Xenogears is among the most unique games ever released by Square Enix (SquareSoft at the time of release). With its complex storyline and dark themes, it is a shame the game, which was originally conceived as part of the Final Fantasy series, was never truly released from its original PlayStation cage, but a new project is finally bringing this classic to PC, complete with new features that could pave the way for an unofficial remaster the game desperately needs.
Xenogears Atlas is a complete rebuilding of the game in a modern engine – Godot. Currently, the project is in an early stage, but the development team has already made its goals clear: a complete reconstruction based on the original, with no guesswork involved.
“Every map, every line of dialogue, every camera move, and every scripted event you see here is reconstructed directly from the original PlayStation disc data. Nothing is invented and nothing is guessed: the field scripts, the walkable geometry, the character animations, the music cues, and the cutscene timing are all decoded from the game’s own files, then rebuilt inside the Godot engine so the game can actually run again — faithfully, and on modern hardware,” wrote the developers in the description of the first video showcase featuring the very beginning of the game set in Lahan village.
“The original engine logic is studied and re-implemented, all values and assets come from the retail disc, and every rebuilt scene is verified against the original before it’s accepted. Accuracy first — if something can’t be proven from theal maps, the full opening cinematic chain, world map, and combat,” continued the developer to provide more information on how Xenogears is being rebuilt
Although it is clearly in a very early stage, the Xenogears Atlas project shows a lot of promise already. While being able to play the game in a proper 16:9 aspect ratio would be more than enough for most players (though cutscenes and the dialogue boxes will eventually be restored to 4:3 to avoid stretching elements), the fact that everything will be ready for enhanced textures and lighting makes the project even more exciting, as it could pave the way for a remaster that Square Enix still isn’t willing to release yet. While an HD-2D remaster with Final FantasyResonance‘s visuals would be great, I’d gladly take even a simple port if that meant experiencing Fei‘s journey all over again on modern hardware with some improvements, like Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack.
After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi “Suda51” Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA’s president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3.
When he’s not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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