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Xenogears (ゼノギアス Zenogiasu^?) is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Sony PlayStation video game console. It was released on February 11, 1998 in Japan and on October 21, 1998 in North America.

Gameplay

Xenogears gameplay combines the traditional and the innovative, using two-dimensional sprite overlays on three-dimensional backgrounds, as well as two different battle systems, one of which uses the actual characters in combo-based physical combat, while the latter takes place in turn-based 'Gear' battles. In addition to these things, Xenogears utilizes both traditional anime and pre-rendered CGI movie clips by Production I.G during some emotive or important plot points — the latter being a trait that was common in Squaresoft RPGs during this era.

Battle system

Battling is a variant of the ATB2 active time battle system found in Chrono Trigger and various Final Fantasy games. Once a battle starts the screen quickly changes to a combat scenario. Characters fight with martial combat and ether attacks along with special Deathblow moves that are learned through combinations of strong, moderate, and weak hits. Attacks use Action points (AP) and cost, 3 points, 2 points, and 1 point, respectively. You begin with 3 AP per turn (which is not enough to execute a deathblow) and as you progress in level you will eventually have 6 AP per turn. At a certain point in the story, an additional AP (7 AP per turn) will be acquired and you will also be able to learn Elemental Deathblows, which can be unlocked quicker at higher levels. AP may be saved and used as Attack Points for combo attacks. A total of 28 AP may be accumulated for combo attacks, powerful sequences using multiple Deathblows to inflict massive damage. However, only Deathblows of 6 AP cost or less may be chained, so by the end of the game, individual Deathblows become superior to combo attacking.

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 who specialize in either physical or magical strength exclusively, the main characters in Xenogears are generally competent in both areas, although few characters have more than one or two direct damage spells. While in Gears (mechanized fighting machines) 'Ether' abilities are amplified, though some change or become unavailable.

Gears battle

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 aesthetic resemblance to the characters that pilot them. 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 turn until it can unleash a special, more powerful 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 (respectively levels 1, 2, and 3) and one additional 'infinite' level of special gear attacks. These moves are acquired in correspondence to a character's learned deathblow skills. Infinite level differs from the other three levels in several ways. When it is reached, the Gear will go into a special mode known as 'hyper mode'.

Infinity mode lasts three turns, and while in this mode, fuel can be recharged in a larger amount or the Gear can use Infinity attacks. Infinity mode cannot be reached until elemental deathblows are learned (with the exception of Maria Balthazar, who has them automatically, and Chu-Chu, who cannot perform special gear attacks whatsoever). 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 (this ratio is displayed on screen along with the gears status). Infinity level uses special attacks that use very little fuel and are much more powerful. Gears can regain fuel by 'charging'. The amount of fuel gained differs depending on what attack level the character is currently at. Most engines have a base charge level of 30 fuel. Attack levels add 20 fuel per level with infinite level multiplying the charge rate by ten (charge levels are not cumulative). When equipped with certain items, the gain rate of fuel may be increased. The Gears can also activate 'Boosters' which enable them to act faster but consume more fuel. The 'Special Option' command allows for Gear HP restoration abilities (if equipped with the proper parts) and special attacks, at the cost of large amounts of fuel. When a gear has no Fuel left, it can no longer execute attacks, use special options, or use boosters. They can, however, charge (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 the largest continent of the Xenogears world, Ignas, where the nations of Aveh and Kislev have been waging war on each other for centuries. An organization known as the Ethos, which is a church-like organization dedicated to preserving the world's culture, has excavated giant fighting robots called Gears. Gears have had a major effect on the war and have almost entirely replaced the need for human infantry. Although Kislev was gaining the upper hand in the war, a mysterious army known as Gebler appeared and started providing assistance to Aveh. With Gebler's help, Aveh not only recovered their losses, but began making their 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' characters were designed to allude to many psychological concepts, notably Freudian and Jungian psychology. There is also an important character bearing the name of French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. 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 Adlerian 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.

Fei Fong Wong (ウォン・フェイフォン Won Fei Fon^?) is based on the legendary Chinese hero Wong Fei Hung of Guangdong, China. His name in katakana is written exactly the same as the Chinese hero. He is also referred to as the -Contact-, one of the continuous reincarnations of Abel, the sole survivor of the Eldridge crash. Abel was the first being to make contact with the Wave Existence. Fei would be the final incarnation of Abel, for once the Wave Existence was freed, the gene pool returned to normal. He was dropped off in Lahan by Wiseman, who is also Kahn, his father, and Grahf (they share a similar relationship, as Fei and Id do). After the destruction of Lahan Village, Fei joined with Citan Uzuki and other allies to uncover the web of deception and manipulation surrounding Solaris and, ultimately, System Deus. Fei is able to (involuntarily) become Id, a very powerful character who is the product of Fei's pain and anguish at a critically young age.

Elhaym Van Houten (エレハイム・ヴァン・ホーテン Erehaimu Van Hōten^?), nicknamed Elly (エリィ Erii^?), is the young, skilled officer of the Solaris Military who is also the -Antitype- in this incarnation of Fei's life, just as she has been throughout the centuries on the planet (the Great Mother Sophia, Kim's wife Elly, etc.). She was created by the Wave Existence out of Abel's need for a mother. Elly was leading an operation to steal a top-secret experiment gear from the rival country Kislev, but was forced to crash-land in Lahan. Her encounter with Fei changes her life forever. Elly is an optimist, and wants to help Fei, despite the fact that he is a -Lamb-, and she cannot leave the military. She is a competent fighter with her rods, but she has powerful elemental ether, which makes her valuable to the party.

Citan Uzuki (ウヅキ・シタン Uzuki Shitan^?) is a doctor who lives up the mountain path from Lahan village with his wife, Yui, and his daughter, Midori. He is a Third-class Solarian born in Etrenank, and his real name is Hyuga Ricdeau (ヒュウガ・リクドウ Hyuuga Rikudou^?). While in Solaris, he had a troublesome life, until he went to the Jugend Military Academy thanks to his high intelligence and met Sigurd and Jessiah there. He then became a member of Jessiah's group (The Elements), along with Sigurd and Kahran Ramsus. After Sigurd and Jessie left Solaris, and Ramsus was promoted into a high Gebler Officer, he was appointed as a Solarian Guardian Angel, working to Emperor Cain and the Gazel directly. Later in an assault mission to Shevat which he led, he fought with Yui; however the two fell in love and there was some possibility that Hyuga ordered the retreat from Shevat partially because he had fallen for Yui. Since then, Citan promised Yui's grandfather, Wiseman Gaspar, to never use a sword to kill again. They then got married and had Midori. Citan later received instructions from Cain to watch over Fei (The Contact) to see if he would bring relief or destruction, which is when he assumed the name Citan and moved with his family to Lahan. He reports to Emperor Cain a few times over the course of the game.

Ricardo Banderas (リカルド・バンデラス Rikarudo Banderasu^?), nicknamed Rico (リコ Riko^?), is the massive demi-human and champion of gear battling. Rico is the massive champion of the Battling area in Norturne, the Imperial capital of Kislev. He has a sturdy reputation, and his size can be frightening. Despite being a prisoner, his lifestyle is superior to that of many nobles. Rico is one of the strongest characters, but one of the slowest. His attacks deal a lot of damage compared to any other character with citan Uzuki as an exception,which alone makes up for his speed.

Billy Lee Black (ビリー・リー・ブラック, Birī Rī Burakku^?) is introduced as a young, pacific priest of the Ethos Religion, and later is revealed as a member of the Etone branch, which job is to "clean" and "purge" the world from the Reapers, or -Wels-. He has a problematic relationship with his father Jessiah (Jessie), who used to be a member of the Elements, an elite unit within the Solaris military. Jessie later abandoned his post and left Solaris with his family, settling on a small island in the Aquvy area.

Once mistaken by Bart as a stuffed animal, Chu-Chu (チュチュ, Chu-Chu^?) was with Marguerite during the teenage girl's imprisonment in Fatima Castle. Her race once lived in the woods, but due to Solaris's activities, they became almost extinct. Some managed to escape to Shevat and live with Wiseman. Chu-Chu can grow to the size of a gear once the physical part of the limiter is removed. She can heal other gears, and doesn't need any fuel to fight. She has romantic interest for Fei but no one really notices and it spooked Fei at first.

Emeralda Kasim (エメラダ, Emerada^?) is a nanomachine colony built to aid the human race. Kim Kasim (Fei’s second known incarnation) created Emeralda during the Zeboim era by analyzing Elly’s gene pattern, and creating a nanomachine colony. At the time, Miang was manipulating the government, and wanted to reset the human evolutionary cycle by starting a worldwide nuclear war.

Krelian is the main antagonist of the game. His first mention is by a member of the Gazel Ministry, who says that Krelian is going to Aquvy in order to intercept a ship (the Thames) that has discovered the ruins of Zeboim. Within Zeboim lies Emeralda, the quintessential nanomachine creation. The Gazel Ministry, however, considers Krelian's search for Emeralda "exorbitant." Soon afterward, Krelian makes his first appearance in the game, aboard the Solaris ship Ezekiel. Krelian orders his test subjects, the Wels, to attack the Thames. Krelian is later seen reporting to the Gazel Ministry that he has obtained Emeralda; Krelian also reminds them that he revived them and will not take orders from them. In a later meeting with the Gazel, Krelian announces that he has gathered all the data that he needs from Emeralda, and so he does not care what happens to it.

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. In the beginning of the game, 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 leaves him and his friends with the ultimate fate of humanity resting on their shoulders. Along the way, Fei and his allies learn of the truth behind the history of the planet, a past involving extensive manipulation, and a being known as "Deus".

Development

Originally, Squaresoft had intended to call the game Project Noah. The name was later changed to Xenogears for unknown reasons. It was intended to be 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.

Audio

CREID

Soundtrack by Yasunori Mitsuda & Millennial Fair
Released	April 22, 1998
Recorded	Green Bird Studio, Tokyo
Genre	VGM, Celtic, Japanese
Length	49:01
Label	DigiCube

The music in Xenogears was composed by Yasunori Mitsuda who was made famous by his work on the Super Famicom title, Chrono Trigger. The 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 Yasunori Mitsuda was released as "Creid: Yasunori Mitsuda and Millennial Fair". 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.

Creid (Gaelic for "Believe") is a Celtic-style CD, with a multitude of instruments. There are vocal and instrumental songs including the Japanese versions of "Star of Tears" (track 2) and "Small of Two Pieces" (track 10). Maire Breatnach, known for her work in Final Fantasy IV: Celtic Moon, also contributed a great deal on this CD. Another notable musician on this album is Uilleann piper Davy Spillane, formerly of Moving Hearts and Riverdance.

"MELKABA"
"二つの羽根" (Two Wings)
"BALTO"
"CREID"
"DAJIL"
"光の階段" (Stairs of Light)
"神無月の人魚" (October Mermaid )
"春の子守歌" (Spring Lullaby)
"LAHAN"
"メビウス" (Small of Two Pieces - Möbius)

Reception

Reviews
Publication	Score
Allgame	4 out of 5
Edge	8 out of 10
Game Revolution	B+
GameSpot	9.0 out of 10 - Editors' Choice
IGN	9.5 out of 10 -

Xenogears maintains a 91% ratio on Game Rankings, and within the top 15 best-reviewed games on the Playstation. One criticism is the style of the second disc, where the use of the world map is restricted and the amount of cut scenes increases, possibly due to rushed development.

Legacy

While Xenogears has never had an official sequel or prequel, when Monolith Soft’s Xenosaga was first announced, there was wide speculation that it was a prequel. Tetsuya Takahashi was the director and writer for both Xenogears and Xenosaga, and notes "with our relation between Square, I think it is difficult for us to say it is a direct sequel or prequel."

On the connection between Xenogears and Xenosaga, Tetsuya Takahashi has stated:

It's probably more suitable to say that it follows the direction and style of Xenogears. 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.

References

^ Information from xgam.org's encyclopaedia (http://www.xgam.org/xenogears/encyclopaedia/index.php?topic=project_noah)
^ http://www.allgame.com/cg/agg.dll?p=agg&sql=1:14104
^ http://www.edge-online.co.uk/edgedb/search.php
^ http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/sony/xenogears
^ http://www.gamespot.com/ps/rpg/xenogears/review.html
^ http://uk.psx.ign.com/articles/152/152230p1.html
^ Information from xgam.org's "Xenogears UNCUT"
^ ^a ^b Sato, Ike. "We talk with the director of Xenosaga, Tetsuya Takahashi."

Xenogears

Small of Two Pieces

Can we ease the pain of those who lost?

Avspärrat område

“Xenogears” Quotation

Movie Quotation: Xenogears