Xenoblade Chronicles

Xenoblade Chronicles (simply Xenoblade in Japanese and colloquially) is a 2010 video game for the Wii, developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo. The game follows the protagonist Shulk, who wields an energy blade called the Monado against the Mechon, as he and his friends work together to ultimately save the world. The game was remastered for the Nintendo Switch in 2020 as Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, including a new epilogue called Future Connected.

Gameplay

Shulk

Reyn, you're a lifesaver.
I'm really feeling it.
The future...doesn't belong to you!

Reyn

Now it's Reyn Time!
Sharla, with you around, I fight three times as hard.
Man, what a buncha jokers!

Fiora

I can do it! I know I can!
Yay Shulk. Go you!
Let's press on, and on, and on!

Dunban

I don't have time for small fry!
Born in a world of strife! Against the odds! We choose to fight! Blossom Dance!
We are at one with the battlefield!

Sharla

My rifle's getting hotter.
Reyn. What am I gonna do with you?
Uh... I could really do with a shower right now.

Riki

Sidekicks, Riki lead you to battle!
This one die soon. Thanks, Riki!
Nopon special move: swoosh-dodge!

Melia

Hm. This represents no problem whatsoever.
Oppose me and your destruction is inevitable.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Apparently.

Guests

Dickson: You've got a nerve!

Mumkhar: Can't do anything if you're woom food.

Alvis: I'm afraid I can't let you do that.

Enemies

Xord: I think a fly bit me!

Tyrea: Begone from my sight!

Metal Face: Think that's clever, do you?!

Mumkhar: I'll slice you into pieces!

Egil: A feeble attempt!

Gadolt: Suffer as we have suffered!

Disciple Lorithia: You'll pay for your insolence!

Disciple Dickson: Finally! A bit of action!

Zanza: Mine is the one true Monado - instrument of destruction and rebirth.

Post-battle banter

Reyn: I'm on fire! Sharla did you see me? Did you see what I did?

Sharla: Oh! I, uh, wasn't really looking.

Reyn: Aw c'mooon, that's not fair.

Shulk: Hahaha!

Shulk: Wow! When did you two get so tough?

Fiora: What?! Just because we're girls we're supposed to be wimps? How rude!

Melia: Quite. I'm afraid you have much to learn about the fairer sex, Shulk.

Shulk: Uhh... Why do I get the feeling that mastering the Monado is gonna be easier?

Fiora: Hehehehehehehehehehe.

Melia: Ehehehe...hmhm...hm.

Reyn: You can't have a rainbow without Reyn, baby!

Melia: Dunban. I think you need to have a talk with Reyn.

Dunban: No. Let's pretend it didn't happen.

Reyn: Just goes to show, brawn is better than brains.

Sharla: Oh no. I can't let that one slip by.

Melia: The head! Shoot him in the head!

Reyn: Wha? What did I say?

Dunban: Fiora. Don't push yourself too hard.

Fiora: Thanks Dunban, you too.

Sharla: Family is so important. I wonder how Juju's doing.

Story

Prologue

[A cloudy mist fills the screen. Narration begins, provided by the voice of the protagonist, Shulk.]

Narrator: Long ago, the world was nothing more than an endless sea cloaked in a boundless sky, reaching as far as could possibly be imagined.

[The mist fades to show there are two enormous humanoid constructs standing in a featureless sea and having a swordfight.]

Narrator: Then two great titans came into existence. The Bionis and the Mechonis.

[The light titan, the Bionis, swings its sword of light. It strikes the dark titan, the Mechonis, cutting off its left arm. The arm falls into the sea as the fight continues.]

Narrator: The titans were locked in a timeless battle.

[Both titans strike each other simultaneously. They both stop moving.]

Narrator: Until at last... Only their lifeless corpses remained.

[The scene changes to a battlefield of people against robots.]

Narrator: Eons have passed. Now our world, this vast land stretching across the remains of the Bionis, is under attack from a relentless force known as the Mechon.

Dunban: We may die if we take a stand here. But staying gives us the chance to change our destinies. We have the Monado. With this, the future is ours for the taking!

Dunban: Vile Mechon! If you think the Homs, the people of Bionis, are just waiting here for you to pick us off... You are sorely mistaken!

Chapter 1

Shulk: If we could just unlock the Monado's power...

Dunban: It was the Monado. It was...controlling me... Even so... It saved us...saved our future... Next...it will be up to you...

Fiora: It's so peaceful. You know, Shulk, I hope every day can be like this, always.

Shulk: If it's just technology that someone created in the past, it's not incomprehensible. We'll come to understand it one day.

Chapter 2

Reyn: A year ago, Dunban and the Defence Force fought hard to protect the colony and all of us Homs. Now it's our turn to repay them!

[Shulk is down. He has a vision of the giant Mechon, Metal Face, stabbing Fiora.]

Shulk: What did I just... Fiora! Get back!

[Fiora, piloting a mobile artillery, doesn't respond.]

Fiora: I won't let you hurt any more people! We will save Colony 9!

[She keeps attacking Metal Face to no effect.]

Shulk: Fiora! Get out of here! Run!

Fiora: You want more?!

[Even the artillery's biggest gun only takes a small bit out of Metal Face. It walks up unperturbed.]

Fiora: How?

[Metal Face stares at her, then slams the whole artillery into a building.]

Shulk: Fiora! No!

[Metal Face stabs her, then tosses away the wreck. Shulk finally manages to stand up.]

Shulk: [anguished scream] I'll kill you!

[Shulk and Dunban are commiserating over Fiora's death.]

Dunban: A year ago, I felt the same sense of deep loss that I do now.

Shulk: The Battle of Sword Valley.

Dunban: After that battle, many of my friends did not make it home. While I was being brought here on that stretcher, they were all I thought about. But I decided I would not cry. Everyone who died in that war had something they wanted to protect. Family, friends, loved ones, their home... So they fought to protect them. And we won. No matter how painful, no matter how hard, it's nothing to be sad about... I decided that there and then.

Shulk: Dunban!

Dunban: Shulk, Fiora would tell you the same thing. She wanted to protect us. Or rather, she wanted to protect you. And you're alive now. So I will not cry.

Shulk: [unsure] OK.

Dunban: Remember the gift of life that Fiora gave you, and treasure it.

Shulk: I...I can't say that I understand. But...I hope to, some day.

Dunban: That is all I ask. Believe me, I am always just trying to understand.

Chapter 3

Mystery voice: Do you wish to change it? The future. It is every man's desire to change the future. Is that not so? Even if everything has been predestined, will you not oppose it?

Shulk: I...

Mystery voice: The Monado is now in your hands. The Monado will grow with you. If you can find the True Monado the future is yours.

Chapter 5

Sharla: Gadolt. A promise is a promise. And until I see you again, I will protect everyone.

[At the bottom of the Ether Mine, the bronze Face Mechon lies in wait with his minions.]

Bronze Face: Welcome to our banquet hall. Tonight, the main course will be you! [unhinged chortle] And if I've still got room, the brat will make a tasty dessert. [glowering chuckle]

Shulk: Murderer!

Bronze Face: I'm Xord, your host tonight.

Shulk: Xord? So you have a name?

Xord: [suddenly pensive] That's what they all say. Can't say that I remember it myself!

Shulk: [to himself] What's he talking about?!

Xord: Oh yes! It's good to see fresh meat on the table. Those colony folk just didn't fill me up!

Sharla: Gadolt... The others...

Xord: Come on boys, dinner's ready!

[The minions advance. Shulk enchants the group.]

Sharla: [ready to start blasting] I swear I won't stop until I've scrapped each and every one of you!

Xord: Got to hand it to you. You beat me without even releasing the true power of the Monado.

Shulk: True power? What do you know about the Monado?

Xord: Sorry, boy, I can't tell you that. You'll have to find out the truth on your own.

Shulk: The truth?

Xord: When I became what you see now, that's when my eyes were opened. Was a good ride while it lasted.

Shulk: When you became like this? What do you mean?!

Xord: Time's up, pipsqueak. I'm gone!

Metal Face: I can talk all right. And I got a good memory. 'Fiora! Get outta there! Get out!' Her screams were music to my ears as my claws slid right through her soft flesh. Like a hot knife through butter. [smarmy laugh]

Chapter 7

[The party enters Frontier Village, gaining the attention of a group of local Nopon.]

Nopon 1: Hom Hom!

Nopon 2: Hom here Hom here!

Nopon 3: Hom who Hom who?

Nopon 4: Hom Hom everywhere!

Nopon 5: Me want touch Hom Hom!

Nopon 6: Me want nibble Hom Hom!

Nopon 7: Hom Hom taste! [spitting sound]

Nopon 8: Hom Hom scary!

[The village hero, Riki, has joined the group.]

Shulk: Riki? Why are you the Heropon?

Riki: Why? Because Chief Dunga choose Riki!

Shulk: He chose you? So you weren't chosen from birth?

Riki: Friend wrong. Chief choose by instinct!

Reyn: By instinct?!

Riki: Why friend surprised? Chief have sharp instinct. Chief be village seer!

Dunban: So that's how you became the Heropon? Can't argue with that.

Shulk: But he is kind of...compact...for a warrior hero.

Riki: [sigh] Riki owe lots of monies to village. If Riki defeat Dinobeast, village promise to forget my debts. So Riki like being Heropon!

[The party is having trouble with a beast.]

Melia: It is all right, Shulk. Destroying the Telethia is beyond us! We should cut our losses and mourn those who perished.

Shulk: Never, Melia! The men you lost... I can tell they were dear to you. I know only too well that desire for revenge. And the crushing pain of losing those close to you. I can't stand by and let another person experience what I have. This monster is going down! I'll trap him with the Monado! Then the rest of you, hit the Telethia with everything you have!

Melia: Thank you.

Shulk: Ready?

[A bunch of Nopon children ("littlepon") approach the group.]

Littlepon 1: Dadapon! Stomach rumble!

Littlepon 2: Dadapon! Need food!

Littlepon 3: Dadapon! Need food now!

Reyn: Dada? Riki, what on Bionis is going on?

Riki: Friends, meet Riki wifeypon and littlepon.

Reyn: You have got to be joking!

Shulk: Wife and children?! Riki, how old are you?!

Riki: Riki have 40 years! [laugh, followed by "ooh"] Friends look puzzled.

Shulk: Not puzzled...just surprised!

Chapter 8

Reyn: Who would've thought Eryth Sea was right on top of Riki's village. Dive deep enough, you can reach their tree!

[Sharla facepalms.]

Dunban: Perhaps you should try?

Reyn: Might do. Haven't decided yet.

Kallian: There is a legend, passed down through the generations. Of a divine weapon - the Monado. It is said that the Bionis itself bestows the blade upon a chosen one. However, if the chosen one is black of heart, he will cause the destruction of the High Entia.

[A squad of masked attackers enters the room.]

Dunban: Excuse me. We ordered room service an hour ago.

???: I'm afraid you've already eaten your last meal.

Ancestral simulation: The results of the gene analysis show Homs gene integration of 80%. Estimates suggest evolution within eight generations. Our wishes are almost fulfilled.

Melia: Wishes?

Ancestral simulation: Our purpose, as decreed by the Bionis, is linked to our genetic sequence. We have spent millennia analysing sequences to free ourselves from the curse. Only a certain gene set will unlock the mechanism and set us free.

Chapter 9

Melia: By the authority of our divine ancestors, I, Melia Antiqua, am honoured to accept the responsibility of becoming your next benevolent ruler. Should I be deemed unworthy of this calling, or fail to protect the ancestors or the Bionis, I promise here and now to throw myself on the mercy of you, the people.

Zanza: The Monado controls the principle upon which life is based, the source of your existence - ether. Master the principle of life and all things will bow to you. Your power would be infinite.

[Metal Face has killed Zanza and Emperor Sorean.]

Shulk: [distraught] Emperor. I... failed you.

Zanza's voice: Heir to the Monado.

Shulk: Zanza! You're alive! Give me the power I need!

Zanza's voice: I am now a mere shell. The power is already yours.

Shulk: What?!

Zanza's voice: The shackles have been broken. Wield the sword. It bends to your will. Think of your enemy, and the power to defeat them is yours! [groan]

[Zanza's body disappears.]

Shulk: [becoming determined] Zanza. Mechon! It's not over. The people of Bionis will never let you triumph!

Sorean: To become the hope of the High Entia is a fate that you choose for yourself. As long as you remember this, it is certain that you will be worthy of that name. But remember this also. It is not because you are the hope of the High Entia that I love you. It is because I love you that I wish for you to become that hope.

Chapter 10

Melia: I used to believe my father did not love me. Until the day he died. If you do not grasp the importance of loved ones until after they are gone... That is simply too late.

[The party is taking a rest in the chamber where the Monado was originally found.]

Alvis: Once, I too came into contact with the Monado. Those that are to be seers must touch the Monado. And a chosen few receive our power. That is the ceremony of my family.

Shulk: And the ceremony was held right here.

Alvis: Shulk, why do you think we can see the future?

Shulk: I hadn't really thought about it. After I grabbed the Monado, I just saw things.

Alvis: Your visions are the flow of ether itself. Ether is the very source of our world's existence. Where and how much ether there exists now, and in the future, can be predicted. Therefore, in principle, the future of living beings such as us can also be predicted. And there is one thing that makes possible the visualisation of those predictions.

Shulk: You mean the Monado.

Alvis: The Monado can disrupt the ether, allowing you to release certain powers. Which means?

Shulk: My visions, under the same principle, are there to disrupt the future.

Alvis: With no one to control the outcome, the future will never change. But what if someone were to disrupt the future? What then?

Shulk: The future would be changed. Is that how Zanza planned to defeat the Mechonis? But why go to such lengths? What happened all those years ago?

Alvis: Did you think it was just a myth?

Shulk: I used to only believe in what I could see. My home, my friends, the Monado itself! I knew those things were real.

Alvis: But when you took the Monado in your hand, you gained the ability to see that which was not meant to be seen.

Shulk: Are you saying I should stop?

Alvis: You are a fluctuation. As a fluctuation, you exist outside the results of your predictions. The more you accept this existence, the more malleable the world becomes. In fact, you have no choice but to accept it.

[Dunban and Mumkhar are having a duel.]

Dunban: You fought beside me at Sword Valley! Why did you change sides? Why the Mechon?

Mumkhar: You're as blind as you were then! I've wanted you dead for years!

[The ground shakes. The duelers don't notice.]

Shulk: What's happening?!

Reyn: Is the Bionis moving?!

Mumkhar: I wanted to get the Monado so I could be the new hero!

Dunban: Is that it?! That's the puerile reason you've killed all those innocent people? [punches him in the face] Ravaged our home!

Mumkhar: I love this body. The power!

[They pull away for a moment.]

Mumkhar: Dunban, you'll never win! Get on your knees and worship me!

Dunban: Never. I will strike you down and all that you have become, you wretched fool. The Monado will stop you. And then you will know the shame of all that you have done, traitor!

Mumkhar: Shut your mouth and come on!

Chapter 11

[Mumkhar laughs as the party is surrounded by Face Mechon, piloted by captured Homs.]

Mumkhar: Well then, Monado boy. Think ya can do it? Can ya kill 'em all? I wonder who's inside? Who could it be? Your dad? Your mum? Maybe that special someone!

Shulk: When we set out, I wanted to destroy all Mechon. That was my aim. But now... I know that there are people inside. I have to know why. What's the reason for all of this? Why do Bionis and Mechonis have to keep on fighting? I have to find out why!

Chapter 12

[Shulk has rescued Fiora. She awakes.]

Shulk: Fiora. You're awake. Do you remember? My name is Shu-

[She puts a hand on his cheek.]

Fiora: I can't believe it. My first kiss.

Shulk: You do remember me! Fiora!

Fiora: Of course I do. Shulk.

[They hug.]

Fiora: Shulk. You can leave me. It’s OK.

Shulk: What?!

Fiora: I mean, look at me, Shulk. This body is a Mechon body. So I should live here on Mechonis. This is where I belong.

Shulk: You don't have to do that.

Fiora: The Fiora you knew is dead. Just think of it like that. It's for the best.

Shulk: But I can see it's not true! I mean... You're right here! I'll never forget how I felt when I thought I'd lost you back at the colony. I should have done something! I thought, if only I had the power to save you.

Fiora: Shulk...

Shulk: No. No more regrets. I will protect you. Besides, there's someone else inside your head. We can't leave her there.

Fiora: I guess not.

Sharla: The Colony 6 defence force suffered its fair share of pain. And not just physical. Friends and family...alive one day... gone the next. It all became so normal. You end up wondering how you can possibly make a difference when war is so futile. I'm not the only one who felt like that sometimes. But nobody ever gave up. And you know why?

Reyn: Because you were strong?

Sharla: We had no choice but to be strong. Everybody had someone to protect. The moment you looked away, you'd lose everyone you loved. So we had to keep looking straight ahead. We couldn't stop fighting.

Chapter 13

Dunban: Fear robs us of reason. Out of fear we commit terrible atrocities and call them acts of self-preservation.

Gadolt: It's not about reducing casualties. We lost thirty men and we've lost the fortress. Those men died for nothing!

Sharla: Would their deaths have meaning if we'd won?!

[He considers it.]

Gadolt: Yes. At least they would have died for something. This is the end now. It's either the Mechon or us. I don't care if I'm the last man standing. I'll take them down!

Sharla: Do you want to beat the Mechon?

Reyn: Of course. What you askin' that for?

Sharla: At any cost? Even if it means giving your own life?

Reyn: Giving my own life? No way. I can't do anything if I'm dead. I'm gonna take down the Mechon and survive. And there's no way I'm gonna lose Shulk, Fiora or you along the way. We're all gonna win this and get out alive!

Chapter 14

[Shulk is having a dream of himself in space.]

Alvis: Shulk. You have acquired the ability to glimpse the future. The ability to understand the law of causality as decided by a higher power.

Shulk: A higher power? Like the Bionis?

Alvis: Why do you desire to change the future? Why do you wish to act against their will?

Shulk: I do just as anyone would do. It is natural to want to change an unhappy future. If that is their will, then I choose to fight.

Alvis: If that is what you wish, Shulk, then you must find your Monado.

Shulk: My Monado?

[The dream changes to Valak Mountain.]

Alvis: Precisely. The one true Monado.

[There's suddenly a second Shulk in the dream.]

Other Shulk: You can't do that. Because... You aren't here. Not anymore.

Egil: Your blade... It did not cut deep enough.

Chapter 15

Egil: Shulk! Do you hear it? The awakening of the Mechonis! This is my pain. The pain of my people echoing through the millennia.

Riki: Nyapakapow!

Egil: Face me, Shulk! Successor of Zanza! I'll crush the Bionis and spread its ashes across the world! Then I'll turn the Monado into dust. Only then will there be peace!

Egil: If you do not kill me now, my blade will annihilate every last one of your people. Even then?!

Shulk: I can't kill you, but I can stop your blade. And I'll do it. Over and over again, until... we understand each other. OK?

[In a flashback, Egil talks with his friend Arglas.]

Arglas: Egil, why do you think we were born?

Egil: Ah, philosophy! Alas, I am not very good at answering such questions.

Arglas: Have you never thought about it? Never contemplated what lies beyond this world?

Egil: Beyond this world? Lady Meyneth once said that aside from the Bionis and the Mechonis, this world is filled with nothing but boundless ocean.

Arglas: But what lies beyond that? We are still young, and unable to leave the Bionis or the Mechonis. Say goodbye to our creators, our world. But one day our descendants will. They will leave this place and depart for new worlds. Worlds we have never imagined. By strength of their will alone.

Egil: Leave this place? That is something I have never considered. However, it would be a truly amazing sight.

Arglas: Egil. I wish to see that the people of Bionis and the people of Mechonis live in peace and harmony and take care of one another. I wish this for the future of our descendants.

Egil: Yes. I, too, desire this, Arglas.

Chapter 16

Dickson: Who discovered those ruins? Who happened to be there? Who was the 'survivor' we found? And who brought back that survivor?

Dunban: What are you saying?! You planned all this when you found Shulk?

Dickson: Jackpot. It was all for this day.

Dickson: Don't you get it? You're just in the way. The lot of you. This world was created by Lord Zanza. By the very Bionis itself. Then you things think you can just spring up all over the place.

Zanza: All life that is born from me must be returned to me eventually to complete the cycle. For me to continue my existence as before, then all must be restored to its former order.

Dickson: In other words, the destruction and recreation of the world. Nothing more to it.

Meyneth: I finally understand. The futures of our children belong to them alone. Though we are their creators, their lives are theirs to control. Even if the passage of fate is as you have decided, I will teach you the strength of their will to resist. Zanza. If you choose to deny the existence of every living being but yourself, then I choose to fight. To fight for them!

Zanza: The Homs are nothing but bacteria clinging to my body!

Meyneth: They are living beings! If you cannot understand this, you have no right to call yourself a god!

Zanza: And who decides that? A god. Because only a god may decide. This world only needs one god, Meyneth. May you rot in that shell for all eternity!

Meyneth: This is what I wish. This world belongs to you all. Create a world with no need for gods.

Chapter 17

Alvis: Nothing that exists is perfect. It is a sad truth, but you can learn from it and begin the journey on a new path.

Dunban: It truly seems as though everything is going as Zanza planned. But our hearts and minds... They still hold the will to seize our own destiny! No matter how hard you try to break us, the future is ours to shape, Dickson! Always!

Lorithia: Do you know the meaning of the word 'Telethia'? It means that which eliminates impure life. Impure life just like you. That which Lord Zanza does not require shall be extinguished from this world!

Shulk: What's important isn't whether you can see the future or not. It's the will to make a choice, and the strength to seize your destiny! Our time has come. Our destiny is our own!

[Zanza is destroyed. Alvis is telling Shulk the story of the humans who created his world.]

Alvis: It was simple curiosity. The curiosity of a single man that destroyed the universe and created a new one. A new universe, your world, was born. And so, two gods came into existence. Zanza and Meyneth were lonely. So they created life in their own image.

Shulk: And that was how we were born.

Alvis: As the world advanced to each further stage, it was inherited by generations of different life forms. But over time, awareness of Zanza faded. Zanza feared this. In order to escape his own annihilation, he wished for a world in a perpetual cycle of destruction and recreation.

Shulk: Bionis being filled with life, and the Telethia coming to wipe it out. It was all the will of Zanza.

Alvis: It was. But the truth of the matter is that he longed for friendship.

Shulk: His future and our future. It might have been possible for them to coexist.

Alvis: Correct. However, that time has passed. The old god was defeated by the new god that he himself created.

Shulk: New god?!

Alvis: Yes. That is why I appeared before you, Shulk.

Shulk: Alvis, what are you?

Alvis: I am the administrative computer of a phase transition experiment facility. But that will mean little to you. To you, I am a machine. That is my original form.

Shulk: Alvis?

Alvis: This world is stagnant. It has expired. Therefore I will ask you, its new god. What is your wish? Will you allow the world to continue to stagnate? Or will you allow it to evolve to the next level? The choice is yours to make.

Epilogue

Shulk: Do you remember what the Monado, I mean Alvis, said to us the last time we saw him?

Fiora: Yes. Of course.

Alvis: [in flashback] Shulk. This new world is boundless. It is home to not only you, but many forms of life. I can see it. In this world, all life will walk towards the future hand in hand.

Shulk: One day I hope I can meet them all. The people of this endless world.

Fiora: Me too. We will. I know it.

Shulk: We'll meet them. And whatever happens, we'll face our future together.

Future Connected

Nene: One day out of blue, Dadapon bring Kino home. Said, here is brotherpon.

Kino: That day, nobody make comment. Everyone accept Kino. Kino more happy than could say. That why... That why... That why want to become Heropon and repay debt to family!

Melia: What is it about science boffins always doing whatever they please?