I have loads of games to talk about for the month of June, though admittedly fifty-one of them are part of a single collection. More on that in my honourable mentions. The main game I want to shine the spotlight on here won’t come as much of a surprise after a recent post of mine.First up, the honourable mentions go to 51 Worldwide Games and Shantae and the Seven Sirens.
51 Worldwide Games is exactly what it says on the tin: a collection of fifty-one games from around the world. Presumably it is also the successor to the Nintendo DS’ 42 All-Time Classics. You’ve got board games, card games and plenty of other novelties to try your hand at, with both single and multiplayer options. These include the likes of Mancala, Ludo, Air Hockey, Bowling, Blackjack, and Klondike Solitaire. That is just a small handful of the games on offer; personally, I’m quite keen to try my hand at Riichi Mahjong and Shogi.
Then we have Shantae and the Seven Sirens, the fifth game in WayForward’s Shantae series. The eponymous half-genie travels to Paradise Island, where she meets other half-genies. When her new friends disappear, Shantae decides to set out in order to save them. Her quest has her confronting the Seven Sirens of the island, whilst utilising new powers.
One last honourable mention before the main event, and that goes to Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield‘s Isle of Armor. New Pokémon, old Pokémon, new forms, new moves, new clothes – there’s plenty of stuff to look forward to as part of Sword and Shield‘s Expansion Pass.
Of course my game of the month is none other than Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition. One of my all time favourite JRPGs is now available for the Nintendo Switch, and it is still utterly brilliant. Also sits very nicely alongside Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
The story focuses on Shulk, who ends up wielding a sword known as the Monado. The Monado grants Shulk the ability to glimpse the future, and he uses that to fight the Mechon: a force of machines that threatens to wipe out the population of the Bionis.
So it is a tale of man vs. machine, though this is a JRPG, so of course it is not quite as clear cut as that. The story gets quite complex as you progress through the game.
The Definitive Edition also brings with it the new Future Connected story, which is effectively an epilogue of the main game with a focus on Shulk, Melia and two new Nopon companions.
You can dive into Future Connected before even touching the main story if you so desire, but it is strongly recommended to finish the main story first.
A nice update that the Definitive Edition brings with it is the map showing you a path towards your destination for quests – whether that be the story, or just finding a few items. Searching for certain items during some quests in the Wii and 3DS versions of Xenoblade Chronicles could be a particularly frustrating experience, but the Switch version helps to allay some of that.
There are huge numbers of quests to tackle in Xenoblade Chronicles, alongside the main story, of course. Experience, money and items are the rewards you’ll get from completing them, so it is well worth tackling the quests as you encounter them.
Xenoblade Chronicles is a fantastic game, and a very worthy addition to the Switch’s library. Fans of JRPGs definitely owe it to themselves to experience both Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
With those two titles now available on the Switch, I suspect the question now becomes “when will we get a port of Xenoblade Chronicles X?” Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Rory Muses 