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Just like its predecessors in the Xenoblade Chronicles series, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has a hefty narrative that’s filled with details and mysteries that you might miss if you aren’t paying close enough attention. One of the biggest mysteries in the game is the identity of the six Founders of the City.
When you visit the City for the first time, you’re given a tour and taken to the Memorial Hall, where there are six statues that honour the Founders. Each statue has a plaque that describes the Founder’s history and connection to the City, but identifying them is difficult, especially when some of the statues are of the Founder’s mentor, rather than the Founder themselves. Still, many have endeavoured to discover the true identity of the Founders, even if most conclusions are speculation at best.
Who Are The Founders?
The Founders are six people who founded the City as it stands today and were the first ever Ouroboros. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of years ago, the Founders fought against Moebius head-on and established the City in order to free people from the chains of the Flame Clocks.
Each of these people became the Founders of a House in the City — Ortiz, Reid, Doyle, Vandham, Cassini and Rhodes. The people who now live in the City are descendants of these Founders, and greatly admire them and what they have done for the City.
Many of the people carry on traditions passed down from these Founders, such as choosing to wield the same weapon as their House Founder in battle. Ghondor, for example, is a descendant of Vandham, and chooses to use her fists as her primary source of power.
House Ortiz
The plaque on this Founder’s statue reveals that he had great skills in mechanical engineering. As such, he forged his own weapon, instead of using a Blade. He was also dedicated to protecting and rebuilding the City, and somehow managed to live for 80 years, despite being born as a Kevesi soldier.
The statue itself has a striking resemblance to Shulk. His hairstyle is extremely similar to Shulk’s, and he also wears a sleeveless jacket and shorts that have a heavy likeness to Shulk’s default outfit. The Founder wears goggles on his head, similar to the Colony 9 goggles you can equip to Shulk as an accessory.
The Founder’s affinity for mechanical engineering is another trait he shares with Shulk. Towards the end of the first Xenoblade Chronicles, you’re able to forge a replica of the Monado, known as the Monado REX, similar to how this Founder created his own weapon.
However, this is where the similarities end, as the Founder is said to have been born as a Kevesi soldier — though it’s still unclear how he managed to live past the usual ten terms if this were the case. Perhaps this Founder used his extensive skills in engineering and science to extend his life, or he simply concealed his true identity.
It’s unlikely that this Founder was actually Shulk, and his appearance and engineering skills may just have been references added in for those who have played the previous entries.
House Reid
Identifying this Founder is tricky, as the statue is of the Founder’s mentor, not the Founder herself. The plaque also describes her mentor in greater detail, revealing very little about the actual Founder. The Founder herself seems to have deeply admired her mentor, viewing him as a father figure, despite the two not being related by blood.
Her mentor has an interesting description — in battle, he wielded a great red sword, which instantly makes you think of the Monado. He also lost the use of his right arm on the battlefield, but persevered, and continued to sharpen his skills in the martial arts.
The mentor has similarities to both Shulk and Dunban in this respect. Wielding a great red sword, perhaps the Monado, could refer to either of these characters, though Shulk is most likely.
Losing his right arm, however, is almost certainly a reference to Dunban, who lost the use of his right arm after attempting to use the Monado when he was not its true heir. Despite his arm becoming paralysed, Dunban continued to fight for the world’s sake, showing a will just as strong as the Founder’s mentor.
The mentor is also described as having a “calm and constant” disposition, which more accurately describes Dunban, rather than Shulk.
The statue itself shares some likeness with these two characters, as his hairstyle is similar to Shulk’s, if slightly longer, and the long coat and cloak on one side, covering the injured arm, is almost identical to Dunban’s design.
The Founder being raised by her mentor, someone not bound to her by blood, is also reminiscent of Shulk’s story, as he grew up as an orphan where he was raised by Dickson and held a great admiration for Dunban.
This Founder could be a parallel to Shulk’s childhood, and it may be possible that the mentor is an older Shulk, who matured some years after the original story ended. The similarities to Dunban could mirror his respect for him, as well as continuing to show the lengths he would go to in order to protect the world. Shulk becoming a parental figure to someone in need would be a great way to round off his story.
House Doyle
The Founder of House Doyle was a descendant of the people who originally established the City, and was there when Moebius N destroyed it. Her whereabouts were unknown for some time, but when she met the other Founders, she became completely committed to their cause.
The information plaque describing this Founder says that records suggest she and the Founder of Vandham were brother and sister, with her being the younger sibling, and they together completed the Ouroboros.
Interestingly, when you first gaze upon this Founder’s statue in the main story, Sena comments that the Founder looks a lot like Mio. This may be because the two both have cat ears and short hair, but it could also have a deeper significance.
We know that N and M, when they were Noah and Mio, had a child, so is it possible that this Founder descends from them? Her brother, from House Vandham, would then also be their descendant.
House Vandham
The Founder of House Doyle’s brother, the Founder of House Vandham fought against N directly when he attacked the City. Having beaten N, the Founder took the remainder of the City’s people and remade their settlement out of the ruin. The Founder left the new City in the hands of his sister and was never seen again - the statue’s plaque states that there are no records of his existence after this.
However, descendants of his lineage came back to the City hundreds of years later. According to oral traditions and stories in the City, the Founder used his fists to fight, and this is still a custom within House Vandham in the present day.
When you look upon this Founder’s statue, you might find that it has some resemblance to Noah, as he also has a ponytail and similar clothing. Since it has been established that this Founder and the House of Doyle are siblings, and potentially descendants of N and M, it would only make sense that he would have similar characteristics to Noah.
Looking closer, though, the statue also has a strong resemblance to Fei Fong Wong from Xenogears, who also sports a ponytail, as well as a strand of hair that covers his face. Fei’s primary form of attack is also his fists, as he is a dedicated martial artist. This is likely just a callback and has no bearing on the story, though.
While this Founder’s identity can’t be pinpointed exactly, it’s fairly clear that he has a strong connection to N and M, as well as the Founder of House Doyle.
House Cassini
Both the statue and information plaque related to this Founder depict her mentor, instead of the Founder herself. The plaque describes the Founder’s mentor as having a “robust physique”, using two swords at once in battle, and losing one eye at some point during the fight against Moebius.
Rex, the protagonist of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, is known for wielding the two Blades Pyra and Mythra, so it’s possible that the Founder’s mentor is referencing him. The mentor is also described as being “unsophisticated” but still full of passion, which is similar to how Rex is portrayed — he’s naive with lots of growing up to do, but he’s dedicated to his goal nevertheless.
When you take a closer look at the statue, it also heavily resembles the photograph of Rex you see at the very end of Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Rex, now older and with three children, has grown and matured. The statue has the same spiked hair and a similar physique, making it likely that this Founder’s mentor was Rex in his later years.
It’s near impossible to identify the actual Founder herself, though, as almost no information is given about her, and both the statue and the plaque focus entirely on her mentor instead.
House Rhodes
Similar to how the Agnian and Kevesi sides of the party fought each other at the beginning of the game, the Founder of House Rhodes fought the Founder of Ortiz, until they were interrupted by the appearance of the other Founders. The other Founders rid the Founder of Rhodes from her connection to the Flame Clock, allowing her to fully join the fight against Moebius.
The plaque describes this Founder as being extremely “gentle and kind at heart”, as well as being a master of healing arts. This sounds particularly similar to Melia, who is known for her kindness.
This Founder is also said to have lived past 80 years of age despite being an Agnian soldier, just like the Founder of Ortiz. This may be a reference to the High Entia’s long and enduring lifespan, but it’s never explained how this Founder managed to surpass the usual ten terms given to soldiers, and the plaque says that how she achieved this feat is “shrouded in mystery”.
Potentially, if the story of the Founders is from thousands of years ago, it is possible that this Founder was Melia, caught up in the fight against Moebius before she became the queen of Keves.
