Eventually the player can swap in other characters if they wish, but Elma and Lin are required for the major story beats and will likely never leave most players party setup. Elma piloting a SkellĮlma and Lin are the main characters of Xenoblade Chronicles X. Their avatar is an observer, only occasionally influencing decisions at key points, but is never fleshed out. This problem is solved by making the player a secondary character in the story. The story needs to account for an almost infinite variety of character types. Story driven JRPGs are typically a linear affair, and custom characters affect how a narrative plays out. Characters and Plot make a StoryĬharacter creation is rare in JRPGs, but Xenoblade Chronicles X has the player create a unique avatar. Quests involving the aliens further connects gameplay and narrative. After the destruction of Earth, much of humanity are xenophobic, but working with the aliens becomes key to humanity’s survival on Mira. Some native to the planet, while others crashed here like the humans. Mira is home to a plethora of alien life forms. This synthesis between gameplay and story remains a strength of the series. There’s plenty of smaller tasks, but these are the main gameplay elements and each are tied directly to the narrative. Surviving means defending against violent local creatures, locating resources across Mira, and fighting alien enemies that crashed alongside the White Whale.
30 days until humanity dies.įinding the Lifehold and surviving on Mira are simple goals that drive Xenoblade Chronicles X. 30 days remain before power will run out, and all mimeosomes shut down. Humanity’s thoughts are transmitted from the Lifehold to the mimeosomes, but there is a limit to the power transfer. You and all humans have robotic bodies, called Mimeosomes, while their physical being is held in a lost piece of the White Whale called the Lifehold. Elma, one of the most capable defenders of humanity on Mira, finds your escape pod undamaged and re-activates you. The main character awakes from suspended animation months after the crash. Two years of flying through empty space, the White Whale is attacked by an alien ship and crash lands on Mira. The White Whale is one of the ships that escapes the destruction unscathed. Earth is destroyed in the conflict, but humanity develops space ships and flees just in time. Humanity knows the world is in the line of fire, and working together they plan an escape. War rages between two alien species, while Earth remains an innocent bystander.