Nintendo made many great announcements during their September direct, but its the one they ended on that stood out the most to me, with Xenoblade Chronicles getting an HD remaster on the Switch. This is a bigger deal than many realize because of the history behind the game. Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii was only released to Gamestop stores in North America, limiting its audience considerably. It then became hard to find both at the store and on the second hand market, and with the franchise gaining prominence thanks to sequels and Smash Bros, the demand only grew higher. The game did get a re-release on the 3DS as a launch game for the new 3DS, but that wasn’t an ideal way to play it. It did get a releaser later on the Wii U eShop…but not too many people owned a Wii U. You can see the problem building.
The announcement of an HD remaster on Switch is a great thing because it will finally bring the game to the wide audience it deserves. Xenoblade Chronicles is widely considered one of, if not the best JRPGs of the seventh generation of gaming and easily stands with some titans of the genre ( pun intended). The HD treatment is more than just some minor tinkering as well, as comparison videos have shown that the game does look substantially better on the Switch. The game more closely resembles the designs of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 now, but still retains its own unique charm as well. There is clearly a lot of love being put into this version, but its more than just appearance being changed.
At the end of the reveal trailer, a section of the game was shown that resembles an area that was cut from the original Wii release. This likely means we are getting the cut content added into this new release. This was a large area that will be new to returning players, and there is also potential for more of the cut content to be added in. This could mean potential end game content and more. This goes above and beyond a simple remaster, and is very deserving of the name Definitive Edition.
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition is a title you should be excited for. It is the return of one of the best JRPGs ever made, and its coming with more content that players never got to see before. This is one we need to keep our eyes on.