Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Image: Nintendo

Monolith Soft's JRPG series Xenoblade Chronicles is known for revealing a bit of skin from time to time, and it seems the third entry will be no different. According to a recent ESRB rating, which was discovered earlier this week, players will need to be prepared for an adventure containing blood and violence, swearing and suggestive themes.

One section of the classification, in particular, that seems to be getting some attention in certain corners of the internet (namely Twitter) is the "revealing armor" - with character and creature designs that will feature "deep cleavage" and "partially exposed breasts". Again, there'll be swearing and violence as well. Here's the full summary:

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Note: Spoilers potentially ahead

"This is a role-playing game in which players follow fighters through a conflict between two nations. From a third-person perspective, players complete quests and engage in melee battle against enemies (e.g., animals, creatures, human boss characters). Combat is highlighted by impact sounds, explosions, and cries of pain. Cutscenes depict further instances of violence: characters impaled by sword; a character shooting herself off screen; a man stabbing himself off screen. A handful of scenes depict blood (e.g., droplets falling from a wounded character; drips of blood on a character's face). Some fantasy characters/creatures are designed with revealing armor and/or anatomy (e.g., deep cleavage, partially exposed breasts). The words “sh*t,” “ar*ehole,” and “b*tch” appear in the dialogue."

While this sort of content in a first-party Nintendo release may be surprising to some, it's not necessarily the first time we've seen this kind of rating from the ESRB when it comes to a Xenoblade title. The original game had "partial nudity" and just below is part of the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 rating, which also contains similar but different "suggestive themes" and language:

"The game contains some suggestive material: female characters/creatures wearing outfits that expose large amounts of cleavage; camera pans and lingering shots on buttocks and/or breasts; dialogue that states, “You were staring...Pervert!” During the course of the game, characters make references to alcohol in the dialogue (e.g., “Booze! I want booze,” “Cheers love! Get me a beer.”), and patrons can be seen drinking alcohol in the background; one character is depicted with a cigar in his mouth. The words “sh*t” and “a*shole” are heard in the game."

It's worth noting that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is rated 'T for Teen' - making it the same rating as the previous two entries on Nintendo Switch. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has been given an 'M for Mature' rating in Australia, too. You can read more about it in our previous Xenoblade classification post.

Apart from this ESRB classification, the game's release date was pushed forward this week, jumping from September 2022 to 29th July, and pre-orders have opened at a number of retailers.

Will you be playing the third game when it's released? Drop a comment down below.

[source esrb.org, via nichegamer.com]