With the release of Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition, many are asking the simple question of: are the Xenoblade games connected? And are they connected to Xenogears and Xenosaga?
Well, today we are going to answer that question, and try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. We will especially be avoiding the full details of Xenoblade Chronicles X, but we will say this right now:
YES the games are connected, NO not all of the connections are 100% clear, and yes we will be spoiling some main plot points of Xenoblade Chronicles, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3; along with the DLC. We will avoid spoiling the game's main story, but talking about how the games are connected will be ruining some of the major reveals.
Xenoblade Chronicles:
The first entry in the Xenoblade series, Xenoblade Chronicles takes place in a strange world where two giants have killed each other in a battle to the death. Now, many years later, new life has sprung up on the giant's corpses, and only the legends of the great battle remains.
The game itself follows the story of Shulk, who is forced to set out on an adventure once his village is attacked by machines from the enemy giant the Mechonis. With the strange sword named the Monado in hand (the Xenoblade), he and his friends travel across their own giant, the Bionis, and eventually uncover the truth of the attack. Not only that, but they stumble upon the secrets of the Monado, its power to see into the future, and the very world they live in.
As it turns out, the Bionis and Mechonis are not what they seem.
The reality of Xenoblade’s world is that it and the two giants were created by an experiment on Earth. A scientist named Klaus had lost faith in humanity, and decided to activate a strange device that was found called the Conduit. Another scientist named Galea tried to reason with him, but it was too late. The Conduit sprung to life, a major space time event occurred, and Klaus, Galea, and one of the AI Klaus created all got sucked into a new dimension; their bodies becoming the giants, and their argument becoming a fight to the death.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2:
Initially Chronicles 2 appears to be its own story. The game follows a young boy named Rex, who finds himself getting mixed up with a group trying to reach a place called Elysium, where the world’s god is said to reside.
In this world beings called Blades exist, which require a bond with humans to maintain their physical form, and work together with them side by side. Some Blades are seen as tools, others and friends, and for some… Something more.
After Rex is killed, he forms a bond with a Blade named Pyra, who is one of the world’s two special blades; and Aegis. It is with Pyra then that Rex sets out to reach Elysium for himself, and Pyra was created by none other than the world’s god, the legendary “Architect.”
(Spoiler Warning)
The truth of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is… The world contains the ruins of Earth. The people of this world live on the backs of titans, but the world below the clouds is none other than what remains of our very own planet.
The Architect is none other than half of Klaus, with his other half existing in the dimension seen in the first Xenoblade. Shulk’s voice can be heard through the portal, which confirms both games are taking place at the same time. Pyra (and her other half Mythra) and the “big bad” of the game Malos are the other two AI Klaus created, with their weapons and powers being the same as the Monado as seen in the original Xenoblade.
Ultimately Rex puts a stop to Malos’ plans of destroying the world, and Klaus himself is finally able to pass on. He leaves the future of the world in the hands of the people living on the titans, and hopes they can one day fix his mistake of activating the Conduit.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3:
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 takes place in a world that appears to be a mixture of what was previously seen in Chronicles and Chronicles 2. The races of each appear, making up the factions of Agnus and Keves, with both factions being forced to fight each other to the death. People in this world only live for 10 years, but to even make it to that point requires surviving all the battles.
The story itself focuses on a group from Keves and a group from Agnus, who find themselves being transformed into beings called Ouroboros. As Ouroboros they are no longer bound by their colony’s Flame Clock, and are no longer required to fight to live; however, the world itself now sees them as enemies.
As the group travels the world, they fight back against the world’s leaders calling themselves Moebius, and ultimately free the colonies under their control. After becoming Ouroboros they realize how messed up this cycle of death system really is, and they get to work on freeing everyone from it.
(Spoiler Warning)
Although the game features locations from both of the previous games, the connection isn’t clear at first. Eventually the group discovers people who were born outside of the 10 year life cycle, and they learn of past heroes who established the “City” and fought back against the system Moebius has control over. These heroes are revealed to be Shulk, Rex, and a handful of other key players via the DLC Future Redeemed, but their statues are visible in the main game as well.
As for what is revealed in the base game, it turns out the world is an artificial one, meant to serve as an ark to save humanity. The worlds created by Klaus activating the Conduit are now merging back together, and in return is causing the destruction of both. A new world was created to store the data and memories of everyone during the merge, but an entity known as Z hijacked the system and created what he called “the endless now.” This created the 10 cycle of life, death, and rebirth, and effectively “froze” time. As thousands of years pass by within this new world of Aionios, not a single second passed by on the outside.
In the end, Z’s endless world is stopped, everyone returns to the world they came from, and the final scene of the DLC shows the worlds finally rejoining to recreate Earth.
Xenoblade Chronicles X:
Chronicles X (Cross) was originally the second Xenoblade game to be released, but has now been updated to fit in with the rest of the series. The Definitive Edition features new story content and characters, and includes a post game story taking place after the original version’s cliffhanger ending.
The story itself takes place in the distant future, and begins with aliens invading Earth and destroying everything in their path. Major cities across Earth launch space ships in a last ditch effort to survive, a plan dubbed Project Exodus, but most of them do not even make it past the atmosphere; with the exception of the White Whale, and the city of New Los Angeles.
Although the White Whale escapes, they crash land on the uncharted planet of Mira, and must gather their resources to build their new home, and ultimately survive. During the ship’s landing they lost the Life Hold, which contained the civilians of LA, so recovery of it becomes the crew’s top priority. This is what eventually leads them to encounter the alien threats on Mira, and discover what is really going on.
(Spoiler Warning)
As the Definitive Edition is so new, we will not be spoiling the key story points. Instead, we can confirm Xenoblade Chronicles X now ties in with Xenoblade Chronicle 3 Future Redeemed. Of course there are connections to Xenoblade Chronicles and Chronicles 2 as well, but we will leave this for you to discover.
Thankfully knowledge of these three games are not required to enjoy X, but long time fans will understand the deeper connections at play if they have completed the previous games. Again, the new story content and connections are spread throughout the game, and are not limited to the new end game; so those who have played the original will not have to wait too long to begin seeing something new.
Xenogears and Xenosaga:
At this time the connection to Xenogears and Xenosaga is not fully clear, but we can go over what we do know.
Xenogears takes place on its own version of Earth, with insanely deep lore and background history. Xenogears itself is actually “Episode 5,” in the series, and was initially planned to be multiple games. A device known as the Zohar plays a major role in the story, and serves as a power source for the final boss. The Zohar has great power, and allows its users to make nearly anything possible.
Xenosaga takes place in a future where Earth has vanished, and sees humans trying to survive against a new alien threat.
Similar to Xenogears, the Zohar once again makes an appearance, and this time around looks very similar to the Conduit in Xenoblade (or rather, the Conduit looks like the Zohar, as Xenogears and Xenosaga were released first).
While the games have not fully confirmed the Zohar and Conduit to be one and the same, many ideas introduced in Xenosaga were reused for Xenoblade, with Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Future Redeemed taking things a bit further.
(Final Spoiler Warning)
The DLC Future Redeemed contains a very interesting reference to the series as a whole. A radio appears with the Vector Industries logo on it (a company that plays a major role in the story of Xenosaga), and multiple radio broadcasts can be heard playing from it. One mentions Project Exodus from Xenoblade Chronicles X, Philadelphia-Class Motherships from Xenogears are mentioned, and Dmitri Yuriev from Xenosaga is direction mentioned.
This radio single-handedly links Xenoblade to the entire Xeno Series, but at the same time doesn’t directly confirm how the games are truly linked. The Conduit does exist, and allows for travel across space, time, and dimensions, but nothing has been officially confirmed in Xenogears and Xenoblade’s case. Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition on the other hand does confirm a direct connection.
And that’s about it for now! This series is actually extremely deep, with a lot of layers to uncover. Even learning of these connections will not the games, as this knowledge is only scratching the surface!
There is so much to uncover in each game, and those who play every entry will be amazed at just how connected they really are. (And that’s without even attempting to put together a family tree for the main cast… Which is a rabbit hole all on its own.) It would take multiple books to dive into everything the Xeno games have to offer, and even then we might not be able to cover it all. This is a constantly evolving universe, and even as we speak Monolith Soft has plenty of unused plans they are holding onto.
As for where this series will eventually end up? Even they might not know!
Bonus: Where To Play Xenoblade, Xenogears, and Xenosaga
For those looking to get into the Xeno Series, there are a few ways you can play the games.
To play the entire Xenoblade series, it can be made easy by only looking at the Nintendo Switch. Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition is an enhanced Switch version of the original game, with additional content. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a Switch exclusive, with the stand alone Torna expansion also releasing on Switch. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and its expansion Future Redeemed are also Switch titles, with Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition completing the series all under one platform.
If the Switch is not an option, only the original Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles X can be played elsewhere. Xenoblade Chronicles originally released on the Wii and can only be purchased physically, with Xenoblade Chronicles 3D being released exclusively for the New 3DS and New 2DS models in the Nintendo 3DS family of handhelds. Xenoblade Chronicles was also available as an eShop download on the Wii U, however the Wii U eShop has closed its doors. On the other hand Xenoblade Chronicles X was originally a Wii U exclusive, and can be purchased physically.
Xenogears is currently only available on PlayStation Network via the PlayStation 3 or PlayStation Vita. This requires accessing the digital store from the device itself after adding credits to your account through Playstation.com or by using a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5. This version of the game can also be downloaded to a PSP once purchased. Alternatively a physical PlayStation copy could be purchased as well.
Xenosaga is not available for purchase outside of physical PlayStation 2 copies of the game. There are three entries within the Xenosaga series, and can be quite hard to find in today's world. A Japanese exclusive DS game was also released, which is a remake of Xenosaga 1 and 2. This too can only be purchased physically and does not have an official English translation.
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