'Xenoblade Chronicles 2' news: Introduces rare blades in upcoming game

Twitter/Xenoblade
A poster for "Xenoblade Chronicles 2"

As fans of the "Xenoblade Chronicles" franchise are getting ready for the official release of the exclusive Nintendo Switch game on Dec.1, game developer Monolith Soft decided to delight fans even further by posting images and designs of the game's new rare blades on its official Twitter account.

The new characters are somewhat nostalgic in art style, as they are worked on by the artists behind the "Final Fantasy" and "Tales" video game franchise. The introduction of the new characters is complete with official images and a short video of each character, giving fans a detailed scope about the new rare blades.

"Jikareo" is a demon-looking blade designed by artist Ryosuke Aiba, who worked with Akihiko Yoshida's CyDesignation and has also previously designed characters for "Final Fantasy XI." The character, "Jikareo," is dressed in all-black complete with menacing-looking horns and a spiky tail.

The second blade, named "Tenni," is a dragon-looking character worked on by artist Hideo Minaba who also worked as Art Director for "Final Fantasy VI," "Final Fantasy IX," "Final Fantasy XII," and "Granblue Fantasy." He had also provided character designs for "Final Fantasy IX" and "Final Fantasy XIII-2." A girl character, "Tenni" will be voiced by acting veteran Aya Endo.

The Blade of Justice "Gurren" is also introduced, designed by "Tales" series' character designer Minoru Iwamoto. "Gurren" sports a bluish-fire costume that has enveloped his whole body, giving him an almost-ethereal look. The character will be voiced by Tooru Furuya, who is also Amuro Ray from "Gundam."

Lastly, fans got a look at "Yaegiri," a Rare Blade-in-training whose mission is to find an opponent able to challenge her skills. She was also designed by Iwamoto and voiced by Ayana Taketatsu, who played the character of Leafa in "Sword Art Online."

A recent trailer was also released by Monolith Soft during the "Xenoblade Chronicles 2" direct, which introduced a diverse array of characters to be seen in the game.

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