The game Xenogears, released by Squaresoft in 1998, was said to be one of the greatest Role Playing Games in history. Four years later it still is living up to that expectation. If you've played Xenosaga before, chances are you didn't see the Squaresoft logo pop up (nothing brings joy like knowing your playing a Squaresoft game), well let me tell you why. . .

The creators of Xenogears left Squaresoft to create their own company called Monolith. The reasons why are still pretty much unknown. Rumors are flying about, but nobody is totally sure what went down between Squaresoft and Xenogears. This is where things start to fall into place. The people that created Xenogears, also designed Xenosaga.

Graphics: From the day I saw the first screenshot of Xenosaga, I knew I would be delighted with this RPG hit. The second I popped the disc into my PS2, I was excited like a little schoolgirl. The graphics in Xenosaga are a work of art. Monolith put together shimmering colors and shadows as you walk across the ground, not the mention the dazzling cut scenes (some over five minutes long!) The thing that caught my eye the most though was the remarkably realistic body motions and postures. A good example is that when one of the characters is moaning or groaning, you can see them hunch over with a look of disappointment and disbelief.

The worst part about the graphics is that the background detail could have used a little bit more detail in the cut scenes. It seems almost as if they didn't put enough work into it.

Design: This game has one of the most paramount battle systems I've ever played. There are many features in Xenosaga such as; Ether, A.G.W.S., Tech Attacks and Regular Attacks. The flawless point to the battle system is that you can chose your regular attacks and change them around with tech attacks (you don't have to use the same attack over and over like most RPG'S).

Sound: Well if you know who Yasunori Mitsuda is, you will defiantly enjoy the soundtrack that is presented in this game. The breathtaking and compelling sounds that are put together by Mr. Mitsuda are simply amazing.

On another note, the voices of the characters aren't the greatest in the world, but they also arent the worst. When I first saw the character Chaos I thought "oh cool this guy is probably going to turn out to be my favorite character", think again because his voice alone makes him my least favorite. The most mentionable sound effects are that of the fire fights between the two ships or the Gnosis in the cut scenes, they are to die for.

Addiction: Since I bought this game I've only put the controller down for 2 days at the max. Even during that small amount of time, I was very tempted to play it. I'm a good 24 hours into this game, and I think that justifies paying $49.99 to buy it. Thats $2 an hour, way cheaper than an arcade! Lastly said, Xenosaga will take control of your social life, and it's brilliance will make you never want to stop playing..

Total Score: 8.8/10 (not an average)