Xenogears' plot

[Vivisteiner]

Im interested in philosophy and religion, and I was wondering what you made of Xenogears' plot. Should I buy it?

No spoilers please.

[Karellen]

Xenogears probably has the best plot I've ever seen in a video game. If you're looking for a deep philosophical experience though I would look elsewhere; Xenogear's references to philosophy and religion are mainly pretentious. Its political and science fiction elements however are really interesting, even if most of the latter are borrowed from other works.

Just keep in mind that the actual gameplay can be really, really trying at times. Think high random-encounter rate and frustrating, completely unnecessary platforming elements. Also, the second disk was pretty badly botched due to long, very low-budget cutscenes that drastically outnumber the moments where you will actually be playing the game.

[Vivisteiner]

^Thanx for the comment.

Anyone else got any opinions?

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

Most of the religious content just boils down to pointless name-drops, like naming countries after months in the Hebrew calendar, and a lot of images of crosses and angel wings. That stuff's as meaningless as it is plentiful.

But! As the game goes on, the story does eventually shape to form a unique interpretation of the role of religion and the truth regarding a "supreme being." This overlaps to some extent with the science-fiction stuff, but it goes in quite a different direction from the kind of "God is a Martian!" stuff you may expect. It's still not profound, but it is very interesting.

Aside from an occasionally lackluster translation and some mucking around with freshman-level psychology, the rest of the story is pretty much aces, too.

[Vivisteiner]

Hmmm...Im still debating whether to get it.

But I probably wont.

[Monol]

Get the game...immediatly

You deserve to play one of the deepest (if not the deepest) plots ever created for a videogame. If you like philosophy, religion and such there is no better game. DO yourself a favor and enjoy the hell out of this game :cool: No and or buts just get the darn game!

For me it had the slowest begining of all time. The game was hyped for me so I didnt want to like it. I was so bored with everything until near the end of disc 1. Then they made me rethink all the boring things that happend and I was like "Holy smoke stacks...this game rocks". Granted as mentioned before the game has its quirks. The characters are presented in a very trite manner but they actually have alot of depth because one of the games greatest redeeming qualities. And that is simply the game is very very long. Very long which it makes it oddles of fun to play. The music is incredible and the final boss is a blast. It has one of the most frustrating locations of all time (tower of babal anyone?) and a ver unique overview/control scheme (camera perspective and such) but most of all the coolest part about the game...is simply this....

You can jump OUTSIDE battle!!! I know right!? Your gonna buy the game now (duh) which is no suprise so I cant wait to see what you think!

[theundeadhero]

The first time I played through it I found the whole thing very interesting as I unraveled the story and learned what fell in where. When trying to play it again I found it pretty annoying. The dialouge of the game, not the semi-frequent engrish moments but the actual text, is incredibly horrible. Other than Fei, who is the most disturbed video game character I've ever seen created, and Elly, the characters aren't that developed. Their personalities don't go beyond skin deep and it's the text of what they say and where that make them seem so horrible.

[CloudDragon]

If you're looking for more references to philosophy and/or religion, I would give the Xenosaga a try. Be warned that the Xenosaga series contains an significant amount of cut-scenes, but if that doesn't bother you it's worth it.

As far as Xenogears is concerned I believe Kishi said it best. Yet with religion at some level you do get to witness corruption, deceit and fraud. On another level the game also portrays religion as an instrument that helps people hopeful and united, and to a degree it lets the audience make the final choice.

[Wolf Kanno]

I love this game. Though I disagree with a few people on the religious tones only being skin deep. Yes about 90% of it is just name dropping like Kishi said but their is the themes of religions role in society and it shows both its abilities to heal and harm it. Though it uses alot of Judeo-Christian symbolism; the game is more about Gnosticism and Buddhism. These themes are beautifully explored but like Evangelion, the point of the symbolism is mostly to enhance the scenes in question. Outside of FFT, I can't think of another video game with a rather informative view of religion and traditional philosophy.

I'd buy it cause its a damn fine game.;)

[Shotgunnova]

Xenogears probably has the best RPG plot of all PSX games (and I'm an FFT fan!), and I would rank it in the top five of all RPGs period. As stated, the philosophical & religious references can be superficial at times, but the great thing about the game is that no matter how many with latter-day religion, it never denounces any of them. The downside is that with all this lush imagery which seems to build up a cultured background on things, many things don't get fleshed out that much in the game (check out the Perfect Works translation for timelines and such). Still, 'though Xenogears overreaches a bit, it really turns the mundane "bad guy to defeat" plot upside-down...no other gives such a mature approach to the dang idea. Given you can get the game for about $25-30 used nowadays, it should be an automatic purchase for any fan of the genre.

Still, it's not without its downsides. The story, despite being nuanced, is a little slow-moving until reaching a few towns after the starting point; I've seen many people, including fans, complain about this. Truly, the plot is the game's selling point, which is why people are polarized about the second disc. Due to budget cuts, it's almost entirely story-driven, meaning text describes the action instead of it being acted out. It ties things together, but given the fireworks at the end of Disc 1, pretty easy to see why one would be let down. S'pose the only other common complaint I hear is that mech combat is boring. I found it much more intuitive and interesting than, say, materia junctioning, but that type of fighting is just supposed to get the player from Point A to B in the story -- it's not meant to revolutionize the world.

Anyway, having written a guide for it, I really can't quit piling on the accolades. Great script & translation, all-around characters, world setting, antagonists... Even if you paid $100, y'wouldn't regret a penny.

[BG-57]

I found the plot and philosophy confusing and hard to follow at times, but I really love the game. What it does best is to find and develop the connections between the characters, which is what any good story should do.

As has been mentioned, like FFT, it delves into the influence of institutional religion on society. Although both games use real-life institutions as inspiration, they are not anti-religious as such.

The Gears are great. A lot of games that feature mecha are shooters and I just don't care for that. Essentially they are extentions of the characters themeselves.

I also liked the way that secondary characters, especially the Elements, are handled. Comperable perhaps only to the Turks as worthy and fun antagonists.

[The Last Oath]

what about Xengears 2?

so its like star ocean 3 then?

[The Last Ancient]

You can't do much better then Xenogears. It's one of the best experiences I've ever had with a video game. The criticisms are valid but the good points by far win out. The platforming aspects are annoying and the random encounters but it has so much going for it. The characters are all great and deep, well most of them. The best collection of good npc's that any game has ever had. Fei is the most complicated main character in any video game I've played, even cloud. The locations are memorable. The story is very deep and complicated. I like the second disc, although its all story for the most part with very little gameplay. I don't mind because the story and the culmination of the many, many plot points are all interesting. It also has the best score ever made for a video game. It is a flawed masterpiece, maybe like apocolypse now, but its something you owe it to yourself to experience and see how it affects you.

[Magixion]

what about Xengears 2?

so its like star ocean 3 then?

There is no Xenogears 2. There is only the Xenosaga series that was meant to be the prequel but due to licensing is not "officially" a part of the series.

Back on topic! I loved Xenogears. Regardless of the shortcomings of disc 2, I enjoyed every minute of it. I loved the battle system (the combos!) and also the characters. Though some say that the characters are not fleshed out, I believe that the main ones are. They all have some sort of history and reason to be a part of what they are fighting for. They are not your typical "Oh hey I can fight, I will go with" characters, they actually have emotions and positions on certain subjects. You will not regret buying Xenogears, so get it!

[Vivisteiner]

Oh, I forgot about this game. It sounds cool, but I cant find a decently priced European copy of it anywhere. On Amazon.co.uk it is £90! Thats $180!

[Karellen]

There is no Europian copy. It was only localized for North America.

[Vivisteiner]

^Oh...

Guess thats never gonna happen then...

[DarkZitan]

best game ever. just get it. id say it's worth 180 dollars..but i already own it, so i can't make that judgement call =)

[Kenshin IV]

If your question is whether or not to buy Xenogears, the answer could not be simpler:

Yes, yes, what the heck are you waiting for? Yes.

It is only one of the absolute elite RPGs, check that, games, ever. If you can't get it in Europe, import an American PSX my good man.

[nik0tine]

Get it and if you cant get it emulate it. It's one of the best RPG's around and certainly the best one i've played. It isn't deep like some are saying, but then again I don't think it's trying to be. It's trying to be interesting and it accomplishes that better than any game ive ever played story-wise.

Also, don't listen to what anyone says about the second disk. It's the best part of the game.

[Biukin]

The Last Time I Played Xenogears I Loved It The Story Has So Many Twists and It Really Makes You Think I did Love The Gameplay And The Combo System Was Sweet