Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected is Starting to Sound Extensive

The more I learn about Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected, the more I wonder how long it will be.

Future Connected is the new epilogue created for Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, the upcoming Switch remake of the first Xenoblade game.

Even though it’s an epilogue, set one year after the events of the main game, it will be available from the start.

A new Japanese overview trailer and updates to the official website have shed some light on what Future Connected is all about, and it sounds fairly extensive.

Shulk and Melia set out in search of the Imperial Capital Alcamoth and crash on the Bionis’ Shoulder. As we discussed when this area was first glimpsed in the initial announcement trailer, the Bionis’ Shoulder was a huge area cut from the original game.

It looks like Shulk and Melia will be the only party members from the original cast featured in Future Connected. They’re joined by two Nopon companions, Kino and Nene. The combat system has been redone for this new story, and it looks like it features some sort of Nopon group attack.

So right now we have a new story, unlocked from the start, with a new combat system and party members, set in an area that was originally one of the largest maps in the game. All of this together makes it sound more like a standalone expansion like Torna ~ The Golden Country than a simple epilogue. Does this mean it could be around the same length?

When Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected was first announced, I expected it to be a couple of hours long. I’d still be happy with that, but another mini Xenoblade game like Torna would be pretty cool.

What do you think about Future Connected? How long do you expect it to be? And if you already played the original Xenoblade, are you planning to start with Future Connected or play through the main game again first?