Yee Seng Fu(Yu Shenfu) Singapore http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Portal/7933/ Dragonball and Final Fantasy 7 page ICQ:25076522 ysf@pacific.net.sg _____________________________________________________________________________ By Yee Seng Fu Review of Xenogears ____________________________________________________________________________ Stand tall & shake the heavens Xenogears had it all-a dream that all RPG fans have been waiting for.It's hard to believe that such a game will come out after Final Fantasy 7,and by far a perfect RPG that i have been waiting for-Deep,involving storyline,great musics,fully-3-D roaming enviroments,innovative gameplay and battle systems. I haven't had such feeling before,after Final Fantasy 6 until Xenogears came- a feeling as if i have been suck into another dimensions. I onced saw a Transformer cartoon when i was young.Since then,i have been dreaming of having gigantic robots in an RPG,and now the dream has came true. Did anyone mention Gundam? What makes it the best?A game that can truly stand on its own. Graphics:10/10 When i first played Final Fantasy 7,i was really amazed by the pre-rendered background.Everything looks so beautifully-drawn,as if you are viewing a picture drawn by a famous artist.Unfortuately,a complaint soon arose within me.Despite the beautifully,pre-rendered backgrounds,i was really upset with the lack of freedom.Why?You can actually see the entire screen and the area of spaces you are allowed to roam is so small.In some areas,the camera is placed very far away,making the characters seem so tiny.The enviroment looks fake because when the character starts to move,the camera didn't.Fortuately, Xenogears have everything i have asked for.Due to its rotatable enviroments, it seem that you are exploring a vast,endless area,and you are allowed to move anywhere you like.One word,freedom.That's what 3-D games should be.In fact,2-D games like FF6 actually offers more explorations and freedom for you to roam about and explore with the surroundings than FF7.Some complain that the cmaera angles added a lot of fustrations to the game but i don't agree. Think about Zelda:Orcaina of Time and Mario 64?What makes it a success even without any FMVs or anime?Freedom.And that's what's Shigeru Miyamoto has been stressing about.If you are a true RPG and action gamer,you will appreciate it.True enough,FF7 does have a lot of exploration.I was truly amazed by the design layout of Shira HQ,but i was even more impressed with Xenogears. Imagine exploring with gear on.There are quite a number of gamers out there who dislike sprites-based.In fact,i prefer sprite-based more than polygons. FF7's characters look so deformed but fair enough it may mark the beginning of polygons.But think twice.Sprite-based represents the roots of gaming. FF6 is in sprite-based,but still it is undeniably the best RPG out there.Why? In fact,the details of very characters still look very amazing in sprite- based,don't you think so?Besides,it is not entirely sprite-based,but also a mixture between polygons.Gamers,visit Yaddrasil,talk to the man near your gear and view your watall from a top-down view.You swear it is as cool as watching a videos.No doubt,has the best graphics.It's whether you are able to appreciate it or not. Music:9.5/10 SquareSoft has not proven us down that not only can they produce good games, but they know how to compose top-notch music.Just like Final Fantasy 7,the musics really fits the atmosphere.The ending song,small two pieces is a great hit.In fact,i still can't decide whether FFs(4 to 7) or Xenogears have the best musics.One sentence,"RPG developers,musics play an important key factor in the game,do not underestimate it." Control:8/10 Fair enough,the controls were very responsive.But in fact,i prefer FF7's control more.Controlling of Highwind was more easier than controlling Yaddrasil.The control may get you a while to get used to.Nevertheless,it's not much of a problem.The only complaint i have is that it takes quite a long time to load the main menu,which is quite fustrating sometime. Anime VS CG:Comes polygonal cutscene:8.5/10.0 When i first saw the intro,the first thought that comes to my mind is:am i watching Gundam?For your information,Gundam is a very popular anime in Japan, just like Dragonball.One word,stunning.However,as i began playing the game longer,i realised that i don't see many 'cool' anime as much as i saw in FF7. Before i carried on,i was displeased with the lack of gore when Aeris was killed.But we saw gore on anime in Xenogears.Fresh blood filled young fei's face.Nevertheless,Xenogears is the first game that incorporates anime,and it does exceptionally well,just as FMVs does to FF7.But the question is,do you think there is a need?When i saw the gears,i was filled with amazement to what the PlayStation could do.Could it replace anime/FMVs?Remember Xenogears fighting with True Wetall,controlled by Graft.And don't forget the cokcpit of the gear!One word,stunning!Not only these gears are cool to look at,the advantage is that you can get dialogues to the game.Remember Maria fighting with her own father? Storyline:10/10 The storyline is the best i have ever seen.It's simply times much better than FF7,in fact a perfect story.It's the first game that revolves around a love story,Fei and Elly's relationship.In Final Fantasies,for example 7, the story revolved mostly around the major characters,like Cloud,Tifa,whereas minor characters like Vincent,Caith Sith didn't get much attention in the story.What makes the story groundbreaking besides love is that everyone gets equal amount of attention,and the story actually sounded like a novel.You will be surprised that the story is linked to the past,even hundreds of years ago.Themes that revolve around the story are depression,friendship,love, unity,betrayal,sci-friction,religious belief,hatred,childhood memories,brain- washed,war,saving the world are some examples.Remember how Mother Sophie sacrfice herself.It really touches me for days.The story is full of unexpecting twists that will keep you wondering and the story only revealed most of the secrets until the end.As for the case of FF7,some of the storylines are predictable.One word,groundbreaking. Battle System:7.5/10 The battle system is simply innovative.Remember Suikoden,who has three forms of combats,ranging from party,one-to-one,and army-to-army.However,the combat wasn't as cool as i thought.Xenogears is the only game that incorporates more than one form of battle so perfectly well.The use of sophisticated,innovative button is a reason for gamers to get excited,though in my opinion,it is not as cool as the materia or limit break system.Nevetheless,the concept is later expanded by Legend of Legaia.I won't talk about this game.Imagine,halfway during battle,you can call your gear for assistance,cool isn't it?Besides,the deathblow is really cool,especially the 7AP.The statistics are really realisitic.For example,characters' HP can go up as high as 999HP whereas gears can rise up as high as 30,000 and over.Besides,you can tune up your gears.Unfortuately,the magic systems and the accessory of the gears are far too unbalanced.Despite that,this is a new battle system that we have never seen before,and because it's the first,such mistakes can be forgivable. Replayability:8.5/10.0 Just like any Square's game,it has tons and tons of secrets.I don't need to talk about the secrets,do i?I don't want to spoil the game. Overall:9/10 Xenogears has the potential to stand on its own as the greatest game of 1998, the latest masterpiece from Square. If Square can make a sequel on Xenogears 2,and improve the battle system while retaining the same elements,it will end up being the best RPG,and may even blow Final Fantasy 6 away. _____________________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------------------------- ysf@pacific.net.sg ysf@pacific.net.sg Conference Software Address Default Directory Server Additional Information: Last Name First Nameysf@pacific.net.sg Version 2.1