Xenogears

 PlayStation
Xenogears Image
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
9.2

Universal acclaim- based on 397 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
  • Summary: A mysterious organization is turning the tides of a century-long war with ancient technology - giant combat robots known as Gears. A failed attempt to steal one of these powerful weapons places it in the unwilling hands of young Fei and his dubious allies. Now he is pursued by militaryA mysterious organization is turning the tides of a century-long war with ancient technology - giant combat robots known as Gears. A failed attempt to steal one of these powerful weapons places it in the unwilling hands of young Fei and his dubious allies. Now he is pursued by military governments, royal pirates, spies, the emperor, and his own forgotten past. … Expand
Buy Now
Buy on

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Games Domain
    100
    Combining good action, dark drama, a splash of anime, and lots of Really Big Robots, this game is the must-buy Playstation RPG of the season... Square's greatest masterpiece since it started producing for Playstation, and I highly recommend this game to anyone who's even heard of "Final Fantasy."
  2. RPG Fan
    98
    Xenogears is a must for any RPG lover, regardless of your views toward Squaresoft. With its depth and creativity, Xenogears is my choice for RPG of the year.
  3. IGN
    95
    With an intricate storyline, beautifully designed characters and mechs, and some of the most innovative features in an RPG, you simply can't afford to pass this game up.
  4. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    89
    An extremely popular anime-style role-playing game of epic proportions. [Jan 2004, p.189]
    All this publication's reviews
  5. Gamezilla!
    88
    This game is geared (ha ha) more for the RPG player, and I can say that it could have possibly converted me into one with a little more action.
  6. Game Revolution
    83
    Playing this game is kind of like getting into a good book. The first few hours may be boring or even painful, but once you get into it, you'll be up until the wee hours of the morning flipping pages (or pressing buttons) trying to find out what happens next. And let me tell you - the story is first-rate and the plot gets thicker than a pint of Guinness straight from the tap.
  7. GamePro
    60
    A relentlessly slow plot, plodding dialogue, and the unfortunate fumble of the robot interfaces's potential keeps Xenogears out of that stratosphere enjoyed by its far superior cousin, "Final Fantasy VII."

See all 15 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 92 out of 100
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 100
  3. Negative: 3 out of 100
  1. Ghonf
    Apr 7, 2023
    10
    This game is a masterpiece. It's a shame that it couldn't be finished completely. You can see how much passion and love Tetsuya Takahashi,This game is a masterpiece. It's a shame that it couldn't be finished completely. You can see how much passion and love Tetsuya Takahashi, Soraya Saga and the other developers put into it. This story was intended to be 6 Episodes long with Xenogears being Episode 5, tho we got with the Xenosaga Trilogy pretty much Episode I it is a shame that we never got the hole complete story.… Expand
  2. AteelA.
    Nov 2, 2005
    10
    This best game ever made it has everthing u could possible think of they went all out when makeing this game truely masterpice of it time and This best game ever made it has everthing u could possible think of they went all out when makeing this game truely masterpice of it time and even now.… Expand
  4. Seryin
    Mar 9, 2013
    10
    I admit that after time has taken its toll on this game that it is a bit hard to go back to now with all these new great games out. However,I admit that after time has taken its toll on this game that it is a bit hard to go back to now with all these new great games out. However, Xenogears still is my favorite game of all time. I enjoyed the story greatly and once you figure out the combat system, it was one of the most fun of its time. Better than the regular turn based stuff from old rpgs.… Expand
  5. Eldridge_54
    May 28, 2019
    10
    This game is bar none the most epic JRPG ever made and without a doubt my favorite of all time !!! It gets its inspiration from Star Wars,This game is bar none the most epic JRPG ever made and without a doubt my favorite of all time !!! It gets its inspiration from Star Wars, Akira, The Vision of Escaflowne, 2001: A Space Odyssey, etc... I've been doing a full play through at least every year since it was originally released on the PlayStation, and every time I seem to learn something about the story that hadn't quite "clicked" during my previous play throughs.

    The game is very well directed and the cinematography is amazing ! It feels like the team at Squaresoft were fond of Stanley Kubrick. The camera work is always surprising ; The long shots, the perspectives, the slow panning, the dynamic camera angles, the zoom-ins, the attention to composition, contrast and colors. I could go on and on... Xenogears really is a work of art !

    Whoever can't handle this game's epicness and interminable story-telling most likely can't handle reading Frank Herbert's Dune. (I often compare the two) ; The dialogue is dense, the story is convoluted and some cut-scenes really drag on... As a matter of fact, the cut-scene that transitions between Disc 1 and 2 lasts about 1 hour !!

    The music is some of the finest ever produced for any videogame and the ambient sounds (birds, waterfalls, wind, etc.) complement very well the locations our heroes visit throughout the story. I highly suggest playing this game with a proper 5.1 Surround Sound setup ; it adds an impressive amount of depth and naturalism to the world of Xenogears, which is already full of life and charm.

    The 3D rendered world makes up for its (a lot of people whine about this) outdated graphics. I wonder what happened that people can't enjoy a game anymore if its graphics aren't hyper-realistic... Why don't we just go ahead and repaint the Mona Lisa because people find that it looks too outdated ?! NO !! Just enjoy it as it is. Xenogears is an absolute masterpiece !! It reminds me of a friend of mine, he never could for the life of him watch Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, just because it was shot in black and white... smh...

    p.s. Not only does Xenosaga and Xenoblade have nothing to do with the story of Xenogears, they both lack the essence that made the original a classic. Don't confuse them and don't compare them ; Saga and Blade can't even dream of being as good as Gears.    … Expand
  6. RioEkses93
    Feb 5, 2020
    10
    Игра шедевр! Игра от бога! Лучший сюжет за всю игровую индустрии. Лучшая музыка. Прекрасно раскрытые персонажей!Игра шедевр! Игра от бога! Лучший сюжет за всю игровую индустрии. Лучшая музыка. Прекрасно раскрытые персонажей!
  7. Miang
    May 15, 2012
    10
    The best game I've ever played. I played it back on 1998. It is 2012 and still the best game of my entire life. Good plot, nice graphics,The best game I've ever played. I played it back on 1998. It is 2012 and still the best game of my entire life. Good plot, nice graphics, incredible combat system, long duration and much more.… Expand
  8. mcikes
    Jul 21, 2012
    3
    Most overrated RPG of all time. Story is boring, battle system is one of the worst Ive seen, and the characters are not interesting. I dontMost overrated RPG of all time. Story is boring, battle system is one of the worst Ive seen, and the characters are not interesting. I dont get all the hype surrounding this game.… Expand

See all 100 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

11
#11 Best PS1 Game of 1998
5
#5 Most Discussed PS1 Game of 1998
5
#5 Most Shared PS1 Game of 1998