Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition Review – A Classic Worth Revisiting

The original Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is one of the first JRPGs to hit the Nintendo Switch. While Monolith Soft did an amazing job with it, the game was a bit too ambitious for the time. The plethora of gameplay mechanics and open-world elements made the game struggle on the original Switch. 

This made the experience of playing it, especially in handheld mode, less than stellar. With the upgraded hardware of the Nintendo Switch 2, Monolith Soft has been revisiting all of the Xenoblade titles, starting with Xenoblade Chronicles X earlier this year. The trilogy of Xenoblade games is getting its upgrades as well, with the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition now in our hands, and only Xenoblade Chronicles 3 missing until later this year. 

We’ve had the opportunity to revisit the title along with its Expansion Pass content, courtesy of our partners at CD Media. Let’s take a closer look at Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition from the perspective of a first-time player to see what the game has in store and whether the jump to next-gen hardware has made a significant difference.

TL;DR

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition is the definitive way to play Nintendo’s classic JRPG. With smooth 60 FPS gameplay, fast loading,  and valuable quality-of-life improvements, this is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a 100+ hour experience on their Switch 2. 

Story – Looking for Elysium

Just like other titles, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition takes place in its own world, called Alrest. One of the distinguishing factors of the Xenoblade series is its sense of scale. In Alrest, people live on the backs of giant creatures called Titans. 

Each Titan serves as a flying island, a giant open world with its own characters, shops, towns, creatures, and quests. We play as Rex, a boy living on a Titan and making a living as a salvager. One day, he is hired for a mysterious job that leads him to Pyra, a legendary blade. Together, they set out for Elysium, a place described as paradise.

 This is the driving force behind Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition’s story. In traditional JRPG fashion, things are never that simple, and the game often steers into side stories which help make the world feel alive. This also means the game can easily take 100+ hours to complete even for a casual player.

Bad Pacing Hurts the Experience

While Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition is rich in content, it can also feel rich in bloat. Oftentimes, you’ll play the game for hours without making meaningful story progress. 

The story of finding Elysium always looms in the background, but it can feel frustrating to get stuck doing menial quests instead of progressing the plot. The way dialogue is structured also doesn’t help in many instances. Characters repeat the same information line after line to make sure players understand what their next goal is. 

When it happens several times within a few minutes, it can feel like too much. The main story beats are amazing and well worth experiencing, especially if you’ve managed to stay unspoiled since Xenoblade Chronicles 2 first launched. Just be prepared for a long, but ultimately rewarding, journey to Elysium.

Gameplay – Exploring a Vast Open World

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition is an open-world JRPG where you control a party of three characters. It mixes up the formula by introducing support characters for each of the three. In story terms, the weapons you use are called “Blades”, and you can equip up to three of them. Each Blade represents a different set of skills and combat styles, with a potential nine Blades participating in combat at once. 

This is a complex combat system that Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition does a good job of slowly introducing you to. However, it can still feel like a lot is happening at once on the screen, especially in handheld mode. Despite that, Monolith Soft made sure that on-screen information is as clear and scannable as possible considering the number of permutations happening at the same time. 

As you explore the world, you’ll come across random encounters and bosses which will help you develop new skills and gather equipment for your party. It’s mostly standard JRPG stuff, with a few twists that make the systems feel more natural in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition’s world.

Rewarding Tactical Combat

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition features reactive combat where you don’t directly control any of your characters. Instead, you observe what’s happening and send commands based on what you want to happen next. 

This allows for more breathing room as you make decisions that would best fit your current party and set of Blades, especially during long and dangerous boss encounters. Characters will automatically attack using default moves, which then allow you to cast skills. These skills work in unison with other characters, which are mostly acting on their own and with pretty good AI decision-making. Most importantly, despite a lot going on at once, you’ll never feel like you’re lost. 

This is partly due to long and detailed tutorials, but also thanks to great UI design on Monolith Soft’s part. Take a look at any screenshot or gameplay video, and it can feel like too much. But in reality, it really isn’t, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition feels very rewarding once you’ve learned all the ins and outs of its combat system.

Contrary to the first game, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 also features a more streamlined gear system. You’ll equip your characters with accessories and blades instead of having to worry about individual clothing pieces. This makes gearing up and switching styles much faster compared to the first title, allowing you to focus on mixing and matching Blades instead.

Frustrating Gacha Mechanics

One of the more unfortunate aspects of the game lies in its gacha mechanics. Gachapon is a loot box system tied to gambling, but it’s made “innocent” in this game. There is no in-game spending or real-world cash transactions. Instead, you’ll grind for “Cores,” which you then open and spin the proverbial wheel to get new Blades. 

The problem lies in Blades having unique abilities, which are often required to progress side quests or explore secret areas. So if you need a Blade with a high Lockpicking level, for example, you’ll need to open Cores until you get what you need. 

Similar systems are in place throughout the game, where loot is based on a gacha mechanic that makes grinding unpredictable. You may get what you need within minutes or spend days rolling the dice in frustration. Thankfully, none of this is tied to the main story, and you can comfortably finish Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition without spending time on this. If you’re a completionist, however, prepare for pain.

Expanding Your Experience with Additional Content

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition contains the base game in its entirety with additional content tied to the Switch 2 release. However, the game’s Expansion Pass comes with a slew of content that helps flesh out Xenoblade Chronicles 2 even further. 

Most notably, Torna – The Golden Country, the game’s prequel campaign, adds more context to the story and lets you experience events that happened 500 years ago. In addition, a selection of helpful items and resources is available to you from the start, alleviating the aforementioned gacha mechanics. 

New quests are also organically woven into the main game, expanding your experience with more story and rewards for completing them. While the Expansion Pass isn’t a must-have, it’s more Xenoblade Chronicles 2. If you enjoy the main game, there’s no reason not to pick up the Expansion Pass as well for a full experience.

Visuals – Buttery Smooth in Docked and Handheld Modes

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition runs at 4K in docked and 1080p in handheld mode, both locked at 60 FPS. This is a massive step up from the original experience and the most valuable reason to pick up the game on the Switch 2. 

For an open-world game with an ambitious presentation and worldbuilding, a high resolution and smooth framerate really makes a difference. This is especially notable when you’re in the middle of combat with a dozen characters casting skills and making decisions on the screen without a dip in performance. 

Likewise, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition features crisp loading times, which make fast traveling and cutscene loading much quicker and smoother. Whether you primarily game in docked or handheld modes, this is a fantastic showcase of the Switch 2’s capabilities, especially in light of Xenoblade Genesis’s announcement. 

The game’s art style also helps, with anime-like aesthetics scaling wonderfully in higher resolutions without looking outdated. If the only reason you never picked up Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on the original Switch was tied to its performance, now’s the time to pick it up. 

Audio – The Mesmerising Xenoblade Soundtrack

Besides its scale, the Xenoblade series is also known for its soundtrack. Each game features a soundtrack that feels distinctly “Xenoblade”, despite the games taking place in separate worlds. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition is no different, with Yasunori Matsuda’s work on the game’s music being unmatched in tone-setting. 

The second game’s soundtrack does a great job of making you feel like you’re a tiny part of a much bigger world. This is especially evident in open-world sections where you traverse the backs of giant Titans and take in the atmosphere. Luckily, for a 100+ hour game, the team has done an amazing job at ensuring each area feels distinct. 

With the game also featuring a day and night cycle, as well as a weather system, the soundtrack organically reacts to these changes and adjusts to match the vibes. It’s an amazing accomplishment, one that carries over to each game in the series. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition also features the series-standard voice acting that relies on British, Scottish, Irish, and Australian accents. 

This makes the series feel more distinct from traditional JRPGs and gives the games a more unique spin. You’ll hear a lot of different accents and quality voice work in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition if you play it in English, but you can also switch to Japanese voice acting depending on your preferences.

Conclusion – Should You Play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition?

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition is a must-play for anyone remotely interested in JRPGs. It’s a testament to Monolith Soft’s ability to create a vast, believable world with its own set of rules, history, and characters you can immerse yourself in. With the upgrade to new hardware, it’s now also a much smoother and higher-definition experience than ever before. 

The one blemish on an otherwise perfect re-release has to be the gacha system. It’s inseparably tied to the game’s overall structure, and it couldn’t have been taken out completely. But the fact that the system is still there and asks the player to grind for hours and literally pray for good results isn’t ideal. JRPGs are all about grinding, but gacha systems don’t belong in single-player experiences. 

So, if you’re looking for a very long game that’ll showcase what your Switch 2 is capable of from a technical perspective, look no further. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Switch 2 Edition is a shining example of what the console can do, and we can’t wait to experience the future of the series moving forward.

Big thanks to CD Media for providing us with access to the base game and its Expansion Pass for this review.