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{{Short description|none}}
{{Italic title|string=Xenogears}}
[[File:Xenogears characters.jpg|thumb|Characters of ''Xenogears''. From left to right: Bart, Citan, Fei, and Billy.]]
[[File:Xenogears characters.jpg|thumb|Characters of ''Xenogears''. From left to right: Bart, Citan, Fei, and Billy.]]
This is a comprehensive listing of notable characters from the video game '''''[[Xenogears]]''''', a [[role-playing video game]] originally released in 1998 by [[Square Enix]] for the [[PlayStation]] [[video game console]]. [[Kunihiko Tanaka]] was the lead character designer, while [[Tetsuya Takahashi]] and [[Masato Kato]] were the lead writers for the game. ''Xenogears'' was a commercial and critical success.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.square-enix.com/jp/ir/e/explanatory/download/0404-200402090000-01.pdf#page=27 |title=Titles of game software with worldwide shipments exceeding 1 million copies|date=2004-02-09 |accessdate=2008-03-01 |publisher=[[Square Enix]] |page=27}}</ref> The readers of Japanese gaming magazine ''[[Famitsu]]'' voted ''Xenogears'' the 16th best video game of all time in a 2006 poll.<ref>{{cite web | author=Edge Staff | date=2006-03-03 | title=Japan Votes on All Time Top 100 | url=http://www.next-gen.biz/features/japan-votes-all-time-top-100 |work=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]| accessdate=2008-08-19}}</ref>
This is a list of notable characters from the video game '''''[[Xenogears]]''''', a [[role-playing video game]] released in 1998 by [[Square Enix]] for the [[PlayStation]] [[video game console]]. [[Kunihiko Tanaka]] was lead character designer, while [[Tetsuya Takahashi]] and [[Masato Kato]] were lead writers. ''Xenogears'' was a commercial and critical success.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.square-enix.com/jp/ir/e/explanatory/download/0404-200402090000-01.pdf#page=27 |title=Titles of game software with worldwide shipments exceeding 1 million copies|date=2004-02-09 |access-date=2008-03-01 |publisher=[[Square Enix]] |page=27}}</ref> Readers of Japanese gaming magazine ''[[Famitsu]]'' voted ''Xenogears'' the 16th best video game of all time in a 2006 poll.<ref>{{cite web | author=Edge Staff | date=2006-03-03 | title=Japan Votes on All Time Top 100 | url=http://www.next-gen.biz/features/japan-votes-all-time-top-100 | work=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]] | access-date=2008-08-19 | archive-date=2008-07-23 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723051728/http://www.edge-online.com/features/japan-votes-all-time-top-100 | url-status=dead }}</ref>


''Xenogears'' follows the character Fei and his friends as they learn about Deus, a powerful, [[Self-awareness|self-aware]] interplanetary invasion system that crashed onto the planet ten thousand years before the game's story begins. Deus has been secretly controlling the gradually increasing population of the planet to one day bring about its own resurrection. Fei and Elly, the main protagonists, have been reincarnated throughout history in order to ensure that Deus never achieves its goal.<ref name="parish"/> Opposed to Fei and Elly, Miang, the embodiment of Deus and the main antagonist, has reincarnated several times to manipulate the progress of mankind.
''Xenogears'' follows main protagonist Fei and his friends as they learn about Deus, a powerful, [[Self-awareness|self-aware]] interplanetary invasion system that crashed onto the planet ten thousand years prior to the game's story. Deus has been secretly controlling the planet's gradually increasing population to one day bring about its own resurrection. Fei and Elly, the main protagonists, have been reincarnated throughout history to ensure that Deus never achieves its goal.<ref name="parish"/> Miang, the embodiment of Deus and the main antagonist, opposes Fei and Elly and has reincarnated several times to manipulate humanity's progress.


==Creation and development==
==Creation and development==
The [[Fictional character|characters]] of ''Xenogears'' were designed to [[allude]] to many [[psychological]] concepts, notably of [[Freudian]] and [[Jungian]] psychology.<ref name="eurogamer">{{cite web |first=Rob|last=Fahey | year=2007 | title=Xenogears at Eurogamer | url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/xenogears-review | accessdate=2008-08-24}}</ref> An important character bears the name of French psychoanalyst [[Jacques Lacan]], <ref>'''Fei''': In that dream, I was called 'Lacan'... I was an artist... {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2008-08-17 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> but the most obvious allusion involves the protagonist, Fei Fong Wong, whose Freudian [[id, ego and super-ego]] are discussed at length throughout the course of the game.<ref name="timeextend">{{cite web | author=Edge staff | year=2007 | title=Time Extend: Xenogears | url=http://www.edge-online.com/features/time-extend-xenogears/ | accessdate=2008-08-24}}</ref> Fei had subconsciously repressed his [[memories]] because of his torturous [[childhood]], but his desire to remember his past eventually leads him to discover the truth about his identity and his relationship with the character Id.<ref name="timeextend" /> This repression also relates to the Jungian concept of the [[Shadow (psychology)|shadow]]. Distinctly Adlerian in nature, however, are the actions of certain characters, such as Ramsus, whose actions are driven by an [[inferiority complex]] that stems from unconscious 'nodes' that often permeate exterior behaviors of an individual. Although not distinctly psychological, allusions to the theories of [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] are also found in the game.<ref name="eurogamer" /> For example, there is the concept of the [[eternal return]], which, in ''Xenogears'', correlates to the recurrences of the Contact and the Antitype.
The characters of ''Xenogears'' were designed to [[allude]] to [[psychological]] concepts, most notably of [[Freudian]] and [[Jungian]] psychology.<ref name="eurogamer">{{cite web |first=Rob|last=Fahey | year=2007 | title=Xenogears at Eurogamer | url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/xenogears-review | access-date=2008-08-24}}</ref> One of Fei's incarnations is named after French psychoanalyst [[Jacques Lacan]],<ref>'''Fei''': In that dream, I was called 'Lacan'... I was an artist... {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2008-08-17 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> but the most obvious allusion is that of Fei's Freudian [[id, ego and super-ego]], which are discussed throughout the story.<ref name="timeextend">{{cite web | author=Edge staff | year=2007 | title=Time Extend: Xenogears | url=http://www.edge-online.com/features/time-extend-xenogears/ | access-date=2008-08-24}}</ref> Fei subconsciously repressed his [[memories]] because of his torturous [[childhood]], but his desire to remember his past eventually leads him to discover the truth about his identity and his relationship with Id.<ref name="timeextend" /> This repression also relates to the Jungian concept of the [[Shadow (psychology)|shadow]]. However, some character's actions are Adlerian in nature, such as Ramsus, whose actions are driven by an [[inferiority complex]] stemming from unconscious 'nodes' that often permeate exterior behaviors of an individual. Although not distinctly psychological, the game also contains allusions to the theories of [[Friedrich Nietzsche]],<ref name="eurogamer" /> such as the concept of the [[eternal return]], which, in ''Xenogears'', correlates to the recurrences of the Contact and the Antitype.


==Main protagonists==
==Main protagonists==
===Fei Fong Wong===
===Fei Fong Wong===
:{{voiced by|[[Hikaru Midorikawa]]<ref name="btva">{{cite web |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Xenogears/japanese-cast/ |title=Xenogears (1998 Video Game) - Behind The Voice Actors |access-date=2022-04-06 |website=behindthevoiceactors.com |postscript=. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.}}</ref>}}
'''{{nihongo|Fei Fong Wong|ウォン・フェイフォン|Won Fei Fon}}''' is the game's protagonist, whose name alludes to the legendary [[Wong Fei Hung]] and is exactly the same as Hung when written in [[katakana]]. When the game opens, Fei has lived in the village of Lahan for three years and has no memory of events prior to his arrival. It is soon learned that Fei has a tendency to lose control of himself when he feels fear or anger.<ref name="XPWfeihistory"/> When Lahan is attacked, he steps into the cockpit of an abandoned giant fighting robot with the intent of protecting the town, but becomes responsible for laying it to waste.<ref name="timeextend"/> Afterwards, Fei joins with Citan Uzuki and other allies to uncover the web of deception and manipulation surrounding Solaris, and ultimately, Deus. A strong fighter, Fei fights with his bare fists in battle, and his special techniques are known as "[[Qi|Chi]]".
'''{{nihongo|Fei Fong Wong|ウォン・フェイフォン|Won Fei Fon}}''' is the game's protagonist, whose name alludes to the legendary [[Wong Fei Hung]] and is the same when written in [[katakana]]. By the game's beginning, Fei has lived in the village of Lahan for three years and has no memory of events prior to his arrival. It is soon revealed that Fei tends to lose control of himself when he feels fear or anger.<ref name="XPWfeihistory"/> When Lahan is attacked, he steps into the cockpit of an abandoned giant fighting robot to protect the town, but becomes responsible for destroying it.<ref name="timeextend"/> Afterwards, Fei joins forces with Citan Uzuki and other allies to uncover the web of deception and manipulation surrounding Solaris, and ultimately, Deus. Fei is a strong fighter and fights with his bare fists in battle, as well as with special techniques known as "[[Qi|Chi]]".


Fei experiences frequent periods of memory loss and unknowingly has a split personality Id, the product of Fei's pain and anguish at a critically young age. This pain split his mind into three personas: the monster Id, the childlike "coward", and the artificial persona Fei, designed to shield Id from reality.<ref name="XPWfeihistory"/> These personas were designed to map to the Freudian ideas of the [[id, ego and super-ego]].<ref name="timeextend"/> When Fei was a child, his mother was possessed by Miang's spirit, who experimented heavily with Fei as he was the "Contact"<ref name="XPWfeihistory"/> and one of numerous reincarnations of {{nihongo|Abel|アベル|Aberu}}, the sole survivor of the crash of the spaceship Eldridge thousands of years prior.<ref name="timeextend"/>
Fei experiences frequent periods of memory loss and unknowingly has a split personality called Id, which is the product of the pain and anguish he experienced when he was young. This pain split his mind into three personas: the monster Id, the childlike "coward", and the artificial persona Fei,who was designed to shield Id from reality.<ref name="XPWfeihistory"/> These personas were designed to correspond to the Freudian ideas of the [[id, ego and super-ego]].<ref name="timeextend"/> When Fei was a child, Miang's spirit possessed his mother, who experimented on Fei, as he was the "Contact"<ref name="XPWfeihistory"/> and one of many reincarnations of {{nihongo|Abel|アベル|Aberu}}, the sole survivor of the crash of the spaceship Eldridge thousands of years ago.<ref name="timeextend"/>


Fei's first incarnation Abel grew up along with the original Elehaym ten thousand years prior to the game's story. They were both killed in a rebellion against the world's ruler, Cain. The second Contact, {{nihongo|Kim Kasim|キム・カーリム|Kimu Kārimu}}, appeared in the Zeboim era, four thousand years before the game's start. He was Emeralda's creator, although Miang destroyed his technology and he went into hiding afterwards. During the Solaris War five hundred years prior to the game, the Contact appeared as the painter {{nihongo|Lacan|ラカン|Rakan}}. Joining the rebellion against Solaris, he met Krelian and Sophia, the corresponding incarnation of Elehaym. When Sophia was killed during battle, Lacan decided to destroy the world, turning into Grahf and freeing the Contact to be reincarnated again later as Fei.<ref name="XPWfeihistory"/>
Fei's first incarnation, Abel, grew up along with the original Elehaym ten thousand years prior to the game's story; they were both killed in a rebellion against the world's ruler, Cain. The second Contact, {{nihongo|Kim Kharim|キム・カーリム|Kimu Kārimu}}, appeared in the Zeboim era, four thousand years before the game's start. He was Emeralda's creator, although Miang destroyed his technology and he went into hiding afterwards. During the Solaris War, which took placed five hundred years prior to the game's events, the Contact appeared as the painter {{nihongo|Lacan|ラカン|Rakan}}. After joining the rebellion against Solaris, he met Krelian and Sophia, the corresponding incarnation of Elehaym. When Sophia was killed in battle, Lacan decided to destroy the world, turning into Grahf and freeing the Contact to be reincarnated again as Fei.<ref name="XPWfeihistory"/>


The character of Fei has been called "a mystery for the player to follow and solve on their own" by [[IGN]].<ref name="reyes"/> ''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' said of Fei that he "in some ways, conforms to the classic stereotypical lead character, but we quickly discover he’s anything but a blank canvas. Within an hour of play Fei has leveled his home village in an act of brutal destruction, killing his best friends – who you were busily helping prepare for their wedding the next day."<ref name="timeextend"/>
Fei has been called "a mystery for the player to follow and solve on their own" by [[IGN]].<ref name="reyes"/> ''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' said of Fei that he "in some ways, conforms to the classic stereotypical lead character, but we quickly discover he’s anything but a blank canvas. Within an hour of play Fei has leveled his home village in an act of brutal destruction, killing his best friends – who you were busily helping prepare for their wedding the next day."<ref name="timeextend"/>


The world of Xenogears was originally designed as more "pastoral" than the final result, and Lahan was planned to have a "martial arts" feel. As the game's script was written this was changed, but the design of Fei, meant to fit in with the original conception, was not able to be revised in the time allotted and remained wearing a martial arts uniform. This led to director [[Tetsuya Takahashi]] feeling that his character design was out of place, especially in the latter half of the game.<ref name="XPWfeidesign"/> The version of Fei in Zeboim, Kim, was designed with a lab coat and modern Japanese clothing to demonstrate that Zeboim society was similar to modern society. Lacan was intended to have a different design than Fei, but due to time constraints was instead left with the same artwork, and was justified with the idea that Lacan's memories were shared with Fei, who projected his own self-image into them.<ref name="XPWfeidesign"/>
The world of ''Xenogears'' was originally designed as more "pastoral" than the final result, and Lahan was planned to have a "martial arts" feel. As the game's script was written, this was changed, but the design of Fei, which was meant to fit in with the original conception, was not able to be revised in the time allotted and remained wearing a martial arts uniform. This led to director [[Tetsuya Takahashi]] feeling that his character design was out of place, especially in the latter half of the game.<ref name="XPWfeidesign"/> The version of Fei in Zeboim, Kim, was designed with a lab coat and modern Japanese clothing to demonstrate that Zeboim society was similar to modern society. Lacan was intended to have a different design than Fei, but due to time constraints, was instead left with the same artwork, which was justified with the idea that Lacan's memories were shared with Fei, who projected his own self-image into them.<ref name="XPWfeidesign"/>


===Elly Van Houten===
===Elly Van Houten===
[[File:Elly japanese instructions.jpg|thumb|Elly in the Japanese instruction manual.]]
[[File:Elly japanese instructions.jpg|thumb|Elly in the Japanese instruction manual.]]
:{{voiced by|[[Yumi Tōma]]<ref name="btva"/>}}
'''{{nihongo|Elhaym Van Houten|エレハイム・ヴァン・ホーテン|Erehaimu Van Hōten}}''', nicknamed '''{{nihongo|Elly|エリィ|Erii}}''', is a young skilled officer of Gebler who meets Fei in the forest near Lahan Village. Elly was leading an operation to steal a top-secret experiment gear from Kislev, but was forced to crash-land in Lahan and was partially responsible for the destruction of the village. Her encounter with Fei changes her life forever. Elly is an optimist, and wants to help Fei, despite the fact that he is a land dweller and that she cannot leave the military. She is a competent fighter with her rods and has elemental ether attacks. Known as the ''-Antitype-'', she has been reincarnated numerous times throughout history along with Fei, her previous incarnation being {{nihongo|Sophia|ソフィア|Sofia}}, the Holy Mother of Nisan.<ref name="parish">{{cite journal| journal = [[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]| publisher = [[Ziff Davis]] Media| issue = 221|date=November 2007| title = Retronauts Presents: WTFiction!?| first = Jeremy| last = Parish| pages = 132–133}}</ref>
'''{{nihongo|Elhaym Van Houten|エレハイム・ヴァン・ホーテン|Erehaimu Van Hōten}}''', nicknamed '''{{nihongo|Elly|エリィ|Erii}}''', is a young skilled officer of Gebler who meets Fei in the forest near Lahan Village. She was leading an operation to steal a top-secret experiment gear from Kislev, but was forced to crash-land in Lahan and was partially responsible for its destruction. Elly is optimistic and wants to help Fei, despite him being a land dweller and the fact she cannot leave the military. She is known as the ''-Antitype-'', she has been reincarnated several times throughout history along with Fei, her previous incarnation being {{nihongo|Sophia|ソフィア|Sofia}}, the Holy Mother of Nisan.<ref name="parish">{{cite journal| journal = [[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]| publisher = [[Ziff Davis]] Media| issue = 221|date=November 2007| title = Retronauts Presents: WTFiction!?| first = Jeremy| last = Parish| pages = 132–133}}</ref> She wields rods and can attack with elemental ether attacks.


===Citan Uzuki===
===Citan Uzuki===
:{{voiced by|[[Hideyuki Tanaka]]<ref name="btva"/>}}
'''{{nihongo|Citan Uzuki|シタン・ウヅキ|Shitan Uzuki}}''' is a [[medical doctor]] who lives up the mountain path from Lahan with his wife {{nihongo|Yui|ユイ}} (granddaughter of the Shevat Guru Gaspar), and his daughter {{nihongo|Midori|ミドリ}}. Despite living on the surface, Citan was born in Solaris, and his real name is '''{{nihongo|Hyuga Ricdeau|ヒュウガ・リクドウ|Hyuuga Rikudou}}'''. Citan is a Solaris Guardian Angel, and is working under instructions from the Solaris Emperor to observe Fei to see if he will bring relief or destruction to the world.<ref>'''Citan''':I am sorry. I did not want to say anything until I was sure. I was on a secret mission by orders of Emperor Cain to monitor Fei. He ordered me to determine whether Fei would be a threat to the world or not. 'The Contact'... That is what the Emperor calls Fei...{{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2009-11-18 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> A very smart individual, Citan is responsible for the development of many of the Gears seen in the game. He has a history with multiple individuals, including Ramsus, Sigurd and Jessie. Citan initially fights with his bare fists but acquires a sword later in the game. During his combos, he moves so fast he has afterimages trailing his movement. When using his sword, Citan always [[Iaijutsu|draws and strikes with it in a single motion]]. Citan's special techniques are known as "[[Arcane]]" magic.
'''{{nihongo|Citan Uzuki|シタン・ウヅキ|Shitan Uzuki}}''' is a [[medical doctor]] who lives up the mountain path from Lahan with his wife {{nihongo|Yui|ユイ}}, the granddaughter of the Shevat Guru Gaspar, and his daughter {{nihongo|Midori|ミドリ}}. Despite living on the surface, Citan was born in Solaris, and his real name is '''{{nihongo|Hyuga Ricdeau|ヒュウガ・リクドウ|Hyuuga Rikudou}}'''. He is a Solaris Guardian Angel, and is working under orders from the Solaris Emperor to observe Fei to see if he will bring relief or destruction to the world.<ref>'''Citan''':I am sorry. I did not want to say anything until I was sure. I was on a secret mission by orders of Emperor Cain to monitor Fei. He ordered me to determine whether Fei would be a threat to the world or not. 'The Contact'... That is what the Emperor calls Fei...{{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2009-11-18 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> Citan is intelligent and responsible for the development of many Gears. He has a history with multiple individuals, including Ramsus, Sigurd and Jessie. Citan initially fights with his bare fists, but later acquires a sword. During his combos, he moves so fast there are afterimages trailing his movement. When using his sword, Citan [[Iaijutsu|draws and strikes with it in a single motion]]. Citan's special techniques are known as "[[wikt:arcane|Arcane]]" magic.


===Bart Fatima===
===Bart Fatima===
:{{voiced by|[[Tomokazu Seki]]<ref name="btva"/>}}
'''{{nihongo|Bartholomew Fatima|バルトロメイ・ファティマ|Barutoromei Fatima}}''', nicknamed '''{{nihongo|Bart|バルト|Baruto}}''', is the leader of a group of sand pirates who ride the submarine Yggdrasil. He befriends Fei and Citan after shooting down a prison ship that they were on. Bart is the rightful heir to the kingdom of Aveh, his family having been forced out of the country by Ethos agent Shakhan years before.<ref>'''Citan''':Bartholomew? Edbart IV's successor... I am sure they announced Bartholomew dies of an illness 12 years ago.
'''{{nihongo|Bartholomew Fatima|バルトロメイ・ファティマ|Barutoromei Fatima}}''', nicknamed '''{{nihongo|Bart|バルト|Baruto}}''', is the leader of a group of sand pirates who ride the submarine Yggdrasil. He befriends Fei and Citan after shooting down a prison ship they were on. Bart is the rightful heir to the kingdom of Aveh, with Ethos agent Shakhan having forced his family out of the country years ago.<ref>'''Citan''':Bartholomew? Edbart IV's successor... I am sure they announced Bartholomew dies of an illness 12 years ago.
'''Maison''':Officially, yes. However, in reality, we rescued the young prince from Shakhan's evil
'''Maison''':Officially, yes. However, in reality, we rescued the young prince from Shakhan's evil
grasp.
grasp.
'''Citan''':Then why must the prince, the rightful heir, resort to piracy... {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2008-08-18 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> Bart is constantly accompanied by his mentor and half-brother, {{nihongo|Sigurd Harcourt|シグルド・ハーコート|Shigurudo Hākōto}}, as well as the well-mannered {{nihongo|Lawrence Maison|ローレンス・メイソン|Rōrensu Meison}}. He uses a whip in battle. Bart and Sigurd are each missing an eye (Bart's left and Sigurd's right) and wear identical eyepatches.
'''Citan''':Then why must the prince, the rightful heir, resort to piracy... {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2008-08-18 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> Bart is accompanied by his mentor and half-brother, {{nihongo|Sigurd Harcourt|シグルド・ハーコート|Shigurudo Hākōto}}, and well-mannered {{nihongo|Lawrence Maison|ローレンス・メイソン|Rōrensu Meison}}. Bart and Sigurd are each missing an eye, their left and right ones respectively, and wear identical eyepatches. He wields a whip in battle.


Bart's ancestors {{nihongo|Roni Fatima|ロニ・ファティマ}} and {{nihongo|Rene Fatima|レネ・ファティマ}} were fraternal twin brothers who founded Aveh, and were comrades of Lacan and Sophia during the rebellion against Solaris. Their names are a reference to [[Characters of Final Fantasy VI#Edgar Figaro|Edgar '''Roni''' Figaro]] and [[Characters of Final Fantasy VI#Sabin Figaro|Sabin '''Rene''' Figaro]], characters from ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' who were created by ''Xenogears'' co-writer [[Soraya Saga|Kaori Tanaka]].<ref name="part1">{{cite web | title=Reflections with Soraya Saga Part 1|author=Spencer| url=http://www.siliconera.com/2010/06/04/reflections-with-soraya-saga-part-1/ | work=Siliconera | date=2010-06-04|accessdate=2012-08-16}}</ref>
Bart's ancestors {{nihongo|Roni Fatima|ロニ・ファティマ}} and {{nihongo|Rene Fatima|レネ・ファティマ}} were fraternal twin brothers who founded Aveh, and were comrades of Lacan and Sophia during the rebellion against Solaris. Their names are a reference to [[Characters of Final Fantasy VI#Edgar Figaro|Edgar '''Roni''' Figaro]] and [[Characters of Final Fantasy VI#Sabin Figaro|Sabin '''Rene''' Figaro]], characters from ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' created by ''Xenogears'' co-writer [[Soraya Saga|Kaori Tanaka]].<ref name="part1">{{cite web | title=Reflections with Soraya Saga Part 1|author=Spencer| url=http://www.siliconera.com/2010/06/04/reflections-with-soraya-saga-part-1/ | work=Siliconera | date=2010-06-04|access-date=2012-08-16}}</ref>


===Rico Banderas===
===Rico Banderas===
:{{voiced by|[[Mugihito]]<ref name="btva"/>}}
'''{{nihongo|Ricardo Banderas|リカルド・バンデラス|Rikarudo Banderasu}}''', nicknamed '''{{nihongo|Rico|リコ|Riko}}''', is a massive [[demi-human]] and champion Gear fighter in Nortune, the imperial capital of Kislev.<ref>'''Hammer''':I am telling you it is hopeless! To do that you will have to defeat the current champion, Master Rico! {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2008-08-18 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> He has a sturdy reputation, and his size can be frightening. Despite being a prisoner, his lifestyle is superior to that of many nobles and he appears to have a connection with the Kislev ruler. Rico is one of the game's strongest physical characters, but also the slowest and with one of the lower accuracy ratings.
'''{{nihongo|Ricardo Banderas|リカルド・バンデラス|Rikarudo Banderasu}}''', nicknamed '''{{nihongo|Rico|リコ|Riko}}''', is a massive [[demi-human]] and champion Gear fighter in Nortune, the imperial capital of Kislev.<ref>'''Hammer''':I am telling you it is hopeless! To do that you will have to defeat the current champion, Master Rico! {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2008-08-18 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> He has a sturdy reputation, and his size can be frightening. Despite being a prisoner, his lifestyle is superior to that of many nobles and he appears to have a connection with the Kislev ruler. He has high strength, but the slowest speed and lower accuracy.


===Billy Lee Black===
===Billy Lee Black===
:{{voiced by|[[Yūji Ueda]]<ref name="btva"/>}}
'''{{nihongo|Billy Lee Black|ビリー・リー・ブラック|Birī Rī Burakku}}''' is introduced as a young, pacifistic priest of the Ethos religion, and later is revealed as a member of the Etone branch, which job is to "clean" and "purge" the world from the Reapers, or -Wels-. He has a problematic relationship with his father {{nihongo|Jesse B. Black|ジェシー・B・ブラック|Jeshī B. Burakku}} (real name: {{nihongo|Jessiah Blanche|ジェサイア・ブランシュ|Jesaia Buranshu}}), who abandoned his family for a number of years after they moved to the surface from Solaris.<ref>'''Billy''':I don't know the details but you have been labeled as an undesirable element. What did you do this time? Fight? Gamble? Go after someone's wife again?
'''{{nihongo|Billy Lee Black|ビリー・リー・ブラック|Birī Rī Burakku}}''' is a young, pacifistic priest of the Ethos religion, who is later revealed to be a member of the Etone branch, which job is to "clean" and "purge" the world from the Reapers, or -Wels-. He has a problematic relationship with his father {{nihongo|Jesse B. Black|ジェシー・B・ブラック|Jeshī B. Burakku}}, real name {{nihongo|Jessiah Blanche|ジェサイア・ブランシュ|Jesaia Buranshu}}, who abandoned his family for several years after they moved to the surface from Solaris.<ref>'''Billy''':I don't know the details but you have been labeled as an undesirable element. What did you do this time? Fight? Gamble? Go after someone's wife again?
Jessie:Hmph, that's just a rumor about me. A rumor. Don't you believe that. Ever since you
Jessie:Hmph, that's just a rumor about me. A rumor. Don't you believe that. Ever since you
went into the 'Ethos' you've become such a stiff. {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2009-11-18 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> Having been mentored by the Ethos leader Bishop Stone, Billy dedicated his life to religion and cares for many children including his younger sister {{nihongo|Primera|プリメーラ|Purimēra}} at an Ethos orphanage. Billy's sports a trio of guns in battle and also wields a number of useful support "[[Ether]]" spells.
went into the 'Ethos' you've become such a stiff. {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2009-11-18 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> Having been mentored by the Ethos leader Bishop Stone, Billy dedicated his life to religion and cares for many children including his younger sister {{nihongo|Primera|プリメーラ|Purimēra}} at an Ethos orphanage. He wields triple guns and can use support "[[Ether]]" spells.


===Maria Balthasar===
===Maria Balthasar===
'''{{nihongo|Maria Balthasar|マリア・バルタザール|Maria Barutazāru}}''' is a young girl residing in Shevat who pilots Seibzehn, a special Gear her father, Nikolai, created to protect her home. Her father was kidnapped by Solaris to make new Gears, thus giving Maria a large grudge against Solaris.<ref>'''Maria''':Yes... but I haven't seen him for the past few years... He said he was looking for something very important. And he left by himself... My father was captured by Solaris and his whereabouts are not known either... I'm glad Grandpa Bal's doing fine. {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2009-11-18 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> Maria's grandfather is the gear engineer Balthasar. Although her gear is powerful, Maria's physical attacks are weak. However, she can use ether attacks to call Seibzehn to attack enemies, even in enclosed areas.
'''{{nihongo|Maria Balthasar|マリア・バルタザール|Maria Barutazāru}}''' is a young girl residing in Shevat who pilots Seibzehn, a special Gear her father, Nikolai, created to protect her home. Solaris kidnapped him to make new Gears, causing her to bear a grudge against Solaris.<ref>'''Maria''':Yes... but I haven't seen him for the past few years... He said he was looking for something very important. And he left by himself... My father was captured by Solaris and his whereabouts are not known either... I'm glad Grandpa Bal's doing fine. {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2009-11-18 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> Her grandfather is the gear engineer Balthasar. Although her gear is powerful, Maria's physical attacks are weak. However, she can use ether attacks to call Seibzehn to attack enemies, even in enclosed areas.


===Chu-Chu===
===Chu-Chu===
:{{voiced by|[[Kumiko Watanabe]]<ref name="btva"/>}}
Once mistaken by Bart as a stuffed animal, '''{{nihongo|Chu-Chu|チュチュ}}''' was with Marguerite during the teenage girl's imprisonment in Fatima Castle. Her race once lived in the woods, but due to Solaris's activities, they became almost extinct. Some managed to escape to Shevat and live with Wiseman. Chu-Chu can grow to the size of a gear once the physical part of the limiter is removed. She has the unique ability to heal other gears, and doesn't need any fuel to fight, but has poor stats and no special attacks in "gear" form. She has romantic interest for Fei but none of the characters notice and it spooks Fei at first.<ref>'''Chu-Chu''':I'm Chu-Chu! I fell in love with you when I first saw you in Bledavik!! {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2008-08-18 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref>
'''{{nihongo|Chu-Chu|チュチュ}}''' was with Marguerite during her imprisonment in Fatima Castle. Her race once lived in the woods, but they nearly became extinct due to Solaris's activities. Some managed to escape to Shevat and live with Wiseman. Chu-Chu can grow to the size of a gear once the physical part of the limiter is removed. She has the unique ability to heal other gears, and does not need fuel to fight, but has poor stats and no special attacks in "gear" form. She has romantic interest for Fei.<ref>'''Chu-Chu''': I'm Chu-Chu! I fell in love with you when I first saw you in Bledavik!! {{cite video game|title=Xenogears|developer=Square Enix|publisher=Square Enix|date=2008-08-18|platform=PlayStation}}</ref>


===Emeralda Kasim===
===Emeralda Kharim===
:{{voiced by|[[Michiko Neya]]<ref name="btva"/>}}
'''{{nihongo|Emeralda Kasim|エメラダ・カーリム|Emerada Kārimu}}''' is a [[nanomachine]] colony built to aid the human race. Kim Kasim (Fei’s second known incarnation) created Emeralda during the Zeboim era by analyzing Elly’s gene pattern, and creating a nanomachine colony.<ref>'''Kim''':This, this is the new spirit vessel that will break the curse. It hasn't awakened yet. The form was created by nanomachines, but neural simulation hasn't been done by the Assembler Tower yet. It's physically stable, but still doesn't function as a living creature yet. {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2008-08-29 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> At the time, Miang was manipulating the government, and wanted to reset the human evolutionary cycle by starting a worldwide nuclear war. In the present, Emeralda is revived from an archeological site and is used by Krelian to enhance his nanomachine technology. She is used to guard a Solaris gate, but joins the party afterwards. At first, she seems unable to differentiate between Fei and his previous incarnation Kim, and responds to being told his name is Fei by calling him "Fei's Kim" for most of the remainder of the game. Emeralda's nanomachine-created body makes her a powerful ally in battle, and she possesses powerful ether spells as well. She does not use any weapons, but rather, she morphs her limbs (and hair) into various melee weapons while attacking. Emeralda initially has the appearance of a child, but an optional [[side quest]] late in the game causes her to assume the form of an adult woman. This transformation improves her stat growth tremendously.
'''{{nihongo|Emeralda Kharim|エメラダ・カーリム|Emerada Kārimu}}''' is a [[nanomachine]] colony built to aid the human race. Kim Kharim, Fei's second known incarnation, created Emeralda during the Zeboim era by analyzing Elly's gene pattern and creating a nanomachine colony.<ref>'''Kim''':This, this is the new spirit vessel that will break the curse. It hasn't awakened yet. The form was created by nanomachines, but neural simulation hasn't been done by the Assembler Tower yet. It's physically stable, but still doesn't function as a living creature yet. {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2008-08-29 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> At the time, Miang was manipulating the government, and wanted to reset the human evolutionary cycle by starting a worldwide nuclear war. In the present, Emeralda is revived from an archeological site and Krelian uses him to enhance his nanomachine technology. She is used to guard a Solaris gate, but joins the party afterwards. She initially seems unable to differentiate between Fei and his previous incarnation Kim, and responds to being told his name is Fei by calling him "Fei's Kim" for most of the game. Emeralda possesses powerful ether spells. She does not wield any weapons, instead morphing her limbs and hair into various melee weapons while attacking. She initially has the appearance of a child, but an optional [[side quest]] late in the game causes her to assume the form of an adult woman, a transformation which greatly improves her stat growth.


==Main antagonists==
==Main antagonists==
===Deus===
===Deus===
'''{{nihongo|Deus|デウス|Deusu}}''' is the core of an interplanetary invasion system, built ten thousand years prior to the game's story. Because of its power, Deus was placed on the Eldridge spaceship, but it soon became fully [[self aware]] and took control of the entire ship. When the captain of the Eldridge self-destructed his ship, Deus was not destroyed, crashing into a nearby planet.<ref name="parish"/> Deus then created ''The Complement'' named Hawwa (Miang), she gives birth to Emperor Cain and the Gazel Ministry. Hawwa's task was to establish a human civilization on the planet in order to one day use the humans for its resurrection.
'''{{nihongo|Deus|デウス|Deusu}}''' is the core of an interplanetary invasion system, which was built ten thousand years prior to the game's story. Because of its power, Deus was placed on the Eldridge spaceship, but it soon became fully [[self aware]] and took control of the entire ship. When the captain of the Eldridge self-destructed his ship, Deus was not destroyed, instead crashing into a nearby planet.<ref name="parish"/> Deus then created ''The Complement'' named Hawwa (Miang), who gave birth to Emperor Cain and the Gazel Ministry. Hawwa's task was to establish a human civilization on the planet to one day use humans for its resurrection.


Because of the nature of Deus, much of the game's controversy stems from Fei's goal of killing the god that created mankind. This plot was the main reason as to why there were questions of a North American release of the game.<ref name="timeextend"/>
There was a controversy surrounding Fei's goal of killing the god that created mankind, which many believed could have cancelled a North American release of the game.<ref name="timeextend"/>


===Gazel Ministry===
===Gazel Ministry===
The '''{{nihongo|Gazel Ministry|ガゼル法院|Gazeru Hō-in|Gazel Law Institute}}''' exists as the main governing body of Solaris. They were originally among the first human beings born on the planet. They were originally half of the core organic component of Deus, known as the 'Animus', and seek to realign with their respective 'Anima' (the Anima Relics).<ref>'''Elly''':Do you know why the Gazel Ministry desired the Anima Relics and your bodies? Well, here's the reason... Before becoming human, the bodies of the Ministry were once part of the organic elements in the core circuit that made up 'Deus'. There were two types of organic elements. The female type was called 'Anima', while the male type was called 'Animus'. The Ministry, which were Animus, were to become one again with their separated Anima at the time of the resurrection of god. {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2008-08-29 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref>
The '''{{nihongo|Gazel Ministry|ガゼル法院|Gazeru Hō-in|Gazel Law Institute}}''' is the main governing body of Solaris. They were originally among the first human beings born on the planet and half of the core organic component of Deus, known as the 'Animus', and seek to realign with their respective 'Anima', the Anima Relics.<ref>'''Elly''':Do you know why the Gazel Ministry desired the Anima Relics and your bodies? Well, here's the reason... Before becoming human, the bodies of the Ministry were once part of the organic elements in the core circuit that made up 'Deus'. There were two types of organic elements. The female type was called 'Anima', while the male type was called 'Animus'. The Ministry, which were Animus, were to become one again with their separated Anima at the time of the resurrection of god. {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2008-08-29 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref>


Five hundred years before the events of the game, the Ministry were at odds with Miang, so they provided her to Shevat in exchange for the rebel army. Soon after this, they were killed by the mysterious Diabolos forces summoned by Grahf. Krelian eventually revived eight of the twelve ministers as computer data in the SOL-9000 after becoming part of Solaris.<ref>'''Citan''':Once, during the Diabolos invasion, the Ministry elders died losing their bodies. Now, the Solaris governing Ministry exists as data in memory banks. Each of their personalities are bits of data.
Five hundred years before the events of the game, the Ministry were at odds with Miang, so they provided her to Shevat in exchange for the rebel army. Soon after, Grahf summoned mysterious Diabolos forces to kill them. Krelian eventually revived eight of the twelve ministers as computer data in the SOL-9000 after becoming part of Solaris.<ref>'''Citan''': Once, during the Diabolos invasion, the Ministry elders died losing their bodies. Now, the Solaris governing Ministry exists as data in memory banks. Each of their personalities are bits of data.
{{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2008-08-29 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref>
{{cite video game|title=Xenogears|developer=Square Enix|publisher=Square Enix|date=2008-08-29|platform=PlayStation}}</ref>


Throughout the game the Ministry is fearful of Fei and seek to destroy him because Fei is the reincarnation of Lacan, who was responsible for their original demise. They show utter disdain towards Ramsus because of his constant failure to defeat Fei and call him 'Trash'. At the same time, they seek to resurrect their bodies using the main characters, who are their descendents. The Ministry eventually becomes at odds with Emperor Cain when he prevents them from using the 'Gaetia Key', a device that will resurrect God's paradise, Mahanon. Because of Miang and Krelian's manipulation of Ramsus, he assassinates Cain for them and the Ministry goes ahead and uses the Key. Howevever, once the key has been used, Krelian has no more use for them and has them promptly deleted, wiping them out permanently.<ref>'''Gazel''': What are you doing to the memory banks?
Throughout the game the Ministry fears Fei and seeks to destroy him because he is the reincarnation of Lacan, who was responsible for their original demise. They show disdain towards Ramsus because of his constant failure to defeat Fei. They seek to resurrect their bodies using the main characters, who are their descendants. The Ministry eventually becomes at odds with Emperor Cain when he prevents them from using the 'Gaetia Key', a device that will resurrect God's paradise, Mahanon. Because of Miang and Krelian's manipulation of Ramsus, he assassinates Cain for them and the Ministry uses the Key. However, afterward he has no more use for them and erases them.<ref>'''Gazel''': What are you doing to the memory banks?
'''Gazel''': Do not touch them! We cannot survive without the...!
'''Gazel''': Do not touch them! We cannot survive without the...!
'''Krelian''': You were the only ones who could have activated the key. But now that it has been activated, I no longer need you. I am having you all erased.
'''Krelian''': You were the only ones who could have activated the key. But now that it has been activated, I no longer need you. I am having you all erased.
Line 69: Line 79:


===Grahf===
===Grahf===
Calling himself "The Seeker of Power", '''{{nihongo|Grahf|グラーフ|Gurāfu}}''' is the persona of Lacan that split off after Lacan made contact with the Zohar five hundred years prior to the start of Xenogears influenced by Miang. Grahf is the personification of Lacan's will but is not considered to be the "original" Lacan (i.e. the "Contact"). The Contact, instead, transmigrated to be reborn in the body of Fei Fong Wong.
'''{{nihongo|Grahf|グラーフ|Gurāfu}}''', who calls himself "The Seeker of Power", is the persona of Lacan that split off after Miang influenced Lacan to make contact with the Zohar five hundred years prior to the game's beginning. Grahf is the personification of Lacan's will, but is not considered to be the "original" Lacan , as The Contact instead transmigrated to be reborn in Fei's body.


Grahf's goal is to merge with Fei and thus reclaim his original form as "The Contact" then to awaken the weapon Deus and destroy all life. He came to the conclusion that this was the only path to freedom after his contact with the Existence as Lacan. Grahf learned the ability to pass on from body to body, thus granting him a form of eternal life.
He seeks to merge with Fei and regain his original form as The Contact, then awaken Deus and destroy all life, which he concluded was the only path to freedom after his contact with the Existence as Lacan. He learned the ability to move between bodies, giving him a form of eternal life.


Grahf discovers the new incarnation of the Contact in Fei when Fei is still a child and attempts to meld with him. However, Fei's father, Khan, attempts to stop him. During their battle, Fei was unable to contain the powers passed onto him by the Existence and released a force so powerful that Fei's mother was killed. Grahf then took Fei who had awakened as Id. Id then trained under Grahf as an assassin, until Khan caught up to them. Grahf then tried to merge with Id(Fei) but Khan fought back and in the end defeated Grahf, Grahf then took over Khan's body, but not before Khan (as Wiseman) was able to take Fei to Lahan Village before the beginning of the game.
Grahf discovered the new incarnation of the Contact in Fei when Fei was a child and attempted to merge with him, but Fei's father, Khan, intervened. During their battle, Fei was unable to contain the powers the Existence passed onto him and unleashed a powerful force that killed his mother. Grahf then took in Fei, who had awakened as Id, and trained him as an assassin until Khan caught up to them. Grahf tried to merge with Id, but Khan fought back and ultimately defeated Grahf. Grahf then took over Khan's body, but not before Khan, as Wiseman, took Fei to Lahan Village.


Although he no longer possesses the full potential of "The Contact," Grahf has immense strength and powers. He is more powerful than any other character except for Fei as "The Contact" (when all divisions of his personality merge). He can easily destroy gears with his bare hands and effortlessly defeats multiple omnigears (include Fei's Weltall 2 with System-Id) during the battle at Mahanon. However, he rarely fights directly, and instead on several occasions granted what he called "the Power" to defeated lesser villains, allowing them to challenge Fei and his friends with enhanced abilities. This power invariably leads to madness, and their resulting destruction.
Although he no longer possesses the full potential of "The Contact," Grahf is more powerful than any other character except for Fei as "The Contact" when all divisions of his personality merge. Despite this, he rarely fights directly, and instead grants what he calls "the Power" to lesser villains, allowing them to fight the party with enhanced abilities. However, this power inevitably leads to madness and their destruction.


Grahf is finally defeated by Fei after the latter merges with all of his personalities and meets the Wave Existence. Now able to access his full powers, Fei's gear transforms into the Xenogears and engages Grahf in a one-on-one fight. Grahf is beaten and subsequently sacrifices himself to merge with the Zohar and delay the awakening of Deus, allowing Fei and party to escape and prepare for the final battle.<ref>[http://www.xgam.org/xenogears/profiles/index.php?profile=characters&ID=grahf Xenogears God and Mind - Grahf]</ref>
Fei ultimately defeats Grahf after merging with all of his personalities and meeting the Wave Existence. Now able to access his full powers, Fei's gear transforms into the Xenogears and engages Grahf in a one-on-one fight. After his defeat, he sacrifices himself to merge with the Zohar and delay Deus' awakening, allowing the party to escape and prepare for the final battle.


===Id===
===Id===
'''{{nihongo|Id|イド|Ido}}''' is Fei's [[Dissociative identity disorder|split personality]], created when Fei tried to repress his childhood memories about being abused by scientists acting as his mother.<ref name="timeextend"/> Throughout the game, Id appears when Fei is off screen. Fei is also unaware of Id until it is explained to him late in the game. Id represents Fei's [[Id, ego, and super-ego|id]], adding a [[Freudian]] aspect to his character.<ref name="timeextend"/> Id is an often brutal and malicious character, violently seeking to destroy the planet by making contact with the Zohar.
'''{{nihongo|Id|イド|Ido}}''' is Fei's [[Dissociative identity disorder|split personality]], who was created when he tried to repress his traumatic childhood memories of abuse at the hands of scientists and his mother, who was possessed by Miang. Id is brutal and malicious and seeks to destroy the planet by making contact with the Zohar. Throughout the game, Id appears when Fei is off screen, with Fei being unaware of its existence until it is explained to him. Id represents Fei's [[Id, ego, and super-ego|id]].<ref name="timeextend"/>


===Kahran Ramsus===
===Kahran Ramsus===
'''{{nihongo|Kahran Ramsus|カーラン・ラムサス|Kāran Ramusasu}}''' commands Gebler alongside Miang and holds a prominent position in the hierarchy in Solaris. He was originally created in a nanoreactor by Miang and Krelian as a clone of the Emperor Cain, but was thrown away once Fei was discovered. He grew up in the Elements, a special Solaris fighting squad, and knew Citan, who was attracted to Ramsus' ideals against class distinctions. Ramsus grows obsessed with defeating Fei over the course of the game because it was Fei's existence that made Ramsus feel worthless.<ref>'''Fei''':Ramsus' absolute confidence was shattered... Leaving only his cry of disbelief and resentment, Ramsus' machine disappeared into a sea of foliage. Why he was so fixated on me...I know not why. but he did say this...
'''{{nihongo|Kahran Ramsus|カーラン・ラムサス|Kāran Ramusasu}}''' commands Gebler alongside Miang and holds a prominent position in Solaris's hierarchy. Miang and Krelian originally created him in a nanoreactor as a clone of the Emperor Cain, but was abandoned after Fei was discovered. He grew up in the Elements, a special Solaris fighting squad, and knew Citan, who was attracted to Ramsus' ideals against class distinctions. Ramsus grows obsessed with defeating Fei over the course of the game because his existence made Ramsus feel worthless.<ref>'''Fei''': Ramsus' absolute confidence was shattered... Leaving only his cry of disbelief and resentment, Ramsus' machine disappeared into a sea of foliage. Why he was so fixated on me...I know not why. but he did say this...
'''Ramsus''':If only you didn't exist... {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2008-08-29 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref>
'''Ramsus''': If only you didn't exist... {{cite video game|title=Xenogears|developer=Square Enix|publisher=Square Enix|date=2008-08-29|platform=PlayStation}}</ref>


===Krelian===
===Krelian===
:{{voiced by|[[Ryōtarō Okiayu]]}}<ref name="btva"/>
'''{{nihongo|Krelian|カレルレン|Kareruren}}''' is the secondary antagonist and the anti-hero of the game. He is the leader of Solaris, the antagonistic nation that controls the affairs of much of the world. Initially a land dweller, Krelian's scientific knowledge has enabled him to prolong his life and exert power over the Solaris' Emperor Cain and the main governing body, the Gazel Ministry. After the death of his beloved Sophia centuries ago, Krelian became convinced that God did not exist and that he would need to create God with his own hands and starts working with Miang.<ref name="parish"/> The name Krelian is a mistransliteration from Japanese for "Karellen", referencing an overlord character from [[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s novel ''[[Childhood's End]]''. He is the villain with more development in the game, playing a crucial role in the Solaris war and after.
'''{{nihongo|Krelian|カレルレン|Kareruren}}''' is the secondary antagonist and the [[Antihero|anti-hero]] of the game. He is the leader of Solaris, which controls most of the world's affairs. Initially a land dweller, Krelian's scientific knowledge has enabled him to prolong his life and exert power over Emperor Cain and the Gazel Ministry. After Sophia's death centuries ago, Krelian became convinced that God did not exist and that he would need to create God with his own hands, after which he started working with Miang.<ref name="parish"/> His name is a mistransliteration from Japanese for "Karellen", referencing an overlord character from [[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s novel ''[[Childhood's End]]''.


===Miang===
===Miang===
'''{{nihongo|Miang Hawwa|ミァン・ハッワー|Mian Hawwā}}''' is the main antagonist and the mastermind behind all the events in the Xenogears' timeline. She appears repeatedly throughout the game's events in opposition to the party, both behind the scenes and in direct confrontations, Miang acts as representative of Deus, an intergalactic bioweapon designed to conduct warfare on a planetary scale.<ref name="parish"/> The final moments of the Eldridge catastrophe resulted in the creation of the original 'mother' being, tasked by the Deus system to give birth to an entire civilization that would provide and gather all the biological and mechanical "spare parts" it needed to repair and reactivate. Hawwa is the Arabic name of Eve. Myyah (the official romanization according to Perfect Works) is almost the reverse of Elly's full name (Elhaym), with the omitted 'El' being Hebrew and meaning 'God', symbolizing how she is connected to but different from that character.
'''{{nihongo|Miang Hawwa|ミァン・ハッワー|Mian Hawwā}}''' is the main antagonist and the mastermind behind the game's events, acting as a representative of Deus.<ref name="parish" /> The final moments of the Eldridge catastrophe resulted in the creation of the original 'mother' being, which the Deus system tasked with giving birth to a civilization that would provide and gather the biological and mechanical "spare parts" it needed to repair and reactivate. Hawwa is the Arabic name of Eve, while the romanized form Myyah is almost the reverse of Elly's full name Elhaym, with the omitted 'El' being Hebrew for 'God', symbolizing how she is connected to but different from her. Miang has lived across many incarnations by inhabiting different bodies.<ref name="parish" />


One of the few humans that Deus gave birth to, Miang's first incarnation was known as Hawwa, ''The Complement''. Hawwa's purpose was to guide and shape the events of human history to better suit the coming resurrection of Deus. All human women descended from the crash of the Eldridge, all inhabiting the planet the game takes place on, possess the genetic factor necessary to become the next incarnation of Miang. When the current one dies, Miang simply awakens in a new body.<ref name="parish"/> The target seems to be randomly selected, but she always inhabits the body of an adult female, and the momentary transformation always results in purple hair and eye color. The only notable superhuman abilities she possesses are the ability to retain memory across incarnations and some considerable psionic abilities, strong enough to cleanly "reprogram" someone's subconscious to perform a chosen task, though for the most part she prefers working in the shadows to manipulate world events. This is evidenced by her sparse participation in battles in a mostly supportive role, usually piloting her C-1 Vierge.
Miang's first incarnation was known as Hawwa, ''The Complement,'' one of the few humans that Deus gave birth to. Her purpose was to guide and shape the events of human history to better suit Deus' coming resurrection. All human women descended from the crash of the Eldridge and possess the genetic factor necessary to become her next incarnation. She always inhabits the body of an adult female, with the momentary transformation resulting in purple hair and eyes. The only notable superhuman abilities she possesses are the ability to retain memories across incarnations and some psionic abilities. She rarely fights physically, instead piloting the C-1 Vierge.

'''TIMELINE OF KNOWN AWAKENINGS'''

'''Eldridge catastrophe - 10,000 years prior to game'''

Deus activated biological computer Kadomony, generating the first mother being in response to Abel's contact with the Wave Existence shortly before planetfall.<ref name="parish"/> This original being emerges from the wreckage and gives birth to Miang, Elly, Cain and the Gazel Ministry, then returned to Kadomony's stasis pod where she slowly rots over the next several thousand years. Miang begins her mission to supplement Deus' plans.

'''Zeboim era - 4,000 years prior to game'''

Miang awakens in a pair of identical twin sisters, using their connection to her advantage to conduct espionage within the Zeboim government.<ref name="perfect">{{cite book |title=Xenogears Perfect Works |last=[[Square (company)|Square]] |first= |year=1998 |publisher=[[DigiCube]]|location=Japan |isbn=4-925075-32-2 |pages=7–210}}</ref> Upon finding out that a nano-engineer named Kim is working on a way to repair the genetic breakdown causing infertility in the vast majority of Zeboim citizens, she commissions Kim to continue his work. However, when he moves to secure his creation for himself she sends an assault team to requisition it and kill anyone in their way.<ref>'''Elly''':...I just can't... hand our child... over to you... ...Live...! {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2009-11-18 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> She influences events to accelerate the death of the civilization so that humanity can 'reset' to a form more desirable for Deus, resulting in nuclear annihilation of the entire Zeboim civilization, which then sinks to the bottom of the Aquvy sea.

'''The beginning of the end - approx. 20–12 years prior to game'''

Unable to locate the current incarnation of the -Contact-, Miang cooperates with Krelian to clone an artificial -Contact- using Emperor Cain's DNA. The clone, which would later become Kahran Ramsus, gains awareness before even being born and develops an inferiority complex soon thereafter.<ref>'''Krelian''':Huh? Oh... Recognition code 0808191-'Ramses'. The Emperor's been told
it's a prototype for an artificial 'Contact'.
'''Karen''':What's its status?
'''Krelian''':It has entered the so-called first growth stage. From now until the binding, its
growth will be several times faster than that of an ordinary human. But its psychological development will be a little difficult to control... {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2009-11-18 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> Miang dies of old age, and awakens in Karen Wong, Fei Fong Wong's mother, and uses her new position to conduct battery after battery of torturous experiments on Fei while his father is away, resulting in the inadvertent creation of Id. Miang stands by passively while Grahf attacks Khan Wong, triggering a spontaneous release of Fei's power. Karen regains control momentarily, long enough to throw herself in front of her son to save his life, and is mortally wounded in the process. Fei recedes into the "coward" personality, shielding himself by displacing the tragedy and horror of these events onto his alter-ego, Id, who remains the dominant personality for the rest of his teenage years under Grahf's destructive tutelage. Miang reawakens in a new host body, apparently in her early twenties, and begins to court Kahran Ramsus in order to gain power within the Gebler faction on Solaris.

'''Final Chapter'''

Miang is cut down by Ramsus in front of the newly activated Deus. The party witnesses her reawakening in Elly, who explains humanity's purpose relative to Deus shortly before being absorbed into its core. Deus utilizes its newly acquired Anima Relics and Krelian's nanotechnology to ascend to a higher, more advanced form than its original design was capable of, and climbs into orbit in an attempt to resume its journey. Fei gives pursuit in the Xenogears, the only Gear left operational after the destruction of the Zohar Modifier, and battles with Miang in her final incarnation, that of the Urobolus. After Fei had successfully defeated her in this form, she had then ceased to exist. Once Miang is eradicated for good, Krelian is convinced of Fei's point of view and resigns from his original mission, opting instead to walk the Path of Sephirot and travel to the higher dimension from which the Wave Existence originated, leaving Fei and Elly to return to the planet in the Xenogears.<ref>'''Krelian''': Always the peacemaker, eh Lacan? But, regardless, I cannot go. It is something I have already decided. I'm going to walk with god, even if there is no place left for me upon my return. {{cite video game|title=Xenogears |developer=Square Enix |publisher=Square Enix |date=2009-11-18 |platform=PlayStation}}</ref> The chains of fate are broken, and Fei and Elly become the final incarnations of their eternally returning personas, with the memories and experiences of all their past selves incorporated into them.


==Other characters==
==Other characters==
===Emperor Cain===
===Emperor Cain===
'''{{nihongo|Emperor Cain|天帝カイン|Tentei Kain|Heavenly King Cain}}''' is the ruler of Solaris. Created along with the Gazel Ministry and Miang, his role was to also serve in the resurrection of Deus. When Abel and Elly fight against Cain's plans for resurrecting Deus, it was Cain that plotted the death of Abel, an allusion to [[Original sin]].<ref name="perfect"/> Although he is supposed to aid Deus, as a leader of Solaris, Cain actually believes in making the lives of the humans better. He becomes at odds with the Gazel Ministry when they want to use the Gaetia Key and is eventually assassinated by Ramsus under Krelian's orders.<ref>'''Gazel Blue 2''':So... Cain is dead?
'''{{nihongo|Emperor Cain|天帝カイン|Tentei Kain|Heavenly King Cain}}''' is the ruler of Solaris. He was created along with the Gazel Ministry and Miang to serve as part of the resurrection of Deus. When Abel and Elly fight against Cain's plans for resurrecting Deus, Cain plotted the death of Abel, an allusion to [[Original sin]].<ref name="perfect">{{cite book |title=Xenogears Perfect Works |last=Square |author-link=Square (video game company) |year=1998 |publisher=[[DigiCube]]|location=Japan |isbn=4-925075-32-2 |pages=7–210}}</ref> Although he is supposed to aid Deus as a leader of Solaris, he actually believes in improving humanity's lives. He becomes at odds with the Gazel Ministry when they want to use the Gaetia Key, and Ramsus eventually assassinates him under Krelian's orders.<ref>'''Gazel Blue 2''':So... Cain is dead?
'''Gazel Red 2''':Yes.
'''Gazel Red 2''':Yes.
'''Gazel Red 2''':If only he had just accepted our logical ideas too...
'''Gazel Red 2''':If only he had just accepted our logical ideas too...
Line 127: Line 116:


===Margie Fatima===
===Margie Fatima===
'''{{nihongo|Marguerite Fatima|マルグレーテ・ファティマ|Marugurēte Fatima}}''', nicknamed '''{{nihongo|Margie|マルー|Marū}}''', is the current Holy Mother of Nisan, the position once held by Sophia. She is both Bart's first cousin and his fiancée, as they are both the only living members of the Fatima royal family. She has a calm, endearing nature, despite her duties.
'''{{nihongo|Marguerite Fatima|マルグレーテ・ファティマ|Marugurēte Fatima}}''', nicknamed '''{{nihongo|Margie|マルー|Marū}}''', is the current Holy Mother of Nisan, a position Sophia once held. She is both Bart's first cousin and his fiancée, as they are the only living members of the Fatima royal family. She is calm and endearing despite her duties.


===Hammer===
===Hammer===
'''{{nihongo|Hammer|ハマー|Hamā}}''' is a rat demi-human who meets Fei in Kislev's D Block Prison. During the Kislev scenario, Hammer presents himself as a shifty, though somewhat reliable mechanic, item seller, and intelligence gatherer. Hammer seems to be well known throughout Kislev, as he is able to freely roam on his own accord, despite being a prisoner. Hammer tags along with the group as they steal the Goliath plane, but is separated from them following an encounter with Grahf. Much later on in the story, Hammer resurfaces after apparently encountering Krelian at some point and being given a new cyborg body. He explains to the party that he had originally been sent to spy on them, but in the end he had refused to cooperate. He then asks the party to destroy him as he has only a limited amount of control over his new body and he doesn't want to continue being Krelian's puppet. He then proceeds to sabotage his own gear while the party takes him down.
'''{{nihongo|Hammer|ハマー|Hamā}}''' is a rat demi-human who meets Fei in Kislev's D Block Prison. During the Kislev scenario, Hammer presents himself as a shifty, though reliable mechanic, item seller, and intelligence gatherer. He is seemingly well known throughout Kislev, as he is able to freely roam on his own despite being a prisoner. Hammer tags along with the group as they steal the Goliath plane, but is separated from them following an encounter with Grahf. He reappears later on after apparently encountering Krelian and being given a new cyborg body. He explains to the party he had originally been sent to spy on them, but refused to cooperate. He then asks the party to destroy him, as he has only a limited amount of control over his new body and he does not want to be Krelian's puppet. He then sabotages his gear while the party takes him down.


===The Elements===
===The Elements===
The elite of the elite among Solaris' military, a four-member team with each representing one of four elements (earth, water, wind, fire). In the past, the group was Ramsus, Citan, Jesse and Sigurd, major and minor players in the game, however, in the present, it is composed of four young women, each named after [[Christian angelic hierarchy|an order of angels]]. They currently work directly under Ramsus, and encounter the party several times in the adventure. '''{{nihongo|Dominia Yizkor|ドミニア・イズコール|Dominia Izukōru}}''', the Element of Earth, leads the team and is the only member with a surname. She is a vicious, domineering woman. Dominia was molded into the soldier she is after becoming the sole survivor of the events at Elru, a country destroyed by war, and Id in particular. She has numerous altercations with Elly in particular, mocking her for her noble origins. While being the Element of Earth, Dominia actually infuses any of the four elements into her blade, she is the only Element to do this, as the others exclusively use their own element. Dominia pilots a sword-wielding gear called Bladegash. '''Kelvena''' ({{nihongo|Cherubina|ケルビナ|Kerubina}}) is the Element of Water, and the opposite of Domina, she is calm and cool. Kelvena once even apologizes to Elly for Dominia's harshness, despite being on opposing sides. Kelvena pilots an aquatic gear called Marinebasher. In-game dialogue pictures of Kelvena often show her with her eyes closed, implying she may have been blind, but in reality, Kelvena's innate ether power is so great, she must exert a considerable amount of concentration to keep it under control. '''Tolone''' ({{nihongo|Throne|トロネ|Torone}}) is the Element of Wind. She is the only one who is a cyborg, as she makes a reference to her "positronic photon brain", and typically serious and humorless. Tolone pilots a bird-like gear called Skyghene. '''{{nihongo|Seraphita|セラフィータ|Serafīta}}''' is the Element of Fire, and a foil to Dominia and Tolone's rigidity, as she acts like a complete bimbo. She pilots a gear called Grandgrowl, which resembles a lion. In the final encounter vs the Elements, they combine their four gears into a super-gear.
An elite four-member team of Solaris' military, with each representing one of four elements; earth, water, wind, fire. In the past, the group was composed of Ramsus, Citan, Jesse and Sigurd; in the present, it is composed of four young women, each named after [[Christian angelic hierarchy|an order of angels]]. They currently work directly under Ramsus, and encounter the party several times. In the final encounter with the Elements, they combine their four gears into a super-gear.
* '''{{nihongo|Dominia Yizkor|ドミニア・イズコール|Dominia Izukōru}}''', the Element of Earth, is a vicious, domineering woman who is the team's leader; she is the only member with a surname. She became the soldier she is today after becoming the sole survivor of the events at Elru, which was destroyed by war, and Id in particular. She has numerous altercations with Elly in particular, mocking her for her noble origins. Despite being the Element of Earth, Dominia infuses all of the four elements into her blade, she is the only Element to do this, as the others exclusively use their own element. She pilots a sword-wielding gear called Bladegash.
* '''Kelvena''' ({{nihongo|Cherubina|ケルビナ|Kerubina}}) is the Element of Water. Unlike Domina, she is calm and cool, even apologizing to Elly for Dominia's harshness despite being on opposing sides. Kelvena pilots an aquatic gear called Marinebasher. Her character portraits often show her with her eyes closed, implying she may be blind. In reality, her innate ether power is so great that she must exert considerable concentration to keep it under control.
* '''Tolone''' ({{nihongo|Throne|トロネ|Torone}}) is the Element of Wind. She is a cyborg, as she makes reference to her "positronic photon brain", and is serious and humorless. She pilots a bird-like gear called Skyghene.
* '''{{nihongo|Seraphita|セラフィータ|Serafīta}}''' is the Element of Fire. She is a foil to Dominia and Tolone's rigidity, as she is unintelligent. She pilots a gear called Grandgrowl, which resembles a lion.


===Wave Existence===
===Wave Existence===
Existing in the Zohar, the '''{{nihongo|Wave Existence|波動存在|Hadō Sonzai}}''' was present during the events of the Eldridge. The Zohar was an energy source for Deus, While attempting to explore infinite energy phenomena, the Zohar tapped into a higher dimension and pulled the Existence to this dimension, becoming a source of infinite energy for Deus. The Existence is the source of the higher dimension, of which a small portion spilled into this dimension, making the Existence the true God of the Xenogears universe. Its only wish is to be free of the 'prison' which holds it, the Zohar, and to return to Its own dimension.<ref name="parish"/> The Wave Existence makes contact with Abel, Fei's ancestor, aboard the Eldridge, allowing Abel to safely land on the planet with Deus. The Wave Existence also creates Elly as a companion for Abel and gives them both the power to be reincarnated throughout history in order to defeat Deus. It wants to be free from Deus and when Fei defeats Deus, the Wave Existence is freed.<ref name="parish"/>
The '''{{nihongo|Wave Existence|波動存在|Hadō Sonzai}}''' exists within the Zohar, and was present during the events on the Eldridge. Deus used the Zohar as an energy source; while attempting to explore infinite energy phenomena, the Zohar tapped into a higher dimension and pulled the Existence to this dimension, becoming a source of infinite energy for Deus. The Existence is the source of the higher dimension, of which a small portion spilled into this dimension, making the Existence the true God of the ''Xenogears'' universe. It seeks to escape from the Zohar and Deus' control and return to its own dimension.<ref name="parish"/> The Wave Existence made contact with Abel, Fei's ancestor, aboard the Eldridge, allowing Abel to safely land on the planet with Deus. It also created Elly as a companion for Abel and gave them the power to be reincarnated throughout history to defeat Deus. It is ultimately freed after Fei defeats Deus.<ref name="parish"/>


===Wiseman===
===Wiseman===
Often appearing to Fei to help him, '''{{nihongo|Wiseman|ワイズマン|Waizuman}}''' is secretly a personality inside of his father, {{nihongo|Khan Wong|ウォン・カーン|Won Kān}}. Wiseman forms inside of Khan when Grahf enters Khan's body after Khan defeated Grahf ten years prior to the game's start.<ref name="perfect"/> Wiseman's appearance inside Khan occurred to balance out Grahf's destructive persona. Wiseman brought Fei to Lahan to hide him from Grahf.
'''{{nihongo|Wiseman|ワイズマン|Waizuman}}''' appears throughout the game to aid Fei, and is secretly a personality inside of his father, {{nihongo|Khan Wong|ウォン・カーン|Won Kān}}, who formed inside of him when Grahf entered his body after he defeated him ten years prior to the game's events.<ref name="perfect"/> Wiseman's appearance inside Khan occurred to balance out Grahf's destructive persona. Wiseman later brought Fei to Lahan to hide him from Grahf.


===Queen Zephyr===
===Queen Zephyr===
'''{{nihongo|Queen Zephyr|ゼファー女王|Zefā Joō}}''' is the ruler of Shevat, after the rest of the royal family was killed five hundred years prior to the start of the game in the rebellion against Solaris. She relies on Wiseman to keep her informed of events outside Shevat. Her top advisors are the Gurus {{nihongo|Gaspar|ガスパール|Gasupāru}}, {{nihongo|Taura Melchoir|トーラ・メルキオール|Tōra Merukiōru}} and {{nihongo|Isaac Balthasar|アイザック・バルタザール|Aizakku Barutazāru}}.
'''{{nihongo|Queen Zephyr|ゼファー女王|Zefā Joō}}''' is the ruler of Shevat, who became ruler after the rest of the royal family was killed during the rebellion against Solaris five hundred years prior to the game's events. She relies on Wiseman to keep her informed of events outside Shevat. Her top advisors are Gurus {{nihongo|Gaspar|ガスパール|Gasupāru}}, {{nihongo|Taura Melchior|トーラ・メルキオール|Tōra Merukiōru}} and {{nihongo|Isaac Balthasar|アイザック・バルタザール|Aizakku Barutazāru}}.


==Reception==
==Reception==
The characters of ''Xenogears'' have been well received, the lead protagonist Fei in particular, who has been called videogames' "most complicated Freudian hero."<ref name="timeextend"/> The staff of ''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' felt that Fei's deep backstory and character in general was "a far cry from the simplistic two-dimensional leads of Square’s [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super Nintendo]] RPGs of just a few years earlier."<ref name="timeextend"/> ''Edge'' also pointed out the [[Non-player character|NPCs]] present during the beginning scenes and how they bring depth to the scenario. "As a player, you feel awkward and ashamed in the presence of these NPCs, a guilty confusion and helplessness which perfectly mirrors that felt by your character and justifies his immediate exile", the staff wrote.<ref name="timeextend"/> [[IGN]] praised both the characters themselves and their designs.<ref name="reyes">{{cite web |first=Francesca|last=Reyes | year=1998 | title=Xenogears review at IGN | url=http://psx.ign.com/articles/152/152230p1.html | accessdate=2008-09-01}}</ref> In a review for the game at Pulpfilm.com, attention is paid to the secondary characters, who, as the reviewer explains, have "profoundly interesting backstories", but are never adequately resolved by the end of the game, which other reviews also note.<ref>{{cite web | year=2003 | title=Xenogears| url=http://www.pulpfilm.com/reviews_engine/show_review.php?review=75| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081112184358/http://www.pulpfilm.com/reviews_engine/show_review.php?review=75| archivedate=2008-11-12 | accessdate=September 1, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | author=RPGFan editor | year=1998 | title=Xenogears review at RPGFan| url=http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/xenogears/Xenogears-2.htmlreview=75 | accessdate=2008-09-01}}</ref> An article from [[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] titled ''WTFiction!?'' listed ''Xenogears'' as one of the "wackiest game plotlines ever." Jeremey Parish went on to write that many characters in the game only made the plot more confusing, including Chu-Chu and Grahf.<ref name="parish"/>
The characters of ''Xenogears'' have been well received, the lead protagonist Fei in particular, who has been called videogames' "most complicated Freudian hero."<ref name="timeextend"/> The staff of ''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' felt that Fei's deep backstory and character in general was "a far cry from the simplistic two-dimensional leads of Square’s [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super Nintendo]] RPGs of just a few years earlier."<ref name="timeextend"/> ''Edge'' also pointed out the [[Non-player character|NPCs]] present during the beginning scenes and how they bring depth to the scenario. "As a player, you feel awkward and ashamed in the presence of these NPCs, a guilty confusion and helplessness which perfectly mirrors that felt by your character and justifies his immediate exile", the staff wrote.<ref name="timeextend"/> [[IGN]] praised both the characters themselves and their designs.<ref name="reyes">{{cite web |first=Francesca|last=Reyes | year=1998 | title=Xenogears review at IGN | url=http://psx.ign.com/articles/152/152230p1.html | access-date=2008-09-01}}</ref> In a review for the game at Pulpfilm.com, attention is paid to the secondary characters, who, as the reviewer explains, have "profoundly interesting backstories", but are never adequately resolved by the end of the game, which other reviews also note.<ref>{{cite web | year=2003 | title=Xenogears| url=http://www.pulpfilm.com/reviews_engine/show_review.php?review=75| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081112184358/http://www.pulpfilm.com/reviews_engine/show_review.php?review=75| archive-date=2008-11-12 | access-date=September 1, 2008 }}</ref> An article from [[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] titled ''WTFiction!?'' listed ''Xenogears'' as one of the "wackiest game plotlines ever." Jeremey Parish went on to write that many characters in the game only made the plot more confusing, including Chu-Chu and Grahf.<ref name="parish"/>


The in-game character sprites have met less praise. A [[GameSpot]] reviewer stated that the "game's character sprites are poorly animated and suffer from terrible pixelation, no doubt due to the PlayStation's limited RAM."<ref>{{cite web | author=Peter Bartholow| year=1998 | title=Xenogears review at GameSpot| url=http://www.gamespot.com/ps/rpg/xenogears/review.html | accessdate=2008-09-02}}</ref> Other critics disagree, arguing that the characters are more realistic than the characters from ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]''.<ref>{{cite web | author=Tim Hsu | year=1998 | title=Xenogears review at GameRevolution| url=http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/sony/xenogears | accessdate=2008-09-02}}</ref> In a preview of the game, [[IGN]] compared the character sprites to those of ''[[Parasite Eve]]'', saying that "the game's designers have opted for a more traditional, anime-style look. But this doesn't mean the pint-size characters or low-detail environments of RPGs gone by."<ref>{{cite web | first=|last=IGN staff| date=1998-08-18 | title=Xenogears Preview | url=http://psx.ign.com/articles/122/122230p1.html |publisher=IGN| accessdate=2009-11-18}}</ref>
The in-game character sprites have met less praise. A [[GameSpot]] reviewer stated that the "game's character sprites are poorly animated and suffer from terrible pixelation, no doubt due to the PlayStation's limited RAM."<ref>{{cite web | author=Peter Bartholow| year=1998 | title=Xenogears review at GameSpot| url=http://www.gamespot.com/ps/rpg/xenogears/review.html | access-date=2008-09-02}}</ref> Other critics disagree, arguing that the characters are more realistic than the characters from ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]''.<ref>{{cite web | author=Tim Hsu | year=1998 | title=Xenogears review at GameRevolution | url=http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/sony/xenogears | access-date=2008-09-02 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725023819/http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/sony/xenogears | archive-date=2008-07-25 | url-status=dead }}</ref> In a preview of the game, [[IGN]] compared the character sprites to those of ''[[Parasite Eve (video game)|Parasite Eve]]'', saying that "the game's designers have opted for a more traditional, anime-style look. But this doesn't mean the pint-size characters or low-detail environments of RPGs gone by."<ref>{{cite web |last=IGN staff| date=1998-08-18 | title=Xenogears Preview | url=http://psx.ign.com/articles/122/122230p1.html |publisher=IGN| access-date=2009-11-18}}</ref>


==Notes==
==Notes==
{{reflist|30em |refs=
{{Reflist|30em |refs=
<ref name="XPWfeihistory">''Xenogears Perfect Works'' pp. 158—163</ref>
<ref name="XPWfeihistory">''Xenogears Perfect Works'' pp. 158—163</ref>
<ref name="XPWfeidesign">''Xenogears Perfect Works'' pp. 237—238</ref>
<ref name="XPWfeidesign">''Xenogears Perfect Works'' pp. 237—238</ref>
Line 156: Line 150:


==References==
==References==
*{{cite book |title=Xenogears Perfect Works |editor=[[DigiCube]] |date=1998-08-10 |publisher=DigiCube |isbn=978-4-9250-7532-9 |language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book |title=Xenogears Perfect Works |editor=DigiCube |editor-link=DigiCube |date=1998-08-10 |publisher=DigiCube |isbn=978-4-9250-7532-9 |language=ja}}


==External links==
==External links==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Characters In Xenogears}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Characters In Xenogears}}
[[Category:Square Enix characters]]
[[Category:Xenogears]]
[[Category:Xenogears]]
[[Category:Lists of video game characters|Xenogears]]
[[Category:Lists of Square Enix characters|Xenogears]]

Latest revision as of 13:46, 15 October 2024

Characters of Xenogears. From left to right: Bart, Citan, Fei, and Billy.

This is a list of notable characters from the video game Xenogears, a role-playing video game released in 1998 by Square Enix for the PlayStation video game console. Kunihiko Tanaka was lead character designer, while Tetsuya Takahashi and Masato Kato were lead writers. Xenogears was a commercial and critical success.[1] Readers of Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu voted Xenogears the 16th best video game of all time in a 2006 poll.[2]

Xenogears follows main protagonist Fei and his friends as they learn about Deus, a powerful, self-aware interplanetary invasion system that crashed onto the planet ten thousand years prior to the game's story. Deus has been secretly controlling the planet's gradually increasing population to one day bring about its own resurrection. Fei and Elly, the main protagonists, have been reincarnated throughout history to ensure that Deus never achieves its goal.[3] Miang, the embodiment of Deus and the main antagonist, opposes Fei and Elly and has reincarnated several times to manipulate humanity's progress.

Creation and development

[edit]

The characters of Xenogears were designed to allude to psychological concepts, most notably of Freudian and Jungian psychology.[4] One of Fei's incarnations is named after French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan,[5] but the most obvious allusion is that of Fei's Freudian id, ego and super-ego, which are discussed throughout the story.[6] Fei subconsciously repressed his memories because of his torturous childhood, but his desire to remember his past eventually leads him to discover the truth about his identity and his relationship with Id.[6] This repression also relates to the Jungian concept of the shadow. However, some character's actions are Adlerian in nature, such as Ramsus, whose actions are driven by an inferiority complex stemming from unconscious 'nodes' that often permeate exterior behaviors of an individual. Although not distinctly psychological, the game also contains allusions to the theories of Friedrich Nietzsche,[4] such as the concept of the eternal return, which, in Xenogears, correlates to the recurrences of the Contact and the Antitype.

Main protagonists

[edit]

Fei Fong Wong

[edit]
Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa[7]

Fei Fong Wong (ウォン・フェイフォン, Won Fei Fon) is the game's protagonist, whose name alludes to the legendary Wong Fei Hung and is the same when written in katakana. By the game's beginning, Fei has lived in the village of Lahan for three years and has no memory of events prior to his arrival. It is soon revealed that Fei tends to lose control of himself when he feels fear or anger.[8] When Lahan is attacked, he steps into the cockpit of an abandoned giant fighting robot to protect the town, but becomes responsible for destroying it.[6] Afterwards, Fei joins forces with Citan Uzuki and other allies to uncover the web of deception and manipulation surrounding Solaris, and ultimately, Deus. Fei is a strong fighter and fights with his bare fists in battle, as well as with special techniques known as "Chi".

Fei experiences frequent periods of memory loss and unknowingly has a split personality called Id, which is the product of the pain and anguish he experienced when he was young. This pain split his mind into three personas: the monster Id, the childlike "coward", and the artificial persona Fei,who was designed to shield Id from reality.[8] These personas were designed to correspond to the Freudian ideas of the id, ego and super-ego.[6] When Fei was a child, Miang's spirit possessed his mother, who experimented on Fei, as he was the "Contact"[8] and one of many reincarnations of Abel (アベル, Aberu), the sole survivor of the crash of the spaceship Eldridge thousands of years ago.[6]

Fei's first incarnation, Abel, grew up along with the original Elehaym ten thousand years prior to the game's story; they were both killed in a rebellion against the world's ruler, Cain. The second Contact, Kim Kharim (キム・カーリム, Kimu Kārimu), appeared in the Zeboim era, four thousand years before the game's start. He was Emeralda's creator, although Miang destroyed his technology and he went into hiding afterwards. During the Solaris War, which took placed five hundred years prior to the game's events, the Contact appeared as the painter Lacan (ラカン, Rakan). After joining the rebellion against Solaris, he met Krelian and Sophia, the corresponding incarnation of Elehaym. When Sophia was killed in battle, Lacan decided to destroy the world, turning into Grahf and freeing the Contact to be reincarnated again as Fei.[8]

Fei has been called "a mystery for the player to follow and solve on their own" by IGN.[9] Edge said of Fei that he "in some ways, conforms to the classic stereotypical lead character, but we quickly discover he’s anything but a blank canvas. Within an hour of play Fei has leveled his home village in an act of brutal destruction, killing his best friends – who you were busily helping prepare for their wedding the next day."[6]

The world of Xenogears was originally designed as more "pastoral" than the final result, and Lahan was planned to have a "martial arts" feel. As the game's script was written, this was changed, but the design of Fei, which was meant to fit in with the original conception, was not able to be revised in the time allotted and remained wearing a martial arts uniform. This led to director Tetsuya Takahashi feeling that his character design was out of place, especially in the latter half of the game.[10] The version of Fei in Zeboim, Kim, was designed with a lab coat and modern Japanese clothing to demonstrate that Zeboim society was similar to modern society. Lacan was intended to have a different design than Fei, but due to time constraints, was instead left with the same artwork, which was justified with the idea that Lacan's memories were shared with Fei, who projected his own self-image into them.[10]

Elly Van Houten

[edit]
Elly in the Japanese instruction manual.
Voiced by: Yumi Tōma[7]

Elhaym Van Houten (エレハイム・ヴァン・ホーテン, Erehaimu Van Hōten), nicknamed Elly (エリィ, Erii), is a young skilled officer of Gebler who meets Fei in the forest near Lahan Village. She was leading an operation to steal a top-secret experiment gear from Kislev, but was forced to crash-land in Lahan and was partially responsible for its destruction. Elly is optimistic and wants to help Fei, despite him being a land dweller and the fact she cannot leave the military. She is known as the -Antitype-, she has been reincarnated several times throughout history along with Fei, her previous incarnation being Sophia (ソフィア, Sofia), the Holy Mother of Nisan.[3] She wields rods and can attack with elemental ether attacks.

Citan Uzuki

[edit]
Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka[7]

Citan Uzuki (シタン・ウヅキ, Shitan Uzuki) is a medical doctor who lives up the mountain path from Lahan with his wife Yui (ユイ), the granddaughter of the Shevat Guru Gaspar, and his daughter Midori (ミドリ). Despite living on the surface, Citan was born in Solaris, and his real name is Hyuga Ricdeau (ヒュウガ・リクドウ, Hyuuga Rikudou). He is a Solaris Guardian Angel, and is working under orders from the Solaris Emperor to observe Fei to see if he will bring relief or destruction to the world.[11] Citan is intelligent and responsible for the development of many Gears. He has a history with multiple individuals, including Ramsus, Sigurd and Jessie. Citan initially fights with his bare fists, but later acquires a sword. During his combos, he moves so fast there are afterimages trailing his movement. When using his sword, Citan draws and strikes with it in a single motion. Citan's special techniques are known as "Arcane" magic.

Bart Fatima

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Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki[7]

Bartholomew Fatima (バルトロメイ・ファティマ, Barutoromei Fatima), nicknamed Bart (バルト, Baruto), is the leader of a group of sand pirates who ride the submarine Yggdrasil. He befriends Fei and Citan after shooting down a prison ship they were on. Bart is the rightful heir to the kingdom of Aveh, with Ethos agent Shakhan having forced his family out of the country years ago.[12] Bart is accompanied by his mentor and half-brother, Sigurd Harcourt (シグルド・ハーコート, Shigurudo Hākōto), and well-mannered Lawrence Maison (ローレンス・メイソン, Rōrensu Meison). Bart and Sigurd are each missing an eye, their left and right ones respectively, and wear identical eyepatches. He wields a whip in battle.

Bart's ancestors Roni Fatima (ロニ・ファティマ) and Rene Fatima (レネ・ファティマ) were fraternal twin brothers who founded Aveh, and were comrades of Lacan and Sophia during the rebellion against Solaris. Their names are a reference to Edgar Roni Figaro and Sabin Rene Figaro, characters from Final Fantasy VI created by Xenogears co-writer Kaori Tanaka.[13]

Rico Banderas

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Voiced by: Mugihito[7]

Ricardo Banderas (リカルド・バンデラス, Rikarudo Banderasu), nicknamed Rico (リコ, Riko), is a massive demi-human and champion Gear fighter in Nortune, the imperial capital of Kislev.[14] He has a sturdy reputation, and his size can be frightening. Despite being a prisoner, his lifestyle is superior to that of many nobles and he appears to have a connection with the Kislev ruler. He has high strength, but the slowest speed and lower accuracy.

Billy Lee Black

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Voiced by: Yūji Ueda[7]

Billy Lee Black (ビリー・リー・ブラック, Birī Rī Burakku) is a young, pacifistic priest of the Ethos religion, who is later revealed to be a member of the Etone branch, which job is to "clean" and "purge" the world from the Reapers, or -Wels-. He has a problematic relationship with his father Jesse B. Black (ジェシー・B・ブラック, Jeshī B. Burakku), real name Jessiah Blanche (ジェサイア・ブランシュ, Jesaia Buranshu), who abandoned his family for several years after they moved to the surface from Solaris.[15] Having been mentored by the Ethos leader Bishop Stone, Billy dedicated his life to religion and cares for many children including his younger sister Primera (プリメーラ, Purimēra) at an Ethos orphanage. He wields triple guns and can use support "Ether" spells.

Maria Balthasar

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Maria Balthasar (マリア・バルタザール, Maria Barutazāru) is a young girl residing in Shevat who pilots Seibzehn, a special Gear her father, Nikolai, created to protect her home. Solaris kidnapped him to make new Gears, causing her to bear a grudge against Solaris.[16] Her grandfather is the gear engineer Balthasar. Although her gear is powerful, Maria's physical attacks are weak. However, she can use ether attacks to call Seibzehn to attack enemies, even in enclosed areas.

Chu-Chu

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Voiced by: Kumiko Watanabe[7]

Chu-Chu (チュチュ) was with Marguerite during her imprisonment in Fatima Castle. Her race once lived in the woods, but they nearly became extinct due to Solaris's activities. Some managed to escape to Shevat and live with Wiseman. Chu-Chu can grow to the size of a gear once the physical part of the limiter is removed. She has the unique ability to heal other gears, and does not need fuel to fight, but has poor stats and no special attacks in "gear" form. She has romantic interest for Fei.[17]

Emeralda Kharim

[edit]
Voiced by: Michiko Neya[7]

Emeralda Kharim (エメラダ・カーリム, Emerada Kārimu) is a nanomachine colony built to aid the human race. Kim Kharim, Fei's second known incarnation, created Emeralda during the Zeboim era by analyzing Elly's gene pattern and creating a nanomachine colony.[18] At the time, Miang was manipulating the government, and wanted to reset the human evolutionary cycle by starting a worldwide nuclear war. In the present, Emeralda is revived from an archeological site and Krelian uses him to enhance his nanomachine technology. She is used to guard a Solaris gate, but joins the party afterwards. She initially seems unable to differentiate between Fei and his previous incarnation Kim, and responds to being told his name is Fei by calling him "Fei's Kim" for most of the game. Emeralda possesses powerful ether spells. She does not wield any weapons, instead morphing her limbs and hair into various melee weapons while attacking. She initially has the appearance of a child, but an optional side quest late in the game causes her to assume the form of an adult woman, a transformation which greatly improves her stat growth.

Main antagonists

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Deus

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Deus (デウス, Deusu) is the core of an interplanetary invasion system, which was built ten thousand years prior to the game's story. Because of its power, Deus was placed on the Eldridge spaceship, but it soon became fully self aware and took control of the entire ship. When the captain of the Eldridge self-destructed his ship, Deus was not destroyed, instead crashing into a nearby planet.[3] Deus then created The Complement named Hawwa (Miang), who gave birth to Emperor Cain and the Gazel Ministry. Hawwa's task was to establish a human civilization on the planet to one day use humans for its resurrection.

There was a controversy surrounding Fei's goal of killing the god that created mankind, which many believed could have cancelled a North American release of the game.[6]

Gazel Ministry

[edit]

The Gazel Ministry (ガゼル法院, Gazeru Hō-in, Gazel Law Institute) is the main governing body of Solaris. They were originally among the first human beings born on the planet and half of the core organic component of Deus, known as the 'Animus', and seek to realign with their respective 'Anima', the Anima Relics.[19]

Five hundred years before the events of the game, the Ministry were at odds with Miang, so they provided her to Shevat in exchange for the rebel army. Soon after, Grahf summoned mysterious Diabolos forces to kill them. Krelian eventually revived eight of the twelve ministers as computer data in the SOL-9000 after becoming part of Solaris.[20]

Throughout the game the Ministry fears Fei and seeks to destroy him because he is the reincarnation of Lacan, who was responsible for their original demise. They show disdain towards Ramsus because of his constant failure to defeat Fei. They seek to resurrect their bodies using the main characters, who are their descendants. The Ministry eventually becomes at odds with Emperor Cain when he prevents them from using the 'Gaetia Key', a device that will resurrect God's paradise, Mahanon. Because of Miang and Krelian's manipulation of Ramsus, he assassinates Cain for them and the Ministry uses the Key. However, afterward he has no more use for them and erases them.[21]

Grahf

[edit]

Grahf (グラーフ, Gurāfu), who calls himself "The Seeker of Power", is the persona of Lacan that split off after Miang influenced Lacan to make contact with the Zohar five hundred years prior to the game's beginning. Grahf is the personification of Lacan's will, but is not considered to be the "original" Lacan , as The Contact instead transmigrated to be reborn in Fei's body.

He seeks to merge with Fei and regain his original form as The Contact, then awaken Deus and destroy all life, which he concluded was the only path to freedom after his contact with the Existence as Lacan. He learned the ability to move between bodies, giving him a form of eternal life.

Grahf discovered the new incarnation of the Contact in Fei when Fei was a child and attempted to merge with him, but Fei's father, Khan, intervened. During their battle, Fei was unable to contain the powers the Existence passed onto him and unleashed a powerful force that killed his mother. Grahf then took in Fei, who had awakened as Id, and trained him as an assassin until Khan caught up to them. Grahf tried to merge with Id, but Khan fought back and ultimately defeated Grahf. Grahf then took over Khan's body, but not before Khan, as Wiseman, took Fei to Lahan Village.

Although he no longer possesses the full potential of "The Contact," Grahf is more powerful than any other character except for Fei as "The Contact" when all divisions of his personality merge. Despite this, he rarely fights directly, and instead grants what he calls "the Power" to lesser villains, allowing them to fight the party with enhanced abilities. However, this power inevitably leads to madness and their destruction.

Fei ultimately defeats Grahf after merging with all of his personalities and meeting the Wave Existence. Now able to access his full powers, Fei's gear transforms into the Xenogears and engages Grahf in a one-on-one fight. After his defeat, he sacrifices himself to merge with the Zohar and delay Deus' awakening, allowing the party to escape and prepare for the final battle.

Id

[edit]

Id (イド, Ido) is Fei's split personality, who was created when he tried to repress his traumatic childhood memories of abuse at the hands of scientists and his mother, who was possessed by Miang. Id is brutal and malicious and seeks to destroy the planet by making contact with the Zohar. Throughout the game, Id appears when Fei is off screen, with Fei being unaware of its existence until it is explained to him. Id represents Fei's id.[6]

Kahran Ramsus

[edit]

Kahran Ramsus (カーラン・ラムサス, Kāran Ramusasu) commands Gebler alongside Miang and holds a prominent position in Solaris's hierarchy. Miang and Krelian originally created him in a nanoreactor as a clone of the Emperor Cain, but was abandoned after Fei was discovered. He grew up in the Elements, a special Solaris fighting squad, and knew Citan, who was attracted to Ramsus' ideals against class distinctions. Ramsus grows obsessed with defeating Fei over the course of the game because his existence made Ramsus feel worthless.[22]

Krelian

[edit]
Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu[7]

Krelian (カレルレン, Kareruren) is the secondary antagonist and the anti-hero of the game. He is the leader of Solaris, which controls most of the world's affairs. Initially a land dweller, Krelian's scientific knowledge has enabled him to prolong his life and exert power over Emperor Cain and the Gazel Ministry. After Sophia's death centuries ago, Krelian became convinced that God did not exist and that he would need to create God with his own hands, after which he started working with Miang.[3] His name is a mistransliteration from Japanese for "Karellen", referencing an overlord character from Arthur C. Clarke's novel Childhood's End.

Miang

[edit]

Miang Hawwa (ミァン・ハッワー, Mian Hawwā) is the main antagonist and the mastermind behind the game's events, acting as a representative of Deus.[3] The final moments of the Eldridge catastrophe resulted in the creation of the original 'mother' being, which the Deus system tasked with giving birth to a civilization that would provide and gather the biological and mechanical "spare parts" it needed to repair and reactivate. Hawwa is the Arabic name of Eve, while the romanized form Myyah is almost the reverse of Elly's full name Elhaym, with the omitted 'El' being Hebrew for 'God', symbolizing how she is connected to but different from her. Miang has lived across many incarnations by inhabiting different bodies.[3]

Miang's first incarnation was known as Hawwa, The Complement, one of the few humans that Deus gave birth to. Her purpose was to guide and shape the events of human history to better suit Deus' coming resurrection. All human women descended from the crash of the Eldridge and possess the genetic factor necessary to become her next incarnation. She always inhabits the body of an adult female, with the momentary transformation resulting in purple hair and eyes. The only notable superhuman abilities she possesses are the ability to retain memories across incarnations and some psionic abilities. She rarely fights physically, instead piloting the C-1 Vierge.

Other characters

[edit]

Emperor Cain

[edit]

Emperor Cain (天帝カイン, Tentei Kain, Heavenly King Cain) is the ruler of Solaris. He was created along with the Gazel Ministry and Miang to serve as part of the resurrection of Deus. When Abel and Elly fight against Cain's plans for resurrecting Deus, Cain plotted the death of Abel, an allusion to Original sin.[23] Although he is supposed to aid Deus as a leader of Solaris, he actually believes in improving humanity's lives. He becomes at odds with the Gazel Ministry when they want to use the Gaetia Key, and Ramsus eventually assassinates him under Krelian's orders.[24]

Margie Fatima

[edit]

Marguerite Fatima (マルグレーテ・ファティマ, Marugurēte Fatima), nicknamed Margie (マルー, Marū), is the current Holy Mother of Nisan, a position Sophia once held. She is both Bart's first cousin and his fiancée, as they are the only living members of the Fatima royal family. She is calm and endearing despite her duties.

Hammer

[edit]

Hammer (ハマー, Hamā) is a rat demi-human who meets Fei in Kislev's D Block Prison. During the Kislev scenario, Hammer presents himself as a shifty, though reliable mechanic, item seller, and intelligence gatherer. He is seemingly well known throughout Kislev, as he is able to freely roam on his own despite being a prisoner. Hammer tags along with the group as they steal the Goliath plane, but is separated from them following an encounter with Grahf. He reappears later on after apparently encountering Krelian and being given a new cyborg body. He explains to the party he had originally been sent to spy on them, but refused to cooperate. He then asks the party to destroy him, as he has only a limited amount of control over his new body and he does not want to be Krelian's puppet. He then sabotages his gear while the party takes him down.

The Elements

[edit]

An elite four-member team of Solaris' military, with each representing one of four elements; earth, water, wind, fire. In the past, the group was composed of Ramsus, Citan, Jesse and Sigurd; in the present, it is composed of four young women, each named after an order of angels. They currently work directly under Ramsus, and encounter the party several times. In the final encounter with the Elements, they combine their four gears into a super-gear.

  • Dominia Yizkor (ドミニア・イズコール, Dominia Izukōru), the Element of Earth, is a vicious, domineering woman who is the team's leader; she is the only member with a surname. She became the soldier she is today after becoming the sole survivor of the events at Elru, which was destroyed by war, and Id in particular. She has numerous altercations with Elly in particular, mocking her for her noble origins. Despite being the Element of Earth, Dominia infuses all of the four elements into her blade, she is the only Element to do this, as the others exclusively use their own element. She pilots a sword-wielding gear called Bladegash.
  • Kelvena (Cherubina (ケルビナ, Kerubina)) is the Element of Water. Unlike Domina, she is calm and cool, even apologizing to Elly for Dominia's harshness despite being on opposing sides. Kelvena pilots an aquatic gear called Marinebasher. Her character portraits often show her with her eyes closed, implying she may be blind. In reality, her innate ether power is so great that she must exert considerable concentration to keep it under control.
  • Tolone (Throne (トロネ, Torone)) is the Element of Wind. She is a cyborg, as she makes reference to her "positronic photon brain", and is serious and humorless. She pilots a bird-like gear called Skyghene.
  • Seraphita (セラフィータ, Serafīta) is the Element of Fire. She is a foil to Dominia and Tolone's rigidity, as she is unintelligent. She pilots a gear called Grandgrowl, which resembles a lion.

Wave Existence

[edit]

The Wave Existence (波動存在, Hadō Sonzai) exists within the Zohar, and was present during the events on the Eldridge. Deus used the Zohar as an energy source; while attempting to explore infinite energy phenomena, the Zohar tapped into a higher dimension and pulled the Existence to this dimension, becoming a source of infinite energy for Deus. The Existence is the source of the higher dimension, of which a small portion spilled into this dimension, making the Existence the true God of the Xenogears universe. It seeks to escape from the Zohar and Deus' control and return to its own dimension.[3] The Wave Existence made contact with Abel, Fei's ancestor, aboard the Eldridge, allowing Abel to safely land on the planet with Deus. It also created Elly as a companion for Abel and gave them the power to be reincarnated throughout history to defeat Deus. It is ultimately freed after Fei defeats Deus.[3]

Wiseman

[edit]

Wiseman (ワイズマン, Waizuman) appears throughout the game to aid Fei, and is secretly a personality inside of his father, Khan Wong (ウォン・カーン, Won Kān), who formed inside of him when Grahf entered his body after he defeated him ten years prior to the game's events.[23] Wiseman's appearance inside Khan occurred to balance out Grahf's destructive persona. Wiseman later brought Fei to Lahan to hide him from Grahf.

Queen Zephyr

[edit]

Queen Zephyr (ゼファー女王, Zefā Joō) is the ruler of Shevat, who became ruler after the rest of the royal family was killed during the rebellion against Solaris five hundred years prior to the game's events. She relies on Wiseman to keep her informed of events outside Shevat. Her top advisors are Gurus Gaspar (ガスパール, Gasupāru), Taura Melchior (トーラ・メルキオール, Tōra Merukiōru) and Isaac Balthasar (アイザック・バルタザール, Aizakku Barutazāru).

Reception

[edit]

The characters of Xenogears have been well received, the lead protagonist Fei in particular, who has been called videogames' "most complicated Freudian hero."[6] The staff of Edge felt that Fei's deep backstory and character in general was "a far cry from the simplistic two-dimensional leads of Square’s Super Nintendo RPGs of just a few years earlier."[6] Edge also pointed out the NPCs present during the beginning scenes and how they bring depth to the scenario. "As a player, you feel awkward and ashamed in the presence of these NPCs, a guilty confusion and helplessness which perfectly mirrors that felt by your character and justifies his immediate exile", the staff wrote.[6] IGN praised both the characters themselves and their designs.[9] In a review for the game at Pulpfilm.com, attention is paid to the secondary characters, who, as the reviewer explains, have "profoundly interesting backstories", but are never adequately resolved by the end of the game, which other reviews also note.[25] An article from Electronic Gaming Monthly titled WTFiction!? listed Xenogears as one of the "wackiest game plotlines ever." Jeremey Parish went on to write that many characters in the game only made the plot more confusing, including Chu-Chu and Grahf.[3]

The in-game character sprites have met less praise. A GameSpot reviewer stated that the "game's character sprites are poorly animated and suffer from terrible pixelation, no doubt due to the PlayStation's limited RAM."[26] Other critics disagree, arguing that the characters are more realistic than the characters from Final Fantasy VII.[27] In a preview of the game, IGN compared the character sprites to those of Parasite Eve, saying that "the game's designers have opted for a more traditional, anime-style look. But this doesn't mean the pint-size characters or low-detail environments of RPGs gone by."[28]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Titles of game software with worldwide shipments exceeding 1 million copies" (PDF). Square Enix. 2004-02-09. p. 27. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  2. ^ Edge Staff (2006-03-03). "Japan Votes on All Time Top 100". Edge. Archived from the original on 2008-07-23. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Parish, Jeremy (November 2007). "Retronauts Presents: WTFiction!?". Electronic Gaming Monthly (221). Ziff Davis Media: 132–133.
  4. ^ a b Fahey, Rob (2007). "Xenogears at Eurogamer". Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  5. ^ Fei: In that dream, I was called 'Lacan'... I was an artist... Square Enix (2008-08-17). Xenogears (PlayStation). Square Enix.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Edge staff (2007). "Time Extend: Xenogears". Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Xenogears (1998 Video Game) - Behind The Voice Actors". behindthevoiceactors.com. Retrieved 2022-04-06. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  8. ^ a b c d Xenogears Perfect Works pp. 158—163
  9. ^ a b Reyes, Francesca (1998). "Xenogears review at IGN". Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  10. ^ a b Xenogears Perfect Works pp. 237—238
  11. ^ Citan:I am sorry. I did not want to say anything until I was sure. I was on a secret mission by orders of Emperor Cain to monitor Fei. He ordered me to determine whether Fei would be a threat to the world or not. 'The Contact'... That is what the Emperor calls Fei...Square Enix (2009-11-18). Xenogears (PlayStation). Square Enix.
  12. ^ Citan:Bartholomew? Edbart IV's successor... I am sure they announced Bartholomew dies of an illness 12 years ago. Maison:Officially, yes. However, in reality, we rescued the young prince from Shakhan's evil grasp. Citan:Then why must the prince, the rightful heir, resort to piracy... Square Enix (2008-08-18). Xenogears (PlayStation). Square Enix.
  13. ^ Spencer (2010-06-04). "Reflections with Soraya Saga Part 1". Siliconera. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  14. ^ Hammer:I am telling you it is hopeless! To do that you will have to defeat the current champion, Master Rico! Square Enix (2008-08-18). Xenogears (PlayStation). Square Enix.
  15. ^ Billy:I don't know the details but you have been labeled as an undesirable element. What did you do this time? Fight? Gamble? Go after someone's wife again? Jessie:Hmph, that's just a rumor about me. A rumor. Don't you believe that. Ever since you went into the 'Ethos' you've become such a stiff. Square Enix (2009-11-18). Xenogears (PlayStation). Square Enix.
  16. ^ Maria:Yes... but I haven't seen him for the past few years... He said he was looking for something very important. And he left by himself... My father was captured by Solaris and his whereabouts are not known either... I'm glad Grandpa Bal's doing fine. Square Enix (2009-11-18). Xenogears (PlayStation). Square Enix.
  17. ^ Chu-Chu: I'm Chu-Chu! I fell in love with you when I first saw you in Bledavik!! Square Enix (2008-08-18). Xenogears (PlayStation). Square Enix.
  18. ^ Kim:This, this is the new spirit vessel that will break the curse. It hasn't awakened yet. The form was created by nanomachines, but neural simulation hasn't been done by the Assembler Tower yet. It's physically stable, but still doesn't function as a living creature yet. Square Enix (2008-08-29). Xenogears (PlayStation). Square Enix.
  19. ^ Elly:Do you know why the Gazel Ministry desired the Anima Relics and your bodies? Well, here's the reason... Before becoming human, the bodies of the Ministry were once part of the organic elements in the core circuit that made up 'Deus'. There were two types of organic elements. The female type was called 'Anima', while the male type was called 'Animus'. The Ministry, which were Animus, were to become one again with their separated Anima at the time of the resurrection of god. Square Enix (2008-08-29). Xenogears (PlayStation). Square Enix.
  20. ^ Citan: Once, during the Diabolos invasion, the Ministry elders died losing their bodies. Now, the Solaris governing Ministry exists as data in memory banks. Each of their personalities are bits of data. Square Enix (2008-08-29). Xenogears (PlayStation). Square Enix.
  21. ^ Gazel: What are you doing to the memory banks? Gazel: Do not touch them! We cannot survive without the...! Krelian: You were the only ones who could have activated the key. But now that it has been activated, I no longer need you. I am having you all erased. Square Enix (2008-08-29). Xenogears (PlayStation). Square Enix.
  22. ^ Fei: Ramsus' absolute confidence was shattered... Leaving only his cry of disbelief and resentment, Ramsus' machine disappeared into a sea of foliage. Why he was so fixated on me...I know not why. but he did say this... Ramsus: If only you didn't exist... Square Enix (2008-08-29). Xenogears (PlayStation). Square Enix.
  23. ^ a b Square (1998). Xenogears Perfect Works. Japan: DigiCube. pp. 7–210. ISBN 4-925075-32-2.
  24. ^ Gazel Blue 2:So... Cain is dead? Gazel Red 2:Yes. Gazel Red 2:If only he had just accepted our logical ideas too... Gazel Blue 1:A fitting end for someone who had become dominated by needless flesh. Excellent work, Krelian. Gazel Blue 3:Now there is nothing that can stand in the way of us accomplishing our objective. There are scenes throughout the game exposing the backstory through dialogue between Cain and Citan. Square Enix (2008-08-29). Xenogears (PlayStation). Square Enix.
  25. ^ "Xenogears". 2003. Archived from the original on 2008-11-12. Retrieved September 1, 2008.
  26. ^ Peter Bartholow (1998). "Xenogears review at GameSpot". Retrieved 2008-09-02.
  27. ^ Tim Hsu (1998). "Xenogears review at GameRevolution". Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
  28. ^ IGN staff (1998-08-18). "Xenogears Preview". IGN. Retrieved 2009-11-18.

References

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