Xenoblade Chronicles 2 for the Nintendo Switch Slated for Holiday 2017 Release

Nintendo at E3 2017 started proceedings with Xenoblade Chronicles 2. The open-world Japanese role-playing game is slated for a Holiday 2017 release. This comes days after it was suggested that the game would be delayed to February 2018.

Developer Monolith Soft showed off the game’s character designs which seemed quite similar to what we’ve seen in past games in the series. The cel shaded art-stye seems endearing and the open-world on display appeared substantial. Combat on the other hand did not seem as polished with some slowdowns.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 follows a band of heroes setting out for the land of Elysium. Its protagonists are swordsmen named Rex and Pyra who feature heavily in the trailer.

When it first released on the Nintendo Wii, Xenoblade Chronicles was applauded for being the rare lengthy Japanese role-playing game on the platform. After the New Nintendo 3DS hit the shelves in 2014, a port called Xenoblade Chronicles 3D was made available. Expect more of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 during the year. Unless of course, Nintendo choose to show more of it during the Nintendo Treehouse Livestream that follows its E3 2017 presentation.

We discussed everything we expect from E3 2017 on our weekly gaming podcast Transition. You can subscribe to it via Apple Podcasts or RSS or just listen to this episode by hitting the play button below.