Monolith Soft employs the talent behind the Xeno series of games
The sword of the Bionis blazes blue with power
The monolith in the name Monolith Soft may have one envisioning a game studio with only a single hit or idea, but Monolith Soft has developed a number of games since it was founded in 2000. They developed the Xeno series of games from Xenosaga to the most recent Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition. They have also worked on several collaborative projects with Nintendo including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Splatoon. The company has enjoyed success since splitting away from Square-Enix (then known as Squaresoft).
The talent behind Xenogears believed that Square was not giving him enough creative freedom
The agile and powerful gear of Xenogears protagonist Fei
Tetsuya Takahashi worked for Squaresoft on Final Fantasy 6 and later earned the chance to lead development on his passion project, the PS1 era game, Xenogears. The world and story of Xenogears involved not only giant fighting robots, called gears, but also quasi-religious, philosophical, and psychological themes which, according to Takahashi, Square deemed too dark or complicated to exist alongside their other properties. It was Takahashi who later convinced Hirohide Sugiura to branch off into their own studio.
During Japanese magazine Famitsu's interview with Sugiura he mentions one reason for the split was disagreement on funding
Spirits Within was a graphical triumph but didn't do well as a movie
At the time, Square was pouring money into its ill-fated movie studio Square Pictures. Final Fantasy: Spirits Within was the result of that investment and unfortunately ended up being a significant boondoggle for the company grossing only $85 million of its $137 million dollar cost. Though this funding spat was a part of his decision, Sugiura mentions that his main impetus for forming Monolith Soft was to one day create Xenogears 2. That hope is not yet fulfilled but did result in Monolith's first game Xenosaga: Episode 1 in 2002 as well as the Xeno series as a whole till today.
Sugiura also talks about what he wants for the future of Monolith Soft
The Mechonis of Xenoblade stares ominously at lifeforms on the Bionis
Monolith Soft's first game series Xenosaga was a commercial success and managed to capture a devoted audience. The second game in the series was not received as well but, with the third, the series managed to end on a high note. As a whole Takahashi has stated that the series underperformed expectations.
Xenoblade Chronicles for the Nintendo Wii and, most recently, the definitive edition for the Switch has brought even more success to the company. So much success that the game's main protagonist, Shulk, is even a character in the venerable Smash Bros series. Sugiura continues with the interview by stating that he sees Xenoblade as almost a “prototype” for the true sequel to Xenogears, but whether that future ever comes to pass truly cannot be foretold.
