No doubt there's good stuff here, but I feel the best of it was left in the realm of theoretical potential. Very little in the gameplay, story, or presentation resonated with me emotionally, to my disappointment. I kind of love the game as a vision, but only mildly like it in reality. It's probably a minor miracle it was even released at all. Xenogears was one of these projects, where its ambition massively outstripped its means, and it ran headlong into time and money constraints. With the creative limits seemingly lifted, many creators optimistically pushed as far as they could. Xenogears - This game is a quintessential product of the second half of the 90s when new technology like CDs rewrote the boundaries of what was possible in digital entertainment and anime like Evangelion showed there was a big market for ambitious pseudo-sophisticated pop sci-fi. Lastly, it's got some of my favorite atmosphere in any game I've played-the melancholy is sublime-and I love the juxtaposition of a world decaying into all-encompassing hopelessness with Valkyrie rolling through blindly and dutifully kicking the ass of anyone standing in the way of her divine mission.Ģ. The game has some great story moments, especially in the tragic backstories of party members, and it's got lots of charm (even the bad 90s voice acting, which could honestly be much worse, given the era, has some cheesy appeal). The gameplay is unusually active for a JRPG, with fighting game-like combos to execute in battle and puzzle-platforming to perform in dungeons. The beautiful spite art and catchy eclectic soundtrack have obvious appeal. Overall, it's not a hard game to beat or to have fun with, despite being a bit of an acquired taste. That said, it's perfectly reasonable to reference a FAQ, especially to figure out how to get the best ending. Each time through you experience partially different content (per difficulty), you can use your previous knowledge to further optimize your exploitation of the game's progression systems, you have a chance to puzzle out the key to the best ending, and it's a pretty short game by RPG standards (10-30 hours). The developers intended for players to play the game multiple times. Some of its systems are obtuse, especially with regard to story revelations, which are easier to appreciate once you're on the other side of understanding them. Valkyrie Profile is kind of a collection of parts more than a cohesive whole, which is highlighted by its multiple difficulty settings, which determine what dungeons, items, party members, and endings are available. After finishing it four more times and mastering everything about the game, it's now in my extended list of favorite games of all time. Years later, I had a sudden craving to revisit the game, so I tracked down a copy for myself and got way into it. I liked it quite a bit, but it didn't leave a huge lingering impression on me beyond being a quirky stylish JRPG. Back in the day, I borrowed my roommate's PS1 copy, played through it once on Normal, and got the normal ending. Valkyrie Profile - It took me some time to come to love this game. Valkyrie Profile > Xenogears > Vagrant Storyġ. It's pretty clunky and I'd be surprised if that aspect would ever truly click with me. From what I have heard it seems it could be up my alley, but what I played of the combat was weird. Vagrant Story is a game I've been meaning to play for a long time, and actually tried starting awhile back, but didn't get too far. Still, definitely a game worth playing at least once. Which surprised me, as I play a lot of JRPGs and that's rarely an issue. (Xenosaga and Xenoblade: Chronicles ended up being more my jam.) The last time I tried replaying it I struggled to get past the long-winded dialogue early on and ended up stopping. Xenogears is a game that I enjoyed, but never left the same lasting impression on me as it seemed to for others. The PSP version has weird scaling and I haven't heard good things about the mobile port. I just wish they would actually release a good port of that game. It's an odd game that won't appeal to everyone, but I think what it does is neat and worth experiencing at least once. Valkyrie Profile is probably the one I have the most fondness for.
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