Xenogears

Xenogears. I can honestly say that I have never played this game. The one thing I am proud to say -- pathetic as it may seem -- is that I WATCHED someone else play. Even then, I was still impressed. This is dependant on a few factors.

I love mecha. I love big robots. From Voltron to Ultraman(not a mecha, but shiny like one); EVA-01 to Mazinger Z; Zords to ZOIDS; Giant Robo to Getta Robo; from the Transformers to all the Veritechs on the SDF Macross and even the XGP/Outlaw Star, I love 'em all. This was way before I got into video games and when I did ultimately get into RPGs, I wanted an RPG with mecha in it; not just one but a whole lot of 'em. I got to play Armored Core prior to seeing Xenogears in action, and I knew what I wanted in a mecha RPG: customization near or on the level of Gran Turismo and its sequels. But before I got to play the realization of such a game, known as Front Mission 3, I saw Xenogears.

Xenogears was the game that came out sometime after Final Fantasy Tactics. I heard about it through my anime club in college, the Japanese Animation Club of Tallahassee. I was stoked to hear about it being like Final Fantasy 7(THE game of the time) and that it was mostly your main dude piloting a mech. I went over a buddy's house and got to see some of it. I was impressed; mostly intimidated by the menus, but impressed nonetheless.

Dude, he(the main character Fei) had this HUGE mech and it was doing fighting moves! Hell, if you wanted to, you could make your characters so awesome that they could fight enemy mecha without their mechsuits! It'd take a while and you'd be able to take what the enemy dished out in battle but it was the whole thought BEHIND breaking a mech 20 times your size with your bare hands. Even your fellow characters had mechsuits and they could move in a party formation like your normal crew. The scale and music were appropriate and I was in love.

Above: A XENOGEARS phone card from Japan, featuring main characters Fei(right) and Dr. Citan.

I said to myself that one day that I would take the time to play Xenogears. And yet…I continued to hear bad things. That has never stopped me before; I have plenty of evidence to back that up. I think the main problem with my not getting Xenogears is the one most college students have: I had no money. Now that I have the money, I'd go and get it, but I found a somewhat competent replacement for it called Front Mission 3, a strategy RPG with mecha(similar to Final Fantasy Tactics). I still haven't beaten that game, so imagine how enthralling a futuristic micro-management RPG will hold up in my house? Not so long.

I live only for this game's battle screen music. Anything else in terms of gameplay, and I might not be able to help you. With that, I'll just give the RPG Xenogears a rating of 5.

(Note: Xenogears now has sequels on the PlayStation2 called Xenosaga Episode 1: Der Wille zur Macht, and Xenosaga Episode 2: Jenseits von Gut und Bose. Check 'em out.)

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