Will a playthrough of Xenogears revive the Enix forum!?

[NeoCracker]

Little late now, though I'm not going to be to sad if I miss something.

I imagine it's taking a smurf ton of rounds in the tournament ot get Bart more time, in order to find the Item in the Fish tank, am I right?

And I am currently fighting Dan in the tournament.

...How the smurf did this guy make it to the semi-finals?

He's less threatening then Big Joes fans (I was kind of sad for beating Big Joe though. )

I would like ot point out how funny it was Dan hit 'For Lahan' and 'For Timothy' but missed when he cried 'For my Sister'.

Edit: A few more thoughts on my current Position.

Citan, still being awesome. I got the explanation for who Citan and Sigurd were, though I'm confident Citan knows more then even Sigurd does. Honestly I think he's more in the know then Ramsus.

I really enjoyed the planning session as well.

Though I did twitch a little at the whole pre-arranged marraige bit for Bart and Margie. I will never understand the cousin marriage thing. o_O

Edit2: : Just faught doped up Elly, and all I can say is.... WHat?

Fei: There is no reason for us to fight.

...Yes there is? She's an officer of the people you are actively trying to defeat. You know, unless I missed something crucial, I think that is a pretty damn good reason to be fighting.

Don't get me wrong, I understand why they wouldn't want to fight, but that line was smurfing dumb.

Not as dumb as the Balding dwarf making it to the semi-finals mind you, but still pretty dumb.

Edit2: And for the love of god, can we stop having the 'I broke his cup, something awful will happen!' moments in all forms of mediums? We have had more then enough reason to think something bad will happen to Bart, we did not need the overused and, quite frankly, stupid clique of the breaking cup.

Edit3:

Okay, I am getting all the stupid I'm seeing out right now.

1) How the smurf did he see her face from his Mech? For that matter, why were the even communicating? Are all gears, for some reason, always connected?

2) The old man just hopped right in without nobody noticing? And he just hops right back out? How have the rebels been having so many issues? These people are terribly unprepared, even considering they had an ambush set.

3) The Solarian litterally just said this guy was a puppet and they were using him, directly to his face, with no qualms of hiding it? They even told him they would use anyone else who would blindly listen to them? God this person is an idiot.

4) Vanderkaum is a complete and total idiot. This guy shouldn't even be allowed to be a foot soldier, yet he is operating a massive warship. He litterally chose, for no reason, to not use anti-gear weaponry, when they are fighting a small group of gears. Instead he uses a giant gun which he was JUST TOLD cannot accurately hit such small targets?

There is brash and headstrong, and then there is full blown retarded.

5) On that note, Fei's plan was smurfing stupid. "Hey, lets assault the vastly superior force head on! No need to make a real plan!"

Mind you, had he known his oponent was stupid as smurf, perhaps he wouldn't seem like such an idiot. Mind you he doesn't, so Fei continues ot show himself the least interesting and competent member of my part. Mind you one of those people is Citan, so of course he is better. But on the other hand one of those people was Bart.

6) Do not tell a person you are both seeking power and offering them power in the same breath. You just look like a crazy person.

7) This guy seems far less threatening when his plan is to give power to Vanderkaum, a guy who doesn't have a clue what to do with power he has.

8) Dropping a Warship on me is cheatting.... That's really the line you are going with? Arnold Schwartzinager would be ashamed of that one.

[Wolf Kanno]

Little late now, though I'm not going to be to sad if I miss something.

I imagine it's taking a smurf ton of rounds in the tournament ot get Bart more time, in order to find the Item in the Fish tank, am I right?

And I am currently fighting Dan in the tournament.

...How the smurf did this guy make it to the semi-finals?

He's less threatening then Big Joe's fans (I was kind of sad for beating Big Joe though. )

I would like to point out how funny it was Dan hit 'For Lahan' and 'For Timothy' but missed when he cried 'For my Sister'.

Well the trick is not to fight Dan. If you choose to defend the whole round (Think Paladin's initiation battle) you get Alice's Wedding Dress when you win by breaking his spirit, which is a decent piece of armor for that point of the game. The challenge is trying to resist the urge to punch the dwarf in the face and that temptation is often too hard... Getting the treasure in the fish tank is also a bonus but you can theoretically get it later towards the end of Disc 1. Aveh is not going to be available for awhile if you haven't guessed that yet.

Though I did twitch a little at the whole pre-arranged marriage bit for Bart and Margie. I will never understand the cousin marriage thing. o_O

It's old school aristocracy, it happened a lot in the past, just get over it.

Edit2: : Just faught doped up Elly, and all I can say is.... WHat?

Fei: There is no reason for us to fight.

...Yes there is? She's an officer of the people you are actively trying to defeat. You know, unless I missed something crucial, I think that is a pretty damn good reason to be fighting.

Don't get me wrong, I understand why they wouldn't want to fight, but that line was smurfing dumb.

Fei is just trying to appeal to their past encounters where they helped each other. Remember, he's the atypical pacifist main character in a giant robot story. He's Amuro Ray, except Fei knows Kung-Fu and has some pretty messed up problems...

Not as dumb as the Balding dwarf making it to the semi-finals mind you, but still pretty dumb.

Citan did say none of the local fighters would make a good fight which is why he volunteered Fei to enter the tournament. I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled some strings to get Dan into the tournament as well just to screw with Fei.

Edit2: And for the love of god, can we stop having the 'I broke his cup, something awful will happen!' moments in all forms of mediums? We have had more then enough reason to think something bad will happen to Bart, we did not need the overused and, quite frankly, stupid clique of the breaking cup.

It's an overused trope, I agree.

Okay, I am getting all the stupid I'm seeing out right now

I'll play apologist and explain away for you.

1) How the smurf did he see her face from his Mech? For that matter, why were the even communicating? Are all gears, for some reason, always connected?

Welltall's communication line was originally set up by Elly so he most likely still has the radio codes for the Gebler line still installed in the Gears memory. He was also trying to talk her out of fighting.

2) The old man just hopped right in without nobody noticing? And he just hops right back out? How have the rebels been having so many issues? These people are terribly unprepared, even considering they had an ambush set.

Most likely because the spider mech Maison pilots is too small to be detected by radar. Shakain also most likely assumed there wouldn't be a frontal assault of any kind, especially since he knew Ramsus' forces would route most of the enemy so it's possible the city defenses were lower than normal.

3) The Solarian literally just said this guy was a puppet and they were using him, directly to his face, with no qualms of hiding it? They even told him they would use anyone else who would blindly listen to them? God this person is an idiot.

Honestly, I find it terrifying that they could openly state the obvious and know there won't be any real repercussions cause that's how much the puppet is under their thumb.

4) Vanderkaum is a complete and total idiot. This guy shouldn't even be allowed to be a foot soldier, yet he is operating a massive warship. He literally chose, for no reason, to not use anti-gear weaponry, when they are fighting a small group of gears. Instead he uses a giant gun which he was JUST TOLD cannot accurately hit such small targets?

There is brash and headstrong, and then there is full blown retarded.

No, this is just him being stubborn, as Citan and Sigurd explained in the briefing. Vanderkaum is old school and just won't accept that his old methods won't work. He purposely chose to not use the proper tools cause he wanted to prove that his old methods were just as effective. His plans of course go terribly wrong for him. This is your classic story about the hubris of pride. Course the Vanderkaum in Xenosaga wasn't exactly any better...

5) On that note, Fei's plan was smurfing stupid. "Hey, lets assault the vastly superior force head on! No need to make a real plan!"

Mind you, had he known his opponent was stupid as smurf, perhaps he wouldn't seem like such an idiot. Mind you he doesn't, so Fei continues to show himself the least interesting and competent member of my part. Mind you one of those people is Citan, so of course he is better. But on the other hand one of those people was Bart.

Not true, Fei was briefed before about how Vanderkaum thought and that's why they sent a smaller force of Gears to deal with him cause Citan and Sigurd were pretty sure Vanderkaum would screw things up for himself, so he did kind of know he was up against and idiot. Routing him came as a surprise as well. So Fei's plans wasn't completely reckless and the point of their mission was to cause alarm, not win, so head on wasn't really too bad of a strategy, especially if the vastly superior force thinks their strength makes them think a frontal assault is unlikely. Fei is also most likely letting Bart rub off on him and Fei lucked out that Bart's good luck came with it as well.

6) Do not tell a person you are both seeking power and offering them power in the same breath. You just look like a crazy person.

Grahf wants to kill god, I think he is driving the crazy train at this point so he can say whatever the hell he wants.

7) This guy seems far less threatening when his plan is to give power to Vanderkaum, a guy who doesn't have a clue what to do with power he has.

Yet Vanderkaum is still able to use the power to retake the battle and earn himself a Pyrrhic victory. The fact Grahf's influence could help a sorry case like Vanderkaum save a little face is pretty scary if you ask me.

8) Dropping a Warship on me is cheating.... That's really the line you are going with? Arnold Schwarzenegger would be ashamed of that one.

I love that line and that is still one of my favorite scenes in the game. I love the Red Gear.

[NeoCracker]

I refuse to except your Vanderkaum explanation. He is on a vastly different level of stupid then simple Stubbornness.

And Fei is WAY to assuming to think his foe would be that stupid. No way the previous meeting indicated the extent that Vanderkaum actually was. That was easily one of the dumbest villains I have ever seen. Yet somehow they have trusted him with a fleet.

This does not make the Solarians seem competent. Why does this guy have a fleet?

In response to the openly stating it, I have the same issue with that as Vanderkaum. They took it to far.

What happened there was akin to the following conversation.

Dude: Hey, thank you for pointing out that dollar on the ground for me.
Other dude: When you bend over to pick that up I will sodomize you.
Dude: I don't want the dollar anymore.
Other dude: Pick it up.
Dude: Alright.

As for the rescue of Bart, I know they were unprepared for a frontal assault, but that was hardly an assault. A guy, literaly, jumped in, grabbed them, and jumped out. It was a terribly unclimactic resolution to a huge turning point. Their feint had failed, and trout was going wrong. This was a great set up, until that.

Really the rest are just nit picks. The problem was there was a lot wrong with this brief stretch.

Well, except the line. I admit it was funny, but that was an ill placed line for that scene. trouts going horribly wrong, doom seems at hand, and that's the line we get? It's a real tension killer.

I'm not much farther, I just lost the fight to Rico in jail. I'm digging the role Kislev seems to be playing. I'm liking their king.

Edit: Okay, I love this little bit.

Fei: What data could they obtain from it and I?
Citan: I wouldn't know.

...Wouldn't' know my ass.

I love you Citan. Never change. <3

[Jowy]

Wait until you get to Disc 2. Citan's deathblows are going to be a lot more impressive.

[NeoCracker]

I think I realize one of the reasons Wolf said he wasn't even broken yet. He's starting to, fairly regularly, take 2 turns to each of Fei's turns. And the guy is hitting about as hard as Rico per hit.

I'm in the sewers right now. I just got the keys to the sewage plant, and I'm wondering if I should grind Rico and Citan up to 30 before then though, so that I have their next Deathblows. Especially since Citan has a 100 rating on the next three, so I just need to get to the levels for him.

Also, smurf Mullets. That was the second time I've been killed was fighting 4 of those frog things and 2 fish called Mullets. I decided to stop smurfing around and building Rico's Deathblows (Since he's not high enough level for the ones I'm working on anyway), and just monkey stomp them from here on out.

[Jowy]

Xenogears' sewer is probably the worst dungeon/boss combination on the entirety of disc one.

[Wolf Kanno]

Ah the D Block Sewers... I wouldn't call it the worst dungeon in Disc 1, nothing and I mean nothing will escape the horror that is Babel Tower... *jump* *enter random encounter mid-jump cause of shoddy programming* *win fight* *fall like a rock and restart* so yeah... a sewer dungeon that gets you easily turned around isn't so bad in hindsight.

[Jowy]

I got through Babel Tower without any problems my first time through. The controller almost went out the window during subsequent playthroughs though.

[NeoCracker]

I don't know if 37 was to high, but I kicked that bosses ass.

The level was a bit easy to get lost in, but not so bad really.

Edit: ANd finally no more of that stupid battling. I hated those so much.

[Wolf Kanno]

I like the battling, especially since later you can unlock it as a mini-game and pilot most of the games Gears and a few monsters. If you get a second controller you can do two player versus.

[NeoCracker]

Yeah, I'll just play a real fighting game rather then Battling thank you.

Regardless, I'm off to bust out Rico and get my Gear back.

It seems that Citan is still in contact with the Emperor of Solaris. Though I'm wondering how on the Emperor's side Citan is. I mean he clearly doesn't agree with the Council of Elders, wanting to purge you and all, but I'm wondering about the Emperors stance on all this.

The second interaction wiht The Wise Man was pretty cool as well. At first I thought he may be Gharf, do to Gharf and the blue haired chicks interaction. Where she mentioned him fighting you in the tournament when they spoke.

I don't know if that was just an odd translation, or if perhaps there is just something I missed or ahsn't been revealed. Well, onward to find out!

[Jowy]

NIGHT PURGE!

that's my favourite part of the game.

[NeoCracker]

The Purge was pretty fun, though really I'm kind of depressed I kicked all those guys asses again.

I feel kind of bad for them at this point. Regardless, grinding Elly to learn all her Deathblows before breaking into the Goliath Factory!

[Forsaken Lover]

I didn't think Redrum was too hard either. The sewer level was a nightmare however.
Xenogears has mostly lackluster dungeons but the sewers were just awful.

And I felt no pity for the Gabler Goobers. This was the third frickin' time you had to do a boss rush with these jack-offs and it was time they learned their place as mooks.

Elly had a nice dramatic character moment there at the end of the Purge. You learn a lot about her character and personality.

Namely that she likes dem bad boys. Nothing like devil wings to turn a girl on.
Seriously though Grahf is very enigmatic and that sequence should be remembered.

[Bolivar]

I think Xenogears' weakest part about its storytelling, especially early on, is that it takes the player's suspension of disbelief for granted. It has Dan as a tournament semi-finalist. Its early villains are painfully 16-bit in a 32-bit game. But if you like the mystery surrounding The Emperor and the Council of Elders and Wise Man then you are definitely going to like the rest of the game and where the story is going to take you.

The Kaiser is really awesome, but unfortunately, he didn't get completely fleshed out, at least not as much as I think the developers intended, as a result of budget constraints.

I'm not sure if the sewer is the weakest dungeon in the game... but it's pretty representative that dungeon design is one of the checkboxes they missed when it comes to making a great RPG. Unlike the story, I can't promise that it's going to get any better, if anything it's probably going to bother you more when you're 30, 40, 50 hours into this game and it seems like they put progressively less effort into it.

And yes, the Purge is one of the best scenes in the game.