Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Release date, trailers, gameplay, and more

While the Wii didn’t have many JRPGs in its library, one that stood out as one of the best of the generation was ambitious Xenoblade Chronicles. It took a long time for the sequel to finally come to the Nintendo Switch, although the company made up for it by remastering the original game and offering it in a bundle with the sequel so that any fans who missed the original would have a chance to catch up on the world. Those plans make more sense now that they’ve been building up to the franchise’s next entry.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was announced during the February 2022 Nintendo Direct, much to the delight of fans. The announcement came out of nowhere, catching everyone off guard – but in the best possible way. The new title is not directly related to the previous two entries; instead, they are set in parallel worlds or times. It’s a bit complex to set up, but it’s worth the investment because of how well-crafted these games are, both narratively and mechanically. If this is your first dive into the world of Aionios — or your third — here’s everything we know about it Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

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Release date

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Xenoblade Chronicles 3 it was a surprising revelation in terms of the game even existing, but perhaps even more exciting was how soon we’d be able to play it. Nintendo originally announced that the game would be released in September 2022, but in a unique twist for the gaming industry, Nintendo later announced on Twitter that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 it will arrive two months early on July 29, 2022. Whatever the reason, fans are certainly happy to be able to get their hands on the game sooner than expected.

Platforms

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The entire Xenoblade franchise, as well as developer Monolith Soft, are owned by Nintendo. So, like all previous entries in the series, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 it will only come to the Nintendo Switch console. We wouldn’t hold our breath if this game gets ported to any other system anytime soon.

Trailer

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Announcement | Nintendo Direct 2022

The announcement trailer we got Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is somewhat short, but full of things to dissect and speculate about. We see a black-haired girl playing a flute as the narration begins over a raging battle full of soldiers with neon weapons and massive mechs towering above. We then see the iconic sword from the show as the two characters engage in a duel as they argue over loyalty. The pace quickens, flashing between new character reveals, more flute players and more voice messages. The two apparently “share a destiny” and can seemingly share memories, as stated in the release trailer.

There are several shots of various characters running around huge environments, a staple of the series since the beginning, as well as huge cities and terrifyingly large machines. A few more characters appear, looking like antagonists, but again for too short a time to really see before the trailer comes to a peaceful end with two characters playing their flutes on a grassy cliff. This trailer is definitely meant to convey the emotional tone the game will have, rather than explicitly explaining any part of the story.

It would be hard to gather much concrete information from this trailer alone, but luckily, there is more information that can be gleaned. First, a tweet from Nintendo herself gives us the basic premise of the game: “In Aionios, the world of #XenobladeChronicles3, there are two opposing nations: Keves and Agnus. They are in constant conflict with each other, and their soldiers are fighting with their lives every day just to survive.”

Keves is a civilization built around technology. He was the first to create and use mechs, advanced weapons and vehicles in battle. Agnus is a mirror image and instead focuses on magical technologies gathered from the Aether. The people of Agnus wear white, in contrast to the black uniforms of Keves.

This led fans to believe it Xenoblade Chronicles 3 it can happen after the events of another game. The simple concept of “Life” is listed as the main theme of the game. It centers around these two warring nations, as well as two protagonists named Noa and Mio, the two we saw fighting at one point in the trailer. They may come from each side of the conflict, but they join forces to help resolve the conflict.

Other confirmed main characters – named anyway – are Lanz, Eunie, Taion and Sena. However, due to some comments made last year by voice actress Jenna Coleman (Melia in the original Xenoblade Chronicles), some people think her character might appear in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 also. Due to the characters’ long lifespans in this world and the timeline already being a little weird, it wouldn’t be impossible for Melia — or even others like Zeke, Poppi, Nia, Dromarch, Pyra, and other characters from the franchise — to make an appearance as well. Again, this is all speculative at this point.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 – Live Trailer for Trailer

In June 2022, we got a dedicated Nintendo Direct for everyone Xenoblade Chronicles 3, along with a new trailer. In it, many shadowy masked figures fight on stage. A man from the audience addresses them, and one by one they disappear.

Moving on to the battlefield, we learn that Mio only has a life span, or term, of 10 years, and only three months separate it from the end. Their purpose during those 10 years is to do nothing but fight. We hear more characters talk about mortality and their wishes for the future, as well as the villains and their quest for victory. Clearly, the topic of Xenoblade Chronicles 3at least in part, it will depend on the value of life and mortality during the time of death, but also on whether the struggle is worth achieving something greater.

In a practical review, we found out how Xenoblade Chronicles 3 starts. We found the opening hours to be quite exciting, with excellent cinematography and an emotional soundtrack to back it up. He was able to establish the cast of characters in the game in a natural way, while also setting up the game world without feeling overbearing or like a dumping ground for exposition.

Playing

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This is where we see the least in the trailer, but it seems to at least follow the same idea as the previous two games. From what we’ve seen, there will be huge open world areas to explore, both natural and urban. We’re also seeing more playable main characters, although it’s not yet clear if we’ll be able to switch on the fly or if we’ll be changing them based on the story. The latest trailer also revealed that there can be up to seven characters in our party at once.

We also see a lot of vehicular movement, including a boat crossing the water, although you can also swim in some areas and grind on a rail to cross huge chasms.

In addition to the giant machines, there are still massive natural enemies to encounter. The trailer shows multiple dragon-like enemies stomping around or even swimming, which should provide a decent challenge.

We see some first glimpses of gameplay in the latest trailer, which pretty much confirms it Xenoblade Chronicles 3 it will play similar to the previous games. In those titles, combat took place in real-time, with normal attacks automatically launching when characters were in range of enemies. This allows you to take care of managing your abilities (called Battle Arts), exploiting weaknesses, and managing your party. Things obviously go deeper than that, but we doubt it Xenoblade Chronicles 3 spice up the formula in at least a few ways beyond these core mechanics.

In the footage shown so far, we see that the UI has a Tactics button, Chain Attack, Fusion and various skills mapped to the four buttons on the face. The fusion seems to fuse the two Noah and Mio into a single, powerful fighting unit called Ouroboros. Ouroboros has its own set of powerful moves and Chain Arts, as well as its own special skill trees for leveling up. We see multiple types of these purple, hybrid characters, showing that multiple characters will be able to combine into different types of combinations, such as Eunie and Taion (a more feminine form that attacks with wing-like weapons) and Lanz and Sena combining into a unit with with massive gauntlets to deal high damage in a crowd.

Chain attacks gather all party members to attack a target. The meter will also show how much extra damage this attack will do, which can be further boosted with completion bonuses.

Each character will also have a class that gives them access to special Artes unique to that class. The two we know of include the Swordfighter class, which Noah will fall under, and the Zephyr, which Mio belongs to. Also, love them or hate them, the Nopons are back and can fight alongside your party!

Our time with the combat really highlighted how different it is from past games. Unfortunately, this can lead to a learning curve from then on Xenoblade Chronicles 3 throws so much at the player at once. The advantage is combat that is dictated by the player’s choice of whether to engage in it or avoid it, and there is no material penalty if your group falls in combat. You also have the ability to give your AI group simple tactics to follow, and these can even be changed on the fly during battle.

More players

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Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will be a single-player experience, just like the previous entries. Unless Nintendo announces some additional surprise mode, or maybe a minigame, there’s almost no way this game will include a multiplayer component of any kind. This is a focused JRPG full of story and meant to be enjoyed by you and the excellent characters in the game.

DLC

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We learned that during Direct Xenoblade Chronicles 3 they will have an expansion pass that you can purchase for $30. This pass will give you access to four pieces of content released over time, including:

Useful items and clothing color variants July 29, 2022.
Challenge Battle, new hero character and missions, and new clothes until December 31, 2022.
Another challenging battle, new hero character and missions and clothes until April 30, 2023.
Completely new story scenario until December 31, 2023.

The fine print indicates that you won’t be able to purchase any individual part of this expansion pass separately, so you’ll need to get the pass if you only want one part of this pack.

Additionally, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 it will have Amiibo support. If you have a Shulk Amiibo, you can change the appearance of Noah’s sword to Monado, the Shulk sword from the first game. Other Amiibo will also have the functionality, but it has not yet been announced what they will do.