The announcement comes alongside a new, nearly 3-minute trailer (seen above) that sheds more light on the game’s story, characters, and combat systems. It expands on the announcement trailer released in early February, which primarily focused on story and exploration.
As one might expect, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 follows the events of the previous two games. It sees two nations, Keves and Agnus, at conflict with “six soldiers hailing from these nations [joining] forces to learn the truth behind their conflict, setting their sights for Sowrdmarch, a land pierced by giant swords.”
While exploration and combat are mostly the same when compared to the previous two games in the trilogy, the main gimmick here is the Interlink Ouroboros system, which allows two team members to “combine into a giant form … [that] has its own powerful moveset.”
Through progression, you’ll also be able to change character classes this time around, with Nintendo pointing out “each character has their own class with their own strengths,” but “a customized party” is possible.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about Xenoblade Chronicles 3, though the official Nintendo Europe page for the game contains a bevy of new screenshots for the six main characters — Noah, Lanz, Eunie, Mio, Taion, and Sena. It also includes information on their personalities (and hints at their fighting styles), as well as more info about the game’s battle system.
On top of that, the official Nintendo social accounts have been sharing new details about character/team Ouroboros combinations since the new release date announcement.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is currently available for pre-order for $59.99 on the Nintendo e-Shop. For those looking for more than just the game this summer, there will also be a special bundle that includes a 250-page artbook and steel case. A price for that package hasn’t been provided just yet.
