Needless to say, fans were very much surprised when Nintendo announced the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Direct instead of a full-on Direct. But to those that did watch it, they likely see why they went down this path. Because the Direct that we just got revealed a TON of new details about the game, and fleshed out the world of the title immensely.
For example, in the game, the world of Aionios is split between two main colonies, Keves and Agnus. The people that are born there are literally raised to fight and battle one another. So much so that they only have 10 years to live. But when the six main characters learn that there’s something else going on here (shown throughout the Direct via people watching the battles in a theater-like setting), they set out to try and stop the cycle of madness, even though that means getting hunted down by both sides of the conflict.
Another key thing they fleshed out was the battle system. As shown before, you’ll have six characters in your party this time around, and like previous XC titles, you’ll get to wield powerful Arts to ensure you do massive damage, and also, do combo attacks. Just as cool is that you can actually swap the classes of your characters so that you can try and have a “better team” based on how you like to play the game. The Ouroboros that were revealed previously were also expanded upon, as there are actually two different versions per each pairing, and they can be used to do massive damage in the combo attacks as well.
Not surprisingly, they also showcased the beautiful world of the game and the monsters you’ll be facing. As well as “heroes” that you’ll get to meet up with that can join your party and throw new classes into the mix. And as if all of that wasn’t enough, there’s also an Expansion Pass that will be available that’ll add new cosmetics, and a new story late next year.
To get the full breakdown, watch the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Direct below. The game comes out on July 29th.