When it comes to JRPGs, there are few that are more unashamedly themselves than Xenoblade Chronicles. Released in 2010 as a final hurrah for the all but abandoned Wii, its colourful blend of MMO-lite combat, mechs, and endearingly earnest UK voice acting come together in a gaming experience like no other. Despite its humble Wii Origins, Xenoblade’s vast expanse and all-timer orchestral score create a grand sense of adventure that few of its genre mates have managed to top – even now, 12 years later.
Yet, that’s not to say it’s perfect. If we were to label it anything, we’d have to file this cult curio under ‘flawed masterpiece’. This is a game that meanders. It’s a story of teeny tropes and towering titans that bores as often as it excites, and thanks to its auto-attack system – ripped wholesale from an MMO – it features one of the most bizarre combat systems in gaming. Yet in spite of it all, I find myself returning to Bionis and Mechanis’ luscious lands, time and time again.
Xenoblade Chronicles has not always been an easy game to enjoy – and the hardware it’s been relegated to certainly hasn’t helped. I’ve tried getting into Monolith Soft’s RPG masterwork on various occasions, with varying degrees of success. With the Wii version releasing via an incredibly limited run, getting a copy of the game was near impossible. So, I initially started my journey across the Bionis via a Dolphin-emulated version on my Mac – and thanks to some unusable Wii controller mappings, failed miserably.
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