Would you consider xenogears a fantasy plot or a realistic(but futuristic plot)

[Del Murder]

I'm just screwing around. Definitions for things like these are all relative to me anyway. One person's fantasy is not necessarily another's.

[edczxcvbnm]

You are correct that it is all relative but we also need a standard that is universally recognized. We do we draw the line

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

Bah, somantic bull.

[Doomgaze]

Main Entry: So·man
Pronunciation: 'sO-m&n
Function: noun
: a poisonous gas with potent anticholinesterase activity created for use in chemical warfare


I certainly hope you do NOT have a somantic bull!

[BG-57]

Considering that Xenogears includes giant robots, nanomachine colonies, and demi-human bunny girls I would lean toward Fantasy.

But seriously, even within a Fantasy genre, there are stylistic choices in character interactions. Tolkien characters don't necessarily interact the same way that C.S. Lewis characters do.

[theundeadhero]

When I bite into a game of Xenogears I get the sensation that, WHOOOSH! I flying around in giant robots over vast fields, fighting for my life, and struggling with inner demons. YEE-HAA!

Considering that Xenogears includes giant robots, nanomachine colonies, and demi-human bunny girls I would lean toward Fantasy.

Except for the demon bunny girls that sound like science fiction to me.

[bEoWuLfX]

xenogears is science fiction. I consider anything fantasy that 1. does not contain robots, 2. does not have cloning or genetics crap, and 3. does not have super cool dungeons with those elevator things. so basically anything that has one or more of those as a major theme within the game is not considered fantasy. final fantasy 7 is not a fantasy.

[Doomgaze]

sci fi is almost always fantasy.

[bEoWuLfX]

Well I guess fantasy could encompass science fiction, but to be honest xenogears an undesputable science fiction! how can it possibly be just a fantasy when it fits into such a better and more specific sub category? Well? For one thing Xenogears has robots, nano machines, lots of scientific ideas concerning energy, and even some psychological mumbo jumbo crap.

[edczxcvbnm]

Your right. It is science fiction but that is not what this thread was asking. It was asking if it was fantasy or realstic.

[-N-]

Giant mech robots from past civilizations? A spaceship that crashed on our planet 10000 years ago and spawned human life and intelligence as we know it? An engine that violates every single law of physics? Let me think...

The only realistic part of Xenogears is nanotechnology. Everything nanotech does in that game; we are on the verge of being able to accomplish (with the potential exception of Emeralda - that might take a while).

[ShunNakamura]

Fantasy is a broad catagory,

But I am fairly certian xenogears would be put in a particular genre I have read before. This genre is called Science Fantasy, more or less a mix of straight Sci-Fi and straight Fantasy. So magic AND robots, which xenogear has.

Some things that the game has in it are plausable, but others are not, which once again fits the science fantasy genre. Anyways I am droning, and if you doubt me of the existence of the science fantasy genre, take a look at what Chris Wooding's early copies(don't know if they are still labeled the same) of his Broken Sky Series, namely I remember the first one being classified as such.


So to answer the question directly, it is niether, it is a mix of the two, and I think it is a fairly even mix that could be argued either way, Although I would say it has more science in it then fantasy(the oposite of The Broken Sky Series)

[darkchrono]

I at first called it a realistic game because of what the characters deal with. They deal with much more personal and real problems than most rpg's deal with. And interact with eachother in a much more personal and real way then most other rpg's do as well. That is what I was basing my realistic thoughts off of. Off of the characters moreso than all the giant robots flying around in it.

[BG-57]

Well, then Xenogears has an unusual degree of depth and complexity to the character interactions. That is a good thing.

Darkchrono, what might help is if you provide an example of an RPG that has what you consider a 'fantasy' style of character interaction.

Although I consider several other RPGs to be equal in terms of depth and understandable characters, such as FFVII and FFT.

[kikimm]

Hey, it doesn't matter if it's sci-fi or fantasy. Whatever it is, it's a damn good game.




....



But to expand a bit more...I'm an avid book-reader. But only mystery/crime and fantasy. FANTASY. I absolutely loathe science fiction novels. There is a huge difference between the two. It is, in its own way, fantasy, but it branches off into something that I deem unreadable. But not, necessarily, unplayable. Xenogears is science fiction. If, because sci-fi relates to fantasy, it is also fantasy, so be it. It can't be a little bit of both? I agree with ShunNakamura.

Final Fantasy 7, and 8 also seem to lean more towards the sci-fi direction, while Tactics seems to take more to the fantasy side. In terms of setting, and plot, maybe, not character interaction. I think xenogears seems more realistic because it doesn't have the Final Fantasy logo on it. It's much deeper, and takes more chances. It's a given that all the FF games will be released here as well as Japan. That game almost didn't get over here because it was so controversial. In the character interaction...way...it is a lot more realistic....blah.*shrug*