#xenoblade switch

[xenoblademisadventures]

It occurred to me that fashion armor means there's zero excuse not to play through the entirety of Xenoblade DE as Pineapple Riki.

[xenobladezine]

So... Xenoblade on Switch...

Oh hey Xenoblade fandom. Still debating whether to relaunch this zine. We will see how the remaster of Xenoblade affects the fandom.

[djloveytoast]

XENOBLADE REMAKE ON SWITCH IM SO HAPPY

[xenoblademisadventures]

I feel like I should elaborate on my opinion about Alvis being confirmed Ontos because I was against this when people were bringing up the possibility.

I think the idea of Alvis being Ontos on a lore level is boring and in the big picture. Like, say Xenoblade DE said Alvis is explicitly NOT Ontos, the obvious question is "then who is?" Which could lead to that being a facet of Xenoblade 3's plot. It also would mean "then what is Alvis?"

It could even be set up as a plot twist because the audience is probably low key expecting Alvis to be Ontos. Obviously, he shares stuff in common with Mythra and Malos, having similar power sets and poses, but stuff like Alvis has foresight, Mythra has a much weaker version of that; Alvis has 8 Monado Arts, Malos has 4 (also, Alvis is the Monado so calling the Arts Monado Arts is saying they're his Arts, while Malos calling his Arts Monado Arts implies he's invoking the Monado, which would put the Monado as some entity above the Aegises); Alvis is able to have several different swords at once that change form to fit the user, Mythra can do something like that but needs to become a different person first; Alvis can recreate the universe at will, Mythra at her full potential can do minor rewrites to give herself an advantage against Jin; Alvis was able to revive Shulk twice with no obvious drawbacks, Mythra revived Rex once and it put herself in a compromising position; Alvis has a much more complete memory of Earth and its destruction than either Malos or Mythra; etc. If Alvis is not an Aegis, he could be the administrative computer overlooking the Aegises. Or he could be a prototype Aegis. Another option is the Conduit somehow made him all three Aegises fused into one entity (I suppose this wouldn't be impossible still, so shrug). Anyways, all of those options are more interesting than Alvis being Ontos.

Say, Monolith decides Alvis needs to be an Aegis for whatever reason, I have an idea that would probably be more interesting than if his Core Crystal was just nakedly visible. Consider this, Alvis has a more muted personality than either Malos or Mythra, similar to how Fan La Noir has a more muted personality than Haze, so what if Zanza and Meyneth were Blade Eaters and that's how they achieved their divinity? Considering that Haze's power didn't seem to decrease (possibly even increased, seeing how in Golden Country we've seen her stop two blades at most (and Mythra probably could've broken out like Malos did) while Xenoblade 2 she stopped a small Titan) when she lost part of her Core Crystal, it wouldn't compromise Alvis's ability to function as a sword. He acts somewhat more robotic after reviving Shulk for the second time, which makes me think Shulk became a Blade Eater without knowing it. That being the case would leave a lot more implications for Alvis and his relationship to Zanza's and Meyneth. Technically it's possible that Alvis could point to the Core Crystal that's like a necklace and be like "this is what it's supposed to look like *unbottons shirt* and this is what it actually looks like."

The worst possible ending is if there's a plot twist that Bionis takes place in the Subconcious Emissary. Like, everything in that world is made of ether. Taken literally, that would mean there is no matter, only ether. Which could explain how the Monado is way stronger than Pneuma or Logos. It would also deepen the connection to Xenosaga brought by the Conduit. For those who don't know Xenosaga lore, the Subconcious Emassary is basically the afterlife. There's no matter and a heck ton of ether. People who go there but are too determined or have past regrets overflow the place and become magic space fish. So, the Bionis would exist as a stalling system to prevent the souls of the dead from becoming magic space fish by giving them a virtual life where they repeatedly reincarnate while Zanza eats some of the excess ether until they can go to the Collective Subconcious. If Monolith is trying to make Zanza's sympathetic, this would make his actions justified, just very confusing. They'd basically be turning him into a copy of Deus and Wilhelm from Xenogears and Xenosaga. This is the worst option because it would add needless confusion to the lore.

[xenoblademisadventures]

Thoughts on DE

If I hadn’t already played the hell out of the original game, I would get it. The new costumes, fashion gear, and hard mode are the main things that appeal to me. Future Connected falls under the category of “I’d rather watch all the cutscenes on YouTube.” I’m happy that there was very little retconning or mention of the other games (including in Future Connected), though I would’ve also been happy if Xenoblade 2 and X were given more mention. 

Overall, if I ever do get in a sudden extreme need to replay Xenoblade 1, I will probably buy definitive edition.

[xenoblademisadventures]

(Xenoblade DE Ending Spoilers Below)

I like how Definitive Edition didn’t bother to change either the angle of the space station relative to the earth, Elysium’s existence, or the fact that Klaus and Galea weren’t in a crowded room when the Earth blew up. The dialogue is also unchanged, with no mention of Ontos, the Aegises, or anything regarding Xenoblade 2 in the ending cutscene. I like how this canonizes that Alvis’s memory of what happened is only slightly better Pyra’s and Malos’s and/or he lied to Shulk’s face. 

Future Connected also has only a vague hint of Alrest’s existence in a Guldo and fuck-bird appearing, but how they showed up and what they’re doing on Bionis Shoulder is never explained beyond “portal.” Instead it’s focused entirely on the High Entia in the aftermath of the game’s events.

TLDR: Nothing got ret-conned besides Alvis’s design to my knowledge. He still becomes a green sparkle. 

[xenoblademisadventures]

I keep reading Xenoblade DE as "Xenoblade Delux Edition" rather than "Xenoblase Definitive Edition."

[xenoblademisadventures]

I was wondering why there hasn't been much Xenoblade news in a few years. Then I remembered the remake exists and was like "oh yeah, that's a thing. That's why."