Becoming Whole | Xenogears Thematic Analysis (Ft. Patrick Holleman)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2019
- Today I'm joined by Patrick Holleman of the Game Design Forum to look at the core theme of Xenogears, one of the most profound and moving stories ever told in video games.
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I played this game when I was 15. I know recently I had to go back to thoroughly understand this. It's quite complex for someone as young as I was when I played it in 1998.
I really love this game i played it around 15 as well and I started to delve into psychology and psychological theories thanks to it
Xenogears deserves a remake with a proper disc 2 retelling.
@@jego207 I completely agree with that. The problem is that the game is owned by Square. So the Creator at Monolith can't get the rights back. So I was reading anyway.
A remake of this game would be just as ambitious as remaking FFVII. The level of it would be amazing. Maybe one day it will happen.
same was over my head at the time but came back and what a gem
This is probably the biggest reason as to why everyone found this game so confusing, we all played it as 10-15 year olds and remember it that way, lol.
People are quick to dismiss Xenogears as merely being a story with a lot of angsty ideas thrown together, but it DOES have an underlying cohesive narrative as you guys demonstrated here. It's been my favorite game for some time now, and the story and its references are exactly why. Thanks for the in-depth look at this guys.
I think you should've brought up Krellian when talking about the one winged angels. Just a touch. But I think it is important that Krellian grows two wings before going to the above dimension to be "one with God", during the ending. Sure it means that he is whole, and in a way humans are incomplete, but it also portrays on how he could never be one of the angels that would lend a hand to another. He was obsessed with "becoming whole" like you say in this video, and he was the only one character who went into completion of that primordial impulse. He was unable to coexist with another human being and needed to complete himself by himself, but since that is not how an entity's placement in the universe works, the "other" for Krellian was the universe itself, peeking into that machinations that run it, in other words: God.
>Wife holding a big Mazinger Z figure
Best wife!
That said, Xenogears is still my favorite game period 20 years later, love it so much.
Then why do you have a Cloud profile pic?
Where's fei?
Great! For whatever reason I have been thinking a lot about XenoGears lately. I can’t even say how much of a travesty it is that we haven’t gotten a remake, with disc 2 done the way it was supposed to be done. Honestly, this may be my favorite story ever told in video games.
100% agree. Maybe SE will consider a remake after they finish ff7r in 2035.
@@Cleancutchaos I doubt it but I would be happy with a remake especially if they were allowed to expand and fix up the back half of the game
XenoGears is great~ i even mare elly in xenoblade X.
I would put up some capital for a crowdfunding effort, but quality games are so damn expensive these days I'm not sure if the cost could even be touched.
@@Cleancutchaos right I would to but games are just too damn expensive now at least the big AAA ones
The quality and research of this video was outstanding. Xenogears is one of my all time favorites rpg's. Even in its time i understood that the were some deeper underlying messages conveyed through the story and dialogs but never did i think it was at this level.
check out dark pixel gamings 3 part series about Xenogears
@@jonathandiosa5739 thank you i will do so.
Wow we're still discussing Xenogears in 2019.....timeless?
Of course we are, Takahashi keeps reusing these themes in Xenoblade.
Xenogears is essentially, to its core, a love story that spans over 10,000 years.
How I wish they made a remake/remaster/direct sequel of sorts
They kinda did with Xenosaga. But its more of a spiritual prequel. Its the closest thing we'll get to it since the writer doesn't own the writes to Xenogears.
@@jeffhughes7104 Perhaps SE could offer a sum of money to the original writer to provide the synopsis of what the story would have been, and then have other talent come in and fill out the rest.
@@Yamigata i´d trust monolith more with this task themselves than se ^^
@@diagtot8310 I would too, but SE has talent they just need to put it to use. Example: the folks behind FFXIV are doing an excellent job.
@@Yamigata true (tho still prefer xi till this day, but they did a great job with xiv^^).. ff vii r seems to shape up pretty well too, cant do much wrong with an existing story... smh i´m still doubtful until i see the finished product xD imo monolith´s track record is better in the overall quality, in most cases i prefer the gameplay choices of se tho.. they should work together for this for the best of both worlds :F
I don’t care what anyone says Xenogears is by far the best story delivered in a video game media.
I think that you should really check Lisa: The Painful. Not saying that it's better, but it has an extremely emotional and moving story. While I'd say that Xenogears is more spiritual in its themes and concepts, Lisa deals more with themes of mundanity, and human instinct. The basic story is also extremely gripping.
FF6-10
Dead Lift interesting I’ll definitely check it out! Thanks !
@@tempestaoc4839 FFX is a good game but nowhere near one of the beat stories in games lol
@@theclawyaww3740 92 on metacritic/9.0 userscore. I beg to differ.
21 years later it still ranks as one of the best, if not the best stories told in a video game.
lostn65 in any media. I dare you.
I absolutely love this game, it's also fascinating how much of this was brought back into Xenoblade Chronicles 2, though a lot of it was quashed by the English localization.
Takashi really has a story in his heart that he wants to tell, and those stories never fail to touch my heart
Xenoblade 2 is a good rpg but I think the plot written is so shallow compare to xenogears .
@@andytk2723 To be fair Takahashi wanted XC2 to feel more like the shonen anime he grew up on. And probably wanted to try a different type of story while still keeping the ideas of what makes a Xeno game. Seeing as he's said he gets tired of the last thing he works on and usually wants to do something new.
I'm a simple man, I see Xeno, I like
Then you my friend are far simpler than Fei Fong Wong.
@@padraicburns9278 I don't know, Fei ends up being one of the more complicated and interesting characters in the game, but you tell me
When I played Xenogears I was 16 and going through some serious religious conflicts of my own having lost my grandfather 2 years and really struggling as I was really starting to lose my faith and because of that the story really resonated with back then. Years later I replayed it and I have a new level of respect further understanding the complexity of this story and really appreciating the psychological conflicts presented in this more than the religious ones. Such a complex story, the likes of no other RPG I've ever played.
If only every video on youtube had this much thought and effort put behind it. You guys did a fantastic job!
A game set apart from any other of its kind and for many others like myself, a life changing experience. At 13, I remember there being a shift in my life after playing through Xenogears, when all the sudden I was this new curious person existing as part of a much much bigger universe than the one I previously lived in. For me, Xenogears was a integral part of a maturation process as a kid and how I thought. It was a game that would give me a deep sense of wonder in my youth and that would set the bar and course of my journey in life, leading me to seeking out answers to deep questions like who and what are we, where did we come from and where are we headed… you know, all the existential stuff we ask ourselves some point in our lives. Xenogears almost didn’t happen but I’m damn sure grateful it did!! A lot of us probably would have been really different people had it not 🙂
I remember bringing the game to the church I grew up in to let my friends barrow it and all their worried moms would ask me before letting their kids bring it home… what is this “stand up tall and shake the heavens” stuff all about?!?! I’d say, oh nothing mam… it’s a life changing experience is all it means lol 😆
YES, Xenogears is forever be in my all time greatest RPG games list.
Xenogears is such a masterpiece. I really enjoyed listening to this entire video. Reminds me of how much I love this game
As a young person, Xenogears sparked my interests in archeology, technology, mythology, psychology, strategy, and caused what I suspect will be a lifelong addiction to understanding and connecting abstract concepts. My personal favorite game, and the ultimate young INTJ's wet dream as far as I can tell LOL. I might have (almost) all the knowledge in the world in my pocket at all times, but... I still go back to Xenogears from time to time for inspiration and satisfaction. Your video is the perfect introduction for those of us who can't help but dive deep into the lore of Xenogears, the minds of it's creators, and the theories that fluenced the story of Xenogears. Great job!
What a AWESOME video. Actually I just finished the game TODAY, after 15 years (the first time I played). Now that I’m old, I cloud clearly understand the true meaning of the drama. This is an absolute MASTERPIECE, and literally one of the best storytelling of all time. A story so rich that my mind froze watching the credits after the final animation. I know that the story tell us about “becoming whole” but, right now, I feel bad, empty haha because the game is over. I still have some hope about the Chapter VI (6). We deserve that. Thanks for the video, it’s very informative. Cheers!
Xenogears' still my favorite game.
Your best work yet! Your thesis at the beginning is supported all the way through with sharp,lean quotes and excerpts, with great outside input. Thanks for bringing on Patrick Holeman and assembling the meaning statement for those, like me, who played back in 1998 and understood the story intuitively but didn't appreciate the nuance. I think Xenogears is more relevant than ever, especially in Japanese society. Jungian philosophy is also weirdly popular again, not just academically but in pseudo- self help and television (Twin Peaks: Season 3 comes to mind).
Again, you did an excellent job.
Best game ever made.
In a weird way, you and Pat became whole to make the best video on the channel. The two of you should be very proud.
I had such a massive crush on Elly when playing this game as a 13-year old.
The perfect commentary for this game. It's hard to say what resonates more, the game itself, or this thoughtful and well-delivered breakdown.
I'd give you a standing ovation, but I'm at work and I'd look pretty ridiculous doing so.
hian and that is what would make it so special and from the heart...
Xenogears was a game when I played it back as my 13 year old self I struggled to get into it's story. However it is it's complexity of the many themes and deep plot and My drive to not only learn more of the story but analysis the plot and themes almost on a higher level of thinking. Takahashi and Saga are two of the best writters in the industry and despite it's many flaws Xenogears is a game that is truly magnificent.
Everyone's talking about symbolism and stuff, and I'm just thinking about Ramsus.
I would imagine he was supposed to have a larger role possibly as a party member... hmmm? He really takes an emotional beating in the game (not too different from most characters), however things were rushed and so forth, so it is, Xenogears remains perfectly imperfect.
This explained so many things I wanted to know about this game. Thank you
I guess I feel about Xenogears like a "plebeian" feels about "fine art" - "I don't really get it. I just know I love it."
Xenogears is the most meaningful videogame ever made. I am so sad it doesn't have a true sequel. The main message of bringing together the shattered pieces has sequel potential. Since they have to rebuild a broken world. Maybe they can seek Lost Jerusalem in the sequel, like that they realize the world is not only the New Jerusalem of the story. Maybe "seeking contact" would be the valuable message to share there... That would bring meaning to some of the characters who don't get real background, Citan Uzuki and Emeralda would be great as playables.
Xenogears, flawed as it is, is one of the best classic JRPG's of all time and it's story is one of the best in all video games. It's a damned shame what happened with disc 2. Thank you for showing this old, somewhat forgotten game some love and attention. It's unlikely it will ever get a remake, but I will never give up that hope. And it's videos like this one and conversations about the best elements of the game (like the amazing music and plot) that keep that hope burning.
A great analytical video as always from this channel. If there is one thing I would add is that you didn't really talk about the Oedipal concepts/theories present at the core of this game's narrative. But I think these concepts are quite vital puzzle pieces to the "becoming whole" theme.
Basically every character has some Oedipal issues. Take Elly for instance... She is the Oedipal representation of the male longing for "the mother" in psychology... Why do you think that in this line (img.fireden.net/v/image/1447/66/1447669331530.jpg) Fei mentions her name never changed throughout the incarnations, but why does Fei's name change in Elly's line? The conclusion the game makes is that we males subconsciously long for our mother in the woman we fall in love with...
Remember the scene with little Fei in front of the Zohar... He wished for his mother and therefore Elly's existence came into being. Basically Xenogears' message is that we as babys experienced unconditional love from our mother as the first other "being" we ever "met". But as babys we couldn't distinguish between ourselves and others, we had no concept of individuality. So only as babys did we experience being "one" with another human being. But once we got the concept of individuality, once our ego formed, this deepest of bonds was shatterd (the "broken mirror" metaphor in "Small Two of Pieces" is about that moment of self realization and therefore seperation - This self realization can also be tied to the biblical Fruit of Knowledge). This "being one" with another human being is what we long for since then.
That unity is what the game describes as being closest to "god". Elhaym in hebrew actually means "el" = God and "haym" = life. That's why Elly is always Elly.
(On a slightly relevant side note: Miang's Japanese name is Myyah, basically the inversion without the El (god) prefix. Her surname Hawwa is the Hebrew name for the biblical Eve.)
The game basically analyzes the human search for something that is within us like a long forgotten but deeply imprinted memory... The game ties this psychological concept to the human longing for a higher being or rather state of existence/mind as some religions see it and therefore the source of all belief systems.
Got this game for Christmas in 1998 at 14 and i play it at least once a year. 21 years later and i'm still learning about the game, that should tell you how deep and involved the story is. I sorta understood the concept of what was going on as a teenager but i didn't fully grasp the story as a whole until a few years ago.
Dude, this is some seriously fantastic work. Xenogears is a hearty topic, it just covers soooooo many different things but you managed to make a video that beautifully elaborates on it.
One of the best videos of this channel. I would love to play a complete readapted version of Xenogears in the Nintendo Switch. One that includes all the content they could not include in the original version!
There is already a re-adaption of Xenogears on the Switch. It's called Xenoblade Chronicles 2. And no I'm not just saying that because they're both Xeno games. XC2 borrows a good number of themes Xenogears tackled but handles it in it's own way and easier to understand to the general audience. Serious after watching this video I realized that it's very similar to the relationship between drivers and blades.
@@FireFury190 There are some affinities but the stories and motivations are vastly different. XC2 does not qualify even as a spiritual succesor in my opinion. Even so, good observation.
@@zithfrg Fair enough. They share themes but have very different stories. Though while the Blade games do have their own style that's vastly different from Gears and Saga, they obviously still want to retain elements from those past games as to not lose their routes. And to me personally if they continue to do that then I see them as fine successors.
Of all the stories I've experienced through books, movies, series, and games, XENOGEARS stands high above everything else. Playing that game was a to get as close to the sublime as you can get.
I hope this game will get a PC release someday. Wouldn't even care if it's remake/remaster, just being able to play it again would be a godsent.
For the longest time I've wanted to get a tattoo of those one-winged angels cuz of this game.
oh I got goosebumps when I read the titel.... its my childhood!
Excellent Video guys, Each time Mike talk about Xenogaers I learn new stuff. Also, great thanks to Ft. Patrick Holleman for all is insight.
This was fantastic, just wonderfully written and produced. Thank you for making it!
I've been replaying Xenogears recently and I noticed a lot of these themes while playing it. It really is fantastic in the way it executes all of its themes. Great video!
Damn this video is amazing. I love finding out the lore and backroind for it. Thanks for the awesome video.
Much appreciated for this one! I've loved this game since the first time I played it and the more times I play it and the more research I do into the game the more I love it. So many layers and references and allusions and hidden meanings just make it something that you can continue to play over and over and always learn new things about.
One of my favorite videos of yours yet. Keep it up.
Wonderful analysis. I enjoy analytical videos of video games a lot and the way you guys analyze them makes this a great watch.
Dont know who will see this, but Xenogears made me actually want to research more into a game simply because of how large the story was. Great analysis and I look forward to more of these from you!
great breakdown of references! i remember playing this and would go to school and ask every kid if they heard of Xenogears, not even one, and now i know why i asked every kid, because i wanted to know if i was the only one who felt touched about the game not as something to get by time but because the game had a message about life's broken yet fruitful life experience to come as we grow older.
Great analysis, played this during my teens i only managed to understand the basic concept of these theories. When you elaborated about this it revealed that xenogears is actually deeper than it seems beyond the surface. What made it even better was it took those concepts and made them easily understandable through storytelling without going too much into the details.
Videos like these are my favorite part of Resonant Arc. Unlike any other gaming channel out there. Excellent!
XENOGEARS IN MY FEED? POSTED TODAY? NEVER CLICKED SOMETHING SO FAST!
I wish they remade this game instead of ff7
Beautiful video. It touches many subjects that all of us who have played Xenogears love and cherish, and does it in such a clean and direct way... Just beautiful.
Xenogears should get a remake on Switch.
This video is great and deserves so many more views. Thumbs up!
I could listen to ya'll talk about Xenogears pretty much non-stop, and I think there's enough material in the game to do so, great video
Thanks a lot for these type of content. I always find myself looking for these in depth explanations and elaborations of videogames sociology and psychology. Its hard to find other people who are into this, so again... thank you very much. Your work is incredibly professional and just invites us to think and reflect on how every small detail in masterpieces like xenogears, was a superbly crafted choice.
I thought the shattering mirror was not only reminiscent of the main character's psychology but also on how the world of Xenogears lives separated from it's own history, every land and era is like a separate entity of it's own and it is only you as a player, through the recollection of the memories of Fei and Ellys' past lives, can put them together into a whole glass or mirror.
I love every single video you guys make about this amazing game!Its soo sad we dont get games with this amount of depth anymore
Incredible video. I played the game in 1998, and replayed the game in 2013-2014. This video still got me thinking of new things and themes.
That was fantastic. Exactly the sort of content I come here for.
I'm crying! We all just want to feel WHOLEEEE
Ghoopi Woldburger the whole 10,000 year story line in XG was just the dream of one boy, Abel, wanting to be whole with someone... 😢
a truly great game , i love this video , looking forward to more about this game
This is an AMAZING video... thanks man... really great!!! Xenogears the best game of all time!!!
Well done breakdown. I enjoyed the video.
Your analysis is excellent, as usual.
Patrick is probably really focused on his writing but I would love to see more content on his channel.
Beautiful video, love this history a game that truly deserves a remake!
Great video. Makes me want to see you guys tackle the themes of the Xenosaga and Xenoblade games. Especially since there are a number that carry over from Xenogears.
This game shaped almost my all visions of reality nowadays. Such a powerfull and underated title
Excellent video. Bravo sirs.
Awesome video guys.
Patrick Hoilleman is great! i bought some of his series at GDC this past year and have read some of his texts online for years.
What a video!! Thank you!
Just amazing guys!
Great work guys.
great to see another Xenogears video from you guys it truly is a great game in terms of storytelling and the themes it wants to explore maybe someday we will get to Xenosaga as well? just a thought...
thank you guys, good job, what a game !!!
Brilliant work
Xenogears is my all time top favorite game. I usually play all the way through it once a year. The music, the story, the game play everything is mostly perfect in my opinion. I wish they had more time to give us more of the story on the 2nd disk and let us explore a bit more. Tha k you for this video it was week done
Still my favorite game of all time. It's set the bar for story telling so high, it's hard to enjoy the stories of modern games.
The idea of male and female as two halves of a whole is seen much earlier, see Plato's Symposium. Also, the name Sophia stems from the Greek word for love, like how philosophy is literally translatable as love of wisdom. Just thought you should know.
amazing stuff
Good stuff, makes a nice companion piece to your review. I’ve not played it but Xenogears seems emblematic of the time Square took risks and experimented. Funnily enough, that thought came into my head after finishing Final Fantasy 8 for my Switch, because although flawed, it was a made with love, risk and vision.
Then a friend sent me a trailer for FF7 Remake, and I had the profound realisation we are never getting those days back from this studio.
Times change I guess. Remember the good times, learn and grow, then find something new
If you never played it then you at least owe it to yourself to listen to the soundtrack. Yasunori Mitsuda is a genius!
love the story and the music of the game. i hope it gets a remaster someday..
The story of Xenogears and its incomprehensibilities will always find a way to make you feel like there is some meaning to storytelling. While it lasts it's one of those games that leave a mark on you at the subconscious level which is well put in this video. Japanese 90's creativity and the will to have closure in things. Beautiful, but life teaches you sadly closure is not always there. Which is the message Xenogears chooses not to evoke. But on the side of the argument that all the best stories need closure, then Xenogears is sure one of the best stories.
Great video! Great game!
Zenmenz! My man. I sent you a message on discord. If you have a second hit me up!
Man I loved xenogears mature themes and aesthetics when it came out for PS1 but for some reason I could never get into the Xenosagas and Xenoblades as much as I did with xenogears because I felt they changed those mature themes and depth for anime tropes.
I remember picking the first Xenosaga up at random from a Blockbuster shelf ages ago and being sucked in. It hits some of the same notes even better than Xenogears, had a great cast and great themes but could be a slog to play through at times just to get to the next cutscene so you can find out what happens next. Never had the Nintendo consoles needed try the Xenoblades, not sure how those are.
Very interesting video.
The fact the game came to us in such a marvelous, massive, but still incomplete form echoes this theme perfectly as well.
It's almost criminal that Square Enix hasn't collaborated with Monolith Soft for a remake despite having all the source material needed to make one happen!
Ries Yukira idk if Nintendo would go for that. They’re already making Xenoblade
@@HellenicCinema why not? It's going to make Nintendo a lot of money anyway with how much in demand this remake is going to be.
And it's most likely going to be a Nintendo exclusive since Monolith Soft works for them.
Ries Yukira not much demand. The game sold 2 million copies and Square likes AAA budgets.
@@HellenicCinema so 2 million copies sold is not in demand enough? Look at the original Xenoblade on the Wii? It sold poorly about 200k, and when they ported it to the 3DS it was still doing poorly but that didn't stop them from making more Xenoblade games and now we are at the point where they're remaking the original Xenoblade game, so tell me again why they're remaking a game that sold less than Xenogears?
Keep in mind that Xenoblade didn't have Square Enix's backing so just imagine if both Square Enix, Monolith Soft and Nintendo collaborated to remake Xenogears? Add the current hype and demand for more Xeno related games and I assure you it will sell like crazy.
Ries Yukira I’m saying square has unrealistic sales expectations. Deus Ex was shelved for selling 2 million copies on a much smaller dev budget than Final Fantasy. The original tomb raider reboot was considered a failure and sold millions.
I personally want it as well, but square takes no risks. They said they wouldn’t remake FFVII until they made a game as good as the OG. They didn’t wait for that and used the remake to rebuild their image as its being received extremely well.
very nice video again! ty~
I always love the ways how you dive into these games.
...are you by any chance also interested in covering xenosaga in the future?
this video makes me sad because I know a game with a story this complex and thoughtful will never come out again, most companies would be too afraid to make something like this
Even the old Square Soft was aware the plot of ethos(Church),and the deus(God) ressuration stop promote it to western audience.
Here's what I did to get(or try to get...) a better understanding of Xenogear's story: Played it once. Played it again. And again, and again... and again. I would be lying if I said I understood all of it, but it certainly helped me a lot even if by just a little. Every new playthrough, I found something new and used that new thing I discovered to connect to other elements of the story. Ofc I used the internet a lot, to research what every new concept or word I didn't know about was/meant. It's like a puzzle that can only be solved with perseverance and dedication. What helped me the most was how fun the combat system was in this game that I never really found stale or boring. That played a big part on my repetitive playthroughs of this fantastic game.
I cherish this game like no other and it's thanks to it that I was able to expand my knowledge on a lot of topics I was ignorant about. And then there's this platform called TH-cam where I saw a lot of videos with the ideas I already had formulated on my mind and also new ones that I never considered the possibility of being able to connect it to the story of Xenogears. And for that I thank you and all the people who gave their perspective on all of the themes this game has because I always learn something new.
Never in my life I would've thought that a video game would take me on this journey of craving for knowledge. It shows that video games can in FACT be a form of art just as much as books are. They are just told and presented differently. But both are still Art.
Special thanks to Tetsuya Takahashi, Hiromichi Tanaka, Kiyoshi Yoshii, Kunihiko Tanaka, Kaori Tanaka,Yasuyuki Honne, Masato Kato and Yasunori Mitsuda for creating this masterpiece. I apologize if I missed someone but that's everyone I could find involved in this big project.
Also a special thanks to every youtuber and non-youtuber out there who took the challenge of analyzing the thematic scope of Xenogears.
Thank you.
Well done!
Top of the list of my favorite RPG if not of all games. I agree to what you say about the makers great topnotch ability of storytelling.
I played it back when I was in middle school and I only recognized the biblical references but I kinda get the messages conveyed. The plus point is it made me interested in other religious, scientific and phonological references put there.
Xenogears was truly an eye opener for me back then. It's still even now.
More Xenogears is always a good thing!
I remenber that line from the movie being parody in a episode of Jhonny Bravo that was also a parody of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, now i know from were that line comes from.
Oooo a Xenogears video!
First saw the thumbnail, freaked thinking the game was remastered, good upload though.
Very underated game i played it later trough an emulator was hooked from the start felt really unique