Characters of Xenosaga

The following is a list of Xenosaga characters.

Development

After Xenosaga I, the character models were redesigned for Xenosaga II. MOMO's and Jr.'s designs became "...taller, slimmer and less child-like", which made MOMO appear slightly older. Shion lost her glasses and had a different outfit, while KOS-MOS gained blue highlights in her hair. When the first two episodes of Xenosaga were remade in Xenosaga I+II for the Nintendo DS, they were altered to two-dimensional computer graphics with sprites and visual novel-style dialogue sequences.

Playable characters

Shion Uzuki

Main article: Shion Uzuki

KOS-MOS

Main article: KOS-MOS

Ziggy

Voiced by (English): Richard Epcar (Episodes II & III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Masashi Ebara

As revealed in Xenosaga: Pied Piper, which takes place in T.C. 4667, 100 years prior to the events of Xenosaga Episode I, Jan Sauer was a Captain in the 1875th Special Operations detachment of the Federation Police Bureau. He and his squad were deployed to the planet Abraxas to investigate murders in the U.M.N network committed by an individual known as "Voyager".

During their investigations, he met the widow Sharon Rozas, with whom he fell in love and later married, and her son Joaquin, and learned that Dimitri Yuriev was providing funding for Voyager's murders. Soon after, Dimitri used his connections within the government to remove Sauer and his team from the investigation, but he continued his investigation even after he and some of his subordinates were arrested.

Following the death of his subordinate Mikhail Ortmann, Sauer discovered that Erich Weber, a member of his team, was Voyager. Erich explained to him his connection with U-DO before he transformed into the Black Testament and killed Sharon and Joaquin before giving him an ultimatum: either he killed him and consumed his soul, or he joined him as a Testament to live forever. However, Sauer refused either option and committed suicide, being reactivated two years later as the cyborg Ziggurat 8. Though he is implied to understand some of the events surrounding the Zohar, his past is generally not explored, except for in Xenosaga I+II, where he reveals more of his past to the party.

In Episode I, the S.O.C.E. sends him to infiltrate a U-TIC organization base and rescue M.O.M.O., who gives him the name Ziggy, and he becomes a father figure to her. After escaping on a spacecraft, the Elsa saves them from being destroyed by the U.M.N. column walls and they meet with the party, with him joining as a support party member. In Cathedral Ship, when Cherenkov diffuses into the Zohar emulator and begins his transformation into a Gnosis, Ziggy states that it is "the same, just like that day.", as Voyager transformed into the Black Testament through the same method. Following the destruction of Proto Merkabah, he helps rescue KOS-MOS after Shion loses hold of her.

In Episode II, Ziggy continues to protect M.O.M.O., even beyond his assigned mission, and bonds with Juli Mizrahi after revealing to her that he committed suicide because of Joaquin's death, as the loss of their children caused painful memories for them. She also asks him to consider life extension, which he does for M.O.M.O.'s sake. However, despite her sympathy for him, most employees of the U.M.N. Control Center regard him as old property. Within Labyrinthos, he sacrifices his cybernetic arm by breaking through a wall to help the party escape from the Ω System. At the end of Episode II, he is to be stationed at the Kukai Foundation and remain on call as a bodyguard for M.O.M.O.

M.O.M.O.

Voiced by (English): Sherry Lynn (Episode I), Christina Puccelli (Episodes II & III)

Voiced by (Japanese): Rumi Shishido

MOMO Mizrahi (M.O.M.O. being an acronym for Multiple Observative Mimetic Organicus) is a Realian, a class of artificial humans. Specifically, she is a prototype 100-series Observational Realian who Joachim Mizrahi and Juli Mizrahi created using genetic engineering to combat the Gnosis and resurrect U-DO. They created her in the likeness of their deceased daughter, Sakura, and with the appearance and personality of a twelve-year-old girl, and she does not show signs of aging. Despite being capable of thought and emotion, she and Juli had a strained relationship, as she saw her as a reminder of Sakura and nothing more than an artificial human. After Joachim's death, MOMO was rescued from her birthplace during the Miltian Conflict and sent to live with Juli on the planet Fifth Jerusalem, the hub of the Galaxy Federation. She is motivated by a desire to fulfill Joachim's wishes and gain Juli's approval as something more than a replacement for Sakura.

She wields short magical rods in Episode I and an Ether-based composite bow in Episodes II and III. When wielding the rods, she can fight at close range or from a distance by physically attacking enemies or shooting laser beams. When wielding the bow, all of her attacks are long-range. Among her Ether skills is the ability to transform into a more powerful version of herself through a transformation sequence. The costume she wears determines the ether-based abilities she can access for a duration. In Episode III , she gains the ability to immobilize enemies by filling up their "Break meter".

In Episode I, S.O.C.E and Juli assign Ziggy to rescue MOMO from the U-TIC Organization and protect her until her safe return. Throughout the series, she is central to the story because she contains the Y-Data. This makes her the target of kidnappings by Albedo and U-TIC and causes U.M.N. to manipulate her and her friends in order to obtain the Data. When Albedo attempts to extract the Y-Data from her body, which nearly kills her, she attempts to stop him by destroying her mind, but he obtains it after threatening Jr., after which she asks Juli for permission to assist in the investigation of Old Miltia. Following the events at Michtam, MOMO begins working with everyone to rebuild the world, believing that a new network will help to reunite those who have died.

chaos

Voiced by (English): Joshua Seth (Episodes II & III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Hoshi Soichiro

chaos (ケイオス, keiosu), also known as Yeshua, joined the crew of the Elsa two years prior to the events of Episode I, tasked with ensuring the safety of the crew during their travels and assisting in tasks such as in-flight functions and transporting cargo. chaos appears to be unaffected by physical aging, as he has the same physical appearance during the main story of Xenosaga as well as during the time of the Miltian Conflict, when he served under the Galaxy Federation fourteen years ago, and in Pied Piper, which takes place one hundred years earlier.

6,000 years ago, when he was known as Yeshua, he was one of the disciples of a man whom Ormus would come to worship as their Lord and Messiah and helped to teach humanity and perform miracles in his place. According to Wilheim and the database, chaos died physically during this time, leaving behind the "Word of Yeshua", also known as Lemegeton, with the Song of Nephilim being an incomplete translation of it. Lemegeton is a wavelength energy that is represented in the material world as words that can only be understood and spoken by chaos (Anima), and. when recited, allows them to access and control the Zohar and access energy from the Higher Domain of U-DO. Although humans are unable to speak these "words", ancient people and future researchers, such as Grimoire Verum, created programs from Lemegeton to control the Zohar. These programs were used in the Relics of God that harnessed the Zohar's energy, such as Zarathustra and Omega. People of the Zohar, whose wills resonated strongly with Anima due to their bloodline, could also control the Zohar, with the strongest being able to communicate with U-DO.

Episode III reveals that chaos is the human incarnation of Anima, a power derived from humanity's collective unconscious that has been present since the beginning of the universe, when certain wills of humanity resonated purely with Anima; according to the database, these were past incarnations of consciousnesses capable of becoming Testaments, including the party members. These wills set off a chain reaction throughout the collective consciousness, resulting in the dispersal of consciousnesses that rejected the collective consciousness and became Gnosis in the real world. Eventually, the dispersal of the collective consciousness would cause the universe to collapse.

To counter this, Anima possessed a failsafe function that would cause the imaginary number domain to collapse if the Gnosis exceeded critical mass, which in turn would cause the collapse of the universe as well as the real number domain and the upper domain. To save chaos' life and prevent destruction, Mary used her power of Animus to seal away the power of Anima into the twelve Anima Vessels by separating his soul into the Anima power, which was divided into the twelve Anima Vessels, and the Will of Anima, which is the failsafe. When separated from his Anima power, chaos' failsafe ability could not activate. However, as long as Anima existed, the consciousnesses would continue to disperse. To prevent this and the destruction of wills, Wilhelm chose Eternal Recurrence, using Zarathustra to rewind time in an eternal cycle that caused people to live the same lives repeatedly.

At the end of Episode III, chaos rejects the Eternal Recurrence and trusts the wills of humanity to change the future. Realizing that his power can be used to save the universe with the help of human wills who wish for it, he instructs Shion and her friends to lead humanity back to Lost Jerusalem, which holds the key to saving the universe. After the awakened KOS-MOS restores his power, chaos believes that he will disappear after releasing his power to slow the destruction of the universe and give humanity more time to find Lost Jerusalem. However, his consciousness lives on, as the consciousnesses of the universe desire his existence. After saving the Elsa by holding open an U.M.N. gate to allow them to escape the shockwave of the dimensional shift, he is last seen speaking to KOS-MOS as she drifts through space.

Gaignun Kukai Jr. (Rubedo)

Voiced by (English): Brianne Siddall (Episodes II & III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Eriko Kawasaki

U.R.T.V. #666 and the leader of the U.R.T.V.'s, Jr., also known as Rubedo, was a survivor of the U.R.T.V. (U-DO Retro Virus) unit that the scientist Dr. Yuriev created to combat U-DO, a mysterious waveform that threatened to destroy the galaxy. He and his twin brother, Albedo, U.R.T.V. #667, were born conjoined twins, with Albedo being attached to him through the heart until they were separated; Gaignun Kukai was the last brother, known as Nigredo. He possesses the unique abilities of the U.R.T.V.'s, including telepathy and telekinetic powers, and is said to have the perfect anti-U-DO wavelength, which is generated when in his "Red Dragon" mode.

Along with Albedo, Nigredo, and Citrine, Jr. is one of the "variants," U.R.T.V.'s who undergo a stimulated mutation, which caused his hair to turn bright red and his eyes to turn deep blue. It also gave him the ability to pause his cellular development and the power of the "Red Dragon" mode, which allows him to amplify the anti-U-DO waves emitted by himself and Standard U.R.T.V.'s, increasing his power but also risking causing him to go berserk. He has a tattoo of a red Chinese dragon on his left upper arm, which symbolizes this mode; as a result of subconsciously suppressing it, his aging is also suppressed. Despite his youthful appearance and impulsiveness, his maturity allows him to make tough decisions and cutting observations. He also has a fondness for guns, action movies, and classic novels, such as The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas. Because of his hobbies, Jr. is a master of gunplay, especially with pistols, and enjoys fighting akimbo. He wields dual Rook Company pistols at the beginning of Episode I, and dual antique Makalov pistols in Episode II.

During the Miltian Conflict, Jr. and the other U.R.T.V.'s fought against U-DO before the planet disappeared into the Abyss. As leader of the U.R.T.V.'s, Jr. was responsible for keeping them connected through a spiritual link that protected them from U-DO's destructive powers. Before the U.R.T.V.'s could destroy U-DO, Jr. had a vision of the Old Miltian planet being destroyed as a monster emerged from within. Jr., fearing for the lives of his companions, broke the Spiritual Link, allowing U-DO to kill or drive mad the standard U.R.T.V.'s before Canaan and chaos rescued Jr. and Nigredo on the E.S. Asher. They were the only documented surviving U.R.T.V.'s, though Albedo and Citrine also survived.

Over the course of Episode I and Episode II, Jr. and M.O.M.O. bond due to Jr.'s past with Sakura Mizrahi, whom MOMO was modeled after, as when they were children, he promised Sakura that he would protect her mother and "little sister".

In Episode III, Jr. comes to terms with issues surrounding the remains of his "family"; his brothers Albedo and Gaignun, his sister Citrine and his father Dimitri Yuriev. After the party confronts Dr. Sellers on the Tactical Warship Merkabah, he reveals that Dimitri Yuriev is alive due to inhabiting the body of his "son", Nigredo. The party heads to the Durandal to confront Yuriev, where they discover that its crew, except for Mary and Shelly Godwin and the cruisers' guests, Juli Mizrahi and Canaan, were murdered by Yuriev soldiers, and are confronted by U.R.T.V. #668, Citrine.

Jr. tries to convince Citrine that what she and Yuriev are doing is wrong, but her dedication to her father's ideals has caused her to be willing to fight her own "brother" and die if need be, and dies after being defeated by the party. In the Isolation Area, Jr. confronts Yuriev as he removes the Zohar Emulators from their containment units and reveals his plan to conquer his fear of God (U-DO) by ascending to the realm of the gods and killing him. Before the party can stop him, the Durandal's engines activate and it leaves on a collision course with Abel's Ark as Yuriev disappears into the inner recesses of Isolation Area and the party flees before the ship is absorbed by the Ark.

In Abel's Ark, Jr. defeats Yuriev and Ω Res Novae/Ω Metempyschosis when Albedo, as the White Testament, arrives and takes the Zohar and Abel away from Yuriev before confronting Jr. While he orders Jr. to link with him and use their anti-U-DO waves to destroy Yuriev, Gaignun's consciousness emerges from Yuriev's and tells Jr. that it was Albedo's plan to transfer Gaignun's consciousness into Jr.'s body, but Gaignun instead took over Albedo's body and transferred Albedo's consciousness into Jr. Gaignun shifts himself and Yuriev into a higher dimension and Jr. and Albedo merge back into a single person. From there, he follows the party to Michtam to stop Zarathustra and Wilhelm and accompanies Shion and Allen to find Lost Jerusalem.

Jr.'s adult form was meant to appear in Episode II. In the original script written by Soraya Saga, partway through the game Jr. would unpause his growth and age to adulthood. His adult self would be a playable character and be part of several key sequences in the later sections of the game, such as a reunion with U.R.T.V. #668 Citrine and a three-way battle between KOS-MOS, U-DO, and him and Albedo. While cut from the script, the concept was reused in Episode III as a representation of Jr.'s true self.

Jin Uzuki

Voiced by (English): Michael Gough (Episodes II & III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Hideyuki Tanaka

Shion's sister, who, during the Miltian Conflict, stole information from Margulis about the true nature of the Miltian Conflict—the Y-Data. After joining chaos and Canaan in their search for the U.R.T.V.s, Margulis challenged Jin to a duel which ended in him receiving a gash over his right eye that left a permanent scar.

While in the military, he was ranked under Margulis and was Pellegri's superior. Both Jin and Margulis trained under his grandfather, the swordmaster Ouga Uzuki, who also taught Shion martial arts abilities. After learning of Margulis' treachery during the Miltian Conflict, Jin received information from his father Suou and secret intelligence activities under General Helmer, who was then a lieutenant, and became acquainted with chaos. While he was close to Pellegri during his time in the military, they took different paths in life due to differences in their relative stations.

At the end of Episode III, Jin is killed by the Armaros Gnosis while defending chaos and Nephilim within Zarathustra, though his spirit—his consciousness—travels with Nephilim to Lost Jerusalem (Earth).

Canaan

Voiced by (English): Beng Spies (Episode II); Steve Blum (Episode III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Hiroshi Kamiya

Canaan (カナン, Kanan) is a special Realian created by Vector Industries, who, like M.O.M.O., can pilot an E.S., specifically E.S. Asher. He is not designed like the other Realians and is referred to as an "Enhanced Memory Model" by M.O.M.O. when they first meet in Helmer's office.

During the Miltian Conflict, Lieutenant General Helmer sent him and chaos on a mission to retrieve the U.R.T.V.s and the Y-Data, during which the U-TIC Organization activated the Song of Nephilim, which nearly affected Canaan and caused Federation Soldiers in A.M.W.S. to attack him and chaos. Jin Uzuki saved them and led them to U.R.T.V.s location at Labyrinthos, headquarters of U-TIC. After he and Margulis fought, he entrusted Canaan with information regarding the Miltian Conflict, which is also a fragment of the Y-Data, but something happened that made this data inaccessible to him. Some time later, they found and rescued the variant U.R.T.V.s Jr. and Nigredo (Gaignun Kukai).

Fourteen years later, Canaan is still unable to read the data and experiences occasional blackouts accompanied by data loss, and has spent time at Vector's 2nd Division on Second Militia attempting to extract the Y-Data from his head. Representative Helmer asks him to save Jr., chaos, Ziggy, and M.O.M.O. from being attacked by U-TIC A.W.M.S. Units and he joins the party as they return to Old Milita to extract and analyze the data.

After being antagonised by Doctus throughout the first half of Episode III, Canaan realizes his true identity after analyzing data corresponding to 'Program Canaan' and that he had been a spy for Wilhelm. In Episode III, the special characteristics of Program Canaan allow Canaan to secure a bypass route to Wilhelm's power and convinces him that he could die after his power as a Testament fades and connects Voyager's consciousness with the Compass of Order and Chaos. He and Voyager are then sent into phase space, destroying their bodies.

Canaan is a playable character in the first dungeon of Episode III and wields an energy knife.

Miyuki Itsumi

Voiced by (English): Heather Hogan (Episodes II & III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Emi Uwagawa

Miyuki Itsumi (ミユキ・イツミ) is a mechanic and systems programmer in Vector Industries First R&D Division involved in the KOS-MOS project under Chief Engineer Shion Uzuki, who created the M.W.S. Mk. I and Mk. II. While she is good friends with Miyuki, Shion is often annoyed by her constant requests for patent authorization so she can build new products under the pretense of the K-PX Project, though it is unknown how many of her inventions have authorized patents. She is romantically involved with her fellow Vector employee Togashi.

After the Woglinde is destroyed by the Gnosis, Miyuki transfers to Second R&D Division, which Shion, who was separated from her team as a result of the incident, does not learn about until later. In Episode I, she comes to aid the party when the Gnosis attack the Kukai Foundation after being drawn to Second Miltia by Albedo and the Song of Nephilim, supplying Shion and KOS-MOS with a Phase Transfer cartridge, which KOS-MOS could integrate into her present armament and use to reveal what was drawing the Gnosis to Second Miltia. In Episode II, she welcomes Shion and Allen home on the Dämmerung after the events at Old Miltia.

When Shion leaves her job at Vector after the events of Xenosaga: A Missing Year, Miyuki keeps in touch with her and offers to help her when she begins to work with the anti-Vector organization Scientia. At the start of Episode III, she joins in on a mission to break into Vector's top secret S-Line Division databank and steal classified data on the Zohar control program Lemegeton, later helping the party break into the Project Zohar weapons testing facility in Fifth Jerusalem and rescue KOS-MOS. In both instances, she is a playable guest character.

Allen Ridgeley

Voiced by (English): Dave Wittenberg (Episodes II & III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Hiroaki Hirata

Allen is an assistant to Shion Uzuki and the former vice chief of Vector Industries' First R&D Division's KOS-MOS Project Joint Operation Systems Development, who is implied to come from a wealthy family. After graduating from Bormeo University, Allen joined Vector Industries' First R&D Division in T.C. 4764 and was placed on the KOS-MOS development project under then Chief Engineer Kevin Winnicot and Junior Chief Engineer Shion Uzuki. After Kevin was killed in an incident when the KOS-MOS Archetype was prematurely activated by U-TIC, Shion was promoted to Chief Engineer and continued her mentor/fiancé's work while Allen was promoted to Shion's former position as Junior Chief Engineer. While he is in love with Shion, he struggles to confess his feelings and feels that trying to approach her on a romantic level would be harmful to her until she can move on from Kevin's death.

In Episode II, he accompanies Shion in the interior of the Dämmerung and helps her find E.S. Dinah, which they pilot to reach Old Milita and break the Federation quarantine. When Shion leaves Vector to join Scientia, Allen is promoted to the position of Chief Engineer of the First R&D Division and the KOS-MOS project shortly before it is canceled in favor of Roth Mantel's T-elos project. However, Allen struggles with being addressed as "Chief" and uses the term to refer to Shion, who has no title after quitting working for Vector.

At the end of Episode III, Allen, along with Jr., accompanies Shion to find Lost Jerusalem. In Episode III, Allen is a playable character after Shion is captured by Margulis and the U-TIC Organization on the Past Miltia, and wields a futuristic crossbow.

Other characters

Albedo

Voiced by (English): Crispin Freeman (Episodes II & III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Koichi Yamadera

Albedo Piazzolla (アルベド・ピアソラ, Arubedo Piasora) is U.R.T.V. Unit 667, and one of the few surviving U.R.T.V.s from the Miltian Conflict. He is highly educated in a number of subjects, including but not limited to philosophy, science, language and religion, particularly ancient (in the Xenosaga universe) Christianity. He is also adept at complex strategic planning and anticipating his enemies' moves well in advance. Albedo also has the power to regenerate his own limbs, and thus he has the power to never die. This is also the reason for his mental instability as the thoughts of seeing friends and family get old and die over time crushed him as a child, and thus contributed to his current mental state. He was the main antagonist of Xenosaga I, and Xenosaga II. After that, Albedo was the new White Testament in Xenosaga III.

Elsa Crew

These six men, along with several droids, own and operate the passenger/cargo cruiser Elsa Von Brabant, also known as the Elsa. Despite their humble status as a small tramp freighter, they are privately employed by the Kukai Foundation (due to Matthews' enormous debt to Gaignun Kukai), and are commonly called upon by the Foundation to take part in dangerous missions. However, this does not stop Captain Matthews from involving the Elsa in shady side jobs in desperate attempts to pay off his debt.

Captain Matthews

Voiced by (English): Kirk Thornton (Episodes II & III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Unshou Ishizuka

Captain Matthews (マシューズ, Mashūzu) is the Captain of the Elsa Von Brabant. He owes a substantial debt to Gaignun Kukai. Matthews once served as a Galaxy Federation Marine with current Ormus Society A.M.W.S. pilot Hermann. He is also an avid fan of the Seraphim Sisters, and often dreams of going to one of their concerts once the debt has been cleared. He wears a hat that says "Caution! I'm a boozer. Banzai! Banzai!"

Captain Matthews' infamous debt is reportedly due to his frequent and frivolous spending habits. According to chaos, "no one holds a greater amount of debt than the Captain." One of the most difficult Global Samaritan missions in Episode II involve helping the Elsa droids to pay off the gargantuan debt (10 Million G), apparently in part due to the Professor adding his Robot Academy into the Elsa. It is unknown whether or not the debt will have reappeared a year later in Episode III'. (It is thought that Captain Matthews' name may be derived from the Biblical Apostle Matthew, who was believed to be a tax collector.)

Captain Matthews seems to have a certain fondness for the varied and eccentric droids that serve on board the ship, (which is returned in kind), and he has named them all after his favorite drinks.

Hammer

Voiced by (English): Jason Spisak (Episodes II & III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Taiki Matsuno

Hammer (ハマー, Hamā) is the navigator of the Elsa Von Brabant. Hammer has a vast knowledge of the U.M.N. net, which got him into trouble in his teens, when he hacked into a criminal organization's database. It was Captain Matthews who rescued him during this time. Despite his near fugitive status since then, his genius and engineering skill has resulted in Vector's many failed attempts to recruit him. At times his opinion on how to fly the ship clashes with that of Tony, with whom he has been friends since childhood.

Although it is his job, Hammer seems to dislike scavenging the wreckage of starship disasters, like the wreck of the Woglinde. However, once he gets down to business, any misgivings he has about scavenging quickly vanish: Hammer made quick work out of both the Federation escape pod and the wrecked U-TIC AutoTechs that made their way onto the Elsa. chaos' A.G.W.S. unit in Episode I was pieced together by Hammer from A.G.W.S. parts scavenged from battle fields.

This character in Xenosaga resembles a non-anthropomorphic animal version of a similar character also named Hammer in Xenogears.

Tony

Voiced by (English): Henry Dittman (Episodes II & III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Takehito Koyasu

Tony (トニー, Tonī) is the Elsa Von Brabant's skilled helmsman, who enjoys piloting in difficult situations. Although quite normal and pleasant most of the time (several comments suggest that Tony is slightly spiritual and philosophical at times), his personality completely changes while piloting; he becomes a complete maniac. Tony's piloting skills come into play several times throughout the series; he outruns a squad of U-TIC Auto-Techs by riding the column wall in Hyperspace, gets Shion and her companions into and out of Proto Merkabah and seamlessly guides the Elsa through a maze of Ormus Society warships bent on destroying the ship before it can reach Old Miltia. At the end of Episode II, Tony is seen aboard the Elsa ferrying Jin Uzuki back to Second Miltia. In Episode III, Tony returns once again as the Elsa's pilot, shuttling the party to and from most of the major locations in the game. When Voyager invades the Elsa's hangar looking to abduct KOS-MOS Ver. 3's remains and return them to Wilhelm. Tony participates in the battle to save her, brandishing twin pistols—one black, one white.

Tony claims to be the best pilot anywhere, according to chaos, but as Tony has a massive ego when it comes to his piloting skill ("Tony, numero uno!"), the truth of this remains unknown.

Professor

Voiced by (English): Steve Blum
Voiced by (Japanese): Takeshi Aono

Haksheen White (ハカセ, Hakase), aka The Professor is an eccentric old scientist who is obsessed with creating an "Indestructible Giant Robot." With help from Shion and friends in Episode I he creates Erde Kaiser, a giant combiner-robot from old parts found in various Segment Addresses. In Xenosaga: The Animation the Professor has a prominent role in the episodes which take place on the Foundation. He oversees Shion's Encephalon dive when she dives into KOS-MOS' mainframe in order to retrieve evidence that proves the Kukai Foundation's innocence in the Woglinde disaster. Erde Kaiser appears on a poster in the Professor's lab but does not physically appear in the anime.

In Episode I he was living on the Kukai Foundation, but in Episode II through circumstances not quite understood, even to Captain Matthews, the Professor relocated his Robot Academy onto the Elsa. With the help of Shion and friends, the Professor defeated his nemesis, the Dark Professor and Dark Erde Kaiser.

He designed and built the Elsa Evolution.

In Episode III, the Professor is still aboard the Elsa, and appears to be more involved in the main plotline, even appearing in full cutscenes. He, along with Scott and Allen rebuild KOS-MOS after she is destroyed by T-elos on Rennes-le-Chateau. He calls Allen "Assistant #2" and KOS-MOS "Assistant #3".

Assistant Scott

Voiced by (English): Brian Chase
Voiced by (Japanese): Kazuya Nakai

Assistant Scott (スコットクン, Sukotto-kun) is the assistant of the Professor who built Erde Kaiser. His bizarre name is because the Professor insists on calling him "Assistant Scott", and Scott happily goes along with it, as he is simply overjoyed to be assistant to the Professor he idolizes. He assists the Professor in building the Erde Kaiser mecha in Episode I and Episode II. He also assisted the party in hacking KOS-MOS in the anime. He is currently a member of the Elsa Crew, along with the Professor.

Assistant Scott and the Professor often argue, but are united in their fanatical enthusiasm for building giant robots. As seen in the anime and Episode I, Assistant Scott sometimes feels that the Professor does not appreciate him. In the anime, Assistant Scott seemed to find a kindred spirit in Allen, which also seemed to be echoed by Assistant Scott in Episode II when he was happy to learn that Allen had come aboard the Elsa.

Febronia

Voiced by (English): Kari Wahlgren (Episode III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Mariko Kouda

Febronia (フェブロニア, Feburonia), aka Feb, was a Realian belonging to the Uzuki family. He ran a small church near the U-TIC HQ on Old Miltia, and was also Shion's caretaker. No longer a "living being," he was killed at his church 14 years prior to the events of Xenosaga Episode I. Feb's sisters Cecily and Cathe were part of a machine keeping the Original Zohar in power, deep within the walls of Labyrinthos on Old Miltia. In Episode I, Feb helps Shion confront her haunted past, and in Episode II he lures Shion to Old Miltia to "save" Cecily and Cathe and is therefore key to the destruction of the Patriarch. In Episode III, important details of his past are revealed, i.e. his relationship with former Lieutenant and current Testament Virgil. During the Miltian Conflict, Virgil was badly injured, and Febronia took him in and tended to his wounds. The two developed a deep affection for one another. However, when rampant Realians attacked her church, Virgil was in no condition to fight them off. In an attempt to protect Virgil and young Shion, Febronia essentially offered himself to the Realian mob and was brutally killed before being cannibalized. Virgil was traumatized by this incident, and it was the primary factor in causing both his intense hatred of all Realians and his DME Addiction.

While he is an important character in all three episodes, Febronia is conspicuously absent from the TV Asahi animated adaptation of Episode I entitled Xenosaga: The Animation, save a half-second long cameo at Virgil's death. This vision of Virgil's also appears in I&II.

Gaignun Kukai

Voiced by (English): Crispin Freeman (Episodes II & III); Jennifer Hale (child, Episode II); Wendee Lee (child, Episode III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Koichi Yamadera; Mikako Takahashi (child)

Gaignun Kukai (ガイナン・クーカイ, Gainan Kookai) is the chairman of the Kukai Foundation, a special organization based in Miltia. His older brother Jr., charades as Gaignun's son. Gaignun is the charismatic leader of the massive and wealthy Kukai Foundation. Gaignun has black hair and deep green eyes. His gentle personality and humanitarian nature is well respected both within and outside the Foundation. Gaignun is falsely listed as the first son and heir to the industrialist Soze Kukai.

Gaignun Kukai is really U.R.T.V. Unit #669, who is a biological weapon designed to combat U-DO. U.R.T.V. Unit #669 is nicknamed Nigredo (ニグレド, Niguredo), a reference to his black hair. Gaignun can telepathically communicate with Jr. and Albedo and can use his voice to hypnotically manipulate people, if need be he can telekinetically destroy a person. "Kukai" was a fictional persona created by the Second Miltian government as a means to pool their special operation funds. Following the Miltian Conflict and Helmer's rescue of Gaignun and Jr., they took on the Kukai surname to justify and establish the Kukai Foundation. This also allowed the U.R.T.V. units to live their lives more normally. The name Gaignun was derived from a name Nigredo gave to one of his pet cat's that died during the Conflict.

Towards the later parts of Episode I Gaignun is first introduced to the main party when they first enter the Kukai Foundation, Shion however upon meeting him felt that she had just apparently acted quite rude to him while shaking his hand and noticing his #669 brand on the palm of his hand, possibly alluding that even Shion was able to see or detect Gaignun's powers and true nature. Afterwards Gaignun is arrested by Cpt. Roman on allegations of treason along with most of the main party and put into a separate holding facility until the main party had proved the Kukai Foundation's innocence through KOS-MOS's triple A data recordings shortly prior to Albedo first using the Song of Nephilim. When Albedo eventually did use the Song of Nephilim, only Gaignun, chaos & Jr. could hear the song being played at first while on the Durandal. On the bridge almost immediately after, Gaignun and Jr. conversed telepathically over the proceedings until Shion was able to faintly hear the song being played. As the ending credits roll Gaignun is seen one last time discussing the status quo with Helmer over a video link, commenting that a vortex of temptation and obsession still remains in the aftermath of the games climax and finally adds that Albedo is being drawn into it all just the same.

In Episode II, Gaignun's past relationships with Albedo and Jr. are explored. He is first requested by Helmer when arriving on Miltia with M.O.M.O. to obtain reconnaissance information from a brief conversation with Albedo via a telepathic link in order to gain insight into Albedo's plans for the future tense, the two converse with Gaignun offering to come to terms with Albedo at the time but Albedo was only interested in goading his brother and even goes as far as calling him two-faced when Gaignun kinetically destroyed Albedo's right arm at one point during the conversation when Albedo had threatened Jr.'s life. Later on flashbacks occur when the main team take subconscious dives into Sakura Mizrahi's mind in order to allow her to speak once again. These adventures showed the rift growing between the trio of U.R.T.V. units, which eventually led to a breakdown during the Miltian Conflict, causing Albedo to come into contact with U-DO and become insane. At the end of Episode II, Gaignun suffers from a double personality; one part is Gaignun, the other is Dimitri Yuriev, his father. Dimitri most likely created Gaignun just as a host for his consciousness, for he somehow transmigrated into his body at the time of his "death" in TC 4753 when Gaignun as Nigredo in his childhood had apparently shot and killed his father. Yuriev awakened in Gaignun's body during the events of Episode II. Although Gaignun's consciousness now struggles to regain control of his own body, Yuriev currently has complete control of him and first makes his renewed presence known to Pellegri on a video link, tasking her to tell her superiors that he is not dying...ever.

Gaignun's dilemma throughout the series had always been secretly that he had struggled with the notion of eventually killing his own brother Jr., a task that was highlighted by Albedo earlier during their telepathic link in Episode II in which he had known about Gaignun/Nigredo's true form for many years. In truth his actual creation and very meaning to his own existence was to simply monitor his own brother Jr. and if necessary terminate his life, to this end Yuriev had secretly implemented a second Red Dragon drive inside of Nigredo in the expressed purpose of rivaling Jr.'s power but as we see in Gaignun's nature he hides it all the way throughout the series.

In Episode III Gaignun's story comes full circle resulting in his eventual redemption when he comes to terms with what he is and had always been, Albedo arriving as a Testament during Yuriev's power bid after kidnapping Abel and the Zohar sheds some light on the fact that Gaignun had presumably let his own father take control of his body during the takeover with the thoughts of making his father proud somehow. As Albedo and Jr. initiate a link in order for Gaignun to be sent into Jr.'s body whilst Albedo in his Testament form would be sent into another dimension with their father Yuriev still in Gaignun's body. Gaignun however seeing through Albedo's feelings during this link expresses that he does not like taking orders and makes a desperate attempt at switching this vis a vis of minds around however resulting in Albedo's mind being thrown into Jr.'s body evidently reuniting the twin brothers for the first time in one body since their very birth. Saying his farewells to Jr./Jr. inside of Albedo's Testament body, Gaignun shows his brother his true form and tells him that his duty to keep watch over him has now ended or rather that he had wanted it to be over, but admits that if he had denied his nature in the end he would have been literally denying his own existence regardless. Jr. makes a last-ditch attempt at saving him by telling him they were always friends as Gaignun/Nigredo offer's to him that he'd like to play with his brothers again someday as he is sent into another dimension.

Gaignun shares his name with the horse that Roland, a general serving under King Charlemagne and wielder of the legendary blade Durandal, rode into battle on. Kūkai is also the name of a famous Japanese Buddhist monk; Buddhist undertones can also be seen in Xenosaga. The name Nigredo refers to the philosophic beliefs of Carl Jung, who believed that the process of self-realization has three major steps, which he named using terms derived from alchemy, which he studied prior to developing his theories. These three steps are known as Nigredo, the death of the old, perceived self, Albedo, the discovering of one's inner identity, and Jr., the process of living a self-aware life.

In the series, Jr. and Gaignun both raised a cat named Gaignun, which is the origin of Nigredo's (and Jr's) alias.

Vanderkam

Voiced by (English): Keith Szarabajka (Episode II); George Manley (anime)

Vanderkam is a Lieutenant Commander working for the U-TIC Organization and a covert operative of the Federation Military. He has a tattoo of a purple X across his face and has this nasty habit of punching employees he thinks are slacking off.

This character in Xenosaga resembles an extremely similar character with a tattoo of a purple plus sign also named Vanderkam in Xenogears.

Mary Godwin

Voiced by (English): Ali Hillis (Episodes II & III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Rie Kugimiya; Ryōko Shiraishi (anime)

Mary Godwin (メリィ・ゴドウィン, Meri Godowin) is the close sister of Shelley Godwin. Although she holds no true rank in the Kukai Foundation organization, Mary functions as Jr.'s second-in-command on board the Durandal as well as the Chief of the Kukai Foundation's Strategy Division. Everyone in the Foundation respects her and values her opinions in spite of her unofficial affiliation. In fact, many members of the Kukai Foundation have initiated the "Mary & Shelley Fan Club", at the suggestion of Jr. himself. Mary is quite fond of Jr. in spite of his childlike appearance. She was born on Miltia but speaks with an unknown planetary accent. Mary is also fun loving and the life of the party within the Foundation. Her name, along with Shelley's, comes from Mary Shelley, the creator of Frankenstein.

Mary is also a temporarily playable character in Episode I. She appears in Jr.'s introduction when he has to infiltrate the U-TIC battleship. Mary, along with another Kukai Foundation soldier, are in A.G.W.S. during battle sequences; neither of them have in-battle character models like Virgil does. Mary pilots a pink Vector A.G.W.S.

Shelley Godwin

Voiced by (English): Ali Hillis (Episodes II & III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Yumi Takada; Wakana Yamazaki (anime)

Shelley Godwin (シェリィ・ゴトウィン, Sherii Godowin) is the navigator and helmsman of the Durandal. Along with Mary, Shelley is often seen with Gaignun Kukai. She is idolized by many of the Kukai Foundation through the "Mary & Shelley Fan Club" as well. Shelley possesses a genius IQ, and is capable of performing and excelling in many complicated tasks while navigating the massive Durandal through the far reaches of space. She was also once part of a group of people who were illegally "owned" by a pharmaceutical company that used them as guinea pigs. Twelve years ago, Gaignun saved Shelley and Mary and they made the Foundation their new home.

Helmer

Voiced by (English): Stuart Robinson (Episode II); Keith Szarabajka (Episode III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Masaru Ikeda

Helmer (ヘルマー, Herumā) was once a Lieutenant General in the Federation military and was the one who gave orders to chaos and Canaan to secure the U.R.T.V.s. Following the incident, he got into politics and eventually worked his way up the ladder to become Second Miltia's representative in the Galaxy Federation Government. Along with former U.R.T.V.s Jr. (#666) and Nigredo (#669) he co-established the Kukai Foundation, which was created to investigate the Miltian Conflict 14 years ago on Old Miltia and keep tabs on the secret U-TIC Organization. Indeed, Helmer has a solid friendship with Jr. and Gaignun, as is evident by the formation of the aforementioned Foundation.

Helmer seems to be well known in the Xenosaga universe. Besides knowing Canaan, chaos, Jr., Gaignun, Dr. Juli Mizrahi and Jin Uzuki he is also on good terms with Vector Industries' CEO Wilhelm. The two were seen discussing matters of security prior to Wilhelm's assistance with the Song of Nephilim incident and the Gnosis attack on the Kukai Foundation. However, this is the only time the two discussed matters; they are not close allies. The Patriarch of the Ormus Society also seems to know him and is not very fond of him, and that sentiment is also echoed by Commander Margulis.

In Xenosaga Episode I, Helmer was in trouble with the Galaxy Federation when an Ormus/U-TIC insider in the Federation helped hatch a plot that framed both Second Miltia (Helmer's planet) and the Kukai Foundation for the destruction of the Woglinde. Helmer and the Federation showed no signs of improving relations after Xenosaga Episode I, although they are not enemies. Moreover, Helmer's role in both Xenosaga Episode I and II remains strictly behind the desk. Outside the Miltian Conflict, Helmer's most significant roles include careful handling of the aforementioned "framing incident", the arrangement of saving Shion and her allies on numerous occasions, and many other political matters seen in the series. Helmer also seems to have extensive knowledge of the wave existence known as "U-DO" that may extend upon what happened at Miltia.

Helmer appears very briefly in Episode III, though never in person in the game. He is seen during the Planetary Disappearance Phenomenon, where he gives an update on the situation to Jr. and the party and says a quick but meaningful good bye before the Durandal loses the signal from Second Miltia and shown to be alive in the ending, communicating with Mary and Shelley on the Elsa.

Although Helmer's role on the political stage is significant, several matters about this man are still shrouded in history, including his role in the Miltian Conflict. He has a friendly working relationship with Wilhelm; however, he does not seem to be privy to or aware of any of his plans. Moreover, Helmer was clearly an enemy of Ormus and even Albedo.

Juli Mizrahi

Voiced by (English): Kim Mai Guest (Episodes II & III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Naomi Shindou

Dr. Juli Mizrahi (ユリ・ミズラヒ, Yuri Mizurahi) heads investigations into the appearances of the alien scourge called the Gnosis. She formed the Subcommittee on Close Encounters, also known as the S.O.C.E., in T.C. 4754. Based in Federation Capital Fifth Jerusalem, she is the ex-wife of Joachim Mizrahi, creator of M.O.M.O. and founder of U-TIC. Although the 100 Series Realian child is registered as her daughter, Juli has a secret reason for wanting the cyborg mercenary Ziggurat 8 to transport M.O.M.O. to the Miltian star system, instead of bringing her back to the Federation Capital: the analysis of the Y-Data hidden deep within M.O.M.O.'s subconscious.

In Episode I, Juli would rather not have anything to do with M.O.M.O., even though she is legally M.O.M.O.'s mother. She never quite got comfortable with the fact that her husband, Joachim created M.O.M.O. in the image of their late daughter, Sakura. She felt like M.O.M.O. was some sort of sick attempt to replace or recreate Sakura and she could not bring herself to try and relate to her. After speaking with Ziggy however her view of M.O.M.O. started to change. Ziggy, who had come to know M.O.M.O. as a real person since he rescued her, suggested that Juli not see M.O.M.O. as an attempt to replace her daughter but as a second daughter. Juli began to open up more and more to M.O.M.O. after that point and began to realize that she was indeed her own unique person and not just a copy of Sakura. After the events in Xenosaga Episode II, she decided to live with M.O.M.O. and accepted her role as her mother, with Ziggy on standby should a crisis arise.

Her maiden name is Niwashiro.

In German, in Dutch and in Swedish, "Juli" means "July."

Nephilim

Voiced by (English): Kim Mai Guest (Episodes II & III)
Voiced by (Japanese): Yumi Tōma

Nephilim (ネピリム, Nepirimu) is a mysterious red-eyed girl who first appears before Shion in the Encephalon. She also appears when Shion sees the Zohar Emulator for the first time on the Woglinde. Later she appears in Shion's dreams warning her about Cherenkov's condition. Shion was the only one able to see Nephilim until she and the party arrived at Encephalon where everybody can normally see her. In the Encephalon, Nephilim warns the party about U-DO and the awakening of the "true form of KOS-MOS." Abel is shown briefly appearing before Shion Uzuki and Dr. Juli Mizrahi scribbling a picture of a girl who looks like Nephilim.

Sometimes when Shion sees Nephilim in Episode I, a cross is seen swinging back and forth similar to the cross animation sequence that appears every time Fei Fong Wong sees himself as a child in Xenogears. An interesting similarity is that she very much resembles a young Elly from Xenogears, with both having the same Japanese voice actor in Yumi Tōma. This is further shown in that Abel appears to be drawing a picture of a girl who looks something like Nephilim.

She existed as a human during the era of Lost Jerusalem. At that time, the Zohar was excavated from Lake Turkana and shipped to Toronto, Canada, where its analysis began. After it had been discovered that the Zohar produced tremendous energy in response to a specific brainwave wavelength, everyone had become fixated upon finding a method to extract it. Systems programmer Grimoire Verum completed the control program Lemegeton based on the ancient language that had been unearthed from the same ruins as the Zohar.

The system went out of control during a control experiment, and the young girl participating in the experiment became the first to disappear. The disappearance phenomenon continued to expand, eventually erasing all of Earth from dimensional space. The girl who disappeared at this time was none other than Nephilim.

From the fact the girl's disappearance coincided with the appearance of Abel, it can be deduced that the two share a cause-and-effect relationship.

The Song of Nephilim is the result of amplifying the wavelength created by the Lemegeton through the use of a giant tuning fork. That system was designed and built by Joachim Mizrahi.

"Nephilim" is the name of the race of giants referred to in the Bible. According to the Book of Enoch and the Bible, the Nephilim were the offspring of the "sons of God" (angels) who descended to Earth and cohabited with the "daughters of men." This was one of the reasons for the Great Flood. Nephilim means "watchers," or "those who have come down," although Nephila also means "Orion" in Aramaic. This alludes to an extraterrestrial influence.

During the ending clip from Xenosaga III, Nephilim is seen absorbing the gnosis and transforming into an adult version of herself looking exactly like Elly.

Wilhelm

Voiced by (English): Jason Spisak (Episode II and III); Vic Mignogna (anime)

Wilhelm is the CEO of the Vector Industries and the overarching antagonist of Xenosaga.

In reality, Wilhelm is an immortal being as old as the beginning of time. He was created to prevent the destruction of the Lower Domain of the universe, except he has been doing so through eternal recurrence.

Testament

The Testaments are Wilhelm's closest assistants and servants. Characterized by colored robes with matching beaklike masks, the true nature and power of the Testaments is unknown. It is hinted that they possess the power to manipulate space, and they seem to be able to appear and disappear at will. Also, each Testament has their own E.S., a special kind of spacecraft that contains a Vessel of Anima. Four Testaments exist by the end of Episode II: red, blue, black, and white.

In terms of allusions and references, the four Evangelists John, Mark, Matthew and Luke who wrote the Gospels which are part of the New Testament are sometimes depicted as wearing cloaks of these four colors. The four compass directions in several cultures, including Feng Shui, and Aztec mythology, are equivalent to these four colors. It is also possible they allude to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, though this is unlikely because blue is not a color of the horsemen [though this is debatable as the translation usually is made as Pale which is usually interpreted as green to blue] (also because chaos refers to the U.R.T.V.s as the horsemen). They are more likely connected with the Gnostic concept of Archons which were powerful agents of the Demiurge who often wore animal masks and/or came in the form of animals. The fact that the Testaments often wear masks as well as the fact that their E.S. craft all resemble different animals (as opposed to every other E.S. having a more human like appearance) supports this.

Appearances in other media

In addition the Xenosaga universe, the three female protagonists: Shion, KOS-MOS and M.O.M.O., have also appeared in Namco × Capcom for the PlayStation 2 as playable characters.

KOS-MOS and T-elos has also appeared in the Nintendo DS game Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier. KOS-MOS and T-elos appeared again alongside M. O. M. O. in the sequel of the first Endless Frontier game Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier EXCEED.

KOS-MOS and T-elos appeared in the Nintendo 3DS game Project X Zone and again in the sequel Project X Zone 2.

KOS-MOS and T-elos most recently appeared together as obtainable Blades in Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Merchandise

The three female protagonists: Shion, KOS-MOS and MOMO, have had a figurine set released for them.

Reception

The Episode I versions of the characters have been criticized for being too doll-like. However the reviews of later character designs were more positive. 1UP said at the "Tokyo Game Show", Episode II's redesigns were among "...some of the prettiest pictures on the show floor..." specifically naming Shion, KOS-MOS and MOMO.

1UP comments on the replacement of most of the English voice cast being a "surprising move", especially as some other major cast members keep their voice actors, particularly Commander Margulis's voice actor is praised. Later they admit that the change in voice actors is not particularly jarring due to the different character designs.

MOMO Mizrahi

In a review by Edge for Episode III, the site claims that the reason the game scored two 9s by Famitsu, one of which was that "[t]here's a little girl robot [MOMO] whose panties are visible 99% of the time." Another review by the same site criticizes the character, calling her "designed by...a pervert." The reviewer goes on to theorize that much of the gaming world was "enthralled" enough by trying to figure out why this was the case that they were able to play through the game.

The more realistic redesign of MOMO's figure in Episode II plays down her magical school-girl nature. GameSpot criticized her beret, which did not appear in the original game, labeling it "jaunty" and deploring its "unfortunate" return in Xenosaga III.