Xenoblade DE: Future Connected: Part 1: Entering the Bionis' Shoulder
4Besides the prettier graphics and many Quality-of-Life improvements in the game, Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition's biggest addition is a brand new storyline that takes place one year after the base game's story.
You do not have to wait until you beat the main game to play this story. However, that's exact what I wanted to do here.
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After Shulk defeated Zanza and wished for a world with no need for gods, there is one point in the flashback where Melia wonders what hers and everyone else's future had in stored for them all.
One year later, although the Bionis was destroyed, it remains were scattered across the new world Shulk had created with is godly wish. He and Melia were now using a Junks ship to head to Alacamoth, Melia's kingdom, which was now located high above the floating remains of the Bionis' Shoulder.
However, from Alcamoth was a sudden massive laser that struck their Junks down into a nearby lake. Thankfully, the two were still in one piece from the crash, but now they'll have to explore the shoulder on foot to reach Alcamoth and possibly find some new parts to fix Junks with.
But before they could do that, they noticed a pair of Nopon in trouble against some beasts. It was Kino and Nene, two of Riki's children!
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Your party will start out at a very high level in Future Connected, but some mechanics will either be simplified, replaced, or removed.
For example, Shulk now wields the Monado REX, and can use nearly all of his same Monado Arts with it. However, since its a replacement of the real Monado he originally gained from Zanza, he can now longer use Visions.
Also... take now that you start out this game playing as Melia instead of Shulk. This game's story actually has more of a focus on her than on Shulk.
When you go to help out and fight alongside Kino and Nene, you'll noticed they respectively play pretty similarly to Reyn and Sharla, something Shulk himself will notice after the fight. Nene prefers to Tank and build up Aggro like Reyn does, while Kino has a lot of long-ranged Arts and Support Arts like Sharla does.
Even with a smaller overall team, you can try to figure out how you can use three out of your 4 characters at a time.
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After clearing out the beasts, Kino turned out to be pretty shy around Shulk and Melia. The four decided to head somewhere else and set up a campfire.
Now... about how Kino and Nene managed to reach the Bionis' Shoulder to begin with... Shulk believed that the two Nopon snuck on board their Junks. They were eavesdropping on Shulk and Melia's planned trip to find the new Alcamoth.
Kino used to be a poor lonely little Nopon. He isn't actually one of Riki's children. Riki and his wife Oka adopted him into their family, and made Nene his big sister. Kino was inspired by Riki to be a legendary Heropon just like him, and sought for an adventure to help and befriend others like his new Dadapon. He thought that doing this would be a way to repay his debt to the family that took him in.
Kino was sorely sorry for any trouble he caused Melia and Shulk for this, but their were touched by his nobility to support his adoptive family. They offered him a chance to help them out with their own task with Alcamoth.
But first, Shulk wanted to the group to join him to check out a nearby cape. That initial attack on Junks worried him about another attack from Alcamoth...