P-Vock's Music Box: X-Treme
Hello and welcome back to P-Vock's Music Box. I mentioned last week that I am absolutely thriving because of the announcement of a new game in the Super Mario Strikers series in a Nintendo Direct last week. That was not all I got. I also was given the announcement of another sequel to my favourite video game of all time in Xenoblade Chronicles 3. I have ruined about fifteen pairs of boxers just thinking about that fact over the past week. I've covered the first game and its direct sequel, but there's also a funky fresh spinoff game in this series I have to discuss. Let's rectify that.
Xenoblade Chronicles X is about as science fiction-y as you can get. You are stuck on a different planet after Earth is wiped out and you are given many tools to explore this new world of Mira. I don't think there are many games that make simply exploring as Xenoblade X does. You got awesome giant mechs to fly around in, and when you take off, you are given an absolutely wonderful (and delightfully cheesy) tune to accompany your aerial escapades.
OVER THE RAINBOW. GLORIOUS SKIES. I was not immediately sold on this tune when I first heard it. After this game has been around for years, I cannot help but scream along with the lyrics as I shmoove and groove along to this certified banger. Some people have lamented that the overall soundtrack to Xenoblade Chronicles X is too cheesy. I won't disagree, but I will say that I think that is precisely why it so damn good. Great music can turn a great experience into something truly unforgettable, and Don't Worry turns an awesome time flying around into a breathtaking experience that makes me feel so light and free.
But alright, not every tune has to be cheesy and funky. Luckily, this soundtrack does have some genuinely impressive compositions that really highlight more dramatic moments in the game. One such theme plays when your character first arrives at their hub world and home base, the sprawling city of New Los Angeles.
Okay yeah, I do love some cheesy tunes, but this shit is my friggin' jam. This track just keeps building and building, establishing musical ideas that all pay off after about a minute and a half with an absolutely sensational hook that makes the hairs on my disgustingly pasty body shoot up faster than my penis did when I realized the trailer for Xenoblade 3 was in fact what I hoped it was. Add in some absolutely filthy techno sounds to really sell home the extreme sci-fi vibes that juxtapose some very natural sounding strings, emblematic of the natural world of Mira, and you have a piece that I think perfectly tells you exactly what to expect from this unforgettable title (well, Nintendo and Monolith Soft seem to have forgotten it, but that's beside the point).
If it's not obvious, I love the Xeno series. I don't even need to think about how Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii is my favourite video game, and basically my favourite thing, ever. Every entry in this series is something that I truly cannot get over and couldn't forget if I wanted to. I truly hope your weekend is as fun as Don't Worry, and as grand as Theme X. Thank you as always for tuning in, and I'll catch you here next week with another suggestion from my Music Box. Stay Brutal!
PS. Okay, I HAVE to share this. I mentioned that this soundtrack has some cheesy tunes. So stay away if you're lactose intolerant because I'm about to give you something so cheesy it could put the entire Canadian Dairy industry out of business. Enjoy the absolutely, objectively, unapologetically cheesiest song ever written, which also happens to be the main battle theme of Xenoblade Chronicles X.