Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition: Mira Beckons Once Again

Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition: The Call of Mira

Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition has finally released for Nintendo Switch, delivering one of the Wii U’s most ambitious titles to an audience that, you know, can actually play it. Releasing March 20, 2025, this enhanced port takes what was already an impressive sci-fi RPG epic and elevates it thanks to meaningful improvements and new content. Having spent quite some time with the alien world of Mira, it’s obvious that this definitive edition lives up to its name, presenting returning veterans and first-timers with the best way to experience this unique entry into the Xenoblade games.

Journey of Survival on an Alien World

Set in 2054 A.D., Earth is collateral damage in a bloody war between alien factions. As humanity teeters on the brink of extinction, multiple interstellar arks are launched into space, including the White Whale carrying the final vestiges of mankind. The White Whale, attacked during its journey, crash-lands on Mira, a mysterious and beautiful planet far away from Earth.

Players build their own character who wakes from a stasis pod with all memories gone apart from their name. You’re quickly taken to New Los Angeles (NLA), a sprawling metropolis constructed from what remains of the White Whale. Taking on the mantle of one of the survivors, you join BLADE (Builders of the Legacy After the Destruction of Earth), which is dedicated to exploring Mira, gathering resources, and the preservation of the future of humanity.

Unlike in several other Xeno titles, the narrative lack of emphasis on a tightly woven main story is instead bolstered by world-building via side jobs and character-focused missions. Substantial new story content is added in the Definitive Edition, including a mysterious “Vanishing Event” that impacts Mira, a new enemy faction known as the Ghosts, and the return of the powerful Ares Skell. These additions serve to remedy the original game’s cliffhanger ending and/or introduce new narrative threads to explore.

An Improvable World to Explore

What makes Xenoblade Chronicles X so special is the size and scenery of its open world. Mira is not only deserted — it also houses five unique and expansive biomes, all with their own unique features and challenges. Next to NLA is Primordia, a lush expanse of grassland with calm lakes and hills. Over to West is New Noctilum, dense forest with bioluminescent flora. To the east, the desert-like Oblivia is dotted with ancient ruins. To the north, the mist-laden, haunting scenery of Sylvalum is dotted with strange flora, while finally, the volcanic region of Cauldros is the domain of the evil Ganglion.

The experience it offers is freedom unlike anything else, seamlessly traveling between these diverse continents and allowing you to set foot on virtually any part of the world right from the start of your adventure. This open-world design rewards early exploration, offering breathtaking vistas and hidden secrets rewarding curiosity.

The FrontierNav system makes traversing this giant world easier. Players find FrontierNav sites throughout Mira where they can place data probes, which increase the world map, unlock fast travel sites and show points of interest. This creates a rewarding feedback loop in gameplay, as exploring new areas rewards the player in obvious tangible ways.

Deep and Engaging Combat

Xenoblade Chronicles X’s combat is in real-time with significant strategic depth. Characters will automatically attack, so players will spend their time managing a palette of special abilities called Arts. These Arts are one of five colors depending on their role: orange for melee attacks, yellow for ranged attacks, green for healing and support, purple for debuffs, and blue for temporary buffs via auras.

The strategic application of these Arts is key to success. For instance, a lot become more powerful or gain new effects when applied in certain situations, like when Zhang tries to hit an opponent from their side or after a certain aura activates. The Definitive Edition adds a so-called “quick cooldown” option, which means players can use an Art immediately rather than waiting for its normal cooldown by spending a segment of a gauge that fills through use in battle.

Another central combat mechanic is Overdrive, an ultra-powerful state for the entire party that sharply cuts Art cooldowns and grants boosts based on which kinds of Arts people are using. In Overdrive, the Definitive Edition adds a handy color-coded chart that explains which Arts trigger which bonuses. Managing Overdrive correctly becomes a key element of the bombardment system, particularly in fights later in the game.

Freeflight: The Might of Skells

One of the signature features of Xenoblade Chronicles X is the addition of Skells, large humanoid mechs that become available for pilots when players finish certain quests about halfway through the story. They serve both as a fast means of travel over land, able to shapeshift into vehicle forms, and as customizable combat units with weapons and armor.

The Skells greatly exploration — letting you access places you couldn’t before and cross Mira’s expansive fields out much faster. Eventually, they’ll unlock the ability for Skells to fly, changing the how they interact with the world once again. That freedom, however, has its limits — Skell fuel is finite and requires management, and certain enemies will become more aggressive against players who are piloting Skells.

The trade off is that Skells feature combat mechanics that are not quite as refined as on-foot combat. They also seem to be a bit slower, and the Arts tied to their weapons usually have longer cooldowns. With Skell combat, you do not have the same, quick cooldowns available to you on foot, which introduces a balance between combat styles, with both having their advantages.

Improvements in the Definitive Edition

This Definitive Edition adds a wide range of quality-of-life enhancements that greatly transform the overall experience. Possibly the biggest addition is the option to switch party members at any time via a specific menu rather than having to return to specific areas in NLA. In addition, characters not in the active party will still get experience points, so grinding has been diminished.

Some other quality-of-life upgrades include the ability to change the in-game time of the day, a better in-game quest tracking for the “Follow Ball” along with an option to quickly increase the affinities of your chosen party members, and an improved UI/HUD for better visibility and clear readability. And the level cap has even been removed entirely, so if you’re looking to squeeze every last bit of growth and power out of your characters, now you can.

Visuals and Audio Excellence

Xenoalrde Chronicles X Definitive Edition has upgraded character models and higher resolution than its Wii U version on the Nintendo Switch. In a manner akin to the technical marvel that was Project X Zone, the draw distance is as impressive as ever, allowing nigh on the entire world of Mira to be viewed in one shot, with palatable pop-in, as the people bustle their way around the heart of New Los Angeles.

Performance is solid overall at 30 frames per second, with stutters when entering new areas after fast travel. This also allows for exploration to be convenient due to how quick the load times are, often taking no more than 10 seconds which is impressive for the Switch.

The soundtrack by the legendary Hiroyuki Sawano is still a sparkling feature. A composer known for his work on anime series such as Attack on Titan, Sawano’s score for Xenoblade Chronicles X boasts epic, sweeping themes for the biomes of Mira, and high-energy, vocal-driven battle music. In addition to Sawano, composer Misaki Mase returns for the Definitive Edition to provide new music for the expanded story content.

The Ultimate Way to Experience Mira

Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition truly is the ultimate open-world RPG on the Nintendo Switch. With deep and engaging combat, as well as extensive character and Skell customization options, there are numerous hours of strategic gameplay to be had. The engrossing side stories and detailed world-building help visualize humanity’s fight for survival on an alien landscape.

And while the game’s non-linear story and focus on its side content simply may not gel with all players looking for a tightly paced main story, MMORPG scale of Xenoblade Chronicles X is undeniable. Also, with the visual and performance enhancements alongside the slew of quality-of-life adjustments introduced in this Definitive Edition, it feels markedly more tightened up and approachable compared to its first release.

Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition is evidence of our ambition in the design of the game, for fans of open-world RPGs who like their combat systems deep and customizable, and the setting fulfilling their need for the sci-fi end of the scale. It has an unparalleled sense of exploration and freedom most other games struggle to match, leaving it eternally in the running as one of the best RPGs on Nintendo Switch today.