Today I finished Xenosaga 3, and the cycle is complete. My thoughts on Xenosaga? Overall it is a failure, but it was a glorious attempt and I think it paves the way for game story telling to move into a loftier realm where games address human concerns. I think it is quite natural that games would first do this in a science fiction/fantasy setting vs. the contemporary or historical settings we expect of literature. As Hannah Arendt claimed, “science fiction reveals to us human desires and aspirations for teh futures, as well as their anxieties’. Indeed, Xenosaga was far from casting characters in the strict melodramatic good/evil split. Characters all have histories and motivations, and while we cheer our heroes in their effort and faith in human ingenuity and will, there is a great deal to be said for Wilhelm’s goals and actions. (more…)