Review
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Xenogears ties the 'Best RPG' slot for me! This game has one of the most
elaborate, interesting, incredibly hard to understand, enigmatic plot I
have ever seen in a RPG. If Square makes sequels or games of this depth,
the words 'Final Fantasy' wouldn't need to be uttered. In fact, I think
the title of 'Final Fantasy' would fit well for this game.
Brought to you by the same team that developed the great SNES game 'Chrono Trigger' (which I don't have,) the game is of unexplainable property. The storyline is by far, one of the best ever. Since the story line is soooo elaborate, I wll simply review the other parts of the game. The game play is unique by how RPGs go. There are two ways to battle: in gears (robots about the size of a windmill) and in man-to man/monster/ghost/angel/other. It's not simply 'Attack' anymore, you instead select from either one, two or three AP (Attack Point) attacks or 10, 20 or 30 Fuel units for Gears. You can also choose to use a weaker attack and accumilate AP (or 'Attack Level' in gears) to unleash a deadly combo. Magic is now called 'Ether', and you learn these by gaining Experience Points and levels. Unlike most RPGs, there's a lot of reading and thinking, so this ain't for the normal fight n' play RPGer. It's probably better for a more anime fan type of person. Now on to graphics. This game uses 3D rendered backgrounds that can be rotated with little sprites that can jump, reminicent of old school 2D. A down side to this is that the settings are less solid and the sprites tend to become pixilated, but these pessimistic views give in to other things. For instance, because of the turnable screens, it allows for more elaborate dungeons and puzzles that don't just involve looking for switches or keys. The FMVs... The first disk has only about five minutes of hand drawn anime then a whole crud load on disc two. The wonderful, although terribly dubbed, anime cutscenes were done by the same people who did the famous anime series (which also includes BIG robots, and I mean skyscraper, King Kong, Godzilla size BIG,) Neon Genisis Evangelion (which I want to see), and the move Ghost in the Shell. Now the sound. Other than the bad dubbing of the FMVs, everything else is great. The music, done by the same person as, again, 'Chrono Trigger', is great. Though some have said the music is repetitive, I completely disagree. The music may sound similar, but if listened to carefully, there are some differences in arrangement, speed and some other musical stuff you probably wouldn't understand. And oh yeah, the sound is pretty good, too. Over all, this game is a lot like an RPG-style interactive anime movie. I would love to see a full motion picture of this game. Even more than that CGI Final Fantasy one! This game does feature religous strain and some other stuff some religious people may not like. It also suprised me that it was the only SquareSoft PSX RPG that has the main male and female characters get some action (no, it's not shown!!) All in all, what the hell are you doing staring at this screen. If you like RPGs or good anime movies, get your ass out of here and git a copy!! (And if you don't have a PlayStation, go get one!) |