Xenogears Story Analysis (Ep.1) | State of the Arc Podcast

[@DorfarenG]

Story analysis of Xenogears?! The biggest task the internet has ever seen!

[@blobeyeordie]

That award would probably go to the Analysis the FF7 Remake...at least the most risky award anyways. Still, I hope they do it

[@michaelsaurusrox325]

@@blobeyeordie With all due respect the story of xenogears is much more complex than ff7. Ff7 was definitely executed better, but it didn’t need a companion textbook to understand the story.

[@blobeyeordie]

@@michaelsaurusrox325 Yes, of course. Ive played through the entirety of the Xeno-series many times and am still learning/understanding new things. My comment was in the context of how large and divisive(amongst fans) the Remake is and has become. Large as in how many parts it will be and how convoluted and questionable they can make things. They are afterall going to rewrite or remake(pun intended) the FF7 Ultimania to fit the changes in

[@michaelsaurusrox325]

@@blobeyeordie Oh yeah I get that. Yeah sorry in that context you’re totally right.

[@blobeyeordie]

@@michaelsaurusrox325 All good, I probably couldve done a better job replying lol

[@blorenze]

This game broke my brain in early adolescence. It took years and a few playthroughs to develop a tenuous grasp on the plot and themes. I look forward to revisiting this with you, and not without a small sense of dread.

[@mitchdouglas9844]

For maximum realism, you should make the 2nd episode about ten minutes and very quickly summarise everything using powerpoint

[@CasenSperry]

Haha, I had to read this twice to get the joke

[@georgehatzimanolakis1904]

second disc, you mean?

[@savedr]

😏

[@hikiko4615]

It's a podcast?

[@GhostTwinkek]

🤣

[@omniaesthetic1256]

Xenogears was a big, big part of my childhood. My best friend from middle school till today and I played through it together many times. Thanks so much for this series!

[@havocbringer2100]

Man I wish I had someone to play this game with.

[@ecosmith7852]

Same, great game

[@xenocross5129]

I would love to have someone to play it with as well. Maybe we should make a Xeno fan hang out and play group :D

[@Jed_the_Malamute]

Xenoblade 3 is coming out on the 29th my guy! It’s basically a Xenogears 10 with an emphasis on exploration and a mmo inspired combat system .

[@xenocross5129]

@@Jed_the_Malamute Let's not jump to conclusions, before we play it. Although I know what you mean, so far it looks extremely similar to XenoGears.

[@ravset]

I really believe it's a story to be taken seriously as mentioned at the start of the video. The depht of it is really rare as there are layers upon layers of symbols, references and subtle messages you can make a whole dissertation about it. It has influenced the way I see the real world forever, affecting my life decisions even today.

[@shelterfromcold8620]

I agree with everything you said , very few games leave that kind of reflection. Nier is another game that I put into this same category. Multi dimensional.

[@MillenniumEarl014]

The best thing about the game is that it isn't hard to understand.

[@JohnSmith-hs1hn]

@@shelterfromcold8620 The first Nier?

[@jaccobhanley]

​@@shelterfromcold8620 Totally. it feels cathartic. For me those games are: nier xenogears silent hill 2 planescape torment pathologic knights of the old republic two dark souls 1

[@Ichijoumi]

But the tropes of using religious references when is just to make like more psychological points, it should just be take as lore points with no true correlation with its rl counterparts aside the gnosticism stuff, they went full on with that in the game

[@eastcoasttone3952]

I feel like my experience playing Xenogears for the first time is gonna be so much better because of these podcasts. Thanks for posting!

[@SharinganSora95]

Same. I think I’m gonna give it a shot as well.

[@nathansmith3168]

I bought the game as a young man, but I actually mistook it for another game. I got home, put it in my PS1 and now, I don't Ever regret buying it. It's my favorite game of all time! The story, the music, the emotion, the heart, and the action is amazing! There are certain things that may throw you off but it's a great game! I hope you and all who play have a great experience playing, Xenogears.

[@throwawaymcgee5883]

I don't think I've even been as excited for a game as I have for this podcast!

[@xcaluhbration]

There's a Xenogears podcast that's already on KZbin also.

[@ravset]

In the past I used to think the way this game affected my life was something rare, now I see that this game is even more important than I thought with all the people discussing and getting deeper into it's universe and symbols. A true masterpiece in my opinion.

[@YuukitheMighty1]

So freaking excited for this. I bet this is gonna be the longest podcast series in this channel. There's so much to discuss in terms of lore, story, characters, setting, and so much development history

[@hotman718]

Nice to see this game still has a thriving community of fans who still indulge and play it to this day.

[@RAS556]

Awesome, guys! This is truly THE game that deserves this treatment. No games story and perhaps to story since Xenogears comes close to Xenogears. It is still the future of video game storytelling. Unless developers (who posses heart, soul and an education in literature, philosophy and esoterica) look back and study Xenogears, this game will remain the best story game for another 25 years.

[@ChrisLeeX]

More like another 100 years

[@FoNgThOnG]

I see Xenogears, I click.

[@dariusmiller1792]

Facts

[@chrisyleenz]

Yes, we click

[@chancebrady2]

Same

[@thiagogirello]

Damn! Finally!! I even called 2 friends over to play Xenogears with me while we listen to the State of the arc - Xenogears series. We are calling Xenogears game club snd just created 2 Xenogears shirts as well. This will be neat! Once more, thanks guys to talk about one of the best games ever.

[@gatst7680]

You gonna do Xenosaga after?

[@thiagogirello]

@@gatst7680 I don't know, we have a looong way to go until the end of all Xenogears episodes hahaha.

[@gatst7680]

@@thiagogirello True lol

[@verbaljudogrip]

Mike's arms are racing his hair to get bigger, faster.

[@XenosbioZ]

Holy cow, love the production on these podcasts... and its being done weekly now! You guys are also super well-spoken and im so happy with the way you guys are pushing for the profoundness of video game story telling! Thank you so much and keep up the truly great work!

[@bebopobama4686]

This was a brilliant episode. The "aizuchi" segment REALLY explains the way Kojima does Solid Snake's writing during the codec calls. It's kinda funny because Snake's responses have become a meme in the west, but it's cool to see there's much deeper meaning behind it.

[@jobo3244]

I thought this too at first, then i thought about it a little bit more and as it turns out, Snake Pliskin from escape from new york has the exact same speech pattern, even on that axis. It comes off a little different there, because sometimes, rather than just a response, snak(both of them)e will often add a little bit of aditude to the response. This is a thing i think that would have been addressed by well done voice acting, too

[@bluespaceman7937]

It's good to know about aizuchi

[@Kenshiro3rd]

The weird part is, it never struck me as weird, as I’ve always been an active listener who does this kind of thing. XD

[@Ston3D.FreeN7]

Honestly though with Snake he's in highly dangerous situations so repeating what is said to him is well kind of necessary.

[@999a0s]

deeper meaning...?

[@Valician]

Not only was it a masterpiece even in its incomplete release, it is far and wide the greatest game of all time.

[@xenocross5129]

I agree. For some reason no game or any other form of story outside of the Xeno series does it for me. Even amongst the series Gears is special.

[@ayaXH-]

One of them

[@miiks...5...3...9...]

The most important part about "Yhvh/Deus" as it is portrayed in all of the Xeno games is really that it is always a man-made construct. It has really much less to do with religious commentary and more with a portrayal of the megalomania of man who believe themselves to act out of righteous reasons, represented through the gnostic lesser deity. The god-machine meme appears in all of the Xeno games, since Takahashi can only write one story told slightly different each time.

[@xviinaichi3793]

Do you really think that last part?

[@miiks...5...3...9...]

@@xviinaichi3793 All 3 series start with people finding the Monolith from Space Odyssey in the exact same lake in Kenya and use it to power a giant mech, also earth "explodes" and now there are android waifus that embody some spiritual mumbo jumbo. It all follows the perfect works formula and if it doesn't than the sequel makes it so that it actually does.

[@havocbringer2100]

That moment when Miiks comments on a Xenogears video and people think he's just another random guy.

[@nohar9953]

@@havocbringer2100 Doesn't mean you can't poke holes in his comments though. Personally, I believe there's some merit to the claim that Takahashi had one really great idea, but it doesn't matter who says it.

[@miiks...5...3...9...]

@@nohar9953 This. My autistic ramblings have no more value than others. Just like me some Xenogears and shitposting, simple as.

[@Vyron66]

I've seen reviews of this game and they, at least, last 40-60 min, by skipping A LOT of information. This is a big task. Hands down for doing this!

[@ChaosAngelZero]

I love when Shevat's theme is used as the background music. :)

[@nathansmith3168]

They got the whole soundtrack in the background 😁👍🏽👍🏽

[@OniLink99999]

What a great start to this podcast series! One of my favourite things about Resonant Arc is that you guys subvert the commonly repeated narrative in games media that "gaming's only now finally growing up" and "games are only now finally telling deep, meaningful stories" - disregarding the immense efforts of developers like Square in the 80s, 90s, and 00s to build bold and engaging narratives. It's because you take these games seriously, and critique them appropriately, that you are able to explore their depth, and represent it to your viewers/listeners =) Thanks for a great episode! And congratulations to Casen on the new baby =D

[@M4ruta]

OH MY GOD! It's actually happening! Considering that FF8 took you guys about 8+ hours, this one will probably be around 120 hours or so. Roughly.

[@bediahvandougaljones]

With how playing xenogears is limited (ps3, psp, or original console) I have been craving the ability to play the game for many years now. Thankfully I’ve stumbled upon your guys podcast and there seems to be a lot of parts to the analysis of xenogears, so I hope this helps ease the hunger I have for experiencing this wonderful game again.

[@Leonhart-VIII]

This channel is a precious gem, it deserves so much more subscribers!

[@edhernandez4344]

after finishing Xenogears, I felt empty playing any other videogame. You could say Xenogears ended my videogame era. No other game can beat the story telling. As much as I would have liked for a complete disc 2, I like how it fits the narrative of the story and see it as symbolic. I keep my fingers crossed for an 1000 episode anime series 🥺🥺

[@gotd4m]

One of my all time favorites. This is the game that showed me what kind of narrative rpgs are capable of. The soundtrack is one of the best out there to me. I still find myself humming City of burning sands to myself.

[@QuadraQuack]

I must say this is one of the best videos/podcasts I’ve seen on KZbin in a long time. Production value, the topics for discussion, etc are all top notch. Very excited for the future of this channel, and excited to play XenoGears (finally!) with you guys.

[@RetroFrito]

Resonant Arc I just wanted to say I really appreciate you guys putting this KZbin channel together, putting so much of your time and effort into making it what it is. I have enjoyed hours and hours of content on this channel, and I know so much goes into it. Thank you for all the hard work and for putting it out there for the community.

[@vicdaman]

Holy shit my favorite video game of all time is getting this podcast treatment!? So much hyyyyype!!!

[@leoseanster]

Xenogears is arguably my favourite story-centric JRPG, ever. Love it that you guys are gonna be covering it - extensively - and perhaps giving us some insights that even longtime fans may find enlightening. By the way, your section on Aizuchi made me laugh so much, at one point I really did think that Fei had sub-par intelligence as well.

[@dominicanbananas]

I remember playing this game back when I was 16. I might have not understood the story completely, but I do remember how this game made me feel. There was something profound there just beneath the surface reaching out to me. To this day I believe that the story that Xenogears told is on of the greatest stories ever told in the history of story telling.

[@12ealDealOfficial]

Ayyyy! I'm back on the hype train for this! Can't wait to hear you two dive in to Xenogears when I get off work. I'll be back! Enjoy this comment for the algorithm.

[@Crimsonrain13]

Right? I saw this video pop early today and I work nights. It was hard to save it for a time i could listen to it in full

[@12ealDealOfficial]

@@Crimsonrain13 Admittedly, I never got around to watching this. Just finished Xenoblade Chronicles though and- in the absence of a long retrospective on that game- came here to see the connections.

[@Crimsonrain13]

@@12ealDealOfficial it's been a wild ride my dude. I hope you enjoy it when you get the chance to finish it.

[@p.d.692]

I still have an old issue of of expert gamer magazine which had a comprehensive breakdown of the ff tactics job system. Whats cool about this one is that it had a Xenogears ad which showed Fei infront of Weltall and had the caption "Stand tall and shake the heavens." This game is far from perfect, yet few jrpgs can come close to this masterpiece.

[@shauncordier1264]

I remember that ad, iconic.

[@Ston3D.FreeN7]

Oh shit I remember this.

[@emiliosantos2728]

Played as a young teen like 8 times. I remember the story giving me dreams it was so deep. Still waiting to see fei in something like smash bros or some other game top notch martial artist. I hope there's an HD remaster idk

[@blueclaws9894]

I honestly hope there is never a remake. It's been too long and unless the original crew took the job, I wouldn't want to change a thing about it, which WOULD happen with a remake. Besides, other than graphics, the game stands the test of time as an excellent game that is still enjoyed decades after its release.

[@emiliosantos2728]

@@blueclaws9894 I'd only like 2 see it in HD. I don't mean like they did final fantasy 7, I wouldn't want them to alter the content either. I just think it'd be sweet to see the special moves and gears looking all shiny.

[@maxscripture]

Xenogears brings back memories of the good ole days of gaming. One of my favorites that I still go back and play

[@twanp5460]

One of the best rpgs ever in my opinion and would love a remastered version

[@skeletankmcgraw7343]

I'm sorry, but as someone who played and loved it when it originally released (and even still have my original first print copy), this game really needs a full on remake. I mean, just listening to this first episode here points out exactly why this is the case. The game is just plain incomplete, the English translation is a mess, and most of all; Takahashi was overall not happy with the end result. My hope for awhile now has been that since Nintendo and SE have sort of re-kindled their relationship in recent years since the Switch released, that SE would allow Nintendo/Monolithsoft to license out the Xenogears IP so that Takahashi (and his wife) could completely remake/re-imagine the game from the ground up. Basically they could take the same characters, world, and main story beats; and then morph it into a fresh new game. Think of building the game to something a bit more open world akin to the Xenoblade games (particularly Xenoblade Chronicles X since that game had mech gameplay it it as well).

[@coltdeedede]

Gotta come in here to just say I love how much fun Casen was having this podcast haha his references and laughter with Mike brings out a smile while I'm working away/listening in.

[@TylerNessss]

30 episode Xenogears analysis, letsss gooo!!

[@linkzz00]

I played Xeno as a kid and didn't quite grasp it's meaning all the time as a 16yr old. I played it again last month. It is quite ambitious! I couldn't wait to finish it so I could look up something like "Xenogears explained" even though the game explaining most of everything. I stumbled upon this massive series and, at first, I was thinking NOPE - but after half of this episode I will watch them all on background during the car rides home. Thanks!

[@TheMCMaffyx]

Great video! I started Xenogears for a few weeks and almost finished it. I also read how Yasunori Mitsuda nearly worked himself to death. The good thing is that after that he took more care about his health!

[@TheBeird]

You know fellas, if you want your audience to get clued up on some of the concepts from Xenogears, you could always point them in the direction of a KZbin channel called RELIGION FOR BREAKFAST. I think you'd like him, the guy has a scholarly approach to comparative religion, and has broached topics like KABBALAH and GNOSTICISM. They're concise vids that give a good overview of the subject.

[@michaelcoraybrown]

Phenomenal resource. THANK YOU!

[@BaoZakeruga]

2 hour Xenogears story analysis? I'm here for it.

[@RikusonOne]

Of course you are >.>

[@reznornin6915]

I wish they could make a xenogears series on Netflix. Starting at episode 1 with the zohar being found

[@Oddragnar]

They'd turn it into woke garbage

[@xenocross5129]

A part of me really wants it, but I know they'd ruin it. If it ever gets adapted it has to be by someone who truly understand not only the messages and themes, but what it means to others. And for this story, I don't know if there's anyone that can do that.

[@itisyerdad]

I think Apple would be the streaming platform that would actually do the story justice. It'd have a huge budget and a lot of heft behind it. It bums me out that Apple's TV product has low sub rate/name recognition when they're making fewer, but higher quality shows and films than the other platforms.

[@craigmoen1430]

You guys are nuts. No big American companies should be anywhere near this project, not now, or any time soon. It should be produced in Japan and licensed out later.

[@patrickholleman9323]

Then you have people like me who take videogame storytelling TOO seriously.

[@patrickholleman9323]

@@38kob I'd be a lucky man.

[@danmaz3871]

I hope you'll be the secret guest.

[@georgehatzimanolakis1904]

no such thing

[@MillenniumEarl014]

@@patrickholleman9323 When are you going to be a guest in this Xenogears analysis? It's not an analysis without you talking about Xenogears my man. Because I can already see Casen and Mike missing or misunderstanding things and rambling about it for 30 minutes haha I love them tho!

[@Y-two-K]

@@MillenniumEarl014 don't you dare diss my boys

[@Xenji5]

So glad to see coverage for this game on the channel, I am excited to get your take on the game and feel encouraged to dive into one of my favorite worlds again. I wonder if now as an adult it will be as impactful and how much more I’ll understand.

[@terryandrewdavis]

most of the ps 1 and ps 2 storytelling, arrived with greater impact than most of the games on all the consoles to come later. there's a lot to unpack associated with that and I'm not the guy to do it. that being said, Xenogears was one of my favorite titles, the story was a formative part of my teenage years. I still use the arch badguy's obscure name (Krellian) on MMO's and stuff like that; so it left its mark on me. I def feel lucky to have been in my young adult years and had Xenogears as a really fun memory and I hope the development team can read this!

[@EdreesesPieces]

I'm so glad I started my Xenogears playthrough last week. I just finished the Kislev section and made it on the Thames. I havent played it in 15 years and I'm excited to hear your guys analysis as I play as I'm sure I will have a much better understanding of the story and it's themes in doing so. Can't wait for the rest and really enjoyed the discussion so far!

[@patriciaconde]

I’m really looking forward to this game!! I already played through the forest jiji Btw, big BIG thanks to the translator, f***ing legend. I want to add that, as an European (non native english speaker) I’m learning a lot about nuances of the English language. Thanks for explaining why “God, it’s locked” sounds weird. In general, since I speak a bit of Japanese, I tend to use the translation as support while trying to get the intent behind the words, or the emocional background, from the voice acting. Now I’m playing the USA version of Xenogears, all in English, so I’m a bit concerned about not noticing the translation problems and getting a wrong idea in some of the dialogs. But it looks like the translator did an amazing job so hopefully not :)

[@Hassler247]

Excellent job on this Intro episode. Did want to mention there is a KZbin Channel by the name of "Crossknights" who does a very good, and entertaining Let's Play of this game. I know they will be playing through this game as well, but for those that have never played this and don't have access to the game I thought it might be good to mention so you could watch up to the point that they are playing through before next episode. Plus he is entertaining as I mentioned and he is very good at not giving spoilers. Worth a shout out for sure:)

[@Crimsonrain13]

This specific video series of the two of you breaking down Xenogears in full is my KZbin content dream. I'm so excited... That being said with the breadth of content you both will be taking in and analyzing and breaking down, maybe the show needs to be biweekly instead of of weekly.

[@JesusMejia-hf6li]

Hahaha aw man I just got out of black moon forest, and I thought I was behind😂😂. First time ever playing Xenogears!

[@joepeezy4sheezy]

Will you guys be talking about the correlations between Xenogears and the first xenoblade? I sure hope so.

[@VivversX]

Now THIS is what I was waiting for! Super excited to get into this!

[@tommyhatcher3399]

Xenogears is the future of gaming. We don't live in the future. The future is still to come and Xenogears is it.

[@jeffreymclean3358]

I feel like I just stumbled on a gold mind with finding these series of videos. Thanks guys for doing these!!

[@GracelessTarnished]

Greatest story in videogame history.

[@PaulRockey]

Agreed. My favorite game of all time, period.

[@DaftOwl15]

I recently finished playing Xenogears and was recommended this podcast. I'm EXTREMELY happy that this exists!

[@redliteyt]

It actually won! Talk about wild cards. Glad that Casen got a chance to play this

[@kal4093]

This is what I've been waiting for...

[@CGrandmaison]

Thank you. This was the most impactful story of any game I've ever played. I felt enlightened after finishing and it stuck with me for a really long time. I've not had the patience to replay so I'm glad you are doing this video.

[@DeekerJones]

One of my favorite genres of storytelling has always been the 'Lost History' narrative. This game introduced me to the concept for the first time. I love games like Too Human and Xenogears that explore the idea that our old myths are based on a hidden reality that is simply lost to time. I guess I just really love the idea that there is so much more to understand that if we were ever told the truth it would be so fantastic as to be unbelievable.

[@robertoszek]

Congrats Casen on your third child! You're a beast! It's my first time playing Xenogears as well, so I'll kind of miss not hearing his first thoughts and impressions of the opening on the next episode. Maybe he could touch on his initial thoughts when he returns? I'd love to hear them and I'm curious to compare them to my own experience, being a first playthrough and all. Huge respect and thank you for the series!

[@v.m.a.d.l.e.6972]

This game and Xenosaga made me curious about Gnosticism, which i knew nothing at all about, like most people. The first time i played it as a teen, i didn't understand what was going on at all, so to me was just a cool mecha rpg. It wasn't until years later when i replayed it with more knowledge and maturity, that i was able to grasp what the story was about. The cross symbol is much older than christianity and has been used in many cultures around the world to represent either the Sun or the Northern/Southern Cross. I think the first games where you kill God (that i know of) are the Shin Megami Tensei series (which do reference christianity), and is usually more related to the concept of Demiurge or false god, which is also used on the Xeno games.

[@ottolehto]

Xenogears is my favourite game of all time, despite its flaws. Looking forward to hearing your continued discussion.

[@hian]

Xenogears is so dense. Good luck and safe journey. Don't play it on acid.

[@pickelsvonbrine]

It really is. I just wish disc two was more. :( but they ran out of time.

[@Hassler247]

Lol I'm just imagining getting stuck in Nortune prison (D-block) while tripping...might be a little intense hahaha

[@Y-two-K]

Man, video games while tripping just weird me out. I got a stick to nature, movies, or music. Especially if I’m Trippin super hard.

[@hian]

@@Y-two-K I played Rez while tripping on mushrooms once. I still struggle to decide whether it was a good or bad experience (・・;)))

[@armyofninjas9055]

You guys act like psychadelics are this massive thing... Bad trips come from YOU. Not your environment.

[@ItsAnEndlessWorld]

Time for me to kick back and watch episode 1-21. Xenogears is my all-time favorite video game so I'm looking forward to this.

[@jnbrhatesu]

I have known of Aizuchi for awhile, but haven't fully understood it until I heard your explanation. The biggest example that comes up to my mind is in Kojima games and Metal gear where snake would repeat what he heard constantly in a gravelly voice.

[@patty1004]

The lvl of depth of this game is on another level questioning everything in so different ways. The opus magnus of rpgs

[@sharksmate]

I've always loved the in depth analysis of these old retro games that you guys bring to the table. It's such a level of detail that I didn't know I wanted until I got it. It's what makes your discussions on video games so great. Always a pleasure with you guys 🙂

[@miss_venus]

After previously watching your other Xenogears review, analysis and discussion videos, the game definitely seems profound. Almost like a hidden gem, so I’m excited for what’s to come! ✨

[@samuelrainville9219]

My heart skipped a beat when this video poped up! thank you guys!

[@dariusmiller1792]

Same

[@nateputerbaugh5709]

As you guys bring up "what would this game have been like with a budget" it'd be interesting at some point to bring up at least a discussion of what happened with Xenosaga HAVING that budget at first

[@cryoforceyeet8893]

I just completed Xenogears today, now im having my after play watch craze

[@otakudaikun]

You just earned a sub. Very professional^^

[@nickyrod22]

SO stoked for this!

[@nathansmith3168]

Love the Wiseman profile pic! 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@rinaldus4512]

I have to comment and say thanks SO MUCH for this format of podcast. I've been trying for so long to move away from gaming news podcasts and move more into like, evergreen theme and story discussion. To the point where I even thought about making my own solo podcast to jump into things that have been on my own mind about games and stories and narratives that I love. Definitely got yourself a faithful listener here, and absolutely pumped to go through your back catalog! You guys are awesome and well-researched, and clearly have a solid understanding of narrative and these really important foundation layers of the JRPG genre. It's awesome and keep it up!!

[@ravset]

Even though it's my favority story of all time, I'm very careful when suggesting it to someone else. Xenogears is very specific even with the cliches we've seen over and over again with the rise of JRPGs popularity. But as you guys said the masterpiece is in the nuances and details of the story, so not everyone will have the patience, especially nowadays to dive into it. I was a teenager when I first played it over 20 years ago and as a person which enjoyed philosophy from a very young age this was just amazing, I got deep into it, trying to understand every reference and associate it with my own experiences in life in a way no game has done to me ever since. All of this combined with psychology, religion and science in a time where no one from my close circle had any idea of concepts such as anima and animus, Id and Ego, nanotechnology and so many other elements used to build the universe of Xenogears, made it the most amazing experience I've had not only in gaming but in life at the time. So this might not happen at all today, when a lot those concepts are known to a lot of people.

[@panzerknacker1205]

Truly amazing that a game is still being analyzed and discussed with such depth more than 20 years after it’s release. I have played through it a number of times and now maybe I should again.

[@kais2078]

I am so glad that there's someone doing this kind of thing. I started Xenogears about a month ago. I'm not that far into it yet but it already is very clear to me that this is a game that warrants discussions and deep-dives and criticisms. As a writer myself, I completely agree with the sentiment that criticism is absolutely necessary for a medium to grow. I'm so looking forward to following this along as I play the game.

[@Evanuell]

I can't believe I just found this. My brother had shared the podcast on Spotify. And I tweeted so much about what you guys said in the beginning and I AM HOOKED. I'm from Asia by the way and I just wanna say, Xenogears molded me into the person and gamer that I am today

[@lukathart]

I was thinking back on my love for this series (inclunding xenosaga and blade) just a couple days ago and was fortunate enough to find this analysis on the same channel I went back when I first beat xenogears, ten years ago. Thank you for this, looking foward to watch the next episodes!

[@Ch0c0b0]

Mike and Casen, on April 7th 2018, there was a 20th Anniversary of Xenogears live concert in Japan that was streamed. You had to have paid for a ticket to view the stream of course and it was in a weird hour of the day for the U.S, but someone uploaded the footage on youtube and I managed to save the audio before the video was taken down. I’ve since lost the computer that had the mp3 of the concert but I do still have the audio burnt onto CDs. It wont necessarily contribute to any discussions about the plot of the game but I believe Mitsuda himself was present at the concert and offered some things to say in japanese between certain songs. If you’re at all interested I’d like to find a way to get my “bootleg” to you, mail/email or otherwise. Let me know!

[@michaelcoraybrown]

I'd love that! If you want to send an email, hit us up at [e-mail]

[@Strasza377]

I'm actually close to finishing a replay of Xenogears (haven't played it since college) and had this podcast come up via the almighty KZbin algorithm. Looking forward to hearing more!

[@ThePunchening]

As a long-time fan of Takahashi and Tanaka's works (Xenogears especially), thank you for all the time spent tackling this literal bear. I recognize that I'm more than a year late, but all the same: I thoroughly enjoyed the analysis, and I look forward to hearing what you both have to say about the rest of the game. A good friend of mine floated your recent Xenosaga Episode I podcast my way (which is why I'm here now). I figure I should return the favor in some way: Have you gentlemen considered doing an analysis of Legend of Dragoon?

[@jonathandiosa5739]

For those who don't know they have a 3 part analysis series on Xenogears from a few years back with the guy sitting on the left. Probably the best I've ever seen.

[@maratholbap6159]

I finished this game a few days ago and found this videos while I was playing it. now that I finished it, started watching :)

[@SaintJimmy36]

Awesome first episode! Looking forward to this series. I was a fan of Xenoblade but Mike is the one who got me to play Xenogears and I think it's still the best video game story I've ever experienced. Interesting that Casen used the term "logos" near the end of the conversation because that term is important to the lore of Xenoblade 2, Takahasi's most recent game. It's the true name of one of the main antagonists.

[@neoman285]

You could absolutely say that it criticizes the popular Christian idea of god, but not the mystic Christian concept of god (Deus vs Wave Existence, anthropomorphized vs higher dimensional, external vs internal). Great video you guys, first Nier Replicant, now Xenogears, amazing! I could listen to you guys forever.

[@firemeyer1256]

This is amazing, thank you for taking the time to do this!! Playing Xenogears for my first time now, and will definitely be following your other videos for other games!!

[@B3TZ333]

Hands down my favorite podcast. Keep up the great work and boy am I excited for this new analysis. Going to be a long one and I can't wait.

[@Akrymir]

This is gonna be amazing. Couldn't ask for a better group doing the analysis or a more deserving title.

[@FranklinGervacio]

I was 8 years old when I played this game. It was my Christmas gift in 1998 that I picked out with my dad and I fondly remember playing it non stop all the way until I got Bart's Xenogear and then I accidentally moved my controller out of the port while saving and poof my save data was gone. I was just a kid, but even then I was so impressed with the beautiful music, the giant world and the awesome giant robots that would fuel my obsession for anything Gundam later in life. I wholeheartedly agree that Xenogears is rough around the edges. I would love for you to not only do a story analysis of this game, but all the games in the Xeno series. Xenoblade and Xenosaga are so interesting in their own right.

[@rawrchanmode]

Really excited to see you guys covering this game! Mike's Xenogears review is actually what first introduced me to this channel back in 2017. Never got around to completing the game so I'm looking forward to playing through it with you guys

[@huhhhh963]

I was so hype when I saw the thumbnail of the next series! Predicting a 10-13 Episode Series. Let’s go!

[@tearzofthefallen6586]

I think Takahashi has crafted the absolute best stories in gaming. In terms of the lore, the unique settings, and the intricate character writing, no game Ive played has been close to how good the Xeno series as a whole has managed to be. I really hope that the upcoming Xenoblade games can tie in Xenosaga to their lore in a more overt way. Completing Takahashi's story vision would be a dream come true.

[@MrFraiche]

1:13:32 That's when you know you're working on something special. The depth of this game is unreal. I am blown away but also not surprised it took 20 episodes. An absolute masterpiece 25 years ago was created. This game does not get the recognition it deserves. The game was a religious experience. It honestly deserves to win a Pulitzer Prize.

[@zackgordon3068]

Let's go! Never played Xenogears before, so I'm interested to see how this goes. What is the best platform to play this game on now? Also, these first episodes are actually my favorite so far. I love getting to know about these creators more and learning about dev history. Sometimes the story of the developers is just as interesting as the story of the game itself!

[@Hassler247]

If any chance you still have a ps2, or can come across one in my opinion that would be your best bet. Has a feature to smooth over graphics and speed up load times on ps1 games

[@xenogears4398]

This is probably going to be the best podcast ever but 24 episodes holy crap!

[@apnwu369]

Nice I recently started playing through this in Japanese. It is one of my favorite games. I played through it like 10 years ago so probably have forgotten most of it at this point. Hopefully I can play through it along with you guys.

[@michaeloconnor1281]

See, the game wasn't released in Australia during the 90's and goddamn I'm still salty as fuck about that, but I'll jump on this one. Figure out a copy and ways to play it. It's a good time. 10 year old me was so ready in the 90s and the bastards never gave it to us. Thanks for the episode guys

[@Windraesa]

I'm in England so very hard to get a copy of also. You could consider emulating the game on a PC and also buying a modern Square product of similar price that you have no intention of playing as an ethical way to play the game.

[@danielostrowski856]

It’s never been released in Europe either but it’s pretty simple to make a US PSN account and buy it on PS3 if you have one. On the other hand I think a lot of people recommend emulating it for the sake of having means to counteract sluggish gameplay