Squaresoft
Xenogears

When it comes to Role-Playing Games, the first names that come to mind for most gamers are Zelda, Dragon Quest, and Final Fantasy.

Among the fans of these three historic series, there has always been a debate regarding the supremacy of one chapter over another in their favored saga as opposed to the others. Even though I consider myself a true lover of this type of video game product, I have always found these kinds of discussions a bit outside of my worldview, as I don't believe there has to be a winner in this field, since everyone favors certain game systems over others, a certain graphic and narrative style over another. Yet, last night I was asked a very specific question... I was not asked which one is the best among them, but what is the best Role-Playing Game that has ever existed. And I answered, after careful analysis, precisely Xenogears.

I must admit that this choice was rather difficult because initially, the answer I wanted to give was perhaps the most conventional... Final Fantasy VII.

Delving deeper into my mind, completely oblivious to the chaos forming around me with a fierce head-to-head between FFVII and Zelda, Ocarina of Time, I came to the conclusion that what I sought in an RPG was not given to me by any other game the way the small and unfortunate Square title managed to do.

What led me to give such an answer, to mention a game unknown to many, not marketed in Europe, and moreover with huge gaps due to a budget cut in the development project, I want to express to everyone, hoping that this true masterpiece emerges from anonymity and that perhaps some young DeBaserian, who only knows the latest chapters of the most famous sagas, might go out and get it (The Sadnes group has excellently translated this title as well).

The fundamental thing to know is that Xenogear was released a few months after Final Fantasy VII and received disastrous treatment. Towards the development of the second half of the game, the responsible team saw their funds cut, all redirected to the new chapter of the historic series. This destroyed any possibility of realizing a second part of the game on par with the first, and in order not to abruptly cut the plot, it was decided to opt for a second disc made almost exclusively of scenes and dialogues. And this is the biggest flaw of this game. It was a choice that maimed it, and consequently, if I further analyze this factor, I can only convince myself of how this title, if left alone, would have had much, much more to say and probably its direct competitor in my list of preferences would have been distanced much more.

But let's leave this discussion aside....

"I am the alpha and the omega

the beginning and the end

the first and the last."

With this phrase, taken from the book of Revelation, Xenogears opens. And it opens with a sequence of death, the self-destruction of a spaceship following an incident of unknown nature within it. When everything is silent, from the remains of the ship crashed on the surface of a deserted place, a female figure emerges.

From there, a time jump much further ahead. 

Fei Wong is a young man helping prepare for the wedding of two of his dear friends. The night before the wedding, the village where he lives becomes the battlefield of some Gears (Mechs or, if you prefer, robots) from two opposing kingdoms. When a pilotless Gear appears before him, Fei boards it and tries to defend what he believes to be his homeland. Unfortunately, the young man suddenly loses control of himself, and involuntarily opens fire on what remains of the village, killing all the inhabitants who had not managed to find shelter. Devastated by grief, Fei finds himself exiled by the survivors and is therefore forced to venture into the world. Tormented by continuous flashbacks and mysterious memories linked to events from hundreds of years past, he will meet Elly, a girl indissolubly tied to him, who will accompany him on a journey that will unveil the secrets of man, life, death, and even God himself. 

As you might guess from the beginning, it is the plot that, in my opinion, elevates Xenogears to the throne. Never in my entire gaming career have I encountered a plot so complex and articulated (incredible to say, but not even Metal Gear or Final Fantasy VII come close). The story is filled with continuous religious references to evangelical and Jewish stories, anthropology, and psychology (especially Freud and Nietzsche, and theories concerning the id, ego, and superego). The plot unfolds over something like 10,000 years, so its depth and complexity are incredible, as is the incredible psychological exploration of the characters and the emotional involvement during the game's most intense phases. To help you understand the level of complexity of the narrative, I can only liken it to: Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Graphically, the game is very well-crafted (we are still talking about a game from the first PlayStation era!) and the game engine makes use of 3D environments (rotatable at will) on which two-dimensional characters move. The narrative uses film sequences realized in anime style, excellently executed from all viewpoints (animations, characters, and directing). The settings are very varied and perfectly believable within the context created by the developers, even if the technologies and aspects result in being profoundly different.

The combat system is divided into 2 phases: one where you fight with the characters and one where you fight onboard the Gears. The first is based on a reserve containing a certain number of AP (Ability Points) that are used for attacking; there are three types of attack that consume different amounts of AP: weak 1, medium 2, strong 3. Each attack is assigned to a button on the joypad, similar to what happens in Street Fighter (not exactly, but just to give an idea). Certain button sequences result in actions called Deathblows that can be used in continuous combinations between characters, bringing exaggerated damage to the enemies that we will face.

As for the Gear part, here the discourse becomes more tactical; the functionality is similar but instead of ability points, you will use fuel. If this fuel runs out, you won't be able to attack in any way and will have to recharge your mech, leaving it exposed to enemy strikes. Moreover, there is a bar similar to that found in fighting games, which once filled will result in powerful techniques. Also, the Gears do not level up and need to be appropriately powered up, otherwise, you risk not progressing as there is no possibility of "leveling them up".

On the soundtrack level, the composer Yasunori Mitsuda (who also worked on the soundtrack of Chrono Trigger) has created a masterpiece with absolutely splendid themes that have nothing to envy to Nobu Uematsu's compositions.

Having said this, I conclude by returning to the initial point.

I consider Xeanogears the best Role-Playing Game ever because it has the best story I've ever seen in a video game product. And in my opinion, it's the story that is the fundamental factor for an RPG. Period.

However, it would all be worthless if there wasn't a proper game structure underpinning it. Instead, the entire structure proves to be perfect, and the only thing that remains from this masterpiece, apart from the cloud of emotions, is the regret for what could have been and wasn't.