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Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
Released On: May 29, 2020
89
8.9
Where to Buy
Where to Buy
All Platforms
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 92 Critic Reviews
89
96% Positive
88 Reviews
88 Reviews
4% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 92 Critic Reviews
89
96% Positive
88 Reviews
88 Reviews
4% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Oct 26, 2020
This has been a delight in a dark time in humanity's history. [Issue #48 – September/October 2020, p. 74]
Jun 11, 2020
A thoughtful update to a classic JRPG that brings it to a whole new audience. With a shiny lick of paint and some fantastic interface changes it’s the best way to experience Shulk, Fiora and Reyn’s epic adventure.
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 1,691 User Ratings
8.9
88% Positive
1491 Ratings
1491 Ratings
6% Mixed
108 Ratings
108 Ratings
5% Negative
92 Ratings
92 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 1,691 User Ratings
8.9
88% Positive
1491 Ratings
1491 Ratings
6% Mixed
108 Ratings
108 Ratings
5% Negative
92 Ratings
92 Ratings
Oct 21, 2025
Still one the best RPG game. Only issue with Definitive is it plays the Gaur Plains music as you near the area instead of the WONDERFUL timing of it starting as you walk thru the cliff and hit the open area.
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Nintendo Switch Oct 14, 2025
Peak Fiction, My favourite game of all time and just a monumental piece of Video Gaming History. One of the Most heartfelt story's and narratives, delivered with strong emotions and one of the most iconic OST's ever. Its a timeless masterpiece that I can't believe was developed on the WII in the 2000's. The combat system can feel a bit dated, but its honestly very Iconic.
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Nintendo Switch Jul 16, 2020
Definitive by name and definitive by nature, XC:DE is as complete a JRPG package as you will find on the Switch – albeit with a few concessions. [Issue 1#1, p.58]
May 27, 2020
Without a doubt, one of the games of the summer for the Nintendo console!
May 27, 2020
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition is a great JRPG, with a well told story, elemental gameplay and a dazzling world to explore. The massive epilogue, the excellent graphic upgrade and the lightening of some mechanics make it a highly recommended game even for those who have already explored the original. If you know how to go beyond some hesitation in the pace and a video resolution not always up to date, you'll have in your hands a great JRPG.
Jun 26, 2020
An excellent port of an already beloved title. A must buy for fans of the genre.
May 27, 2020
Unfortunately for Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, the Nintendo Switch isn’t exactly hurting for Japanese role-playing games, though few can match its breadth and width. If you’ve been curious about the title and managed to miss out on both the Wii and 3DS versions, picking up the Switch one is practically a no-brainer, even if it does feel like a bit of a throwback. If you’ve played it before and loved it, maybe Future Connected is plenty enough reason to return. But if you are just generally interested in games more broadly, there are probably better uses of your time. If they had seriously reworked the combat in some way, it probably wouldn’t really be Xenoblade Chronicles any longer, but I imagine I also would have had a much better time with it.
Jun 3, 2025
I haven't played this game in five years and coming back to it has been a treat. Back then I didn't really know what I was looking for in a game, but now that I have a more defined idea of what I like I wanted to give Xenoblade Chronicles another go around to see if I loved it as much as I did five years ago. Xenoblade Chronicles is a game dripping with beauty around every corner, and it makes me so incredibly happy. I especially liked the Nopon Forest and the High Entia Lake which are just so fun. I love how homey some areas feel even in a post-apocalyptic war torn war; they are often so pretty that the war gets forgotten. The story is very very good and I love how it interacts with all of the characters. Sharla, Melia and Shulk were all standout characters this time around, but above all else I really wish that Riki got a bit more screentime. It is so interesting to me that the oldest member of the group is a Nopon and especially how wise he can be while also being as Nopon as they get. I absolutely loved the main villain and the simplicity of the events that made him become they way he is; I loved all of the villains almost as much they are a very fun group. I didn't really mess with Alvis the first time around but I've really come around to love him and his relationship with Shulk. The combat could definitely be better, but I kinda liked it. There's something soothing to me about chipping away at a giant healthbar. There is a bit of complexity with a lot of moves doing more damage depending on how you're positioned in relation to the enemy, but it doesn't matter too too much. The side quests would be alright in any other game, but I think they work pretty well here. I like taking a stroll around and doing a bunch of tiny things for different people, especially when I have the affinity chart to look and and see just how many people I've helped along the way. That being said there are definitely a bit too many, but I don't think its that big of an issue. Xenoblade Chronicles will always hold a special place in my heart for showing me just how beautiful the world can be, and on top of that for just being a really solid package. There are a few problems, but none of which I feel drags the game down too much and the things that it does right really hit. I wish I could articulate just how much I love this game a bit better, but that's alright.
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Nintendo Switch May 1, 2025
I do love this game, but it is absolutely not a masterpiece. The music, world, and narrative are outstanding. However, combat in this game is very frustrating. I like it in general, but some mechanics and systems make it less enjoyable to play. In the end, I played through it for the story and nothing more. Future Connected was, in my opinion, also largely uninteresting. Out of all the Xenoblade games, definitely the one I enjoyed the least. But don't get me wrong—it’s still a fantastic game that is worth playing for any JRPG fan.
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Nintendo Switch Mar 24, 2025
It's good, but not THAT good. First, as much as I love it being set on the body of a titan... It's a really hard sell when you're actually in the game. The environments you go through very often hardly look like the actual limb of the titan, whatever scale you look at. Creates dissonance that kinda pulls you out of it... For a JRPG, that is a fatal flaw.
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Nintendo Switch Jan 11, 2021
The story is good. The rest of it ****. The combat **** and gets really tedious by the end. Some characters like Riki have absolutely no point and are useless in combat. The exploring ****, the gem crafting system ****, the side missions are tedious and rote. There's no sense of satisfaction from winning the big battles, because once you get the boss HP bar down, it suddenly turns into a cutscene that will show you losing, or the boss is fine and flies off and you have to beat it again later. If this was a well done anime, it'd be pretty great, but as a game it kind of ****.
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Nintendo Switch Oct 28, 2024
A boring, overly tedious, and generally underused battlesystem ruins an otherwise good story. The battle system tries so hard to be "MMO but single player!" and forgot to make the party AI more competent than a bag of kittens taking on a tsunami. Specifically it took the typical "rogue" class and built an entire combat system around it. Where you stand matters, and you'll usually have multiple moves requiring you stand to the side or behind an enemy. They're doing this too, and the AI pathfinding is truly a miracle in incompetence. You could set most longer battles to yakety sax, watching you and the enemies dance around each other. Idk if your party members even try to position correctly; you usually can't tell what's going on in combat bc the screen will become cluttered (esp at the end when you're fighting several tall or large enemies). You can call out dynamic party commands such as "focus on my target" or "walk to me". With that I have exhausted all AI combat customizations. You can't dictate what HP level the healer should use her spells (...well, bullets) and therefore often ends up on cool down sooner than she should. You can choose who to control before battle but are locked in during: if you want to police the heals, expect combat efficiency to drop drastically. Most of the characters are useless in general, since you're usually going to have no choice but to use up two of three slots for a tank and a heal. It's usually easier and better to just let Shulk take up that third slot. There are two tanks but really only one healer for most of the game. There's also a gemcrafting side thing where your weapons and armor have slots for them. Most of the game this is useless and once it's necessary, you're drowning in useless crystals and one or two of the one you actually need. Again, the story IS good. But the combat feels like a dudebro who binges WoW and Mountain Dew created a combat system after a week with no sleep. And amphetamine. There's a silver lining though: I just saved some money in not having to buy either sequel. So there's that!
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Nintendo Switch Summary Join the fight between man and machine in the definitive edition of this critically-acclaimed RPG. Discover the origins of Shulk as he and his companions clash against a seemingly-unstoppable mechanical menace. Wield a future-seeing blade, chain together attacks, and carefully position your party members in strategic, real-time combat as...
Rated T for Teen
Platforms:
- Nintendo Switch
Initial Release Date: May 29, 2020
Developer:
Publisher: Nintendo
Genres:
