How much to read into the newly appended title of a re-release like this? In the case of Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition, a splendorous revisit of Monolith Soft’s 2012 Wii RPG for Nintendo’s Switch, it could mean so very much. By his own admission, creator Tetsuya Takahashi has always struggled to finish off the job with his own games, his Xenosaga series petering out halfway through its intended run, while Xenoblade Chronicles only saw it through to completion upon partner Nintendo’s insistence it be done properly.
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition reviewDeveloper: Monolith SoftPublisher: NintendoPlatform: Reviewed on Nintendo SwitchAvailability: Out May 29th on Nintendo Switch
Even then, subsequent games have seen ambition often outstrip circumstance: Xenoblade Chronicles X’s ambition was served rough, while Xenoblade Chronicles 2 creaked under the weight of its elaborate systems and some anime excess. A Takahashi game that’s refined and one he’s happy to call definitive? Now that’s some prospect.
In many of the ways that really matter, Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition delivers. It takes an incredible RPG – one that could lay claim to being among the best of the last decade – and makes small, considered tweaks in all the right places. It serves the mad, magical majesty of Xenoblade Chronicles’ world, staying entirely faithful to the original while gently polishing it for its HD debut – a little too gently in some places, you might argue.
And what a world it is! Xenoblade Chronicles’ grand concept, and its execution, remains an all-time great. The story it serves is just fine, weaving in Takahashi’s recurring themes; gods will fall and fates will be altered, all at the blade of a blonde-haired hero who sounds like a junior estate agent from Swindon (I’m afraid I’m not a fan of the localised voice work in Xenoblade Chronicles, but at least you can switch to the Japanese voice track at any point in this Definitive Edition, and fans will be delighted that Jenna Coleman reprises her role as Melia for the additional content offered in this Definitive Edition).
It’s not about the story, though, and more about the places it takes you. In the most wide-eyed, excitable terms possible – and I don’t know how else you talk about something as fantastic as this – it’s a world set on the back of two warring, country-sized titans, the pair trapped in stony stasis for many years. So you begin on the wide-open grassy plains on the calf of a god’s outstretched leg then slowly work your way up. Size is everything here – the maps you explore are vast, open-ended spaces drawn with the verve and imagination of pulpy sci-fi’s best cover artists. From the sun-scorched grass of Gaur Plain to the frosted starlight of Valak Mountain by night, Xenoblade Chronicles is a heady delight to explore and discover.