Xenogears...a 'broken arrow' that still elevates above all other comers. Still the finest of rpgs, even ten years later.
Xenogears follows a tale no less significant than the very origins of man on the planet of Ignas and his relation to the almighty Deus. The heavy philosophy aside it has an innovative dual combat system that is martial arts based for hand to hand and power driven for excellent mech combat.
You follow the story of Fei Fong Wong, and his now somewhat archetypal amnesiac journey of self-discovery, accompanied always by Weltall; his uber powerful giant mech battlesuit. Yeah I know it sounds like 700 other anime tales, but how many of them involve a schizophrenic hero/anti hero in his equally schizo mech that transforms, changing appearance more often than dancers in a cabaret drag show?
It's here that things stop following the status quo. Over the course of the game you will find most folks start off as enemies. Not all of them end up as friends, but ALL of them find a degree of humanity beyond where their journeys began. And therein lies the real journey's end for the player as well. Xenogears will make you believe in the magic of videogames again. It'll make you care about all the characters, and most importantly remind you why you started playing videogames, as well as give you the affirmation to keep faith in the story of those to come. Xenogears is a story about the best in the human heart, and will show you nearly every way it could possibly be tested.
This is one of my favorite RPG's of all time if you couldn't guess. Let that one sink in if you're wavering on a purchase here. It is ten years later, and still it holds that high esteem. Actually, on second thought don't waste the time pondering it. Just go get this game.