Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is an amazing JPRG. A huge world with beautiful vistas, teeming with life calls for you. You and your companions are in a war that is being strung along by a mysterious organization. This game combines a huge, content-filled world with an equally epic story. What can compete with that? Well, here are a few Switch games like Xenoblade Chronicles 3 that can.
Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age
If you like the premise of warring kingdoms and the class system in XC3, then you’ll probably enjoy FFXII. FFXII is about the small nation of Dalmasca being caught in the middle of the expansion of the Archadian Empire. There’s a huge focus on politics and legends. This game is pretty MMO-Esque like XC3. The combat system is similar, however, you have a full-on menu that you pull up to input attacks. So, after unlocking more abilities, characters can pull from a list of skills much bigger than in XC3. That does mean more button presses since a menu system doesn’t have the elegant simplicity of the ‘arts palette in XC3. Zones are more segmented in FFXII, but that’s from its PS2 origins. The world does end up vast and varied, even though the first chunk is heavy on the desert locales. This, ‘The Zodiac Age’ edition, of FFXII, includes the Zodiac Job System. You do pick one job per character and then pick a second job. The Switch version (along with XBOX and patched versions) does allow you to reselect jobs and keep your License Points. You earn LP when defeating enemies, and then use them to acquire abilities and bonuses for your job. The final gameplay thing to discuss is the Gambit system. This allows you to basically program your characters to do what you want. You do use LP to buy more gambit slots and you must buy more gambits from stores. This can make grinding and farming super easy. Also, you can turn off gambits at any time and override automatic actions with your own command inputs.
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age
Dragon Quest is the progenitor of the JRPG genre. It’s an amazing series with a rich history. The most recent mainline entry, Dragon Quest XI, is fantastic. Just like Xenoblade Chronicles 3, it is a loooong game with tons of content. The ’S’ edition on Nintendo Switch has even more content than the vanilla version of the game. The story revolves around the protagonist fulfilling his duty as the Luminary, the chosen one destined to set the world right. As you progress, you meet many memorable characters, battle many interesting monsters, forge new equipment, explore vast areas, and build your characters’ skills with an in-depth skill tree. Some of this sounds familiar when compared to Xenoblade 3, huh? Yep, this is a vast game chock-full of content. Dragon Quest XI, however, uses a turn-based battle system. The skill panel system lets you build characters how you wish, so you have plenty of options to make things super interesting in combat.
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
Ys VIII is about one of the many adventures of Adol Cristin. This time he’s shipwrecked on an island. Join Adol and his companions on a journey to learn the secrets of this mysterious Island and escape it. You will save many people who were shipwrecked with you. The more people you save, the bigger your home camp grows. Helping them with their requests will form a bond and expand your facilities. This is very similar to helping grow Colonies in XC3. There are plenty of people to get to know and help, with you reaping rewards and a full heart. That’s on the quest side, however, exploration is just as strong in Ys VIII as it is in XC3. Ys VIII’s world
isn’t as open, and it’s split into many small zones. However, it’s just as teeming with life and content. There are plenty of secret areas, monsters, fishing spots, and materials to farm. Story- wise, things start simple. Then, you get a second protagonist with her own goals. Finally, you will delve into the truth of the creation of life. So, don’t worry about not having an epic RPG story. The combat is where Ys VIII derives the most from XC3. Ys VIII is a really fast-paced action RPG, complete with perfect dodges, perfect guards, character swapping, tons of equipable skills, and items that help you explore. Very different, but very good. I’d say that the action combat here reaches demographics that the MMO-Esque combat in XB3 doesn’t. If you enjoy Ys VIII, then there are plenty of other Falcom RPGs and Ys games to try!
Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 2
The Switch is absolutely swimming in Xenoblade content. If you haven’t played Xenoblade 1 or 2 and enjoy 3, then you definitely wanna try these out. Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition has great QoL improvements, updated graphics, and an epilogue episode. Xenoblade 2 is just as rich as 1 and 3 and has a Season Pass that includes oodles of new content and an entire prequel game that dives into an event integral to XC2’s main plot. Each one of these games will enamor you with amazing stories, great characters, and a vast world. Why not battle fate a couple more times if you enjoyed XC3?
