Fair assessment of Xenogears. The only part I'd disagree with is the care when handling mature themes; a lot of the content is there for shock value. Like the Gears crucifixion a couple people have posted - it serves no purpose to the plot other than to evoke a response. There's a lot of juvenile elements of that in the game and it holds it back from being one of my all-time favorite stories. Although it's definitely up there.

I also think it's one of those games that models its form after parallels with religious literature but does not quite get at the takeaways that makes religion such an enduring part of the human experience. I'm not exactly sure what Xenogears is trying to say about the mystery of the human heart. Then again, I'm not sure any games have really done a serviceable job with religious themes just yet. The only one I can think of is Dragon Quest, which I can relate to with it's slice-of-life, everyday experience of being Catholic.