Xenoblade 3 Chain Attack
Image: Nintendo / Monolith Soft

As you can imagine, we're going a little bit wild for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 at the moment. Look, the game has been brought forward by around two months, and the prospect of spending some lazy summer days saving the world in what we expect to be an extremely long RPG sounds like a total delight.

As well as a brand new trailer and a release date, Nintendo unveiled some more information about the game's battle system. We got a fair few glimpses at it in the trailer; seven characters on the screen at once, characters fusing together, Chain Attacks are back, as our teams and partners (like Xenoblade Chronicles 2's Blades).

Nintendo's press release had this much to say:

- Battle with up to seven characters: Like in previous Xenoblade Chronicles games, battles start by facing enemies directly in the overworld. Players can control Noah’s party of six, as well as additional characters they’ll meet during the adventure. Each character has their own role in battle, which allows for diverse strategies.
- Class change: Noah is a Swordfighter, specializing in close-range attacks, while Mio is a Zephyr, drawing enemy attention while evading their strikes. Thus, each character has their own class with their own strengths. Progressing in the adventure, players can change characters’ classes, creating a customized party.
- New Interlink system: Each of the tag-team pairs – Noah and Mio, Lanz and Sena, Eunie and Taion – can make use of the Interlink system if certain conditions are met. They will then combine into a giant form called Ouroboros. Each Ouroboros has its own powerful move set, and deciding when to transform can be the key to winning a battle.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 already had six characters out on the field, technically, but it looks like this time we'll have a bit more control over Noah and his party.

One thing that is brand new to the Xenoblade series, however, is Class change. While characters and Blades had specific roles in battle, they were set in stone for each. In Xenoblade Chronicles 3, you'll be able to change your character's class as you progress through the game.

You can see Noah and Mio as both a Swordfighter and Zephyr below. Not only do the characters change weapons and fighting styles, but they also change appearance!

Nintendo of Japan also published a blog yesterday going over these new additions, including more details art of the Ouroboros — the giant mech-like creatures that the characters transform into when they link together.

Part of the game's story summary suggests that this Ouroboros transformation will be central to Xenoblade Chronicles 3's plot, which is in line with most other Xeno games from Xenogears, Xenosaga, and especially Xenoblade Chronicles X.

"...Noah and Mio, who are in conflict on the battlefield, are attacked by a mysterious giant who suddenly appears. At the moment when Noah tries to help Mio, who is about to be attacked by a giant, the two bodies suddenly merge (Interlink) and transform into a huge figure "Ouroboros" .

The Ouroborosized Noah dismisses the mysterious giant and survives, but this has led the six to be in a position to be targeted by the two nations of Keves and Agnus.

Under the advice of a man named "Guernica Vandham ," Noah and his colleagues will work together toward the "land where the big sword stands out" in order to find the "real enemy ."

So, like Blades and the Monado, one of the game's key combat systems will be extremely important. In a clip from Nintendo of Japan, we can see Noah and Mio transforming into their Ouroboros mid-combat. Think Skells, but with some Xenoblade Chronicles 2 pairing thrown in.

Nintendo Everything has republished the clip from the website (Thanks, Nintendo Everything!), which you can watch here:

We already know a lot more about how Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will play than we did two days ago. Still, we we expect to hear even more about the intricacies of the battle system, along with a plethora of other details that the game will deliver.

What aspect of the battle system are you excited to try out? Or are you just excited at the prospect of more Xenoblade this summer? Let us know in the comments.'

Further reading

[source nintendo.co.jp, via nintendoeverything.com]