What Might Have Been

I've been watching Mini-Red #2 play Xenoblade Chronicles X on the Wii U, and all I can think of is that this should have been a better selling title than it was.

As a friend of mine described it, Xenoblade Chronicles X is a single player version of an MMO, and I can't dispute that analysis. There are players out there that you can team up with if you keep your eyes open, but the game revolves around your toon and a configurable squad of up to four other NPCs. The graphics and gameplay itself are pretty much modern MMO standards, and my son vouches for the storyline so far.*

Yes, the entire game is as beautiful as this.
From time.com's review of the game.

The world is vast, too, and the polish is closer to Blizzard standards than anything else.

But.... The US version came out many months after the Japanese version came out, and rumors of the demise of the Wii U + speculation on the Switch helped kill the game.

It's a shame, really, because if there was one Nintendo game that was built for an endless supply of MMO style expansions, Xenoblade Chronicles X is it.




*The music reminds me of anime in that it's not traditional video game orchestral music but a blend of rock and pop, closer to K-Pop than regular rock.