Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the best game on the Nintendo Switch. Many believe Breath of the Wild to hold this honor, but Xenoblade 2’s gameplay, story, and music are all superior, and there aren’t any annoyances, such as that pesky item durability issue that Zelda has. Both games came out in 2017, and it appears that history is about to repeat itself. Both Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Breath of the Wild 2 are coming out in 2022; Xenoblade 3 was announced to release in September during the February Nintendo Direct, while Breath of the Wild 2 is still on track to release this year according to Nintendo’s latest financial report. The Direct only featured games that are releasing in the first half of this year, so it makes sense that Zelda was held back. While Breath of the Wild 2 will undoubtedly be an excellent game, Monolith Soft has proven time and time again to be Nintendo’s most talented development team. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will be Nintendo’s 2022 GOTY.
Xenoblade is currently Nintendo’s strongest and most consistent franchise. When Xenoblade 2 launched in 2017, the Nintendo Switch was but an infant. There weren’t over 104 million Switch consoles out in the wild at that time. There are now. Yes, Breath of the Wild has blown Xenoblade 2 away in sales, but Xenoblade 2 did sell over 2 million copies worldwide and is a more polished game. The music is better, the story is far superior, the gameplay is more enjoyable, and it’s a more immersive experience. In fact, Breath of the Wild barely has a story, which doesn’t bode well for Breath of the Wild 2, regardless of Ganondorf’s return. Xenoblade Chronicles 3, however, will be bridging the gap and showing how the worlds of Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 came to be one. The characters from these games are so endearing, and there are hints that some major characters are in fact returning in Xenoblade Chronicles 3…you just have to pay super close attention. While Breath of the Wild 2 is intriguing, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is awe-inspiring. It is, by far, the best-looking game on the Nintendo Switch, and this is a credit to the talent of Monolith Soft.
There are some that will try to make the case that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 cannot be Nintendo’s 2022 GOTY. Why not? Because it’s too “niche?” If Xenoblade were so niche, Nintendo would not have saved it as their big announcement at the end of their best direct of all-time. The final game shown during a major Direct is always the game Nintendo will be focusing on for the year. They didn’t show Breath of the Wild 2. They did show Xenoblade Chronicles 3, along with a release window. While it is confirmed that Breath of the Wild 2 is still planned to release this year, that is not a given. To be frank, Nintendo doesn’t even need to release Zelda this year with the game lineup they have; that doesn’t mean they should hold it back though. And that’s beside the fact. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will be Nintendo’s 2022 GOTY.
Xenoblade Chronicles is Nintendo’s most consistent franchise. The first game was excellent, Chronicles X expanded on that excellence, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 refined that excellence, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will perfect that excellence. While Breath of the Wild was revolutionary in a few aspects, its gameplay was still a variation based on a 20-year-old-game, Ocarina of Time. Not that much has changed with the combat, etc. It’s still based on Z-targeting. The gameplay and combat in Xenoblade, however, are much more refined, polished, enjoyable, and fresh. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will take this to a whole new level.
Breath of the Wild 2 will be a great game and will get its due, but it will be Xenoblade Chronicles 3 that will take the cake as Nintendo’s 2022 GOTY. Xenoblade Chronicles is the Final Fantasy of our era; in fact, it’s a step above that. JRPGs are no longer as “niche” as they once were and have moved back into the mainstream. The fact that Nintendo chose to specifically highlight Xenoblade Chronicles 3 during their February Direct is proof enough of this. Monolith Soft has even helped on Zelda due to their experience with open-world games.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Breath of the Wild 2 are Nintendo’s biggest releases of 2022. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will be more refined with a better story, better music, and a more enjoyable combat system. That doesn’t mean that Breath of the Wild 2 will be a bad game though; quite the contrary. These two games together will decimate Nintendo’s competition during the holidays. The Switch will be unbeatable. Not bad, considering the original Xenoblade Chronicles wasn’t even supposed to be released in North America initially, huh?