32_Footsteps's Full Review: Xenogears for PlayStation 1
If anything is screaming "cheesy Japanese culture," it's giant robots. Well, maybe that and men dressed in rubber monster outfits. But your standard role-playing game doesn't touch the big hardware, preferring the much more scaled combat of people and weapons you can carry. But let's face it, sometimes, you want role-playing thought combined with good old mechanical strength.
Square, ever alert to the desire of role-playing fans to spend money, has decided to fill this relative void by creating Xenogears. At first, due to content in the game, Square was planning on passing on this translation. I'm not quite sure why they decided to bring it over, but they did. And we ought to be glad for that.
The story starts with Fei, an amnesia victim who quickly finds his village attacked by a giant robot, called a Gear. It is pursued by other robots, and Fei climbs into one fallen black Gear to defend his village. Something goes wrong, however, and the village is destroyed. Knowing only that his destiny is tied with the Weltall, the Gear he pilots, Fei sets out to find the truth about the Gear.
Along the way, Fei meets several people, and he can never be sure who to trust as the intrigue about both his forgotten past and his Gear build. What are the Anima Relics, and why are they being sought? Who is Id, and what connection does he have with both Grahf, the malevolent entity that seeks Fei's power, and the Weltall? Finally, who is Miang, and what side does she take in all of the events? The story has many layers, and you might want to write down who does what so you can keep track of it all. Sadly, this game does not have the option to review the story as Final Fantasy Tactics did.
The graphics are very pleasing. They are all pixels, and they depict the characters well. The pixels for the regular characters are a bit small, and as a result they can look grainy, but the Gears look fine. The world itself is a bit angular, seeing as you can change the view through the game. In all, no polygonal confusion that most games nowadays put you through.
The battle system is fairly strong, but not perfect. You get a certain number of 'action points' to use for a fight, and you input button presses to do combinations. Certain combinations, if used frequently, will result in your character learning a combo, which does extra damage. Not only that, but if you use small combos, you can save up unused action points for a very large and damaging combo in the end. However, it can be frustrating trying to get a certain combo. Adding to this is that one character, Billy, uses ammunition for his attacks. You can't reload in a fight, and you can only use one his three attacks if you run out of all ammunition. And some of his combos eat ammunition like Wheaties.
Compounding this problem is the situation with the battle system is the magic, or 'ether.' It is rather limited, and not very useful due to its high cost and small effect. There are very few pure attack spells, and one character has to use two turns and two spells to cure everyone in the group. Items and fighting attacks are the best way to go.
In terms of character development, this game is excellent. Most of the characters get a great deal of characterization, and the villains receive their own fair share. However, some of it is rather adult, and there are two scenes that are fully adult. In one, two characters are shown post-coitum. In another, they suggest that two different characters get to know each other in the biblical sense. Obviously not for the immature.
The images the game presents are wonderful, and I bet a student of psychology and Kabbalah could find much to study in this game. Knowing a tiny bit of psychology and passingly familiar with some very basic Kabbalah concepts, I have seen several references to both, including Id, Anima, Acthzhen, and several more. I think a programmer for the game was in the midst of a graduate thesis while making the game. This adds tremendous depth, especially if you know what these terms mean.
However, the game does have one serious flaw - the second disc. While the game progresses as a standard role-playing game for the first disc, in the second disc they gloss over the story and project the characters into boss battles immediately. While this is nice for those wanting to see the story, it can be frustrating since you can't level up between major fights. Frustration sets in rather quick, unless you thought ahead and level an extreme amount before the second disc.
In the end, one of Square's finest efforts since coming over to the Playstation. The game is made for mature people, who are ready to put deep thought into a game and understand that sexual situations aren't just to register cheap responses from hormonal fans. For that, the game is rather well-made. This game obviously isn't for everyone, as not everyone is ready to deal with some of the issues brought up in the game. However, if you are ready for such a game, step back and look into your mind. You may find it more alien than anything outside.
Xenogears provides the elements that made Final Fantasy VII popular, and adds original features such as giant fighting robot action, dramatic hand-dra...More at eBay
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