Xenogears

Related Topics:
Xenogears_Series :: Xenogears

is a Japanese role-playing game released on the Sony PlayStation. It was released by Squaresoft in February 1998 in Japan and subsequently released in North America in October 1998. Xenogears', however, never saw a PAL release. Xenogears has never had a sequel, many mistake a game developed by Monolith Soft and released by Namco called Xenosaga on the PlayStation 2, to be a sequel. Tetsuya Takahashi was the director and writer for both Xenogears and Xenosaga, and the background storyline of Xenogears was reinterperted into Xenosaga. Though Xenosaga is not an offical prequel to Xenogears, this is only because storyline changes were neccessary because Square-Enix owned the rights to Xenogears.

Gameplay

Xenogears is a gameplay experience that exhibits traditional and innovative features found in many Squaresoft RPGs; utilizing an intuitive martial action oriented tenor, with a punctilious cinematic anime style, a linear plot driven story unfolds within a complex world of political intrigue and global conflict. Offering immsersive locals and lanscapes, the player explores vast deserts, levitating sky cities, subterranean ruins, and imperial sewers. A contrasting and eclectic cast joins the main protagonist,Fei Fong Wong, as they embark on their epical journey.

Battling is a variant of the ATB2, active time battle system found in Chrono Trigger; once a battle starts the screen quickly changes to a combat scenario. Characters fight with martial combat, and special Deathblow moves that are learned through combinations of strong, moderate, and weak hits. Attacks use Action points (AP) and cost, 3, 2, 1 respectively, a total of 7 AP can be accumulated, allowing elemental Deathblows to be learned. AP may be saved and used as Attack Points for combo attacks, powerful sequences using multiple Deathblows to inflict massive damage.

Most of the characters can also use "magical" abilities that either aid the party or damage enemies. These abilities are limited by the number of ether points (EP) that are available. Unlike AP, EP do not replenish between attack rounds. For most characters, these abilities are called 'Ether,' although some characters' abilities have a different name, implying differences in their origins. For example, Fei's magic is called 'Chi,' and Citan's is 'Arcane'. Unlike the main characters of most RPGs whom specialize in either physical or magical strength exclusively, the main characters in Xenogears generally are competent in both areas, although few characters have more than one or two direct damage spells.

In addition to the small-scale, hand-to-hand combat, the characters sometimes fight from within their respective combat robots, called 'Gears.' These fighting machines are often similar in fighting style and appearance to the characters that pilot them. Gear combat differs from regular combat. The combination style is reduced to a selection of strong, medium, or weak attacks that build up the attack level of the Gear with each turn until it can unleash a special, more powerful attack. The limiting factor of AP is replaced by the Gears' amount of fuel, with each attack consuming an amount relative to its power. The Gears can also enter 'Booster mode', which enables them to act faster but consumes a lot of fuel. When a gear has no Fuel left, it can not act anymore. The main characters can purchase Gear fuel, parts and upgrades in some shops.

Plot

Summary

Xenogears' plot centers on protagonist Fei Fong Wong (Traditional Chinese: 黄飛鴻), (who is based off of the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung) an eighteen-year-old male who was mysteriously brought to his current home, Lahan, by a "Masked Man" three years prior. Because of the events surrounding his arrival at the village, Fei has no apparent memories of his childhood. The rediscovery of past events, both pleasant and torturous, prevails throughout the game. In the beginning, the player is introduced to a peaceful village, but in RPG tradition, disaster occurs when the town becomes involved in a larger conflict between the warring nations of Aveh and Kislev. Following the dire events that befall this once peaceful landscape, Fei leaves the only home he knows and begins a quest that will leave him and his friends with the ultimate fate of humanity resting on their shoulders. Along the way, Fei and his allies will learn of the truth behind the history of the planet, a past involving extensive manipulation and a being known as "Deus".

Backstory and expansion

Much of Xenogears' plot and backstory is detailed in the Japanese-only book Perfect Works. This book, produced by the now defunct DigiCube, details the history of the Xenogears universe from the formation of Deus to the start of the game. For the avid Xenogears fans, an important aspect of the book is the explanation of the "Episode V" label that is seen after the game is completed. According to the Perfect Works schematic, Xenogears is only the fifth episode in a series of, at least, six, but the book provides minimal details about the plots of the other episodes. There is considerable debate within the Xenogears fanbase about how accurately this timeline is followed by producer Tetsuya Takahashi's subsequent title, Xenosaga, which contains similar elements, such as the Zohar, that were introduced in Xenogears.

Official interviews are somewhat vague on the matter, though Tetsuya Takahashi has stated that "It's probably more suitable to say that it follows the direction and style of Xenogears." as well as "Now that we are under a different company, we figured we should start everything from scratch all over again. Though there are familiar faces that serve as important characters in Xenosaga, others are more like self-parodies, so we don't really want Xenogears fans to overreact. Like movies, sometimes you have the director of the movie or friend of the leading actor appearing as cameos, so it's similar to that."Sato, Ike. "We talk with the director of Xenosaga, Tetsuya Takahashi."^* Now, however, it is commonly believed that the Xeno line has strayed even further with the loss of Takahashi and other lead designers from the project, and the whittling of the series from six games to three.

Criticism

Xenogears remains a critically divisive title, even years after its initial release. Those who praise it emphasize the game's discussions about philosophy, religion and the multitude of works from which the game draws, ranging from Star Wars to Neon Genesis Evangelion and Norse mythology. Critics, however, argue that many aspects of the game are flawed, and that its similarities to aforementioned works (particularly Neon Genesis Evangelion) are frequent and specific. Examples of alleged gameplay flaws are the overabundance of cutscenes, deficient game mechanics and linear gameplay. A notable criticism is the change of style on the second disc). Another criticism is of the extensive usage of allusions to Judeo-Christian religious jargon. For example, several NPCs in the game have recognizably Jewish names, such as Rue Cohen of the Kislev Battling Committee, and Bishop Stone/Stein of the Ethos. The 12 Anima Relics are named after the Twelve Tribes of Israel and the Path of Sephirot which Krelian seeks is a reference to a Kabbalistic concept. The supercomputer Razael, found later in the game, reveals technical secrets on the entity Deus, and is named for the Jewish angel Razael. ^*

In a press release by Square announcing the release of Xenogears in Japan, it was stated that the game's treatment of religion in general and Christianity particular might prevent it from being released outside of Japan. However, Xenogears was released quietly into the United States, amidst minimal controversy.

Game notes

Graphically, Xenogears combines 2D sprite characters with 3D environments. The environments and Gears are principally all created within the 3D engine, but the characters are created using low resolution 2D sprites. In addition to these things, Xenogears also utilizes both traditional Japanese cel-animated scenes and pre-rendered CGI movie clips during emotive or important plot points — a trait that was common in Squaresoft RPGs during this era. Another commonly-lauded aspect of Xenogears is the dramatic and powerful soundtrack that was arranged and composed by Yasunori Mitsuda and featured Joanne Hogg on vocals for two songs. Aside from Mitsuda's official music, two other Xenogears soundtracks have been published: Xenogears: Creid, another release by Mitsuda that remixes selected tracks from the Xenogears soundtrack, and Xenogears Light, a fan-arranged album.

In the years following the release of Xenogears, the speculation that the production of the title was cut short for various reasons, such as lack of funds, inability to move deadlines, etc. has accrued considerable credence, despite the lack of a reliable source. The main cause of this speculation is Xenogears' second disc of play, on which the plot seems to degenerate into repeated instances in which a few major characters narrate the events of the story rather than fully experience them. This issue polarizes the Xenogears fanbase to this day. There are those who love the game but feel that the second disc depreciated the overall experience, whereas there are others who feel that, since the storyline was the most compelling aspect of Xenogears, the switch in narrative style was appreciated. Some people have speculated that Square began to lose interest and confidence in the profitability of Xenogears. These people cite the formation of Monolith Soft, a subdivision of Namco that was composed primarily of ex-Square employees who had worked on the Xenogears project, as evidence. Monolith Soft created the Xenosaga series under Takahashi's direction, although Square still owns the rights to Xenogears.

Psychological/Philosophical influences

Xenogears' characters were designed to allude to many psychological concepts, notably Freudian and Jungian psychology. The most obvious allusion involves the nature of the game's protagonist, Fei Fong Wong, whose Freudian ego, superego, and id are discussed at length throughout the course of the game. Fei had subconsciously repressed his memories because of his unpleasant childhood. However, his desire to remember elements of his past eventually leads to his discovering the truth about who he is and what his relationship with the character known as 'Id' is. This repression also relates to the Jungian concept of the shadow. Distinctly Jungian in nature, however, are the actions of certain characters, such as Ramsus, whose actions are driven by an inferiority complex that stems from unconscious 'nodes' that often permeate exterior behaviors of an individual.

Although not distinctly psychological, allusions to the theories of the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, are found in game. For example, there is the concept of the eternal return, which, in Xenogears, correlates to the recurrences of the Contact and the Antitype.

References

External links

Xenogears Official Website on Square Enix
Yasunori Mitsuda's Homepage
Remixes of Yasunori Mitsuda's Work
Guardian Angels A fansite
Xenogears: God and Mind A fansite, extensive forum community and home of Dark's Xenogears Novelization
Contradiction Miang Hawwa shrine.

1998 computer and video games | Computer and video role-playing games | PlayStation games | Square games | Xenogears

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