December2016
Feature Xenoblade Chronicles X - One Year Later
Musing on Mira
In this article Gonçalo "Shiryu" Lopes shares his personal reflections on Xenoblade Chronicles X, the enthralling Wii U title. Exactly one year ago Wii U owners were given a unique opportunity to escape reality by embarking on the extremely difficult assignment: to beat extinction against all odds on Planet Mira. But Xenoblade...
November2016
Rumour Monolith Soft Working on Something 'New' for Nintendo Switch
Xenoblade Chronicles X port being handled externally
Monolith Soft has been one of the big 'winners' in the Nintendo scene over the past two generations, with much-loved releases since it was acquired by the company. Though it's had a hand in a surprisingly broad number of games in supporting roles, it's best known for Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii...
June2016
News Xenoblade Studio Monolith Soft Is Helping Make Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Team of "over 100" mucking in, according to Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto has revealed that Xenoblade Chronicles X studio Monolith Soft is helping to develop The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. According to the veteran designer, "over 100" staff from the firm are chipping in to ensure the forthcoming Wii U and NX title is as good as it pos
April2016
News Xenoblade Chronicles Looks Set For The North American Wii U Virtual Console
At last!
Xenoblade Chronicles has had a somewhat troubled history in North America. It took longer than seemed fair to make its way to the region, and then was exclusive to GameStop and Nintendo's rather limited official store of the time. GameStop was criticised for pricing and stock availability, and was even accused at one point of selling...
Music Let This Musical Tribute To Xenoblade Chronicles X Gently Massage Your Eardrums
Mech some sweet music
Nintendo Life contributor Gonçalo "Shiryu" Lopes isn't just great at digging up classic Super Famicom games - he's also a keen music-maker and long-time fans of the site will know that he has produced many a fine tribute album in his time. He's back with NLA Blues, an "original music tribute album to Nintendo Wii U's...
February2016
Interview Learning More About The 'Ultimate Crossover' RPG, Project X Zone 2, From Its Creators
"I believe this is one of the great crossovers in recent years"
The 3DS family of systems, rather like its DS predecessors, has gradually accumulated a highly impressive library of RPG titles, with that library representing varying styles and approaches. A few of these are hitting the market this year, especially in Europe where some 2015 releases...
January2016
News North America Gets a Project X Zone 2 Demo on 26th January
A taste of what's to come
It's somewhat hard to believe, but Project X Zone 2 is just about a month away from releasing here in the west. The sequel to the three company mega mashup SRPG extravaganza that was Project X Zone aims to deliver an even bigger experience, with more characters and cameos from the companies' rich histories. While it may be...
News Xenoblade Chronicles X Voice Actress Is In Favour Of Lin's Western Costume Change
"People are calling it censorship. I really see it as localisation"
Xenoblade Chronicles X is now out in the west, and it's great - as you'll know if you've read our review or played it yourself already. However, changes made for the North American and European launch of the game - one of which involved the removal of a revealing costume worn by the...
December2015
Video How to Get a Skell in Xenoblade Chronicles X, Including Locations of Rare Items
Alex shows the way
We love Xenoblade Chronicles X, yet we're aware that it has a few negatives. The text and user interface could be better, and there are some difficulty spikes and awkward collectathons. The latter is particularly prominent when trying to secure your Skell licence, which you predictably need to get your own cool mech. For those of...
News Project X Zone 2 EU Release Date Brought Forward, Demo Coming in January
A crazy new trailer arrives, too
Project X Zone 2 will be among a glut of promising releases in early 2016, and will also be relatively unique among the crowded batch of arrivals. The RPG will once again mash up Capcom, SEGA and Bandai Namco franchises, and this time will throw in a bit of Xenoblade Chronicles and Fire Emblem for good measure. If...
News Here are the Top Three Wii U and 3DS Games, According to Miiverse
And the winner is...
It's getting to be that time of year where gaming publications all over the world are picking their favorite games of the year. While there still has yet to be any sort of universally recognised awards, the same handful of games generally tend to pop up on different lists and there's usually not too many surprises as to which...
Editorial Xenoblade Chronicles X Has Tiny Text - Time for an Update?
Tom Whitehead's not really seeing it, are you?
This week we received an interesting email from one of our readers, Victor, which made a very good point. The text in Xenoblade Chronicles X is too small, and it should be improved; it was a lightbulb moment when we realised we should have brought it up far sooner - I certainly should have. In my...
News Xenoblade Chronicles X Creator Tetsuya Takahashi Prefers Western Games To Japanese Ones
Next project will be entirely different, too
Xenoblade Chronicles X has just launched in the west to very positive reviews, and to mark this occasion Time has been speaking to creator Tetsuya Takahashi, the man behind the entire "Xeno" series of video games. Takahashi revealed that he actually prefers Western games to those developed in his own...
Video Figure Out the Online Features of Xenoblade Chronicles X With The Latest Survival Guide
Online quests, treasure deals and more
Xenoblade Chronicles X is a game with incredible depth, not just in the solo campaign but also in the various ways you can connect and interact with others online. Shared quests, group battles, recruiting avatars of other players, trading items - it's all in there. It can be confusing, and even after sinking...
Guide Here's How To Make That Xenoblade Chronicles X USB Drive More Useful
Hack the planet
The North American collector's edition of Xenoblade Chronicles X comes with a USB drive containing 10 tracks from the game itself. It's a neat little extra, but largely useless once you've listened to the music - which is why Nintendo Life reader Ben "mikey64" Barger has come up with this handy little hack which allows you to turn it...
News Xenoblade X Art Designers Created the Game's Armor Sets with Samurai in Mind
Space Ninjas
Xenoblade Chronicles X is out now in all regions and contains a staggering amount of content. Among this content is an extremely diverse and varied array of armor sets, which provide a suitable level of customizability and depth for character loadouts. Perhaps most importantly, there's even a 'fashion armor' option that allows one to...
News Xenoblade Chronicles X Earns Modest UK Chart Position But Outsells Predecessor
Up 73% on launch sales of Wii title
With another week underway we have the UK chart results, which carry extra interest following the launch of Xenoblade Chronicles X, a title that has drawn critical acclaim and hype from enthusiasts but nevertheless has a tough task converting that into big sales. That's how it's turned out in the UK, at least -...
DRM = Dopey Rights Management
If you want to listen to the Xenoblade Chronicles X soundtrack it's not particularly difficult; it can be easily found around the web. Unfortunately, for some that are actually paying for the privilege, there can be surprising issues. This relates to the gorgeous Special Edition of the game in North America, which...
News Xenoblade Director on What's Next for the Series and What Makes it So Popular
Perhaps a third game in the series will come about
Xenoblade Chronicles X is now out all around the world and it's been met with generally positive reception all across the board. The open world RPG presents a staggeringly massive world for players to explore, packed out with dozens, if not hours, of gameplay potential. Fans of both traditional...
Guide Getting Started With Xenoblade Chronicles X on Wii U
It's a big world out there
Xenoblade Chronicles X is out now in North America and Europe, which is certainly something to celebrate for Wii U owners that enjoy immersive, challenging RPG experiences. We've already shared our view that it's a fantastic game in our review - in that article we describe various key gameplay mechanics, so give that a...
Video Build the Buzz for Xenoblade Chronicles X With This Extended Launch Trailer
See the world, meet the cast
Xenoblade Chronicles X is nearly here, and pretty much all that can be said has been shared already. For our part we love it, and it's also a nice technical showcase for the Wii U. Basically, there's plenty of buzz telling Wii U owners that they should be considering it. It's an enormous adventure, of course, and the...
Feature There and Back Again - A Xenoblade Tale
How Monolith Soft’s Magnum Opus brought Gonçalo Lopes back to JRPGs
In this article Gonçalo Lopes, better known to many as music composer and arranger Shiryu, talks about the lasting impact that Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii has had on his gaming life. Being a European PAL gamer in the early '90s was pretty cool. Yet being a well-informed...
News Digital Foundry Gives Xenoblade Chronicles X a Thumbs Up
"Gives us hope for the upcoming Zelda title on Wii U"
Xenoblade Chronicles X arrives this week in the West, and we've already said in a number of words why you should strongly consider it, awarding a 9/10 in our review. Planet Mira is a fantastic setting, and beyond that Monolith Soft has taken a number of its ideas and mechanics from Xenoblade...
November2015
Video The Latest Xenoblade Chronicles X Survival Guide Maps Out How to Use the GamePad
Pay attention...
With Xenoblade Chronicles X rapidly approaching release there'll be a distinct buzz for Wii U owners that enjoy Monolith Soft's brand of immersive RPGs. Promising a huge amount of content to support an enormous game world, it looks set to keep players busy through the Winter months. It's a complex game, however, with a lot of...
News Europeans Will Be Able To Download Xenoblade Chronicles X's Data Packs Early Next Week
Get prepared
Xenoblade Chronicles X is now so close we can practically taste it, and there's good reason to get excited - the game boasts one of the biggest open worlds yet seen on a Nintendo console. A world that size means that loading times can be an issue, so Nintendo has kindly provided players who plan to purchase the disc version of the game...
