It’s been Xenosaga week for… almost a week now, and I’ve yet to say this simple thing: I absolutely love the Xenosaga trilogy. I still remember picking up the original Xenosaga on a whim, at my local GameCrazy, for $12.99. I didn’t know what to expect, but I figured I’d give it a try.

And the rest is history. The game changed my life. Since that day, the sci-fi opera told in Xenosaga has been counted among my favorite fiction stories of all time. As flawed as Episode II was I still loved it, and Episode III was such a perfect return to form that it’s impossible to stay mad at the series. While it treads onto the grounds of JRPG melodrama more than once, the Xenosaga trilogy tells a story so complex, gripping, desperate, and emotionally charged that it can’t be properly honored here.

For those unfamiliar with the tumultous history of the series, Xenogears was the “first” part of the saga, released on the PlayStation in 1998. (Fun fact: due to “sensitive religious issues,” the game almost did not see release in North America – and in order to publish it here, Square actually partnered with, of all companies, Electronic Arts.)

While Xenogears was clearly meant to be part of something bigger, a sequel was never made. However, four years later came Xenosaga, which showed hints of being a prequel series of some kind. Aesthetic and thematic similarities, coupled with the fact that the game shared the same writer/director as Xenogears (Tetsuya Takahashi) caused theories to run rampant. But after the first episode, Takahashi left the project, and the series was cut down from a projected six episodes to three. And it’s not showing any signs of returning. So, if there ever was a connection between Xenogears and Xenosaga, we’ll likely never know.

So, you’re likely wondering: after finally getting around to playing the game that started it all, what do I think?

Unfortunately it’s hard to say, seeing as how I’ve played about three hours of a game that will likely last for 50. But I can say this: while Xenogears feels distinct from the Xenosaga trilogy that came after it, it shares enough in common to make me wonder what could have been. Are these Gears the same as the E.S units that the heroes of Xenosaga used? Is Citan Uzuki a descendant of Shion’s family? Is this primitive world a result of the world-changing events at the end of Episode III? I recognize that the Xenosaga geek in me is probably projecting like crazy, but I really don’t care.

Like the Xenosaga series did years ago, Xenogears has already hooked me with its storyline. The opening hours are perfect, setting you up with just the right amount of character development, foreshadowing, and action. Like Xenosaga it tends to get a bit melodramatic, yet it’s believable at the same time. The english translation is a bit odd, though; it ranges from perfectly coherent to entirely non-sensible. Still, it’s a far cry better than, say, Final Fantasy VII. Oh, and the game features some gorgeous anime scenes with very solid voice acting, which is something I certainly wouldn’t have expected from a PlayStation RPG.

The combat system in Xenogears is a lot like the combat found in Xenosaga Episode I. But seeing as how Xenogears came first, I suppose it would be the other way around. It’s certainly not a problem to me, seeing as how Episode I had my favorite combat system in the series. (Episode II is just a sad story, and Episode III’s is just a tad too generic.) While it’s fairly standard turn-based combat at heart, it moves quickly and it’s fun to play around with. (And I’m a JRPG nerd who will never tire of turn-based combat.)

Weirdly enough, I really like the graphics in Xenogears. Perhaps because I’m playing it on my PSP, and the smaller screen makes things look crisper. The game features 2D sprites on top of fully 3D backgrounds, both of which look surprisingly impressive. It might just be the nostalgia factor that makes me love the sprites, but the three-dimensional environments are better than you’d expect for a PlayStation game.

And I can’t end this article without a shout-out to the immortal Yasunori Mitsuda, who is at his best yet again in Xenogears. Seriously, to hell with Chrono Trigger; this, along with Xenosaga Episode I, is his best work.

*braces for flames*

It’s been a while since I’ve played a JRPG all the way through – I believe Persona 4 was the last one – but Xenogears has my attention so far. I probably have no choice but to love the game, given my obsession with all things Xeno-related, but nonetheless I’m really enjoying it so far.