Xenoblade Chronicles X fans are once again discussing the game’s censorship

Now we have taken a moment to announce that news Xenoblade X Chronicles Coming to Switch, we’re starting to notice that a handful of fans aren’t too happy about some of the supposed censorship in the game.

Now, we want to start by nipping something in the bud. Following the release of Nintendo’s first trailer, a number of comparison videos have started to appear to see how the Definitive Edition compares to the Wii U original. Most notable is an upload from Nintendo World Television Report has led some fans to claim that the new release censored Elma’s outfit. Well, we are here to tell you that this is absolutely not true.

The Switch footage features Elma in her default outfit, while the Wii U footage features one of her unlockable outfits. If you look at the game’s existing tutorials on YouTube, you’ll see that Elma’s first introduction to the player shows her in the exact same outfit as the Switch version. So that’s that. Now, can we say with absolute certainty that some of Elma’s costumes haven’t been changed or that Elma’s unlockable costumes haven’t been cut for the Ultimate Edition? Are not. But it seems unlikely given the overall racism of the Switch franchise.

However, the discussion does not end there. According to Japanese page As for Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, it looks like the new release is based on the Western version of the original. If you’ll recall, the Japanese version had character customization options that were censored for the Western launch, most notably a slider to change the heroine’s chest size and a costume change. Costumes for the character Lin.

Naturally, if the new version is based on the Western release, it’s likely that these aspects will still be censored, even for those in Japan. However, we should emphasize that the examples mentioned above are indeed the scope of censorship and will not affect how the game plays out or how the story is presented. Whether this still affects your ability to enjoy your potential is up to you.

Either way, we’re excited to see Xenoblade Chronicles X come to Switch. Overall, it was considered somewhat inferior to the numbered series, but thanks to its absurdly large open world, surprising mechanical design, and overall darker tone, it attracted has a large number of passionate fans.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition will launch on March 20, 2025.