Tetsuya Takahashi's Xeno franchises

[Pumpkin]

I actually forgot it was a thing

I find Xenoblade to be the most different of the three, but it's as good a place as any to start if you want to. It's super expensive over here though, not sure about there

[Fynn]

It still has a great story, but it's just much lighter and less philosophical than the others. It's okay to play on its own, but it's also nice to know where it all came from

[Mirage]

not if they get burned out playing a game in which they hate the gameplay

[Formalhaut]

it's also nice to know where it all came from

I think Kanno's post did that.

[Fynn]

You never know if he'll hate it. There's stuff to like about Xenogears' gameplay even if you specifically can't see it. Everyone's different

[Fynn]

it's also nice to know where it all came from

I think Kanno's post did that.

He barely scratched the surface.

Don't be dissuaded by Mirage. The games are really something else. If you REALLY don't want to play them, at least do as Pumpkin said and watch an LP. Though I still think the story works best when experienced on your own, it's really worth experiencing period. It might just have the best video game plot, like, ever.

[Pumpkin]

Xenogears is sharky's favourite of the bunch and he actually loves the gameplay. I think it's all really subjective as far as which everyone will enjoy more. Xenosaga III is by far my favourite, followed by I. The story is best in Xenogears though, I think, and the world is best in Xenoblade. I actually don't like Xenoblade's gameplay much myself but it's still a very good game. I think the genral consensus though is that Xenosaga II is probably the worst of the lot by a good bit. Which is a shame because it gets so much better in the next entry.

[Formalhaut]

I'm leaning towards Xenoblade Chronicles, but obviously people have different opinions. And it won't be for a long while yet, so feel free to keep tugging me towards one game or the other.

[Fynn]

Xenosaga II had terrible, terrible music outside of cutscenes (the music for those were composed by the amazing Yuki Kajiura). That really made me not want to finish the game and that's saying a lot.

But yeah, I actually liked the combos in Xenogears, and I also kinda enjoyed the Gear battles. Xenosaga I's system was also cool, while II's didn't bother me either and I liked the Proto-staggering.

That's kind of the thing about games - don't give yourself an opinion until you try them, because you can't really experience a game from reading about them. They're all great games with different strengths and weaknesses - you won't know what works for you until you try

Also, both Pumpkin and I are recommending them. You remember how things went the last time this happened, don't you?

[Pumpkin]

Really though you have your whole life ahead of you, so pick whichever you want to play most, have fun with it, and then look in to the others

Why play one game when you can play 6?

[Fynn]

Really though you have your whole life ahead of you, so pick whichever you want to play most, have fun with it, and then look in to the others

Why play one game when you can play 6?

Yup! Get out there and try new things - don't let the opinions of others color your expectations! You'll be the ultimate judge of what worked best for you

[Wolf Kanno]

I too saw the similarity between Break/Stagger but that's really the only similarity between XS2 and FFXIII's combat systems. I cannot stress this enough because the two are night and day.

Xenosaga II makes FFIX look like a nonstop thrill ride in terms of gameplay. It has to be the slowest smurfing game ever. FFXIII meanwhile is a twitch-fest that hurts my fingers after a while.

IT TAKES TEN SECONDS JUST TO LOAD ALL THE BATTLE MODELS AT THE START OF EACH FIGHT IN XENOSAGA EPISODE II.

Then of course there's XIII's Paradigms and the like which is way different from XSII.

ALSO YOU CAN'T BUY ITEMS AT ALL IN XENOSAGA II. No weapons, either.

-gibbers-

Conceptually, the games are similar with combat based around a gimmick of breaking an opponents arbitrary armor before getting a temporary opportunity to inflict real damage before having to rinse and repeat until the battle is won or lost. They work differently in execution; but I feel they have the same issues of only being engaging during boss battles and random battles are more of a chore or tedious exercise. Of anything, I actually like Episode II's incarnation a bit better because the Boost system actually makes it so battles always involve a real sense of tactics and you do need to build a strategy for most boss battles overall. XIII was always more twitchy and my options were more limited to make it feel less engaging.

Looked at all three, thanks Kanno!

Honestly, you ranked the story of Xenoblade Chronicles as the worst, but I read the description and it seems interesting from where I'm standing.

And the combat sounds compelling - the 'death vision' sounds an interesting mechanic, if done well. Would you say Xenoblade Chronicles is a good game to start the series with?

It's all pretty sweet actually. The Death Vision mechanic is handled pretty well despite what Mirage insists. Breaks up the monotony of combat.

The story is actually really good in Xenoblade, it just lacks the same level of scope as Gears and Saga so for someone who grew up on the older stuff, it's a bit more light and fluffy than I am used to from this team. In terms of RPGs overall, the game is actually really good in the story department it's only ranked the weakest of the games worked on by Tetsuya Takahashi and even then the game actually has better consistency and pacing than Gears and Saga, so it has its strong points as well. It does deal with certain strong themes that are in most of Takahashi's works such as mankind's relation with god and whether free will makes us the master of our own destiny or whether it's a mistake and we must be subservient to our creator. Not to mention Humans are Bastards is a favorite trope.

The real treat of the game is exploring the world and meeting the locals. There are some interesting stories in this game and the concept of the world keeps it pretty engaging throughout. The Gaur Plains (which is literally the third area in the game) is roughly the size of Grand Pulse from XIII and there are even more areas like it in the game. The game also does a pretty good job of making zones feel distinct from each other so you don't really get the feeling of being in the same area with different wallpaper like say... FFXII or White Knight Chronicles. Xenobalde is a great intro into Takahashi's style but it won't prepare you for Gears or Saga because Blade was designed to be those games antithesis. The game's design was created based on the feedback of his previous works which are mostly criticized for being 70% plot/cutscene and 30% gameplay that is often not as fun as it should be. Even fans would agree that Gears and Saga would work better as novels and high production TV series (we'll forget Xenosaga the Animation exists) than games. So for Blade, Takahashi set out to make a fun and interesting game first and then the story came afterwards. I think XCX has a similar design philosophy. So while it keep themes and styles, the game has a different feel and purpose. You'll probably find Gears and Saga lacking if you go back to them after playing Blade in terms of gameplay and structure.

[Mirage]

Of course people have different opinions and tastes

I mean, have you seen how many people regularly eat at mcdonalds?

[Forsaken Lover]

Conceptually, the games are similar with combat based around a gimmick of breaking an opponents arbitrary armor before getting a temporary opportunity to inflict real damage before having to rinse and repeat until the battle is won or lost. They work differently in execution; but I feel they have the same issues of only being engaging during boss battles and random battles are more of a chore or tedious exercise. Of anything, I actually like Episode II's incarnation a bit better because the Boost system actually makes it so battles always involve a real sense of tactics and you do need to build a strategy for most boss battles overall. XIII was always more twitchy and my options were more limited to make it feel less engaging.

Yes, the great strategy of
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I'll twitch my fingers off any day rather than do that.

It's not like there is no strategy in XIII, anyway. You can't just twitch to another paradigm and win. My latest run has taught me how amazingly valuable SAB is. If you're on the ball with your debuffs and buffs, it makes the game much more rewarding.

[Wolf Kanno]

Yes, the great strategy of
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I'll twitch my fingers off any day rather than do that.

It's not like there is no strategy in XIII, anyway. You can't just twitch to another paradigm and win. My latest run has taught me how amazingly valuable SAB is. If you're on the ball with your debuffs and buffs, it makes the game much more rewarding.

You're forgetting that enemies will also be boosting and breaking up your flow, as well as some enemies require two characters to break, or again the turn order element that makes it so you have to pay attention to who is doing what each turn so that the boss doesn't get the Critical Hit bonus turn when they get ready to pull off their ultimate attack.

XIII has strategy, I just found it weak and unsatisfying since there is enough Paradigm slots to make all of the Paradigms you really need for almost every fight barring a super monster or two. It isn't helped that XIII kind of uses underhanded tactics to make the game actually difficult. XIII has speed but I felt it lacked control and substance, mostly feeling like winding up toys and letting them do their thing while you engage your mind somewhere else because strategy was mostly common sense as opposed to the enemies being set up in a way you have to figure out how to beat them.

Regardless, I'm not a huge fan of either system and wish developers would stop with gimmicky "additions" to combat as an artificial means to force the player to stay engaged.