I’ve made it no secret that I love the Xenoblade Chronicles franchise. It truly thrived on the Nintendo Switch, becoming a key RPG series that Nintendo could count on, including getting all manner of accolades and game award nominations. To that end, Monolith Soft has become one of the most reliable teams under Nintendo’s banner, constantly pushing the bounds of the OG Switch to see how far their games could go and how well they look. With four games now officially in the series, the team put out a poll in Japan asking what game started fans on the saga. Here are the results:
Monolith Soft asked fans what their first Xenoblade game was. Xenoblade Chronicles – 50% Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – 35% Xenoblade Chronicles X – 10% Xenoblade Chronicles 3 – 4%Over 27,000 people voted
— Stealth40k (@stealth40k.bsky.social) 2025-04-30T13:34:39.437Z
While not the biggest sample size, it’s rather interesting that the original Xenoblade Chronicles got 50% of the vote. The reason I’m bringing this up isn’t because of the game’s quality but because of its “unique launch history.” Recall that I said the poll was for players in Japan. The original game was released in Japan without issue on the Nintendo Wii and was a hit. It took “Operation Rainfall” to get it localized in the US, and then it had a port on the 3DS before getting its “Definitive Edition” on the Nintendo Switch.
For many in the US, including myself, our first true introduction to the franchise was via Xenoblade Chronicles X, which just got its “Definitive Edition” released on Switch (read my review!) However, that had its own problems, as it was released on the much-maligned Wii U console. Thus, when the Switch released with XC2 in 2017, that was when the franchise really “took off.” So by the time the third “official entry” arrived in 2022, gamers were very familiar with Monolith Soft and its incredible RPG saga.
What comes next for them? Only they know.
