History VideoGame / Xenogears

* BigBadDuumvirate[=/=]BigBadEnsemble: [[TheEmperor Emperor]] [[NameOfCain Cain]] and [[WhiteHairBlackHeart Kahran]] [[CharClone Ramsus]] are the duumvirate, the former being the [[EvilOverlord supreme leader]] of [[TheEmpire the Sacred Empire of Solaris]], and the latter effectively being [[TheDragon his general]] who [[DragonInChief personally antagonizes the heroes]]. The two are competing with [[EvilChancellor Shakhan]], [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness the Gazel Ministry]], and Grahf for control of the empire, while [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Id]] seeks revenge on them all. [[spoiler:Except Cain [[GoodAllAlong turns out to be]] trying to [[StealthMentor help the heroes]], Ramsus betrays him, and all of them are revealed to be {{Unwitting Pawn}}s. [[TheManBehindTheMan The real villains]] are Miang Hawwa, Kahran's [[TheManInFrontOfTheMan supposed]] [[BodyguardBabes sidekick]], and Krelian, the MadScientist true leader of Solaris driven by [[LoveMakesYouEvil the death of his love]]; they in turn are working for {{Deus|EstMachina}}, the GreaterScopeVillain. Miang herself, or rather the Miang Factor personified as the [[{{Ouroboros}} Urobolous Snake]], is the PostFinalBoss of the game. Defeating her means Deus cannot be activated and is utterly useless.]]

* OrganicTechnology: It's a little hard to see given the limited graphics power of the UsefulNotes/PlayStation, but the artwork in the ''Perfect Works'' book shows that all the Omnigears [[spoiler:and Deus in its final forms]] are all in some way organic. There's a line in the game around the time of Andvari's discovery that says something to this effect, but it's easily missable and it's not that big of a plot point in the game until [[spoiler:Miang drags her GreyGoo-powered Opiomorph out of storage and whoops your ass with it]].

* HeroesWantRedheads: Fei falls in love Elly and eventually gets her.

''Xenogears'' was released by [[Creator/SquareEnix Squaresoft]] in 1998, and is probably their best-known UsefulNotes/PlayStation game that doesn't bear the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' name. It is particularly remembered both for a [[KudzuPlot uniquely convoluted plot spanning ten thousand years]]; themes cooked out of {UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}}, [[UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}} Jewish mysticism]] and [[UsefulNotes/CarlJung Jungian]] psychology; and an atmosphere which was remarkably {{Anime}}-like for its time, leading to the game's infamous hour-long cutscenes, and its TroubledProduction that resulted in the game's rushed state.

Now up on the [=PS3's=] UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork. The ''[[http://www.flickr.com/photos/29956195@N08/sets/72157616593453778/ Perfect Works]]'' has also been translated (almost entirely) into English.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/812fbe6c5760bf95aa90b6caa5103143.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''Stand Tall and Shake the Heavens''.[[note]] From left to right: [[BadassPreacher Billy Lee Black]], [[TheBigGuy Ricardo "Rico" Banderas]], [[ArtificialHuman Emeralda]], [[MentorArchetype Citan Uzuki]], [[LadyofBlackMagic Elhaym "Elly" Van Houten]], [[TheChosenOne Fei Fong Wong]], [[NobleFugitive Bartholomew "Bart" Fatima]], [[PluckyGirl Marguerite "Margie" Fatima]], [[TeamPet Chu-Chu]], [[TeenGenius Maria Balthasar]].[[/note]]]]

* ObviousBeta: The second disc feels very hastily-developed compared to the first.

* SecretWeapon: the Goliath is supposed to be that for Kislev in his war against Aveh (the title of the chapter when [[spoiler:you steal it]] is even titled "Secret Weapon"), which is probably why ''everyone'' seems to know about it. There is a huge swirling hologram of the machine in a room in the central district of Kislev, soldiers around make comments about how great it is, and later, when spotting it on his periscope, Bart comments: "This is the Goliath we have been hearing so much about!"

* StayInTheKitchen: After the party defeats [[spoiler:Hammer]], Fei convinces [[spoiler:Elly]] to stop fighting, citing her [[ThouShallNotKill reluctance to kill]].

* TechnicalPacifist: Citan refuses to use his sword. He points out to Fei that he swore never to use his sword again and instead primarily fights with his fists. He later takes it up as a reluctantly since times have grown so desperate that having the moral high ground doesn't mean much anymore, and he no longer can run away from what is needed of him.

* UnknownRival: Poor Ramsus largely serves as this to Fei. The irony is that most of Ramsus' problems have been caused by Id and the Ministry, but he keeps lashing out irrationally at a convenient target.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Krelian.

* WorthyOpponent: Ramsus.

* YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: [[spoiler:The Wave Existence.]]

** Not to mention that Hawwa[[spoiler:, used to designate the first Miang, the original woman,]] is an academic transliteration of [[spoiler: חַוָּה, (Ḥawwāh), also known as ''Hava'' or ''Chava'', the Hebrew form of Eve.]]

''Xenogears'' was released by [[Creator/SquareEnix Squaresoft]] in 1998, and is probably their best-known UsefulNotes/PlayStation game that doesn't bear the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' name. It is particularly remembered both for a [[KudzuPlot uniquely convoluted plot spanning ten thousand years]]; themes cooked out of {UssefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}}, [[{{UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}} Jewish mysticism]] and [[UsefulNotes/CarlJung Jungian]] psychology; and an atmosphere which was remarkably {{Anime}}-like for its time, leading to the game's infamous hour-long cutscenes, and its TroubledProduction that resulted in the game's rushed state.

''Xenogears'' was released by [[Creator/SquareEnix Squaresoft]] in 1998, and is probably their most well-known UsefulNotes/PlayStation game that doesn't bear the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' name. It is particularly remembered both for a [[KudzuPlot uniquely convoluted plot spanning ten thousand years]]; themes cooked out of {{UsefulNotes/Gnosticism}}, [[{{UsefulNotes/Judaism}} Jewish mysticism]] and [[UsefulNotes/CarlJung Jungian]] psychology; and an atmosphere which was remarkably {{Anime}}-like for its time, leading to the game's infamous hour-long cutscenes, and its TroubledProduction that resulted in the game's rushed state.

* IncrediblyLamePun: Jumping into the well in Lahan will get you a series of horrible well-related puns.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* CameraScrew:
** About 95% of screens give you 360 degree rotation of the camera, but some rooms have predetermined angles for when you enter a room. It's possible for the same direction you used to enter a room will cause you to backtrack.
** A number of non-secret exits can be completely obscured at any angle, or require turns that are unclear due to the position of walls.

* WhipItGood: Bart ''and'' his Gear. [[AllThereInTheManual Perfect Works]] explains it: As a child, Bart was beaten with a whip so badly he had recurring nightmares, so his handlers Sigurd and Maison decided to train him with the whip in order to conquer his fears.

The game was concived and co-written by [[CreatorCouple husband and wife developers]] Tetsuya Takahashi and Soraya Saga, with Takahashi also directing the game. The script was written by Masato Kato (''[[VideoGame/NinjaGaidenNES Ninja Gaiden]]'', ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''), featured a musical score written by Creator/YasunoriMitsuda and featured animation [=FMVs=] by Creator/BeeTrain, Creator/ProductionIG, and Omnibus Studio. After production wrapped, Takahashi would leave Square and go onto establish Creator/MonolithSoft studio. Interestingly enough, the game's creators have stated that in its [[DivorcedInstallment early development stages]], ''Xenogears'' was initially pitched to be ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', and later, ''VideoGame/ChronoCross''. Despite a rocky development, the game would go on to become a cult classic, and served as the start of Takahashi's venture into the genre, leading to two other series; ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' (which Saga also worked on) and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'', all of which draw inspiration from this game - with ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' in particular recycling many plot points and concepts originally seen in ''Xenogears''.

The game was concived and co-written by [[CreatorCouple husband and wife developers]] Tetsuya Takahashi and Soraya Saga, with Takahashi also directing the game. The script was written by Masato Kato (''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', ''VideoGame/ChronoCross''), featured a musical score written by Creator/YasunoriMitsuda and featured animation [=FMVs=] by Creator/BeeTrain, Creator/ProductionIG, and Omnibus Studio. After production wrapped, Takahashi would leave Square and go onto establish Creator/MonolithSoft studio. Interestingly enough, the game's creators have stated that in its [[DivorcedInstallment early development stages]], ''Xenogears'' was initially pitched to be ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', and later, ''VideoGame/ChronoCross''. Despite a rocky development, the game would go on to become a cult classic, and served as the start of Takahashi's venture into the genre, leading to two other series; ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' (which Saga also worked on) and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'', all of which draw inspiration from this game - with ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' in particular recycling many plot points and concepts originally seen in ''Xenogears''.

The game was concived and co-written by [[CreatorCouple husband and wife developers]] Tetsuya Takahashi and Soraya Saga, with Takahashi also directing the game. The script was written by Masato Kato (''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', ''VideoGame/ChronoCross''), featured a musical score written by Creator/YasunoriMitsuda and featured animation [=FMVs=] by Creator/BeeTrain, Creator/ProductionIG, and Omnibus Studio. After production wrapped, Takahashi would leave Square and go onto establish Creator/MonolithSoft studio. Interestingly enough, the game's creators have stated that in its [[DivorcedInstallment early development stages]], ''Xenogears'' was initially pitched to be ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', and later, ''VideoGame/ChronoCross''. Despite a [[TroubledProduction rocky development]], the game would go on to become a cult classic, and served as the start of Takahashi's venture into the genre, leading to two other series; ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' (which Saga also worked on) and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'', all of which draw inspiration from this game - with ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' in particular recycling many plot points and concepts originally seen in ''Xenogears''.

The game was written and directed by Tetsuya Takahashi, who later on would become the founder of the Creator/MonolithSoft studio. Interestingly enough, the game's creators have stated that in its [[DivorcedInstallment early development stages]], ''Xenogears'' was initially pitched to be ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', and later, ''VideoGame/ChronoCross''. Despite a rocky development, the game would go on to become a cult classic, and served as the start of Takahashi's venture into the genre, leading to two other series; ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'', all of which draw inspiration from this game - with ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' in particular recycling many plot points and concepts originally seen in ''Xenogears''.

Now up on the PS3's UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork. The ''[[http://www.flickr.com/photos/29956195@N08/sets/72157616593453778/ Perfect Works]]'' has also been translated (almost entirely) into English.

* BareYourMidriff: Sigurd is a rare male example. [[spoiler:Emeralda does this too when she grows up.]]

** [[TheRival Ramsus]] was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen meant to be one of these]], but was cut for budgetary reasons.

* {{Fanservice}}: An [[http://www.flickr.com/photos/29956195@N08/3335327903/in/set-72157616593453778 easter egg]] featuring a scantily clad Elly was planned, but never came to be because [[WhatCouldHaveBeen they didn't have time to implement it]].
* FantasticRacism: The people who live in the city of the sky refer to the surface-dwelling humans as -lambs-. It's also hinted that demihumans don't have it that great. Life's not easy when you look like a llama.

** The war between Shevat and Solaris has been going on for well over five-hundred years. Since neither faction can right away strike at the other, both instead make secretive operations against the other, and try to acquire special targets to join their side to make winning easier.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: See BrokenAesop above.

* GangInitiationFight: When Fei is thrown into D Block prison, he has to fight the current Battle Champ Rico and four of his subordinates as part of a "Baptism" ceremony. The reason is also pragmatic; inmates are given ranks based on how well they can fight, so inmates who fight as many of Rico's guys and win get better rooming and leeway. Fei manages to get the second highest after just waking up and being injured.

* GoldfishPoopGang: The Elements. They waffle between this and QuirkyMinibossSquad becuase they're actually some pretty tough recurring bosses, but while Dominia at least is a rather credible threat to the party's wellbeing, the other three aren't.

** Elly is introduced holding Fei at gunpoint. Once she starts fighting, though, she switches to a pair of metal batons, presumably because of this trope.

** [[spoiler:Krelian. After all he did, he still gets to "[[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence [go] to walk with God]]."]]

* LethalJokeCharacter: Chu-Chu and Hammer.

* LightIsNotGood: The EvilEmpire is the Sacred Empire of Solaris. Despite being populated mostly by slave labor and an upper-class of unrepentant douchebags, native Solarians are mostly light-haired, most wear white clothing, their military Gears and vehicles tend to be white. Solaris itself is white. White is also a major motif of the BigBad and his component parts. Save for a few notable exceptions, you might almost say that this game plays the trope straight.

* LostTechnology: Two layers: the ''Eldridge''-era technology (Babel Tower, Ft. Jasper), and the later Zeboim-era technology (Gears in general). Most all was take from the "Eldridge" though. What is the main reason why you had the remains of a spaceship gunwhale over 40 km in length sticking out of the ground for over 10000 years and chock full of tech not bringing you back up to par? [[spoiler: No one but a child was left who understood the original language.]]

Now up on the UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork. The ''[[http://www.flickr.com/photos/29956195@N08/sets/72157616593453778/ Perfect Works]]'' has also been translated (almost entirely) into English.

The game was written and directed by Tetsuya Takahashi, who later on would become the founder of the Creator/MonolithSoft studio. Interestingly enough, the game's creators have stated that in its [[DivorcedInstallment early development stages]], ''Xenogears'' was initially pitched to be ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', and later, ''VideoGame/ChronoCross''. Despite a rocky development, the game would go on to become a cult classic, and served as the start of Takahashi's venture into the genre, leading to two other series; ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'', all of which draw inspiration from this game.

The world of Ignas is dealing with a between the countries of Aveh and Kislev. Aided by a mysterious organization called "Gebler", Aveh has successfully forced a stalemate against Kislev, while a neutral Church like group called "Ethos" provides both sides with unearthed HumongousMecha called "Gears". Meanwhile, a young man named [[TheHero Fei Fong Wong]] lives in the remote village of Lahan with a case of amnesia after having been dropped off by a masked man. His life is changed when a battle between Gears occurs outside his home, and in an attempt to save the village, Fei uses one of the Gears to fight back, causing him to lose control and destroy his home. With his fate bound to the Gear, which is being hunted by the military, our reluctant hero has to [[GrandTheftPrototype flee inside it]]. From there, Fei goes on a journey to stop the war, find the truths of the world, and discover himself, aided by those he meets, including a woman named Elly, with whom he finds a strange connection to.

The world of Ignas is in conflict between the countries of Aveh and Kislev. Aided by a mysterious organization called "Gebler", Aveh has successfully forced a stalemate against Kislev, while a neutral Church like group called Ethos provides both sides with unearthed HumongousMecha called "Gears". Meanwhile, a young man named [[TheHero Fei Fong Wong]] lives in the remote village of Lahan, while dealing with amnesia. His life is changed when a battle between Gears occurs outside his home, and In an attempt to save the village, Fei uses one of the Gears to fight back, causing him to lose control and destroy his home. With his fate bound to the Gear, which is being hunted by the military, our reluctant hero has to [[GrandTheftPrototype flee inside it]]. From there, Fei goes on a journey to stop the war, find the truths of the world, and discover himself, aided by those he meets, including a woman named Elly, with whom he finds a strange connection to.

* AbortedArc: Pretty much every character who joins the party after Bart has their attendant subplot reduced to a footnote or outright forgotten after the portion of the game in which you recruit them. Most egregiously, Rico has absolutely no significance after his moment of fame in Kislev; as [[AllThereInTheManual Perfect Works]] notes, there was originally going to be a plot going into detail about [[spoiler:[[LukeIAmYourFather Sigmund being his father]]; in the game itself, Hammer simply mentions this twist and it stops being important]].

* AerithAndBob: Sophia, Maria, Billy, and Stone... meet Krelian, Seraphita, and Lacan. Elly van Houten is this trope by herself, as she has a normal Dutch name, but it's short for the very weird Elhaym rather than the more common Ellen. Fei Fong Wong's name is a zigzagging of this trope: it's not a normal name for a Western or Japanese audience, but is an actual name in China.

** Zeboim was a civilization with technology analogous to our world TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. [[spoiler:Miang and Cain]] engineered its destruction because of the lifespan-shortening genetic damage of its population. Nearly all the Gears excavated from the ruins of the world originated in the Zeboim era.

** Even with the English translations, sometimes the answers are more confusing than the questions. Good luck in understanding the inner workings of the whole Deus/Kadamony/Zohar system, or the exact role of the different PiecesOfGod. There are plenty of schemas and charts, but they're not exactly crystal clear.

* BigBrotherIsWatching: [[spoiler: The Gazel Ministry keeps track of your movements through the game's ''[[OhCrap save]] [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration points]]''.]]

* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Lacan and Sophia meet as children and had feelings for each other by that point. They separate and don't meet again for almost 10 years.

* CrutchCharacter: Bart too. He's useful for most of the first disc, [[spoiler: and is the first to get his Infinity Plus One Gear, which has abnormally high HP for that point in the game]]. But towards the end of the game there's not much he can do that somebody else can't do better.

** Grahf shows up and beats the shit out the party aboard the Goliath. For emphasis, ''he's on foot'' and your party members are all in Gears, and even then, the only thing keeping him from being a nightmare of a boss fight is that [[spoiler:he won't attack Elly, and actually forfeits once she's the only one left standing]].

* DamnYouMuscleMemory: If you've played any of the older ''Final Fantasy'' games before this game, you'll probably find yourself pressing the triangle button to open up the menu a lot.

** ''An entire religion of them in the Ethos / the Church,'' who pretend to be a SaintlyChurch interested in discovering the history of the world and progressing it culturally and scientifically. [[spoiler: they're an observation and resource extraction group for Solaris.]]

* DefectingForLove: Elly. She starts the game on the side of the enemy, but soon becomes a vital part of Fei's team. [[spoiler: And yes, they do [[WillTheyOrWontThey eventually kiss. And have sex.]]]] Then again, [[spoiler: they have been lovers for one hundred effing centuries: Their current incarnations are implied to be the first to live happily instead of, you know, getting murdered by the AncientConspiracy.]]

** Fei's hometown of Lahan gets razed, and almost all of his friends get [[EveryBodysDeadDave killed off in horrible fashion]]. "I don't like Gears or fighting," he eventually says. [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive The Call didn't care.]]

* EldritchAbomination: Deus. Technically, its an ''[[IncrediblyLamePun Eldridge]]'' Abomination.

* FinalExamBoss: Deus is a lot easier if you take out its four "pillars"

* FloatingContinent: The cities of Shevat and Solaris.

* ForeverWar: The war between Aveh and Kislev has been going on hundreds of years, and none of the participants remember why it started. By the time it ends though, the protagonists have much bigger problems to deal with.

* GangInitiationFight: When Fei is thrown into D Block prison, he has to fight the current Battle Champ Rico and four of his subordinates as part of a "Baptism" ceremony.

* NoSell: All of Achtzehn's attacks when trying to fight Big!Chu-Chu.

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:Krelian at the]], after he ''loses'' no less.

* CharacterPortrait

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler: You kill God. ''Twice.'' The first time is in the cargo hold of the USS Eldridge, where the remains of the original Deus are found; the second time is the resurrected Deus, which serves as the game's FinalBoss.]]

* {{Expy}}: Fei Fong Wong is an homage to mythical Chinese hero Wong Fei Hung, previously played by Jet Li in the ''Once Upon A Time in China'' series and Jackie Chan in the ''Drunken Master'' series.

* GainaxEnding: The entire second disc. Due to harsh deadlines forcing the developers to choose between leaving the story off on a cliffhanger or telling the rest of it in highly compressed form, all world map exploration and mini-games were left out of Disc 2 and replaced with cutscenes of the characters [[ExpositionBreak sitting on a rocking chair]] and [[HowWeGotHere telling the player about their adventure]]. As for the actual ending, it's probably the clearest thing in the game.

** Happens many, many times to Fei.

* LethalJokeItem: Alice's Wedding Dress

** [[spoiler: Id, Fei's SuperpoweredEvilSide]], is named after the Freudian unconscious of primal drives; Elhaym / Elly evokes [[spoiler: Elohim, one of the names given to the Judaeo-Chistian God]]; Miang / [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Myah]] is occasionally spelt [[spoiler: Myahle, the reverse of Elhaym]] in the artbook.

* SaveTheVillain: As part of the deeply poignant ending, BigBad Krelian [[spoiler:ascends into Heaven with the Wave Existence to live in a world without death or loss.]]

* SplitPersonalityMerge: The climax of the "six hours of texts and boss fights" section of Disc Two is an internal battle for control between [[spoiler:Fei, Id, and The Coward over who gets to control the body they all share. In the end, Fei manages to convince the two to come together, giving them their memories and power, making him basically himself but fully awakened as the Contact.]]

''Xenogears'' was released by [[Creator/SquareEnix Squaresoft]] in 1998, and is probably their most well-known UsefulNotes/PlayStation game that isn't ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII VIII]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX IX]]'', or ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics Tactics]]''. It is particularly remembered both for a [[KudzuPlot uniquely convoluted plot spanning ten thousand years]]; themes cooked out of {{UsefulNotes/Gnosticism}}, [[{{UsefulNotes/Judaism}} Jewish mysticism]] and [[UsefulNotes/CarlJung Jungian]] psychology; and an atmosphere which was remarkably {{Anime}}-like for its time, leading to the game's infamous hour-long cutscenes, and its TroubledProduction that resulted in the game's rushed state.