Maybe the real?? friends were the ?friends we made along the way!

[Destructoid reader TheBlondeBass has once again gathered folks from the community together for this edition of Destructoid Draws, which focuses on their favorite sidekicks in video games! �strong>Kevin]

So, I've been having a good time playing Yakuza: Like a Dragon these past few days. Great time, even, with the game having excellent charact?ers, writing, minigames, the works. But, it took a little time to get there. Like many JRPGs, the game starts with a fairly slow opening with a party of one. And, y??ou know what? It made me appreciate just how important a strong supporting cast is.

This time around for Destructoid Draws, members of the community were asked to draw their favorite sidekicks and allies. Because the real stars of the show are often just to the side of the spotlight, ??right?

It's time to finally give these sidekicks the respect they?? truly d??eserve, I say!

DeScruff
Cremia from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

"Cremia is a very minor character, but she gives you one thing that I never thought I would ever want outside of a dating sim. A warm heartfelt hug. In a game as dark and depressing as Majora's Mask, that is the best reward one can get."

"See you... tomorrow... Ok?"

TriggerPigking
Nia from Xenoblade Chronicles 2

"Nia is one of my favorite characters in gaming, and I could talk about her at length. From a companion angle, she's essentially the only dedicated healer in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, so she's almost always a necessity for the party. From a character angle, she acts as a very nice sarcastic foil to the rest of the party (including? Rex's upbeat attitude), which is a lot of fun.

We need more sarcastic cynical white mages in games, and the rough welsh accent she has works sur??prisingly well for such a character."

NeoTurbo
Whacka from Paper Mario

"Whacka is everyone's favorite Paper Mario NPC for some reason or another. Whether you want to protect that precious smile or protect your party from death at the cost of inflicting him serious head? trauma.....Whacka has something for everyone!"

TheBlondeBass
Herlock Sholmes from The Great Ace Attorney

"The Great Ace Attorney is a fascinating duo of games. They manage to simultaneously raise the bar of what is possible in an Ace Attorney game, while also managing more subdued and, dare I say... realistic cases? They're not afraid to deal purposefully unsatisfying endings that wouldn't feel out of place in a court of law, free from the chains of Ku'rain channeling. I'll say it. They've outclassed Trials and Tribulations for me.

But, I digress. These games are still very much comedic, and this larger-than??-life take on Sherlock Holmes takes the cake. Threading the line of genius and idiocy, you're never quite sure what's going to happen next with him, but you know you won't be disappointed!

I'm certainly not one to spoil story-rich games like this one, so let me just say this. After case 2-3, I was thinking "okay, that was the best Logic and Reasoning Spectacu?lar." That's the name of a new mechanic where Sholmes and the main character try to piece together the clues at a crime scene, by the way. Anyway, then came cases 2-4 and 2-5, and they both blew me away back to back. That's a difficult feat!

Oh and the uh... the joke i??n my submission is 'The ga??me is a foot!'. Sorry."

Vesalius
Glory from Shadowrun: Dragonfall

"It was a tie between her and Big Bo from Binary Domain, but she’s my favorite murd?erous medic sidekick! I always made my characters weak in combat, so it was nice having a sidekick who could shred people’s faces."

Inquisitive Raven
Fret from NEO: The World Ends With You

"Fret first comes across as your typical dudebro (and to a degree he is), but there's more to him than that. He has a surprising amount of emotional intelligence, often knowing what to say to defuse a situation if possible. He presents himself as cheerful and easygoing to a fault, even when he has his own misgivings about what's going on. Later on in the game, Fret deals with the repercussions of this facade in a way that hit surprisingly close to home and led to a good bit of growth ??for him.

I didn't expect to like him as much as I did. I already had ideas of some of my favorite characters, but Fret really grew on me. He's a good dude! And that's not even mentioning how he complements Rind??o, who's way more passive most of the time. I like Fret as a "Sidekick" because he's legitimately his own character, and not tied to Rindo alone.

Also, I love hearing him yell, 'Galaxy Brain - ACTIVAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE!!' before a battle!"

That's it for this edition of Destructoid Draws! While we're talking about favorite sidekicks??, what are some of yours? As always, I'd love to see more stor??ies and sketches in the comments! Want to check out the previous Destructoid Draws? Here are a few handy links!

• Guilty Gear
• Favorite Franchises
• Villains
• Original Mega Man Robot Masters
• Indie Games
• White Whales
• Super Smash Bros
• ENCORE: Guilty Gear
• ENCORE: Dream Crossovers

The post Destructoid Draws ENCORE: Favorite Sidekicks appeared first on Destructoid.

Pyra and Mythra

Saito Masatsugu, character artist for Xenoblade Chronicles 2, did an amazing job at bringing that cast to life. While the Xenoblade series is typically full of memorable? party members, there?? was something special about Rex and Pyra/Mythra.

Masatsugu thinks so too, as they are celebrating the third anniversary of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 with a new piece of art starring the latter pair. As a reminder, the sequel came out on December 1, 2017: which is still hard to believe. That's mostly because the DLC expansion arrived nearly a year later, so the game is still fresh in ??my mind.

So fresh, in fact, that I kind of want to play it again! It's a good thing that Monolith Soft aims for a more timeless angle for their games: so beyond the time commitm??ent, it's easy to wrap my head around doing that again. DLC included!

If you're interested in the finer details of Masatsugu's work, Nintendo did a little deep dive w??ith him a few years back.

saitomasatsugu [Twitter]

The post Xe?noblade 2 is three?? years old, so its character artist celebrated with a new piece appeared first on Destructoid.

Well played, great game

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was the gift that kept on giving ??for a while. 

This is already a jam-packed roughly 60 hour minimum JRPG, but developer Monolith Soft worked for months on end to address player concerns with patches, free content, and in the case of Torna, a full-on expansion. Those tireless efforts have paid off, as Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is now confirmed to have sold over 1.73 million copies worldwide, according to a 4Gamer interview with the game's director,&nb?sp;Tetsuya Takahashi.

Xenoblade Chronicles has had a long journey after being devised as a successor of sorts to the Xenosaga series (where the rights lie with Bandai Namco). The first game debuted in 2010 on the Wii and was part of "Operation Rainfall," an effort to get Japanese publishers to localize a select few RPGs in the west (the US, specifically). From there the series ushered in the first ever "New 3DS exclusive" with portable port of the original, followed by the very MMO-like Xenoblade Chronicles X on Wii U, and f??inally, the Switch's aforemen?tioned 2017 full sequel.

There will be more: Nintendo and Monolith Soft wil??l make sure of it. According to the same interview, a new game has been in production for 10 months already.

Xenoblade [4Gamer.net via ResetEra]

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Toy inception

KOS-MOS may have debuted back in 2002 in the Xenosaga series, but she's lived on in Xeno spirit ?for nearly two decades. Monolith Soft isn't willing to let her fade away, adopt??ing her as a mascot of sorts for the company, and now she's making yet another appearance in toy form.

Debuting at Japan's Wonder Festival (a sculpture/anime convention that happens twice a year), KOS-MOS is getting a figure based on her turn in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 as a guest ch?aracter. GoodSmile Company will be handling the modeling duties and the 1/7 figure is likely due sometime this? year.

You don't really hear about Xenosaga all that often in conversation, bu?t its staying power is clear: or at le??ast, in minds of those at Monolith Soft.

KOS-MOS [Wonder Festival]

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What a great game

I've sung the praises of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 for a long while now but it just dawned on me that I've been doing it for a yea??r. Damn! The JRPG that could was great at launch but was made even greater through a series of free and paid DLC updates, on top of many quality of life changes and an entire (good) expansion??.

While the aforementioned Torna expansion did close out development on Xenoblade Chronicles 2 as a whole, it seems like Monolith Soft aren't completely done yet. As part of the one-year festivities both editions just got a patch that adds in Mythra's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate look, which was changed to warrant an "E for everyone" rating compared to the "T" of Chronicles. If you want the? outfit just head to the Salvage Deck and look for Brobro.&nb??sp;

I can't wait to see what the team cooks up next. Unlike a few other J??RPG developers that have either played it too safe or have fallen victim to corporate disast??ers or buyouts, Monolith Soft seems to have it going on since Nintendo took ownership.

Xenoblade [Twitter]

「ゼノブレイド２」発売から1周年を迎えました！皆様ありがとうございます！”Xenoblade2" 1year anniversary! Thank you! #ゼノブレイド2 pic.twitter.com/0hFq3aBCHd

— 齋藤・B・極・将嗣 (@_saitomasatsugu) November 30, 2018

The post Holy ??he??ll the fantastic Xenoblade Chronicles 2 turns one year old, gets a new Smash-inspired costume appeared first on Destructoid.

It could go anywhere, really

The Xenoblade series has prided itself on basically doing whatever the hell it wants to between entries. Although there has been a tiny cute, mostly challenge mode oriented crossover between the first and second games and some light references, all of them, including X, feature completely different cast membe??rs and tell their own isolated story. That allows developer Monolith Soft some leeway, and director Tetsuya Tak?ahashi knows it.

Speaking to USGamer, Takahashi explained that Xenoblade Chronicles 2 "exceeded [his] expectations," and that the North American and European regions in particular really rallied behind it. Takahashi says that the Torna DLC expansion is also doing well in Japan.

As for a future entry, it seems as if Monolith Soft is going to do the whole "reset button" thing all over again and not rest on their laurels. When asked whether or not the game would be more fantasy-themed (like Xenoblade 2) or tech-themed (like X), Takahashi said there was also a "third option." He ela?borated, saying that he's "someone who gets bored of whatever it was [he] did last," and that it?? "might go down a path it hasn't gone before."

Bring it on. After all this time the Xenoblade&?nbsp;series has ?developed quite a fanbase, and I'm sure if the quality is there Monolith Soft will expanded even further.

Xenoblade Ch??ronicles 2 Sales Outside Japan Far Exceeded Monolith Soft's Expectat?ions [USGamer]

The post Monolith Soft boss says Xenoblade Chronicles 2 ‘exceeded expectations,’ future games might go down a ‘different path’ appeared first on Destructoid.

And wallpaper

I know I've said this befor??e but altern??ate cover art is my jam.

As a physical collector I often find myself wanting to swap covers just for a change of scenery, or in some cases, to hide a particularly bland piece of standard art: the alternate covers for BioShock Infinite were a delight in that respect. But Nintendo is also getting in on the fun with alt art for Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country, you just need to do a bit of legwork to get it.

As is customary these days, especially for RPGs under the purview of the eShop, you need to head over to My Nintendo. Just log in, locate it here for 30 Platinum Points (the easy to earn but mostly useless currency), and you're good to go. You can also snag a wallpaper for 50 points. If you need points go click on the wandering c?oin on your home screen and do a quick survey. Something to do with Platinum!

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 [My Nintendo]

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It still isn't Reyn time

Fans of the Xenoblade Chronicles series have likely been ecstatic with the DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Not only have Shulk and Fiora from the Wii classic been added to the game, but now Elma from the Wii U's Chronicles X can join your party. After completing a n?ew challenge dubbed the "Otherworldly Fighter," Elma can be recruited to your party (though not in campaign mode).

Along with her, a brand new blade called Corvin will be available. They are both a part of the 1.5.2 update to the game and will be the final Rare blades for expansion pass owners. The full patch notes reveal some extra treats for fans of Chronicles X:

• Changes and New Features
  • Added functionality to receive Corvin, the third and final round of rare blades from the Expansion Pass.
    • A core crystal is available that will guarantee bonding with Corvin. Corvin possesses the following characteristics:
      • Weapon type: Uchigatana
      • Element: Light
      • Role: Defense
    • Drivers bonded with Corvin become able to use an art with the reaction “Smash.”
  • Added functionality to the Expansion Pass to receive new challenges for the “Challenge Battle: Nopondemonium” called “Otherworldly Fighter” and “Poisoned Paradise.”
    • “Otherworldly Fighter” features a battle against Elma, from the game Xenoblade Chronicles X. Clearing this challenge will allow Elma to join your party as a blade.
    • Pressing the R and Minus buttons at the same time when all three bars of Elma’s party gauge are full will consume all three bars and engage her Overdrive ability.
    • While Overdrive is active, a counter is applied to all attack arts and specials that hit. As the counter goes up, the effect of the following three bonuses increases damage boost, an Arts recharge boost from auto-attacks, and a decrease in enemy resistance to reactions and combos.
    • Add this challenge by selecting the following options from the main menu: Expansion Pass, Gift from Zuo 3, Nopon Summons, Pt. 2. The challenge is available from Chapter 6 onward.
  • “Flawless Noponstone” has been added as an item available from treasure chests in the “Challenge Battle: Nopondemonium” of the Expansion Pass.
    • To make this item available, select the following options from the main menu: Expansion Pass, Gift from Zuo 3, Nopon Invitation, Pt. 2.
    • Flawless Noponstones can be earned during any of the challenges.
  • Added items that can be acquired in exchange for Flawless Noponstones to the “Challenge Battle: Nopondemonium” section of the Expansion Pass.
    • Some of these items will slightly alter character outfits. Included in these items are “swimsuits” that will aid in completing the challenge “Poisoned Paradise.”
    • Certain items for Nia and Zeke will become available from Chapter 8 onward. (These items will be available from the start when playing New Game Plus.)
    • Mòrag’s swimsuit may cause her hairstyle to change in certain event scenes.
  • A Pouch Item Emporium and Noponstone exchanger have also been added to the “Challenge Battle: Nopondemonium” section of the Expansion Pass.
    • Noponstones can be exchanged for Flawless Noponstones using the Noponstone exchanger.
  • The track “Uncontrollable” from Xenoblade Chronicles X has been added to the options available when choosing which music will play during battles with unique monsters via the “Special BGM” selection.
    • To listen to the Special BGM tracks, the blade Elma, available via the Expansion Pass, must already be added to the party.
    • When Elma and either Shulk or Fiora are in the party, the BGM for the blade engaged with the player character will be given priority.
    • When Elma and Shulk or Fiora are of the same priority, the BGM that plays will be selected at random.

Nintendo of America [Twitter]

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Looking fly

I might have said everything there is to say about Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It's lengthy but still captivating throughout,?? it's bright and cheery without getting too saccharine, and I love that I can play it in bed on Switch.

But developer Monolith Soft isn't done with it yet, and to accompany all of those quality of life patches over the past few months we're getting more major DLC beats. Torna - The Golden Country is the big draw, a time-traveling adventure that takes place 500 years before the core game. Oh, and there's the new Blades (read: summons/Pokemon of sorts if you haven't played), as well as a challenge mode with special appearances from beloved original cast members. Expect the main story content on September 14 in digital form, or you could wait until September 21 for a physical editio?n.

I'm feeling it. Get a look at e??verything comin?g up in the video below.

The post I’m really feeling it: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 gets a juicy Torna – The Golden Country DLC trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

I'M REALLY FEELING IT

In addition to that final story DLC, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is getting a challenge mode this Thursday (June 14) at 10 pm PST. Along with providing challenges (obviously), you'll now have access to S?hulk and Fiora in-game, and they look like great additions.

It doesn't seem like you'll be able to use them in the campaign, but even just having them rendered in the new engine is awesome. Xenoblade Chronicles?? is one of my favorite Wii titles and I've dreamed about what the game could look like in HD. I suppose this is the closest we'll get, for now.

Nintendo of America [Twitter]

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Torna: The Golden Country

Monolith Soft isn't done with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 yet. The studio showed off some DLC, Torna: The Golden Country,?? during this morning's Nintendo Direct presentation. It's set ?for release in September.

The post Oh yeah, Xenoblade ?Chronicles 2 is getting DLC in September appeared first on Destructoid.

1.41

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is so packed and lengthy that it doesn't really need ??ancillary DLC quests, but if you got the Season Pass you're in luck tomorrow. Update 1.41 is bringing in five new missions? with sprinkled availability from Chapter 3 all the way up to 10, one of which even requires the completion of previous expansion past quests.

All of this is amidst free updates that have added new quality of life features to the game -- in other words, Monolith Soft has been working overtime since Xenoblade Chronicles 2 first launched?? in December. This level of support for a sing?le-player JRPG has been nothing less than impressive.

The main DLC event is yet to come, but we have a line on what it is if you want to read this spoiler-heavy post. As for tomorrow's update ??you can get the ful?l rundown of quest names and requirements below.

Xenoblade [Nintendo via Siliconera]

• Blacksmith’s Harmony (Available after Chapter 3)
• Celebrity’s Hat (Available after Chapter 5)
• Creating Love Source (Available after Chapter 7)
• Mercenary’s Law (Available After Chapter 10, must have completed Expansion Pass: New Quests Pack 2’s “Beneath the Aurora)
• Merclibay Islet’s Powerful Foe (Available after Chapter 10, must have acquired the Rare Blade Zenobia, Electra with Lv. 5 Electric Mastery, and Herald with Lv. 5 Rampage).

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Warning

The datamining community, especially when it come?s to specific games, has come through quite frequently in the past five years. Even if it's just spotting a few file names here and there thrown in during prep work for?? upcoming DLC those folks are vigilant, always willing to comb over the most granular detail to locate an announcement here and there.

That's just what they've done with Xenoblade Chronicles 2, in an effort spearheaded by a community member named Moosehunter. In a recent compilation, and this is entering spoiler territory as was noted twice in the titles above, it was revealed that the upcomi??ng DLC could deal with the Aegis War -- the grand event that happened before the events of the game.

Drivers (read: NPC companions) are out, and instead you'll be controlling Lora, Addam, and Mythra with their own statlines. It also may provide Blade gifts for the main game, including Shulk. This would all be part of the season pass if you already own it, and the first major story DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 when it arrives later this year.

Of course this might be placeholder info, or junk data to throw users off the scent; but it seems highly probable that Monolith Soft would hone in on past events to give the DLC a b??it more pizzazz ??and keep it separate from the massive storyline so that anyone can jump in at anytime.

Moosehunter [Github via ResetEra]

The post Spoilerific details datamined from u??pcoming Xenoblade Chronicle?s 2 DLC appeared first on Destructoid.

They're rad as hell

Nintendo and Monolithsoft just announced that they're going to be adding two bits of DLC (one paid, one free) to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 in th??e form of extra blades -- T-elos Re and Poppibuster -- and now you can check them out in action in the videos belo??w.

As a reference ??T-elos Re is the counterpart to the already included KOS-MOS from Xenosaga, and you'll nab her by finishing the campaign. The Poppibuster is basically an Iron Man Hulkbuster mech piloted by another Poppi robot, and will be included by way of the season pass.

All of this will be added in tomorrow when Xenoblade Chronicles 2&nb?sp;gets its 1.4.0 update. More content is still on the way, including an extra difficulty level and some more added tweaks. It's the game that keeps on giving.

もうひとりは、「KOS-MOS Re:」と同じく、シリーズの垣根を越えてやってきた「T-elos Re:」ですも！
まずは同調シーンをご覧くださいも！ pic.twitter.com/agpvKYPJD4

— ゼノブレイド２ (@XenobladeJP) April 26, 2018

たくましいメタルボディーに、ハナっぽい人工ブレイドが乗り込んで戦う「ハナバスター」。
"トラ以外"のドライバーなら、自由にエンゲージ対象を切り替えられるから、ガンガン活躍させてほしいも！
気になる必殺技は…ドカーンとこんな感じですも！ pic.twitter.com/FU1E5oC5Kf

— ゼノブレイド２ (@XenobladeJP) April 26, 2018

The post See the new Xenoblade Chronicles 2 T-elos and Poppibuster blades ??in action appeared first on Destructoid.

More blades

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 kind of just keeps getting content. Whether it's part of the paid season pass or not, Monolith Soft is supporting it, and players have been getting trickling bits and pieces here and there like extra blades (read: Pokemon), on top of bigger things like New Ga?me+ additions.

According to Nintendo the support is far from over too, as version 1.4.0 is coming up soon, and will be adding in the Poppi Buste??r and Telos??: RE blades. The latter will require you to beat the game, and will then have a "high" chance of dropping.

I wonder how many people are already on their New Game+ run of this massive 60+ hour RPG? I don't?? regret playing it at launch one bit, as I have a lot of amazing things to come back to when I get around to my next playthrough.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 [Nintendo via Nintendo Life]

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Version 1.3.1

While a lot of you are skipping out on Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or have already finished it, Monolith Soft has been doing a low key excellent? ??job of updating the game. They added countless quality of life changes into the mix as well as massive additions like a New Game Plus mode, and with massive patches come glitches.

The studio has been swift to patch those as well, as version 1.3.1 wa?s mo?stly just introduced this week to rectify a handful of problems that came in the last patch. They've also addressed a few oversights (there's a new NPC that lets you restore your money once in NG+ so you can buy the Abyss Vest at the start) and made room for the rest of the season pass in the main menu.

The full patch notes are below.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 [Nintendo]

Version 1.3.1

• Issues Fixed
  • Fixed an issue where common blades resonated to drivers other than Rex were being deleted if the player started a New Game Plus with them assigned to Rex.
    • We apologize, but even if you update your data, you will be unable to restore your common blades.
  • Fixed an issue during New Game Plus where the player was unable to acquire a common blade’s affinity gift even after fulfilling the conditions.
  • Fixed an issue where rare blades that were released were unable to rise above trust level S if they resonated with a character again.
    • Downloading the update data will set the trust level at S.
    • In the case that the actual trust level is higher than S, then upon doing something to raise the trust level, it will quickly increase to its actual level.
  • We have addressed the following problems where effects intended to be applied to blades on standby were only effective when they were deployed in battle.
    • Core Chips: Some status up types such as “HP MAX Boost”, “Increases the enemy gold drop rate”,”Increases the enemy item drop rate”
    • Aux Cores：”Hunter’s’ Chemistry”, and “Shoulder to Shoulder”
    • Poppy’s Skill RAM: Some status up types such as “HP MAX Boost”, “Gold Rush”, “Treasure Sensor”, “Hunter’s Chemistry”, and “Shoulder to Shoulder”.
    • Common Blade Skills: “Accelerated Growth”, ”Weaponsmaster”, ”Gold Rush”, and “Treasure Sensor”.
  • Fixed an issue where Patroka’s Evasion Effect Art wasn’t triggering correctly.
  • Fixed an issue where the player couldn’t advance in the Gormott quest “Whereabouts Unknown”.
  • Fixed an issue where the player couldn’t advance in the Uraya quest “Marvelous Mercenaries”.
  • Fixed an issue where the player couldn’t advance in the Mor Ardain quest “We Meet Again”.
  • Fixed an issue where the minimap and compass wouldn’t display, and fast travel with the X-button would become unavailable.
  • Fixed an issue where Mythra’s 10% Ether modifier wasn’t being reflected in Rex’s Ether attribute display.
    • This problem concerned the display of the modifier; it was being applied.
  • Addressed a problem with crafting field skills such as “Pyra’s Cooking” where you couldn’t continually make things.
  • Fixed an issue where titles of locations were not displaying when discovering landmarks, locations, and secret areas/viewpoints.
  • Fixed an issue where blades would cycle backwards for Rex when using blade change if Mythra was engaged.

• Changes and New Features
  • An NPC, “Momoni,” has been added to chapter one of New Game Plus, to restore your money one time.
  • He will help you when you are unable to buy an Abyss Vest or unable to send funds due to lack of money on-hand.
  • Adjusted the difficulty of some of the boss battles in Chapter Ten of New Game Plus (so that they reflect Rex’s level).
  • Now displays the currently held and maximum number of accessories, Aux Cores、and Poppy parts in menus and shops.
  • Added a function to download the second Expansion Pass quest.
  • Added a notification page to the menu that contains information about the Expansion Pass.
  • If the Expansion Pass is removed or deleted from your console, “Continue” can no longer be selected to resume Expansion Pass save data.
    • You will be able to select Continue again once you download the Expansion Pass.

The post Massive Xenoblade Chronicles 2 patch fixe??s bugs introduced with the New Game Plus patch appeared first on Destructoid.

Here's all the patch notes

After several days, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 players can now boot up their game and download a massive new patch in v??ersion 1.3.0. Not only did this welcome update fix no less than eight glitches that were pr??esent in the original, but it also brings with it the welcome New Game+ option -- billed as Advanced New Game.

Monolith Soft actually put some effort into this mode, adding in new Blades, more options to send story-centric Blades out on missions, a new skill for Zeke, level four specials,?? traveling bard NPCs, hidden? Driver affinities, and the ability to decrease levels at inns if you're into that sort of thing.

Conversely, there's also now an "easy" d?ifficult that you can swap to at any time that can get you through some ??of the game's tougher battles, as well as the power to skip the Blade bonding cutscene and lock Blades so you don't accidentally delete them.

I really enjoyed Xenoblade Chronicles 2 as-is, but the team has worked pretty hard to get out some welcome quality of life updates and should be comme??nded for it.

Ver. 1.3.0 [Nintendo]

Version 1.3.0

• Issues Fixed
  • Fixed an issue occurring in chapter 7 and onward, in which specific conditions caused bonded blades and drivers to not appear in the Manage Blades menu.
  • Fixed an issue associated with acquiring Perun’s Key Affinity Gift in which the counter for “small good deeds” required to earn it would stop, making the item unobtainable.
  • Fixed an issue associated with acquiring Perceval’s Affinity Gift, “Brandish,” in which certain monsters failed to count toward the requirements “Defeat Igna enemies in Uraya. (Excludes unique monsters.)" and “Defeat Tirkin enemies in Tantal. (Excludes unique monsters.)".
  • Fixed an issue associated with acquiring Perceval’s Affinity Gift, “Brandish,” in which defeating high-level Tirkin enemies (around level 80) failed to count toward the “Defeat Tirkin enemies in Tantal. (Excludes unique monsters.)”.
  • Fixed an issue in which Blades with the condition“Deal a certain amount of damage in one hit” to acquire Affinity Gifts would not meet the condition if they were not present at the start of a battle, and were brought in via Blade Switching instead.
  • Fixed an issue in which Rare Blades, once released, could not achieve a level of Trust higher than S1, even if bonded with a different Driver.
    • After applying this update, performing an action to raise Trust (clearing quests, using pouch items, etc.) will raise the rare blade’s Trust to the correct rank.
  • Fixed an issue with Poppiswap in which if the player possessed a combined total of 1023 or more Skill RAM and Skill Upgrade parts, and equipped the 1024th part, they would be unable to set or crystalize any additional parts, even if they had enough energy to do so.
  • Fixed an issue in which the descriptions for the Silver Feather and Phantom Feather accessories was switched.
• Advanced New Game has been added
  • Players with save data from the final chapter and who have cleared the game will now be able to select “Advanced New Game” on the title screen and carry over some of their data from the previous playthrough.
  • Elements carried over into Advanced New Game
    • Driver levels
    • Driver and Blade equipment and growth
    • Awakened Blades
    • Acquired items and gold
    • Town development status and Merc Group level
    • Status of Events Theater and defeated unique monsters
    • Play time
  • New system features added to Advanced New Game
    • Bonding with certain Blades from Torna will allow them to join your party.
    • Meeting certain Blades from Torna in the game world will allow them to join your party.
    • All Blades can be dispatched on Merc Missions.
    • Driver Hidden Affinities have been unlocked. New skills can also be learned.
    • Zeke’s “Eye of Shining Justice” has been unlocked. (The skill can be learned by developing Zeke’s Hidden Affinities)
    • Levels can now be decreased at inns, with a corresponding amount of bonus EXP being granted for the number of levels decreased.
    • Traveling Bards that will exchange Bonus EXP and special items have been added to various locations throughout Alrest.
      • Traveling Bards are displayed on the mini map as green shop icons.
      • Among the newly exchangeable items, there are those that will increase the number of accessories a Driver can have equipped.
    • Level 4 Specials have been unlocked for certain Blades.
  • Things to note in Advanced New Game
    • Quests, Heart-to-Hearts, and Skip Travel points will all be reset.
    • Cleared Merc Missions will be reset.
    • Saving after beginning an Advanced New Game playthrough will overwrite the save data in which you initially cleared the game.
• Other Updates
  • Easy difficulty has been added. Due to this addition, the default difficulty will now be “Normal.”
    • This only adjusts the balance of elements of battles. Game difficulty can be changed at any time via the Options menu.
  • Added a “simple mode” option allowing players to skip the lottery animation when bonding with Blades.
  • Added the ability to “lock” Blades so that they can’t be mistakenly released.
  • Added a “Sort” option to the Blade List, Accessories, Aux Cores, and Poppy’s Skill Parts.
  • Map icons will now appear on the mini map.
  • Adjusted AI to perform Blade Switches with no regard for Driver combos when using Drivers that prioritize Driver combos while fighting enemies against whom those combos aren’t effective.
  • Added the ability to receive the 4th round of items distributed via the Expansion Pass.

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It's coming in March now

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was all set to get a massive patch, ?one that would add a welcomed-but-at-the-same-time-insane-because-wow-this-game-is-packed New Game+ mode -- but it's just been delayed.

Ninte?ndo announced the delay on Twitter, and was transparent about it pertaining to a bug that basically screwed the whole patch deployment operation. The time that's needed to fix it? About two weeks. You can catch the patch on March 2 worldwide.

As a reminder the big draw of patch 1.3.0 is of course NG+, which is described as "Advanced New Game Mode" with a few twists -- most notably, more blades can be recruited, including spoilerific characters. These blades can be found almost immediately if you're lucky when popping crystals, which the team notes can cause som?e story problems -- but they put in anyway since players have already beaten the game and they decided to err on the side of fun. You can also dispatch more blades for missions, even story ones that couldn't leave your party before, there's more affinity tree development, and you can level-down at inns to earn bonus XP that can be used to buy unique items.

Works for me!

Xenoblade [Twitter]

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With patch 1.3.0

Director Tetsuya Takahashi has laid out the groundwork for Xenoblade Chronicles 2's near fut??ure, and it involves the coveted New Game+ mode. By way of version 1.3.0 next month, Monolith Soft will be adding it in the form of "Advanced New Game Mode," on top of a fix for a b?ug that arose in the last 1.2.0 patch.

Depending on who you ask the bug is either a nuisance or a massive pain. As described by Takahashi himself: "in certain instances during and after Chapter 7 where a Blade linked with a specific Driver disappears from the Blade List (it ??only disappears from the list, the Blade itself does not disappear)."

It's not like many people even needed a "Plus" here, as the game is just so massive that a lot of you probably haven't finished it y??et.

1.3.0 [Nintendo.co.jp via Gematsu]

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The Aegis

Like all JRPGs Xenoblade Chronicles 2 had its issues that turned off some folks, but as a whole I?? think it's been just as successful as its p?redecessors. As people continue to play through this behemoth Nintendo is keen to churn out more promotions and DLC hints, including this newly announced Pyra statue from Good Smile Company.

It's a 1/7th scale rendition due out in April of?? 2018. This thing is 19,800 yen, which translates to roughly $175. Without spoiling too much I kind of wish it was a double-pack with another Aegis-related character, but t??his one looks nice all the same.

Pyra [Amazon.jp]

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It's Rex time

Monolith Soft has carved out a nice little series for itself in Xenoblade. What kicked off as an incredible first entry in 1998's Xenogears eventually became a dead franchise in 2006, until it was resurrected by the Phoenix that is Nintendo four years later on Wii. Since then it's gotten a 3DS port, a Wii U follow-up, and now a full-on sequel on the Switch in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

This one made me laugh, ??cry, and almost throw my Switch tablet on the ground in frustration. Translation: it's a Monolith Soft game.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch)
Developer: Monolith Soft
Publisher: Nintendo
Release: December 1, 2017
MSRP: $59.99

For a game that was shipped in record time, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 doesn't boast the sharpest engine in the shed, but it's beautiful in its own way. The opening crawl is a gorgeous look at the world you're about to explore -- Alrest -- as folks have taken to living on ?titans and swimming through clouds. The only problem is that those titans are dying out, and thus, people won't have actual ground to stand on at some point in the future.

It only takes 10 minutes for Rex, a salvager, to jump into battle against a small cargo and implant himself into the narrative. As far as RPG tutorials go, this three-minute jaunt is refreshing (though more is peppered in for hours longer through innocuous text prompts). Then it's straight into your first vi?lla??ge, a trade guild.

Chronicles 2 moves pretty quickly from just about all angles, and it's easy to feel some sort of connection with Rex right off the bat, despite his overwhelming boyish shonen turn. Rex isn't some asshole -- he sends the lion's share of his earnings back to family, and is fairly endearing imme??diately. Yet, he naturally gets wrapped up in a grand adventure for money, and the big schism of good versus bad kicks off from there. Even with some light bickering with your new crew, the cast is likable, even when you're battling bugs and other small fries for the first few hours.

The gist of how the actual party composition works is through Blades, familiars/Pokémon of sorts, and Drivers, purveyors and masters of Blades. Rex is on a quest with his newfound Blade to find Elysium, the world's equivalent of the Garden of Eden. You know, of course, the Xeno series loves its twists, but there's also plenty of time for fetch quests and small-time adventures involving star-crossed lovers? and prejudiced parents. Naturally, ?there's 15- to 20-minute cutscenes spliced in that explain things that could have been cut down to five, which is par for the course for the developer.

That filler isn't a deal-breaker for me, though it will be for many I suspect. The only other major problem I had is the heavy linking of item-gathering and currency to main story progress. I get that some gates are in place in a lot of JRPGs so you can't just breeze through the story min-maxing -- but why are you asking me to expend most of my funds on a required quest to access a new ar??ea? It's not so egregi?ous that you need to grind every few hours (I rarely did any grinding at all, actually, it was more exploration by choice), but it's annoying.

Another thing I know people are goi?ng to be up in?? arms about is the dub. Look, the English voiceovers are okay. If you really hate the idea of playing with them, Japanese voices will be ready with a day-one patch (which I didn't have, and got by just fine without -- even if I'll turn them on for my second playthrough eventually). The soundtrack is also universally fantastic, so it more than evens out.

As expected, combat is done?? in the open world itself without the need for the swishy separate transitions. I love that copper/silver/gold pieces fly around like an arcade game after vanquishing foes, and the regular "kill stuff/do quests, get experience" system is supplemented by an inn rest bonus XP mechanic that lets you rest to optionally boost levels beyond your normal curve. I love that all this happens in real time too, because it's amazing to look up and see a titan that forms the ground you're walking on moving about. Very rarely does the framerate crawl, and even when it does, it's not a big issue.

If you're not used to JRPGs though (and in some sections, even if you are), Xenoblade Chronicles 2 can be brutal. For one required quest, I was tasked with finding a vaguely described big tree that wasn't marked on the map (which is fine). I had just spent my entire life savings up until that point to continue the narrative, and after wandering just a few feet out of the sec??ond major town, I was beaten within an inch of my life by a level 40 monster.

An hour later I got a new party member, wandered into the s??ame valley, then battled a giant named unique monster that took 10 minutes to beat (which now has a marked tombstone in case I want to fight it again). This game asks a lot, but it gives it back. Each time I was beaten down I came back stronger, more knowledgeable of the game's rules and intricacies, and had more incentive to tweak m?y party. Sometimes, especially in open world encounters, combat can feel like a slugfest. Abilities have individual cooldowns and there's no real MP management or active items to use (though some powers heal or spit out health potions if you use them to ease you into not using a billion healing items every fight).

Remember when I mentioned the going getting tough earlier? It's not always going to be that simple. You might need to lure enemies out with a ranged attack to avoid fighting a giant group, and utilize your positional attacks while staying relatively close to your Blades to boost your power. Timing Arts by hitting them right as an auto-attack lands is another way to get an edge -- as are miniature QTEs when using finishers or specials that feel a lot like simpler versions of the ones from Legend of Dragoon or Legend of Legaia's combo system when using different?? abilities in tandem with one another. (QTEs or combos can work with restraint in JRPGs, especially if they have the word "Legend" in the title, apparently.)

There's not too much item management. Most party members can only equip two items (some Blades can equip three), and the roles (attack, defend, and heal, much like an MMO) are straightforward, as are the semi-small affinity charts (read: skill trees). It's really when you start acquiring special crystals to awaken brand new Blades, just like Pokémon, that the game branches out. You can send said Blades on missions and tweak them, most of which sport a unique weapon type that you can swap out at any time. Given that you can even swap wh?ich character you play as (and swap between three Blades at all times), I'd say it's fun to experiment with. It's also a really cool feeling to pop a rare Blade out of a crystal, and there's no damn microtransactions.

The nuts and bolts are old-school, but it's not archaic. If you die you restart at a local checkpoint with all your progress intact, you might just need to get back to a boss fight (which then starts instantly without a cutscene, thank goodness), or a specific area. You can also save anywhere and fast travel at almost any time, or skip most of the game's movies i??f you're getting tired of watching the myriad short films you'll be ?watching over the course of roughly 80 hours (I didn't, but you can).

To the delight of many, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is less X and more traditional Xenoblade. Although they all have a special place in my library, I appreciate the return to what brought Monolith Soft back int????o the public eye after a series of portable games.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Possible spoilers ahead

The line of what a spoilers is or isn't is one of the greyest areas in the gaming community. Some believe that if the company announces it or shows it no longer cares for keeping it a secret, then it is no longer a spoiler. Others go to the other extreme that anything?? that wasn't in the initial reveal trailer is a spoiler.

Meanwhile you have those spoilers. You know the ones I'm talking about. The reveals that would've been way cooler, regardless of your stance, if the company had kept quiet and let you discover it on your own. The ones that confirm showing less is the better approach. The recent announcement from the Japanese Twitter account Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is one of those. So if you're one of those that hates those kind of spo??ilers,? turn back now.

KOS-MOS Re: from Xenosaga will be a Rare Blade that you can obtain.

いよいよ明日は、『ゼノブレイド２』発売ですも！
ということで、最後のレアブレイドをご紹介！まずは同調シーンからご覧くださいも！ pic.twitter.com/RCK76JQy5m

— ゼノブレイド２ (@XenobladeJP) November 30, 2017

Her design in this game was done by desigend by Kunihiko Tanaka, who you may know as a character designer for Xenogears, Xenosaga, and Xenoblade Chronicles X. Her voice, at least in the Japanese version, is performed by Mariko Suzuki, who has voiced the character in the original games, Super Robot Wars, Namco X Capcom and Project X Zone. It is unknown ??who her English voice actor is at this time. Needless to say, this is st?ill the KOS-MOS we've all come to know over the years.

そうですも！最後のレアブレイドは、シリーズの垣根を越えてやってきた「KOS-MOS Re:」ですも！
デザインは田中久仁彦さん、ボイスは鈴木麻里子さんですも！ pic.twitter.com/jb934YJKQQ

— ゼノブレイド２ (@XenobladeJP) November 30, 2017

I genuinely wonder if KOS-MOS Re: is a sign more cameo characters are possibly in the game. When the system of obtaining Rare Blades was shown off, I thought it would be an interesting excuse to have familiar characters like Fiora or Shulk return without affecting the plot.?? However with KOS-MOS showing up, that means it is absolutely a possibility now, either in the main game or as DLC down the road.

That being said, definitely would've preferred to have stumbled upon this in ga?me, rather than via Twitter. Hopefully they stop revealing Rare Blades after the launch of the game tomorrow, otherwise people will have seen all of them!

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Choir of Angels

With only a few days left to wait, Nintendo is ramping up the hype train for Xenoblade Chronicles 2. While no new footage has been shared, we now have a better understanding of what the music will sound like. The music/sound producer for Chronicles 2,?? Yasunori Mitsuda,?? employed the likes of Irish choral band ANÚNA to compose music for the towns in the game and the result is incredible.

Mitsuda shares his story about discovering the band's work over on Nintendo's website. He describes how in 1996, he was big into music from Northern Europe and was stunned by how ANÚNA carved out their own niche by mostly utilizing the human voice. "I dreamt about making music with ANÚNA one day," Mitsuda says. "After 20 years, my dream came true through the making of the game Xenoblade Chronicles 2."

I can't say I'm surprised at how great this sounds. The first game had an absolutely amazing soundtrack that didn't even need remixing for Smash Bros. Maybe if we ever get a Switch Smash, ANÚNA's work can be featured.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - 'SHADO??W OF THE LOWLANDS' Music Video - Nin??tendo Switch [YouTube]

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Ya know, if that's your thing

If you caught the Nintendo Direct for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 earlier this month than you've already seen t??he game's latest trailer. Well, you can check it out again, but now 100% more British. 

Although dual-audio will be available as a downloadable option at launch, I can't imagine why you would play with anything but the Japanese voices. But I'm not here to judge, if cockney accents a??re your thing, go forth and enjoy the trailer in all of its English-dubbed glory.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 launches on Switch December 1.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 English characters trailer [YouTube]

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Japanese audio is DLC

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will be one of the last big releases of 2017 -- a year that was already pretty packed and hosted a brand n??ew console release.

Before you dive in next month Nintendo just gave us a taste with a Nintendo Direct this morning, which includes a d??eep mechanical dive and the confirmation of a few bits of news. Firstly, dual audio is coming by way of a day one DLC update, and if you want, you can pre-load the game now. Oh, and in true New-Nintendo fashion, it's also getting an "expansion pa?ss." For your cash, it'll get you "support" items in December, new quests in January, a new "rare blade" in spring, a challenge mode in summer, and a new story in fall of 2018.

The Direct goes over a few inside baseball things like combat, towns, and trading, if you w??ant to catch up.

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See what the Switch has in store

From Breath of the Wild to Arms to Splatoon 2 to Mario + Rabbids to Super Mario Odyssey?, the Nintendo Switch is having one hell of a launch year. Nearly every month has seen a game that's a must buy, either from Nintendo itself, an indie developer jumping to the platform at just the right time or from one of the third-party developers who took a chance after falling flat with the Wii U.

While there are still a few months in the console's full launch year, it's wrapping up 2017 with a big one. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 launches worldwide on December 1. We've seen a lot of the game so far with trailers released throughout the year, but at 6:00 am PST today, Nintendo will be giving Chronicles 2 its own Nintendo Direct. We've embedded the video below, so watch it here and let us know what you think in the ?comments.

The post Watch ??the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Nintendo Dire??ct here appeared first on Destructoid.

November 7

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is set to be on the last big games to close out the year, and what a year it's been. To prepare for its launch Nintendo is dropping a special Direct just for it, which will debut on November 7 at 6AM PT right here. We have no idea what it'll actually entail as Nintendo doesn't give us any info beyond the fact that it's "all about Xenoblade Chronicles 2 for Nintendo ??Switch," but a gener??al overview and perhaps amiibo support is a good guess.

There hasn't been a lot of buzz for this one compared to some other 2017 games, but I think a lot of that is because it was only just revealed in January of this year. It's crazy to think that we went from nothing, to gameplay, to a full release on a br?and new system in just 11 months!

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 [Nintendo]

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I'M REALLY FEELING IT!

Along with a new, extended story trailer, today's Nintendo Direct has revealed the release date for Xenoblade Chronicles 2. ??The sprawling RPG will be coming just in? time for Christmas with a release date of December 1, 2017. Along with that, it will be packing full English voice acting (for anyone interested in that).

To hype players up even more, a Special Edition will be getting released along with a themed Pro Controller for the Switch.  Th??????????????????????????e Special Editio??n will come with an art book, soundtrack CD and a steelbook case. I'm a sucker for steelbooks, so I might have to get on the pre-order train (sadly).

I've gotta say, I like the look of this more and more. I wasn't too big on Xenoblade Chronicles X for changing up the art style so dramatically, but 2 looks more similar to the original (which is one of my favorite games on the Wii). Hopefully this can live up ??to fan hype, because an epic RPG like this on th??e go would be great.

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Belt apocalypse incoming

On Tuesday, the Twitter account for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 revealed that Tetsuya Nomura, know for his work on the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franc?hises, would be a guest character designer for the game.

The account went into further detail about how the character design was being handled. Masatsugu Saito, who did the redesign of Celica for the Fire Emblem Awakening DLC, would be handling the character designs for the majority of the games cast, including main characters Rex and Pyra. Nomura on the other hand will be handling the designs for Torna, an organization found in the game. Two characters he's responsible for have been shown, b??ut no names or further details were given.

The concept of bringing in a different designer to make unique designs isn't something new. It can be used to help bring a foreign feeling to certain items within a world, like they don't belong. It's a feeling that the anime Turn A Gundam went for by bringing in Syd Mead, an American designer who worked on Blade Runner and designed the light cycle in Tron, to do the designs for the Mobile Suits. It will be interesting to see what angle the story of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is going for with this, given it's a night-a??nd-day difference between the designers at the moment.

@XenobladeJP [Twitter]

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No one thinks this will make it in 2017

A few months back we got wind that Xenoblade Chronicles 2 exists, and that it's coming by the end of this year! Though I wouldn't get too hyped up as we barely have any screens and under two minutes of gameplay to work with, leaving? folks confused as to how far along in development Monolith Soft really is.

However, Nintendo sought to assuage its fans and investors this week with its earnings release, noting that Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is still on track, and will still launch this year on the Switch. It's entirely possible that Nintendo will make up for lost time at E3 with an explosive trailer and overview of some sort, but for now it's a ?wait and see game.

That, or they'll apologize profusely for a delay while they deny said delay up until the last minute. It's the Ni??ntendo way.

Earnings Release [Nintendo]

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