The Official Xenogears Appreciation Thread

This is for the fans of Xenogears, and I figured I would start this thread because Xenogears comes out on PSN tommorrow. Oh yeah also as if its not a big week for my Favorite game of all time, in Japan this week Myth: The Xenogears Orchestral Soundtrack is coming out. Thanks to Yasunori Mitsuda we are getting our third Xenogears soundtrack as well. So being a huge fan that owns the other two albums, Cried and the OST, and the Perfect Works book, I am curious to see how you guys appreciate this amazing game.

If you are new are you getting this game? If not are you getting it or why do you appreciate this game so much? One thing too about the game I see alot of best romances in game lists around this time of year, around Valentines day, and I see everything from Tidus and Yuna to Double Dragon on these lists, but where are Fei and Elly? IMO their love story is the best ever told in a game.....anyone agree, or disagree with that?

Thanks for the news about its PSN release! Thats good news - I lent my copy to a 'friend' in 2006 and I never got it back. Lesson learned - its $50 used on Amazon right now.

Xenogears is also my favorite game of them all - never have I had such an experience before or after. The music, the story, the gameplay, and all the little extra details that you encounter come together to create the most immersive and engaging RPG ever made. And to think it was never finished!

I am still in awe of this game. Time to go shake down an old classmate of mine.

Xenogears had a great beginning and is worth playing just for that... There are better RPGs but Xenogears is still 8 to this day (aged relatively well as RPGs tend to). I appreciate the game for its atmosphere and its gameplay was fine. For me what stops it from being a 10 is how the story is told imo.Banjo_Kongfooie

I assume in how its told you are talking about the Second Disc Correctly?

Was going to start a new thread, but I'll ask here: What exactly is the big deal with Xenogears? I mean, I've never played it (though I'm most certainly going to check it out tomorrow) (so no spoilers), so why all the big wuss? Almost as if there was another Final Fantasy PS1 game being released.tjoeb123

Well I got Xenogears the day it came out way way back in October 1998. So back in that day, there was alot of things about that game that blew me away. Now to be honest, I was huge on Final Fantasy VII back in those days than I played Xenogears and that really had an impact on how I view gaming. The thing about Xenogears was its Mature, dark, and beautiful story....I mean looking back at it, I am surprised this game did not get a mature rating as there are plenty of dark content, both subtle and just outright. Now mind you back in that fall two games did overshadow Xenogears in terms of popularity, they were Ocarina of Time and Metal Gear Solid, however to me Xenogears took the maturity level higher than even MGS in terms of its story. Every character in the main cast is fleshed out, there is quite frankly the best love story of any game I have seen, and of course its very cool gameplay which uses a jump button not common in many rpgs, and how there are basically two ways to fight enemies, in Gears and out of Gears. The game also blew me away at how frank it was in portraying Sex, and what not. Trust me the story may be a bit hard to follow at the end, but once you beat it, you will understand it.

[QUOTE="Banjo_Kongfooie"]Xenogears had a great beginning and is worth playing just for that... There are better RPGs but Xenogears is still 8 to this day (aged relatively well as RPGs tend to). I appreciate the game for its atmosphere and its gameplay was fine. For me what stops it from being a 10 is how the story is told imo.TheTrueMagusX1

I assume in how its told you are talking about the Second Disc Correctly?

I actually like the cutscenes I just feel that its dialogue did not feel right and the story could have been a little more clear.

[QUOTE="TheTrueMagusX1"]

[QUOTE="Banjo_Kongfooie"]Xenogears had a great beginning and is worth playing just for that... There are better RPGs but Xenogears is still 8 to this day (aged relatively well as RPGs tend to). I appreciate the game for its atmosphere and its gameplay was fine. For me what stops it from being a 10 is how the story is told imo.Banjo_Kongfooie

I assume in how its told you are talking about the Second Disc Correctly?

I actually like the cutscenes I just feel that its dialogue did not feel right and the story could have been a little more clear.

I will confess it is my favorite game of all time, I know its not perfect. I do think the game could use a newer translation, remember even in those days Translations were a little more to be desired for. FFVII, and Star Ocean are other games that suffered from imo poor translations....Xenogears was better than those two, but it was worded a bit strange at times.

Xenogears is a gem that I have yet to play. I know, shame on me. I put off getting it these last few years as Xenogears is one of the more pricey PS1games; $40 I know, but I'm cheap bastard :P . So, yeah I'll definitely be picking it up off of PSN.

Was going to start a new thread, but I'll ask here: What exactly is the big deal with Xenogears? I mean, I've never played it (though I'm most certainly going to check it out tomorrow) (so no spoilers), so why all the big wuss? Almost as if there was another Final Fantasy PS1 game being released.tjoeb123

Basically every JRPG game pails in comparison to Xenogears. It's beyond genre. It made me, a person who hated the JRPG trend for 15 damn years, to a person that likes them. I first played Xenogears in 2008.

I'll copy-paste a older post of mine ->

How many games deal with a story about the origin of mankind, that is so deep, so intriguing, so massive, that you're simply not going to understand it all even after multiple play throughs.

You can discover a history to the people of the game world that goes back tens of thousands of years, where intergalactic events from eons ago have prolonged, lasting effects on the people you interact with in the present. The way that the writers of this story started with such humble beginnings, and then later managed to link these simple events to a much larger, broader, and deep story is truly mind-blowing.

It is trully sad that no remake is available, because kids are going to pass off this masterpiece due to the outdated PS1 visuals.

[QUOTE="TheTrueMagusX1"]

[QUOTE="Banjo_Kongfooie"]Xenogears had a great beginning and is worth playing just for that... There are better RPGs but Xenogears is still 8 to this day (aged relatively well as RPGs tend to). I appreciate the game for its atmosphere and its gameplay was fine. For me what stops it from being a 10 is how the story is told imo.Banjo_Kongfooie

I assume in how its told you are talking about the Second Disc Correctly?

I actually like the cutscenes I just feel that its dialogue did not feel right and the story could have been a little more clear.

I think that if it were to take greater efforts to be clear, it would be patronizing and lessen the impact of the storytelling. Maybe it could be a little confusing, but if you knew you were playing something that required paying attention to ... it's not so bad.

I own Xenogears (imported from the US) , and sadly I didn't play it as much as I should.

from what I did play it seems like a good game, though admittedly I didn't play enough to give an honest opinion.

and I still can't understand why Xenogears isnt being released on the PAL PSN , even if the game never got released here, Sony could bring it over.

[QUOTE="tjoeb123"]Was going to start a new thread, but I'll ask here: What exactly is the big deal with Xenogears? I mean, I've never played it (though I'm most certainly going to check it out tomorrow) (so no spoilers), so why all the big wuss? Almost as if there was another Final Fantasy PS1 game being released.Lucianu

Basically every JRPG game pails in comparison to Xenogears. It's beyond genre. It made me, a person who hated the JRPG trend for 15 damn years, to a person that likes them. I first played Xenogears in 2008.

I'll copy-paste a older post of mine ->

How many games deal with a story about the origin of mankind, that is so deep, so intriguing, so massive, that you're simply not going to understand it all even after multiple play throughs.

You can discover a history to the people of the game world that goes back tens of thousands of years, where intergalactic events from eons ago have prolonged, lasting effects on the people you interact with in the present. The way that the writers of this story started with such humble beginnings, and then later managed to link these simple events to a much larger, broader, and deep story is truly mind-blowing.

It is trully sad that no remake is available, because kids are going to pass off this masterpiece due to the outdated PS1 visuals.

Well said good sir, well said....Xenogears is a beautiful game....

I agree good sir, you are absolutely right!!!

I own Xenogears (imported from the US) , and sadly I didn't play it as much as I should.

from what I did play it seems like a good game, though admittedly I didn't play enough to give an honest opinion.

and I still can't understand why Xenogears isnt being released on the PAL PSN , even if the game never got released here, Sony could bring it over.

Darkman2007

Ya well, you guys have Vagrant Story on PAL PSN and we don't so I think it's a fair trade :P

[QUOTE="Darkman2007"]

I own Xenogears (imported from the US) , and sadly I didn't play it as much as I should.

from what I did play it seems like a good game, though admittedly I didn't play enough to give an honest opinion.

and I still can't understand why Xenogears isnt being released on the PAL PSN , even if the game never got released here, Sony could bring it over.

AcidSoldner

Ya well, you guys have Vagrant Story on PAL PSN and we don't so I think it's a fair trade :P

[QUOTE="Darkman2007"]

I own Xenogears (imported from the US) , and sadly I didn't play it as much as I should.

from what I did play it seems like a good game, though admittedly I didn't play enough to give an honest opinion.

and I still can't understand why Xenogears isnt being released on the PAL PSN , even if the game never got released here, Sony could bring it over.

AcidSoldner

Ya well, you guys have Vagrant Story on PAL PSN and we don't so I think it's a fair trade :P

Yeah I hope we get Vagrant Story soon as well. None the less, hey Sony is bringing Japanese only PSX games here, so they can do the same for the PAL region as well.

[QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]

[QUOTE="Darkman2007"]

I own Xenogears (imported from the US) , and sadly I didn't play it as much as I should.

from what I did play it seems like a good game, though admittedly I didn't play enough to give an honest opinion.

and I still can't understand why Xenogears isnt being released on the PAL PSN , even if the game never got released here, Sony could bring it over.

Darkman2007

Ya well, you guys have Vagrant Story on PAL PSN and we don't so I think it's a fair trade :P

Aww, that's a shame. I only played a few hours at a friends but I really enjoyed it and have been waiting for a North America PSN release.

Plus, I'm a huge fan of Yasumi Matsuno's work.

[QUOTE="Darkman2007"][QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]

Ya well, you guys have Vagrant Story on PAL PSN and we don't so I think it's a fair trade :P

AcidSoldner

Aww, that's a shame. I only played a few hours at a friends but I really enjoyed it and have been waiting for a North America PSN release.

Plus, I'm a huge fan of Yasumi Matsuno's work.

[QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]

[QUOTE="Darkman2007"] I can easily trade, I didn't like Vagrant Story. had it, didn't like it, gave it away to a friend :PDarkman2007

Aww, that's a shame. I only played a few hours at a friends but I really enjoyed it and have been waiting for a North America PSN release.

Plus, I'm a huge fan of Yasumi Matsuno's work.

You never played Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre?

It's about time you made a thread like this truemagus!

All in all, Xenogears is a great game! It, along with other memorable RPGs on the PSX, are some of the best memories of my youth. Xenogears is also an interesting game in my life because I found it through a friend. One of my best buds was came over with a new game one day, and I started watching him play it and lo and behold it was Xenogears. I was just in awe of the sweet fighting system, whether it be in the gear or out. The story is absolute genius, but the fighting system is really what got me hooked, it just felt so interactive and involved, one of the reasons why I was like Legend of Legaia as well.

This thread made me think about popping it in again, but I'm finishing up my Master's degree, and that is pretty much going to be taking up my disposable time for pretty much the remainder of the winter, spring and summer.

[QUOTE="Darkman2007"][QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]

Aww, that's a shame. I only played a few hours at a friends but I really enjoyed it and have been waiting for a North America PSN release.

Plus, I'm a huge fan of Yasumi Matsuno's work.

TheTrueMagusX1

You never played Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre?

Was just about to ask the same question.

And FFXII is my favorite Final Fantasy :cry: , I'm on my 3rd playthrough lol

But we all have different tastes I suppose :P

[QUOTE="TheTrueMagusX1"]

[QUOTE="Darkman2007"] well the only 2 games I played where he was involved were Vagrant Story and FF12..... I didn't like either :P though to its credit, I did play FF12 for many hours (I got to a place called the Phon Coast before getting sick of the game)AcidSoldner

You never played Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre?

Was just about to ask the same question.

And FFXII is my favorite Final Fantasy :cry: , I'm on my 3rd playthrough lol

But we all have different tastes I suppose :P

First off what is not to like about Vagrant Story Darkman2007..?

Oh and I did not even know Xenogears was made by the guy who was deeply involved in Vagrant Story.

And Acid credits to your willpower... FFXII is a long game.

[QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]

[QUOTE="TheTrueMagusX1"]

You never played Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre?

Banjo_Kongfooie

Was just about to ask the same question.

And FFXII is my favorite Final Fantasy :cry: , I'm on my 3rd playthrough lol

But we all have different tastes I suppose :P

First off what is not to like about Vagrant Story Darkman2007..?

Oh and I did not even know Xenogears was made by the guy who was deeply involved in Vagrant Story.

And Acid credits to your willpower... FFXII is a long game.

[QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]

[QUOTE="TheTrueMagusX1"]

You never played Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre?

Banjo_Kongfooie

Was just about to ask the same question.

And FFXII is my favorite Final Fantasy :cry: , I'm on my 3rd playthrough lol

But we all have different tastes I suppose :P

First off what is not to like about Vagrant Story Darkman2007..?

Oh and I did not even know Xenogears was made by the guy who was deeply involved in Vagrant Story.

And Acid credits to your willpower... FFXII is a long game.

FFXII is a long game but that's just because there is just so much awesome stuff to do :P

[QUOTE="Banjo_Kongfooie"]

[QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]

Was just about to ask the same question.

And FFXII is my favorite Final Fantasy :cry: , I'm on my 3rd playthrough lol

But we all have different tastes I suppose :P

TheTrueMagusX1

First off what is not to like about Vagrant Story Darkman2007..?

Oh and I did not even know Xenogears was made by the guy who was deeply involved in Vagrant Story.

And Acid credits to your willpower... FFXII is a long game.

Considering you hold Xenogears in such high regard, how do you feel about the Xenosaga series? I know they aren't as critically lauded as Xenogears but have recieved a positive response nonetheless.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first one (only one I played), Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht, and while the story was a bit slow at times the combat system kept me coming back.

Hell, how do you feel about Xenoblade and the fact that it may never see US shores?

[QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]

[QUOTE="TheTrueMagusX1"]

You never played Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre?

Banjo_Kongfooie

Was just about to ask the same question.

And FFXII is my favorite Final Fantasy :cry: , I'm on my 3rd playthrough lol

But we all have different tastes I suppose :P

First off what is not to like about Vagrant Story Darkman2007..?

Oh and I did not even know Xenogears was made by the guy who was deeply involved in Vagrant Story.

And Acid credits to your willpower... FFXII is a long game.

[QUOTE="TheTrueMagusX1"]

[QUOTE="Banjo_Kongfooie"]

First off what is not to like about Vagrant Story Darkman2007..?

Oh and I did not even know Xenogears was made by the guy who was deeply involved in Vagrant Story.

And Acid credits to your willpower... FFXII is a long game.

AcidSoldner

Considering you hold Xenogears in such high regard, how do you feel about the Xenosaga series? I know they aren't as critically lauded as Xenogears but have recieved a positive response nonetheless.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first one (only one I played), Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht, and while the story was a bit slow at times the combat system kept me coming back.

Hell, how do you feel about Xenoblade and the fact that it may never see US shores?

Well Xenoblade I donot know much about, but I will be honest I am not to fond of hte Xenosaga games, but I may give them another try some day. I donot know, I just donot feel it had that magic that Xenogears had.

[QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]

[QUOTE="TheTrueMagusX1"] No Xenogears was not made by the same guy that did FFT or Ogre Battle. Xenogears was the brainchild of Tetsuya Takahashi who later went on and created Xenosaga which has similiarities to Xenogears but they are unrelated.

TheTrueMagusX1

Considering you hold Xenogears in such high regard, how do you feel about the Xenosaga series? I know they aren't as critically lauded as Xenogears but have recieved a positive response nonetheless.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first one (only one I played), Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht, and while the story was a bit slow at times the combat system kept me coming back.

Hell, how do you feel about Xenoblade and the fact that it may never see US shores?

Well Xenoblade I donot know much about, but I will be honest I am not to fond of hte Xenosaga games, but I may give them another try some day. I donot know, I just donot feel it had that magic that Xenogears had.

The Xenosaga games have a very different feel to them than Xenogears, but if you'll give them a chance you might find they have their ownbrand of magic that's pretty unique just like Xenogears was. In fact, Xenosaga travels a bit farther from JRPG conventions than Xenogears does which is refreshing.

[QUOTE="TheTrueMagusX1"]

[QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]

Considering you hold Xenogears in such high regard, how do you feel about the Xenosaga series? I know they aren't as critically lauded as Xenogears but have recieved a positive response nonetheless.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first one (only one I played), Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht, and while the story was a bit slow at times the combat system kept me coming back.

Hell, how do you feel about Xenoblade and the fact that it may never see US shores?

hakanakumono

Well Xenoblade I donot know much about, but I will be honest I am not to fond of hte Xenosaga games, but I may give them another try some day. I donot know, I just donot feel it had that magic that Xenogears had.

The Xenosaga games have a very different feel to them than Xenogears, but if you'll give them a chance you might find they have their ownbrand of magic that's pretty unique just like Xenogears was. In fact, Xenosaga travels a bit farther from JRPG conventions than Xenogears does which is refreshing.

Well the imo the first time I played Xenosaga it felt like a chore, and than I just could not feel the second one. But mind you that was well eight years ago when the first came out, so tbh I was younger than. Maybe I can appreciate them now.

[QUOTE="hakanakumono"]

[QUOTE="TheTrueMagusX1"]

Well Xenoblade I donot know much about, but I will be honest I am not to fond of hte Xenosaga games, but I may give them another try some day. I donot know, I just donot feel it had that magic that Xenogears had.

TheTrueMagusX1

The Xenosaga games have a very different feel to them than Xenogears, but if you'll give them a chance you might find they have their ownbrand of magic that's pretty unique just like Xenogears was. In fact, Xenosaga travels a bit farther from JRPG conventions than Xenogears does which is refreshing.

Well the imo the first time I played Xenosaga it felt like a chore, and than I just could not feel the second one. But mind you that was well eight years ago when the first came out, so tbh I was younger than. Maybe I can appreciate them now.

Idk. Maybe you just really don't like them. Personally, I would like nothing more than to see the 2nd story arc come out.

[QUOTE="TheTrueMagusX1"]

[QUOTE="hakanakumono"]

The Xenosaga games have a very different feel to them than Xenogears, but if you'll give them a chance you might find they have their ownbrand of magic that's pretty unique just like Xenogears was. In fact, Xenosaga travels a bit farther from JRPG conventions than Xenogears does which is refreshing.

hakanakumono

Well the imo the first time I played Xenosaga it felt like a chore, and than I just could not feel the second one. But mind you that was well eight years ago when the first came out, so tbh I was younger than. Maybe I can appreciate them now.

Idk. Maybe you just really don't like them. Personally, I would like nothing more than to see the 2nd story arc come out.

Maybe so, I donot know they are cheap though at my Gamestop so I may purchase them.

[QUOTE="hakanakumono"]

[QUOTE="TheTrueMagusX1"]

Well the imo the first time I played Xenosaga it felt like a chore, and than I just could not feel the second one. But mind you that was well eight years ago when the first came out, so tbh I was younger than. Maybe I can appreciate them now.

TheTrueMagusX1

Idk. Maybe you just really don't like them. Personally, I would like nothing more than to see the 2nd story arc come out.

Maybe so, I donot know they are cheap though at my Gamestop so I may purchase them.

Maybe give them another go and post impressions somewhere around here. :P

Back in the 90's, Final fantasy series are the dominant JRPG (not to mention FFVII). But for me, Xenogears is still my favourite. The combat system is different, tekken style, unconventional i would say. Able to mount Gears to explore maps, do battles, awesome. The story is actually massive, they release a book called Xenogears Perfect Work and the game is just a part of the whole. Its also consider dark and content a bit of religious stuff too. Love this game!

Back in the 90's, Final fantasy series are the dominant JRPG (not to mention FFVII). But for me, Xenogears is still my favourite. The combat system is different, tekken style, unconventional i would say. Able to mount Gears to explore maps, do battles, awesome. The story is actually massive, they release a book called Xenogears Perfect Work and the game is just a part of the whole. Its also consider dark and content a bit of religious stuff too. Love this game!

me1on_cho1y

I own a copy of Perfect Works cost me close to three hundred and while I donot read Japanese it is quite worth it to say the least.