History YMMV / XenobladeChronicles1

** Melia was always a well-liked character with a great character arc, but used to fall flat compared to Fiora as her role wasn't as prominent and she often got the short end of the stick compared to her, particularly with her feelings towards Shulk (hence the "Poor Melia" meme). Fiora's role as a GuestFighter in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' reinforced the idea that she was a more important and impressive character than Melia. Come ''Future Connected'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'', however, and Melia has become more popular than ever with her character growth in those games showcasing how important she's become to the overall saga and setting, arguably surpassing Fiora in popularity. [[spoiler:Her MsFanservice design as an adult in ''[=XC3=]'' has only helped matters, with many people finding her to be the [[SheIsAllGrownUp most attractive female character from this game's world]] as a result and also loving her new role as TheHighQueen who, despite her role as a monarch, didn't initially want such a position of leadership and also helps the ''[=XC3=]'' protagonists ''overthrow'' the authoritarian status quo of their world.]] This has also motivated more people to play as her and explore her further when returning to ''[=XC1=]'' after playing through ''[=XC3=]'', as she is a notoriously DifficultButAwesome character that also suffers in the hands of the AI.

** Melia was always a well-liked character with a great character arc, but used to fall flat compared to Fiora as her role wasn't as prominent and she often got the short end of the stick compared to her, particularly with her feelings towards Shulk (hence the "Poor Melia" meme). Fiora's role as a GuestFighter in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' reinforced the idea that she was a more important and impressive character than Melia. Come ''Future Connected'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'', however, and Melia has become more popular than ever with her character growth in those games showcasing how important she's become to the overall saga and setting, arguably surpassing Fiora in popularity. [[spoiler:Her MsFanservice design as an adult in ''[=XC3=]'' has only helped matters, with many people finding her to be the [[SheIsAllGrownUp most attractive female character from this game's world]] as a result and also loving her new role as TheHighQueen who, despite her role as a monarch, didn't initially want such a position of leadership and also helps the ''[=XC3=]'' protagonists ''overthrow'' the authoritarian status quo of their world.]]

** Melia was always a well-liked character with a great character arc, but used to fall flat compared to Fiora as her role wasn't as prominent and she often got the short end of the stick compared to her, particularly with her feelings towards Shulk (hence the "Poor Melia" meme). Fiora's role as a GuestFighter in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' reinforced the idea that she was a more important and impressive character than Melia. Come ''Future Connected'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'', however, and Melia has become more popular than ever with her character growth in those games showcasing how important she's become to the overall saga and setting. [[spoiler:Her MsFanservice design as an adult in ''[=XC3=]'' has only helped matters, with many people finding her to be the [[SheIsAllGrownUp most attractive female character from this game's world]] as a result and also loving her new role as TheHighQueen who, despite her role as a monarch, didn't initially want such a position of leadership and also helps the ''[=XC3=]'' protagonists ''overthrow'' the authoritarian status quo of their world.]]

* CharacterPerceptionEvolution: When the game first came out Riki was a BaseBreakingCharacter with a significant hatedom who saw him as a selfish, irritating JokeCharacter and even compared him unflatteringly to infamous ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}''' [[TheScrappy Scrappy]] Chu-Chu. However, over time Riki's HiddenDepths, which were missed by many early players due to being hidden away in optional content compared to the rest of the cast, became much more well-known among the general fanbase and his most controversial scenes were reevaluated more positively in light of them as ObfuscatingStupidity. Likewise, as players' understanding of the metagame evolved Riki's surprising, even GameBreaker-level [[LethalJokeCharacter usefulness]] became better recognized. In addition, later games proved to have even more controversial Nopon representatives in Tatsu and Tora, making the issues fans took with Riki come off as quaint by comparison. ''Future Connected'' further fleshed out the most well-received aspects of Riki's character, putting the final nail in the coffin of negativity towards Riki to the point that nowadays he's one of the most beloved characters in the franchise. ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3FutureRedeemed'' [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill sealed the deal even more]] with its reveal that Riku, [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3 its base game]]'s even more beloved Nopon companion and arguably the most popular Nopon in the series, [[spoiler:is Riki's descendant either biologically or through adoption (directly or via Kino)]].

** Melia is incredibly popular with lesbian, bisexual, and/or transgender women. Her elegant SilkHidingSteel femininity, outfit that [[QueerColors resembles the colors of the trans flag]], and backstory of facing societal discrimination over her appearance to the point of having to hide away and conceal her true self under a fake persona and (literal) mask until she finds more accepting friends willing to help her challenge her culture to become more tolerant are traits that resonate with queer women of many kinds. In addition, despite being on the wrong side of a love triangle with Fiora, the two like and get along very well with each other, to the point that many fans believe they have [[LesYay as much or more chemistry together]] than with Shulk. This continues into ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' with its anti-capitalist and anti-authority themes,[[note]]more extreme forms of capitalism seek to suppress LGBTQIA+ identities,[[/note]] as that game shows how Melia [[spoiler:has grown into a true leader for her people (complete with a grown-up MsFanservice design that many such fans find attractive) and helps the heroes overthrow the status quo that has been appropriating her image to advance their own agenda]].

** Melia is incredibly popular with lesbian, bisexual, and/or transgender women. Her elegant SilkHidingSteel femininity, outfit that [[QueerColors resembles the colors of the trans flag]], and backstory of facing societal discrimination over her appearance to the point of having to hide away and conceal her true self under a fake persona and (literal) mask until she finds more accepting friends willing to help her challenge her culture to become more tolerant are traits that resonate with queer women of many kinds. In addition, despite being on the wrong side of a love triangle with Fiora, the two like and get along very well with each other, to the point that many fans believe they have [[LesYay as much or more chemistry together]] than with Shulk.

** While Fiora returning as an EleventhHourRanger at all was once regarded as a pleasant surprise, she's become a lot more controversial in the wake of the second game and its own BaseBreakingCharacter female leads. Her detractors accuse her of being a FlatCharacter and SatelliteLoveInterest who has no personality other than her love for Shulk, and whose continued survival actively ruins the plot and Melia's character. Meanwhile her supporters argue that despite her reduced screentime she's still got more depth and characterization than detractors give her credit for, never does anything unpleasant enough to justify the active antipathy for her, and claim that a lot of the hatred for her is rooted in bad-faith DieForOurShip or FandomRivalry bashing.

* EpilepticTrees: The Fog King in ''Future Connected'' has spawned all kinds of theories as to what its true nature, due to its completely mysterious origins (all that's known is that it comes from another dimension), its sharing traits with the Gnosis from ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'', and because its model is a recycled Infernal Guldo from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2''.

** Due to both girls having feelings for Shulk, as well as sharing decent chemistry with each other, there are fans who ship Shulk with both Melia and Fiora, or ship Fiora and Melia with each other.

* EpilepticTrees: The Fog King in ''Future Connected'' has spawned all kinds of theories as to what its true nature, due to its completely mysterious origins (all that's known is that it comes from another dimension), its sharing traits with the Gnosis from ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'', and because its model is a recycled Infernal Guldo from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' (which was also implied to possibly be the remnants of Meyneth/Galea's physical form to boot).

** Similarly, Despotic Arene, one of the endgame superbosses, is infamous for being a harmless-looking little Bunnia that can pulverise the party in seconds and for being stronger than the FinalBoss, a literal PhysicalGod. Many people have made comparisons to the KillerRabbit from ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', and it got a SpiritualSuccessor in Chickenheart Dagmara from the sequel.

** Alvis is a mysterious, somewhat flamboyant silver-haired {{Bishounen}} with NoSenseOfPersonalSpace and a keen interest in Shulk whose first meeting with him involves [[NoSenseOfPersonalSpace getting up close and personal to Shulk]] to the point of grabbing his shoulder and [[VisualInnuendo his Monado]] in a suggestive way, which has often been interpreted as a sign of him being AmbiguouslyGay and a possible reference to [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Kaworu Nagisa's homoerotic interest in Shinji]]. ''Definitive Edition'' would retcon Alvis into being a Trinity Processor just like the Aegises from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'', with Shulk effectively becoming his Driver. Given that ''2'' frequently depicts Driver/Blade relationships as romantic in nature, with its main love story being between the Aegis Pyra and ''her'' Driver, who is introduced to her the same way Shulk was to Alvis, given that ''[[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2TornaTheGoldenCountry Torna]]'' reveals that Mythra foresaw Rex (who is also explicitly her love interest) becoming a savior in a vision the same way that Alvis foresaw Shulk (even Zanza claimed credit for it), and given that ''3'' reveals [[spoiler:Ontos is a being of PurelyAestheticGender who directly attributes their relationship with Shulk to [[GrewBeyondTheirProgramming developing a conscience and love for humanity]]]], it's even easier in hindsight to see the growing bond between Shulk and Alvis as having romantic subtext to it.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Riki was divisive for several years after the game first came out, before CharacterPerceptionEvolution took place after the sequels. There are those who don't enjoy his character, given his habit of ruining dramatic scenes with his grating voice, childish concerns and speech patterns (as well as the fact that a lot of his CharacterDevelopment come from Heart-to-hearts, which are optional whereas everyone, even Reyn and Sharla, speak in and get CharacterFocus during the main story). There are others who find him absolutely hilarious and enjoy the fact that he is both comic relief and also a character with depth in his own right from said heart-to-hearts.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: Bringing up Melia's side of the controversial love triangle and treating her like an UnrequitedTragicMaiden still torn up over Shulk or TheMourningAfter is a quick way to piss Melia fans off, since the game makes it abundantly clear (albeit in an easy-to-miss Heart-to-Heart) that she's matured out of her crush by the end of the game and that her attachment to him is firmly deeply-respected PlatonicLifePartners in ''Future Connected'' onward. For that matter, acting like Fiora or Melia resent each other because of the love triangle is another way to piss off fans of ''either'' character since the game makes it very clear they deeply respect each other as friends to the point of Fiora giving Melia her explicit permission to date Shulk if something happens to her.

* DryDockedShip: A lot of fans interpret Dunban's strong attachment to Dickson and/or Mumkhar as having been motivated by them havng been more than just war buddies in the past, due to Dunban's ConfirmedBachelor status throughout the game and the fact that he trusted the two of them so intensely despite the fact that both men, especially Mumkhar, showed such blatant signs of being ObviouslyEvil.

** While it took [[CharacterPerceptionEvolution a bit of time]] for him to reach that status, opinions on Riki shifted from the widely-hated [[VideoGame/{{Xenogears}} Chu-Chu's]] second coming to Chu-Chu, but done right. It helps that while he's also comic relief, he's [[FightingClown actually quite useful in combat]] and that he has much more in the way of HiddenDepths and genuine heartfelt moments than Chu-Chu.

* ImprovedSecondAttempt: After [[VideoGame/{{Xenogears}} Fei Fong Wong]] and especially [[VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}} Shion Uzuki]] proved to be {{Base Breaking Character}}s in their respective games, WordOfGod was that Shulk (who composites many traits from both of them) was written with the intent of remaining more consistently likeable throughout the entirety of the plot. General consensus is that they succeeded, as Shulk is the most consistently well-liked and least divisive[[note]]With the possible exception of Elma, who some regard as the true main character of ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' over its FeaturelessProtagonist Cross/Rook[[/note]] out of all the protagonists in the ''Xeno'' franchise.

** Shulk and Reyn's memetic exchange of "To you!" "To me!" during Gem Crafting is a ''Series/ChuckleVision'' reference that was added in localisation, and became [[WeirdAlEffect more well-known than the original show]] outside the UK. Shulk even reminisces about the line in ''Future Redeemed'' when repairing the Ether Furnace.

** Xord, thanks to being a hilariously hammy and memorable StarterVillain with his memorable quotes and exaggerated Cockney accent.

** Bana, the ArcVillain of the late-game "Find the Kingpin!" sidequest[[labelnote:Sidequest Spoilers]] Not only is he the only [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter Nopon]] [[KillerRabbit fought as an enemy]], but he's [[ImprobablePowerDiscrepancy higher level than Egil was at his strongest,]] and both fights are scored to [[SadBattleMusic "Tragic Decision,"]] which in Bana's case makes for some hugely PlayedForLaughs SoundtrackDissonance. Some fans have run with this, giving Bana some of Egil's lines ("Hom-hom blade... not cut deep enough!") and playing him up as the real villain of the game[[/labelnote]]. Like Rotbart, [[AscendedMeme the developers have noticed Bana's infamy,]] which resulted in another Bana being a recurring villain in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' (who became an EnsembleDarkhorse for his [[EvilIsHammy comical hamminess]]) and the original 'pon himself returning for another round in ''Future Connected'' ''and'' in the ''[=XC2=]'' Challenge Battle "This Year's Heropon"... in the same game as Alrest's Bana.

** As people completed ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'', there was an immediate suspect for where the dimensionally-lost Ontos core ended up. ''Definitive Edition'' confirmed this by changing Alvis' keyring necklace into what is clearly a dark red Aegis Core crystal.

** The Territorial Rotbart, a Unique Monster in the Gaur Plain who has become synonymous with being one-shotted in the early game, to the point where [[AscendedMeme they brought him back]] for both ''[[VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX XCX]]'' (in the form of a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute) and [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2 the sequel]].

* SubbingVersusDubbing: The English dub is very well done, to the point that many fans actually prefer it to the original Japanese, especially since the British accents add a lot of uniqueness and charm and avert the usual IAmVeryBritish associated with sci-fi and fantasy works acted or voiced in the UK, instead spanning a variety of real Southern Englander accents for the cast (much with like the ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' series, which shares some voice actors with the ''Xenoblade'' games). Dunban is a prominent example, as his English voice is beloved for his gallant LargeHam tendencies, but his Japanese voice on the other hand is considered [[QuestionableCasting unfitting]] and even outright annoying during battles. However, others consider the dub {{Narm}}y, particularly due to the heavy British accents [[RealityIsUnrealistic that can sound over-the-top to players outside of Europe and Australia]],[[note]]largely because North American audiences associate British accents more with HighFantasy than ScienceFantasy such as ''Xenoblade'',[[/note]] and Riki's English voice is often cited as more annoying than the intended "cute", and its gruffness [[LostInTranslation spoiling the reveal]] that he's really 40 years old.

** Just like Lorithia, Gael'gar of ''Future Connected'' is a villain [[HateSink designed to be hated]] yet hated for all the wrong reasons, mostly because he's an underwritten and uncompelling character that's shoved aside from the story as soon as it's convenient, and has no redeeming or interesting traits to offset his negative ones (racism and general creepiness). Many people consider him one of the worst villains in the entire ''Xeno'' series.

* The "geyser" in Jakt Geyser's name is pronounced "geezer", which can cause uncontrollable fits of giggling in any non-Briton players (and even some Britons). Even better is that Tora uses the ''actual'' term "geezer" in the sequel... in banter with ''[[GuestFighter Shulk himself]]'' no less!

* BrokenBase: While many ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' players were delighted to see Shulk and Fiora as DLC {{Guest Fighter}}s in that game, opinions were split for some time on the fact that ''Definitive Edition'' didn't return the favour and include any explicit crossovers with Alrest in the Time Attack battles or ''Future Connected'', only including a helpful but mundane OldSaveBonus of 100,000 G. Some (particularly those who disliked ''2'') were glad to see the new content distance itself as far as possible from the polarizing sequel, while others saw it as a missed opportunity, hoping for content such as a non-canon Pyra/Mythra or Malos {{superboss}} in Time Attack or more explicit connections to Alrest in ''Future Connected''. The most likely explanation for this was that any "crossover" content between the two worlds was being saved for ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' and especially its expansion ''[[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3FutureRedeemed Future Redeemed]]'', and that even considering the existence of the Land of Challenge, any content related to ''2'' added to ''DE'' would have both made the timeline more confusing and decreased the impact of ''3''[='s=] concept of the two worlds merging; in hindsight, most fans agree that it was a better idea not to do so.