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Skies of Arcadia or Xenogears?
- Thread starter Ravenn17
- Start date
Red Blaster
Member
Skies is an absolutely torturous game to play these days thanks to its insane encounter rate combined with the extremely slow battle animations and transitions.
Red Blaster said:
How does the Legends version stack up? I thought they lowered the encounter rate and made some other tweaks...I started playing it and didn't notice too many random battles. I'd also say the battles moved a bit too fast for my liking (or rather, the camera did - kept on swinging around everywhere and almost gave me a headache).
EDIT: and I'd like to join in on the Xenogears love. My favorite PS1 RPG by far...yes it's flawed, and the translation is bad, and the second disc is kind of a joke, and it seems they had to rush everything in the end (kind of a pattern with this team...), but when it gets it right it really gets it right. Beautiful music, fast-paced battle system, and some really great ideas. Objectively the plot is kind of silly and convoluted, but you forget all that when you see some kick-ass scene like
Weltall transforming into Weltall-Id and tearing apart Solaris, or something more subtle like Grahf diving to rescue and shield Elly from the zeppelin explosion against a background of (poor MIDI quality) choral music...so much expressed about the tragedy of Grahf's character in that scene without any dialogue.
TheDarkKnight774
Member
I know GAF in general hates Xenogears and loves SoA, but i'll throw my vote to Xenogears
Its poorly translated, so that makes the complex story even harder to follow, but the game truly is one of my favorite RPGs i've ever played. I loved the characters, music, story, and i found the battle system (with the combos) to be real fun.
SoA is the type of RPG that is good, but didn't grab me as much. Its appealing in its charm, but not in the actual story, battle system, characters, etc. All those for the most part i found to be pretty standard in RPGs. Now the airship, and duels and such were great, but the worse decision of the game was random battles while flying. Its a good game, but i have a hard time getting hooked by the more "happy go lucky" RPGs (except Lunar 1&2)
Its poorly translated, so that makes the complex story even harder to follow, but the game truly is one of my favorite RPGs i've ever played. I loved the characters, music, story, and i found the battle system (with the combos) to be real fun.
SoA is the type of RPG that is good, but didn't grab me as much. Its appealing in its charm, but not in the actual story, battle system, characters, etc. All those for the most part i found to be pretty standard in RPGs. Now the airship, and duels and such were great, but the worse decision of the game was random battles while flying. Its a good game, but i have a hard time getting hooked by the more "happy go lucky" RPGs (except Lunar 1&2)
BlueTsunami
there is joy in sucking dick
Seeing Chuchu nailed to a cross is far better than anything in Skies of Arcadia
nincompoop
Banned
Neither is worth playing.
carbonbased
Member
I hated the dreamcast, I can't stand jrpgs, and yet I find Skies to be a game absolutely worth playing. you know which to choose.
Xenogears is probably one of the best RPGs of all time, this cannot be stressed enough. Great battle system, fun minigames, a plethora of interesting characters and locations, and the graphics hold up in that retro way.
The story is completely out of this world, but the religious and scientific references are all solid. You can spend weeks, if not months, studying Xenogears' plot after you finish it.
The story is completely out of this world, but the religious and scientific references are all solid. You can spend weeks, if not months, studying Xenogears' plot after you finish it.
A Human Becoming
More than a Member
Xenogears. No question about it.
Choke on the Magic
Banned
Xenogears. Great rpg. I never played SoA, but just read a bit about it and it sounds cool. I guess this makes my advice pretty much useless.
*insert snide comment here*
:
*insert snide comment here*
:I wonder, how many people in this thread have actually played through both games? I know I have at least.
And I do like them both, but Xenogears is definitely a step beyond Skies of Arcadia for me. And since you asked for emphasis on "story, setting, and character development", there's no question in my mind that Xenogears is the better choice here.
And I do like them both, but Xenogears is definitely a step beyond Skies of Arcadia for me. And since you asked for emphasis on "story, setting, and character development", there's no question in my mind that Xenogears is the better choice here.
BoilersFan23
Member
Xenogears. Definitely my 2nd favorite RPG ever.
Skies of Arcadia is awesome too, but not one of my favorites.
Skies of Arcadia is awesome too, but not one of my favorites.
lol curiosity got the better of me and I *had* to know how close the opinions were split so I quickly counted up how many recommendations for either game and surprise surprise I think up to Quazar the count for both games is split 32 either side.
That's ignoring votes for both and also ignoring posts that pretty much didn't contribute any kind of recommendation or I just didn't understand (I'm looking at you Madara), using peoples negative posts towards one game as a positive vote for the other as well.
For the record I haven't played either, after this thread though I think I wanna play SoA.
Edit: Also I ignored that one guy who said he hadn't played xenogears, dunno why since I'm sure not everyone in this thread has played both but meh.
That's ignoring votes for both and also ignoring posts that pretty much didn't contribute any kind of recommendation or I just didn't understand (I'm looking at you Madara), using peoples negative posts towards one game as a positive vote for the other as well.
For the record I haven't played either, after this thread though I think I wanna play SoA.
Edit: Also I ignored that one guy who said he hadn't played xenogears, dunno why since I'm sure not everyone in this thread has played both but meh.
Xenogears is okay. It's not anywhere near as bad as Xenosaga, and the game does have great music (Mitsuda). On the other hand, it is extremely bloated. That game is frigging long.
SoA is really fun in everything except the encounter rate. The problem with the dreamcast version was waiting for the random encounters to actually load in...I remember getting walloped like every two seconds in the ship sometimes.
SoA is really fun in everything except the encounter rate. The problem with the dreamcast version was waiting for the random encounters to actually load in...I remember getting walloped like every two seconds in the ship sometimes.
KittenMaster
Member
I never played the Dreamcast version, but GC version has toned down encounters and it can still be tedious.
Again, SoA is the better RPG none of the less, and the better game. People who say Xenogears is better is probably judging it on the story and preference for darker games.
Again, SoA is the better RPG none of the less, and the better game. People who say Xenogears is better is probably judging it on the story and preference for darker games.
Aside from a slightly boring combat system and high encounter rate, Skies is absolutely magnificent. I would expect no less than something from Rieko Kodama. Xenogears has some cool parts to it (the epic feel and history of the world, the battle system, the soundtrack) but has way too many flaws (extremely convoluted story, all of disk 2, the tower of babel dungeon, no way to skip text, atrocious graphics) to recommend over some finer RPGs.
Soule said:
Hard to understand Multiple Sclerosis speak aye? Hard to believe I proof them nearly a dozen times before posting, no? No worries I been lessening my post counts lately.:lol
Skies=vivid and charming world, amazing sense of exploration with a weakness in its battle system being the only negative if you ask me
Xeno-= wannabe mech anime that takes forever to actually find the video game
djtiesto said:
Comparing the graphics between the two games is kinda ridiculous. One's on the PS1 and one's on the DreamCast/GameCube.
The tower of Babel dungeon isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Yeah the jumping is annoying but you can get around that if you want to.
I played Skies of Arcadia for about an hour and the fact it took me 20 minutes per random battle (yeah I ha dno clue what I was doing), really ticked me off and made me stop playing.
So I really can't comment on anything related to it, but I love Xenogears, even if it's one of those games where you actually have to research (and debate) the implications of the story. I really doubt you get such complex characters such as Krelian in SoA.
Yes BATTLE, the BATTLE exploration BATTLE and BATTLE discovery BATTLE aspects BATTLE of BATTLE Skies BATTLE of BATTLE Arcadia BATTLE sure BATTLE are BATTLE great.
The random encounter rate outside the dungeons ruined the game for me, and I played the Legends version. The mediocre battle system sure didn't help. It is way too slow paced, and the colour system seems fairly pointless when the high encounter rate makes your party invincible a few hours in. Apart from some of the boss fights, the battles got boring really quickly.
Everything else was great, though.
The random encounter rate outside the dungeons ruined the game for me, and I played the Legends version. The mediocre battle system sure didn't help. It is way too slow paced, and the colour system seems fairly pointless when the high encounter rate makes your party invincible a few hours in. Apart from some of the boss fights, the battles got boring really quickly.
Everything else was great, though.
vanguardian1
poor, homeless and tasteless
ronito said:
You mean something better has been released since? What? I'd sure love to know!
Wowbagger said:
You know you CAN get the "White Map" for reduced encounters quite early in the game?
Everyone knows I hate Skies. I remember likening it to having a red hot screw driver being inserted in your pee hole.
Everyone knows I love Xenogears, or Xeno anything.
I don't feel like making a long post of why Skies is one of the worst RPGs ever made, but I will just say, if you played and liked Skies and its childish trollop you like it in the ass as well.
Everyone knows I love Xenogears, or Xeno anything.
I don't feel like making a long post of why Skies is one of the worst RPGs ever made, but I will just say, if you played and liked Skies and its childish trollop you like it in the ass as well.
xenogears +++
awesome battle system, characters, story, overall fucking great. one of my favorite rpgs
I tried skies for a few hours, it feels dated as hell to me (I have the GC version), plus there's still tons of random battles (which were supposed to be toned down). it has a cool premise and characters.
awesome battle system, characters, story, overall fucking great. one of my favorite rpgs
I tried skies for a few hours, it feels dated as hell to me (I have the GC version), plus there's still tons of random battles (which were supposed to be toned down). it has a cool premise and characters.
CcrooK said:
Being honest I would say this is twisted and a lie. SoA is much, much better.
Being deceptive, I think Xenogears is the best game evar and the OP should buy my extra unopened copy of Xenogears at the Amazon going price of $87+: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000038IFX/?tag=neogaf0e-20 :lol
I don't particularly like either game, but Skies of Arcadia is absolute trash. I do not respect anyone who enjoys this game. It attempts to blindside players with a fantasy they've all had since Zeal, and that is a game consisting entirely of Zeals, but what it can't hide are the mediocre-at-best battle system, boring characters, a generic plot, horrendous voice acting, and substandard graphics even by Dreamcast standards.
I think the music wasn't too bad, though.
Play Xenogears.
I think the music wasn't too bad, though.
Play Xenogears.
Aaronology
Member
Whoa. Here are two of my favorite RPGs. That's a really hard decision. Hmm, I think I'd have to go with Xenogears, though. I'm a big sucker for epic, well told stories. Not even the disappointing second disc can take away from how amazing the game is as a whole. Awesome plot, deep characters, a world with a good deal of backstory and history.... mm, Xenogears blew me away when I played it.
The Id revelation remains one of my favorite "whoa!" moments in gaming, too. Telegraphed or not, I sure didn't see it coming. It wasn't until I played KotOR years later that I encountered a similarly huge and enjoyable plottwist.
UncleGuito
Banned
Xenogears is the only right answer.
They're both pretty awful. Both have very cliche driven story lines, while SoA is a bit more generic than Xenogears.
Both have dull combat systems, that are made even more annoying by the overabundance of random encounters. Honestly I'm not sure if I'm more annoyed by "Fire consume my enemies" or the repetitive grunts and groans of the boring combo system in Xenogears.
I say do your self a favor and skip both of them.
Both have dull combat systems, that are made even more annoying by the overabundance of random encounters. Honestly I'm not sure if I'm more annoyed by "Fire consume my enemies" or the repetitive grunts and groans of the boring combo system in Xenogears.
I say do your self a favor and skip both of them.
Rodeo Clown
All aboard! The Love train!
This.bluemax said:
Also, I'm pretty all this Xenogears love is coming from people who played it when they were 15 and think Evangelion is the raddest thing ever.