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Best Game for Story and Overall for Playstation

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: August 17, 2000
Author: Amazon User

As a diehard Playstation gamer I have beaten all but a few of the RPG's made for the Playstation. My favorites are typically those made by Squaresoft, due to quality in the visual effects and engrossing storyline. Several months ago I was looking for a solid RPG to play and I spotted Xenogears. None of my friends had played it, but it looked interesting. While I was playing it I was blown away by the storyline, it is a classic tale of right and wrong based on biblical references and contains countless plot twists and ethical undertones. Most of the time that I spent away from the game I would be thinking and wondering about what would happen next. Anyone who enjoys anime and RPG's will love this game. However I would not recommend it to someone who has never played an RPG before. It is incredibly intense and contains gameplay aspects that require a decent amount of experience with RPG's to master. Good Luck and Enjoy.

Greatest of all time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: March 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is bar none the most rewarding RPG experience I have had in my life, even more so than the flawless FFVI and FFVII. With the release of FFXII coming up in only months, I feel like I should tread back into the past and relive this incredible adventure once again.

I'm not going to get into technical details, because those have been regurgitated over and over again. The story in this game is just so perfectly written, I have to give it five stars no matter how the game itself ended up. I'm a writer myself, so when it comes to deep, well written characters and plot, I'm a sucker. Every character, with the exception of the worthless Chu-Chu, has a deep and interesting backstory, most of which are explored in detail as the game progresses. The way the characters react to their given cirumstances always makes sense. The entire first disc of this game is just incredible. Like every other entry in the Xeno series, there is intense political intrigue, flashbacks, a massive conspiracy brewing underneath the surface that has to do with the ultimate fate of mankind, a number of religious symbols and religious overtones. In fact, the good vs. evil aspect of the story really has a thin line drawn in it; both sides play each other carefully and even turn on their own factions. Lets just say the enemies you start out having never end up being the entire opposition. Then we get to the second disc.

To make this clear to everyone that does not know, the creator Tetsuya Takahashi had this planned as a six-episode series, with Xenogears being episode V (why start with 5 I have no idea). But then due to the project going overbudget and other problems he had with Square, the project was cut short and the second disc became what it is. Disgruntled, Takahashi left Square and started Monolith, in which he restarted the series with Xenosaga (the first episode being exactly the game he wanted to make and then the second being a chopped-up version of his original story script). It seems that once again he was screwed over, and the series is ending after Ep. 3 is released. A truly sad thing. Hopefully, he had the tenacity to have a series of books written to fully encompass this massive and incredibly told story.

Basically, I want people who are new to the Xeno universe to know that the gaming itself may not be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but the story makes up for any other shortcoming. You will NOT be disappointed in that department, and with the total play time of 60+ hours guaranteed your first time through, what is there not to like? Actually, I did wish there were more towns to visit around the world (I think were maybe ten or so at the most).

One of the greates stories ever told.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: September 04, 2001
Author: Amazon User

My review's title is no joke, I'm serious with this one. Xenogears and Final Fantasy VII are two of the greatest stories EVER told, and do not laugh when I say I rank them along with many other classic stories of epic proportions. (Tolkien's mythical Middle Earth, Homer's Odyssey and Iliad, Dante's Comedy, Herbert's Dune Chronicles and many others)

Opening with an enigmatic quote (Straight from the Bible, I believe) and a mysterious prologue, the game tales the story of Fei, a young artist and martial arts expert who seems to remember nothing of his life except for a blurred memory of his arrival to the village where he now lives. He is often praised by the villagers as a good, honest and hard working man with a humble and warm heart, a trait that has earned him the love of almost everyone in the village.

But one day, when enemy forces (The village is located on a war torn continent) accidentally fall under the village, Fei's life is transformed forever, an event that will change the fate of the planet forever.

This game is one of the three games (The other two are Final Fantasy VII and FF VIII) that are very dear to me, not only because of the storyline, but because it has sentimental value for me as well. I played this game when I was passing through a very difficult time in my life (Existential problems. I still have them but now I have a lovely girlfriend who cares about me) and found much comfort on this game and was surprised of just how much I could relate to. Do not be fooled, this game deals with many important issues, such as depression, happiness, friendship, hate, vengance, corruption and the Nature of the Universe. But most importantly, the search of one's Raison D'être.

As an atheist, I found this game magnificent, it just agrees with my naturalistic philosophy. Christians, do not be fooled: even though this game deals with the corruption of the Church and the whole God business as well, it still has a wonderful message. Some of my Christian and Catholic friends say that if viewed from a certain angle, it is in fact a pro-God game. (I still believe it isn't) In any case, that is not the important message of the game.

Now that the PS2 is out, another Xenogears game is coming out. Is it gong to be a sequel or a prequel? You need to play Xenogears to find out.

The Best RPG ever created for playstation and before

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: November 21, 2000
Author: Amazon User

First of all I have to say that this is probably the best RGG ever created(yes people I even think better than Chrono Trigger) although both were great. This game, tops them all in so many ways, for example, the story is fanaminal, unlike most other RPG's which go by a story more based around the fighting and graphics, this one the writers had a blast in the story for the most part. And even better, where other games put emphasis on, Xenogears still doesnt lack. Its battle system was greatly developed with a system of battle I have only seen simalarities arise in the new, Chrono Cross, which is still quite different. IN Xeno Gears, the battle system goes by points for attacking. Each button on the paddle is designated to a specific strength of attack and a number of points to fit according. The more points the more buttons you can hit, the more damage possible. After a while certian button combonations can be done that will result in a 'deathblow' or combo that will do an increasing amount of damage, and a really cool looking attack. Another special feature to Xeno Gears which I have not seen in any of the other multi character RPG's, (any of the FF's, Chrono's, or even Star Ocean, the second story, just for some examples) your character has a new plane of interaction with its enviroment by allowing the character to jump in dungones and all other places, except the world map. Back to the battling, all characters have spells, which are obtained through the old but good method of, earn a level, earn a spell. Each character also has there own unique set of spells. Although the characters are sprite based, and 2D, although not bad, the game again went to another level, with adding 3D battleing when in 'gears' or as would be compared to in other known, games shows/movies, as mobile suites, gundams, mechs, basically giant humanoid robots piolted by the characters. Although this game does seem to have a pretty straight path of the story, only one ending, some battles you are meant to loose, no matter how strong you are you will loose, So I recomend you play every battle like you can win, and if you die on a boss, let the game over sequience come up, you may be surprised, it may not be over! Dont get me wrong though, I know I said this game isn't based around the intriquite and great battleing system, but more emphasis is in the story, the only reason I dont describe it as much as the battling, is beacuse the battleing can be described, where as the story speaks for its own great ness, and to describe it would give away the plot. Although, the story does have some deep religious tones(not toward any religion in general, but the basic belife in a god), and some sexual innuendo, it just adds to the story, and makes it that much better if not taken in offence. All in all this is a must have game for any RPG'er or gamer alike. ....

This is absolutely the best game ever.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: July 19, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Xenogears is definitely the best game ever. Like everyone else says, the story is incredible. I hate RPG's for the most part, because the stories are never interesting (and I HATE dungeons in games) so I never finish them. Xenogears was different. The story is what drove me on. Also, the boss battles are great. I actually started to enjoy going through the boring dungeons because of my knowledge that more of the story would be unraveled at the end. I can't express how much fun I had playing this game. FF7 was ok, but the story was NOTHING compared to Xenogears. I hated ff8 (I just couldn't get into it, though it was visually amazing). FF3 was good, but the graphics bothered me. Xenogears is just amazing. Buy it! I pray that square will someday release another game of Xenogear's nature. (Perhaps a sequel; or a prequel... a prequel would rock) BUY IT

This game deserves more credit

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: January 09, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Xenogears was overshadowed by Final Fantasy VII, and needs more recognition than it gets. It has a great story with lots of characters, good music, and a creative battle system that gets us out those boring menus used in so many other RPGs. Xenogears has other new ideas for RPGs, such as a controllable camera angle and the ability to jump on the field screen. Jumping might not sound like much, but it makes the dungeons and towns much more open, and can give us puzzles that rely on timed precision jumping. By no means is this game better than FFVII; the graphics are lacking (especially in battle), and I'm sorry to say that the magic system is terrible. However, Xenogears is a great game for any RPG fan.

Stand tall and shake the heavens

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: May 16, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Xenogears is a stellar game with an interesting, involving story. Make no mistake, Xenogears is a massive game. It is so huge and complex that it could easily have Final Fantasy 7 and 8 for breakfast and ask for seconds. Here is where most people falter. Struggling with a behemoth of a game and not knowing what the hell is going on, they give Xenogears a bad rating. Those that can hack it know better. Patience is a virtue, and it is needed in this game. Xenogears contains all the right elements for an awesome anime movie. It's confusing but fast paced and exciting. It involves solving the hero's mysterious past and his connection with a religious figure. The religious element is a nice touch, but it's not the entire story. There's so much more involved. Mixed in with the hero's story is a much larger story about war, military conspiracies, giant machines, genetic experiments, sacrifices, a mysterious evil, and the origin of everything. Then there are surprises, lots and lots of surprises. This game will make you go "Whoa!" and "Huh?" a lot of times. But for the patient gamer, everything will be revealed but only at the very end. This makes this game more rewarding than Final Fantasy 7's relatively simple tale of destroying the bad guy. The battles are fast and furious. There's very little need for beefing up the characters until they're ready for the next section like in Final Fantasy. This is because the characters can pretty much hold their own and most battles take place in the machines, which can only be upgraded with parts. Thus, more strategy is involved than simply "beefing up." This makes this game very hard. The magic system is kinda useless, but this is balanced by the game's furious kung-fu style combat. No more waiting for long spell and guardian force sequences to do my dirty work. I wanna kick butt! Fortunately, this game let's me do that. If there's any downside to this game, it's the large amount of narration in the second disk. Other than that, this game's a gem. As for the lousy graphics, lousy graphics don't matter much if the story is so great. The hand drawn characters look pretty much like the characters in Guardian Heroes, another great game. Guardian Heroes and Xenogears are a testament that graphics don't matter if the game is so appealing.

The the near-perfection of the storytelling RPG genre.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: July 04, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I heard that this game was good, but I had no idea of its excellence when I purchased it. No game has drawn me in so deeply. It was like a book that I couldn't put down. The game excels in practically every area. The plot of this game is simply excellent.

The game deserves its teen rating not for any gore (only blood is shown, not gore) but for its extremely complex, depressing, yet hopeful story. The plot twists and turns so suddenly that you never know what to expect next. To describe the plot would be to spoil it. Describing the plot without revealing spoilers could give many false impressions. For the record, Xenogears is not "...staged on a human colony far in the future" as the featured GameSpot review suggests. The plot alone warrants the purchase of this game, but the battle system is also intuitive.

There are far less individual commands in the Xenogears battle system than in most other RPGs. Instead, the characters learn "deathblow" moves, which are activated by different presses of buttons when you choose to attack. As you use different button combinations while attacking, you eventually learn new "deathblow" moves. Make no mistake; this is not a "fighting" game. The focus on the attack command is a welcome relief from other RPGs that focus primarily on extravagant long-winded attacks. Other commands still exist, but you will find that the game emphasizes its "fight" command more than most other RPGs do. The gear battles offer far less options than the character battles. Instead, the purchasing of new parts and upgrades is the main focus of using gears. The gears can use some deathblow moves after the piloting character learns them. The only complaint I have about the battle system is that as you approach the end of the game, the gears become the focus. As a result, the battle difficulty exponentially increases. Since the only way to upgrade the gears is through purchasing upgrades and accessories, upgrading near the end of the game becomes tedious. Another irritation is the sheer number of random battles that occur. In most areas of the game, however, it is possible to run from any unwanted battles making that complaint moot.

Despite the many complaints about the sprites or the pixelation of the graphics, I found that the graphics of Xenogears are excellent. The camera rotation makes up for any graphical loss due to the use of 3D areas. Some of the technological areas of the game are reminiscent of Star Wars, with giant metal structures and cavernous interiors with seemingly bottomless pits. The areas that you explore are quite immense, and you may get lost occasionally. To ease that frustration a compass is always displayed and you can obtain maps for certain areas. Limited jumping skills are needed to get past some obstacles but it isn't as tedious as it could be.

The music is simply brilliant. I am biased, since I am a fan of Yasunori Mitsuda, but the music always seems to fit the mood. Most of the sound effects of the game are appropriate, but some of the ambient sounds can get irritating. In particular, there is a "danger alarm" that certain ships in the game use. This blaring alarm overshadows everything else going on in the game, even the music. Despite the atrocious alarm, most of the sound effects are appropriate.

Xenogears is simply a masterpiece. The story, music, and battle system are excellent. The graphics are more than adequate and the sound effects are appropriate for the most part. If you like complex science fiction stories and RPGs then Xenogears is for you. If you do not like reading or the RPG genre, then Xenogears is most definitely not for you. Most of the second disc consists of narrative sequences, and you will probably have to play through the second disc, and perhaps even the fist disc, multiple times to understand everything that happens. There is little exploration to be done on the second disc because the plot elements that occur are simply too important. The second disc focuses almost entirely on the story, and if you hate reading you WILL hate it. Could Xenogears have been a book? Yes, but it makes a far better game.

This game is great

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 18, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Out of the many RPGs I have played, I must say that Xenogears still remains one of my favorites. The characters are memorable, the special battle system is fun and new, and the atmosphere is 3D and original, but the story is where the game truly shines. I must admit that at first it seems linear, but the story twists at the perfect time. The Animes, although very short, were really well done. The only thing I was not too keen on was that sometimes the graphics were too pixely for my taste. I was happy that the playing time was so long because short RPGs never fulfill me. Fighting in the humanoid gears really kicked. I've played through the game twice and will probably play through it again and again. I totally recommend this game to anybody who is a fan of the genre, I'm sure that after playing Xenogears, those who are not will be.

The RPG to end all RPGs

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 17, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Where should I start? This RPG is rivaled by no other game. The story is brilliant and thought-provoking. The characters are more than memorable (wait until you meet Krelian). While the graphics and gameplay aren't exactly the best, the story more than makes up for it. Xenogears is one of the greatest stories ever told. If you like RPGs or are a fan of huge, involving stories in your video games, pick up XG immediatley. You WON'T be sorry, I can promise you that.

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