Strong contender for my favorite story of all time. In spite of all its flaws -some of which were the result of Takahashi's hubris, and others of which were due to the limited production-, Xenogears somehow manages to be one of the most ambitious, profound, and all-encompassing works of fiction I've ever had the honor of experiencing. In an industry where so many things exist for financial reasons, Xenogears is a pure labor of love birthed from the souls of its creators. It's ambition means it is unparalleled in its exploration of deeply profound subject matter, but its personal value to Takahashi and Soraya Saga means it can touch the soul like no other game, and touch the soul it did. Even aside from the sheer sentimentality that its creators injected into it, the efforts of Mitsuda on the game's music, Masato Kato on the script, Yasuyuki Honne on the map, Kunihiko Tanaka on the art, and so much more need to be commended for their hard work. I could harp on for ages about why Xenogears is the greatest thing ever, but I'll leave it that that. Go ahead and play it, seriously.

In a perfect world, this game would've been a complete experience without the noticeable gaps in its story, script, and presentation that are frustratingly evident a lot of the time. Regardless of its incompleteness and only adapting a fraction of the story that Takahashi and Soraya Saga wrote, Xenosaga Episode III, -and by extension the whole trilogy - are fulfilling experiences nonetheless. Despite the burden of cleaning up after the mess that Episode II had made, III more than makes up for its predecessors shortcomings. Gameplay and graphics were no doubt some of the best for their time and still hold up immensely well for today's standards. In spite of the issues I had with the script and pacing, this game's writing is still top-notch in many ways and has some of the series' highest highs, particularly with the character of Shion. Read my review if you want the full picture on why I love this game.

Perhaps the first time Takahashi managed to pull off his ambition, and pull it off beautifully he did. Xenoblade, despite not reaching the highs of Gears or Saga, nor resonating with me as much as the latter two, is still an amazing series nonetheless, and Future Redeemed encapsulates the very spirit that I so loved from these games. A decade's worth of storytelling capped off in the most appropriately beautiful way possible, only matched by the likes of MGS4 and Endwalker when it comes to conclusive endings to cap off long, established storylines.

Watched a Youtube playthrough

Score sucks and took me out of certain moments, but man did I love Jan and the gang a lot. Elevated a good character in Ziggy into great heights.

Watched a Youtube readthrough

Good foreshadowing for FR, but pound-for-pound the weakest Xeno narrative. I find it really doesn't have much to say as a work of art, and that's a damn shame coming from this series.