The Complete Xenogears Reference Guide (Part Four)

[@Philemon_Logos]

The introduction of Renmazuo is a reference to the mecha anime Trider G7.

[@thesilenthills6801]

Billy and Jesse's names may be references to Billy the Kid and Jesse James, both famous American cowboys. Since they both use guns and have very cowboy/western themed designs. I also posted some more possible Panzer World Galient references in a previous video, but it looks like youtube may have deleted it and I'm not sure it went through? I didn't want to spam a comment if it was. But just in case - The Gears being excavated from underground ruins could be reference to the same thing in Panzer World Galient (you can trigger a scene in Dazil that shows a unique image of it). In episode 6 of PWG it's revealed that the panzers everyone uses are also excavated from ancient ruins underground of a past advanced civilization.

[@ardith]

The only other things I think that you missed that are anime related is that the Gears should have an accessory available called the Magnetic Coat that increases response speed which is a Gundam 0079 reference to them applying a magnetic coat to the RX-78 so that Amuro Ray would stop wrecking it as he piloted it because it couldn't keep up with his reaction time. Also the Buntline thing seems to also be a reference to Ougon Yuusha Goldran episode 40 when Captain Shark and Advenger combine to form *checks notes* HYPER GALACTICA BUSTER MODE. The Yuusha series is a spinoff of Transformers, which is why the mech transforms into a gun.

[@TJTheEmperor]

Both of these are great suggestions. I’m such a big fan of the original Gundam that I’m actually kind of embarrassed that I missed the Magnetic Coat - I was so focused on the actual game script that item names didn’t even cross my radar, haha. As for Goldran, I have the entire series on my hard drive but have yet to watch it (the only Yuusha show I’ve watched is, of course, GaoGaiGar). As obscure as that reference may be, Takahashi is such a massive robot otaku that I don’t doubt he pulled it from Goldran. The timing also lines up, as Goldran was still airing during Xenogears’ early development

[@fenix0seraph]

An addendum to your point about Shevat being a reference to the Kingdom of Zeal - I think you mentioned before that Masato Kato, who directed and wrote much of Chrono Trigger, was one of the major writers for this game. I believe Kato was also directly in charge of the writing for most of the Shevat portions of the game too.

[@gregtroyan]

Great work as always. I did a video recently ranking all 11 Chrono Games and got some flack for including Xenogears in the list, so I appreciate the commentary about it's origins as a proposed CT sequel in this vid. Gave me a sense of solidarity. That and the Rainbow album. Looking forward to the next vid in the series. Keep up the good work!

[@TJTheEmperor]

I just added your Chrono ranking video to my watch later queue!

[@gregtroyan]

@@TJTheEmperor Thank you, kind sir. I hope you enjoy it even half as much as I enjoy your content. Cheers mate!

[@Phil_597]

Subbed and can't wait to check out your vid and channel. Xenogears has Fei Ayla-dancing in front of that mirror in Shevat. Ignoring all the other similarities and references, that alone is enough to formally qualify as a Chrono game. I'd say the recent Sea of Stars is heavily a Chrono game as well, not just in style, themes etc.. It also has Seraï doing the Ayla dance in the ending!

[@WaxWing_]

Only thing I can find for Henry Mingas is Charlie Mingus, a jazz player but I doubt its connection tbh. For the dragon scrolls and plasma legend part, I feel like its wordplay, like dragon quest or something dunno.

[@couchpotato3197]

Zeboim might be a reference to the mecha anime Megazone 23. It had a destroyed Tokyo underneath the surface. It seems like a stretch but both have extremely important green haired girls in the center. Megazone has the AI who mascarades as an idol that controls the whole city Esmerelda is made of technology with green hair.

[@zigludosama]

Ocelot caught me so offguard LMAO

[@TJTheEmperor]

THEN MY MISSION WAS A SUCCESS

[@nohar9953]

I never caught onto the Vance and Franz switch being done for an SNL reference. It's some explanation at least.

[@TJTheEmperor]

To be fair, I don't know if that's the definitive reason why they made the change. But it's the only one that made sense to me.

[@MooseheadStudios]

enjoyed it very much. your effort and care is great. the SNL and star trek reference are correct. Tj you are legit.

[@couchpotato3197]

You missed a big Star Wars one. Visually Shevat looks like Cloud City.

[@jackylee5850]

The first time I heard that Star Trech reference I knew it had to have been a western only reference, since Star Trek isn't particularly big in Japan, it's very unlikely for Takahashi or Tanaka to have chosen it as a reference, one that the average Japanese audience aren't familiar with. On the other hand, for a Trekkie in the west seeing the term "positronic brain" automatically connects the dots to TNG's Data.

[@couchpotato3197]

Star Trek would have been known to scifi and mecha anime fans in Japan. There were a lot of references to it in Dirty Pair, Evangelion. And even Kingdom Hearts BBS for videogames.

[@anthonyman256]

I keep hearing xenogears was at one point going to be the next final fantasy game. This video says it was at one point going to be a Chrono trigger game😮

[@TJTheEmperor]

Believe it or not, it was at one point going to be BOTH. Tetsuya Takahashi initially pitched it as a potential story for FF7, but Square executives passed on it because it was too dark. After that, it was retooled into a potential sequel to Chrono Trigger, but then it was decided to make it its own IP instead.

[@awildcyclistappears]

10:30 @TJTheEmperor お前は、銃は (You, the guns you know...) 人殺しの道具だと言うが違う. (You're being wrong saying that guns are tools for killing people) 『銃』が人を殺すんじゃない。(Guns don't kill people) 『人』が人を殺すんだ (People kill people) The line is the same in japanese in fact. I am torn on this since the day I played the game, because it's true that a weapon itself can't kill a person. It must be used by another person with the intent of killing another. But, having such ease of access to guns like in the US it's bound to cause shootings lol. Let's give credit to Takahashi though - a human who understands a value of life won't use a weapon to take life of an innocent (stuff you can't tell about police around the world lol).

[@TJTheEmperor]

I appreciate you translating this for me. Regardless of how ambivalent I am on the line itself, it is, at least to me, significant to know that either Takahashi or Tanaka wrote it, and wasn’t put in as a stupid reference from the translator

[@metallicsnake.]

FIRST

[@gregtroyan]

Beat me to it.