Xenoblade Created in Response to Final Fantasy The Spirits Within

Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition has just released for the Nintendo Switch. Monolith co-founder Sugiura Hirohide has revealed details on what first prompted him to leave Squaresoft and start his game studio.

Hirohide confirmed with Weekly Famitsu* that in the late 1990s Squaresoft was working on a sequel to Xenogears. However, management and budget were shifted to prioritize the production of Final Fantasy The Spirits Within.

In 1999, Hirohide and fellow Squaresoft co-worker Tetsuya Takahashi formed Monolith Soft to create their spiritual successor to Xenogears. The project would eventually become Xenosaga Episode I for the PlayStation 2. Xenosaga would have two more sequels on the console, but the series would ultimately be a commercial failure.

Thankfully, Nintendo would team up with Monolith and greenlight a new sub-series: Xenoblade Chronicles. The Xenoblade games would go on to high critical praise and have strong sales figures.

*The June issue of Weekly Famitsu is currently available at newsstands in Japan and Asia. Online versions of Hirohide’s full interview will likely appear in the coming days.