In 8 years the Nintendo Transfer has turn out to be one of the fashionable online game methods of all time, kickstarting a brand new technology of hand-held consoles that comes with the likes of PC-based Asus ROG Best friend and Sony’s streaming tool, the PlayStation Portal. Because the 3rd best-selling console of all time, with staggering instrument gross sales, it’s simple to mention the Transfer has been a renaissance for Nintendo, particularly coming off of the failure that was once the Wii U.
And whilst video games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild(2017), Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020), and Tremendous Mario Odyssey (2017) would possibly get probably the most consideration, there’s any other, extra secret weapon that’s been brewing in the back of the scenes — a studio that’s had a hand in all of the ones video games whilst additionally fostering Nintendo’s maximum explosive new franchise, Xenoblade.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Version (out March 20) is without doubt one of the final large video games liberating at the authentic Transfer, ten years after it was once lost sight of as one of the vital Wii U’s highest unique titles. It looks like a complete circle second for the studio in the back of Xenoblade, Monolith Comfortable. And whilst it’s now not probably the most recognizable identify, Monolith’s affect has seeped into each and every side of Nintendo throughout the Transfer technology, making it one among Nintendo’s maximum necessary belongings transferring ahead with the discharge of the Transfer 2.
What’s Monolith Comfortable?
Monolith Comfortable has been round for a very long time, first based in 1999 as an unbiased studio by means of Tetsuya Takahashi. For years Takahashi labored on loved RPGs at Sq., together with Tremendous Nintendo’s Ultimate Delusion IV, V, and VI (1991, 1992, 1994) in addition to Chrono Cause(1995). However his time there was once in large part outlined by means of Xenogears (1998), the cult vintage RPG for the unique PlayStation that Takahashi wrote and directed.
After leaving Sq., Takahashi and Monolith created extra fan-favorite RPGs like Xenosaga (2002) and Baten Kaitos (2003) — video games that grew devoted area of interest audiences however by no means relatively hit the mainstream. The “Xeno” identify is Takahashi’s trademark, with each and every recreation sharing identical concepts and tales impressed by means of non secular topics.
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Xenoblade Chronicles (2010) to start with introduced at the Wii U. Nintendo
The studio had some luck, even supposing it lacked main hits. However in 2007, Monolith was once bought by means of Nintendo, a transfer that modified their trajectory with the discharge in their first name beneath that new banner: Xenoblade Chronicles (2010). This hugely formidable RPG created an expansive open global for gamers to discover at the Nintendo Wii, stuffed with lovely characters with affecting relationships and dynamics, and a riveting tale that mixed parts of sci-fi and delusion right into a hopeful narrative about how a unmarried particular person can impact significant trade on the earth.
In spite of Monolith’s observe file and most commonly sure affect outdoor of Japan, Nintendo to start with didn’t have any plans to carry Xenoblade Chronicles to the West. However there was once such a lot call for for the sport {that a} grassroots marketing campaign dubbed “Operation Rainfall” was once introduced, tasking lovers with petitioning Nintendo to localize the sport.
When the sport in spite of everything got here to North The united states, it was once a shocking luck, each with regards to opinions and gross sales. Such a lot in order that Nintendo sought after any other on Wii U, Xenoblade Chronicles X (2015). Then, Monolith was once given the pass forward for an instantaneous sequel on Transfer, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (2017), adopted by means of a Transfer remake of the primary recreation, Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Version (2020), in addition to any other sequel with Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (2022). And now, within the twilight of the Nintendo Transfer’s lifecycle, comes Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Version (2025).
Comparable Content material
Even though now not a family identify, the franchise has garnered a cult following. [Pictured: Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, 2020] Nintendo
For the ones retaining rating, that’s 3 emblem new Xenoblade video games and two remasters since 2015, and there’s even two 30-hour expansions, Torna The Golden Nation (2018) and Long run Redeemed (2023), added to the combination. Xenoblade has turn out to be the one Nintendo franchise the place each and every unmarried recreation within the collection is playable at the Transfer. Every recreation has additionally visually driven the boundaries of what Nintendo’s {hardware} can succeed in, much more so than most of the Transfer’s different first-party titles.
Thru unbelievable artwork design and cel-shading tactics, those video games are persistently stunning to behold and, by some means, organize to run extremely neatly at the now out of date console’s {hardware}. Xenoblade Chronicles X on my own has an open global kind of ten occasions the scale of Skyrim, and it’s utterly seamless with 0 load displays whilst exploring; This was once even true when it introduced at the Wii U, a device even much less tough than the Transfer.
Xenoblade’s supremacy
The Xenoblade franchise has driven the RPG style ahead in a couple of tactics. Their worlds really feel simply as grand in scope as famously large video games like The Elder Scrolls — presenting lush alien lands stuffed with lots of numerous creatures and flora and fauna, and loads of person NPCs that ceaselessly have distinctive tales to inform. Avid gamers are repeatedly rewarded for exploration, whether or not that’s enjoy issues for uncovering landmarks, or enticing in heart-to-heart conversations that offer intensity to each and every personality.
With sequels like2017’s Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (pictured), Monolith endured evolving the collection. Nintendo
Most likely maximum exceptional, then again, is that each and every Xenoblade recreation’s tale can stand by itself whilst nonetheless being attached to a bigger overarching narrative — all tackling non secular and philosophical topics in regards to the nature of mortality, religious trust, and justice. They’re one of the vital supreme tales within the RPG style, let on my own for Nintendo, whose video games are ceaselessly very skinny on storytelling.
The achievements of Xenoblade on my own are spectacular, however Monolith has additionally served as a key fortify developer on one of the vital Transfer’s greatest hits — together with Breath of the Wild (2017), Splatoon 2 (2017), Animal Crossing: New Horizons(2020), Splatoon 3 (2022), and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023). Whilst it’s now not public wisdom of what actual position Monolith performed on those video games (Nintendo doesn’t say), the studio contributed prominently sufficient to listing its paintings on their web site, and are featured within the in-game credit.
That’s precisely what makes the discharge of Xenoblade Chronicles X as a swansong for the Transfer so becoming. On reflection, the 2015 name looks like a precursor to Breath of the Wild, with its sprawling open global design and technological wizardry that allowed an underpowered console to swing large with a recreation whose dimension was once related to these working on beefier {hardware}.
Every recreation is an tournament by itself proper, however Monolith does extra. [Pictured: Xenoblade Chronicles 2] Nintendo
Xenoblade Chronicles X dropped the heavy narrative focal point of the primary recreation to focal point completely on exploration, telling its tale via facet quests. Within the recreation’s universe, Earth has simply been destroyed by means of extraterrestrial beings, and the final final people crashland on this planet Mira and need to construct a brand new society. Avid gamers need to chart the planet to continue to exist, and all of the gameplay loop of Xenoblade Chronicles X revolves round exploring the planet to search out secrets and techniques, shedding probes to mine sources, and fighting adverse alien forces.
That would possibly now not sound so much like a Zelda recreation, however there are transparent throughlines between the 2. Identical to with Breath of the Wild, Xenoblade Chronicles X tells its tale via experiencing the arena, being immersed in its cultures, and the usage of exploration as the motive force somewhat than relegating exposition to cinematic cut-scenes or NPC banter. All of the gameplay loop of those two titles is remarkably identical, with heavy reliance on the usage of the arena map to assist plan routes during the global and rewards persistently tucked round each and every nook.
Xenoblade Chronicles X’s whole open global is divided up right into a tile device, the place each and every space finished bestows some roughly praise: a personality tale, new pieces, budget, sources, and so forth.. Breath of the Wild takes that very same strategy to incentivizing discovery. Actually, it’s one of the celebrated sides of the sport, in spite of being executed simply as neatly in Xenoblade Chronicles.
On most sensible of making sprawling epics like 2022’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (pictured), Monolith is helping broaden collection like The Legend of Zelda behind-the-scenes. Nintendo
Even the true tale setup of each video games is paradoxically identical. In each, the protagonist is awoken by means of the sport’s major heroine, have utterly misplaced their reminiscence, and each focal point at the survivors of an ideal calamity — with Earth being destroyed in Xenoblade, and Ganon destroying Hyrule in Zelda.
There’s a transparent line that may be drawn from Xenoblade Chronicles X to Breath of the Wild; It’s a recreation that made an enormous affect, even in spite of residing at the Wii U, a platform with minimum achieve.
Nintendo’s secret weapon
If there are two central concepts that experience outlined Nintendo for many years, it’s innovation and high quality. Monolith has persistently cleared the ones bars with Xenoblade, influencing the best way that RPG builders craft their worlds and inform character-driven tales. And the cadence at which the studio has put out those video games is fantastic, much more so when taking into consideration that Xenoblade Chronicles 3’s unlock date was once moved up by means of 3 months in 2022 — with the sport at the beginning deliberate to reach in September, ahead of being speedy tracked to July. That’s one thing nearly remarkable within the trendy online game trade, the place never-ending strings of delays have turn out to be the norm.
And whilst what phase they performed within the building of Nintendo’s main franchises like Splatoon or Animal Crossing stays a thriller because of Nintendo’s secretive nature, the truth that Monolith has been in a position to tag in to carry the Transfer’s greatest hits to the end line — all whilst churning out their very own sequels and remakes — is a real badge of honor.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Version (2025) is without doubt one of the swan music video games for the Nintendo Transfer technology. Nintendo
Monolith has long gone from a scrappy developer, whose first recreation beneath Nintendo was once by no means meant to be performed globally, to a powerhouse within the trade. With a gentle flow of top-end output, each and every challenge extra formidable than the final, the studio has turn out to be one of the dependable entities in gaming. At the back of the scenes, Monolith has turn out to be indispensable, whether or not they’re developing their very own video games or bolstering others, and their paintings will likely be a key a part of Nintendo’s long term with the Transfer 2 — whether or not informal lovers are aware of it or now not.
Nintendo themselves obviously known this, pronouncing in 2023 that the studio was once accelerating hiring for a brand new, lately unnamed RPG. In March 2025, Monolith added Daisuke Honda to its roster, a cutscene director recognized for running on closely cinematic-led video games like Kingdom Hearts 3 (2019) and Ultimate Delusion XVI (2023).
With extra sources and more potent {hardware} within the type of the Transfer 2 at the horizon, Monolith’s possible for handing over much more influential video games is at an all-time top. And whilst the studio would possibly now not were a family identify ahead of, you must completely be paying consideration now.
Trending Tales
Whilst everyone seems to be justifiably excited for a brand new Mario Kart or striking in combination their very own non-public want lists for Transfer 2 titles, it’s a forged guess that Monolith could have their arms in most of the tasks that may come to outline this subsequent gaming technology.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Version is out March 20 on Nintendo Transfer.
