Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected
| Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected | |
|---|---|
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| Developer | Monolith Soft |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Platform | Nintendo Switch |
| Release date | WW: 29 May 2020 |
Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected (ゼノブレイド つながる
While not itself DLC, Future Connected is roughly analagous to Torna ~ The Golden Country, the story DLC of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It expects the player to be familiar with the base game's story and lore, but can be played from the start without having to beat the base game in advance.
Playable characters
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| Melia | Shulk | Kino | Nene |
Development
Partway through development of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, the team began questioning whether visual and mechanical improvements alone would be enough to justify another re-release of the game, as this marked the third re-release of Xenoblade Chronicles. To add meaningful new content, they decided to create an additional story: Future Connected.
Takahashi stated that Future Connected was conceived for three main reasons. First, the team felt a lingering sense of pity for Melia and wanted to give her story a more satisfying conclusion. Second, they aimed to extend the narrative toward the future of the series. Third, they finally wanted to show off the Bionis' Shoulder—a large area that had not fit into the original game but perfectly suited this new scenario.[1]
According to Yuki Sakamoto, the battle system was redesigned to better reflect the setting of the world following the conclusion of the original story. Shigekazu Yamada explained that they decided to reduce the number of characters from the base game to the bare minimum. This allowed them to focus more attention on Melia and depict how she confronts the challenges she faces as a protagonist. He also stated that Xenoblade Chronicles X and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 had no influence on the development choices, as the team’s decisions were based solely on what was necessary for players to enjoy this story as an extension of the base game.[2] Takahashi also noted that while the scale of a paid DLC can be expanded as much as needed, including a large extra story like Future Connected as part of the base game without extra cost was considerably more expensive. Allocating too many resources to it, he explained, would have negatively impacted the development of Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
The scenario writer for the main story was Mamoru Ohta, while the writer for the Ponspector story arc was Masahiro Iwamoto.
Music
- Main article: Music of Xenoblade Chronicles
Future Connected uses a combination of music composed for the main game and new tracks composed for the new story specifically. Where applicable, the reused main-game music uses the Definitive Edition arrangements. The new music was composed by broadly the same set of composers as the main game, with the main exceptions of Yoko Shimomura (who did not compose any new pieces) and Mariam Abounnasr (who arranged music for Future Connected but did not contribute to the original game's music). Kenji Hiramatsu is credited separately from ACE, unlike the main game in which they were credited together as ACE+.
Generally, the major new areas (Bionis' Shoulder and Gran Dell) have new area music, while minor areas (e.g. Nerthis Necropolis) reuse area music from the main game. Similarly, a combination of new and old battle themes are used, with story-required fights usually (but not always) using new battle music such as Time to Fight! (Bionis' Shoulder). The only cutscene theme newly composed for the new story is Beyond the Sky (Acoustic Arrange). However, the cutscene track Hope is also exclusive to Future Connected; this is due to it having been composed for the original release of Xenoblade Chronicles but being unused.
All tracks composed for Future Connected were officially released as part of disc 5 of the Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition Original Soundtrack (and, therefore, disc 5 of the Xenoblade Chronicles Original Soundtrack Trinity Box). A small portion of the new music was also featured in the Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition Sound Selection.
Plot
- Main article: Plot summary of Xenoblade Chronicles § Future Connected
A year after the events of Xenoblade Chronicles, Shulk and Melia use Junks to fly to the Bionis' Shoulder, but a beam originating from Alcamoth hits the ship and they crash into a lake near the Purifying Falls on the Shoulder. There, they encounter Riki's littlepon Kino and Nene, and meet a group of High Entia refugees who warn them of a mysterious being they cannot fight - the Fog King - roaming around Alcamoth. The party makes it their goal to investigate and allow the High Entia to retake their home.
Gameplay
- Main article: Xenoblade Chronicles § Gameplay
The gameplay is mostly identical to that of the main game. However, several features have been disabled or removed outright. Most removals are due to the short length of the story not allowing for these mechanics to be meaningfully developed.
- There is no affinity, neither between party members, nor with any regions.
- Collectables cannot be gifted.
- There is no Affinity Chart (nor any associated NPC information or features), and NPCs cannot be traded with.
- Heart-to-Hearts are replaced with Quiet Moments, which are similar in premise but do not have branching paths. They are fully voice acted.
- Characters have no skills or skill branches.
- Unique monsters drop Arts Coins instead of Affinity Coins, which are used to buy advanced arts manuals.
- Gem crafting is not available. Instead of unrefined crystals, mining ether deposits produces gems directly.
- Chain attacks are replaced with Union Strikes, a single all-out attack executed by Ponspectors recruited from across the map.
- There are no visions, for Quests or in battles.
- There is no New Game Plus.
In other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 English
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Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected | — |
 Japanese
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ゼノブレイド つながる |
Xenoblade: Connected Future |
 French
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Xenoblade Chronicles: Un Avenir Commun | Xenoblade Chronicles : A Shared Future |
 German
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Xenoblade Chronicles: Die Verbundene Zukunft | Xenoblade Chronicles: The Connected Future |
 Spanish
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Xenoblade Chronicles: Futuros Conectados | Xenoblade Chronicles: Connected Futures |
 Italian
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Xenoblade Chronicles: Un Futuro Comune | Xenoblade Chronicles: A Common Future |
 Chinese (simplified)
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异度神剑 相连的未来 | |
 Chinese (traditional)
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異度神劍 相連的未來 | |
 Korean
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제노블레이드 크로니클스 이어지는 미래 |
Gallery
Key art
Logos
English Logo
French Logo
German Logo
Spanish Logo
Italian Logo
Japanese Logo
Korean Logo
Traditional Chinese Logo
Simplified Chinese Logo
References
- ↑ Nintendo Life Article
- Famitsu: Please tell us about the concept behind the production and development of "Future Connected."
- Takahashi: I’m half-joking here, but there was a lingering feeling of pity towards Melia, but really, there were two reasons. First, it would appeal to existing fans and would continue the story towards the future of Xenoblade, and second, so we could finally show off the shoulder of Bionis, a map that didn’t fit into the main game, but was perfectly suited for this role.
- Famitsu: Please tell us about the concept behind the production and development of "Future Connected."
- ↑ VG247 Article
 Xenoblade Chronicles
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| Versions | Xenoblade Chronicles • Xenoblade Chronicles 3D • Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (Future Connected) |
| Development | Staff (3D • DE • FC) • Unused content • Bugs and glitches |
| Plot | Plot summary (FC) • Game script (FC) • Heart-to-Hearts • Quiet Moments • Back Home • Lore |
| Gameplay | Combat (Battle Art • Enemy • Chain Attack • Vision) • Items (Weapons • Equipment • Gems • Collectables • Materials) • Gem crafting • Quests • Colony 6 reconstruction • Time Attack |
| Audio | Music • Dialogue • Banter |
| Other | Merchandise • Advertisement |