Watching this after the Resonant Arc episode and this is so good. Now I gotta go and replay this trilogy for the 4th time.

I'm releasing this video on February 28, 2022, which is the 20th anniversary of Xenosaga. Hopefully it’s worthy of honoring this great series' 20th birthday. This was by far the most difficult video I've ever worked on for a multitude of reasons, so I hope it was worth your time - and if it was, I've got two more in the works.

It's a shame Tanaka no longer works as a game writer because she's awesome at it and I'm sure many fellow Jrpg fans would love her work..

IT'S WORTH IT, XENOSAGA IS MORE THAN WORTH IT. It is so unique, a protagonist and main hero who is a woman of science. Not a fighter, not some magical wielding super hero, a person with trauma and her own flaws and someone who has educated herself and worked hard for success. Truly was a joy to experience it at launch and a joy to continue to love it to this day. I am honored to have ever touched this game and to own it to this day.

I want this trilogy physically on PS5 and Switch so badly.

This video really does the legacy of Xenosaga justice and is a fitting tribute for the 20th anniversary! The amount of raw talent behind this series is mind boggling, and it’s showcased extremely well here. While I agree these games certainly have their flaws, the Xenogears/Xenosaga series is one of my all time favorites. I remember scouring the internet after playing these games for the first time to devour every extra little scrap of lore I could find. While it is disappointing that their original vision never came to fruition, I’ll always be grateful for these artistic masterclasses we did receive. Here’s holding out hope for that HD remaster!

Man, youtube’s algorithm is horrible. You deserved such a higher view count for this excellent review. As much as I enjoyed the Chronicle series, the philosophy and sober characters of Xenogears and Xenosaga makes these previous games the peak os Xeno Games. I’ll watch the reviews for episodes II and III. I really wish that you keep on uploading.

Im probably one of few who didn’t mind all the cutscenes, rather tried to rush through enemies / bosses to see the next scene 😂😂 the series will always be my favorites ❤

Love to see another xeno-head making content, found this through resonant arc and I’m super happy I followed through. Takahashi and Tanaka were behind some of the most influential moments in video games to my adolescent self.

That's probably just me talking, but the Xenosaga trilogy (and Xenogears of course) are very much some of the greatest JRPGs in the known history of mankind.

I was in my mid-teens when Xenogears came out… and I was a huge fan of Squaresoft games at the time. I was also obsessed with giant mecha anime (curse you, Robotech!) So, it was a natural choice for me to get. I begged for my folks to get it for me when I saw it at the game store. I think that was the perfect age for me to be introduced to it. It remains one of my favorite JRPGs of all time… heck, one of my favorite games of all time! I only grew to appreciate it more as I got older, went to college, and learned a bit more about literature and literary theory. I similarly love the Xenosaga games (even II, despite its deep flaws). To anyone who hasn’t played the games-if you aren’t intimidated or bored by convoluted plots and MGS-length cutscenes, if you dig giant robots, or if you really like JRPG games in general, you owe it to yourself to give these games a try.

I blame Xenosagas fate to obscurity on Xenosaga 2, which is a pain in the ass to play. It sucks because Xenosaga 3 is quite possibly one of rhe best RPGs, let alone games, on the PS2. I still think about that one still to this day.

just finished this video and clicked your channel for episode 2 and 3. Found out this video was brand new and you're still working on the others. Just wanted to say I loved this and am desperately waiting on the next instalments. Fantastic work man, way to go!

Awesome content! I really appreciated the peaks behind the curtain and the reasons things played out the way they did. Xenogears and the Xenosagas feel like a games made specifically for me. Thanks for your hard work and thanks to the Resonant Arc collab for sending me to your channel.

How time flies, it's hard to believe it's been 20 years already. These videos bring back the feelings I had when I first played the game upon release. Having played Xenogears in 98, I was hyped. The Xeno series is on my list of all time favorites, Awesome games. Thank you for your hard work in creating these videos. Keep em coming!

WOW man really?!?! Been subbed to your channel since the beginning because of all the great George Wood content. Dead ass did not know you were a Xenosaga fan, too. I fucking adore this series warts and all. EP3 was every bit as good as Xenogears in a lot of areas. Hope KOS-MOS comes back in Xenoblade 3. Will definitely watch soon bro!!!

Heard you on Resonant Arc. Hope this comment gives the algorithm a jolt. Going to binge all three videos.

I almost shedded a year at the end 🥲😩 I grew up playing this game and appreciated every aspect of the game, from the characters to the story, gameplay. Xenosaga has imprinted my love for JRPGs. I even have KOSMOS as my screen saver on my laptop. Such an amazing game!!!

What's depressing is that I put it up there with one of the top five greatest RPG stories, despite the fact it had to be shortened to three games, when the original plan was six. A six game arc would have been amazing. Still, other than the Mass Effect series, I can't think of any other where you get so attached to the characters, even some of the antagonists, that it's painful to see them go. Especially when essentially many of them die or are never heard from again at the end of the story. It's just an amazing long journey.

Just ordered the first two xenosaga's. This video got me so pumped for sure got a new subscriber. I could here your passion for this game for the art of video games in general which is a dying thing!!!

Wow, I am so glad I randomly remembered Xenosaga and found this video. I also played the game originally at a similar time in my life. I had no idea what was going on, especially as I forgot details between the episodes. I loved the game though. At the time it was one of the very few RPGs with a female main character, which caught my attention back then. I would love to replay them now. I think I still have my old copies, too. It's so depressing to know it was originally intended to be a 6 episode story though. The details about the creative team are really interesting. Even as a kid I remember thinking how "dense" the game felt, so looking back I can agree on how deeply built this universe was. Dang!

Thank you for being the one person to make a retrospective on this series. I played episode 1 a few years back and I'm finally getting around to Ep 2 but I severely need a refresh on the story of Ep 1

Here after your appearance on Resonant Arc! Loving binging all your stuff right now! Also Kamina avatar + Xeno fan, incredibly based!

I love this game, and this series. I really would love to see an HD remaster of these games, or even better a redo/retry of the series to allow it to tell the story it was meant to tell. I loved everything about the story, world, and characters in this game and would give so much for more. I should add that I would I do understand what we were given was not what was actually originally intended. I still would have loved to see the story that was originally intended as well as a more complete, less rushed version of what we did get.

Here because of your excellent appearance on Resonant Arc. Video lived up to the hype!

finally! a good rec by youtube! an absolutely wonderful breakdown of ep i! xenosaga is such a weird little series, but when you started to talk about how it just has stuck with you for so many years despite not exactly being the greatest game or whatever because just--man!! same hat!! i picked up ep i when i was pretty young, and it has had a lifelong influence on me. (in high school, i was checking out books on gnosticism from my library entirely bc of the xeno series.) your passion for the series really comes across!! i'm excited to watch your videos on eps ii and iii!! (if you do ever make a video on xenosaga's dub, i'd be right in line to watch it!)

Wow, what a blast. So much work for this Video. Thank you so much for the feelings and emotions after these years...

🌸❤️I absolutely adore Xenosaga, and find the trilogy to be the best of not only the Xeno games, but of JRPG’s entirely. I play through it multple times a year on the original PS2, and own two physical copies of all three titles (one for display purposes only). I sincerely, betwixt great ardor, hope that one day we can get a remake, for it would be incredible to behold what Xenosaga could be with modern hardware.❤️🌸

This is so much appreciated. Xenosaga has such profound themes.

Incredible work on your videos! I really enjoy them and i want to thank you for your detication to this incredible story

Xenosaga 1 is a brilliantly directed and written gem. The style and sophistication of the storytelling has few equals, from Cherenkov's grueling history to the unsettling horrors surrounding the Miltian incident. As the last 20 years of Monolith Soft output have proven, there is absolutely no substitute for Takahashi in the director's chair and Mitsuda on the music.

Man, I am so happy to have found it as a young girl at Hastings, begged my grandparents to get me over another game lol I am one of the lucky few to have all 3 games, all strategy guides, had a TELOS poster on my bedroom door for years ❤️ I miss playing it so much. Welp time to hunt down my ps2

this is an incredible deep dive not only into xenosaga 1 but the entire series!!!! seriously deserves more views.... i loved this.. esp the other episodes too

Thank you for this video! The Xenosaga series is soooo underappreciated. Great to relive some of it watching this video. Time to start your episode 2 and 3 videos!

This is a fantastic review, and I also want to say that I suddenly understand Shion a LOT more from your short description of her character here then I ever have (and like you, I've been a fan of the Saga games since the first one came out in '03), and can actually *see* how she went from her EP1 portrayal to her EP3 portrayal much clearer now. So many thanks just for that.

Just finished this game today after having been playing along with Resonant Arc. What an incredible experience this game was! Though…can’t say I understand what’s really going on just yet. I can’t wait to go through your videos!!

Omg I'm so excited that your appreciation of Xenosaga is producing these retrospective reviews. I'm grateful that out of all the PS2 games I foolishly sold in the past I happened to keep the Xenosaga trilogy. You already know I'm breaking out the PS2 tonight!!!

Found your channel through the Gaming in the Clinton Years videos and it is nice to see you talk about Xenosaga as I really love the Xeno series. Keep it up, definitely wanna check out more :)

Definitely one of the most underrated and under appreciated series in the history of RPGs. This was a great retrospective on episode 1.

As someone else who does Retrospective reviews, I can appreciate the time and effort that went into the development history, editing and script writting sitting through the whole thing this deserves more veiws than its gotten thanks for this looking foward to part 2 and 3

Thank you so much for doing this. Never got around to finishing out the series, but the ideas explored always interested me.

This is a fantastic video TJ. I found your stuff via Resonant Arc. I love Xenosaga. I unfortunately haven't played since original release. The first game was by far my favorite. I love the visual style the best and the story just always captivated me. The deep dive into this game brought back so many awesome memories. Thank you for doing it!

As for Xenosaga, I remember being so hyped by the end of Episode I for the sequel...and then I started playing Episode II. I let out an audible "Oh, noooo..." after seeing the new character designs and during that stupid car chase.

Really great video - i love this kind of stuff.

Now with future redeemed I’m excited to see how Xenosaga and Xenoblade connect.

Xenogears may not be the greatest game of all time...but it certainly is the coolest. And most interesting. And most engrossing. And most atmospheric. And most well-written. And most awe-inspiring.

Hey I didn't think you'd continue on with different content. You love to see it!

Dude so nice to see someone do a video like this for the trilogy this was a big game for me when i was growing up

Tj I heard about you from Resonant Arc and waited too long to watch your Xenosaga reviews. Right off the bat the opening score from Chrono Cross is on point, this song brings back some core memories 👌

I bought this game with very little knowledge about xenogears, it was hard as shit for me but I loved it. I can only imagine the big fucking gasps moment for xenogears fans that it was during the ending in that little moment they saw kid Abel react to something.

Loved the video! It's always a good day one someone gives some love to this game.

nice to see more Xenosaga discussion

This is quality. Subscribed.

I played the game as a kid and loved it, but admittedly I don't remember much of it two decades later. Though Albedo still sticks out to me even now as one of my favorite villains in a video game. And you're definitely convincing me to try to give the game another look

Here from Resonant arc comment for the algo

I still got my PS2 and all three games. I bought all 3 of them on the day they released. I believe it's arguably the best sci fi story ever written. I was absolutely blown away and infatuated with almost every aspect of these games. Episode 2 gets the most criticism and I see why, but the battle scenes with Jin and Margulis are the high point of the entire series. The chase scene at the beginning with Richard. Albedo and his Grand Trompe L'oeil. The ES's are all named after the sons and daughters of Jacob. The Vessels of Anima. THIS GAME SERIES IS AMAZING!!!

Thank you! It's a good review, I've enjoyed it!

Thanks for the great videos!!!

Resonant arc brought me here! Very good reviews!

This video is actually incredible.

man video games are so cool everything about them from the conceptual stage until the final product and not only that but the passion it creates with fans to make videos like this!

Xenosaga was one of my favorite games, but I never did finish the series. I did get into Xenosaga 2, but never got though it. I own Xenosaga 3, but it's sealed as I never even got close to playing it. I love the Xenosaga series and I so hope they come out with a remade collection that fleshes out some of the game mechanics and reduces the excess of cutscenes. I will also add that I see nothing wrong with emulating as the preservation of these games is something the license holders clearly don't value.

I'm glad i keeped all my Xenosaga games (episode 1,2 & 3) with me all these years . This game was so underrated when It came out,but i knew It was a hidden gem the moment i first saw It. Thank you for making this video,you have brought me back good memories of my childhood i long have thought forgoten just by watching this video.

I was lucky enough to buy these when they were released and have played through them multiple times. It baffles me that they never got re-released on any other console. What a waste. Thoroughly enjoyed this retrospective and looking forward to watching the other two now 🙂

Probably the best “Xenosaga” retrospective video I’ve seen yet!!! I had all three discs of the PS2 “Xenosaga” discs and they were stolen or lost during a move. So I’m using emulation to try to play through them. (Never got a chance before, but Episode 1 has been so-so gameplay wise for me but Episode III’s combat system is my favorite out of both episodes I’ve played so far. Going to give Episode II a chance, but that battle system seems needlessly convoluted.

Can't wait to start the whole trilogy when my Odin 2 arrives. I wanted to do it for a long time, but this video gave me the final push👍

I bought all of the games as they came came out and still play them occasionally, such an amazing series that never got the success it deserved. I also own a copy of the limited edition movie with all the cut scenes from episode 1 that came with the second game, all 3 walkthroughs, and the art book for episode 1. I loved these games and consider them one of the high points of the last 30 years I have been playing video games. They are flawed, and there are better games out there, but I still lament that the series wasn't continued.

About the Magic attacks that you mentioned are called ether in this game , in the Character Battle segment of your video. I guess for someone not familiar with these games your comparison to magic systems from other games makes sense. But it sure sounds weird to hear that as a fan of the series , knowing that none of the Xeno games actually have a concept for magic. The games are always very sci-fi so ... Ether Attacks are always used / cast / fired with a very high-tech weapon / catalysator of sorts. Compared to other games , this would translate to ... like being a Mage who cant cast magic at all without his / her Staff.

Saga1 battle theme absolutely slaps

All in all I feel you reignited my interest in ep1. Perhaps I will replay it again, once I get my emulation set up on my console.

Takahashi and Tanaka eyes open by the river at Tanagra

Finally tracked down this video, really well researched. All the Xeno games are great from gears to Blade but Saga is my favorite. KOS-MOS/Shion really both had a great character arcs.

Glad I have my discs for all 3 games still. Gonna play them again.

I also passed on Xenogears because of that same review. I never got to finish episode 1 of Xenosaga but I've always wanted to go back to it and Xenogears.

NAMCO PORT THIS TO SWITCH I'M BEGGING YOU

I replayed all 3 a few years back and recently played Xenosaga 3 on the Steam Deck (cuz that’s the only one that worked properly) and it’s still like playing it for the first time. I got into this game when it first came out! Was too young to play it, but watched my cousin play it and then a few years later he gifted me Xenosaga. Didn’t understand the story at first but replayed it again many years later (cuz I was too broke to get a ps3 so I spent my high school years replaying “older games” till I could work enough to get my own console.

Great vid! Very good writing, I just started ep 2 and had to spend a bit of time refreshing my memory of ep 1 from a few months ago when I played it. I'm hoping #3 has enough payoff and ties up enough loose ends to make me feel like playing the trilogy is worth it

I'm hoping for a film adaptation of the Xenosaga series starring Adam Sandler, titled "You Don't Mess with the Zohar." This will surely drum up enough interest in US audiences to warrant an Xenosaga HD Collection. This is foolproof, you gotta believe me.

I love Xenogears, I do a yearly full playthrough. Xenosaga was amazing (episode 2 doesn´t exist lol)

Wow I did not expect you to put out a vid like this, but I gotta say. As a huge Xeno fan, This was a really great and well done retrospective on Episode 1. though there are a few text errors, You did a rock solid job at summarizing the game from it's history and nuances in a very efficient and well researched manner. Really looking forward to your retrospective on Episode II and III when that happens. Xeno for me, alongside Breath of Fire and Final Fantasy, was always my favorite RPG series, With Xenogears and Xenosaga episode III being tied as my favorite games in the genre. Xenosaga Episode I is the one I've had the most attachment since it was one of the first RPGs I've discovered, though I didn't get around to it til years later and after gears. Comparing saga overall to gears, I do feel Gears is a better story in some areas with it's overall cast and some other areas, but Saga is far from a slouch in that regard and has it's own stand out qualities that make me love it just as much. As a massive fan of Mecha and Japanese Sci fi, Xenogears felt like a huge amalgamation of various mecha series(from gundam, votoms, dunbine, Ideon, etc) but also managed to have it's own unique voice and stands as one of the greats. Xenosaga feels more in vein of older sci fi, both western and Japanese, esp 2001 A Space Odyssey. That's not to say it's any less of what gears it's just both are different in their feel despite similar elements, which I think makes both works compelling. Not that I expected most to bring him up when talking about Xeno, since I feel he's a pretty essential part of xeno like Takahashi and Mitsuda, I think it's funny you mentioned you were getting into Gundam with the original while Saga was out since Mecha Designer Junya Ishigaki worked on both series. Ishigaki is a pretty prolific mech designer that has done quite a fair amount from Macross, Angelic Layer, Escaflowne, Outlaw Star and many others, but his best work comes from Gundam and Xeno. he did the Zanscare suits in Victory, The Dark Army mechs in G gundam, The Maganac corps in Wing, Most of the MS in Gundam X, A few in Turn A, and pretty much every gear in Xenogears. His involvement in Saga isn't as big as Gears, but he is responsible for several of the designs, like Albedo's Simeon. The part of Xenosaga being as inaccessible as it is now is such a huge crying shame, but unfortunately that's the reality of it. Bamco in general is pretty bad at keeping their game series alive with Ace Combat, The Earlier Tales games, .Hack, and esp xenosaga. I do get why they don't see Xenosaga as a huge seller, but It's also unrealistic and not that fair to assume something like Xenosaga would make as much as a new tales when it's more logical to aim at a smaller and dedicated market. Which is what Square has been doing with Mana, Saga, and now Live a live and front Mission.

This game sounds neat, I'll have to check it out some time

Xenosaga is like the generation X of RPG games. But it's a great series, minus the 2nd one, but the story is so deep and captivating. I love Xenosaga!

It should be noted, the series wasn’t released in all regions. In EU we (apparently) got episode 2 but I don’t remember that at all. So importing an old ps2 copy or emulation is our only option.

This game opened my heart. It was way too hard for me at the time, but the story is so beautiful. I don't know how else to put it. ❤️

Xenosaga1 is still one of my favorite JRPGs of all time

Man I really wish episode III wasn't so expensive. I absolutely adored episode I, and I honestly couldn't get into episode II. Unfortunately my PC isn't powerful enough to run this game either.

I have al 3 games and the Limited Edition Movie DVD from when I pre-ordered the second game, first played the game when we rented it from Blockbuster back in the early 2000's and bought the game.

Gonna watch this when I have more time and only know of because JustSomeGuy made a comment about it in his recent "Rings of Power" video, but I fucking loved this game series. I am not a big JRPG lover. I find they are often over staying in their welcome, feel rather bland, and the characters are often so one dimensional that it hurts; however this game series just grabbed me and held me tight the whole way through. Excited to get home later and just binge the next several hours of my life away.

I enjoyed this series! The space opera was epic for me. In fact I've commissioned a 3D print of the Elsa!

I played Xenogears for the first time 6 months ago. Im still in withdrawal from it. High bar

Now that is a proper love letter :) Jokes aside, it made me want to play this game, so mission accomplished.

I wished I had watched this before I started playing episode 1 a couple of months ago! I went into it blind (after watching another video about why I should play) only to find myself confused about whose who and what's going. Knowing beforehand what was said in this video would've probably improved my experience since, up to reaching the kukai foundation, I was left confused (mainly on the UTIC foundation) and tired. My main gripe with the game is how slow walking around is, especially when we reach the Elsa for the first time and the ship from the beginning of the game & the absence of background music while wandering. Other than that, I'm having an ok time and ready to move on to the next game despite just reaching the central tower at the SoN.

Just finished playing Episode 1 and I have to say you did a phenomenal job of capturing and articulating precisely why myself and so many others can't help but admire and obsess over this game despite its many missteps. If I had a genie's lamp, I would dedicate my first wish to seeing what Takahashi's complete and compromise-free version of this narrative looked like, and I am heartbroken to know that we'll likely never get a chance to experience it. The only constructive feedback I would give is that if the target audience for this video is those that haven't played the game, and your ultimate goal is to attract new players to the series, I think you could do a bit better with avoiding spoilers. While the majority of the video discusses the narrative at a high enough level that it avoids spoiling the twists, you do reveal that chaos isn't human when you discuss the characters, which the first game doesn't really conclusively reveal one way or the other. Also, for whatever reason, it seems that some of the video is cropped too close, causing some of the text to bleed off the edges - this is especially noticeable during the end credits. In any case, I still loved the video and I look forward to watching your next two installments as I finish the remaining games. You've earned my sub! :)

yo, just some guy just name dropped you. And I fucking Love Xenosaga. New Sub. great vid.

Xenogears has been my favorite game since it's release. No other game has me even slightly curious to know more. I saw through the issues that were clearly due to deadline/budget issues even when I was a child.

I should play through the series again. I have physical copies of the trilogy that I haven't touched since finishing them back in the day

Just snagged a copy of Xenosaga Episode 1 yesterday. The first two arent too expensive right now! The third is a nightmare to find though

Played it when it released. Now I play it upscaled on my phone with my kishi v2. Good times.

Great video. Interesting to hear how rare and expensive these can be. kinda wanna break out the PS2 and play it again (provided it actually still works 😅) I still have quite a few PS1-3 era hard copy games. Curious how I'll feel about it since I vaguely remember not caring much for the actual game play (battle system in particular) but I loved the story and Zenogears so much I had to go through all of them. Might also just be bleed over resentment from Ep2, I remember not caring for that one in particular but can't clearly remember why anymore

So glad I have my copies of all 3 episodes. I got my copy of XS3 for 40 bucks at the used game story in my town, which as since shut down unfortunately. They never sold used games for more than 40 bucks, I got Rule of Rose for 40 as well. Would have had the copies of the Xenosaga games from when they came out but at the time I was still mostly renting games and trading ones I'd finished in to get new ones. I have managed to get ahold of most of the games I played back then though, luckily. And I dunno man, I think Harada hates Xenosaga fans. He's asked people if there's interest multiple times on twitter only to pull the "not financially feasible" card every time after people said yes, could be something up there and we might not ever get an HD collection. A man can dream, though.