!!!'''[[SimilarlyNamedWorks You may be looking]] for Creator/MonolithProductions, a subsidiary of Creator/WarnerBrosInteractiveEntertainment.'''
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/monolith_soft_logo.png]]

Monolith Soft is a Japanese video game studio founded by Tetsuya Takahashi and Hirohide Sugiura best known for their {{Eastern RPG}}s, particularly the "Xeno" metaseries.

During the 1990s, Takahashi and Sugiura worked at [[Creator/SquareEnix Square Co.]] on various [=RPGs=], most notably ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''. When a proposal for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' created by Takahashi and his wife Kaori Tanaka (now known under her PenName, Soraya Saga) fell through for being "too dark", they were allowed to develop it into its own original game that became known as ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}''. However, the [[TroubledProduction various issues]] encountered in the game's development and Square's lack of interest in supporting any new properties resulted in Takahashi and a good chunk of the ''Xenogears'' team, which also included many who worked on ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'', deciding to leave the company to form their own video game studio. Creator/{{Namco}} would be the ones to fund their new operations, and thus Monolith Soft was born as a subsidiary of Namco in 1999.

Due to his departure from Square, Takahashi could not acquire the rights to ''Xenogears'', which he had planned to build into a large series. Undaunted, he decided to create a SpiritualSuccessor in ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'', a planned hexalogy. ''Xenosaga'' would see more success than its predecessor with its first entry, but ultimately fall prey to its own production issues -- as well as [[AcclaimedFlop incredibly poor sales of the second entry]] -- and be cancelled after ''Episode 3''. The ''Xenosaga'' series wouldn't be Monolith Soft's only project during this time period, however, as they also ended up producing the CultClassic Platform/NintendoGameCube [=RPG=] ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'' and its prequel.

Following a change in executives at Namco, Monolith Soft found themselves starting to relive the same creative restrictions its older members faced at Square, which only worsened after the [[Creator/BandaiNamcoHoldings Namco Bandai]] merger. At the same time, the studio found themselves in a positive relationship with executives over at Creator/{{Nintendo}}, who vocalized support of their innovative ideas whenever the topic arose. As a result, Monolith would seek to become a subsidiary of Nintendo towards the beginning of the [[MediaNotes/TheSeventhGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames seventh generation]]. Bandai Namco Entertainment would sell 80% of its shares in Monolith to Creator/{{Nintendo}} in 2007, before eventually selling their entire 97% stake, turning Monolith Soft into a first-party developer for the gaming giant.[[note]]The remaining 3% is split between studio heads Takahashi, Sugiura, and Yasuyuki Honne.[[/note]] Now under Nintendo, they are known for both their ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'' series and for lending developmental assistance to various other Nintendo franchises such as ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' and ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing''.

In regards to all their ''Xeno'' projects, they're connected to a larger, overarching narrative that Takahashi refers to as "Perfect Works". ''Xenogears'' and ''Xenosaga'' were intended to be parts of this, but the failure of those productions forced him to scrap the entire idea. The concept was reborn when Creator/SatoruIwata convinced him to attach the "Xeno" moniker to a new project "Monado: Beginning of the World", in honor of his past struggles with seeing those past passion projects to fruition. The success of ''Xenoblade'', plus its smooth production under Nintendo that allowed him to finally implement his vision with barely any concessions, inspired him to revive "Perfect Works" by adding elements from these past franchises into ''Xenoblade'' sequels. Those past attempts also led to a changed writing approach wherein each entry functions as a more self-contained story within a shared universe rather than explicit pieces in a larger narrative, with the new version of the "Perfect Works" plotline now being wildly different from his original script.

Monolith Soft has a very noticeable CreatorThumbprint: AfterTheEnd settings with a long dead, super advanced civilization, heavy Gnostic and Christian references with usually at least one character undergoing a CrisisOfFaith, HumongousMecha, [[KillerRabbit cute mascots that can sometimes be comically powerful]]. Oh, and their most famous habit of [[PersonOfMassDestruction creating super weapons in the form of a young woman]] in either RobotGirl or ArtificialHuman varieties, all wrapped up in a KudzuPlot that doesn't make much sense until the [[TheEndingChangesEverything last 30 minutes of the story]], revealing a JigsawPuzzlePlot where (most of) the pieces fall neatly into place. Also, expect TONS of long-term mysteries and plot twists along the way to keep you on your toes.

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!!Games developed by Monolith Soft:
[[index]]
[[folder:As a subsidiary of Namco/Bandai Namco (1999-2006)]]
* ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'' series
** ''VideoGame/BatenKaitosEternalWingsAndTheLostOcean''
** ''VideoGame/BatenKaitosOrigins''
* ''[[VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII]]'' (Support studio for Creator/SquareEnix)
* ''VideoGame/NamcoXCapcom''
* ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' series
** ''Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht''
** ''Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse''
** ''Pied Piper''
** ''Xenosaga I & II''
** ''Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:As a subsidiary of Nintendo (2007-present)]]
!!Lead Developer
* ''VideoGame/DisasterDayOfCrisis''
* ''VideoGame/DragonBallZAttackOfTheSaiyans'' (published by Bandai Namco)
* ''VideoGame/EndlessFrontier: Super Robot Taisen OG Saga'' (published by Bandai Namco; co-developed with Creator/{{Banpresto}})
** ''Endless Frontier Exceed: Super Robot Taisen OG Saga'' (published by Bandai Namco; co-developed with Creator/{{Banpresto}})
* ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'' (published by Bandai Namco; co-developed with Creator/{{Banpresto}})
** ''Project X Zone 2'' (published by Bandai Namco)
* ''VideoGame/SomaBringer''
* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'' series
** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1''
** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX''
** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2''
*** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2TornaTheGoldenCountry''
** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3''
*** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3FutureRedeemed''

!!Support Studio
* ''Animal Crossing'' series
** ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewLeaf''
** ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingHappyHomeDesigner''
** ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons''
* ''The Legend Of Zelda'' series
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword''
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds''
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom''
* ''VideoGame/Pikmin3''
* ''Splatoon'' series
** ''VideoGame/Splatoon1''
** ''VideoGame/Splatoon2''
** ''VideoGame/Splatoon3''
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl''
[[/folder]]
[[/index]]
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