Two titans locked in an endless war - Bionis and Mechonis collide. Aeons pass, the now lifeless titans remain locked together. New life begins to evolve: the Homs (humans) and Mechon (robots) begin to stir and inevitably (like their respective titans before them) engage in full-blown war to control the world.
Enter Shulk - a young man whose home is attacked by the Mechon. Uncovering the Monado sword he and his friends move to fight against the Mechon to save their world.
Xenoblade Chronicles offers a free roaming world with the ability to travel anywhere that can be seen. The game does not have random encounters, rather the monsters are found and engaged seamlessly on the field. Shulk (via the Monado) is able to glimpse into the future; in addition to story-based use this feature can be used by the player to see incoming powerful attacks by enemies and provide the player the option to try and workaround them.1
The game also includes a large number of sidequests, the ability to save anywhere and the chance to change the time of day at will when required for various quests.
Development
Formerly known as Monado: Beginning of the World, this full-scale RPG was shrouded in mystery when it was revealed at E3 2009 and was rumored to be Yasumi Matsuno's project baking in the oven. On January 29th, 2010, it was revealed by Satoru Iwata that the name was changed to Xenoblade in honor of Tetsuya Takahashi's (of Xenogears and Xenosaga fame) heavy involvement in the project, effectively debunking the Matsuno rumor.2
