Xenogears was a game I happened to pick up while at the mall one day many years ago just because it looked fairly interesting. I had NO idea what I was getting myself in to. The game seemed to revel in throwing as much philosophy in to its storyline as possible and by the end got DARK. I wasn't a fan of how the second disk was literally crammed together but I understand there were budget, time and space limits so it is what it is. To this day, it remains the biggest pleasant surprise gaming experience of my life as I had absolutely no idea what it was about or anything else. Yes, the graphics haven't aged well, but it's still a classic of story telling. Stick with it, the game really is a joy to play.

Xenosaga I could just never get through. I finished the first game fairly quickly but the changes made to the second game just frustrated me to no end and eventually I just gave up which is very rare for me. Plus, the 20+ minute cut scenes ended up becoming a bother. I loved the storyline and the characters, but I wanted to PLAY the game, not WATCH it.

Finally you have Xenoblade. I could go on for days about this one but all I'll say is that it still ranks as one of my favorite games of all time. At any point, I could just pick this up and get sucked back in. The world itself is so wonderfully crafted, with so much history built in and while yes, it might feel a bit lighter in tone, it still has high stakes. It also has the element Xenosaga was missing: This is a game to PLAY. You explore every nook and cranny, gasp at how much detail has been put in to every area and best of all, this game took some of the biggest drawbacks of RPG's and turned them in to strengths.

To wit, there is a quick travel option, which makes tracking back a breeze. There are literally hundreds of quests and most of them DON'T require you to return to the quest giver. Simply fulfill the duty and the quest completes itself in your inventory. The short hand made it so much more fun to play and get lost in. This is the rare game where you WANT to waste time and wander around a while.

If I had to rank them:

Xenoblade
Xenogears
Xenosaga 1
Xenosaga 2

Never played:
Xenosaga 3
XCX


Take care all.