Review: Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed

destructoid.com:

When Xenoblade Chronicles 3 really hit the meat and potatoes of the story and went into spoilerific territory, it kicked into high gear. For Xenoblade fans it was both a blessing and a curse; we all knew it would be hard to unring that bell, and by the time the credits hit, not everything was explained.

Future Redeemed attempts to not only tie up a few loose ends from that adventure; but from the series as a whole. Thankfully it comes with some really rad quality of life bonuses that help showcase where it could go next: not just from a narrative standpoint, but design-wise, too.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed (Nintendo Switch) Developer: Monolith Soft Publisher: Nintendo Released: April 25, 2023 MSRP: $29.99 (part of the four-wave Expansion Pass)

As a bit of background, Future Redeemed is a completely separate story that even has its own main menu and save file. We’re whisked away to another battlefield, and follow in the footsteps of Matthew: a hard-headed fisticuffs brawler that gives me strong Fei from Xenosaga vibes. Although you can technically start it right away, a lot of it assumes you’ve already finished the core game, and various spoilers of the main quest and mechanical assumptions will potentially haunt you if you haven’t cleared the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 campaign.

Things start off small with a fighter (Matthew) and healer-based (A) party, then escalate quickly. Every 30 minutes or so you’ll meet a new party member until you have everyone: which also includes Shulk and Rex, the protagonists from the first two Xenoblade games. While his fighting style is reminiscent of a certain Xenosaga character Matthew is decidedly not Fei: and is both intentionally and unintentionally hilarious. Without