Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch) Review

Role-Playing Perfection

I came to the Xenoblade Chronicles series late, picking it up in March 2022. In a way, I wish I hadn’t waited but, on the other hand, I didn't have to wait to jump right into the next one. I finished the first Xenoblade Chronicles in April, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 in late June, and I got to roll almost immediately into Xenoblade Chronicles 3 in late July. I can't overstate this enough; play this series. It has to be one of the best RPG trilogies we've ever received. While many newcomers might be curious if they should play the previous Xenoblade Chronicles games before diving into the third, that's more of a loaded question. You will absolutely miss out on a lot of story beats. Specifically, the ending won't hit you as hard, but I think one could enjoy this game if this is the first outing.

The story of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is hands down amazing. I also think it is its most vital asset, so I will do my best not to spoil anything here. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 bridges the stories of the first two titles. After opening up on a brutal battle between two warring people, we are introduced to two squads from each side having to come together and in typical RPG fashion things quickly spiral out of control. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 sees our heroes travel across their world searching for a mysterious “True Enemy.” I feel that any more insight into the plot would be incredibly spoiler heavy. To say Xenoblade made me cry only once would be a lie. It is such an emotional story filled with political intrigue, strife, and empowerment. Is it a lot to ask someone to invest upwards of 300 hours into a series? Yes. But it is worth it.

The Xenoblade Chronicle saga as a whole is now one of my favorite RPG stories of all time.

Gameplay-wise, Xenoblade 3 includes a bunch of massive quality of life improvements without changing its core values over the previous entries. For example, instead of only having three characters on the field at a time, you can have your whole party of up to seven out and active. It makes the battles bigger and feels more engrossing. While the battle system remains mostly unchanged from the previous entries, setting up your team to auto-battle while taking on larger actions. Think Knights of the Old Republic with characters having abilities called arts you can use to topple, daze, break, etc... While combining these with teammates can lead to dealing a ton of damage. As arts are used, you build up a gauge, and when it's full, you can unleash a stronger attack called a Fusion Art. There is a lot of tactical thinking that goes into mastering the battle system, and having six teammates out attacking can get hectic but in a fluid and fun way. There is one thing that stands out that, again, I can't really touch on without spoiling a lot. If you like Power Rangers, you will like this and I will leave it at that.

My biggest concern with Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was the performance. I have a launch Nintendo Switch, and it struggles. Almost every recent release has had huge framerate issues, and from what I've gathered, the OLED model handles games much better. To my surprise, I had no problems here; occasional pop-ins and a few frames went down when things got crazy in battle, but nothing game-breaking or super noticeable. That's surprising because it feels like Xeno 3 is pushing the graphical limitations of the Switch, everything here looks gorgeous, and the Xenoblade Chronicles series has some fantastic vistas. The soundtrack is another banger that’s really evocative, helps elevate the story, and makes the world easy to get lost in.

Overall, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the best of the series and my second favorite Nintendo Switch game. If you like RPGs, this game deserves your love and attention. Give it the 80 hours it takes to finish it or the 300 hours for the entire series. It earns every second of your time.

SCORES

GAMEPLAY - 10/10

VISUALS -10 /10

SOUND - 10/10

CONTROLS - 10/10

REPLAY VALUE - 7/10

OVERALL - 9.4/10

Screenshots were captured using the system’s built-in capture button. A digital Switch copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review purposes. Learn more about Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on the Nintendo listing.