The Xenoblade games are a staple among Nintendo’s extensive catalogue of classics. Back in 2015, Xenoblade Chronicles X  was released on the Wii U to critical acclaim. Now, in 2025, old and new players can return to Mira in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition on the Switch. 

Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition was released on 20th March this year, and Nintendo Australia was kind enough to provide a review code. Does this remastered and enhanced version hold up? Let’s jump into my honest thoughts and impressions. It’s not a review, per se, because this game is so incredibly massive. I’m still learning and taking my time, but there’s too much game here not to talk about it.

I should make it quite clear that I’ve never played a Xenoblade game before, with this game being my first introduction to the series. I never owned a Wii U back in the day and always thought this game looked interesting. I suspect that might be due to my love of sci-fi. Due to this game’s incredible scale, I’m starting to think I may have to do a follow-up article in a few months to talk about my further progress. 

Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition is a welcome addition to the Switch’s extensive list of games under its belt. The story follows the last members of humanity crashing on Mira after Earth was destroyed. Now living in their biome sphere, New LA (NLA), we must explore Mira while researching the monsters and different environments. The research is to learn about this new planet the survivors call home. While not entirely unique, the story is very interesting and holds my attention well.

Impressions:

My first feeling about this game was overwhelming. Xenoblade X is massive!!! In my first few hours in the game, I just wandered, explored, and took my time. I felt like there was so much to do and see. That’s because there are… roughly 200 hours worth! The campaign takes approximately 70-90 hours, but this is a good thing! You’re getting A LOT of bang for your buck. The more I played, the more I enjoyed exploring and taking my time to do little bits of progression here and there. This really allowed me to take in the world of Mira and get drawn into the atmosphere. 

Characters:

The characters are fascinating. They all feel fleshed out and like they are here to keep the player moving by giving them quests and side quests. I wasn’t a huge fan of our main character being voiceless, but the lack of personality here is definitely made up for with side characters and the world of Mira. Voice acting is great, making each character believable and entertaining. 

Gameplay:

The gameplay here is simply satisfying. Battles, in particular, stood out to me as I’ve never experienced anything quite like it before. It’s not your standard turn-based combat. As soon as you lock onto an enemy and press the button, your characters start firing or swinging their blades. You can still freely move around, but you also need to listen for the Soul Voice where the characters will literally tell you what attack to use, like a super attack or a vital attack. A prompt will come up, and if pressed correctly, it does quite a bit of damage. It’s all very satisfying and intense. You need to be paying attention so as not to lose the battles or miss a prompt.

Remember when I said there’s an overwhelming amount of stuff? Well, that’s here, too, in the battles. There are may arks and classes to use and many party members to swap and change. I stuck to the basics because this is all new to me, but if you’re really into this RPG stuff, you’ll love it.

Exploration:

This game encourages exploration. The world is chock-full of content, so everywhere you look, you will find something to do. There is no fall damage, so you can jump from some pretty crazy places, and again, it feels so incredibly satisfying. There are lots of different biomes and environments that never feel stale or boring. The map here is divided into different sections. Using FrontierNav helps you, well…navigate! FrontierNav divides each region of the world map into multiple hexagonal blocks called Segments. These Segments are displayed on the Segment Map and can be seen on screen…there are a lot of them!!!

It should be noted that I have not yet unlocked the Skells. For anyone who’s wondering what these are, they are big mechs that you need a license to use. I was going to wait to do this review until then, but time is incredibly lacking, and this game is so big, with so many things to do. However, I have heard from veteran players that Skells, once unlocked, open the roaming and exploration even further. I know that Skell’s also change previous monsters to threats that were not so previously, making the player really think about their traversal.

The monsters here, or rather, the aliens who live on this planet (technically, we’re the aliens), are all unique and interesting. From small and aggressive to large, unassuming and towering, they all made me stop and watch them. Many look to be based on dinosaurs, which is neat. Some of the big monsters, though, oh boy, are huge. They did an amazing job showing the size scaling and how small we are as players. I quite enjoyed looking for and fighting Tyrants; it was so thrilling fighting something so menacing.

Graphics & Performance:

The graphics here are stunning! It’s truly amazing what they have done here on the Switch. Even into the end of the Switch’s life span, with the Switch 2 coming soon, they still push the Switch graphics to the absolute limit. Images here are sharper and more vibrant than the original. Load times here are faster, which is nice. In terms of performance, for the most part, it’s great on my regular Switch and Switch Lite. There are some subtle frame drops and some odd pop-ins when free-roaming here and there, but it’s a pretty solid performance. 

My only complaint is that the character models feel a little stiff and sometimes lack expression. But this is easily passable, considering it’s a 10-year-old game.

You may be thinking about what else this comes with on the Switch since it’s a remaster. Obviously, having not played the original, it’s hard to tell fully. However, Definitive Edition features new story content, a new “Floating Continent” region called Volitaris, new characters, two new Skells (Hraesvelg and an Ares-type), and various quality-of-life improvements. 

This is the best way to play. Having the game on a modern console means players can easily access it, especially if many didn’t own the Wii-U back in the day.

Music:

Hardly anyone talks about the music here. It’s great! Ranging from semi-hip-hop beats to orchestral types of music to energetic guitar riffs. It’s all used accordingly and helps make the game feel exciting, grand and new in places! I found myself just stopping to listen to the music numerous times during my time here. It feels atmospheric when needed and adds so much to the experience of exploring a big, new, uncharted land. 

Well, my time playing Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition has been amazing and nothing short of awe-inspiring so far. I still have so much to do and see, and I will follow up on this in a later article when I can. 

As the Switch ends its reign, I have to say, what a terrific send-off with Xenoblade Chronicles X as one of the last big releases on the system. 

So far, my score for this is:

9/10 White Whales.