There have been many franchises on Nintendo platforms over the years from 1st and 3rd party platforms. But one could argue that in recent generations, none of them has had the life cycle of Xenoblade Chronicles. The original game was only meant for a Japanese release, but fans brought it to the Wii in the West after a “campaign.” Then, it got a port to the 3DS while a “side sequel” came out on the Wii U. It wasn’t until the Switch arrived that it got a true sequel, and then a remaster of the original, and finally, a third mainline entry.
With each mainline entry, love for the franchise grew. The stories, characters, visuals, and more wowed people, especially the versions on the Nintendo Switch, and MonolithSoft easily became one of the best developers that Nintendo had under their banner. So much so that they’ve helped work on other big-name Nintendo titles in the meantime.
But with the release of its final DLC earlier this year, many fans wonder what comes next for the saga. The sales of the titles grew with each entry, and the third title even got Game of the Year nominations. But the story is over if the DLC and main campaign from the third title are to be believed. So what is there left to create?
In Japan, the official soundtrack for the third game dropped, and Xenoblade Chronicles Director Tetsuya Takahashi left a message that was translated by Xenomira. Here’s what the director had to say:
“Rather than playing on defense, going on the offense; change rather than maintain. This is a stance that I have continued to hold for thirty years. If there is another “Xenoblade,” it will likely be something vastly different from what came before. In style and in music, I would like to make my next goal something that will betray everyone’s expectations, in a good way.”
If that sounds somewhat familiar, it’s because we’ve heard a stance like that from the series composer, who also wants to do something “very different” if there is another title.
Without going into spoilers for the franchise, it does appear that the tale of these three mainline games is over. So if a fourth title is born, it’d likely have to be one that goes to a new origin point.
However, given the somewhat convoluted events within the titles, it’s possible they could eke out something new. Or, they could return to the world of the Wii U title and deliver a sequel to it that fans have been asking for.
