I Had To GIVE UP On Xenogears...

[@GenesisVII]

Have you played Xenogears!? Let me know! Don't forget to leave a LIKE and drop a comment!

[@mg8383ffdryhh]

Your experience with xenogears is pretty common. I played it when it first came out and I was initially not impressed. It came out right after ff7 and at that point ff7 was the only other RPG I had played and was the only game I could compare it with. I thought ff7 was hands down the better game with the better storyline. I didn't want to finish xenogears but my personality type is that I have to finish games that I start, even if I think they're bad. I was blown away at certain turning point in the game. I've seen other reviewers of xenogears have had some of the same responses to the game that you have. People told those reviewers that xenogears is the best game ever and so they start reviewing piece by piece. The first couple of reviews it seems like they go a long with the consensus and add the caveat that the story is good "for when it was made", which means they didn't really like it. By their last review they're diving so deep into the story that they're buying books to further explain the backstory. Trust me it's a good game you just gotta keep playing. The themes are so dark, deep and disturbing. It's better if you can play it straight through so you don't forget things and can see how everything connects in the end.

[@LordKaiser003]

Yeah, it's an unfinished game. and often FFVIII is blamed for it.

[@barnzee1]

@@mg8383ffdryhh I agree with this, the story is a slow burn at first, leaving a trail of plot bread crumbs and then explodes in the last 2/3 of the game when all of the insane elements of the plot gets revealed. After finishing the game, I remember diving into the perfect works book released in Japan and then I realized how ambitious the story was meant to be but had to be rushed in the end because of budget concerns but it is still in my top 10. Also realizing that this was meant to be episode 5 of a 6 part saga makes me sad that I will never play the full story.

[@grahfkarate1799]

Played it back in 98 as a 13 year old . As the credits rolled I was like “ wtf did. I just play” played again immediately to understand it., since then I replay it ever couple of years. The story is earth shattering

[@ARadicalDream]

I finished it almost twenty years ago. It is the best game ever and nothing has even come close since.

[@thevideogamecabinet3681]

Agreed! It’s also my single favorite game ever.

[@GenesisVII]

@@ARadicalDream it’s comments like these that will get me back on it! Thank you for sharing

[@Xeakerr]

20 years is a long time m8, maybe replay it if it holds up lol

[@rvodyssey9223]

I agree

[@adamorth5335]

Played this game in 98, I was 13. I didn’t understand everything, but I understood enough to know I had something great in my library of games. I played it again at 15, understood a lot more, and some of those concepts highlighted by Fei’s arc helped me through a rough time. I played it again in my early twenties and blew my damn mind. I play every few years, and I see something new in it each time. Please give yourself time with it, play alongside the ResonantArk gameplay book-club style videos to get deep into the philosophy and symbolism. It’s worth it

[@nishquikpops]

Xenogears is best experienced by yourself. It's a very heavy story so streaming it with a second playthrough is probably a better idea when yku have all thr knowledge of the first playthrough. Also don't be afraid to listen to companion podcasts during your playthrough if you plan to pick it bsck up (Resonant Arc and Retrograde Amnesia have 2 amazing Xenogears podcasts).

[@deyama2012]

I can also recommend "Xenogears - Story Explanation and Analysis" by Max Derrat for a general overview of the story and its main themes, it's only 25 minutes long

[@DengusK]

Xenogears soundtrack was composed by Yasunori Mitsuda. Same composer as Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross.

[@barnzee1]

By far my favorite game composer. his work on xenoblade chronicles 3 was incredible.

[@ShockStormRPG]

Xenogears was one of my favorite games as a kid. I still like it a lot nowadays, but disc 2 is a really flawed part of the game for me. The story is still good, but in disc 2 the pacing goes out the window and the game kind of turns into a movie and it's a lot of reading and super long cutscenes. I still enjoy disc 2 when I get to it, but I do have to be a lot more patient when I get to that point of the game. I dislike when cutscenes get long in games regardless of what game it is. I think a story is best told when it is told in a concise matter. I think a story cutscene should be 30 minutes at the absolute max and if it goes longer then that the developers and writers need to find a way to be more concise in their storytelling.

[@GenesisVII]

Yeah that and taking long breaks can really kill the attachment to the story

[@GamerPastHisPrime]

I was playing it for the first time too… got about 30-35 hours in and stopped… I am going to try and play again soon and give it one last push… it’s just very clunky and slow… story is great though. Combat is kind of mid

[@user-ni8rl6pf4q]

LMAO! You quit one of the best games ever because you wanted to play it on a stream and only let yourself play once a week? You're right, it's for sure a you problem. If you're going to insist on streaming it, then you should be streaming daily.

[@GenesisVII]

I streamed it 3 days a week, and I’m pretty aware in the video that didn’t work for me and wanted to talk about that, and it’s been nice to read the more positive comments 👍

[@jmkos86]

Awesome video! In my opinion, Xenogears is number 1 in my RPG List. Ever since I played it back when I was 15,16 (about 20 years ago) I played it multiple times and since today I make it a point to play it once a year. Truthfully, I wouldn’t stream Xenogears. There’s dialogue, a LOT of it to keep the engagement and the action is definitely there but it’s not as fast as most would like it. I would play through it first and then stream it but speed through most dialogue after. But you were spot on about a lot of how the game is structured. To me, it’s one of the best stories ever, the lore in Xenogears is huge. I enjoyed seeing a fellow gamer enjoy this masterpiece.

[@rvodyssey9223]

This is my favorite game of all time. I always wished we would get a full release of this.

[@mequint2000]

I put it down my first playthrough too - got to the endgame and found that I was severely underpowered to finish it. Picked it up a few years later and finished it

[@scottwhite9609]

A lot of this just comes across as not really being a fan of the 90’s RPG format. I don’t feel like this is as much a critique of the game itself as it is a critique of tropes of that entire genre. I think the game is special for its ambition. It was aiming for the fences in a way that other teams may be scared to do. It doesn’t always get it right, but it’s just a flawed masterpiece. It nails enough elements while still having a few holes.

[@AngelNotFadeAway]

This is a game to play by yourself.Xenogears is an experience not something to play casual or superficially.This game is deep and will take your whole self to a place of deep thought and emotion.You owe it to yourself,trust me.This game will change you forever

[@olegshcherbiy6878]

i was 18years old when i beat the game for the first and transformed my life forever

[@hellogirlgaming]

Yes what a game i was there day one it's the only game i cried to the MUSIC Story 💋 just WOW

[@thevideogamecabinet3681]

Me, too! I played it back in early college, and it’s still my single favorite game of all time. I’m turning 42 soon, and I don’t think anything else will ever top it.

[@bigtatsu]

I'm still upset they cut so much content from disc two. And I played this game in 2000. That's 25 years later.

[@andyreichert499]

I played it back on the PS1. The first time I only made it half way through. A few later I had to start over and made it through. I like the idea of replaying it but grad school.... I do think you're better just playing this for yourself instead of to a crowd unless it's a replay and you're able to discuss the philosophies and references as you go along.

[@davidomartorres3045]

Hey @GenesisVII, this is the first time I heard you over headphones and let me tell that your audio mix is really good! Bass is great and vocals are clear (just to name a few), thank you for the love you put to each video you make, greeting from Mexico!! Xenogears is really a product of it's time, I played it back when it was launched but not really sure I can play it again considering the missing quality of life features, maybe a remake by Team Asano would make me come back

[@GenesisVII]

Oh appreciate it, getting good audio has been a learning process so thanks for letting me know! And thanks for listening, means the world!

[@DarkScarlatti]

Xenogears is my favorite game of all time. I played it on the PlayStation a couple years after it came out (I still have it), I was a teenager learning english. I was so invested in the story that I played it with a dictionary at hand, physical dictionary (remember those?). I wanted to understand everything, I was taking my time, I want to highlight this, I was REALLY taking my time with this game, when I was done with it my first time I was close to 100 hours! So I think that is the reason you didn't enjoy it as much and from what you convey, you realize it, I think juggling between providing a good stream and enjoying the game made you not enjoy it for what it is, it's a very heavy story with heavy and complex topics that you really need to take your time to digest and ponder over to fully embrace it.

[@GenesisVII]

I will go back to it as I did like what I played and seen. It was just hard for me to consume in a live setting. I'll get it done and you'll see a video from me when that time comes!

[@DontStopCornPop]

Streaming games is a really poor way to experience them. Especially a story heavy game like Xenogears. Streaming should be for slop games like CoD and Fortnite.

[@GenesisVII]

I'm streaming Dragon Quest 8 and that's been a barrel of fun tbh!

[@DontStopCornPop]

@GenesisVII Sweet! DQ8 is a great game and I'm glad you're enjoying it! But I am still of the opinion that streaming games cheapens the experience just because of the nature of having to constantly divert your attention from fhe game to the stream. You said yourself in the video that you're having to make decisions based on how entertaining the gameplay is for the audience. It's really hard to play a complicated JRPG or CRPG (especially an old one that expects you to read and take notes) while also trying to keep things fresh and active for an audience. I'm not trying to throw shade or disparage your job, but I feel like the culture of streaming games has had a pretty detrimental effect on the gaming industry as a whole. Maybe it's because I'm old, but in the 90s when gaming was more of a niche hobby, it was a lot more satisfying to sit down with a game and really deep dive into the lore and mechanics and really try to uncover as much as you could. Nowadays, game developers seem to need to make games in a way that hold the players' hands and stick arrows and waypoints everywhere to make sure absolutely no one can miss where the content is. People's eyes are glued to a mini-map in the corner of a screen instead of learning the environment and landmarks in the game. A game like Elder Scrolls Morrowind is scoffed at by modern audiences because there is no hand-holding and there is no waypoints. It's just you and the game. You either figure out or you don't, and that was perfectly fine. Anyways, that's my old man rant at the sky for the day. Take care.

[@nathanknight848]

The game is amazing I played it at launch and then again 2 years ago still epic. Give yourself a break then come back you won't regret it truly awesome story

[@Jouzujoe]

I’d recommend playing it with Perfect Works and not streaming it. Don’t get me wrong, Xenogears has a wonderful fan-base that will help you if you’re stuck in spots. But that said, for the most part people aren’t interested in Watching someone play a classic like this (like even you talking about it makes me want to continue playing it). It’s best experienced at your pace, at your convenience and when you want to engage with it. Putting it to a schedule For other people is recipe for burnout. For the record - I’m streaming after years of not playing it - and even I’m thinking of finishing it offline so I can enjoy it properly.

[@glowingdragon2261]

Ive beaten this game probably 20 times, got it back in 2002. This and Suikoden 2 are my favorite rpgs of all time!

[@ChickenMcThiccken]

i just figured it out. baseball is an open world game that is severely limited in how much you get to move

[@deyama2012]

The game simply wasn't designed with modern day streamers and their chats and tiktok era attention span in mind. People can't even be bothered to spend 1 minute to google composer's name and see the list of their other works, what else is there to say

[@GenesisVII]

I owned up to that in the video, I was confused between the FFT and the CT composers.

[@deyama2012]

@@GenesisVII It's just hard for me to understand how one decides to leave that confusion in instead of spending a minute to google. I can see how the idea to talk about the music can come to you in the middle of filming the video, but it's not like you couldn't stop filming, do a quick search and then continue. Especially seeing that you already have cuts in the video. The next best thing people do is they put such things in the form of on-screen text. I guess, you couldn't care less even at the editing stage, but whatever

[@GenesisVII]

@@deyama2012 Fair criticism, appreciate you being so positive about it 👍

[@thevideogamecabinet3681]

Xenogears is my single favorite game of all time.

[@danepresley7851]

40 hours is a long time to play and quit considering its a 50+ hour game due to dialog. As far as the RPS and hide and seek badge you have to have all the items to gain anything. Finally im not sure if you've ever played an rpg before but preparing for the next area by getting new gear is a must have. Xenogears however can be very challenging at times so having a guide will help alot on your first playthrough. Its my absolute favorite game so don't give up

[@sheldonfredericks8034]

Hey man it's all good. Suikoden 2 is also considered one of the best rpgs from that era. I agree as having played it. And yet I saw another youtuber who said that she just couldn't like it for some reason (she even stated that she preferred the 1st Suikoden). Pelvic Gaming also didn't enjoy Xenogears all that much and she played it on her own. No game will please everyone.

[@joshelstro7581]

Yeah. If you play a game as big, deep, and story heavy as Xenogears, your first playthrough either needs to be off stream or you need to not care at all about the audience and whether youre maintaining their attention. The game needs and deserves your full attention.

[@Uncle_Gums]

Your going to want to start grinding ahead so many levels until your bored, then take a break then grind some more repeat this process until you hit level 99 for everyone. Then you can really start enjoying the game better

[@seanbester1465]

It's my favorite game of all time. I beat it when I was 14 years old and have yet to have an experience quite like it ever since. HOWEVER... there is a reason I haven't gone back and played it again. It's missing a lot of QOL elements that it desperately needs. I'm not saying I would not enjoy it today, I'm just saying I don't want to risk tarnishing the memories I have of it in any way by coming back to it with a 2025 lens. I can understand how someone who skipped it during its heyday is less forgiving of its more grating gameplay and design choices, as they were very much a product of their time (a very short-lasting time at that). That said... the whole streaming thing definitely can't have helped.

[@GamerPastHisPrime]

I was playing for the first time as well. Got about 30-35 hours in and just stopped. Gonna try and play again soon and give it one more push. I enjoyed the story a lot, but it’s so clunky and slow, and the combat is kind of mid… I do enjoy the mechs though. I find that’s a common feeling for me with PS1 RPGs because they tend to move slowly and loading times can be frustrating. I played more SNES RPGs, which were a bit snappier and easier to play.

[@_Fug]

Why not use emulator to speed up slow parts?

[@9sunskungfu]

Xenogears is an unfinished masterpiece. Disc 2 was all a written narration of the story because the creators had run out of time to finish the game. Anyway , i played the game when it was released and the last time i played it would be 20 years ago. Xenogears needs a full remake and done the way it was originally intended but i don't see that ever happening. Anyway, it's in my top 5 rpgs of all time.

[@vianabdullah2837]

I do feel like a lot of long RPGs are just better played in your own time, especially if it's your first time experiencing it. Since there's no guarantee that the content is something that would be engaging to viewers.

[@patsg1146]

Man, I love Xenogears, I played it when it came out and still have my black-label copy. Your first (and I would argue second) play through of this game has to be on your own, like reading a good book (quite literally, in some parts!). My advise is wait a year or 2 and restart fresh in your own time, and if you want to make a video once in a while to talk about the story and your thoughts on it, do it. The game is fantastic, but here are multiple instances of over an hour-long cutscenes playing... back to back. Which would make for really boring streams, I think. Again, I encourage you to play it, but, on your own. :)

[@GenesisVII]

Appreciate it!

[@metalsteel5631]

to be fair, it did not age well. the graphics were so insanely sharp and fantastic when i played it as a kid in the 1990's. but when i looked at it again now, it looks horrendous. and the lack of QOL like a minimap totally sucks.

[@AceFondu]

Xenogears and the 3 Xenosaga games are my favorite JRPG's of all time. BUT I will wholeheartedly admit, especially with Xenogears, the story is a slow burn, and the good beats take a while to get to.

[@KittysCat-j7x]

I’ve started it a few times, and I always ended up stopping after 5-10 hours. It just doesn’t grab me, and there’s an air of toxic pretentiousness that is part and parcel of mecha anime which Xenogears doesn’t shy away from. Xenosaga was ok, I played them all on the PS2, but it falls into the psychoanalytical philosophy stuff as Xenogears does, and it gets weird.

[@trollingisasport]

It was too ambitious for its time. It's pure cult classic, but it felt so undercooked. I wanted to love it so much. If they can get the Star Ocean R team to remake it, that would be amazing.

[@MasterFeiFongWong]

Definitely a game to sit down relax and play alone. Rule #1: Always keep at least 4 saves & cycle through saving over the oldest as you go. Be sure to take down robots in combat with your bare hands instead of jumping into your big robot because that's funny. :) Rule #2: Save often :). Rule #3: A little early game level grind is not a bad idea. Maybe just 10 levels of trying to unlock the combat techniques to get a good strong starting point. Rule #4: Just Have Fun

[@GenesisVII]

@@MasterFeiFongWong love this. Thank you!

[@TheSandyNicole]

So you played it wrong, hehe. Xenogears needs your attention. It's a truly old school RPG experience so you have to put the effort in. Wait a few weeks and go back to it on your own and you will love it!

[@GenesisVII]

For sure!

[@thenonexistinghero]

To be honest, the game has no shortage of faults because it was essentially released in a beta state. The balancing is poor and you can actually get stick if you play on a single file, because there's a few moments in the game where you simply cannot use the shop to upgrade. One of the choke points is a late game encounter where you have a very short span to upgrade your gears and if you don't do that at that point and save, it'll be straight up almost impossible to proceed past the boss encounter. Might be able to luck out with 10-20 tries if you try long enough I guess, but the game has a few points like that. There's also some atrocious mechanics like not being able to jump when the game starts loading up for a battle... which is an issue because there's also a good chunk of platforming sections. You'll just fall straight back then and have to climb back up and fight another battle along the way a lot of the time. Then there's also the issue of disc 2. They didn't have enough time to finish the game, so they use a storytelling format that's very heavy on text to basically summarize the story and what happens. The 2nd disc is basically 2 discs worth of story crammed into half a disc worth of gameplay. The story's amazing, but the game's very rough and unpolished. It's a shame they did never get to finish it properly because the underlying mechanics are great, they just lack polish.

[@cullbe]

Hi Genisis, You said Xenogears wasn't released in the Pal Region, but that is not the case as I bought it when it was originally released and I still own it now.

[@GenesisVII]

Hmmmm, intresting.

[@cullbe]

@@GenesisVII I am In Australia, so maybe that has something to do with it. As I know that there was the rare game that we got that the UK didn't.

[@Oliverph0enix]

It's indeed the greatest jrpg in history

[@Icekin23]

I grew up with NES, SNES and PS1 RPGs. Xenogears is one I never got to play though. Later on in life, I got a chance to finally play it. I tried on three separate occasions to get though it, and I just couldn't. I got bored of it each time and put it down until trying again later. I just don't get what people see in it. Is it just nostalgia? It was absolutely nothing special to me. And worst part is, apparently it gets worse in disc 2. THIS is supposed to be the good part?

[@aza1479]

I gave up then came back and beat it, you can do it.

[@GenesisVII]

@@aza1479 💪

[@GenesisVII]

@@aza1479 💪

[@StairwayToEvan-]

I played Xenogears and loved it.

[@OldManDoom]

Xenogears is one of my favorite games. The dichotomy of a flawed man’s psyche, the political intrigue, the unreliable narrator, how sometimes the good guys just don’t win- I love it Before I judge anybody on stating Xenogears isn’t a good game, I have to know about their opinion on FF6 If they love the unplayable, unfathomably BORING slog of FF6 but can’t appreciate Xenogears- then I know that is where the problem lies. I like exciting, intriguing games that have stories where things actually happen. Others like different types of games

[@neorm2k]

It gets interesting once you got to the "Id" part... hold on.

[@seanharik5023]

Thought you were thunderf00t for a minute

[@GenesisVII]

Man I keep getting this comment haha!

[@samcherry120]

i'd highly recommend giving it another go without streaming it,

[@TRWM735]

Really want to get to this one, but yeh it feels like a hell of a grind. Kind of like the War and Peace of RPGs haha - Jack

[@wadewilson5712]

its only a grind if you want to do all the stories and collect he best in slot gear but its your average 40-50 hour ps1 Jrpg

[@donaldxavier2056]

Best rpg of all time, imo.

[@Mire_Klick]

"this game is so great. its so good and awesome that i stopped playing it" .....oohhkay XD

[@GenesisVII]

Haha I do explain further in video

[@LecroixMystique00]

I played back then in the ps1 but never made it back then I had to play it emulated years after and could finish it then

[@Tarrot]

If its an issue of forgetting things, I'd say play it off-stream in a big batch or keep a journal, as I think watching your vods is too time consuming to reference stuff.. This is one of those games so deep in the story that you appreciate it more on multiple playthroughs when you know the big twists are coming and how they're built up, and you get more out of it with how putting more into it. The combat, the mech combat has issues, but if its an issue with keeping the Gears upgraded, that should be more of an adjustment issue on your part. Finally, if you stopped at the place I think you stopped (the giant tower you need to climb up to get to one of the sky cities), then most people will say that's one of the worst dungeons in the game because of the Gear platforming and how battles can interrupt jumps, but it gets better from there.

[@Lucifel05]

My favorite game.

[@soldier614100]

great game for its time but very long to playthrough and i dont think i would like it now as much as i did years ago. maybe with mods though if there are any. some people will disagree with me but for very old games or especially when you play them on stream, i think its better to use mods that make fun changes to it. just to keep the audience entertained more too. and it can just be a graphics mod only if you dont want to alter the game too much. need to know your way around patches though and emulators

[@Zeppenfeldgarden]

This is a game I’ve wanted to play myself as well. I would say give it another try on your own time. Some games don’t have good pacing for streams. You want to retain the audience attention so you don’t wanna grind and do side stuff. I’ve had other rpgs where I hit a wall from rushing the story and then loose interest all together. When I have the time and patience I go back and appreciate them. Nothing wrong with what you did, keep up the great work!

[@raitoningusutoreto9851]

Not the best at all, is just the best game for old kids robot fanboys. Aggressive enemies spawn, repetitive music, bad 3D animations, bad platforming sections, stupid way to learn new moves, disc 2 is pure trash. The story is not that bad, is a 90' anime highly inspired by Evangelion, many scenes are totally ripoff

[@neogeo1999]

This how I feel about Chrono Trigger. I just couldn’t get into it.

[@keblin86]

OMG please go back to it one day and do not stream it. Enjoy at your own pace! It's absolutely incredible but it massively needs a Remake/Remaster. I tried to go back to it recently and the movement/3D camera turning is horrible lol. The story and soundtrack is out of this world though. It's the only game I've ever considered being on parr with FFVII (my favourite game). Ashamed to admit though I got right near the end of Xenogears and didn't finish it. I have to fix this but man the controls annoy me and I know how big the game is so I just haven't gone back yet. I spent half my childhood trying to figure out how to get this working on a PAL PS lol. The music is so good! Is it weird that, it's probably my 2nd/3rd best game of all time and yet I didn't do the very last bit of the game haha?

[@GenesisVII]

There's many games I love that I've never rolled credits on! Haha!

[@keblin86]

@@GenesisVII True, but to get right near the end, like what was I thinking haha. I got to the end of Ocarina of time too, last boss but never finished it as it was my friends GameCube and he wanted it back haha

[@marqnw9050]

Best RPG

[@kalandarkclaw8892]

You gave up on it cuz you were playing it for content vs just sitting back and playing it. You consumed it like a fine meat too quickly and didn't enjoy the taste. You did yourself a disservice.

[@GenesisVII]

I play most things for content, this was one that didn't hit in a live situation. I'll play it in my own time and I'll make a video on that venture once I'm done!

[@bonelessthincrust]

2 minutes in and he still hasn't said a word about it... god I hate modern youtubers so much

[@GenesisVII]

Timestamps are there for your convenience!

[@Aoi2012]

One of the most overrated games ever.

[@GetWiley]

Real talk, bro. I've attempted a playthrough of Xenogears twice, both times I only made it halfway through the game. And both times it was due to interruptions that prevented me from finishing within a short span. I can't imagine trying to only play on stream. It feels very much like a game that benefits from momentum and immersion. Once you lose that momentum, it's hard to get it back without starting over... And 40 hours into a game, no one wants to start a fresh save file. I appreciate you putting this video up. I was wondering what happened. 🙏

[@GenesisVII]

Yeah, I just need to allocate the time and enjoy. Sometimes it can be tough!

[@GetWiley]

@GenesisVII I can't even imagine with your content schedule, bro. You put up reviews at a beastly pace

[@heatrayzvideo3007]

Beware Internet group think. You must have the same opinion as the general opinion.

[@TaiwanTeddy]

Just play Xenoblade Chronicles 3, it’s pretty much a rehash of the Xenogears story.

[@GenesisVII]

Played, completed and loved it haha

[@dannyd4339]

because you are bad at videogames?

[@GenesisVII]

Yep the worst…

[@raavisingh8163]

First one to comment

[@GenesisVII]

That's great, first one to watch the video will always hold a place in my heart though!

[@jpined14]

I think it’s mostly hype. Everyone regurgitates the same things about this game. I think it’s particularly funny how people discuss the religious, deep aspect of this game as if we had a clue as children. A lot of exaggerated praise from people trying to seem to be in the know.