Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Introduces Us To The Forest-Dwelling Archer Juniper

What's this, an anime-style girl wearing headgear that suggests cat ears? How refreshingly original.

Besides FFXIII, I often credit Xenoblade with giving me Elder Scrolls vibes, so it feels only natural for the new game to get its own prominent Bosmer. And possibly another Gormotti descendant to boot? The hair decs make it kinda hard to tell.

"Yuzuriha is aligned with Agnus, but chooses to live peacefully in the woods"

Which clearly doesn't prevent her from going Max Payne on a blatant Agnus citizen in the video enclosed. Or is it the aforementioned anti-Ouroboros hysteria at play again? Looks like we may be seeing a lot of heel-face turns as far as the supporting cast are concerned. Also, depending on when the scene takes place respectively to a certain different scene, Eunie may be reaping some karmic returns here.

Having a stealth-focused class in a Xenoblade game is interesting. We've had characters with an aggro-reduction art (and iirc, Noah's swordfighter class is getting shadow eye in this game), but the description for Phantom Archer seems to suggest that it will be a more focused archetype.

Really enjoying these character intros, they'll be plenty of characters to mix and match in your party which sounds great.

@KryptoniteKrunch Unfortunately, from what I'm seeing, it looks like you can only swap out the seventh party slot - but it does look like you will be able to assign classes from non-core party members to the main six.

She's almost wearing clothes even! I am so tired of every game having those inner thigh gap armor on the women. It's even infected Monster Hunter now.

My apologies for actually theorizing about the actual plot but:

I'm curious about the blue crystal thing on the back of her shoulder, whether it indicates her as a blade or something else.

@DJDM It's also possible that the ones outside of the core 6 can't be actively influenced by the player and they're just assigned one at a time based on story sections.

@NovaCam yeah, that's possible, though I think at least a few will be available to swap in whenever (or at least will be with the party for most of the game, once they join), since it seems Riku/Manana and Valdi will be needed to gemcrafting/cooking and weapon augmentation respectively. It definitely doesn't seem like you'll be able to directly control the seventh party member, regardless.

@AtlanteanMan Not as original as hating on Xenoblade though.

the original was my least favorite rpg. didnt care for shulk or the voice acting, the world imo is too large, and auto battleing imo is lame. this entry has pontential but expectations are low. characters at least look more appealing to me. Then again ive always prefered turn based rpgs. so ehh.

@HeeHo I have both the Xenoblades on Switch and played over 200 hours on Xenoblade Chronicles X for the Wii. I also have XC 3 preordered. It's not about hate; it's simply a valid observation. Anyone who's played even a modest amount of JRPGs has to be aware of certain tropes that are seemingly universal, not the least of which are cat or bunny ears on (often decidedly underage-looking yet disturbingly objectified) females.

@AtlanteanMan are you out there crying about the “objectified” men in Xenoblade as well? Plenty of shirtless men and fanservice pandering toward female gamers in Xenoblade. It’s a “valid observation” too.

@Arawn93 They're all absurdly objectified and stylized, to the point where you really have to check your brain at the door when it comes to practicality or actual utility with many if not most JRPG franchises. But the reason I mentioned the women specifically is because, again, a lot of the time they're drawn to resemble tweens or elementary school-aged girls. Maybe it's a cultural thing, but it's creepy if you're honest about it, and it seems ironic that most gamers give it a pass when so much attention has been given to the subject as of late in the real world.

I play RPGs for their stories and exploration, so I admit that typically I look past all of this stuff. It's telling that my seemingly innocuous original post (which was meant as humor) has generated such reactions, though.

Seriously, guys. The thumbnails. Please. At least give me the option of not spoiling any more of the game for myself without completely cutting out your site for a month and a half.

@AtlanteanMan Because she is Gormotti. Same way all High Entia have wings on their head, Gormotti have cat ears.

@AtlanteanMan If you really played 2 you'd know that wasn't a headgear and actual ears since she's a Gormotti.
Plus if you see this character as sexualized I think that speaks more about you than the character design because all I see is a teenager with cat ears.

Glad to see the amazing character design continue.
Monolith Soft are some of the best in the business when it comes to making cool looking JRPG characters.
I just wish they'd cool it with the reveals now though.

@HeeHo I never said this particular character was sexualized; I was speaking in general terms (although the Xenoblade franchise undeniably does have its share of exposed skin). The association of "ears" (cat or bunny) on women with sexual objectification goes back at least decades (Playboy immediately comes to mind), which is why I mentioned it in one of my follow-up responses.

As for the Gormotti, I guess it's just mere coincidence that they have a trait that's literally in the majority of modern JRPGs in some form or fashion, whether as physical ears or headwear of some sort. I had to roll my eyes a bit at the "because she's a Gormotti" response because my point is that by now such features have become extremely derivative in Japanese games, particularly JRPGs. This discussion has nothing to do with the in-game context where I'm concerned.

With that said, I'm done with this silliness, which I've already replied to far more than I should have. The fact that some of you are so confrontational over a jocular and sarcastic observation says a lot about your own priorities. Oh, and learn some reading comprehension.

It's not a comment section on a Xenoblade game if people aren't arguing and immaturely attacking each other about "outrageous" design elements in a FANTASY (i.e. not meant to be realistic) game instead of things that actually matter like the gameplay and plot. It's one thing if you don't like it, but insisting on everything/everyone being akin to real life in games that are meant to help escape real life is just ridiculous.🙄

I would take a bullet for her

@AlanaHagues NoA just shared info on the character and has revealed her name to be Juniper for the west: https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1537532975222489098

Perhaps this is worth updating the article?

Looks like a bland anime girl from (insert generic anime here) I've seen a billion times over.

Alright, fair. Vaguely threatening someone's business model is a bit rude, but I still wish you'd just use the box art as the thumbnail like you did on the soundtrack article.