Xenoblade Chronicles (series)

Xenoblade Chronicles (, Xenoblade) is a subseries of the Xeno series. It is developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo.
==History==
After the disappointing sales of Xenosaga Episode III, Namco Bandai saw little interest in continuing the series. Around the time when the game was being completed, Tetsuya Takahashi began brainstorming for a game unrelated to either the Xenosaga series or Xenogears. In 2006, Takahashi and Yasuyuki Honne created a model of the titans that would become Bionis and Mechonis. Monolith Soft's majority share was bought by Nintendo in 2008 after they have previously published several of their games including , and . Their next big game was announced at E3 2009 under the name Monado: Beginning of the World for the Nintendo Wii. However, the game would later be renamed to Xenoblade. According to Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata, the name change was meant to respect Takahashi's previous works. Despite originally not being planned as a game in the Xeno series, many parallels to Xenogears and Xenosaga can be found. The game was released in 2010 in Japan.
After over a year, Nintendo of Europe localised the game and released it as Xenoblade Chronicles in 2011, with no North American release planned. Because of that, the game uses British voice actors and spelling instead of American ones. At the time, Xenoblade Chronicles was the one of only two Xeno game to be released in Europe, together with Xenosaga Episode II - Jenseits von Gut und Böse. In North America, a fan campaign was launched called Operation Rainfall as an attempt to bring the game together with and to North America, two other RPGs localised by Nintendo of Europe. The game eventually released in North America in 2012 as a Gamestop exclusive with no changes to the text or voice acting, but with a slightly different logo in the cover.
In early 2013, Monolith Soft's next big game was revealed for the Wii U under the working title X. It was eventually changed to Xenoblade X (Xenoblade Chronicles X outside of Japan) at E3 2014. The game was released in April 2015 in Japan and in December 2015 in Europe, Oceania and North America. The western release included all DLC from the Japanese version. Unlike the first game, this game's localisation was done by Nintendo of America. The game's plot is unrelated to the first game, but creatures like the Nopon and the Telethia can be found here as well.
Also in 2014, two other anncouncements were made: The original Xenoblade Chronices was announced to be rereleased exclusively on the New Nintendo 3DS as Xenoblade Chronicles 3D. It was released in early 2015. The port was developed by Monster Games and saw few changes compared to the Wii original. It was also revealed that Shulk would become a fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. This would later increase the popularity of the game.
At the Nintendo Switch press conference in January 2017, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was announced as a true sequel to the first game. The game was using the same engine as Xenoblade Chronicles X and was released in December of the same year. Just before release, a special Nintendo Direct was broadcasted announcing a season pass for the game. The final element of the season pass was revealed at E3 2018 to be Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country, a prequel that played 500 years before the main game. It was also released physically as a standalone game, including a download code for the rest of the season pass, in September 2018.
In 2019, Nintendo announced Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition in a Nintendo Direct. It was released on 29th May 2020. Definitive Edition features a graphical overhaul, Casual and Expert Mode difficulty options, the Event Theatre, a mode, and a new post-game side story, Future Connected.
In 2022, Nintendo announced Xenoblade Chronicles 3 in a Nintendo Direct. It was released on 29th July 2022.
In 2024, Nintendo announced Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition. It will release on 20th March 2025.
==Gameplay==
Unlike previous Xeno games, the Xenoblade series features real-time Action RPG gameplay. Each game varies in its gameplay, but all games share its core battle system. When battling enemies, the characters perform auto-attacks at certain intervals and have a variety of (Not in Xenoblade X). Unlike many other RPGs, Xenoblade games don't feature the use of items such as potions in or outside of battle, since the entire party fully regenerates after each fight.
Outside of battles, the series is known for its vast, open worlds the player is relatively free to explore. Xenoblade Chronicles X features a real open world that the player can even fly over using Skells. Every game features a large amount of optional to complete.
All Xenoblade games have their own specific features like Visions in the original, Skells in Xenoblade Chronicles X, s in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and their cooperation in Torna: The Golden Country, and Interlinking in Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
==Reception==
The series has achieved to gather a large fanbase since the first game. The games are especially praised for their unique battle system, huge open worlds and their soundtracks.
==Series installments==
Year	Game 	Platform(s)
2010	Xenoblade Chronicles 	Wii, New Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch
2015	Xenoblade Chronicles 3D 	New Nintendo 3DS
2015	Xenoblade Chronicles X 	Wii U
2017	Xenoblade Chronicles 2 	Nintendo Switch
2018	Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country	Nintendo Switch
2020	Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition 	Nintendo Switch
2020	Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected 	Nintendo Switch
2022	Xenoblade Chronicles 3 	Nintendo Switch
2023	Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed 	Nintendo Switch
2025	Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition 	Nintendo Switch
==Gallery==
*it:Xenoblade Chronicles (serie)