RPGOmen

What to say that hasn't already been said about XenoGears? Well, there's always a contradistinguished element. [my emphasis -Joh]
Posted Dec 29, 2006 9:37 am ET
Recommended by 2 out of 3 users.

9.1
superb

Gameplay 9
Graphics 7
Sound 8
Value 10
Tilt 10

* Difficulty: Just Right
* Learning Curve: 0 to 30 Minutes
* Time Spent: 100 or More Hours

"Masterpiece"

It is indeed a rarity to see nearly every review, be they player, Gamespot, or the 31 other "Professional" [my emphasis again -Jayhuuuuuuuuu] reviewers all giving an anime-style rpg game around or above a "9.0" rating; especially during the year 1998. Well, XenoGears was one of the most controversal games ever to almost never be released in the United States prior to its release in October of 1998.

Many people tried to stop it's "exodus" over to the States due to it's highly religious themes, dialog, and indeed, partial anime nudity. [Again this is some kind of FURSECUTION urban legend of how Xenogears fans are smarter than everyone else and faced persecution because of their classy tastes.] But Xenogears is not merely a collection of religiously based themes cramped together to form a story, but an epic tale that spans thousands of pages of dialog, hundreds of pages of history, [not real history -Jawl] and even thousands of fan sites [DOES THIS COUNT? -jaio] during it's days of glory. It remains one of the most in depths RPG games every created to this date, [it isn't, it's just long -jo] with each subject it brings up in game having it's own book of theories by players, actually historical events and religious beliefs, and entertaining plot twists and character developement. [50,000,000 Elvis fans can't be wrong. -J H O]

One could try to read up on Xenogears and it's entirety, even after beating the game several times, and still take years of research to understand a good fraction of the game's depth in it's entirety. Some may shrug this off in their own arrogance [*CLENCHES FIST* is what they wanted to say here also -Juh] and claim to know the story and, unfortunately, pass judgement on it as "Uninspired" or having lack of depth, [CEREBRAL FIGHTING PUZZLES -Jooh] or some such nonsense; but to those who are well read and enjoy Literary Analysis, we know better than to believe such lack of focus in a game. However, to each their own, [he means the exact opposite, as in "to each your own as long as it agrees or it will be deleted" -Jhuu-chan] and their beliefs may yield some truth to those who do not like to read or understand everything in its true depth and hidden brilliance that only people who read often will understand; like a joke going over people's heads who do not understand the core or origin of such a gesture.

XenoGears may or may not be a game for the "Educated", as I have read many people display, reassured that it's the truth and not just their own pious beliefs based on their in depth knowledge and love for the game. [He's raging against the machine..... of people who don't like Xenogears ENOUGH. -Jh] But it's really a game for the patient and those who have an inquisitive mind to seek out the true depth of the story and the events therein. [THIS GAME IS SO GENIUS THAT IT HIDES ITS OWN DEPTH, GENIUS GENIUS! -Jahus!] While I may sound a tad over-the-top myself while depicting my own beliefs on the matter, I have yet to meet someone who has little patience actually go through the game and read every thing that happens with a full understanding of what's going on. In fact, I know of a few very well versed gamers who are highly competitive and incredibly talented in their own rights who merely quit at the tower of Babel; barely able to describe what has happened in the game thus far until they decide to put it down.

In truth, I concur wholeheartidly with the review given by gamestop to relate to the casual gamer, which is rarity in itself. I have not agreed with many of their reviews in the past, but this one seems rather "into" the game for the average person just looking for some entertaning, if they have the patience to read and love of rpg games. In any case, Xenogears will remain the jewel of the RPG collection of countless millions of people, and to those who believe they know a game that is more in depth, more power to them. To each there own, especially in this genre, as RPG games tend to be long and vast, with it being impossible to try them all due to both financial reasons, lack of time, and even possibly overloading the brain with fictional story after story as opposed to tending to your real studies or life at work.

For me, XenoGears has remained one of the best RPGs of all time; with good reason too. But it is perfectly foreseeable for there to be a better game due to the beforementioned lack of ability to try them all, but then again it's all based on personal interested. In addition, the Demon of Elru will also remain one of the biggest "badass" characters for me on any rpg game. After all..."Dropping a warship on me is cheating... TAKE IT BACK!"

Hehe... Classic scene.