-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Replaying Xenogears... was a HUGE mistake :(
- Thread starter The Praiseworthy
- Start date
- Status
To this day I still cant progress past the underwater tunnels as the fighting tournament is happening, cannot for the life of me figure out which way to go
Really wish I could get to the ending one day to see how impactful it is for I
Same here, I remembered loving it to that point and I just got stuck there, have no idea if that's even the right way to go.
Laughing Banana
Weeping Pickle
Xenosaga series >>>>>>>>>> Xenogears in almost everything, except maybe its music.
Completing Xenosaga 1 to 3 provided me with one of the most satisfying emotional payoff in my history of gaming. Simply just unforgettable.
Completing Xenosaga 1 to 3 provided me with one of the most satisfying emotional payoff in my history of gaming. Simply just unforgettable.
tearsofash
Member
I'd like to remember it the way I did as a young teen. I've tried to replay it, but I don't think I ever get too far past Rico. I just don't have the attention span any more.
FateBreaker
Member
The absolute greatest game of all time, and the absolute greatest video game story of all time.
Yoshichan
And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
I agree with the OP. Xenogears was ahead of its time, and it still is. The best story of all time, combined with one of the most memorable soundtracks of all time.
It also contains the best "villain"-combination in video-game history (Miang+Deus). Straight up perfection.
It also contains the best "villain"-combination in video-game history (Miang+Deus). Straight up perfection.
encephalon
Member
Xenogears and Xenosaga remain among the very top of my favorite JRPGs. I would love to see Monolith come back to story heavy games, but I don't know if they can go back to that type of game when they're going to be pressured to recreate Xenoblade again and again (which according to Monolith, was more of an experiment than the type of game that they are most interested in developing).
You might want to look into the Kiseki series, by Falcom, because it's probably the closest thing there is to Xenogears/saga outside of the games. I bought the first game, which appeared to be on the surface a generic RPG but turned out to be fairly ambitious. Moved on to Zero/Ao and I've been thoroughly impressed. It even has an overarching story (taking place on a continent), split up into small sets of games like Xenosaga was intended to be (without massive time leaps).
Xenosaga is essentially their "second attempt" at the ideas they had for Xenogears, while at the same time being a different story. By splitting off and becoming Monolith, they hoped to have enough to control to ensure 6 games containing 3 story arcs (this didn't happen).
You might want to look into the Kiseki series, by Falcom, because it's probably the closest thing there is to Xenogears/saga outside of the games. I bought the first game, which appeared to be on the surface a generic RPG but turned out to be fairly ambitious. Moved on to Zero/Ao and I've been thoroughly impressed. It even has an overarching story (taking place on a continent), split up into small sets of games like Xenosaga was intended to be (without massive time leaps).
Xenosaga is essentially their "second attempt" at the ideas they had for Xenogears, while at the same time being a different story. By splitting off and becoming Monolith, they hoped to have enough to control to ensure 6 games containing 3 story arcs (this didn't happen).
ZombiePlatypus
Member
And to think we were almost never gonna get it. Can you imagine?
The last time I played Xenogears, I was about 18, 12 years ago. At the time, I considered it one of my favorite stories on any medium. Today, I remember very little about it. Just bits and pieces. But I still call it my favorite game just purely based on how it made me feel when I first played it. I'm very scared to replay it.
PataHikari
Banned
Xenogears is an amazing game that was never allowed to be finished. What it does well, it does fantastically. Then the budget dies.
NemesisPrime
Banned
I think you are confusing "complex" with "good" as far as the story goes tbh.
More like both it and Evangelion borrowed from the same source materials. Childhood's End is still one of my favorite books.
Karsticles
Member
It's definitely complex, but what makes for a good story to you?
j0hnny_385
Member
So how does a PAL gamer play this game in 2012? I'm listening for suggestions...
Crash Station
Member
Eh, it's his opinion. Who are you to tell him he's wrong? Very few stories in other mediums have given me the same feeling as Chrono Cross, and that's criticized for its plot as well.
You thought The Praiseworthy would say this? looool
Sentenza
Member
I was actually expecting the same.
In terms of RPGs, Xenogears is pretty much the ultimate of the genre, with Xenosaga not even worthy of being called a second class imitator. To this day, and decades out, nothing will be able to touch it.
It's this game that really makes me miss how SQU/\RE used to be, and not this Square Enix bullshit we are stuck with today.
It's this game that really makes me miss how SQU/\RE used to be, and not this Square Enix bullshit we are stuck with today.
Gaylord Sweetwood
Member
Played and beat it when it first came out and loved it. Storytelling definitely left a impression on me being I was a young teen at the time. Such a huge backlog of games including EP. 3, that perhaps next summer I'll get around to a RTTP.
Monolith Soft needs to kickstarter this bitch or better yet give it one last try at retelling the WHOLE series.
Monolith Soft needs to kickstarter this bitch or better yet give it one last try at retelling the WHOLE series.
Actually, this isn't correct, not fully anyway.
Soraya Saga likened the game to a buffet, where much of the creative staff just threw in whatever ideas in they liked or thought were cool, usually anime or science fiction ones. Now to extend this analogy maybe Xenogears can be seen as being like a buffet that specializes mainly in more unique or exotic foods, and for many of us it would've been our first time trying this stuff and discovering many new favorites. Some of us continue to see this buffet as the best restaurant ever, but others have moved on to restaurants that specialize in the foods they liked best, and discovered they actually do a way better job at making them than the buffet, or perhaps offered similar dishes we discovered we liked even more. Now we go back to this buffet, and maybe some of us still like it out of fondness, or because they have a variety we like. Or we just straight up hate it now, in any case we discovered they were not, in fact, the masters of all food, they simply liked to make their favorite foods and offer them to everyone, even if they're not exactly master chefs.
This can be said, but we may recognize that others are just better told, or are superior in other ways. To be honest I think if it's anything people have beefs with it's "TEH GREATEST EVER". Man, even back then I didn't see it as the greatest game ever, I gave that honor to Link to the Past (though if I gave it some thought I'd tie it with Super Metroid) since Xenogears just wasn't the funnest game to play. I do think it's good though to at least try to list some alternatives, going off the analogy I used above he may discover some new favorites whether or not they beat out Xenogears for him, rather than simply having the work trashed with no alternatives given to check out.
Not even close to qualify for best in any category whatsoever. The gameplay & rpg mechanics were mediocre at best and it just wasn't very fun to play (when I played again, I found it so slow as well) . A great soundtrack, but few would consider it to be even close to the best (Mitsuda did better work on Trigger to begin with) . The story was a complete and utter mess, but I though it was incredibly ambitious and it still is years later.
This is why most of you confuse the best story for most ambitious.
I would say Planescape: Torment is the best story ever told in an interactive medium because it was almost perfectly executed (although it wasn't even half as ambitious in scope) . Xenogears is a melting pot of ideas tackling on religious beliefs and theological concepts, the Omega point, science-fiction concepts such as the relation between men and machines, cloning, reincarnation, psychology concepts of Jung and Nietzche (dissociative identity disorder play an important part as well) , etc. On paper, it does look absolutely spectacular and it is as it unfold before your eyes. On the other hand, the execution leave a lot to be desired since they deliver information bits in the most convoluted and confusing ways (especially once you do all the sidequests) . Half of the ideas are partially developed and that's not a good thing considered how many are crammed in the package. The writing itself is meh, but I suspect this is probably because the traduction was ok at best (while Planescape had great writing given the game industry standards) .
Yoshichan
And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
One of the best moments in the game. It was amazing.
Ahaha, that's exactly where I dropped it too, fed up of going nowhere and being attacked by giant mosquitos IIRC.
To this day I still cant progress past the underwater tunnels as the fighting tournament is happening, cannot for the life of me figure out which way to go
Really wish I could get to the ending one day to see how impactful it is for I
You just keep going upstream and going left at the forks. You can go downstream to get items, but they're not really worth the effort.
I want to know how the fuck he found a copy of Xenogears in 1988-1992.
I should be doing hw
Member
That OP makes me nostalgic for GFW Radio and Heroes of the Web...
Technically no one can tell him he's wrong, just like no one can say that the statement "Donald Duck has Car Trouble is way better written than Crime and Punishment" is wrong. It mainly points to an unfamiliarity with good books and movies. Considering written stories have had around 2500 years to develop, it's not that strange that other mediums struggle to come close to the quality of any good book.
Exentryk
Member
My all time favourite game. Absolutely love it. Thank you TC.
And after having recently finished Xenoblade, I have a lot of respect for Tetsuya Takahashi. I actually just ended up ordering Xenosaga 1, 2 and 3 (brand new) for $200+ just so I can play those gems and see what awesomeness I missed out on.
What would you give to play those games for the first time? ;]
And after having recently finished Xenoblade, I have a lot of respect for Tetsuya Takahashi. I actually just ended up ordering Xenosaga 1, 2 and 3 (brand new) for $200+ just so I can play those gems and see what awesomeness I missed out on.
What would you give to play those games for the first time? ;]
Me too; I was disappointed to see that XG's translator (Richard Honeywood, who admittedly was overworked on this project) evidently hadn't read it, because the character "Krelian" should in fact be "Karellen", a homage to that book.
That's actually more likely he changed it to avoid legal disputes. Honeywood did an extremely good job when you take in consideration that he took to sleeping in his workplace to get it done. >_>;
Exentryk
Member
Most definitely. If you like JRPGs, you have to play Xenogears. It's one of the best.
just buy the ntsc game, rip it and emulate it in epsxe.
Takahashi's vision unfinished > toryiama full vision finished.
Canis lupus
Member
Why wouldn't he, the story is one of the best Ive seen from any videogame. Hard to understand at times, especially at the beginning, but then everything becomes clear.
- Status