PlayStation 2 RPGs (and hidden gems) for me.

[Valkyrie-Favor]

There are official component cables. No need to worry about of anything fancy.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

The Xenosaga Series is fantastic. Don't listen to all the losers saying the long cutscenes ruin the game. KOS-MOS is a BAD-ASS and the boss battles from what I remember were incredibly challenging and rewarding.

I'm about 2 hours into the first one and I'm actually really enjoying it. It's a relaxing game; it's a bit slow but it has some decent cut scenes and pretty good voice acting for the time. The only real bothersome thing is the lip syncing. It's so bad it's actually taking me out of it a bit.

Valkyrie Profile II, Persona 3, and Yakuza are on their way to me right now.

[Xeogred]

The cutscenes get way better in II-III.

And yeah the first 3-4 hours are very slow, it picks up after that a bit.

[CavZee]

The cutscenes get way better in II-III.

And yeah the first 3-4 hours are very slow, it picks up after that a bit.

If there's one thing that brothers me about Xenosaga, it's how they basically change around the style of the character models between each game. I and III are fairly similar but I can't really say I liked the way they look in II.

Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed the series even if it isn't quite at the level of Xenogears in my eyes.

[Johnodog]

I totally second that game Genji. Very cool game with a Onimusha vibe. Kind of an RPG /hack n slash/ street fighter type game.

[Xeogred]

The cutscenes get way better in II-III.

And yeah the first 3-4 hours are very slow, it picks up after that a bit.

If there's one thing that brothers me about Xenosaga, it's how they basically change around the style of the character models between each game. I and III are fairly similar but I can't really say I liked the way they look in II.

Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed the series even if it isn't quite at the level of Xenogears in my eyes.

Agreed, but I dislike the voice actor changes even more. KOS-MOS' change in II was the absolute worst, wow they didn't even try there, but she's not exactly human so I just try to imagine she can change her voice like that for whatever reason lol. Thankfully her and Shion had minor roles in II though and the better voice actors came back again for III.

I'd still love for an HD collection, they could do so much. Uncut, Japanese audio, all the extra mobile/web games and extra content for the series that's been thrown around, etc... I'll keep dreaming.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I'd still love for an HD collection, they could do so much. Uncut, Japanese audio, all the extra mobile/web games and extra content for the series that's been thrown around, etc... I'll keep dreaming.

If they were to do that I would much appreciate some ambient music in the dungeons in Episode 1 and maybe some more varied lighting. They seem a bit dull for the most part, at least you get some pumpin tunes when things escalate.

[Xeogred]

I'd still love for an HD collection, they could do so much. Uncut, Japanese audio, all the extra mobile/web games and extra content for the series that's been thrown around, etc... I'll keep dreaming.

If they were to do that I would much appreciate some ambient music in the dungeons in Episode 1 and maybe some more varied lighting. They seem a bit dull for the most part, at least you get some pumpin tunes when things escalate.

So you're noticing that issue now?


Never get your hopes up, it never changes and there is literally two battle themes. That one that you'll want to rip your hair out by the end of the game, and the final boss song which is pretty killer.

It's mindblowing though, I can only speculate that Mitsuda had one month max to whip up some random tracks together and was rushed. Otherwise, it's a joke to compare the Xenosaga score to the quality of some of his other games like Chrono and obviously Xenogears. I just don't get it, wtf happened? lol there has to be a story behind it. Anything else he touches is gold.

Easily fixed in the next two though, but Mitsuda isn't around anymore. II's BGM was done by Shinji Hosoe, who did stuff like Dragon Spirit and it really shows, it has a very strong techno vibe going (that fits really well with the world and levels you hit up in II), and then they have some anime composer Yuki Kajiura who did stuff for the cutscenes and stuff. She was the only composer for the third game. It's probably the most consistent, but the BGM in II is really cool to me. I think I hated it at first like a lot of fans apparently do, but those songs grew on me a lot and stand out a ton now. He did the final boss theme too which is just weird as crap but awesomely unforgettable.

Some of my favorites:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgdqBv-KTrQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STGNIDZAT8s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwl6F1WkM9A

Probably my favorite BGM track from III, but yeah you can easily see a difference in style here too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LId8l6Rc6Y

It gets the job done but I'm never really a big fan of games bringing in composers who usually do anime/movies and such. There's just that "game-like" touch that they often lack, I thought FFXIII was a similar case. On the other hand you bring in an army of videogame composers and get a masterpiece like Xenoblade's OST, that's epic, driving, melodic, etc. Really up in the air if I like that or Xenogears' OST more...

Oh and yeah, the graphics level up a LOT after the first game. That one is like, going back to FFVII almost haha, at least PS2 wise.

Anyways well... keep it up. Would be nice to have another fan to talk to...

[CavZee]

Oh, yeah I forgot about the VO changes. Been a while since I played the games. I'd buy an HD collection for sure, but I can't see it ever happening

[RyaNtheSlayA]

How long would you guys say it takes to complete? My save file is sitting right at 7 hours right now.

And yeah, the game has problems that are becoming more apparent, but I'm actually really enjoying it regardless. The story is carrying the game for sure.