I'm not sure what I can really say that hasn't already been said by someone, somewhere else. The story is obviously the main draw here, and it is incredible, but there's a lot more to love here as well.
The decision to make the game 3D with 2D characters really pays off. In-engine cutscenes are numerous throughout and are a cut above its contemporaries' pre-rendered ones, sometimes even Xenogears' own. The cinematography and direction of some of these are very well-done. The spritework and character portraits are beautifully done, as well.
Another thing I appreciate about the visual design in general is the verticality and sense of scale. There's always stuff in your way, from ceiling fans to overhanging pipes to bridges. Even later fully-3D JRPGs don't often play around with perspective and scale to the degree Xenogears does.
The towns are among the best in any JRPG I've ever played, so full of character and life. Every NPC has something interesting to say, and there are tons of little easily-missible moments scattered throughout. One of my favorites was a merchant in Av who tries to haggle with you if you wait too long before giving a response. There are tons of moments like this in all 8 or so major towns and cities.
The dungeons unfortunately are rather bland, with the exception of Babel Tower. If they weren't going to design these as thoughtfully as all the other locations, they should have been trimmed down a bit.
Yasunori Mitsuda's score elevates the entire experience. Continuing the trend from Radical Dreamers, Xenogears' score is a bit more subdued than Chrono Trigger's, but it sets the mood perfectly... sometimes. It's quite a shame the soundtrack is so short for a game of this length because some scenes lose their impact a bit due to repeated track usage.
The combat isn't anything to write home about, it's just there to give you something to do. The UI makes it look more complicated than it really is. There's ATB bars for some reason, but the system is actually standard turn-based. You can ignore all the gear combat UI stuff, none of it affects anything. Saving up your AP to do multiple moves in one turn sounds like a great idea until you realize the damage doesn't scale, so it's useless outside of the 1 or 2 bosses that heal themselves a lot. Gear combat is more interesting on paper since you have to be careful managing your fuel, but in practice it means you'll only be using your most efficient moves. I do at least appreciate the plethora of game-breaking gear to be found in this game, it's kind of a lost art. JRPGs today are too afraid to have things as insane as Ether Doublers and Speed Shoes.
This is a game you play for narrative and presentation first, so thankfully while the combat is undercooked, it never gets in the way, either.
Stories are a bit more subjective to talk about, so I'll just say this is the kind of story that only gets better the more you experience it and the more you read into its allusions and inspirations. While we never saw the full 6-part Xenogears story realized, the way Xenogears unfolds and dilvulges its secrets, including bits from previous parts, I think ends up working in the game's favor. Perhaps my favorite quality of it simply the structure of the plot, which feels like you're slowly unraveling things layer by layer.
Well worth checking out if you enjoy story-focused RPGs, there's nothing quite like it, not even Xenosaga. Runs great on DuckStation, and there are mods you can get to speed up text boxes and provide other QOL features if you so choose.
The decision to make the game 3D with 2D characters really pays off. In-engine cutscenes are numerous throughout and are a cut above its contemporaries' pre-rendered ones, sometimes even Xenogears' own. The cinematography and direction of some of these are very well-done. The spritework and character portraits are beautifully done, as well.
Another thing I appreciate about the visual design in general is the verticality and sense of scale. There's always stuff in your way, from ceiling fans to overhanging pipes to bridges. Even later fully-3D JRPGs don't often play around with perspective and scale to the degree Xenogears does.
The towns are among the best in any JRPG I've ever played, so full of character and life. Every NPC has something interesting to say, and there are tons of little easily-missible moments scattered throughout. One of my favorites was a merchant in Av who tries to haggle with you if you wait too long before giving a response. There are tons of moments like this in all 8 or so major towns and cities.
The dungeons unfortunately are rather bland, with the exception of Babel Tower. If they weren't going to design these as thoughtfully as all the other locations, they should have been trimmed down a bit.
Yasunori Mitsuda's score elevates the entire experience. Continuing the trend from Radical Dreamers, Xenogears' score is a bit more subdued than Chrono Trigger's, but it sets the mood perfectly... sometimes. It's quite a shame the soundtrack is so short for a game of this length because some scenes lose their impact a bit due to repeated track usage.
The combat isn't anything to write home about, it's just there to give you something to do. The UI makes it look more complicated than it really is. There's ATB bars for some reason, but the system is actually standard turn-based. You can ignore all the gear combat UI stuff, none of it affects anything. Saving up your AP to do multiple moves in one turn sounds like a great idea until you realize the damage doesn't scale, so it's useless outside of the 1 or 2 bosses that heal themselves a lot. Gear combat is more interesting on paper since you have to be careful managing your fuel, but in practice it means you'll only be using your most efficient moves. I do at least appreciate the plethora of game-breaking gear to be found in this game, it's kind of a lost art. JRPGs today are too afraid to have things as insane as Ether Doublers and Speed Shoes.
This is a game you play for narrative and presentation first, so thankfully while the combat is undercooked, it never gets in the way, either.
Stories are a bit more subjective to talk about, so I'll just say this is the kind of story that only gets better the more you experience it and the more you read into its allusions and inspirations. While we never saw the full 6-part Xenogears story realized, the way Xenogears unfolds and dilvulges its secrets, including bits from previous parts, I think ends up working in the game's favor. Perhaps my favorite quality of it simply the structure of the plot, which feels like you're slowly unraveling things layer by layer.
Well worth checking out if you enjoy story-focused RPGs, there's nothing quite like it, not even Xenosaga. Runs great on DuckStation, and there are mods you can get to speed up text boxes and provide other QOL features if you so choose.