Xenogears does much more than shake the heavens for the average game player. This game changed the way that I, and many of my fellow gamers, thought about RPGs. With so much of the same coming out for the role-playing realm, it's good to see a change in life. Xenogears has everything that you want from an excellent RPG. Many reviews from such distinguished magazines such as GamePro said that this game was slow, boring, and repetitive. Well if you want a quick fix, Xenogears is not the game for you. Get prepared for 60 some hours of an
engrossing plot that will keep you glued to your Playstation for weeks.

GAMEPLAY - 98%

Xenogears has great everything. From festivals to side quests, this game makes sure that you have something to keep you busy and entertained. They even have a Battle Arena where you can fight in your gears in a Tekken-like way and you can win items/accessories. The controls are relatively simple and it doesn't take a baby to figure them out. You have three types of attacks in battle - Strong (X Button), Medium (Square Button), and Weak (Triangle Button). By building up your attack level in your gear you can unleash devastating combos and beat your enemies to the ground. When you're fighting hand to hand you can execute a relentless attack of deathblows in succession by building up your AP or you can execute deathblows every turn.

The story that surrounds Xenogears is intense and hands-down, it is the best one I've ever seen. The main character in Xenogears is Fei Fong Wong, a respected painter who cannot remember his past. On a dark and stormy night, a bruised and bloody boy was brought to Lahan Village by a masked stranger. This boy was Fei. Besides the random flashbacks, Fei knows nothing of who he was in his "previous" life. As the game progresses Fei is fighting for the survival of himself and his friends, while trying to figure out his mysterious past. There are a lot of religious tones in Xenogears, so if you are offended easily, BE WARNED.

There are up to nine playable characters that you get as the story progresses. While traveling around you can have three characters, including yourself, in your party. Each character has their own special abilities and deathblows which can be used in hand to hand combat. When a larger enemy or gear comes though, you have to call your characters gear. Each character has their own unique gear with their own unique abilities. Each character can equip different items and accessories that can alter their character/gear stats. A great thing that Squaresoft did with this game is that they made their characters personalities and characteristics very unique for each character. You really get to know your characters and what makes them stand out from everybody else during your quest. The bad thing about it is that only about four of these characters are good and a couple are just plain useless in your journey.

What can I say? The musical soundtrack in Xenogears is spectacular. The music is one of the key factors in this game that completes it and makes the game not good but great. There are many songs in the game and you actually get a chance later in the game to play the songs that you want if you get a secret item. Really cool!

The graphics in Xenogears aren't spectacular. The 3D environment is okay, but the gear cinemas are breathtaking. The graphics could have been worked on, but I think that the game is great the way it is. The characters, I think, are beautifully drawn and their style is very unique.

Xenogears is definitely worth the $50 bucks you got in your piggy bank. This is a must have RPG and if you're not crazy you'll buy it. Once you've completed this game, you're gonna want to play it again once or twice to make sure you've gotten all of the secrets (which is a lot mind you), but it isn't something you'll be playing everyday for the next five years. If you're not sure if you want to buy this, even after reading this review, then you might want to rent it. WARNING: Do not try to beat the game by renting it, or you'll end up paying more rental fees than it would cost to buy the game.

Well thanks for reading my review, and feel free to send me with your comments on the game or this review. Tell me what I did right/wrong, what I should work on for my upcoming reviews, or if you want to just talk about games that's cool too. I hope this helped you to figure out if Xenogears is the game for you or not. I based this review on a 0 to 100 scale. McFliP OuT.

- Tony Profeta -
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