Vagrant Story, Chrono Cross or Xenogears?

Xenogears and with god as my witness, I will throw down ye olde fisticuffs with anyone who dares to disagree.

Release the haters!

Vagrant story is dope but relatively obscure. Chrono Cross is a very flawed game which I like a lot, because for all it's flaws it has some really great strengths (art, music, combat system and I'd even argue tone or atmosphere, to a point, even if the story gets hilariously lost and broken after act 1). Xenogears is overrated, like every Xeno game is- always a mess with a strong story start and setup it absolutely fails to deliver on in the second half, both in character development and in plot. Guess I'm a hater too.

Each of them have their own weaknesses and positive aspects, but Xenogears is my favorite.

I acknowledge that some of the psychology elements of the plot are erroneously written and portrayed, the translation of the game to english is shoddy, the random encounter rate is ridiculously high and the second disc is basically a visual novel with gameplay bits thrown here and there.

But i still absolutely loved the characters, the set pieces, the brilliant ear orgasmic music and the plot as a whole. My favorite JRPG of all times.

I think Xenogears was one of the first games I played where it felt like the artstyle and story was all there. First time I felt like I was playing a gundam game.

But Vagrant Story technically is a Final Fantasy game...

I mean, it is set in the world of Tactics and XII.

That makes Xenogears the default winner.

Vagrant Story seems to be the one that I never hear anything bad about, but that may just be because only like four people on planet Earth fucking played the damn thing.

For anyone who has played Chrono Cross it isn't a game about story, its about so much more than that.

Its about putting together a magical skeleton, its about finding an alien on an island, and ultimately, its about a flying sheep and its choice between good and evil.

Between the music and the battle system I think its one of the most fantastic rpgs ever made.

Both Vagrant Story and Xenogears and both really incredible games, with Chrono Cross not much worse. I'd definitely put them all ahead of Final Fantasies 7 and 8, for sure. 9 falls somewhere in there.

@iburningstar: A quick google search shows that Vagrant Story being set in Ivalice was a retcon. Which is good, because I would be said if VS was in any way really related to XII, because XII is stupifyingly bad.

I'm sorry I haven't played vagrant story, I've been meaning to though, I've played some xenogears and like it.

but as a purely just opinion based medium as entertainment is, some of my fondest memories I have is with Chrono Cross, it was a good jam and fanciful and just a jolly time that I had with it.

but they're all three a good jam. 2 hand, if I may say so.

:(.

Practically all of the Final Fantasy games are divisive (except six because that's a classic and you MUST LIKE IT) but I never thought I'd feel a twinge of nerd rage at someone saying that a Final Fantasy game is "stupifyingly bad".

Don't worry, I get why someone might think it's bad. It plays itself, its dialogue is weird, etc.

Vagrant Story the other two did not come out in Europe.

It wasn't bad just came out at a really super bad time. By the time it came out the 360 / PS3 / Wii were coming out. Game was also trying to do the whole mmo feel which I think kinda divided the fans who were fans of the original atb combat. I for one enjoyed the game for what it is and is still on my pile of shame of games I never finished on ps2.

I like all of these games a whole lot, but I have a weird soft spot for Vagrant Story. Xenogears is easily my least favorite if only because I came to it way later and laughed a lot at the translation and story.

Though I also did that with Chrono Cross, so whatever.

Speaking of the combat, maybe a lot of people were mad because it doesn't seem turn-based? It actually is pretty turn-based, or at least turn-based in the same way that earlier FF's were. You have to wait for a bar to refill, you pick skills from a menu, etc. I found myself enjoying the combat a hell of a lot more when I started thinking of it as a turn-based game where everything took place on the same plane of existence instead of taking you to some battlefield for everyone to stand in a line.

I remember really wanting to like Chrono Cross, but the game had a lot of characters and a weird battle system and I lost interest. Music was really, really good, though.

Xenogears gets my vote.

Xenogears, Xenogears for the win!

I generally don't care for hyperbole but I really, really didn't care for that game. Without writing the essay that I could, I think it's plot was poorly executed, it's characters barely there, it's environments pretty bland and it's RPG elements borked by multiple unlocks and terrible grind.

A highlight, for example. The setup: A young princess, her husband the prince killed in battle, her kingdom betrayed by a comrade close to said husband, works behind the scenes after being forced underground by a military coup. In service of her kingdom, she is forced to seek out the traitor for information. But upon meeting him, he is not what would be expected. Wracked by guilt, and seemingly still loyal to the country, he is polite and willing to serve, even after imprisonment and torture. What could be happening here?

Interesting places it could have gone: The King was dirty, or even just inept in some way, and the regicide was a botched but well-meaning attempt to salvage the war for the good of the nation. Can mutual devotion to country overcome her ingrained hatred toward the murderer of her father-in-law?

Or: Though a double agent, his friendship with the Prince had been real. After being left to rot by those he aided, the guilt overcame him, and he truly seeks to repent for his actions. But can anyone trust him? And if his former masters offered again, would he be tempted?

Where the story actually went: His evil twin, whom noone knew he had, did it and framed him.

It's just an example. I don't like that game.

Considering it's my favorite game of all time, Vagrant Story

Weren't there references to FFT hidden away in Vagrant Story? Minor references, yes, but they were still there.

The music and art in Chrono Cross is so in your face mindblowing it's a little hard to handle, frankly. The fact that the game also real, honest-to-goodness exploration and secrets, the massive list of characters, the way you can use that egg to end the game at huge number of different points and see all those different endings - well, I think it's pretty obvious how I feel. The character switch mid-game is also a high point. There are just so many awesome things about this game it's too bad it gets so intensely overshadowed by it's younger, more well known sibling.

Vagrant Story. *sigh*. That's a special game. RPG fans who have a PS3 have no reason not to play this. I just don't think there was ever an RPG like this, either before or after it came out.

Xenogears? Great first 1/3. That's all I got.

Xenogears for sure. Very compelling world and interesting characters and then there is the simply astounding soundtrack.

It's been too long since I've played either. Here's the relevant quote:

"Vagrant Story being set in Ivalice is actually a retcon, as originally nothing suggested for a fact the game was set in that world. The game was not promoted as being connected to Final Fantasy Tactics on its release, and theVagrant Story Ultimania makes no mention of Ivalice. At the time, Yasumi Matsuno was even stressing he madeVagrant Story because he wanted to move away (at least temporarily) from the Final Fantasy Tactics universe. He stated the games are connected only in 2004 in Final Fantasy XII interviews for a French gaming magazine, Joypad.^[1] Before that, the allusions to Final Fantasy Tactics in Vagrant Story could simply be seen as a Easter eggs and non-significant references."

sigh, late 90s gaming, the more I think about it, the more I'm embarrassed about it.

Vagrant Story is either the best or the second best game of all time. Chrono Cross has the best soundtrack of all time and is a pretty good game other than that. Xenogears is massively overrated (it's good to start with but just drags on for way too long), but like average for a JRPG I guess; I mean its better than shit like Disgaea.

VS isn't explicitly set in "Ivalice" and indeed Ivalice isn't necessarily one world, like it could be a region of a world and I mean FFT could be Pangaea and XII is just separate continents later (neither map is spherical in nature); but they have the same artstyle and you can kind of assume they take place in very similar worlds if not the exact same one.

@believer258: VS sold 500k, I guess expectations were in the millions at the time but it did fine; but yeah basically everyone that played it and finished it loves it for good reason. It does have a 15 hour learning curve though.

@crithon: A lot of really good games came out in the late 90s, but VS came out in 2000 so it transcends your meaningless statement all the same. Oh woops, so did Chrono Cross. If you're saying Xenogears sucked then spot on sir.

Chrono Cross. Most interesting magic system (SHUT UP I LIKED IT), tons of characters and secrets, all sorts of choice-relevant stuff way before 'choice' was popular, and crazy in all the right ways. I can't love this game enough.

Xenogears was a mess after the beginning-ish, and Vagrant Story was more like a box-puzzle game (though with admittedly cool characters).

Fix Xenogears' second disc, toss in Chrono Cross' soundtrack and shoot FFVIII in the face.

Now you have Square's best PSX rpg.

Chrono Cross.

Though the pants in Vagrant Story get favorable mentions.

I already know I'm in the minority, but Chrono Cross all the way.

I enjoyed Xenogears when I first played it, but I tried replaying it recently and I don't think it holds up very well at all.

@believer258: World of Ruin sucks. World of Balance is awesome.

chrono cross means a lot to me so i want to say it would be my tops no matter what, but i'd be remiss not to mention that i haven't played either of the other choices

that all being said, i'd personally put chrono cross above every other jrpg except maybe chrono trigger.

also noteworthy here is that the god himself Yasunori Mitsuda is involved in both CC and xenogears' soundtrack

@fredchuckdave: Not these three, just reminded other games in that era I was excited about and then just became a big old mess. Like Legend of Mana, so glad that wasn't on this list. Yes, Vagrant Story was something special I enjoyed a lot.

ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN. Also the RISK system was kind of a bitch. 0_o

Love that game.

Also Vagrant Story having connections to FF was a ret-con. I don't ever remember VS ever being marketed or mentioning any sort of relation to anything FF related when the game was released. That was made after the fact, years later.

Well, Chrono Cross is a bad game, so, that can't be the answer.

I went with Xenogears though, because while that story may be more messed up than Vagrant Story, I at least could understand most of the systems at play in the game in Xenogears than I could in Vagrant Story. So, Xenogears, because I could actually play that game.

@crithon: Ah, apologies if I sounded dickish but your statement was weird and vague. Legend of Mana is supposed to be better than its reputation but I never got around to trying it.

@gaspower: There's a lot of stuff like Agrias' Balm and what have you in VS that sort of go beyond references if you read the flavor text.

Vagrant Story is a very memorable game for me. Still remember the first time I played it. I really liked how tactical the combat was and the story was pretty good too. Nice art style.

Voted Xenogears by default, never played or cared about Cronocross and Vagrant Story came out too late for me to care about it, I was already in PS2 mode at the time.

Yeah, but I kind of feel like that the game really just has references that sort of feel like stuff that was just borrowed from FF and then it was just there since well it was a Squaresoft game. That was until years later when the creator mentioned that it did take place in the same universe but it never really felt that way.

I just want to have either a re-release/HD remake or a sequel but I doubt that's EVER going to happen. But if by chance this game ever get's a sequel, I am gonna go ape shit.

@gaspower: VS has an extremely devoted fanbase in America and stuff like Dark Souls is similar enough that we might see something akin to a sequel if not an actual sequel. Personally I sort of felt like Final Fantasy XII was a bastard child sort of sequel to VS considering the various similarities and enjoyed it, 5 hour boss fights aside.

I haven't been able to get into any of them! Guess I've come furthest in vagrant story though, so I'll choose that game.

I haven't finished any of them :P

I vote for Parasite Eve!

I want to vote but I've never finished Xenogears, and it's been a long time since I played the other two...

:(

I second this!

Hard to go wrong with any of them but

Vagrant Story is one of the most unique Square games ever made with a great battle system. Play that one

Chronocross is not the best Chrono game and Xenogears is a little heavy on the philosophy.

I haven't played Parasite Eve, nor the three poll choices... However, I have played and loved me some Parasite Eve 2 so out of all the options in here, I'm most inclined to agree with this. Even though I'm to understand pretty much every Parasite Eve game is different from the next.

Chrono Trigger got rereleased on the PSx so that's your answer followed by Parasite Eve 2, then those clunkers.

@fredchuckdave: hehe, nah it's okay. Just was feeling nostalgic and then realizing I'm embarrassed for buying some games back then. I was heavy into importing Saturn games back then because of the ram cart expansion and fighting games, then stumbling upon games like princess crown. That whole late 90s was so weird when I think about how money I wasted.

I've played Chrono Cross and Xenogears. Xenogears is a mess, and Chrono Cross is a masterpiece (dat soundtrack!).