As one of the final few titles trapped behind Wii U exclusivity, the announcement ofXenoblade Chronicles X’s Switch port was a welcome surprise for fans.Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Editionmarks the arrival of the entireXenobladesaga under the Switch’s umbrella, and it’s also what’s likely to be one of the last of many Wii U games to receive a port to Nintendo’s hybrid console. But like other Wii U ports to the Switch, which have had to make some changes to their controls thanks to the Wii U’s GamePad,Xenoblade Chronicles Xwill need to overcome some common pitfalls of other Wii U ports to earn itsDefinitive Editiontitle.
Some of the more prominent first-party titles to make their way from the Wii U to the Switch, such asDonkey Kong Country: Tropical FreezeorSuper Mario 3D World, are titles that successfully made the leap from one console generation to the next thanks to their mostly standard control schemes. But otherWii U titlesthat relied heavily on the Wii U’s GamePad for their controls (particularly, games likeCaptain Toad: Treasure TrackerorThe Wonderful 101) look and perform better on the Switch at the cost of losing some of their original functionality.Xenoblade Chronicles Xwill need to tread carefully to avoid similar pitfalls.
How Xenoblade Chronicles X Utilized the Wii U’s Unique Features
Like some of the other bestWii U exclusives,Xenoblade Chronicles Xmade great use of the Wii U’s GamePad controller as a second screen for a variety of functions in both single and multiplayer. The most significant of these is the GamePad’s function as an ongoing, dynamic map of the game’s world, Mira, which includes being able to pull up and quickly teleport from one Fast Travel point to another. Players could also use the GamePad to adjust their characters' equipment and read through messages, which will presumably all need to be handled through in-game menus in the upcomingDefinitive Editionrelease on Switch.
The early footage forXenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Editionmakes it immediately apparent how the game’s visuals and performance are vastly improved in the Switch port, but without getting hands on a Switch running the game, it remains impossible to truly gauge how theDefinitive Editionrelease will handle some of the GamePad-specific functions from the original Wii U release.Xenoblade Chronicles Xis also far from the only Wii U title to utilize the GamePad as a second screen for menu and UI management, but there’s yet to be aSwitch portof a Wii U title that has figured out a way for that functionality to successfully translate to Nintendo’s current-gen hardware.
Considerations the Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition Port Will Need to Bear In Mind
The arrival ofXenoblade Chronicles Xon Switch is a net positive, especially consideringMonolith Softfounder Tetsuya Takahashi’s vocal interest in bringing the game to the console. In addition to its improved visuals and performance,Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Editionpromises to include new story content and other quality-of-life additions, but it remains to be seen how the Switch port will handle the game’s Wii U control scheme.
For every Wii U title ported to the Switch that improves over the original release, there aregames likePikmin 3,Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, andMario Makerthat players prefer their original versions. Most ofXenoblade Chronicles X’s GamePad functionality boils down to elements that can be handled by menus, but that didn’t need to make playing the original Wii U version a more satisfying experience in terms of its pacing and efficiency.
One of the main considerations theDefinitive Editionshould make is assigning actions that were previously handled by the Wii U GamePad’s touch screen to hotkeys, using either single or tandem button inputs. Overcoming common pitfalls of some otherWii U-to-Switch portscould justifyXenoblade Chronicles XDefinitive Edition’s title and make its long-awaited release a cause for celebration without caveat.
