To be honest it might have been a bad idea to save Xenogears for last. I started out with the Xenosaga trilogy, cause I really wanted to learn about KOS-MOS. Then afterwards due to the Summer of Sequels, I wanted to have the Xenoblade games on the Wheel, so I played through all of them. This all leads to now, where I finally got to the game that started everything off. I found myself really enjoying a lot of Xenogears, the story is probably my favorite part of the game, but even still I find there to be some general issues with the game, though not all are issues due to the game itself.
One thing that was immediate to notice in comparison to the later Xeno games was that Xenogears features Random Encounters. It being the only one of the games to feature it, it was somewhat jarring, though of course I wouldn’t be as surprised if I played it first. Though I do have one peeve when it comes to the random encounters though. In particular, there’s like an odd delay that occurs? The music cuts out, and the random encounter starts about a second or two after. But you’re still able to act in that small window of time, and you’re able to interact with objects like doors and chests, though the interaction only occurs after the random encounter. Often, I moved over to open a door to make progress in a dungeon, but even though I interacted with the door, a random encounter interrupted me. It’s not the biggest thing really, but it was just a minor annoyance that never went away.
When it comes to the Dungeons of Xenogears, my feelings generally fluctuate throughout the game. There are some pretty solid dungeons in the game, I honestly really like the Kisvet Sewers, and especially Zeboim. When it comes to the dungeons I like though, the random encounters yet again were a bit of a nuisance, but yet again that’s just me. Though further I got into the game, the more I decided that it was best to fight every random encounter. Full Health healing items were really cheap to buy, and even though they can only be used outside of battle, they were really helpful. I will say though, the dungeons I don’t like, I really don’t like. Particularly I found myself really hating the Tower of Babel and Anima Dungeon 2. For the former, the issue comes from the game’s platforming, and the enemies you find while in the dungeon. Xenogears’ platforming isn’t all that good, and neither is my depth perception, which for a dungeon like the Tower of Babel, is really bad. One missed jump and it’s highly likely you’re brought down to the start of the long platforming segment, and have to do it all over again. Not only that, but the enemies that you have to fight before you get on an elevator respawn if you go through a room transition, and there’s one in the middle of the platforming segment. Most of the enemies that spawn in the Tower of Babel cannot be fled from, which makes the dungeon drag on a lot longer than it feels it should. Overall I just found that dungeon frustrating. On the other hand, I found the puzzles in Anima Dungeon 2 really bad. One of the puzzles broke and I had to restart it, and the other puzzle was just really lackluster. Me going into details on these 2 aside, most of the dungeons in the game weren’t bad and were honestly fun to go through, but I really disliked these 2 in particular.
Combat in this game comes generally in 2 forms. I don’t know if the actual types of combat have names, but it’s easy for me to describe them as “Human” and “Gear”, depending on whether or not you’re riding in your gear. Overall, the combat of the game is really fun, though I think of the 2, I prefer the Human combat for the gameplay, but the Gear combat for the spectacle and presentation.
Human Combat is primarily focused on performing combos. The Triangle, Square, and X buttons all use differing moves of differing powers, and the stronger the move, the more AP it requires. From what I remember, you start out the game with 3 AP, but the further you progress in the game, the more AP you get. By the end of the game, my characters had 7 AP, and I’m under the assumption that that is the maximum. But the more AP you get, the longer your combo can become, and if you do certain combos, eventually you’ll be able to learn Deathblows. I wish there was a moment where it explains how deathblows are learned, though it might be a case of me just missing it. Deathblows are really fun to use, especially as later on the Deathblows you get can be tied to specific elements, which I find really fun. Though at the same time with all of this, actually learning every Deathblow became a hassle. I found myself grinding not to get levels, but to learn Deathblows, as they are integral in combat, both in Human, and Gear combat. It made me prioritize using characters where I have already grinded out their Deathblows, instead of using the ones who haven’t learned theirs, and for Human combat, I actively avoided characters who didn’t have Deathblows. Even though I’ve said all of this, when you don’t have to worry about grinding out Deathblows, they’re really fun to use, especially when they do massive damage.
I really like Gear Combat, though I do have some peeves with it, which is based around Fuel. In actual combat, I think Fuel is a really good mechanic. Every attack uses up an amount of fuel, and you can do certain actions, like healing or using specific attacks. It adds a form of strategy based upon the limited resource. On top of that, there’s an option you can do where you can activate a booster, which speeds up your gears, but costs fuels in order to do so. All of this My issue when it comes to Fuel occurs outside of battle though. I just wish there was a way to restore Fuel outside of battle easier, especially in later dungeons, and points in time where you have to fight multiple bosses in a row. I think the reason why certain bosses are much harder than they would otherwise be is because restoring fuel outside of battle is limited. The actual combat with Gears is pretty solid though. There’s not really combos like in Human combat, and most of the time you’ll only do one attack per turn. Though each attack you use raises your level, and depending on your level, you can use certain levels of Deathblows. Later on, you gain Infinity Level Deathblows, which are absolutely sick when you’re able to pull them off, but there’s a factor of luck for when they activate.
The Boss Fights are really fun, and are probably when the combat is at its best. That’s primarily due to them being noticeably longer than random encounters, so the groove of combat is really able to develop. I definitely think some bosses are noticeably harder than others. One boss very early into the game, Calamity, was really hard when I first ran into it, though that was at a point before I understood how Deathblows worked. Once I did, the fight was noticeably easier. A lot of the late game fights, primarily in disc 2 were noticeably difficult, though I never lost to them. They’re primarily difficult for the reasons I listed in the previous paragraph, back-to-back boss fights on top of limited fuel. But even then, the general presentation and fighting of bosses is really good.
Now after all of this, I finally can talk about the story of Xenogears, which while I have some conflicting feelings with it, I still think the story of Xenogears is amazing. Xenogears has a lot of themes and symbolism, and while I absolutely love it, I can acknowledge the fact that I don’t fully understand everything going on in the game. I really love the cast of Xenogears, though I wish there was a bit more time with them. Billy was one of my favorite characters in the game, though after his main arc, he takes a noticeable step back, not having as much relevance as other characters. I definitely think the character who was hit hardest with this was Emeralda, who seemingly barely got any spotlight even when she was an important character. Looking at the events of the story as well, I really like the game’s actual story, alongside the world of Xenogears. Though with that in mind, I find it unfortunate that Disc 2’s pacing was noticeably a lot faster than Disc 1’s. I’ll explain my thoughts on Disc 2 sometime later though. Most of Disc 2’s events are done through exposition, but the most important parts are the ones that are actually playable. Even still, they’re rather short segments. For general reference, Disc 1 took me about 45 hours, while Disc 2 took me only 10 hours.
Now, Disc 2 is an unfortunate thing to really examine, I feel. By that I mean that Xenogears’ Disc 2 was meant to be a lot more, but due to the meddling, budget and timing restrictions placed upon the team by Squaresoft, they had to minimize what Disc 2 was. From what I’ve heard, all of the exposition that was in Disc 2 was originally planned to be all playable segments, and I would’ve loved to actually play those. Though I want to say, knowing the reasons why Disc 2 is the way it is, I can’t bring myself to knock on the game too much for this. On top of that, I find there to be a bit of charm in the way they present the exposition in Disc 2, though again, the pacing takes a hit due to most of it being solely through exposition.
Even though I have some gripes with Xenogears, I really find myself mesmerized with the game as a whole. Its strengths are absolutely strength, and most of its flaws are excused to Squaresoft’s meddling. The story is amazing, and though I wish some of the main cast had more time to shine, when they do, they’re really great characters. It feels odd finally being done through the Xeno series. I started this whole thing back in February with Xenosaga Episode 1, because of how I spaced them out, it took ten months to finally play through them all. It feels somewhat odd finally being at the end of the road, but that just means I can find a new road to take.

Favorite game of all time. Where had this been my whole life?

I'd started it sometime in mid-2020, got distracted and dropped off in Nortune, restarted it in mid-2021 to play alongside Resonant Arc's Xenogears podcast series (highly recommended for first time players). Suddenly became obsessed with it after finishing Xenoblade 3 in 2022 because it had so much Xenogears influence, making my mind go back to XG again and again.
~~
I'm the kind of person who primarily plays games for the story, gameplay second. In this case, the combat is lacking, but I still enjoy it, both on foot combat and Gear combat.

On foot combat is fun, but eventually gets repetitive with only really using the most recent deathblows acquired. The game doesn't make full use of its own combat system, I think. It needed more difficulty so that you actually make use of more ether spells and items, I think. And make special attacks actually deal more damage than just normal attacking, because why use them instead? That goes for Gear combat as well.

Gear combat is also fun, but in a different way. One thing the game doesn't explain (until very nearly the end, and hidden away in an optional area, no less) is Hyper mode. Some people call it "infinite attack", because its indicated by an ♾ icon in the attack level UI. Recommended to look up how that works after you finish Shevat, as that's when it becomes available to use. Hyper mode adds another whole level of strategy to Gear combat that I completely missed out on during my first playthrough.
Gear combat is largely about managing your fuel, though. Every time its an iron man until the next fuel-up point, basically. (or until you find a Fix Bot or Heal Seraph in combat)

(The best way to play it nowadays is the Perfect Works Build mod. They've done an excellent job reworking the combat, enemies, rebalancing characters, etc, adding more of a challenge. That mod is still in the works, getting updates to this day. It does more than just combat; retranslation, JP voices, FMV subtitles, fast text with no softlocking- and all of the options are stackable, you could have the retranslation with no other changes if you wanted. I highly recommend it.)
~~
The story is where its at, though. Best story in gaming, for me personally. And with the addition of the Perfect Works art/lore book its through the roof. Seemingly endless amount of lore to learn that spans 15,000 years.
There's a reason why its the "inspiration" for the rest of the Xeno games that have come since. Takahashi loves this kind of storytelling and its clear a lot of Xenogears' elements have been reworked and incorporated in different ways into Xenoblade 3.

People gave me a bad impression of disc 2, so I guess since my hopes weren't high it helped because disc 2 is amazing. Just about when Ive gotten my fill of gameplay the story takes over. Then just about when I'm getting the urge for more gameplay disc 2 delivers more exploration and combat.
The cliffhanger of disc 1 and it going straight into the iconic chair sequence and flashbacks of Lacan and Sophia is fantastic. If they ever remade this game that'd HAVE to stay the same. The monologues and music during that scene make me so emotional, honestly.

Of course its not all perfect, any XG fan will admit that freely and easily. It suffers from introducing party members and then basically never using them in the story ever again. The story is very much focused on Fei and Elly with a side of Bart and Citan.

For example, Billy had a pretty good story arc start to finish with a "supporting cast" so to speak of Jessie, Prim, and Stone, but as soon as you're done in Nortune Rico is basically forgotten about and his story's supporting cast only consists of Hammer with a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo from Sigmund. He had so much potential.
Same goes for Maria after you finish Shevat.
As soon as you get Emeralda she is never given much attention ever (until the optional area at the end. the poor girl got the "we've only got 2 flipping years to work on this huge game" short end of the stick. even had her omnigear cut)
And the first time (only time?) Fei and Billy interact its when Billy tells him he doesn't know how to treat a woman. (lmao)
~~
Having a moveable camera, 2D characters in a 3D world, is something I really love. And the 3D maps are beautiful! Of course, it isn't always handled well in gameplay, especially when paired with platforming, but Ive got a lot of patience for old controls and jankiness like that so it doesn't bother me much.

Primarily, I love how they use the camera in cutscenes, the game's cinematography. Specifically the part when Fei wakes up after the opening events and how it pans to Weltall looming behind him, how it shows the camera from over Weltall's shoulder showing its perspective as Fei walks away.
The perspective of the monster in the sewers, using a red or green filter over its vision to foreshadow something, or another similar monster later where its perspective has no colored filter.
The scene right before the end of disc 1, showing events down at the characters' level rather than from high above (keeping this spoiler free).
The transitions from one scene to another like the scene with Fei and Elly where it pans upward to Shevat in the sky, and then back down to Bart elsewhere. Beautiful!
~~
Ive played this game about 2.5 times now. No idea how long I've spent playing it. At least 200 hours so far.
Just recently finished my second full playthrough. Going to be starting another playthrough (with the most recent PW Build mod update) soon-ish because I miss disc 1 so much.


~~
As an aside, I have to shout out the profound impact this game has had on my life.
The amount of external sci-fi this game has gotten me into is unprecedented for me. I wasn't a mecha person before. Now I've got them all over my desk, Takahashi style. Never would've read books like Childhood's End or watched movies like Logan's Run, 2001: A Space Odyssey, or Soylent Green otherwise.
Its gotten me into contributing to the fan wiki, translating pages of PW to have accurate info for english sites, modding the game myself, the list goes on.

Without Xenogears I most likely would've stopped drawing/painting by now, I was nearly to that point of quitting entirely after years of being in a slump, but it inspired me to continue this hobby. And in connecting with the fans online I have had such a great experience. Everyone is so kind.
I am not kidding or overreacting when I say this game has changed my life so much for the better. For me it was that once-in-a-lifetime experience that impacted me to my core, and I didn't even realize it until 9 months after I finished it.

Hades was initially a game I kept an eye on, but wasn't sure if I wanted to buy. Hearing friends talk about the excitement they felt encouraged me to buy it for 5 dollars off on Black Friday sale over other games I was considering and I can tell you right now I was not disappointed!

From top to bottom, Hades is an excellent game. It gets you right into the action with the plot and gameplay as Zagreus, half-human son of Hades, seeking to escape the Underworld for reasons unknown. One thing I appreciate about this game is how it treats the player as intelligent, as it uses smart and strong conversation pieces to establish relationships and dynamics easily in a story you're essentially dropped in the middle of. It only takes 1 or 2 interactions to get a basic understanding of any character while at the same time having pleasurable depth to explore. The game hits the ground running.

Gameplay is crisp and responsive, playing similar to Transistor as an isometric action game but much more smoothly and refined. Dash mechanics have particularly been removed, making the cooldown between dashes feel smoother and reducing the "hitch" it felt like Transistor's dash had. There is a ton of variation for all kinds of playstyles to be represented thanks to not only the greek god's boons but also a multitude of varied weapons with different playstyles, special equippable trinkets to modify what you do, a simple talent tree and other systems which layer on top of a great feeling combat system to add substantial depth to it all. Slashing through hordes of enemies with the blade while timing dashes, your special and your cast is exhilarating and tense.

The rewards of the rooms offer interesting gameplay choices in a variety of ways. There were times I did a run or two without even planning to try to make it out, but instead prioritized nectar rooms for NPC advancement, gemstones for unlockables and so on. Risk-reward management is emphasized and smartly woven into the gameplay. You'll never be screwed over just for making a choice, but you will have to deal with trade-offs and consider situationals. The decision making aspect is also important for the early rooms, as once you advance in skill level they will provide much less threat. Having reasons to approach ordering differently or to consider trade-offs therefor helps keep these interesting even as you get stronger while not being overwhelming to newcomers. It all comes together into an addictive package that I found myself returning to repeatedly even when I booted up my Switch with the intent to play other games.

Layered on top of the top notch gameplay is a strong story, which unfolds over multiple attempts and victories. One way this game feeds into its addictive gameplay loop is by granting you bits of story or character progress with each run: Even if you're not making headway gameplay-wise you'll be making headway into the overall narrative or into getting to explore the characters more. The story itself is pretty nice and feels a lot like one might expect the image of a "greek mythology" story to feel like, it is certainly no coincidence that Sisyphus is an NPC here, which is obviously fitting with the setting. Combine it with top notch character design (all of the gods are some GREAT interpretations!) and snappy dialogue that is pretty much entirely voiced (and this game has a LOT of dialogue, so it is impressive!) and you get a real winner.

My favorite character is probably Achilles. His gentle, weary voice really fits the characterization of a dead warrior looking back at what he's done with a different perspective and you get into his head quite a bit because he is the author of the game's bestiary and glossary which gives more insight. I won't go more into spoilers, but you eventually get to interact with him in more intricate ways as well. Characters can range from the more comedic, like Skelly, to much more straight edge series like Thanatos and helps keep the interactions feeling fresh. But the game keeps a consistent tone thanks to filtering through Zagreus' view and the lovely narrator keeping his drolling voice going. It is all very well done.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the game's graphics and ESPECIALLY its soundtrack! This game has some really good music all around, first time I really noticed is in the first areas boss as "Scourge of the Furies" is a pretty killer boss theme and later on "The Bloodless" also particularly stuck out to me as great, which isn't really a surprise given one thing Supergiant Games has always done well is having killer soundtracks. Who knew lutes and banjos would mix so well with greek rocking? I'll also use this section to give a shout out to the voice actors who really bring the characters to life. From Ares' soft spoken and mild mannered sadism to Achilles' world weariness and Megaera's husky tones. Visually, the game has very lush background art, exceedingly detailed models (to the point where some of the detail can only be seen by zooming in), distinctive character designs and some striking visual effects on things like attacks and item pickups. Even through over 30 attempts it hasn't stopped looking reeeeeally pretty!

For a brief mention of things I found flawed: While the area one bosses get mixed up with time, you never get new bosses for areas two and three. Because of that it can feel a bit more stale at the end. Personally, I wish they had an alternate boss option for those areas for just a little mixing up. While I didn't have a problem with it, clearing the story DOES require multiple runs and that won't be something everyone enjoys. And while I haven't gotten that far, from what I know some of the post-end game dumps for resources are kind of ridiculous. And, yeah, that's about all I've got for issues!

In short: Hades is the kind of game where I recommend playing it and giving it a try even if you aren't a traditional fan of its genre. It blends story with roguelike gameplay in a rather unique manner, the action gameplay itself is incredibly fun and addictive, it has all the bells and whistles of great graphics and music, and I'd say there's little in the way of large flaws.