Tetsuya Takahashi's Xeno franchises

[Wolf Kanno]

So SE is actually using the Xenogears IP for a small game, Monolith Soft released Xenoblade Chronicles X last Christmas, and Namco-Bandai was feeling out the fans last year to see if anyone wanted to see a Xenosaga HD Remaster for modern console; so we've been getting a lot of interest in Tetsuya Takahashi's Xeno franchises in the last year.

Anyone interested in revivals, sequels to Xenoblade, or how about that HD collection? So this thread is to discuss the various Xeno franchises and maybe discuss why the various titles have endured in the hearts of gamers despite them all being cult classics at best.

[Fynn]

I want all the Xeno things

I want the HD collection so that I can finally experience Xenosaga properly

And I want more Xenoblades because the first one is the favorite game of all time

And an update of Xenogears would be nice as well

In general, the more, the better. It's a shame we'll never get to see all those other episode of the series Xenogears was originally supposed to be. It would have been so awesome to play

[Pumpkin]

I love the Xeno series and I would play an HD remake. I would also love an updated Xenogears because while I LOVE the story, I can't play the game too much. It's too difficult and clunky for my tastes. I also quite enjoyed Xenoblade and plan to play Xenoblade Chronicles X someday. Xenosaga was an amazing series, and III is my favourite of the whole bunch.

I would love a new game tied in with those but not part of them. Like Xeno... cake idk

[Forsaken Lover]

I have no interest in Xenobalde Chronicles or Xenobalde Chronicles X. XC already sounded like Takahashi had abandoned any attempts at more serious storytelling/characterization and I found an interview for XCX where he specifically said the game would have absolutely no in-depth or philosophical ideas. Plus, even fans of XC think XCX went too far and has an absolutely awful story. Basically, Tetsuya Takahashi makes Japanese Skyrim.

I miss Yasunori Mitsuda. He was a vital part of the Xeno experience and produced possibly the greatest JRPG OST ever with Xenogears and one ofthe best OSTs ever with Episode 1. I also miss Joanne Hogg, the singer for both of those games.


I'd love a Xenosaga HD Collection but we fell woefully short of the numbers Namco wanted ibelieve so I'm sad to say that probably won't ever happen.

Do I want a Xenogears remake? I'm not certain. Xenogears is such a product of its time that it be hard to say if it could recapture the same feelings and ideas if reproduced nowadays, even if it was completed with better graphics and whatnot. I guess I'd just say no because I want to hold onto my memory of it. Remakes can tarnish those.

[Mirage]

most of them are pretty bad, actually, except xenoblade 1

[Wolf Kanno]

I have no interest in Xenobalde Chronicles or Xenobalde Chronicles X. XC already sounded like Takahashi had abandoned any attempts at more serious storytelling/characterization and I found an interview for XCX where he specifically said the game would have absolutely no in-depth or philosophical ideas. Plus, even fans of XC think XCX went too far and has an absolutely awful story. Basically, Tetsuya Takahashi makes Japanese Skyrim.

Yeah, but he's also said he will focus a bit more on story the next project due to feedback on XCX. It doesn't help that his wife Soraya Saga wasn't hired to help him on the Xenoblade titles, and she's basically the other half of the classic Xeno experience.

Though I actually felt Xenoblade had a stronger setting and cast than most JRPGs lately. It may not have been the next coming of Gears or Saga, but it was certainly better than what we have been getting from Japan. It still also dealt with some interesting themes that made it obvious it was a Takahashi piece so I wouldn't necessarily brush the plot off just yet. Can't say anything about Chronicles X, but that game was always meant to be more of a traditional hard Sci-Fi series, hence why I believe they hired an actual author of Sci-Fi anime to help with the script.

I miss Yasunori Mitsuda. He was a vital part of the Xeno experience and produced possibly the greatest JRPG OST ever with Xenogears and one ofthe best OSTs ever with Episode 1. I also miss Joanne Hogg, the singer for both of those games.

Well Joanne Hogg may not have returned but Mitsuda did compose the ending theme for Xenoblade which is actually one of his better songs.

I'd love a Xenosaga HD Collection but we fell woefully short of the numbers Namco wanted i believe so I'm sad to say that probably won't ever happen.

I wasn't terribly surprised considering the franchise kind of bled away fans as the series went on. It's a shame though, because it would have been a great excuse to get the old team back together.

[Vyk]

I loved Xenoblade Chronicles way more than Xenosaga. And especially in comparison to other JRPGS. It kinda sorta had real drama. Someone in Japan finally got it. Deaths that mattered in a way I haven't seen done since the 32 and 16 bit generations. Some things may have been light and campy here and there but I never felt like they were being melodramatic. I honestly felt more melodrama from Xenosaga. But that may have been the dubs fault

[Fynn]

Yeah, Xenoblade Chronicles is kinda my favorite game of all time.

I really need to get a WiiU for XCX

[Mirage]

Take it easy. It's not nearly as good. Get it if you can get it cheap, i guess, but don't put a lot of money into it.

[Fynn]

No but you don't understand

I don't care if people don't like its story

I NEED THIS GAME INSIDE ME NOWWW!!!!

[Mirage]

It's not just the story. mech combat isn't nearly as refined as ground combat, and you have to do a huge portion of the endgame in a mech. Because of this, it's not nearly as fun to actually play as XC1 either. The music is also not as great, and the world is very pretty, and has potential to have very rich lore, but the game gives you absolutely 0 lore whatsoever. All the things that could have been interesting about the world are not touched upon even in the slightest, and the ending is the worst kind of sequel bait that i have seen since FF13-2.

Get a second hand WiiU in some years and find the game in the bargain bin, or on an e-shop sale. Or wait and see if the NX gets backwards compatibility and get the game there.

[Fynn]

Well, I've listened to the soundtrack for the longest time and I love it, and you spent the latter part of Xenogears in the Gears too, so I don't mind that

DO NOT TRY TO DISSUADE ME MIRAGE I NEED THIS AND I KNOW WHAT I'M ABOUT

[Mirage]

It's not about minding mechs or not, it's just that mech combat isn't actually good. It feels like something they decided to put into the game not because it adds anything to it, but because they have some sort of infatuation with mechs because of an overdose of gundam in their teenage years. Aside from the "lol im in a kool mech" feeling you get for a short while, it's just combat that is much less refined, less balanced and less fun than ground combat.

[Fynn]

It's more like Takahashi has been a mech fan for all his lives and this was meant to be his mech game

LEAVE ME ALONE MIRAGE I WANT TO PLAY THIS!!!!!!

[Mirage]

Yet the best game he's ever made is one where you don't pilot them. How odd.

I'm not saying you shouldn't play it, I'm saying you shouldn't buy a WiiU just to play it. The console is obscenely overpriced for the hardware it's got, and Nintendo has been completely passive when it comes to pricing their console according to its demand and what their competitors offer. The console's worth perhaps 2/3rds of what it is selling for at most nowadays. Just wait for the NX.