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Xenoblade Chronicles
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Xenoblade Chronicles
Xenoblade box artwork.png
European cover art
Developer(s)
Monolith Soft[a]
Publisher(s)
Nintendo
Director(s)
Koh Kojima
Genki Yokota
Producer(s)
Shingo Kawabata
Takao Nakano
Designer(s)
Programmer(s)
Artist(s)
Writer(s)

Koh Kojima
Katsunori Itai
Norihino Takami

Tetsuya Takahashi
Yuichiro Takeda
Yurie Hattori
Composer(s)
Ace+
[show]

Manami Kiyota

Yoko Shimomura
Yasunori Mitsuda
Series Xeno
Platform(s)
Wii
New Nintendo 3DS
Wii U
Release date(s)
Wii
JP June 10, 2010[1]
EU August 19, 2011[2]
AUS September 1, 2011[3]
NA April 6, 2012[4]
New Nintendo 3DS
JP April 2, 2015[5]
EU April 2, 2015[6]
NA April 10, 2015[7]
Genre(s)
Mode(s)

Action role-playing
Single-player

Xenoblade Chronicles, known in Japan as Xenoblade (Japanese: ?????? Hepburn: Zen

obureido?), is an action role-playing game developed by Monolith Soft and publis
hed by Nintendo for the Wii home console. Initially released in Japan in 2010, i

t later released in Europe in 2011, and was eventually released in North America
in 2012. A port to the New Nintendo 3DS was released worldwide in 2015. Xenobla
de Chronicles forms part of the Xeno metaseries, although no direct narrative co
nnections exist to previous Xeno games, and incorporates aesthetic and narrative
elements from both fantasy and science fiction. The game features navigation th
rough an open world, side-quests tied to party members' affinity, and a real-tim
e action-based battle system which incorporates the main character's ability to
see glimpses of the future.
Xenoblade Chronicles takes place on the frozen bodies of two warring gods, the B
ionis and the Mechonis. The people of Bionis, including the human-like Homs, are
in a perpetual war with the Machina machine race of Mechonis. Key to the Homs'
efforts in fighting the Machina's Mechon army is the Monado, a sword said to hav
e been wielded by the Bionis. In an attack on his colony, the main protagonist S
hulk sees his childhood friend Fiora killed. Having discovered his ability to wi
eld the Monado, he sets out on a quest for revenge.
The concept for Xenoblade Chronicles originated in June 2006 when the game's exe
cutive director and lead writer, Tetsuya Takahashi, visualized and then construc
ted a model of two giant gods frozen in place with people living on their bodies
. Development began that year under the title Monado: The Beginning of the World
, though it was eventually rebranded with its current title in honor of Takahash
i's previous work. The script was worked on by Takahashi, anime writer Yuichiro
Takeda, and in-house Nintendo writer Yurie Hattori. The music was handled by six
different musicians, including first-timer and lead composer Manami Kiyota and
industry veterans Yoko Shimomura and Yasunori Mitsuda.
The game was announced in 2009 under its original title, and released in Japan t
he following year. Despite releasing in Europe, its North American released rema
ined unconfirmed until December 2011, during which time a fan campaign called Op
eration Rainfall had drawn considerable attention to the game. Upon release, the
game received critical acclaim as one of the best recent role-playing games, wh
ile its port was praised for successfully re-creating the game in portable form.
It also met with commercial success in both Japan and the West. A spiritual suc
cessor by the same development team for the Wii U, Xenoblade Chronicles X, was r
eleased in 2015.
Contents
1 Gameplay
1.1 Battle system
2 Synopsis
2.1 Setting and characters
2.2 Plot
3 Development
3.1 Scenario
3.2 Music
4 Release
4.1 Xenoblade Chronicles 3D
5 Reception
5.1 Critical reception
5.2 Awards
5.3 Sales
6 Legacy
7 Notes
8 References
9 External links
Gameplay
Shulk (middle) and Reyn on the Bionis' Leg. Xenoblade Chronicles features large,

expansive environments that afford the player a high degree of freedom to explo
re.
Xenoblade Chronicles plays as a role-playing video game (RPG), where the player
controls one character out of a party of three using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk
or the Classic Controller.[8] The game employs an open world design, with player
s able to freely navigate seamlessly interconnected environments.[9] A day-and-n
ight time cycle exists in the game, with the time of day often affecting in-game
events, quests, enemy strengths, and item availability: for instance, stronger
enemy types appear at night. While time flows automatically and a day cycle repe
ats about every ten minutes in real time, players can adjust the in-game clock t
o the desired time at any point.[8][10] Additionally, while the game is about ex
ploration, many areas, called "Landmarks" aid in traversing the land by serving
as warp points, allowing the player to instantly return to that point at any tim
e.[11] The game also supports a "save anywhere" feature, where players can save
at any point outside battle.[10] The game also contains a New Game+ mode, which
pulls over much of the player's progress from their first playthrough into futur
e playthroughs.[11]
Exploration, quest completion, and item collection are large parts of the gamepl
ay. The player is encouraged to explore the large environments, which generally
allow the player to visit whatever can be seen in the horizon.[12] While explori
ng, the player may choose to take on side quests from various non-player charact
ers that inhabit the game's world, as they commonly involve locating certain ite
ms or killing a certain number of enemy characters. When the necessary requireme
nts are fulfilled, the quests complete automatically without the player needing
to manually notify in-game characters of its completion, provided that the non-p
layer characters are generic-named, e.g., Colony 9 Resident and Defence Force So
ldier. Item collection plays a role in the game in the form of the game's "Colle
ctopedia".[11] Scattered across all major regions of the game are glowing blue o
rbs, and upon coming into contact with the orb, the player is awarded an item at
random, which is added to the player's inventory. From there, the player may ad
d the item to the Collectopedia, and when a certain number are collected during
exploration, the player is rewarded with new items.[11] Aside from the Collectop
edia, there are also ether crystals to be found from fallen enemies or ether cry
stal deposits, which give the player access to a multifaceted "Gem Crafting" min
i-game, allowing for the creation of gems that may increase battle stats when eq
uipped.[11]
Many in-game systems affect the general flow of gameplay. The "Affinity" system
tracks the relationships between characters and locations in the game. "Location
Affinity" tracks the interpersonal relationships between all of the game's name
d characters, depicting to which degree they get along with one another, and a t
own's general perception of the player's controllable party.[11] Completing ques
ts can alter perception of the characters, and open up additional story sequence
s.[13] There is also "Party Affinity", which is strictly the level of affection
between each party member, ranging from indifference to love.[11] These affiniti
es can be raised by having characters participate in battle together, giving gif
ts, or using the "Heart-to-Heart" system.[11] These "Heart-to-Hearts" are intima
te moments between two characters that can show more of a character's personalit
y, history, or thoughts, and can be initiated by having a certain level of Affin
ity between them.[14] The Affinity system ties into how efficient characters wor
k together in battle and gem crafting.[11] The game also has an extensive custom
ization system, which includes changing the characters' outfits and weapons. The
se changes are directly reflected in the game, appearing in the field and even d
uring scripted event scenes.[13]
Battle system
A battle between Shulk (the player), Reyn, and Fiora against some hostile wildli
fe in Xenoblade Chronicles.

Xenoblade Chronicles has a real-time action-based battle system, where the playe
r manually moves the current lead character in real-time, and party members will
"auto-attack" when enemies enter their attack radius.[15] Manually input attack
s, called "Arts", may also be performed by the player, but in a limited fashion.
Battle Arts are only available after a "cool down" period that occurs after eve
ry use, while character specific "Talent Arts" only become available after enoug
h auto-attacks are executed.[15] Both party members and enemies have a finite am
ount of health points, and attacks deplete this value. Combat is won when all en
emies lose their HP, but the game is lost if the player's character loses all th
eir HP and has no means of being revived. Health may be restored by the player b
y using healing Arts in battle, or the player may let characters' HP regenerate
automatically outside of battle. Winning battles earns the player experience poi
nts, which allows the characters to grow stronger by leveling up and learning ne
w Arts. Arts for each character must be set by the player on their respective se
t up, called a "Battle Palette", outside battles.[8][16]
Several other systems are present to affect the flow of battle. The "Party Gauge
" slowly fills as party members successfully land hits on the enemy players, and
filling the gauge allows the player to chain multiple attacks together, for ext
ra damage.[16] All party members have an "aggro ring" around them as well; the m
ore actions a character performs, the larger it grows. Larger aggro rings lead e
nemies to focus their efforts on that respective character, leading to a strateg
ic aspect of luring and diverting attention of enemies.[15] Each character has a
"Tension" gauge, which represents a character's morale: at its highest point, c
haracters have a high probability of dealing a critical blow and less chance of
missing an enemy.[8] The game's "Vision" system, where main character Shulk can
see glimpses of enemies' future attacks, also factors into battles. With knowled
ge of an enemy's potentially dangerous attack, the player can prevent it from ha
ppening by alerting a teammate, allowing the player to activate one of their Art
s, or by using an Art of their own to stop the attack.[17] The Vision system is
tied to the "Party" gauge, which is filled by boosting team morale, using Arts w
ith special effects, and avoiding or dealing critical hits. The three-tiered gau
ge gradually depletes outside of battle, and one tier is needed to either revive
characters or receive visions. When all three tiers are full, the party can exe
cute a chain attack.[8]
Synopsis
Setting and characters
The setting of Xenoblade Chronicles originated in a world that was nothing but e
ndless ocean, until two great titans, the Bionis and the Mechonis,[b] came into
existence. The two titans fought a timeless battle, until with one final strike,
only their corpses remained, forever locked in combat. The gods have since beco
me the home of multiple forms of life. The Bionis houses organic lifeforms inclu
ding human-like Homs, the diminutive Nopon, and a race known as the High Entia.
The Mechonis is home to a hostile machine race known as the Machina.[9][18][19]
A key weapon in the battle by the Homs against the attacking Machina is the Mona
do, a mystical sword linked to the Bionis which grants visions of the future to
its wielder.[18]
The game's main character is Shulk, a scientist who lives in the settlement of C
olony 9 on Bionis. During an attack by Machina warriors, called Mechon, Shulk co
mes into possession of the Monado. During his journey, Shulk is joined by Reyn,
another childhood friend and headstrong member of the Defence Force; Dunban, a f
ormer wielder of the Monado and the brother of Shulk's childhood friend Fiora; S
harla, a medic and sniper from Colony 6; Melia Antiqua, crown princess of the Hi
gh Entia and a half-blood; and Riki, a member of the Nopon who is chosen as the
hero of his village. Other important characters include Dickson, Shulk's mentor;
Mumkhar, a cowardly soldier who was Dunban's rival for wielding the Monado; Egi
l, leader of the Machina; and Alvis, a mysterious man who aids Shulk on his jour
ney.[20]

Plot
The game's opening details events one year past, when Dickson, Dunban, and Mumkh
ar were fighting a Mechon army. Mumkhar deserts, and in the process of defeating
the Mechon the Monado paralyses Dunban's right arm: in the present, Shulk studi
es the Monado in Colony 9, where Dunban and Fiora live.[21] Colony 9 is soon att
acked by a group of Mechon led by a special Face Mechon called Metal Face. Dunba
n is almost killed when he attempts to use the Monado again, prompting Shulk to
use it: he wields it with ease, and receives visions of the future from it.[22]
While the Mechon are driven back, Metal Face proves immune to the Monado and kil
ls Fiora before fleeing. Shulk decides to pursue and kill Metal Face. Shulk sets
out together with Reyn, and during their journey they are joined by Sharla, Dun
ban, Melia and Riki. Guided by a vision from Shulk, the group travel to the High
Entia capital to gain entry to Prison Island, joined by Melia and Riki. Shulk a
lso meets Alvis, who is revealed to share Shulk's ability to wield the Monado. G
aining entry, they encounter Zanza, a being who created the Monado and who offer
s Shulk the ability to destroy the Face Mechon, revealed to be humans inside Mec
hon mechs.[23] Though Shulk accepts and the Monado is granted the ability to des
troy humans, Zanza is killed by Metal Face and another Mechon called Face Nemesi
s during an attack on the capital. During the ensuing battle, Face Nemesis is da
maged to reveal a recreated and amnesiac Fiora controlling it.
While initially disheartened by this, Shulk is rallied by his comrades and sets
out in pursuit of Metal Face and Fiora. During a peaceful encounter with Fiora,
Metal Face attacks them again, revealing itself to be Mumkhar. Egil then interve
nes, spiriting Fiora away.[24] On the way to the Mechonis, the party finally kil
l Mumkhar, then face off against Egil and Fiora. In the resultant fight, Shulk a
nd Fiora are separated from the group. During their time together, Shulk success
fully awakens Fiora's memories, and learns that another being was controlling he
r body.[25] Reuniting with the group, they meet up with a friendly Machina named
Vanea. She reveals that the Bionis and Mechonis were initially at peace, before
the Bionis' god Zanza launched an unprovoked attack. Since the battle a year be
fore, Egil has been working to convert the life of Bionis into Mechon to render
the Monado useless.[26] Going to face Egil, Fiora is taken over by the other pre
sence, the Machina goddess Meyneth. Reaching Egil as he reactivated the Mechonis
and begins an attack on the Bionis, seeking to prevent the Bionis from using it
s population as food and save Mechonis from another attack and the people of Bio
nis from extinction.[27] Despite fighting him, Shulk manages to make him see tha
t they both wish for a return to peace.[28] At this point, Dickson appears and s
hoots Shulk, who is possessed by Zanza, Dickson's master. Zanza uses the Monado
to destroy Mechonis, stealing Meyneth's own Monado from Fiora's body: the party
narrowly escape with Shulk's body, with Egil sacrificing himself so they can esc
ape.
In the aftermath of the Mechonis' destruction, pure-blooded High Entia begin tra
nsforming into Telethia, beings whose one purpose is to purge Bionis of life.[29
] While the party is initially helpless before the Telethia, Shulk awakens and m
anages to defeat a Telethia raid on Colony 6, although Alvis is revealed to be a
disciple of Zanza. Making their way to Prison Island, they defeat first a High
Entia disciple, then Dickson. The party then travels to face Zanza, who declares
the life of Bionis as simply his food and vessels. Zanza then offers Shulk the
chance to become his new disciple.[30] Shulk rejects the offer, and during the e
nsuing battle produces a third Monado: prompted by Alvis, the spirit of the Mona
do, which Shulk uses to destroy Zanza.[31][32] Alvis then shows Shulk Zanza's or
igins; both Zanza, then named Klaus, and Meyneth were originally human scientist
s from Earth, working to create a new universe aboard a space station. The exper
iment ended in disaster, obliterating the universe and causing Zanza and Meyneth
to be reborn as gods. Alvis was originally the artificial intelligence operatin
g the experiment within the station. After the new universe's creation, Zanza an
d Meyneth created life in their image, and Zanza created the cycle of Bionis out

of fear that he would eventually die as awareness of him faded.[33] With the cu
rrent universe threatened with death, Alvis asks Shulk to remake the universe. S
hulk, now a god, wishes for a world without gods, where everyone can decide thei
r own fates.[34] In the new universe, the survivors of Bionis and Mechonis build
a new settlement and live peacefully together, Fiora is restored to her Homs fo
rm, and both her and Shulk optimistically look forward to Alvis' promise of endl
ess worlds and races of people beyond their own.[35]
Development
A model depicting two giant gods frozen in mid-combat, created by Tetsuya Takaha
shi and Yasuyuki Honne from a concept by Takahashi. This model became the starti
ng point for the development of Xenoblade Chronicles.[36][37]
Xenoblade Chronicles was developed by Japanese development company Monolith Soft
, with Tetsuya Takahashi forming the original concept and serving as the game's
executive director. Takahashi had previously worked in the 1990s on Xenogears, t
hen on the Xenosaga trilogy after founding Monolith Soft in 1999. Xenosaga was i
ntended to be a six-party series, but low commercial performances forced the pla
nned Xenosaga series to be halved.[38] After these events, the entire developmen
t team was in a state of low morale.[39] The initial concept for Xenoblade Chron
icles, of people living on the bodies of gigantic gods, came to Takahashi in Jun
e 2006 while the studio was finishing development on Disaster: Day of Crisis. St
ruck by his idea, he immediately committed it to paper and showed the draft to o
ther senior staff, who were favorably impressed. One of them, an executive calle
d Yasuyuki Honne, thought it would make a good 3D model and bought materials to
create it. Construction began in July: during this period, younger staff acted a
s models so that Takahashi could establish which parts of the gods' bodies could
be used as habitable and navigable environments in various poses.[36][37]
After the model's construction, Takahashi decided to combine the model's concept
with an unrelated story idea, which became the basis for a new game after posit
ive feedback from staff.[36][37] Takahashi later said that one of the main reaso
ns for developing the game was to bolster team morale after the commercial failu
re of the Xenosaga games.[39] Development began over four years prior to its rel
ease, before the official release of the Wii hardware, with the first prototypes
for the game being developed in April 2007. It was at this point that co-direct
or Genki Yokota was brought in by Nintendo to handle any system-related issues d
ue to his previous experience with RPGs.[36][40] After being contacted regarding
both Xenoblade Chronicles and fellow Wii RPG The Last Story, head of Nintendo's
licensing department Shinji Hatano said that the games should be made for a wid
e audience and using a "romanticist approach".[41] Takahashi was involved in eve
ry aspect of the game's development, from its initial concept to the debugging s
tage.[42] At the beginning of development, the game was going to be a stand-alon
e title unrelated to the Xeno series, bearing the title Monado: The Beginning of
the World. Later, then-Nintendo president Satoru Iwata had the title changed to
its current one to honor both Takahashi's previous titles and the effort he was
investing in Xenoblade Chronicles.[43] According to Takahashi, the "Xeno" desig
nation was more along the lines of a symbol, calling back to the previous works
of Monolith Soft.[44]
A key element of the game for Takahashi was creating an ideal balance between ga
meplay and story, something that he felt was lacking in other JRPGs which focuse
d too much on story.[39] Takahashi's previous experiences with the Xenosaga game
s and Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, which had been called out
for being old-fashioned when compared to other RPGs of the day, influenced his w
ork in this regard.[9] The mechanic of Shulk getting glimpses of the future beca
me the foundation of the entire battle system. Takahashi briefly experimented wi
th a turn-based battle system that incorporated the feature, but it did not work
out.[40] In a separate issue, Takahashi decided against a transition between th
e environment and a battle arena was chosen by Takahashi as he felt such a trans
ition would negatively interrupt the flow of gameplay.[9] The game features a fu

lly open world, which was described by Takahashi as "overwhelming, like an MMORP
G", describing the world size as being roughly equivalent to the Japanese archip
elago.[9][44] The scale of the world was derived from Takahashi's wish to showca
se the grandeur of the experience.[40] In addition to this, the number and lengt
h of cutscenes was cut down significantly from those present in the Xenosaga gam
es, with Takahashi considering such a development method as having become a "dea
d end".[9][44] The wish for an expansive world also became tied up with the wish
to reward players for exploration, which entailed the creating of a huge amount
of content creation such as items and accessories.[37] The gameplay was influen
ced both by previous Japanese RPGs and Western RPGs.[45]
Scenario
The scenario was created by Takahashi, Yuichiro Takeda and Yurie Hattori. Takaha
shi was responsible for creating the main concept, but as he was going to be dir
ector and executive producer, he was unable to also take on full script-writing
duties, so he asked Takeda to be his partner in creating the scenario. Takeda wa
s a writer for anime who had previously collaborated with Takahashi on adaptatio
ns of the first Xenosaga game, in addition to writing the script for the Nintend
o DS remake of Xenosaga and its sequel. Takahashi deliberately chose someone out
side the video game industry as he wanted a different perspective on the story's
pacing.[37] Hattori was brought in during the early development stages due to h
is experience scenarios for Nintendo games, which enables her to look at Takahas
hi and Takeda's scenario from an objective viewpoint.[36] A key element in the s
cenario was contrasting senses of scale, which Takahashi described as "contrasti
ng the realms of the micro and the macro", while the main story themes were char
acters embarking on a great and evolving journey, and overcoming a predetermined
future.[37][46] Despite multiple fantasy elements, Xenoblade Chronicles is base
d within a science fiction premise, although such elements were kept low-key dur
ing the first part of the game.[39][47]
Despite their earlier work together, it was the first time they were so intimate
ly involved in a project. Takeda found working on the project more difficult tha
t he initially anticipated: his standard writing form was for the anime series f
ormat, which was limited to 20-25 minute episodes. With Xenoblade Chronicles, th
e volume of story and writing work was much larger and offered more freedom for
dramatic expression. Conversely, his previous experience enabled Takahashi to ea
sily plan the structure and scheduling for the game. During the initial writing
stages, Takahashi did not give precise instructions to Takeda: he instead gave a
rough outline that they worked on together, then they passed the developing scr
ipt between themselves, along producers Shingo Kawabata and Koh Kojima, to iron
out rough elements. Takahashi compared it to playing a game of catch, something
he was unused to doing for his game scenarios.[37] The ending underwent revision
s: while Takahashi and Takeda felt they had created a fairly explanatory ending,
Hattori still felt unsatisfied. After a second look, Takahashi and Takeda reali
zed that it would appear perplexing for someone outside the writing process, so
they rewrote it to be more player-friendly.[36] The final script contained a lar
ge amount of dialogue: the sheer volume, which included dialogue spoken in battl
e, made for a difficult experience while recording. Due to all the effort, Takah
ashi was emphatic that as much of it as possible be used, although he sometimes
felt that there was too much. In the end, some dialogue needed to be cut as test
ers felt that the characters talked too much.[37] Takahashi's overall writing st
yle was made deliberately more mature and subdued than other games within the ge
nre.[48]
One of the elements that was of great concern to both Takahashi and Takeda was t
he main protagonist Shulk. Takahashi had noticed that, in the majority of RPGs,
the main protagonist was all too easily disliked even if other characters became
fan favorites. Consequently, one of the main priorities was to make Shulk as ap
pealing as possible to players. During this process, it was suggested that Shulk
be a silent protagonist, but there was a general wish from the staff for him to

speak. In addition to this, Takahashi needed to confront the problem faced in a

ny RPG with voiced characters, which was developing them suitably and writing ap
propriate dialogue between them. The companion character Riki was cited by Taked
a as a favorite of his: on paper Riki sounded an unlikable character, but his vo
ice and appearance acted as a counterbalance to his remarks.[37] One of the scen
es where Hattori had input was a scene between Shulk and Fiora which showcased t
heir connection: the original scene had Shulk touching Fiora's cheek, which Harr
ori felt would look "creepy" coming out of the blue. The scene was altered so Sh
ulk touched her hand instead.[36] One of the early concepts Takeda suggested was
that one of the main protagonist's party would betray them and become the final
boss, but Takahashi rejected this idea as he felt it would run counter to playe
r expectation.[37] During the course of its development, the story underwent so
many revisions that Takahashi forgot what his original concept was, although the
basic framework remained intact throughout.[40]
Music
Xenoblade Original Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Manami Kiyota, ACE+, Yoko Shimomura & Yasunori Mitsuda
Released
23 June 2010
Genre Video game soundtrack
Length Disc 1:04:14
Disc 2: 1:09:38
Disc 3: 1:17:11
Disc 4: 1:15:35
Total: 4:46:38
Label Dog Ear Records
Xenoblade Chronicles was composed for by six people: Manami Kiyota, music team A
CE+ (made up of Tomori Kudo, Hiroyo "CHiCO" Yamanaka, and Kenji Hiramatsu), Yoko
Shimomura and Yasunori Mitsuda.[49][50] As with other parts of development, Tak
ahashi was deeply involved, constantly rejecting pieces due to what he felt was
not fitting for the game. He admitted that this was due to early samples he had
given the team for his vision for the music, which they had followed too faithfu
lly for his liking. At Takahashi's request, music production studio Dog Ear Reco
rds helped with the music production.[42]
The music team was led by Shimomura, who was initially very confused by the odd
naming of tracks, along with getting the opportunity of using sounds not normall
y used in her compositions, such as electric guitars.[49][50] Kiyota had only pr
eviously done superficial work on video game titles, she accepted Dog Ear Record
s' offer for her to compose music. ACE+ was recommended to Takahashi by Dog Ear
Records. Kiyota handled environmental tracks, while ACE+ was in charge of battle
tracks in addition to other musical pieces. The team's main goal was to create
music that went beyond the typical sound of RPGs. In hindsight, Yamanaka attribu
ted the harmony of the six composers' works to Takahashi's organization and over
all direction.[42] The final score contained around ninety tracks. One of the ha
rdest tracks for Shimomura was a nine-minute track that Takahashi requested to m
atch with a movie scene. Later, he said the track needed to change midway throug
h, essentially necessitating the creation of two conjoined themes.[50] The major
ity of the game's music was written by Kiyota and ACE+. Shimomura created eleven
tracks. The music was recorded at Burnish Stone Recording Studios. Among the mu
sicians were violinists Yu Manabe and Masahiko Todo. The chorus work was provide
d by Yamanaka, Kiyota and Masao Koori.[51]
The ending theme, "Beyond the Sky", was written by Mitsuda and sung by Japanese
singer Sarah lainn, also known under the name Sarah Lin.[50][51][52] He was broug
ht in due to his previous experience with the soundtracks of Xenogears and the f
irst Xenosaga game, and due to Takahashi's long working relationship with him. W
hen Mitsuda was contacted, the project was nearing completion, with very little
development and composition work left. Despite this, before creating the main th
eme, Mitsuda asked if he could read the script, which was much larger than he an

ticipated.[42][49][50] The track caused much stress to Mitsuda, who was tasked t
o create the game's most important song, which needed to incorporate both the di
versity of the entire rest of the soundtrack, and mesh with Takahashi's grand vi
sion for the ending of the game. Takahashi also personally wrote the original Ja
panese lyrics for the track.[42] The lyrics were translated into English by Lisa
Gomamoto.[51]
An official soundtrack album for the game, Xenoblade Original Soundtrack, was re
leased by Dog Ear Records on 23 June 2010.[53] It entered the Oricon charts at #
80, and remained in the charts for five weeks.[54] Upon release, the album recei
ved praise from critics: while multiple critics were surprised that Shimomura an
d Mitsuda's contributions were less substantial than originally thought, they fo
und the majority of the music composed by Kiyota and ACE+ to be enjoyable. "Beyo
nd the Sky" also received unanimous praise.[53][55][56]
Track listing
[show]Disc One
[show]Disc Two
[show]Disc Three
[show]Disc Four
Release
See also: Operation Rainfall
Xenoblade Chronicles was first announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 20
09 under its original title.[57] Its official title and release window were not
announced until the beginning of 2010, alongside the announcement of The Last St
ory.[58] The game released in Japan on 10 June 2010.[1] Over a year after its Ja
panese release, it was confirmed for release in European territories under the t
itle Xenoblade Chronicles.[59] This version included both the English and Japane
se voice tracks.[60] According to Adam Howden, Shulk's voice actor, he was not g
iven much information prior to his audition, and was never given the full script
during recording. According to him, the translated script needed to be altered
as some lines came out as longer or shorter than the Japanese originals, and he
was told to give Shulk a neutral British-accented voice.[61] Concerning the game
's localization, Takahashi stated that while some minor changes were made in the
English versions of the game, like some bug fixes, minor adjustments to gamepla
y balance, and slight rewriting of some written content, none of the changes led
to any significant differences.[45] Initially planned for release on 2 Septembe
r 2011, it was released two weeks early on 19 August. In addition to the standar
d edition, a special edition with a Classic Wii Controller was also released.[2]
It was later re-released in Europe on the Wii U's Nintendo eShop on 5 August 20
15.[62]
Despite being confirmed for a European release, Xenoblade Chronicles did not hav
e a confirmation of a North American release. Additionally, the game was absent
altogether from Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011, a major medium for promoting
upcoming games in North America. In an interview on the French television stati
on Nolife, Mathieu Minel, the marketing manager of Nintendo France, stated that
Nintendo of Europe had desired to show the game at it, but Nintendo of America w
ould not allow it, sparking speculation that it would not be released in North A
merica.[63] In response to this, a dedicated fan campaign was launched called Op
eration Rainfall. Its goal was to raise fan awareness of the situations felt by
three Wii RPGs: Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story and Pandora's Tower.[64] Am
ong the campaign tactics used by Operation Rainfall were emails, organized campa
igns, online petitions, phone calls, and messages on Nintendo's Facebook and Twi
tter accounts.[65] One of the most notable efforts was a call to pre-order the g
ame via the original "Monado: Beginning of the World" placeholder on Amazon.com.
Their efforts resulted in Xenoblade Chronicles becoming #1 in the site's pre-or
der gaming charts, beating The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and the PlayS
tation 3 bundle for Call of Duty: Black Ops. The campaign also received support

from Mistwalker, the developers of The Last Story, and Xenogears and Xenosaga wr
iter Soraya Saga.[66] Takahashi later stated that they developed the game assumi
ng that it would be released overseas.[67]
In the months following these activities, Nintendo of America officially stated
that there were no current plans to release the three asked-for games in North A
merica, despite acknowledging the great demand for the titles.[68] Rumors eventu
ally emerged that the title would see a North American release when it was liste
d on the website of gaming retailer GameStop. Soon after this, Nintendo official
ly announced that the game would be released in the region.[69] In a 2013 interv
iew, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aim revealed that Nintendo were co
nsidering an American release for Xenoblade Chronicles while Operation Rainfall
was active, and that while the campaign did not factor into their decision, they
were aware of it and took it into account while deciding whether the release wo
uld make a profitable release.[70] Xenoblade Chronicles eventually released in N
orth America on 6 April 2012.[4] It was released in North America as an exclusiv
e to Nintendo's American store, and GameStop's website and stores.[69] The eShop
version released for North America from April 28, 2016.[71]
Xenoblade Chronicles 3D
A port for the New Nintendo 3DS, called Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, was released wo
rldwide in April 2015.[5][6][7] It features StreetPass functionality, as well as
compatibility with the Shulk Amiibo.[7] The port was originally announced in Au
gust 2014 alongside the New Nintendo 3DS.[72] The port was developed by Monster
Games, a frequent collaborator with Nintendo on well-received ports. They were r
equested for the job by Nintendo as the staff at Monolith Soft were already work
ing on the next Xenoblade title.[39][67] Development on the port started between
Autumn and Winter 2013, and was faced with considerable problems as the process
ing power of the Wii was greater than the 3DS. The New 3DS' increased power made
the port possible, and its button layout meant that the original Wii Classic Co
ntroller button layout could be used without adjustment. As part of the alterati
ons made to the title, much of the on-screen information was moved down to the b
ottom Touch screen so as to de-clutter the top screen, while the layout was care
fully arranged so as to maintain the feel of the original as much as possible.[7
3]
To maintain frame rate and the seamless transitions between environments, unspec
ified "technical tricks" were used. They also worked hard to include 3D capacity
despite the resultant technical difficulties.[73] The most difficult part of th
e development was getting the game's scale to work within the new hardware. This
entailed the creation of a new graphics engine with a custom visibility culling
and complex level of detail systems. All of the environments were rebuilt and o
ptimized for the new system while keeping the original aesthetic intact.[46] The
reason it was created for a portable platform rather than the new Wii U home co
nsole was that the sheer amount of content would make playing at home difficult
for the modern gamer, who was becoming more used to on-the-go, quick gaming sess
ions. The port was originally going to be developed for the original Nintendo 3D
S, but initial testing showed that the original platform lacked the memory and p
ower to effectively run the game. Hearing about the New 3DS, it was decided to u
se its increased processing power to realize the game's ambition.[67]
Reception
Critical reception
Reception
Aggregate score
Aggregator
Score
Metacritic
Wii: 92/100 (59 reviews)[74]
New 3DS: 86/100 (86 reviews)[75]
Review scores
Publication
Score
Edge
9/10[76]

Eurogamer
9/10 (Wii)[77]
Famitsu
36/40[78]
Game Informer 9.5/10 (Wii)[79]
9/10 (New 3DS)[80]
GamePro
5/5 stars[81]
GameSpot
9/10 (Wii)[82]
8/10 (New 3DS)[83]
GamesRadar
4/5 stars (Wii)[84]
4.5/5 stars (New 3DS)[85]
GamesTM
9/10[86]
GameTrailers
9.3/10[87]
IGN
9/10 (Wii)[88]
8.7/10 (New 3DS)[89]
Joystiq
5/5 stars[90]
NGamer 93%[91]
ONM
92%[92]
PALGN 9.5/10[93]
Digital Spy
5/5 stars (Wii)[94]
4/5 stars (New 3DS)[95]
RPGamer
5/5 (Wii)[96]
4.5/5 (New 3DS)[97]
RPGFan 91%[98]
Since its release, Xenoblade Chronicles has earned unanimous critical acclaim fr
om multiple outlets, earning perfect scores from Digital Spy, Joystiq, GamePro a
nd RPGamer,[81][90][94][96] and near-perfect scores from most other video gaming
websites and magazines.[76][77][78][79][82][84][86][87][93][98] The game scored
92/100 on the aggregate site Metacritic based on 59 critic reviews.[74] The gam
e had the fourth highest ranking on Metacritic for all video games released in 2
012, tying with Thatgamecompany's Journey.[99]
The story was cited by many as being innovative and enjoyable despite a fairly s
tandard premise, while its open nature was seen as a welcome change for the genr
e: IGN critic Keza MacDonald said that she had been shocked out of expecting RPG
s to be similar to the linear and story-driven Final Fantasy XIII. Its battle sy
stem and handling of quests also received praise, with the latter being seen as
a great improvement for the genre due to its user-friendly workings. The one poi
nt that generally drew criticism were the graphics, with multiple critics disapp
ointed that they lacked the polish of other contemporary consoles.[76][77][78][7
9][81][82][84][86][87][90][93][94][96][98] IGN, Eurogamer and Edge Magazine cite
d the game as a triumphant comeback for the RPG, and a prime example of the genr
e.[77][88][91] The battle system, and to a degree its general gameplay, was favo
rably compared by multiple critics to that used in Final Fantasy XII.[76][77][84
][88]
The New 3DS port also received a positive reception, scoring 86/100 on Metacriti
c based on 86 reviews.[75] The port was generally received similar praise to the
original Xenoblade Chronicles: many points of praise regarding its gameplay and
story were shared with its original release, while new praise was given to the
fact that an RPG of its scale had been successfully ported to the platform at al
l. Despite this, critics cited the graphical downgrade and lackluster implementa
tion of 3D effects as detrimental factors, generally resulting in lower scores f
or the port when compared to the original game.[80][83][85][89][95][97][100]
Awards
At the 2011 Japan Game Awards, Xenoblade Chronicles received the "Excellence" aw
ard.[101] In IGN's Best of 2012 awards, the game was named "Best Wii/Wii U Game"
and awarded with "Best Wii/Wii U Story".[102][103] It was also nominated in the
"Best Overall Role-playing Game" and "Best Overall Story" categories.[104][105]
In RPGFan's "Game of the Year" awards that same year, it was named "Best Tradit

ional RPG",[106] and was a runner-up for "Best Combat" and "Best RPG", losing bo
th to Mass Effect 3.[107][108] It was also awarded the site's "Reader's Choice B
est RPG" award, with 24% of readers' votes going to Xenoblade Chronicles, beatin
g Persona 4 Golden to the award.[109] In RPGamer's "Best of 2012" awards, it was
named as the year's best RPG, along with earning awards for "Best Story" and "B
est Music".[110][111][112] At the 2012 Golden Joystick Awards, the game was nomi
nated in the "Best RPG" category, although it lost to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyri
m.[113] Slant Magazine named it as "Game of the Year" in 2012.[114]
Sales
During its opening week, Xenoblade Chronicles reached the top of Japanese gaming
charts, selling 80,000 units.[115] By the end of 2010, the game had sold over 1
61,000 copies, making it the eighth best-selling Wii game of the year, and event
ually reached almost 200,000 units by the end of 2013.[116][117] In the UK chart
s, Xenoblade Chronicles debuted at #7, and reached #2 in the dedicated Wii chart
s despite stock shortages.[118][119] According to Gamasutra, it was the fourth b
est-selling game in the UK during its first week.[120] In the US gaming charts,
the game was excluded from the NPD Group's monthly assessment due to it being a
retailer exclusive.[121] Investment banking firm Piper Jaffray estimated it to b
e one of the best-selling games in the United States during the month of April 2
012, along with Mass Effect 3 and Prototype 2.[122] In a later interview, it was
stated that the game sold better in the West than in Japan.[39]
Xenoblade Chronicles 3D fared below par, selling merely 56,932 copies in its fir
st week in Japan.[117] Roughly 78,000 Japanese copies had been sold by the end o
f June 2015.[123] In the UK charts, the game debuted at #27, becoming the third
best-selling Nintendo product of that week.[124] According to NPD Group figures,
the game sold under 75,000, failing to enter the top ten. However, Nintendo sta
ted that the game was the fifth best-selling platform exclusive that week.[125][
126]
Legacy
Since its release, the character of Shulk has been featured as a playable charac
ter in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, an entry in Nintendo's cros
sover fighting game series Super Smash Bros., being playable in both versions.[1
27] Fiora was later featured as a playable character in the crossover game Proje
ct X Zone 2, representing the Xeno series alongside Xenosaga character KOS-MOS.[
128] Using experience earned from developing Xenoblade Chronicles and listening
to feedback on the game, Takahashi and the team began work on a spiritual succes
sor for the Wii U. Titled Xenoblade Chronicles X, it was first announced in 2013
, and eventually released worldwide in 2015.[129][130][131]
Notes
Additional work was done by Nintendo SPD, while the New Nintendo 3DS port was do
ne by Monster Games
Respectively called the Kyoshin (???, lit. "Giant-God") and Kishin (???, lit
. "Machine-God") in the Japanese version.
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a boundless sky, reaching as far as could possibly be imagined. Then two great t
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we all live on. It must have a secret. That's how Dunban was able to destroy so
many Mechon. And why he lost the use of his right arm. If I can just unlock the
secret of its power..."
Monolith Soft (1 September 2011). Xenoblade Chronicles. Wii. Nintendo. "Reyn: Du
nban! You can't take any more of the Monado! / Dunban: But I must! I don't have
a choice! / Shulk: Reyn's right. You can't go on like this. [...] This time... I
t's my turn. / Dunban: Shulk, no! It'll kill you! Shulk! [Shulk picks up the Mon
ado, and after a brief struggle, he uses it to destroy attacking Mechon.] / Shul
k: What's happening? [Shulk receives a vision of a Mechon's attack, and successf
ully avoids it.] / Dunband: What the? / Reyn: Wow. Shulk's pretty awesome! / Dun
ban: How can this be? Shulk is using the Monado."
Monolith Soft (1 September 2011). Xenoblade Chronicles. Wii. Nintendo. "Zanza: T
he Monado is the blade of the Bionis. The only force that can oppose the Mechoni
s. As the wielder grows, so too does his ability to control all things. Yet ther
e is still power trapped in the sword. The Monado is in shackles. / Shulk: Shack

les? / Zanza: It is suppressed. / Shulk: You mean... [A flashback to when Reyn a

ttempted to wield the Monado and sliced at Fiora, leaving her undamaged while cl
eaving through some metal.] / Zanza: Yes. It was this constraint that gave rise
to faced Mechon. Mechon which cannot be destroyed by the Monado. [...] I will re
move those shackles for you. But you must take the Monado and free me from this
prison. Free me, and the Monado will cut down anything you wish. Nothing but a g
od can stand in your way!"
Monolith Soft (1 September 2011). Xenoblade Chronicles. Wii. Nintendo. "Shulk: I
t's not...like the other Mechon. / Egil: You are right, Heir to the Monado. This
is the strongest Face ever built, controlled by me, Egil leader of Mechonis, and
agent of Meyneth. / Shulk: "Leader of Mechonis"? So you're the one who controls
the Mechon. / Egil: I am he. We fight to free the world from the tyranny of the
Bionis. [ ] Your questions do not concern me. I must return with this one."
Monolith Soft (1 September 2011). Xenoblade Chronicles. Wii. Nintendo. "Shulk: F
iora. You're awake. Uh...do you remember? My name is Shu- / Fiora: I can't belie
ve it. My first kiss. / Shulk: You do remember me! Fiora! / Fiora: Of course I d
o, Shulk. [...] I...I never forgot you, or the others. / Shulk: Then...why? / Fi
ora: Because...I wasn't me anymore. I wanted to call out, but I couldn't. [...]
When it happened, when Colony 9 was attacked by the Mechon... [...] I thought I
had died. I felt the Mechon's claw rip through me. I couldn't remember anything.
There was no sound, no light, no pain. When I came round, I had the body of a m
achine. And...it felt like there was someone else inside me. [...] / Shulk: "Som
eone else"? You mean the person who was controlling the Mechon you were in? / Fi
ora: Yes, that voice."
Monolith Soft (1 September 2011). Xenoblade Chronicles. Wii. Nintendo. "Shulk: E
xplain it to me. I mean, why does Egil want to make us into Mechon? What's the r
eason for all this? / Vanea: In order to counter the Monado. [...] The Monado is
ineffective against the High Entia, the Homs - against all races of Bionis. Egi
l suffered a bitter defeat in the battle one year ago. After that, he theorised
that he could counter the Monado by integrating organic life from Bionis. [...]
It could not harm those who share the blood of Zanza. That was its sole weakness
. But Zanza lifted that constraint. / Dunban: Those who share the blood of Zanza
? Who is that giant? / Vanea: The progenitor of the Homs. [...] And once the fri
end of my brother Egil, before they became sworn enemies. It was Zanza who devas
tated Mechonis."
Monolith Soft (1 September 2011). Xenoblade Chronicles. Wii. Nintendo. "Egil: Te
ll me, boy. Are you familiar with the concept of starvation tactics? / [...] Dun
ban: A military strategy in which you cut the supply lines and starve out the en
emy. / Egil: So then you understand that that is the best method by which to ens
ure victory. I have no resentment or hatred for the peoples of Bionis. I am simp
ly depleting the Bionis' energy. Striking back at the titan that robbed my peopl
e of their lives. [...] Perhaps you need me to put things more simply. All life
on Bionis exists purely to feed its master! / Shulk: What?! / Egil: Ether, the b
ase element of all things that exist in this world. My body, your bodies... You
are aware that ether is the foundation of them all? / Shulk: Yes. / Egil: Ether
is power. You are the source of that power. All life that is born from the Bioni
s dies, and is returned to the Bionis. Unlike the Mechonis, the Bionis feeds on
ether provided by those who return to it. Upon the moment of its eventual awaken
ing, it will require an incredible number of lives."
Monolith Soft (1 September 2011). Xenoblade Chronicles. Wii. Nintendo. "Shulk: I
can't kill you, but I can stop your blade. And I'll do it. Over and over again,
until... we understand each other. OK? / Egil: You have used the Monado well. B
ut do you honestly believe you are its master? Mechonis and Bionis once lived in
harmony. They coexisted in peace. Without hatred or strife. [...] I can see it.
How well you retained a sense of self. Perhaps you can break the curse of Zanza
. And was that not precisely our wish? Lady Meyneth? / Shulk: I don't know much
about any curse. For now, all I can do is this, Egil. [Shulk extends a hand to E
gil.] We can live in peace again."
Monolith Soft (1 September 2011). Xenoblade Chronicles. Wii. Nintendo. "Dickson:
It's just like she says. The High Entia are a race created by Lord Zanza to eli

minate any annoying life forms in the preparation for the rebirth of the Bionis.
Their bodies contain a gene that, when the time comes, transforms them into Tel
ethia."
Monolith Soft (1 September 2011). Xenoblade Chronicles. Wii. Nintendo. "Zanza: I
must thank you indeed, Shulk. You were of more use to me than any of my discipl
es. Now that I have the Monados, I can forgive you your betrayal. [...] As I pla
nned, the life of Bionis existed simply to serve as my vessels and my food. Bion
is is nothing more than an accumulation of their corpses and life energy. [...]
You did a great deed in granting me a new Monado. I will gladly take you as my n
ew disciple, Shulk."
Monolith Soft (1 September 2011). Xenoblade Chronicles. Wii. Nintendo. "Zanza: C
an it be? A Monado?! / Fiora: It is not only you that has the right. Every livin
g thing has the freedom to choose the path they walk. And that is the future! /
Zanza: A third Monado has appeared. How can this have happened?! You are mere mo
rtals!"
Monolith Soft (1 September 2011). Xenoblade Chronicles. Wii. Nintendo. "Zanza: H
ow? The power of a god cannot be overcome. / Alvis: Zanza. This is the providenc
e of the world. Even gods are merely beings restricted to the limited power dete
rmined by providence. That power, although great, is not unlimited. [...] / Zanz
a: Alvis?! How dare you disobey me?! / Alvis: I am Monado. I was here at the beg
inning. And I will proclaim the end. [...] Shulk, it is time for you to choose.
Does this world belong to Zanza? Or does it belong to you? / Shulk: That is some
thing I decided long ago!"
Monolith Soft (1 September 2011). Xenoblade Chronicles. Wii. Nintendo. "Alvis: I
t was simple curiosity. The curiosity of a single man that destroyed the univers
e and created a new one. A new universe, your world, was born. And so, two gods
came into existence. Zanza and Meyneth were lonely. So they created life in thei
r own image. [...] As the world advanced to each further stage, it was inherited
by generations of different life forms. But over time, awareness of Zanza faded
. Zanza feared this. In order to escape his own annihilation, he wished for a wo
rld in a perpetual cycle of destruction and recreation. [...] / Shulk: Alvis, wh
at are you? / Alvis: I am the administrative computer of a phase transition expe
riment facility. But that will mean little to you. To you, I am a machine. That
is my original form."
Monolith Soft (1 September 2011). Xenoblade Chronicles. Wii. Nintendo. "Alvis: T
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cision? The choice is yours, Creator. Tell me your decision for the future of th
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y person in the world. And so, what I... No, what we wish for is... A world with
no gods!"
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ly you, but many forms of life. I can see it. In this world, all life will walk
towards the future hand in hand. / Shulk: One day I hope I can meet them all. Th
e people of this endless world. / Fiora: Me too. We will. I know it."
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