Bleh. Storyline is important; but not as important as other aspects I look for in RPGs… I mean, like, in battle. Is it mandatory that you use Gears? In any battle? If I have to spend 50% of battles in robots; I will surely never buy the game; ever.
No, its not. The only time the “//” follows is if there’s something that comes after it (ie, .hack//SIGN, .hack//INFECTION). Otherwise, its known as “.hack” you silly 
Speaking of .//hack, what is it like? I mean, I’ve played for like, 10 minutes; up until you get BlackRose and go to that castle place… how long is the game? My friend has a file of 30 hours, and he’s level 33… I mean, how much time of story is there? God, I can’t explain my question understandibly… Okay; how long is the game, in a linear sense? Without doing extra garbage, and just levelling, and progressing; how long is it?
Without sidequests and stuff and doing what you must… 25 hours or so. Less than that if you play well enough.
But everything has something after it… ah, whatever.
Yeah, it’s mandatory 50% of the time. Well, not really, but unless you get Fei’s Yamikei, there’s shit chance you’ll beat a fifty-foot-high mecha on foot.
And what do you see as the most important aspect of an RPG?
I’m a total graphics whore; so graphics is the most important part of an RPG; if you ask me. Followed by soundtrack.
Then at least get the soundtrack, Yasunori Mitsuda is great and the songs Star of Tears and Small of Two Pieces are masterpieces.
Oh and don’t repeat what you just said about graphics being the most important, anywhere, ever. Trust me, I know a lot of people who would eat you alive for that.
I just like to be blown away by the graphics. Take Metal Gear Solid 3 for example… awesometastic graphics; combined with kickass music, builds the experience of owning a true legendary game… hearing the good music of Xenogears, but seeing pixels on screen (except backgrounds; I can stand that), doesn’t build anything. Heck, if I closed my eyes; and listened, it’d build a better experience…
Where could I find the soundtrack/ how many discs?
Gears aren’t the majority. It is probably about 40/60 gears/humans. Not only that, but as you get more powerful, you can choose to get out of your gear and fight as your characters. Xenogears is fucking awesome and much better than .hack. You also need to think about which game you’ll be able to easily get in a couple of months or years. Also, the graphics aren’t the best. Don’t get me wrong, .hack is a good and fun game, but it pales in comparison to Xenogears. I was sorely disappointed by Xenosaga. I won’t be getting the second one because the first one just didn’t capture me. In .hack, when you are in the field, the graphics are pretty bad and not to go along with the story. The interiors are about the same as any other game or RPG. .hack will be around for awhile, Xenogears won’t and it is the better game. If you need help deciding, look through Ryuuhi’s shrine and see if it floats your boat.
I agree that it won’t be here for much longer (on the market), but I can always ask the Gamerama staff to reserve a copy for me; and I pay them extra… which I might do… so, Xenogears isn’t a normal RPG; where you fight things man-to-man? More like machine-to-machine/monster? Futuristic RPGs truly suck in my opinion.
No, it is mostly man to man like I said. Also, it rarely is machine monster, more machine machine for the gear parts. Also, the gear parts are pretty similar to man to man, except you have a fuel meter, which adds some strategy and is really only a factor in boss battles.
Bleh. My point about the graphics still stand though… so I guess that’s really what’s stopping me from buying Xenogears… the more I think of it; the more I want to buy it.
A prime example of how much the graphics suck.
You fight man-to-man, man-to-monster, gear-to-gear and sometimes even gear-to-man. You fight enemies of foot a lot but about 70% of the boss battles are in Gears. It’s not all that futuristic really, there’s a lot of country towns and wild settings. The whole planet is all that technologically advanced which is understandable considering the planet went trough five or six apocalypses.
The graphics might not be the best seen on the PSX, but they are in no way a hindrance for the enjoyment or understandability of the plot (Unlike the block-sprites in FF7, ugh).
Did I mention how much I hated Breath of Fire 4 for PSX? I brought it back solely because of the graphics… I didn’t even want a refund, I just wanted the bloody game away from me. Well, I exchanged it… I think for Final Fantasy Origins.
I prefer blocky graphics to pixel graphics; especially on a console that can fully support polygons. There isn’t much use to using pixels for PSX.
So you exchanged a game with lame graphics for two games with even worse graphics… yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
Sure, I mean, it’s awesome to see Cloud wave his arms around while you try to guess if he’s being a prick, doesn’t care, does care, is hungry, is having a psychotic attack or just wants to go to the bathroom because he uses the same fucking animation to express all of the previous things.
Bleh. I liked the graphics of FFO. Besides; it’s a remake of a classic NES game. The graphics aren’t expected to be so fucking awesomely mindblowing.
Sure, I mean, it’s awesome to see Cloud wave his arms around while you try to guess if he’s being a prick, doesn’t care, does care, is hungry, is having a psychotic attack or just wants to go to the bathroom because he uses the same fucking animation to express all of the previous things.
.
Okay; I can’t get Xenogears tommorow; just found this out, even if I wanted to buy it… but, if the game lasts until next Monday, I won’t need to sell any of my games; and I’ll be able to have Xenogears… but, if all six copies are gone, then I’ll have to go for .//hack… for now; I’m sticking with Parasite Eve.
I hate you. You should get Xenogears.
I’ve played it, it fucking ROCKS, <b>AND</b> it’s the only game I’ve ever gotten by ordering it online. My mom is afraid of the internet x.x;
Um, the reason you keep seeing all those games brand new is that they were rereleased as “Greatest Hits” a year or so ago (Final Fantasy Chronicles, Final Fantasy Anthology, Final Fantasy Tactics, Xenogears and Vagrant Story). You should be able to find those games (along with the other PSX Final Fantasys) at most any story that still carries PSX games. In short, those games simply are no longer rare or hard to find.
Also, I don’t know why Sinistral is crediting Walhalla for the Xenogears shrine. Ryuuhi made it. =P
Speaking of Xenogears, it’s one of the most awesome games ever. And it’s in my top 3 favorite RPG soundtracks ever too.
Um, the reason you keep seeing all those games brand new is that they were rereleased as “Greatest Hits” a year or so ago (Final Fantasy Chronicles, Final Fantasy Anthology, Final Fantasy Tactics, Xenogears and Vagrant Story). You should be able to find those games (along with the other PSX Final Fantasys) at most any story that still carries PSX games. In short, those games simply are no longer rare or hard to find.
Also, I don’t know why Sinistral is crediting Walhalla for the Xenogears shrine. Ryuuhi made it. =P
Speaking of Xenogears, it’s one of the most awesome games ever. And it’s in my top 3 favorite RPG soundtracks ever too.
Hmmm, so I guess it’s not too early to purchase it? Anyways, I’m still leaning to .//hack.
Sorry for the double post; but since the last one is a few hours ago; I find it neccesary to make another post.
I’ve changed my mind; and I’ll be picking up Xenogears tommorow. I’ll be getting 15$ tonight, with 5$ of my own, which gives 20$, and my parents owe me 15$ which I’ll most likely get tonight. But if I don’t get it tonight; I’m selling those games.
Then I’ll get .//hack shortly after.