Xenogears Review! - The Game Collection
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- Опубликовано: 10 май 2018
- In this Xenogears review, SuperDerek examines the PlayStation classic, Xenogears! Xenogears on PlayStation is one of the best JRPGs on the PlayStation made by SquareSoft, but is deeply flawed in its pacing. But Xenogears remains a wonder PS1 RPG!
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I just finished this game 3 days ago,I've been wanting to finish it for 20 years.
Congrats! :)
Awesomeness! I take it you realized you needed the Angel Armor?
It took me a couple tries to figure that one out.
@@FreeRPGer thanks for the tip I just started to play, I'll make a mental note for that.
Well at least you finished the game sooner than Fei finished his break from painting.
gratz! I haven't finished 2nd disc of this game since 20+ years ago..
In an interview a few months back, Takahashi said that the reason Disc 2 was incomplete was because Squaresoft used to have 1.5 year dev cycles as a rule. He managed to talk the president into letting them go a little while longer, but it still wasn't enough time to complete his vision. But he felt really determined to put as much of it in there as possible, so that's why!
My god this game is a masterpiece. Still haven’t played a game since this that gave me goosebumps like this did. This was the first game my cousin introduced me too. He passed away a couple years ago and this review legit had me tearing up. Great review man
YOU'RE FINALLY COVERING XENOGEARS AAAAAHhhhhHhh!
I know this game isn't perfect, but few games have had such a huge influence on me as a person, it really showed me at a young age just how powerful a piece of media can be, and inspired me as both an illustrator and a storyteller.
The fan-art out there for this game is phenomenal. You don't see many games inspire like this these days.
SuperDerek RPGs I think that's why there's been such a huge following for Persona 5, NieR Automata and Xenoblade 2. The games that actually inspire and engage people are actually starting to make a real comeback
Nice review, Xenogears is a game that i play from start to finish every couple of years since receiving it for Christmas as a kid in 1998.
Thanks Johnny! I have games like that too that I've gotta go back and beat again. Earthbound, Terranigma, Chrono Cross...
Yep, I still have my original Christmas copy from 1998 as well. I rented Parasite Eve and played the Xenogears demo many times over. From there Xenogears was at the top of my Christmas list that year. I was in like 10th grade I believe and it was the first year where my parents started spending less on me for Christmas so it was a large chunk of the total amount of money they spent on me. I can say it was definitely worth being my "big" gift that year.
One of my top favorite games of all time and will always be something I hold dear to my heart. It is probably the only game that a true remake of would actually get me to literally cry.
Ah.. christmas 98. Great games were played.
lol I missed that over the top pose with the catchphrase at the end haha
I missed it too! More to come soon. :)
My favourite RPG EVER! Is it perfect? No. Is it complete? No. But my God is it my favourite!
It is the best RPG ever. Period.
Easily my favourite as well.
Not above Star Ocean 2 imo but hell yeah.
I'm pretty sure literally only God knows how much you love Xenogears.
@@Hammy900 trails of cold steel is better
Super Derek reviews are always of high quality. Love it bro. Keep at it, and best of luck in everything you do.
Awesome review. Great choice of song for the wrapping-up/outro parts. Always been a favorite track.
that music box bgm gives me chill
It was a lot of fun hanging out while you streamed this...At some point in time I'm going to have to sit down and play through this masterpiece again.
Awwww yeah, Derek, been waiting for this. I never knew about the pre-production back history to this game, very interesting. When talking about other games, I'm sure a lot of people say "(x game) has one of the greatest soundtracks of all time," so at risk of sounding cliche, Xenogears really has one of the greatest soundtracks of all time. Since the 7th grade, there probably hasn't been a day that's gone by in my life where I haven't had one of the game's tracks play in my head...but then again, I might just be crazy.
Speaking of me just being crazy, but it seems like you've changed up your voice over style a little bit with this one...seemed a bit, I dunno, faster than usual. Anyway, I appreciate the video, bro, really took me back to middle school, and as far as Xenosaga goes...uh, good luck with that one.
I used some post production magic to cut down some of the silence between my sentences. Lots of people say I speak too slowly, so I figured I'd try this as a test. It only trimmed about 30 seconds of audio, but I can really hear the difference. Not sure how it'll be received though. :)
Also, I feel bad for people who *don't* have a Mitsuda soundtrack constantly playing in the backs of their minds. Seems like a dull way to live!
But there is a huge problem with Xenogears soundtrack, It is waaaaayy too short for 80h RPG and surely it feels that way. Sometimes some track are so heavly reused that you quicly get sick of them. Also some tracks are reused is very odd places. Xenogears is simply unfinished.
Jimmy Hapa (Import Gaming FTW!) you guys should check out mikes review over at dark pixel gaming it's the only other review of this calibre. While technically your competition they produce some excellent content and Super Derek may even make a good podcast guest it worked well for daria.
Oh and the audio edits were appreciated superD
Have you seen the Xenogears live concert video (20th anniversary - it took place in April) that was uploaded on youtube a while ago? Sadly it is not listed, so if anyone likes to experience it at least in video form, here the link: ruclips.net/video/xFh2pytm6BU/видео.html
I wish i could have seen it live. That was maybe the best video game concert. Yasunori Mitsuda is a musical genius.
I was really excited to see this episode. Looking forward to more Derek.
More is on the way!
Was looking forward to this review after watching your live streams. Great review Derek well put together
Thank you afficial! Thanks for stopping by the streams and keeping me company! Dragon Quest V soon! :)
This game shook me to my core as a kid.
As a kid, I don't think I would have understood half of the game. As an adult, I'm still not sure I got all of it. :-P
Just read up on some Jungian philosophy and Gnosticism and you should be good. :P
Oh, and Sigmund Freud. Can't forget the ole' Freud..
Same lol
As a kid, I recorded myself playing this game back in 1998 on VHS. The first battle against Ramsus. Man, I wish I knew where that VHS is lol. But I finally completed this game in 2016 lol.
I love the new logo for your channel. It reminds me of mini medals from Dragon Quest.
Thanks man! I've been sitting on this design a while and finally decided to pull the trigger. :)
Very good review man , keep up doing it .
Finally a new superderek video! Still haven't played xenogears but this video got me very excited to do so in the near future
Xenogears and it's lore book are just... God I love it. Easily the most influential game growing up for me.
Yess , i was looking forward for this review man .
Nice one Derek. Good luck with all your endeavours mate 👍
Thanks man! :D
As always awesome video, awesome review, awesome jrpg, glad to see you again greetings from Venezuela Derek
Music is incredible at the start of this video!
Good review. It's been a long time since I've played Xenogears, but this brought back a lot of memories. When I first played it, Xenogears impacted me like nothing else ever had; it quickly became both my favorite RPG and favorite story I'd ever experienced, and it definitely did a lot to shape my interest in video games and stories in general. The only thing I've played since then that has affected me as much is Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth (and if you thought Xenogears had pacing problems, let me tell you about Utawarerumono...).
Even though Square hasn't shown any interest in a Xenogears remake, I'm glad they've shown a bit of renewed interest in it lately; the remastered soundtrack they put out recently is very nice, and there's an upcoming figure of Fei that looks good, too.
Great review! I was thinking the same thing about the pacing, how some parts of the game/characters felt like they could have been cut down, then maybe the second disk wouldn't have been as incomplete as it is.
I own a physical copy of this game and have played a few hours, but still get daunted (and totally impressed!) by the larger story and what I've heard about the second disc and all. still SUPER happy to see you post up a review! Love your RPG reviews Derek. Have you heard of the Dark Pixel Gaming channel by chance? Man if you were ever with them on their podcast that would be so cool. Dark Pixel also did a great analysis/review of xenogears, that's why I mention it. Good luck with your channel!
I'm subbed to Dark Pixel because everything they do looks super interesting, but I haven't had a chance to really dig into their stuff. The other thing is that I don't like watching other reviews of games I haven't played yet in order to keep from accidentally plagiarizing, (it can happen!) But maybe I'll go see what they say about Xenogears now. :)
totally fair! I'm no content creator but I can understand that risk for sure. Now that your take on this game is up I'm quite sure you'll find stuff of interest with what Dark Pixel (specifically Mike I believe) have to say about this massive/ambitious/fragmented game haha. I appreciate the reply Derek, again best of luck to your channel and can't wait for future reviews!
Nice review man!
Never played it, now I want to try it out.
Great video Derek, you really did your homework on this one. It amazes me how companies like Squaresoft could amass such a wealth of talent. From the core game designers to the writers, artists and composers alike. It is a shame though that over the years many of the aforementioned talented people have been stripped of their ownership rights.
This is a total fantasy of mine that would be loaded with logistical issues, but I wonder if some day there might exist a crowd funded organisation that's solely dedicated to obtaining the intellectual property rights of games, only to then sign those rights away to the original creators completely free of charge. What a glory it would be to see people like Tom Hall (formerly of iD Software and Ion Storm) get a crack at Commander Keen or Anachronox again. * sigh * A man can dream.
That would be an amazing charity. :)
I always loved the combo system for combat in this game, it felt so good.
I mean, I did LIKE Xenogears, but you sure did get it right: it is insanely tiring at times. Like “ugghhhh am I *ever* gonna get through here?? Am I even going the right way?” The no map thing for dungeons was just brutal. (Also, I wanna know more about Big Joe.)
Thanks for the video, Derek. Huge fan of this game and hope you actually get to Xenosaga sometime.
Awesome review as usual Derek been watching for a while you actually got me to play the PlayStation breath of fire games. Tried to sit down and play xenogears a few times via psp but always got stuck on the cave dungeon trying to find the transmitters.
Great Review. Keep it up,
Excellent Review.
I have played some of the xenosaga trilogy and would love for re-releases of all of them! I missed this one as a kid and would love to play it now!
Do I recall hearing correctly that Namco recently did something with the Xenosaga trademark? Is that coming to PS4 in HD? I can't remember...
Sorry to disappoint you Derek, but it seems that the trademark was for a dlc to the new xenoblade with a cameo of a xenosaga character, I could be wrong too
Oh bummer. :-|
I'd say it could still happen somewhere on the horizon.
Bandai Namco tackled the .Hack G.U. HD remastered set last year, and the original releases of those titles didn't exactly sell higher than the XS games. Even though the franchises have nothing to do with each other, Bamco saw a profit in re-releasing a bunch of niche games (especially since they released them worldwide for the first time, as the original G.U. games were only localized in the US/NTSC regions back then, unlike the previous 4 games), and may try to do the same for the XS series. Besides, they still need to make up for localizing only XSII in most regions outside of the US. PALers got gypped!
On that note, Square-Enix needs to cap off on their 20th anniversary Xenogears merchandise and concert with an enhanced port on PSN or something, so PALers can also experience it too, but with small refinements that can polish things up, since they don't have the benefit of nostalgia to tolerate some of its more criticized aspects. Not saying they should go and do the whole latter half of the game properly, since that'd take up too much time and effort, BUT things like text speed, the clunky platforming, and so forth could be fixed up a bit. Had SE actually localized the game globally back then, it's probable they would've greenlit its proposed sequel and Takahashi wouldn't have left!
Oh nice! Latest review!
Thanks for watching! :)
One of my favorite games of all time. Thanks for the quality review Derek.
This has one of the best soundtracks of any JRPG ever. This was discs 1 and 2 on my car's CD changer for 15 years... the first 8 of which were before I even went back to actually finally beat the game.
Looking forward to more xeno series reviews
I remember playing this when it first came out and loving it although I don't know if I ever really understood the story back then. The second disk is a tragedy. They don't even need to remake the game, all they have to do it make the 2nd disk the same gameplay as the first disk and re-release it that way and it would sell like hotcakes.
Pretty much my exact opinion on this game. A friend left this game at my house when I was in high school and then insisted it was not his. It was the first RPG I ever played and left a big impression on me. However, disk two would not boot even after several attempts to repair it. So for years I only knew this game up to the end of disk one. You could imagine my disappointment years later when disk two failed to meet my expectations. It was not bad but it was not good enough to live up to my memories.
Oh my god, that must have been soul crushing! I can only imagine encountering disc 2 after all that build up in disc 1, so many people must have been crushed by that.
Damn! Amazing review man xD
I love when you give your honest opinion
Well thank you so much! :)
Thank you Derek for playing and reviewing. Job well done!! This game will always have a place in my heart with all it flaws.
Thank you for hanging out with me in the streams and keeping me company! It's been fun! :)
SuperDerek RPG:-) Can't wait to see your next stream!
played this game years ago, I need to revisit it at some point.
As always, great review. Another game that's on my bucket list to finish hehe.
I'm glad to see you're still watching man! It's always a good day when CCG stops in to say hi. :D
1 Translator for the entire game too. I absolutely love this game and had the pleasure of finishing it back in 1999 (11th grade 😁) Still have my original copy!
This deserves a remake no doubt about it. With a dedicated budget too 🙏
Never knew you did this review that was my favorite high school game
The review was on point Derek
Thank you Rudi! :D
Top notch as always
Thank you Mike!
One of squares finest.
Agreed!
please do a retrospective video on the onimusha series
great vid man thanks. dude what is that big Xenosaga box? I want one.
never mind found it on ebay.
My ultimate favorite RPG of all time. 😍😍😍
My childhood...I was lucky my dad was so supportive of my gaming addiction back in the 90's. My mom was another story...but she wasn't the one with the money lol. I can't remember why I wanted this game other than the fact it was an RPG and the couple of magazines I subscribed to at the time may have been hyping it up, but I'm glad I played it around the time of its release. I was only 14 so I could barely understand the deeper aspects of the plot, but the music, combat system, and everything else were done so well! Solid 9/10 game for me.
Unpopular opinion: I could not get into this game back in the day. I played about 10 or so hours, and it just didn't hook me like other RPGs do. I ended up abandoning it in favor of Lunar Silver Star Story Complete. Maybe I should give it another shot, but 20 years later and there are just too many games in my backlog I'd rather play
One of if not the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard in my life is from this game. The music box song… Distant Promise.
First RPG I ever played. Played severa after. But this set the bar very high.
Amazing game. Would love you to cover the Trails games of The Legend of Heroes series. Ys as well.
Me too! I'll get there sooner or later! :)
First "Dark Dawn", then "Omen", and finally "Awakening". From prologue, to journey, to "final" battle. The connection between these [master]pieces shows us how Xenogears is more than just a videogame, but a collection of millions shades of light, reflecting the Beginning and the End, holding Tears of the Stars, Hearts of the People, contained in Small Two of Pieces. In the end, although the second disc had to deal with budget constraints, Xenogears remains a true Gem Which Cannot Be Stolen.
Great video
Thank you!
God I love you for doing this.
great review and great watching you go through it...I think you are right, this is the definition of "the best rpg never made" was this game 4 discs like Legend of Dragon I can oly imagine all the cool stuff that we got, but properly developed and presented... Best RPG ever?
The music in this game and FF8 hit me in the feelings more than any other games.
A favourite of mine JRPG PS1.
Appropriate avatar then! :)
Got this game is upon release, being a sophomore in high school, I was old enough and smart enough to grasp many of the concepts. However, I still found it difficult to fully wrap my head around the different aspects of the story. Probably due to over ambitious developers and a strained translation. Still, it was pretty freaking epic, and the music is sublime. Worth playing at least once.
I'm planning to play this game after I finish wild arms 2. Is it good in a nut shell?
Pacing is orribile, and the graphics didn t age very well. But the story is very unique and deep even by today s standards. Give a try!
You Are The #1 Source For RPGs ,You Give Your True Opinion And Helps Me In My RPG Journey
Super Derek, thank you for the great review! Xenogears, thank you for changing my life!!!
You have earned a like for reviewing this game.
Better late than never. Top tier rpg. Only if the newer xenoblades were this good
With my lack of a day-job at the moment, I think reviews should be coming out more consistently. Knock on wood! :)
I spent my first paycheck ever when I was 16 on the new release of this game, still have it to this day. This was the first rpg I played after ff7 converted me for life. I almost like this game more now.
Same... I played 7 first but this one actually feels better. I almost didn't want to off of the stupid fact I felt the fuel system would be hard to deal with but trying it out I like it more
This and FF6 are the most influential games for me great stuff Derek.
I always thought of Xenogears as my favorite PS game, and I never really knew why i didnt go far in the game and just stopped playing. (i've finished a lot of other JRPGs)
After watching this video, now i know why.
My favorite jrpg. Great review!
Thanks Donald! :D
Does anyone know where or how to find this game? I couldn’t beat it and gave up when I was a kid.
Deus = Lavos. Much a better Chrono Trigger sequel than Chrono Cross! Great video man! My favorite game of all time.
This game is better than I could habe ever imagined. Im just mad at myself for not starting it sooner.
Just beat this myself (finally) after first playing it as a rental from Hollywood Video. They only gave me disc one, and I beat disc one so when I finally got the full game disc two was a rather huge shock to me. But the story and the world was always something I wanted to revisit and beat.
I felt this was the right time due to it being the 20th anniversary and all. And even if it is speculation on my part, and the part of a lot of fans, circumstantial evidence from that time points to the director having his budget slashed while the game was in already in production.
He claimed inexperience in a later interview led to the game being the way it was, which was likely code for inexperience with office and developmental policies and politics. Like how on Star Trek the ship's engineers would claim they need xx amount of time but only really needed x to get something done. He should have pitched to the higher-ups successfully a higher budget to ensure the game would get made the way he wanted.
I find that inexperience comment rather telling however in that he was very possibly telling the truth. In so much that his people did not have experience with the horror that is unpaid overtime known in PC programming circles as "Crunch Time".
The spiritual sequel to Xenogears, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, was made likely using a lot of Crunch Time due to similar things happening to it during its development that happened to Xenogears. However to fill those gaps they used a few things the modern gaming era has provided them:
First: They outsourced art asset development, leading to many characters looking visually distinct from each other in the sense that the same "god" did not make them. This is fine given the nature of said characters. But still kinda weird given the different art styles represented within the game.
Two: Crunch Time, having a lot of their staff for the game sniped for Zelda BoTW, only 40 people primarily within Monolith Soft made Xenoblade Chronicles 2. And it is a complete narrative experience and has addictive gameplay. Like my first point mentioned, they outsourced art and character design to get the game done.
Three: Nintendo. Nintendo's first party titles are centered on "quality" and they try their hardest to not let a product be released that will not perform up to expectations.
They likely gave Monolith Soft additional funds to outsource in the first place realizing that they themselves may have sniped a bit too many developers from a project that they themselves thought would not prove as profitable.
But XC2 is a major hit, the series future is assured, and Nintendo likely will not pull the same stunt (hopefully) if a Xeno game is being worked on around the same time as a Zelda game.
At this point, I am looking forward to your videos in the future about the other Xenogames down the line. And now I likely will go and beat Suikoden 2 since I finally beat Xenogears.
Xenogears is simultaneously a bad game and my favorite JRPG of all time. The pacing is a game-crippling flaw that makes the game a chore to play through your first time, the rushed payoffs in the second disc prevent any feelings of satisfaction, and almost the entire cast is underdeveloped. After I completed Xenogears for the first time last year, I hated the game. But as time went on, I kept thinking about it. The sheer ambition of the project is insane, and reading through Perfect Works and seeing what the developers tried to do....I can't help but think about "what could have been." Its interesting and its memorable, and my respect for the world the writers tried to make trumps all the negative feelings I have about the execution these days.
Also, small "correction:" the fact that disc 2 was cut due to budget reasons is no longer "speculation." In an interview earlier this year, Takahashi finally came out and explained Disc 2. Basically, Xenogears was the first time the team was making a 3D game, and it was a serious challenge to develop. When the budget was finally running out, the game was only completed through Solaris. Square recommended ending the game there and saving the rest for a sequel, but Takahashi didn't want to leave fans of the game hanging, and so decided to give us a rushed Disc 2 instead that tells us what the devs wanted to do. Given that Xeno never became a franchise under Square, it looks like he made the right decision - if Takahashi didn't give us the rushed Disc 2, to this day we may never have learned what happened to Fei and Elly after Solaris.
I am glad you came around! When I first played this game at 15, I was instantly captivated! I loved trying to figure out what was happening with Fei and his journey to find himself not knowing he was more complex (Citan was as well) and what we thought we knew about him, there was so much more.
The emotional aspects of the game the nod to Freudian studies and mental health issues. The bonds they were created even though some characters were definitely underdeveloped but the little bit we did get had heart.
Let's not forgot the religious aspects, the action, and the music. The music was top notch! Absolutely, amazing! The religious aspects had you thinking and the action got you hyped! Well, for me it did.
The game play was never a chore for me because the journey I was on with Fei was worth it. The Gameplay (I love Martial Arts) mechanics where up my alley as it wasn't just select "Attack" and repeat. The combos made it interesting.
The chore was build AP to do combinations but it was an awesome payoff to watch when you finally got to see it in action.
Idk, man I know the game had many problems especially the 2nd disc and I know what happened like you do, but to me, it was an experience that I love and never forget. The pay off seeing how Fei is at the end and what they all fought for was great.
Everytime I play it, I get excited like it is my first time (truth be told I thought it was another game and bought it on accident) and it still a great experience. 👍🏽👍🏽
Great man! You just have left SMT Nocturne!
I will get there, but I need to hit the other SMT games first! :)
I had a japanese pirate version of this game, and the translated script behind it lol. I've been waiting for you to review this my bro. Do Lagoon!
Lagoon is planned! :)
SuperDerek RPGs good luck with your future, super excellent new job bro. I wish you the best man. Hugs from mexico!
This is one of the games I remember most fondly from that time. It's funny though that I've played through the first disc I think 3 times and have never played the second disc.... weird for a game I love so much. Maybe someday I have a fourth attempt. If I could somehow play the game on my Switch, I could see that 4th playthrough happening. I'm kinda excited to get some more RPG's on the Switch actually, I love RPG'ing with a handheld and the Switch's screen is a great size for that. Kinda rambling now because you can't play Xeno on Switch so losing my train of thought here haha.
Have you covered Xenosaga?
Dude, I love this game. I haven’t even finished watching the add but I know it’s gonna be a good review
I hope I didn't disappoint! :)
How did you manage to put the music of the game in the background, and not get your video removed? Each time I try to background music from a game or such, I get authorship issues - owned by this and this media/publisher
I LOVE THE MUSIC OF ELLY FEBRUARY 2000 -2020
I remember playing the demo when I was younger and thought it was amazing. Now I can finally play through it on ps3.
Easily my favourite RPG of all time.
I think three areas where it really shines above are the story, the cast of villain, and the locations (Solaris, Zeboim Civilization, Shevat, the cities of Ignas, etc...).
Anyway, the development difficulties of Xenogears stem from the fact that Square had 2-year dev cycles for their games. The Xenogears team ended up largely leaving (most going to Monolithsoft) due to Chrono Cross, which has been said to be the most nightmarish game they ever worked on, Mitsuda wouldn't work with Square again for around 15 years after Chrono Cross. Takahashi would work on two more games: FF8 and FFX as a designer, and ultimately left Square due to concerns over the Xenogears sequel (probably due to a lot of the potential team leaving Square a bit earlier). He joined them at Namco for Xensaga, and when that fell through he joined Nintendo with our current iteration of Monolithsoft.
Speaking of Nintendo, make a game with the towns, villains, and story of Xenogears, and the world of Xenoblade Chronicles X, and that'll be undoubtedly the greatest RPG ever made.
Now THIS is a game that should have a kickass remake!
I've played through chrono trigger and FF7 and such, but xenogears was one of the very few games from that era that has stuck by in my mind for the longest while
It's very unique, that's for sure!
Good review man;though I didnt expect it so soon.I myself would have advice you to have play the game at least once more,in solitude to really grasp everything the game has to offer.This game is like fight club,first time the movie was good but everytime after that it becomes better and better.Great work nonetheless and Godspeed!
When sifting through the footage of my playthrough, I caught a lot of stuff I missed the first time through. I know it's not the same, but I think I know what you mean. So much of the game makes so much more sense when you're on the inside of the big secret. And conversely, being on the outside of the big secret can be a major turn-off for some people. And I honestly think a ~140 hour investment for a second play-through might be too much to ask of some people. Some day though, I think I will revisit the game. :)
Def one of my top RPGs. I truly hope that the rumors of the Xenosaga trilogy being remastered does come true...
Oh, if it gets remastered I may have to immediately play it again when it comes out. Remaking this game properly is a recipe for perfection. :)
oh yeah i absolutely agree lol especially considering the fact that i have the first two of Saga but not the third one knowing how expensive it is nowadays. i remember beating the first and i think i almost completed the second but i dunno why i never went back to it...and the third one was just lost to me all together. haha.
Found it here it is dam youtube haha awsome video as always dude!!
Thanks for all of your support Jarred! :)
Great review, got a bit of your facts wrong, but none the less great review.
"Ye shall be as gods"
Even though the ending was a rush job, this is one of the greatest games ever made. I hope they wise up and do a proper remake.
I've played and beaten this game and have since tried to play through it multiple times. Once it gets going the game is fine, but it has to have one of the slowest starts I've ever slogged through. Last time I think I made it 10 hours into the game before I dropped it again, the game failing to capture my attention.
Is that a Xenosaga box in the background? If so, what is it?
Yep! That's a Japanese special edition that comes with a figure of the heroine. :)
Dude that's awesome!!
Two days ago I made a long post on reddit why i think the second disc is the reason why the game had such a huge impression on me. Since posting links is lame i just copy paste some of the stuff i wrote (sry for the horrible fomatting):
SPOILERS!!!
"So, yesterday I reached the infamous second disc... My third playthrough within the last 19 years actually (my last one was in 2005)... And i realized that it's always the second disc that has the biggest impact on me. I don't want to deny that the disc was rushed and we all know the reasons why this was the case... But I'd almost say it was a blessing
in disguise.
I have to admit that back in 1999 i was really disappointed by the lack of gameplay on disc two at first. But there was something about the introspective inner monologue based visual novel presentation that
spoke to me in a way that was new to me. I think without inner monologue, something you don't really see in JRPGs, these portions wouldn't really have the same emotional impact. It's actually the first
time we really get into the heads and minds of Fei and Elly and we learn how they feel. And it's an psychologically transformative experience... At least it was for me. I said it again and again: Without Xenogears I
would be a differnt person today and i contribute that to the second disc for the most part.
When I reached the following part ( ruclips.net/video/1S2uX3XcV8g/видео.html ) yesterday, I realized again why Xenogears is so amazing and why it crawls under your skin gives you this feeling that it is more than a
normal JRPG... A feeling i haven't seen sucessfully replicated to this day.
I always loved how the game portrays Fei's and Elly's relationsship as "Two parts of a whole" and nothing shows it better than how their lines mirror each other in that ( img.fireden.net/v/image/1447/66/1447669331530.jpg ) dream sequence. That part always hits me hard... I'm a sucker for romance, but there is a deeper meaning in their relationship that feels so much more profound than in any other work of fiction. These lines always spoke to me... made me think.
Remember the scene with little Fei (well, we actually never got the first Fei's name) in front of the Zohar... He wished for his mother and therefore Elly's existence came into being. Basically Xenogears' message is that we as babys experienced unconditional love from our mother as the first other "being" we ever "met". But as babys we couldn't distinguish between ourselves and others, we had no concept of individuality. So only as babys did we experience being "one" with another person. But once we got the concept of individuality this deepest of bonds was
shatterd (the "broken mirror" metaphor in "Small Two of Pieces" ( ruclips.net/video/faJMFBBlvJs/видео.html )
is about that moment of self realization and therefore seperation). This "being one" with another person is what we long for since then. The falling in love as a destined thing is basically a metaphor the game uses to describe our longing since our psyche formed as a baby actually.
That unity is what the game describes as being closest to "god". Elhaym in hebrew actually means "el" = God and "haym" = life. That's why Elly is always Elly. Why her name never changes in all those incarnations. She is a metaphor for that wish of being truly one with another person... A memory from our short time as infants.
I think that's the reason why this love story in particular had such a big impact on me.
Maybe it's because i've gotten into visual novels, but somehow i really wish the game would get a visual novel remake. I would so much love to read more about Fei's and Elly's inner thoughts. I'm a JRPG guy through and through... Don't get me wrong... But: A visual novel has always the edge over any other medium (same goes for novels in general)
in terms of exploring the psyche and especially the emotional mindset of the main character... basically experiencing everything through the eyes of Fei. It would be even more amazing if we could read the inner thoughts of Maria, Bart or any other character in the game.
Well anyway, that's just my thoughts on the second disc... I personally strongly believe that Xenogears cemented intself as the most impactful JRPG experience i've ever had not despite the second disc but
because of it."
Well I have this game yet still haven't beaten it might have to now.....god I hope I still have the save files
I still have this game. Feeling old right meow.😂