User blog comment:BannedLagiacrus/Monster Appreciation Week: Xeno'jiiva/@comment-5020152-20180824175838

Gameplay-wise and sound-wise, I'm afraid I don't really see anything spectacular from Xeno. But on the other hand, I really like its ethereal, almost ghostly design. All the glowing blues and whites look really good, and its skin looks almost translucent, especially when it starts glowing. Its appearance is just bizarre - multiple eyes, giant kite-like wings, a long snaky neck and tail, glowing ribbons that sprout from its various body parts after a certain amount of time, and creepily long fingers/toes are just a few of the details that help make this monster look so otherworldly (even by elder dragon standards). Not to mention its smooth textures that seem almost liquid-like in places. It almost looks like crystal in an organic form. Xeno really does look like it isn't of this world. If they were gunning for an alien monster, then I'd say they nailed it.

But the lore is what truly interests me here. From what I understand, it's hinted that Xeno came to the New World on a meteor, where it cocooned itself deep in the heart of the Elder's Recess due to the massive amounts of bioenergy feeding into the bowels of the earth. In order to gorge itself on more, it was able to somehow lure other elder dragons into the Elder's Recess so that they might release their bioenergy upon death for it to feed on. Although the Rotten Vale was supposed to be the elders' final resting place, it became the Elder's Recess. And this went on for... who knows how long? Maybe even before the First Fleet discovered the New World and set about studying it. Xeno was the man - uh, monster - behind Zorah, Nerg, and heck, pretty much the entire game. The New World might not have even been discovered if it weren't for Xeno luring so many elder dragons there. No other final boss in Monster Hunter has been so intimately connected to its corresponding game's plot - at best, they get some vague legend or historical event to foreshadow their arrival in the game proper (which Xeno gets as well in the form of the Sapphire Star thing, by the way). With the possible exception of Shagaru Magala, most final bosses aren't a driving force behind the events of the game, and at the end of the day are treated like just another big monster to kill (albeit with some extra victory fanfare at the end).

And even after slaying it, this monster is STILL a mystery. What's its complete life cycle like? How does it fit into its home planet's environment? Is it a juvenile or an adult? (I'm leaning heavily toward the latter. As people below me have been saying, it would be incredibly disappointing if it was confirmed to be a juvenile.) The fact that this is our first extraterrestrial monster in the series just blows my mind. I hope we get more info on it in the future. I'd love to learn more.

On the other hand, the fight against it looks about as exciting as other giant elder dragons, and the sound design is nothing to write home about. The theme is pretty... generic. Although, certain parts of the fight are pretty cool, like how it can heat up the floor with its lasers or cause really bright explosions from its chest.

So yeah. Its physical design and lore are what make Xeno really shine, while everything else is average at best. Of course, what do I know? I don't even play World, so the jury's out on how valid my opinion is on this matter.