‘Xenoblade Chronicles X’ featured mecha called Skells.
While it was previously said it would be “really difficult” to port Xenoblade Chronicles X to the Switch, it’s now finally happening.
Way back in 2018, an interview with Tetsuya Takahashi from Monolith stated that it would be “really difficult” to port Xenoblade Chronicles X to the Switch. However, following the releases of Xenoblade Chronicles 1, 2 and 3 on the Switch, it was only a matter of time until Nintendo funded a port of X.
The likely reasons behind the game’s difficulty in porting to a platform like the Switch, is that Xenoblade Chronicles is not an entirely typical entry in the series.
This is because it features giant mecha called Skells, or Dolls in the Japanese version. These allow players to traverse great distances very fast, and also means that the game has to be a lot larger in terms of the overall world size.
No doubt, getting the game working on the Wii U would have been very challenging. So all the coding and engine tricks that enabled the game on the Wii U would obviously be a pain when porting it onto something else.
Well, the game is finally getting ported to the Switchand I am entirely grateful for that.
Interestingly, the mecha in the game were also designed by Takayuki Yanase, who also worked on the recent Armored Core VI and has penned many a Gundam over the years too.
Released on March 20, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition also marks one of the last Wii U exclusives to get ported to the Switch.
Although, while not Wii U exclusives in a technical sense, I would still love to see both Zelda HD remasters on the Wii U come Switchward at some point as well.
Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently featured in the Giant Robots exhibition currently touring Japan.
