Ever since I bought a Nintendo Switch 2, I’ve been eager to dive into a Nintendo-exclusive JRPG that I could really sink my teeth into. Time and time again, I heard that if any Nintendo series fits that description, it’s Xenoblade Chronicles. So, what better place to begin than with the newly enhanced Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition on Switch 2?
Originally released digitally on 9th June 2026, with the physical edition arriving on 30th July, this feels like the ideal starting point for newcomers. The Switch 2 version brings 4K resolution, a smooth 60fps presentation, and a handful of gameplay additions, including the new Ether Jet for faster exploration and a series of optional jet races.
My first impressions were excellent.
The game opens with a spectacular prologue, introducing two enormous Titans locked in battle. The world itself exists on the bodies of these long-dead giants, immediately giving Xenoblade Chronicles one of the most imaginative settings I’ve seen in an RPG. The opening cinematics are beautifully directed, introducing the main cast in a way that’s exciting, dramatic, and instantly engaging.
Once the adventure properly begins, the quality continues. The characters are likeable, well-acted, and supported by strong dialogue and an engaging narrative. While many of them lean into familiar JRPG archetypes, they’re written with enough charm and personality that they quickly become invested in the story.
The world itself is another major highlight. Every area feels distinct, packed with imaginative scenery and striking environmental design. The Switch 2 upgrades really help here, with the sharper 4K presentation and silky-smooth 60fps making an already beautiful game look even better.
My first—and honestly only significant—issue is the combat.
It’s best described as MMO-inspired, similar in style to games like World of Warcraft. It’s neither traditional real-time action nor turn-based combat, instead sitting somewhere in between. You control your character’s movement while selecting Arts that activate in real time before entering cooldowns. When you’re not issuing commands, your character attacks automatically.
To be fair, there’s a huge amount of tactical depth. Positioning matters, with certain Arts dealing extra damage from the front, side, or rear. On top of that, you have Break, Topple, buffs, Chain Attacks, party coordination, and, if you’re playing as Shulk, the unique abilities of the Monado itself.
When everything comes together, the combat can be incredibly satisfying. Pulling off the right combination of abilities at exactly the right moment feels rewarding.
Unfortunately, those moments weren’t frequent enough for me.
Combat often feels visually messy, particularly against multiple enemies. It can be surprisingly difficult to tell whether attacks are connecting or having much impact. While the game’s icons clearly communicate what’s happening mechanically, I found myself wanting clearer visual feedback from the enemies themselves.
As the game progresses, more and more mechanics are introduced. Individually, they’re well designed, but together, they become overwhelming. You’re expected to remember each character’s Arts, ideal positioning, cooldown management, status effects, combo opportunities, and several other interconnected systems.
More than anything, though, the combat simply felt impersonal.
Rather than feeling like I was directly fighting enemies, I often felt like I was standing back and issuing commands to someone else. That’s ultimately the biggest reason why the combat never fully clicked with me.
Thankfully, Xenoblade Chronicles‘ greatest strength lies elsewhere: its story.
What begins as an emotional tale of revenge gradually develops into something far more ambitious and surprising. Excellent cinematics, confident direction, and genuinely memorable characters constantly encouraged me to keep playing just to discover what happened next.
The RPG systems are equally deep. There’s an enormous amount of equipment, upgrades, gems, skills, buffs, and character progression to explore. Players who enjoy mastering complex RPG mechanics will find plenty to get stuck into.
For me, however, that depth occasionally became a little too much. Some of the later boss battles almost demand that you fully understand every progression system available, and reaching that level of mastery can feel daunting.
Ironically, those boss fights are also where I enjoyed the combat the most.
With a single powerful enemy rather than a crowd of smaller ones, I could properly focus on my abilities and strategy. During these encounters, I realised something that summed up my biggest issue with the combat system: I was spending more time watching my Arts bar than the action itself. Because opportunities to use certain abilities can disappear in seconds, my attention was constantly drawn to the user interface instead of the battle. Personally, I find any combat system that pulls my eyes away from the action disappointing.
One final area deserving huge praise is the audio.
The voice acting is excellent, the combat effects have real impact, and the soundtrack is simply outstanding. For a game that can easily last around 70 hours, the sheer variety of music is impressive. Even better, each piece complements the mood of the moment perfectly, adding genuine emotional weight to both the quieter scenes and the larger set-pieces.
Overall, it’s easy to understand why Xenoblade Chronicles has earned such a devoted following. It’s an exceptionally well-crafted RPG packed with imagination, memorable characters, and one of the strongest stories I’ve experienced in the genre. The Switch 2 enhancements make this the definitive way to experience the game, especially if it’s your first time playing.
Whether or not you enjoy it, however, will largely come down to how you feel about its combat system.
For me, the MMO-inspired, hands-off approach simply wasn’t engaging or rewarding enough to keep me invested. I can absolutely appreciate what the developers were aiming for, and I know many players adore this style of combat. It just never truly clicked with me.
If that style appeals to you, I think you’ll absolutely love Xenoblade Chronicles. If you’re looking for a more direct, action-oriented combat system, though, your experience may be very different.
Developer: Monolith Soft
Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2
Release Date: 30th July 2026
