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.

Xenogears is literally my first encounter with existential dread.

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

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!

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.

Only a true masterpiece, regardless of the medium, lives you with emptiness like Xenogears does when you finish it. Thank you for shedding light on it. It warms my heart.

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!).

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 to gaming what Neon Genesis Evangelion is to anime.

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

It also says a lot that of all the "Kill God" trope RPGs, Xenogears and the series are the ones I always thinks of.

This is my favorite game of all time, thanks for doing a video on it. So heavy and dense with references and allusions, it’s definitely right up the alley of topics you usually cover. FYI, there’s a podcast called Retrograde Amnesia that covers this game in season 1 of their show (about 40 1hr episodes). The Retrograde guys appear on Reaonant Arc in a few episodes.

This game is a true Gem amongst Gems, one of my all time personal favorites, I still got the strategy guide and game tucked away in a moisture proof container. Great synopsis of a legendary game!

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.

The greatest story of any video game of all time. Great video. I haven't played it in 25 years but I still remember it like it was yesterday

My favorite RPG of all time! This game had a major impact on my childhood! Thank you for this!

Welcome to the Xeno community Max. You've just barely scratched the surface of Takahashi's madness and brilliance.

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.

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.

I loved this game; I'll always love this game.

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

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.

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.

Excellent synopsis and I cant wait to see more coverage of Xenogears

Xenogears as far as I'm concerned is THE final boss of videogames, the kind of experience that leaves a huge gaping hole in your heart when you finish it and truly understand it. Honestly, once you, at the minimum, have played Xenogears, Nier, Deus Ex, MGS and maybe a Zero Escape game you've pretty much seen it all, when it comes to deeper, more ambitious/twisty narratives in games, everything else is more or less just a variation. And it's kind of sad because that's not a very long list of essentials. Xenogears is far from my favourite game ever (ironically, Xenoblade 1 is easily top 3 but for very different reasons) but it absolutely towers above everything else as a ridiculous, tremedous achievement in terms of thematic depth in a medium where you're just supposed to push buttons to punch bad guys in the face and ask questions later. No other game tells a tale of such epic proportions and huge personal growth. There's just nothing quite like it. Try as I might I never found anything of similar magnitude condensed into one single game. Nothing surprises me, nothing excites me anymore, especially after the aforementioned list of games. And gameplay isn't something that can elicit a profound emotional response from me, ever, I'm all about story, always have been. It's a painful realization that I'm an old, jaded gamer and I simply ran out of sources of depth and profoundness inside my favourite medium. Video games can still be "fun" for me of course but those kinds of "fun" are very different. Books and movies are of course out there, but it's just not the same experience. No one is taking risks with games like Xenogears these days and it sucks. Even the creator of Xenogears himself went down the despicable waifu road in his more recent creations. Anyway, glad that this game is getting more exposure especially with that DOPE AS HELL analysis from Resonant Arc guys which I can't recommend enough for anyone who's interested in Xenogears. And sorry for being such a downer in my post lol. I just needed to vent really badly.

God I wish they finished Xenogears...and I wish there was some sort of HD remaster. This game is the epitome of JRPGs, along with: - Persona 4/5 - Final Fantasy X - The Legend of Dragoon - Parasite Eve

I remember playing this game on high school and how his story blow my mind.

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.

Loved this video, watched it as soon as I saw it pop up, please do more on xenogears!!! Great job!

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.

Thank you so much for this video. I'm playing through it again now as an adult and just seeing this synopsis has already opened my eyes up to things I hadn't even considered!

Always down for more Xeno- absolutely my favorite series.

Yes more vidoes about Xenogears!! It's an amazing piece of work that deserves more attention!!

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.

Whoa, very deep. I thought I understood the story when I first played it, but you shined some light on details I missed. Also, good analysis. As a Xenogears fan, a Christian, and someone who studied Kabbalah; I have to say this video was on point.

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. 🖖🗽

My all-time favorite video game. Love seeing people make content about it still to this day.

Having bought and played Xenogears (and still have the original game and stratagy guide!) when it first came out, it will always be one of my favorites. I've been into mecha and gunpla most of my life as well, and it wasn't until very recently that the Gears were made into kits! The mecha designers work(ed) on many Gundam series, so the similarities aren't surprising in my interests. It's a shame that Tetsuya Takahashi, the creator of Xenogears and the entire Xeno game series that is akin to Final Fantasy doesn't get enough credit like we give to Yoko Taro and Hideo Kojima. Please do more on this. It was over 20 years ago that I played and the game is so massive that even once I finished it... I was never 100% sure what was going on, only that it was awesome.

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!

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.

20:26 What ALL Xenogear fans came here for. The crucifixion of our lord and savior Chu-Chu.

Xenosaga, arguably, even more ambitious but more complete experience.

thanks for covering xenogears! the game really confused me so much as a kid but it's still one of my favourite games ever

Love your channel. Xenogears goes deeper than any other game. Period. I’d love a series on this game

The greatest game of all time for all eternity. Full stop.

Whole analysis and linking Jungian references in a nutshell is just super cool man. I know your main focus is perusing video games, but I'd like hear your thoughts on 'Ergo Proxy' sometime.

This is such a thorough analysis... I see where there's a lot of connections to Xenosaga as well. I'd love to see more of this.

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.

The idea of Adam Kadmon reminds me of the giant Ymir from Norse Mythology.

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. :)

Morrowind. granted, they were forced to scale it down a lot, but is still a PHENOMENAL game.

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.

YES! PLEASE MORE XENOGEARS

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!

My favorite game. So epic. Nothing can compare. I remember after beating it the first time, and then at the end of the credits it says "Xenogears episode 5"... I was so excited for all the prequels, but unfortunately that never happened, just another example of how ambitious this was, the fact that after 60 hours it was still "incomplete" with a rushed disc 2, but the entire game was really only 1 5th of the what it was meant to be...

This video deserves much, much more likes. The task of summarizing this game in the most concise manner is near impossible !

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 🤣

Please make more. This game needs more love. All the love.

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")

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!

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.

ENGAGEMENT FOR XENOGEARS!!! It's been in my top 3 games of all time since I first played it back in 1999.

One of the best games i've ever played! The first CD is almost perfect! Sadly... The second part looks incomplete in some sense. But the story, ost, and ambientantion are truly magnificent! Nice work! Also: Deus is the portuguese/latin word for God.

“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.

I finished this game last night during the wait for XC3 and I never thought I'd say this but it truly does live up to it's legacy and all this buzz around how ambitious and how much of a masterpiece it is. Xenogears is genuinely beyond just a video game. It's really a journey that makes you question, learn and develop. Not to mention that it's also just a genuinely fun game with great gameplay.

i played this masterpiece when i was in college. bought it at a monday afternoon started it the same night and at friday night of the same week my save file was 64 hours while going to school and attending classes and doing daily things like eating etc.. 4 days 64 hours i was that much addicted to it.. good old golden times of jrpg.

oh wow this games story is so interesting. I would love to have max derrat style explanation, you always do it the best.

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

"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.

I've been gaming since that late 80s and Xenogears is still one of best games I've ever played. I wish more people could experience it.

nice thumbnail bruh. ive always loved her design and figure, so masterfully crafted

I remember when the US release had names and dialogue changed because of the religious zealots here.

I said it 25 years ago and I say it still: "Greatest RPG ever." IMHO. Great video, would love to see more.

That's the problems with lore heavy games like that. They give you a lot of information, but they do a very poor job at connecting, unfolding and presenting this information.

Perfect works for the assist max love your videos hope this blows up so you make more

I would love a remake of this game especially because of the 2nd half. It's such a rich masterpiece that never had it's chance to shine under the shadow of FF7

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.

Great synopsis. But when's the next video?

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.

5:37 that looks like the Aegis Crystal from Xenoblade 2

Great video. I need replay the game because 15 year old me didn’t understand just how epic this game was.

You should play the Yakuza games. They have a phenomenal story. Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen has a really philosophical ending, something close in intensity to the most profound moment in games that you presented on you channel. And is also inspired by Berserk. Anyway.. Thank you for the amazing work!!

I was waiting for this release for the past month and never received any notification! WTF KZfaq, I have this channel on all notifications specifically for the kind of content I want to catch!

Virtually the Evangelion of video games. On purpose.

Phew I'm an early bird today, never played it but always really wanted to, I'm really captivated by the mysticism in jrpgs

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.

This kind of video will push the door for remake. I enjoy watching to the very end. Subscribed.

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.

Phenomenal video. I bough tthis game on a whim about 8 years ago for my PSVita. One of the best game I've ever played.

Xenogears > Xenosaga > Xenoblade. I was so disappointed when they decided to go with the Xenoblade weeb route. It is too bad when they decided to "reboot" Xenogears to the Xenosaga and Xenoblade. Xenosaga was ok but I never felt any emotion playing Xenoblade. Just felt like a super weeb game.

This game blew my mind back in the day. I really don't think any other ps1 game was as deep as Xenogears.

Incredible game Incredible video and analysis

it's 2022 and xenogears is still somewhere in my top 3 games ever made.

Just been thinking about this game lately, like a lot, again. SO seeing you looking into it is really something VERY appreciated.

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

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.

Excellent work! Such a deep and well done analysis, I'm really looking foward for more videos about Xenogears!

I so need to play this again. Xenogears (and Chrono Cross) pretty much taught me English. I really loved that game but it was a struggle. Sometimes I had to read things over and over again because I had a hard time understanding the story. But the story still managed to impress me. So now I want to play it again just because my English is so much better than it was when I played Xenogears.

Thank you Max for making this awesome video! Xenogears has always been one of my favourite games since its release!

Do what you enjoy on the channel, don't overbook your video schedule. youtube burn out can be a bitch. I love seeing things like this though, and I have been wondering where I should start in the xenogear/saga/blade games. I may be convinced that I should check this one out.