Game news Xenoblade Chronicles 3: new images, fights, DLC …. the exclusive Nintendo Switch presented from every angle!
It is on July 29 that the JRPG Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will be playable on Nintendo Switch, a highly anticipated new opus, after a second episode which had already seduced owners of Nintendo’s hybrid console.
The main characters have already been presented, as well as some other characters, but a Nintendo Direct entirely dedicated to Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has just taken place! The opportunity to discover new images, to evoke again the different characters, the exploration, the creatures living on Aionios, the factions, or the combat system. For more than 20 minutes, the developers and Nintendo took players around the owner, without saying too much about the vastness of the world, the scenario, or all the possibilities related to classes and Arts.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Exploration Detailed!
So the team started by showing again Noah, Mio, Lanz, Sena, Taion and Eunie, the main characters. The latter come from two rival factions, but they will have to work together to survive. This will give them the opportunity to bond, something that will prove very useful in combat, but we will come back to this. We were also treated to a glimpse of the open world which, as in the other opuses, promises to be huge, with titanic structures and quite varied environments.
This world is inhabited by peaceful creatures but also fearsome monsters, which can appear at different times of the day. The soldiers of Keves and Agnus will not fail to cross paths with the characters either, since they are regularly at the heart of skirmishes. During exploration, players will discover points of interest, which will then serve as teleportation points.
It will also be possible to obtain a form of GPS guidance, which will allow you to go to a specific place without turning for hours. Finally, all over the world, players will be able to to go to the colonies, villages which are used to craft gems, meet characters, shop, cook, and get new quests. In each of them, we will find a Ferronis, a giant heavily armed mobile base taking the form of a mechable to go to the battlefield.
A combat system that promises to be extremely deep
Beyond its open world, it is not its writing and especially its very complete combat system that shines the Xenoblade Chronicles license. Result a sometimes busy screen, but which can be taken in hand quite quickly. In Xenoblade Chronicles 3, characters respond to several archetypes (fighter, protectorn healer), who each have several classes (swordsman, zephyr, healer gunner, heavy guardian or even ogre), associated with the essential abilities called Arts. These allow you to inflict damage, heal, send the enemy flying, put him on the ground, or inflict status on him.
As per usual, placement will play an important role in the effectiveness of the Arts, and we can switch from one hero to another to manage better. By gaining combat experience, party members can gain access to master arts or unlock the ability to fuse arts to unleash more powerful attacks. Still with this flexibility in mind, characters can use an ally’s class while keeping their Arts. if they have been mastered.
The character group consists of six members, but a seventh can join the group. These heroes have their own class and skills (Guardian Commander, Intrepid Force, War Medic), but you can only have one at a time! By combining all these aspects, we obtain a very flexible system opening up multiple tactical options. But that’s not all ! Indeed, duets of characters can merge to become Ouroboroskinds of very powerful organic mechas capable of unleashing hell on opponents and participate in sequences. These mergers have their own progression systemand can therefore become even more powerful.
The Detailed Expansion Pass
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will therefore have, in addition to a collector’s edition, an expansion pass. This one costs $29.99 and its content will be published between the release and the end of the year 2023 ! Upon release, players will find a bunch of useful items and new colors. Before the end of 2022, the second wave will contain the challenges of the arena, new heroes to recruit and new quests, as well as new outfits.
Finally, before December 31, 2023, players who have purchased the pass will be able to discover a new scenario! Finally, note that all Amiibos released to date can be used to unlock various bonuses. That of Shulk allows to modify the appearance of the weapon of a swordsman character (the starting class of Noah) so that it takes the appearance of Monado, the iconic blade from the first Xenoblade Chronicles game.
