The Xenoblade Chronicles series has quickly become one of the biggest fan favorites in Nintendo’s wheelhouse. Their crazy blend of action RPG combat, world exploration, and intricate epic storytelling have touched the hearts of many over the past decade or so. And North Americans almost didn’t get this series initially.
The numbered Xenoblade entries revolve around a set cast of characters exploring a fantasy world drenched in mystery. The first game starred Shulk, the third game starred Noah and Mio… and the second game stars [Rex](https://youtu.be/zHe0xC9OA2s). He is a young salvager living amongst a sea of clouds, trying to make an honest living until he comes into contact with the special person named Pyra. Voiced by Al Weaver in English, Rex has garnered mixed reception by critics and fans over the past 5 years for a variety of reasons.
But regardless, he was the star of the best selling Xenoblade game at that time, selling nearly 2.5 million copies in total. Rex would go on to receive a Mii costume for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and serve a supporting role in Pyra and Mythra’s moveset when they were added as DLC in early 2021. He was considered for a fighter slot at one point, but due to poor timing he couldn’t make it into the base roster.
by Asad_Farooqui
20 Comments
He was fine. Better than average protag across JRPGs I’d say, but a downgrade from Shulk
The most annoying character I’ve ever known. Everybody else in the game was fine, but I don’t know if it was how he was written or his VA but he was just ESPECIALLY annoying in the game.
Everyone in that game annoyed me. It was a cringefest. I honestly do not see the appeal at all. From the sex-slave female characters to the furbies to the over-the-top, repetitive dialogue, I couldn’t continue playing it. I really feel alone hating that game and I’m ok with it.
I think he was “just ok.” I didn’t find that he had a major driving motivation propelling him forward in the same way that Shulk did (revenge and rage makes for a great motivation, with an ongoing territorial war and crazy geographical setting as the backdrop). I played XC2 back when it released, and I can’t really remember Rex’s driving motivation to be honest (outside of being mysteriously tied to Pyra, so I suppose it’s really *her* story…).
Tbh, Shulk is a really tough character to follow-up.
Rex Rex is good and remeberable character for me.
He’s ok. His English/NA voice actor, I felt, missed the mark a bit. I like the Japanese voice actor more.
very bland. hes the weakest character in the roster of Xb2 and feels like a papercutout shounen protag of a series with a run of 4 volumes max
He’s the worst of the main characters. It would be one thing if he was just bland, but he’s annoying.
His English VA also isn’t great.
Played with Japanese VAs and liked him just find. Nothing amazing but not awful
Meh meh.
Rex is fine. His English VA could be better but I’ve heard much worse. He’s a little bland but I think that’s intentional. He’s supposed to just be your average everyman stuck into a group of literal fucking superheroes. If you don’t like him that’s cool, but the vitriolic reaction some people have towards him is overblown.
My customer character from Xenoblabe X was better than him
Well, we see that he fucking *gets it* at the end of XC3, so I think it doesn’t much matter what my opinion is at this point.
>Rex would go on to receive a Mii costume for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and serve a supporting role in Pyra and Mythra’s moveset when they were added as DLC in early 2021. He was considered for a fighter slot at one point, but due to poor timing he couldn’t make it into the base roster.
Rex’s costume is also attainable in a somewhat convoluted quest on BOTW, btw. Although, it’s dwarfed by at least 15 other better outfits. Also, I really feel if you don’t have anything nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all but I’m going to break my own rule. I can’t stand Xenoblade. I never even gave it a fair shot. I just can’t deal with the ridiculous character designs, the generic world design, and the battle system. It mostly has to do with the anime designs. I just cannot even with that series.
Sorry for the negativity, I just needed to get that out.
I think it’s a little weird in hindsight how whenever I’ve started a new playthrough of BotW, there’s a cross-promotion sidequest for Rex’s outfit that pops up, and how that’s just always gonna be part of that game.
tbh that’s literally the only context I ever think of Rex at all.
Rex is a well-written character. He starts off very likable and jolly, with just a tad too much optimism for his own good. That fact is played up during the early chapters just to tear him down and mature him a bit in the later chapters. But rather than becoming a complete cynic, as the antagonists have done, he reinterprets his hope and uses the power he has at his disposal to change things for the better. And it works.
People saying he’s “cringe” or whatever are missing the point. He’s in-universe cringe, and he owns it. And the devs did that on purpose to call us, the players, out.
Every main-line Xenoblade game has reached through the fourth wall and painted the player with the same brush as the villiains.
* XC1 got you to the end and said “hey, now you’re the god, you get to be the jerk that kills everyone”. It didn’t follow that up with any player agency, but it tried to make a point at least…
* XC2 did something similar, but more “meta”: It made the villains act just like some of the players would. Malos repeatedly treated Rex with disrespect because he’s naïve and a goofball and a kid. And Amalthus tried to string Rex along and take advantage of his optimism. Jin flat out said Rex “didn’t understand”. Except he *did*. They basically said “you’re immature and stupid and cringey and nobody likes you”, just like the people who now criticise the game.
* XC3 became the most effective at this, with nearly everyone wishing for the “endless now” as they watched the ending.
I just think it’s funny how many people get all butthurt about being called out by XC2, though. That, and the boobs. You’d think people had never seen breasts before.
Love xb2 and Rex was a part of that. He is definitely over hated to a slightly absurd degree. I didn’t love him at first either because of how different 2 is to the original but once you appreciate the game for what it is rather than what you want it to be, Rex is a pretty good protagonist. He will never be my favourite but he lets the story go where it needs to and I think that’s an under rated quality that people ignore.
Grating and obnoxious. I’ve tried to play Xenoblade 2 a handful of times but bounce off hard every time because I hate Rex.
I beat the game two times. But I’m not ever touching it again, it was a cringe fest.
The DLC though? The DLC was fucking awesome!
Not really the kind of protagonist I prefer. That’s the best way I can phrase it.
XC2’s relies heavily on his optimism and naivete to drive the plot, and those aren’t traits I really like in a protagonist.