I have to say that so far, I’m really digging Xenoblade Chronicles‘ story. At the base level, it’s pretty much the same as any other JRPG on the market (youth goes on adventure to save the world), but there are other layers! And characters that seem like they might develop and grow over the course of the story! We’ll have to see, but so far so good.

The basic plot string, like I said, is pretty basic. It’s only a frame though, and it’s covered in plenty of interesting dressings. Most notably the world design. And I do mean world design, as the entirety of the Xenoblade world exists on the lifeless bodies of two gigantic monsters: Bionis and Mechonis. If you have even an inkling of video game intuition, you’ll have already surmised that one is home to a natural world, and the other a cold, mechanical land. Obviously the heroes live on the Bionis, because who wants to play a game where the protagonists are soulless machines?

Now, the denizens of each world don’t get along too well. The game’s prologue takes place a year before the actual story events, during a massive war between the worlds. The game’s antagonistic force, the Mechon, continue to attack the settlements on the Bionis throughout the game and seem to want nothing more to snack on the Homs (human) population. Why machines need to eat people has not been explained yet, but it’s certainly a twist on the “evil robots” trope.

The other great thing that happens right at the beginning of the game so it’s not a spoiler is that the main character’s love interest gets brutally murdered. Its shocking and completely unexpected. This is mere moments after he gains the ability to view glimpses of the future, and watches her die in one of these visions. Having spent my life playing video games and watching movies, I was positive that he would jump in to save her at the last minute, but no. So let’s recap: hero watches love interest die in a vision, she is impaled and eaten (off-screen – this is key), and he has to sit and watch her die again. Many heroes start their journeys in the name of vengeance, but I can’t recall one that had to watch the same loved one die twice.

Unfortunately, unless you’re completely clueless, you’ll catch on very quickly that she didn’t actually die and she’ll be back in your party eventually. The narrative never hints at this, but monsters keep dropping weapons for her, and there are several character-specific achievements that you can’t possibly get until long after she dies.

The other thing I’ve really enjoyed about Xenoblade’s story is that main character, Shulk. Yes, he has a silly name, but he’s pretty cool! He’s not at all your generic plucky JRPG hero. No, Shulk may be a youth out to save the world, but that’s about all he’s got on common with the standard hero archetype. First of all, Shulk’s got a job. A real job. He’s not an errand boy or a monster hunter, he’s a scientist. We’re given the impression that before the events of the game, he would spend hours upon hours in his lab either building things or doing research.

At the outset of the game, Shulk has a little combat experience because his profession requires him to salvage wrecked Mechon pieces from the wilds surrounding Colony 9.  Most of the time he’s accompanied by his friend Reyn, who is a hulk of a man that is enlisted in the Colony 9 Defense Force. Many characters voice their lack of faith in Shulk’s battle prowess (in as nice a way as they can), and are constantly telling Reyn to protect him.  This kind of goes away once Shulk acquires his super-sword, the Monado, which is also the source of his visions of the future. It’s a little sad, because Shulk’s character is not that of a world-class fighter, but what can you do? The action cutscenes wouldn’t be nearly as exciting if he just stood there and let his friends do all the fighting.

Inconsequential but relevant is the fact that Shulk is rumoured not to have tastebuds. In a genre where most heroes spend more time thinking about food than the task at hand, having no sense of taste is a very unique character trait.

As I’d mentioned before, Shulk’s motivation for going out into the world is revenge. Sweet, delicious revenge. Not new, as tons and tons of media have revenge as a central theme. Only most of the time, the main character doesn’t aspire to fight an entire world. Yes, the Mechon are terrible, people-eating monster robots, but what makes this boy think that genocide is the answer? And what make him think he can do it? I don’t know, but he sets a goal for himself and consistently marches toward it.

In this way, he is both very similar to and very different from Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII. They’re both motivated by their anger at the loss of a loved one, and they both set out on a fight against an entire world. The difference is that Lightning not only uses that anger to drive herself, but she also lets it consume her completely. She is more than willing to take on the world alone, and is happy to leave behind anyone who is slowing her down. She is entirely confident that she can accomplish her goal and has the skills to back up that confidence. Shulk is the other side of the coin: he’s driven by anger, but is more than willing to accept the help of his friends, even if it means stopping for a while to help them out with their own problems. He is also much less confident in his own abilities; even though he has the power to see and change the future, he has trouble believing that he can save individual lives, never mind the lives of everyone living on the Bionis.

There’s one thing I really don’t like though. I’m at a point in the game where characters are beginning to suggest that Shulk is the chosen bearer of the Monado. I did a big ol’ facepalm the first time the word “chosen” was spoken. Aren’t we a little past the stupid “chosen one” story hook? There has to be another way. Lighting and her companions were chosen, yes, but it was because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, not because it was their destiny. I guess it’s not the worst way to write a character, but I much prefer heroes that are heroes because they had the strength to make a difference, not because it was written in the stars.

I don’t feel like I’m that far into the story yet though, so I really have no idea how things are going to turn out. There have been a couple plot “twists” already that I saw coming before there was even any foreshadowing, so it could go either way. Maybe the game will continue to surprise and delight me, or maybe it’ll pull all its punches from here on in and become just another generic JRPG. I’m hoping for the best.