So I am in the process of replaying Xenogears (after first playing it in 2010.) I've just reached the second disc, and I've come to the conclusion that more than any other game, I feel as if this one is in dire need of a remake with a proper budget. I didn't notice the first time I played it because I was distracted by the story. For those who don't know, Xenogears was originally planned to be a four-disc PS1 game. However, due to budget and pressure to release the game sooner, the game was compressed to two discs, and a lot of planned content was discarded/alluded to through a monologue in the second disc. This included a lot of major events that would make the game fuller if we played them rather than were told about them. Furthermore, this game has very aged visuals and messy platforming/camera angles. Heck, I personally wouldn't even mind if many gameplay aspects were changed to make it a more streamlined game. I have no doubt that if the original team were still with Square-Enix, the game would have had a full remake, considering its financial success. As it is now, however, the team is spread out over three different companies, with its head designers at Monolith Soft.
Due to the nature of what we'd want from the remake (to add missing content) it makes only sense that the people most critical in writing Xenogears story would work on such a remake. So ideally Monolith Soft works on the game. This brought me to the idea that maybe Nintendo and Square-Enix could make a Bayonetta 2-esque deal. Square-Enix sells the rights to a Xenogears remake to Nintendo, and Nintendo is then responsible for all publishing costs. Square-Enix can choose to have an upfront sale or a percentage based royalty. As for the platform, I wouldn't mind if it were for 3DS, Wii U, or the next platforms. All would be an upgrade in visual/sound quality over the PS1 release, and the main goal would be to provide the abridged content in the game in a fuller form.
Pros:
- Nintendo gets a cheaper, new release that doesn't feel so much like a remake, but more like a reimagining. All of the story foundations are already there, so it would take less time to plan development. And they already have the original creators, so there are no concerns of whether or not they can perform to expectations.
- Newer Nintendo gamers probably haven't experienced Xenogears, but have indeed experienced Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicle X. The game is almost guaranteed to have an audience of new players.
- Square-Enix gets money for an IP they don't have to touch. They can still re-release the original game on PSN as a PS1 classic, get money there, and they also get money from royalties of a remake.
- The developers get to finally produce the full game they intended to at the time.
Cons:
-This will use some resources from actual new games. It is a very demanding game to reproduce in terms of content. It will also take up Monolith Soft's time.
- The team at Monolith Soft might feel as if they want to do something else, and that they have long moved on from Xenogears.
- While they have many similar thematic elements (especially when talking about XCX) the gameplay between Xenogears and Xenoblade is quite different. I wouldn't mind if Monolith introduced some elements of Xenoblade into Xenogears, such as getting rid of a separate World Map and instead adding a single seamless world, and maybe modifying the battle system a bit. But this might be hard to do while maintaining a consistency with the plot and its pacing found in the original game. People who expect Xenoblade gameplay, might dissapointed if the gameplay remains the same. But a lot might enjoy the more classic ATB system, World Map, and Linearity.
