Xenogears

Post by **Pisces** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 10:57 pm

Okay, after hearing about this game for years, I finally started playing Xenogears. My friend Eric (the OTHER Eric) got it for me for Christmas...

I have never seen so much plot in such a small space of time. I'm only about 14 hours into the game, and yet about every 15 minutes something new intrigues me and I'm like "WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

My only complaints about the game are that I find the Gear battles a little monotonous, and then the camera angles - the camera angles drive me NUTS!

But other than that, the plot has me insanely addicted, so...

And I like the music.

And I like Sigurd. And Citan.

And what the heck is with that Chu-chu thing!?

Post by **Sonic#** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 12:34 am

The Gear battles...you need to be good at them, so keep your gears well equipped. I didn't like them very much either.

I'll agree that the plot is intriguing, enough to play it again, despite the complaints of terribly obvious allusions.

And Chu-chu is the embodiment of cuteness. Or something. She can heal, so I don't complain. ^_^

Asmodean · Post by **Asmodean** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 5:29 am

I love Xenogears!! One question? Did you get the Mermaid's Tear? If not, you'll have to play it again. It's a good item.

My all-time favorite song is from that game. Lost... Broken Shards.

And the gear battles can get tedious, but like Sonic says, you DO have to take care of them or you are screwed. Also, Chu-Chu will come in very handy for a particular battle, so don't totally knock it.

I hope I haven't given anythin' away... oh bother.

Angelalex242 · Post by **Angelalex242** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 8:37 am

Chu Chu is a character that requires eternal patience. Chu Chu can obliterate all lesser foes...IF you spend 50 hours buying enhancements from Big Joe.

However, if you don't wanna wait 50 hours, Fei/Citan/Emeralda does fine.

Imperial Knight · Post by **Imperial Knight** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:58 pm

I'm in the middle of Xenogears right now, but it's been a while since I've made any progress. I really should pick it up and continue, but I've got the problem that I'm in the middle of so many games at the moment that it's almost inevitable that some will be neglected.

My thoughts on the game (of course, what I think about the game could always change as I play more of it):

Xenogears has something of a burden in that the hype for it is so extreme that there's no way it could ever live up to it (in fact, no game could). There are so many people out there who are insistent that it's the greatest RPG of all time (or even the greatest game of all time) and that no one really has any right to think otherwise. Personally, I wouldn't consider it the greatest RPG/game of all time largely because it doesn't do a particularily good job of using the strengths of the medium (in particular, the story and gameplay don't work together enough). Most arguments for it being the greatest RPG of all time hinge on the story, but while I would consider story important, I would consider other aspects to be equally important as well. At any rate, it's hard not to be at least a little disapointed in the game when one has heard so many amazing things about it.

The story is generally very good, with mostly appealing characterizations. If there's one way in which I would fault the story, it's that there's a bit of a tendency towards deus ex machina solutions to problems, and I think the game suffers a bit for it.

Gameplay wise it would come out a little better than average by RPG standards, but certainly nothing spectacular (another reason why I can't consider it the greatest RPG of all time). The battle system does offer something different without being an unplayable mess, and for that reason alone it has merit. However, it's not a particularily deep system and as one progresses through the game the system seems to degenerate into a process of alternately learning deathblows and using deathblows, neither of which are interesting enough to carry a battle system on their own. I really like the dungeon design, though I think it suffers (even more than most RPGs do) from the inclusion of random encounters. Using the rotating camera and jumping around to get to places/secrets is fun, but having to keep fighting battles because of having missed a jump isn't so much fun.

In the end I'd say Xenogears is a good game, just not as great as people make it out to be.

Anordin · Post by **Anordin** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:30 am

I have to say, that I agree with alot of the comments about this game. I'm somewhere on the second disc, but for the life of me, I cannot just finish the game. The gears are cool; the battle system's okay; and the story's amazing, but it's just gotten to that point where I just can't play it anymore. And I haven't for about a year now, even though I'm apparently very close to the end.

But this is not a new problem. All the RPG's I've played have suffered from this "Do I really want to keep going" question. And usually something from the game merits a worthy response. (With both Lunars, it was around the time of the Blue Dragon cave. I knew that I had to go slug it out, but I wasn't looking forward to that, especially after finishing the last dragon cave.) But with Xenogears, I felt that the more I played, the more I got completely confused and couldn't remember who everyone was and what they were aiming for, goal-wise. Then it just got to a point where I didn't even know why I was in this cave fighting monsters anymore. And that was the final straw...

Honestly, I know I should play through it, even if I have to start all over again. But I am not certain if I can stomach the 40+ hours to do so.

Ardekh · Post by **Ardekh** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 10:44 pm

Xenogears! My favorite game forever and ever. <3 The first time I played it through, 70 hours in ONE school week. It was wake up, go to school, come home and play 'til midnight, repeat. XD I love this game more than the Lunars and even FFVI.

red9_merchant · Post by **red9_merchant** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:55 am

I've always wanted to get this game and give it a try. From what I hear, it's worth it. It's even more worth it now that it doesn't cost $60 to get a copy off of ebay.

Though, what Anordin says is a little true. I've found myself picking up more action games and such, just because those don't take as much time to finish as an RPG. But go figure. Being me, I'll break out of that and go right back into something. I started a new game in Secret of Mana a month ago, and haven't played it since, but today during my exams, I literally whispered to myself "I think I'll play Secret of Mana when I get home." Haven't yet, but that's because I was tired.

But I think I could make it with Xenogears. I'd just have to stay dedicated. I liked Xenosaga, and people were telling me that Xenogears is way better, so I guess I'll like Xenogears even more. It's on my list of games to get this month and next.

Bravo 29 · Post by **Bravo 29** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:51 am

Anordin wrote:I have to say, that I agree with alot of the comments about this game. I'm somewhere on the second disc, but for the life of me, I cannot just finish the game. The gears are cool; the battle system's okay; and the story's amazing, but it's just gotten to that point where I just can't play it anymore. And I haven't for about a year now, even though I'm apparently very close to the end.

But this is not a new problem. All the RPG's I've played have suffered from this "Do I really want to keep going" question. And usually something from the game merits a worthy response. (With both Lunars, it was around the time of the Blue Dragon cave. I knew that I had to go slug it out, but I wasn't looking forward to that, especially after finishing the last dragon cave.) But with Xenogears, I felt that the more I played, the more I got completely confused and couldn't remember who everyone was and what they were aiming for, goal-wise. Then it just got to a point where I didn't even know why I was in this cave fighting monsters anymore. And that was the final straw...

Honestly, I know I should play through it, even if I have to start all over again. But I am not certain if I can stomach the 40+ hours to do so.

I know the feeling, I lost around 80 hours of my life to that game, it just wouldn't end. And I acted out the parts with a friend, and it was nigh unbearable. We had to mock the game in order to keep going, because it was just so depressing. The villains always seemed to get the upper hand, anf all the heroes' plans blew up in their faces time and time and time again. Play it through if you wish, but I shall definitely not. The agony of the game is something I will remember for years to come. Yes, I'm a major story buff, if you're wondering. Personally, I'd say you're better off finishing your saved game, if you sitll have it, so you don't have to relive the torment. It's your call, though, go for it.

Post by **Shiva Indis** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 7:31 pm

The game is mightily long (and I think it would've been longer if they could've managed it) and very taxing - due in no small part to the gameplay issues already mentioned and how slowly the many reams-worth of text you're exposed to advances. Xenogears demands more patience than some people are willing to give.

That said, I love it. I have yet to play a game that matches the scope of it's story, and in the persuit of learning how all the peices were going to fit together, I payed the game's shortcomings little mind.

Post by **Pisces** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 11:07 pm

I'm a dork. I completely forgot that I created this thread and forgot to check it for almost a week.

Anyway, I haven't gotten much further since then anyway, just because I've been busy most evenings since Friday...

Anyway, thanks for the input, everybody. I'm looking forward to finishing this game, and I do know that I need to keep the gears trained otherwise I'm screwed. But I can see how taking the task of playing the game AGAIN would be tedious, do to the gameplay.

AlasdairPalemoon · Post by **AlasdairPalemoon** » Sun Jan 29, 2006 8:56 pm

Xenogears was one of those pleasant surprises for me. I played it when it first came out and I was expecting just another RPG but with big mechs but it turned out to be a lot more than that. I had to play through it again to understand the story, though. Just scanning through text the first time didn't help matters, either

I understand the whole "Do I want to keep going" feeling, or for me, it can just be getting bored of a game and putting it away. I fear I'm getting to that mood on DQ8 now.

Anordin · Post by **Anordin** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 9:02 am

Just wondering if anyone likes the other mecha game Squaresoft makes: Front Mission. Now I've only played FM3 but I really enjoyed that game versus Xenogears. But then you can't compare a turn-based stragedy(sp) rpg with a traditional final fantasy rpg. IMO, FM3 is the antithesis of Xeno: the story's not that engrossing (character development almost seems nil), the wanzer/gears are completely changeable, and the gameplay is where it shines. For whatever sick twisted reason, I could play FM3 hours on end without getting bored.

So getting back on topic, will I give Xenogears another chance? Probably. But that ending better be damn good...

Ardekh · Post by **Ardekh** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:05 am

I played Xenogears with my friend Joe over, except it took about 6 hours to get through what would be one hour because we acted everything out and couldn't get through it very quick. XD It was hilarious though.

Unfortunately, I hid my copy somewhere "safe", and now it's lost forever. I wanted to keep it away from the other games, but somehow I ended up LOSING IT and grand clean ups didn't find it.

I saw a new copy for 35 bucks and didn't buy it because I'm dumb. XD I know I can get a 10 buck one off eBay.

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