Should I play Xenogears?

It's one of the most important RPGs on the original PlayStation. Of course you should play it, even if it's not completely in line with your tastes.

Yes. Yes you should play it. The second disc thing is over exaggerated. It could've been better, but I think they were pressed for time at that point. But it really is a great game. Some of the best story telling in an RPG. Very intelligent and will make you think, although it can be a bit confusing at times. Still a wonderful gem. I'm glad I own a physical copy of it still.

Well, Xenogears is my favorite JRPG that i have ever played. What i love is that its characters have so much depth, personality and a great script in general, so much so that it blows away anything out there, as far as good, fleshed out characters go. It sure as hell crushes anything written in a Final Fantasy game, for example. 

Its story is also fantastic, dabbling with religion, psychology and many other aspects. Now obviously, if you have a psychology degree you'll notice many inconsistencies with the story since it tries to get into a very complex subject matter. It's still extremely interesting, half the reason why i played was for the story, afterall. The soundtrack is extraordinary, and fits so well with the many memorable moments that i've encountered in the game.  

The first disc is a masterpiece. I loved it from start to finish. The second disc cuts a major portion of the exploration, and focuses more on the action, with novel-like cutscenes in-between explaining and advancing the plot. It's far shorter than the first disc, so i had no problem finishing it. It was worth it for the brilliant, awe inspiring ending alone. 

Yes, you should absolutely play it. It is a very unique mecha - RPG. It starts slow because it's extremely long (took me 68 hours to finish), but after about 7 - 10 hours, i was completely hooked. I wish i could erase my memory and replay this fantastic game once again.

Do you like JRPGs? Do you like deep stories in your RPGs? And, finally, but possibly most importantly: Do you like giant robots?

If you answered yes to all 3 of these questions, then you ABSOLUTELY MUST PLAY XENOGEARS!

Yes, I would recommend it to anybody. I played it for the first time just 2 years ago and it wowed me even then. I think the story goes on for far too long (and gets a little bit too nuts) which is why I was thankful that the 2nd disc is sort of summarized. In the very beginning it might remind you of RPGs that you've played before but it'll become apparent that it's one of the most unique games you'll ever play. You owe it to yourself to play it based on that reason alone.   

It really isn't anything special. It's one of the few PSX RPG's I never bothered to finish and I owned it back then. They really needed more time to develop their story scenes more, the lacks of flowing animations for their sprites makes everything look to mechanicle.

Its really on the level of Suikoden 1, an well that isn't bad, its just not all that amazing either.

Even the best RPGs have flaws, but this game is simply perfect in its presentation. No angsty teens or forced-on goofiness, just a bunch of complex characters and deeply intriguing story. Also the game is long but there is a lot of dialogue thats written wonderfully.

It really isn't anything special. It's one of the few PSX RPG's I never bothered to finish and I owned it back then. They really needed more time to develop their story scenes more, the lacks of flowing animations for their sprites makes everything look to mechanicle.

 

Its really on the level of Suikoden 1, an well that isn't bad, its just not all that amazing either.

Valknut4

[QUOTE="Valknut4"]

It really isn't anything special. It's one of the few PSX RPG's I never bothered to finish and I owned it back then. They really needed more time to develop their story scenes more, the lacks of flowing animations for their sprites makes everything look to mechanicle.

 

Its really on the level of Suikoden 1, an well that isn't bad, its just not all that amazing either.

Jakandsigz

Spites? I actually didn't realize the game had used sprites with that budget for the game. I lost a bit of expectation there, but the game still might be good if I try it. Not too fond of sprite based Jrpgs with a few exceptions.Jakandsigz

Sprites are great when done right ala Breath of fire 3 & 4, or they fit the build like Saga frontier. They really seem out of place outside of the battle system which is fantastic btw, takes legend of legaia to a whole other level. The games story to me wasn't all that hot. When I think of a great story on PSX I think FFT, when I think of a great RPG thats long an worth the play through I think of Star Ocean, when I think of a great RPG with amazing side quests I think of Tales of Destiny 1 & 2 or FF7, and when I want something unique I think of Parasite eve. Xenogears has great things to it, none of them were very mind blowing though.

An there will be a point when you are playing through it when you will not want to keep playing. It really does start to drag. 

[QUOTE="Valknut4"]

It really isn't anything special. It's one of the few PSX RPG's I never bothered to finish and I owned it back then. They really needed more time to develop their story scenes more, the lacks of flowing animations for their sprites makes everything look to mechanicle.

 

Its really on the level of Suikoden 1, an well that isn't bad, its just not all that amazing either.

Jakandsigz

[QUOTE="Valknut4"]

It really isn't anything special. It's one of the few PSX RPG's I never bothered to finish and I owned it back then. They really needed more time to develop their story scenes more, the lacks of flowing animations for their sprites makes everything look to mechanicle.

 

Its really on the level of Suikoden 1, an well that isn't bad, its just not all that amazing either.

Jakandsigz

Sprites? Those have aged way better than the blocky polygons of that era. I don't see why sprites should be a problem at all? 

[QUOTE="Jakandsigz"][QUOTE="Valknut4"]

It really isn't anything special. It's one of the few PSX RPG's I never bothered to finish and I owned it back then. They really needed more time to develop their story scenes more, the lacks of flowing animations for their sprites makes everything look to mechanicle.

 

Its really on the level of Suikoden 1, an well that isn't bad, its just not all that amazing either.

Jag85

Sprites? Those have aged way better than the blocky polygons of that era. I don't see why sprites should be a problem at all? 

I just got to the infamous 2nd disc yesterday after 50 hours of play and let me tell you... It's even worse than what I heard! All my love for the game disappeared just like that, I don't even think I'm gonna finish it because is just so freaking tedious. You just read and read and read and then you fight for 5 minutes and then you read and read again and again... It's literally like reading a book, a badly written book where the info is too summarized and compressed to even make any sense out of it the easy way without the help of the internets. Just in the first 15 minutes of the 2nd disc there is more plot progression than in the first 10 hours of the first disc....

Way to ruin what was supposed to be a great game.  :cry: 

Most agree that the philosophy and psychology in the game isnt exactly scholarly stuff but its does pose a lot of questions in an already complex story.GulliversTravel

I just got to the infamous 2nd disc yesterday after 50 hours of play and let me tell you... It's even worse than what I heard! All my love for the game disappeared just like that, I don't even think I'm gonna finish it because is just so freaking tedious. You just read and read and read and then you fight for 5 minutes and then you read and read again and again... It's literally like reading a book, a badly written book where the info is too summarized and compressed to even make any sense out of it the easy way without the help of the internets. Just in the first 15 minutes of the 2nd disc there is more plot progression than in the first 10 hours of the first disc....

Way to ruin what was supposed to be a great game.  :cry: 

Gue1

[QUOTE="GulliversTravel"]Most agree that the philosophy and psychology in the game isnt exactly scholarly stuff but its does pose a lot of questions in an already complex story.rawsavon

Isn't it like 4 million hours long?

[QUOTE="Jag85"]

[QUOTE="Jakandsigz"] Spites? I actually didn't realize the game had used sprites with that budget for the game. I lost a bit of expectation there, but the game still might be good if I try it. Not too fond of sprite based Jrpgs with a few exceptions.Jakandsigz

Sprites? Those have aged way better than the blocky polygons of that era. I don't see why sprites should be a problem at all? 

If you were talking about PS1 sprites, then I could understand somewhat, but even Saturn sprites too? If you think the PS1 & Saturn sprites look "atrocious", then the blocky polygons on those systems look like complete garbage in comparison. I don't see how anyone could prefer barely comprehensible blocky polygons over clearly drawn sprites, but to each his own, I guess.

[QUOTE="Jakandsigz"][QUOTE="Jag85"]

Sprites? Those have aged way better than the blocky polygons of that era. I don't see why sprites should be a problem at all? 

Jag85

If you were talking about PS1 sprites, then I could understand somewhat, but even Saturn sprites too? If you think the PS1 & Saturn sprites look "atrocious", then the blocky polygons on those systems look like complete garbage in comparison. I don't see how anyone could prefer barely comprehensible blocky polygons over clearly drawn sprites, but to each his own, I guess.

Yes

It is one of the best RPGs I've ever played, I actually rank it next to Chrono Trigger as one of the best.

You do realize you are the one that brought up polygons and made that assumption and not me right? I never once said I preferred anything.Jakandsigz

You can only have sprites or polygons. If you don't want sprites, then that obviously means you want polygons. Simple logical deduction.

[QUOTE="Jakandsigz"]You do realize you are the one that brought up polygons and made that assumption and not me right? I never once said I preferred anything.Jag85

You can only have sprites or polygons. If you don't want sprites, then that obviously means you want polygons. Simple logical deduction.

Sprites that are in most PSX rpgs and in some cases Saturn Jrpgs, look atrocious

[QUOTE="Jag85"]

[QUOTE="Jakandsigz"]You do realize you are the one that brought up polygons and made that assumption and not me right? I never once said I preferred anything.Jakandsigz

You can only have sprites or polygons. If you don't want sprites, then that obviously means you want polygons. Simple logical deduction.

Sprites that are in most PSX rpgs and in some cases Saturn Jrpgs, look atrocious

Actually, most old-school adventure games also rely on sprites. It's very rare for an old-school adventure game to rely exclusively on bitmaps without any sprites on top. Either way, I don't see what relevance it has to RPG's, which only use sprites or polygons (or wireframes if you count some of those early 80's RPG's).

Anyway, I wasn't trying to attack you for your preference. I was just curious why you found PS1 sprites such a big turn-off and didn't feel the same way about PS1 polygons.

[QUOTE="Jakandsigz"][QUOTE="Jag85"]

You can only have sprites or polygons. If you don't want sprites, then that obviously means you want polygons. Simple logical deduction.

Jag85

Sprites that are in most PSX rpgs and in some cases Saturn Jrpgs, look atrocious

Actually, most old-school adventure games also rely on sprites. It's very rare for an old-school adventure game to rely exclusively on bitmaps without any sprites on top. Either way, I don't see what relevance it has to RPG's, which only use sprites or polygons (or wireframes if you count some of those early 80's RPG's).

Anyway, I wasn't trying to attack you for your preference. I was just curious why you found PS1 sprites such a big turn-off and didn't feel the same way about PS1 polygons.

[QUOTE="Jag85"]

Actually, most old-school adventure games also rely on sprites. It's very rare for an old-school adventure game to rely exclusively on bitmaps without any sprites on top. Either way, I don't see what relevance it has to RPG's, which only use sprites or polygons (or wireframes if you count some of those early 80's RPG's).

Anyway, I wasn't trying to attack you for your preference. I was just curious why you found PS1 sprites such a big turn-off and didn't feel the same way about PS1 polygons.

Jakandsigz

Fair enough. Sounds like a good enough reason to me.

Xenogears is a very good game. Xenogears contains many areas to explore, a good battle system, and a unique and memorable soundtrack. Also, the characters and story are acceptably original. The second disc of Xenogears is mostly about story instead of gameplay due to budget limitations. The plot of Xenogears is one of tne best in gaming. Finally, there are side quests and secret stuff. BranKetra

[QUOTE="BranKetra"]Xenogears is a very good game. Xenogears contains many areas to explore, a good battle system, and a unique and memorable soundtrack. Also, the characters and story are acceptably original. The second disc of Xenogears is mostly about story instead of gameplay due to budget limitations. The plot of Xenogears is one of tne best in gaming. Finally, there are side quests and secret stuff. Jakandsigz

See, I'd love to play this game, seeing as older RPG's are one of my favourite things to play. Unfortunately it was never released in Europe, and after searching for information I found out that I can't even get it on the PSN store here :(

It's interesting to hear what it's like from different people who have played it though. Especially with all the different opinions people have on the game!