Best known as the co‑creator of the cult classic Xenogears and the early Xenosaga games, Kaori Tanaka (Soraya Saga) helped shape their deep, philosophical narratives alongside her husband Tetsuya Takahashi. This week, Soraya Saga announced her retirement, releasing a blog post saying that she’s stepping away to care for her family:
Retirement
Soraya Saga has retired from writing video games due to family circumstances. The key reasons are the following:
I had been taking care of my grandmother (passed away at the end of 2024) for five years.
A member of my family who has been going through a difficult time for the past 10 years needs my support for now. Given my tendency to immerse myself in writing too much, I ought not to write yet.
With the success of Xenoblade Chronicles, Takahashi’s solo writing seems to be widely acclaimed by the fandom. I don’t think I should ruin it.
Why Soraya Saga’s Retirement Marks the End of an Era in Video Games
When it comes to video game writing, her mastery rivals even that of Tetsuya Nomura. Soraya Saga once worked on Final Fantasy VI before moving onto Xenogears and then later the Xenosaga series. Though her work was absent from Xenoblade Chronicles (aside from designing the Rare Blade Gorg for XC2).
Soraya Saga on Stepping Away From Game Writing
Though I think that the biggest takeaway from this was that Soraya-san mentioned that Takahashi’s writing was something that was taking off more and that she didn’t want to take anything away from him. Because she wanted to step away from writing to focus her attention on her family was ultimately the reason. Now while Soraya-san’s writing may seem convoluted, I will say that I enjoyed her writing for Xenosaga.
Why Xenosaga Remains Soraya Saga’s Most Influential Work
Xenosaga will always been my favorite series that I will keep near and dear to my heart. Next to Shadow Hearts. Now while I did play Final Fantasy VI, however, I’ll be honest when I got that game for the Game Boy Advance, it spent some time being exiled under a dresser. (I got so mad at the Sabin fight that I threw my Game Boy Advance so hard it slid on my hardwood floor and ended up underneath my dresser for months.)
How Xenosaga Introduced Gnosticism and Jungian Psychology the Games
But Xenosaga was what got me more into studying Gnosticism which, to be honest I had some friends that were practicing Gnostics, and the religion always confused me. Soraya-san’s writing got me more interested in it as did the game. On top of Carl Jung’s psychological theories, which I took psychology in high school at the time. Despite how many received Xenosaga, and how poorly Xenosaga II did, I appreciated Soraya-san for delving deep into the mythos of Gnosticism and even Qabbalah itself. I will forever adore that series for being what it was. Blending mythos with science fiction and giving birth to a cult classic of a video game series.
Was Soraya Saga Overshadowed by Tetsuya Takahashi?
I will echo everyone’s sentiments and say that it’s sad that she thinks that people didn’t enjoy her writing in comparison to her husband’s writing. Her twitter has been filled with an outpouring of fans sharing their love for her work. And despite her calling her writing ‘geeky, wordy jargon‘, as a budding writer, she’s someone that I would love to bounce ideas off.
As for the "ruin" part, don't get it as self-loathing or imposter syndrome. Y'know, our games flopped many times in the past decades. Tet deserves to enjoy his solo success he has finally achieved. I shouldn't turn his fanbase off with my geeky, wordy, jargon-filled writing.🤓
I will say that Soraya-san will be one of my many inspirations for writing and I owe her a lot for that. I hope that in her retirement that she is able to recharge herself and maybe one day she will come back to it. I mean retirement didn’t stop Bret Favre or CM Punk to come back eventually. So maybe in due time we’ll see her come back. For now, I’m glad that she’s doing okay, there’s been too much heartache going on in the world of gaming.
Why Soraya Saga’s Work Still Resonates With Fans Today
I also hope that in her retirement she notices just how many people have been touched by her writing and that she realizes just how beloved she is. A quality that I know I share with her being a writer.
