Rex (レックス) is the protagonist of Monolith Soft's Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
A Mii Fighter Costume modeled after him was made available as a bonus for purchasing Fighters Pass Volume 1 for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Character Description[]
Rex is a 15-year-old orphan from the Leftherian Archipelago. He is depicted as an easygoing but naive young boy, with a very optimistic attitude and a fierce sense of protection for his friends; however, this mindset often leads him into trouble as he has a tendency to become overconfident and careless, which in turn causes him to blame himself if any of his friends get caught in harm's way because of his actions. Though, it's with this optimistic outlook on life that drives him in his desire to reach Elysium, believing that he can save humanity from the dying world.
Information on Rex's childhood is largely sparse; his parents died when he was 2-years-old and washed up on the shores of Fonsett Village. Rex was later taken under the care of Corinne and the rest of the village townsfolk. By 15, he had already established his home on the back of the Titan Azurda, whom he affectionately calls "Gramps", and began earning a living as a salvager. Rex later joins the group Torna after being offered a high-paying salvaging job through the Chairman of the Argentum Trade Guild.
Rex as he appears in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 alongside Azurda
The job requires Rex to arrive at an ancient ship, where Torna's leader Jin tasks him with opening its doors as only Leftherians are the only ones capable of doing so. Inside, he finds a woman in suspended animation and a sword. Rex accidentally touches the sword's Core Crystal, at which point he is fatally impaled through the heart by Jin. He then awakens in a grassy field, which is later revealed to be Elysium shown within the memories of the girl named Pyra, the human personification of the blade he touched called the Aegis; she asks him to take her back to Elysium in exchange for his revival through half of her Core Crystal and becoming her Driver, to which Rex agrees. He then awakens in the real world and the two fight their way out of the ship and escape Torna alongside defectors Nia and Dromarch with the help of Azurda. However, Azurda sustains severe injuries and ends up reverting to his larval form after crash landing in Gormott.
Rex and his party in Xenoblade Chronicles 2
The group soon travel to the town of Torigoth, where they recruit the Nopon Tora and his Blade Poppi as well as rescue Nia and Dromarch, who have been apprehended by Mòrag and Brighid and the Mor Ardain soldiers. They also defeat several enemies as Pyra starts to get recognized as the Aegis for her Core Crystal. After escaping, the party soon hijack a Titan ship to sail straight towards the World Tree. On their way there, they are ambushed by the Artiface Ophion. The group try to evade it only to end up swallowed by the Titan Uraya. Inside, the group encounters mercenary Driver Vandham, who then attacks Rex as a test of skill; impressed, he then joins the party and lets them stay in Garfont Village with him while acting as a mentor to Rex after finding out he is not much familiar with Blades and Driving. It is here where the group learns about the Aegis War that occurred 500 years prior as well as Malos and Jin's true identities and intentions. However, they are soon ambushed by Akhos and Obrona, two members of Torna who have come to kidnap Pyra. After a fight, the party escapes to Fonsa Myma and meet Cole, an acquaintance of Vandham's, who instructs them on how to reach the World Tree. While there, Malos kidnaps Cole's adopted granddaughter Iona and sends a telepathic message to Pyra, telling her to meet him alone in the Olethro Ruins to rescue her.
In the morning after, the party go off in search of Pyra after discovering she's gone missing. Chaos ensues upon their arrival, where Rex attempts to fight Malos himself only to be rescued by Vandham's noble sacrifice. Rex however fails to escape and, in a last ditch effort, Pyra transforms into Mythra, to the surprise of everyone, and uses Siren to destroy Obrona and Malos' Blade Sever. Furious at her actions and Rex's recklessness, Mythra transforms back into Pyra, who then divulges on their past.
Rex and Mythra in Xenoblade Chronicles 2
After Vandheim's funeral, the party go visit the Indoline Praetorium under Cole's suggestion to meet his original Driver, the priest Amalthus. Along the way, they run into Mòrag and Brighid again, who join the party after assisting them in stopping the sale of artificial Blades. They also stop by Fonsett Village, where Rex visits the graves of his parents. They later encounter Zeke, the prince of the Kingdom of Tantal and an envoy of the Indoline Praetorium, and his Blade Pandoria, both of whom join the party. Upon their arrival at Tantal and after talking with Amalthus, they encounter the Omega Fetter, the control unit of Ophion which Mythra fixes. Unfortunately, Jin and the rest of Torna arrive to ambush the group. During the ensuing battle, Mythra attempts to shoot Jin with a Siren beam but he is able to deflect it; in retaliation, Mythra transforms back into Pyra and aims the beam for herself, using it as a bargaining opportunity knowing that Malos will need her alive. Jin relents and takes her, sparing Rex and company.
Humiliated by Jin, Rex feels that he must quit and go back home, but Nia, Poppi, and Brighid convince him to stay on his journey for the Aegis girls' sake. Pandoria them arrives to inform them of a message meant for to Rex by King Eulogimenos, telling him that the location of the third Aegis sword is at the Spirit Crucible Elpys that was hidden by Addam, Mythra's Driver in the Aegis War. There, Addam's spirit recognizes Rex as the worthy wielder of the Aegis and tells him that he must understand the fear the Aegis girls carry in order to become their true Driver. Though he doesn't fully acquire the third Aegis sword, his self-esteem and bravery is renewed, and with his party they head to the Cliffs of Morytha to save Pyra and Mythra.
At Morytha, Malos proceeds to enter Pyra's mind and steal her memories to regain his strength. The party, however, arrives and quickly intervenes to save her. Rex, now fighting without the Aegis, sees a vision of both Pyra and Mythra amidst the chaos and tell him to leave their body behind to die, as it was their original intention to return to Elysium. Rex refuses, saying he is fighting for them instead; this declaration combined with his deep bond with the girls results in Rex unlocking their true form, a blue haired girl named Pneuma, and Rex unlocking his power as the Master Driver. With this newfound ability, Rex finally gains the upper hand against Jin, forcing Malos to summon Ophion, who knocks the party down to ruins of the town below.
Rex and Pneuma in Xenoblade Chronicles 2
In the Land of Morytha, the group and Jin are ambushed by Amalthus, who has gained control of various Titans. Jin sacrifices himself to defeat him, but not before the priest exterminates all members of Torna save for Malos. The group then begin their ascension of the World Tree; upon arriving at Elysium, they discover it has become a barren wasteland. Rex is drawn to a church, where inside the Architect presents him with spectral versions of his friends shaming him for what he has done to their lives; this in turn causes Rex to go into an emotional breakdown, where Pyra begs the Architect to stop, who was testing Rex to determine his true nature. He then finds himself in a room to meet the Architect, who in actuality is a scientist named Klaus. He explains that he discovered a device known as the Trinity Processor that is capable of sending objects into different dimensions, but its side effects caused his body to split in two and destroyed the old world.
Rex reuniting with a revived Pyra and Mythra
Klaus, knowing he is going to die soon, tasks the group with killing Malos once and for all, who has now obtained the Artifice Aion, a giant mech capable of destroying all of Alrest. The party eventually prevails against Malos and kills him, while Klaus also passes at the same time, but not before he gives Rex and company "one final gift". In the end, Pneuma sacrifices herself to detonate the World Tree as the world starts to crumble and the Cloud Sea of Alrest begins to fade away; as the Cloud Sea parts, it reveals the Titans having merged to form a new landmass on the neverending ocean below, signifying the rebirth of a new world. Upon returning to Alrest, Rex resonates with the Aegis Core Crystal Pneuma left behind again (which has given him his full heart back); to his surprise, Pyra and Mythra are revived in separate bodies, and with encouragement from Nia, Rex walks over to them to reunite.
Rex's party in their photographic cameo in Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Sometime later, as shown in the final moments of Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Nia, who has since become the Queen of Agnus, reunites with Poppi and the two look at a photograph of their party taken long after their adventure. In the picture, Pyra and Mythra (as well as Nia herself) are seen each holding a baby of their own with a grown-up Rex standing behind them, implying that he started a relationship and a family with all three girls. Rex's current whereabouts, however, are unknown.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]
Mii Fighter Costume[]
A costume for the Mii Swordfighter modeled after Rex was made available as a free bonus for purchasing Fighters Pass Volume 1. Azurda in his larval state can be seen on the costume's back. The sword it uses is Pyra's Aegis.
Aesthetic[]
Rex will appear to assist in Pyra and Mythra's respective Final Smashes, Burning Sword and Sacred Arrow. Upon start-up, he will use the Aegis to perform a wide slash that traps up to three opponents. It then transitions into a cinematic sequence where Rex will wield the Aegis with either girl and perform the Final Smash together.
Rex can also appear in Pyra and Mythra's Up Taunts and in two of their victory screens, where he will pop in to either encourage them or celebrate the win with them. Rex will also appear in their On-screen appearance by throwing them their Aegis before disappearing.
Pyra[]
Mythra[]
Spirit[]
A Spirit of Rex is available in the base game. It is a Primary Shield Spirit under the Ace class. His Spirit Battle uses Shulk and is assisted by Lucina wielding a Fire Bar, who is meant to be a stand-in Pyra. The battle is a Stamina match and the stage is the Omega form of Kongo Falls (meant to resemble Fonestt Island) with a lava floor and the song that plays is "Battle!! - Xenoblade Chronicles 2".
However, if the Pyra/Mythra Challenger Pack has been purchased, the stage will change to the Omega form of Cloud Sea of Alrest without the lava floor and the song will instead be "Argentum". As of v11.0.0, the Spirit can also be enhanced to Level 99, which will transform it into Rex's Master Driver appearance, a Primary Shield Spirit under the Advanced class.
| No. | Spirit | Name | Artwork Origin | Type | Rating | Effect | Slots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 966 | 
|
Rex | Xenoblade Chronicles 2 | 
|
★★★ | Enhanceable | 3 |
| 1460 | 
|
Rex (Master Driver) | Xenoblade Chronicles 2 |
|
★★★★ | Critical-Health Stats ↑ | 3 |
Other[]
Rex appears in Pyra and Mythra's reveal trailer, as its main plot is having him finding the girls who have mysteriously disappeared, only to reveal to him in his bewilderment that they have been invited to join Smash.
Trivia[]
- According to Masahiro Sakurai, Rex was initially considered for the base roster of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate alongside a character from ARMS and Pokémon's Decidueye, but had to be ultimately dropped as Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was announced after character planning was finished.
- A similar situation occurred in the development for the Fighters Pass, as the development team originally considered Rex to fight alongside Pyra and Mythra in a similar fashion to the Ice Climbers. The concept had to be scrapped however due to multiple technical issues.
- Rex's Spirit is the only one from the base game to gain an enhanceable form in a later update.
- Interestingly, Rex has a codename in the game's files much like the characters in the Fighters Pass, being referred to as both "element" (for the folder containing his assets) and "driver" (for his model). He shares this unique distinction with Creeper and Arsene.
- Ultimate is the second game to have Rex's outfit as a wearable costume following The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where it was added as a reward for completing the Xenoblade Chronicles 2-inspired DLC sidequest.
[]
 Xenoblade Chronicles universe
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Characters | Shulk (3DS/Wii U · Ultimate) Pyra and Mythra (Ultimate) | |
| Side Characters | Assist Trophy | Riki |
| Mii Fighter Costumes | Dunban · Nia · Rex | |
| Background characters | Nia and Dromarch · Tora and Poppi α · Mòrag and Brighid · Zeke and Pandoria | |
| Stage Hazards | Metal Face | |
| Final Smash | Dunban · Riki · Fiora · Rex | |
| Stages | Gaur Plain · Cloud Sea of Alrest | |
| Music | List of Music (Xenoblade Chronicles series) | |
| Collectibles | Trophies | 3DS Trophies · Wii U Trophies |
| Spirits | List of spirits (Xenoblade series) | |