NINTENDO has just released a brand new trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles 3, alongside a massive info-dump on their Japanese website. New information about the battle system, the characters and the story have been revealed – all with a cherry on top: a release date. The game will release on July 29th, alongside a shiny new special edition.
The new information covers a lot of new gameplay mechanics and story details. Every single party member will participate in battle at once. This is a big change from previous entries that had only allowed three at a time. Furthermore, class changes have been implemented for each character. These class changes mean that each character can use new weapons, learn new abilities and even get new outfits.
The real exciting information about the new battle system is the introduction of the “Ourobouros.” The Ourobouros are fusions between the playable characters. It powers them up and gives them access to all new combat abilities. These fusions are reminiscent of Pacific Rim, or Gurren Lagann. They seem to be a big focus of the game in the new trailer.
The trailer also gave a look into the new story. So far, the story seems to bring together the worlds of Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 2. Many nods are made in reference to those games – with nothing outright confirmed as of yet. However, what can be seen is that the new main characters, Noah and Mio, are on opposing sides of a brutal war. Alongside their closest friends, they become fugitives from their home countries. Now they must survive and find a way to bring peace to both nations before it is too late. Only time will tell how the history of the franchise will affect the plot from there.
The given release date is considerably earlier than expected, as the original reveal trailer had simply stated “September 2022″ as a release window. Xenoblade fans now have even less time to wait before the many mysteries of the story are revealed to them. Until then, it seems as if Nintendo will continue to release information regarding the game through its social media platforms.
As a huge fan of the Xenoblade series, I can’t wait for more.
