Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition Preview

Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition comes out on the Nintendo Switch next week! Thanks to Nintendo Canada and our editor-in-chief Adam Roffel I was able to get an early review copy of the game. I’ve been playing the game for a couple of days now and thought I’d give our readers a first look at the game. So how is Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition so far?

I played the first Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii. I liked the game. There were a lot of people saying how much better the game would look if it was HD but I thought it pretty great anyway. It was, without a doubt, one of the most impressive Wii games. Xenoblade Chronicles is an epic rpg with big landscapes, big monsters, and lots of stuff to do.

It was one of the few rpgs on the Wii and people loved it.

So how is it on the Nintendo Switch?

I’ve only been playing the game for a couple of days now but so far its pretty good. The graphics are better than the Wii version, of course. I wouldn’t say the game looks as good as Xenoblade Chronicles 2 but the characters and landscapes of the first game look really good in HD.

It should also be noted that I am playing the game in portable mode, so its possible that the characters and landscapes look even better on a TV. I will check the game out on TV before my review and let you know if there are is a noticeable difference between portable and TV.

That said, the game is so much fun in portable mode. The menus are super easy to read. I had problems reading the menus on the Wii. On the Switch though, everything is super readable and well laid out.

The same goes for the battle system, which is the same as it was on the Wii. The characters auto-attack, though you do have input into what your lead character does via the battle system menu and sometimes what the other characters do can be directed too. Some of the attacks are very cool.

Just like the Wii version, the monsters are big and they do look good. The difficulty in the game can be harsh at times, so make sure you keep leveling up!

There are still a ton of things to do in Xenoblade Chronicles. Lots of side quests and monsters to fight and places to explore. I know I’ve only scratched the surface of this game.

I won’t talk about the game’s story. If you played it on the Wii, then its the same as it was there. If you’ve never played this game before, you are in for a treat. Its a good story. The voice acting is excellent too. So is the music.

And this version of the game has an extra story too. Its called Future Connected and it takes place after the main game. If you’ve never played Xenoblade Chronicles before, do not play Future Connected first. You will be very confused. Actually, even if you have played Xenoblade Chronicles before, I recommend beating the main game again and then playing Future Connected.

For the purpose of this preview and the review, I am playing through Future Connected as I play through the main game. The battle system in Future Connected is supposed to be a bit different but so far it is seems pretty much like the regular game’s battle system. I am seeing hints that it might be a little different but don’t know for sure yet. I will let our readers know about the battle system more in our full review.

There is a lot to do in Future Connected too. Side quests and places to explore are plenty. The graphics are pretty much the same as the main games and so are the voices and music.

I will not comment on Future Connected’s story. I will say that its interesting but it hasn’t grabbed me as much as the main game’s story yet.

Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition is a pretty great game so far. As I said though, I’m only played the game for a couple of days now. The main game has its hooks in me though.

My full review of Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition will be out next week. Please stayed tuned to GamesReviews.com to find out what I ultimately think of the game!

Thanks to Nintendo Canada for providing a digital code for this preview and the review. Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition comes out on May 29th and will be available via retail and on the Nintendo Switch eshop!