The RPG that Final Fatansy 7 was meant to Be
Xenogears is probably one of the best RPGs that I have played. Though sadly, I played the game almost a decade later. Reason why? It was because whenever I saw the game, I put off my purchase and got something else. It was a good thing that I wanted to play the game until I was more mature. Mentally mature that is. As for the game itself, it was one of those games that slowly sucked the players in. When I first played the demo, it was so cool that there were giant mechas in it. During that time, I believe I was watching Gundam WIngs on Cartoon Network, so I was very fascinated at giant mechas. Correct me if I'm wrong.
My first impression was that Xenogears was going to be something similar to G Gundam. Well, maybe there were some similarities but drastically different. The story is one of the deepest I've seen and it made me think about our own existence, personalities and spiritualities. After beating the game, it made me hungry to find up more information about the background of the story and such. Make sure to check out Xenogears Perfect Works for a more indepth details about the games background story.
Visuals were mediocre for its time. Not the worse yet not the best. The FMV's were, for its time, very good. As expected from, then, Square.
The music was very well made. I loved how it was able to create certains atmosphere in specific places and events.
The character designs were simple and a bit unique for their time. Sort of like the usual party character designs but with a few alterations. Though however simplistic looking they were, each character had a very interesting past. Though some of the in-game character shared pasts, they all came together to fight one greater evil. Typical of, then, Square's RPGs.
In short, this was the game that Final Fantasy 7 was trying to be but wasn't. I know people might bash me for this but I think it's true. Final Fantasy 7 might have been most people's first introduction into the Final Fantasy series. If people have played the first six, they would know that each Final Fantasy game just got better and better by utilizing the strength of the last game in the series to propel itself farther. (Personally, I think the Final Fantasy series is on the decline.) Back to the topic at hand, Final Fantasy 7 was trying to built upon a similar success of Final Fantasy 6's plot but fell short. In my opinion, Xenogears had all the right ingredients to make it such a legendary game. Great music that help shape the atmosphere. Simple yet deeply refined characters who had different origins though some may have past relations all came together beautifully to fight a greater evil. The plot was extremely fascinating and mind provokingly good. A little bit of humor as usually. All of this and more helped weave a beautiful gaming experience.
My recommendation: If you love RPGs and get an opportunity to play this game, then do so. I highly recommend it.
