Chocobo812's Full Review: Xenogears for PlayStation 1
When many people hear the word Square Soft, they think of the name Final Fantasy, Square Soft's most popular series to date. Not many would think of Xenogears. Only Square's die-hard fans even know of Xenogears. But those die-hard fans are in for a wonderful surprise if the decided to pick this puppy up. This game is probably the best game out for Sony's Play Station. I would say it was perfect, but it isn't due to two annoying negatives things about this game. They are as follows:
1. The graphics, when zoomed in on, become real blocky. This wouldn't be that bad if it didn't happen every time you entered/exited a door...
2. The storyline is very complicated due to mediocre translation.
But before I go into depth about those things, I'll talk about what makes this game wonderful.
Many game developers these days concentrate on how the graphics look in there games. Even though everyone knows the saying 'Don't judge a book by it's cover,' not many actually follow that idea. If you were to see two games sitting next to each other on a display rack, and you knew nothing about those two games but what was displayed on the C.d. cover, you'd most likely choose the one with the better graphics. For some reason, many associate good graphics with good games. So they assume the game with better graphics had a larger budget, and most likely will be better than the 'other game.' That's a bad idea. Don't assume that. Other wises you'll pass up a game like this for ::shudders:: Fighting Force, a game that can be beaten in under 45 minutes.
Lets get back on track....Though Xenogears characters sprites may get ugly time from time, they can typically offer more emotion then a polygonal character could. Also, the cut-scenes in this game are spectacular. This is how many of the game's key twists in the plot unfold through. That or one of their cool 'anime' scenes.
Next issue: Game play. No matter how you face it, this is what makes a game (basically) good or bad. It doesn't matter if a video game has the most intriguing storyline ever, if its boring to play no one will want it. If it has a horrible storyline and bad graphics, but is fun to play, many will still play it. And that's what this game offers. Great and nonlinear game play. You have always either fight in character form or in giant machines called 'Gears'. You learn combo's (a huge, huge amount) that do differ in damage, depending on their complexity. Since it's like playing two separate games, this game can hardly ever get boring.
And this brings me to the next topic, storyline. The game play dictates whether the game will be good or bad, the storyline will decide if the game is great or horrible. And in this game, it has a great battle system and a long, complicated, wonderful storyline. These are the two reasons why Xenogears is a game everyone should own. The storyline stars Fei Fong Wong, a man not sure of his past, in the city of Lahan. Two continents have been at war for many years now, most people don't even remember why. One, Ignas, is the one you live in. One day the town is attacked by giant gears, and the city is helpless. Fei jumps in an empty gear, takes out the enemy gears, and then after a freak accident destroys the town killing many. After Fei wakes up, the town (or what's left of it) kicks you out, saying you are to dangerous to keep around. Like many other RPG's, you travel the world, meet many allies and foes, and ultimately have a showdown with the super villain of the game. The storyline is a hellova lot better than how I explained it. Too accompany this game's greatness is to be talked about next.
The sound: Now, many are thinking, 'sound? What's sound got to do with anything about video games?!? I could play a video game without any sound!!' Can you really? Try playing a game on mute. It takes away soooo much from a game. The music sets the mood for the game. Also, this game features a few parts with voice acting. And let me tell you this, you ain't gonna find any better then this in any video game.(except Lunar)But back to music. Its wonderful like most everything in this game. It even sounds orchestrated in some tracks. I am sure many people that have bought this game, have also bought this game's OST. (Original sound track)
All in all, it comes down to this: Do those con's about this game make it unplayable? Well, it really doesn't, unless you put a big emphasis on the graphics, then it might. The storyline complexity isn't too bad, as long as you play it through again, which many of you will LOVE doing.
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