Nintendo surprised us with a Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Nintendo Direct presentation today, where they spent 20 minutes sharing information on the upcoming RPG adventure including gameplay mechanics, story information, world design, and much more. If you missed the event, then there’s no need to worry–we’ve documented everything that was announced during today’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Nintendo Direct. Keep reading!
New Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Story Trailer
Nintendo kicked things off with a new story trailer, revealing key narrative elements such as the focus on life and death. In Xenoblade Chronicles 3, we’ll be seeing events unravel surrounding the idea of “tenure,” a phenomenon that limits a person’s life to 10 years. What that means is currently unclear, but one of the main characters, Mio, supposedly has 3 months to live. Additionally, the main characters seem to be fugitives that have managed to detach themselves from the ongoing conflict between Keves and Agnus in the world of Aionios.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Theme Song Reveal
During the opening moments of the presentation, a new song was revealed for the game that is potentially the game’s theme song. It isn’t unprecedented for Nintendo games to have signature compositions these days, so we’ll have to wait and see how it fits into the game at launch.
Main Characters Overview
We finally got a deep dive into the main characters of Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Noah, Eunie, Lanz, Mio, Taion, and Sena. Each of these characters has their own unique personality traits and combat styles, but we’ll primarily be following the story of Noah and Mio.
World Overview
The world of Aionios is home to a wide array of wild creatures and interesting landscapes to explore. We got a glimpse of what to expect in the adventure, such as deserts, lush forests, and more. There was also a look at quests, supply drops, cooking, rest spots, and landmarks.
Gameplay Deep-Dive
Most of the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Nintendo Direct was focused on gameplay mechanics, primarily the flow of combat and a new system called Ouroboros fusion. This allows characters to fuse together to transform into a powerful beast that is able to deal a substantial amount of damage. For instance, Noah is able to fuse with Mio to transform into their version of the creature, and you can also upgrade skills to make them stronger. There was also a section on “Heroes,” extra characters that join your party, but you can only use one of them at a time. Heroes are designed to complement the flow of battle depending on your play style.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Expansion Pass Announcement
An expansion pass for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was announced at the end of the showcase and will retail for $29.99 / £26.99. This batch of downloadable content will include helpful items, challenge battles, cosmetics, new hero characters, and a “brand new story scenario.” All of the downloadable content is expected to be released by the end of 2023.
amiibo Support
The final announcement was amiibo support. Players will be able to scan seemingly any amiibo to unlock extra rewards. However, the Shulk Super Smash Bros. amiibo, in particular, unlocks a Monado weapon cosmetic for Noah in his Swordfighter class.
There you have it! Those were the main announcements during today’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Nintendo Direct. If you’re looking forward to the game, you don’t need to wait long, as XC3 is set to launch next month, on July 29.
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