Thanks to Hamada for helping with edits.
Optional bosses are a proud tradition in role-playing games, one the Xenoblade Chronicles series dutifully employs. Xenoblade Chronicles X, a game about a ragtag group of people stuck on another planet, calls them tyrants, a name that conveys their power. Most of them roam planet Mira, but some hide or act benign to surprise unprepared explorers. Others lurk remote dens, rarely encountering prey—but will crush anyone foolish enough to invade their turf.
Pharsis, the Everqueen, seen in Xenoblade Chronicles X (Image: Nintendo/Monolith Soft)
There are five distinct regions on Mira, and Sylvalum is my favorite of them. After swimming ashore, you’ll discover the pollen-dense territory’s scenic lakes, cliffs, and crystalline formations. It’s a picturesque, alien landscape, one whose usage of cool colors exudes a frigid feeling. A pink aura, however, complements its nighttime sky, adding comforting, nostalgic undercurrents. One of Sylvalum’s biggest curios is the initially inaccessible Noctilucent Sphere, a landmark you’ve probably seen glowing from afar at night. Once you earn a Skell mech and flight module, investigating it will inevitably become a priority…
Pharsis’ History
Noctilucent Sphere Interior is an “unexplored territory,” and rightfully so. Most of its residents are Level 66 to 68, a concerning prospect when the heroes cap at 60. Things also look strange, almost sickly in here. The walls glow a putrid green, as do the smaller spheres (petrified trees?) that dangle from the ceiling. Even the game’s chipper flight theme is overridden by a more subdued track. Regardless, the Sphere’s pests aren’t aggressive and you’ll want to explore, so you’ll jump and fly atop those fixtures—inevitably catching the eye of Pharsis, the Everqueen. Thankfully, meeting this Level 97 behemoth is entirely optional.
So, what’re my thoughts on Pharsis?
Many Tyrants dot this strangely serene, cyan setting. One of them, a giant machine that rests atop Sylvalum’s highest point, activates if you fly near it. (Image: Nintendo/Monolith Soft)
Areas open up in the first Xenoblade Chronicles as you advance through its scenario, an approach X largely rejects. Basically, you’re free to wander wherever after settling into New Los Angeles, but specific locations only become accessible after reaching certain milestones. Getting a Skell is the first big one, since their superior jumping height and movement speed let you scale structures that are insurmountable on foot. Obtaining the flight module three chapters later makes all of Mira available (well, the final chapter’s exclusive setting aside). You’ve seen the planet’s numerous floating islets and alcoves, right? Go check ‘em out!
Now, Mira is massive, so X initially blocking off select areas makes sense. New players are less likely to get overwhelmed, and teasing places that are just out of reach encourages you to keep progressing. Once you do finish those trials, it’s empowering. Lifting off for the first time is one of X’s most memorable moments. Soaring above Mira without the hindrance of any loading screens is a transcendent experience. And tougher, more intricate challenges can thrive in the planet’s darker corners. Anyone who visits the Divine Roost or Noctilucent Sphere should have a reasonably thorough understanding of X’s mechanics—they’ve spent hours playing it by this point, even nearly finishing the main campaign. Maybe they’re seeking a challenge, which is where X’s harsher tyrants—who possess devastating abilities or overwhelming physical strength—come in.
This was the final airborne area I checked out. I intentionally saved it for last, figuring something special had to be hiding here. (Image: Nintendo/Monolith Soft)
One opponent who will test you is Telethia, the Endbringer. This cyan serpent calls the Roost home and is X’s strongest boss, status it flaunts by acting as Mira’s guardian. And its services are appreciated so long as the vicious Yggralith indigen Pharsis, X’s second strongest boss, exist. Curiously, these brutes share a number of qualities: they’re Mira’s only “Ultraphana,” have an affinity for ether, are equally resistant to elemental attacks, can heal themselves, blair atypical battle themes (though if you’re adept at X’s combat, you’ll likely hear another track during these duels), and might drop exclusive items upon their defeat. Oh, and I’ll never slay either of them; they’re stronger than me.
Regardless, the giants’ similarities only underscore their opposing natures. Telethia harbors some narrative import, unlike its anti-social foil. The Endbringer is larger and more visually complex than other Telethia, suggesting a higher place within their hierarchy (echoing how NiGHTS and Reala are discernibly more sophisticated than other Nightmaren), while Pharsis blends in with its kin. Telethia also soars Mira’s skies, traditionally only attacking if attacked, yet Pharsis will strike trespassers without hesitation. And where other tyrants might have noble reasons for retaliation, like defending or avenging their young, Pharsis kills “for sport.”
Yggralith Zero and Phanatos, the Netherlord are the only other known Yggralith. Since all three are bonus bosses, it isn’t surprising they share a model. (Image: Nintendo/Monolith Soft)
The Everqueen’s destructive drive is even at a planetary scale; the Yggralith are parasites that drain planets of ether and devour every “last organism.” Two Yggralith meeting even incites a fight with galactic consequences, though the three living aboard Mira never encounter each other (the other two are locked behind online missions). Hey, all of this tracks with the species’ name: “Yggr” is an anglicization of “uggr,” meaning “the terrifying one.”
And Pharsis looks terrifying, a stark break from Telethia, whose posture and luminescent accents invoke an ethereal, almost angelic aura. The Everqueen dangles from the Sphere’s ceiling like a bat, eager to pounce. Then it walks on all fours, befittingly animalistic behavior. The undersides of its wings have these odd bulges, contrasting its otherwise scaly, sharp body. A large spike protrudes from its chest, which contorts unnaturally and shoots lasers—Pharsis’ most visually striking, brutal attack. And its palette drudged up an Animorphs quote from the recess of my memory, one where a murderer’s fur is described as “colorless.” That’s a perfect descriptor here. Pharsis isn’t a Reshiram or Zekrom, divinities whose bold bodies convey confidence and purity. It’s just… colorless, a vicious, cold monster devoid of feeling or reason.
Sometimes, preserving a setting or character’s mystique is more powerful than explaining every minute detail. One of X’s most trivial lingering enigmas, one I nevertheless ponder, is how, exactly, did Pharsis get inside the Sphere? The intergalactic traveler is too large to fit through its only entrance, so did it teleport or phase inside (unlikely, since it doesn’t chase you if you leave)? Did the kaiju balloon in size after settling there? Or did Telethia or even Mira itself intervene, trapping the predator (though them sharing a root word is probably a coincidence, Noctilucent Sphere does bring Noctilum to mind, which is the dragon’s home region)?Whichever explanation you choose, Pharsis enriches Xenoblade Chronicles X. Few creatures within its bestiary embody harsh, unworldly qualities more than this eyesore. And the Yggralith’s history implies a vast, dangerous universe lies beyond X‘s oddball planet. Hopefully, we can escape Mira and explore it someday.
Congratulations, Pharsis! I’m not challenging you for supremacy in Sylvalum.
What calamities have the Yggralith incurred upon other worlds? Are there any survivors? And why does the seemingly sentient Mira let three of these demons live on it? (Image: Nintendo/Monolith Soft)
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