Monolith Soft has been one of Nintendo’s most prolific subsidiaries as of late. Whether it’s aiding in the development of the Splatoon franchise, assisting in the world design of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, or contributing to the Super Smash Bros. series, Monolith has been indispensable for Nintendo since their partnership began in 2008. The company has come a long way in the past 20 years, culminating in their flagship franchise, Xenoblade Chronicles.
What started out as a Japanese exclusive open-world Wii title has exploded to become one of Nintendo’s most prominent series to date. From building a studio from the ground up to the release of Future Redeemed, Monolith has proven to be a juggernaut in the RPG realm. And over the past decade has carefully crafted one of the best trilogy of games the industry has seen.
Humbling Beginnings
During the rise to prominence of Square in the 90s, designer Tetsuya Takahashi had a hand in some of their most prolific projects. From Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, and Xenogears, Takahashi had proven himself invaluable to the JRPG giant. As the 90s were about to come to a close, so too was Takahashi’s partnership with Square. Due to ideological differences, Takahashi would leave Square in 1999 to form his own studio. Together with Square veteran Hirohide Sugiura, Takahashi would found Monolith Software Inc. in October of that same year.
Things progressed quickly from there. Monolith signed on with Namco, teams were formed and pre-production was started on two new IPs; Xenosaga for the PS2 and Baten Kaitos for the GameCube. From 2000 to 2007, Monolith would work in tandem with Namco to release games in both franchises as well as dabble in contract work on games like Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus. By 2006, the relationship with Namco and Monolith had soured due to ongoing management changes as well as the merger that brought Bandai into the picture.
Monolith Soft’s Kyoto Office
With Takahashi and the company in a similar situation with Namco, as they were with Square, the decision was made to break away from the newly formed Bandai Namco. In 2007, both parties agreed to the sale of the majority of Monolith Soft’s stocks to Nintendo. Nintendo would grant Monolith more creative freedom in exchange for exclusivity rights to those projects on the then-current DS and Wii. This began Monolith down the road to where they are today, in the upper pantheon of JRPG developers.
Although, their newly found partnership with Nintendo wouldn’t bear fruit immediately. During 2008, the company would release little-known titles such as Soma Bringer for the DS as well as a Wii project that would go through development hell aptly named Disaster: Day of Crisis. After getting their feet wet with the Wii hardware, development began on their next big console JRPG originally titled Monado: Beginning of the World. Inspired by Takahashi’s past work on Xenogears and Xenosaga, the late Satoru Iwata suggested its final title: Xenoblade Chronicles.
Operation Rainfall
The concept of Xenoblade Chronicles began in 2006 when Takahashi had the idea of civilizations existing on the backs of enormous titans. Pre-production began in 2007 with the team working diligently to bring Takahashi’s vision to life. Monolith began crafting an action RPG centered around Shulk, his ability to wield the legendary Monado sword, and his visions of the future. Together with his ever-growing group of friends, Shulk takes on the Mechon and searches for answers to the mystery of the Monado and the world at large.
Xenoblade Chronicles employs an action battle system similar to MMOs or MOBAs. Characters auto-attack enemies they’re locked onto with the player being able to activate powerful attacks via Arts. With seven party members to level up, outfit with various equipment and gems. Coupled with synchronizing play styles with Skill Trees, Affinity Coins, and Art builds, Xenoblade Chronicles‘ combat and gameplay are as deep as it gets.
Xenoblade Chronicles / Monolith Soft / Nintendo
Supplementing that gameplay is a cast of characters and stories that are just as deep. Tie all of that together with impeccable environmental designs and a beautiful soundtrack and it’s no wonder many have lauded Xenoblade Chronicles as one of the best games ever made. A game so good, a grassroots movement of fans was able to convince Nintendo to localize it outside of Japan. While Xenoblade Chronicles was released in 2010 in Japan, it wouldn’t see a Western release until 2012.
This was thanks to Operation Rainfall, a petition of sorts by fans for Nintendo to localize 3 Japan exclusive RPGs: Pandora’s Tower, The Last Story, and Xenoblade Chronicles. Xenoblade Chronicles was successful in Japan, being the 8th best-selling Wii title of its release year but its release in the West was what spurred its popularity. That popularity spawned two separate ports for both the 3DS and Switch. It also spurred Monolith into development for the rest of the series going forward. The success of the Wii original allowed Monolith the opportunity the failure of Xenosaga did not. To create something Takahashi had wanted since Xenogears. A truly epic saga across multiple entries. And while it wasn’t the next game in the series, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 would set that stage perfectly.
Onward to Elysium
A proper sequel to the Wii classic would have to wait as Monolith brought Xenoblade X to life on the Wii U. Seen as more of a spin-off today, X was very different from the original. With more of a focus on the Wii U’s features, both Game Pad and Online, Xenoblade Chronicles X is more of an experimental title, acting as a testbed of sorts for new combat ideas, character customization, larger scaled environments, and online functionality. As it stands in 2023, it doesn’t appear to have any bearing on the overall series at large, possibly one of the reasons it remains marooned on the Wii U since 2015.
While X continued the momentum the original Xenoblade had, its sequel would be what propelled the series into the mainstream. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the most ambitious and grandiose title in the series, almost entirely revamping the series’ combat, tone, art direction, role-playing elements, and structure. While it stumbles a bit due to that ambition, it is still a stellar title, receiving similar review scores as its predecessor while becoming the fastest and highest-grossing title in the series.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 / Monolith Soft / Nintendo
Despite its success, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a polarizing title. It still feels like a Xenoblade game while being drastically different in almost every way, something that turned some fans new and old off. Based on the series trajectory, it appears this was entirely purposeful, giving Xenoblade 2 legs to stand on in terms of holding its own apart from its predecessor while also establishing how the future of the series would be handled.
Similar to games like Persona or Final Fantasy, it appeared Xenoblade would be, well, a chronology of sorts. Having numbered “sequels” that are different from each game that came before while only tangentially being connected with “wink-and-nod” Easter eggs to past titles (at least until the end anyway). Xenoblade 2 fits this mold perfectly.
The battle system was entirely retooled, utilizing the Driver and Blade mechanics that are central to the plot. The equipment management system was scrapped in favor of Pouch Items. The Affinity Chart now acts more as side quests tailored to each Blade. A new Mercenary sub-system was added to flesh out each location. Environments are much larger thanks to the power of the Switch over the Wii. One of the more tenuous changes was to the tone and writing.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 / Monolith Soft / Nintendo
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 skews towards a more “anime” feel with its main cast, especially with its female leads. While some fans saw this as pandaring, straying too far from the established art style, it worked for the most part. It solidified the difference between the original and itself, being able to stand apart from its legendary predecessor in almost every aspect. The triumphs of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 far outweigh its shortcomings, offering a truly grand adventure.
The overwhelming positive reaction to the original Xenoblade coupled with Nintendo’s willingness to allow Monolith the creative freedom it carved directly led to how ambitious Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is, for better or for worse. Monolith tried to go above and beyond with Xenoblade Chronicles 2, making a larger game in scope, scale, and depth. It allowed Monolith to experiment and implement systems and gameplay styles to set its sequel apart while also honing their skills for the future.
Honing Their Craft
Torna: The Golden Country is almost an entire game-sized DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 2. This expansion elaborates more on the backstory of its central cast of antagonists in the main game. While Torna expands on the world of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, more importantly, it allowed Monolith to iron out any wrinkles the main game had. Torna streamlines the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 experience, making it one of the quintessential entries in the franchise.
Everything from the combat to the inventory management to ancillary systems had their fat trimmed, making it a smooth experience from start to finish. Its relatively shorter length compared to the main entries makes it much more approachable as well, acting as a decent entry point for newcomers. Torna proves that while Monolith was looking to go above and beyond with Xenoblade Chronicles 2, they’re also able to pull back and stay more reserved when needed.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna The Golden Country / Monolith Soft / Nintendo
Torna showcases the lessons learned from Xenoblade Chronicles 2. In a very short amount of time, Monolith was able to recognize what worked in the main game and focused on refining those elements, leaving behind mechanics that weren’t worth saving. The ability to reign in their ambition and recognize their successes and their failures is a testament to their ability. This balancing of ambition and restraint has led to the crowning achievement of Monolith’s recent work and the Xenoblade series as a whole.
It’s All Led to This
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the culmination of everything Monolith had worked toward since 2010, in more ways than one. Gameplay-wise, it’s the smoothest experience the franchise has to offer. Every lesson learned from past titles has been keenly implemented while new and improved mechanics round out Xenoblade Chronicles 3, making it not only one of 2022’s best games but one of Monoliths as well.
The combat retains that same intoxicating complexity while expanding the available party members from 3 to 8. Classes are entirely interchangeable between each member as well as additional Heroes who can join the crew throughout the adventure. Gems are back from the original title and are streamlined and more digestible. The world’s the largest it’s ever been, combining the design philosophies of both previous titles to create a world teeming with life.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 / Monolith Soft / Nintendo
Old elements are brought back into the fold and polished to a sheen. New mechanics like the Ouroboros forms add depth and put distance between Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and its predecessors. Where previous games tripped or faltered, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 soars, delivering one of the smoothest JRPG experiences in not only Monolith’s catalog but in gaming today. There’s a reason it was nominated for Game of The Year alongside Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarok.
While the gameplay benefited from years of iteration and experience, the story is the solidifying element that makes this trilogy near perfect. While the previous two titles were only tangentially connected, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 fully connects all three games together in a way that is satisfying to long-time fans while still digestible to newcomers. And the Future Redeemed expansion tied everything together on an emotionally satisfying note. While the main campaign’s narrative is compelling enough, the realization that everything is connected in one epic, massive story makes these journeys much more impactful.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 / Monolith Soft / Nintendo
While Monolith Soft has had an upward trajectory since they were established, there’s no doubt they’ve also been integral to Nintendo’s most recent success. Between aiding in the development of some of Nintendo’s biggest properties to the overwhelming success of Xenoblade Chronicles, Monolith’s partnership with Nintendo has been their most successful yet. The symbiotic relationship between the two companies has allowed Monolith to flourish creatively while Nintendo reaps the benefits.
Since its inception, Xenoblade Chronicles has been in the upper echelon of its genre and has only improved. Through the creative freedom that Nintendo has granted, Monolith’s ambition to create create a JRPG masterpiece has led them to where they are now. Everything from the gameplay to the story is not only exceptional in each title but also progressively improves. No matter which title is played, they’re all approachable and stellar in their own right. Monolith has accomplished a feat many developers struggle to attain. They’ve created a near-perfect trilogy of games.
