T he announcement of Xenoblade Chronicles X was a surprise and delight. Having become one of my favorite titles on the Wii and one of my favorite RPGs, period, I was fully prepared to get lost in a new world. My anticipation spiked within roughly a minute of my awareness of its existence, however, with the reveal of one crucial element: the mech gameplay that would augment exploration and combat. As a huge fan of Japanese mecha, this entry felt primed to become one of my favorite games ever. The wait for Xenoblade Chronicles X (henceforth referenced as XCX)- revealed in February 2013 but released in December 2015- felt unbearable, not only because of the anticipation, but also because of the sorry state of its platform, the doomed Wii U. As the game neared release, more information about its systems and scenario were revealed, and I began to realize that this game would act as a spiritual successor to XC in only a few ways. This was not designed to be an accessible JRPG, ...