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Replaying Xenogears... was a HUGE mistake :(
- Thread starter The Praiseworthy
- Start date
- Status
Ingueferroque
Banned
What about the scene when the orphanage morphed into a mech-base? That was cool.
People always shit over Xenosaga for having Jesus, but they don't even realize the one with actually Jesus in its party is Gears.
A big, pink and fluffy Jesus.
I believe that was a shout-out to some mecha show? (Both Takashi and Saga are huge fans of the genre)
A big, pink and fluffy Jesus.
I believe that was a shout-out to some mecha show? (Both Takashi and Saga are huge fans of the genre)
I think the game was everything I wanted in a JRPG when I was 15 , being a hardcore anime nerd meant that the more a game I played looked like anime the higher the chance was that I was going to enjoy it. Xenogears , at the time had this awesome , super epic storyline with what I thought were amazing plot twists and a redonkulous amount of anime fan service.
I think back on it now and I don't think I ever want to play through the game again, I really doubt I could get past the multitude of flaws present in this once great story and the gameplay was completely broken. There are multiple bosses near the end of the game that were essentially unbeatable ( much like final fantasy tactics actually) had you failed to equip your characters appropriately.
I mean, ... okay, let's break down the classic JRPG equation - you have a bunch of character archetypes interacting in a typically generic setting that usually ends with fighting either a god , THE god or a devil , whatever. Added to this are exploration elements that allow the player to traverse a world map, towns and dungeons , a conversation system to talk to people and flip event triggers to progress through the game and finally and perhaps most importantly for a JRPG- the combat system. Xenogears still followed much of the same story tropes but it had an enormous cast of characters and literally tried to do everything that the creator liked about some of his favorite anime storylines. I still think this was kind of neat. It got too ambitious (going by the elimination of exploration on disc 2) but it was , at the time different... arguably still is unique in its scope. The characters within the story were a wild and crazy bunch that again, drew obvious inspiration from dozens of shows and comics the creator must have enjoyed but it suited the story. Exploration elements within the game were pretty standard 16 bit level zones , it wasn't any more complex then chrono trigger in that regard. It was plagued by random battles that had some annoying load screens much like the rest of the psone era RPGs. Combat though, at the start of the game the combat system is pretty cool, tossing your party sprites on a field against a bunch of other enemy sprites and using an innovational combo system to throw out ever more powerful attacks. Even now that exact idea has only been stolen a handful of times. Sadly the meat of the game was spent inside of giant robots- a portion that could have been pretty cool that was instead dull and mechanical , having to constantly worry about fuel and hit points to do anything in your gears , not to mention that the games graphics went full polygon for those sequences meant even more load times and just a generally slow pace. Not to mention the games biggest fallacy- you can jump around while exploring- perhaps the sole innovation here but they forgot to code in an exception on combat while you were airborne so it's frequently possible to get in a fight while in mid jump and then after combat fall down , there's only one infamous section of the game that this is a real problem but oh man is it frustrating for that one area.
Basically I can best describe xenogears as a lovable mess. It's a mess that I really don't need nor want to return to (it's a 70 hour game fer crying out loud) but in some ways I think anyone that likes the genre will find a fair bit to like about it , flaws and all.
I think back on it now and I don't think I ever want to play through the game again, I really doubt I could get past the multitude of flaws present in this once great story and the gameplay was completely broken. There are multiple bosses near the end of the game that were essentially unbeatable ( much like final fantasy tactics actually) had you failed to equip your characters appropriately.
I mean, ... okay, let's break down the classic JRPG equation - you have a bunch of character archetypes interacting in a typically generic setting that usually ends with fighting either a god , THE god or a devil , whatever. Added to this are exploration elements that allow the player to traverse a world map, towns and dungeons , a conversation system to talk to people and flip event triggers to progress through the game and finally and perhaps most importantly for a JRPG- the combat system. Xenogears still followed much of the same story tropes but it had an enormous cast of characters and literally tried to do everything that the creator liked about some of his favorite anime storylines. I still think this was kind of neat. It got too ambitious (going by the elimination of exploration on disc 2) but it was , at the time different... arguably still is unique in its scope. The characters within the story were a wild and crazy bunch that again, drew obvious inspiration from dozens of shows and comics the creator must have enjoyed but it suited the story. Exploration elements within the game were pretty standard 16 bit level zones , it wasn't any more complex then chrono trigger in that regard. It was plagued by random battles that had some annoying load screens much like the rest of the psone era RPGs. Combat though, at the start of the game the combat system is pretty cool, tossing your party sprites on a field against a bunch of other enemy sprites and using an innovational combo system to throw out ever more powerful attacks. Even now that exact idea has only been stolen a handful of times. Sadly the meat of the game was spent inside of giant robots- a portion that could have been pretty cool that was instead dull and mechanical , having to constantly worry about fuel and hit points to do anything in your gears , not to mention that the games graphics went full polygon for those sequences meant even more load times and just a generally slow pace. Not to mention the games biggest fallacy- you can jump around while exploring- perhaps the sole innovation here but they forgot to code in an exception on combat while you were airborne so it's frequently possible to get in a fight while in mid jump and then after combat fall down , there's only one infamous section of the game that this is a real problem but oh man is it frustrating for that one area.
Basically I can best describe xenogears as a lovable mess. It's a mess that I really don't need nor want to return to (it's a 70 hour game fer crying out loud) but in some ways I think anyone that likes the genre will find a fair bit to like about it , flaws and all.
Ingueferroque
Banned
I agree with this post. I might just try to replay it on my Vita one day though.. but the beginning of Xenogears is so slow!
I think I'd rather play Breath of Fire IV again.
This is exactly what I expected too.
Same here. We're such -Lamb-
-tetsuo-
Unlimited Capacity
You need to step up your media game.
I should be doing hw
Member
I can get behind this.
-tetsuo-
Unlimited Capacity
This is amazing
I would buy this
Meccanical
Member
IdreamofHIME
Member
Never played it, it was never released in the UK.
I often think about buying the US version from PSN, but then I dont. Lol. Too lazy to find a decent priced $10 code online.
I often think about buying the US version from PSN, but then I dont. Lol. Too lazy to find a decent priced $10 code online.
encephalon
Member
Can we have a recap of how many JRPGs where the party battles "God?"
... This is all I've got.
Xenogears
Either SMT I or II
Either SMT I or II
... This is all I've got.
Meccanical
Member
"God?" covers a fairly large spectrum actually I believe. But I think only
SMT II
Dragon Quest VII allows you to have a friendly fight with God as I imagine Flanders envisioned him earlier on in the Simpsons run.
That was planned and hinted at since the beginning of the series.
There's also
Digital Devil Saga 2 and Persona 4.
FFX
encephalon
Member
I haven't played
yet. 
Btw, let's keep these things in spoiler tags.
No.
.
Shadow Hearts
Btw, let's keep these things in spoiler tags.No.
I'm pretty sure Yu Yevon wasn't a God, but rather an individual who wanted to perpetuate the existence of Zanarkand
encephalon
Member
I got all the way to the final bossand stopped playing. Then my save got deleted. Now I'll never know what happens at the end unless I replay itDeus
You can always consider watching a playthrough if you don't feel like going through it again.
I'd like to thank this thread for reminding me of the Xenogears Thumbnail Theater. Who knew that it was still being updated?
encephalon
Member
I never paid much attention to Chu Chu, but have we established that Chu Chu is meant to be a parody?
I'm going to go through Xenogears again as soon as Vita gets PS1 compatibility. I haven't played it in four or five years. From 1998 to about 2007-ish, I played the game at least once a year. Sometimes, I played it twice a year. I love the Xenogears world and the mythology behind it all. I really wish Square would have greenlit Episode I.
I got all the way to the final bossand stopped playing. Then my save got deleted. Now I'll never know what happens at the end unless I replay itDeus
Or watch a 10 minutes youtube video, it's not like you missed this huge story segment.
As much i'd like it, i don't this so.
I blame Kato for that.
Exactly. As much as people hate Chu-Chu, she was Kato's idea, not Takahashi's.
encephalon
Member
If you watch the jp track with subtitles you might not have to deal with terrible VA.
I speak for myself, as do you, and yes, I think Chu-Chu as a character is a flaw in an otherwise lovable cast of characters. Thankfully I have the ability to separate a singular flaw from the complete game and consider it for what it is, in all its shittiness and greatness.
I haven't played Xenogears in a while and can't really say whether it's deep or pretentious. Probably like in most cases, there's a bit of both, but I think it's really dumb to discredit its merits because Chu-Chu.
The Praiseworthy
Member
I totally blocked that moment deep into my mind... it was such a good moment till they showed Chu-Chu crucified on a cross -_-"
This reminds me, Kato also wrote CC, where we can find Chu-Chu long-lost sister...
OMG LOL XD
GillianSeed79
Member
I loved Xenogears to death. It kind of helped that when I played it I was a freshman in a public university after surviving 12 years of Catholic school. I liked the religious symbolism and I was just going through the phase of being exposed to modern existentialism, which I ate up whole heartedly. It blew my mind when I found out a year later about Freud's theory on the Ego, Superego and Id. I'd probably be let down if I played it again, but damn if it isn't one of my favorite RPGs of all time.
I played all the Xenosaga Episodes, but they just don't hold the same greatness that was Gears.
I played all the Xenosaga Episodes, but they just don't hold the same greatness that was Gears.
Holy fuck I miss this series.
The money I would pay for it to be finished...
Oh well, for sci-fi rpgs there's always Star Ocean! Sure cant wait for V to come out!
*sob*
The money I would pay for it to be finished...
Oh well, for sci-fi rpgs there's always Star Ocean! Sure cant wait for V to come out!
*sob*
Breath of Fire II
this was my favorite part of the game actually, this is what recent jrpgs are lacking now
DiipuSurotu
Banned
What's amazing is that the entire game is based on a huge plothole:
Everything in the game's 15,000 years worth of story happened because
Everything in the game's 15,000 years worth of story happened because
Deus hijacked the Eldridge in an attempt at going to Earth (a.k.a Lost Jerusalem). Yet it's never explained anywhere -- not even in Perfect Works -- why Deus wanted to go there in the first place.
Who else has a copy of Perfect Works? I bought a copy around 1999 or 2000 for $50. It's one of my favorite gaming items. I'll never get rid of it. I got a copy of Thousands of Daggers a couple years ago for $20 and want to get the OST and Myth whenever I have the extra money.
That's not a plothole. It would have likely been explained in Episode I or Episode VI. From Takahashi's afterword at the end of Perfect Works:
That's not a plothole. It would have likely been explained in Episode I or Episode VI. From Takahashi's afterword at the end of Perfect Works:
cheststrongwell
my cake, fuck off
I remember playing the fuck out of this game to two weeks. Finally got to the ending movie and my game froze up on me. This was before youtube, so I couldn't easily look the ending up. Still have never seen the ending.
DiipuSurotu
Banned
It's still a massive flaw in the story when a sequel has to explain the previous's game introduction instead of just expanding on its ending.
HomerSimpson-Man
Member
I loved it back in the day as a teenager, but don't think I can really tolerate going through again as an adult, game can be pretty tedious and even then I absolutely hated how disc 2 turned out as a kid. It's a shame the game wasn't able to be truly be completed as it was envisioned and had to be cut short in production; it was really ambitious, 2nd disc could have easily turned in another potential 40-50 hours like the first disc.
Here are a couple videos I haven't seen in a LONG time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUKU...55A058E869&index=1&feature=plpp_video#t=0m34s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYAg...55A058E869&index=5&feature=plpp_video#t=2m39s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUKU...55A058E869&index=1&feature=plpp_video#t=0m34s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYAg...55A058E869&index=5&feature=plpp_video#t=2m39s
OP, convincing.
How long did it take you to complete? How complete were you? How much grinding did you end up having to do? I remember starting and quitting when this came out because it made no freaking sense, but I was impatient at the time.
Thinking of giving this a chance. PSP-1000 + CFW + bed time play instead of reading books. I've always wanted to play it for the heck of it. Xenosaga, I gave up on completely.
How long did it take you to complete? How complete were you? How much grinding did you end up having to do? I remember starting and quitting when this came out because it made no freaking sense, but I was impatient at the time.
Thinking of giving this a chance. PSP-1000 + CFW + bed time play instead of reading books. I've always wanted to play it for the heck of it. Xenosaga, I gave up on completely.
You don't have to play Xenosaga to understand Xenogears and vice versa. The two aren't connected.
I wish I could remember the story better. I remember being blown away by it though. One thing that's bothering me is that I've forgotten Grahf's identity. Can someone tell me who he is?
Also, FUCK the sewers and the robot tournament thing. Those were the only parts of the game that I absolutely hated. I hate them so much that they're keeping me from replaying the game.
Also, FUCK the sewers and the robot tournament thing. Those were the only parts of the game that I absolutely hated. I hate them so much that they're keeping me from replaying the game.
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