History Fridge / XenobladeChronicles2

* Ever wondered why Blades tend to have BizarreAlienBiology, from [[AmbiguouslyHuman passable-for-human]] like Pyra to LittleBitBeastly like Nim to [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers outright weird]] like Boreas? Well, considering that Klaus repurposed Core Crystals from brain cell replacements to the building blocks of a new world and how different aspects of a Driver affect the initial form of a Blade, their unusual anatomy would make some degree of sense.

* Ontos' true identity is actually very easy to figure out for those who played the first game; Pyra/Mythra have the power of [[CombatClairvoyance foresight and Malos wields a Monado, two traits associated with Alvis from the first game. ''Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition'' drops all subtext and ends up replacing his necklace's key with a red core crystal in the same shape as an Aegis core crystal.]]

** The dialogue is just Rex's subconscious fears based on information he already has while filling in the blanks. Nia's AnguishedDeclarationOfLove naturally lead to her being [[GreenEyedMonster jealous of his relationship with Pyra. Morag's natural patriotism to Mor Ardain is shown in Chapter 8 when confronting Jin again, when both she and Brighid make death threats to him specifically because of the Ardainian soldiers that Jin killed. The comments aimed towards him being [[TheUnchosenOne unworthy of the Aegis]] also make sense given Rex's perception of his own shortcomings. [[labelnote:Examples]] In Chapter 1, he got killed and was only able to come back thanks to Pyra. Chapter 2, he (and the team) was practically useless against Morag. Chapter 3, his uselessness caused the death of his mentor Vandham and it was only thanks to Mythra's awakening that he survived the battle. Chapter 4, he failed to make a dent in Rosa and Rosa was only able to be taken down because of Poppi's new form and had to be saved by Morag when fighting Patroka and Mikhail (and even then it was Mythra who defeated them). Chapter 5, he failed to defeat Jin even while he was inhibited and Fan la Norne died as a result of this. Chapter 6, Jin utterly curbstomps him and he loses Pyra/Mythra. Chapter 7, he nearly dies to the phantasms and Nia needs to reveal her Blade form to save him. Even with Nia's new power, the team was nearly killed by Jin and Malos if it wasn't for Pyra/Mythra obtaining a new form. Chapter 9, it is only thanks to Mythra and Poppi that he negates Amalthus' blade controlling ability and even with Pneuma's power it still isn't enough to defeat Amalthus resulting in Jin having to perform a HeroicSacrifice to save the team. [[/labelnote]]. From all of his failings, it is easy to see why Rex would view himself less as TheChosenOne and more as someone who simply was in the right place at the right time]].

* Jin's death may seem like it comes out of nowhere but it actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it. First of all, Jin is a Flesh Eater and got one of the crippling side affects that removes immortality: needing treatments to simply keep him alive. This was shown previously when he exerts a bit too much effort in the confrontation with Fan La Norne and Akhos has to get him back to the ship for another treatment. Secondly, he's ''still'' recovering from his [[CurbStompBattle last bout with Rex and Pneuma and Mythra even says that fighting Rex again could be fatal. Even after doing so proves not to be the case (because Rex wasn't trying to kill him), he is still in a position where he was about to get treatment from [[TheMedic Nia]]. Amalthus attacks the group before he gets a chance to be healed very much (Nia only briefly stabilizes him) so when he uses his power to [[AnIcePerson freeze Amalthus to absolute zero]], the amount of stress that he must be going through as well as the condition he is in from both of his fights with Rex without receiving enough treatment were simply too much to handle.]]

** Nia acting more cat-like than most Gormotti makes a lot more sense when you learn [[spoiler:that she ''isn't'' one. She's merely acting on the perceived stereotypes associated with the catfolk in an attempt to divert attention away from herself so that others won't find out about her true nature.]]
** That or [[spoiler:the catness is more her blade nature and she's unable to fully suppress it to act "human."]]
** During a chain attack she shouts "Here I come, ready or Gormotti!" [[spoiler:She's always ready because she isn't a Gormotti]]
* A lot of details early in the story can be seen as {{Foreshadowing}} of [[spoiler: Nia being a Flesh Eater Blade. In Chapter 2 at Torigoth, when she was strangled by a Ether net, she was struggling just as much as Dromarch: because as a Blade, her Ether flows are also being restrained. As the party was beaten back by Malos and Akhos at the end of Chapter 3, there was a brief shot of Nia putting her hands onto her chest and looking very conflicted, which likely meant that she was considering transforming into her Blade form at that moment. In addition, when Minoth tells the party about his Flesh Eater status at the beginning of Chapter 4, Nia's audibly shocked reaction also made a lot more sense in hindsight.]]
* When Rex and Pyra first fight Brighid, the heat from Brighid's flames visibly hurt both of them. While Rex is understandable, it would seem quite strange for [[PlayingWithFire Pyra]] to be hurt just as much [[spoiler: until it's revealed that one of the side effects of exchanging half her life force with Rex causes her to share Rex's pain]].
* Why can Pyra still access her full powers in an area where the presence of water dampens Fire Blades? [[spoiler:She's actually a Light Blade through Mythra, just using those powers in a way that acts like fire]].

* [[spoiler: Jin's death may seem like it comes out of nowhere but it actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it. First of all, Jin is a Flesh Eater and got one of the crippling side affects that removes immortality: needing treatments to simply keep him alive. This was shown previously when he exerts a bit too much effort in the confrontation with Fan La Norne and Akhos has to get him back to the ship for another treatment. Secondly, he's ''still'' recovering from his [[CurbStompBattle last bout with Rex and Pneuma]] and Mythra even says that fighting Rex again could be fatal. Even after doing so proves not to be the case (because Rex wasn't trying to kill him), he is still in a position where he was about to get treatment from [[TheMedic Nia]]. Amalthus attacks the group before he gets a chance to be healed very much (Nia only briefly stabilizes him) so when he uses his power to [[AnIcePerson freeze Amalthus to absolute zero]], the amount of stress that he must be going through as well as the condition he is in from both of his fights with Rex without receiving enough treatment were simply too much to handle.]]
* The way accents are sorted out for each group of people is almost entirely consistent. Blades and the Indoline all have American accents while all the other mortals have commonwealth accents. However, there are two exceptions: [[spoiler:Nia and Mikhail. Nia, despite being a Blade, retains her Gormotti accent likely due to being raised by a Gormotti baron and his daughter. Mikhail, despite being a mortal at first, was taken under Amalthus's, then Jin's wings. Lots of people are born from places but tend to lose their native accent when they move to a different country at a young age]]. Even the American accents fit in with the commonwealth, given the history of the thirteen colonies. [[spoiler:The Indoline even wage war on the rest of the commonwealth-accented world]].
* [[spoiler: Pyra seeking out Rex to be her Driver and Malos having Jin be the leader of Torna makes sense once it is revealed that the Aegises are AIs. Although they are sentient and have wills of their own, it appears that they need "users" to perform the actual inputs and make the heavy decisions. This is in-line with the first game, where Alvis (implied to be the third Aegis), needs Shulk to undergo the action of removing Zanza and reforming the universe despite having the power to do it himself.]]
* The facts that Pyra could "share half her Lifeforce" with Rex, that Judicium [[spoiler: succeeded in merging human cells with Blades]] and that [[spoiler: Indol refined the technology until it could create Blade Eaters and tremendously increase the lifespan of those who underwent the operation]] makes perfect sense once you've learned that [[spoiler: Core Crystals are repurposed devices originally meant to replace dying brain cells in Humans. In other words: Core Crystals are based on very advanced ''prosthetics'': '''Of Course''' you're going to be able to graft human cells to these and use them to replace failing organs and expand the receiver lifespan: '''That'' is what they were ''invented'' to do in the first place]]
* The Japanese names for Dromarch and Roc who are named after two of the [[TheFourgods Four gods]] seem a little strange when the other two are for Azurda and Genbu/Tantal. [[spoiler: It finally makes sense when it's revealed that Titans are what Blades grow into after a number of centuries.]]

* In the Spirit Crucible Elpys [[spoiler: Nia being a blade]] struggles in the low ether atmosphere but improves when Rex gives [[spoiler: her]] his emergency air. Why? Because it was bottled outside the Crucible and thus has regular ether levels in it, acting as a sort of ether-shot to boost [[spoiler: her]] ether levels.

** Truth: Wind and Ice blades tend to be very knowledgeable and objective in some areas to the point of their expertise being a hobby (although [[ForgetfulJones Finch]] may be an ironic case, she has entomology as one of her field skills). Even Godfrey and Perun, whose characters [[ForGreatJustice seems to obsess with the other three virtues]], approach them with a more objective outlook. Zenobia, with [[HotBlooded her personality]], would sound like a match for Bravery, but battle ''is'' her expertise and she knows it (and [[BadassBookworm literature is one of her favorite pouch items]]). [[spoiler:Even Jin, who's an Ice Blade, exemplifies this virtue with him revealing the Titan life cycle to the heroes, as well as his inner desire to pursue the truth behind a Blade's existence, even if his methods involve destroying all of Alrest in the process.]]
** Compassion: Earth and Electric Blades tend to be very empathetic and nurturing. The oddball in this case is Herald, as she is a weapon of mass destruction that could go berserk at a moment's notice, but is well aware of it and wishes for others to be careful around her. Another oddball would be Wulfric, who looks like a monster and tends to act like one as well. But beneath that, he's a genuinely soft-hearted guy [[IJustWantToBeLoved who wants everyone to know that.]] [[spoiler:Another interesting case is Patroka in NewGamePlus, who's known to be aggressive, hot-headed, and outright rude to others, but doesn't mind admitting her fondness for her Driver upon reaching max Affinity in battle and going the length to protect them. So even Patroka can be decent and caring when she wants to be.]]
** Justice: Dark and Light Blades, despite having very dark or clinical personalities, feel a need to punish evildoers or eliminate great threats by whatever means they perceive necessary. As justice is a morally ambivalent concept, some Blades' ideas of justice can be very questionable (such as [[{{Yandere}} Azami putting personal bounties on people who get between her and her Driver in her Merc Missions]]). The outlier is Kasandra, who is a nice girl who seeks to help others, but has the misfortune of being a bad luck charm to others. However, in some cases, such as the Tirkin who stole from the people she was helping, her "bad luck" is simply LaserGuidedKarma. [[spoiler:Even the two Aegises exhibit these traits, with Mythra doing whatever is necessary to protect the world similar to KOS-MOS and Malos seeking to punish the world (even if this was partially-shaped by Amalthus's influence).]]
** At first, being an Artificial Blade with modifiable elemental cores, Poppi would seem to be an exception to this principle. With the exception of Justice, all [[spoiler:three]] of Poppi's forms have one element from the four virtues by default, and she exhibits these virtues regardless of which form she is in.
* It seems odd that after hundreds of years, Salvaging is still a reliable source of income, with nobody even mentioning that the supply of things to find might be drying up. In the final chapter [[spoiler:the Architect mentions offhand that the Cloud Sea - actually benevolent GreyGoo - is automatically rebuilding Old World technology piecemeal. Salvaging never runs out because new stuff is constantly being made, and old stuff never rusts.]]
* The first Blade awakened by the player can never be dismissed, nor transferred away from Rex. This may seem very unusual, until one remembers that Pyra temporarily leaves the party near the end of Chapter 3- it can be assumed that locking this Blade into Rex ensures that, if the player were to not resonate with any other Core Crystals up to that point in the game, Rex wouldn’t be stuck without a Blade equipped and thus unable to defend himself.
* It may seem like something of an IdiotBall moment for Malos to not let Jin fight when Pyra first awakens, but it makes some sense later on [[spoiler: when we learn that its dangerous for Jin to exert himself too much thanks to his deteriorating body and that Jin is prone to pushing himself too hard. Plus at the time Malos likely believed their greatest foes would be Amalthus and the Architect and he wanted Jin to stay fighting-fit for as long as possible to face them.]]
* [[spoiler: The phantom battles in Chapter 10 make more sense when its revealed that it's all a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind]]:
** [[spoiler:The dialogue is just Rex's subconscious fears based on information he already has while filling in the blanks. Nia's AnguishedDeclarationOfLove naturally lead to her being [[GreenEyedMonster jealous of his relationship with Pyra]]. Morag's natural patriotism to Mor Ardain is shown in Chapter 8 when confronting Jin again, when both she and Brighid make death threats to him specifically because of the Ardainian soldiers that Jin killed. The comments aimed towards him being [[TheUnchosenOne unworthy of the Aegis]] also make sense given Rex's perception of his own shortcomings. [[labelnote:Examples]] In Chapter 1, he got killed and was only able to come back thanks to Pyra. Chapter 2, he (and the team) was practically useless against Morag. Chapter 3, his uselessness caused the death of his mentor Vandham and it was only thanks to Mythra's awakening that he survived the battle. Chapter 4, he failed to make a dent in Rosa and Rosa was only able to be taken down because of Poppi's new form and had to be saved by Morag when fighting Patroka and Mikhail (and even then it was Mythra who defeated them). Chapter 5, he failed to defeat Jin even while he was inhibited and Fan la Norne died as a result of this. Chapter 6, Jin utterly curbstomps him and he loses Pyra/Mythra. Chapter 7, he nearly dies to the phantasms and Nia needs to reveal her Blade form to save him. Even with Nia's new power, the team was nearly killed by Jin and Malos if it wasn't for Pyra/Mythra obtaining a new form. Chapter 9, it is only thanks to Mythra and Poppi that he negates Amalthus' blade controlling ability and even with Pneuma's power it still isn't enough to defeat Amalthus resulting in Jin having to perform a HeroicSacrifice to save the team. [[/labelnote]]. From all of his failings, it is easy to see why Rex would view himself less as TheChosenOne and more as someone who simply was in the right place at the right time]].
** [[spoiler: The order and positioning also makes sense. Nia is the one Rex is closest to and as such would be the first one on his mind. Her being a much more competent and experienced Driver (and Blade) is the reason why Rex fights her alone. Morag is also fought alone but this is because she is the only one of the team that Rex has had to fight and been forced to flee. When first fighting her, she was treated as a NoNonsenseNemesis. Zeke and Tora, on the other hand, are by far the most silly characters on the team. Its not that he doesn't trust their combat ability so much as he doesn't take either of them seriously (despite him stating Zeke was on Morag's level of skill) and this is why he fights both simultaneously so that its more of a challenge. He doesn't fight Pyra and Mythra because he legitimately can't see them fighting him (or alternatively because of their status as the Aegis, it could be assumed that Pyra and Mythra had at least some control over the simulation as shown when Pyra pleads to the Architect to end it, while the others are a mere figment of his imagination, also indicated by how their scene is the only one of the visions that is in color).]]
** [[spoiler:If Pyra and Mythra were in on the SecretTestOfCharacter and acting deliberately, that makes perfect sense too - they're acting out their own idea of domestic perfection. Pyra isn't treating her own days as numbered and needing to make Rex's every memory of her perfect, so she isn't afraid to be more assertive with him. On the other hand, Mythra doesn't see herself as the biggest threat to everything she loves, so she doesn't have to keep Rex at arm's length and can dote on him if she feels like it. This is probably how they would continue to behave after the ending, though Rex wouldn't be upset then since he wouldn't have just gone through his entire support network ripping into his biggest insecurities.]]
* Mythra and Pyra [[spoiler: getting separate bodies doesn't come quite as out of nowhere as one might think. While the exact reasons and mechanics for their particular case are unclear, there is some precedence for somewhat similar abilities in other Blades. While Nim's Kit and Sunny are physically attached to her, they are still semi-separate bodies with their own minds (indeed they seem more like symbiotic organisms fused to her rather than part of her actual body). Ursula is a even better example, given her weapon is an autonomous sentient creature (Beary) with its own body. In short, Blades are weird, and who's to say how the crystal would react to Pneuma regenerating with two minds (Pyra and Mythra) in the same core (as opposed to her first awakening when there was only Mythra's mind inside).]] Also consider [[spoiler:The Architect's final words. His "final gift" may have been a new world for his creations to live in, but he could also have been talking to Pyra and Mythra, freeing them from Pneuma's identity once and for all as thanks for correcting his mistake of giving up.]] Furthermore, when we first see [[spoiler:Pyra transform, her body actually disappears/retracts back into her core crystal, only for Mythra's body to emerge afterward from the crystal, indicating they had separate organic bodies all along and only shared the core.]]
* [[spoiler:If you look closely a glowing particle falling from the sky enters Pneuma's Core Crystal, and appears to cause it to reactivate.]]
* The loading screen icon is a Blade core. [[spoiler:Because cores are data collection devices, so you're loading the data from a core]].

* At the end of the game [[spoiler: the Space Station and most of the Space Elevator begin to fall apart as the Conduit is gone and it was what was keeping the structure together and functioning all those thousands of years without maintenance. However, the lower portion of the Space Elevator remains intact as the World Tree everyone knows (albeit now a bit lopsided) as it had thousands of years worth of gargantuan plant growth surrounding and supporting it.]]
* Alrest using the Gregorian Calendar (At least in the Japanese version and Japanese voice track) makes a lot more sense when [[spoiler: it's revealed to the party that their world is actually EarthAllAlong.]] Meanwhile, in the English version, the month name being "Amathatober" makes sense as [[spoiler: it sounds ''very'' similar to [[GreaterScopeVillain Amalthus]], who is the head of the world's largest religious organization. Two of our real world months were named after Roman emperors: July after Julius Caesar and August after Augustus.]]

* Much later in the game, we get to see [[spoiler: the scene of Klaus's experiment]], which was a scene played in the first Xenoblade game. However, it's not a direct one to one translation - one notable difference is that [[spoiler: in the first Xenoblade, Klaus throws Meyneth to the ground. In Xenoblade 2, still throws Meyneth to the ground, but calmly explains what he intends to do and why he thinks this is the best for humanity. We also see that he was likely going to be detained.]] Why the difference? [[spoiler: Because these are recollections that are from an UnreliableNarrator - in the first Xenoblade, we see ''Zanza'', not ''The Architect'', possibly from Alvis or even Meyneth's perspective. However, this is the ''architect'''s perspective... wherein Klaus is trying to justify and explain his actions.]]
** Alternatively, [[spoiler: Alvis being the missing third of the Trinity Processor, Ontos, could mean that his recollections of the event are incomplete due to him being only part of the the Trinity Processor, rather than the whole machine. He pieced together what he knew based on his recollections and experiences with Zanza in order fill the missing holes in his memories. Meanwhile, Logos/Malos and Pneuma/Pyra/Mythra likely had the rest of the memories stored within them, but those memories likely ended up being wiped when Klaus refashioned them into the Aegises.]]
* The fact that when we meet The Architect, we see that he is missing the left side of his body. We know that the other half of him is [[spoiler: actually ''Zanza''.]] Left in Latin translates to "Sinister", and left-handedness was associated with misfortune and ''evil''... thus? [[spoiler: Zanza is literally born from Klaus's sinister side... in more ways than one.]]

* When Nia and Rex first meet, Nia makes a few comments on how young Rex appears. It's a hint that [[spoiler:Nia is a Flesh Eater, and as such is older than she first seems.]]

** It's also brought up in-game, but [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX Elma]]]] being a recruitable Blade makes sense...because in her universe, she already is a [[StealthPun BLADE]]. It works even better when you consider the acronym: Builders of a Legacy After the Destruction of Earth. [[spoiler:This is ''exactly'' the point of the Blade/Core Crystal system.]]
** Elma's attitude. On Mira, she fights constantly to ensure the survival of Humanity. As such, she tend to be extremely serious and act a bit like TheParagon. The Alrest "Simulation", on the other hand, is effectively a however-long-she-wants, honest-to-goodness ''vacation''. She can be forgiven for letting her hair down. The conflict in Alrest isn't her war, after all; hers is the war on Mira and the legacy of Earth. [[spoiler:Klaus explaining the fate of the Earth in the Alrest-universe cements Alrest and Mira being separate tangents]].

* Brighid is established to be stronger than Pyra relatively early on in the story. Why? Of course, you could say that it's because [[spoiler:Mythra made her to be weaker than herself,]] but it also makes sense when you realize that Brighid's flames are blue, and the blue flames at the base of a fire is the hottest part of the fire.
* Ever wondered why Blades tend to have BizarreAlienBiology, from [[AmbiguouslyHuman passable-for-human]] like Pyra to LittleBitBeastly like Nim to [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers outright weird]] like Boreas? Well, [[spoiler:considering that Klaus repurposed Core Crystals from brain cell replacements to the building blocks of a new world and how different aspects of a Driver affect the initial form of a Blade, their unusual anatomy would make some degree of sense.]]
* Malos using [[spoiler:the/a Monado]] seems jarring come his fight in Chapter 7 at first, even after TheReveal regarding [[spoiler:the origins of the three Aegises]]. But remembering [[spoiler:the nature of the original Monado and [[EvilGod the God who lived within it]]]], and it becomes no surprise that [[spoiler:Malos of all people would use such a sword]].
* A parallel between the first game and this, albeit possibly unintentional; [[spoiler: The main objectives of Alvis and Malos, both Aegises and Monado-wielders, are to kill the very same person AKA Klaus/Zanza]].
* Ontos' true identity is actually very easy to figure out for those who played the first game; [[spoiler: Pyra/Mythra have the power of [[CombatClairvoyance foresight]] and Malos wields a Monado, two traits associated with Alvis from the first game. ''Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition'' drops all subtext and ends up replacing his necklace's key with a red core crystal in the same shape as an Aegis core crystal.]]
* When the party first meet Morag, she is the first character to explain what the "Aegis" is and what happened 500 years ago. While she is incorrect about [[spoiler:Mythra being responsible for the destruction of Coeia and the other unnamed Titan, she WAS the Aegis responsible for the destruction of Torna; an event that caused the brother of Morag's ancestor, Emperor Hugo, to die while protecting Addam. Considering Hugo was both the rightful heir and wildly popular, it makes sense that the Aegis would be painted as wildly dangerous by the Mor Ardainian government. And no doubt time played a factor in turning the story from "Aegises' power" to "Aegis's power".]]
* Relatedly, the reason Pyra can get away with her PaperThinDisguise in Gormott is because the Ardanians only have her Core Crystal color to go on. You might think this is a [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy huge oversight,]] but it's more likely that [[spoiler:they were expecting to find Mythra, based on Brighid's diary. Brighid reverted to her crystal when Hugo died just before Pyra was born 500 years ago, so her diary wouldn't say anything about the Aegis having a second identity with fire powers. Pyra herself effectively ''is'' a disguise, so all she has to do is keep her Core covered, as it's the only thing she and Mythra share at first glance.]]

** What happened to the baby that Amalthus saved from the man he had originally helped? [[spoiler:Given that was what cemented Amalthus's HumansAreBastards conviction, did he simply give the baby away for adoption or do something far worse by making it his first guinea pig for his Core Crystal experiments? The fact that we're never told puts this in NothingIsScarier territory after learning just what a monster Amalthus became]].
** Judging from how the cutscene was set up, it's also just as easy to assume that [[spoiler:Amalthus smothered the child, as a twisted version of a MercyKill, in an attempt to spare the child of the evils he would eventually commit]].

* Speaking of Drivers, one can wonder how messed up things would be if Godfrey's or Perun's Driver turned out to be evil. We already have an example in Perceval, a similarly justice-minded Blade who previously had a killer as his Driver. There is a silver lining, however. Godfrey and Perun are Ice Blades, which are associated with the Truth value (whereas Dark Blades like Perceval are associated with Justice, and justice is a morally ambivalent concept). As such, Godfrey or Perun would very likely turn on their Driver if they realize how wicked they are (Theory - also an Ice Blade - [[spoiler:killed her own Driver]] when she came to such a realization), [[HeroicSacrifice even if it ends their own life in the process]].

[[AC:Fridge Brilliance]]

[[AC:Fridge Horror]]

* When the party first meet Morag, she is the first character to explain what the "Aegis" is and what happened 500 years ago. While she is incorrect about [[spoiler:Mythra being responsible for the destruction of Coeia and the other unnamed Titan, she WAS the Aegis responsible for the destruction of Torna; an event that caused the brother of Morag's ancestor, Emporer Hugo, to die while protecting Addam. Considering Hugo was both the rightful heir and wildly popular, it makes sense that the Aegis would be painted as wildly dangerous by the Mor Ardainian government. And no doubt time played a factor in turning the story from "Aegises' power" to "Aegis's power".]]

* Learning about Nia's backstory when going for the third Aegis sword. While Nia tells the group that her father was very kind and that she loved him, the actual flashbacks shown have him come across as very creepy and possibly mentally unstable with him telling Nia to call him "father" and that her "sister" lives on through her. Not hard to see why when one considers that Nia is the ReplacementGoldfish for his real daughter, but it makes you wonder what kind of state he was in at the end of his life.
* WordOfGod confirming Rex to be 15 makes the romance he's got with Pyra and Mythra a whole lot more uncomfortable.

* Learning about Nia's backstory when going for the third Aegis sword. While Nia tells the group that her father was very kind and that she loved him, the actual flashbacks shown have him come across as very creepy and possibly mentally unstable with him telling Nia to call him "father" and that her "sister" lives on through her. Not hard to see why when one considers that Nia is the ReplacementGoldfish for his real daughter, but it makes you wonder what kind of state he was in at the end of his life.

* When the party first meet Morag, she is the first character to explain what the "Aegis" is and what happened 500 years ago. While she is incorrect about [[spoiler:Mythra being responsible for the destruction of Coeia and the other unnamed Titan, she WAS the Aegis responsible for the destruction of Torna; an event that caused the brother of Morag's ancestor, Emporer Hugo, to die while protecting Addam. Considering Hugo was both the rightful heir and wildly popular, it makes sense that the Aegis is well known among the Mor Ardainian government. And no doubt time played a factor in turning the story from "Aegises' power" to "Aegis's power".]]

* The way accents are sorted out for each group of people is almost entirely consistent. Blades and the Indoline all have American accents while all the other mortals have commonwealth accents. However, there are two exceptions: [[spoiler:Nia and Mikhail. Nia, despite being a Blade, retains her Gormotti accent likely due to being raised by a Gormotti baron and her Driver being treated like a sister. Mikhail, despite being a mortal at first, was taken under Amalthus's, then Jin's wings. Lots of people are born from places but tend to lose their native accent when they move to a different country at a young age]]. Even the American accents fit in with the commonwealth, given the history of the thirteen colonies. [[spoiler:The Indoline even wage war on the rest of the commonwealth-accented world]].

* A lot of details early in the story can be seen as {{Foreshadowing}} of [[spoiler: Nia being a Flesh Eater Blade. In Chapter 2 at Torigoth, when she was strangled by a Ether net, she was struggling just as much as Dromarch: because as a Blade, her Ether flows are also being restrained. As the party was beaten back by Malos and Akhos at the end of Chapter 3, there was a brief shot of Nia putting her hands onto her chest and looking very conflicted, which likely meant that she was considering transforming into her Blade form at that moment. In addition, when Minoth tells party about his Flesh Eater status at the beginning of Chapter 4, Nia's audibly shocked reaction also made a lot more sense in hindsight.]]

* The Japanese names for Dromarch and Roc who are named after two of the [[TheFourgods Four gods]] seem a little strange when the other two are the names of titans [[spoiler: It finally makes sense when it's revealed that Titans are what blades grow into after a number of centuries.]]

* In ''Torna: The Golden Country'', many characters point out Mythra's shortcomings, including her arrogance, lack of compassion, abrasiveness, and "creative" cooking. It should come as no surprise that when she creates Pyra, her alter ego, that she is humble, compassionate, gentle, and an excellent cook, all of which rectify the flaws the rest of the party saw in her.
* Mythra getting beaten by Jin at first doesn't seem to make sense, due to her being an Aegis. However ''Torna: The Golden Country'' reveals that [[spoiler:Jin is the Paragon of Torna]] which makes him one of the strongest Blades around, then he gets a OneWingedAngel form [[spoiler:due to being a Flesh Eater]]. It's pretty obvious why they needed [[spoiler:Pneuma]] for him at that point. Mythra was also holding back a lot of power due to how much destruction she caused during her UnstoppableRage against Malos, and she couldn't go use that power because that was tacked onto to [[spoiler:Pneuma's sword and her powers]], which was sealed in the Spirit Crucible Elpys. While Jin's OneWingedAngel form [[StoryBreakerPower is very strong]], it's nowhere near as powerful as [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Bloodlusted Mythra]], let alone [[spoiler:Pneuma]].
* In the DLC, the track [[spoiler:"Land of Morytha"]] plays in [[spoiler:the inside of the Tornan titan, which serves as the final dungeon]]. Fitting, since [[spoiler:the same music plays when Rex's party arrives at the Tornan titan's corpse by way of Morytha.]]
* Tornan assets and Tantalese assets:
** In the base game, the flashback cutscene that opens Chapter 5 is completely redone in ''Torna - The Golden Country'' with some small but notable changes. Namely, the flashback has Addam hooded but not in the DLC. [[WatsonianVersusDoylist The out-of-universe explanation]] is that Monolith didn't have a character model for Addam yet at the time, but the in-universe explanation could easily be that almost 500 years of time has transformed Addam into a mythical figure instead of the all-too-human man he was.
** In addition, in the base game, the soldier that gives Addam the information about Malos's next target is a Tantalese Knight, while in the DLC he is a Tornan soldier. Once again, the out-of-universe explanation is that Monolith was simply reusing an asset as they didn't have any Tornan character models created yet, but in-universe, this is actually an effective example of [[spoiler: propagating the Tantalese lie that they are direct descendants of Addam.]]
* After the first boss fight against Malos in ''Torna - The Golden Country'', Addam proudly declares to the group that "Torna lives and dies by its people." This explains how in the main game, Jin isn't being inconsistent when he says [[spoiler: in Chapter 5 that Mythra sank Torna, and then in Chapter 8 that Amalthus destroyed Torna. In the former he's talking about the Titan itself, while in the latter he's referring to the people/culture that ended when only the Counter Addamites were left in power.]]
* Compared to the main game, one encounters very few Drivers among the people in ''Torna - The Golden Country''. However, this makes a lot of sense when one recalls that Amalthus has not yet started his core cleansing procedure, which enabled many more people to become drivers than would otherwise be possible (related to this, in the main game one NPC remarks after Indol falls that in future generations Alrest will have to get used to there being far fewer Drivers).
* In ''Torna - The Golden Country'', Jin uses all his arts from the main game in some capacity except Empty Moment. [[spoiler:The attack relies on the super speed he gets from becoming a Flesh Eater.]] Relating to that move, one of Jin's more famous lines from the game is "No, I don’t wish for 'forever.' Even just for one moment, it’s enough if it’s with her.", her being Lora. However, Lora's dead, so that "one moment" is empty. Hence, Empty Moment.
* During their first fight in ''Torna - The Golden Country,'' Malos pays quite a bit of attention to Addam's golden eyes. He does it just to mock his mixed heritage and the consequences, but it also gives new perspective on why in the main game he chastises himself for taking Rex so lightly. That is he realizes at that moment in the main game that Rex's eyes remind him of Addam's, the man who led the effort to stop his previous plan so long ago.
* Mythra berating Rex after Vandham's death makes much more sense when you play the DLC. Not only does the DLC drive home why Mythra never wanted to unseal her full power again, but also, look at what happened to bring it about. Malos killed Vandham; as a result, Rex lost his head and charged Malos, ignoring Vandham's final instructions to retreat, and endangering the team, forcing Mythra to come out. [[spoiler: This is exactly what happened to Mythra before she was sealed away: Malos' attack on Auresco that killed Milton caused her to lose control, ignore Adam's orders, sink Torna, and kill Hugo -- things for which she has been beating herself up ever since. Thus, Mythra knows full well the consequences of losing control and acting recklessly in a fight, and does not want Rex to face anything like what she went through.]]
* In ''Torna - The Golden Country'', Hugo is the driver of both Bridghid and Aegaeon. Both are tank blades, so their usage makes perfect sense. Since Hugo is Emperor, the best blade types for him would of course be tank blades. Both are essentially bodyguards and can absorb any attacks meant for him.
* Why are Mythra's Field Skills essentially the same between ''Torna: The Golden Country'' and the main game? Because she was never returned back to her core crystal, unlike Brighid and Aegaeon, who likely have multiple times over 500 years, [[spoiler:not needing Hugo's death to hasten the process]]. She's still the same blade she ever was, while Brighid and Aegaeon likely underwent a few environmental, memory, and talent resets, their field skills included.

* Mythra mentioning to Jin that she knows what it feels like to lose someone forever and still have to remember them despite being a Blade is referencing [[spoiler:Milton and Hugo's deaths]].

** ''Torna - The Golden Country'' expands a bit on this cutscene as it shows that Minoth came onto the scene to speak with Amalthus shortly afterward. What happened to the baby isn't directly touched upon, but the fact it's not crying anymore doesn't bode well, and neither does the way Minoth refers to it by saying "was that their child" as if the baby is no longer alive, and the implication that it was this event that caused Minoth to refuse further contact with Amalthus...

* How did Amalthus capture [[spoiler: Haze and Mikhail, considering they are inseparable from Jin and Lora?]] It is very likely that the Indoline attack on Spessia caught everyone off-guard, despite Jin's suspicious look at the forest, and the whole group got separated from each other when the initial shots were fired. [[spoiler: With Jin prioritizing Lora's safety, Haze would have tried to escape with Mikhail, but after Lora is fatally wounded and Jin eats her heart, Haze would have reverted into her Core Crystal and left Mikhail defenseless, allowing the Indoline forces to take them both away.]]
* Consider everything Addam went through: [[spoiler: Hugo died protecting him, he failed to control Mythra's power which led to Torna's destruction and the deaths of Milton, his father, and maybe even his pregnant wife along with numerous Tornans, he more or less sent Lora to her death, and sealed Mythra away so her power won't be misused. Addam's eventual disappearance might be explained by him committing suicide soon after founding Fonsett Village.]]
* It bears repeating: [[spoiler:Addam had a pregnant wife. She's mentioned several times in the game, and he's clearly happy with her. There is ''no'' mention of her surviving Torna's destruction, and the fact that the Tantalese royal family were able to fake being Addam's descendents implies there was no obvious true line]].
* Thanks to the expansion, [[spoiler:''Pyra's mere existence'' is Fridge Horror. She only exists because of Mythra's trauma about the destruction of Torna and Milton's death. The reason Pyra didn't want to unleash Mythra in the earlier section of the main game is because she didn't want a repeat of Torna, this time with Rex, one of the main reasons Mythra didn't nuke all of Alrest, in the firing line. No wonder she wants to go to Elysium to die: Mythra lost everything she loved except Rex.]] Adding on to that, a few of Mythra's standard Arts in ''Torna'' are her Blade Arts in the main game. [[spoiler:She's holding back to avoid a repeat of Torna.]]
** In Chapter 8, Mythra tells Rex to not get carried away with [[spoiler:Pneuma and her ability to control Artifices at will]] because that's what destroyed Torna.

* Remember how many of your Blades happen to be attractive humanoid Blades? If you never bond with these Blades, there's a chance somebody might bond with [[MsFanservice Dahlia]] or Kora, and sell them off. Blades are weaker and easier to deal with if their Drivers aren't around.
* Mythra mentioning to Jin that she knows what it feels like to lose someone forever and still have to remember them despite being a Blade is referencing [[spoiler:Milton and Hugo's deaths]].

* Learning about Nia's backstory when going for the third Aegis sword. While Nia tells the group that her father was very kind and that she loved him, the actual flashbacks shown have him come across as very creepy and possibly mentally unstable with him telling Nia to call him "father" and that her "sister" lives on through her. Not hard to see why when one considers that Nia is the ReplacementGoldfish for his real daughter, but it makes you wonder what kind of state he was in at the end of his life.
* How Nia attempted to kill Malos at the Cliffs of Morytha. By giving him a [[HarmfulHealing hyper-fast acting cancer that causes his muscles to repeatedly explode with clouds of black fluid.]] It is awesome, but undeniably brutal and horrifying. Goes to show that even the good guys do not shy away from invoking this trope.
* Both the main game and Torna have a recurring element of darker aspects they can't/don't explicitly say but only imply. Notable ones are the allusions to sex trafficking involving attractive Blades, Amalthus' mother having been possibly raped to death (as he compares his past with the life Pandoria narrowly avoided), and Lora's mother having been a prostitute or mistress and Lora a "bastard" result. Then there is Amalthus smothering a baby to death when he reaches his DespairEventHorizon.

* [[spoiler:Most of the members from the Organization of Torna]] appear in NewGamePlus (which is generally accepted as non-canon) as recruitable Blades who can be awakened from core crystals (except for [[spoiler:Mikhail]]. Despite this, all but one of them still follow the common Blade rules in that they suffer from LaserGuidedAmnesia and, thus, have no memories of [[spoiler: their past crimes under Torna.]] This explains why they're more than willing to assist the main characters, [[spoiler:despite their past clashes.]]

* Speaking of Drivers, one can wonder how messed up things would be if Godfrey's or Perun's Driver turned out to be evil. We already have an example in Perceval, a similarly justice-minded Blade who previously had a killer as his Driver. There is a silver lining, however. Godfrey and Perun are Ice Blades, which are associated with the Truth value (whereas Dark Blades like Perceval are associated with Justice, and justice is a [[MoralDissonance morally ambivalent concept]]). As such, Godfrey or Perun would very likely turn on their Driver if they realize how wicked they are (Theory - also an Ice Blade - [[spoiler:killed her own Driver]] when she came to such a realization), [[HeroicSacrifice even if it ends their own life in the process]].

* Shulk and Fiora's appearances in the Land of Challenge DLC as Blades instead of Drivers was likely chosen to save dev time, but it actually fits from a lore perspective. Alrest is basically just Earth, but the world of [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles Xenoblade Chronicles]] is composed entirely out of ether and we even see a main character from the game lose consciousness because of low ether levels, just like the blades do in Spirit Crucible Elpys. Biologically, Homs probably have more in common with Blades than Humans.

** That would certainly explain why [[TutorialFailure the tutorials have so much missing or misleading information.]]