Yesterday's Nintendo Direct was full of pleasant surprises, not the least of which was Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition. A full remaster of the original, mega-sized RPG previously released on Wii in 2012 and then on 3DS in 2015, the game follows Shulk on his journey across two continent-sized titans as he unravels the mysteries of his time-bending sword, the Monado.
I was kind of expecting this after the runaway success of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which was a launch window title for Switch. It's interesting to note that while Xenoblade is now Nintendo's signature JRPG franchise, it almost didn't get the recognition it deserves. Nintendo wasn't even going to bother localizing the original Xenoblade Chronicles to America, until the fan campaign Operation Rainfall pestered them into bringing it over, along with Pandora's Tower and The Last Story.
Xenoblade Chronicles ended up being the most popular and influential of the so-called "Rainfall Three," and after Shulk's debut in Smash Wii U/3DS, the series has developed an even bigger following. My wife is frankly addicted to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 so I'm sure she will enjoy playing through the remastered original.
Now I'm just hoping that the sci-fi spin-off Xenoblade Chronicles X, which was a Wii U exclusive and my personal favorite, gets the remaster treatment sooner rather than later.
