When you think of Nintendo’s most innovative games, there’s likely a shortlist that comes to mind — Ocarina of Time, Super Metroid, Super Mario 64, and more. But over the last two decades, there’s been a lesser-known group of games that have been pivotal and utterly essential to games as a whole, and in the process became one of Nintendo’s most beloved franchises. Fifteen years ago, Xenoblade Chronicles released on the Nintendo Wii and revolutionized the way we interact with open worlds, while pushing RPGs forward in a bold new direction.
Perhaps the most incredible thing about Xenoblade Chronicles is how it managed to feel so utterly revolutionary on the Nintendo Wii, in the twilight of the console’s life. When you think of big and bold open-world games, the Wii likely isn’t the first thing that comes to mind, but Xenoblade Chronicles managed to harness the power of Nintendo’s system in a way no other game could.
