Due to the nature of this game and its characters, all spoilers for Xenoblade Chronicles 1 including Future Connected and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on this page are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

Xenoblade Chronicles 1 | Main Index
Protagonists

The main index of characters appearing in Xenoblade Chronicles 1.

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Main Characters

Protagonists

From Bionis

Homs

Dickson (Dikson)

Dickson

"I like the look in your eye there, lad. It's time. This is war."

Voiced by: Anthony May (English), Tsuyoshi Koyama (Japanese)

Dickson is a veteran of the Battle of Sword Valley a year before the events of the game and a comrade of Dunban and Mumkhar. He is a resident of Colony 9 and looks over Shulk, Reyn, and the other residents. He claims to have found Shulk in the Valak Mountain with the Monado and his parents dead. Dickson raised Shulk as his own. It is later revealed that Dickson is a disciple of Zanza (Dickson of the Trinity) and only took Shulk in because Zanza was using him as a host.

The Ageless: Hasn't aged since becoming Zanza's Disciple millennia ago.
Age Without Youth: It's ambiguous, but it's quite possible that his age is frozen at the moment in time when he became Zanza's Disciple, as he's never shown in a "younger" body.
Alas, Poor Villain: Despite him being an absolutely despicable monster after his true allegiance is revealed, his death is given this treatment in-universe. Shulk sheds a tear when he realizes that the man who had been his surrogate father isn't going to walk off the wound he inflicted on him.
Archnemesis Dad: To Shulk after shooting him In the Back and revealing his true motives, having been the closest thing he had to a father.
Becoming the Mask: Possibly. His last moments suggest that, despite his claims that Shulk had always been nothing more than a tool for Zanza's revival in his eyes, he did actually come to develop some genuine affection towards him.
Better to Die than Be Killed: After Shulk fatally wounds him with the Replica Monado, Dickson calls the fight off and sends the heroes off to face Zanza, rather than stick around and let them see him die.
BFG: His gun is easily longer than his arm, yet he effortlessly wields it in one hand. It also doubles as a sword, making it a Swiss-Army Weapon.
Blood Knight: It's revealed that he follows Zanza's orders because then he gets to fight whoever he wants, and to seize unlimited power.
Boomerang Bigot: Played with. He shares his master's contempt for Bionis lifeforms, despite being a Giant. However, the supplementary secret file claims that Giants were once Telethia like the High Entia, but are in no danger of reverting back to Telethia, meaning the Giants' origins aren't quite the same as other Bionis lifeforms. Regardless, he still doesn't think too highly of Telethia-based lifeforms either, since he helps Lorithia convert the High Entia into Telethia.
Broken Pedestal: He eventually becomes one to Shulk over the course of the game. Throughout his life, Shulk considered Dickson as a Parental Substitute. However, the pedestal is shattered when Dickson shoots Shulk down and reveals himself Zanza's disciple.
Casting a Shadow: During the battles with him, a lot of his attacks are darkness-based.
Co-Dragons: He, Lorithia, and Alvis serve as Zanza's lieutenants, with Dickson being the one the party faces before the final battle against Zanza.
Composite Character: Dickson is primarily an Expy of Khan Wong, sharing his appearance and role as the (adoptive) father of the main character who keeps his true nature a secret from him, while periodically appearing in the story to provide him with mentorship. The reveal that Dickson is deliberately withholding key information about the world from the rest of the party and his true nature as an agent of Zanza, the true ruler of the world, also makes him the first half-Expy of Citan Uzuki's decomposited sinister spy side, in contrast to Dunban inheriting Citan's more positive aspects as a wise pseudo-Asian tactician figure.
Cool Old Guy: He's something of an old curmudgeon but is initially presented as a surprisingly spry and knowledgeable old fellow, at least at first...
Cool Sword: Dickson's sabre is both a blade and a rifle, which he wields with a single hand.
Dark Is Evil: Once he goes One-Winged Angel and reveals his true nature as a villain, most of his attacks become darkness-based.
Dirty Old Man: Jokingly hits on Sharla the first time he sees her.
Dying Alone: After sending the heroes off to face Zanza, Dickson goes off alone to have One Last Smoke before he dies.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He doesn't outright state it, but as he is on his death bed after fighting Shulk and the others, his final thoughts are of Shulk as a child, implying that even with his betrayal, he did care about the boy to some extent even if he doesn't want to admit it.
Evil All Along: Turns out that everything he did was to help Zanza destroy and recreate the world. Suddenly, his early lines start to make a lot more sense as to why he said them.
Evil Old Folks: He turns out very evil in the end and while he could be considered middle-aged instead of old, being 40 years old at best, other characters frequently refer to him as old. Even more so when Dickson is revealed to be Zanza's disciple who hasn't aged a day since becoming said disciple a millennia ago.
Fantastic Racism: Refers to the Homs and Bionis lifeforms in general disparagingly as "things" that had the nerve to just sprout up everywhere.
Faux Affably Evil: After his true allegiance his revealed, he continues to compliment the party, but in a way that's clearly intended to mock them.
Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: The morally grey cigar-smoking badass variety. It becomes much more noticeable as the story approaches its climax and things get more difficult for everyone. Once Zanza returns, he doesn't pick up another one until he dies.
Guest-Star Party Member: He's part of the player's party for two battles: The Battle of Sword Valley in the prologue, and against the Mechon after the Ether Mines.
Hoax Hogan: Looks just like the Hulkster. While he's much more composed, he's still definitely a badass.
I Fight for the Strongest Side!: His stalwart belief in this is why he follows Zanza, whom he (understandably) believes is the mightiest being in existence and thus follows without question. He freaks out when he sees hints that Shulk could be mightier.
Inexplicably Awesome: At first. How could a middle-aged Homs be so well-traveled across the Bionis, be familiar with supposedly mythical beings such as the Telethia and High Entia, reach all the way to the Fallen Arm and establish contact with the Machina, all while being one the strongest soldiers the Homs have to offer? Absolutely no explanation is given until The Reveal.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: At first, he's a gruff man with a soft spot for the party, people of Bionis, and the Machina, making him seem to fit the archetype of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold mentor. Once he's revealed to be Zanza's disciple, it's clear that the heart of gold part was a facade and that he's all jerk.
Knight in Sour Armour: Goes hand in hand with his ambiguous neutrality. He's always on hand to help the heroes, but at the same time, he's frequently dismissive and cynical. When he discovers that the Face Mechon are Homs, his reaction is basically, "So what? I gave up trying to figure them out yonks ago." Subverted once it turns out he's a villain.
Last of His Kind: Due to Zanza exterminating his people, Dickson's the last living Giant.
Meaningful Name: Probably why the localization team chose to write his name as Dickson instead of the more common spelling of "Dixon."
Morph Weapon: In giant form his sword can turn into a blaster and a hammer for some of his arts.
Mr. Exposition: Especially earlier in the game, as he guides Shulk and co. through the lower half of Bionis.
No Hero Discount: So, Dickson's rolled out some sweet new tech that can pierce Mechon armour. Hooray! Also, he expects you to pay for it.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Looks an awful lot like Hulk Hogan, or Willie Nelson.
Not Brainwashed: Dunban and the others have a hard time accepting that Dickson really is working for Zanza of his own free will. Dickson has to spell it out for them.
One Last Smoke: Smokes one last cigar before expiring.
One-Winged Angel: Transforms into his true Giant form before facing Shulk and co one last time.
Our Giants Are Bigger: His true form, a Giant.
Parental Substitute: To Shulk, having raised him after finding him on Valak Mountain.
Parental Betrayal: He literally shoots Shulk In the Back to free Zanza after Shulk decides not to kill Egil following their final battle.
Pre-Final Boss: Dickson is the last boss the party faces before fighting Zanza.
Rage Quit: After Shulk fatally wounds him, he ends the fight there and walks off to deny him the satisfaction of victory.
Really 700 Years Old: Egil remembers him from Zanza's original rampage upon Mechonis, which was well over a thousand years ago.
Smug Snake: After the reveal, Dickson really loves to hit the party where it hurts with truths and taunts, like when he goads Dunban over the "victory drinks" they used to share.
The Sociopath: He did a very good job of pretending to be a very good friend to Shulk, Reyn, and Dunban for a good chunk of their lives before shamelessly betraying them later and admitting his allegiance to an omnicidal and equally sociopathic god.
Staring Down Cthulhu: Gets on the receiving end of this hard from Shulk near the endgame, noting that he hasn't felt fear like that in ages. In the climactic battle with him, it gets so bad that Dickson just gives up after Shulk deals a decisive blow, which is a far cry from his usual self.
Strong Family Resemblance: While Dickson and Shulk are not blood related, Dickson's Homs form could pass for a much older Shulk.
Swiss-Army Weapon: His sword, which, as mentioned above, doubles as a gun. In his true form, his weapon instead transforms between modes instead of being both at once.
The Svengali: Shulk himself will eventually become expendable, as he's just a Soul Jar for Zanza.
Undying Loyalty: For Zanza. He'll fight anyone Zanza asks simply because that's what he wants. Until the end, anyways, when he quits because fighting Shulk and company was becoming too much of a hassle. ^note
Villain Respect: His final moments have him thinking of Shulk and how he surpassed him, denying him the satisfaction of victory, but still giving him his respect.
Voluntary Shapeshifter: Dickson is actually a Giant, but is able to transform into a Homs as a disguise.
Walking Spoiler: It's very difficult to talk about him without mentioning the late-game twist that he's actually a villain working for the true evil behind the scenes.
Was It All a Lie?:
- Dickson makes it very clear that the friend of Dunban and Shulk's adoptive father that they knew him as never really existed.
  Dunban: That's enough! Why, Dickson?! What made you like this?! Shulk looked up to you, respected you!
  Sharla: Dickson! Don't let Zanza control you! Wake up!
  Dickson: You can quit your bellyaching! I'm in total control. I've always been like this! Ever since long before any of you lot were born!
- However, when he is fatally wounded by Shulk, Dickson reverts back to his Homs form and lets Shulk and his companions go to Zanza. Dickson's final thoughts are of Shulk. Perhaps deep down, he did truly grow to care for the boy.
  Dickson: See ya, Kid. Looks like the student finally surpassed the teacher.
Worthy Opponent: As his health depletes during the second portion of his boss fight, he calls the battle the best fight he's had in years.

Mumkhar (Mumca)

Mumkhar/Metal Face

Mumkhar

Metal Face

"What're they trying to prove?! I'm not throwing my life away! No point dying in some godforsaken field."

Voiced by: Tim Watson (English), Norio Wakamoto (Japanese)

Mumkhar (ムムカ, Mumca) is first introduced in the opening scene at the Battle of Sword Valley, alongside Dunban and Dickson. We quickly find out that Mumkhar is an honorless fighter and is willing to flee battle and abandon his comrades to save his life. We also learn that he desires the Monado for himself.

He later returns as Metal Face (黒いフェイス, Black Face) and is the first primary antagonist and the first Faced Mechon introduced in Xenoblade. He is the main reason Shulk begins the journey to the Bionis head.

Alas, Poor Villain: Mostly averted, as almost no one is sorry to see him die, except Dunban who privately admits that while he could never forgive Mumkhar, he still wishes him peace out of sentiment during their times as comrades during the war. Melia also shows some degree of sadness upon seeing him die. Later on in a Heart to Heart with Dunban, named ‘Eternal Scars’, she does express pity for him.
Always Someone Better: According to a NPC in Colony 9, he and Dunban fought before Sword Valley to know who would wield the Monado. Dunban won, leaving Mumkhar especially bitter. Even at the time of the game, the point still stands as Mumkhar is unable to get the better of a crippled Dunban during their bout at Valak Mountain, despite his cybernetic upgrades.
Arc Villain: As Metal Face, he is Shulk's primary target and obstacle for over half of the main story because he led the attack on Colony 9 and killed Fiora. Once he's killed and a revived Fiora in a Mechon body joins the party, Egil takes over as the main villain.
Arch-Enemy: For Shulk, Reyn, and Dunban. Especially Dunban, once his true identity has been discovered. When you add in the deaths of the inhabitants of Colony 6 and the Emperor, plus his inadvertent taunts during his last scene regarding Gadolt, both Sharla and Melia also have their reasons to hate him. So that's pretty much the entire party except for Riki and maybe Fiora, but since she rejoins the party long after Mumkhar's death, it's hard to say.
Ax-Crazy: While Mumkhar became ambitious after Dunban took up the Monado, he only became openly sadistic after being turned into Metal Face, relishing in the bloodshed and suffering he causes. However, this psychopathy ended up being his downfall, and prompted Egil to brainwash the next batch of Face Mechon.
Beard of Evil: Has a small, sharp goatee, and is definitely evil.
Back from the Dead: Dunban thought Mumkhar was killed fleeing from the Mechon assault. He was very wrong.
BFG: Has a giant cannon on his back, which he fires his Grand Shot Art from in addition to its stronger variant, Custom Grand Shot. Project X Zone 2 has a ground version of this called Anti-Air Custom Grand Shot, based on the Grand Shot he fired at Prison Island.
Body Horror: His Mechon body shows just how much of the Homs' organic body is removed during the Face conversion. To clarify: if you look closely, you'll see that the lower part of his body is hollow and can see that his entire spinal column has been replaced with something mechanical.
Buffy Speak:
- Some of his voice-clips from the very brief period in the intro where he's on your side display this.
  Mumkhar: I'll draw 'em to me. Dunban! You do that... blue business ya do!
- Later as Metal Face, he refers to the swarm of Sky Rays as "ginormous things".
Casting a Shadow: His Hell Hound Art during his brief time as a party member in the prologue is an AoE ether Art that draws aggro.
Cursed with Awesome: He views his Mechon body as this.
Mumkhar: I love this body! The power!
Dirty Coward: He deserts his war buddies to save his own skin less that five minutes into the game.
Disney Villain Death: Following being Impaled with Extreme Prejudice by a spire on Galahad Fortress he blasted off while trying to kill Shulk and Dunban, he falls off Sword Valley onto the Fallen Arm.
Dub Name Change: His Mechon's name was changed from Black Face to Metal Face, likely due to the unfortunate implications tied to the Japanese name. Oddly enough, the location on the Fallen Arm where his corpse is found is still named Black Wreckage in the western release.
Evil Counterpart: Like Fiora, he's a dual-wielding Faced-Mechon with ties to Dunban and Shulk (Mumkhar being their enemy post-Metal Face, and Fiora being Dunban's sister and Shulk's Love Interest). Makes it rather appropriate that him killing her is what leads to her becoming a Faced-Mechon. However, while Fiora prefers her Homs body, but doesn't mind making the most of her Mechon body to help Shulk and the others, Mumkhar loves his Mechon body because of the power it grants him, both to his Metal Face Mechon alter ego and his former Homs fighting style.
Evil Is Petty: His motives for going along with Egil's scheme calling for the mass extinction of the life on Bionis boils down to getting a one up over Dunban. Not to mention that he leaves himself plenty of free time to mock the loved ones of those he skewered.
Dunban: Why did you betray us to the Mechonis? Why did you kill our friends at the colony? Why?!
Mumkhar: You wanna know? Because it's your home!
Dunban: You piece of-
Evil Sounds Raspy: Mumkhar's voice is very raspy. It's taken higher once he becomes a Faced Mechon.
Evil Wears Black: Both his Faced Mechon and his Mechon-enhanced body are black, and is the most repulsive of the Faced Mechon.
Expy: Is one to Xenosaga's Margulis just as Dunban is to Jin Uzuki, with them having been former close comrades until they parted ways due to the former's villainous actions and having developed a single-minded obsessive hatred against the latter.
Face–Heel Turn: Was once a soldier of Colony 9 before joining the Mechon, although how much of a "Face" he once was is disputable since he was pretty unscrupulous even then.
Fallen Hero: It appears that while he was never much of a "hero", as Dunban has described him to be "unreliable", he is mentioned in the same breath to also have once been an honorable man and was genuinely one of the strongest soldiers produced by the Homs. It is suspected that Mumkhar was seduced by the power of the Monado, and was driven by envy towards his rival Dunban, who was selected above him to wield the sword. Whatever stability his mind had left was shattered by his conversion into a Face Mechon, and lost all restraint in terms of his sanity.
Faux Affably Evil: He takes personal enjoyment in enraging Shulk and later Dunban while being ruthless and sadistic, and he does so while being mockingly polite.
Metal Face: Hope I'm not interrupting!
Finger Wag: During the encounter with Metal Face during the Colony 9 attack, he taunts Shulk this way after the Monado fails to harm him.
Foil: To Xord, another Homs who was converted into a Faced Mechon after the First Battle of Sword Valley.
- Both are antagonists fought early on who each reveal something unique about the Mechon. Mumkhar introduces the Faced Mechon as a whole along with the advantages they have in battle, while Xord reveals that they are able to talk unlike the standard Mechon.
- Mumkhar and Xord each provide motivation for the protagonists to fight the Mechon threat by attacking Colony 9 and Colony 6, respectively, and in the process killing someone who is later resurrected as Face themselves (Mumkhar impaling Fiora and Xord apparently murdering Gadolt in addition to eating a number of Colony 6’s residents).
- In their own ways, they are both exceedingly malicious and bombastic. Mumkhar, however, places more emphasis on the “malicious” part, as his boisterousness is largely a side-effect of his sadistic eagerness to cause pain and misery to everyone around him and taunt them about it. By contrast, Xord’s “bombastic” side shines through more as, while he clearly has an unhealthily jovial attitude to the bloodshed he causes, he has enough humanity to exhibit sentimentality over what little recollection he has of his life as a Homs, and a Colony 9 sidequest strongly implies that Désirée is his daughter.
- Both meet their ends by falling from a great height, compounded with another lethal factor (Mumkhar being impaled before his fall, and Xord being enveloped in an explosion upon impact).
Foreshadowing: Metal Face's movements are very similar to Mumkhar's, which Dunban notices on Prison Island before the actual reveal.
For the Evulz: Why did he attack Colony 9, killing all those innocent people? Do you really want to know, Dunban?
Mumkhar: Because it's your home.
Glory Hound: He wants the Monado just so he can be "the new hero" instead of Dunban.
Gonk: Xenoblade's cast is not exactly made up of The Beautiful Elite, but they sure do look it when put next to this guy.
Green-Eyed Monster: He hates and envies Dunban for being the Monado's master during the war.
Guest-Star Party Member: And a particularly pitiful one in that regard too since he fights alongside you during the Battle of Sword Valley in the prologue - for five minutes before ditching you in battle to save his own skin. Granted, he was already a coward to begin with and made it clear from the get-go that he's unreliable.
Hate Sink: Many of the game's villains have sympathetic points, if not outright tragic, or pushes the story into grey territory. As you could tell by now, Metal Face isn't one of them, and being the Starter Villain, players are driven to play the game just to make scrap metal out of him.
Hero Killer: Takes out Fiora, Emperor Sorean, and the giant Zanza within the first half of the story. This later becomes a subversion when it turns out that Fiora was not quite dead, and Zanza was both not quite dead and not quite a hero.
Hey, You!: Always refers to Shulk as "Brat", "Boy", and "Monado Boy", with the only time he refers to him by name is when Shulk gives him the Monado in exchange for letting Fiora go.
Hollywood Cyborg: Upon his conversion to a Mechon. His new body is both almost completely mechanical and comes with a set of built-in laser claws.
Hopeless Boss Fight: Until Shulk obtains the Monado II, every encounter with Metal Face ends in loss.
Hoist by His Own Petard: He meets his end when he gets impaled by a spire he blasted loose from Galahad Fortress.
Humongous Mecha: Like all Faced Mechon.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: By a giant falling spire which he knocked loose by trying to hit Shulk and Dunban with a parting shot.
Javelin Thrower: Wields a spear that kills Zanza’s Arglas body with green liquid that decomposes any being from Bionis. Said spear would later be the primary weapon for Mass-Produced Faces during the rest of the game, starting with the 3rd and final fight against Mumkhar/Metal Face.
Jerkass: Among his first lines of dialogue as a Face Mechon? Gloating over his murder of Fiora in front of her friends. His behaviour doesn't improve from there.
Joke Character: While he's a Guest-Star Party Member he isn't particularly useful, his attacks aren't very accurate, and he's almost guaranteed to be at low tension in the first fight of the prologue. His only saving grace is that the tutorial fights are impossible to lose, meaning he isn't actually a liability.
Karma Houdini Warranty: Throughout the first half of the game, he's able to cause many deaths without suffering retribution at the hands of those he's wronged, thanks to a combination of Mechon steel and a resistance to the Monado (and even when the Monado temporarily gets opportunities to damage him, he simply retreats). This warranty completely expires once the Monado gets upgraded to the Monado II, eliminating the previous immunity and he becomes the sword's first test dummy.
Karmic Death:
- When we first see him, he impales Fiora with his claws. When we last see him, he gets impaled while falling off Sword Valley. Even further, he dies as a result of rejecting Shulk and Dunban's choice to spare his life.
- Metal Face was directly responsible for every death that occurred in spite of Shulk's visions, ultimately including his own.
Kick the Dog: After murdering Fiora in cold blood (and the party learns much later that Face Mechon can talk), he doesn't hesitate to rub it in the party's face. He does the same later to Melia in regards to Emperor Sorean.
The Lancer: The underhanded variety to Dunban during the first Homs-Mechon war.
Large Ham: He's very over-the-top as Metal Face (although you probably won't get that impression during his first appearance), especially with Tim Watson's English voice-acting when he's in the heat of battle or gloating at his enemies.
Mascot Villain: Metal Face is something of an unofficial mascot for the first Xenoblade Chronicles, being the first and the most iconic villain in the game. He even stars as the Stage Boss in the Super Smash Bros.' rendition of Gaur Plains and as a recurring boss in Project X Zone 2.
More Despicable Minion: Egil is the leader of the Mechon Army with the goal of total extermination of all life on Bionis. But he is a noble man who cares about his people, the Machina, and is revealed to have a sympathetic backstory. The party has a far more personal vendetta with Mumkhar, who is responsible for things like the burning of Colony 9, Fiora's death, the death of the High Entia Emperor, actively aiding the plan to genocide his own people, and generally going out of his way to make the party's lives as miserable as possible while being as smug about it as possible. Unlike his boss, he does not care one bit about the Machina or anyone else — he just wants to show up Dunban.
Mouth Stitched Shut: During his first few appearances from Colony 9 through Colony 6, Metal Face's mouth has the appearance of being partially stitched. He loses the "stitches" following the repair job afterward.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: If he hadn't needlessly antagonized the Monado wielders to the point of wanting revenge above anything else, his side would have found things a lot easier. His loose cannon status even contributes to Egil's decision to brainwash the next batch of Faced Mechon (including Gadolt) so they don't have the same problem.
Nigh-Invulnerable: Like all Faced Mechon until the Monado is powered up he's effectively invulnerable to harm.
Obviously Evil: Let's see here... Gravelly voice (especially his Japanese voice actor), hunched-over battle stance, bulging eyes, being a rude and self-serving little bastard from the moment of his appearance... The only reason Dunban was surprised was due to turning a blind eye to him until his betrayal.
Dunban: You fought beside me at Sword Valley! Why did you change sides?! Why the Mechon?!
Mumkhar: You're as blind as you were then! I've wanted you dead for years!
Playing with Fire: His Mechon body has superheated claws blades on his arms, allowing him to use fire-based attacks.
Poisonous Person: The 3rd and final fight with him in Sword Valley has his Metal Face claws infused with a green ether-like liquid that can decompose any being from Bionis.
Primal Stance: His battle stance has him hunched over.
Psycho Supporter: He fully supports Egil's plan to exterminate all life on Bionis, but only for the joy of slaughtering innocent lives and not because of Egil's greater plans.
Recurring Boss: You fight him four times as Metal Face and once on-foot.^note
Sacrificial Lion: Same as Fiora, in that he's a fighter that dies early on and then he comes back.
Self-Disposing Villain: Even though he clearly has no redeeming qualities and will continue to be a threat, Shulk insists on sparing his life, purely on principle. Shortly after, he accidentally causes a large pillar to fall on himself while continuing to attack the party, and dies.
SkeleBot 9000: The rib cage-like markings on his chest and the thin "spine" connecting Metal Face's upper and lower body are obviously meant to give this impression.
Smarter Than You Look: Mumkhar/Metal Face may be a sneaky coward and an unreliable ally even before he became a Mechon, but he’s able to deduce certain moments, correctly figuring out the Mechon are after the Monado during the Battle of Sword Valley, the Sky Rays being Zanza’s minions even before his status as the game’s main villain is revealed, and Fiora still alive as a Face Mechon when she, as Silver Face/Face Nemesis, flies off to find Shulk and the party.
Smug Snake: He's an absolute Troll that shows no respect for anyone or anything, and he doesn't take losing well. He also always thought he was better than Dunban, but when he fights Dunban hand-to-hand, Mumkhar still loses even though he has a Mechon body and Dunban is fighting with his off-hand, and with a normal weapon instead of the Monado, to boot.
Sole Survivor: The only survivor from his original colony.
Start of Darkness: Dunban mentions in one of the Heart to Hearts that while Mumkhar was cowardly and seemed unreliable, he didn't become the envious monster seen in the story until Dunban wielded the Monado.
Starter Villain: Is the very first Faced Mechon faced off against, and the one that starts off Shulk's adventure.
Starter Villain Stays: Mumkhar continues being a villain throughout the game since Colony 6 until Sword Valley where he dies. He always has the upper hand on Shulk for the first two encounters due to being immune to the Monado, until it gets powered up at Prison Island.
Strong as They Need to Be: His level goes up each time you fight him. This leads to an odd case when you fight Mumkhar on foot and he's stronger than his mech was on Prison Island and that his Metal Face form in Colony 9 was weaker than he was in the Prologue.
Stupid Evil: Every scene he's in, Mumkhar prioritizes being a slimy, degenerate scumbag that needlessly antagonizes Dunban and his friends to the point that that everyone wants him dead, plus acts against Egil's orders For the Evulz.
Token Evil Teammate: While Egil's forces are all pretty evil, Mumkhar stands out, as he could care less about the Bionis-Mechonis conflict; he just takes delight in murdering people and destroying lives, and then rubbing it in people's faces. His violent obsession with the party actually works against Egil's plans, leading him to ensure that all future Faced Mechon have all memory of their past lives erased.
Took a Level in Badass: After he becomes Metal Face, he's a much more dangerous opponent than he was previously.
Took a Level in Jerkass: While it seems he was never a straight-laced hero, Mumkhar was called by Dunban a worthy comrade during the first Mechon war, even saving his life many times. By the time he became Metal Face, any scruples he had were gone with the wind, as he has the deaths of Dunban and his loved ones on the top of his wish list.
Transforming Mecha: He and the rest of the Faces can fold up into an aircraft.
Transhuman Treachery: Justified. He was never a particularly loyal individual to begin with, which is why the Machina decided they didn't need to brainwash him, only offer him survival and power.
Troll: He loves pissing off Shulk and Dunban. And he does this very very well.
Undignified Death: Not only does he cause his own death, getting pinned into a platform by a spire he accidentally shot loose and then getting dropped to his death with said platform, his last words are him lamenting that he's dying such a humiliating death. Afterward, the wreckage of Metal Face becomes a landmark on the Fallen Arm.
Mumkhar: No! No! NOT LIKE THIIIIIIS!!
Villain Has a Point: During his fourth encounter with the party he taunts Shulk whether or not he's willing to kill his own kind to stop the forces of Mechonis. While this is coming from the guy who attacked Colony 9 to spite Dunban, Shulk was willing to kill all Mechon that were seemingly just mindless robots. Learning the truth about the Faced Mechon made Shulk question his desire for revenge and his goals over the Bionis-Mechonis conflict.
Villainous Breakdown: Beaten time and time again by Shulk and forced to reckon with, even with his Mechon body, that he'll never be able to defeat the heroes, Metal Face snaps, particularly when Dunban dismisses him as someone not worth the effort. His subsequent, suicidality reckless final attempt to kill the heroes ends up taking him out instead, during which Metal Face spends his last moments in pure disbelief.
Dunban: Did you hear that, Mumkhar? We haven't got time to be playing around with you.
Mumkhar: You always had to have the last word... Just DIE!!
The Voiceless: In his first appearance as Metal Face. He gets fitted with a voice projector before his second appearance.
White Mask of Doom: Metal Face's faceplate is stark white.
Wolverine Claws: His main weapon is a pair of clawlike weapons on each hand. After he's turned into a Mechon, he gets the ability to create firey laser claws from his knuckles when fighting outside of Metal Face.
You Can't Fight Fate: Every vision involving Mumkhar in the story comes true, from killing Fiora, to killing Sorean, to his own death. Subverted with Sharla, since Shulk knows that Mumkhar's Metal Face claws are filled with a sickly green liquid and saves her from death.

Xord (Zord)

Xord/Mysterious Face/Bronze Face

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xord.png

"I'm Xord, your host tonight!"

Voiced by: Jonathan Keeble (English), Tesshō Genda (Japanese)

Xord is the second Faced Mechon that Shulk meets and is the first Mechon to talk in the game. He serves as an early-game villain who led an army of Mechon to take over Colony 6, which Shulk's party fought against him to free the colony from his grip. Xord features the ability to transform into a bulky jet, similar to Metal Face.

Alas, Poor Villain: Shulk cries out his name after Xord pushes himself off the platform and detonates. The music playing during this moment and Xord's general energy make him seem much more pathetic and pitiful than usual.
Arc Villain: He's the commander of the Mechon forces that attacked and now occupy Colony 6 and is therefore the main antagonist that Shulk, Reyn, and Sharla must overcome during that portion of the game.
Arch-Enemy: To Sharla, as he's the Faced Mechon who led the attack on Colony 6, kidnapped Juju and is implied to have personally defeated Gadolt.
Big Damn Heroes: He comes back under mysterious circumstances near the end of the game to save Juju and Otharon from a Gigas-type Telethia, killing it with his hammer.
Big Eater: Xord frequently talks about how hungry he is, insinuating that he's eaten most of Colony 6's refugees and saying he's still hungry for more after the fact, and considers his battleground inside the Ether Mines to be his "banquet hall".
Blood Knight: He comes back from falling into a bath of Ether, still hungry.
Boisterous Bruiser: Metal Face even lampshades it.
Boss in Mook Clothing: Mass-Produced Faces show up multiple times throughout the game as flunkies to larger Faced Mechon such as Metal Face or Yaldabaoth, but Xord is the only Mass-Produced Face who is fought as his own designated boss.
Brain in a Jar: First generation Faced Mechon only had their brains and a few other organs preserved when they were transformed.
The Brute: Subverted. He looks the part but, as a Mass-Produced Face, he turns out to just be an Elite Mook with backstory.
Degraded Boss: Mass-Produced Faces that look and fight just like him show up as regular enemies much later in the game.
Fat Bastard: Noticeably bulkier than most other Mechon, and thoroughly unpleasant to say the least. Fitting, given his appetite and the size of his weapon.
Foil: To Mumkhar, another Homs who was converted into a Faced Mechon after the Battle of Sword Valley.
- Both are antagonists fought early on who each reveal something unique about the Mechon. Mumkhar introduces the Faced Mechon as a whole along with the advantages they have in battle, while Xord reveals that they are able to talk unlike the standard Mechon.
- Mumkhar and Xord each provide motivation for the protagonists to fight the Mechon threat by attacking Colony 9 and Colony 6, respectively, and in the process killing someone who is later resurrected as Face themselves (Mumkhar impaling Fiora and Xord apparently murdering Gadolt in addition to eating a number of Colony 6’s residents).
- In their own ways, they are both exceedingly malicious and bombastic. Mumkhar, however, places more emphasis on the "malicious" part, as his boisterousness is largely a side-effect of his sadistic eagerness to cause pain and misery to everyone around him and taunt them about it. By contrast, Xord's "bombastic" side shines through more as, while he clearly has an unhealthily jovial attitude to the bloodshed he causes, he has enough humanity to exhibit sentimentality over what little recollection he has of his life as a Homs, and a Colony 9 sidequest strongly implies that Désirée is his daughter.
- Both seem to meet their ends by falling from a great height, compounded with another lethal factor (Mumkhar being impaled before his fall, and Xord being enveloped in an explosion upon impact). Xord, unlike Mumkhar, survived the impact, was repaired offscreen and returned to Colony 6 to defend it from the Telethia.
Foreshadowing: He drops many hints that Faced Mechon are actually Homs.
Heel–Face Turn: Implied. Once Zanza starts sicking the Telethia all across Bionis, Xord is seen with the refugees of Colony 6, even Juju, fighting off the Telethia, though his reason for doing so is never explained.
Humungous Headed Hammer: He wields a giant hammer.
Humongous Mecha: Complete with a jet form.
It Can Think: The first Mechon who displays human-like behaviour in front of our heroes, cluing them in to the fact that they're something more than mindless robots.
I'm a Humanitarian: Plays this up far more than any other Mechon, Faced or otherwise.
King Mook: Xord's build is that of a Mass-Produced Face, but he's slightly larger than most, is the only one considered a story boss, and, because he was constructed around the same time as Metal Face, the only one allowed to retain his Homs conscience.
Large Ham: Every line of his is bombastic.
Laughably Evil: He's whimsically and amusingly hammy with his bombastic line delivery, showboating personality and thick-as-molasses Cockney accent in the English dub. His voice actor from said dub would later voice Muimui, another comical villain in the sequel.
Nigh-Invulnerable: Even moreso than Metal Face was in his first encounter, as Xord is immune to Break unless it's inflicted via Chain Attack. It also saves his life after falling on the Ether river, losing several limbs and seemingly exploding.
Sanity Slippage: Being turned into a Mechon clearly did his sanity no favors. At one point it's implied that he doesn't even remember his own name, and only responds to it because others have called him by it. Due to him being mostly a bit of brain and a brain stem at this point, it's not that surprising.
Shock and Awe: His hammer can channel electricity.
Small Role, Big Impact: He's a relatively minor character who is killed off fairly early in the scope of the full story, but he has a very significant impact on the narrative in the short amount of screen time he does have. He's the first Mechon with any speaking lines, indicating that Faced Mechon are not just lifeless machines like the other generic Mechon. Almost every line he speaks outside of random battle quotes provides some amount of foreshadowing towards later plot twists (particularly regarding the true nature of what Faced Mechon like himself actually are). He's also the first Faced Mechon to be taken out by Shulk and company, proving that Faced Mechon may be much tougher than their generic comrades, but they are not as invincible as they initially appear and can be taken down by the Homs with enough effort.
To Serve Man: He devours the rest of the prisoners of Colony 6 minus Juju and Gadolt before you reach him. Though given that you later learn that the Mechon aren't actually eating people, it's heavily implied he only said this to rile Sharla up.
Tragic Monster: He was believed killed in the Battle of Sword Valley but was instead made into a Faced Mechon.
Unexplained Recovery: Confusingly, the Mass-Produced Face that shows up to save Juju from the Telethia at the end is him◊, despite him having apparently died by that point due to exploding in the Ether Mines and having Spirit — Xord appear after defeating Dickson.
Villain Forgot to Level Grind: He is Level 25 in the first battle when you would typically be Level 18, in the second battle his level hasn't grown at all and is still Level 25, when you would have been doing sidequests for Colony 6 to reach the same level.
Was Once a Man: As a result of being a converted Homs. He was a blacksmith in Colony 9. You probably met his daughter, Désirée, while doing sidequests.
White Mask of Doom: Has a white faceplate.

Alvis (Alviss)

Alvis/Monado/Ontos

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xcde_alvis.png

"Do you wish to change it? The future."

Voiced by: Blake Ritson (English), Shizuma Hodoshima (Japanese)

Alvis (アルヴィース, Alviss) first meets Shulk when he is collecting some pure water crystals for Melia. They are attacked by a Telethia and Alvis teaches Shulk to use the Purge ability, while demonstrating he can use the Monado with great proficiency. Alvis is revealed to be the seer of the Emperor Sorean, and later one of Zanza's disciples.

More than that, at the end he reveals himself to be THE Monado, and the true creator of Xenoblade's world.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 implies that he is Ontos (ウーシア, Ousia), the missing third Aegis core of the Trinity Processor built by Klaus, and Definitive Edition supports this by changing his necklace from a key to a pendant resembling a red Aegis Core Crystal. This ends up being outright confirmed in Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed, which answers what happened to Alvis after the events of the first game.

For tropes relating to his incarnations in Aionios, see here and here.

Agent Peacock: Downplayed example. Alvis has an androgynous appearance and high-pitched voice in the Japanese audio, and dresses and behaves a little more flamboyantly than usual for Xenoblade 1's otherwise subdued standards. Nevertheless he is an extremely powerful swordsman able to handle Shulk's Monado without penalty, and is ultimately revealed to be the closest thing the world has to God.
Ambiguous Gender: In the official Monado Files describes his gender as "Male (???)", indicating that although his physical form is that of a Homs man, his actual gender identity is not quite as obvious. While some of it could be attributed to the fact that he is an AI disguised as a person, Xenoblade 2 shows that Pyra/Mythra and Malos are clearly gendered, and it's later clarified in Future Redeemed that Ontos' native gender is between male and female. Alvis took on a masculine form due to the influence of Zanza, but the part of Alvis that represented his personhood was able to reform in a feminine body as a reflection of Ontos' innate androgyny.
Big Good: While he does have an Omniscient Morality License, his ultimate goal is Zanza's ultimate downfall, which he achieves by playing the part of Zanza's loyal disciple and as the seer of the High Entia.
Cain and Abel and Seth: Inverted. His siblings in Alrest, Pyra/Mythra and Malos occupy the positions of Cain and Abel respectively, with Pyra/Mythra being the benevolent sibling(s) and Malos being the antagonistic one - but the two of them were introduced long after Alvis was from a narrative standpoint, whereas Alvis only describes himself as originally being an AI and not as an Aegis or part of the Trinity Processor.
Co-Dragons: Subverted. While he was revealed to be one of the disciples of Zanza alongside Dickson and Lorithia, Alvis’ true goal was to help Shulk and his party stop Zanza.
The Conscience: Future Redeemed reveals that Alvis, when awakened from the Ontos core, was shouldered with the unconscious guilt that Zanza was initially burdened with that came about as a result of Zanza's fault in destroying the previous world. Eventually, Zanza lost the capacity for guilt or shame, with Alvis now taking those emotions and acting upon them to ensure a better future for the inhabitants of the Bionis and the Mechonis.
Cool Sword: Wields one during the fight with the Telethia. Not to mention him temporarily wielding the Monado against them to demonstrate the Purge ability. Also, he constitutes the soul of the True Monado that Shulk wields at the end, like Meyneth did for theirs.
Cryptic Conversation: In classic Xeno style. It's clear he's more than just a seer, and most of his conversations with Shulk aren't clear until the very end of the game. Even his parting words to Shulk are cryptic enough to have been retroactively turned into Foreshadowing during a DLC sidequest for 2.
Crystal Dragon Jesus: He is sort of a direct parallel to the Monad from Gnosticism, which is even referenced in his true name, Monado.
Curtains Match the Window: His gray hair is matched by his equally grey eyes.
Deus est Machina: Interestingly played, as he's an AI who became an omniscient god. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 sheds more light on this, suggesting that he might be a Blade. More specifically, an Aegis, like Mythra, Pyra and Malos, due to him having a Trinity Core Crystal named Ontos alongside Mythra and Pyra's Pneuma and Malos' Logos, and all three get their power from a reality-bending object called The Conduit, which shares the same Zohar-like shape. The Definitive Edition seems to confirm it, as it has replaced the key on his necklace with Ontos, which is red unlike Pneuma's green and Logos' purple. Although normal Core Crystals are attached to their Blade, Pyra and Mythra are able to detach theirs from their bodies, so it's possible Alvis did the same.
Double Reverse Quadruple Agent: First he's working for the High Entia as the royal prophet, with him advising Shulk on the side. Then it turns out he was secretly working for Zanza all along. Then at the end, he winds up betraying Zanza because he was really always on Shulk's side the whole time.
Enigmatic Minion: The twist is he's a lot simpler and more benevolent than you would expect him to be.
Expy:
- Takahashi could have put chaos' or Wilhelm's models in some scenes and probably a lot of people wouldn't have noticed the difference. Even their personalities, voices (specially in Japanese) and even roles in the story are almost the same. When Alvis reveals his true form to Shulk after the final battle and his true nature to help bring down Zanza is revealed, he actually takes a form similar to the Wave Existence, which is the appropriate Expy for what Alvis' role is in the greater Xenoblade story.
- Alvis is also an Expy to Kaworu Nagisa from Neon Genesis Evangelion, being a mysterious, silver-haired, and somewhat camp-ish young man who takes an interest in the main protagonist, but hides his true nature from him due to how sizable his role is within the grand scheme of things. Definitive Edition goes even further by giving a red Core Crystal, the same color as Kaworu's eyes.
Foreshadowing:
- Within the first Xenoblade Chronicles:
  - If you examine the script, you'll notice that Alvis never actually calls himself a Homs. That's just Shulk's assumption that everybody rolls with.
  - His cold and unemotional demeanor foreshadows the fact that he is actually an AI.
  - During the time when he fights alongside you, his battle lines include "resistance is futile" and "I can't let you do that". Lines made famous for their use by intelligent machines.
  - In the same fight, Alvis encouraging Shulk will fill the Monado Talent Gauge. A fitting mechanic for the Monado himself.
- Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has several moments that imply his true nature as an Aegis before its formal reveal in Future Redeemed:
  - When Pyra greets Rex's dead soul in her Elysium "memory", she does so in a near-identical fashion to how Alvis greeted Shulk when they first met.
  - While different in terms of gameplay mechanics, Mythra's Foresight ability is described as predicting the movement of Ether particles, which is exactly how Alvis described his and Shulk's own ability to have Visions.
  - Malos's true Aegis weapon is revealed to be a Monado, even using much of the same arts used by Shulk wielding Zanza's and Alvis's Monados.
  - Finally, the Architect ties all of the above together by describing Ontos as being a sibling core to Logos (Malos) and Pneuma (Pyra/Mythra) who disappeared in a space-time transition, much like how Alvis described himself as being a computer used to trigger "phase transition" experiments. This is later brought full circle in Definitive Edition, where his key necklace is changed to his Aegis core.
The Ghost: In Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which explains the nature of Ontos and has major implications for Alvis' true nature, but does not feature the actual character in any capacity (despite Klaus playing a major role and Shulk and Fiora appearing as optional content). The full implications of him being Ontos are explored thoroughly in Future Redeemed.
God Is Good: He's the true god of the Xenoblade universe. Zanza and Meyneth have just been borrowing his power. Furthermore, his goal is to free the Homs and Machina from Zanza's tyrannical reign. He just has a very longwinded way of doing it.
God Was My Copilot: Spends most of the game masquerading as the seer of the High Entia, then later revealing himself to be a disciple of Zanza, and then finally reveals himself to be in essence the actual top God of the game's world, as opposed to Zanza's delusions that he was the top God of the world that the Bionis and the Mechonis reside within.
Guest-Star Party Member: He joins Shulk's party briefly in Makna Forest.
He Who Must Not Be Seen: In Xenoblade Chronicles 2, as the third core of the trinity processor, originally named Ontos.
Living Weapon: He is the personification of the true Monado, a blade which makes its way to Shulk during the final confrontation with Zanza. It's implied here and in the second game that this is his weapon as a Blade like that of Pyra/Mythra and Malos, and as it is implied that Zanza and Meyneth were borrowing power from him, that would make them and Shulk his Drivers.
Long Lost Sibling: The missing third core of the Trinity Processor, which makes him one to Malos and Pyra/Mythra. In the sequel, an apparent throwaway post-battle conversation between Mythra and Shulk implies that they might have some knowledge of this:
Mythra: Shulk, your sword... is it really...?
Shulk: Yes, everything you've heard is true.
Mythra: It's OK. I don't know the details now, but one day, you'll need to tell me all about it.
Meaningful Name:
- "Alvíss" means "All-wise" in Old Norse, and Alvis fittingly is the wise advisor to the High Entia. Not to mention that he has a very good reason for being so all-wise.
- The Monad in Gnosticism is the first God, who created those that followed, which makes Alvis' endgame revelation somewhat clearer.
- In computer programming, a monad is a structure that combines various functions into a sequence that can alter the state of a program. The Monado has a set of unique functions (powers) and can alter the state of the universe. In addition, one of the characteristics of a monad is that when you call one of its functions, the function will almost always return another monad, often the one it was called from. In other words, a monad is there at the beginning, and it's there at the end. The computer science analogy is doubly appropriate given Alvis' origin as an AI.
- It's also worth noting that since the only consonant that can be written without a vowel after it in Japanese is "N", so Monado is literally just the Japanese transliteration of Monad.
Mr. Exposition: Extremely knowledgeable about the history of the Monado, and at the end of the game he reveals the origin of the world the game takes place in.
Mystical White Hair: Is silver-haired despite his youthful appearance, which hints towards his more mysterious and ambiguous role in the grand scheme of things, and that he's not what he appears to be.
Omniscient Morality License: Being the true god of the Xenoblade universe, he is effectively omniscient. While he may seem like he has Chronic Backstabbing Disorder, especially towards the end of the game, it's actually all a long Batman Gambit to ensure that Zanza is overthrown.
Orwellian Retcon: His key necklace in the original is changed to a red Aegis core in Definitive Edition and all later Xenoblade material, helping better establish his true nature as a sibling to Pyra/Mythra and Malos and setting up for his role in Future Redeemed.
Otherworldly and Sexually Ambiguous: Alvis is referred to with male pronouns, but has a much more androgynous appearance and voice as well as somewhat camp-ish mannerisms that may cause confusion to people who first meet him. Future Redeemed confirms that the Ontos core is supposed to be the nonbinary core of the Trinity Processor, with Pneuma being female and Logos being male.
Outsourcing Fate: Lets Shulk decide what happens to the world after Zanza has been killed. As he is ultimately an AI with limited free will, as well as an Aegis that relies on the decisions of a "driver" in order to function properly, this decision is in-line with his very design.
Person of Mass Destruction: By virtue of being an Aegis, he's this; his power is wielded by both the Bionis and the Mechonis, as well as a select few individuals (Shulk, Fiora, Egil, Meyneth, Zanza), and it is this power that causes wanton destruction for centuries until everyone decides that the Forever War had to go and (later on) Zanza needed to be stopped. But unlike his siblings, Alvis doesn't carry the same amount of regret as they do for the destruction caused by their powers, likely because he places the full blame on the people actually using them.
Prophet Eyes: Sort of. They're a very light grey - but the trope still works as Alvis is a seer. As it turns out, that's only half-right. Alvis is not simply a Homs seer - he's a seer because he's a god and, thus, knows everything that's going to happen and how to change the future.
Reality Warper: As the true Monado, he has the ability to disturb the very fabric of reality, an ability that he gives to Shulk in the end. He shares this power with his fellow Aegis cores, but he possesses it in a greater capacity than Pyra/Mythra and Malos do.
Robo Speak: Notably used only once, when he describes his original function as an administrative AI overseeing a research facility, and then admits that Shulk has no way of understanding what that is.
Seers: He has the ability of foresight much like Shulk, working as a seer for the High Entia imperial family. It's later revealed that he is the origin of Shulk's ability, being an A.I. deity with the ability to predict the movement of ether particles. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 later shows that Mythra has the same ability, making it one of the many hints that Alvis is her sibling.
Shared Family Quirks:
- Because of the way he's designed and how he came into his current state, he has trouble acting independently just like his brother Malos. This is why his ways of helping Shulk have to be very indirect and hands off. Both of them ended up bonded to an extremely immoral individual as that forced them to do awful things because they saw them as weapons. Their sisters avoided this fate due to acquiring free will by being bonded initially to someone who basically raised them as their big brother or father figure. Similarly to his sisters, Alvis also improves his free will by being bound to a good person: Shulk.
- He is also not above making snarky remarks towards others just as Mythra and Malos have to their respective allies and enemies. One example of this being him pointing out Reyn's folly of pushing a button in the High Entia Tomb and triggering a floor trap that delays the party from saving Melia sooner.
Significant White Hair, Dark Skin: Possesses silver hair that is at odds with his youthful appearance, with a tan skin color that further contrasts with the color of his hair. Both of these help him stand out from the other characters in the game, which points towards his hidden importance to the overall Myth Arc of not just the game itself, but of the entire "Klaus saga" trilogy.
Stealth Hi/Bye: Pulls this repeatedly in his first meeting with Shulk.
Time Abyss: He predates both the Bionis and the Mechonis, originally being a core of the Trinity Processor in the First Low Orbit Station above Earth, thus making him thousands of years old at the very least. More than that, however, he is the only one between him, Zanza, and Meyneth (the latter two originally being scientists onboard the station) who actually remembers his origins and the original world.

Vangarre (Vandamme)

Colonel Vangarre

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/800px_vangarre_yelling_at_his_troops_de.png

"[...]Then I want a million press-ups from both of you! And you better not stop until your biceps explode!"'

Voiced by: Alec Newman (English), Nobuhiko Kazama (Japanese)

Vangarre is the colonel of the Colony 9 Defense Force. He's known for abusing his troops and assigning them impossible tasks, and Reyn tends to call him as "Square-tache." Despite his rough persona, Vangarre still takes his job as a Colony 9 soldier very seriously as seen when he did his best trying to protect Colony 9 from Metal Face's invading Mechon force. Later on when Kallian summons allies to make an Army of the Bionis, Vangarre joins in serving as one of the Homs soldiers leading on the front-line.

The Dreaded: Among his own men, so much that he can even intimidate them into not dropping him to his death despite being in a position to do so by threatening to make them do sit-ups for the rest of their lives. Given Shulk, company and some Homs in the Machina Village survived a drop from that same height, his men have every reason to take his warning seriously.
Drill Sergeant Nasty: In his very first scene, he screams and yells at two soldiers, punches one in the face, and assigns them a million press-ups. However, he's still very dedicated to the protection of Colony 9 and the people of Bionis even when things seem hopeless and survives a close encounter with Metal Face.
Dub Name Change: Spelled Vandamme in Japan.
Impossible Task: These aren't meant to be a trick or test of character; he actually expects his men to be able to carry out superhuman or physics-defying commands.
Incoming Ham: His first voiced line is yelling out "You idiots!" from offscreen.
In-Universe Nickname: "Square-tache", by Reyn.
Leeroy Jenkins: Almost as bad as Dunban before handing the Monado to Shulk, if not even more so. At the second Battle of Sword Valley, he goes charging ahead of everyone else into a Mechon squadron armed with nothing but a grenade launcher. Otharon is even quick to lampshade his reckless behaviour.
Legacy Character: At least in the Japanese version, he's part of a long line of Vandhams, named after Jean-Claude Van Damme. Other examples of Vandhams include Vanderkam from Xenogears, Vanderkam from Xenosaga, Commander Jack Vandham from Xenoblade Chronicles X, Vandham from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and Guernica Vandham from Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
Made of Iron: It's initially implied he's killed in the invasion on Colony 9 at the beginning when he gets a transport thrown on him, but an NPC reveals that he survived the attack and was in recovery for a while before showing up again just fine during the attack on Mechonis.

Otharon (Odama)

Otharon

"This battle is for my people. If you can't handle it, drop that weapon and head home."

Voiced by: Lewis MacLeod (English), Gorō Naya (Japanese)

Otharon is the leader of the Colony 6 defence force. When Xord's Mechon force invaded the colony, Otharon and his colonel, Gadolt, stayed behind to hold the line long enough for some of the colonists to evacuate. Shulk's party eventually arrives needing to rescue a captured Juju from Xord, which Otharon helps them in freeing Colony 6 from Xord and his Mechon. Otharon would then go on to support Shulk's party up the Bionis until the time came for him and Juju to head back and start rebuilding Colony 6. Later on when Kallian summons allies to make an Army of the Bionis, Otharon serves as the leader of its Homs forces alongside Dickson.

Badass Normal: Otharon can't use ether, from what we see, and he's not a crack-shot like Gadolt is. What he does have, however, are balls of steel and an incredible amount of Heroic Willpower.
Bald Head of Toughness: Has no hair, and he not only rocks the look, he's a competent military and guerilla leader.
Cool Old Guy: Despite his age he's an effective leader of the Colony 6 resistance forces, and puts up a decent fight against the Faced Mechon in the Ether Mines.
Determinator: Just try implying that he should give up on something. He simply will not rest until he's proven you wrong.
Dying Moment of Awesome: Narrowly subverted In-Universe thanks to Shulk and his visions.
Grumpy Old Man: At first, though he warms up to Shulk's party. He continues to gives lip to just about everyone though, even Dickson and Kallian.
Heroic Sacrifice: Shulk has a vision of him pulling one early-on and spends much of the Colony 6 story arc thinking about how to stop his death. He succeeds. He made sure Xord would fall in the Ether Mines' Ether river, but if it wasn't for Reyn grabbing him at the last moment, he would've fallen on it too. Given how damaged Xord was by it, the results would've been... unpleasant for him.
Jerkass Has a Point: When Kallian makes a proposal for High Entians, Homs, and Nopon to come together for the first time to take on the Mechon, Otharon points out that they have been fighting the Mechon for years while the High Entia people simply watched, and it took them getting attacked to suggest a team up. Not only that, compared to the devastation the Homs suffered, including Colony 6's destruction, they merely suffered a scratch. Sure Otharon cools off and agrees to team up, but it's nonetheless justified.
The Leader: He's the leader of the Homs that live at Colony 6. Otharon also gets put in charge of the Homs that join up with Kallian's army of the Bionis.
Team Dad: Very briefly serves as one to Team Shulk, accompanying the party through Satorl Marsh, before returning to help Colony 6's reconstruction.

Juju

"They're all cowards. I'll show them all."

Voiced by: Jordan Clarke (English), Kenichi Hatori (Japanese)

Juju is Sharla's younger brother. He initially lives with his sister in the Refugee Camp, but he eventually tries to head for Colony 6, only to be captured by the Mechon and led to ether mines. After Shulk, Reyn and Sharla rescue him, he and Otharon go back to Colony 6 to try repair the town.

A Child Shall Lead Them: Oversees the rebuilding of Colony 6 while Otharon is out commanding the Allied Force against the Mechon.
Annoying Younger Sibling: Before his Character Development, his habit of going into danger annoys and distresses Sharla.
Bratty Half-Pint: Gets increasingly bratty as Sharla, Shulk, and Reyn refuse to rescue the colonists, and then tries it by himself. It doesn't work out for him, and he's forced to grow out of it.
Distressed Dude: Kidnapped by Xord to use as his main course.
Expy: Of Dan from Xenogears, as a Bratty Half-Pint with a very similar design and an axe to grind. Unlike Dan he doesn't have anything against Shulk personally, he just wants the party to attack the Mechon immediately.
Hero-Worshipper: Towards Gadolt and, eventually, Shulk and Reyn.
Hot-Blooded: His first instinct is to take the fight to the Mechon. Problem is that he's an untrained kid and when he charges off alone he's captured by Xord almost immediately.
Idiot Ball: He makes some really reckless decisions early on, which the party is quick to lampshade In-Universe. Justified in that he's a child and doesn't understand the full consequences of them, and he eventually matures beyond this.
I Just Want to Be Badass: He's incredibly impressed with Shulk and Reyn. He's much less impressed with their rightful caution about rushing into Colony 6, so he decides to do it himself.
Sibling Yin-Yang: The yang to Sharla's yin... until she swears vengeance against the Mechon while he decides to rebuild Colony 6 as a cosmopolitan metropolis.
Tagalong Kid: Temporarily serves as this through the teams' trek through Satorl Marsh before heading Colony 6's reconstruction.

Gadolt (Gad)

Gadolt/Jade Face

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gadolt.png

"I'll be fine. I'll be able to keep my mind on the battle knowing you're safe."

Voiced by: Nicholas Boulton (English), Kosuke Takeuchi (Japanese)

Gadolt is Sharla's fiancé and a colonel in the Colony 6 Defence Force. A bold, fearless man whom Juju looked up to as a father-figure, he went missing during a battle with the Mechon; leaving behind only his ether rifle. It later turns out that Gadolt had been been captured by the Mechon to the point of Egil turning him into a Faced Mechon known as Jade Face. Testing memory wiping on Gadolt to see if his Faced Mechon perform better without their past memories, Egil sends Jade Face out to stop Shulk's party from climbing up the Mechonis.

Arc Villain: His time as Jade Face serves as the main enemy that Shulk's group have to go up against during their climb up the Mechonis.
Big Damn Heroes: Showing up at the last moment to shield Shulk and friends from the energy unleashed by the Mechonis's awakening.
Body Horror: Similar to Mumkhar, his insides appear hollowed out, giving a visual idea of what was done to turn him into Face Unit. Unlike Mumkhar, however, he still has his original right arm (albeit badly burned and a few pieces of metal grafted in) and some of the skin from his chest (right next to his visibly hollowed-out mid-section).
Brainwashed: Jade Face in his attacks on the party.
Broken Ace: He's the best shot Colony 6 has, a hero to its people, fiancé to a lovely lady and an all-round good guy. He's also wrecked with grief and guilt over not being able to protect more people, to the extent that Sharla only narrowly saves him from crossing the Despair Event Horizon.
Bruiser with a Soft Centre: Gadolt loves Sharla, but loses that love thanks to memory wipes.
Chekhov's Gunman: He's mentioned fairly early in the game but doesn't make an appearance until it nears its conclusion. It's totally worth the wait.
Cold Sniper: The first battle with Jade Face involves the party trying to close in on him from across a long pathway, all the while trying to take cover from his long-range laser attack. Appropriate considering that Gadolt himself was a sniper as a Homs.
Cyborg: The only parts of his body that don't appear mechanical are the right side of his head and part of his torse.
Despair Event Horizon: Only narrowly avoided thanks to Sharla. His frustration at not being able to destroy the Mechon and having to watch his friends die on a regular basis caused him a considerable amount of rage and frustration.
Dying Moment of Awesome: Becoming a human shield (with his giant mechon) to shield the party from the collapse of Agniratha. He dies deflecting the blast.
Expy: He has a close-cropped haircut. When he becomes Jade Face the upper right side of his face is replaced with metal and a glowing red eye. Then his personality is erased, turning him into an Expy of the Terminator.
Face of a Thug: He looks like quite a brute, but he's actually a stand-up guy.
Friendly Sniper: Back when he was a Homs, and it was from him that Sharla learned her marksmanship.
"I Know You Are in There Somewhere" Fight: His last boss fight basically amounts to this.
People Puppet: Egil had full control of his body until Meyneth broke it. He was also able to speak through him.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: After his transformation.
Shrouded in Myth: His marksmanship is so famed that even Dunban sings his praises. He doesn't quite have the same following, though.
Unwilling Roboticisation: To a greater extent than other Faces, in that he had his memories stripped out too.
Worthy Opponent: Similar to Reyn's case. Whereas Gadolt comes to admire Reyn's good heart and strong resolve, Reyn eventually comes to see the sniper as a good man who deserves Sharla.

High Entia

Sorean

Sorean Antiqua

"That sword... Could it be the...?"

Voiced by: Peter Dickson (English), Joji Nakata (Japanese)

Sorean (ソレアン) Antiqua is the Emperor of the High Entia and father to Kallian. He is eventually revealed to be Melia's parent too.

Cool Old Guy: Just because he's the emperor, and aged, doesn't mean he doesn't kick ass.
Died in Your Arms Tonight: He died in his daughter's arms.
Dying Speech: After Mumkhar and Fiora retreats, he has one last talk with Melia and Shulk:
Melia: [sob] Father...
Sorean: [sigh] Melia, the hope of our people... you must not cry.
Melia: Don't say that! I don't care how improper it is, just let me cry!
Sorean: Melia...
Melia: Why does it have to be me, if all it takes is to be half Homs?!
Sorean: Is that what you think? You are very much mistaken.
Melia: But...
Sorean: To become the hope of the High Entia...is a fate that you choose for yourself. As long as you remember this... it is certain that you will be worthy of that name. But remember this also: it is not because you are the hope of the High Entia that I love you. It is because... I love you... that I wish for you... to become that hope. [Melia sobs, Sorean looks at Shulk] Heir to the Monado, I leave the sword in your hands. The sword... that my forefathers sealed away, with it, you can succeed.
Shulk: Your Majesty...
Sorean: [sigh] Melia... ugh... Cry for as long as you must. But when... when your tears are dry... [dies]
Melia: Father, no!
The Emperor: The benevolent version, being one who truly cares for his peoples' well being.
Face Death with Dignity: However, even he realizes that he cannot escape his own death.
Foregone Conclusion: Shulk has a vision of him dying very early in the game. Part of the High Entia episode has them trying to learn how to prevent it. But it doesn't work.
Heroic Sacrifice: He dies after pushing Melia away and getting stabbed by Metal Face's claws.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Metal Face stabs Sorean in the gut shortly after the former pushes Melia out of harm's way.
Last Request: Sorean's final request is to leave the Monado in Shulk's hands and for Melia become the hope of the High Entia before he dies.
Mentor Occupational Hazard: He, as the father and mentor to Melia, does not survive the fight with Metal Face.
Really 700 Years Old: Justified because High Entia have long lifespans.
Reasonable Authority Figure: He is very quick to be on good terms with Shulk.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Takes it upon himself to travel to Prison Island to unseal Zanza.
Screw Destiny: His opinion of this factoid is basically, "I'm going to do what's best for my people whether or not Fate does end up coming for me."
Taking the Bullet: As he sees Metal Face wildly slashing towards him and Melia, who are embracing, the emperor pushes his daughter out of range and gets stabbed himself. His efforts pay off, as Metal Face's claws barely miss her.
Unwitting Pawn: It's shown that he's unaware of the fact that his First Consort is attempting to off his daughter, which leads to the attempts on her life. Later, he becomes one of the many disposable pawns in Zanza's resurrection plot.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: For Melia. Turns out she didn't need to try and win his affection, as he loved her all along.
Winged Humanoid: He's got headwings like all High Entia.

Yumea

Yumea Antiqua

"No mask can hide that girl's contaminated blood."

Voiced by: Aoife MacMahon (English), Asako Sato (Japanese)

Yumea is Emperor Sorean's First Consort within the High Entia imperial family, and step-mother to Melia. She also runs the shadowy Bionite Order that works in the shadows of Alcamoth in order to make sure that the imperial family stays of pure-blood. In addition, her actual daughter by blood is Tyrea, which Yumea schemes against Melia by attempting to kill her step-daughter in an effort to put her real daughter on the throne.

Arc Villain: Along with her daughter, Tyrea, the two of them were the main threat behind the Alcamoth conspiracy. She also served as this for a late game Side Quest after she had turned into a Telethia.
Character Death: A Side Quest later in the game wraps up Yumea's story where she's eventually killed in Telethia form by Melia.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: It's implied that deep down, Yumea did actually care for Tyrea despite the latter being half-Homs. The reasons being that Yumea went to great lengths to put her blood daughter on the throne, and because she wanted Tyrea to be the one to end her Telethia suffering.
Evil Plan: Yumea's plan to kill Melia was to send Tyrea into the High Entia Tomb to assassinate her. However, the plan failed due to Melia being rescued by her companions.
Fantastic Racism: She's all about High Entia pure-bloods and nobody else. So much so that the very thought of Melia being a Homs half-breed disgusts her.
Hypocrite: She hates Melia for being a half-Homs when her actual daughter, Tyrea, is also a half-Homs.
Knew It All Along: She knew full-well of Zanza's plans, and that her story was going to end with her forcibly transforming into a Telethia. However, she accepted going along with it under the belief that her devotion to Zanza and the Bionis as a pure-blood High Entia was right.
Last Request: After her imprisonment, Yumea made it clear to Tyrea that the day she gets turned into a Telethia, she wants Tyrea to be the one to kill her. Melia ends up performing the deed instead.
The Leader: She's the leader of the zealous Bionite Order that works in the shadows of Alcamoth.
Wicked Stepmother: She's this to Melia due to hating how the latter was born half-Homs from a simple palace dancer. So much so that Yumea's willing to go so far as to kill Melia.
Winged Humanoid: Like all High Entia, especially those of pure-blood, she has a long set of headwings.

Kallian

Kallian Antiqua

"If that weapon is truly the Monado, we shall be forced to take action."

Voiced by: Rufus Wright^note (English), Yukimasa Obi (Japanese)

Kallian (カリアン) is a member of the High Entia imperial family. Noted for being both a wise, responsible and understanding young man, many believe that he has the qualities required to be the next emperor of his people and the fact that he has chosen not to follow this path, instead supporting Melia in her own bid for the throne, has come as a shock to many of them.

Big Brother Mentor: Comes off as one to many members of the party, but especially to Melia.
Dying as Yourself: He reverts to his original High Entia form moments before his death (not a literal physical change back though, as this appears to be a vision of his spirit that only Melia can see and hear, though Riki is able to hear him).
Expy: Of Sigurd Harcourt, as the benevolent silver-haired older half-brother of heir apparent whose lineage turns out to be plot-important.
Face Death with Dignity: He isn't ashamed about becoming a Telethia, and uses his power to fight Lorithia head-on.
Forced Transformation: He transforms into a Telethia like the rest of the pure-blooded High Entia. However, he retains his mind long enough to attempt a suicide attack against Lorithia.
The Good Captain: Develops into this as the Bionis-Mechonis War begins.
Heroic Sacrifice: Attempts it twice. The first time fails and he becomes a puppet of Lorithia. The second time he sacrifices himself as a Telethia to ensure Lorithia's death.
Knew It All Along: Kallian was well aware of the true purpose of the ancient tradition of every emperor's second spouse being a Homs. He knew that it would inevitably be the fate of all pure-blooded High Entia to revert to Telethia, and that it would effectively mean the extinction of their race unless they could sire enough mixed-blood High Entia to give their civilization a fighting chance for survival. As a pure-blooded High Entia himself, he knew even he would have been doomed to become a Telethia when the genocide finally arrived, and this is one of the biggest reasons why he endorsed mixed-blood Melia to become the new High Entia empress. When the end came, he finally revealed these things to Melia, and his remaining intelligence could then Face Death with Dignity.
The Leader: When it's time to make a combined army of the Bionis that consists of Homs, High Entia, and Nopon, it's Kallian that serves as their overall commander. For the army, Kallian serves as the leader for their High Entia solders while Otharon and Dunga are leading their respective Homs and Nopon soldiers.
Mentor Occupational Hazard: He has served as Melia's mentor for quite a few years and supported her efforts to become the next empress for her people. He eventually commits a Heroic Sacrifice to thwart Lorithia's plans towards the end of the game.
Really 700 Years Old: Looks like a man in his mid-20s, is actually 151. Which is mid-20s for a High Entia, mind.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: He leads the formation of the alliance among the races of Bionis, and formally apologizes for neglecting to help the Homs during the first Mechon invasion. Furthermore, when the alliance goes to war against the Mechon, he personally leads the attack.
Taking You with Me: Shortly before his death, he returned to his senses and made sure Lorithia would die too.
To Be Lawful or Good: He will not accept saving either his sister or father when they are in danger if it goes against orders or the rules of their people. He realizes after his father's death that he should be good regardless of the rules.
Uniformity Exception: His Telethia form is the only one to keep his High Entia head, possibly out of sheer force of will. He has it even when fully transformed, comatose and under the direct control of Lorithia.
Winged Humanoid: As a pureblooded High Entia, he has head-wings that stretch from the back of his head most of the way down his back. They're vestigial, though.

Lorithia (Laulan)

Lorithia

"Enjoy this battle, for it will be your last."

Voiced by: Rachel Atkins (English), Sayuri Yamauchi (Japanese)

Lorithia is the leader of the Research department, and a member of the Trinity, the three disciples of Zanza.

Boomerang Bigot: She is a High Entia who thinks her race is only good for serving Zanza as Telethia.
Broken Record: Rather infamously, her boss fight has her scream "You'll pay for your insolence!" every other time she attacks or is attacked.
Co-Dragons: She serves this along with Dickson and Alvis to Zanza.
Evil Is Hammy: AWAKEN MY DARLING PETS!
Evilutionary Biologist: As part of Zanza's Trinity, she is firmly committed to reverting the High Entia race to Telethia to further Zanza's aims.
Expy: Harkens back to Xenogears' Miang as a cruel vampish Evilutionary Biologist who performs unethical experiments on people in order to revert them back to their primal forms for the sake of the Demiurge Archetype she serves. She also fights the party in the form of a monstrous abomination.
Fan Disservice: Her fusion with Telethia Kallian has her appear partially naked (and most of her cleavage exposed) while leaning on top of what's left of Kallian's High Entia form. Considering that Kallian has very little free will left, that Lorithia kissed him earlier to spite Melia and she is partially embed into Kallian's mutated body, this can be somewhat unsettling.
Flat Character: In comparison to Dickson and Alvis, who have more personality, Lorithia gets less screen time and does little beyond scheme and sing the praises of Zanza.
Guide Dang It!: Her fight is infuriating if you run a mostly physical damage party, which is by far the easiest way to play the rest of the game, because it requires you to kill the mobs she summons to lower her defence. Ether damage bypasses this mechanic and allows the player to obliterate her small health pool. Melia and Riki in particular are very good at this due to Summon Ice and Burninate, allowing them to easily apply area of effect damage over time to not only her but all of her summons.
Hate Sink: Her constant mocking of Melia and the party, turning all the High Entia into Telethia for no good reason other than worship to Zanza and being a complete Jerkass has made her one of the most disgusting characters in the game. Every other character except Mumkhar and Zanza are more morally-grey and Zanza is a case of Evil Is Cool to boot.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Fusing with Telethia Kallian backfires on her spectacularly when Kallian uses what little free will he has left to commit suicide while she's still stuck to him.
Hypocrite: She espouses that it is the destiny of all High Entia to be transformed into Telethia and serve Zanza. You have one guess as to who she conveniently excludes from the mass-transformation (unless you can count her fusion with Kallian's Telethia form).
Immortality: When she's dying, she specifically states that Zanza promised her that she was immortal, as all of his disciples are. Unfortunately, as she finds out, she was only prevented from aging and not made invincible like she may have thought (as indicated by her low health voice-clips).
Karmic Death: Her life is ultimately ended at hands of one of the High Entia she not only turned into a Telethia, she dies while fused to said Telethia after claiming being turned into Telethia was the purpose of the High Entia (and for even more irony, she herself is a High Entia, so she technically became a Telethia herself by merging with one). Lampshaded by Melia.
Melia: This is your destiny. Accept it with dignity!
Obviously Evil: Players will peg her as a baddie the moment they see her—if the red and black stripperiffic outfit wasn't enough, she spends maybe a minute on-screen before she's scheming to have Melia killed.
Omnicidal Maniac: She believes in Zanza's scheme, including the destruction and recreation of the world and believes that all life Zanza doesn't require is pointless and should be destroyed.
Lorithia: That which Lord Zanza does not require shall be extinguished from this world!
One-Winged Angel: By performing a Fusion Dance with the Telethia that Kallian had become.
Out-Gambitted: By a man she thought had lost all of his free will, no less.
Really 700 Years Old: Like most of the High Entia. She's also older than any of them thanks to the powers granted her by Zanza, having lived during the last fight between Zanza and Meyneth.
Summon Magic: In a similar vein to Melia.
Sycophantic Servant: In contrast to Dickson, who's simply a Blood Knight, and Alvis, who isn't really working for Zanza, Lorithia is fanatically obsessed with "Lord Zanza".
"Take That!" Kiss: After displaying Kallian in his Telethia form to Melia, she rubs it even more in her face by giving him a deep kiss.
Villainous Breakdown: When she starts getting low on health during her boss fight, she starts to realize that not only is she about to die, but Zanza's promise of her being made immortal was only half-true. The breakdown comes to a head once Kallian rebels and finishes her off.
Winged Humanoid: As a pureblooded High Entia she has the customary head-wings.

Tyrea (Talco)

Tyrea

Voiced by: Katie McGuinness (English), Michiko Neya (Japanese)

An agent working for the Bionite Order, a secret group of assassins that serves the imperial family from the shadows. She conspires with Yumea to assassinate Melia in the High Entia Tomb, but she is interrupted and defeated by Shulk's group before she has a chance to kill her. She then escapes after her defeat and isn't seen again until a late-game sidequest after the events of Mechonis Core, where the party finds Tyrea by the front gates of Colony 6. There, her origins are revealed.

In truth, Tyrea is Yumea's daughter, and by extension Kallian's half-sister, who was raised to be an assassin since birth. After recovering on Junks, she leaves the colony only to find trace energy of Ether before being attacked. The party will then witness a Telethia attack the colony and follow it to Makna Forest, initially thinking it to be a transformed Tyrea. After engaging and defeating it, Tyrea soon appears unscathed and reveals that the Telethia was actually her mother, Yumea, and thanks them for granting her peace before leaving herself. It is also revealed during this sidequest that she is also part-Homs, despite her long wings.

In Future Connected, she's living with Teelan on the Bionis Shoulder to assist in researching Telethia.

Arc Villain: Along with her mother, Yumea, the two of them were the main threat behind the Alcamoth conspiracy.
Ascended Extra: She has very little role besides trying to assassinate Melia in the main plot, and her backstory is only expanded on in an endgame side quest. In Future Connected, she makes an appearance as a major supporting character.
Cool Big Sis: Though not related by blood, Tyrea acts as one for Teelan in Future Connected, to the point where the latter calls her "Big Sis".
Cool Mask: Like all members of the Bionite Order, Tyrea wears one to cover her face. She loses it after her defeat in the High Entia Tomb, but in Future Connected, it's revealed that she still has it or somehow managed to retrieve it, using it as authentication to initiate a lockdown on all transporters and keep the Fog Beasts sealed inside Alcamoth.
Death Seeker: She mentions that after leaving the group in the main story, she searched aimlessly for a place to die, hoping she could be killed by the Fog King before saving Teelan on an impulse.
Dual Boss: She is faced in the High Entia Tomb alongside a Telethia.
Fantastic Racism: She thinks all half-blooded High Entia are inferior, with the irony being that she IS one. She also refers to Nopon as "things" or "it". She seems to soften the former view over time, and in Future Connected, little remains of it at all. And while her view of Nopon isn't exactly warm, at least it isn't fully dismissive.
Genius Bruiser: After becoming a researcher with Teelan. Tyrea herself is in disbelief that she took to pursuits of the mind like a fish to water.
Hidden Depths: Speaking to her in the last part of Future Connected has her tell the party that she's shocked at how much she feels science is her true calling, despite having being raised for a life of violence.
Hold the Line: Near Future Connected's climax, while Melia secures the assistance of the Companions, Tyrea leads the Gran Dell militia in defending the town's wall against hordes of fogbeasts. Note that because the militia has to focus on the smaller, weaker hordes, she fends off the largest ones almost completely by herself.
Lady in Red: She wears a dark crimson two-piece leotard with thigh gaps.
Meaningful Appearance: Look closely at her hair and you'll notice that there is some red mixed with the grey. This is most obvious in her braided ponytail, which is tied up in a way that mixes several colours together. Seeing as she is the only High Entia with this distinction, this subtly acts as a visual indicator of her true heritage amidst the rest of her pure-blooded appearance.
Mercy Kill: Subverted. She was ordered by Yumea to kill her when she turned into a Telethia, but when that time finally came, Melia spares Tyrea from committing matricide by doing the deed herself.
"Not So Different" Remark: Attempts to invoke this as a means to compare Melia's actions to her own, which is promptly shut down by Reyn. By the end of Tyrea's sidequest and during Future Connected, though, Melia seems to agree with this notion but in a different light, pointing out their mixed heritages and desire to help their people as points of similarity.
Really 700 Years Old: Well, she is a High Entia, and given how her half-brother is 151 years old, it is safe to assume that Tyrea is around the same age. She often refers to Melia as a child too, suggesting she is notably older than the 88-year-old.
Sarcastic Devotee: By the end of Future Connected, Tyrea is fully accepting of Melia becoming the next ruler of the High Entia and becomes one of her staunchest supporters. However, she still isn't above making a quip every now and then.
Tyrea: I'm occupied with my research, as you know...Empress Melia. [bows and smirks]
Melia: Don't mock me.
Took a Level in Kindness: When Melia meets Tyrea in Future Connected, she remarks that Tyrea has changed since the last time they met, as evidenced by her treating Teelan similarly to how one would treat a family member. Additionally, while Tyrea remains prideful with an aloof, sometimes sarcastic demeanor, she is considerably more supportive of Melia's endeavors than in the main story.
Tsundere: She tries to convince Melia that her relationship with Teelan is simply her using him for his research, but it's obvious to everyone that she loves him like family. She's also one towards Melia, initially treating her with hostility before eventually warming up to the idea of acting like her sister. In another example, despite having been so heroic and inspiring during the defence of the ramparts, she goes off on her own once the fight is over and everyone reunites. While her excuse is a bit more vulgar, it's clear she was mostly too uncomfortable with how sappy the situation had become.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Being the daughter of the First Consort, her mind is always thinking of her people. Unfortunately, due to being raised as an assassin, the means through which she wants to preserve her people's future involves killing Melia, which Shulk and the party do not appreciate. Part of her growth in Future Connected is accepting Melia as the rightful heir to the throne.
Winged Humanoid: She has the long headwings characteristic of pureblooded High Entia. However, it's because she's a genetic throwback, her father's DNA was mixed. More importantly, as a throwback, her headwings are fully functional and capable of Flight.
You Are What You Hate: She despises half-blooded High Entia, yet she is (unknowingly) one herself. Finding out the truth, among other events, causes her to abandon those beliefs... the feelings of hatred, however, are not so easily dismissed when it comes to how Tyrea views herself in Future Connected.
Melia: (During a Quiet Moment; dismayed) How can you... hate yourself that much?

Nopon

Dunga (Donga)

Chief Dunga

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dunga_de.png

"Nopon of Frontier Village! A new prophecy has been told!"

Voiced by: David Peart (English), Yasunori Yamada (Japanese)

Dunga is the chief of the Nopon that reside within the Makna Forest's Frontier Village. He provides support to Shulk's group by sending their village's "Heropon" off with Shulk and company to help save the world. Later on when Kallian summons allies to make an Army of the Bionis, Dunga serves as the leader of its Nopon forces.

Beneath the Mask: It's heavily implied that Dunga has grown real tired of Riki's Cloud Cuckoolander antics causing trouble for Frontier Village. However, he sure doesn't appear as such, acting as the noble chief who believes that Riki can go out on a journey to save the world.
Eyes Always Shut: Mostly as a sign to display Dunga's old age, his eyes are almost always shut compared to other Nopon.
Gut Feeling: When Riki calls him out for making up the "Heropon" premonition that would send him off with Shulk's group, Dunga justifies it by claiming that his instincts are never wrong.
The Leader: He's the leader of the Nopon that live in Makna Forest. Dunga also gets put in charge of the Nopon that become part of Kallian's army of the Bionis.
Seers: Heavily implied to be an act on Dunga's part in order to create the legacy of Frontier Village's "Heropon." He claims to have seen a premonition of Riki helping save the world. Thus, he sends Riki off as the village's "Heropon" in order to help Shulk and company with their journey.

Oka

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oka2_5.png

"Riki must work for littlepons to have good life."

Oka is Riki's wife that lives with their eleven children in Frontier Village.

Almighty Mom: The majority of what the audience learns of Oka comes from Nene's fear and reverence of her. She and Kino are terrified of Oka due to her, in Nene's words, "spank first ask questions later". Nene also mentions that Riki apologizing on his hands and knees to Oka for messing up is not an uncommon occurrence.
Bit Character: She only makes a brief appearance near the end of Shulk's journey through Makna Forest. However, it's an important appearance since she had to convince Riki to follow along with Shulk and company to go out and save the world as they need to work for food to feed their eleven littlepons.
Happily Married: Her and Riki appear to support and love each other very much. So much so that they have a happy family that consists of at least eleven children.
Pink Means Feminine: As a female Nopon, her character design is entirely pink.

From Mechonis

Egil

"Your blade. It did not cut deep enough."

Voiced by: Peter Bramhill (English), Daisuke Kirii (Japanese)

Egil is one of the main antagonists of Xenoblade, being in charge of the Mechon forces. A member of the Machina people, beings born from the Mechonis, he and his friend Arglas, the giant from Bionis, worked together to ensure a peaceful future between both the peoples of both titans. However, when Arglas was possessed by Zanza and laid waste to Mechonis, Egil swore revenge and, when both titans were put to sleep, began attacking Bionis with an army of Mechon: hoping to wipe out as much life as possible on the titan so that when Zanza returned he would have less ether energy to absorb and thus be more vulnerable to attack. Due to his thirst for vengeance, he has been abandoned by his people but continues to fight against the Bionis nonetheless. He has his own personalized Humongous Mecha, Yaldabaoth, of which he is seen in for the majority of his Appearances.

Alas, Poor Villain: Once you get to the Mechonis Capital and learn what Zanza did to his people, it is hard not to feel sympathetic for him.
All for Nothing: His brutal and inhumane plans to destroy Zanza end up having all been part of Zanza's own plans to enable him to awaken and return to power. Namely the attacks Egil sends using the Mechon end up motivating the Homs to use the Monado, and eventually lead Shulk to take up the sword for vengeance and free Zanza to gain more power for the sake of stopping Egil's forces. That said, his final efforts do help defeat Zanza. For his part, Egil merely remarks that he'll be remembered for what he did in death, rather than life.
Amazing Technicolor Population: His skin is white-greyish, like all the Machina.
Antagonistic Offspring: To his father Miqol, who does not approve of Egil's war on Bionis and even asks Shulk's party to kill Egil when they first meet him on Fallen Arm.
Anti-Magic: His Apocrypha Generator, which partially negates the Monado's power by releasing counteracting ether-waves.
Anti-Villain: He makes it clear that he doesn't actually hate the people of Bionis (even if he does think of them as lower life). He's simply trying to destroy the Bionis itself, and as Zanza's appearance shortly afterward reveals, he has a good reason for doing so. Him considering all life on Bionis expendable though makes him ironically similar to Zanza, albeit for different reasons.
Arch-Enemy: Zanza. He never forgave Zanza's near genocide of his people and as such, he has been working for the last thousand years to kill him and the Bionis.
Bare-Fisted Monk: With or without Yaldabaoth, he always fights with his bare hands.
Big Bad: As the one behind the Mechon invasion, he appears to be this. However, he's ultimately upstaged by Zanza after The Reveal.
Cool Sword: When he replaces Meyneth as the Mechonis's soul and wields a replica of its sword to control its movements.
"Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: He realizes all too late that he could have could have avoided all this senseless death and pain if he'd trusted in the people of Bionis, who turned out to share his (and Meyneth's) desire of a "world with no Gods".
Defeat Means Friendship: For all of five minutes (one of the longest cutscenes back-to-back by even more cutscenes) he decides that maybe the peoples of the Bionis and Mechonis can know peace between one another —before Zanza goes and screws it up.
Disc-One Final Boss: Egil initially appears to be the main source of conflict in the game and antagonizes the main party throughout. Just when he is defeated for good, it ultimately turns out that he isn't the main threat as that is quickly usurped by Zanza.
Do Not Go Gentle: Even in face of certain doom, he still paves the way for Shulk's eventual success by maiming the Bionis.
Early-Bird Cameo: He appears in the Monado's first vision long before he appears in the main game.
Evil Genius: He's the primary antagonist until Zanza reveals himself and by far the most intelligent, being the creator of the Faced Mechon and the instigator of all the Homs-Mechon wars.
Expy: He's an example of the character archetype originated by Lacan in Xenogears, being a once-noble hero and one of few survivors of an ancient catastrophic war in the world's past who then becomes a Well-Intentioned Extremist who attempts to destroy the world out of a desire for revenge against the true Big Bad.
The Extremist Was Right: Zigzagged. Zanza proved to be exactly as irreconcilably evil as Egil painted him to be. And while his methods were horrific and resulted in the deaths of himself, Meyneth, and the Mechonis (not to mention the death and/or forced conversion of countless innocent Homs along with a massacre of a huge number of Machina and kicking the survivors off the Mechonis when they tried to stop him), Egil in his final actions did manage to damage the Bionis just enough to make an opening in its body for Shulk and company to reach Zanza and finish him off.
"Facing the Bullets" One-Liner: During his Last Stand.
Egil: They will judge me not in life, but death!
Fallen Hero: He once sought to create a peaceful unity between the peoples of Bionis and Mechonis, but Zanza crushed that dream when he possessed Arglas.
Foil: To Shulk. Both are engineers who are known to be talented and compassionate to their respective people. After the destruction of their hometowns, they both swear bloody revenge on the opposite Titan. However, while Egil has no problem killing even other Machina who try to stop him, Shulk retains his compassion and balks at the concept of killing fellow Homs. Egil claims to be Meyneth's agent, not knowing that she opposes his quest for revenge, while Shulk allies with Zanza unaware that he himself is Zanza's vessel. Egil believes that his own god and people have betrayed him, while Shulk is betrayed and killed by Zanza's disciple. Finally, Shulk ends up destroying Zanza for good, while Egil makes peace with Meyneth shortly before both of their demises. Egil represents what Shulk would've become if he'd abandoned all scruples in his quest for revenge.
Grin of Audacity: During his Heroic Sacrifice, he take a visible kick out of putting a wrench into Zanza's plans.
Heroic Sacrifice: His final act of redemption is to save his newly minted friends (and his sister) from Zanza by using the Mechonis itself against him and actually makes his eventual defeat possible by punching a hole in its chest with Mechonis's remaining arm.
Hypocrite: Egil did what he did because Zanza massacred most of the Machina race. Egil nearly massacred the rest of them himself when they refused to help him kill Zanza, with the remaining survivors exiled from the Mechonis to the Fallen Arm, where many of Egil's older Mechon models run rampant threatening their safety.
Humongous Mecha: He has Yaldabaoth, a Faced Mechon that's bigger than all the other ones in the game put together. And it's golden. It's also a dragon. And to top it all off, he uplinks it with the entire Mechonis.
Ironic Echo: "This world no longer has a need for gods". His face when it's repeated by Meyneth before she dies says it all.
Kill All Humans: As his desire to stop Zanza drove him to darker depths, Egil eventually decided that the only way to stop him for good was by destroying the Bionis and all those who called it home. He reasons that this is unavoidable, as they were created to ultimately be Zanza's food.
Large and in Charge: As a result of Yaldabaoth, though as a Machina he towers over Shulk and company anyway.
Made of Iron: Aside from being a Machina, he gets stabbed through the shoulder by the Monado II and doesn't even flinch.
The Man Behind the Monsters: The controlling intelligence behind the Mechon and their two invasions of the Bionis, killing untold numbers of Homs.
My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Inverted. He is the only Machina who believes all life on Bionis should be killed to protect the people of Mechonis from Zanza. When the rest of the Machina objected, he exiled them.
Nothing Personal: He admits to Shulk that he bears no ill will towards the people of Bionis. However, as they are Zanza's food, he sees killing them a necessary evil to his revenge.
Pitiful Worms: Egil calls Shulk and his party "bugs" before battling them, and also refers to everyone still on the Mechonis Sword as "insects" as the Mechonis awakens and moves the sword that is still impaled in the Bionis' side.
"Fall to your deaths! Worthless Insects!"
Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Right before he summons Yaldabaoth and defeats Shulk and his entire party:
"Your blade... it did not cut deep enough."
Rage Against the Heavens: He seeks to eliminate Zanza, the soul of the Bionis. When Lady Meyneth tries to make him stop, he declares her a traitor to her own people and declares that the world no longer has a need for gods like her.
Really 700 Years Old: He was around when Zanza possessed Arglas and ravaged the Mechonis.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: His ultimate goal is to avenge his fallen people by destroying Zanza at all costs. Even if it means killing more of his own kind along with the life of Bionis.
Rule of Symbolism: His giant Mech is called Yaldabaoth, which is rather fitting for a device that can puppet the entire Mechonis and reflects Egil's desire to fulfill his interpretation of Meyneth's will, becoming close to a god in the process.
Summon Magic: He's capable of creating Mechon during the fight with him, presumably by pulling their components out of Hammerspace and piecing them together with what looks a heck of a lot like telekinesis. Or magnetism.
Synchronization: Once linked to the Mechonis, the damage Mechonis receives also affects Yaldabaoth, making it explode in blue light once Zanza deals the killing blow.
Unwitting Pawn: In his pursuit of vengeance against Zanza, he ironically allows Zanza to break out of the imprisonment by the High-Entia and return to his full power.
Villain Forgot to Level Grind: Egil very noticeably makes efforts to avert this trope, as his usual response to one of his Mechon defeating Shulk in battle is to upgrade it even more before the eventual rematch.
Villainous Breakdown: It's subtle, but the you can definitely hear the sense of heartbreak in his voice after Meyneth makes it clear she's not on his side anymore. Him telling her that the world doesn't need gods comes off as being directed more to himself than to her. He regains his equilibrium for the final battle with him, though.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Genocide of all still living on Bionis for the betterment of the survivors on Mechonis.
Wham Episode: His Establishing Character Moment, which reveals a) that the Mechon are led by an intelligent being, b) that they are in fact Well Intentioned Extremists and c) that the Bionis is not the force of good that the Homs have believed up until now.
"This is the strongest Mechon ever built. I am Egil, leader of Mechonis! ... We fight to free this world from the tyranny of the Bionis!"
White Mask of Doom: His Humongous Mecha has a very disturbing one that kinda looks like a melted skull.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: It's hard not to feel sympathetic for him, considering Zanza took over his friend's body and committed mass genocide on the Machina just so he could continue his vicious cycle of causing the apocalypse to keep himself alive. Too bad that Egil's plan to kill Zanza would have resulted in the destruction of the Bionis, where Homs and other races live in.

Vanea

Voiced by: Harriet Carmichael (English), Yuki Kaida (Japanese)

Vanea is Egil's sister and the daughter of the Machina chief. She does not like what Egil is doing and has asked him many times to stop killing life on Bionis. She tells her brother that she only wants a world where everyone lives in peace including him. All attempts have failed however. She is also the person who implanted Meyneth into Fiora's body.

Artistic Licence – Anatomy: Any time she stops walking, or whenever if she faces in a different direction, her boobs jiggle in a more exaggerated manner than other human-like Machina.
Dragon with an Agenda: She assists Egil, but only because she needs to revive Lady Meyneth to try and save Mechonis from his madness.
Femme Fatalons: Her fingernails are long, sharp, and black, just like her brother's.
High-Heel–Face Turn: Although how much of a "Heel" she ever was is disputable.
Nipple and Dimed: Vanea's breasts are almost fully exposed, minus the metallic coverings which curve inward to cover her nipples.
Really 700 Years Old: Old enough to remember the last time Bionis attacked.
Statuesque Stunner: At just shy of 7ft. tall, she towers above Shulk and the others when they meet her.
Stripperific: Vanea's attire leaves little to the imagination, given it's skin-tight, practically leaves her breasts on full display, and has a cut-out in back that openly exposes her buttocks and shows she's wearing a thong. Best seen when Shulk and the others first meet her.
Undying Loyalty: To Meyneth, whom she serves with the utmost devotion. Even going so far as to defy her brother in order to fulfill Meyneth's wishes.

Miqol (Migault)

Miqol

Voiced by: Richard Ridings (English), Tadashi Miyazawa (Japanese)

The father of Egil and Vanea, and leader of the Machina village on the Fallen Arm. Seeing his son as beyond redemption, he requests Shulk and co. to kill him.

Amazing Technicolor Population: Just like his children and the other Machina.
Big Fun: He's surprisingly jovial for a guy from Mechonis. Which just goes to prove that they're not all Mechon.
Cool Chair: His legs are small, so he sits in a floating throne.
Eyes Always Shut: His eyelids are always closed, although some believe the lights on his cheeks are artificial eyes.
Large and in Charge: The chief of the humanoid Machina and possibly the largest NPC in the game.
Offing the Offspring: Rare heroic example. Miqol wants to put a stop to what his son is doing even if it means killing him.
Really 700 Years Old: He's about 6,000 years old, with only his fellow Machina Neonik, the Nopon Sage, Zanza, and Meyneth being older than he is.
Reasonable Authority Figure: To the Machina and Shulk's group, never giving them any trouble.

Linada

Voiced by: Louiza Patikas (English), Asako Sato (Japanese)

A Machina who serves as the doctor of the Fallen Arm village. Along with supporting Shulk and his companions, she helps Fiora get the hang of her Mechon body.

The Medic: Linada's quite skilled at understanding and making repairs to Machina and Mechon technology. So much so that she becomes Fiora's personal repairer once the latter arrives at the Fallen Arm's Machina village.
Number Two: She's basically Miqol's #2 in the Machina village. She follows along with Miqol once they take off on the village's Junks airship in order to support Shulk's group against Zanza.
Signature Headgear: The most notable thing about her character design is her odd-looking double-ball helmet, which also comes with a noteworthy pair of green eye-goggles.

Divine Beings

The Bionis and Mechonis

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b35bd53c5981e28b1b1476f7293486a1.png

Mechonis is on the left, Bionis is on the right.

Two towering and enormous titans that are, at the very least, the size of small continents. Before the beginning of the game, they waged a long and difficult battle that ended in the two falling into a several thousand year slumber, as life sprung up on the enormous bodies of the two giants. However, their souls live on.

Alien Blood: Being organic, the Bionis's blood is coloured green as it actually turns out to be Ether. You can even see the Bionis bleed from its wounds during its battle against Mechonis.
BFS: Both wield gigantic swords that are almost as big as themselves, if not bigger. In contrast, the Mechonis wields a physical serrated sword while the Bionis wields a Laser Blade.
Dark Is Not Evil: The Mechonis is the benevolent one. You wouldn't guess so at first however, because the Mechonis does not look very friendly with her humongous black body and glaring red eyes.
Defeat Equals Explosion: Both of them do this once they suffer a mortal blow.
Deity of Human Origin: Both of them were scientists aboard the Space Station Rhadamanthus before Klaus's fateful experiment sent them to be reborn as gods.
Divine Conflict: At the beginning of the universe, the two titans fought each other.
Genius Loci: The combined bodies of both make up the game's Japan-sized world.
Hijacking Cthulhu: Since the Mechonis is a Humongous Mecha, it's possible for anyone to pilot it with the right equipment, as Egil proves when he briefly reawakens it in one of the climax moments of the plot. However, it's movements are a lot stiffer and slower than when the actual soul of the Mechonis is controlling it. Further, since he was not Meyneth, Egil had to use an alternate power source, namely the ether of the Bionis, and adapting the Mechonis to it meant that for some time he couldn't get it moving at all.
Humongous Mecha: The Mechonis. While their official size has never been stated, it (and the Bionis) have been theorized to be relatively the size of continents.
Laser Blade: The Bionis's sword. It later turns out to be the Monado itself.
Life Drain: Egil modified the Mechonis's sword so that it drains ether from the Bionis while it's embedded in the latter's side. That's why there are the ether processing facilities all over Sword Valley.
Light Is Not Good: The Bionis is the evil one. You wouldn't guess so at first however, because of the Bionis's bright white colour and his shining Laser Blade reminiscent of a Jedi.
Physical God: Two giant continent sized titans.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Both titans have their eyes glow red when they awaken.
Synchronization: Bionis and Zanza's lives were linked, and if one died, the other would. Averted with the Mechonis, who survived the death of Meyneth.
Wave-Motion Gun: As demonstrated by Egil, the Mechonis has an ability to fire a massive laser beam from its head upon its awakening. It ends up hitting the Bionis's right shoulder while it's still sleeping.

Lady Meyneth (Maynus)

Meyneth (formerly Galea/Galatea)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Meyneth_8939.png

Voiced by: Jo Wyatt (English), Mio Umeda (Japanese)

The soul of the Mechonis, she created and is worshipped by all the Machina. She wishes for all living beings on both Bionis and Mechonis to live in harmony without a need for gods.

Bifurcated Weapon: In Fiora's hands, Meyneth's Monado takes the form of two single-bladed swords, to fit her Dual Wielding fighting style. When Zanza steals it, they are combined into a single double-bladed sword (which he incidentally dual-wields with his own Monado).
Body Surf: Similar to Zanza she needs to inhabit a body.
Dark Is Not Evil: She looks the part, being a cyborg with predominantly dark colours, but she ultimately turns out to be a kindhearted and sagely scientist/goddess.
Defector from Decadence: The reason why she turns on Egil is because she feels he's gone too far.
Deity of Human Origin: Was originally Klaus's assistant before becoming a god with the destruction of the old universe. Her original name goes unrevealed in Xenoblade Chronicles, but is revealed in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to be Galea.
Deprogram: She breaks the curse Egil used to control the Faced Mechon, including Gadolt, with her powers.
Genius Loci: She's the soul of the Mechonis.
God Is Good: She's the god of Mechonis and its soul, but she's willing to let her creations live their own lives and not interfere in the running of them.
Good All Along: The first half of the game misleads the player into seeing anything from Mechonis as Always Chaotic Evil, and that Fiora has been possessed/brainwashed into villainy (invoking the Demonic Possession trope). Then the truth comes out when Meyneth cedes control for a second and Fiora reunites with Shulk.
Humongous Mecha: Face Nemesis and the Mechonis itself.
I Am Not Left-Handed: Unlike Zanza, whose grip seems permanently affixed to his Monado once he reclaims it, Meyneth seems to prefer to only pull it out in extreme circumstances; the first time is what alerts Egil to her presence in Face Nemesis, and the second time is against Zanza himself. Without it, she's no more powerful than Fiora herself.
The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: Meyneth is rather startled to realize that she bears strong feelings toward a Homs boy she only just encountered.
Meaningful Name:
- Meyneth's name Japanese, Maynus, comes from the ancient Latin/Greek term maenas/μαινάς, meaning "madwoman" in reference to the worshippers of Dionysus. Sure enough, the Mechonis comes off as a cruel madwoman who commits senseless violence from the perspective of the protagonists who are the peoples of Bionis, at least before the full truth of the war comes out.
- Her name in Japanese is spelled Galatea. Galatea is an alternative name for Galene, a minor Greek goddess of calm seas, in reference to Meyneth's calm disposition compared to Zanza's. Likewise it's a reference to the myth of Galatea, a statue who came to life through the goddess Aphrodite's mercy, just as the immaterial soul of Galea/Galatea was transformed by Ontos into the Mechonis.
Ms. Exposition: To the party during their journey through the Mechonis.
Navel-Deep Neckline: It goes down past her groin.
No Name Given: Her name when she was human was never mentioned in Xenoblade Chronicles, but it was revealed to be Galea/Galatea in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
Our Titans Are Different: She's the soul of the Mechonis.
The Paragon: Though she cannot defeat Zanza, the Kirk Summation she directs at him before she sacrifices herself to protect the party inspires them to keep fighting against his tyranny.
Red Is Heroic: Meyneth's powers manifest as a red light, as an opposite to Zanza's blue.
Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: Her slumbering spirit is placed inside Fiora so she can better approach Zanza's.
Senseless Sacrifice: Subverted. Her sacrifice against Zanza results in him taking her Monado and becoming even more powerful as a result. However, she did use that opportunity to give Shulk's body life again (who up until that point, was only being kept alive due to being a Soul Jar for Zanza), which gave the people of both Bionis and Mechonis a fighting chance to stop the cycle of destruction and recreation.
Sharing a Body: With Fiora, after she turns on Egil. Before that, Meyneth was the one in full control.
Spell My Name With An S: Spelled "Maynus" in Japan, and her true name of Galea was spelled "Galatea" in Japanese.
Synchronization: With Fiora. After she is killed by Zanza, the former starts to slowly die.
Symbiotic Possession: As opposed to Zanza's Demonic Possession, Meyneth ultimately turns out to be a force of good, and is fine with giving equal time to Fiora after inhabiting her mechanized body.
Taking the Bullet: She leaves Fiora's body to block the Sword Beam Zanza threw at Shulk's party. It costs her her life.
Took a Level in Badass: Inverted. She was once as powerful as Zanza, but unlike him, she is unwilling to consume her own creations in order to replenish her power. Because of this, she's much weaker than him by the time they confront each other again late in the game.

Zanza

Lord Zanza (formerly Klaus' left half)

Zanza when you meet him on Prison Island. Or rather, Arglas.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zanza_reborn_de.png

Zanza's true form.

Voiced by: Stephen Greif and Adam Howden (English), Takashi Taniguchi and Shintarō Asanuma (Japanese)

Zanza (ザンザ, Zanza) is a giant that Shulk beholds in a vision and learns the secrets of the Monado from. Although he is shrouded in mystery, his knowledge and eventual empowerment of the Monado prove extremely beneficial to the party.

...Until they realise that he's actually the real Big Bad. The giant is actually named Arglas and was Egil's closest friend before discovering the Bionis Monado and being possessed by the evil god within: Zanza. Considered to be the soul of the Bionis, Zanza is the being responsible for all life on it and its attack on the Mechonis. Since Zanza requires a physical body to maintain his existence, being unable to remain in his spirit form forever, he has locked all life on Bionis in an endless cycle of death and rebirth: wiping out everything and creating life anew once life on Bionis reaches a certain point. This is because, if his creations evolve too much and either rebel against him or leave the world he has created behind, then he will be without a living host and ultimately die.

It is eventually revealed that he was once a human scientist named Klaus who destroyed the previous universe in an experiment to create a new world and, together with Meyneth, became a god of the new one. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 further reveals that he is actually half of Klaus, inheriting his malevolent qualities while his benevolent ones were left with the Architect in the universe of Alrest.

Alas, Poor Villain: Surprisingly enough he does get a bit of this upon his death. Alvis confirms that Zanza was a truly lonely being and that on some level he did desire friendship. Shulk realizes that like Meyneth he could have lived with his creations and shared the future with them if he had made different decisions, and Alvis admits this was indeed a possibility, but one that at this point had passed. Zanza had simply become too deluded and full of himself to recognize even his own desires.
Amazing Technicolor Population: He's some kind of purple shade... or, rather, Arglas' skin is.
Arch-Enemy: Subverted. One is lead to believe that the High Entia are his, because they sealed him away. The honest truth is that he doesn't care about that — chalking it up to the nature of mortals - and instead wants to see Shulk kick Mechonis' ass.
Badass Boast: He tells Shulk that, should he master the Monado's power, "Nothing but a god can stand in (his) way." That's not an understatement.
Bait the Dog: During the first encounter with him at Prison Island he seemed a little shady, with the reasoning why he's there left as a mystery, but it's clear that he has the best intentions for the people of Bionis in their fight against the forces of Mechonis... if only for the short term as he definitely does not have any goodwill for the life of Mechonis or Bionis in the long term.
Believing Their Own Lies: The ending reveals that Zanza is not half the god he thinks himself to be.
Big Bad: Thought Egil was the true enemy, did you? Not so fast, bucko!
Big Good: Subverted. He's set up as this but doesn't actually get enough screentime to play the part. Besides, his real role is the complete opposite of this trope.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He seems like a helpful guy when he first meets Shulk and politely explains how to power up the Monado, but his dialogue with Face Nemesis shows that he doesn't care how many he has to sacrifice for his goals.
Blood Knight: We never get to see the giant fight but it's implied. He gets very... animated about the prospect slaughtering the Mechon with the Monado.
Body Surf: Once Arglas picked up the Monado, Zanza entered his body and took control of him. His flesh remained as Arglas when the giant was imprisoned, while his soul was trapped in the Monado. Said soul drained the lives of the homs explorers who found the Monado, in order for Zanza to regain strength, and then entered Shulk's body where it waited to reunite with the rest of Zanza when Arglas' body was eventually destroyed. Having a physical body to possess is a vital aspect of Zanza's existence until near the end of the game (when attaining a second Monado allows him to break his former limits), as until that time he could only live for so long without a host.
Chekhov's Gunman: He's introduced as a One-Shot Character who's relevant for one plot point and is never heard from again... until much later in the game when it turns out that Zanza was one of the most influential people in the world.
The Chessmaster: He controlled all of the actions on Bionis, and created the High Entia to assist in the termination of life on Bionis.
Clipped-Wing Angel: His third form has only half the HP of his second form, and with Shulk acquiring the Monado III chances are the fight won't last very long.
Cool Sword: Well, the Monado was his after all... It eventually gets upgraded into an even bigger one when he emerges from Shulk's body.
Crystal Dragon Jesus: Seems to be based on the demiurge from Gnosticism, a delusionally prideful godlike entity that created the physical universe, but is not aware that its power comes from an even higher source.
The Dark Side Will Make You Forget: He is the inheritor of Klaus's pride and obsession with godhood, but he has no memory of the events in Klaus's original world that lead to him developing those traits (those instead being present in Klaus's other half, The Architect). Thus, Zanza only sees his godhood as a means to be as destructive and malevolent as possible just because he feels he can.
Death Is Cheap: In his Giant form, he gets impaled by Metal Face. It may have been planned by Zanza all along, since from that point on, all of his soul goes into Shulk's body.
Deity of Human Origin: Was once a human scientist by the name of Klaus before becoming a god thanks to the Conduit.
Demiurge Archetype: Zanza is a malevolent deity who is the true source of all life on the titanic Bionis, and serves as its soul. The malevolent shell of a human scientist named Klaus who accidentally destroyed the previous universe in an experiment to create a new one, he became the new world's god along with his partner Meyneth, who instead became the soul of the Bionis's mechanical counterpart and rival. Zanza views his creations as nothing more than vessels and a food source to extend his own life with, and because he is unable to survive without them, making sure to wipe out all life on the Bionis and create it anew the moment it evolves enough to be capable of fighting him back or abandoning the Bionis, as per Arglas' wish. The true god is Alvis, supposedly one of his disciples, whom he and Meyneth have been borrowing power from.
Demonic Possession: How he operates. First by possessing Arglas, and after Arglas is killed by Metal Face, Shulk (although part of his soul was already in Shulk due to making contact with the Monado).
Dual Wielding: Zanza wields both his own and Meyneth's Monados during the final boss fight.
Enemy Without: Is the inheritor of all of the Well-Intentioned Extremist Klaus' negative qualities, with none of his higher ideals.
Evil Counterpart: He serves as this to many characters in this game and its sequel.
- Like Meyneth, both are scientists ascending to godhood and controlling titan bodies. While Meyneth was a kind goddess who wanted her own creations to evolve and carve their own futures once she realized their will to survive in the face of adversity, Zanza was a Control Freak who saw his progeny as food to be consumed.
- Like Shulk, he's a scientist connected with the Monado, and had the ability to become a Physical God at the end of his story. They even look alike and share voice actors. What sets them apart is that Shulk decided not to be a God, and Zanza became a malevolent god bent on tyrannical rule.
- Like the Architect in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, he gained a godlike power by experimenting on the Conduit. While the Architect creates life to atone for his sins and eventually places his faith in them after seeing their potential, Zanza only creates life to extend his lifespan and demands complete servitude from them, wiping them out if they reject his rule. Bonus points for the two being literal split selves of Klaus.
Evil Is Petty: His reason for trying to exterminate all sentient life on the Bionis? He just doesn't want a convenient food source to rebel against him or leave him. The reason he attacked the Mechonis? He considered the Machina "insolent" for wanting to change the world themselves.
Exact Words: In a side quest, Lesunia has a dream in which the soul of Bionis tells her that the pure blood High Entia are his chosen race. Zanza never said that they would like what he has chosen them for...
Expy: He's basically Deus with a speaking role. Out of all the previous Xenocharacters to get a counterpart in 'Blade, this guy is probably the most similar to the original. Furthermore, he has the High Entia revert to Telethia - something that almost exactly parallels humans mutating into Wels for Deus. His build up in the game mirrors Deus too; both being unable to take form at the start due to being injured/sealed away in the past, and needing their followers to guide the living races towards the right moment where they can be revived.
Fallen Hero: Implied in his conversation with Face Nemesis, who apparently accuses him of sacrificing the party in his quest to defeat Mechonis. He tells her to stuff it. The whole thing takes on a much darker note when you realise what Zanza's ''actual'' nature is. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 reveals that when Zanza was originally Klaus, his goal was to try and save the world from war after he lost faith in humanity. And while his intentions might have been noble, his method for achieving said was reckless and selfish, and the entire planet suffers dearly because of it. The experiment ultimately separates his soul into two, with the "Zanza" half reincarnating into a God.
Fatal Flaw: His absolute pride due to his status as the god of Bionis, believing that only he himself has the right to decide the fate of his creations. It is this same disregard for all beings he considers beneath him that ultimately becomes his undoing.
The Fatalist: Believes firmly that anything seen in his visions is inevitable, and that the passage of fate is infallible. Therefore, when his visions begin cutting off as a sign of his impending death, he does not take it well. At all.
Faux Affably Evil: He politely greets Shulk and the gang to his original homeworld before they fight, and does praise Shulk for being one of the very few people that were actually useful to him. But he is also an Omnicidal Maniac that cares about nothing but himself, and is a Smug Snake to boot.
Final Boss, New Dimension: You are transported to outer space (or a convincing replica) for the showdown against him.
For the Evulz: Even though he wishes to maintain his existence, Zanza doesn't really have much of a reason to be such a colossal jackass about it, especially when Meyneth has been maintaining her existence just fine without resorting to such tactics. Zanza's not a Well-Intentioned Extremist, he has no Freudian Excuse... He just crosses the line with each appearance like it's going out of fashion purely because he can. He even admits this to be his modus operandi when he explains that he gave the Telethia intelligence, creating the High Entia, on a random whim. This likely stems from inheriting all of Klaus's negative characteristics, as without his desire to help others, Zanza has no reason to use his divine power benevolently.
Genius Bruiser: Zanza's a hulking giant with extensive knowledge of the Monado. Although, the giant, named Arglas, is merely a host for Zanza's soul.
Genius Loci: He's the soul of the Bionis.
Genocide Backfire: Him turning all the full bloodied High Entia into Telethia is effectively genocide, given that he's essentially killing a very large majority of High Entia in the game. Melia is one of the few that ends up surviving due to being Half Homs, and she ends up being one of the ones to stop Zanza alongside the rest of the playable party members.
The Ghost: In Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Klaus refers to him as his "evil half", but he's not actually seen in the flesh.
A God Am I: And he will constantly remind the team of that. Subverted in the fact that his power is not his own, but rather that of Monado (a.k.a. Alvis).
God of Evil: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 reveals that he is the other half of Klaus, with the Architect being this counterpart.
Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: Zanza's true face is similar but not quite identical to Shulk's in the original Wii version, with his somewhat older appearance and sharper Tsurime Eyes as the most obvious difference from Shulk's youth and larger eyes. No longer the case as of Definitive Edition where his face is the same as Shulk's.
Good Is Not Nice: While he helps Shulk, he's kind of a dick towards Face Nemesis/Meyneth - who tries to speak with him and has no malicious intentions whatsoever. The morality of the scene is completely inverted when you realise that she's actually the goodie in this scenario.
Grandpa God: His long, wild hair and muscled body makes him look like something from the Sistine Chapel, and he has the voice to match. However, it's not actually his true form; it is merely a body he stole from a Giant named Arglas after he picked up the Monado.
Greater-Scope Villain: Could be considered this for much of the story, as his attack on the Mechonis is what spurred Egil to attempt destroying the Bionis as revenge for the Machina lost in Zanza's initial attack, leading to the Mechon invasions that destroyed Colony 9. He takes up the reins as Big Bad when Egil has a Heel–Face Turn... just in time for Dickson to shoot Shulk in the back and release Zanza from his body.
Half the Man He Used to Be: The final battle ends when Shulk bisects him vertically with the Monado III.
Hated by All: Absolutely every single character who knows of his existence regards him as completely and utterly evil and without a single redeeming quality. Not even his subjects try to defend him: they sidestep the issue altogether or are planning to stab him in the back the moment he looks the other way.
Hero Killer: He kills Meyneth and Egil. He's also responsible for the deaths of most of the High Entia and the Machina.
Heroic Sacrifice: Subverted. He dies trying to give the Monado an upgrade to hurt Faces, though he turns out to be not so heroic (or so dead) after all.
Hoist by His Own Petard: The very process by which Zanza maintained his life, namely possessing bodies and adapting them to harness his powers, meant he would eventually enable the creation of a vessel capable of destroying him. As Alvis puts it, the old god would be slain by the new god that he had inadvertently created. Zanza recognized this, and was thus compelled to destroy his own creations before they could develop enough to harm him, which in turn gave them cause to harm him. In comparison, Meyneth accepted the possibility that her people could one day cause her own destruction in one form or another, and allowed them to develop in the hopes that they would be able to survive without her.
Humanoid Abomination: Being the soul of the Bionis, he feeds off the creatures living on him and the Telethia are his antibodies. This nature of his makes him sound like something more in common with an H.P. Lovecraft god despite his human-origins and the bodies of the inhabitants he's used to achieve his ends. His final form in his boss fight is also somewhat grotesque, looking like a cross between a Telethia and a Mechon.
Identity Amnesia: He seemingly has no memory of his time as the disillusioned Mad Scientist Klaus, those memories instead being left with his other half, The Architect.
I Just Want to Have Friends: Zanza remarks that he had hoped to have a friendship with his creations, but Shulk rebutts him, pointing out that it wasn't friendship he wanted, just worthless slaves. After Zanza's death, Alvis remarks that Zanza probably really did desire friendship, even if he was too selfish and destructive to make any friends.
Immortality: A Parasitic-type, as it's stated that he cannot survive permanently in his spirit form and needs a physical body to inhabit every thousand years.
It's All About Me: He is utterly incapable of acknowledging the value of anything that isn't himself. He believes that things like destruction, creation and the future should only belong to the Gods, and goes out of his way to destroy other Gods to ensure he's the only being with those privileges.
It's Personal: A little over half the party members have a personal beef to settle with him.
- Shulk was killed by Zanza when he was just a baby, and grew up unknowingly being Zanza's vessel, being reduced to an empty shell upon Zanza breaking free. Once Alvis gives Shulk another chance at life, he makes it his duty to settle the score with Zanza and free Bionis and Mechonis from his tyranny.
- Fiora, being the vessel for Meyneth, makes it her personal goal to carry out Meyneth's wishes following her death and rid the world of Zanza, let alone any Gods. Shulk's "death" also didn't help matters.
- Dunban's life was filled with never-ending strife thanks to Zanza. During the Battle of Sword Valley, Zanza nearly made Dunban another one of his vessels alongside Shulk and Arglas, and while he failed to do so, it came at the cost of Dunban's right arm becoming crippled. Egil's resentment towards Zanza also saw Colony 9 on the receiving end of numerous Mechon attacks, to which Dunban had a hard time saving his people, and Dickson, one of Dunban's old friends, turned out to be a Judas who is Zanza's closest disciple. Needless to say, Dunban wants to give to Zanza everything he gave to him.
- While the High Entia have it out for Zanza already, what with him repeatedly mutating them into Telethia hellbent on exterminating all life on Bionis, Melia in particular can't forgive anything Zanza's done, as her brother, Kallian, was victim to Telethia mutation himself, thanks in no small part to another one of Zanza's disciples, Lorithia. The High Entia pride themselves on being a peaceful race, and Melia wants to prove to Zanza that they're not killing machines like he created them to be.
Jerkass God: He has the mindset and immense power of one.
Kick the Dog: He does this often but special notion to when Egil is about to get Meyneth's Monado after Zanza killed Meyneth but Zanza takes it at the very last second all while evil gloating about it.
Lack of Empathy: He's incapable of seeing the Homs as anything more than "bacteria, clinging to (his) body". As seen under Flanderization, this is because he was once a scientist whose evil half became a God, meaning he simply doesn't have the ability to care about what others think.
Light 'em Up: He wielded the Monado against the Mechonis in the past, specifically in its "sword of light" form that was used to strike the blow against the other titan.
Light Is Not Good: Upon exiting Shulk's body, he appears bathed in golden light and dressed in elaborate white-and-gold clothing. Not to mention the floating golden halos that accompany him everywhere.
Literal Split Personality: He is actually half of Klaus. His other half became The Architect as seen in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
Might Makes Right: His justification for pretty much everything he does. "Only a god can ____" might as well be his catchphrase.
Motive Decay: As revealed in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, the original Klaus was a flawed but well-intentioned man driven by a genuine belief that becoming a god and creating a new world was the only way to save humanity. Zanza inherited only his egotism, pride, and stubborn nature, however, regressing to a petty, childish, and selfish tyrant.
Mr. Exposition: He reveals the truth or, rather, some of it, about the Monado to Shulk and co.
Narcissist: His gargantuan ego and Lack of Empathy takes this to its logical extreme.
Nature Is Not Nice: He's the God representing nature, and he's the real villain of the story.
Not Quite the Almighty: Despite what he thinks, he is not the supreme being even if he is a legitimate god-Alvis is.
Obviously Evil: Subverted. Melia deduces minutes after meeting him that, despite how helpful his exposition and offer of powering-up the Monado without a catch are, the High Entia ancestors must have had a reason to seal him away. Despite this, Shulk agrees and he becomes one of the most important allies to the party until he revives and reveals that she was ''right'' to be skeptical about him.
One-Handed Zweihänder: He dual-wields both Monados during the Final Boss fight.
Omnicidal Maniac: He's created a cycle of destruction and rebirth where, the moment life on Bionis looks like it's going to escape from it and abandon the old world, he possesses one of them to use as a vessel, devours everything else and creates life anew so he can live forever. It's unclear if he's ever actually accomplished this though, given Alvis presents his creation of sapient life as something he's done only once (while also at some point modifying Telethia into sapient beings), and his previous time possessing someone was to kill off the Mechonis rather than to harm life on Bionis.
One-Shot Character: For all his plot relevance, the giant only appears for one scene (and flashbacks). The giant, that is.
One-Winged Angel: After gaining Meyneth's Monado and going to confront Shulk, he grants himself Bionis-themed armor. Partway through the fight he steps it up, becoming a half-Bionis-half-Mechonis monstrosity with Zanza's upper half sticking out of the center.
Our Giants Are Bigger: Although it turns out that Zanza was only possessing the giant Arglas. Also, the Japanese name for the Bionis is "huge god".
Our Titans Are Different: He's the soul of the Bionis.
Physical God: Played with. He's a literal god with a physical form, but at first he needs to hijack somebody's body to provide the form.
Psychopathic Manchild: After he's resurrected, he can come off as incredibly petulant towards the idea of mortals defying the passage of fate without his say so or having free will. Unlike Meyneth, he doesn't realize that friendship is not synonymous with servitude. '
Really 700 Years Old: Much like Meyneth.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Double Subverted; though his glowing red eyes lend him an intimidating aura, he's benevolent enough. Except that he only seems benevolent because you're working toward his goals at the moment. And the red eyes belonged to Arglas, the giant he was possessing.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The extroverted, passionate, and impulsive Red to the Architect's introverted, logical, and patient Blue.
Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Not Zanza himself, but his host Arglas, whose name in Japanese is Agares, after one of the demons of the Ars Goetia.
Rotten Reincarnation: Zanza has been continually feeding off death and rebirthing life on Bionis to sustain his life and his godhood, sowing conflict to keep his creations from leaving and making everyone miserable for his own benefit. Naturally the main characters are immediately set on destroying him when he reveals his true colours, but are troubled by the fact that whether they die in battle or naturally, they'll just end up fuel for Zanza.
Sealed Badass in a Can: He took control of the entire Bionis and used it to attack Mechonis.
Sealed Evil in a Can: He inhabits the Monado and must inhabit the body of one of his progeny within a thousand-year period or else he dies.
Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: In this case, Shulk.
Slasher Smile: While not as explicit as some examples, it is fairly obvious in Definitive Edition that he is ecstatic to finally get the chance to force the weakened Meyneth to fight him. He mocks her throughout the battle, much of the time wearing a unnerving smile as it becomes clear she is much weaker than she was when they last fought.
"Is this the height of your skill? You call yourself a god, and speak of sharing this world with ME?!"
Smug Snake: He clearly fancies himself as a Manipulative Bastard, and to his credit actually does start out quite manipulative. Once he gets both Monados, however, he just throws all planning out of the window and starts wallowing in his own pride.
The Sociopath: Not only is he incredibly manipulative, he views all life with contempt and believes that it exists only to keep him alive.
Sword of Plot Advancement: The Monado itself turns out to have been created by him. He also powers it up so that it can damage beings from Bionis.
Super-Empowering: He can upgrade the Monado.
Synchronization: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 reveals that he and his good half are linked together, meaning if one dies, the other dies too.
Take Up My Sword: Kind of. He once fought against Mechonis with a giant version of the Monado and encourages Shulk to take up his fight.
Video Game Cruelty Potential: His callous attitude towards the inhabitants of Bionis and Mechonis resembles that of an egotistic Simulation Game player, seeing the beings within the simulation as mere tools to use and abuse.
Villainous Breakdown: Starts to have one when the final battle begins, centered around the fact that he can no longer see the party's future, but Shulk can still see his. By the time Shulk breaks out the True Monado, Zanza's breakdown goes into full-swing.
[After the battle starts] I shall wipe you from this world and bring forth its demise!
[After Shulk has a vision] Did you...? No! How can you still have visions?!
[After he loses all health in his first phase] Did you...? No!
[Right before going One-Winged Angel] You mere vessels dare to oppose the will of a god?! Then I shall obliterate everything with my unimaginable power!
[After he sees the Monado III] A third Monado has appeared... How can this have happened?! YOU ARE MERE MORTALS!!
[Beginning of final phase] Your existence cannot be permitted! I will destroy you!
[After losing a quarter of his health] IMPOSSIBLE!! How can such power dwell within you?!
[After losing half his health] I AM A GOD! All that is and shall be! You are NOTHING!
[On the verge of defeat] I cannot... No! I WILL NOT LET YOU LIVE!!
[Upon defeat] No! It cannot be!
Walking Spoiler: Nearly everything about him is spoilerific.
We Can Rule Together: He tries asking Shulk to be his new Disciple... It goes down about as well as you'd expect.
Why Won't You Die?: His reaction when Egil and Mechonis prevent him from destroying the Junks is one of pure hatred:
Zanza: Don't you ever give up ?! DIE!
You Can't Fight Fate: In stark contrast to the rest of the game up to then, which was full of Screw Destiny, both in story and in battle. His first few lines during The Reveal are him telling you that all things up to that exact moment were predestined, and he goes on to say that they cannot fight the fate he has decided for them.

Klaus

Voiced by: Adam Howden (English), Shintarō Asanuma (Japanese)

"Once, only a God could perform such a miracle - but today, mankind moves one step closer to the divine!"

Zanza's original self. He was a human scientist in the distant past who enacted an experiment to create a universe, but in doing so, (seemingly) destroyed his universe and sent him to be reborn as a god in a new universe.

However, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 would shed more light upon him: because of humanity's constant warring which ruined the Earth, he lost faith in mankind, seeing them as constantly struggling solely to fulfill their selfish desires. Finding an infinite energy source known as the Conduit, Klaus saw it as a means to give humanity a new purpose as gods. His experiment actually left his universe mostly intact but caused the world's population along with much of the planet's surface to be sucked into different universes and split him in half: Klaus's desire for godhood and low opinion of others would manifest as Zanza, while his memories and desire to do good for the world would remain in his own universe as the Architect of Alrest.

For his remnant in his own universe, see here.

Composite Character: Of Grimoire Verum from Xenosaga and Karellen from Xenogears (named Krelian in the localization) - like Karellan, Klaus crossed the Despair Event Horizon and lost faith in humanity, which resulted in him beginning to seek godlike power and becoming mad scientists. They both achieve what they desired, but at the cost of sacrificing everything and only achieving it for themselves. And like Verum, Klaus was a head scientist researching the Conduit/Zohar who was successfully able to activate it, only to create a matter shift that results in the destruction of Earth. He also incorporates some elements of Abel, as a human who made contact with the Conduit/Zohar in such a way that he (or at least half of him) became the only remaining human left from the old world, while a hero sharing his appearance would reincarnate thousands of years down the line to defeat the Deus Expy and liberate the Wave Existence Expy connected with the Zohar.
Connected All Along: Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed all but outright confirms that the Earth which Klaus came from is the same one from Xenosaga, due to the presence of Vector Industries, Dmitri Yuriev, and the Salvators (known as the Saviorites in Xenoblade Chronicles due to a Dub-Induced Plot Hole).
Crapsack World: The version of Earth that he came from was falling apart with the degradation of human rights, the ravaging of the planet for resources, ongoing war, and people fleeing to the stars to avoid these disasters - which made him all the more desperate to harness the Zohar to lead humanity to a new world. And if Future Redeemed is of any indication, his Earth is the same one from both Xenosaga and Xenoblade Chronicles X, the former of which also qualifies and the latter eventually facing an alien invasion. So given all of that, it makes his experiment seems like a desperate attempt at finding any solution to make things better regardless of the risk.
Deity of Human Origin: His Conduit experiment would give him divine abilities in not just one, but two universes.
Despair Event Horizon: The war with the Saviorites pushed him over this, as the war and ravaging of Earth led him to turn to the Conduit in hopes of finding a better future for mankind.
Expy Coexistence: Future Redeemed confirms that another Karellen Expy exists in Xenoblade Chronicles, that being Dmitri Yuriev from Xenosaga - and both him and Klaus come from the same homeworld, meaning that Klaus' home universe is very likely to be, if not confirmed outright, to be the Xenosaga universe.
The Ghost: Him and his other personalities don't make any appearances in Future Redeemed, but are mentioned often and are especially relevant to the plot near the very.
Godhood Seeker: Upon finding the Conduit, Klaus developed a God complex and wanted to save humanity by creating new universes and evolving humans into something more than they were.
Gone Horribly Right: What his experiment ended up being. He sought to use the Conduit to take humanity into "an entirely new world," and to "make us into so much more." These things did end up happening to some extent or another, but in a far more chaotic and destructive way than Klaus intended. Rather than humanity smoothly moving to a new world, most of them were scattered into distant dimensions to an unknown fate. Klaus (or rather, half of him) and Galea did go to a new universe and became gods, but with no memory retained of who they once were. And all of this also came at the cost of mostly destroying Earth.
Humans Are Bastards: Had this attitude towards humanity, only seeing them as pathetically struggling to fulfill their selfish wants.
Identical Stranger:
- Significantly downplayed in the original Wii version, where although he has the same voice actor and general appearance as Shulk, their facial features (such as eye and mouth shape) and the overall sounds of their voices are markedly different enough to make it clear that the two are not identical, but separate and distinct individuals who happen to have a strong resemblance, in accordance with Word of God's explanation that their similarities are a genuine coincidence. Likewise, his appearance in a flashback in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 looks rather different from any version of Shulk including his DLC cameo in that same game, although some of it can be attributed to different character designers.
- Played straight in Definitive Edition, where Klaus and Zanza do share the same face model as Shulk and as a result the former also becomes a case of Older Than They Look.
Literal Split Personality: The Architect would retain all of Klaus's positive traits while Zanza would manifest all of his negative traits.
Mad Scientist: Klaus, having lost faith in humanity, was obsessed with bringing himself and humanity to divinity by creating a universe.
Portal Cut: His experiment inflicted this upon him but left the two halves alive, resulting in both manifesting different aspects of Klaus's personality.
Pride: His Fatal Flaw. While he had a sympathetic motivation, Klaus was utterly convinced that he alone could bring about a new and better age for humanity, which as a whole he regarded as a bunch of selfish, idiotic bastards unable to change themselves into something more without his guidance. He ignored the warnings of his assistant Galea and indirectly sabotaged his side's attempt to grasp a desperate victory in the war by going forward with his experiment despite the risks. Zanza would inherit that sense of superiority, inflated by his godhood, and take it even further.
Revision: Klaus's appearance in the flashback shown by Alvis to Shulk indicates that he wasn't much different personality-wise from the Zanza he would become. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 then elaborates more on his motivations, showing that he developed a god complex from finding the Conduit and wanting to save humanity from their selfish, destructive warring, and revealing that the reason why Zanza is so utterly malevolent is that Klaus's benevolent qualities were left with his other half.
Well-Intentioned Extremist:
- Klaus believed that by using the Conduit and opening the gateway to multiple universes, he could stop needless suffering in his world and make humanity into something better. Unfortunately, it resulted in the utter destruction of his world, scattering civilization into multiple dimensions.
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed adds a new layer to his motivations; the Saviorite rebels that attacked the First Low Orbital Station are the Salvator faction from Xenosaga led by Dmitri Yuriev (a Dub Induced Plothole, as they were referred to as being the Salvators in the original Japanese version of 2). Given how Yuriev was completely selfish in his pursuit and motivations for ascension, it makes Klaus' impromptu experiment even more of a Godzilla Threshold than before.

Future Connected Characters

Kino and Nene

See Xenoblade Chronicles: Protagonists.

Ponspectors

"We measure! Find treasure! Ponspectors 'til we die!"

A team of Nopon who are surveying the Bionis's Shoulder.

Faction Motto: "We measure! Find treasure! Ponspectors 'til we die!"
Numerical Theme Naming: They're named after the numbers one to twelve. While most of them can be determined phonetically, others require more creative thinking.
"Shaggy Dog" Story: The Ponspectors were investigating the Bionis's Shoulder to find Golden Shrooms they can sell to get enough money to keep their team afloat. At first, it seems to be all for nothing when they find the chest containing them only to discover all of the shrooms have dried up. Then it's subverted when one of them looks beneath the shrooms to find treasure they can use, ultimately succeeding in their mission.

Maxis

Voiced by: Edward Dogliani (English), Yasuhiro Mamiya (Japanese)

The leader of the High Entia that chose to reside at the Companions' Cape. A military man through and through, he is the first person to relay to the team the severity of the events transpiring on the Bionis's Shoulder.

The Cavalry: When Gran Dell comes under heavy siege by Fogbeasts, Melia's able to convince Maxis and his imperial soldiers to return to the town to save its refugees. When it looks like the Gran Dell Ramparts wall is about to be overtaken by the Fogbeasts, Shulk's group arrives with Maxis and the imperial soldiers to break the siege.
Goal in Life: He and his imperial soldiers are some of the most determined to reclaim their home of Alcamoth from the Fog King. Though they lost said determination when Radzam told them to quit as they were fighting a losing battle that resulted in the deaths of many High Entia soldiers. Something that Maxis and the soldiers are stubbornly forced to admit as even though they left Gran Dell out of disgust of what Radzam said to them, they ended up remaining stationed at Companions' Cape having not tried any further attacks knowing that any further efforts would be a waste. Eventually, Maxis and his soldiers regains their determination to help retake Alcamoth when Gran Dell comes under attack from Fogbeasts, and because Shulk's group has a plan to finally dispose of the Fog King.
The Leader: He serves as the leader of the High Entia imperial guards that have set up camp at Companions' Cape.
Mr. Exposition: He helps the team catch up on events that happened after the main story on the Bionis's Shoulder and explains to them what caused them to crash.
Oh, Crap!: His reaction near the end of the story when he realizes that Melia was indeed Crown Princess Melia the whole time and he had not been treating her with proper respect.
Old Soldier: A long-time member of Alcamoth's Imperial Guard and the leader of the Companions.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Due to an argument with Radzam regarding their continued failures to retake Alcamoth that resulted in the deaths of many High Entia soldiers, Maxis and his imperial soldiers abandon Gran Dell and its refugees in order to set up a camp at Companions' Cape.

Gael'gar

Voiced by: Samuel Barnett (English), Hiromu Miyazaki (Japanese)

The first villain of Future Connected. A zealot High Entia who believes that all High Entia should be Half-Homs and that Melia is the start and future of their race, as he also constantly stalks Melia at the start of the game.

Ax-Crazy: Despite his friendly façade, he ends up being absolutely insane and goes Laughing Mad when he realises that Melia and Shulk are still alive and he's been beaten twice.
Better to Die than Be Killed: When Shulk and Melia beat him one last time and pity him in an attempt to give him a chance to better himself, Gael'gar basically breaks down at the prospect of admitting his goals were wrong and decides to jump off a cliff.
Big Bad Wannabe: Gael'gar is seemingly the Big Bad for the main storyline, with him being shown right from the start, being the end to Melia's entire character arc while being quickly shown to be extremely deluded and hypocritical with him aiming to rule the remaining High Entia when he realizes Melia does not plan to lead them the way he wants her to (namely as a divine progenitor figure who demonizes their ancestors and idolizes half bloods), but he fails at killing Teelan and killing Melia. In the end, he never even gets close to the final goal he seeks and commits suicide rather than accept Melia's mercy and deal with the idea he was wrong, while the real main antagonist The Fog King starts to terrorise the Bionis Shoulder. Further, Melia and the rest of the group never treat Gael'gar as a major threat so much as a pitiable and seriously deluded man whose vileness all the same cannot be excused by whatever traumas he suffered as a half breed High Entia.
Evil Counterpart: To Melia. Both of them are half-Homs High Entia who faced discrimination from pure-blood High Entia, but while Melia doesn't hold a grudge against pure-bloods and wishes to live with them in peace, Gael'gar hates pure-bloods and wants half-bloods to reign supreme. Both of them also use elements in battle, Melia through her staff and Gael'gar through his sword.
Eyes Always Shut: Usually never opens his eyes. When they do, it's when he's firmly jumped off the deep end.
Fantastic Racism: He absolutely hates pure blooded High Entia, to the point where he opposes the idea of Telethia turning back into High Entia through Teelan's research notes and attempts to destroy their work by bombing the house it was contained in.
Faux Affably Evil: He constantly smiles and seems friendly enough but opposing him and getting him mad quickly shows just how twisted of a person he truly is.
Flat Character: He doesn't have much in the way of motivations of why he's racist (His Freudian Excuse is not specified beyond Melia believing he must have suffered a lot for being part Homs), shows hardly any personality other than his twisted racism at pure bloods and his desire to make the new leader of the High Entia be a quasi-divine figure, and is only there to be hated by the viewer. He is also completely forgotten about for a while, only appearing in a late game sidequest which is completely optional.
Foil:
- To Lorithia. Both of them start off as allies, yet are Obviously Evil, and end up becoming villains to nobody's surprise. While Lorithia uses the pureblood High Entia to transform into Telethia, Gael'gar constantly praises the halfbloods and believes the transformation of the purebloods is a divine implication.
- To Tyrea. Both of them try to kill Melia in order to support their race of High Entia, and in both cases she's saved by Shulk. However, Tyrea does it for the purebloods, while Gael'gar does it for the halfbloods. While Tyrea comes back from being a Death Seeker, Gael'gar is eventually Driven to Suicide. In addition, while Tyrea redeems herself, Gael'gar doesn't redeem himself. Finally, Tyrea wields dual daggers while Gael'gar fights with a large broadsword.
Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Melia mentions that he had a lot of traumas suffered as a Half Breed and she pities him to the point of refusing to punish him herself, but states his vile actions can still not be excused.
Hated by All: Due to his Fantastic Racism toward his ancestors and his horrible actions, no one likes this guy with Melia finding him disgusting and with other half-Homs High Entia such as Teelan and Tyrea hating him.
Hate Sink: While most villains in the first game are morally grey, Gael'gar isn't one of them, and his hypocrisy and delusion combined with his racism make the player want to kick his ass. His targeting of Teelan and burning down an entire house to destroy Teelan's research only makes him worse. In the end, he is alongside Zanza, Dickson, Lorithia and Metal Face in terms of evil and being a massive prick.
Hypocrite: As Melia points out, him judging all pure blooded High Entia as being evil is just as bad as the pure bloods who did the same to the half bloods. The mere idea that he could be the same as them seems to pretty much break Gael'gar.
Knight Templar: While it is true that Sorean and Kallian decided to dilute the bloodline because of the Telethia curse, Gael'gar takes it much further and is more out of general racism instead of that. He refuses to even acknowledge pure blooded High Entia as his ancestors, wanting to set up Melia as a divine progenitor of all High Entia.
Laughing Mad: He constantly starts laughing multiple times upon being defeated for the last time before throwing himself off a cliff.
More Hateable Minor Villain: The Fog King is an Eldritch Abomination and Generic Doomsday Villain that needs stopping until it destroys the Bionis with no personality at all. Gael'gar on the other hand is an unlikeable Knight Templar racist with no sympathetic moments in the story, his Freudian Excuse is considered lackluster and he is purely made to be hated. He also has no ties to The Fog King and dies in an optional sidequest.
"Not So Different" Remark: Melia points out that his single-minded hatred for pure-blood High Entia makes him no different than the pure-bloods who discriminated against him.
Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: He claims he's doing this for the future of the High Entia but what he actually wants is pure racism and the rejection of their people's history, both the good and the bad. In addition, while he claims to protect half-blooded High Entia he attempts to kill both Melia and Teelan just because they oppose him.
Obviously Evil: Dresses in very striking purple, has Eyes Always Shut, practically introduces himself spewing racist comments, chuckles to himself every two sentences... Is it really any surprise that he's not actually a good guy?
Perpetual Smiler: He's always seen smiling with his eyes being shut until he reveals how insane he is and goes off the deep end (e.g. when Melia refuses his ideology).
Sad Battle Music: His battle theme is A Tragic Decision sharing with Zanza, Egil and Bana.
The Sociopath: He doesn't truly care about anyone but himself and his goals, even if you are a Half-Blooded High Entia he'd still attack you if you go against him, it's clear he can't stand the possibility of being wrong and will disregard any amount of morality for his racist kingdom.
Starter Villain: He's the first villain you encounter in Future Connected, and takes up quite a bit of the plot. Similarly to Metal Face, he entices you on the journey because everything he does is virtually made so the audience wants to see his ass get kicked.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: He's one of Mumkhar from the main game. Both are the Starter Villain for the game and seem to be allies but are Obviously Evil and end up being much worse than expected, both of them are incredibly cruel villains who attempt to kill the main female protagonist and both fail as Fiora becomes a Face Unit while getting her memories back and Melia wasn't dead from Teelan's Laboratory blowing up. Both end up dying from falling a great distance which are caused by their own actions with Gael'gar's being intentional suicide, where as Metal Face died by attempting to kill Dunban and Shulk in the back.
White Hair, Black Heart: As a High Entia, he naturally has white hair. He's also the most evil High Entia in the story alongside Lorithia, and makes Yumea and her racism towards half-breeds look like a good person in comparison.
Would Hurt a Child: He attempts to kill Teelan who is 43 in Homs years but is 9-10 years old in High Entia years, though doesn't get away with it due to Teelan's mother who has turned into a Telethia.

Teelan (Teto)

Teelan

Voiced by: Joanna Ruiz (English), Karin Takahashi (Japanese)

A High Entia child researching means to turn the Telethia back into High Entia. In the original game, Teelan's just a Sidequest NPC whos story concluded with Shulk's group retrieving the Telethia Research tome from the High Entia Tomb to help with Teelan's research.

By the time of Future Connected, his Telethia research plays a massive role in freeing Alcamoth from the threat of the Fog King.

Ascended Extra: From a generic NPC in the main game to a vital character in the Future Connected story.
Child Prodigy: He's 43 in Homs years (which is 9-10 in High Entia years) and is practically on Shulk's level when it comes to brains.
Distressed Dude: He has to be rescued several times in Future Connected. Twice from the Fog King, and once from Gael'gar.
Genius Bruiser: During the main game, he was training to be a soldier. However, he also received tutelage from Naroth, Alcamoth's resident Mad Scientist. In fact, if you complete a late-game sidequest, you'll learn that it was Naroth who set Teelan on the path to reversing the Telethia transformation.
Goal in Life: He starts to research into the Telethia in the hopes that he can one day learn the method to change them back into High Entia. One part that seems to motivate him regarding this is that his pure-blood mother was turned into a Telethia.
Half-Human Hybrid: He managed to avoid the Telethia transformation thanks to his father being a Homs.
MacGuffin: A lot of his breakthroughs in researching the Telethia centers around the Telethia Research tome that Shulk's group picked up for him out of the High Entia Tomb. In Future Connected when Gael'gar blows up Teelan's laboratory, Melia manages to save it from the burning lab, which Teelan thanks her for as the tome surviving means that they still have the basis to restart the Telethia research.

Radzam

Voiced by: Huw Parmenter (English), Yutaka Aoyama (Japanese)

The leader of Gran Dell. As a Machina, he and the other Machina have received their fair share of prejudice from the others, especially the High Entia. However, were it not for him, things would have turned out much worse for the High Entia.

The Leader: He serves as the leader of the refugees living in Gran Dell.
Only Sane Man: Downplayed. While he's not the only one who thought the High Entia were needlessly throwing their lives away fighting a battle they can't win, he was the only one to voice such an opinion.

Helmaline

Voiced by: Kate Malyon (English), Maki Tsuruta (Japanese)

A High Entia girl living in Gran Dell.

Flat Character: Other than providing a huge information dump on Shulk's group when they first arrive in Gran Dell, there's nothing else to her.
Ms. Exposition: When Shulk's group arrives in Gran Dell, she approaches them out of worry for the imperial High Entia soldiers at Companions' Cape. She then provides a lot of context as to why the relations between the cape soldiers and Gran Dell refugees deteriorated to the point of Maxis' imperial soldiers departing from the town.

The Fog King

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fog_king.png

The main antagonist of Future Connected. A creature that appeared in Alcamoth shortly after the world was reborn and drove the refugees onto the Bionis Shoulder. It is completely immune to any and all attacks used by Homs, High Entia, Nopon and Machina, and corrupts the monsters that wander Alcamoth into "Fogbeasts", recognizable by the black fog they seem to give off.

Big Bad: This thing causes most of the main problems to occur in Future Connected, and it's also the Final Boss.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Zanza was a formerly human god with the megalomaniacal narcissistic desire to remake the world in his image over and over, who happened to be the very land the world rested on. The Fog King is a completely inscrutable entity of pure malevolence with no personality at all that comes from beyond known reality itself.
The Corruption: After your first encounter with it, the Fog King starts corrupting monsters, turning them into "Fogbeasts".
Dark Is Evil: Its main body is a constantly moving cloud of black fog that shaped like a four legged monster.
Eldritch Abomination: It came from an unknown dimension, kills for no reason, is shaped like something from a nightmare and made of it too, and has Glowing Eyes of Doom.
Final Boss: The final boss of Future Connected.
Foreshadowing: There are a handful of clues that can be ascertained about it if you're familiar with the later two games in the trilogy. Players of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will recognize that its body shape resembles a Guldo, a late-game enemy from that game. That an enemy from Alrest was able to partially manifest on Bionis, through a rift in space, is an early warning sign that the two worlds are beginning to draw near each other, which turns out to be the initial premise of Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Further, a dangerous "black fog" appears in Xenoblade 3, seemingly as [[an indicator of dimensional instability]]. Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed would eventually confirm that to be exactly the case for the black fog and the Fogbeasts.
Generic Doomsday Villain: It seems to have no goals or motivation other than killing humanoids (as it directs the Fog Beasts to attack the two settlements on Bionis Shoulder).
Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: All we ever learn about it in Future Connected is that it suddenly appeared in Alcamoth and began wrecking havoc. Shulk and Melia acknowledge that it isn't a creature of Bionis or Mechonis, with Shulk calling it "a new threat for a new world." Shulk also speculates that the universe they live in is still new, and that perhaps due to this it is unstable enough for rifts to open and let things in from other dimensions. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 implies that it was actually a monster (likely a Guldo) from Alrest, drawn in by the rifts that would eventually cause the two Conduit-created worlds to collide. This was later explicitly confirmed in an interview in the Aionios Moments artbook, explaining that the Fog King was indeed a actual Infernal Guldo that had been altered by contact with the world of Xenoblade 1 coming near it, and not only that but the world of Xenoblade 2 experienced a similar conflict with a creature from Xenoblade 1 that simply went unmentioned.
Hate Plague: Its power infects monsters all over the Bionis's Shoulder, turning them into minor unique monsters called "Fogbeasts". When a Fogbeast spots you, it spreads the Hate Plague to nearby monsters, which instantly level up and attack.
Intangibility: The main reason why it's considered The Dreaded.
King Mook: A stronger and more terrifying version of the Guldos from Alrest.
Resurrective Immortality: Every time it's put down, it draws ether from the rift and becomes even stronger. It takes Shulk's upgraded Replica Monado, the Telethia attacking the rift, and a particularly powerful spell from Melia to destroy it and the rift in its entirety.

Crossover Appearances

Super Smash Bros.
- Super Smash Bros. 4 - 56 to 59 ^noteShulk
- Super Smash Bros. - Assist Trophies ^noteRiki
- Super Smash Bros. - Bosses ^noteMetal Face
- Super Smash Bros. - Others ^noteDunban, Fiora
Project × Zone 2: Brave New World ^noteFiora, Metal Face

Characters / Xenoblade Chronicles 1

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