History Fridge / XenobladeChronicles1

* Fiora, upon being given a Machina body, is being inhabited by Meyneth, the soul of Mechonis and a god, seemingly out of nowhere. So, this is a literal case of [[DeusExMachina Deus Ex]] [[IncrediblyLamePun Machina]].

** There is even a conversation with Linada that says that the red lines on Faced Mechon are tubes pumping the Homs' blood through it.

* A bit of hindsight that occurs from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'', in that the sequel revolves around the magical Blades and their Drivers that wield them. Given the revelations in both games, it's clear that by all means the True Monado and Alvis himself are at least implied to be one of the three Aegis Blades, which makes Shulk and previous Monado wielders Drivers. Thus all of Alvis' appearances despite being part of the Monado make sense in hindsight, given that it's exactly how Blades can function. Likewise, the painful shocks and damage to his arm that Dunban receives from Monado overuse are reminiscent of those who only have partial Blade aptitude, such as when Addam was injured trying to get Mythra to use her full strength.

* A bit of hindsight that occurs from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'', in that the sequel revolves around the magical Blades and their Drivers that wield them. Given the revelations in both games, it's clear that by all means the True Monado and Alvis himself are at least implied to be one of the three Aegis Blades, which makes Shulk and previous Monado wielders Drivers. Thus all of Alvis' appearances despite being part of the Monado make sense in hindsight, given that it's exactly how Blades can function.

* A lot of the weird SchizoTech on Bionis makes a lot more sense when you notice one thing - nobody's discovered gunpowder. Ether power can be dangerous, but it's not particularly explosive. That's why fixed weapons emplacements have to be massive to hold enough charge to destroy falling debris, and why a mobile artillery unit can only scratch hardened armor even at point-blank range: they're basically EnergyWeapons. The same explains why the longbarrel rifle is the WeaponOfChoice for the medic corps. It's fantastic for scattering healing ether while keeping the medic on the back lines (well, relatively; they're still only effective at "this is way too close for a DMR, grab your sidearm"), but doing any actual damage require exploiting elemental weaknesses or aiming directly for a weak point and hoping to rupture an organ.

!!Warning: Administrivia/SpoilersOff applies to this page, including for ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' and 'VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3''. Proceed at your own risk.

!!Warning: Administrivia/SpoilersOff applies to this page, including for ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2''. Proceed at your own risk.

* The finale reveals [[EarthAllAlong this universe came from our universe]], or at least one [[LikeRealityUnlessNoted very much like it]], transformed by a scientific experiment GoneHorriblyWrong ([[GoneHorriblyRight or right]]). Two scientists involved [[DeityOfHumanOrigin became Zanza and Meyneth]]. [[InferredHolocaust As for everyone else...]] It kind of makes the ending feel more [[BitterSweetEnding bittersweet]] when you realize Shulk could have easily had Alvis bring them back, but instead just creates a new universe because as far as he's concerned they're just ancient history. The EarthThatWas will go down as little more than an origin story myth that near nothing is known about, and even that's only if Shulk bothers to tell anyone about it. This of course assumes the original lives even could be brought back, ''Xenoblade Chronicles 2'' also reveals things about the old universe and the fate of those living there that Alvis is not aware of.

** Likewise, the HopelessBossFight with Zanza also has Fiora equipped with the Unbeatable IV gem, like the 2 above. She has Meyneth inside her body, who's a god herself, and could stand toe-to-toe with Zanza.

** Additionally, after that point, in the affinity chart a good number of High Entia characters are grayed out (and [[AdultFear at least two of them are children]]). Most of them turned into Telethia, a few of them died but for four of these characters their fates [[NothingIsScarier are left unsaid]].

!!Warning: Administrivia/SpoilersOff applies to this page. Proceed at your own risk.

* The Nopon terms for High Entia and Telethia ("bird-people" and "dino-beast," respectively) are surprisingly meaningful once you discover [[spoiler: how the two are related. After all, didn't birds evolve from certain species of dinosaurs?]]
* After TheReveal, it makes a lot more sense why The Monado can't hurt Faced Mechon. [[spoiler: The Monado can't hurt Homs, and Faced Mechon [[WasOnceAMan ARE Homs.]]]]
** [[spoiler: There is even a conversation with Linada that says that the red lines on Faced Mechon are tubes pumping the Homs' blood though it.]]
* [[spoiler: Shulk's HeroicRROD on the way to the Mechonis Core happens not long after he tries to make the case to Egil that Mechonis and Bionis can live in peace. I guess Zanza really didn't appreciate Shulk going OffTheRails of his grand plot to destroy Mechonis.]]
** [[spoiler: Also note that the Apocrypha Generator was still active at the time. It's possible that Zanza was trying to ''kill and/or possess'' Shulk at that point, like he did with the Monado's previous wielders, and [[NiceJobFixingItVillain it was only because the Monado's power was suppressed]] that Shulk survived more-or-less intact.]]
* {{Guest Star Party Member}}s Dickson and Alvis are effectively unbeatable when they fight alongside you, their HP never dropping below one. That's kind of silly [[spoiler:until you figure out their true identities. Dickson is Zanza's disciple, granted with immortality; and Alvis is Monado, i.e., ''reality incarnate''. There's no way guys like them would fall to those simple {{Mooks}.}]]
** Likewise, [[spoiler: the HopelessBossFight with Zanza also has Fiora equipped with the Unbeatable IV gem, like the 2 above. She has Meyneth inside her body, who's a god herself, and could stand toe-to-toe with Zanza.]]
** Also in the [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2 sequel]], this is one of [[spoiler:Pneuma's]] many special abilities, making the similarities between her and Alvis quite close, implying Alvis is [[spoiler:Ontos]].
** Speaking of Alvis, when he fights alongside you, [[spoiler:what are his battle lines? Among them, "[[ResistanceIsFutile resistance]] [[Franchise/StarTrek is futile]]" and "[[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey I can't let you do that]]". Famous quotes from what else, intelligent machines.]]
* While there is a canon explanation (that is AllThereInTheManual) for [[spoiler:Fiora getting her old Homs body back (there's a machine that can regenerate her body, that they used after her upgraded abilities were no longer needed)]], there's a plenty plausible reason for it even without that. At the end of the game, however briefly, [[spoiler:Shulk is basically god.]] If there was one thing he'd want to do with that power, wouldn't [[spoiler:giving Fiora her body back]] be right on the top of the list?

* During the cutscene that take place in [[spoiler:outer space]] shortly after [[spoiler:Zanza emerges from Shulk's body]], you can see [[spoiler:numerous features of our own solar system, such as planets and asteroids.]] The presence of these things makes a lot more sense after you learn that [[spoiler:the universe of Bionis and Mechonis was created right after the old universe (the one in which we live) was destroyed, so the features in our solar system, just like Shulk's mortal consciousness, were never supposed to belong in the new universe in the first place.]]
** [[spoiler: The places where the two important races in Xenoblade- Machina and Homs- were created from on the Bionis and Mechonis reflect their hosts opinions of them.]] The Homs come from the feet of the Bionis, [[spoiler: representing how Zanza feels little for them, like they should grovel at his feet]] while the Mechon [[spoiler: and Machina come from the Mechonis's chest, representing how Meyneth loved them (seeing how the heart is usually located in your chest, and that's said to be the "love" organ).]]

* The track "You Will Know Our Names" usually plays against Unique Monsters, but it also plays during two storyline boss fights (instead of the usual "One Who Gets In Our Way"), against Metal Face and against [[spoiler:Dickson]], both on [[spoiler:Prison Island]] at that. And incidentally, [[spoiler:both of them are Dunban's former war comrades turned traitors]]. You will know their names indeed.

* Egil's Gold Face Mechon is named Yaldabaoth. This seems like a random name until you progress further into the story. Yaldabaoth in Gnostic mythology is an arrogant solar deity who suffers from a complex of cosmic egotism and falsely believes himself to be the only god in the entire cosmos. [[spoiler: Sounds like a certain Zanza that Egil wishes to destroy. In naming his Mechon Yaldabaoth, Egil mocked the fuck out of Zanza to boot]]. Also worth pointing out is that Gold Face has a tail; while unusual, it represents the Gnostic Yaldabaoth, who is a serpent.

* It seems unlikely that no person ever discovered the fact that [[spoiler:High Entia spontaneously mutate into Telethia when exposed to large amounts of ether]]. For one, it seems to be very easy to just [[spoiler:accidentally turn into one]] if that were the case. However, given that there are still Telethia flying around Bionis [[spoiler:without Zanza's presence]] indicates the possibility that [[spoiler:some DID turn into Telethia and the ones still remaining are just mutated High Entia]]. After all, it is implied that previous High Entia rulers did know about this and tried to keep it a secret.
* The fact that [[spoiler:you need a lot of ether to turn High Entia into Telethia doesn't make much sense when you consider the fact that Zanza requires a large amount of energy to be reborn. But one of the first things you hear about Telethia is that they absorb large amounts of ether from their surroundings. Their main function seems to be to gather the ether for Zanza, in addition to being used to kill uncooperative sentient life.]]
* [[spoiler: Fiora]], upon being given a [[spoiler: machina body, is being inhabited by Meyneth, the soul of Mechonis and a god]], seemingly out of nowhere. So, this is a literal case of [[DeusExMachina Deus Ex]] [[IncrediblyLamePun Machina]].
* After beating the game, watch the opening cutscenes again. First, [[spoiler:in the battle of the titans, the Mechonis is mainly defending from the Bionis' attacks.]] Second, [[spoiler:Dickson's remarks that "you can't talk reason into a beast" [Dunban] take on a darker tone.]]
* The life on both titans reflects the very nature of the two gods. [[spoiler: The Bionis is filled with creatures that need to kill each other to survive, forcing a survival of the fittest mindset that is meant to keep life bound to Zanza. Gathering ether also requires people to dig into the very titan to collect it and go into mines, where monsters await to fight and kill them. The Mechonis is free of hostile lifeforms that could threaten the Machina, who are able to gather ether easily from the floating devices Meyneth built for them to collect it from. Likewise the dangers of living in a giant machine are somewhat negated due to child Machina residing in floating devices that are part of their bodies until they reach adulthood, preventing them from falling into the toxic ether found at the bottom. What monsters that ''do'' exist in the Mechonis are the Mechon, which were built originally to protect and help the Machina.]]
** One other thing also stands out... so when [[spoiler: Galea]] became [[spoiler: Meyneth]], the people ''Mechonis'' created were the Machina. Seems weird, I guess that god had a thing for machines, huh? [[spoiler: in Xenoblade 2, Klaus explains aspects of that scene where the universe was created that we didn't get to see... that Klaus told Galea that humans weren't so bad after all.]] Apparently, this person may have thought HumansAreBastards, and [[spoiler: Klaus]] tried to mention it. So who's to say that [[spoiler: the Machina are what Galea, also known as Meyneth, aren't her own idealised vision of what humanity could become?]]
* Shortly after arriving on the Fallen Arm, [[spoiler:Fiora is incapacitated and requires a piezoelectric unit to continue functioning independently]]. You find this particular item around the wreckage of a Faced Mechon. Who's to say it wasn't [[spoiler:Mumkhar's]]?
* The scene at Prison Island where Metal Face [[spoiler:"kills" Zanza]] may not be [[spoiler:as much of an example of EvilVersusEvil example in hindsight. Metal Face didn't kill Zanza, he killed Arglas, so it can still count as one of Metal Face's many atrocities]].
* [[spoiler:All Faced Mechon seem to have 3 names: the name of their Core Unit (the one controlling them), a name indicative of their armor color, and their actual model name. Egil, Fiora, and Xord; Gold Face, Silver Face, and Bronze Face; Yaldabaoth, Face Nemesis, and… well, we don't learn Xord's model name--at least not immediately. It's a clever way to hide the name of a late game enemy: the Mass-Produced Faces. It's also a way to hide the fact that Xord is really just an [[EliteMooks Elite Mook]], apparently being so good at wielding his hammer because he used to be a blacksmith.]]
* [[spoiler: Xord coming BackFromTheDead after his apparent death in the Ether Mine seems to come out of left field, doesn't it? Maybe, until you take into account the fact that, unlike other Face Mechon, he's not a pilot for a robot suit. He ''is'' the robot suit. The artbook attributes his SanitySlippage to the fact that he's just bits of his brain stem and various other organs repurposed into a fuel source/anti-Monado shield for the Face unit. Thus, it would stand to reason that the rest of him was used for his replacement to fight against the Telethia. After all, by that point, both Homs and Machina had one common enemy (Zanza) and Xord as he was before obviously wouldn't be that useful in a fight for the fate of two worlds.]]
* By the end of the game, there are three major factions: the heroes and their allies, the Mechon, and [[spoiler:the Bionite Order]]. All three get representation in the prologue. [[spoiler:Within your team, no less.]]
* Three is a holy number and the game loves to reference it. The gods all have a trinity halo-pattern somewhere in their design. For Meyneth, it's around her body. For Zanza, it's three halos circling a central one above his head. [[spoiler: Alvis]] has it on his back jacket. But who else has halos on his body? [[spoiler: Shulk's red vest, indicating his ascent into godhood as Zanza's SoulJar.]]
* After the initial Mechon attack and Fiora's death, Shulk and Reyn converse about what to do from then on out. Shulk comments that there's another voice in his head telling him to "destroy the Mechon, every last one of them" and that Reyn would think it's unlike him. [[spoiler: After you realize he's housing Zanza's soul, it's entirely possible that ''wasn't'' all Shulk.]]

** In a party that already has Shulk and Fiora, Dunban works exceedingly well as a third man; he can DrawAggro, which let Fiora and Shulk set up thier BackStab attacks, he has multiple arts which inflict Topple on enemies already suffering Break (which serves as a nice combo bridge between Shulk's Stream Edge and Fiora's Cross Impact), and has a lot of red arts that allow the three to build up huge chain attack combos. Given that he's a ShipperOnDeck for the two of them, it doesn't come as any surprise that his fighting style naturally brings them together. (Notably, Reyn is also a good choice, for similar reasons.)
* A bit of hindsight that occurs from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'', in that the sequel revolves around the magical Blades and their Drivers that wield them. [[spoiler: Given the revelations in both games, it's clear that by all means the True Monado and Alvis himself are at least implied to be one of the three Aegis Blades, which makes Shulk and previous Monado wielders Drivers. Thus all of Alvis' appearances despite being part of the Monado make sense in hindsight, given that it's exactly how Blades can function.]]
* [[spoiler: It's makes sense that Alvis's Aegis Weapon only manifests itself at the very end of the game. As he is the one that maintains the reality of the Xenoblade world, it is quite possible he does not have the power to summon it normally. It is also implied that the Mechonis and Bionis Monadoes are created because Zanza and Meyneth draw power from Ontos himself. During the final battle, Shulk is in close enough proximity to both Monadoes that Alvis is able to remove the borrowed power from both Monadoes and summon his Aegis Weapon, the TRUE Monado.]]
* Much ''much'' later in ''Xenoblade'', the player witnesses a scene in which we see the birth of the universe. The same scene plays in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' - but it's not a one-to-one remake. [[spoiler: In ''Chronicles 2'', we see Klaus calmly explaining his reasons for creating a new universe. But in ''Chronicles'', Klaus is depicted in a much more sinister light and even ''throws'' Meyneth to the ground.]] So why is the scene in ''Chronicles 2'' different from ''Chronicles''? Two words: UnreliableNarrator. In ''Chronicles'', we're seeing the scene from [[spoiler: Meyneth, Zanza, or Alvis's]] perspective which had every reason to depict [[spoiler: Klaus]] in a much more negative light. Whereas in ''2'', we're seeing it from [[spoiler: Klaus's perspective - in which he is justifying his actions and mentions he thinks what he's doing is right.]]
** [[spoiler: In addition, bias aside, it would make sense for the person who caused it to know the full story.]]
* “Dinosaur” means “terrible lizard” in Latin. When looking at it this way, the Nopon name for Telethia makes sense. The name makes sense once you find out [[spoiler:that the Telethia exist only to kill life on Bionis once it awakes and return that life’s ether to Zanza.]] Terrible beasts, indeed.
* The term "Homs" given to the mundane humans of Bionis seems like a serious outlier in the franchise, when in [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2 Alrest]] practically all of civilization is referred to as humanity (Nopon notwithstanding). Of course, this could be indicative of [[spoiler:the god of Bionis using such a term to distance himself from what he used to be and what would ultimately become his source of sustenance]] as opposed to [[spoiler:the Architect who was modest enough to model its dominant human race moreso in his own image]].

* Dickson's behavior in the flashback where the Monado is found at first seems to contradict later reveals about him. Namely [[spoiler:he is upset to find the expedition team dead, remarking "no" despite knowing that if Zanza was revived then death was going to happen. But then he smiles rather suspiciously when he sees Shulk alive. In retrospect he was likely not upset that the expedition team was dead so much as upset that at first it seemed ALL of the team was dead. This would mean something had gone wrong with Zanza choosing a vessel, and Dickson would have to figure out how to try again. So he is pleased when it turns out Shulk had become a vessel.]]
* Alvis has a necklace with what appears to be a Blade core crystal on it. However, on closer inspection the crystal itself never actually moves around. It seems like this is his real core crystal, embedded in his chest just like with every other blade, but he managed to attach a necklace to make it look like a simple pendant so that people wouldn't be suspicious.
* A lot of the weird SchizoTech on Bionis makes a lot more sense when you notice one thing - nobody's discovered gunpowder. Ether power can be dangerous, but it's not particularly explosive. That's why fixed weapons emplacements have to be massive to hold enough charge to destroy falling debris, and why a mobile artillery unit can only scratch hardened armour even at point-blank range: they're basically EnergyWeapons. The same explains why the longbarrel rifle is the WeaponOfChoice for the medic corps. It's fantastic for scattering healing ether while keeping the medic on the back lines (well, relatively; they're still only effective at "this is way too close for a DMR, grab your sidearm"), but doing any actual damage require exploiting elemental weaknesses or aiming directly for a weak point and hoping to rupture an organ.

* One of Shulk's first [[CombatClairvoyance visions]] shows the Arachno Queen ''impaling and killing Reyn in one blow.'' If it weren't for Monado Shield [[DieOrFly kicking in just in time]], [[spoiler: Shulk would have lost ''both'' of his best friends within days of one another.]]
* Shulk's visions of the future in general. It might seem awesome at first to be able to predict something is going to happen and thus stop it, [[BlessedWithSuck but the downside is he has to watch his friends and loved ones be brutally slaughtered over and over again.]] Of note is [[spoiler:Fiora's supposed death,]] which Shulk gets his warning but is powerless to actually do anything about it, which means he has to watch her die twice.

** Another one of his visions involve [[spoiler:Otharon pulling a HeroicSacrifice to stop Xord]]. Except that in reality, it turns out that [[spoiler:Xord would have survived that]]. Had Shulk not defied that vision, [[spoiler:Otharon would have died for nothing]].
* It's possible that the entire Ministry of Research is working, knowingly or not, for [[spoiler: Zanza and/ or the Bionite Order. Lorithia is the head of the Ministry of Research, and we see her in a room with Telethia in tanks in a cut scene. You also hear from Jer'ell about rumors that they're doing inhumane experiments while she's in Alcamoth.]]
** In addition, [[spoiler:Kallian states that the Havres units, the flying vehicles the High Entia bring to Sword Valley, were created by Lorithia and her Ministry. In all likelihood, the Havres were ''purposefully'' designed to overload their pilots with ether on command, turning the pure High Entia that were riding in them into Telethia.]]
* During the kingpin quest chain, [[spoiler:Dedeba is arrested by the Alcamoth guards for the unlawful distribution of Highmore Caviar. You never see him again in this playthrough, so it is presumed that he is locked away for the remainder of the game.]] Now fast forward to the events follwoing [[spoiler:Mechonis Core. The majority of Alcamoth's citizens are either turned into Telethia or killed in the chaos following, with only however many half-High Entia could fit into the transports escaping. Assuming Dedeba was still locked up, that would put him directly in the middle of that mess.]]
* According to some of the Alcamoth refugees (both half-Homs High Entia and Nopon colonists), some of the pure-blooded High Entia protected them even as they were transforming. Even after being fully transformed, some of them stick around an area associated with their previous life out of some kind of attachment, [[AndIMustScream suggesting that the transformed High Entia are somewhat cognizant of what's happened to them, but unable to do anything about it due to a feral instinct]] to carry out [[OmnicidalManiac Zanza's will]]. Naturally,some of the refugees' sidequests involve [[MercyKill putting their long-time friends and family out of their misery]].
** Additionally, after that point, in the affinity chart a good number of High Entia characters are grayed out (and [[AdultFear at least two of them are children]]). Most of them turned into Telethia, a few of them died, but for four of these characters their fates [[NothingIsScarier are left unsaid]].
* The finale reveals [[spoiler: [[EarthAllAlong this universe came from our universe]], or at least one [[LikeRealityUnlessNoted very much like it]], transformed by a scientific experiment GoneHorriblyWrong ([[GoneHorriblyRight or right]]). Two scientists involved [[DeityOfHumanOrigin became Zanza and Meyneth]]. [[InferredHolocaust As for everyone else...]] It kind of makes the ending feel more [[BitterSweetEnding bittersweet]] when you realize Shulk could have easily had Alvis bring them back, but instead just creates a new universe because as far as he's concerned they're just ancient history. The EarthThatWas will go down as little more than an origin story myth that near nothing is known about, and even that's only if Shulk bothers to tell anyone about it. This of course assumes the original lives even could be brought back, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 also reveals things about the old universe and the fate of those living there that Alvis is not aware of.]]
* By ''Future Connected'', all of the Telethia (now that Zanza is no longer influencing them) have become docile beings who help the party several times in their adventure. This implies that the Telethia still retain their memories as High Entia. What pushes it into horror territory is the various sidequests in the main game where you kill some Telethia who were friends with the surviving half-Homs High Entia, under the belief that the Telethia would never turn back to normal. They were only intended to be {{Mercy Kill}}s, but the revelations in ''Future Connected'' would mean you killed people who may have been [[AndIMustScream fully aware of their fates]]. [[spoiler: Worse, if Teelan and Tyrea had finished their research, those Telethia ''could have been restored to their old selves'' if you had left them alone.]]