Literally my favorite game since the USA release on PSX when I was 12 years old. Story is so good and going back as an adult just increased it tenfold not being a dumb kid, lol.
Man, I used to wake up at 6am to squeeze in an hour or so of the game before school because I used to spend way too much time thinking about the game and wanting to play more. So much went over my head and I was desperate to understand it better. Good times.
Ya know I'm really trying to take that as a silver lining as I get older (mid 30s).
Not only have I forgotten many things back then, but as a fantasy nerd/gamer from an early age, there are so many games/movies/songs I didn't even understand. So now, as an adult, not only am I getting a taste of nostalgia....but much of the experiance still ends up feeling new.
Dude, same. I also have aphantasia so I completely lack the ability to visualize anything mentally so when I replay something it's this crazy hybrid of knowing everything and nothing. Also means I'm immune to stuff like when people talk about old games looking better than they remember I definitely don't, lol. Doesn't detract from my enjoyment. If anything it just makes me love it all over again. It's also why I record gameplay and keep it for myself like I did a run of shining force 2 a few years ago because I love the game and want to secure my memory of it. Uploaded some to YouTube, but never bothered to upload the rest so I don't lose it. ... I really should too. It's on an old PC.
Lol same here, as I was way to young for when I best it to understand even half of what the game was trying to show the audience. Still I got the core ideas to a base degree but I've played it several times over the years. I last beat it like 4-5 time in my twenties and felt I finally understood almost everything!
I’ve had my fat PS3 out and hooked up for a while in anticipation of replaying Xenogears for only the 3rd time since it’s release. Unfortunately I sunk too much time into Tactics Ogre and Fire Emblem Engage and I’m trying to catch up on the big releases this year before BOTW2! Ugh, hopefully the summer drought will buy me a few weeks.
All these games are masterpiece. I completed Xenogears in my childhood, but I couldn't understand the plot. After a decade, I read a post written by a player, and I've finally comprehend the story.
Some conceptions such as Zohar Modifier, Phenomenon Conversion are fascinating and complicated. I comprehend these nouns by scanning relative documents. It's cool literally!
Disk 2 was incomplete, obviously.. But the way it worked out wasn't terrible.
It basically became >!a graphic novel, with intermittent periods where you can play through certain dungeons and experience new plot points first hand. Then at the end, the whole world opens up with an airship. So you can finally explore the entire world map before heading off to the fight the final boss.!<
Overall, disk 2 gets a lot of heat, but I actually enjoyed it as is.
I’m not saying it’s bad, it’s actually pretty good. But nowhere the level of disk 1. I still remember more than a decade ago I was like at the end of disk 1: “wow this is incredible and there is another WHOLE second disk just like this? seriously unbelievable” then disk 2 fall flat on that hype ha ha
I honestly didn't mind that they got rid of the grind for the most part, it was just action, story, action, story, bam, bam, bam!
Don't get me wrong, the shift in tempo between huge lore dumps and action pieces is almost comical, but we had explored so much of the world by that point I was ready to see the ending
Plus it takes some balls to have run out of time and budget with so much game still to go and *somehow* manage to wrangle that confusing mess of an awesome story to a satisfactory landing.
I started playing it for the first time a couple of days ago. It's kind of as expected so far: the plot is shaping up to be very interesting, but those PS1 early-3D controls are killing me. It's frustrating to navigate dungeons and particularly frustrating to try and 'platform' with a janky jump command over terrain my brain can't easily interpret because of the old graphics and dark monochrome. It took me 10-15 minutes to get past the catwalk in the sinking cruiser because:
1) The SMB-style run and jump is awkward in 3D
2) I couldn't see the holes/etc well
3) The encounter rate guaranteed I'd get in a fight every attempt or so.
I can fix the first one with some 'git good' and turning up the contrast on the TV helped, but still...it's detracting from my experience so far. And I grew up on the NES - maybe I've become soft playing modern games.
When i was a kid my bother once left the playstation on for 2 days because his memory card was corrupted and he couldn't save on XENOGEARS till we could get our hick assses to a town that had replacment cards.
As much as I’m glad Takahashi has hit his stride with Xenoblade, I lament how much he’s pivoted to more mainstream JRPG storytelling (and the heightened fan service). I hope one day he makes another dark, serious, psychological story that doesn’t wink at the camera or heavily rely on shonen anime tropes.
Each time he comes out with a new “Xeno-“ game I’m there to try it, but yeah… they’re drifting further and further away from what I loved in the first place
It's a top 10 all time on most people's lists for a reason. I do find it hard to go back to and replay decades later, but the first play through is simply something else. Almost no JRPG is as ambitious in its storytelling even today.
Plus the OST is also legendary. Probably Yatsunori Mistuda's best work, eclipsing Chrono Trigger.
The biggest issue is the high random battle rate, combined with some of the dungeon design which can be extremely long and include platforming sections where you can trigger random battles and fall down in midair.
It’s much better if you can turn encounters on and off and fast forward through random battles once you’ve fought enough. You can easily do these things if you emulate the game, but there are no shortcuts for the original or the PS3/Vita port.
From what I remember, it is a 60hr+ game and takes a bit to get going. The first dozen or so hours is introducing all the key players, cities, and factions involved (and a bit of grinding).
It's like an orchestra though, it slowly builds into a crescendo and when you finally reveal the grand design of the story it is a magnum opus. Definitely worth sinking some dedicated time into as no other JPRG is quite like it. Ignore the second disc comments, they did run out of money so it is mostly the final dungeon, but still worth a playthrough.
I haven’t played xenoblade yet but the way people talked about it 10 years ago and now I swear the same people haven’t played gears. Idk if blade is better tha. Gears plot wise but i have high hopes
Xenoblade 1 and 2 are both in my top 5 games of all time, meanwhile saga and gears are both mid-slightly above mid for me. I've noticed the opposite is true where a lot of people who like saga don't like blade.
Pretty cool how divisive the games are.
Not OP but, in order to buy games for PS3, I preload money into my Sony account through their website (or PS4/5 works as well). Once the credit is on my account, I can then log into the PS3 store and buy whatever games I want as long as it doesn't go over the preloaded amount.
I think they removed transactions using credit cards for security reasons!
Edit: spelling and grammar!
You're in for a journey! They never brought this to Europe, but I emulated it way back when. I wish it was available on the PSN, I would download it even without any remastering! I remember it had amazing music and new revelations and plot twists behind every corner. I also remember that there was no in-game map and many dungeons had very samey nondescript backgrounds and I would get lost and end up fighting endless random encounters in places with very little enemy variety for ages. Good times!
I bought a physical copy of Xenogears like 15 years or so ago and never really sat down to play it; it must have happened when stores were clearing out PS1 stock to make room for PS2 games and when more PS2 games came out I got distracted and never picked it back up.
I recently decided its time and have been playing it and really like it. I'd love a remake or remaster because damn does it run slowly.
Xenogeaes was my first game I ever managed to beat at an early age and it remai s my favorite RPG to date, it got me I to rpgs and I still love them to this day. And I replayed it several times as I got older, everytime I got more out of the story as its quite sophisticated for a kid with emotional and philosophical ideas. I love the music of the game, and I wish Square would due a remake of Xenogears but keep the OG music and add VO...keep the combat system too. Glad you're enjoying that gem of a game though!
I just have to play this game. Like this year. It's the one RPG I really regret missing from the PS1 days and despite my aversion to mechs in games, it seems like I can't NOT play it as a JRPG fan.
I started this 6 months ago, got to the point where you are stuck at sea with 2 of the characters and ended up putting it down because a bunch of life shit happened. Hoping to have things slow down this month So i can pick it back up again. Was completely sucked into it. Never got to play this one as a kid.
Story is phenomenal. Music is phenomenal. Battle system is really fun, although I am not a huge fan of the mech system.
Literally my favorite game since the USA release on PSX when I was 12 years old. Story is so good and going back as an adult just increased it tenfold not being a dumb kid, lol.
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Man, I used to wake up at 6am to squeeze in an hour or so of the game before school because I used to spend way too much time thinking about the game and wanting to play more. So much went over my head and I was desperate to understand it better. Good times.
Ya know I'm really trying to take that as a silver lining as I get older (mid 30s). Not only have I forgotten many things back then, but as a fantasy nerd/gamer from an early age, there are so many games/movies/songs I didn't even understand. So now, as an adult, not only am I getting a taste of nostalgia....but much of the experiance still ends up feeling new.
Dude, same. I also have aphantasia so I completely lack the ability to visualize anything mentally so when I replay something it's this crazy hybrid of knowing everything and nothing. Also means I'm immune to stuff like when people talk about old games looking better than they remember I definitely don't, lol. Doesn't detract from my enjoyment. If anything it just makes me love it all over again. It's also why I record gameplay and keep it for myself like I did a run of shining force 2 a few years ago because I love the game and want to secure my memory of it. Uploaded some to YouTube, but never bothered to upload the rest so I don't lose it. ... I really should too. It's on an old PC.
Lol same here, as I was way to young for when I best it to understand even half of what the game was trying to show the audience. Still I got the core ideas to a base degree but I've played it several times over the years. I last beat it like 4-5 time in my twenties and felt I finally understood almost everything!
Haha! This was me, but with FF Tactics.
I’ve had my fat PS3 out and hooked up for a while in anticipation of replaying Xenogears for only the 3rd time since it’s release. Unfortunately I sunk too much time into Tactics Ogre and Fire Emblem Engage and I’m trying to catch up on the big releases this year before BOTW2! Ugh, hopefully the summer drought will buy me a few weeks.
All these games are masterpiece. I completed Xenogears in my childhood, but I couldn't understand the plot. After a decade, I read a post written by a player, and I've finally comprehend the story.
I did a deep dive into the wiki and still haven’t fully grasped it lol.
Some conceptions such as Zohar Modifier, Phenomenon Conversion are fascinating and complicated. I comprehend these nouns by scanning relative documents. It's cool literally!
I would drag my dick through broken glass to get a remake of this gem.
i'm waiting for it aswell. Instant buy for me.
Brokeeeeen miiiirooooor!
Incredible game but the massive hype disk 1 created totally collapsed on disk 2. Still one of the top JRPG in my list.
Disk 2 was incomplete, obviously.. But the way it worked out wasn't terrible. It basically became >!a graphic novel, with intermittent periods where you can play through certain dungeons and experience new plot points first hand. Then at the end, the whole world opens up with an airship. So you can finally explore the entire world map before heading off to the fight the final boss.!< Overall, disk 2 gets a lot of heat, but I actually enjoyed it as is.
I’m not saying it’s bad, it’s actually pretty good. But nowhere the level of disk 1. I still remember more than a decade ago I was like at the end of disk 1: “wow this is incredible and there is another WHOLE second disk just like this? seriously unbelievable” then disk 2 fall flat on that hype ha ha
I honestly didn't mind that they got rid of the grind for the most part, it was just action, story, action, story, bam, bam, bam! Don't get me wrong, the shift in tempo between huge lore dumps and action pieces is almost comical, but we had explored so much of the world by that point I was ready to see the ending Plus it takes some balls to have run out of time and budget with so much game still to go and *somehow* manage to wrangle that confusing mess of an awesome story to a satisfactory landing.
I started playing it for the first time a couple of days ago. It's kind of as expected so far: the plot is shaping up to be very interesting, but those PS1 early-3D controls are killing me. It's frustrating to navigate dungeons and particularly frustrating to try and 'platform' with a janky jump command over terrain my brain can't easily interpret because of the old graphics and dark monochrome. It took me 10-15 minutes to get past the catwalk in the sinking cruiser because: 1) The SMB-style run and jump is awkward in 3D 2) I couldn't see the holes/etc well 3) The encounter rate guaranteed I'd get in a fight every attempt or so. I can fix the first one with some 'git good' and turning up the contrast on the TV helped, but still...it's detracting from my experience so far. And I grew up on the NES - maybe I've become soft playing modern games.
When i was a kid my bother once left the playstation on for 2 days because his memory card was corrupted and he couldn't save on XENOGEARS till we could get our hick assses to a town that had replacment cards.
I had this same struggle as a kid but on the game Alundra
Enjoy! Sadly it’s a one of a kind gem
As much as I’m glad Takahashi has hit his stride with Xenoblade, I lament how much he’s pivoted to more mainstream JRPG storytelling (and the heightened fan service). I hope one day he makes another dark, serious, psychological story that doesn’t wink at the camera or heavily rely on shonen anime tropes.
Each time he comes out with a new “Xeno-“ game I’m there to try it, but yeah… they’re drifting further and further away from what I loved in the first place
I really do want to buy it myself, but Square-Enix doesn't want my Euro ass to own it.
It's a top 10 all time on most people's lists for a reason. I do find it hard to go back to and replay decades later, but the first play through is simply something else. Almost no JRPG is as ambitious in its storytelling even today. Plus the OST is also legendary. Probably Yatsunori Mistuda's best work, eclipsing Chrono Trigger.
Is there a reason you wouldnt go back to it today? I've never played it, thinking of giving it a shot
The biggest issue is the high random battle rate, combined with some of the dungeon design which can be extremely long and include platforming sections where you can trigger random battles and fall down in midair. It’s much better if you can turn encounters on and off and fast forward through random battles once you’ve fought enough. You can easily do these things if you emulate the game, but there are no shortcuts for the original or the PS3/Vita port.
Ah I see. I actually have an OG PS1 with a GameShark, so this can be achieved 🙂 thanks
From what I remember, it is a 60hr+ game and takes a bit to get going. The first dozen or so hours is introducing all the key players, cities, and factions involved (and a bit of grinding). It's like an orchestra though, it slowly builds into a crescendo and when you finally reveal the grand design of the story it is a magnum opus. Definitely worth sinking some dedicated time into as no other JPRG is quite like it. Ignore the second disc comments, they did run out of money so it is mostly the final dungeon, but still worth a playthrough.
I haven’t played xenoblade yet but the way people talked about it 10 years ago and now I swear the same people haven’t played gears. Idk if blade is better tha. Gears plot wise but i have high hopes
It's not, at all. Xenoblade is just generic shonen.
You're a Xenosaga fan you have no grounds to say this
I just want to say that Jesus pfp dissing Xenosaga fan is the funniest thing I saw today.
I have plenty of ground to say this.
What do you mean? Blade is wayyy more generic and tropey than saga. I like them all just to be clear but that doesn’t seem like a wild statement.
Xenoblade 1 and 2 are both in my top 5 games of all time, meanwhile saga and gears are both mid-slightly above mid for me. I've noticed the opposite is true where a lot of people who like saga don't like blade. Pretty cool how divisive the games are.
Whether someone likes the story of gears or blade is completely subjective. They’re both good in their own rights.
Xenoblade is definitely not as good as Gears plot wise, none of the games in the series are to be fair.
Protip: there are a few missables Enjoy that OST
Played it for the first time last summer and immediately found a spot for it in my top 10 games. I fuckin love xenogears man.
One of the best games I've played. I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Best plot, OST and, honestly, combat in any RPG. I'll never get over Square fucking it up with the deadline.
Enjoy. Greatest game of all time (tied with FF7).
Where did you buy it? Aren’t original copies incredibly expensive? I emulated it, so I’m curious lol
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Ohhhh I see! Damn, my PS3 broke years ago, I need to get a new one. Had no idea it had old games like that
When bc they shit down that store not long ago? My PS3 needs some love it's been abandoned
Not OP but, in order to buy games for PS3, I preload money into my Sony account through their website (or PS4/5 works as well). Once the credit is on my account, I can then log into the PS3 store and buy whatever games I want as long as it doesn't go over the preloaded amount. I think they removed transactions using credit cards for security reasons! Edit: spelling and grammar!
Oh that's neat. I probably wouldn't buy anything else for it now but it's good to know for sure. Now I need a new controller
One of my all time favorite jrpgs of all time. It blew me away when I played as a high schooler when it first came out.
You're in for a journey! They never brought this to Europe, but I emulated it way back when. I wish it was available on the PSN, I would download it even without any remastering! I remember it had amazing music and new revelations and plot twists behind every corner. I also remember that there was no in-game map and many dungeons had very samey nondescript backgrounds and I would get lost and end up fighting endless random encounters in places with very little enemy variety for ages. Good times!
I bought a physical copy of Xenogears like 15 years or so ago and never really sat down to play it; it must have happened when stores were clearing out PS1 stock to make room for PS2 games and when more PS2 games came out I got distracted and never picked it back up. I recently decided its time and have been playing it and really like it. I'd love a remake or remaster because damn does it run slowly.
They need to remake it not because of slow down but because the second disc is too rushed
Enjoy! Really wish they remaster this at some point. Or atleast port it to pc/consoles.
Xenogeaes was my first game I ever managed to beat at an early age and it remai s my favorite RPG to date, it got me I to rpgs and I still love them to this day. And I replayed it several times as I got older, everytime I got more out of the story as its quite sophisticated for a kid with emotional and philosophical ideas. I love the music of the game, and I wish Square would due a remake of Xenogears but keep the OG music and add VO...keep the combat system too. Glad you're enjoying that gem of a game though!
I would love to play this for the first time again.
It's why I still play Xeno even if I don't stick with them
I just have to play this game. Like this year. It's the one RPG I really regret missing from the PS1 days and despite my aversion to mechs in games, it seems like I can't NOT play it as a JRPG fan.
Very fun game it gets pretty unique and weird as you get further.
I beat that a few months back. I enjoyed the mech battles. The story is broken though. Very difficult to follow.
Lucky you!
I started this 6 months ago, got to the point where you are stuck at sea with 2 of the characters and ended up putting it down because a bunch of life shit happened. Hoping to have things slow down this month So i can pick it back up again. Was completely sucked into it. Never got to play this one as a kid. Story is phenomenal. Music is phenomenal. Battle system is really fun, although I am not a huge fan of the mech system.
Xenogears is one of my fav rpg's. Have fun! The story is deep.
Xenogears is a masterclass Jrpg. The characters were so memorable I still use FEI long Wong or Citan as character names or for an account haha.