At long last, Nintendo has confirmed that a Switch port of the excellent Wii U JRPG Xenoblade Chronicles X is on the way, and while that's fantastic news for all fans of gorgeous open world games, I'm not sure anyone is more excited than one of the original version's final survivors.
Back in April, Nintendo turned off the 3DS and Wii U's online servers, putting an end to the online modes for all those previous-gen games, including Xenoblade Chronicles X. However, dedicated 3DS and Wii U fans didn't want to go out without a fight, and many made it their mission to stay connected to their favorite games for as long as possible, refusing to turn off their consoles. The last standing server survivor on Mario Kart 7 is actually still connected, or so it seems with the latest update last Friday. Anyway, one of these players was Twitter user @DaeronSingollo, a Xenoblade X fan who managed to cling onto the JRPG's servers for 158 hours – almost a week – after they were supposed to go down.
"This is Daeron, the last survivor of Mira," the player writes on Twitter, right after Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition's announcement. "It's been 4,887 hours since the server has gone offline, I have established a connection with the lifehold. I repeat. We will be operational in 3,392 hours. I repeat. We will be back in 3,392 hours! BLADES, RISE UP!"
This is Daeron, the last survivor of Mira. it's been 4887 hours since the server has gone offline, I have established a connection with the lifehold. I repeat. We will be operational in 3392 hours. I repeat. We will be back in 3392 hours! BLADES, RISE UP!https://t.co/jn9MAWGLZI https://t.co/aUYxJWirjMOctober 29, 2024
As valiant as Daeron's efforts were, it's worth noting that it was someone else who managed to hang in there as the longest-surviving Xenoblade Chronicles X player in the end. The title actually went to @xc_omoroid, who managed to stay connected until May 21, just over six weeks after the servers went down. Looking at their Twitter account, they're clearly very excited about the port announcement too, sharing one particularly exciting part of the trailer and saying (translated by Google): "Everyone who has played the game had their heart stop at this scene. (I'm posting this tweet from the afterlife.)"
Daeron is right, though, there's really not too long to go until we can all return to the planet Mira. The port is set to release on March 20, 2025, so there are less than five months to go. With the promise of "newly added story elements and more," that day really can't come soon enough.
In the meantime, be sure to check out our picks for the best JRPGs you can play right now.
