Xenogears fan project Project Animus plans fully playable Disc 2

The developer behind Project Animus, a fan project that aims to rebuild Xenogears, has outlined plans to turn the 1998 PlayStation JRPG's Disc 2 into a fully playable section, according to wccftech.com. The developer, Harry "xHannyah", said the rebuilt Disc 2 will feature bigger areas, optional bosses, more content toward the end of the game and an alternate ending.

Players will be able to choose between the original story and an extended version, and between the original gameplay rules and a reworked set of rules. According to the developer, all 682 locations in the game have received a first pass, with the starting area, Lahan, being worked on by hand. Gear battles in Project Animus are set to run at 60 FPS, up from 30 FPS in the original.

Two videos of Project Animus have been released so far, and both show only the beginning of the game in Lahan. No footage of the rebuilt Disc 2 has been shown yet. The project remains in its early stages, and no release is expected soon.

Why Disc 2 is the focus

Xenogears was released on the original PlayStation in 1998. That year, the Xenogears team, led by director Tetsuya Takahashi, ran out of time, so much of Disc 2 becomes a visual novel-style sequence with limited gameplay rather than playable story. The team made that decision rather than ending the game on a cliffhanger.

Square Enix has not shown interest in an official remaster of Xenogears. Another fan project for the game, Project Atlas, was also mentioned.