Xenogears Story Analysis (FINAL EPISODE) | State of the Arc Podcast

On the final episode of our Xenogears analysis, we bring back Retrograde Amnesia as well as Patrick Holleman to discuss some of the more confusing aspects of the story and the philosophy that inspired it. We also answer questions from the audience to further elaborate on our feelings on the game overall. This is a long one, so grab some popcorn! Retrograde Amnesia's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-ZMfpromeak2dHU4IybFYw Patrick Holleman's Game Design Forum Website: http://thegamedesignforum.com/ Time Codes: 1. Intro (0:00) 2. The Story Behind The Spoken Audio Clip In The Track Knight Of Fire (4:10)) 3. Does Xenogears Have The Best Cast Of Villains? (7:42) 4. What Exactly Did The Gazel Ministry/Cain Want With Deus? (12:13) 5. Was The Egyptian God Mahan Worshipped During The Time Of Ramesses II? (24:06) 6. Can You Elaborate Any More On The Details Of The Diabolos Corps? (26:58) 7. Why Did Krelian Need Elly? (32:34) 8. Comments On The Manufactured Conflict Between The Ethos and Shevat (39:05) 9. What Are The Requirements To Resurrect Deus? (44:08) 10. Plato's Influence On Gnosticism (47:21) 11. Thoughts On Fei and Elly's Relationship Now That The Playthrough Is Over? (59:32) 12. Any Thoughts On Xenosaga's Connections to Xenogears? (1:03:06) 13. Theories On Why Deus Was Trying To Go To Lost Jerusalem/Earth? (1:11:07) 14. Which Era In the Xenogears Timeline Would You Like To See Expanded On? (1:15:58) 15. Why Does Grahf Give Power To Bishop Stone/Stein? (1:22:26) 16. Thoughts On How Disc 2 Scenes Were Prioritized? (1:26:04) 17. A Question For Casen About The Translation Of The Creid Album (1:33:10) 18. How Did Xenogears Personally Impact Each Of You? (1:37:40) 19. Can You Comment On What This Game Says About Hierarchies? (2:01:26) 20. How Would You Feel About A Modernized Version Of Xenogears? (2:05:22) 21. Which Element Do You Feel Made Xenogears Work Despite Its Shortcomings? (2:11:57) 22. How Xenogears Makes Comparisons (2:17:45) 23. How Did Takahashi and Tanaka (Soraya Saga) Come Up With This Stuff? (2:28:05) 24. Is The Complexity Of Xenogears Rewarding Or Is There An Element Of Diminishing Returns? (2:32:39) 25. What Is The Relationship Between Miang, Cain, and the Gazel Ministry? (2:39:27) 26. Is The Story Of Xenogears Ideal For A Video Game Or Something Else? (2:47:45) 27. Is There Any Other Game With This Level Of Narrative Density? (2:53:29) 28. Is Xenogears A Masterpiece? (2:57:58) 29. How Do We Feel About Chu-Chu At The End Of This Playthrough? (3:06:41) 30. How Jaques Lacan's "Desire" Explains Lacan's Transformation Into Grahf (3:11:02) 31. Did You Ever Feel Elly Was Going To Die At Some Point? (3:20:41) 32. Could You Give A Bit Of A Retrospective On What Happened With Takahashi Post-Xenogears? (3:25:55) 33. Any Other Interesting Parallels/Similarities Between Xenogears And FF7? (3:33:20) 34. What Did Perfect Works Add To Your Exploration Of Xenogears' Story? (3:36:08) 35. Wrapping Up (3:46:09)