Trust me…it’s really really good!
Oh, I need to say more? Fine.
Just recently, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 received the final addition to its action-packed DLC pass, and this fourth wave of content brought with it the new campaign, Future Redeemed. In a similar vein to how Xenoblade Chronicles 2 received a big story campaign (Torna: The Golden Country) as its final wave of content, Future Redeemed is a separate affair from the main story that acts as both a prequel and a conclusive end to the entire Xenoblade series. I’m not sure if you have to beat the main story to play it, but you definitely should. Actually, you genuinely need extensive knowledge on the series to appreciate what’s on offer here.
There are a lot of similarities between Future Redeemed and Torna. Both act as prequels to their respective games, obviously, but they both also clock in at around the same 20-ish hour runtime, both simplify and evolve the base game’s content into the purest form of itself, pile loads of QOL improvements that enhance the overall experience, reframe key story moments from the base game, and are overflowing with cheeky little references and fanservice treats.
The key difference being that Future Redeemed is ACTUALLY good (I’m so, so sorry XC2 fans, I say this at least partially in jest).
The timeline of events in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is, admittedly, pretty messy to try and wrap your head around, and Future Redeemed just throws even more lore onto the pile. In essence, you play as the brash bruiser Matthew and his cryptic partner A, who are trying to carve out a place for the denizens of the City to establish themselves (their earlier settlement having been decimated by those no-good Moebius scoundrels). Before long, the duo manage to free Keves soldier Nikol and Agnus soldier Glimmer from their bondage to the 10-year-reincarnation cycle, and even run into some old friendly faces.
The return of an aged-up Shulk and Rex was heavily teased throughout the runup to Future Redeemed‘s release, and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s simply amazing to see these previously young fellas having figuratively and literally aged decades in the time since their respective games ended. Shulk has taken heavily after Dunban in appearance, gameplay style, and outlook on life, and Rex is a proper beefy boy who has a bit of a hard time controlling his anger towards the villains who screwed up his happy ending, but he’s still the innocent hero he used to be deep down.
All of the nods and references to the previous game in the series are stellar, for that matter. You get to meet Reyn and Sharla’s daughter (Panacea), Zeke and Pandoria’s daughter (Linka), a bunch of other new faces related to legacy characters, and the jaw-dropping reveal that the deep-voiced Nopon Riku is the son of the unforgettable legend, Riki the Heropon. A lot of the side content in this game is just dripping with love and nostalgia for what came before, and it really rewards the long-time fans who have cherished this series since 2011.
On the topic of side content, Future Redeemed is top-notch across the board. While the quality of the quests might’ve dipped a bit since base game XC3, it’s still some stellar stuff. More than that, the world map is absolutely littered with activities to do and items to pursue, all thanks to the Affinity Growth system that awards you points for basically anything and everything. Find a collectible? Get some points! Kill a monster? Have some points! Find a new location or secret item? More points, coming your way! Make a new friend? Points, points, points!
Since these points are tied directly into how your characters grow and develop, you are rewarded hand-over-fist for exploring the world. And, if you know me, you know that I will always accomplish every last bit of side content in a game before moving ahead with the main story, so I was on cloud nine while playing this game. Doubly so, in fact, because there’s no more penalty for being overleveled against enemies (previously, enemies would reward less CP or AP for developing your skills if you were high level), so you can explore to your heart’s content!
This being Xenoblade, combat is the biggest focus of the gameplay outside of exploring the vibrant world and pretty locales. Utilizing the core ideas of the base game, Future Redeemed simplifies each unique character’s role, while also introducing some fun ideas like Unity Combos. It lends itself to a combat system that is theoretically more limiting, but has a much more cohesive identity, and your team really feels like a perfectly balanced unit. It’s a blast, although I will admit to spending practically the entire expansion playing as A, who might be my new favorite Xenoblade character in terms of gameplay.
As is common in this series, the audio quality (voice acting and music) is incredible and continuously unmatched in the industry. The diverse cast of returning actors and brand new talent continues to deliver unparalleled performances across the board. Adam Howden still kills it as Shulk, and Rosie Day as A, Georgina Sadler as Glimmer, and Ellie Kendrick as Na’el are all exceptional too (especially Kendrick, who has a particularly gut-wrenching scene as Na’el at a climactic point in the story).
The soundtrack is pretty incredible too, even if the music count is a little low for my liking (though this is just DLC, I suppose). There’s a lot of exciting brand new tracks that play during battles, a few returning tracks from the base game, and plenty of new musical arrangements that create new themes out of previously established leitmotifs, such as the big plains area using snippets of Gaur Plains, or the treacherous mountain climb using pieces from Valak Mountain and Prison Island. Since base game XC3 had so much to do with XC2, it’s nice to see the original entry in the Xenoblade series get a lot of love in this DLC.
I mean, your entire home base is just the OG Colony 9, complete with hundreds of references and a musical remix!
I’ll admit that I do have a few tiny issues with this DLC. The length is a touch shorter than I would have liked, and I also think the extremely high level optional superbosses require an unreasonable amount of grinding to beat for basically no reward. Two new characters, Nikol and Glimmer, don’t have as much to do in the story as they probably should, and the overall ending is a little more ambiguous than I would have liked for a story that presents itself as the ending of the Xenoblade series. It’s not a disappointing finale, by any means, but I really just wanted a cheesy group photo shot of all the characters standing happy around a campfire or something, to be honest!
Overall, though, Future Redeemed is an incredible end to this series and this universe, and a basically mandatory and highly enjoyable experience for any Xenoblade fan. But…who am I kidding? You’ve probably already played and beaten it yourself by this point!
The Contrarian Corner 