Most JRPG fans are aware of Monolith Soft’s creation of the Xenoblade Chronicles series. But what isn’t as well known are the Xenogears and Xenosaga series, which have served as the inspiration for Xenoblade Chronicles. While Xenosaga was also made by Monolith Soft from 2002 to 2006, Xenogears was made by Squaresoft (now known as Square Enix) in 1998. They were all started by Tetsuya Takahashi, who has been the man behind all three series since it first began with Xenogears.
The three series all have the “Xeno-” prefix and have been created by the same person. With each series drawing inspiration from its predecessor, it does make players wonder if the three game series are related to each other. Do they share the same world, or take place in the same universe? Or are they in separate universes that affect each other?
Are the Xeno games related?
The answer is that all three series are unrelated to each other. While they share some similarities, Xenogears isn’t related to Xenosaga, and neither series is related to Xenoblade Chronicles. Any overlaps are just for fan appreciation rather than implying a direct link.
Xenogears was planned to be the start of a franchise, but Square wasn’t interested at the time. This led to Monolith Soft’s formation and the creation of Xenosaga, which began an entirely new story while taking some inspiration from Xenogears. Xenosaga was meant to go on for six games, but it ended up being a trilogy.
Xenoblade Chronicles origin and connections
Xenoblade Chronicles came out in 2010 after Takahashi thought up a new idea when Xenosaga finished. It drew inspiration from Xenogears and Xenosaga, but contained its own story and universe. Ideas for possible overlap between the series came up when KOS-MOS, an important character in Xenosaga, appeared as a Rare Blade in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
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This would later be followed by T-elos, another character in Xenosaga, appearing as a Blade in a future update. These are just cameo appearances and don’t suggest any relation between Xenosaga and Xenoblade Chronicles. Their inclusion is the only link between the two series; KOS-MOS and T-elos don’t act the same as they do in Xenosaga, acting as new characters for Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
The adventures of Xenogears and Xenosaga have ended, and they will only live on through their inspiration for future Monolith Soft games. Xenoblade Chronicles is its own series and does not contain anything more than cameos and ideas from the preceding series.
