TLDR: So basically I'm looking for any other games that have created this form of meta-series, where they aren't part of the same franchise but are clearly part of the same series of games.
One day I was looking for games similar to Xenoblade. Being one of my favorite series of course I wanted to scratch that itch. I thought the easiest way would be to play it's predecessors, Xenogears and Xenosaga. After playing them I realized I don't think l've seen any other meta-series in gaming.
Minor general spoilers for the Xeno games
For those that don't know, a meta-series is a collection of related, but distinct, game series. In the case of Xeno the relations are numerous.
Xenogears was originally the pitch for Final Fantasy 7, but was rejected for being too "dark and complex". Xenogears was allowed to turn into its own game after. After not doing well (low budget issues making Disc 2 infamously a slide show, referenced in Hi-Fi Rush), the devs founded their own studio Monolithsoft, and they created Xenosaga. After Xenosaga 2 absolutely bombed, they quickly tried to end the series with Xenosaga 3, and then it was done. Monolithsoft was then bought by Nintendo, and there created Xenoblade Chronicles. Which is where the series is now
They are all have similar Staff
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They are created by the same person, Tetsuya Takahashi. His wife is also the scenario writer of Xenosaga.
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Yasunori Mitsuda composes Xenogears, Xenosaga 1-3, and Xenoblade Chronicles 1-3 (not X)
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Kunihiko Tanaka was the artist for Xenogears, Xenoblade 1, and Xenoblade X
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CHOCO was the mech (and sometimes character) artist for Xenosaga, Xenoblade X, and Xenoblade 3
The themes revolving around religion, Jungian psychology, and the humanity of artificial life.
Plot-wise there are so many connections that exist in every game.
• Ether is always the source of "magic". The protagonists are given foresight through simulations of event paths in ether microcosms.
• The main characters always have some form of multiple identity issue. This was likely a leftover of the original FF7 script (and why Cloud has it).
• There is always some military general named Vandham
• Each game has a golden object that is "pseudo-perpetual infinite energy engine" I" meta-universe manifold", called generally by people as "The Zohar" (although it's the Conduit in Xenoblade that can create gates to other worlds.
• Most interestingly there was a lore book called “Perfect Works" that explored the backstory of Xenogears, including stuff that never made it into the game. It outlined a 6 Episode plot structure for a story. Xenogears adapts Episode 5. Xenosaga was a second attempt at adapting this story, but also was shut down do to not selling enough. Xenoblade Chronicles was likely not originally an attempt at recreating Perfect Works, as it was originally called "Monado:
Beginning of the World", but as the series has gotten more entries you can see Takahashi has looked back and tried to adapt some of its elements. Seemingly with Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Xenoblade X adapting the start of Episode 6.
• A lot of other stuff that is simply extremely similar imagery/characters or heavy spoilers.
Yet with all of this, the games are not explicitly canon to each other. The only implicit crossover the games have is KOS-MOS being an Easter Egg gacha character in Xenoblade 2 and Seven and KOS-MOS both being in Project X Zone 2. Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest are "mostly" independent games with recurring themes and such (Crystals and Chocobo, Slimes), yet they are all Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest games.
What’s interesting is something that happened in the conclusion to the Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy in Future Redeemed. Where they deliberately name drop characters (Dimitri Yuriev, The Savorite Rebels), companies (Vector) and Events (Earthlife Colonization Project, production of a Philedelphia Class Motherships) from previous Xeno games. What this means for the Meta-Series we have no idea yet, but for a seemingly legally disconnected “franchise” I’ve seen nothing even remotely similar ever before.
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I just want more Nia in my life.
Nier/Drakengard series might fit into this, but it’s much more multimedia dependant than anything and the connections between titles aren’t that big.
Outside of that, maybe smt where there are a lot of individual storylines which might mix at some points.
People have already mentioned SMT and Nier/Drakengard which are I think the closest examples. Maybe also .hack? I didn’t follow with the G.U. games but the original 4 games have a tie in anime with a different group of characters and then also OVA’s from a irl perspective for each game.
Type-Moon’s works tend to be like this, though they’re more anime, books, and manga.
Unlike what a certain YouTuber has perpetuated, the only important Fate/ stories is the original Visual Novel and technically Fate/Grand Order, the mobile phone game that provides the bulk of the new lore. *Everything* else is a spin-off in another timeline, with small references to the other titles. You could jump in with Fate/Samurai Remnant and follow along regardless if you’ve played FGO, because Iori hasn’t played FGO. You can read Fate/Type Redline without reading Fate/Koha Ace, because they are two very different takes on the same core idea.
Same thing goes for Tsukihime, Witch on the Holy Night, and Kara No Kyoukai. Honestly, just tackle the main four, then you’re basically clear to read/watch/enjoy any other stories unless they’re a direct followup like the Fate/Ex games or the Melty Blood series.
Great franchise, highly recommend.
Gust’s Atelier series spans as far back as PS1. Nowadays there’s some criticism for them being somewhat formulaic(specifically ever since being bought out by Koei Tecmo) but the franchise has overall been pretty solid, especially back in the PS2 days when they were more willing to experiment.
The Ar Tonelico Trilogy+Ar Nosurge (also Gust) has a level of madman devotion to the game’s lore and design that I have rarely seen in another series. The third game specifically is pretty middling but every game is still gorgeous and original and the music is exceptionally high quality. Unfortunately because this is basically one insane Gust employee’s passion project it has all but been axed within the halls of Koei Tecmo so it’s unlikely we’ll ever see more of these again.
I just ordered the physical version of X earlier. Seeing a mention of xenoblade in a post just reassures me that I made the right decision
You forgot to mention another common point between these games : terrible menu UI.