Xenoblade Chronicles 2 gets a new trailer - dual audio and expansion pass announced

During today's Nintendo Direct,  Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was at the spotlight, bringing forth a slew of details regarding its gameplay, world and characters, alongside the reveal of an expansion pass and a free day-one DLC that would allow players to play the game with Japanese audio. 

Meet Xenoblade Chronicles 2's cast in the new trailer below, featuring a new set of characters in the series!

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will feature an expanded battle system from the first game, which will feel familiar to any of you older series' fans. Blades are artificial lifeforms that bond with Drivers to lend them their weapons and powers in battle. The main protagonist, Rex, is a Driver and Pyra is a Blade.

To help familiarize Rex with fans, Nintendo has announced a cross-promotion with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where players can obtain a Rex costume starting on November 9.

Nintendo dived further into details regarding the role of Blades and Driver. Blades have a wide array of support abilities that can affect the number of items that can be collected, open up new paths to explore or initiate other special effects. When players fight alongside their chosen Blade, they might trigger effects that protect the Driver, strengthen attacks and so forth. Abilities differ from Blade to Blade, so selecting different Blades adds to the strategy of battle.

In the vast world of Alrest, players will discover both peaceful and aggressive wildlife of all shapes and sizes wandering among giant plains, winding caverns, frozen kingdoms, scorched earth and sandy beaches. If players manage to defeat certain Unique Beasts, a tombstone will be left behind to commemorate the creature and allow players to relive those battles for additional rewards.

While traveling the massive world of Alrest, players will run into shining spots called Collection Points, which give players the opportunity to pick up valuable items or dive under the clouds to salvage hard-to-find treasures, or special landmarks that players can transport to at any time. Alrest is filled with bustling cities; from shopping districts to residential quarters, each Titan has its own unique layout and atmosphere.

The expansion pass, priced at $29.99, will grant access to the DLC packs detailed above as they are released and they can't be purchased individually. More details about each pack will be released in the future. 

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is set to be released on December 1 and is currently available for pre-purchase on the Nintendo eShop beginning today (!), either standalone or as a bundle with the expansion pass. The collector's edition and special Nintendo pro controller will also release on launch day.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Collector's Edition and Nintendo Pro Controller