As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
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Main Story
- When Lanz takes on Sena's Ogre Class for the first time he marvels at the weight of her hammer and remarks on how amazing it is that she can swing it around the way she does. Sena doesn't say anything but responds with a beaming, slightly embarrassed smile as she rubs the back of her head. This becomes doubly heartwarming later in the game when you find out Sena used to be picked on by other soldiers who thought the weapon didn't fit her and mocked her over using it.
- After the confrontation with Jeremy early in Chapter 3, Sena is understandably feeling down. However, almost immediately after Jeremy leaves, the Colony 4 chef reassures her and Mio that not all of them hold a grudge against Agnus, and in fact are incredibly grateful that they've given them a chance to do something with themselves beyond the endless fighting of the war.
- Upon entering the City, Taion is at first critiqued for advising caution in trusting the people there, but then Noah thanks him for looking out for everyone. Taion, touched, accepts the compromise. During the whole exchange Eunie is observing from behind him, and she gives a heart melting pleased smile when Taion changes his tune.
- The main characters, cloned Child Soldiers with no concept of family, see a baby for the first time and it melts their hearts.
- Partway through the game, Taion has a conversation with Mio, noting that she is down to little more than a month left to live, and wonders what it is she hopes to accomplish in that time. In an uncharacteristically forward move, he then states that if it was within his power to do so, he'd do anything to extend Mio's life, even if just for a little bit, and that the same goes for the rest of the group. It's a big gesture by Taion, who was the relative newcomer among the Agnus trio and who tends to be withdrawn and lacking in confidence. Mio is moved to tears by the declaration.
- While the gang is stuck in prison, Lanz and Sena have a conversation where the former admits his own insecurities and they both decide to affirm one another from now on.
- When the team faces down M, Taion expresses uncertainty about being able to bear hurting somebody who looks identical to Mio. Takes on an additional dimension when it's revealed that Mio was actually in M's body for their entire fight.
- "Will you still...walk alongside me?" The revelation that Mio had in fact survived by way of "Freaky Friday" Flip with M; after having spent a month in Agnian captivity being tormented by N, being led to believe that Mio died, and in Noah's case, bearing witness to all of his past lives including N, seeing Mio not only safe and sound but having played N like a damn fiddle this whole time (with the help of M) marks of the start of an incredibly satisfying Heroic Second Wind, not to mention a long-awaited Relationship Upgrade for Noah and Mio. And the rest of the party is just as happy to see that Mio had been safe all along, with Sena in particular crying Tears of Joy and no one bearing Mio any ill-will, understanding that this was the only way for her plan to work.
- Mio's flashback of initially hating being assigned as one of her Colony's off-seers (instead of choosing to become one like Noah) and feeling she got robbed of a chance for glory until Miyabi is able to both tell and show why being an off-seer is both important and honorable. Followed up shortly thereafter by Noah and Mio using their off-seer melodies to break through Y's brainwashing of everyone at Colony Omega, restoring Miyabi's memories and getting all of Mwamba, Hackt, and Cammuravi to stand down.
- When the Ouroboros arrive at the Cloudkeep at the end of Chapter 6 and finally reach Nia, the real Queen of Agnus, listen closely to the music playing
. Those who have played Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will recognize that it's a rearrangement of "Drifting Soul" (which played at a climactic moment for Nia during 2), hammering home the fact that yes, this is the real Nia that players of the past games know, finally seen in the flesh after spending the game traversing a world where almost everything and everyone from the past two games have been long-forgotten. - Noah and Mio forgiving N. By reminding him of what he and M once stood for, he then makes the decision to abandon his villainy after so long and to stop protecting the "now", and to fight for the future once more. We then get to see N back at the crossroads that Z forced him to choose between, only now he chooses the empty path and walks towards the future. He then becomes a part of Noah much as M did with Mio, fully reuniting him with his original hopes and dreams.
- In the ending:
- During the ending cutscene, you can see all the Heroes: Agnian, Kevesi, and City's (except Triton) standing together and watching over the party proudly, showing that their journey has truly changed the world and its people for the better.
- While the ending is on the bittersweet side due to the party being separated along with their respective worlds, they still promise to find each other, and are willing to step aside for the time being for the betterment of both worlds - succeeding where N had failed. And indeed, the post-credits scene implies that Noah and Mio are still fated to meet each other again on this new world.
- Even if they're the only characters to return from previous games, it's all still massively heartwarming to see that Melia and Nia still love their friends like the True Companions they are. The ending shows that they've still got keepsakes from the Bionis and Alrest as they prepare for Aionios to restore their worlds back to their proper places; Melia holds a hidden compartment that houses Shulk's Monado Replica EX from Future Connected, whereas Nia returns to the palace at Agnus to greeted by Poppi while the player is treated to a group photo of the XC2 party, confirming that Rex settled down with Nia, Pyra and Mythra and even had kids with all of them, with Nia's words implying that they'll be together soon. The XC1 party meanwhile make a reappearance through a flashback Melia has, as Shulk and Fiora's voices echo over clips from Xenoblade Chronicles and Future Connected.
- To add to the group photo's adorableness, Dromarch is clearly fawning over Nia's baby, who's laughing and having the time of their life interacting with the big fluffy kitty. Given the strong implication that said baby is the original Mio, it most definitely heals the aching soul to imagine that Dromarch doted on his lady's daughter, along with her siblings.
- The picture is clearly taken at Fonsett Village, showing that, even after their many adventures, and the global accolades he achieved (Driver of the Aegis and the Master Driver, Argentum's most prominent salvager, and Vandham's successor as head of the Garfont Mercenaries), Rex still preferred to call the quiet and peaceful Fonsett as his home to raise his family.
- When in battle, Nia is accompanied by spectral versions of Pyra and Mythra's respective Aegis Swords, signaling that even a millennium after the events of 2, Nia's friends (and potential lovers) are still with her, even in spirit.
Side Quests
- After a full game of Moebius being absolute monsters without a hint of morality or scruples worth a damn, much less humanity, Triton is a breath of fresh—if salty—air. The man walks right up to the party, they all draw their Blades and are prepared to throw down, and what does he do? Invite them to grab a bite to eat without even a care in the world, concerned that they're just, his words, 'skin and bones'. For all that he can be a bit of a blundering old codger, nothing can change the fact that Triton's a genuinely good and kind man.
- Afterward, Colony 15 gets taken into the City, which Triton is only allowed to enter in the company of the party. If you have another Hero with you, at one point you can stop by the harbor to see Triton lonely and wishing for company. In Chapter 7, Colony 15 makes a deal with Monica, to allow Triton to visit them whenever he wishes, even outside of the party. To top it off, when the deal succeeds, they all insist that they are part of the Triton family.
- In Triton's Ascension Quest he asks the party to help him remember what happened to one of his friends from over a century ago. As the quest progresses it becomes clear that he and Triton had a very close bond, traveling together through multiple different regions and even using Colony 15's Ferronis to fly up to good fishing spots. While Triton's faulty memory is a source of some humour, the quest is a pretty poignant examination of friendship enduring long after one of the parties is dead and gone.Triton: It might be my lot in life, to outlive everyone else... But he lives on in my memories, and in my heart.
- If you have Nia join the party as a Hero in the postgame, there is a scene in the Memorial Hall where it's heavily implied that Nia's child is Mio - which would very likely not just make her the baby in the ending picture, but also Rex's child as well.
- Despite having just been reborn and not having any memories, Ethel and Cammuravi recognize and quickly remember each other when they meet again in the City during the latter's Hero Quest. When Ethel returns to her older self, she and Cammuravi vow to walk hand-in-hand to find a future and way of life that guides them to something greater.
- The backstory for Segiri and everyone at Colony 0 is incredibly tragic, but Sena's concern for accidentally knocking Segiri unconscious and the fast friendship they develop over the course of her Hero Quest is downright adorable. The quest ends with Segiri making her first independent decision: "I want to eat more of Sena's onigiri."
- The quest line bookends the beginning with Segiri asking Sena to give the rest of the members of Colony 0 their own names. After they receive and accept them, the camera lingers on the painting of the siblings that No. 8 and No. 10 had restored in an earlier quest.
- Colony 15's quest line involves the crew getting used to living life in the City after they relocate to it, with a few clashes here and there, but concludes with them earning enough of their keep by finding Origin Metal to allow Triton to permanently move into the City with them and not need Ouroboros to escort him all of the time. Why? Because they admit Triton is as much a part of their family as everyone else.
- A quest in Colony 30 centers around See-Mee-Mee and his friendship with a recently-killed Offseer. Although his initial attempts at performing the melody are terrible to behold, he's been practicing in his spare time to get the hang of it, and with a little help from Noah and Mio he's able to properly send his friend's spirit to rest. From then on his name changes to See-Mee-Off.
- The conclusion to Monica's Hero Quest when the team retrieves personal effects belonging to Guernica's team and brings them to the Remembrance Stones, allowing their families to grieve and find closure. Noah and Mio join by playing their respective off-seer melodies with as much dedication and respect as they gave to Ethel and Cammuravi.
- One Side Quest found in the City shows that they have their own version of Homecoming ceremonies for when residents of the City reach the age of 20. The main difference is that it's more akin to a graduation, and that it celebrates one's coming of age - with the "Homecoming" aspect instead referring to said graduates receiving their own apartments to build their own lives in. During the Side Quest, it's shown that the conflict with Moebius prevented that year's Homecoming ceremony from being held - so the Ouroboros take it upon themselves to make preparations for it so that it can be held for that year's class. As aa result of this, two of the graduates gift the Ouroboros their own apartment key, for whenever they come back to the City. Even though the Ouroboros have a limited lifespan at that point, the two graduates insist on them having it anyways.
- Nia and Melia's series of quests have very heartwarming moments for those who played the last two games.
- Melia's quests center around her directly helping the people of the colonies with their problems, and culminates in her ascension quest where, although she says that she's willing to sacrifice herself for her kingdom, the group tells her that she's as much of a member of the kingdom than everyone else, that they want her to enjoy herself and not just think of taking care of the people all the time. Due to this, Melia has a flashback to Shulk and the rest of her friends in the first game, being reminded of how she felt with them as much with the main party of today.
- Nia's quests center around reminiscing on the world and how previous places changed in one way or another. The ascension quest is centered around how much she trusts the main group on building the future (on light of how the universes will be separated once again), where the group also tells her that she's part of it too and that they want to be with her in the future they build. In particular, mixed with Tear Jerker, she expresses happiness at finally being able to personally interact with Mio herself, all but outright said to be her daughter with Rex. Even if neither our Mio nor M were the actual Mio she gave birth to and raised, and she never gets the chance to reveal their relation, she's just happy to be spending some quality adventuring time with the daughter she had been separated from.
- Extra heartwarming is that this discussion happens in the Memorial Hall, with statues of her husband Rex and two of her descendants Matthew and Na'el. One-third of the current City's Founders are of her bloodline, and no doubt she was there looking at the statue of Rex for strength. Going a bit further, given her own affection for Pyra and Mythra, it's probably not a stretch to say she also sought comfort from the statue of Glimmer, their spitting image.
- For extra heartwarming points, both ascension quests have themes from the previous games playing, Melia's being Shulk and Fiora and Nia's being an instrumental version of Drifting Soul.
Other
- Riku and Manana stick by the protagonists despite the fact that Nopon in Aionios can't fight directly. Especially with the implication that unlike every other species from the last two games, Nopon aren't under Consul control. These two could just leave at any time, but stick by their friends up until the end. This is possibly even more the case with Manana as while Riku has been involved with events for literal centuries as indicated by Future Redeemed, by helping develop the Ouroboros Stones, developing the second City and willingly waiting to pass on Lucky Seven to a worthy wielder, Manana has no personal stakes or reasons whatsoever to continue the journey. She really just wants to support her friends.
- Riku and Manana in general are this. These two get along much faster than the others becoming fast friends. And then of course, there's the ship tease moments between them during some quests - Riku is outright noticeably super-defensive over Manana at least twice, the first time he - a Nopon, a race that values treasures sort of like how humans value air - tells Manana to chuck the super valuable gem to distract a monster, because it's not worth her getting hurt... and the second time is when a Nopon who has a reputation as an even better chef than Manana initially blows her off and tells her she's no good as a chef for using her cooking tools as a weapon - You can actually pinpoint how mad Riku is at the Nopon for hurting Manana's feelings like that at various points in that quest to the point where, even after the misunderstanding is cleared up at the end, said Nopon gives Riku what could only be described as a knowing look.
- Also, during the downright depressing segment when your in the Jail's Solitary confinement for story reasons, during Noah and Mio's talk before her Homecoming there is a cut to everyone else's reactions to hearing this... and when it cuts to Riku and Manana, they are holding each other’s wings tightly.
- The briefly-seen friendship between Melia and Nia, during the endgame and also during Melia's ascension quest, along with how quickly they befriend the Ouroboros after being awakened (and especially during the postgame where they join them on their adventures). For fans who like both of the first two games, seeing the two characters working together for a better future both in the past and present is bound to make people happy.
- The randomized campfire skits also provide plenty of heartwarming moments:
- Mio sometimes does Sena's hair. After some development, she'll also do it for Eunie.
- Eunie can be found dozing off on Sena's shoulder, with Sena being fine with it.
- Noah and Mio can play flutes together, with Noah clearly sneaking peeks at her. If Melia is the active Hero, she'll sometimes sit nearby and listen to them play.
- Mio and Sena will do stretching exercises together, with their body language clearly showing they're friends since forever.
- After Taion consoles Eunie with his herbal tea, they'll sometimes be seen discussing something together, with a cup in Eunie's hands and a kettle in Taion's.
- Noah and Lanz can sit back to back, apparently reminiscing over something.
- Lanz can be seen happily talking with Fiona if she's in the party, which shows off Lanz's brotherly instincts to the younger Heroes.
- Riku and Valdi will be talking about the latter's mech arm, with the former clearly very impressed by the design.
- This has some extra weight in hindsight considering Future Redeemed where Riku is the one who made Shulk's prosthetic arm. Valdi's mech arm might be bringing back some memories of times long since past.
