Xenoblade Chronicles2 introduced the world to Rex, a young salvager that many players criticized for being too much of the typical shounen hero. Much like theNarutos of the world, they were convinced that his main goal was to become stronger, and that’s all he sought. But much like any of the main characters within the Xenoblade universe, Rex is more than a shallow stereotype. He grows over the course of the 80+ hours it takes to trek through Xenoblade 2, and I’d argue that his narrative is quite the emotionalcoming-of-age story.
Of course, not everyone is enamored the big guy. When players weren’t labeling Rex as a stereotype, they were busy criticizing his choice of clothing. His blue and gold salvager outfit admittedly is one of the more…unique tastes in the series. Underneath the outfit, he wears a pair of shorts, and his thigh gap is quite visible. He also was criticized for his voice acting, especially during the infamous “Ahhhhhhhh!” moment as he wields the Aegis Sword. I personally found his quirks and outfit to be endearing and would protect him with my life. He’s one of the reasons why I love the game so much.
But something dramatically changed with Rex when he came back into the fray inXenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed. He was older and taller, his voice deeper, and he wielded two blades. And he came back in the most badass, dramatic way. Your freshly assembled team is fighting against a Ferronis, and Glimmer, one of the few new characters introduced in the DLC, is about to get blasted. Using his two swords to block the beam, the camera focuses on Rex’s smirk as he says “Leave it to Uncle Rex.”
Suffice it to say it was quite jarring, but in the most spectacular way. It was obvious from this one line that Rex had returned with that “who’s your daddy” energy.
“I’ll show em a thing or three,” he says, echoing one of his popular lines in Xenoblade 2. The camera angle focuses on his side, on which he’s wielding the Aegis, which also echoes his iconic moment of getting the sword for the first time. Everything in his introductory scene purposely alludes back to his first introduction but shows how much he’s grown since then — the significant change being that he’s wielding not one buttwoswords.
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In Xenoblade 2, Rex has access to two versions of the Aegis sword — both connected with Pyra and Mythra, two Blades who came from the same life essence. He was never able to wield both of them before — they look quite heavy and would give the ridiculous image of a teen salvager wielding two bulky greatswords. On top of this, Rex is also your party’s biggest damage dealer. From the beginning of the game when he joins, all the way to the last battle, you can expect this Chad of a man to problematically pull aggro from your tanks.
Speaking of the Chad complex, due to his bombastic reappearance and rather hot wardrobe change, Rex has been coined the “Chadasaurus Rex” by the Xenoblade community. Places like Reddit are flooded with memes and threads discussing his glow up. Many fans also consider him to be Chadasaurus Rex because of the supposed three separate kids he’s sired for three different characters. Personally, not a fan of the whole womanizing bit, but to each their own.
Glimmer, whom he protects in his opening cutscene in Future Redeemed, was not only my favorite character to use, but is revealed to be a reincarnation of sorts of Rex’s daughter. She has features and a personality reminiscent of both Pyra and Mythra, and the combative way she and Rex spend most of their time together echoes the bullheadedness of a younger Rex being passed on to the next generation. I love being a healer, so playing Glimmer was perfect for me, and I got to focus a lot of my attention on Rex, because he pulled aggro so much due to his massive damage output that my primary goal for each battle was just to try and keep him alive.
Character progressionisn’t linear in Future Redeemed. Characters level up in a traditional way, but their abilities and perks are allocated based on an AP system. AP is gained from exploring, doing quests, talking to people, and finding upgrade “kits” in chests around Aionios. This means that you have to figure out who you’ll prioritize within the party. Much like many early strategy videos suggested, I dumped a lot of AP into Rex. Even if he died a lot, it was easy to resurrect him and watch the bosses’ HP bar melt away. To counter this, I spent a lot of AP on Glimmer as well. The two have great synergy, as some of her abilities are given a boost when a party member dies. This meant that the final boss was basically a rinse and repeat of me healing Rex, resurrecting him when he died, and Glimmer gaining reuse of her abilities faster than I could keep up.
Much like any Chad, Chadasaurus Rex had to leave just as dramatically as he first appeared. At the end of the final battle, Rex, alongside the mysterious A and returning Xenoblade 1 character Shulk, sacrifice themselves and wait for the coming events of Xenoblade 3. He promises Glimmer that one day, they’ll meet again, once everything is put right. His lines in his final scene encompasses what his new role is: “As long as you lot do your part to change this world, it’ll all go back to normal. […] If you don’t, pass it on.” It’s clear that he’s had his adventure, an adventure that led to him being our cherished Chadasaurus Rex, and if things continue to go as Monolith Soft has seemed to hint at, he’ll return one day. And that makes me smile.
