Max, around 18:11 you state that the goal would be to repress the negative traits into unconsciousness. To me, this sounds either like a not-too-cautious simplification or like a downright error. As to my understanding, the idea is to integrate all the existing tendencies, giving them their proper space and time. Those that could have previously been marked as negative and thus kept hidden from consciousness transform into a personal tool. For example, an individualized woman might manifest violence in certain critical situations, while avoiding it in most others.
This is a good point. It would have been more accurate for me to say "bring the negative traits under one's control so that they might as well be rendered unconscious". Thank you for pointing this out.
Carl Youngs' view of human psychology was infamously clouded by his worldview & preconceived notions. His ideas can be self-destructive but, with a greater understanding of the issues, can have a positive effect on the self & others.
@@maxderrat "Repression" is "gaining a lot of fans", but that isn't taking into account the much more important aspect of 'disavowal'. Freud was almost "there", as it were, he was considering this as a replacement for "repression" in his overall schema, before he kicked the bucket.
@@user-zp8kj2cl9g People are allowed to make mistakes. We grow when others point them out (kindly, we hope) and we are willing to consider the criticism calmly, being open to the possibility that we were wrong. This content creator seems to be capable of doing so.
Absolutely blown away by your dedication and thoroughness; it's great to see your take and thoughts on this game. I truly hope we see more from you covering Xenogears and Xenosaga alike!
@@chrislennon460 Spirital successor, which is as much of a connection as any of the Xeno games have to each other. You seem to have misread my comment as meaning they're something you go from in a sequence. I meant more so the overall themes and concepts that both share and build off of.
Retrograde Amnesia(aptly named) also did a podcast analyzing Xenogears on a very granular level with hyper scrutiny, a while before Resonant Arc tackled it. Similarly it is also deep and lengthy(pun intended hehe). They were also featured on the Resonant Arc podcast too giving further supplemental insights, and both of them questioned whether or not they did Xenogears justice or if such a feat is even possible. Xenogears is one of those games where calling it a video game, almost seems criminal and at the very least, severely undervalues what it may "actually be". I feel the same way about FF9 and a few others, to me they go beyond formative experiences or art. Truly something special...apologies for the nerd out. And yes there are quite a lot of FF7 references and easter eggs scattered throughout the Xenogears world, same with FF7 if you know where to look and what to look for. Pretty neat stuff Anyhoo, thanks so much for taking a shot at Xenogears Max! I hope youll enjoy it as much as many of us do, should you make more content on it. We'll always look forward to it, thank you again
I have played this game many times and watched countless hours of discussions about it, and you've made the best Xenogears synopsis and general analysis ever.
It's a repetitive thing to say but Xenogears would really be impossible to make in modern age, all of its philosophical, and psychological themes would be called pretentious by an endless wave of naysayers, its religious symbolism and concepts called edgy by those who are dismissive of art or easily offended, it's approach to romance and sexuality would be controversial and censored, its sci-fi inspirations from books and old anime would get it labelled as a rip-off and the tropes the story has (such as killing a god and uncovering the secrets of a manipulative religion) would be interpreted as a cliche amongst an sea of RPGS despite being the first one to dare make such a story. It truly is an unrepeatable treasure.
I must agree with you Max, when you say that Xenogears was probably the most ambitious game ever made; Xenosaga did a decent job of getting the ideas of Xenogears to synergize, but even a three-game series like that wasn't enough (Xenosaga originally being planned to consist of six games!).
The point I am getting at is that Japanese literature usually takes the form of videogames; the ideas you would normally see in serials and novels in Japan are often contained in videogames.
Thankfully with Xenoblade 1 linking with 2, and 2 linking with -saga, it allows for the trilogy to become an ongoing series of 5 (approaching 6) games. The ideas of Xenogears and the ambitions it could never realize are slowly, gradually, approaching the ideal of what -gears was meant to be.
@@mythosinfinite6736 I haven't played Xenosaga yet, I was about to start it as I finished -gears. I've beaten Xenoblade 2 though, so without spoiling saga, how does it connect exactly? It's not just because KOS-MOS makes a Cameo as a blade right?
@@No_More_Eyes545 This is an old comment, but rom what I know, it's because of the visuals of the flashback. When Klaus activates the conduit, there are MANY portals opened, not just the one where Bionis and Mechonis come to reside
Xenogears blew my mind at 14. It was the most engrossing, enthralling, and smartest thing Id ever experienced and still get tingly feelings when I remember it. And that ending Titanic ish song was great! This video makes me want to re experience it all. An absolute titan of a game but moreso the writing.
Actually, the song you mention Small Two of Pieces was recorded in 1996, according to a fellow Xenogears fan. The movie Titanic came out in 1997, a year after Mitsuda even knew of that song. So it’s not Titanicish, Titanic wasn’t even around!
Joanne Hogg is in a league of her own and in 2018 even reprised as the main vocalist for the 20 year anniversary concert for Xenogears alongside Yasunori Mitsuda.
Lol, wow... this seems long overdue-at least in my opinion. 😂💯 It just feels like a video about the story of Xenogears would've been among Max Derrat's very first, given how perfectly it fits the overall content of his channel.
@@janrea3102 I dig this part, and he hasn't gotten into the finer Alchemical, jungian,Nietzschian and freudian themes. thats gonna be a blast, this game was basicly tailor-made for his taste
Very thorough and clear analysis. You categorize and label concepts well without losing track like many others do. especially with this game as the content is massive
22:46 I just like to note that, it's not just that they didn't have time to finish the game, personnel were pulled from the Xenogears development because Square prioritized the Development of Final Fantasy 7, which was being developed at the same time.
I didn't even know you were working on this project, but this is THE place I wanna hear it discussed! I was basically a kid when I played that game, but it blew every one of my friends away after playing it. We obviously didn't understand everything that was going on, but it still left a huge impact on us. Truly hope to see more discussion on this in the future.
Xenogears is absolutely one of the most overlooked JRPG’s in history. Please do more! This game deserves so much more then what it was received or given.
A childhood favorite that took on more meaning with my adult conversion to Catholicism. Excited to see this. Billy Lee Black was my favorite character.
Oh Lord, it only has 20k views so far. I need more Xenogears videos from you Max, you are just the most profound and methodical analyst in the video game, media and pop culture industry. Your videos have helped me to overcome a horrible existential crysis, so thank you and please keep them coming.
I don't know how to properly word this comment, honestly. I've been a subscriber to your channel for...well...years now, and your videos have been a source of wonder and comfort for me, from your videos discussing Silent Hill and Final Fantasy, to your videos on Autism and Aspurgers Syndrome(as someone who has it, it's such a relief to find someone who has videos on it that just...make sense). I'm a month late to watching this video, but... I've never before wanted to both cheer and cry with relief at one video. I can't properly describe how awesome it is to see someone like you dive even a fraction, properly, into Xenogears. Xenogears and Xenosaga have been a part of my childhood and life since i was old enough to comprehend video games, and just... God, I can't put this into words. This video was *fantastic*, and you're doing an amazing job, Max. Honestly. :)
@@maxderrat I am so sorry I missed this! Thank you so much! Honestly, Xenosaga is almost just as dense and deep as Xenogears, except it has some of the breathing room Xenogears really didn't. Fair warning, with emulating Xenosaga...2, I think, for a few segments there can be some shadow and skybox glitches, so just keep an eye out for that. And if you are able to, look into Xenosaga: Pied Piper, and Xenosaga: A Missing Year. It's extra content that helps flesh things out between the second and third games. I genuinely hope you have fun with the series as a whole, thank you so much for everything, and you just have a fantastic time in general. :)
I am always impressed how Japanese look into other religions like Christianity and decided to make a video game based off some of the themes in their own way.
... It's not Christianity. It's counterfeiting real Christianity( Those who just follow the Bible teachings and nothing more) and creating a different narrative. A different gospel. And the comments about square not making xemogears a FF game because it would be too dark are true. Because those religions mentioned in this video that try to relate themselves to Christianity are very deceitful in how they tell you there existence
@@zekiel2533 actually based. Gnosticism isn’t Christianity at all by sheer virtue of removing Christ from the equation. It’s yet another works-based-salvation faith. The early Church shunned it when it arose.
@@trappercap, with all due respect, neither you nor @Zekiel know what either Gnosticism or Christianity is. Gnosticism refers to a certain school of thought that most scholars agree began with Christianity. That said, Gnosticism isn't necessarily Christianity, but Christianity is indeed Gnosticism. 💯
What's interesting in this is the symbolism present in Xenogears that's based on the Kabbalah isn't the only interpretation of the text I know of in Japanese Media. Around the early 2010's, Konami, as part of its efforts to expand the Yugioh card game to international markets, created the Duel Terminal arcade cabinets. These cabinets featured a host of both new and old strategies, but the most notable thing they had was a *Story.* See, some decks in Yugioh had a small piece of general lore to expand on the card art. Many decks released up to that point that were not part of the various animes of that time had some measure of background story. Duel Terminal's decks, however, were the very _first_ instance of _multiple_ decks having an interconnected story. The first wave of Duel Terminal detailed the story of 4 tribes, the secluded Mist Valley, the war-loving Flameveils, the rigid Ice Barriers, and the noble X-Sabers. These 4 tribes warred with one another for varying reasons, but their struggles were halted by the arrival of the Worms from beyond the stars. The Worms consumed life-bearing planets and left death and desolation in their wake, and to stop them, the tribes united into the Allies of Justice, utilizing a race of creatures known as the Genex to fight the Worms. Eventually, the alliance won, but the abuse of the Genex to do so awoke the creator god Sophia, who decided to wipe out the tribes for their constant warring. Sophia was later defeated and destroyed, at heavy cost, but her loss led to further travesties. It was revealed later on that Sophia's presence maintained a secret mystical and biotechnological system of the planet known as the Sephirot system, responsible for the reincarnation of souls who died. Without Sophia, the system was corrupted by her counterpart Tierra, a god of chaos and destruction, who used it to create lifeless husks from the bodies of the dead, called the Shaddolls, and later corrupted the Sephirot's self-defense system, the Qliphorts, to use their power sources to create monsters known as the Infernoids, with each Qliphort and Infernoid bearing reference to a point on the Sephirot. The Duel Terminal ended with Tierra's destruction and the full resurrection of those who had been lost in ages past, but its interesting to see how similar elements from the same source material were interpreted in different ways by two different forms of Japanese media.
Oh I remember when this first came out, I bought it played for 20 hours and didn’t touch it for 6 years. Oddly enough it was those 6 years in I grew and matured in which made me enjoy it more so than I ever would have as a senior in high school when it first came out. Resonant Arc is a great podcast great to see them get a shoutout. 🖖🗽
“Xenogears is like the entire MGS series in one.” All who asked you to play, “Get it now Max?” And it’s obvious you’ve now been indoctrinated in its complex unfinished but narrative glory. Now just use “The One Who is Torn Apart” as your sleep theme for 24 years… And you’ll eventually realize why so many will never forget or let this story/game go. Well done.
9:23 The ship actually breaks apart due to the Captain using a manual override to separate the Eldridge's blocks (because they've lost basically all control of the ship at that point) thus taking it out of space displacement mode, causing the Eldridge to lose the ability to maintain mass balance, and allowing it to break apart from the gravity of the nearby planet. Deus was only taking control of "the ship's onboard computer", aka Raziel's Tree and Faust, in order to set a course for Lost Jerusalem. PW page 9 explains the spinal shaft system at both the top and bottom of the page. Deus never intended to crash the ship, so even if taking control of Raziel's Tree were to somehow cause the ship to crash it wouldn't've done that at all; it likely would've waited for another opportunity.
In a weird way, the Xeno metaseries failing a couple of iterations only to succeed in its present capacity as Xenoblade was an intrinsic characteristic of its thematic inspiration in Kabbalah. "Tzimtzum" is the withdrawal of God, the perfect being, from the universe so that human existence and the finite world in which we live can take form. The "perfect"; Perfect Works was not allowed to be fully realized and thus we have a procession of ongoing worlds in the form of each consecutive series. This plurality of worlds is too a feature of Kabbalah. Perfect Works was the concept, the "Atziluth", Gears was a statement of the basic feeling and vibe of what a Xeno game was supposed to be, the "Beriah", Saga was an attempt to chart the full scope of the intent for the series' overall worldbuilding, its "Yetzirah" and now Blade is the success of this grand scheme in functional practice, its "Assiah".
Such a concise explanation of central elements you've had so relatively little time to digest. I so hope there will be more videos, Xenogears is a game that keeps giving and its the perfect match for this channel.
Glad you finaly got around to it in any form and am grateful that you have given us your insight on it, especially after my own and several other fans of yours kept pestering you about it for years!
I will always always always give love, likes and watches to anyone who gives this game publicity. So here it is. It deserves a remaster along the lines of FF7. Thank you.
Sadly it probably wont happen since the director tetsua takahashi started monolithsoft and works for nintendo now. On the bright side the xenoblade series continues these themes and are just as ambitious espically in their worldbuilding.
@@dragongamer4753 Though I had my issues with X and 2, I still think they were great games and I think Tetsuya Takahashi still has lots of great stories to tell
Hope not, at lest with the story adaptation, i played the original FF7 many time and have no idea of what is happening in the story of the new version, and Xenogears is really complex in its original version, so, when they try to "adapt it to modern audiences" probably will deform everything!
@@dragongamer4753 The only way I would accept a Xenogears remake is if Square got the cooperation of Tetsuya Takahasi, Soraya Saga and MonolithSoft. That way, they could completely realize Xenogears in the way it was originally intended. I don't think it's completely out of the question. Square and Nintendo seem to like working together, so I don't see an issue with the game being a Nintendo-exclusive (probably on a future system)
I'm SO glad you finally did this! Xenogears is one of my favourite games ever and your video served a a great primer. I look forward to seeing more in depth analysis from you!
I love this Game and it profoundly impacted me. I remember getting done with FF7 my freshmen year of college and was looking for other in depth J RPG’s when I stumbled across Xenogears. I have never been so enthralled and felt so accomplished when the final scene played. I think I legit cried at feeling like I had come through an emotional journey I never expected. The Freudian references were a little on point but made me laugh as it fell inline with my psych classes at the time 🤣
this just backs up my query "why do Japanese creators know western esotericism better than most westerners", terms such as Zohar, Evangelion, Archon, gnosis, all the Jungian archetypes. On reddit four-casette says there was a fascination of Jewish culture in japan in the 80's which would explain their familiarity with these terms. the contraction of God that Max mentions is called Tzimtzum ("contraction")
It doesn't matter where they are from. I'm sure the creators (Takahashi and Saga) did a lot of research. Western writers also could have done the same research and applied it to their work if they wanted. Passion and due diligence are universal aspects of great creators.
In the 80s & 90s, religious paths & occultism or theology stuffs were a very popular topic to read/discuss in Japan. This is why you would find many of Japanese series/works during that time filled with religious iconography & themes. Not just games, but also manga, anime, novel, movies, etc (even freaking hentai LOL). This trend would continue on in early 2000s (just watch anime & manga of those period to know what I mean).
All you guys gave great answers, like everything there is multiple possible truths, it doesnt invalidate objectifity, it just expands the notion that anything humans have created will have been shaped by their worldview and reflect their flaws. Ive been studying esotericism since maxs video on alchemy x
No sabes donde te has ido a meter... Gracias por pronunciar tan bien en inglés y tan despacito, yo un humilde español que aprendió inglés con Xenogears (casi) he podido entenderte bastante bien y he de decirte que te lo has currazo mazo.
"Even if I go to hell, I will live till the end of this world. And if the world does not come to an end… I will destroy it with my own hands!" -Grahf Thanks for this video, Xenogears is my favourite game of all time.
Yet again, you've introduce me to yet another gem of a game that I have yet to play, Max, besides psychonauts and siren. Thanks for giving us something to reflect on and for some, reminisce. By the way, you mentioned something about the jung shadow in another video of yours in that it includes positive and not just dark, negative traits that are repressed. Could you elaborate on what those positive traits of the Shadow are or could be, Max? Once more, I can't thank you enough for your community and your passion for gaming, gaming analysis, your interest in psychology and the links to the traditions of gnosticism, christianity, hindu and bhuddist tradition, etc. I hope you had a warm, good Christmas
Very glad you covered this game. I hope in the future you’re able to cover the Xenosaga and Xenoblade games. They all share the same the core 10,000+ year narrative that was created with Xenogears, but told in their own way. Also helps each series builds upons the previous series in terms of gameplay, world design, characters, etc.
I am always happy to see people praising Xenogears. Not just because its my favorite jrpg and I think it deserves it, but also because it means the high opinion I had as a child when I first played this rpg still stands today. Even back then I knew how amazing and complex the story was, and I would probably be even more impressed if I replayed the game now as an adult that can understand the mature themes better.
Yes, please, do more of it, my long-lasting wish is that one day this game maybe garners enough attention that a Team, with the blessing of SquareEnix, Tetsuya Takahashi and Soraya Saga, will make a remake, either in the 'complete' Episode 5 or a passing of the torch and Xenogears making a comeback in its entirety.
I rather wanna see the Episode 6 from Perfect Works be made a game at this point, wheter that be done through a different name like Xenoblade Chronicles
@@islandboy9381 I understand where that notion is coming from, since all other episodes are pretty much having a rough concept framed out for them while Episode 6 is a unknown. But, given concepts that allways repeated I have an Idea, a hunch what it may could have been: The creation of a Zohar/MAM, either in the frame of an Ouroborus cycle of eternal reoccurrence or the birth of a new universe through it. In that sense every Xeno part becomes another 'cycle' if you think about it...
I don’t think I can ask you enthusiastically enough to make more content based on this. I played Xenogears when I was like…12, maybe 13. I did not understand any of it. It remains one of, maybe the most amazingly made, content rich, INCREDIBLE quality games I have played…and *nobody talks about it*
It's crazy how much inspiration is taken from ancient religion and mythology to create various pieces of story for not just Xenogears, but a TON of games. For instance: I've noticed a bunch of parallels or at least heavy similarities between the Nostic story and the several races' creation myths in the elder scrolls lore lol.
8:59 That Phenomenon Phase Shift wish was specifically a "desire to return to the womb", as in "our longing for the ultimate state of peace & calm"; very Freudian. So he didn't "desire for a mother" as if he was literally looking for his mother, became lost from his mother, or that his mother was dead and he was wishing for one. PW page 170 (the fan translation does a decent enough job, but it reads even better in Japanese, ofc)
I need more explanation of this game's lore. I was gripped by this video and had to rewatch it a second time because there was too much info for a single watch. In this simple overview, so many concepts were included that the description for each of them suffered. I'd love to see a more in depth analysis to see what the concepts are, but also how they were integrated cohesively into the game.
I was 16 when this game released, and just played my first Final Fantasy at the time in FFVII. Still in my top 3. Great example of video games as an art form.
Abel did not make contact on board the Eldridge, it happened during the attack on the colony on miktam4, before the survivors of the attack and Deus' 3 parts were loaded onto the ship.
10:19 Specifically she creates her two clones as it was the only way for her to fulfill both of the conflicting programming within her. Myyah, which would serve as the weapon, leading humanity to becoming perfect parts for resurrecting Deus, and Elehayym, the "Will" of the Wave Existence that was created to protect the Contact and humanity, helping the Contact to fulfill his role in setting the WE free of Zohar. PW page 169, likely more elsewhere and ofc in-game
This is the game of my life, played at my 10s and was my First entry on JRPGs, i play the game again ebery 2 or 3 years and always get something new and new visions of life itself.
Gonna stop ya right there. (Intro) I LOVE the fact you used James Sunderland as the intro. Bomb diggity. And of course thank you for the video of the game too. Was telling my son about it because we were playing gundam battle assault 2 and was referencing fei's special gear move with Domon's burning gundam special. Lol
I want more! I've heard of xenogears but never played or seen much of it. Your games analysis videos are always so on point and in depth, this game seems like imperfect fit!
Thank you so much for this video. Xenogears doesn't get nearly enough love and it was something I enjoyed immensely as a young teen (even if it was hard to understand back then at that age). As an adult, I've only really started digging into the deeper meanings behind the game and its references. You made it very easy to understand the nuances of the religious aspects. I know you already went over the Freud aspects in a different video, but I hope you find more things you'd like to talk about enough to make another video, I always love to see more Xenogears coverage.
This game encouraged me to broaden my vocabulary-- I played it as a young girl in 1999. I didn't care that it was unfinished and rushed--I loved it and for years I hoped Square would bring it back.
I beat this game for the first time in my life 8 months ago after 100 hours. Since then I think about it every day. Thank you for this video and I hope more will come ❤️
I have to say, I wasn't expecting you to cover this game but I'm glad to see you try your hand at it! Honestly the game is seriously underrated and I would personally love to see more.
One of the reasons I love what Bioware did with Mass Effect, ambitious to launch a new IP with plans for it to be a trilogy starter....and they actually did it!
Wow this is all really fascinating to me. I've heard about Xenogears in conversation about Xenoblade since I believe I heard they're in the same universe, but I didn't know that it was this complex. As a Christian I find the religious parallels very fascinating as I just learned some new stuff about Judaism among other things. This game seems almost like Metal Gear to me in the sense that the intricacies in the story could almost be used to teach a lesson in school. This kind of stuff blows my mind how people come up with them and I think it could lead to some really interesting and insightful conversations. Really well put together
SPOILERS: i wish we could have seen Deus as being similar to Fei. I always read that single line from Deus "you shall be as gods" to be a socially awkward invitation from the newly birthed consciousness of Deus. we know in the end that a fully assembled Deus is capable of some kind of transmigration and this made me see Deus as similar to Frankenstein's creature in that both are artifical beings rejected by their creators. This of course ties in with the way in which Fei is exiled from his town as a result of his own misunderstood powers. I talked about it in my analysis, but i dont produce enough to appease the lords of the algorithm.
So much money taken from the project and the director was a boss and still finished the game. Later saying it was his fault it had funding flaws and assorted issues that wholeheartedly stemmed from the company effing him over. Bravo. Bravo.
Strange coincidence...I haven't played this in years. Decided to play it again over the last week, only to find that other people are playing/analyzing it at the same time. the first time I played this game was right after it launched waaayyy back in '98. I was in eighth grade. Even though admittedly, as a preteen a lot of the deeper philosophical and political content went over my head I was still able to recognize that something was there. I've played it multiple times over the years and one of the things that's great about it is in a way Xenogears is an iterative experience. Each playthrough brings deeper and closer to its characters, plot, and meaning. Some 23+ years later, playing through it right now as we speak, I'm amazed at how fresh it remains, and even more awed at how relevant it is in today's sociopolitical climate. It was unfortunately overshadowed by titles like FF7-FFIX in its time, but if you're a fan of RPGs I would have to say Max is right; You owe it to yourself to play this...its themes and story / plot content makes FF7 look like J-pop in comparison. And from what I understand, the religious and philosophical overtones were so deep that it was almost banned from ever even seeing a North American release. And that's AFTER some of the initial darker concepts and themes had all ready been cut. Absolutely love this game...
I think the iterative factor was more due to your replaying it while growing up than an intrinsic quality of the game itself, as I had the same experience with FFVII. I first played Xenogears in my early 20s and it made a huge, huge impact. I should go back and play it now, honestly. But other than that, I agree, most of the 'timeless classics' in my mind are titles I played in youth, but Xenogears absolutely occupies a spot next to my favourite games of all time and it was a very late comer compared to the others.
Thanks so much,this game changed my life when it came out.. first time I saw truly deep and mature themes in a game.. I was like 16 and truly felt like if a was peeking through an alternate dimension playing this. It’s nice to contemplate after a while.
Played this game a year or so after it came out, I must have been 15 or 16 at the time. Loved it. You got me wanting to play it again. Hope you're able to make more videos on this.
XenoGears is by far the most profound and thought provoking game ever created. There’s no other game that deserves a remake and completion than XenoGears. I’ve played this game three times over the last 24 years. The story is masterclass, the characters are masterclass, the music is masterclass, and the way the developers used the tools at their disposal cutting between 2D-3D, and cinema is masterclass. Even the combat system was revolutionary. There’s simply nothing like this available today. It is a unicorn which any gamer who fancies themselves a enthusiast must play.
We all want more Xenogears in your channel. You know how to do these analysis!! Thanks for mentioning the work done by Resonant Arc. they made an anthology work about this game!!!so complete and now it became a reference point to explain and understand why Xenogears it is one of the best games ever made
I was properly shocked when Chrono Cross popped on the screen. I loved that game. Never played Xenogears, but now I'm willing to read up on it. Still, digest at your leisure Sir.
it was supposed to be the script of FFVII, only deemed to be too dark and full of controversies by SQUARESOFT, a Wiseman once said - [my left hand holy, my right hand divine]
Based Max The Xeno series is and always will be the most epic series. So glad to see you touch on this gem of my youth that I had to struggle to find until 2003.
Max, around 18:11 you state that the goal would be to repress the negative traits into unconsciousness. To me, this sounds either like a not-too-cautious simplification or like a downright error.
As to my understanding, the idea is to integrate all the existing tendencies, giving them their proper space and time. Those that could have previously been marked as negative and thus kept hidden from consciousness transform into a personal tool. For example, an individualized woman might manifest violence in certain critical situations, while avoiding it in most others.
This is a good point. It would have been more accurate for me to say "bring the negative traits under one's control so that they might as well be rendered unconscious". Thank you for pointing this out.
@@maxderrat My pleasure, thanks for the video!
Carl Youngs' view of human psychology was infamously clouded by his worldview & preconceived notions. His ideas can be self-destructive but, with a greater understanding of the issues, can have a positive effect on the self & others.
@@maxderrat "Repression" is "gaining a lot of fans", but that isn't taking into account the much more important aspect of 'disavowal'. Freud was almost "there", as it were, he was considering this as a replacement for "repression" in his overall schema, before he kicked the bucket.
@@user-zp8kj2cl9g People are allowed to make mistakes. We grow when others point them out (kindly, we hope) and we are willing to consider the criticism calmly, being open to the possibility that we were wrong. This content creator seems to be capable of doing so.
Xenogears is literally my first encounter with existential dread.
😂
@@EmeraldaKasim ???
@deaderall , I was laughing _with_ him, not at him.
_Xenogears_ is one helluva trip of a game.
@@robokou The other guy needs to chill, I could tell right off the bat you were just being friendly.
Appreciate the shout out to Resonant Arc. Nothing beat reading your announcement about this vid while they were finishing up their series on this game
Xenogears is to gaming what Neon Genesis Evangelion is to anime.
They have been compared a lot before
Absolutely blown away by your dedication and thoroughness; it's great to see your take and thoughts on this game. I truly hope we see more from you covering Xenogears and Xenosaga alike!
I hope that every fan of Xenogears eventually reaches Xenosaga Episode III and realizes that it’s actually not just a prequel to Xenogears.
Not even connected to xenogears at all.
@@chrislennon460 Spirital successor, which is as much of a connection as any of the Xeno games have to each other.
You seem to have misread my comment as meaning they're something you go from in a sequence. I meant more so the overall themes and concepts that both share and build off of.
@@WarblingMarbles not your comment I was replying to.
@@chrislennon460 Oh, my bad! There was no @ attached to it so I didn't realize.
Retrograde Amnesia(aptly named) also did a podcast analyzing Xenogears on a very granular level with hyper scrutiny, a while before Resonant Arc tackled it. Similarly it is also deep and lengthy(pun intended hehe). They were also featured on the Resonant Arc podcast too giving further supplemental insights, and both of them questioned whether or not they did Xenogears justice or if such a feat is even possible. Xenogears is one of those games where calling it a video game, almost seems criminal and at the very least, severely undervalues what it may "actually be". I feel the same way about FF9 and a few others, to me they go beyond formative experiences or art. Truly something special...apologies for the nerd out. And yes there are quite a lot of FF7 references and easter eggs scattered throughout the Xenogears world, same with FF7 if you know where to look and what to look for. Pretty neat stuff
Anyhoo, thanks so much for taking a shot at Xenogears Max! I hope youll enjoy it as much as many of us do, should you make more content on it. We'll always look forward to it, thank you again
I have played this game many times and watched countless hours of discussions about it, and you've made the best Xenogears synopsis and general analysis ever.
It's a repetitive thing to say but Xenogears would really be impossible to make in modern age, all of its philosophical, and psychological themes would be called pretentious by an endless wave of naysayers, its religious symbolism and concepts called edgy by those who are dismissive of art or easily offended, it's approach to romance and sexuality would be controversial and censored, its sci-fi inspirations from books and old anime would get it labelled as a rip-off and the tropes the story has (such as killing a god and uncovering the secrets of a manipulative religion) would be interpreted as a cliche amongst an sea of RPGS despite being the first one to dare make such a story. It truly is an unrepeatable treasure.
Lightning in a bottle
I must agree with you Max, when you say that Xenogears was probably the most ambitious game ever made; Xenosaga did a decent job of getting the ideas of Xenogears to synergize, but even a three-game series like that wasn't enough (Xenosaga originally being planned to consist of six games!).
The point I am getting at is that Japanese literature usually takes the form of videogames; the ideas you would normally see in serials and novels in Japan are often contained in videogames.
Thankfully with Xenoblade 1 linking with 2, and 2 linking with -saga, it allows for the trilogy to become an ongoing series of 5 (approaching 6) games. The ideas of Xenogears and the ambitions it could never realize are slowly, gradually, approaching the ideal of what -gears was meant to be.
@@mythosinfinite6736 I haven't played Xenosaga yet, I was about to start it as I finished -gears. I've beaten Xenoblade 2 though, so without spoiling saga, how does it connect exactly?
It's not just because KOS-MOS makes a Cameo as a blade right?
@@No_More_Eyes545 This is an old comment, but rom what I know, it's because of the visuals of the flashback. When Klaus activates the conduit, there are MANY portals opened, not just the one where Bionis and Mechonis come to reside
Xenogears blew my mind at 14. It was the most engrossing, enthralling, and smartest thing Id ever experienced and still get tingly feelings when I remember it. And that ending Titanic ish song was great! This video makes me want to re experience it all. An absolute titan of a game but moreso the writing.
👍🏿💯
Actually, the song you mention Small Two of Pieces was recorded in 1996, according to a fellow Xenogears fan. The movie Titanic came out in 1997, a year after Mitsuda even knew of that song. So it’s not Titanicish, Titanic wasn’t even around!
@Bowesie Boy , you somehow just made this game even more special for me. 😭🧡
@@robokou Yeah! Titanic copied Small Two of Pieces! 😂
Joanne Hogg is in a league of her own and in 2018 even reprised as the main vocalist for the 20 year anniversary concert for Xenogears alongside Yasunori Mitsuda.
Lol, wow... this seems long overdue-at least in my opinion. 😂💯
It just feels like a video about the story of Xenogears would've been among Max Derrat's very first, given how perfectly it fits the overall content of his channel.
Same,I've been pestering Max for years in his comment section for his insight on the game. glad he got to it!
Growing, evolving, and sharing new knowledge. That's what I like about his channel.
@@janrea3102 I dig this part, and he hasn't gotten into the finer Alchemical, jungian,Nietzschian and freudian themes. thats gonna be a blast, this game was basicly tailor-made for his taste
20:26 What ALL Xenogear fans came here for.
The crucifixion of our lord and savior Chu-Chu.
Peace be upon him.
@@maxderrat *her
I'm pretty sure Chu-Chu identified as female, lol.
Very thorough and clear analysis. You categorize and label concepts well without losing track like many others do. especially with this game as the content is massive
22:46 I just like to note that, it's not just that they didn't have time to finish the game, personnel were pulled from the Xenogears development because Square prioritized the Development of Final Fantasy 7, which was being developed at the same time.
I didn't even know you were working on this project, but this is THE place I wanna hear it discussed! I was basically a kid when I played that game, but it blew every one of my friends away after playing it. We obviously didn't understand everything that was going on, but it still left a huge impact on us. Truly hope to see more discussion on this in the future.
Xenogears is absolutely one of the most overlooked JRPG’s in history. Please do more! This game deserves so much more then what it was received or given.
16:57 Don't forget that the "reunion" is a central concept in FF7, and Jenova is another term related to the kabbalah.
A childhood favorite that took on more meaning with my adult conversion to Catholicism. Excited to see this. Billy Lee Black was my favorite character.
Oh Lord, it only has 20k views so far. I need more Xenogears videos from you Max, you are just the most profound and methodical analyst in the video game, media and pop culture industry. Your videos have helped me to overcome a horrible existential crysis, so thank you and please keep them coming.
I loved this game; I'll always love this game.
I don't know how to properly word this comment, honestly.
I've been a subscriber to your channel for...well...years now, and your videos have been a source of wonder and comfort for me, from your videos discussing Silent Hill and Final Fantasy, to your videos on Autism and Aspurgers Syndrome(as someone who has it, it's such a relief to find someone who has videos on it that just...make sense).
I'm a month late to watching this video, but... I've never before wanted to both cheer and cry with relief at one video.
I can't properly describe how awesome it is to see someone like you dive even a fraction, properly, into Xenogears. Xenogears and Xenosaga have been a part of my childhood and life since i was old enough to comprehend video games, and just... God, I can't put this into words.
This video was *fantastic*, and you're doing an amazing job, Max. Honestly. :)
Your comment is so sweet, Luna. This honestly might be one of the kindest messages I have ever received. Thank you so much.
@@maxderrat I am so sorry I missed this! Thank you so much!
Honestly, Xenosaga is almost just as dense and deep as Xenogears, except it has some of the breathing room Xenogears really didn't.
Fair warning, with emulating Xenosaga...2, I think, for a few segments there can be some shadow and skybox glitches, so just keep an eye out for that. And if you are able to, look into Xenosaga: Pied Piper, and Xenosaga: A Missing Year. It's extra content that helps flesh things out between the second and third games.
I genuinely hope you have fun with the series as a whole, thank you so much for everything, and you just have a fantastic time in general. :)
Finally! It's here! I am so glad you made this one Max. I've been suggesting it for years now lol. I'll watch it after I get some shit done.
Please do more videos on Xenogears! This was an excellent analysis of one of my favorite games! You never fail to impress, thank you, Max!
I am always impressed how Japanese look into other religions like Christianity and decided to make a video game based off some of the themes in their own way.
Indeed, Xenogears was a major component in what served to put me on the path of becoming a Christian. 💯
... It's not Christianity. It's counterfeiting real Christianity( Those who just follow the Bible teachings and nothing more) and creating a different narrative. A different gospel.
And the comments about square not making xemogears a FF game because it would be too dark are true. Because those religions mentioned in this video that try to relate themselves to Christianity are very deceitful in how they tell you there existence
@@zekiel2533 actually based.
Gnosticism isn’t Christianity at all by sheer virtue of removing Christ from the equation. It’s yet another works-based-salvation faith. The early Church shunned it when it arose.
@@trappercap, with all due respect, neither you nor @Zekiel know what either Gnosticism or Christianity is.
Gnosticism refers to a certain school of thought that most scholars agree began with Christianity. That said, Gnosticism isn't necessarily Christianity, but Christianity is indeed Gnosticism. 💯
It's gnosticism, not christianity.
Xenogears and Chrono Trigger deserve Pullitzer Prizes imo. Absolute masterpieces of storytelling.
My all-time favorite video game. Love seeing people make content about it still to this day.
What's interesting in this is the symbolism present in Xenogears that's based on the Kabbalah isn't the only interpretation of the text I know of in Japanese Media.
Around the early 2010's, Konami, as part of its efforts to expand the Yugioh card game to international markets, created the Duel Terminal arcade cabinets. These cabinets featured a host of both new and old strategies, but the most notable thing they had was a *Story.*
See, some decks in Yugioh had a small piece of general lore to expand on the card art. Many decks released up to that point that were not part of the various animes of that time had some measure of background story.
Duel Terminal's decks, however, were the very _first_ instance of _multiple_ decks having an interconnected story.
The first wave of Duel Terminal detailed the story of 4 tribes, the secluded Mist Valley, the war-loving Flameveils, the rigid Ice Barriers, and the noble X-Sabers. These 4 tribes warred with one another for varying reasons, but their struggles were halted by the arrival of the Worms from beyond the stars. The Worms consumed life-bearing planets and left death and desolation in their wake, and to stop them, the tribes united into the Allies of Justice, utilizing a race of creatures known as the Genex to fight the Worms.
Eventually, the alliance won, but the abuse of the Genex to do so awoke the creator god Sophia, who decided to wipe out the tribes for their constant warring. Sophia was later defeated and destroyed, at heavy cost, but her loss led to further travesties. It was revealed later on that Sophia's presence maintained a secret mystical and biotechnological system of the planet known as the Sephirot system, responsible for the reincarnation of souls who died. Without Sophia, the system was corrupted by her counterpart Tierra, a god of chaos and destruction, who used it to create lifeless husks from the bodies of the dead, called the Shaddolls, and later corrupted the Sephirot's self-defense system, the Qliphorts, to use their power sources to create monsters known as the Infernoids, with each Qliphort and Infernoid bearing reference to a point on the Sephirot.
The Duel Terminal ended with Tierra's destruction and the full resurrection of those who had been lost in ages past, but its interesting to see how similar elements from the same source material were interpreted in different ways by two different forms of Japanese media.
Oh I remember when this first came out, I bought it played for 20 hours and didn’t touch it for 6 years. Oddly enough it was those 6 years in I grew and matured in which made me enjoy it more so than I ever would have as a senior in high school when it first came out.
Resonant Arc is a great podcast great to see them get a shoutout. 🖖🗽
“Xenogears is like the entire MGS series in one.”
All who asked you to play, “Get it now Max?”
And it’s obvious you’ve now been indoctrinated in its complex unfinished but narrative glory.
Now just use “The One Who is Torn Apart” as your sleep theme for 24 years…
And you’ll eventually realize why so many will never forget or let this story/game go. Well done.
Loved this video, watched it as soon as I saw it pop up, please do more on xenogears!!! Great job!
9:23 The ship actually breaks apart due to the Captain using a manual override to separate the Eldridge's blocks (because they've lost basically all control of the ship at that point) thus taking it out of space displacement mode, causing the Eldridge to lose the ability to maintain mass balance, and allowing it to break apart from the gravity of the nearby planet. Deus was only taking control of "the ship's onboard computer", aka Raziel's Tree and Faust, in order to set a course for Lost Jerusalem. PW page 9 explains the spinal shaft system at both the top and bottom of the page.
Deus never intended to crash the ship, so even if taking control of Raziel's Tree were to somehow cause the ship to crash it wouldn't've done that at all; it likely would've waited for another opportunity.
Ok, out of all the xenogears videos I've watched, you give the the best synopsis. This is something I can show my friends to entrance them a bit.
In a weird way, the Xeno metaseries failing a couple of iterations only to succeed in its present capacity as Xenoblade was an intrinsic characteristic of its thematic inspiration in Kabbalah. "Tzimtzum" is the withdrawal of God, the perfect being, from the universe so that human existence and the finite world in which we live can take form. The "perfect"; Perfect Works was not allowed to be fully realized and thus we have a procession of ongoing worlds in the form of each consecutive series. This plurality of worlds is too a feature of Kabbalah. Perfect Works was the concept, the "Atziluth", Gears was a statement of the basic feeling and vibe of what a Xeno game was supposed to be, the "Beriah", Saga was an attempt to chart the full scope of the intent for the series' overall worldbuilding, its "Yetzirah" and now Blade is the success of this grand scheme in functional practice, its "Assiah".
Such a concise explanation of central elements you've had so relatively little time to digest. I so hope there will be more videos, Xenogears is a game that keeps giving and its the perfect match for this channel.
Glad you finaly got around to it in any form and am grateful that you have given us your insight on it, especially after my own and several other fans of yours kept pestering you about it for years!
The greatest game of all time for all eternity. Full stop.
I said it 25 years ago and I say it still: "Greatest RPG ever." IMHO. Great video, would love to see more.
Chrono trigger says hey
I will always always always give love, likes and watches to anyone who gives this game publicity. So here it is. It deserves a remaster along the lines of FF7.
Thank you.
Sadly it probably wont happen since the director tetsua takahashi started monolithsoft and works for nintendo now. On the bright side the xenoblade series continues these themes and are just as ambitious espically in their worldbuilding.
@@dragongamer4753 Though I had my issues with X and 2, I still think they were great games and I think Tetsuya Takahashi still has lots of great stories to tell
Hope not, at lest with the story adaptation, i played the original FF7 many time and have no idea of what is happening in the story of the new version, and Xenogears is really complex in its original version, so, when they try to "adapt it to modern audiences" probably will deform everything!
@@dragongamer4753 The only way I would accept a Xenogears remake is if Square got the cooperation of Tetsuya Takahasi, Soraya Saga and MonolithSoft. That way, they could completely realize Xenogears in the way it was originally intended. I don't think it's completely out of the question. Square and Nintendo seem to like working together, so I don't see an issue with the game being a Nintendo-exclusive (probably on a future system)
not gonna happen lol...
I'm SO glad you finally did this! Xenogears is one of my favourite games ever and your video served a a great primer. I look forward to seeing more in depth analysis from you!
Morrowind. granted, they were forced to scale it down a lot, but is still a PHENOMENAL game.
Oh, good call!
I know :( I wish they didn’t have to scale down the map…
You might wanna check XenoSaga. Thier kinda intertwined.
I tried Morrowind, but didnt like it. I think Summoner of the same time is the better game.
@@Spacefrisian yes it's not for everyone. Typical CoD fanboy definitely wouldn't enjoy it
This game blew my mind back in the day. I really don't think any other ps1 game was as deep as Xenogears.
I love this Game and it profoundly impacted me. I remember getting done with FF7 my freshmen year of college and was looking for other in depth J RPG’s when I stumbled across Xenogears. I have never been so enthralled and felt so accomplished when the final scene played. I think I legit cried at feeling like I had come through an emotional journey I never expected. The Freudian references were a little on point but made me laugh as it fell inline with my psych classes at the time 🤣
I agree. I’m 19, beat it a few days ago. One of the best experiences ever
This video deserves much, much more likes. The task of summarizing this game in the most concise manner is near impossible !
this just backs up my query "why do Japanese creators know western esotericism better than most westerners", terms such as Zohar, Evangelion, Archon, gnosis, all the Jungian archetypes. On reddit four-casette says there was a fascination of Jewish culture in japan in the 80's which would explain their familiarity with these terms. the contraction of God that Max mentions is called Tzimtzum ("contraction")
It doesn't matter where they are from. I'm sure the creators (Takahashi and Saga) did a lot of research. Western writers also could have done the same research and applied it to their work if they wanted. Passion and due diligence are universal aspects of great creators.
In the 80s & 90s, religious paths & occultism or theology stuffs were a very popular topic to read/discuss in Japan. This is why you would find many of Japanese series/works during that time filled with religious iconography & themes. Not just games, but also manga, anime, novel, movies, etc (even freaking hentai LOL). This trend would continue on in early 2000s (just watch anime & manga of those period to know what I mean).
All you guys gave great answers, like everything there is multiple possible truths, it doesnt invalidate objectifity, it just expands the notion that anything humans have created will have been shaped by their worldview and reflect their flaws. Ive been studying esotericism since maxs video on alchemy x
No sabes donde te has ido a meter...
Gracias por pronunciar tan bien en inglés y tan despacito, yo un humilde español que aprendió inglés con Xenogears (casi) he podido entenderte bastante bien y he de decirte que te lo has currazo mazo.
"Even if I go to hell, I will live till the end of this world. And if the world does not come to an end… I will destroy it with my own hands!"
-Grahf
Thanks for this video, Xenogears is my favourite game of all time.
Yet again, you've introduce me to yet another gem of a game that I have yet to play, Max, besides psychonauts and siren. Thanks for giving us something to reflect on and for some, reminisce. By the way, you mentioned something about the jung shadow in another video of yours in that it includes positive and not just dark, negative traits that are repressed. Could you elaborate on what those positive traits of the Shadow are or could be, Max? Once more, I can't thank you enough for your community and your passion for gaming, gaming analysis, your interest in psychology and the links to the traditions of gnosticism, christianity, hindu and bhuddist tradition, etc. I hope you had a warm, good Christmas
Please make more. This game needs more love. All the love.
Great synopsis. But when's the next video?
Very glad you covered this game. I hope in the future you’re able to cover the Xenosaga and Xenoblade games. They all share the same the core 10,000+ year narrative that was created with Xenogears, but told in their own way. Also helps each series builds upons the previous series in terms of gameplay, world design, characters, etc.
nice thumbnail bruh. ive always loved her design and figure, so masterfully crafted
I am always happy to see people praising Xenogears. Not just because its my favorite jrpg and I think it deserves it, but also because it means the high opinion I had as a child when I first played this rpg still stands today. Even back then I knew how amazing and complex the story was, and I would probably be even more impressed if I replayed the game now as an adult that can
understand the mature themes better.
I remember when the US release had names and dialogue changed because of the religious zealots here.
I love it when I look up a plot summary and then don't hear any of the plot just a bunch of philosophical stuff to do with the game
Yes, please, do more of it, my long-lasting wish is that one day this game maybe garners enough attention that a Team, with the blessing of SquareEnix, Tetsuya Takahashi and Soraya Saga, will make a remake, either in the 'complete' Episode 5 or a passing of the torch and Xenogears making a comeback in its entirety.
I rather wanna see the Episode 6 from Perfect Works be made a game at this point, wheter that be done through a different name like Xenoblade Chronicles
@@islandboy9381 I understand where that notion is coming from, since all other episodes are pretty much having a rough concept framed out for them while Episode 6 is a unknown.
But, given concepts that allways repeated I have an Idea, a hunch what it may could have been: The creation of a Zohar/MAM, either in the frame of an Ouroborus cycle of eternal reoccurrence or the birth of a new universe through it.
In that sense every Xeno part becomes another 'cycle' if you think about it...
I don’t think I can ask you enthusiastically enough to make more content based on this. I played Xenogears when I was like…12, maybe 13. I did not understand any of it. It remains one of, maybe the most amazingly made, content rich, INCREDIBLE quality games I have played…and *nobody talks about it*
Torn apart - best theme in xeno(also it theme of my favorite character)! Wasn't dissapointed clicking on this video.
It's crazy how much inspiration is taken from ancient religion and mythology to create various pieces of story for not just Xenogears, but a TON of games. For instance: I've noticed a bunch of parallels or at least heavy similarities between the Nostic story and the several races' creation myths in the elder scrolls lore lol.
Perfect works for the assist max love your videos hope this blows up so you make more
8:59 That Phenomenon Phase Shift wish was specifically a "desire to return to the womb", as in "our longing for the ultimate state of peace & calm"; very Freudian. So he didn't "desire for a mother" as if he was literally looking for his mother, became lost from his mother, or that his mother was dead and he was wishing for one.
PW page 170 (the fan translation does a decent enough job, but it reads even better in Japanese, ofc)
So happy to see this, but I'm also annoyed that TH-cam didn't notify me yesterday.
Bro, I assume, you are probably not into visual novels, but if you will ever decide to play one, make it Umineko and please, do an analysis of it.
I need more explanation of this game's lore. I was gripped by this video and had to rewatch it a second time because there was too much info for a single watch. In this simple overview, so many concepts were included that the description for each of them suffered. I'd love to see a more in depth analysis to see what the concepts are, but also how they were integrated cohesively into the game.
I saw so glad you brought up resonant arc, their channel is so underrated, but they have some of the most in depth jrpg analysis
I was 16 when this game released, and just played my first Final Fantasy at the time in FFVII.
Still in my top 3. Great example of video games as an art form.
Abel did not make contact on board the Eldridge, it happened during the attack on the colony on miktam4, before the survivors of the attack and Deus' 3 parts were loaded onto the ship.
are you referring to an event before the Eldridge trip?
@@vcpinheiro14 yes. The same event he talks about in the video. Abel had already made contact before being on the Eldridge
10:19 Specifically she creates her two clones as it was the only way for her to fulfill both of the conflicting programming within her.
Myyah, which would serve as the weapon, leading humanity to becoming perfect parts for resurrecting Deus, and Elehayym, the "Will" of the Wave Existence that was created to protect the Contact and humanity, helping the Contact to fulfill his role in setting the WE free of Zohar.
PW page 169, likely more elsewhere and ofc in-game
Well done. You’re right though, this barely scratches the surface of the ambition and depth of this story.
Please cover more with more videos
This is the game of my life, played at my 10s and was my First entry on JRPGs, i play the game again ebery 2 or 3 years and always get something new and new visions of life itself.
Gonna stop ya right there. (Intro)
I LOVE the fact you used James Sunderland as the intro. Bomb diggity. And of course thank you for the video of the game too. Was telling my son about it because we were playing gundam battle assault 2 and was referencing fei's special gear move with Domon's burning gundam special. Lol
I want more! I've heard of xenogears but never played or seen much of it. Your games analysis videos are always so on point and in depth, this game seems like imperfect fit!
Thank you so much for this video. Xenogears doesn't get nearly enough love and it was something I enjoyed immensely as a young teen (even if it was hard to understand back then at that age). As an adult, I've only really started digging into the deeper meanings behind the game and its references. You made it very easy to understand the nuances of the religious aspects. I know you already went over the Freud aspects in a different video, but I hope you find more things you'd like to talk about enough to make another video, I always love to see more Xenogears coverage.
Thank you Max for making this awesome video! Xenogears has always been one of my favourite games since its release!
oh wow this games story is so interesting. I would love to have max derrat style explanation, you always do it the best.
You have my attention, Dear Max!
Please feel free to dig deep in Xenogears.
I'll gladly watch it.
Thank you.
This game encouraged me to broaden my vocabulary-- I played it as a young girl in 1999. I didn't care that it was unfinished and rushed--I loved it and for years I hoped Square would bring it back.
I beat this game for the first time in my life 8 months ago after 100 hours. Since then I think about it every day. Thank you for this video and I hope more will come ❤️
I have to say, I wasn't expecting you to cover this game but I'm glad to see you try your hand at it! Honestly the game is seriously underrated and I would personally love to see more.
One of the reasons I love what Bioware did with Mass Effect, ambitious to launch a new IP with plans for it to be a trilogy starter....and they actually did it!
Wow this is all really fascinating to me. I've heard about Xenogears in conversation about Xenoblade since I believe I heard they're in the same universe, but I didn't know that it was this complex. As a Christian I find the religious parallels very fascinating as I just learned some new stuff about Judaism among other things. This game seems almost like Metal Gear to me in the sense that the intricacies in the story could almost be used to teach a lesson in school. This kind of stuff blows my mind how people come up with them and I think it could lead to some really interesting and insightful conversations. Really well put together
SPOILERS: i wish we could have seen Deus as being similar to Fei. I always read that single line from Deus "you shall be as gods" to be a socially awkward invitation from the newly birthed consciousness of Deus. we know in the end that a fully assembled Deus is capable of some kind of transmigration and this made me see Deus as similar to Frankenstein's creature in that both are artifical beings rejected by their creators. This of course ties in with the way in which Fei is exiled from his town as a result of his own misunderstood powers. I talked about it in my analysis, but i dont produce enough to appease the lords of the algorithm.
So much money taken from the project and the director was a boss and still finished the game. Later saying it was his fault it had funding flaws and assorted issues that wholeheartedly stemmed from the company effing him over. Bravo. Bravo.
Excellent work! Such a deep and well done analysis, I'm really looking foward for more videos about Xenogears!
Thanks, Max! Great analysis on the best RPG ever. Hope to see new videos on it.
Strange coincidence...I haven't played this in years. Decided to play it again over the last week, only to find that other people are playing/analyzing it at the same time. the first time I played this game was right after it launched waaayyy back in '98. I was in eighth grade. Even though admittedly, as a preteen a lot of the deeper philosophical and political content went over my head I was still able to recognize that something was there. I've played it multiple times over the years and one of the things that's great about it is in a way Xenogears is an iterative experience. Each playthrough brings deeper and closer to its characters, plot, and meaning. Some 23+ years later, playing through it right now as we speak, I'm amazed at how fresh it remains, and even more awed at how relevant it is in today's sociopolitical climate. It was unfortunately overshadowed by titles like FF7-FFIX in its time, but if you're a fan of RPGs I would have to say Max is right; You owe it to yourself to play this...its themes and story / plot content makes FF7 look like J-pop in comparison. And from what I understand, the religious and philosophical overtones were so deep that it was almost banned from ever even seeing a North American release. And that's AFTER some of the initial darker concepts and themes had all ready been cut. Absolutely love this game...
I think the iterative factor was more due to your replaying it while growing up than an intrinsic quality of the game itself, as I had the same experience with FFVII. I first played Xenogears in my early 20s and it made a huge, huge impact. I should go back and play it now, honestly. But other than that, I agree, most of the 'timeless classics' in my mind are titles I played in youth, but Xenogears absolutely occupies a spot next to my favourite games of all time and it was a very late comer compared to the others.
I really want a whole series of videos on this
bruh explaining the pre xenogears stuff to prevent spoilers actually spoils sooooooooooooooooooooooo many twists lmao
still love the video
Thanks so much,this game changed my life when it came out.. first time I saw truly deep and mature themes in a game.. I was like 16 and truly felt like if a was peeking through an alternate dimension playing this. It’s nice to contemplate after a while.
Played this game a year or so after it came out, I must have been 15 or 16 at the time. Loved it. You got me wanting to play it again. Hope you're able to make more videos on this.
XenoGears is by far the most profound and thought provoking game ever created. There’s no other game that deserves a remake and completion than XenoGears.
I’ve played this game three times over the last 24 years. The story is masterclass, the characters are masterclass, the music is masterclass, and the way the developers used the tools at their disposal cutting between 2D-3D, and cinema is masterclass.
Even the combat system was revolutionary. There’s simply nothing like this available today. It is a unicorn which any gamer who fancies themselves a enthusiast must play.
Max, we need your perspective on the first season of True Detective. It's more than up your alley.
We all want more Xenogears in your channel. You know how to do these analysis!! Thanks for mentioning the work done by Resonant Arc. they made an anthology work about this game!!!so complete and now it became a reference point to explain and understand why Xenogears it is one of the best games ever made
Keep the xenogears coming Max, it's too good to pass up
This game would make perfect HBO/Netflix series in 2020s
Def need more, this format is much more digestible for more then my first short run through the game
Well just the chance of you going to make another video got me to like and subscribe with notifications on. The amount of detail was great
Loved your analysis of this! You made a very complicated story easy to understand. Looking forward to potential additional videos in this series
I was properly shocked when Chrono Cross popped on the screen. I loved that game. Never played Xenogears, but now I'm willing to read up on it.
Still, digest at your leisure Sir.
it was supposed to be the script of FFVII, only deemed to be too dark and full of controversies by SQUARESOFT, a Wiseman once said -
[my left hand holy, my right hand divine]
Based Max
The Xeno series is and always will be the most epic series.
So glad to see you touch on this gem of my youth that I had to struggle to find until 2003.