Xenosaga is an epic sci-fi RPG set in the distant future. It is the prequel to Xenogears on the PSone. Xenogears was one of my all time favorite games so naturally, when I heard about Xenogsaga I was a very happy man. The story includes giant robots, aliens, beautiful androids, biologically engineered humans and every other sci-fi buzz word you can think of. The game is the first of six in a series the will supposedly span over several consoles.
This game is one of those things you absolutely love or hate. It is very cinematic. There are several lengthy cut scenes. These FMV's look gorgeous and do a great job of telling the story. Personally, I greatly enjoyed the cut scenes. On the other hand, if you are someone with a very short attention span, you may not appreciate the FMVs as much. You spend a lot of time watching the game instead of playing it.
When you do get to play, you'll find the game play quite slow. The battles are all turn based and somewhat boring. When I say boring I mean compare to action game. When compare to other turn-based RPG's, Xenosaga is above average but not the best. Leveling up is an extremely slow and painful process, so for those of you who love to max out your characters, you may want to exercise some restraint. One the flip side, you really don't need to level up at all because the game is so easy. Even the secret bosses are cake it you made smart decisions on how to level up your character (i.e. play on their strengths).
On a positive note, the characters have a huge amount of customization when dealing with stats and special attacks. It's just a shame they're so boring to level up.
As far as graphics are concerned, I feel the title looks great. The game doesn't look as good as some of the other AAA titles, but it has a great style and just looks visually appealing. Sure it could look a lot better, but you have to remember this game started production several years ago. In the end, if you're a true RPG fan, you probably are more interested in a good story and engaging characters, and less with how many polygons the main character is made up of or how accurate of a shadow she can cast.
Overall this game was extremely entertaining. I loved it. It is one of the best games I've ever played and definitely on par with Squaresoft's RPGs. It packs a long, entertaining story, twisting plot lines and interesting characters. The actual game play isn't anything groundbreaking, but it certainly isn't bad either. If you're like me, the awesome cut scenes will help propel the game forward and keep you glued to the T.V. right till the end. If you're into sci-fi and love Japanese RPGs than this game is a must. I give this game a 90%.
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