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Welcome to Retrograde Amnesia, a podcast where we cover classic Japanese Role-playing Games (JRPGs), chapter by chapter, beat by beat. Check out a complete listing of the works we have covered and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider. Support us on Patreon at patreon.com/retroam.

Nov 4, 2019

Greetings! The wrasslin’ boys Fei and Bart have fallen Gear-first into a dank cave system. We discuss the contextually appropriate but questionably alive organisms down there before we run into your classic old-sage-in-a-cave, Balthazar. This prompts a dive into the influence of gnostic Christian texts, speculation on the creation myth metaphor, Xenogears' internal god-tier systems, and the tight grip on the pen that writes history. A man made god? Created with the wisdom of a god? Such a Gear would have the power of a thousand Gears. In a wave of its arm, it could destroy whole cities. Its battle cries would thunder in the heavens.

00:22 - Intro
01:18 - The boys fall through a sinkhole into a cave / Corvette sidequest
03:17 - Pirate territory and ethics
04:14 - Citan "Foreshadower" Uzuki chats with a silver-haired, very tanned man aboard the Yggdrasil
06:19 - Destroying the local flora and fauna in Gear combat
11:04 - Boulder #2 & Beyond
11:30 - Spelunking & self-sufficiency
12:35 - This cave-dwelling, Gear-fixing dude Balthazar lives here
13:20 - Balthazar etymology
15:40 - FOSSICKER
19:50 - Balthazar's myths and legends. "Omen" (music sample)
32:15 - Gear education and cave switch flipping
35:09 - Bart asks about the "God Gear" and we ask about localization
39:50 - Who's controlling history?
40:39 - Balthazar sees Weltall, the host for the spirit of the slayer of god
43:14 - Balthazar's relationship with Calamity
45:43 - Weltall & Brigandier vs Calamity
52:00 - Meeting up with Sigurd and (Old) Mason...and Citan
52:57 - Outro

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