What’s in a name? Specifically, what’s in the name Xenoblade Chronicles? Is this video game series about a sword or some other sort of blade? Are Xenoblade games related to the broader Xeno universe created by Tetsuya Takahashi? As the word ‘chronicle’ implies, does each new entry in the series chronologically follow the last, with temporal progression being the prevailing through-line rather than recurring characters or settings?
The answer to all of these questions is basically yes, although you don’t need to know anything about the others to enjoy any given entry in the series. While Xenoblade is often confusing, one thing is not: these games are good. But which one is the best? Let’s find out if some are a little bit meatier than the rest.
4 Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 caught a break coming out when it did in 2017 for the Nintendo Switch. The hybrid console was less than a year old, and there was a dearth of JRPGs at the time. But you know what Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is — a JRPG and an especially big and ambitious one at that.
While the game did well at the time both critically and commercially, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 can often get in its own way and is far from the high point of the series. The combat system is an improvement over its numbered predecessor, but its complexity can often be cumbersome and overwhelming. If you stick with the game for a dozen or so hours, the gameplay does start to come together, and it can be quite exhilarating. However, getting to that point with the game asks you to tolerate a mind-numbingly dull approach to quest design and a number of egregious character designs.
3 Xenoblade Chronicles X
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There are three major things that set Xenoblade Chronicles X apart from the rest of the series. First, there are way more mechs. Differentiating itself from its numbered compatriots, Xenoblade Chronicles X leans heavily on the sci-fi genre and is all the better for it. Mechs are awesome, and they bolster the combat system well. They do, however, take nearly half the game to unlock.
Second, Xenoblade Chronicles X, quite obviously, doesn’t have a number in its title. X probably doesn’t mean ten here (although one can never be sure with Takahashi’s work). While this is a superficial difference, it does seem to go hand-in-hand with the game’s focus on gameplay. Unlike the rest of the series, Xenoblade Chronicles X is not as narratively driven. For some, that might be a boon, but others will surely miss running up to an exclamation mark for a thirty-minute cutscene to ensue.
Third, Xenoblade Chronicles X is the only entry in the series not currently available on the Nintendo Switch. Its exclusive release on the Wii U, unfortunately, means that not many people have ever, or will ever, play it.
2 Xenoblade Chronicles
For many, it will always be impossible to top the original Xenoblade Chronicles. Originally launched in 2010 for the Nintendo Wii, Xenoblade Chronicles was the first new Xeno game since developer Monolith Soft was bought by Nintendo. Like all the games to come, it was ambitious and in many ways unique from other JRPGs. It was an expensive game to make, and a big risk, but Monolith Soft knocked it out of the park.
Xenoblade Chronicles features a beautiful and huge world to explore, as well as a plethora of engaging characters. Despite evidence to the contrary, Shulk has a lot more to say than simply that he’s “really feeling it!” and the narrative amounts to something genuinely worth paying attention to. Compared to some of the more juvenile aspects of its numbered sequel, Xenoblade Chronicles tells a moving story that is significantly bolstered by hours of absolute bangers on the soundtrack. Story aside, the setting alone — the game taking place on the ossified bodies of giants — was compelling and original in its time.
But even without the nostalgia factor, the game still holds up today. 2020’s Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, which was launched on the Nintendo Switch, proves it. The game’s combat system might still be the wonkiest of the series, but that doesn’t detract from what the game does so well or from its historical importance for JRPGs.
1 Xenoblade Chronicles 3
While recency bias can be a thing when making a subjective list of the best games in any given series, it cannot be understated how exceptional Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is. The game pushes its hardware, yet Monolith Soft’s technical mastery is on full display in their third numbered entry in the series. Artistically, the game is a sight to behold, and it improves on the Xenoblade formula in nearly every way. The combat, borrowing the best aspects from previous entries, is as complex as ever, but it’s explained clearly (for once) and doled out at a pace that is much more player friendly.
Xenoblade has always had stories that mix ambition and originality with tropes, but here more than in any of the previous titles, the right balance is struck. There’s an urgency to the narrative from the get-go, with a well-paced adventure that still manages to make space for character exploration and development. While the dialogue (at least in its English language localization) can sometimes be unnecessarily repetitive, the main characters are all both interesting and charming.
Perhaps most remarkably, the game explores important themes that have recurred throughout the franchise — identity, responsibility, ethics, morality, mortality, and obviously xenophobia, too — and it does so with maturity and nuance. Sure, it still has Nopons — it is still Xenoblade Chronicles — but even if you didn’t love any of the previous games in the series, you might still find something quite special in Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
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