Surprise! Xenoblade Chronicles 3 "Final DLC" Launches On Switch Next Week

Hope we finally get conclusion to the Trilogy and then we can finally have a sequel to Xenoblade X!!!

Welcome back Shulk and Rex

Can’t believe they are gonna shadow drop this

I still can't believe they just shadow-dropped this omg...

I’m so excited!!!

Wow. Nintendo really killing it with these trailers(between this one and the TotK one).

Excited for this story expansion.

Wait, what? But Zelda... Would love to play it right away but it has to wait until I'm done with TotK.

No physical like they did with the xeno 2 dlc? That's disappointing.

Nintendo you can't do this to me! I sadly have to wait until after TOTK, my calendar is slammed before then (will probably wait until after a physical is announced tbh).

@FredsBodyDouble I think a physical edition is confirmed but will release in the summer. When Nintendo revealed XC2 Torna, the physical edition was officially revealed 2 weeks later.

XB1 XB2 and XB3 are having fun outside

Meanwhile XBX [Squidward] staring at them outside from window.

I’m so excited omg 😭

Wait… rubs eyes whaaaaat?

Genuinely, I didn’t think this would drop until late in the year, or maybe July to coincide with the originals release… but next week?!

Ok, Sure! I have time to kill until TOTK. You know how to spoil me - it will help with those final 17 days for sure.

There’s also an awful lot to unpack in that Trailer alone with both the returning & new characters. It solidifies that the DLC is indeed the founders story (if the first teaser didn’t make that obvious already). But it does imply other lore stuff will be tied up as well.

What did catch my eyes for sure was the character of Glimmer in particular. That core crystal… is she supposed to be an amalgamation of whom I think it is? I mean, The VA was almost certainly…

It needs a physical release. This looks to be the best part of XBC 3.

Why was April 18th such a big day for Nintendo news? Good amiibos, big time dlc, indie direct, Major Sega NSO games...

something must be up their sleeve

@Vortexeo imagine my shock and sheer GLEE when I got up to prep myself for work a couple minutes ago and randomly checking the site while eating breakfast then lol

Holy dumb F***

Can't believe they waited until a week before release to announce it?!?! Saw it on Twitter earlier and honestly thought the announcement was next week, this is just nuts. I'm not watching this a week before release. Better tell my kids to finish the base game, they're both in the final chapter messing around.

2 weeks before Zelda w/ Pikmin not until July, why not release this in June? Really need a Direct now to fill 8n the rest of the year.

Why couldn't they release this later in the year and not so close to Tears of the Kingdom? I don't want to rush through this before Zelda.

lmao so much for having time for Advance Wars. It'll be a straight line from Future Redeemed to Tears of the Kingdom.

@Dom_31 I feel you 😂 I was doing homework and now I can't even focus!

My Body is Reggie!
Another Masterpiece!?

Guess I should finally drop the money on the DLC then, been waiting for the story expansion to do so.

Sadly for me, it's too close to Zelda. I'll have to wait awhile before I can pick this game up

On one hand, I'm thrilled we finally have a date; I was holding off on the expansion pass until we had one. But...this close to Zelda? There's no way I can finish the current games I have going AND play through this before TotK....I think I'll unfortunately have to wait.

I guess I can be patient for a little longer....

Well that's cool but also very weird. I hope it's as good as Torna considering that one got a proper trailer + release date 3 months before release

edit: Ok nevermind, that looks very epic. Wonder if Nikol is Shulks child and Glimmer Pyra's child since they look very similar to them each

@YoshiF2 Sadly, it's a prequel, not a conclusion.

Neat. Hope you all enjoy it!

I still have to get to XC2 first before I ever begin on 3, but I'll definitely get to it one day. So it'll be a while for me before I get to experience this game and its DLC. But it's good to see people being hyped for it!

@Ralizah came to say this, I'm literally wrapping up xc3 now in time for advance wars, to plow with as many hours as possible before TotK. Advance wars was my first ever 'pre-order' and I would of skipped it if I had known

Just as my backlog was somewhat becoming tolerable.....
But I ain't complaining! This looks awesome 😎
I'm just really, really hoping Silksong doesn't get shadow dropped now.....

I am not even remotely prepared for this. Based on the initial announcement, I was originally expecting fall or winter, maybe summer. And I just piled a bunch of other games on top of my already bloated backlog, too. Not that I'm complaining, but I think I have to narrow down my interests if I'm going to have any chance of keeping up.

This was one heck of an unexpected release date drop. Monolith Soft is killing it. What an amazing developer.

Monolith is the GOAT!

As much as i want to play it, now i also kinda want to postpone playing until pyra/mythra amiibo's out

Awesome! But please give us a boxed version like with Torna!

Surprise indeed - I didn't expect it until autumn or so.😳 There's a lot to dig here, much of it possibly supposed to connect more dots once I'll get further in the game (yes, in the true fashion of my Xenoblade playthroughs, my 130+ hours have yet to see me finish chapter 4😅), but seeing older Shulk and Rex again is already a wowser. And if fans had a field day connecting Mio to Nia based on their visual similarities alone last summer, then Glimmer might just start another WMG round.😄

While it's likely to be a while before I get to play it (the name and the premise suggests it being advisable to finish XC3 and the other two flagships including Future Connected first), but, as a Season Pass owner, chances are I'll be downloading it as it is (or canceling the console's attempts at autoupdate every time the game icon is on the home screen😅), so one of the details I'm currently most eager to learn is the file size AKA "what would I have to archive for this?".😏

@Zverik so basically, Metroid Prime 4 in May confirmed?😏😜

Not played the game yet and I picked it up day 1 >.< oof!

TotK is definitely getting sent to the backlog, much more excited for this and Advance Wars so there's no room for open world Zelda.

And no physical!!! nooooooooooo, me wants please....

@Nf157 I was thinking the same thing.😂

I don't like where this seems to be going. Does every game have to have a happy ending? I loved the bittersweet timeloop ending of XB3! It's my favorite rpg ever.

Also, Z calling Alvis his God? Well, I suppose it makes sense since they're both kind of A.I:s and Alvis is a step above him, but Z is my favorite villain out of any game and it looks like this is devaluing him. Maybe he even joins the heroes :S

I think I'll just skip this DLC. Maybe I read the plot conclusion from Wikipedia or something. If I don't like it I just pretend it doesn't exist.

This was so incredibly hype. I love the nods to Xenogears as well. Matthew looks so much like Fei Fong Wong, and I get Bart and Emeralda vibe from some designs as well.
I’m going to take this super slow, put it down for Zelda, and then enjoy coming back to it after Zelda withdrawals, I guess. Never thought I’d say this because it’s such a massive game, but kinda want to replay XBC3 proper too...

@Cia This doesn't neccasarily contradict the ending of XC3.

This is a prequel that appears to be exploring the founders statues (the 6 playable characters here). It's more an expansion of what went on that lead up to the events of XC3, a bit like Torna was to XC2.

I couldn't believe it, just happened to see the tweet when laying down to go to bed, then I jolted awake 😂 Next week is suuuper busy and I have PD workshops that entire weekend so I'll need to squeeze time in whenever I can.

@Zverik even if you are joking there is truth in your words. I think early 2024 but you may be right. I do think they will keep many of the features secret to not show the other consoles their hand. OR - show their hand - to make them scramble and spend more money than they want in development.

business can be a fun game too.

It's fun how this game series are sold on the fantastical worlds at the outset, but this DLC trailer is 99% classic anime drama!

@Sonicka
Xenoblade 3 ends in timeloop. This could well be another round of the loop after the group has defeated Z and ended up back in their past. It was suggested something had changed for the next loop, since Noah heard Mio's flute.

@Cia Interesting. That's not how I read this at all. The trailer seemed more like an exploration of what happened when Origin began to malfunction during the worlds merging rather than another loop post XC3.

I'm not sure how that could actually work either unless they said the ending of XC3 was a lie.

***SPOILER WARNING***

My takeaway from the original games ending was that the universe reboot from Origin completed successfully after Z was destroyed, so the data held within both worlds from Origin was allowed to separate after being rebooted correctly.

XC3 essentially happened as an infinite loop within a single split second via Origin, so time was in a sense "frozen" during the entire game whilst this was going on. When time was allowed to resume normally and the worlds were allowed to separate, none of this ever really happened from everyone's perspective... perhaps save from Noah / Mio (and I would presume a few others) whom seem to hold residual memories of the event (hence the flute).

That was my read anyway. There is a bit of ambiguity to the entire proceeding TBH. Hopefully this DLC wave will clear it up and also followup on some other threads from the first two games

It literally dropped around 2 in the morning for Brits, and I was trying so hard to stay quiet because my brother was fast asleep 😂 haven't had the chance to watch the vid with audio yet, so I'm excited to do so today! What the heck Monolith, shadow dropping such a HUGE trailer?! This very much looks like that culmination 3 was marketed as. I have so many questions, but rather than let my head scramble I'll leave most of them to Luxin to answer 🤭

I did not expect this to drop this soon.

I expected this sometime this autumn. I thought I had the entire Summer to relax and let myself remember the first run of the game.

My body is not ready. Hell, who am I kidding?

MY BODY IS READY BABY.

I have them all, but haven't had time to start the series yet. lol
I'm still chipping away at BOTW as well. haha

Hmm.. very, very cool!!

Amazing that they can and do release it now.. what might this mean for the second half of the year? On the Nintendo front? On the monolith soft front? The hardware front, even?

@YoshiF2

Haha, the whole plot of Xenoblades 3 is metaphor for how much Tetsuya Takahashi doesn't want to make a Xenoblades X remake or sequel.

I used to really want a remake or follow up as well, but now I just feel so bad for the guy. He says he doesn't want to do it in every interview, made a whole game about how wanting to watch the same characters play out the same old story over and over is literally evil and destroys the story teller's soul, and yet ... everyone is STILL asking for it. Way more then they praise his recent work.

The sad part is, I think Nintendo still might greenlight it. But he'll be out as executive director.

@Sonicka an amalgamation of who? The trailer went by so fast I don't think I caught what you mean...

@Otoemetry Ahh, at the time I meant Pyra & Mythra (since the VA seems to be the same, as does certain traits as well as the core crystal).

However I don't think this is the case actually, it's more likely that Glimmer is Pyra's daughter. If the Tattoo on her neck is anything to go by, then she and Nikol are likely in a similar situation as Noah and Mio were in XC3 - trapped in the loop of the endless now. The trailer seems to make out as though they were freed by the others, so they probably won't recognise their respective parents either unfortunately - like Mio and REDACTED

@Sonicka omg my Xeno lore must be rusty because I don't know who's been redacted 😅 do you know how to include a spoiler tag?

@Sonicka (spoiler)insert your text here(/spoiler), but replace the round brackets with square ones so your post will have one of these in it and people can choose whether or not to reveal the spoiler.

@Sonicka

Pyra & Mythra and the same entity in every way, and neither are the true Aegis. The way it's explained by Mythra is that Prya is basically a visualization of a personality she created. Changing from one of the other is more or less the equivent of a moody teen cutting her hair so everyone knows she's emo now. Mythra herself is a personally created by the Aegis to interact with Adam. The true Aegis is simple called "3rd form" and the player can chose to call her by either name.

I also don't think the Aegis can procreate, and if she could ... lore would suggest her offspring would be a titin. Who knows, you might be right, a lot of Xenoblades 3 deliberately breaks lore ... but I think it's far more likely she's just the visualization of a new personality

@HeadPirate what is evil is complaining about storytelling hell ……… when he left X on a MASSIVE cliffhanger. It’s his responsibility as a storyteller to finish his stories.
I can understand not wanting to work on a port or remaster … but at least finish what you were trying to tell FFS

@YoshiF2

Hey don't ask me, I've been writing and telling stories about the same game world for 35 years and I'm still excited about doing it.

But Xenoblades 3's theme is that this is clearly wrong and immoral. The "heroes" have the ability to permanently take characters away from a story teller and force new stories to be told. Not only is this a "good" act, but a moral obligation. The whole story of Ethel and Cammuravi is that even when the ending sucks and no one is happy, having to do it again or continue the story takes all meaning from not only past actions but any future actions.

Xenosaga 3 also ends with a huge cliff hanger and a ton of unanswered questions ... but I think that's just his method of story telling. I think he want to leave what happens next with the "reader". It's also important to note that in Japanize literature most stories have open endings where the heroes just go back to living a normal life, unlike Western stories where Indy still has to fight Nazis even though he's 100 years old. What makes a "good" ending is pretty subjective.

Xenoblades literally came to be because after making that numbered sequel and the mixed reaction from fans who felt the ending sucked, or he didn't do what they wanted with the characters, or that he "owed" them a 4th game, the team had such low mortal that they said they would move on to a completely new original IP or stop making games. So yeah, keep that in mind too!

His only responsibility is to tell the story he wants to tell, even if that story doesn't have what we would call a "satisfying" ending. He doesn't "owe" us a damn thing.

Again, I don't AGREE with that personally. I grew up with Western stories and can't wait to see 100 year old India Jones kicking ass! I want a new game staring Nia to come out every 6 months, I want to play Xenoblades 37 (STILL staring Nia) with my grandkids.

it's just very, very clear from his interviews and the themes of his games that Takahashi wants to tell new stories in new worlds.

Feels a bit weird they're dropping this now, I know they have the soundtrack out in a couple of months so need to get it out before then, but Zelda is just over 2 weeks after that. I know not everyone is gonna be into that but a good 70% are. Seems as if they're trying to get in ahead of Zelda. I was trying to clear my playlist before TOTK, but whatever, I'll throw this into the mix as well.

@Otoemetry cheers for the tip! I didn’t realise those tags worked on the comments section 😅

My redacted was in reference to Mio not knowing that Nia is her Mother

@HeadPirate yes, however the personalities do still consider each other “sisters“ since they are facets of Pneuma. They also did end up splitting into individuals by the end of the game. However, the logic behind how this works? I’ve no idea - they have the Aegis Core Crystal however so my guess is that anything could be possible

Similar - at the end of XC3 we learn that both Pyra, Mythra (and possibly Nia) all had children with Rex… how this functionally is possible I’ve no bloody idea though - but this is why I find it likely that Glimmer is the daughter of Pyra (brown hair with red tips) as opposed to another personality

@Sonicka ah yes, that tiny throwaway detail only revealed in a split second blink-and-you'll-miss-it screenshot 😅

@Otoemetry it really was 😅 The screenshot button on the switch had never been more handy in that moment lol.

@Sonicka my reactions were too slow, I had to Google it later 🤣

@Sonicka

I think there is a pretty simple answer we're both missing here.

Nopon Sage did it.

@HeadPirate yes, I think this actually makes the most sense haha 🤣

I do hope they do a physical release like Torna!

@Sonicka Regarding the spoiler content you mentioned... That's beginning to sound like a harem lol

@Ulysses well… it was as much a surprise to me as everyone else that suddenly saw the photo of them all - well maybe not too much of a surprise - that sly dog 🤣

Oh cool, I only need to finish XC1, Future Connected, Torna, and XC3 in the next five days and I'll totally be ready to play this!

Is it safe for me to watch this trailer having played 1 + 2 +T but not 3?
I saw that it takes place prior to 3 but wanted to check first.

@AJWolfTill Depends how sensitive you are to spoilers, but I wouldn't recommend watching it before playing 3 personally.

Very cool. I am on the final chapter of the game now and taking my time on side-quests but it looks like I'll be finished just in time for the new campaign.

@Cia No, the official Nintendo site has confirmed this takes place before the events of Xenoblade 3. So, it won't contradict or change the ending of the main story.

@Cia "This story features a new main character and details events taking place before the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 game."

https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/xenoblade-chronicles-3-expansion-pass-70070000014643-switch/

I didn't get this wave today (with minutes to go before it's the 26th)