. Negative: 0 out of 92
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Oct 26, 2020
    100
    This has been a delight in a dark time in humanity's history. [Issue #48 – September/October 2020, p. 74]
  2. Sep 14, 2020
    90
    Xenoblade Chronicles is still one of the best games of the genre, which 10 years later continues to delight and surprise with a unique world, luxurious epic landscapes, an incredible sense of freedom, beautiful music and a really interesting story. Of course, it is a pity that the Definitive Edition has a technical limitation in terms of resolution, which does not allow the image to really shine in 2020, but otherwise it is a chic project that every fan of the genre of adventure and Japanese role-playing games should play.
  3. Jul 20, 2020
    95
    It’s hard to believe this is a game that released in 2012 and not more recently. Though there are some dated and heavy systems, the atmosphere and a combat system that gives freedom and depth make Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition an RPG for the ages.