Xenogears

Xenogears wasn't even going to be released in the US because of some religious issues. But now that it's out, I can't really find what was so wrong with it besides the game. Now don't go flipping out yet, listen. Sure you can build your members up & also manage giant mechas. But is it really worth collecting all the special moves & building your level for the characters considering most of the game's battles take place in the mechs. The whole human fighting system in the game just seems kind of wasted. And face it, there just wasn't a whole lot to do. Some story scenes would take over an hour to tell without involving the player. You're strickly an audience for those long tales. In all truth the massive story (it's quite confusing too) coupled with the incredible amount of time it takes to play (60 or so hours) makes for a long, boring game. Even though there are some hidden little quests, but they really don't make things that much better. If there were some good things about this game one would be the likability of the characters. Who couldn't like the twisted love story between Fei & Elly. And the design of the 3D worlds is quite astonishing when you notice the huge architecture. Another neat factor was the fighting system which used a round of combos for moves. It added a little fun but eventually got boring. For being an RPG the story should have been a little more precise & perhaps a little shorter. And there definitely should have been a lot more player interaction. I consider Xenogears an okay play but don't expect anything like Final Fantasy 7. It's more on par with Parasite Eve as a movie RPG. Square! You'd better start putting a little more effort into these titles.

Overall 7.4