For me, probably the most refreshing thing about modern Nintendo is its full-force embracing of the role-playing genre. No series represents this recently-adjusted stance more than Xenoblade – and its latest entry, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, proves that Nintendo’s recent interest and dedication to the genre is paying off dividends.
In many ways, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 feels like the culmination of everything developer Monolith Soft has done up to this point. Anybody can appreciate the game – it’s simply a good one. But truly understanding the depth of appreciation it deserves is likely tied to understanding the history of the developer, from when its founders broke free of Square after finding them too obsessed with Final Fantasy over new ideas, through to its days with Bandai Namco, and finally its time as a subsidiary of Nintendo. Here, the developer works on both original games and as a support studio for more widely popular Nintendo titles. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 feels like the natural conclusion of all of those events – and it’s wonderful.
This third mainline Xenoblade title is as feature-rich as all of its predecessors, if not more so. As a result, I could easily spend many words talking about the mechanics of the game – but it’ll probably suffice to say that it’s an interesting and engaging action RPG combat system that features familiar elements from Xenoblade 1, 2, and X alike. At first blush, it’s most similar to the second game, however. And that’s no bad thing. That game ruled – with the odd caveat – and so too does this sequel.
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