Xeno[a] is a Japanese science fantasy video game franchise created by Tetsuya Takahashi. The first entry was developed by SquareSoft, and subsequent entries have been developed by Monolith Soft, a company founded by Takahashi after he left Square in 1999. While the various games have no direct story connections, they have common thematic links and all sport the "Xeno" prefix, which Takahashi has variously described as a means of identifying his games and a symbolic representation of the series. All the games in the Xeno meta series take place within a science fiction setting with some fantasy elements, with its stories frequently featuring psychological, philosophical, and religious themes.
The first title, Xenogears, was originally proposed as a storyline for Final Fantasy VII, as well as a sequel to the 1995 RPG Chrono Trigger, but was allowed to be developed as its own project. After Square shifted its focus onto the Final Fantasy series, Takahashi and several other Xenogears staff founded Monolith Soft and began work on the Xenosaga games. Both Xenogears and Xenosaga were intended to be six-part series, but differing circumstances caused plans to be cut down. After the premature end of the Xenosaga series, Monolith Soft began developing Xenoblade Chronicles, initially intended to be an original title. The games of the Xeno franchise have generally sold well and received positive press worldwide.
Xenogears was released for the PlayStation in 1998 in Japan and North America.[1][2] Set in an alien world with warring rival human empires, the protagonist Fei Fong Wong is drawn into the battle against Deus, an ancient machine weapon worshiped as a god.[3] The gameplay features turn-based combat on foot and inside large bipedal mechs called "Gears".[4][5] Originally planned as part of a six-episode story, Xenogears represented the fifth episode in the saga.[6]Xenogears is owned by Square Enix.
The Xenosaga series consists of a main trilogy of role-playing games for the PlayStation 2, as well as spin-off titles that form part of the main narrative. The games were released between 2002 and 2006.[2] The Xenosaga trilogy boast similar gameplay to Xenogears, although the balance of story and gameplay underwent drastic revisions for the second game.[2][7] As with Xenogears, Xenosaga was planned as a six-episode story, but was cut down to a trilogy due to various factors.[8]Xenosaga is not a direct continuation or prequel to Xenogears despite similarities, instead being a spiritual successor.[9] The Xenosaga series is owned by Bandai Namco Entertainment.[10][11]
Xenoblade Chronicles currently spans four games: the original game (2010), the spiritual successor Xenoblade Chronicles X (2015),[12][13]Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (2017),[14][15] and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (2022),[16] as well as expansions for the latter two titles. The games employ an action-based battle system, incorporating cooldown abilities and quick-time commands. Xenoblade Chronicles X also incorporates traversal using giant mechs known as Skells.[17][18] While Xenoblade Chronicles adopts a story-driven design, Xenoblade Chronicles X uses a non-linear structure within an open world.[13] The Skells were also a deliberate callback to the Gears of Xenogears.[19][20] The Xenoblade series is owned by Nintendo and its subsidiary Monolith Soft.
Themes
The "Xeno" prefix, which means something strange or foreign to a group, was used in connection with the game's themes.[21] The Xeno title has been repeated throughout the series: in an interview concerning Xenoblade Chronicles, director Tetsuya Takahashi said that the prefix had become a symbol referencing the previous works of Monolith Soft.[22] Later still, the Xeno title was described as a means of distinguishing Takahashi's work, phrased by the interviewer as a "director's signature".[20] All of the games in the series have made use of a science fiction premise, although this has sometimes been placed in the background within settings more common to the fantasy genre.[7][23]
According to Takahashi, each game in the series revolves around different themes.[20]Xenogears, Xenosaga, and Xenoblade series make extensive use of various religious and philosophical themes. Xenogears incorporated concepts from the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. A particular reference is protagonist Fei, whose personality is split into multiple parts, one of which is a violent persona known as "Id".[5][24] In addition, Xenogears uses motifs and references to abrahamic belief systems, along with other concepts such as reincarnation.[3][5][25] During the development stage, main antagonist Deus' Japanese name was to have been "Yahweh", but the team were convinced by localization lead Richard Honeywood not to use it, and instead made the name a pun on a piece of Japanese slang.[26]
The Xenosaga series made heavy use of biblical elements, particularly the New Testament. There are also extensive references to Gnosticism, Judaism and Jungian psychology.[24][27][28] The games' principal writer said that the themes also paralleled many other world religions.[24] The works of Nietzsche were also referenced in the Xenosaga games: the first Xenosaga drew its main theme from the "Will to power", a concept coined by Nietzsche to describe the driving motivation of humanity.[29] The subtitles of each main Xenosaga also reference the ideas and works of Nietzsche.[28][29][30]
The themes of Xenoblade Chronicles focused on the main characters overcoming a pre-determined fate and finding the meaning of human existence, along with what Takahashi described as "contrasting the realms of the micro and the macro".[31][32]Xenoblade Chronicles X was a deliberate move away from this style of storytelling and the incorporation of philosophical themes: according to Takahashi, the concept was to create a solid gameplay foundation on which to base a future work which would feature a stronger story. Despite this, it covered similar thematic ground to Xenoblade Chronicles.[19][33]
Development
Xenogears, the first entry in what would become the Xeno series, was first proposed to Square by Tetsuya Takahashi and his wife, known under the pseudonym Soraya Saga, as a potential storyline for Final Fantasy VII. While it was considered too mature for the Final Fantasy series, Takahashi was allowed to create an original work based on the premise.[24] After initially attempting to create a sequel to Chrono Trigger, Takahashi made the project entirely unique, beginning development approximately two years prior to its release.[34][35] While a second Xenogears game was being planned, Square decided to focus on the Final Fantasy series, a decision that Takahashi did not agree with. Leaving Square, he established Monolith Soft in 1999 along with multiple other Xenogears staff. Monolith Soft was founded so that Takahashi could continue developing the concepts of Xenogears, and with funding from Namco, the team began development on the first Xenosaga.[9][36][37]
The development cycle of the Xenosaga games was troubled: after the first game commercially underperformed, the development staff was changed, the proposed six-part series was cut down by half, and the second installment shifted focus from its story to its gameplay. After outcry, the third game shifted again in an attempt to balance story and gameplay while bringing the Xenosaga story to a close.[2][8] After the failure of Xenosaga, staff at Monolith Soft were in a state of low morale.[38] During the development of Disaster: Day of Crisis, Takahashi was struck with the idea of setting a game on the bodies of two frozen gods. After constructing a concept model for it with another member of staff, Monolith Soft began development.[32][39] While originally intended to be an original title called Monado: The Beginning of the World, Nintendo's then-CEO Satoru Iwata had the title changed to reflect Takahashi's previous games and hard work on the title, bringing the new game into the Xeno series.[40] Working within deliberate restrictions and moving away from the previous cutscene-heavy style of Xenogears, Monolith Soft worked hard to make the game a balance between gameplay and story.[32][41] For Xenoblade Chronicles X, the developers focused on the gameplay aspect, in particular creating an open world and online elements within a new set of self-imposed restrictions.[41][42]
Near the release date of Xenoblade Chronicles X, Takahashi stated that, if he were given the opportunity to make another game in the Xenoblade series, he would hope to create another traditional JRPG-style video game similar to Xenoblade Chronicles.[43] He stated that he hoped to continue the series by exploring many different settings instead of being confined to a specific genre.[43] He also stated that he would like to use the core system set up in Xenoblade Chronicles X to further expand on the story and thematic elements for their next project.[44] Two years later, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was released which returned to the story-driven JRPG style found in Xenoblade Chronicles.[45] This was continued in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, released in 2022, which concluded the story arc established in Xenoblade Chronicles.[46]
Overseas release
At the time of its development, Square said that Xenogears would likely not release in the west due to the religious content.[47] The localization proved especially challenging, with the original translators either quitting the project or requesting transferral to other projects. This meant that Honeywood was under heavy pressure to render the game into English while both keeping it faithful to the original and stepping round some of the sensitive religious issues the title evoked.[26][48] Although all three main Xenosaga entries were released in Japan and North America, the third game did not release in Europe, and the spin-offs remained exclusive to Japan.[2]
Xenoblade Chronicles was originally not announced for an overseas release, and despite being announced for release in Europe, its North American release was doubtful enough that a fan campaign dubbed Operation Rainfall began working to have the game, along with two other Wii role-playing games, released overseas.[49][50] Later, during the run-up to the release of Xenoblade Chronicles X, Takahashi stated that Xenoblade Chronicles was designed with an international audience in mind, and that he was pleased Xenoblade Chronicles X was receiving a western release in the same year as Japan.[13]
The games have also undergone censorship. A sexually explicit scene featured in Xenosaga was toned down for its western release.[51] The first and third Xenosaga games also received changes for their western release: in the first game, a scene between main antagonist Albedo and the character MOMO was toned down significantly; and the third game had all visible blood removed, which ended up making some scenes confusing.[51][52]Xenoblade Chronicles X also received censorship in the form of the character Lin, who had her clothing made less sexually provocative.[53]
In other media
An anime was produced by Namco and Monoliftsoft based on Xenosaga, titled Xenosaga: The Animation, premiered on TV Asahi in Japan in January 2005.[54] The story is based on Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht.[54] The series was licensed by ADV Films in June 2007 for $120,000.[55]
Several characters from the Xeno series have been featured in the Project X Zone games, namely KOS-MOS and T-elos from the Xenosaga series and Fiora and Metal Face from the Xenoblade series.[56]
The outfit of Xenoblade Chronicles 2's protagonist, Rex, is available as an extra costume for Link in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It also appears as a wearable outfit for a Mii Fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as DLC. Pyra and Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 were released as DLC characters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in March 2021.[60]
The Xeno series has been very highly reviewed and praised by critics. IGN described Xenogears as the "hands-down best RPG" of the year, praising the storyline, gameplay, graphics, presentation, and soundtrack.[74] The game placed 16th in Famitsu’s 2006 poll and 32nd in IGN’s poll of the greatest games of all time.[75][76]Famitsu praised the world and character development of Xenosaga Episode I, while GamePro stated that the story and characters "[rivaled] that of a good, hard, science-fiction novel or the best anime series available".[77][78]Xenosaga Episode II was the least praised title of the series, with Eurogamer still praising its characters and plot, but finding the story uncomfortably long and complicated, requiring too much foreknowledge of the original game to be enjoyable for series newcomers.[79]GamePro believed that Episode 2 had changed game mechanics to make the title less approachable than the previous game, and GameSpot felt that the character growth system was simplified too much and made the game shorter as well.[80][81]Xenosaga Episode III was met with divided feelings, as some such as Simon Parkin of Eurogamer, felt that the sheer number of philosophical and religious elements in the story both stifled any relatable narrative and robbed the characters of any personality; despite this he felt the ending successfully tied up remaining narrative threads from previous games.[82]Famitsu enjoyed the narrative's presentation, but noted the lack of a focused narrative due to the number of story threads needing addressing.[83]IGN enjoyed the combat system and its blending of elements from past games, but was disappointed that no new elements had been added.[84] After lower sales and still mixed reception, the Xenosaga development team's morale was low. To help revive their spirit, they started making a new game that eventually became Xenoblade Chronicles.[85][40][86]
Xenoblade Chronicles is thus far the highest praised series title by critics, earning perfect scores from Digital Spy, Joystiq, GamePro and RPGamer,[87][88][89][90] and near-perfect scores from most other video gaming websites and magazines.[b] The game received "universal acclaim", according to review aggregatorMetacritic.[102][103] It was also nominated for many awards, such as the 2011 Japan Game Awards where the title received the "Excellence" award.[104] It was also nominated for many “Best RPG” and Best Wii/Wii U Game”.[105][106] It was also nominated by IGN in the "Best Overall Role-playing Game" and "Best Overall Story" categories.[107][108]Xenoblade Chronicles X also had its admirers, with Japanese gaming publication Dengeki giving the game a positive review, referring to it as a masterpiece; they praised the gameplay, detailed world, story direction, and music, and said it has a "very high degree of perfection".[109]Nintendo Life praised the game's battle system, deep upgrade pathways, vast world size, and graphics, but criticized the occasional difficulty spike and fetch quest.[110]GameSpot stated that, of "all the open-world games to come out this year, Xenoblade Chronicles X may be the most formidable" as a "truly enormous game, both in scale and scope," praising the landscapes, creature design, unlockables and quests, combat, and character progression and customization, but criticizing the inconsistent soundtrack, ambiguous systems, and disappointing story.[111]Xenoblade Chronicles 2 received wide acclaim. John Rairdin of Nintendo World Report, who gave a 9.5 rating out of 10 to the title, considered the game "one of the finest JRPGs of the generation and perhaps of all time" and highly praising the music, "diverse world", "fresh and engaging combat", and "thrilling storyline", stating: "Washing over any minor issues is one of the most engaging stories I’ve ever played, a vastly improved and fun combat system, and an out-of-this-world soundtrack. It sets a precedent for JRPGs on the Switch that I doubt will be topped."[112]IGN Japan gave a very positive review, stating that it "offers a timeless tale of adventure and an incredibly deep battle system." However, they criticized the fact that "its mechanics are not always well explained".[113] Its expansion, Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country, was positively received, with some critics expressing enthusiasm for the story expansion.[114][115] Other critics cited endearing, relatable characters, interesting story, and an improved battle system.[116][117]
Sales
Xenogears shipped over one million copies worldwide by March 2003, with 910,000 being shipped in Japan and 280,000 overseas.[118] The first Xenosaga was a commercial success in Japan, selling 450,000 units. It was also reported by Namco as one of their better-selling games overseas.[119][120] The second Xenosaga sold over 256,000 copies in Japan by the end of 2004, and like its predecessor was considered commercially successful overseas.[121][122] The third Xenosaga sold 343,000 units in all territories by the third quarter of 2006.[123] Ultimately, the Xenosaga series was considered a commercial disappointment for Namco.[2]Xenoblade Chronicles met with strong sales in Japan despite being released near to the end of its console's life cycle, and was commercially successful in the UK and North America.[124][125][126] Despite low sales compared to other console titles, Xenoblade Chronicles X was also successful, with the majority of its sales coming from outside of Japan.[127][128]Xenoblade Chronicles 2 would become one of the highest selling games for the Nintendo Switch for 2017[129] and the highest selling Xeno series title of all time, with 1.53 million units[130] sold by 2018. As of December 2022, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has sold 1.86 million units.[131]
Xenosaga is a role-playing video game series developed by Monolith Soft and primarily published by Namco. Forming part of the wider Xeno metaseries, Xenosaga is set in a science fiction universe and follows a group of characters as they face both a hostile alien race called the Gnosis and human factions fighting for control of the Zohar, an artifact connected to a god-like energy called U-DO. Gameplay across the series is similar, with the characters being guided through a linear narrative and fighting enemies using a turn-based combat system. The party fights both on foot and in a variety of mechs.
KOS-MOS is a fictional character from the Xenosaga role-playing video game series by Monolith Soft and Bandai Namco Entertainment. KOS-MOS also appears as a major character in the anime Xenosaga: The Animation and in several crossover video games.
Monolith Software Inc., trading as Monolith Soft, is a Japanese video game development studio originally owned by Namco until being bought out by Nintendo in 2007, best known for the Xenoblade Chronicles series of games. The company was founded in 1999 by Tetsuya Takahashi with the support and cooperation of Masaya Nakamura, the founder of Namco. Their first project was the Xenosaga series, a spiritual successor to the Square-developed Xenogears. Multiple Square staff would join Takahashi at Monolith Soft including Hirohide Sugiura and Yasuyuki Honne.
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean is a role-playing video game developed by Monolith Soft and tri-Crescendo and published by Namco for the GameCube. In it, the player assume the role of a "guardian spirit" – an unseen player avatar – who guides protagonist Kalas and his party of companions in an adventure across an aerial floating island-based kingdom in the clouds. The game is focused around the concept of "Magnus" – magical cards that capture the "essence" of items found in the in-game world. The concept is used as a plot device, for in-game item management, and as a basis for the card-themed battle system. The game was noted for its unique battle system, which included aspects of turn-based and action-based battle systems, collectible card games, and poker.
Tetsuya Takahashi is a Japanese video game designer, writer and director. Takahashi worked at Square in the 90s as a graphic designer and graphic director, participating on some of their most well-received titles such as Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger, before directing and co-writing Xenogears. He left Square in 1999 to co-found Monolith Soft, where he would develop the Xenosaga and Xenoblade Chronicles series with Namco and Nintendo respectively, being the executive director of Xenoblade since the first entry in the series.
Kunihiko Tanaka is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He designed the characters for Xenogears, Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht and Xenoblade Chronicles X, as well as character concept design for the anime Key the Metal Idol. He wrote the manga for Ruin Explorers which was made into an OVA in 1995.
Xenosaga I & II is a 2006 role-playing video game co-developed by Monolith Soft and Tom Create, and published by Namco for the Nintendo DS. A spin-off of the Xenosaga trilogy and forming part of the Xeno metaseries, Xenosaga I & II retells the events of Xenosaga Episode I and Xenosaga Episode II while expanding on its characters and narrative. Displayed from an angled two-dimensional perspective, Xenosaga I & II makes use of a turn-based battle system with elements carried over from the main Xenosaga games.
Kaori Tanaka, also known by her pen name, Soraya Saga, is a freelance Japanese illustrator, designer, and video game story writer.
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht is a role-playing video game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2; the game was released in 2002 in Japan and 2003 in North America. It was never released in Europe. It is the first entry in the Xenosaga trilogy and forms part of the wider Xeno metaseries. Gameplay features exploration of environments through a linear narrative, while battles use turn-based combat with the player characters fighting both on foot and piloting large mecha dubbed A.G.W.S.; combat in turn features a system of button combinations for attack types, and multiple leveling systems.
Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra is a role-playing video game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation 2 in 2006. It is the final entry in both the Xenosaga trilogy and the larger Xenosaga series, which forms part of the Xeno franchise. Concluding the narrative of Xenosaga Episode I and Episode II, Episode III sees Shion Uzuki and the battle android KOS-MOS search out the origins of the hostile alien Gnosis while being hunted by Shion's former employers and four powerful humans called the Testaments. Gameplay is carried over from the first two games, featuring exploration of environments through a linear narrative, while battles follow a turn-based system featuring multiple leveling systems and combat with both a human party and mecha.
Yasuyuki Honne is a video game artist, director and producer. He was employed by Square from 1993 to 1999 and is now working at Monolith Soft. He is known for his work on the Chrono series, Xeno games and Baten Kaitos series.
Soma Bringer is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. The player, controlling one of the eight main characters, explores dungeons and fights enemies in real-time combat across three-dimensional plains from a top-down perspective. Multiplayer functions allow up to three players to participate in exploration and combat. The story takes place on the continent of Barnea, where its principle magical energy, Soma, is disrupted by the arrival of monsters called Visitors. This prompts a military group called Pharzuph Division 7 to defeat the Visitors and restore the balance of Soma.
Xenoblade Chronicles is an action role-playing game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo for the Wii. Initially released in Japan in 2010, it was later released in the PAL regions in 2011 and in North America in 2012. A port for the New Nintendo 3DS was released in 2015, and a remaster for the Nintendo Switch, titled Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, was released in May 2020. Xenoblade Chronicles is the first entry in the Xenoblade Chronicles series, a subseries which forms part of the larger Xeno metaseries. Although it lacks direct narrative connections to previous Xeno games, like them, it incorporates aesthetic and narrative elements from both fantasy and science fiction. The game features navigation through an open world split into zones, side-quests tied to party members' affinity, and a real-time action-based battle system which incorporates Shulk's ability to see brief glimpses of the future.
Operation Rainfall, commonly known as oprainfall, was a video game-oriented fan campaign founded to promote the release of games not available in North America. Initially aimed at promoting the North American release of three games on the aging Wii home video game console only released in Japan and Europe, it later transitioned into a community blog dedicated to niche Japanese games and further fan campaigns aimed at the localization of Japan-exclusive games. From inception, its stated intention was to show publisher Nintendo the demand for the three chosen games.
Shulk is a character and protagonist of Monolith Soft's 2010 role-playing video game Xenoblade Chronicles, part of the Xenoblade Chronicles series of video games. Shulk gained an increase in attention and popularity upon his inclusion in Nintendo's 2014 crossover fighting games Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. While future Xenoblade entries are not centered around Shulk, Xenoblade Chronicles X features a character creation tool that allows the player to create characters that resemble Shulk, complete with both of his voice actors Adam Howden and Shintaro Asanuma, and he was featured in downloadable content (DLC) for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
Xenoblade Chronicles X is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game is part of the Xenoblade Chronicles series, itself forming part of the wider Xeno metaseries. An expanded remaster, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, will be released in 2025 for the Nintendo Switch.
Lin Lee, full name Lin Lee Koo, is a fictional character from Monolith Soft's 2015 role-playing video game Xenoblade Chronicles X, part of their overarching Xeno series of video games.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a 2017 action role-playing game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the third installment in the Xenoblade Chronicles series and the sixth main entry in the Xeno series, and was released on December 1. Plans for the game began shortly before the launch of Xenoblade Chronicles X in 2014. Key developers from previous games returned, including franchise creator Tetsuya Takahashi and directors Koh Kojima and Genki Yokota. The team wanted to develop a story-driven game in the style of the original Xenoblade Chronicles. The game was announced in 2017 and was released worldwide the same year. As with Xenoblade Chronicles, the game was localized by Nintendo of Europe.
Xenoblade Chronicles is a series of action role-playing games developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo. The series began with the original Xenoblade Chronicles game, published for the Wii in 2010 in Japan, and released in Europe and Oceania the following year. Nintendo originally had no plans for a North American release, but after a fan campaign named Operation Rainfall showed sufficient interest, the game was eventually released in the region in 2012. The original game became a critical and commercial success, spawning multiple sequels. The series has since sold more than 8.74 million copies worldwide. Xenoblade Chronicles has been well-received for its world design, music, stories, and themes. The series has been represented in other gaming franchises, including the Super Smash Bros. and Project X Zone series. It is loosely a part of the Xeno metaseries, for which it receives its namesake, co-created and directed by Tetsuya Takahashi.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a 2022 action role-playing game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is an installment in the open-world Xenoblade Chronicles series, itself a part of the larger Xeno franchise. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 depicts the futures of the worlds featured in Xenoblade Chronicles (2010) and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (2017) and concludes the trilogy's narrative.
↑ 『ゼノギアス』を作った男たち - Interview with Xenogears Staff[The Men who made "Xenogears" - Interview with Xenogears Staff]. Famitsu PS (in Japanese). No.20 February 1998. Enterbrain. pp.109–111.
↑ Evans, Eri (19 December 2013). "23: The Struggle with Gnosis - Ancient Religion and Future Technology in the Xenosaga Series". Playing with the Past - Digital Games and the Simulation of History. Bloomsbury Academic. pp.343–356. ISBN978-1-6235-6728-6.
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