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StarTopic Xeno Series Community |ST|

So I've been wondering about something in particular after the recent Takahashi message. This involves spoiler discussion of Xenoblade 1, Xenoblade X, and Xenoblade 2.

First, here's the relevant section from the English version of Takahashi's message:

The key visual features a broken great sword of Mechonis and the body of the Urayan Titan with a gaping wound. I imagine everyone who saw the trailer was quite surprised by the final scene. What is this visual hinting at? I can’t reveal that just yet. What I can tell you is that this visual was conceived quite some time ago. More precisely speaking, we came up with it sometime between the end of development of Xenoblade Chronicles and the beginning of development of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. So, it’s not something we recently added to the series.
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Specifically how he says the visual was conceptualized between the completion of Xenoblade 1 and before the start of Xenoblade 2's development. I've also seen a claim that the Japanese version of the message seems to imply the visual was conceptualized a long time before work Xenoblade 2 began.

I double checked the original Japanese statement. It says "『ゼノブレイド2』の開発に入る大分前から構想していたものでした。

" The English translation seems to omit the word "大分" which clarifies that it was created a considerable amount of time before XC2's development.
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We know planning began for Xenoblade 2 began in July 2014 (source). If the tweet is correct, long before Xenoblade 2's development began might mean the visual was conceptualized early to midway through the development of Xenoblade X. I started wondering if any interviews about Xenoblade X could have been hinting at Takahashi conceptualizing ideas for future games during the production of Xenoblade X, and I did remember one specific conversation from the Xenoblade X Iwata Asks.

Kojima:
Come to think of it, Takahashi-san wrote a lot. I've worked with Takahashi-san for a long time, but this was the first time I've seen him write so much for a game's plot. It was as if he was writing a novel.

Takeda:
Yes, it was like reading a novel.

Kojima:
It was quite a read on its own, so I even suggested to Takahashi-san to get it published.

Iwata:
In other words, you put together a script using the pages and pages of plot written beforehand.

Takeda:
That's correct. I carefully picked out the stories that fit with the game's content and scale and turned them into scripts.
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Koh Kojima and Yuichiro Takeda mentioned Takahashi writing an enormous amount during the development of Xenoblade X, with Takeda then picking the stories that would get used for the game and fleshing them out into scripts. I had always assumed Takahashi's writing mentioned in this conversation was either an initial story bible for Xenoblade X or a story bible for a potential series of Xenoblade X games.

There's one more quote I can remember that's relevant to this discussion, and it's from a 2020 interview with Takahashi.

VG247: On this topic, there's some curious small game-connecting changes in Definitive Edition - like Alvis' necklace being changed to reference Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Is your intent behind changes like this just a nod and a wink to fans, or are these attempts to more deeply and more obviously connect the universes of the games? Do you want to draw these universes closer together?

Takahashi: From the beginning, each entry in the Xenoblade Chronicles series has depicted a single episode within the flow of a larger time and space. So they are, at their roots, closely connected with each other, but we’re flexible with changing the means and ways in which we depict this in each entry.

Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 are like two sides of the same coin which might be why it feels like the connection between them seems to be particularly standing out.
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Going by this quote, it sounds like Takahashi is saying Xenoblade X is connected with the rest of the series. Between all of these quotes over the years, I'm starting to wonder if some of the story concepts for Xenoblade 2 and Xenoblade 3 might have originated from this same story bible. If Xenoblade X is completely separate from the numbered entries, this possibility might not make much sense. Since Takahashi seems to be claiming each entry in the Xenoblade series is connected though, it might be possible that some of the ideas for Xenoblade 2 and Xenoblade 3 stem from the same story bible Takahashi wrote during the development of Xenoblade X.

This next claim is more of a stretch, but I'm starting to wonder if Takahashi's writings during Xenoblade X's development weren't just a story bible for Xenoblade X or a potential Xenoblade X series. I'm beginning to question if they might have been a story bible for the Xenoblade series as a whole. Dare I say something along the lines of a Xenoblade Perfect Works timeline.
 
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Fanbyte’s report claimed that Xenoblade 3 is the end of the trilogy. I’m just hoping that it just means the end of the story arc established between 1 & 2 and not the end of the Xenoblade series in general. They still need to address some things from X.

It is my hope that Xenoblade 3 ties into Xenoblade X, in a neat way of course. Then we can get Xenoblade X port and a sequel(s) to resolve the storyline.

Once the X storyline is resolved, I would like for them to continue making more Xenoblade games, all set in new universes while also being loosely connected to the overarching narrative.
 
Xenoblade 3 will probably be the end of the main storyline. Which also means that we are possibly getting an X port in two years and X2 in 4-5 (unless they decide to make a new series instead)
Also if it ends up connecting to X in the end:
1) I will scream of joy
2) We might see
the creator of the Vita in 3 (with them being the final boss)
 
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Momo said:
Fanbyte’s report claimed that Xenoblade 3 is the end of the trilogy. I’m just hoping that it just means the end of the story arc established between 1 & 2 and not the end of the Xenoblade series in general. They still need to address some things from X.

It is my hope that Xenoblade 3 ties into Xenoblade X, in a neat way of course. Then we can get Xenoblade X port and a sequel(s) to resolve the storyline.

Once the X storyline is resolved, I would like for them to continue making more Xenoblade games, all set in new universes while also being loosely connected to the overarching narrative.
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I'm not sure anybody at Monolith or Nintendo ever said this could be a "trilogy", so that could be just an assumption from Fanbyte or just a poor choice of a word to unify the "numbered games" like its own thing. I always assumed every Xenoblade was somewhat connected and Takahashi admitted as much in a recent interview like @TheGreatLugia said a few posts above. At first my theory was XCX could happen on a parallel Universe, but now I wonder if Xeno X could just be Xeno 10... Either way this is not the end of the series, even if they start doing different approaches (no Titans / Blades / Monados) but happening in the same "global universe" if that makes sense.
 
I don't think there's any danger of them stopping making Xenoblade any time soon

From the point of view of giving Monolith Soft more variety, I would like to do a smaller-scale project if the opportunity arose, but right now, I think we should focus on increasing the value of the brand that we have created with the Xenoblade Chronicles saga. Of course, if we manage to organize ourselves in a way that allows us to do so, I would also like to give a small-scale project a chance.
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Momo said:
Fanbyte’s report claimed that Xenoblade 3 is the end of the trilogy. I’m just hoping that it just means the end of the story arc established between 1 & 2 and not the end of the Xenoblade series in general. They still need to address some things from X.

It is my hope that Xenoblade 3 ties into Xenoblade X, in a neat way of course. Then we can get Xenoblade X port and a sequel(s) to resolve the storyline.

Once the X storyline is resolved, I would like for them to continue making more Xenoblade games, all set in new universes while also being loosely connected to the overarching narrative.
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Would be tight if the next xenoblade games focused on klaus/morytha
 
TheGreatLugia said:
So I've been wondering about something in particular after the recent Takahashi message. This involves spoiler discussion of Xenoblade 1, Xenoblade X, and Xenoblade 2.

First, here's the relevant section from the English version of Takahashi's message:



Specifically how he says the visual was conceptualized between the completion of Xenoblade 1 and before the start of Xenoblade 2's development. I've also seen a claim that the Japanese version of the message seems to imply the visual was conceptualized a long time before work Xenoblade 2 began.








We know planning began for Xenoblade 2 began in July 2014 (source). If the tweet is correct, long before Xenoblade 2's development began might mean the visual was conceptualized early to midway through the development of Xenoblade X. I started wondering if any interviews about Xenoblade X could have been hinting at Takahashi conceptualizing ideas for future games during the production of Xenoblade X, and I did remember one specific conversation from the Xenoblade X Iwata Asks.



Koh Kojima and Yuichiro Takeda mentioned Takahashi writing an enormous amount during the development of Xenoblade X, with Takeda then picking the stories that would get used for the game and fleshing them out into scripts. I had always assumed Takahashi's writing mentioned in this conversation was either an initial story bible for Xenoblade X or a story bible for a potential series of Xenoblade X games.

There's one more quote I can remember that's relevant to this discussion, and it's from a 2020 interview with Takahashi.



Going by this quote, it sounds like Takahashi is saying Xenoblade X is connected with the rest of the series. Between all of these quotes over the years, I'm starting to wonder if some of the story concepts for Xenoblade 2 and Xenoblade 3 might have originated from this same story bible. If Xenoblade X is completely separate from the numbered entries, this possibility might not make much sense. Since Takahashi seems to be claiming each entry in the Xenoblade series is connected though, it might be possible that some of the ideas for Xenoblade 2 and Xenoblade 3 stem from the same story bible Takahashi wrote during the development of Xenoblade X.

This next claim is more of a stretch, but I'm starting to wonder if Takahashi's writings during Xenoblade X's development weren't just a story bible for Xenoblade X or a potential Xenoblade X series. I'm beginning to question if they might have been a story bible for the Xenoblade series as a whole. Dare I say something along the lines of a Xenoblade Perfect Works timeline.
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I had sort of guessed that during Xenoblade X development was probably when the longer-term plans for Xenoblade formed a while ago, but I never made the connection with the large amount of writing Takahashi did at that time. It certainly seems plausible that it wasn't just for Xenoblade X.
 
Momo said:
Fanbyte’s report claimed that Xenoblade 3 is the end of the trilogy. I’m just hoping that it just means the end of the story arc established between 1 & 2 and not the end of the Xenoblade series in general. They still need to address some things from X.

It is my hope that Xenoblade 3 ties into Xenoblade X, in a neat way of course. Then we can get Xenoblade X port and a sequel(s) to resolve the storyline.

Once the X storyline is resolved, I would like for them to continue making more Xenoblade games, all set in new universes while also being loosely connected to the overarching narrative.
Click to expand...

Imran clarified a few days ago that, as far as he knows, it's just the end of the story arc and not the series.

 


The sound of the flutes of Noah, Mio, and the two who have lived many lives as Okuribi is beautiful and somewhat sad.
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EQXZK6YWsAADxL2
 
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I kinda doubt Takahashi decided to make X the 10th entry; that's just so far in advance, even for his standards, and the actual Japanese meaning of Cross fits very, very well with the game's overall themes.

Of course, it's not like Takahashi doesn't know how use a good double meaning. Who knows.

Warlord said:
Xenoblade 3 will probably be the end of the main storyline. Which also means that we are possibly getting an X port in two years and X2 in 4-5 (unless they decide to make a new series instead)
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On one hand, I've always been excited by the prospect of Monolith Soft trying their hand at something completely new and fresh again...

But on the other, give me a modern Monolith Soft designed open world anytime. I'd love an X port and X2.
 
Jersh said:
I kinda doubt Takahashi decided to make X the 10th entry; that's just so far in advance, even for his standards, and the actual Japanese meaning of Cross fits very, very well with the game's overall themes.
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He made Xenogears the fifth entry in its own story so... 🤷‍♂️
 
Xenogears was the fifth episode but they said not every episode would be a game. So maybe X could be considered the tenth episode, but it doesn't mean it would be the tenth game.
 
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Jersh said:
I know. But ten is double that lol.

If Takahashi did nothing but make Xenoblade games every 4 years, it'd take him until he was 80 to have 1-9 out. Somehow I don't think that's his actual plan.
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I don't wanna think about Takahashi turning 80 😔

Gotta enjoy Xeno as much as possible cause once he's no longer around, the series dies with him.
 
To this day there are still a subset of Xenogears/Xenosaga fans who refuse to acknowledge Xenoblade as being part of the "Perfect Works" grand design.
 
Yellowmus said:
I don't wanna think about Takahashi turning 80 😔

Gotta enjoy Xeno as much as possible cause once he's no longer around, the series dies with him.
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I'm sure there'll be other good games to play in 25 years :p

Besides, he's far from the only talent at Monolith Soft, even if he's the most notable.
 
SiG said:
To this day there are still a subset of Xenogears/Xenosaga fans who refuse to acknowledge Xenoblade as being part of the "Perfect Works" grand design.
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To be honest, that's fine. In a way, Xenoblade universe has become a thing of its own even if Takahashi loves to use his older concepts and story elements and place them in the series, especially on the newer ones. If they're going to act like elitists then let them be, I guess.
 
Quoted by: SiG
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Jersh said:
I'm sure there'll be other good games to play in 25 years :p

Besides, he's far from the only talent at Monolith Soft, even if he's the most notable.
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Ha, I know there will be great games to play still but as a HUGE Xeno fan and Takahashi being my favourite game director, and I hope I don't sound too dramatic, but no other game/series will be able to replace the hole in my heart when Xeno is over. Nothing. The series means too much to me.

I'm sure the spirit of Monolithsoft's craftsmanship is being handed down to the new generation of staff, but it's nigh impossible you'll find another Tetsuya Takahashi.
 
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rAndom said:
To be honest, that's fine. In a way, Xenoblade universe has become a thing of its own even if Takahashi loves to use his older concepts and story elements and place them in the series, especially on the newer ones. If they're going to act like elitists then let them be, I guess.
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Bah, it's about time we just shot them down, though, considering the numerous callbacks...and not to mention even having KOS-MOS and TELOS in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and The Conduit being an obvious Zohar.
 
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Nia seemingly broke AmiAmi. Preorders closed in hours and they completely delisted it. It's no longer on the website.
 
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Phendrift said:
Think I’m gonna start xenogears for the first time in the next couple days, wish me luck!
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It’s very much a JRPG of its time so expect it too be a really slow and random encounters galore.

Also I think it’s fine if you read up about the battle system. It isn’t exactly a fun one in my opinion lol. The real enjoyment I got from that game was the story and music
 
DecoReturns said:
It’s very much a JRPG of its time so expect it too be a really slow and random encounters galore.

Also I think it’s fine if you read up about the battle system. It isn’t exactly a fun one in my opinion lol. The real enjoyment I got from that game was the story and music
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I’ve made it through SNES and PS1 era FFs, so hopefully that’s enough experience to where it won’t bother me as much haha
 
DecoReturns said:
It’s very much a JRPG of its time so expect it too be a really slow and random encounters galore.

Also I think it’s fine if you read up about the battle system. It isn’t exactly a fun one in my opinion lol. The real enjoyment I got from that game was the story and music
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That's pretty much what it's known for! The spritework and art direction are still pretty good too.
 
Dunban said:
That's pretty much what it's known for! The spritework and art direction are still pretty good too.
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Yeah, I learned that after I played it lol.

I just randomly looked at a list of most popular JRPGs on vita and picked this one up. Don’t think I even played Xenoblade when I started gears.
 
DecoReturns said:
Yeah, I learned that after I played it lol.

I just randomly looked at a list of most popular JRPGs on vita and picked this one up. Don’t think I even played Xenoblade when I started gears.
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That's an interesting coincidence. Vita was probably a great place to play it though.
 
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Oh, uh hi. Xenogears is my favorite game of all time and I like Xeno stuff in general, so I think I am in the right place.

I also speedrun a few games in the Xenoblade series, mainly XB1 and FC so far.

I have been XB1 a lot lately, and its been really fun to play again. I am playing at 50hz this time and the game moves 20% faster so its a bit hard to control. During my time running XB1 I have come to think of the game as a platformer sometimes. I really really wish XB1 had auto run, that was added in 2 and I have never played DE outside of FC.

There are some funny desycnhes that happen at 50hz too. I would post videos but I do not understand how to use spoiler tags at the moment.

I am looking forward to XB3, especially since Monolith has grown so much since XB2.

What else... I really wanted to love XBX, but I am afraid of spiders so the game was effectively unplayable for me.

I really really hope XB3 has less spiders than 2 and especially X. Otherwise parts of the game will be unplayable again.
 
Alexis said:
Oh, uh hi. Xenogears is my favorite game of all time and I like Xeno stuff in general, so I think I am in the right place.

I also speedrun a few games in the Xenoblade series, mainly XB1 and FC so far.

I have been XB1 a lot lately, and its been really fun to play again. I am playing at 50hz this time and the game moves 20% faster so its a bit hard to control. During my time running XB1 I have come to think of the game as a platformer sometimes. I really really wish XB1 had auto run, that was added in 2 and I have never played DE outside of FC.

There are some funny desycnhes that happen at 50hz too. I would post videos but I do not understand how to use spoiler tags at the moment.

I am looking forward to XB3, especially since Monolith has grown so much since XB2.

What else... I really wanted to love XBX, but I am afraid of spiders so the game was effectively unplayable for me.

I really really hope XB3 has less spiders than 2 and especially X. Otherwise parts of the game will be unplayable again.
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That's so cool. I've always wondered what speedrunning XC1 might look like (My only experience watching Xeno speedruns is with XC2 via Enel). I can imagine that pathing and navigating are huge components of the run. I'm also sorry to hear about how you can't handle XCX's spiders. Hopefully 3 will be more accessible on that front.
 
Brewster123 said:
That's so cool. I've always wondered what speedrunning XC1 might look like (My only experience watching Xeno speedruns is with XC2 via Enel). I can imagine that pathing and navigating are huge components of the run. I'm also sorry to hear about how you can't handle XCX's spiders. Hopefully 3 will be more accessible on that front.
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Well, for 1 and FC, its lots of walking. And in XB1, you can skip a lot of stuff with platforming. It gets really hard sometimes though.

And yeah, hopefully there are no spiders that jump out at you this time.
 
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Just finished reading the fan translation of Xenosaga Pied Piper in preparation for starting Xenosaga 2. Based on what I've been told, I'm assuming Voyager is about to randomly show up in the second game, and yeah, I can see how that might require a bit of context.

Also these games really like just having characters recite verses from the Book of Revelation. The fan translation even helpfully cited all of them. I get this is probably going somewhere thematically, but the lack of subtlety is a bit much. I do have to wonder how some of this religious imagery reads to a Japanese audience who probably isn't as familiar with all this stuff.
 
Snagged a copy of XCX, having finally accepted that a port isn't coming any time soon.

Gonna dump it and get it looking all nice and beautiful in CEMU as soon as I get the chance.
 
Alexis said:
I have been XB1 a lot lately, and its been really fun to play again. I am playing at 50hz this time and the game moves 20% faster so its a bit hard to control. During my time running XB1 I have come to think of the game as a platformer sometimes. I really really wish XB1 had auto run, that was added in 2 and I have never played DE outside of FC.
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I would suggest trying out the base DE campaign as well. The rearranged soundtrack and some QoL implementations (mini-map/quest markers) are worth it alone.
 
maebe said:
Snagged a copy of XCX, having finally accepted that a port isn't coming any time soon.

Gonna dump it and get it looking all nice and beautiful in CEMU as soon as I get the chance.
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This game and CEMU are absolutely amazing together. Pushing the game to 5k/60fps and having it be stable is terrific. Noctilum looks absolutely gorgeous and I wish the CEMU guys some day manage a auto HDR like setting, this game could look even better with that.
 
Pokemaniac said:
Just finished reading the fan translation of Xenosaga Pied Piper in preparation for starting Xenosaga 2. Based on what I've been told, I'm assuming Voyager is about to randomly show up in the second game, and yeah, I can see how that might require a bit of context.

Also these games really like just having characters recite verses from the Book of Revelation. The fan translation even helpfully cited all of them. I get this is probably going somewhere thematically, but the lack of subtlety is a bit much. I do have to wonder how some of this religious imagery reads to a Japanese audience who probably isn't as familiar with all this stuff.
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They wrote Xenosaga with a pen in one hand and a Bible in the other
 
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