Released in 1998, developed and published by Square Soft (now known as Square Enix), Xenogears is a fantasy JRPG that launched on the original PlayStation alongside the likes of other RPGs of that year such as Suikoden II, Parasite Eve and Baldur's Gate to name a few.
"Young warrior and artist Fei Fong Wong sets off on a journey that tests his faith as well as courage as he is suddenly thrown into a battle where no one is who they seem," reads the synopsis of Xenogears. Sadly, Xenogears was never released outside of North America and Japan, so we European folk never got to play it, at least officially.
So it will be understandable if you never got a chance to play Xenogears because seemingly, most of the world hasnt and it seems like Square Enix won't be remastering or remaking this retro RPG anytime soon. Thankfully, if Xenogears were to ever make a comeback, a talented indie developer has given us a taste of what could be.
The indie developer in question is the 3D artist, Vitor Maccari who has recreated what Xenogears may look like in the modern era powered by Unreal Engine 5. A video uploaded to YouTube showcases what the game could look like with a blend of realistic top-down 2.5D visuals and glorious sprite animations, similar to that of Octopath Traveler and even features the original music from composer Yasunori Mitsuda.
Unfortunately, the Xenogears demo won't be available to download for the public to avoid the wrath of Square Enix lawyers. That being said, hopefully, Square Enix might give us an official remaster or remake one day but I wouldn't hold your breath.
