Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition isn’t merely a remaster of the original game; it’s a straight-up remake. It uses a brand new engine, mimicking Xenoblade Chronicles 2‘s artstyle, and adds brand new post-game content. And this is all we know about at this point. I am always very hesitant to say a remake or a remaster is a contender for a possible game of the year contender, but given how good the original is, and the fact that there is probably more added content we don’t even know about, this game has the potential to be the best RPG of 2020. Yes, even better than the next installment in the Bravely Default franchise. Nintendo has some of the best content coming out this year, to the point where they don’t even need to release Breath of the Wild 2 for the holidays, though that would be quite spectacular.
To be frank, we enjoyed Xenoblade 2 more than the original Xenoblade. We felt the story was better and the characters were more endearing, but that doesn’t take away from how good and revolutionary Xenoblade Chronicles was. It’s still a masterpiece. In fact, both games are, with X not far behind, though that is a completely different game. We even feel that the Xeno franchise has surpassed modern-day Final Fantasy as the premier RPG series in the modern-day video game industry. The games’ combat are so innovative and set themselves apart from the rest due to the quality of the music, the combat, the characters, etc. What’s so wonderful about the series is that each game sets itself apart from one another as well.
Back to the issue at hand though, not many got to experience the original Xenoblade. It was only made available in the United States due to Operation Rainfall, a fan-made operation to get the game to be released in America. And even at that, the game was a GameStop exclusive, with a very limited supply. Nintendo is very smart to be doing a straight-up remake after the success of Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
The game has twists and turns like no other RPG. It’s at least 100 hours if you go all out and complete the sidequests, which are some of the best in modern-day RPGs. I have personally, through three playthroughs, spent almost 400 hours on the game and still have a lot I have not gotten to. The story is superb. The characters are endearing. While its biggest competitor, Bravely Default II, looks fantastic, it simply cannot measure up to Xenoblade. Monolith Soft has come a long way from their days working on Xenosaga and has become the premier RPG developer, even helping Nintendo with open-world games such as Breath of the Wild. While yes, this game is a remake, and we have experienced it already, that doesn’t take away from that it’s a masterpiece. In fact, I was just playing it on my Nintendo Wii and it still holds up as one of the best RPGs of all-time. It’s justice that the game is getting a proper remake, considering it pushed the Wii to its limits technologically and didn’t even look that great from a graphical standpoint. With these upgrades, it should easily be the best RPG of 2020.
This makes the game all the more impressive, as, despite those shortcomings, when games were coming out in full HD on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and Xenoblade looked like a PS2 game, it was still one of the best games of that specific generation. It will be interesting what other new material is added to the game in addition to the epilogue, but there is no doubt that it will be the best RPG of 2020. And it’s not like the competition is that strong either, but the game is a masterpiece and deserves recognition. Hopefully, this time around, it will get the proper praise and reach to consumers that the game deserves.