Xenoblade Chronicles 2

About

Xenoblade Chronicles 2, known in Japan as Xenoblade 2, is an action role-playing game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo. It is the second numbered entry of the Xenoblade series, and the third game overall under the Xenoblade name. Xenoblade 2 returns to the story-driven focus style of the first game after the previous entry, Xenoblade Chronicles X, focused on open-world exploration. It was released worldwide on the Nintendo Switch on December 1st, 2017.

History

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was announced during the Nintendo Switch Presentation 2017 (shown below) on January 13th, 2017.

A Nintendo Direct dedicated to Xenoblade 2 was released on November 7th, 2017. Notable announcements include the option to choose the Japanese voiceover with English subtitles, and that there would be an Expansion Pass that would include among other things, a new story.^[1]

Torna ~ The Golden Country

Torna ~ The Golden Country is a prequel story set 500 years before the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It stars Jin, from before his fall, and his Driver Lora teaming up with Addam Origo and the legendary Aegis Mythra as they try to stop Malos from destroying Torna and the rest of Alrest (shown below). It was released on September 21st, 2018.

Plot

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is set in Alrest, a region covered in a Cloud Sea. On the Cloud Sea are giant creatures called Titans where humanity lives on them. At the center of Alrest is the World Tree, a giant tree where it is said that a paradise called Elysium is located at the top of the World Tree and is the home of the Architect, the creator of Alrest.

The story follows Rex, a young salvager who salvages parts underneath the Cloud Sea and sells them to support the people of his village. He takes up a special job to salvage an ancient ship with a mysterious organization called Torna led by Jin, and Malos. Inside the ship, Rex discovers a woaen sleeping inside and is killed by Jin after touching a sword that was also there.^[2] Rex awakens and meets the woman, who is the legendary Aegis, Pyra. Rex makes a promise to Pyra to take her to Elysium and in exchange, Pyra gives Rex half of her life-force.^[3] The two go on a journey to find a way to reach Elysium and along the way, meet friends who help them on their quest, and many enemies who want to use Pyra for their own selfish reasons.

Gameplay

The main gameplay difference of Xenoblade 2 compared to its predecessors are the Driver and Blade system. The Driver is someone who successfully resonates with a core crystal and summons a Blade. Each Blade can be one of eight elements and come with their own weapon that the Driver uses in battle. Players are able to bring up to three Blades in battle and choose between Blades that specialize as an Attacker, Healer, or Tank.^[4] Players are able to summon new Blades by collecting core crystals and resonating with them. It is comparable to mobile games that use a Gacha system (random capsule vending machine), but does not offer microtransactions.

Related Memes

“Think you can take me?” / “Don’t forget me!”

Think you can take me / Don’t forget me were memorable quotes said by the Ardainian Soldiers, enemy characters fought during the early portions of the game. The frequency of the two lines being said, along with the number of Ardainian Soldiers that can be fought, left mixed reception to some players. Late Youtube Streamer Etika reacted to the frequency with annoyance (shown below, left). Youtuber Avani created a remix of the Xenoblade 2 battle theme where the Ardainian Soldiers are singing the two quotes (shown below, right). On January 18th, 2018, the Ver 1.2.0 update of Xenoblade 2 was released removing “Think you can take me,” and cutting “Don’t forget me” to “Don’t forget.”

Nia

Nia is a playable character in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. She was originally a member of Torna before leaving the group and joins with Rex and Pyra on their quest to find Elysium. Nia quickly became a popular character among the fandom. Nia is sometimes referred to as “Welsh Catgirl” due to her English voice acting having a Welsh accent.

“I love you… and all you guys!”

“I love you… and all you guys” is a memorable quote said by Rex. It is Rex’s response to Nia after Nia says to him that she loves Rex for helping her accept herself for who she is.^[5] Online, the quote is interpreted to Rex friendzoning Nia (shown below, left), and Nia is compared to Melia, who had feelings for Shulk but was unable to have a relationship with him due to Shulk’s feelings for Fiora (shown below, right).

Tsuki Character Design Controversy

The Tsuki Character Design Controversy refers to a controversy surrounding the design of the character Tsuki (Dahlia in English) in the 2017 action role-playing game Xenoblade Chronicles 2, specifically involving her large breasts and posture.

On December 2nd, Twitter user @botwzelink tweeted a screenshot of the character Tsuki along with a message criticizing her design as "ugly" and "misogynistic." Within four days, the tweet gained over 6,300 likes and 2,800 retweets.

Search Interest

External Reference