Xenoblade Chronicles: Excellence in Foreshadowing
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- čas přidán 2. 03. 2019
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Xenoblade Chronicles is a fantastic narrative experience that hints at future events via in-game mechanics and story important scenes. Due to the prevalence and strength of these teases, I take the time to analyze their occurrences and impact on Xenoblade Chronicles as a whole.
Credits to:
Helsionium
/ helsionium
TheRewester's Xenoblade Chronicles Script
gamefaqs.gamespot.com/wii/960...
Adam Fisher
/ @pmdrodney
Jb Sprinkles
/ @jbsprinkles
Xenoblade Chronicles is owned by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo!
#Xenoblade #Foreshadowing #Analysis - Hry
Not quite foreshadowing, but here's another fun detail: The kanji displayed on the Monado during cutscenes names what it is currently capable of killing. In the beginning, it says "Machine," after it's upgraded at Prison Island, it says "Person," and when Shulk obtains his own Monado at the end, it says "God."
I got the tingles in a replay when I heard Zanza explain how it works "just focus on what you want to destroy, and it will be" and Maynus is like "surely you realize it's become a double-edged sword now" i think it was her. I forget.
@@KairuHakubi the specifics were
Zanza: " Wield the sword! It *bends* to your will. Think of your enemy, and the power to defeat them is yours!"
@@KairuHakubi M A Y N U S
@@KairuHakubi Maynus? You might as well call her Mayonnaise at this point...
@@mikuenjoyerXD take it up with monolith
My favourite foreshadowing is when Riki saw a statue before the door to Prison Island and goes “Dinobeast!”
Reyn: “it’s just a statue, Don’t freak us out like that, Riki”
Sharla: “is this a person? I can’t make it out”
Melia: “hmmm.. this may very well be the appearance of my forefathers.”
...
Riki: “Dinobeast! Dinobeast!”
Reyn: “you might be right...it reminds me of the Telethia as well”
Richard Hannay I remembered that scene right when the High Entia/Telethia twist happened.
And when the progenitor of the high entia tells meloa that they tried to create half-homs high entia just to liberate themselves from their curse
"Bird People" and "Dinobeasts" are such oddly similar terms too, especially when the Nopon tend to give more "standard" terms to most other creatures.
mads_in_zero
Homhom taste pfffehh
mads_in_zero yeah, especially since most telethia don’t even look anything like dinosaurs. It’s foreshadowing in the names
My favorite foreshadowing moment would be in the beginning (chapter 1) when Shulk and Dickson talk while looking at the monado in Shulk’s lab. Shulk says something along the lines of “its to dangerous for anyone to use it as it is” and Dickson answers with “Yes, for anyone but *him.* “
Shulk, as well as the player, takes this as Dickson talking about Dunban, but if you think about it, it would seem more likely that he is talking about *Zanza.*
That’s just my opinion after replaying though.
Really good observation! I've never noticed that one before.
Or when Dickson leaves the team at Satorl Marsh, “I feel bad lying to those kids.” Or something like that. When playing it for the first time you think he’s talking about how dangerous the path up the Bionis is but we know better.
Jordan Stolp In my first playtrough of the game I figured there was things he hid but I thought it was for their sake you know? Cause the way he says it makes it seem like he genuinely feel bad about it and it gives the feeling of “but it’s for a good cause”
You also have the "shulk has no sense of taste" because he is a "walking corpse" since the beginning, powered by zanza's life energy.
Or the kind of most obvious one that was referenced in this video when he says “and I’m doing all this for YOUR future”
It seems like he’s talking about maybe all homskind, or the party but more than likely means shulk. It also in retrospect gives a hint that Dickson might not be a Homs, since he’s saying “for YOUR future” which is kind of removing himself from this statement
Playing this game blind was some of the best months of my life.
So you only played it with the sound ? How ?
@@julienxie1110 the monado showed me the way.
Same
Same
I think it's mentioned somewhere that Reyn was used to always help Shulk when they were kids because he was very weak and he would always get sick, which makes a lot of sense if you consider that at that time Shulk was probably still recovering from almost dying and coming back to life because of Zanza
Not almost, he did die, and yes it was right after they meet up with fiora
He has no sense of taste too, y'know?
@@perrydunetz882 Oh shit! That means it's the same thing that happened with Rex! He resonated with Alvis and that's what brought him back to life!
inuush no, Rex became a blade eater, shulk was able to come back due to the energy left behind when zanza left his body
@@perrydunetz882 Fiora was on a timer when Meyneth's Monado left her body. Would the same apply to Shulk, or since Zanza was inside Shulk far longer than Meyneth was inside Fiora, he basically had endless life energy?
I never even considered Shulk being so adamant about returning the dead soldier to the Bionis as foreshadowing, but now that you mention it, it does kinda seem out of character - returning corpses to the Bionis is a pseudo-religious ritual, and we learn later in the game that Shulk is not a religious person, so it's a bit weird that he would be the one to insist on something like that - especially since Reyn is himself a part of the Colony 9 Defense Force soldier, and should normally be be more knowledgeable about how to dispose of the remains of his fellow soldiers than Shulk the lab rat.
Very, very clever..
On a side note, after talking to the residence in colony 9 I think its hinted that the homs worship the bionis religiously, Its kinda the norm there to return people to the bionis
I was like «you do that?» but then Reyn said that it was the way of the homs, making it way more normal
I feel it's more out of respect to the culture of the dead than to shulk's culture.
Not sure how fair it is to say that Shulk is “not a religious person”; there doesn’t seem to be much of a religion at all among the Homs. I know you’re referring to him wanting to create “a world with no need for gods”, as Meyneth told him to do, but Zanza is not really a god in a truly religious sense: no one worships him (other than Dickson and Lorithia I guess), few even seem to know of his existence, and although he is the Homs’ creator he cares nothing for them and has laid down no moral laws or rituals that they should follow that would constitute a religion. He created the Homs simply so they could become his food. Furthermore, he is fallible, not omniscient, able to be confined to a single object, place or person, requires a physical body to perpetuate his existence, and ultimately, is not omnipotent or immortal. So he’s more like a demiurge than a true god, an extremely powerful being that thinks of himself as divine but really is not. Alvis seems aware of this when he points out to Zanza right before his death that there are immutable laws in the universe that even he can’t change. And of course, we see that he was once a human being who became a “god” purely by accident due to his own foolish hubris.
So I’m not sure that Shulk is irreligious so much as he is intelligent enough to see a false god and reject him appropriately. It doesn’t seem like he has any concept or what a real god would be like though, so perhaps for him it’s one and the same.
Well you people say “bless you” when someone sneezes even if they aren’t religious it’s more culture than anything
I also love how the Nopon call the High Entia the BIRD People and the Telethia the DINObeast, despite them not really looking like dinosaurs at all. Guess what birds evolved from.
I knew Mumkhar was Metal Face. I knew Zanza was bad news. I knew Alvis was one of the most powerful entities. All of this before playing the game. Then as I played, I prematurely learned that Dickson was bad news, and the significance of "Mecha-Fiora" as Smash Bros. would call her.
And in spite of this, I was still blown away by so much in the game's story. Even the twists I knew stunned me in the way they were pulled off, or how there were new angles I didn't consider with my knowledge.
A mark of a great story is when it can be told to a knowing audience and still leave them in awe.
I figured out a lot of stuff even though I went in blind. I knew Metal Face was Mumkhar because I can recognize voice actors, and he had claws. I knew Fiora was coming back because they started bringing up Shulk's motives again, so they must be changing soon. I knew Zanza had to have more to him if he had to do with the Monado. "Deceiving these kids" was an instant give-away. I knew Alvis was one of the most powerful beings because a copy of the protagonist is always one of the most powerful beings.
God, yes.
@@chuck_duck Seriously the same happened to me and I think it ruined to me thinking Fiora was alive all along and that Dickson and Alvis always had something to do
@@chuck_duckthe worst thing is that achievements spoil fioras comeback since there are achievements for her even after her death in colony 9
« This might be crazy talk, but maybe you and the monado are some part of a higher plan »
Dickson you old fool. Who could take this line seriously when you just start the game and dont know anything about it...
These scenes hit so much harder now that the character models can emote more in DE.
*emote less
@@RealityMasterRogue no, definitely more. DE looks a LOT better
@@rigistroni i agree definitive edition, as a whole, looks significantly better.
However, characters do notably emote less in DE than in the original, despite that.
@@RealityMasterRogue I disagree, they're far more expressive in DE. The more, for lack of a better term, anime esq style helps bring out the expressions of the same animations more.
DE
"Your blade...it did not cut deep enough", will always be my favourite line in the game. The moment I realized that, more than 60 hours into the game, I was still experiencing parts of the flash-forward montage from the beginning blew my mind.
Same. I dont even understand why it hit me so hard when egil said it but it was super effective
It’s funny because that vision technically predicts how Shulk would respond to all the other visions. Which makes me think it comes directly from Zanza.
And after that Egil snaped his fingers and half life on Bionis died
Cinnamon Gaymer nah only thousands
@@someguy4405 shulk isn't really his own person until after Zanza truly reawakens and leaves his body. Prior to that point, Zanza could always influence him to do his will.
Zanza made a big mistake though: He gave shulk the power of a god. My theory is that meyneth gave him the last of her power as well, which is what pushed him over the edge and made him more powerful than Zanza. Zanza gloated a lot about how easy meyneth was to defeat; but I believe that she really just saved her power and gave it to Shulk rather than fight Zanza with her full strength in that moment.
This would explain why shulk is so much more powerful than Zanza, and can even see visions that override Zanza's.
One extremely underrated example of foreshadowing I never see anyone talk about is the scene immediately after Galahad Fortress showing a dream Shulk has while unconscious on the Fallen Arm. The line "I reached out for a piece of scrap metal... And then I fell into the ground." is really cool because it has three simultaneous meanings.
It refers to the scene prior where Shulk reaches out for Fiora and falls from Galahad Fortress,
the scene where Shulk grabs the monado as a kid and "dies",
and last but not least, it refers to Shulk reaching for Egil's hand and being shot by Dickson.
My favorite foreshadowing moment is during the Prison Island cutscene:
Dunban - "The Monado has changed!"
Meyneth - "Zanza... you have not changed at all. That is clear."
They seem like almost throwaway lines, not connected at all, but they foreshadow Zanza being the soul of the Monado, and not just the Giant.
When I really sit back and think about it, XBC has almost no if any throwaway lines, everything is written with purpose to it, be it characterization, worldbuilding, foreshadowing... It's truly impressive when you think about it.
"The monado's appearance is an illusion. Its form morphs to conform to the will of its master."
This and Alvis's line about how "you control it" seem to imply that the Monado was never "in shackles", Shulk just had to will it to hurt Bionis life. He obviously didn't know that, since he didn't know that homs were inside mechon until literally 5 seconds after the monado powered up. Speaking of this, you know how the "person" symbol appears *after* zanza's green stuff goes into Shulk? Zanza himself unlocked the symbol, it wasn't Shulk doing an anime power up at all. Maybe Zanza's will influenced Shulk's subconscious into making that specific symbol appear.
As for it changing, Zanza made that happen so it would look convincing.
The "you haven't changed at all" part kinda confirms this, since all Zanza did was apply a placebo effect of sorts on Shulk and change the form of the sword, as well as Zanza himself having not changed at all since he and Meyneth fought.
Basically, Zanza lured Shulk to prison island with that vison and the promise of a new power to fight the mechon when all he really wanted was a way to make himself whole again. The monado powering up was basically him going "He doesn't know that mechon are people, so he can't use the power that hurts homs. I'm gonna lure him to me, make it seem as if he *needs* to free me to unlock the power and then unlock it myself once this body dies and I go into his body. Then, I need him to wreck the mechon and kill Egil so I can return without opposition"
@@Starfloofle HEROPON RIKI BESTEST
That line has so much meaning
@@Magic_Ice it is a declaration of absolute fact!
@@Starfloofle Thats true. One of the best lines in the game
There’s also the part in the beginning where Fiora mentions that Shulk has no taste and that it’s like he’s dead or something (can’t remember the line exactly) which is one more to add to the foreshadowing pile at the start of the game.
I would say you’re reading too much into this: Shulk says that it’s always delicious, “but today it’s amazing”. In fact, despite Shulk’s lack of taste for vegetables, if Fiora made it, he’ll say he enjoyed it
Shulk has a clear list of food he likes and dislikes plus he clearly isn't that much of a walking corpse or else he'd have never grown past being 4
After the Prison Island arc, while everyone is gearing up to move on in pursuit of Metal Face, there's a very short scene where Alvis approaches the weapon that killed Zanza the Giant and speaks to him. He says he could have 'easily stood in for him (zanza)'. With the few hints that drive us to think Alvis was pulling some strings behind the scenes, we're probably directed to think Alvis could have sacrificed himself instead of Zanza.
However, with endgame knowledge, this sentence can take a different meaning. I think Alvis meant to say he could have released the shackles on the monado himself; it's a power he has given he IS the monado, and his established relationship with Shulk would have made it a smoother ordeal than getting Shulk to meet Zanza directly on Prison Island, and could have potentially spared Zanza of Metal Face's spear. One can then deduce that Zanza wanted not only to get the measure of Shulk and his resolve in person, but also to get rid of his current vessel to fully take over Shulk's body as already mentioned in this video.
Basically, this one line in this one scene foreshadows two major plot points; Zanza's wanting to take over Shulk, and Alvis's unparalleled connection to the Monado.
Speaking of Alvis, the very first appearance of a Telethia in the story (to force Metal Face into a retreat) is followed by Alvis conversing with the telethia in question. And of course, next we have Melia hunting down some telethia for being a threat.
Not only is Alvis being outed as having an agenda against the high entia he later appears to serve (and in hindsight as one of the Trinity, who could all command telethia), but also that the telethia are sentient.
12:51 "Nevertheless, Shulk also just had a vision of his childhood friend and love interest getting skewered, and he couldn't do anything to stop it"
This sort of feeds into my theory that Zanza handpicks the visions Shulk gets. Technically speaking, the journey to Prison Island is a detour compared to going down Valak Mountain to Sword Valley - but apart from being motivated by Dickson, Shulk also gets that Vision about the Emperor.
And Shulk has had just enough chances to save people to make you think "is this something I can avert" - but the real purpose of sending him there is to unshackle the Monado.
Also, consider this - Shulk tends to get new Monado Powers just before they'd become useful. Considering Zanza is the will of the Monado, this is a literal _intentional_ Deus Ex Machina. Reyn's about to be skewered? Not to worry, here's Monado Shield. Sharla's about to be chomped? Not to worry, here's Monado Speed. Telethia got you down? Well, a good thing Alvis can teach you Monado Purge.
In my mind, this is Zanza's way of saying "hey, maybe you can save the Emperor" - but Fiora's death not only motivates Shulk's quest in the first place, but plants the idea that you can't always save someone... so it's just natural, right?
That's pretty much it, yeah. As soon as he felt like Shulk was getting off the designated path, he'd give him visions to put him back where he wants him to be.
You think that means zanza let shulk see fiora die in a vision knowing damn well he wouldn’t save her to make him feel helpless and help motivate his revenge?
@@nothinspecial8004 Exactly. Zanza's pumping Shulk's head full of "kill them all", like the video points out. But it needs to feel natural.
Zanza did and didn’t chose Shulk, anybody would’ve done, but he saw a vision of Shulk as he said, so he picked Shulk because the passage of fate showed him that Shulk would succeed in being his vessel.
@@mads_in_zero The first half of this game is really a masterpiece in storytelling by how natural it makes a lot of odd occurrences feel. The second half is still good, don't get me wrong, but it's much more about telling the player what's going on rather than simply showing them.
Bru when alvis gives you that funny look in alcamoth I was like this man definitely gonna turn on us. And when shulk got shot I thought it was alvis but it was Dickson who shot him bruh. I was so confused I focused to much on alvis to even pick up the foreshadowing on Dickson. Great game one of the best I’ve played.
Fiora wears a necklace with a red diamond. Face nemesis has this pattern with two diamonds merged together a bit. It's a bit of symbolism for the two souls one body thing
One of my favourite pieces of foreshadowing is at the Battle if Sword Valley, right at the beginning of the game. Dunban wants to keep on fighting, while Dickson is telling him he can't take more of the Monado. When Dunban ignores that, Dickson says something like "Alright. I'm coming too. You'll need someone to drag your corpse home." During the first playthrough, it can seem like he is only joking or that he is actually concerned about Dunban, but on later playthroughs you realize that he stays not because he cares about Dunban, but because if Dunban were to die, someone would need to be there ro retrieve the Monado before the Mechon got it.
At one point Vanea says that the Monado isn’t just a physical blade, but also the spirit within everyone’s heart! Remember that?
Ginger Kays lmao that was some kingdom hearts bullshit😂
I don't. It doesn't help that Vanea is such a forgettable character. She's set up pretty well...but...she isn't a very interesting villain.
Xac Mashe She isn't a villain though.
@@ltb1345 No? She works for Zanza, insults Melia, works with Melia's bitch of a mother, and acts all "all according to plan hehehe." How is she not a villain?
@@xacmashe3852 You are thinking of Lorithia or mrs. "You pay for your insolence"
“One part of me is saying that. But there’s this other side of me, this voice deep inside. It’s saying kill them all make them pay! And it’s getting louder and louder.....”;
HOLY SHIT
Oh god oh fuck
Lol, this game on a second playthrough will blow you away with foreshadowing like this. Also, did you know *spoilers*
There's a quest in colony nine where you can find out that xord used to be the father of Desireé. The first time you talk to her in fact for the "fixing the watch" side quest she remarks how her father died in the war, but she still remembers quote: "I always remember what a wizard he was with his tools, always swinging that hammer of his around"
@@spiderdude2099 Yeah I noticed that and it blew my mind. The amount of details in this game is ASTONISHING. Giving a backstory to such a (And we won't lie, Xord is ONLY here to foreshadow the Faces being humans) minor character and even linking him to a random NPC, giving a real past life to him is awesome.
Delano Seven I also like how all this is technically optional. If someone goes through the game doing zero side quests they might never realize this bit of lore. Keeps the game fresh for multiple playthroughs.
My favourite one is when Shulk has the dream where he hears Alvis's voice really early on, and he mentions that Shulk needs to find his True Monado. And they purposely capitalise the word "True" in the subtitles to indicate that "True Monado" is an entire title
“Damn, when did that kid get so strong ?”
Dickson low key proud of shulk before dying...that part hit me in the feels
I like how the game throws you obvious foreshadowing (most notably in visions, but also the secret behind the faced mechon) to keep your attention while practically spelling out the whole endgame right under your nose.
I almost shit bricks when I replayed the game the first time and heard the "In my head there are two versions of me" scene again.
I’ve been replaying xenoblade through the definitive eddition and so far the best forshadowing lineI’ve seen is by Dickson (of course). “Hesitate for a moment and you’re a goner” he literally tells you what his plans are but sounds sympathetic hes so good!
I just finished the game a few weeks ago and have started letting my little brother play it, I told him lorithia likes kalian and they kiss at the end of the game
Well uh... you didn't technically lie? But let's hope you don't pay for your insolence.
That has got to be the best way to put it.
What are your brother's reaction to the force-k-i-would-not-call-a-kiss
I would like my sister to play it, but the makna outfits keep me away from doing so
@@Fermin-hw5pd she scared of feathers?
Shulk not having a sense of taste was my favorite bit of foreshadowing.
What was it foreshadowing? Honestly curious.
@@J01789 Cuz his body was functionally dead due to being a vessel for Zanza, so that’s why his tastebuds weren’t working.
@@JapanFreak2595 Execpt Shulk does taste he famously dislikes vegetables Shulk's just a dork who doesn't know how to properly compliment Fiora's cooking properly
I wonder how much censored dialogue would be in the game if we could hear Melia's thoughts about Fiora.
*Betch*
"Okay Melia, let's kill da ho! BIIIIIIIIIITCH"
@@gheredin4074 Nice jojo reference.
Melia externally: I'm fine Shulk
Melia internally: *Angry bird mode!*
@@senjithegamer3829 Melia internally: *Hey Egil, make me the new Metal Face please*
A personal story about this game...
When I played Xenoblade myself, when I finally got to the twist with the reveal of Zanza, and everything that happened afterward with the Telethia and everything, where everything seems to just collapse around the cast, I just... like, I don't really know how to describe it other than that I myself felt defeated, as if out of empathy. I've never been so devastated by a plot twist that it had a major impact on me, but after XBC's twist I actually had to put the game down for almost a MONTH because I actually lost my will to go on. Not because I wasn't invested, but because I WAS invested, TOO invested.
I think the darker parts of my psyche took over and, with no grounds left to believe otherwise due to this being a standalone game in a franchise I knew nothing about, was expecting a downer ending, one where everything I worked for would ultimately mean nothing. I'm ashamed yet astonished to admit that in some part of my mind the baddie had won and that there was no point in trying anymore.
And that's seriously saying something.
I've felt strong emotional feelings towards games before, and even though I consider myself rather emotionally hardened (for better and for worse) XBC made me lower my guard and struck me when I was most vulnerable. (Much like our heroes...) I literally had to retreat and take some time to recover from a fictional experience.
That sheer degree of empathy it could invoke in someone like me, combined with the masterful foreshadowing integrated so stealthily, and the extremely in-depth integration of its narrative into all its gameplay mechanics... If with all its factors at play XBC isn't a narrative masterpiece, I truly don't know what would be. It will always hold a special place in my heart even when it slips my mind and I don't think I'll ever find a game that could give me that level of an experience ever again.
Beautifully said. You put my very feelings into words, thank you. Although I am an entire year too late, I just wanted to add that. And I ABSOLUTELY cannot wait for the Switch release of this magnificent piece of a game!
well said
You should play Nier : Automata.
Joshua Hall that’s rich josh
I thought you could see Zanza being more of a goody two shoes and not believing the Mechonis were all bad. I guess it depends on what you've played before to think that the only bad guy shown to you is the real final bad guy.
One other memorable part is the moment when the party first enters the Bionis' Interior. There, Shulk states that he feels like the Bionis 'isn't really dead' on which Reyn replies that things wouldn't look good for them. Reyn was right. Pretty much an entire civilization turned into abominations, seeking death.
Even before that, there's an NPC in _Colony 9_ who mentions that they're "basically living on a dead God" and ponders what would happen if it suddenly started moving
Look through the ?membranes? You'll see something _verry_ interesting during that first visit. It's one of those darkly humorous things, really. Like Molly asking for more ice and you see the iceberg the titanic just hit through the windows behind her float by (it's a deleted scene). Makes me wonder if he felt the thumping through the floor or was a low frequency sort of thing. Or that it jumpstarted because a certain entity was so nearby.
Instant sub!
SPOILERS
I also love some of the hints they drop regarding the High Entia and Telethia twist:
- In the High Entia Tomb, when analysing Melia's genetic data, it is mentioned how since Melia isn't a pure High Entia due to also having Homs genes, she can break the curse.
- During the first visit to Prison Island, Riki points out that the statue of what the HIgh Entia forefathers looked like a long time ago look like "Dinobeasts".
- There's a sidequest where a High Entia is only accepting of pureblood High Entia, due to hearing what they believe to be the voice of the Bionis (pretty suspicious as to who that could be in hindsight) in a dream.
- Lorithia believes the HIgh Entia have yet to reach their full potential. Hmm...
If there's any other hints to this twist that I missed, feel free to mention them.
Yes, I love the Telethia teases and wish I could've made more mention of their plot relevance. I completely forgot about the Dinobeasts one, so that's quite interesting. I believe there's a side quest or NPC that mentions seeing a Telethia fly from out of Alcamoth, which alludes to their origin.
@@KayJulers Oh yeah! To be fair there's so many hints to all the twists that you could write a whole book about it haha
Here's more:
The item "white ladybird" I believe is referencing/foreshadowing melia. After all, the nopon call her bird lady. There's a piece of head gear that has shiny wings not unlike the telethia you just saw that you can also get at satorl marsh. This is foreshadowing the connection between the high entia and telethia, given the wings' appearance and placement on the head. And also, wearing it made me realize you basically role-play as a high entia youth completing their coming of age ceremony. Which is kinda cool honestly.
When alvis appeared and unlocked the new monado art he said the telethia used to be a girl
Not as great, but a Nopon in Alcamoth says there's a room somewhere where awful experiments are done
In the very first opening cutscene, with the two titans fighting. You can see that the Bionis tends to be more on the offensive, while the Mechonis is focused more on blocking attacks.
Yo.. Ya Zanza was always more like.. proactive and Meyneth was more.. reactive (side note.. it confuses me how the Machina... exist.. like.. they were just... born as robots? just seems odd)
I noticed that but bc u think that bionis is the good one, it was like yesssss our boy winning
One of my favourite details about this game is when in the last cutscene, Reyn falls into the water while fishing and then saying that the water is salty.
It makes me happy that with the new world without gods, people are learning about something they never had in their life such as the sea, and that could lead to other continents.
When i first played this game, i cried when i saw Dickson's death, because even if i was angry at him for betraying the party, i couldnt help but think that he helped Shulk through his entire life. i like to think that even if Dickson was Zanza's puppet, he built a strong bond with Shulk, in fact Dickson cared about him so much that he didnt want Shulk to see his death. Man, the feelings i had when Dickson's cigar fell off the ground were so devastating, expecially when Shulk started crying
Monado: always go for this
Monando: never go for this, only villains go for this.
Banando: ...
Mirai Hibino you’re just jealous of the banando’s power, go back to your weeb sword zanza spawn
That happens when you finish Mechonis and reach NOPONIS
Kevin Mejia BESTEST
Aegis =D
Since the Monados can literally manipulate reality, a Monado that appears as a banana is canonically possible.
Oh the flash forward about the prison tower showdown is one of my favorite moments.
Also hearing it again it’s a shame the guy voicing Rex couldn’t match shulks screams. Though Rex’s voice is good most the time
I'm also in agreement that Rex's voice is totally fine during a majority of the game. He just can't reach those same levels that Shulk can or the characters around him. However, I do feel Rex gets a really good scream in the final encounter with Malos.
To be fair, pretty much one matches Shulk's screams
@@eeeeggnog._. Only one I can think of who surpasses him is Sean Schemmel's/other Dragon Ball VA's. Dude legit sounded like he was being tortured in the latest Dragon Ball movie.
You left out one of my favorite lines of foreshadowing. I can't remember the exact quote, but it was something about Shulk having to 'find his own Monado' that completely foreshadows the Monado being someone else's weapon and the fact that he'll have to find his own way, that ultimately becomes the Monado replica.
yeah,its a line about the existance of the true monado,implying that the monado shulk currently uses at that moment does not hold absolute power
Wow it’s been awhile since I saw this video, but since it showed up in my recommended again I’ve got another thing I noticed to share.
A plot twist that was heavily hinted but never got much attention is the fact that Xord is Desiree’s father.
Now for those that don’t remember, Desiree is a resident in Colony 9. She’s never in any cutscenes or part of the main game, but she gives you the questline to get Shulk’s fourth skill tree.
Sometimes through this she’ll drop hints like “my father loved his hammer” and that “it’s been a year” hinting that he died at the battle of Sword valley. And after her final quest (affinity with colony 9 at 5 stars and only available after Mechonis core I think) she’ll finally just causally name drop him and when that happened I felt absolutely numb.
God I love this game and it’s subtle storytelling.
Edit: As Lyn pointed out in the comments, she actually mentions him waaaaay earlier. Still a missable thing if you don’t pay attention (which I clearly wasn’t this time around) or don’t talk to your NPC’s.
Lyn Thanks for telling me! I had a feeling I wasn’t entirely right in the timeline there. It’s been awhile since my first play through and I really didn’t pay attention this time around😅
Lyn I think I did all her quests really late that’s why I mixed it up.
And talking to Desirée Shulk says:
"Your father worked with machinery right? You should have gotten something from him"
Wtf Shulk, the tact is on point, I see
oh man, I've seen many videos about xenoblade and plot/philosophy/etc and it never gets old to me. a martepiece indeed. awesome video, congratz.
I dunno how to even start saying how betrayed I feel every time I think about dickson, that was a backstab I wasn't predicting at all, and the worst kind of all! Takahashi sensei knows what he's doing.
Thank you! I know how you feel. When Dickson passes away in solitude and the cigar falls from his mouth, I get goosebumps. Definitely the mark of an amazing character.
@@KayJulers you could do a video about all characters development. XC1 has amazing characters.
@@uppernimbus Thing is, by the time Dickson dies, you can tell he had grown attached to Shulk and really regretted his final decisions... but he had been with Zanza for too long, done too many things to back down at that point.
One of my favorite foreshadowing moments in the game is the very beginning of the game when when Reyn accidentally hits Fiora with the Monado. When Fiora notices Shulk not showing concern to see if ahe's okay, Shulk tells them that the blade can't hurt Homs. Then just a few hours later they get attacked by the face Mechon and the Monado can't hurt it for some reason. Then fast forward to prison island when the Monado gets upgraded and you can now hurt the faced Mechons and it's revealed that THEY WERE PILOTED BY HOMS THIS WHOLE TIME.
There's a nice little redirect if I remember in that scene as well. I think they mention the lights on Faced Mechon and suggest that it's the reason that they can't be hurt. If I'm right about it, that's a good way to put people off the trail of the twist
What confused me a bit about the Monado at first not being able to hurt Homs was it was PURELY Homs being unable to be hurt.. but every other living biological being on Bionis could be hurt by it.. did they ever explain it? Just find it odd (plus.. if Telethia were meant to be like.. extensions of Zanaza's will to eliminate beings he no longer wants alive.. why was the Monado able to hurt them? I would of thought Zanza would kinda not want his own blade kill off his like.. "white blood cells")
@@BaconNuke It's specifically unable to hurt "sentient" (sapient) beings from Bionis, the one time you fight High Entia assassins Shulk can't damage them either. Still a bit of a plot hole for why it can hit Tirkins, Ignas, etc. but I can live with it considering Shulk would be unusable for like half the game if the Monado didn't work on anything from Bionis.
I believe if I remember right the lights were the blood of the homs flowing through it giving it protection, we also got a point where Shulk hurt them through that even before the shackles were undone, like Alvis said it will do anything you want it to if you focus
19:30 FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE NOTICED THAT SIMILARITY
Considering that swelling note happens in both _The God-slaying Sword_ and _Monado Reacts,_ I like to think of it as the Leitmotif for the Monado itself.
My favorite bit of foreshadowing will forever be that in scenes where the Monado or Visions tend to be discussed to some degree, that there's an eerie choir that's kinda just chanting in the background. Fast-forward to the final boss, and in the beginning of the boss theme, there's that choir again.
Not to mention that theme is such a great juxtaposition of mortal versus divine with the guitars versus the choir respectively
Amazing, I haven't noticed the body languages at all since it's not "real" but they have put in massive effort for it in cutscenes. Wow.
I love how whenever I play Xenoblade, I can always discover some new line or detail I had no idea existed and realise once again just how carefully-crafted and incredible the game is.
It's one of those games that you could spend literally hours talking about because of how packed with clever writing and symbolism it is.
Amen to that. I think it's a testament to how well written the game is and how creative the fanbase can get with creating connections.
Years after, i (spoilers) just learned some days ago by just talking with randoms people at the colony that Xord was Désirée s father lol
Another great video. The Xeno series is the cream of the crop of storytelling in JRPGs. Takahashi, the creator of the Xeno series, is masterful in implementing philosophical, psychological, and mythological ideas into his work and make it feel organic in the world he creates. Xenoblade is an amazing example of a basic JRPG story format being told masterfully in a way to make it feel very personal to the player and keeping us engaged throughout the entire story without feeling burnt out by the length. That Mechonis Core moment is still the most mind blowing moment in video game I have experienced. Everything was planned so carefully to lead to that point that no matter how many times I see the story, I get goosebumps.
Thank you, Yami! In Takahashi We Trust. I cannot fully express how much I love the Mechonis Core reveal and the level of shock my friends and I experienced in that moment. Just a wonderfully developed and executed scene. Reyn's delivery of, "Shulk was already dead?" in particular gives me shivers.
Man I wish takehashi can remake a certain game (hint: look at my profile pic) please!!!!!
I love this game so much, just like I love Xenoblade 2. I struggle to call one or the other my favourite as that changes every other week.
Excelent essay dude, the time and effort put into this video definitely shows, and I hope many people watch this video (like they should).
That practically describes my sentiments with Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time. I definitely feel that with XC and XC2 as well. Thank you for the kind words!
They are my 2 favorite games so it doesn't matter which one I have as my favorite. There's no other game that comes close.
I love XC2 but I don't think the story holds a candle to the first game and that's why I love the first one more.
@@D1ab0lical I thought that too until I played Torna. Torna made the base game so much more depressing and added a lot of hidden depth to the characters and their motives.
@@ShallBePurified Still have yet to finish Torna. idk why but I just don't feel like playing it right now even though I blazed through XC2 in a week.
"OG Nia"
At least Melia actually hinted she had feelings for Shulk almost the whole way while Nia only showed interest once you arrive at the Spirit Crucible
Where
I don't watch Etika so
I think he pronounced Better Nia wrong.
Nah nia’s feelings were implied several times throughout the game, She and melia both have a lot in common in how generic they are and how unfathomable their popularity is, like,,, here’s this character that’s in every story with more than one love interest, she’s no different here then she is in every harem anime, or other video game ever
@@perrydunetz882 There's a little more to Melia than just being a part of Shulk's harem. She's also royalty of the High Entia and has a major role in keeping their legacy alive. And as for her feelings for Shulk, she has them, but she's willing to allow Shulk his happiness in the end.
Xenoblade chronicles means a lot to me. I take inspiration from it whenever I'm making a story, sometimes without knowing. I dare even say it helped me become the person I am today.
I've watched bunch of other videos on the game but never left a comment, the reason I'm doing so now is to thank you. I literally started crying when I saw this video in my recommendations, and it wasn't a joyous cry. I had forgotten that this game existed and I can't express my gratitude for making me remember it :) So thnx
With the Definitive Edition out now with Future Connected which continues Melia's story, there's also this one Quiet Moment in the game that makes Zanza feel even more intimidating even though he's dead.
Shulk says that when he had visions, he was able to see what Zanza's new world would look like. This meant that it was a possibility, and that the harrowing possibility of dying while fighting Zanza could've meant that future came true. Even after the fact, Zanza manages to be a really threatening antagonist.
Hey everyone! My apologies that this video is coming a little later on Sunday than the normal time slot. I've been out of town the past two weekends, but wanted to make sure I keep up with a consistent schedule and quality. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!
There's just one little bit I'd disagree on, but I really enjoyed this video! What I'm talking about is the bit where Dickson says he feels bad about deceiving everyone. Personally, I thought that felt too direct, almost like he was saying "boy I hope they don't notice I'm actually evil!" Idk, I just didn't really care for that moment too much. Aside from that though, I agree with just about everything here, amazing vid! You pointed out a whole lot I never noticed, really deepens my appreciation for the game! Especially that bit with Shulk and Alvis holding the Monado, how the camera syncs with the wording, and all of that. That's a really cool observation I'd have never noticed myself!
Thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed! I can get behind that gripe. I personally like how it gives some depth to his actions, but it definitely does feel very in your face in comparison to other moments of foreshadowing. The complexity to Dickson probably could've been shown in a more subtle manner like they had done with previous instances.
I'm a year late, but I just finished the game and that precise line of Dickson's is what kept me glued to my screen as the plot continued: on that line it hints that he is evil, and so we start to accept the fact that he is. But then, all the times we see him after that, he acts like he always has been, as a mentor. He goes with the alliance, fights against the Mechonis at Sword Valley, is buddy with Otharon and Miqol that both trust him, so we know that something doesn't add up, as we accepted that he was a villain. Leading up to Yaldabaoth fight, we (at least I) completely put Dickon on our side, while at the same time not forgetting what he had said and asking myself what could've been its meaning. Did I miss it ? And then everything is revealed, and I absolutely lost my shit.
tl;dr My point is that the plot hit us so hard because we really didn't know what side Dickson was on, his action pointed towards the "good" side, but that single line pointed towards the "wrong"side. They needed to directly tell us so that we can start thinking about it, what we wouldn't've done otherwise.
As soon as I heard that line, Dickson would give me major anxiety everytime I saw him onscreen, since he felt way too sketchy & had too much influence. Something about him made him feel sarcastic & condescending after that, & I couldn't see him in a positive light going forward. Alvis also gave me this same feeling, but I was wrong about him lol
Shulkle
With the release of Definitive Edition I'm so glad to re-watch these scenes because you can pick up a lot more detail in each scene. I think one of my favourite uses of foreshadowing is in the prologue, the battle of Sword Valley. Dunban is suffering from using the Monado while on top of a pile of destroyed mechon and is about to get killed by one. Dunban rushes over and shields him, taking the hit and getting completely impaled by the mechon's claw. A blow like that would have instantly killed anyone, and Dickson walks away like it was nothing, proclaiming "I ain't going down that easily!" I think this is a very clever use of foreshadowing as to Dickson's true identity.
Great video! Looks like a lot of work went into this and it had a lot of great information. Probably one of my favorite non gameplay videos I've ever seen for the series!
Geez, I'm incredibly flattered. Thank you for the kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Surprised to see you here Enel
I was shooook when the reveal about Shulk and Dickson happened.
It's by far the biggest wooooooooot moment I ever had in a videogame.
As a very loud let's player once said "POOR MELIA!"
I've said this another places before but my favorite bit of irony and foreshadowing is Dixon referring to dunban as Beast. Beast sounds like a compliment between two brothers in arms. But it's not, it's an insult because he thinks that dunban is just a mindless Beast.
Bringing Dunban up... why was he even able to use the Monado in any capacity? Was Zanza just like "eh guess this one will do for now to keep the host safer for now" (also.. foreshadowing where there was a line Dunban said to Shulk about the Monado possibly controlling him)
Zanza never "let" Dunban use the Monado, he was even hurting him to make him stop. Either that, or Dunban not having Zanza inside him meant that he couldn't take its power. Either way, Dunban is just too much of a badass to let that stop him, though.
Edit: and about the "it was controlling me" line, maybe Zanza exerted his will through Dunban, and that was the final push that made his arm get crippled. I mean, a god's power coursing through your body can't be good for you unless you have one inside you already.
In Alcamoth there are some NPCs who talk about rumours of people disappearing because someone was doing experiments on them. Turns out that that turned out to be probably true, seeing how there was a hidden area in the High Entia Tomb called Telethia Laboratory, a place Lorithia knew, and all the Telethia you encounter before the Mechonis Core must have come from somewhere. Talking about Telethia, Dickson says they are the mystical protectors of the Bionis, yet besides the first one we encounter, every Telethia we see afterwards is more damaging than otherwise.
I just realized, at 14:37, that's the Bionis Shoulder. People said it was unused content, but clearly was used for that cutscene. :D
At one point on the fallen hand leading up to the final battle where dickson tells shulk if he holds back for one moment he'll be done for, that serves as some good foreshadowing to dickson shooting shulk, also Xenoblade Defenitive Edition!!!
Man the OG Xenoblade Thank you for making this it was quite enjoyable to watch the first time around the first i played i never really took the foreshadowing, quite literally only slightly but the way you interpreted, showcased,
and structured it really opened my eyes great work man looking forward to ur future xenoblade content subscribed.
POOR MELIA
I just realized another piece of foreshadowing:
After the team finds out the truth about the conflict between the Bionis and Mechonis in Agniratha, Vanea says this to Shulk, “The Monado is not simply a unique weapon. It is the light within each and every person in the world.”
Flash-forward to the cutscene where the Monado III is formed by streams of light from the people who accompanied Shulk. Sure, you can write it off as "friendship power" creating the Monado III, but when you take into account the previous context of what Vanea says, you start to understand what the Monado III really is.
The Monado III _is_ Shulk's Monado, *but* notice how it was formed by "the light within each and every person" that joined him. It shows how the Monado III represents Shulk's resolve to fight for the future of every living being and not just his own. It's a cleverly written foil to Zanza's Monado, who selfishly desires to be immortal at the expense of dictating the lives and futures of others.
CZcams knows I play Shulk in smash, this was on my homepage. Good video. Your voice got louder near the beginning when you said melia so be careful with the mic.
I'm a Shulk main as well so welcome and thank you! Ah, that was a place where I was trying to make myself seem flustered, but didn't exactly commit with the rest of the line to the same extent. I'll keep an eye out for that in the future.
Another clever foreshadowing that goes pretty much unnoticed is hidden inside Alvis's battle quotes. He literally says "I'm afraid I can't do that" and "resistance is futile", which are two of the most famous quotes from robotic entities in pop culture (HAL and the Borgs respectively). In general his battle quotes are quite suspicious.
Wow never noticed that
Man, you've been killing it with these videos. Really does take me back to when I first played Xenoblade, it really is a masterpiece at storytelling. Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much and I'm glad I could help in bringing back those feelings! I'm happy that you've been enjoying the videos.
This is my favorite game. I tested the European and later the US release. Thank you for this video as it better articulates the story points then I ever could. To me the characters are so believable and after playing and beating it so many time I could almost see them as real friends. Especially during the ending scenes.
Thank you for making this amazing video! One of my best friends is currently playing through the 3DS version so I will for sure show him this when he beats it. He beat Xenoblade 2 before he played 1 so he got spoiled on a little bit (And the reveal of Mecha Fiora because of smash bros) but besides that, he is playing it blind. I can't wait when he does because then I can sit and talk for hours about how amazing this story is!
It doesn't seem to be every area, but for eryth sea's collectapedia specifically, the names of some of said items are a foreshadowing in themselves.
*Dilemma* rock
*night* lily
*Doomsday* poppy
*Despair* clover. To name the standouts.
The rest I believe are describing the area and the high entia (The first part of the named item). If you understand the meaning of the flowers, further foreshadowing will likely be provided. doomsday poppy are _purple,_ the color of death. Pink and purple blooms are everywhere. Steel hauyne and high violet are also purple. Night Lily scatter by morning and carpet the ground black.
The freaking collectapedia for eryth sea foreshadows the fate of high entia, the last place you'd expect any kind of foreshadowing at all. It didn't hit me until I was checking it again to see how much I had left, and reading "despair" and "doomsday" in rapid succession made me realize what they hid in plain sight.
Also they talk about a war God they worshipped and you listen/read to their description, they're actually describing the final boss. There's even late game/post sidequests dedicated to it. And interestingly, regardless of their form, the high entia are still doing the same job for the bionis, its just done differently because they are sentient beings of intelligence like homs and nopon.
I am glad you recognize the best character in gaming
For real though, awesome video. I'm playing through this game a... fifth time? I've picked up on a bunch of the foreshadowing and it just never stops coming. This is my favorite game of all time for a reason.
Also thanks for making me depressed by using While I Think (or Thoughts Enshrined or whatever) when you pictured Melia
Love this video, it’s absolutely amazing
When will you ever replay a game that has story replayability WITHOUT MULTIPLE CHOICES!
Favourite game of all time for a reason.
Most replayabiltiy I've seen for this game was just.. picking other part comps and strategies (since lots of people will fall into a comfy set-up and not experiment much) Like having the gameplay be a main reason for replaying is a testament to the game being good overall (plus.. the obvious catch the lines you didn't think about before) Like lots I bet never changed Shulk out of the party unless forced to
Is funny when you know the story and watched the scenes like 4 times. Now DE to me appears to be shouting the big plot twist every fuking minute.
The emperor of the entida questioning if the wielder has a good heart or not.
Riki saying that the statue representing the ancestors is a theletia.
Xord alredy is shouting that the mekon are human and the changes it will have.
The entidas says that melia is the hope precisely because she is only half entida
For God's sake Dunban in the prologue alredy says that the monado is controlling him bruh.
And literally every fuking second alvis is on screen is saying "hey you are fuking idiot who needed to see a 10h watching of scenes again to getting my hits".
I don't know if I'm a big idiot for don't getting them earlier, but now I sure fell like it. And just made me appreciate the game even more.
Entida?
Oops I just found that it was written Entia after like four Years using it wrong. Yeah just a mistake from my part
@@xx_pit_xx8492 No, Entias are called Entidas in the spanish trafuction of the game, you aren't wrong xd
That explains a lot xd
This was awesome! I love this kind of thing, and I love Xenoblade, so this was perfect. How do you not have more subs?!
Amazing video. Xenoblade is my favorite series and the original is my favorite game of all time. That said I absolutely love watching videos like this about it, it's amazing how I can still learn so much more about this game.
Thank you! I agree, it's a wonderful game and the story depth makes it such a great experience. S/o to Monolith for crafting a story with so many nuances and lovable characters.
Another great video dude, it's really great to see all the effort you put into these videos
Thanks so much!
Great video. Thought this was going to be yet another video about the Fiore death, so was really happy to see you cover something that other creators haven’t, and you did it really well! I’m subscribed now :)
Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for the video on what I believe is one of the strongest aspects of Xenoblade Chronicles 1's story. It's one of those games where there's this constant feeling of returning to playing/speedrun it, despite not seeing the actual cutscenes for the latter.
This has little to do with foreshadowing, which I agree Xenoblade Chronicles excels at (I already thought it to be the case while playing the game and those feelings have only been reinforced after watching this video), but since you talked a bit about him I wanted to say that Reyn might very well be my favourite character in XCDE (from the main group, at least). I would lie if I said I wasn't infatuated with both Fiora and Melia (and I have yet to play through Future Connected), each for their own reasons, and I have a soft spot for nopon too. Shulk, Dunban and Sharla are not to be scoffed at either. But, overall, even though he wasn't bestest, Reyn was the best buddy the rest of the squad could've hoped for.
Great video. I do wish that you mentioned the foreshadowing behind the third Monado. It seems like it was literally pulled out of thin air, but looking back, it was foreshadowed fairly early on. Just about everything Alvis says has two or even three meanings, and he says a lot that suggests the third Monado.
You deserve SO MANY more subs than you already have, I'm glad you came into my recommendations, CZcams is doing something right for once lol
This is the sort of high-quality Xenoblade analysis content I have always wanted.
It's been a long time but I can FINALLY watch this
You've been able to put into words how I felt while playing this game, thing I couldn't do when I looked submerged in a plot and scenes so shocking and impressive. You've earned a subscription.
that's cool I never thought of going back and looking at the foreshadowing
Amazing. This is my favorite game for a reason
“What’s a king to a god?”
What’s a god to a nonbeliever?
"What's a god to providence?"
-alvis
When you pointed out how the song in the scene when shulk gets shocked and the godslaying sword are the same I got chills. Holy
The use of telephia in xenoblade is amazing, not only do they injure metal face, to stop him from preemptively ending shulk after the xord fight. As well as giving shulk a connection to melia: which allows him to gain access to prison island. Besides Zanza seeing fate and slightly manipulating Shulk, he uses Alvis to manipulate the telephia to tighten out any loose ends.
I loved Xenoblade 2, but seeing this video, particularly 2:20, made me realise that nothing will ever replicate the experience of the original for me. It was truly one of a kind.
Which I honestly didn't expect to say about an RPG after having played so many more than I can count including many classics. But considering who made it, I guess it's not that surprising. I've had massive respect for Takahashi ever since I discovered Xenogears.
Very well done
Someone already commented it, but another one I love is the foreshadowing that tells how shulk will eventually be able to defeat Zanza using the True Monado.
Ironically Zanza is the one who foreshadows this. When the monado gets powered up on prison island, Zanza (controlling arglus the giant) says “wield the sword, it bends to your will. Think of your enemy and the power to defeat them is yours”
This foreshadows how Shulk eventually is able to find his own monado and with it able to defeat even a god.
After playing the wii version and watching this, I can't stop getting my mind blown by DE and how amazing this game is, thank you for making me enjoy this masterpiece even more!
How does this channel only have 300 subs? Nice work.
Thank you!
Lol idk how people mispronounce names in a game with voice acting
Listening to Japanese voice acting rather than English. My best guess
Some people struggle with pernounciation more than others. I struggle with spelling something horrible with out spell check yet I tend to be great at pernounciation.
I've been playing through this game for like the third time, and only now am I seeing these bits... It's kinda fuckin sweet, tbh.
Story replayability is a thing of beauty. I would love to see a full comprehensive list of a majority/all teases.
Why does Dunban look like solid snake in that cutscene in the water
Man, I love Xenoblade Chronicles so heckin much
I'm normally not too vocal about this kinda stuff but these last 2 videos were amazing dude. Keep up the good work
Thank you! I really appreciate the support and I'm glad you've liked the videos.
I am SO glad I finished this game. I played the first half on the 3DS, and Fiora’s death haunted me for years. Finally playing the whole game on the Switch had me very attached to the characters, and it was absolutely epic to see everything come together after so long.
I will say I over leveled just by exploring the world and I didn’t get to experience a lot of the visions during combat during bosses. Most of it was getting killed by random mobs and just being stubborn to level up to just finish a quest.
Side note, your editing is really. Enjoyed the video.
Videos like these are your strong suit. In depth analysis.