A Xenoblade Reading List
After Jake gave me a shoutout on stream, I got a lot of new followers with Xenoblade avatars. (I use A on my Switch account.) If you're wondering where all my Xenoposting is, it'll inevitably come up again. Here I have collected past publications I have written on the series, as well as my favorite essays and the most influential writing I have read on the games.
Ah, Philosophy
- Aaron Suduiko's series of analyses on A Terrible Fate tease out more than trivia from the philosophic traditions of each game.
- Some of my favorite analysis of Xenoblade comes from YouTuber PhantomHeit's videos. They talk mostly XC1 but have videos that touch on the series as a whole.
- Cole Kronman's series retrospective at Kotaku on how XC3 relates to Xenogears both in content and in form. Go read more of Cole's writing.
- Elijah Gonzalez makes an anti-Capitalist reading of XC3 for Unwinnable
- Canon Is An Abyss by Mike Rugnetta is not about Xenoblade at all, but the larger cultural tide many of its fans have projected onto it in the form of lore-obsession, canonicity, and correctness.
My Own Words
- I touch on XC3's class commentary in an essay on FFVII: Rebirth, Berserk, and fantasy at the end of the world for Bullet Points Monthly.
- I write poetically about the broadest strokes of the series as a whole for Start Menu.
- Still proud of what I wrote about XC3 at launch for Polygon (spoilers through 2 and for the premise of 3).
- I wrote about the discourse around the character A, how Xeno fans are terminally obsessed with canonicity, and how this drains the series of meaning for TechRadar. Spoilers for the entire series. (Note: This piece was not copyedited properly. It hurts to share, but I stand by my argument.)
Further Reading
For Unwinnable, I wrote a series on how we talk about, invoke, and understand intentionality in media and discourse today.
- Part 1: Realism, Reality and the Real
- Part 2: Another Meaning of the Words
- Part 3: There are Decapitations
For Polygon, I wrote more about queer readings and how the different affordances in Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild change our ability to do such readings. And I also wrote about the perennial JRPG discourse via Trails in the Sky for Gamers With Glasses.
Shoutouts
Go check out Unwinnable, an indie outlet with two monthly publications of cultural crit from industry vets and newcomers alike. Also consider following and supporting Bullet Points Monthly, one of the few places left that specializes in publishing essays and criticism that go longer than immediate audience reaction.