Not all its additions are for the better, but this excavation of Monolith Soft's alien opus remains as fascinating and enthralling as it was a decade ago. For ten years, Xenoblade Chronicles X has lived as the black sheep of Monolith Soft's grand RPG series. Its nameless, blank canvas protagonist, its full tilt into hard military sci-fi, and its recruitable cast of misfit, gung-ho soldier types all stand in direct opposition to the soaring fantasy and authored melodrama of its numbered stablemates. It couldn't look or feel more different on the surface, but playing X again now, a decade on from its original release, I've been surprised by just how much it laid the foundations for what was to come later in the series.Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition reviewDeveloper: Monolith SoftPublisher: NintendoPlatform: Played on Nintendo SwitchAvailability: Out on 20th March on Nintendo SwitchFar from being the odd one out, X has emerged as something of a proto-Xenoblade Chronicles 3 in many respects. It's here you'll find Monolith Soft beginning to toy with customisable classes, drafting in new allies to bolster your ranks, as well as giving battles a renewed sense of scale and grandeur thanks to its towering mech suits - ideas the studio would later revive in 3's Ouroboros transformations, its tag-along Hero characters and its even broader set of class-based movesets. It all makes for a familiar and smoother landing into this harder-edged branch of the Xenoblade family, especially now it's been freed from its Wii U prison with this new Definitive Edition. If you've never stepped foot on the huge continents of Mira before, there's never been a better time to do so.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Watch on YouTubeI should say before we begin, though, that while its seeming detachment from the rest of the Xenoblade series should, in theory, make it a great entry point for newcomers, I'd still recommend starting with Shulk and co in the first Xenoblade Chronicles if you're keen to see what all the fuss is about. For me, that game is still the beating heart of Monolith's ever-expanding epic, and a much warmer introduction to its myriad systems and dynamics. X, on the other hand, still has a slight stuffiness about it. Your (mostly) mute, customisable avatar is more of a passenger in this tale of warring alien races and imminent human extinction, and one who's still expected to help survey and uncover your new, makeshift home world hexagon by hexagon before you're allowed to progress to the next major story mission. It's quite regimented in that sense, and much more of a checklist game than almost any other RPG in recent memory. So if what you're after is an adventure with boundless exploration and a gooier, emotional core at the centre of it, there are better Xenoblades to do this with than X. Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoDespite its idiosyncrasies, though, X is still a fascinating experiment all these years later. Its themes of massive human displacement and fighting for your right to exist against forces hellbent on destroying every last trace of human existence remain as compelling as they did a decade ago, and the ongoing mystery of why everything in the universe is so determinedly out to get you brings a tighter and keener focus to its main plotline. It's arguably one of the more straightforward stories in the series, though your status as a relative nobody in this world and just another army grunt does rob it of some of the deeper, more personal stakes that drive its numbered counterparts. Defending a whole military corporation from the threat of extinction doesn't quite have the same emotional resonance as the coming of age revenge tragedy of Xenoblade 1, for example, nor the warring, star-crossed rebellion tale of 3.But perhaps more so than any other Xenoblade game, the heart of X is really to be found in its myriad sidequests. It's here where the game's cold and clinical exterior gives way to reveal the livelier and slightly sillier core that makes these games so lovable. For in addition to the standard 'fetch me ten bird beaks' fare, X layers in multi-staged 'normal' missions that take you out into the far reaches of Mira's alien landscape, as well as special character affinity missions that are more keenly tied to specific party members. Altogether, they offer a more rounded tour through the prism of human experience, where duplicitous schemes are formed and scuppered, marriage proposals between different alien races are fostered and fought for, racism and xenophobia are stamped out, and lost cats are saved from enormous crabs, to name just a few. Some even riff quite charmingly on films such as Alien and Back to the Future. Sure, they're nothing particularly revelatory by modern day standards, of course, but as frameworks to hang its monster bashing and resource gathering on? They're very welcome reprieves indeed. Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoReally, though, it's the world of Xenoblade Chronicles X that remains its biggest draw, and even now, with dozens of photorealistic universes having been stuffed down my eyeballs in the interim, I still get a lump in my throat when I see X's huge luminous whales soar through the sky, its giant sci-fi dinosaurs lapping at its lakeside watering holes, and its spectral squids looping through bulbous spore gardens as the fog rolls in. There really is nothing quite like stepping out onto a fresh Monolith-made world for the first time, and the added enormity of Mira's five continents to accommodate your eventual tromping mech suits just gives it an even more tantalising sense of appeal as you begin to size up its secrets.There's a vastness to this place that requires real work and effort to get your arms around it, and the pace at which X doles out its tools to help you peel back those layers feels perfectly attuned to the evolution and growth of your burgeoning home base. Indeed, considering the sheer amount of real estate we're dealing with here, I'm continually impressed by how satisfying and wondrous Mira is to explore both on foot and, eventually, through the air with your mechs, even as you reach the game's later chapters. There's always one more thing to see, one more nook and cranny to surprise and delight you with, and you'll stumble upon these either through its sidequests, or by simply following your nose thanks to a masterful display of worldbuilding that shares the same sense of mystery and eye-catching contours as Breath of the Wild (which Monolith Soft would also help to later shape and mould together with the minds at Nintendo). Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoOf course, as you'd expect from a Definitive Edition, it's an adventure that's had a few nips and tucks along the way. Admittedly, most of the extra content included in this edition is stuff you probably won't notice at all. Aside from its refreshed character models (for the main cast at least, RIP to its palpably plainer NPC support crew), there are a handful of new recruitable party members and mech models to play with here, all the original DLC included as standard (which was all in the 2015 western release anyway - it was just the Japanese version that had extra paid content packs), plus a slightly more helpful 'Follow Ball' trinket that helps to track down mission critical items now, rather than simply lead you to your next objective. There's also a new additional story segment to play after the end credits roll for avid lore heads, too. All perfectly pleasant inclusions in and of themselves, but nothing that will fundamentally change your wider appreciation of the game as it stands.What you will notice, however, are the refinements Monolith Soft's made to X's core battle system, which I'm not convinced are necessarily for the better. As in other Xenoblades, all battles take place in real time, with characters attacking automatically while you manoeuvre them into position and unleash their powerful Arts attacks. Many Arts, which all have their respective cooldown periods to consider, will be more effective depending on whether you're attacking from the front, side or rear of a monster, while others can line up satisfying combos to stagger and topple enemies for extra damage. You're only ever in charge of one character in X, but the thrill of any Xenoblade battle lies in coordinating your Arts to line up perfectly with those of your AI-controlled mates, watching the flow of battle, responding to the calls and battle cries of your friends and working together to deliver an all-out assault that speeds you along to a swift and (relatively) painless victory. Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoWhere X deviates from its numbered counterparts is in its more overt call and response system. As well as keeping an eye on whether your mates are staggering or toppling enemies, you also need to watch out for specific follow-up commands. Your team leader Elma might call for an all-out melee attack if you target and break off a monster's appendage, for example, while support tank Lin might request some ranged cover fire if you take an enemy by surprise early on. There are dozens of triggers like this for these sorts of moments, and if you respond with a corresponding Art quickly enough (which are all handily colour-coded to match the battle cry for sake of ease), you'll not only benefit from a small group heal bump, but also deal extra damage in the process.I loved this dance of strategic Arts deployment in the original X. Battles had a heightened dynamism about them over and above the simple act of getting your character into the right place at the right time, and it fostered a real sense of synchronised teamwork between your party members. Managing your Arts' cooldowns, and having a good spread of abilities to respond with in the first place, was all part of the fun, making every encounter feel like you were one, well-oiled death machine. Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoIn this new Definitive Edition, however, there's a new cooldown bar that lets you instantly reactivate your Arts at any time, effectively removing the need to be even vaguely tactical about when or where to let them fly. It instantly regenerates at the start of each fight, too, so there's no need to be stingy with it, unless you suddenly find yourself in a large, aggro-induced pile on or a particularly lengthy boss battle. Indeed, if you're facing a single enemy, you're never in a fight long enough for it to ever fully deplete, giving you full licence to just ignore your cooldowns completely. It's a change that fundamentally alters the flow of battle, allowing for easier spamming of attacks, and a subtle, but noticeable decline in the game's overall difficulty - though you can, of course, just opt not to use it if you're a purist, relying instead on good old-fashioned patience and calculated planning.The thing is, though, as much as I lamented this addition at first, I'd also be lying if I said it wasn't a heck of a lot more enjoyable at the same time. It feels good to be so wholly engaged with what's happening onscreen, and speaking generously, I'd say it feels more akin to Xenoblade 2 and 3's Arts Cancelling techniques than outright cheating. Your mileage may vary on that assessment, but when I finally got to my first mech battles and found they didn't benefit from the new cooldown bar, that waiting period suddenly felt like an actual eternity. That's when I realised just how much more fun I was having with this new system, even though I was fully aware that all the bite had been taken from it in the process. Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoWhile we're on the subject of mech battles, they do still feel massively overpowered at times, and can regularly turn some side and even main missions into absolute cakewalks. You can see a gradual progression in the types of enemies you face in some of these missions - gaggles of human-sized foes will eventually start rocking up with mechs of their own to complicate things - but it's not really until the very late stage chapters where you'll start to feel the heat of that extra challenge. Of course, it's not entirely smooth sailing once you get your mech - the bigger the imprint you have on this world, the bigger the enemies are who are waiting to take a bite out of you. Xenoblade has always done a brilliant job of mixing Lv.85 upward brutes with tiddly Lv.6 cannon fodder in its environments, and X is no different, making any kind of travel fraught with danger when you're noodling around outside the confines of its gated main story. Not all monsters will instantly stampede to have you for dinner, but the underlying threat that some of them will is just enough to maintain that frisson of necessary tension to keep X's enjoyable sense of progression in check.Ultimately, for all its changes and continued imperfections, I've had a much better time with X on this second go around than I ever did during its Wii U days. It still has some of the same problems as it did back then. For starters, as wide and varied as its main cast gets compared to other Xenoblades, they all still suffer from that same Octopath Traveler-like third-wheel syndrome when it comes to cutscenes and major story beats. While some missions have certain party restrictions to help mitigate this problem, there are still plenty of moments where cutscenes featuring one group of characters will instantly cut away to who's actually tagging along in my party. Either that, or they'll be standing awkwardly off to the side, mute and non-responsive. It can't help but feel a little jarring in the moment, though I've also yet to see any RPG solve this problem effectively. Image credit: Eurogamer/NintendoXenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition accessibility optionsCamera options to invert X/Y axis, adjust responsiveness, zoomed-in camera height and positioning, as well as auto-camera reset and tracking speed. Options to adjust field UI and battle UI. On/off toggle for controller rumble. Dedicated volume sliders for game music, sound effects, voice and system sound effects. Option to select preferred mode for online/offline play. On/off toggle for subtitles, numerous notifications, mission updates and enemy, NPC and object markers.There's also still a dizzying number of menus, skill points and currencies to juggle around in your head as you get to grips with all its underlying systems. From Miranium mining and improving all the different arms manufacturers to crafting augments and upgrades and sorting through all manner of mech attachments, it's a lot to take in. Thankfully, its retooled tips menus are a veritable godsend in this edition, and the web of class masteries and equipment outfitting can't help but feel a smidge more manageable now having gone through an even knottier version of it in Xenoblade 3. It's still not as streamlined as it could be, but old hands of the series will no doubt breathe a sigh of relief at its relative simplicity.In the end, like the many alien races you'll find jostling around the streets of your transplanted Los Angeles home base, it's the diversity of ideas and design on show here that allows Xenoblade Chronicles X to stand the test of time. It's well worth revisiting if it's been a while since you last dipped your toe into the Wii U original, and certainly worth picking up if you missed it completely and loved the others. It's still a strange and standoffish kind of Xenoblade game, and one whose additions are unlikely to upset any pre-existing list of your own personal heart picks. But it's precisely that sense of contrast that makes it so fascinating to come back to in 2025, especially now we've seen where the roots of so many of its fundamental systems have ended up sprouting elsewhere. It will be interesting to see if this revival sparks any further excavations into X's recesses, because if this Definitive Edition has proven anything, it's that X remains a rich and captivating vein of the Xenoblade Chronicles timeline, and it fully deserves to stand shoulder to shoulder with its numbered siblings.A copy of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition was provided for review by publisher Nintendo.