Monolith Soft has released a hefty amount of new Xenoblade Chronicles X info on the game’s official Japanese website, revealing a bunch of new pictures of New Los Angeles, the planet Mira, characters, quest arcs…and much more.
As Xenoblade Chronicles X is one of the most anticipated games of the year, any little scrap of info is enough to send nerds like myself into a hype-fueled flurry of excitement.
But once again Japan has one-upped the Western world’s style of teasers by unleashing a volley of new tantalizing images and info on the game, painting a clearer picture of Monolith Soft’s new magnum opus.
First off let’s take a look at character creation options.
Character Creation & Customization
Monolith Soft affirms that players will have the chance to create their own specific “Avatars” by customizing various staple features like eye color, skin color, height, hair color/style and more.
Players will also be able to customize their Avatar’s voice, and the website has a nice little preview of audio voice samples across both male and female heroes.
The character page has also been updated with in-depth dossiers on Xenoblade Chronicles X‘s in-game cast, which we have listed below.
Note that the descriptions are based on loose Japanese-to-English translations, and this probably isn’t the full list of characters.
- Elma – BLADE leader, known for her calm and insightful judgement while in and out of battle.
- Lynlee – As a genius engineer, Lynlee serves as an invaluable mechanic for the BLADE outfit.
- Tatsu – Appears to be a quirky alien indigenous to the planet Mira, very cheerful and has an innocent demeanor.
- Van Damme – BLADE commander who served as a chief engineer for the interstellar immigrant ship Moby Dick and leads the expedition forces on the planet Mira.
- Irina – Dedicated blade operative, known for her skills in the previous Doll Corps outfit.
- Guin – Young devout fighter who served in the Doll Corps alongside Elma and Irina.
- Nagi – Served as the captain of the crash-landed Moby Dick interstellar ship, currently serves as a high-ranking military executive on New Los Angeles.
- Maurice – Appears to be the president or administrative politician on New Los Angeles, acting as a chief member of the bureaucracy for the new frontier.
Planet Mira
Now let’s take a look at the game’s major fantasy world, Planet Mira. The planet is separated into five distinct major continental zones: the Forgotten Canyon, White Tree Continent, the Luminous Forest, the Black Steel Continent, and finally the Primal Wilderness.
In an effort to colonize offworld zones, Earth sent off the interstellar transport ship called the Moby Dick to look for prime life-sustaining planets.
The Moby Dick soon crash landed upon one such planet, Mira, and after two months, formed New Los Angeles (NLA) which served as the bastion of humanity in the foreign world.
Throughout their journey, players will explore Mira’s five regions in full open-world style, coming across a number of fantastic and sci-fi creatures along the way.
According to the brief introduction, players will be able to “seamlessly” traverse the world of Mira, hopping from continent to continent as they progress through the storyline.
The areas themselves are so incredibly bizarre and truly bring a sense of pure sci-fi mastery, melding wonder, splendor and curiosity together to breathe life into yet another world that’s rife with amazing style.
The sheer scope and “otherworldliness” of the planet says volumes about the game itself, and remains one of my most anticipated desires: I can’t wait to roam and carouse the regions, basking in their titanic strangeness and take in their weird alien vistas complimented with towering tentacled monstrosities and other alien flora and fauna.
New Los Angeles – The Hub of Humanity
New Los Angeles (NLA) is a city-state that acts as the major hub for human life on Mira, and is the headquarters for the BLADE military operation that protects the colony from on-world dangers.
NLW is actually the residential area from the first Moby Dick ship transplanted into the world itself, making it quite symbolic, and the city spearheads all efforts to cultivate the alien planet to make it a “second Earth”.
The techno-industrial futuristic city is sectioned off into four different areas: the BLADE area, industrial area, commercial area and residential area.
But NLA isn’t just about high-tech machines, ships and military outfits: it has a stylish side with tropical palm trees and sun-lit squares that emulate the upscale city on Earth, making it quite appealing. NLA also features beautiful gardens and parks that are perfect for evening strolls, designed to make colonists feel right at home.
Players will be able to visit these areas at their leisure, and possibly do some shopping here and there on their days off.
BLADE and the Eight Factions
BLADE is the primary military faction in Xenoblade Chronicles X that’s charged with protecting the citizens of New Los Angeles and spearheading the frontier efforts for the planet.
BLADE operatives are thrust into the most dangerous and hazardous missions in order to secure zones as well as explore and scout out various regions of Mira’s five continents. Military officials are charged with taking on hostile alien forces in direct combat encounters, while collecting information and key supplies along the way.
Members of the elite military task force also have to search Mira for “life points”, a sort of ethereal life force/essence, which might be the key in resurrecting or sustaining part of New Los Angeles’ populace that remains “asleep”.
The translations are a bit iffy, but it looks like a portion of the Moby Dick’s immigrants have been placed in a type of suspended slumber (possibly a sort of death state) and can only be brought back with “life points”.
BLADE has eight distinct Unions (or departments, sort of like guilds) that players can affiliate themselves with throughout the game.
Every Union has its own unique line of quests and missions, and completing them earns players a “Union point” which can be spent in ranking up their standing in the particular faction.
One of the main benefits of choosing a Union is that you get “Union support”, which could possibly be various upgrades like weapons and armor, or perhaps a specific skill increase.
Additionally you’ll be able to change your Union affiliation within the game, and you’re free to choose any Union you like.
Quests
Xenoblade Chronicles X will feature a number of different quest arcs similar to any open-world RPG, including main story quests and side quests.
The Japanese site also mentions something called “Kizuna Quests”, which the translations roughly say are “made in the wake of new encounter”. These could be found peppered across Mira, outside of the fortress-city of New Los Angeles.
Additionally the site shows off the in-game mini-map which looks pretty amazingly dynamic. And if you ever get lost in the game, you can call upon a magical “navigation ball” that points you in the right direction, leading you to items and quest locations.
Last but not least, we have a new batch of Xenoblade Chronicles X artwork for you to feast your eyes on. Check below for some glorious sci-fi paintings!
And if you can’t get enough Xenoblade, check out 25 minutes of in-game footage that showcases off Monolith Soft’s RPG mastery in action. Even if you’ve already seen it, it’s good for another view (or another twenty).
