On the Nintendo Direct of February 9th 2022, Xenoblade Chronicles fans were pleased to discover a new entry will coming, forming a divine trilogy (don't worry Xenoblade Chronicles X fans, maybe you will be next to have a trilogy!). It was officialy stated it will act both as a sequel of Xenoblade Chronicles 1 (Wii original, 3DS port and Definitive Edition) as well of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Some are confused about it and some are not. Surprisingly, some who played both games seems confused as how some elements are coming for the two prequels to form this new world. As to why it is obvious, I will explain it in 3 parts: the Xenoblade Chronicles 1 ending, the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 ending and then the importance of Future Connected. This will not explain how the war of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 came to be, but at least you'll be able to understand why there's the Mechonis Sword and the Urayan Titan, for example. Ok, let's get started!
First, let's remember how Xenoblade Chronicles 1 ended. Short story, the group defeated Zanza, Alvis reveal his identity to Shulk and Shulk decided to live in a world with no gods. I will explain more in the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 part, but the party here start to live in another universe. People ask: "Why is there the Mechonis Sword in the trailer of Xenoblade Chronicles 3?" The reason is simple: did you noticed, at the end of the game there's a new colony that is actually the Colony 9 from Bionis? And, in the postgame title screen of the Definition Edition version, you can see the Mechonis body that is in the sea. I will bring other elements in the Future Connected section, but you can understand many elements from there destroyed world have arrived in this new universe to serve new purpose. Alvis also talked about an endless world with many nations, which refer to the fact he is aware of something that happened in the same time...
Second, the story of Xenoblade Chronicles 1 & 2 are happening at the same time. We learn Klaus destroyed the universe and most people and things were send to the other universe that is the first game. So once the game is over, the party leave Pneuma behind while the World Tree falls appart. The Cloud Sea is dissolving and the titans are merging with the land. Which explain why we see the Urayan Titan in the third game, as well as Lefterian Islands and other remainings. And did you noticed the landscape of that ending is similar to the landscape of the ending of Xenoblade Chronicles 1? The universe of Bionis and Mechonis did, I think, joined that world, as it is Alvis' Home, so they land on a part of a continent and the old Alrest end up somewhere else, maybe near, maybe far away. When returning in that universe, Alvis came into contact with the memories of Alrest Klaus, which is why he refers to many nations that are yet to be encountered as well as their descendants. This is something I strongly believe since I finished Xenoblade Chronicles 2, actually. The trailer of the new game proved my convictions and I hope you'll understand them.
Lastly, the new epilogue of the Definitive Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles 1 is really relevant to the new game. In fact, you could consider it as a prequel or a prologue to Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Remember that I talked about the remainings of titans in the two previous paragraphs? Well, this goes even further here. Some were confused in the original game if the last scene was actually in Colony 9, but this epilogue confirm it in many interractions between Shulk and Melia. Furthermore, the Bionis Shoulder and Alcamoth is a legacy of the old universe. So it's not hard to understand why others elements appear in the third game. But could this epilogue hint a third universe, independent from Bionis/Mechonis, Alrest and Aionios, that the Fog Monster are coming from? And after speaking with a friend who shared me a theory, could that universe with the Fog King is where could be the other half of Galea, like Klaus was, that is her evil side? Only future know...
So these three paragraphs put together allow us to understand why the world of Aionios is the continuation of the two previous games endings, without teleportations and things we may not know. This world is form from things anyone who completed both game know (or maybe it's just because I've play more than 1000 hours to the first game and 550 hours the second, but let's not talk about that). The third universe I mentionned is independant from the worlds of previous games merging, but could actually be the reason of the new threath. In any case, the question I can't answer is how far after both prequel, the timeline is. Thank you for reading about my opinions, thoughts and speculations and stay tune for more discussion about this upcoming game, focusing next on the characters!