10 Coolest Video Game Features (That Are Utterly Pointless) - Commenter Edition

4. Subtle Sword-Flipping - Xenoblade Chronicles 3

xenoblade chronicles 3
Monolith Soft

2022’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a gorgeous action RPG that cuts very few corners and this is a perfect example.

Some especially keen-eyed gamers noticed that protagonist Noah will flip his sword to the blunt side when fighting human characters, and back to the sharper edge when dealing with mechanical enemies. Early in the game he tells the rest of the party they should not kill other humans they face as they lack free will and it would be unjust to simply murder them in cold blood.

The animation here is really subtle and with everything going on on-screen you probably wouldn’t notice it unless you were looking for it but Noah does indeed swap his sword blade with the flick of a wrist before battle.

Canonically his sword Lucky Seven can cut through anything so it makes sense our pacifist protagonist would prefer to be careful around human opponents. It’s a lovely touch, completely pointless and it wouldn’t be missed at all if they didn’t include it, but it’s very cool that they did.

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Jess has been a journalist and content creator in the games industry for over 15 years and has been WhatCulture's resident Australian import and sorry cop since 2020, upping the quotient of swearing and apologising in WhatCulture Gaming's annual blooper videos considerably. She previously worked at GameSpot for 10 years, most notably hosting GameSpot News in addition to E3 live shows, and PAX panels. She regularly livestreams a variety of games on her 'jessmcdonell' YouTube and Twitch channels and hosts the 'Do It On The Day' podcast. She has won awards for her news and feature work in gaming as well as an accolade for her comedic writing (likely an admin error). She can be found on X at @jessmcdonell and Instagram at @jessicamcdonell sharing her current videogame fixations, industry insights, and videos of her cat, Karma.