Xenogears (1998)

Developer: Square Product Development Division 3
Publisher: Square Electronic Arts, Square, Square Enix, Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation, PlayStation Portable
Genres: Role-playing (RPG)
Rating: 4.4 of 5, 121 player ratings
Main story: about 56 hours
Completionist: about 85 hours

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A sprawling, story-dense journey that pulls you through a grand science fiction saga where the weight of its ambitious narrative and layered lore demands patience and rewards deep engagement.

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About

Xenogears Blends Authentic RPG Gameplay with Exquisite Hand-Drawn and Computer-Generated Animation in a Grand Science Fiction Tale. An intricate storyline involving many human and non-human characters will prove to captivate audiences of all ages. Players can rotate the amazingly detailed 3D gameplay maps 360 degrees, and have the ability to navigate around the environment by jumping and climbing. In battle, mega-robots can be controlled, adding great variety to play. A new real-time combat system eliminates restrictive menus, using button commands to provide fast-paced, intuitive action. Players can wield dramatic magical spells or engage in real-time polygonal robot vs. robot battles. Combined with dynamic camera angles and intense lighting effects, Xenogears is an experience that won't be forgotten.

What players say

Remembered as a sprawling, deeply philosophical mecha-RPG that fans hold as a cult classic for its ambition and emotional weight, even though the budget-starved second disc collapses into long narration and is the franchise's most-argued flaw. It feels grand and heartfelt but uneven, a 'what could have been' that players forgive because the high points land so hard.

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Featured in: PS1 RPGs beyond Final Fantasy

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.