Xenogears

[PrincessNadia78]

So recently I had someone tell me about Xenogears and that it actually was originally supposed to be a CT sequel but it ended up not being so. Has anyone else played it and if so, how did you like it? I’m pretty curious about it and I was wondering what you guys thought about it.

[Toreadore]

It was pretty good. Haven't played in well over a decade though.

You'll see a familiar CT character in the main hero's home village

The story was a bit religiously controversial for its time (and might possibly still be? I dunno, I'm bad at sensing these things), though many people just shrugged and played. Not really sure how to describe the story... complex and weird? A psychological mind-eff?  I just know that as a much younger gamer, I had difficulty wrapping my head around it the first few times (and oddly, playing the Xenosaga series helped me to understand it, even though they're technically unrelated). But I had a lot of fun playing it. The only universal complaint you might hear is that the "disc 2" portion isn't as great as "disc 1," because much of the gameplay has been reduced to the player basically sitting through half a disc of text (though you do get to play in between, and more toward the end). I believe this was due to time constraints.

[CptOvaltine]

I feel like there's a lot of made up lore around that game.  I had always heard that it was originally going to be Final Fantasy VII, but was then deemed to be too dark for a main line Final Fantasy.  I don't know if that's true or not, but that's what I had always heard.

I've never actually played the game.  I know it has a lot of praise around it, but when I tried to pick it up a last year it just couldn't keep my interest. That could partly be because I just wasn't in the mood, but none the less... I should really try to go back and play it.

[Toreadore]

Xenogears and FF7 were made around the same time, and there's even an Easter egg in FF7 (Cloud's incoherent ramblings after you-know-what). Other than that, I haven't heard of anything else connecting the two.

[CptOvaltine]

Xenogears and FF7 were made around the same time, and there's even an Easter egg in FF7 (Cloud's incoherent ramblings after you-know-what). Other than that, I haven't heard of anything else connecting the two.

I guess this is where I heard the rumor.  Not really a valid source. haha

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/197341-final-fantasy-vii/75590950

[Toreadore]

Well, further Googling shows that there is truth to that rumor. And I didn't realize a certain poster in Xenogears was supposed to be Tifa! Definitely see it now though.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Fun fact: Lucca makes a cameo appearance in Xenogears.

See here for her in all her 3D glory!
https://youtu.be/8m9tlI8IYT8?t=31

I loved it. The story was very SquareEnix of the late-90s: amnesiac lead, fun battles, great soundtrack, and overly complicated text-dump of a plot.

Apparently it suffered from the same problems of Chrono Cross; a rushed late-game delivery cycle that ended up cutting a ton of content and story in the latter half, ultimately making the second disk a huge, convoluted story.

It is definitely worth playing if you like darker, PSX-era RPGs.

[Acacia Sgt]

Ah, Xenogears. I can't comment much of it. In fact, of the whole series, I've only played Xenoblade Chronicles X.

That said, I've always found intriguing the whole original idea the creator of Xenogears had. This 6-episode epic. Xenogears is supposedly Episode 5, with the Xenosaga Trilogy as Episodes 1-3. Then supposedly the Torna DLC of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has a lot of the ideas that Episode 4 was going to be or something.

The whole thing is more complicated than that, I currently don't remember all the details. Either way, from the sounds of it, it's a bit of a shame that original idea didn't got realized. Though I suppose stuff like that happens, unfortunately.

[Toreadore]

Torna, eh? Interesting. I still have yet to finish XB1 and start the regular XB2, but now I may push through it. Or just buy Torna, since I'm told it's a standalone story.

Xenogears Perfect Works (a book that was never translated, except through fans' attempts) gets more into detail about the individual episodes (though episode IV is partly "documented" in XG too). I'd like to see how much the Xenoblade DLC resembles it.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

In all honesty, Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 are probably my favorite in the Xeno series, even if they are the most set apart from the others.

I'm currently playing through XC2 right now and and am only on Chapter 6 at about 98 hours. I love it and there's so much freaking content.

[CptOvaltine]

This thread actually inspired me to give Xenogears another try...and I'm actually really enjoying it this time around! 

I've always been a Xenosaga I fan, but other then that have no exposure to the series. Perhaps I need to take a look at the switch version of XC 1 when it's out.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Xenoblade Chronicles is definitely a far departure...

Xenogears and Xenosaga both revolved around the Zohar and could loosely be in the same world. They are chock-full of religious imagery (especially Xenosaga) and pseudo-Judeo-Christian deep lore. They're both also more traditional jRPGs (with mecha combat options).

Xenoblade Chronicles and it's sequel are utterly different. They play somewhat like an MMO (auto attacks, skill cooldowns, etc) but the open worlds are absolutely stellar. In both games there is no actual land -- you and the biomes you explore are literally on the bodies of giants. It makes for a really unique exploration element. You'll be roaming through wide fields, watching the animals hunt each other (which was a great AI element) and suddenly look up to see a huge arm stretching out 1000 kilometers away. The scale was awesome.

Both games are also super long and full of content, which can be a good thing or bad, depending on the person. You can definitely get your money's worth with both with 100+ hour playthroughs (and NG+ content). But yeah, XC1 is definitely worth a plan once the remake (apparently it's a full remake, not a remaster) launches.

[CptOvaltine]

Xenoblade Chronicles is definitely a far departure...

Xenogears and Xenosaga both revolved around the Zohar and could loosely be in the same world. They are chock-full of religious imagery (especially Xenosaga) and pseudo-Judeo-Christian deep lore. They're both also more traditional jRPGs (with mecha combat options).

Xenoblade Chronicles and it's sequel are utterly different. They play somewhat like an MMO (auto attacks, skill cooldowns, etc) but the open worlds are absolutely stellar. In both games there is no actual land -- you and the biomes you explore are literally on the bodies of giants. It makes for a really unique exploration element. You'll be roaming through wide fields, watching the animals hunt each other (which was a great AI element) and suddenly look up to see a huge arm stretching out 1000 kilometers away. The scale was awesome.

Both games are also super long and full of content, which can be a good thing or bad, depending on the person. You can definitely get your money's worth with both with 100+ hour playthroughs (and NG+ content). But yeah, XC1 is definitely worth a plan once the remake (apparently it's a full remake, not a remaster) launches.

Not hearing anything I don't like here! haha  Though I will admit, 100 hours is a bit hard to swallow for me these days.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Yeah, 100 hours is a lot. I play it on the go a lot and tend to play in like 15-30 minute segments.

[PrincessNadia78]

Well I’m glad I stirred up some conversation!! Hehe!

Based on what was said, at some point I’m going to have to give it a try, it sounds like a game I’d really enjoy. I’ve enjoyed reading the input and feel free to keep the conversation going!