OT: any other games?

[Saber Cherry]

Actually, I have Escape Velocity Nova as well! I like it. That's the only shareware product I've ever registered, which shows how much I liked it. I never registered Dom I because I always thought Dom II was just around the corner...

Xenogears. I bought a Playstation just so I could play that game. And I considered it a worthwhile transaction, even though the only other Playstation game I liked was Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. But, Xenogears is not "Playstation only", per se, as it runs on the PS2 as well...

Um, I'm lazy. But the reason I brought this up is because I was just writing a letter to a friend, convincing her to get Xenogears... I gave my copy away... so allow me to quote that letter (modified a bit):

I was sooo looking forward to Chrono Cross, and it disappointed the heck out of me after Chrono Trigger. Inferior music, gameplay, plot, dialogue… the way you can’t level up except at boss battles… lack of cool items to find and equip… but you know what? The reason that (for me…) Chrono Cross did not live up to Chrono Trigger is that the team that made Chrono Trigger, did not make Chrono Cross! Instead, they (the complete team, including the composer) left Square to for their own company, which produced one of your favorite games, Xenosaga! That team produced Chrono Trigger (SNES), Xenogears (Playstation), and then Xenosaga (PS2). And I’ve never played Xenosaga, but I’ve been dying to do so! Because, you see… The best game of all time is Xenogears!!! It has the best music ever (in a video game – close seconds are Final Fantasy III and Chrono Trigger), the most interesting and complete character development ever – I mean, it has better character development than any movie I’ve ever seen, and even any book I’ve read – and I’ve read a lot! It also has a better plot than most books I’ve read, and the depth of the storyline is phenomenal – you could write 5 complete novels and wouldn’t cover all of what Xenogears hints at! And not dumb books, either, like you’d get if you transcribed the backstory for most other games. The feeling of excitement and anticipation, and just overwhelming coolness as you advance is… well… overwhelming! I cannot heap enough praise on this game.

Xenogears is an RPG that has giant robots. But those aren't what make it good, they just make it cool. Everything about Xenogears is awesome, except the graphics, which are about average Playstation quality. But, it still has the coolest FMV and game-engine cutscenes ever, regardless of the fact that the platform is dated. The thing about it is... you start off kind of confused, not really knowing what's going on. It's not, "Here, Light Warrior, defeat the Dragon Lord with this sword" like most RPGs. It's more like there are real people, in realistic (though sci-fi) situations...

And as you go through the game, every time you think, "Wow, this game just transcended the limits of depth and coolness", some shocking new revelation will occur! As a result, it does not have very high replay value, but it's such a massive game that it took me 99 hours to the end. So, I forgive it that one vice.

By the way, I was not impressed with the first hour of Xenogears, I thought it was dumb. Only when my friend convinced me that, yes, it was BETTER than Chrono Trigger, and kept telling me that, did I cave and buy a PS just so I could play Xenogears... which, by the way, is vastly superior to Xenosaga (the prequel) from all reports I've seen. Anyway, Xenogears is more than a game, it's like the coolest sci-fi movie you've ever seen combined with an excellent book (if you skip dialogue, skip this game. But, most game dialogue is bad and boring, so...) combined with a great game.

Well, I gotta go eat, so bye-bye! But I hope I convinced someone=)

-Cherry

[ October 24, 2003, 00:47: Message edited by: Saber Cherry ]