An examination of what fictional works have, or may have, influenced 2002-2006's Xenosaga series
[Last updated 2026.07.31]
This is a continuation of the article series that examines what other fictional works Xenogears borrows from, and extending that to the Xenosaga series. But since the Xenosaga series shares a close spiritual relationship with 1998's Xenogears, a lot of the influences are going to be the same. So, unless you are avoiding spoilers for Xenogears or the works that influenced it, it is recommended that you read that article series first. Unlike Xenogears, there has not been a lot of contention regarding what fictional work has been a primary influence on Xenosaga (such as the case has been with Chrono Trigger and Evangelion for Xenogears). In fact, and other than Xenogears itself, there has not been a lot of discussion regarding what other fictional works have influenced Xenosaga besides some famous movies. But since Takahashi is very much a pastiche kind of guy, based on what we see in Xenogears and the Xenoblade Chronicles series, I think it is time we explored what, specifically, the Xenosaga series mostly borrows from.
Types of influences
As with the Xenogears article, I will establish what types of influences I will reference during my examination. And again, I will only examine fictional works that have influenced the Xenosaga series here, not non-fiction works or historical concepts. I will be distinguishing between five different types of influences during my analysis and mainly be talking about similarities, leaving it up to other fans of Xenosaga to decide for themselves which particular type of influence they think may be at play. The five different types of influences or similarities are:
1. Intentional reference.
Those influences that are drawn attention to through the reuse of unmistakable names, designs, or concepts from other fictional works.
2. Obvious or confirmed influence.
Those influences that are only partly reworked or easily overlooked but can still be recognized as a fairly obvious influence that may even have been confirmed by the author or designers themselves in interviews or production notes. Even if the influence is almost impossible to notice until a designer brings it up in an interview or production note, it still belongs to this category if it has been confirmed.
3. Subtle or subconscious influence.
Subtle aspects influenced from other works the creator or co-writers may not even be fully aware of themselves due to the number of things they are exposed to and the way the brain subconsciously processes ideas during relaxation or sleep.
4. Shared influence.
Indirect similarities due to Xenogears and another work both taking inspiration from an older work or concept.
5. Pure coincidence.
Those similarities that may actually not be influences at all, just coincidences.
Similar to the Xenogears article, I have also split this one up into three sections: one page examining influences from other games; a second page examining influences from Anime; and a third page examining the influences from cinema, TV and novels.
Other games that influenced the Xenosaga series
Anime that influenced the Xenosaga series
Cinema, TV and novels that influenced the Xenosaga series
During the examination I will be using a lot of images in the style of charts that compares other works with Xenosaga to make the case for similarities and thus potential influences. Since these works must have been released prior to 2002 to have been an influence, those images will be displayed to the left while images from the Xenosaga series will be displayed to the right of them.
* These articles will obviously contain spoilers for both the Xenosaga series and the works that influenced it.
