Mechs, a fighting game influenced combat system, a storyline that runs Sigmund Freud through the anime meat grinder and a mech combat gladiators mini game that was good enough to be a game in it's own right (they even had 2-player for it) puts this up their as a contender for GOAT Jrpg.
cruel angel thesis the game
Writing: 5/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Art Design & Visuals: 5/5
Voices & Sounds: 4/5
Atmosphere & Immersion: 4/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Art Design & Visuals: 5/5
Voices & Sounds: 4/5
Atmosphere & Immersion: 4/5
Still waiting for episode VI
terribly paced and localized game with a lot of cool ideas, a great setting, and some really good characters (like rico)
Mucho Texto.
disc 2 the wokest
The worse thing about playing Xenogears is that every other story looks shallow in comparison.
Didnt play it but i basically did through all of the screencaps garv posts, pretty good game
Very jank, story becomes nonsensical, the translation is probably fairly off, the battle system devolves into nonsense and this game has the honor of having the worst sewer level in any game ever made. Yet, I can't completely hate it as it is a rather big and ambitious game with some fun things and good music.
Somehow gets better with each playthrough.
Hot takes on American arms dealing and puppet states, capitalism and class, human empathy, and killing god. Unsubtle Leftist work that should be played, since I know none of you Actually Read.
goes hard
Overly ambitious in the scope of its story, but underwhelming to actually play. Over the course of my 48 hour playthrough, I found that events happening around my characters were vastly more interesting than the actual things I was tasked with doing. Repetitive dungeon design, messy story structure, and simple combat make for a long, slow burn. Still, it is easy to appreciate what this team of Squaresoft rookies were aiming to accomplish, and its story is pretty interesting if you have plenty of patience.
4 stars solely for the story. Even though it wasn't finished as the back half is a visual novel the ideas and themes it tackles are worth playing, or at least watching it.
I didn't think they could make this game better until someone came along with a patch for this via emulation that allowed you to advance text quickly. Literally the only thing keeping this from being a perfect game for me back in the day, especially with those really long cutscenes with intense dialogue toward the end of the game.
me encanto las habilidades, y una de los juegos con mejor historia, tiene cosas de ff a la que te recordarías, y el uso de los robots y personajes fue lo mas interesante del juego.
This review contains spoilers
Didn't actually replay but after reading some reviews/analyses of this I felt like I had to talk about how people who write about this game focus far, far too much on the game's relationship and allusions to Lacan, Jung, Freud, and Gnosticism; something that is understandable given that these connections are the most obvious and flashy within the context of the narrative but isn't conducive to more expansive discussion about what is, in my humble opinion, the greatest narrative work in the history of the medium.
Now I do not believe that this game necessarily has anything new or meaningful to say when it comes to Lacan, Jung, Freud, and Gnosticism, but it doesn't matter because the narrative is not about those things in the first place, nor does it give pretense to commenting on those subjects; in the same way that Evangelion doesn't really have anything meaningful to say about Christianity or the Kabbalah, but instead uses the associated imagery and symbology to accentuate the collapsing psychological state of its protagonists, Xenogears uses such subjects in a similar manner but to serve a story less about killing God and the literal fracturing of a human psyche into separate personalities and more of a requiem for all the people whose lives have been crushed by oppressive systems whose breadth and scope was beyond their comprehension, and about the tragedy of the passage of time, of the struggle of two souls to find happiness in a world where the people that control it no longer believe happiness is possible, and because of this they bring the world to near-oblivion. Yet it is also about how only through the progression of time can the path to actually destroying those systems be found.
In this, there's something to be said for how Xenogears' politics manifest within the narrative; the most obvious real-life parallel people come to when talking about story's antagonists is between the nation of Solaris and Nazi Germany, but an even more cogent comparison could be made between Solaris and the American Empire. Upon entering Solaris, Fei is confronted by a clean, almost sterile, consumerist environment that, to an outsider, would look utopian, and this façade is emphasized by Yasunori Mitsuda's bouncy, light-hearted musical theme accompanying it. Of course this "utopia" is built atop the back of an abused labor class forced to live in purely functional, beehive-like housing (it should be noted that subtlety is a fake idea), at the mercy of police robots and under constant surveillance. And it's important that we're presented with the plight of Solaris' labor force before we are shown the façade itself, because upon entering the musical theme immediately takes on an ironic quality, and we implicitly understand the ignorance at the heart of Solaris' middle class before we've talked to a single NPC.
Going deeper, the Solarian middle class concerns itself solely with maintaining their status, having no knowledge of the havoc their nation wrecks on the surface and passively reap the rewards of its deeds. The Ethos exists to pacify the surface's general populace into being unaware of their oppression while funneling resources and funds to Solaris. Miang effectively MK-Ultra's Elly into almost blowing up the Yggdrasil. A tenant of Ramsus' backstory is how originally he advocated for reform within Solaris' political system before becoming subsumed by it, something all too common in our current political era. The entire conflict between Solaris and Shevat could be compared to the conflict between America and any socialist country (and I believe there is some dialogue from Shevat NPC's that emphasizes this comparison but I failed to write it down). And of course it's telling that Bart's decision upon taking control of Aveh is to abolish the monarchy and essentially establish a people's republic after overthrowing the Solaris-funded puppet government headed by Shakhan. The comparisons abound and I'm surprised more people haven't touched on these elements, and I think it's important that besides possibly Final Fantasy Tactics I can't recall a game from this era where a lot of its world-building is so centered around exploring labor and class structure.
I believe there's more to be said regarding the tragedy of Fei and Elly's backstories and how it relates to its ideas on the passage of time, ideas even hinted at in the game's excised theme "Stars of Tears." The section in Disk 2 where Fei regains his memories as Elly's plea for him to keep living echoes through time is the most singularly moving sequence I've yet encountered in a video game, the moment that blows the medium wide-open in its potential for conveying narratives, and this will have to transition into why exactly Disk 2 is as brilliant as it is, but that may all have to wait for yet another write-up after I've gathered my thoughts a bit more. Needless to say I think the focus on the extremely obvious allusive elements in critical writing on this game is disappointing considering just how much there is to unpack regarding its story.
Now I do not believe that this game necessarily has anything new or meaningful to say when it comes to Lacan, Jung, Freud, and Gnosticism, but it doesn't matter because the narrative is not about those things in the first place, nor does it give pretense to commenting on those subjects; in the same way that Evangelion doesn't really have anything meaningful to say about Christianity or the Kabbalah, but instead uses the associated imagery and symbology to accentuate the collapsing psychological state of its protagonists, Xenogears uses such subjects in a similar manner but to serve a story less about killing God and the literal fracturing of a human psyche into separate personalities and more of a requiem for all the people whose lives have been crushed by oppressive systems whose breadth and scope was beyond their comprehension, and about the tragedy of the passage of time, of the struggle of two souls to find happiness in a world where the people that control it no longer believe happiness is possible, and because of this they bring the world to near-oblivion. Yet it is also about how only through the progression of time can the path to actually destroying those systems be found.
In this, there's something to be said for how Xenogears' politics manifest within the narrative; the most obvious real-life parallel people come to when talking about story's antagonists is between the nation of Solaris and Nazi Germany, but an even more cogent comparison could be made between Solaris and the American Empire. Upon entering Solaris, Fei is confronted by a clean, almost sterile, consumerist environment that, to an outsider, would look utopian, and this façade is emphasized by Yasunori Mitsuda's bouncy, light-hearted musical theme accompanying it. Of course this "utopia" is built atop the back of an abused labor class forced to live in purely functional, beehive-like housing (it should be noted that subtlety is a fake idea), at the mercy of police robots and under constant surveillance. And it's important that we're presented with the plight of Solaris' labor force before we are shown the façade itself, because upon entering the musical theme immediately takes on an ironic quality, and we implicitly understand the ignorance at the heart of Solaris' middle class before we've talked to a single NPC.
Going deeper, the Solarian middle class concerns itself solely with maintaining their status, having no knowledge of the havoc their nation wrecks on the surface and passively reap the rewards of its deeds. The Ethos exists to pacify the surface's general populace into being unaware of their oppression while funneling resources and funds to Solaris. Miang effectively MK-Ultra's Elly into almost blowing up the Yggdrasil. A tenant of Ramsus' backstory is how originally he advocated for reform within Solaris' political system before becoming subsumed by it, something all too common in our current political era. The entire conflict between Solaris and Shevat could be compared to the conflict between America and any socialist country (and I believe there is some dialogue from Shevat NPC's that emphasizes this comparison but I failed to write it down). And of course it's telling that Bart's decision upon taking control of Aveh is to abolish the monarchy and essentially establish a people's republic after overthrowing the Solaris-funded puppet government headed by Shakhan. The comparisons abound and I'm surprised more people haven't touched on these elements, and I think it's important that besides possibly Final Fantasy Tactics I can't recall a game from this era where a lot of its world-building is so centered around exploring labor and class structure.
I believe there's more to be said regarding the tragedy of Fei and Elly's backstories and how it relates to its ideas on the passage of time, ideas even hinted at in the game's excised theme "Stars of Tears." The section in Disk 2 where Fei regains his memories as Elly's plea for him to keep living echoes through time is the most singularly moving sequence I've yet encountered in a video game, the moment that blows the medium wide-open in its potential for conveying narratives, and this will have to transition into why exactly Disk 2 is as brilliant as it is, but that may all have to wait for yet another write-up after I've gathered my thoughts a bit more. Needless to say I think the focus on the extremely obvious allusive elements in critical writing on this game is disappointing considering just how much there is to unpack regarding its story.
Xenogears more like Kinogears.
I'm going to be honest with you: the gameplay is some of the worst I've seen in a JRPG yet. It's genuinely bad in nearly every way, to the point where I'd let out an audible groan every time the cutscenes ended and I had to actually play the game again. The on-foot combat itself is boring; all you legitimately do is spam each characters strongest deathblow or heal. Gear combat is slightly better about this, especially in boss battles, though. There's no sense of resource management either, since you just stock up on a ton of Omegasols (which fully heal you) for cheap and use them as needed. Dungeon design ranges from being merely passable to being downright tedious (the final dungeon, the sewers, and the tower), which is mostly owed to the random encounter rate being way too fucking high. You won't get any satisfaction from progression and "building" your party members either, since its extremely linear and the height of customization is "use the deathblows and equipment with the biggest stats". At the very least though, gear customization is waaaay better about this.
We've established that the gameplay is a completely joyless 40+ hour endeavor, so what makes Xenogears good? The story. It was engaging from the very beginning, and stayed engaging all throughout... for the most part. It was so engaging that it prevented even me, who often cannot stress the important of satisfying gameplay in games, from dropping it. It could use better pacing though, since the game definitely drags at times. The dogshit gameplay only serves to pour salt in the wound when it happens.
Then you get near the end of Disc 1, and you understand why people call this game a masterpiece. The narrative removes its limiters, and cranks shit up to 11. Disc 2 arrives, and elevates Xenogears to KINOgears. It's easily the best part of the game (and anyone who says otherwise is an idiot) for two reasons. First, the narrative gets even crazier; if the end of disc 1 is an 11, the end of disc 2 is a fucking 20. Truly some wonderful shit. Second, and more importantly, Takahashi ran out of time and rushed the shit out of it. In his rush, he forgot to include much gameplay in disc 2. And this is nothing short of a modern miracle.
Now I know I made a big deal out of how bad it is to play, but again, I do honestly think it's a great game, and I'd recommend it; it would simply be remiss of me to not make sure you know what you're getting into. Make sure to actually play it though. I don't want to see anyone do any goofy ass Persona 5 fan youtube shit, alright?
We've established that the gameplay is a completely joyless 40+ hour endeavor, so what makes Xenogears good? The story. It was engaging from the very beginning, and stayed engaging all throughout... for the most part. It was so engaging that it prevented even me, who often cannot stress the important of satisfying gameplay in games, from dropping it. It could use better pacing though, since the game definitely drags at times. The dogshit gameplay only serves to pour salt in the wound when it happens.
Then you get near the end of Disc 1, and you understand why people call this game a masterpiece. The narrative removes its limiters, and cranks shit up to 11. Disc 2 arrives, and elevates Xenogears to KINOgears. It's easily the best part of the game (and anyone who says otherwise is an idiot) for two reasons. First, the narrative gets even crazier; if the end of disc 1 is an 11, the end of disc 2 is a fucking 20. Truly some wonderful shit. Second, and more importantly, Takahashi ran out of time and rushed the shit out of it. In his rush, he forgot to include much gameplay in disc 2. And this is nothing short of a modern miracle.
Now I know I made a big deal out of how bad it is to play, but again, I do honestly think it's a great game, and I'd recommend it; it would simply be remiss of me to not make sure you know what you're getting into. Make sure to actually play it though. I don't want to see anyone do any goofy ass Persona 5 fan youtube shit, alright?
I would sacrifice my firstborn for a remake of this with everything Takahashi originally wanted to add
Xenogears has one of the best JRPG plots of all time, it's dark and mysterious. The soundtrack is great too.
Although I enjoy the battle system without gear, the gears are quite sloppy for me, even more in the beginning of the game that we don't have much control on them.
The game didn't age well with the camera system, that gets annoying with the sense of direction or to find a simple door. Also the jumps are boring and irritating in some missions (like in Tower of Babel).
It's such a shame that in the CD1 we have a normal gameplay with no cuts, it's smooth in its own way. But as soon as the CD2 comes in, the game turns into a visual novel almost, telling the story and alternating with boss battles and some annoying puzzles here and there.
The overall impression is still quite positive due to the great story and fun cast of characters. It's quite ahead of its time.
Although I enjoy the battle system without gear, the gears are quite sloppy for me, even more in the beginning of the game that we don't have much control on them.
The game didn't age well with the camera system, that gets annoying with the sense of direction or to find a simple door. Also the jumps are boring and irritating in some missions (like in Tower of Babel).
It's such a shame that in the CD1 we have a normal gameplay with no cuts, it's smooth in its own way. But as soon as the CD2 comes in, the game turns into a visual novel almost, telling the story and alternating with boss battles and some annoying puzzles here and there.
The overall impression is still quite positive due to the great story and fun cast of characters. It's quite ahead of its time.
the most 90s anime sci fi thing ever
could use gameplay maybe
could use gameplay maybe
Incredible game even with the infamous issues with disc 2
Xenogears stood as JRPG's premier monolithic sci-fi epic. If anything, the game is a showcase of long, visually appealing cutscenes that almost serve to dispose of the typical village/dungeon JRPG progression. Having fully embraced their acrobatic style of storytelling, Square now seeks to stretch it to new levels, inadvertently splitting their game into one disc of JRPG modulated by heavy use of excellent cutscenes, and another disc of an almost egregiously-linear cinematic experience, punctuated with random skill checks. While effective, these moments sometimes feel too scripted and render much of the RPG elements meaningless, making combat feel like an afterthought in the grand scheme of things. Rich as the game's characters, world-building, dialogue, and scenes may be, the psychological elements were a lot more interesting than the main plot, despite the numerous themes laid about. As far as scale and variety go, Square's cutscenes were unmatched.
The combat system was surprisingly unique given its lack of emphasis - built around estimating chance with a heavier degree of resource management/partitioning damage, and ends up much more involved than the norm. The special combos dilute some of the interest, but deathblows and AP management make boss fights more engaging. Gear battles are a little lesser, but the fighting mini-game area battles was a welcome surprise. However, dungeons were ultimately somewhat tedious despite standing out conceptually. Overall, Square's propensity for drawn-out, epic length stories is on full display here for better and for worse. Parts of disc 1 and (especially) disc 2 could be trimmed down to produce a masterpiece. As it is, this is Square at their most talented, ambitious and varied, but also at their most self-indulgent. Xenogears didn't so much revolutionize JRPGs as they helped add a new dimension to cutscene arrangements and abstract storytelling.
The combat system was surprisingly unique given its lack of emphasis - built around estimating chance with a heavier degree of resource management/partitioning damage, and ends up much more involved than the norm. The special combos dilute some of the interest, but deathblows and AP management make boss fights more engaging. Gear battles are a little lesser, but the fighting mini-game area battles was a welcome surprise. However, dungeons were ultimately somewhat tedious despite standing out conceptually. Overall, Square's propensity for drawn-out, epic length stories is on full display here for better and for worse. Parts of disc 1 and (especially) disc 2 could be trimmed down to produce a masterpiece. As it is, this is Square at their most talented, ambitious and varied, but also at their most self-indulgent. Xenogears didn't so much revolutionize JRPGs as they helped add a new dimension to cutscene arrangements and abstract storytelling.
Takahashi, Saga and company the -GOATS- for this one. So original yet so timeless, so overambitious yet so well-realised. A real piece of work, so much so they've been using it as a blueprint for the last 20 years and counting, the more down to Earth Xenoblade Chronicles 2 being the Omega to this Alpha of a game, and all the better for it.
Nothing says genius storytelling as entering a dungeon, realising you are low on hp and mana despite coming from your hub ship which is where the game taught you hp and mana get healed whenever you enter it, so backtrack out of the dungeon, enter the ship, move the ship away because you can't enter its quarters when it's too close to the dungeon, then traverse the hangar, the elevator, the hallway, find the guy who'll let you sleep (he talks a lot, requires an input to confirm the healing and then some seconds of black screen have to pass for it to happen), then out of the sleeping room, back through the hallway, back through the elevator, into the deck, talk to the navigator who has some unimportant shit to say (because of course he has), move the ship back close to the dungeon, exit the ship, enter the dungeon, get back to the point you were before, fall down in the water and repeat all the platforming because this game was made by the creators of Bubsy 3D.
The story might be as genius and full of potential as a book from James fucking Joyce, but if that's really the kick just watch evangelion or read a fucking book. Most of the other games usually compared to books with dogshit gameplay (like planescape) at least allow you to skip through most of the gameplay if you just want to do the story.
The story might be as genius and full of potential as a book from James fucking Joyce, but if that's really the kick just watch evangelion or read a fucking book. Most of the other games usually compared to books with dogshit gameplay (like planescape) at least allow you to skip through most of the gameplay if you just want to do the story.
this game is the worst thing i ever have liked
worst gameplay ever though
Edit, a few months later: working on xenogears fan project Hm yeah maybe it wasn't so bad after all
worst gameplay ever though
Edit, a few months later: working on xenogears fan project Hm yeah maybe it wasn't so bad after all
buried under inspired half-baked turn based combat, cookie-cutter dungeon design, and pathetic difficulty spikes, is the best JRPG ever made.
If only this game's gameplay was in any way bearable