Xenoblade Future Connected Review

Xenoblade Future Connected is the epilogue to the Definitive Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles. It focuses on Melia, as she sets out to find her new place as both the hope of the High Entia and re-establish her people. She seeks out her home, Alcamoth, and discovers that an entity known as the Fog King has inhabited the former capital of the High Entia on the Shoulder of Bionis, a brand new location cut from the original game. The only two main characters from the original game that appear are Shulk and Melia. If you are not a fan of Melia, this epilogue may not be for you. If you complete all the quests, the epilogue clocks in at about 15 hours, which is a decent amount of material and it never feels as if it drags. One of the best aspects of the epilogue is that many of the sidequests are voiced and feel fleshed out. NPCs have meaning and worth, as opposed to the original game.

There are two new characters that stow away and follow you on your adventure: Nene and Kino, Rikki’s children. They are endearing and feel organic, never feeling forced upon you, and I dare say more interesting than Rikki himself. The gameplay is much of the same as Xenoblade Chronicles, but with some twists. The main sidequest of the game is finding Nopon surveyors who, upon finding them, will assist you in battle. When your affinity gauge fills up, you can call upon the Nopon Ponspectors to do an ultimate attack, which really helps with boss battles. Finding them can feel like a bit of a chore, but the reward outweighs the lengthy quest.

The epilogue is much more light-hearted than the original and some High Entia NPCs from the first game return in Future Connected. The music is top-notch and some of it is even better than the pieces in the original game. The weakest part of the game is the story. Melia is great, but some bits about the Fog King and the rift between the world of Bionis and Mechonis and some unknown dimension is a bit confusing and never explained. Don’t get me wrong – the story isn’t bad, and it has some great character moments, but it is rather confusing and the plot feels forced at times. Regardless, Future Connected is a lot of fun, and that’s what matters, right?

Future Connected is a lot of fun. Melia didn’t have a huge role in the latter half of Xenoblade, so it was wonderful to see her shine in the epilogue. It’s not perfect, not much is explained, and I really wish it was longer (it wasn’t because of resources), but all in all, it’s a lot of fun and incredibly endearing. That’s what makes a great game. So despite its flaws, it’s a great send off to what is perhaps the greatest RPG of all-time.