The Co-Creator of Xenogears and Xenosaga Just Retired and JRPG Fans Are Mourning an Era

One of the most influential but underappreciated writers in JRPG history just announced her retirement. Soraya Saga, born Kaori Tanaka, revealed on December 26, 2025 through her personal blog that she’s stepping away from video game scenario writing to support family members who need her care. For anyone who played Xenogears or Xenosaga and wondered who crafted those dense philosophical narratives about consciousness, identity, and humanity’s relationship with artificial intelligence, Saga deserves as much credit as her more famous husband and collaborator, director Tetsuya Takahashi.

Who Is Soraya Saga

Soraya Saga began her career at Squaresoft in the early 1990s as an illustrator under her birth name Kaori Tanaka. While working on graphics, she met fellow employee Tetsuya Takahashi, who was also working as an artist on Final Fantasy titles. The two bonded over shared interests in science fiction, philosophy, religion, psychology, and literature, particularly the works of Freud, Nietzsche, and Carl Jung. That friendship evolved into a creative partnership and eventually marriage.

Together, Saga and Takahashi began drafting a story while at Squaresoft. That story became the foundation for Xenogears, one of the most ambitious and philosophically dense JRPGs ever made. By all accounts, Saga was responsible for two core narrative elements that defined the entire game: protagonist Fei’s struggles with dissociative identity disorder and antagonist Miang Hawwa’s role as a feminine artificial intelligence controlling humanity across generations. These weren’t minor contributions, they were fundamental pillars supporting the entire narrative structure.

Saga and Takahashi collaborated closely on both story outlining and scriptwriting for Xenogears. Though she doesn’t share her husband’s director credit, sources close to the development have said that conceptually and ideologically, half of Xenogears belongs to her. Her writing style brought emotional depth and psychological complexity that distinguished Xenogears from other JRPGs of the era, including other Squaresoft titles that focused more on traditional fantasy adventure rather than existential philosophy.

The Xenogears Vision That Was Too Big

What most fans don’t realize is that Xenogears was always meant to be Episode 5 of a much larger story. During initial planning, Takahashi and Saga conceptualized a six-part timeline spanning 15 billion years from the beginning of their fictional universe to its end. The game players actually experienced was just the section Takahashi felt was easiest to grasp, with plans to tell the rest through books, comics, animation, or future games. The Xenogears Perfect Works art book published two years after the game’s release laid out this entire ambitious plan.

This level of ambition explains why Xenogears felt incomplete to many players. The game’s second disc famously abandoned traditional gameplay in favor of narrative sequences where characters explained events rather than letting players experience them. Development constraints forced massive cuts to the original vision, leaving only fragments of what Saga and Takahashi intended. Even in that compromised state, Xenogears became a cult classic that influenced JRPGs for decades.

The script Saga and Takahashi submitted for Final Fantasy VII was rejected as “too dark” and “too complicated” for a fantasy game, but Squaresoft executives recognized potential and allowed them to develop it as a separate project. That rejection turned into one of the most philosophically complex games of the PlayStation era, proving that sometimes creative limitations force innovation. Without that initial rejection, Xenogears and everything that followed might never have existed.

Xenosaga and the Dream That Couldn’t Survive

After Xenogears wrapped, Takahashi and Squaresoft had creative differences leading him to leave and form Monolith Soft in 1999. Joining him was Saga, now working under the pen name Soraya Saga rather than her birth name. The new studio’s first major project was Xenosaga, a spiritual successor to Xenogears that would finally tell the complete story Takahashi and Saga originally envisioned, this time planned as six full episodes.

Saga contributed massively to Xenosaga Episode I, writing nearly half the story and script in the same collaborative capacity as Xenogears. The game followed Shion Uzuki, project lead designing an advanced android named KOS-MOS to fight alien beings called Gnosis. Underneath that surface-level plot was classic Takahashi and Saga territory: questions about consciousness, artificial intelligence, humanity’s place in the universe, and conflicts spanning millennia. Reviews praised the complex narrative even as some criticized the slow pacing and heavy cutscenes.

Then disaster struck. Xenosaga Episode I sold poorly despite critical acclaim. An immense amount of time and money went into production, with the game ultimately containing only 20 percent of the content initially planned for the first chapter. Monolith Soft couldn’t feasibly produce five more games at the same scale, so they drastically reworked the remaining story to fit just three episodes instead of six. For Xenosaga Episode II, Saga and Takahashi wrote a draft that other team members then heavily altered to accommodate the tighter scope.

The Departure Nobody Talks About

At some point during Xenosaga Episode II’s production, Saga was informed her services would no longer be needed for remaining installments. The exact circumstances remain unclear, with conflicting accounts about whether she chose to step back or was pushed out. What’s known is that she had two small children at home and had spent five years caring for her grandmother, making full-time scenario writing increasingly difficult. There were also rumors of internal management shifts and conflicts after Episode I’s disappointing sales.

Episode II marked the last time Saga would write for a mainline Xeno game. By Episode III, Takahashi himself only worked in a supervisory capacity as Monolith Soft struggled to wrap up the truncated storyline. The final game was critically well-received but sold poorly, leaving the studio’s future uncertain and the grand Xenosaga vision permanently incomplete. Neither Takahashi nor Saga ever got to tell the full story they planned.

Saga did continue working occasionally. She helped develop the story for the 2004 mobile spinoff Xenosaga: Pied Piper, which was considered lost media for nearly 20 years until fans recovered and translated it in 2025. She also contributed to the 2008 Nintendo DS game Soma Bringer, another Monolith Soft title featuring her signature complex worldbuilding. For Xenoblade Chronicles 2, she returned as a guest artist designing the rare Blade character Yuuou, translated oddly as “Gorg” in English. But she never again wrote a full game scenario.

Why Xenoblade Succeeded Where Xenosaga Failed

After Nintendo acquired Monolith Soft in 2007, Takahashi began work on Xenoblade Chronicles without Saga’s direct involvement in the writing. The first Xenoblade launched in 2010 to critical and commercial success, eventually spawning a franchise that has now sold millions and become one of Nintendo’s flagship JRPG series. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 in 2022 marked the completion of an overarching trilogy, the first time Takahashi actually finished one of his multi-game narrative arcs as originally planned.

In her retirement announcement, Saga specifically mentioned that with Xenoblade Chronicles’ success and Takahashi’s solo writing being widely acclaimed by the fandom, she doesn’t think she should “ruin it.” That statement reveals both humility and perhaps lingering pain from the Xenosaga era when her contributions weren’t enough to save the troubled series. The comment sparked debate among longtime fans about whether Xenoblade truly benefited from her absence or lost something essential.

Many hardcore Xenogears and Xenosaga fans argue that Saga’s unique style was a significant factor distinguishing those games from Takahashi’s later work. They point to the complex female characters, the psychological depth of protagonist struggles, and the more intimate emotional beats as hallmarks of her writing that Xenoblade sometimes lacks. Others counter that Xenoblade’s more streamlined narratives and broader appeal prove Takahashi works better without needing to accommodate a co-writer’s vision. The truth likely lies somewhere between.

The Family Circumstances Behind Retirement

Saga’s retirement announcement on her blog explained the decision through three main points. First, she spent the past five years caring for her grandmother, who passed away toward the end of 2024. Second, another family member has been going through a difficult period for the past decade and currently needs her support. Third, she believes Xenoblade’s success under Takahashi’s solo direction means she shouldn’t interfere with what’s working.

She emphasized that her own health is fine and she’s doing well physically, preemptively addressing concerns that illness might be forcing retirement. The statement reads less like someone fleeing a career and more like someone making a practical decision to prioritize family over an industry that hasn’t actively employed her for full scenario work in nearly two decades anyway. It’s closure for fans who wondered if she might return for future Monolith Soft projects, confirming that won’t happen.

The announcement feels bittersweet because Saga never received proper recognition for her contributions during the peak of her career. While Takahashi became known as the visionary director behind these ambitious JRPGs, Saga worked more quietly despite being equally responsible for the narratives fans loved. Only in recent years have gaming historians and dedicated fans researched and highlighted her specific contributions, giving her credit she deserved decades ago.

Soraya Saga’s Major Works

The Legacy That Shaped Modern JRPGs

Saga’s influence on JRPG storytelling extends far beyond the specific games she worked on. Her collaboration with Takahashi established templates that dozens of games have followed: complex psychological protagonists struggling with identity, artificial intelligence examining what defines humanity, religious and philosophical themes woven into science fiction settings, and narratives spanning multiple generations or timelines. These elements became JRPG staples partly because Xenogears demonstrated they could work in interactive media.

The way Saga wrote female characters also stood out in an era when JRPGs often relegated women to healer roles or romantic interests. Miang Hawwa from Xenogears was a genuinely terrifying antagonist whose feminine presentation contrasted with her role as an ancient AI manipulating humanity across millennia. KOS-MOS from Xenosaga became an iconic character exploring android consciousness and what separates programmed responses from genuine emotion. These characters had agency and complexity rare for female JRPG characters in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Her psychological approach to character writing influenced how later JRPGs handled protagonist trauma and mental health. Fei’s dissociative identity disorder wasn’t just a plot twist, it was integral to understanding his character arc and the game’s themes about self-knowledge. Modern JRPGs that tackle mental health topics seriously owe something to Saga proving those narratives could resonate with players when handled thoughtfully rather than used as shallow melodrama.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Soraya Saga?

Soraya Saga, born Kaori Tanaka, is a video game writer and illustrator best known as co-creator of Xenogears and Xenosaga alongside her husband, director Tetsuya Takahashi. She began at Squaresoft as an illustrator on Final Fantasy VI before collaborating on Xenogears’ story and script. She was responsible for key narrative elements including Fei’s dissociative identity disorder and Miang’s role as a feminine AI.

Why did Soraya Saga retire from video game writing?

Saga announced her retirement on December 26, 2025, citing family circumstances requiring her support. She spent five years caring for her grandmother who passed away in late 2024, and another family member has needed support for the past decade. She also noted that Xenoblade Chronicles’ success under Takahashi’s solo writing suggests she shouldn’t interfere with what’s working.

What happened between Soraya Saga and the Xenosaga series?

During Xenosaga Episode II’s production, Saga was informed her services would no longer be needed for remaining installments. The exact circumstances remain unclear, with rumors of management conflicts after Episode I’s poor sales. She had two small children at home and was caring for her grandmother, making full-time scenario writing difficult. Episode II marked her last mainline Xeno game as lead writer.

Did Soraya Saga work on Xenoblade Chronicles?

Saga did not write for any mainline Xenoblade Chronicles games. She contributed to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 only as a guest artist, designing the rare Blade character Yuuou (translated as “Gorg”). Her husband Tetsuya Takahashi directed and wrote the Xenoblade series without her direct scenario writing involvement, which she acknowledged in her retirement statement as being successful.

What other games did Soraya Saga work on besides Xenogears and Xenosaga?

Beyond the mainline Xeno games, Saga contributed scenario writing to the mobile spinoff Xenosaga: Pied Piper (2004) and helped develop the story for Soma Bringer (2008), a Nintendo DS action RPG from Monolith Soft. She also worked as an illustrator on Final Fantasy VI and drafted concepts for an unrealized sci-fi RPG called Titus 12 around 2000.

Is Soraya Saga’s health okay?

Yes, Saga specifically stated in her retirement announcement that her health is fine and she’s doing well physically. She preemptively addressed health concerns to clarify that family care responsibilities, not personal illness, motivated her decision to retire from video game writing. She emphasized caring for family members who need support as her primary reason.

Will Xenogears or Xenosaga ever get proper remakes?

Neither Saga nor Takahashi have announced plans for Xenogears or Xenosaga remakes. The Xenogears IP is owned by Square Enix while Xenosaga belongs to Bandai Namco, complicating any potential revival. With Saga now retired and Takahashi focused on Xenoblade, proper remakes seem unlikely. Fans hoping for modern versions will probably need to settle for emulation or fan projects.

An Era Officially Ends

Saga’s retirement announcement closes a chapter in JRPG history that technically ended years ago but never felt officially finished. For decades, fans hoped she might return for one more collaboration with Takahashi, perhaps for a proper Xenogears spiritual successor or a Xenosaga revival that could finally complete the truncated story. That hope is now definitively gone, replaced with bittersweet acceptance that what we got is all we’ll ever have.

The gaming industry has never been great at recognizing collaborative creative work, especially when one partner is more publicly visible than the other. Tetsuya Takahashi became the face of these ambitious JRPGs while Soraya Saga worked more quietly despite contributing equally to the visions that made them special. Her retirement without a major industry farewell or retrospective feels emblematic of how undervalued writing is in game development compared to direction, design, or programming.

For the fans who played Xenogears in 1998 and were captivated by its philosophical depth, psychological complexity, and willingness to tackle genuinely mature themes, Saga’s contributions were essential even if they didn’t realize it at the time. For those who followed Xenosaga hoping to see that vision fully realized only to watch it collapse under commercial pressures, Saga represents the creative ambition that couldn’t survive in an industry increasingly focused on safe, marketable products.

The announcement sparked an outpouring from longtime fans sharing favorite moments from games she worked on. Players reminisced about Fei’s identity crisis resonating during their own teenage struggles with self-knowledge. Others praised KOS-MOS as one of gaming’s most interesting android characters. Some simply thanked her for co-creating worlds that sparked lifelong interests in philosophy, psychology, and science fiction. These grassroots tributes mean more than any industry award she never received.

Saga closes her blog post thanking everyone who supported her work over the years. That simple gratitude from someone who shaped some of gaming’s most influential narratives feels characteristic of how she approached her career: focused on the work itself rather than recognition. As she steps away to care for family, the JRPGs she helped create remain, introducing new generations to the kind of ambitious storytelling that proves games can tackle philosophy, psychology, and human consciousness as thoughtfully as any literary medium.

The Xenogears and Xenosaga era is officially over. Soraya Saga won’t be coming back for one more project. Tetsuya Takahashi will continue making Xenoblade games without her. And fans who grew up with those dense, challenging, beautifully messy JRPGs will carry forward the lessons those games taught about questioning identity, confronting mortality, and understanding what makes us human. That’s the legacy Saga leaves behind, and it’s more than enough.