Xenogears (ゼノギアス ,Zenogiasu) is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for Sony's PlayStation. It was released on February 11, 1998 in Japan and on October 21, 1998 in North America. The game was never released in PAL territories. The game was re-released by Square Enix for the Japanese PlayStation Network on June 25, 2008.
Xenogears follows main character Fei Fong Wong and several others as they struggle to survive in a world torn apart by war between the nations of Aveh and Kislev. The principles and philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Jacques Lacan, as well as various religious themes greatly influence the overall plot and world of Xenogears. A major theme of the game is the nature of human memory: from the start of the game, Fei suffers from memory loss, which colors his interactions with other characters. In addition to the concept of memory, the struggle between man and machine is also central to the game's plot. Each of the playable characters can ride in giant mechs known as Gears and can use them in battle.
Overall, the game was well-received by critics, with a 91% ratio on Game Rankings and a score of 83 out of 100 at Metacritic. It was voted the 16th best video game of all time by readers of Famitsu in 2006. A commercial success, Xenogears has sold 1.19 million copies worldwide as of March 31, 2003. Due to these high sales, the game was re-released as a Greatest Hits title in December 2003.
Gameplay
Xenogears gameplay combines traditional console role-playing game elements with new innovative features. It uses two-dimensional sprites overlaid on three-dimensional backgrounds, as well as two different battle systems: the first uses the characters in combo-based physical combat; the second takes place in turn-based "Gear" battles. Xenogears uses both traditional anime and pre-rendered CGI movie clips by Production I.G during some emotive or important plot points.
The player controls the protagonist and his party through a fully three-dimensional fictional world. There is an overworld map with different locations spread out across several continents. At first, the party only travels on foot, but is eventually permitted to travel via a variety of vehicles, including their Gears.
Battle system
Battling is a variant of the Active Time Battle system found in various Final Fantasy games and Chrono Trigger. Most enemy encounters in Xenogears are random, and once a battle starts, the screen changes to a combat scenario. Characters fight with martial arts combat and "Ether" attacks along with special "Deathblow" moves that are learned through repeated combinations of strong, moderate, and weak hits. Attacks use Action Points (AP) and cost 3 points, 2 points, and 1 point, respectively. Each character can initially use 3 AP per turn, and leveling up characters eventually allows them to use 6 AP per turn. At a certain point in the story, an additional AP is acquired, allowing characters to learn "Elemental Deathblows". In addition to being used for attacks, AP may be saved and used as Attack Points for combo attacks in later turns. A total of 28 AP may be accumulated for combo attacks.
In addition to their regular attacks and Deathblows, characters can also use magical abilities that can aid the party or damage enemies. These abilities are limited by the number of Ether Points (EP) that are available to a character and are not replenished between attack rounds. For most characters, these abilities are called Ether, but some characters' abilities have different names, implying differences in their origins. For example, Fei's magic is called "Chi" and Citan's is called "Arcane". While fighting in their Gears, characters' Ether abilities are amplified, though some change or become unavailable during this type of combat.
Gear battle
In addition to small-scale, hand-to-hand combat, the characters sometimes fight from within their respective combat robots, called Gears. For these particular battles, 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 attack so that the Gear can unleash a special attack. While in Gears, the limiting factor of AP is replaced with a fuel gauge, with each attack consuming an amount relative to its power. There are three levels of normal special Gear attacks and one additional "infinite" level of special Gear attacks that correspond to a character's learned Deathblow skills. Infinite level differs from the other three levels in several ways. "Infinity Mode" lasts for three turns; while in this mode, fuel can be recharged in larger amounts and Gears can use "Infinity" attacks. To reach Infinity Mode, a character has to stay at attack level 3 while performing any other action. With each turn, there is a chance that Infinity Mode will be reached.
Gears can regain fuel with a "Charge" command. The Gears can also activate "Boosters" which enable them to act faster at a cost of extra fuel per turn. The "Special Option" command allows for Gear HP restoration abilities and special attacks. When a Gear has no fuel left, it can no longer execute attacks, use special options, or use boosters. They can, however, Charge to regain fuel and use Ether abilities. The main characters can purchase Gear fuel, parts, and upgrades in shops or from certain individuals.
Plot
Setting
Xenogears initially takes place on Ignas, the largest continent of the Xenogears world, and site of a centuries long war between the nations of Aveh and Kislev. A church-like organization known as the Ethos has excavated giant fighting robots called Gears in the name of preserving the world's culture. These Gears have had a major effect on the war and have almost entirely replaced the need for human infantry. Although Kislev originally had the upper hand in the war, a mysterious army known as Gebler appeared and started providing assistance to Aveh. With Gebler's help, the Aveh military not only recovered its losses, but began making its way into Kislev's territory.
Much of Xenogears plot and backstory is detailed in the Japanese-only book Xenogears Perfect Works. This book, produced by the now defunct DigiCube, details the history of the Xenogears universe from the discovery of the Zohar to the start of the game. According to the Perfect Works schematic (as well as the game's end credits), Xenogears is the fifth episode in a series of six.
Characters
Xenogears' nine playable characters hail from different areas of the game's world. The game begins on Ignas, a continent with two countries, Aveh and Kislev. Fei and Citan at first appear to be from this land, although it is later learned that they are from Shevat and Solaris, respectively. Fei is the story's protagonist, and has initially lost his memories of his past. Citan is an intelligent man whose knowledge of the world and technology often aids in the party's quest. Bart, a spunky desert pirate, is also from Ignas and is the rightful heir to the throne of Aveh. Rico, a demi-human with incredible strength, lives in a Kislev prison, spending his days as a Gear battling champion. Solaris, a hidden city of advanced technology, is home to several characters in the game. Billy, a pious worker for the Ethos religious group, was originally from Solaris. Elly, a Gebler officer of Solaris, is destined to be near Fei and falls in love with him by the end of the game. Maria and Chu-Chu are both from Shevat, the floating city and the only place resisting Solaris' domination. Emeralda is a colony of nanomachines from the ancient civilzation Zeboim.
The main antagonists, Krelian and Miang, are both leaders of Solaris who seek to revive Deus, a mechanical god that fell to earth thousands of years ago. Grahf, a mysterious man with immense power, follows Fei and his group and often fights them, though he keeps his goals a mystery. Many of the characters of Xenogears are not who they first appear to be and many have distinct roles in the game's fictional timeline. Fei, Elly, and Miang have been reincarnated several times throughout the game's history.
Story
The story centers on protagonist Fei Fong Wong, 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 conscious memories of his childhood; the rediscovery of past events, both pleasant and traumatic, prevails throughout the game.
After a Gear attack on the peaceful village of Lahan, Fei jumps into an empty Gear and manages to fight off the enemy attacks. However, in doing so, he accidentally destroys the entire village. As a result, Fei and Citan, the village doctor, decide to leave with the Gear in an attempt to get it as far away as possible from the village. During their travels, Fei meets Elly, a Gebler officer who works for Aveh as well as a menacing figure named Grahf, who seems to have some knowledge of Fei's past. Fei and Citan are also picked up by Bart, a desert pirate who is trying to rescue his cousin Margie from the ruler of Aveh, Shakhan. It becomes revealed that Bart is the rightful heir to the Aveh throne, and he decides to reclaim it from Shakhan. During an attempt to attack Shakhan and Gebler, Fei loses control of himself while inside his Gear. Meanwhile, Bart and Citan are attacked by a mysterious red Gear, which then proceeds to defeat two leaders of Gebler. Bart's ship, called the Yggdrasil, proceeds to sink, and Citan escapes. Later, Fei wakes up in the middle of a Kislev prison. There, he meets Rico, a Gear battling champion, and the mysterious masked man, known only as Wiseman, who had brought him to Lahan three years earlier. After Citan sneaks into the prison as the new doctor, the group manages to escape the area by having Fei become the new Gear battling champion.
Gebler is commissioned to purge Kislev. During this time, Fei convinces Elly to leave her position with Gebler and join his comrades. After preventing the destruction of Kislev by defeating a high-ranking Gebler officer, Fei and his friends sneak into the Goliath Factory. There, they steal a new Kislev airship which was used to leave the Ignas continent. Bart then shoots the Goliath out of the sky, thinking it is being piloted by Kislev soldiers. Fei and Elly become separated from the rest of the group, but they all eventually come together on the floating city Thames. A high-ranking Gebler officer attacks Thames and kidnaps Elly, who is named a traitor. Miang, a Gebler officer, encounters Elly, brainwashing her to almost destroy the Yggdrasil II. However, Miang's plan becomes foiled. Ramsus then attacks the Thames while in search for Fei, whom Ramsus holds a vendetta against. Fei loses the battle and loses consciousness.
Billy, a worker for the Ethos on the Thames, allows the group to use the Ethos' advanced hospital technology for Fei. The group then travels to Billy's orphanage where they meet Jessie, Billy's father. It turns out that Jessie knows Citan from previous years in Solaris. Jessie warns his son that the Ethos group is not as it seems and that he should give up being a priest. However, Billy's faith is too strong. Upon returning to the Ethos headquarters, the group finds that assassins have murdered all the Ethos priests. Bishop Stone, the Ethos leader, confronts Billy and tells him that the Ethos' purpose was to help control the Lambs (land dwellers) for Solaris, though some of the Ethos priests were trying to break away from Solaris and dominate the world themselves. At this time, Krelian, one of Solaris' leaders, leads an attack on the Thames. The group follows Bishop Stone to an excavation site, which turns out to be the ancient city Zeboim. There, the group discovers a small girl composed of nanomachines, which is what Krelian is pursuing. Bishop Stone takes the girl and the group is left to fight Id, the pilot of the mysterious red Gear. Id claims that the girl belongs to him and no one can take her, but Wiseman shows up and stalls Id, allowing the party to escape.
The group returns to the Yggdrasil, where they find Fei awake and standing at his Gear, unaware of what he was doing. Bishop Stone attacks, transformed by Krelian, but is taken down with Jessie's help. Fei and his comrades then decide to climb Babel Tower in order to reach the floating city of Shevat, the only remaining city that resists Solaris. Zephyr, the queen of Shevat, asks Fei and his friends to assist in fighting Solaris. Maria, the pilot of the powerful gear that is part human called Seibzehn, joins Fei and his comrades on their quest. At this time, Shakhan leads an attack on Nisan, looking for the Fatima treasure. Margie and Bart, the holders of the Fatima Jasper, unlock the treasure, an Omnigear, before Shakhan can, and use it to defeat him.
To get to Solaris, the group needs to destroy three large Gates that protect Solaris from the outside world. At the third Gate, they encounter Emeralda, the nanomachine colony. She attacks the party, but then is given to Fei by one of Krelian's assistants, who immediately warms up to Fei, as if recognizing him, and referring to him as "Kim" at first. Upon reaching Solaris, Fei learns that Citan has been working for Emperor Cain and that Solaris has been producing foods and medicines made out of recycled humans in a Soylent System facility. The party also learns that the Gazel Ministry seeks to revive their god and wants to achieve an eternal life, while Krelian seeks to possess Elly for his own gain. The Emperor informs Citan that Fei is not the enemy and the entire party escapes Solaris. During the escape, Grahf and Miang attack the group. Id appears and helps the party escape. Back at Shevat, Citan informs his friends that Id is actually Fei, who is repressing his memories, and that a third personality exists as well.
The party's next plan of action is to collect the remaining ancient Anima Relics, which will transform their Gears into the powerful Omnigears. It is also during this time that Elly and Fei become romantically involved with each other. During all of this, the Gazel Ministry uses the Gaetia Key, an artifact that manipulates the DNA of massive amounts humans all over the world turning them into mutants called Wels in order to collect flesh to reconstruct a god called Deus that crash-landed on the planet thousands of years ago. While this is happening, the group learns that Fei and Elly are the reincarnations of Sophia and Lacan. Lacan was a painter while Sophia was the Holy Mother of Nisan around the time of the war between Shevat and Solar five-hundred years earlier. When Sophia was killed during the war before Lacan even has the chance to tell her how he felt about her, he became devastated, blaming himself and his own weakness for her death and developing a hunger for power as a result. Around this time, Lacan met Miang, who had been living at that time as well, and she helped him obtain great powers becoming the man known as Grahf. After launching an attack against both Shevat and Solaris with an army of Gears, Grahf was eventually defeated by the land-dwellers, but survives for the next five-hundred years using his powers to transmigrate to the bodies of other humans, an ability which Miang has as well.
Krelian and Miang dispose of the Emperor and the Gazel Ministry because they are no longer necessary and proceed to kidnap Elly, the Mother, who must be sacrificed in order to revive Deus. Miang is killed by an enraged Ramsus as he realizes he has been tricked by her, and Elly turns into Miang, who then is absorbed by Deus. Fei, as Id, attempts to make contact with the Zohar which is the source of all energy that had fallen to the planet along with Deus 10,000 years ago. Wiseman, who reveals himself to be Fei's father, stops Id. This allows Fei to reconcile his other personalities and find peace within himself. Fei's Gear transforms into the Xenogears and Grahf appears, revealing that he had been inside Fei's father's body the whole time. At this time, Fei also makes contact with the Wave Existence—an extra-dimensional being who is trapped inside Deus and is apparently the source of power for all gears—and learns that he must destroy Deus to free humanity as well as the Wave Existence. Grahf, who wants to merge with Fei, is defeated. He warns Fei that Deus will want to merge with him as well, as it did with Elly.
It is after this that Fei discovers the truth behind his very existence: He is a descendant of Abel, a young boy who was a passenger on board the Eldridge, a massive spaceship that was being used to transport and contain Deus. Deus itelf is the core of an interplanetary invasion system created by a federation of spacefaring humans, one that was deemed far too dangerous for use and was therefore dismantled and stored aboard the Eldridge. Deus, however, had become self-aware and attempted to take over the Eldridge. Amidst all the confusion, Abel was separated from his mother and while searching for her he stumbled upon the area of the ship where the Zohar, which served as Deus' power source, was being held. Abel made contact with the Zohar and thus made contact with the Wave Existence, who gave him the power to one day destroy Deus and the Zohar in order to free itself. It was at this time that the Wave Existence also senses Abel's longing for his mother and uses the biological computer Kadomony to create a woman that would serve as a companion for the boy. It was at this point, when Deus had full control over the Eldridge, that the captain of the Eldridge decided to initiate the self-destruct sequence in an attempt to destroy Deus for good. Both Deus and the Zohar, however, survived the explosion and landed on a nearby planet along with the rest of the debris of the Eldridge. Abel also safely landed on this planet under the protection of the Wave Existence, but was the sole survivor of the crash. Initially the boy was all alone, but he was soon united with the woman that the Wave Existence had created for him as a companion, this woman was Elly. Abel and Elly, at first, led a happy life together on this new planet, but this happiness was not to last forever, as Deus had also used Kadomony to create Miang, Cain, and the Gazel Ministry to begin human civilization on the planet, one which would be under their direct control so that one day the humans would all be turned into Wels and absorbed into Deus to recover its strength. When the now-adult Abel and Elly found out about this, they openly challenged Cain and the Gazel Ministry, but ultimately suffer their own demise at their hands. However, through the power of the Wave Existence, they are able to be reincarnated in later eras. One of these incarnations lived during an ancient technologically advanced era in Zeboim, where Abel's incarnation went by the name Kim and created Emeralda.
Now knowing the truth of his existence, Fei sets out to do that which had been predetermined 10,000 years earlier: to destroy Deus and free the Wave Existence, but more than anything, to save Elly, the woman he loves. In Merkaba, the party defeats Deus. Immediately after the battle, all of the gears both in the party and throughout the world, with the exception of Xenogears, suddenly cease to function. This is the result of the Wave Existence's power disappearing from the Zohar as it begins stirring within now-deceased Deus, attempting to free itself. However, Citan soon realizes that the energy released from the dimensional shift created from the Wave Existence's dimensional displacement is enough to destroy the entire planet. At that moment, Deus begins to move and the group realizes that Elly is controlling Deus from inside, moving it away from the planet. With his gear still fully functional, Fei follows Deus so that he can save Elly before the energy release can occur. As Xenogears follows Deus out of the planet's atmosphere, the dimensional shift occurs and both disappear.
Fei awakens in dark vast expanse with Elly hovering above him. He then hears the voice of Krelian, who tells Fei his true intentions: To end all the pain and suffering that comes with human existence by reverting everything back to where it all began, when all was one, to exist as perfect unified waves, to ascend to the realm of God. Fei rejects Krelian's ideology that human existence is full of nothing but sadness and false love, saying that it is through the imperfections of mankind that humans are able to gain a mutual understanding of each other by helping one another. He then goes onto say that he and Elly truly understand each other, and that they are one, held together by a love so deep that they do not need the love of God. Krelian challenges Fei's words, telling him to prove this love that could make him independent of God, and calls forth Urobolus, a gigantic serpent-like incarnation of Miang. Xenogears appears soon after this and Fei uses it to relentlessly attack Urobolus gaining a fairly easy victory over the creature. Upon defeating Urobolus, Krelian releases Elly, who reveals to Fei that he had planned to become one with God along with Elly. During her time with Krelian, Elly had seen inside of his heart, a heart that was full of sadness amd despair for all atrocities he had committed, even though to him these things were means to an end. Yet in spite of all that had happened, Elly says that Krelian truly loved people more than anyone else.
With this, Elly and Fei decide to return to their planet, running toward a point of light that will take them back. As they run, however, the world around them begins to crumble. Caught up in the destruction of this world, Elly and Fei eventually confront Krelian, who tells them that the sins he has committed are too great for any human to forgive, and that only in God could he find forgiveness. Fei tries to convince Krelian to come with him back to their world, but he declines and ascends to a higher plain of existence along with the Wave Existence, telling Fei and Elly that he envies them. Fei and Elly then return to their planet along with Xenogears and reunite with the rest of the party.
Development
Xenogears was produced by Hiromichi Tanaka, who previously worked on the popular SNES game Secret of Mana, it was directed and written by Tetsuya Takahashi. Yasuyuki Honne was the art director, while Kunihiko Tanaka was the character designer. Tetsuo Mizuno, Tomoyuki Takechi, and Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi were executive producers for Xenogears. Koichi Mashimo, animator for shows like Ghost in the Shell and Neon Genesis Evangelion, was in charge of the anime cut scenes.
Originally, Squaresoft had intended to call the game "Project Noah". The name was later changed to Xenogears for unknown reasons. It is the fifth part of a six-part story detailed in Xenogears Perfect Works; at the end of the game's credits, "Episode V" appears on screen. Xenogears' story is influenced by the ideas of Freud, Jung, and Nietzsche, and they are referenced numerous times within the game's narrative.
Square had announced that Xenogears may not have come out in the United States due to "sensitive religious issues", however, Square soon after reversed this and, with a joint partnership with Electronic Arts, released the game in October 1998. Square Enix re-released the game for the PlayStation Network in Japan on June 25, 2008.
The English translation of Xenogears was the first instance in which an English localization team worked directly with Squaresoft developers. It also was the first major project of Square translator Richard Honeywood. According to Honeywood, translating the game was a particularly difficult task due to it containing numerous scientific concepts and philosophies.
Audio
The music in Xenogears was composed by Yasunori Mitsuda, who was made famous by his work on the SNES title, Chrono Trigger. The Xenogears Original Soundtrack was released on two disks and published by DigiCube in Japan. There are two vocal tracks included on the OST and both are sung by Joanne Hogg. The first vocal track is titled "Stars of Tears" and is similar to the game's principal overworld theme, "Emotions". This track is not played anywhere in the actual game, though it is on the game CD and can only be accessed by unconventional means. The second vocal track is titled "Small Two of Pieces" which bears resemblance to the music box song "Faraway Promise". This song plays at the conclusion of the game during the end credits.
An arranged soundtrack of Xenogears also composed and arranged by Mitsuda was released as Creid. The soundtrack contains one CD with ten tracks. Two of the tracks are the Japanese versions of "Stars of Tears" and "Small Two of Pieces". The rest are arrangements of tracks from the OST with heavy Celtic influences.
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