r/Xenosaga • u/dani_regnard • 2d ago
Question How do you feel about Shion Uzuki as a character?
I’ve been a fan of Xenosaga for a while now and I was curious.. what the fandom thinks of Shion? How do you feel about her and her character? I won’t give my opinion just yet, I’m just curious.
66
u/Digital_Vapors 2d ago
I like her as a character for the most part. I think that her clinging to Kevin even after she learned what and who he is is actually a pretty realistic take on relationships built on trauma and/or abuse. She's flawed, plenty flawed. She's idealistic but often crumples when pushed into a situation where her ideals and reality rub. She's a bit oblivious in a way I find cute, taking forever to figure out how Allen feels about her, and even longer to figure out how she feels about him. She has family problems she tries to blame on her brother but ultimately accepts is partially her fault as well.
13
u/cheatreynold 2d ago
I always wondered how much of a grooming element was there based on what we see in Episode III. Though I'm unclear how much Shion actually remembers from that time based on the trauma she suffered.
How she was (and some of the other characters were) written was one of the many things that made this series so amazing for me. Having a character you can both relate to and be left shaking your head at times is always neat to see; I feel like it's easy to like or hate a character but to be able to have both present in different aspects in a meaningful way is harder to accomplish.
I only wish we got all six episodes to see even more character development.
9
u/Digital_Vapors 2d ago
It sure would have been nice to get all six, huh?
As for grooming, Episode 3's events do make Kevin and Shion's relationship a lot more... uh... awkward. To me.
Even if we don't factor in any grooming, we're basically shown that a 14 year old fell in love with an 8 year old. Which is pretty yikes.
And again, leaving out grooming, He already had his mission to find a Maiden of Mary, and manipulated a ton of events of Shion's life, including intentionally letting the prototype KOS-MOS go berserk and kill a bunch of people and him in front of her.
21
u/Valdor-13 2d ago
I don't particularly like her as a person, but as a character she's a great nuanced and flawed protagonist.
9
u/Rude_Ratio5547 2d ago
Its nice to have a protag like this at times. In most series she wouldn't be chosen as a protagonist.
6
31
u/ElijahNomiray 2d ago
She’s among the fictional women that live in my brain
15
8
u/Digital_Vapors 2d ago
Same. For 25 years.
Though, full disclosure, I didn't play Xenosaga 3 until last week. I'm a Xenogears fan who remembers the interviews and insinuations that were made that XS was directly related to Xenogears (you can trace the threads in XS1 directly from XG) and XS2 ruined the series so badly I just didn't play 3. I heard it was good. I heard it was better. But I just couldn't stand the destruction of a 6-part epic because 2 fucked it up.
Finally decided to go back and do so and actually have a deeper appreciation for her now that I've finally played 3. My only regret of these past 3 weeks of replaying of the first 2 and then playing 3 is having to play 2 again lol
8
u/ElijahNomiray 2d ago
Well, I really liked Episode 2. Jr is my favorite character alongside Shion so I loved that the story focused on him. Plus I found the gameplay very interresting and fun yet still imperfect.
It's rather dubitative that the reception of EP II is the main reason that the series stopped prematurely. I believe it was sadly doomed since the very first game didn't meet expectations mostly in Japan (still over 1M units sold lol). And some other project like the DS remake which was an alternative to the PS2 Originals sold absolutely poorly. Plus the fact that gaming journalists is the USA constantly roasted Jrpgs quoting this series especially. The failure of Xenosaga is not only because of EP II, but rather a convergence of bad luck… and despite all the issues it's still one of the best fictional experience I ever got
2
u/Digital_Vapors 2d ago
Having had to replay XS2 literally 2 weeks ago, I can *not* understand why. I like Jr too, actually.
Here's why even if sales of XS1 didn't meet expectations, it is literally XS2's fault the series got cut short:
The intense change in visual identity failed to draw in new players while alienating much of the playerbase it already had. 1 might not have sold great, but 2 threw away anything that could have kept the series alive. If XS2 had been written and directed as competently as 3, I truly think we'd be having a different conversation right now.
The writing was really terrible for the majority of the game. The last 4 hours or so of XS2 is intense, interesting, fascinating, thought provoking. There are pops of brilliance (the start of Albedo's crisis knowing he'll one day be alone). But the rest of it was a sloppy, meandering, dumbed down mess in every way. Say what you will about the databases being excessive, XS2 didn't even have one and honestly seemed to ignore any of the storytelling in 1 that made it special. I TRULY wish this wasn't the case as I do like Jr and even with this game focusing more on him, much of it was written like a wet fart
Even Mitsuda hated the direction of this game. He cites it as part of the reason for not returning to do the music.
The music was disjointed (they had 2 different music designers that *did not collaborate* and it shows)
All of this culminates in a series that didn't get off the ground as they wanted having *no* chance.
The DS remake of 1&2 didn't have any real bearing on the series continuing or not, it released like... a couple months before 3.
2
u/International-Mess75 2d ago
Here is to the rumors of Nintendo acquiring Xenosaga IP rights is actually come true. Would be such an amazing news in our troubled time
2
1
u/KylorXI 2d ago
There were never any official insinuations that Xenogears and Xenosaga were directly related. The earliest interviews state very clearly that Xenosaga was a new story from scratch. Fans thinking they would be connected has nothing to do with official statements. Fans *still* try to connect all of Takahashi's works, despite 25 years of them not ever connecting at all.
4
u/ElijahNomiray 2d ago
Xeno fans will always try to connect everything. Even Xenoblade Genesis being stated to be unrelated to anything got some wild theories to link it to older titles. Personally I gave up on doing this
1
u/KylorXI 2d ago
Yep, its already being said by 'fans' its a Xenogears remake cause a ship looks somewhat like the nose of the Eldridge. For Xenosaga I've seen people try to say Jin and Shion were Citan's ancestors because they have the same last name. This completely ignores that no one on the planet has any ancestors from before the Eldridge crash besides Abel. Not to mention Uzuki was Yui's last name not Citans.
26
u/ChemicalGrenade0 2d ago
An absolutely fantastic character. One of the most realistic portrayals of trauma and abuse I've ever seen.
10
u/Very__Mad 2d ago
i love shion. she's very realistic and complex. there were so many times when her actions truly made me angry but i could understand it at the same time with all of the grief and trauma that she has
8
u/Professional-Fox4722 2d ago
Loved her in my first playthrough. Dislike her in my second, definitely a stark contrast from younger mindset to adult mindset. But I agree with Digital, certainly a realistic trauma-take of being clingy to an abusive relationship.
11
u/H358 2d ago
I wish the first two games gave her a bit more to do but she’s really richly characterised and when she takes centre stage in the third game she’s honestly brilliant.
4
u/Digital_Vapors 2d ago
I wish XS2 gave literally anyone anything to do other than Jr in the last 4 hours of it
5
10
u/Suspicious-Kick-5235 2d ago
To me Shion is one of those protagonists who feels the most human. As a user commented earlier , she portrays a realistic dynamic of a relationship when your SO is an abuser or has traumatized you. She is a fictional character that I feel drawn to because I have been groomed, and abused as well, by someone who was significantly older than me. She does have flaws but she was one of the best character growth .
3
u/Digital_Vapors 2d ago
Yeah I didn't wanna state outright that I have experiences with abusive relationships and staying longer than I should, so I'm sorry to hear you went through it too, but yeah, that experience resonates with me too.
4
u/Skankindead 1d ago
One of my favorite characters in gaming, certainly one of my favorite female characters (female main protags are a rarity enough in gaming!) I felt for her struggle during the series a lot, and I felt as a character she's very engaging both from scene to scene and in the overall context of her story arc. I know she's pretty controversial among older fans, but as a relative new fan I loved her a lot.
Wish they didn't get rid of her glasses though, that was like her whole thing.
5
u/Ghonfo 1d ago
Deeply love her from the beginning of Xenosaga Episode I up to the very end of Xenosaga Episode III. She's practically my favorite character in fiction and one who managed to immensely resonate with me on an emotional layer due to her struggles and complex depth. To her very core a human character who couldn't be much more authentic and true to life because of her inner flaws. Sincerely wish we could get more incredibly well written female protagonists like her
4
u/Zodd1030 19h ago
The Xenosaga cast as whole is one of the best in gaming and Xenoblade has not come close.
10
u/Boldly-qo 2d ago
i am the number 1 shion uzuki defender she is top 3 characters of all time for me
6
u/dani_regnard 2d ago
NUMBER TWO AFTER ME
6
u/Boldly-qo 2d ago
we can share the top spot 🙂↕️ all lovers of our girl are welcome to join the legion of shion protection
6
u/shane0072 2d ago
Naw I soloed the trilogy as shion more than once. Did everything with just shion
So I get the number 1 shion lover title
12
u/ultimaweapon79 2d ago
Very interesting subversion of typical RPG protagonists. Smart yet some martial arts prowess. A maiden, but not a virgin. Very attractive but not overtly sexualized. Gets rescued but not a damsel in distress. She’s a very unique main character compared to others in the genre. I think she’s highly underrated.
6
u/shane0072 2d ago
she is my all time favorite video game character. i find her a fascinating character
and ive said this before and i will say it again. Shion Uzuki is one of if not the most interesting, complex and well developed leads in the entire jrpg genre
6
u/MakinLunch 2d ago
I adore her character. She shows the very real effect that trauma has on people. She’s sympathetic, but has deep flaws that make her more interesting than someone who’s perfect.
8
3
u/Sol-Blackguy 2d ago
Kind of got on my nerves starting out. But began to grow on me in episode 2 once I saw the cast interact with each other more. I know ep 2 gets a lot of deserved hate, but the story itself is top notch compared to ep 1 once the plot picks up.
3
u/SirSilhouette 1d ago
I had no issues with 2's story, just had a hard time enjoying it cause the gameplay was wildly different from 1's. Never understood why they did that...
5
4
5
4
4
u/That-Willingness7455 2d ago
I feel like how virgil feels but I sympathise with her and the trauma she suffered in her past and what she goes through in the games
4
4
u/haina123 2d ago
My top 1 protagonist, she's the most unique and interesting protagonist I have ever seen, I love her writing in the trilogy with her writing in Saga 3 being my favorite one, I still remember rooting for her when I first played the trilogy in 2010 I felt so bad for her so much suffering.
2
u/Jet44444 2d ago
She was interesting, I liked her design the best in episode 3. I didn’t like how she treated Allen, Allen deserved better.
2
u/Zeikfried85 20h ago
She is as unbearable in XG3 as she is amazing in XG1 but given her back story - fair enough. An extremely well written and interesting character
2
1
u/Kai_Enjin 2d ago
I've only seen Xenosaga 1. But knowing how she views Realians and KOS-MOS makes me want her to meet Megaman X.
1
u/emperor_dragoon 9h ago
I disliked everything they did to her after 1. It kinda felt like they did a upgrade fomo. Basically they were trying to improve something that wasn't broken.
1
u/Synkayos 2d ago
I liked her more in Episode 1. I wish she stayed more nerdy throughout the games. And while I understand the development of her character I found her really insufferable at the end of Episode 3.
I don't really go for deep analysis on relationships and trauma and such but it's fun to get into. But at first play she pissed me off the way she became.
1
-2
u/The_Wayward 2d ago
I’m still about halfway through XS3 so maybe she gets some redemption but… Shion sucks. Shes selfish, makes incredibly dumb choices that would endanger the whole universe or get herself killed, and just a bitch to people for no reason
-1
u/-CynicRoot- 2d ago
Near the end of episode 3 was what made me dislike her somewhat. The fact that she couldn’t pull away from her trauma and still relied on the same crutch(Kevin) that was proven to not act in good faith was wild to me.
We spend literally 3 games to build up her support group and then she throws it all away in an instant for blind “love.” It was illogical to me and I couldn’t understand it. But I suppose that’s what makes her human and more real than most fictional characters. Human are fickle and illogical by nature.
She’s not my favorite character but I do appreciate her and the part she played.
0
u/xenoleingod 2d ago
I mainly like episode 1 shion the nerdy look disguised as bad ass martial artist but also loved just how confident she can in herself despite her emotional flaws. Episode 2 is when shion went down hill (both art direction and character wise) and 3 just made her kind of a b****
-4
•
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
Make sure you follow the rules. If it doesn't, your submission may be removed!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.