Xenoblade Chronicles 2: all the details, pictures from the official Twitter account (start to Oct. 13th)
After Splatoon 2, ARMS, and even Super Mario Odyssey, it’s Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s turn to get regular updates via Twitter. And naturally, just like with the aforementionned games, we’re going to gather all the details, pictures, GIFs, videos, etc. in a single post… yes, this one!
This post only contains the details, pictures, etc. for the period going from the start of the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 tweet on the official account to October 13th. For the more recent updates, make sure to check out this post instead!
October 13th
Today, Monolith Soft. introduced another Rare Blade, called Uka (designed by Nakaba Higurashi. Voiced by Ｍ・Ａ・Ｏ). She has what seems to be two dragon-like foxes on her back.
October 12th
Today, Monolith Soft. shared some details and some screenshots for the the Argentum Trade Guild, which can be found on Argentum. That Titan may not be the biggest of them all, but it’s packed with stores… and customers doing their shopping.
October 11th
Today, Monolith Soft. shared some details and some screenshots for Anchor Shot, an Art that Rex can use when he’s wielding a sword, and which is exclusive to Salvagers. It launches an anchor at the enemy, and upon contact, it makes said enemy drop HP Potions (that can heal the whole party).
When you choose to use that Art can make a world of difference in battle: do you save it for when you’re in a pinch, or do you instead focus exclusively on dishing as much damage as possible? Your choice!
Also, yesterday, Nintendo shared some screenshot showing Affinity: the thread that connects the Driver and the Blade. As explained before, it shows the power a Blade channels to its Driver. (See September 27th entry for more details).
October 10th
Today, Monolith Soft. shared some details and a screenshot for the Geothermal Turbine Tower, which can be found on the Mor Ardain Titan. You can see steam coming out of the pipes. The Empire of Mor Ardain uses this very geothermal energy to operate their very sophisticated machines, which are at the centre of their civilisation.
October 8th
Today, Nintendo shared some details and a screenshot for Gormotti, one of the Titans the games takes place on. You can see its head from Outlook Knoll.
October 6th
Today, Monolith Soft. introduced not one, but two new Rare Blades:
- Kubira (designed by hakus, and voiced by Mamoru Miyano). A truly gorgeous Blade, with a royal aura.
- Azami (designed by hakus, voiced by Chiwa Saitou). A beautiful yet mysterious (and a bit creepy…) Blade.
October 5th
Today, Monolith Soft. shared a video showcasing an element from the battle system called “Button Challenge” (official English name TBC). This occurs when a Blade uses a special move, and all you have to do is press the button with the right timing in order to increase the power of the move. You also get complimented by a mysterious narrator voice (voiced by Kentarou Tone in the Japanese version)., who shouts things like “Cool!” or “Excellent!!”.
October 4th
Today, Monolith Soft. shared some details and pictures for Tora’s weapon, called “Hana Shield”. It does look like a shield alright, but it also doubles as a drill (that’s what is used to attack). Tora can get the attention of enemies, which allows him to protect teammates while creating opportunities for attacks.
October 3rd
Today, Monolith Soft. shared some details and pictures for Hana (voiced by Misaki Kuno), who is Tora’s Blade. She’s an artificial Blade, who was built by Tora himself, which is probably why she can speak the Nopon language fluently. It looks like that powerful matallic body of hers is packed with the dreams of many young boys.
October 2nd
Today, Monolith Soft. shared some details and pictures for one of Rex’s friends… Tora, a Nopon Driver (voiced by Ai Nonaka) who loves mechanics, and admires Drivers… including Rex, that he calls “Aniki” (lit. “Bro”). He is a Driver, despite not having the necessary qualities for it… it looks like the cute Nopon has a secret!
September 29th
Today, Monolith Soft. shared some details, one screenshot, and a video clip for another rare Blade: Hotaru (English name TBC). In battle, it looks like she’s dancing with that ball of hers… definitely one of the most graceful Blades we’ve seen so far! It’s taiki who designed her, and Kaori Ishihara is the one voicing her.
September 28th
Today, Monolith Soft. shared some details and screenshots for the vast caves found inside the body of Uraya, one of the Titans. During the day, light faintly filter through the openings in the ceiling. But during the night, the various plants and trees emit a really pretty glow, making for quite the breathtaking scenery. The screenshot below was taken from the landmark called “Blue Quay” in Japanese (English name TBC).
September 27th
Today, Monolith Soft. shared some details and screenshots for the battle system. During battle, there’s a stream of light connecting the Blade and the Driver: it’s called “Bond” (Kizuna in Japanese). This link shows the strength being transferred from the Blade to the Driver. It looks like various things happen depending on the colour and length of the Bond, but that’s something that will be detailed later!
September 26th
Today, Monolith Soft. shared some details and a screenshot for Guura (English name TBC), one of the Titans the games takes place on. You can see its head from the Observation Hill (English name TBC).
September 25th
Today, Monolith Soft. shared some details and pictures for Gramps (also known as Azurda), the Titan Rex lives on. When Rex is out on a journey, Gramps stays in his helmet. That way, during battle, he can stay pretty close to him, and he even gives him advice!
September 22nd
Over the past few days, Monolith Soft. shared some details and pictures over on Twitter:
First, we have details and screenshots for Blades. “Blade Tuning” (English name tbc) allows you to create a new Blade, using a Core Crystal. You never know what you’re going to get! For the most common Blades, everything is randomised: appearance, abilities, weapon… even the name is chosen at random!
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 also features special Blades (like Pyra), and various illustrators came up with their designs. For example Finch (the bird-like Blade) was designed by the one and only Kunihiko Tanaka, that fans of the Xeno series should be pretty familiar with. The voice actress is Aoi Yuki.
As for controls, the screenshot below show the battle screen. At the bottom left, you have the Blade palette, that allows you to switch Blade while in battle. On the bottom right, there’s the Driver Arts and Special Moves palette. The position of the Blades/Arts/Moves on the palettes actually corresponds to the position of the direction buttons on the left and right Joy-Con.
That way, no matter which way you chose to play (Portable Mode, Joy-Con, Pro Controller), controls remain the same.
Next, we have a screenshowing the changes made to Rex’s model, between the January 12th presentation and the latest Nintendo Direct presentation (September 13th):
Nia (voiced by Hitomi Oowada) is a party member and a Driver. She’s a pretty active and strong young woman. The two “things” on her head may look like her hair (or even some sort of nekomimi-like accessory), but it’s actually her ears!
Nia’s Blade (and friend) is called Dromarch (Byakko in Japanese, voiced by Tetsu Inada). He may look like a tiger, but he can actually speak the human language. He uses “Ojou-sama” / “My Lady” when talking to Nia, and behaves like her personal butler.
Finally, we have Basara: a rare Blade, who wields a pretty shiny and elaborate katana. He was designed by Yasushi Suzuki, and KENN is the one voicing him. His voice is said to make quite the contrast with his appearance, making him look even more mysterious. But what on earth is inside that gourd he’s holding in his left hand?
June 21st
Today, Monolith Software talked about the chara-design in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which was done by Saito Masatsugu (something we already knew about… it was one of the very first things revealed about the game! Naturally, he’s the one who designed Rex and Pyra, the two main characters.
But the game also has a guest chara-designer: the infamous Tetsuya Nomura from Square-Enix, who designed the “Torna”. We didn’t know what Torna was (a character? A race?) until now, but it turns out it’s an organisation found in the game!
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch) comes out on December 1st, worldwide.
Source: official Twitter account
