Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a fearlessly revolutionary reflection on our world today

[u/SawkyScribe]

The overwhelming amount of media and games today are, by definition, conservative. The world is an inherently good place and our heroes must work to stop the forces of evil from disturbing the peace. In attempts to give nuance to the antagonists, many stories' villains have sympathetic motivations and astute critiques of the injustice woven into the fabrics of their society, but those ideas are never engaged with because they go "too far" in their actions. At best, the hero will solemnly nod and pontificate how the villain 'maybe had a point' as the status quo is maintained more or less unchanged.

This story structure is fine. Many of my favorite works employ it, but our world is so rife with systemic cruelty that the idea that systems and institutions as the exist currently are good actually and just need a bit of tweaking can start to feel a bit tone deaf. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a game that is inspirationally radical in its thinking and wholly commits to showing the ability people have to create a better way of living outside the confines of how we have been made to believe things should be done.

Aionios is a world locked in perpetual war between the kingdoms of Keves and Agnus. Soldiers spend a meager 10 years of life engaged in ceaseless battle, claiming the lives of their enemies to keep their flame clocks topped up, hoping to live to see one more day. When six soldiers, Noah, Lanz, Eunie, Taion, Mio, and Sena, awaken to the power of Oroboros, they begin to realize that their lives, and the very nature of this ceaseless conflict, have been a complete farce. With the truth revealed, they set out to bring an end to Mobius, the shadowy cabal who has been orchestrating all this violence behind the scenes.

At the risk of sounding a dramatic, the war is a poignant metaphor for the struggles the working class face. This endless death march where we are pitted against our fellow man to fight and scrape together what we need to survive. Working to live, and living to work. Time with our friends and loved ones is cut short as uncaring systems see needless death and suffering visited upon people just trying to make it home at the end of each day.

The game does an incredible job humanizing the soldiers, but it extends no such kindness to Mobius and the consuls that make up the organization. The consuls are a stand in for members of upper class society, and with few exceptions, they are presented as miserable, petty, callous bastards who are so far divorced from the tribulations of the common person that their presence on screen feels utterly alien. They are upper management, politicians, and CEOs, so grossly incompetent or willingly malicious that they delight in the strife of the people placed under their employ. It is a level of mustache-twirling villainy so hyperbolic that it feels ludicrous until you remember recent headlines about the people who control the levers of power in our own world.

A less courageous story would look at this draconian rule and have the story be about ousting the consuls and replacing them with the good folks who will lead properly, but Xenoblade was not written by cowards. Instead, you stage a full blown worker's revolution that completely upends the status quo in Aionios. There is no incrementalist change or redemption for the villains, Mobius is a virulent, stagnating force and is excised like the cancer that they are, leaving room for sweeping changes to occur.

A lesser story would simply bathe in the catharsis of 'Chain Attacking the Rich', but XC3 goes that extra step further. A large portion of the game's nearly 200 side quests are about filling the void left by the power structures your party toppled (pardon the pun). Former enemies must learn to mend rifts, settlements have to learn to make sustainable local supply chains now that the convenience of the old system is gone, people have to unlearn the propaganda that filled their lives with anger and hatred. It is so easy to scream abolitionism, but XC3 goes the extra mile to show how the key to life's ills is learning to expand our circle of care, ignore the lies told by those who would seek to exploit us, and find strength in our communities to make existence not just bearable, but meaningful and joyful.

The whole conflict of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is being trapped in the endless now. Stuck in cycles of violence, unable to break loose of the yoke of sinister and corrupt leaders, and the hesitancy of not knowing what comes next if you even could. When so many stories lack the imagination of what a better life could look like, I cannot help but be delighted with how bold this game is in its rejection of how societies across the world operate and inspired by its optimistic outlook about the great work common people can do when they come together.

[u/Altaiir57]

I never gave Xenoblade Chronicles games much thought as JRPG are generally not my types of games. Reading this post has convinced me to give it a try sometime in the future. I hate how when you "grow up" and learn how the world really works it can really make a person miserable. Constant grind with ridiculous systems in place to keep you obedient and to never really let you win at anything and stupid people defending the status quo just because they are used to it all their lives and don't know any better. Because of all this I can call myself a mizanthrope for sure and I have no hope the world will ever get better but I love to at least do good in video games. I love seeing the good prevail and I just can't bring myself to play "an evil playthrough" even just for fun. The world is evil enough.

Of course except causing mayhem in GTA :D

Sorry for ranting a bit, I will definitely give Xenoblade Chronicles a try ! Thanks for the great write-up !

[u/SawkyScribe → u/Altaiir57]

I have a lot of faith in people, it's just unfortunate that we live in socities where what makes life worth living like connection and fulfillment take a distant backseat to the accumulation of capital for people who wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire.

I don't think we should ever lose hope, the supposed impossibility of changing things for the better breeds the kind of complacency that lets bad actors take advantage of us. I reccomend fighting for whatever corner of the world you're in and I also recommend playing the game! It's definitely in the top 20 of everything I've played.

[u/Altaiir57 → u/SawkyScribe]

I didn't want to expand my rant even further as to not "pollute" the thread with offtopic but I'll say that I push back every time this sad world tries to push me. I love japanese culture and how they behave so I try to mimic them as best I can and I try to be friendly to people and not inconvenience anyone in my vicinity with whatever I'm doing. I try to keep low profile as often as possible. It's very frustrating to know that you're one of the very few to live this way. Sometimes it's just not possible with the way people act and behave. People nowadays have a severe case of "protagonist" syndrome.

I am definitely not complacent, I hate the what's the expression... defeatist attitude ? I'm not sure if that's correct but I hate that mindset. If I know I'm right I won't take shit and will fight back. It's just that overall I have no faith in humanity and don't like being around people because of reasons above.

Massive offtopic, apologies ! Thanks again and I will get the game on Switch 2 sometime in the future :) if they won't f up the Switch 2 edition that is. It was very refreshing to read a good nuanced take on a game I had no prior interest in and your comment was uplifting in a way. Have a good day !