Thanks to Momo and Synohan for their help!
Welcome to the XenoEra Community Thread! With the explosive growth of Monolith Soft, the popularity of their recent releases and the hints towards new projects this is an exciting time to be a fan of the series. We may be still waiting for information about that fabled mystery production, but feel free to discuss anything Xeno, from the deep lore in Takahashi's stories to our unconditional love for Sawano's music.
Please remember to respect different opinions and the work plenty of people put into these games. And to properly tag spoilers! We all like Monolith Soft's titles and we don't want to ruin them for newcomers.
This Japanese series of sci-fi videogames created by Tetsuya Takahashi sports the "Xeno" prefix to indicate the recurrent theme of dealing with something strange or alien. Although loosely connected outside of the specific sub-series, the main titles share religious and philosophical references, including Gnostic and Jewish symbology as well as developing their plots through Nietzchean and Psychoanalytical lenses. And Mechs!
Across two decades of releases from the original PlayStation to the Nintendo Switch, the series has garnered a solid critical response and raised a vocal, devoted following. The fanbase is varied too, with each singular IP having a distinct flavor marked by the relation of Monolith with its publishers. The games are:
- Key staff: Tetsuya Takahashi (director, writer), Hiromichi Tanaka (producer), Kiyoshi Yoshii (programmer), Soraya Saga and Masato Kato (writers), Yasunori Mitsuda (composer) Kunihiko Tanaka and Yasuyuki Honne (artists).
- Publisher: Square Soft
- Release: February 11, 1998 (JP)/October 20, 1998 (NA)
- Platform: PlayStation
- Sales: 1.19m copies shipped as of March 31, 2003.
- Metascore: 84
Due to time constraints and the inexperience of the team at Product Development Division 3, the infamous second disc of the game is heavy on exposition. Although the title was met with critical acclaim and reached a classic status - which would result in a Greatest Hits re-print and eventual re-releases for the PS3, PSP and PSV - Square had no interest in continuing with the franchise.
- Key staff: Tetsuya Takahashi (director, writer), Hirohide Sugiura (producer), Toshiaki Yajima (programmer), Soraya Saga (writer), Yasunori Mitsuda (composer), Kunihiko Tanaka, Koichi Mugitani, Junya Ishigaki and Yasuyuki Honne (artists).
- Publisher: Namco
- Release: February 28, 2002 (JP)/February 25, 2003 (NA)
- Platform: PlayStation 2
- Sales: More than 1m copies shipped as of July 21, 2003.
- Metascore: 83
Although some criticized its cutscene/gameplay balance, the first part of the space opera is also the best-selling chapter, kickstarting an attempt to turn the franchise into a multimedia project. Related products include Xenosaga Freaks - an extra disc containing a visual novel, a puzzle minigame, an encyclopedia and an Episode II demo - a manga adaptation by Atsushi Baba and an anime release titled Xenosaga The Animation.
- Key staff: Koh Arai (director), Tomohiro Hagiwara (producer), Norihiro Takami (designer, artist), Toshiaki Yajima (programmer), Norihiko Yonesaka, Tetsuya Takahashi, Soraya Saga (writers), Yuki Kajiura, Shinji Hosoe (composers) Koichi Mugitani and Junya Ishigaki (artists).
- Publisher: Namco (JP, NA)/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (EU)
- Release: June 24, 2004 (JP)/February 15, 2005 (NA)/October 28, 2005 (EU)
- Platform: PlayStation 2
- Sales: 0.28m copies sold in Japan by December 31, 2004. Even with good results in NA, it apparently sold slightly more than 50% of its sales target.
- Metascore: 73
After re-thinking the structure of the project and the company, Takahashi stepped down as director to concentrate on writing and overseeing while leaving the direct handling of the franchise to younger developers. Even though the strong sales of the first chapter lead to the second part getting an EU release, at some point during its production it was decided that the series' projected six episodes would be reduced to three. The cuts to the original scenario resulted in subsequent changes to the overarching plot, and criticism of the game focused on the battle system' changes, a re-cast of some voice actors and the new composers.
- Key staff: Tsutomu Goda (director, producer), Jun Takeuchi (programmer), Soraya Saga, Tetsuya Takahashi, Koji Hayashi, Tomohiro Hagiwara, Yoko Nagata (writers), Tomokazu Ushiyama, Kosei Muraki (composers), Noboru Minohara and Yuuri Nishiwaki (artists).
- Publisher: Namco
- Release: July 14, 2004 (JP)
- Platform: Mobile (Vodafone Live)
With gameplay mechanics taken from the main series but adapted to its mobile nature, the prequel was developed by Namco Mobile and Tom Create, while Monolith Soft took care of the story. It was Saga's last contribution to the IP before leaving it in 2005, and although it can't be played anymore, the script has been translated by a fan given its relevance to the overarching plot of the series.
- Key staff: Tomohiro Hagiwara (director, producer), Yutako Sekine (programmer), Yuichiro Takeda, Tetsuya Takahashi (writers), Kosuke Yamashita (composer) and Hiroshi Takeuchi (artist).
- Publisher: Namco
- Release: March 30, 2006 (JP)
- Platform: Nintendo DS
- Sales: 0.0385m copies sold by December 31, 2006.
Co-developed by Monolith Soft and Tom Create, the game re-balances the story content to explain unanswered questions before Episode's III release, with notable changes and additions drafted by Takahashi and written by Yuichiro Takeda, who worked on the anime and CD dramas. In fact, ideas for the project started to emerge while Xenosaga The Animation was still in development, and several staff from that production worked on the DS entry.
- Key staff: Koh Arai (director), Tomohiro Hagiwara (producer), Toshiaki Yajima (programmer), Norihiko Yonesaka, Tetsuya Takahashi (writers), Yuki Kajiura (composer) and Koichi Mugitani (artist).
- Publisher: Namco (JP)/Namco Bandai Games (NA)
- Release: July 6, 2006 (JP)/August 29, 2006 (NA)
- Platform: PlayStation 2
- Sales: 0.343m copies sold as of December 31, 2006.
- Metascore: 81
Even with the title being regarded by plenty of fans as the best in the trilogy and the script leaving open the chance of further releases if there was enough demand, the project as a whole didn't meet sales expectations, and KOS-MOS has only seen minor guest appearances ever since. Takahashi has stated that they could work on the IP again if funding was provided, though.
- Key staff: Koh Kojima (director, designer), Genki Yokota (director), Shingo Kawabata, Takao Nakano (producers), Katsunori Itai (programmer), Tetsuya Takahashi, Yuichiro Takeda, Yurie Hattori (writers), Manami Kiyota, ACE+, Yoko Shimomura, Yasunori Mitsuda (composers) and Norihiro Takami (artist).
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Release: June 10, 2010 (JP)/August 19, 2011 (EU)/April 6, 2012 (NA)
- Platform: Nintendo Wii
- Sales: 0.1634m copies sold in Japan by December 25, 2011. Better sales in the west.
- Metascore: 92
Originally announced as Monado: Beginning of the World - and later changed to honor Takahashi's work on the game - Xenoblade's production focused on a self-contained narrative worked on by multiple staff members, and prioritized gameplay elements over lengthy cutscenes with an action-based battle system described as "MMOish" and usually compared with FFXII's. Although fans had to campaign to bring the title to North America, it was praised by critics upon release, receiving multiple awards, a N3DS port, and serving as the starting point to a new sub-series.
- Key staff: Koh Kojima (director, designer), Genki Yokota (director), Shingo Kawabata, Hitoshi Yamagami (producers), Toshiaki Yajima (programmer), Yuichiro Takeda, Kazuho Hyodo, Mamoru Ohta, Tetsuya Takahashi (writers), Hiroyuki Sawano (composer), Norihiro Takami, Kunihiko Tanaka, Koichi Mugitani and Takayuki Yanase (artists).
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Release: April 29, 2015 (JP)/December 4, 2015 (NA, EU)
- Platform: Nintendo Wii U
- Sales: 0.114m physical copies sold in Japan by June 28, 2015 and 0.0228m digital copies sold in its first week in Japan. Over 0.04m copies sold in France in less than two weeks and over 0.2m copies sold in NA by January 2, 2016.
- Metascore: 84
The game was a technical challenge as Monolith Soft's first HD title, so even if the goal was to launch it in the early days of the Wii U, the release had to be pushed in order to accommodate online multiplayer and a customizable avatar. However, with the inclusion of transformable mechs called Skells, Takahashi considered that he finally created a RPG in which humans and robots co-exist in the same world, a dream he had for decades. Kojima would like to work on a sequel eventually, so chances are this is not the last we'll see from Elma's party.
- Key staff: Koh Kojima (director, producer), Genki Yokota (director), Hitoshi Yamagami (producer), Koji Hayashi (designer), Toshiaki Yajima (programmer), Tetsuya Takahashi, Yuichiro Takeda, Kazuho Hyodo, Mamoru Ohta (writers), Yasunori Mitsuda, ACE, Kenji Hiramatsu, Manami Kiyota (composers), Eiji Takahashi, Masatsugu Saito and Tetsuya Nomura (artists).
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Release: December 1, 2017 (WW)
- Platform: Nintendo Switch
- Sales: 2.35m copies sold by March 31, 2022.
- Metascore: 83
The cloud-covered setting of Xenoblade 2 was built with the tools used for X, which speed up development and allowed to ship the game in the first year of the Switch. Masatsugu Saito was brought in to go for anime-inspired designs that emphasized the characters' wide range of expressions, and a bunch of guest artists worked on multiple rare blades, including cameo appearances of KOS-MOS and Elma, among others. Announced at the Nintendo Switch Presentation at the start of 2017 with a worldwide release the same year - made possible by a simultaneous localization process handled by NoE - it's the most successful title of both the Xeno franchise and Monolith Soft, even surpassing Takahashi's expectations for overseas sales.
- Key staff: Koh Kojima (director, producer), Genki Yokota (director), Hitoshi Yamagami (producer), Toshiaki Yajima (programmer), Tetsuya Takahashi, Yuichiro Takeda, Mamoru Ohta (writers), Yasunori Mitsuda, ACE, Kenji Hiramatsu, Manami Kiyota (composers), Eiji Takahashi, Masatsugu Saito and Tetsuya Nomura (artists).
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Release: September 14, 2018 (WW)
- Platform: Nintendo Switch
- Sales: 0.0139m copies sold in Japan by December 30, 2018. Exceded expectations in Japan.
- Metascore: 80
As one of the drafts for Xenoblade 2, it was presented as a proposal for a story expansion after being originally shelved. One of the challenges of the development was to correctly pace a 20-hour title - considering Monolith usually makes longer RPGs - for which they worked on a Community system that organized the side-quests. With arrangements that match the somber tones of the plot, the project launched as part of the Expansion Pack and also received a standalone, physical release, even if it's not usually recommended to play it before the base game.
- Key staff: Michihiko Inaba (director, programmer), Shigekazu Yamada (director, producer), Yuki Sakamoto (director), Genki Yokota, Katsuya Eguchi, Toyokazu Nonaka, Akira Kinashi (producers), Tetsuya Takahashi, Yuichiro Takeda, Yurie Hattori, Mamoru Ohta (writers), Manami Kiyota, ACE, Kenji Hiramatsu, Yoko Shimomura, Yasunori Mitsuda (composers) and Eiji Takahashi (artist).
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Release: May 29, 2020 (WW)
- Platform: Nintendo Switch
- Sales: 1.52m copies sold by March 31, 2021.
- Metascore: 89
Development was headed by a mix of new and returning staff from Production Division 1, with some pre-production work starting immediately after Xenoblade 2's release. They rewrote most of the decade-old game control code to modernize it, and used a "semi-automatic" process to update existing assets, focusing on ease of play and presentation. In less than a year, the game became the second best-selling title in the series, paving the way for the next release.
- Key staff: tba
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Release: July 29, 2022 (WW)
- Platform: Nintendo Switch
- Sales: tba
- Metascore: tba
This installment expands upon what Production Division 1 has learned working on the series thus far, like switching among party members on the fly, re-working additional characters into recruitable Heroes with classes or setting up camps in which you can engage in multiple side-activities. Moved up to a July launch date after initially aiming for September, the game sees returning artists like Masatsugu Saito and Koichi Mugitani for designs, while XC2's composers are joined by Yasunori Mitsuda's close collaborator Mariam Abounnasr to work on the score.
Monolith Soft is the developer behind most of these games. Founded in October of 1999 by former Square Soft employees that worked on Xenogears, it was financially backed by Namco and later bought by Nintendo in April of 2007. They've seen some turbulent times, but they just had it's 20th anniversary and we look forward to the next two decades of RPG greatness!
Their headquarters are located in Tokyo but they have a second studio in Kyoto that usually helps in the development of Nintendo titles, employing 273 people across several offices. Monolith Soft was level 11 last we heard, but as you can see in the following graph, they've been quickly expanding in recent years;
Although in recent interviews the "Xeno" prefix has been said to be a way of recognizing Takahashi's games, dozens of developers team up in the production of those titles. Here you can find some of the key collaborators:
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