Although these it’s not mentioned as often today as some of its contemporaries, Xenogears is nevertheless a cult-classic RPG. Released in 1998 for the original PlayStation by the company then known as Squaresoft, Xenogears set the stage for a series of games that continues today, two decades later.
In the video above, we explore the history of Xenogears, including some behind-the-scenes details and a look at what made it special. With a twist on the Active Time Battle system used in games like Chrono Trigger, it offered a distinct style of combat to go along with an excellent soundtrack.
The video also explores the controversial religious aspects of the game that posed a problem during localization. It also touches on the infamously incomplete nature of the game; rather than cut content entirely, the developers resorted to leaning on exposition-heavy cutscenes comprised of static images.
Despite this, Xenogears remains beloved by many. It never received a direct sequel at Square, and disagreements with the publisher led to director Tetsuya Takahashi leaving the company to found Monolith Soft. That company subsequently went on to establish the Xeno series, first developing the Xenosaga games before moving on to the Xenoblade Chronicles titles, the most recent entry of which, Chronicles 2, debuted late last year on Nintendo Switch.