Warning: Contains story spoilers for Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
Death and rebirth are the cornerstones of the life of a Blade. They are brought forth by their Drivers to begin a new life, completing forgetting the lives they have led before. The love the, the pain, the hurt are no longer with them. Not even as locked memories. This cycle of death and rebirth that they struggle with is one that resembles the concept of life in the religion of Buddhism. Who a person is and who they become in their next life is a question that drives at the bigger question, what makes an individual.
A constant question asked in philosophy and one that is important to the Blades is who they are. The American Psychology Association defines personality to "refer to individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving." A constant question asked is whether personality is born of genetic disposition or the nurturing and interactions with their environment. Whether you believe in rebirth or not it can be used as a thought experiment. If we were to die and come back in another life, let's say with the same genetic makeup, would we be the same people?
In Xenoblade, the personality of the Blade is something that is set. We learn that early on when you are able to resummon Roc after his initial Driver's death. When he comes back you will hear him proudly declare (a lot) "I am Roc. Always have been, always will be." We also learn from Gin that Brighid is the same person described in the diaries she has been keeping between lives. While their drivers might be different they are the same Blade. The same personality.
In psychology, Sigmund Froid introduced the idea that personality is derived from the environmental impact on a person instincts. Eysenck took a more biological approach where you're nervous system and the way its hard-wired help sets your personality. (McLeod, S. A. 2017) There are still more theories out there but one constant is the biological aspect. In essence, at least some part of who you are is how you are hard-wired.
A Blade is an ultimate statement of the importance of how one is built rather than where one is. In the world of Xenosaga, they are who they are through each cycle of death and life. Blades are a representation of this idea that personality is hard-wired. They continue this cycle for untold amounts of time before their next stage where they ascend as a Titan, quite possibly with the same personality as before.
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