4/5 ★ – Speady9's review of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition.

"Create a world, with no need for gods." I gave Xenoblade Chronicles a shot. I really did. Having played the first few hours back on the Wii, I was beyond ready to enjoy the rest of this story and world when it dropped on Switch. This was a new kind of JRPG for me, not only because it's a lengthy one (which I often stay away from), but because I got out of it much more different things than I initially expected. As a Wii game originally, I can tell right off the bat why this game was nothing less than a triumph for the era. The sheer length, abundant production value, beautiful soundtrack (shoutout to Yoko Shimomura), and overall sense of world scale is beyond anything I could ever imagine for a console midway between PS2 and PS3. And with this new Switch release updating all the models and textures, even in the cutscenes, it really makes this THE BEST way to experience this game. All that aside...this game still shows age. What begins as a fun "auto-combat"-based JRPG with loads of story-heavy side quests turns into a repetitive grind with loads more of the same side quests. It wasn't until around halfway through that I began noticing the nature of which this game entails, like a giant, hollow extravaganza of content. Especially nearing the final chapters of the story, I was struggling to even keep up with the level spike of enemies thrown at me. I was growing exhaustive, which thankfully the game then provided me with a "casual mode" to simply get through the final hours quickly. Maybe my lack of JRPG experience has made me resent this kind of structure, but I've played NES and PS2 games with better level pacing than this. For the combat itself, while its understandable to map commands to the d-pad, I don't think it necessarily translates well to the Switch control layout. The story is a different topic on its own. Like I said, going into this, I was already prepared for this awesome story about an ongoing war, a mysterious weapon, and its ability to allow its user to peek into the future. As the grind through this lengthy tale consumed me, I began to lose focus on the several characters and lore pieces that were trying be introduced to me. It wasn't until the final 10-15 hours, however, where the plot twisted harshly for the better. I can't spoil much, but this game turns its fantasy narrative into a convoluted, yet remarkable set of revelations that caught me off guard plenty of times. Unfortunately, the final act felt a bit too rushed, which cut the game's story so close from being perfection. Also, and just as a side note, I didn't mind the overabundance of cutscenes, but I can understand it not being for everyone. (I've played plenty of Kojima and Nomura titles, so I'm used it.) Xenoblade Chronicles is simply a product of its time, and for that I can praise it thoroughly. But as someone visiting this game for the first time, which was Nintendo's intentions when releasing this remaster for Switch, I can still see through the cracks. If you can get past the filler storytelling (especially with "casual mode", if you don't prefer the grind), there's a story and world here worthy of experiencing. I, myself, couldn't stop smiling after reaching its end.