Xenogears Backtracking by John Hummel 08
I buy stuff from Play Asia. So should you.
From TheGamersPress
Xenogears Backtracking Part 8: End Game
Contents |
Reaching the End
Writing this next-to-last Xenogears Backtracking is rather difficult, because I'm torn just giving a "blow-by-blow" description of the events, or preventing revealing "spoilers" about the game's final story.
Up until this point, I think someone could have read this backtracking, and while there have been spoilers, they could still play the end with plenty of surprises left in store.
So rather than making the game unplayable to future readers who haven't experienced it yet, and destroying any chance anyone else who has not played the game, I'm going to just touch on a few individual issues before wrapping-up/reviewing the game as a whole in a separate, final entry.
The Rocking Chair
Let me tell you, son - in my day, we didn't even use polygons! And if we wanted a random battle, we'd march through the snow, find a monster, drag them back to the field, and pretend to be surprised! Uphill! Both ways!
Xenogears proceeded in typical RPG format for most of Disk 1, with the characters walking about and interacting with other people and objects. But when Disk 2 is inserted, the game takes a radical change. What you see is a picture of Fei, sitting in a chair while an amulet swings back and forth. Behind him is a picture showing images of events as he describes them.
From this point on, the story of Xenogears is told by those sitting in the chair. We hear as Fei tells of his former lives and memories, or how Bart learns of an ancient battleship and uses it to fight off the forces of Solaris. The interactivity is lost, and the game turns into more of a graphic novel.
It's easy to have mixed feelings about how this works out. On the one hand, most of the game's time-sucking features disappear. No more walking around, getting involved in random battles, finding myself lost, refinding my way, and finally getting to see the point of all of that action.
Many express frustration and even boredom with how Disk 2 of Xenogears was presented. You'd sit through reams of text, then have a boss fight, perhaps (if you were lucky) be greeted by an animated scene, then move on to more reams of text.
I have to disagree. While there is some loss of impact having Elly standing before a large square background extolling how she's selfish even though she knows she's walking into a trap, even though she knows that she should put the needs of the Nisan army before her own - but she wants to be with the man she loves. I didn't need to drag myself through an hour of wandering about town trying to find Elly before she leaves, and then hear the speech.
It's a system that cuts directly to the chase. And to be honest, I already had my fill of random battles and questions without answers. It took me 4 months to slog through Disk 1 of Xenogears. I got through Disk 2 in 3 days as my mind was filled with the story, and finally had the answers as to the nature of Miang, Fei, Elly, and the whole insane world they lived in.
I love Xenogears' story. I think it's one of the most complex and ambitious stories I've ever read, and it's wonderfully complicated and requires you really stop and think about what happened to whom and why. Am I curious to know what "might have been" if Xenogears had been "finished"? Sure - there's always that curiosity. The game took me 80 hours to finish not including restarts and reloads, and might have swelled to 120 with extra running about, finding the other Animus. It might have been great, or a mess.
In the end I'm happy enough with the format of Disk 2, mainly because I think the story was worth the effort.
The Physiology of Crucifixion
Of all the images of the game, this one disturbed me the most. Not for any religious connotation, but knowing the level of suffering that is being inflicted on this pure hearted woman.
Xenogears is also known for its controversy with religion. The game is rife with religious symbolism, names, and influences, and actually I think it uses them appropriately. They tie into a series of symbols that have been burned into public consciousness, which adds to the emotional impact and importance of places and events.
I had heard of the crucified Gears scene before I played the game, and when I saw them, they really didn't have an effect on me. They were machines (except Chu-Chu), and stringing up a group of machines, even if they are in some way tied to their owners in a biofeedback loop that relays pain damage, it's not going to hurt my feelings.
Then I saw Elly tied to a crucifix. And my blood ran cold. I'm not sure people understand how crucifixion is one of the most terrible ways to die that humanity has devised. Typically, it would take people days to finally succumb to death.
I know that for another person, the scene might or might not have the same impact. I've studied enough history to understand the true nature of the crucifix, so my reaction might be more intense compared to a person who simply sees it as a religious symbol. Or perhaps that was the developers original intent. Either way, it worked on me.
Elly was only tied to the cross, not nailed to it, but if a nail had been used, it would be placed not in the palms, as people traditionally think, but about 2 inches from the wrist where it would have enough strength to support the body.
At this particular point where nerves meet, the effect would be horrific numbing pain, along with being forced to have one's arms in an unnatural position. Human strength would eventually give out, forcing a contorted position to breathe. Hour after hour. Strength ebbs as the victim struggles, breaths becoming swallower, conscious because pain keeps them from sleep, until they finally die from exhaustion.
When I saw Elly on a cross, even only tied to it, all of these thoughts filled me at once. And for the rest of the game - I don't care what Krelian's motives are. I don't care what his reasons, his excuses, what powers shaped his universe - I will never be able to forgive that son of a bitch. I know, he's only a character in a story. I don't care. The only thing that would make Xenogears end on a happy note is a big blood stain where Krelian once was.
The religiously-minded might see Elly as a type of Christ figure - suffering for the crimes of this branch of humanity, trying to overcome with her ideas of kindness and mercy. The fact that at one point she feeds a heavily mutated human her blood might hint towards that direction. But for myself, these images played little - it was more the physiological understanding combined with my connection to the characters that provoked my reaction.
Nature Versus Nurture
How much choice do some characters have over their own actions, and how much is programmed into their beings? Can they be called evil for what they were forced to do, or for how they reacted?
Central to the story of Xenogears is Fei's struggle to understand himself and why he can't recall his past. What you finally discover is a twisted, horrible tale of how a young boy's psyche survives Hell.
At the same time, we have manipulation of people's DNA, forming them into monsters, and the discovery of the manufactured destiny of others. So how can we discuss what characters are evil as opposed to those that were "programmed"? Fei's alternate personality Id, manufactured to protect "The Coward", murdered countless innocents, even destroying Dominia's entire nation.
So does that make Fei himself the murderer? Only when he takes responsibility and forces Id and the Coward to confront each other is he finally able to overcome his past and the abuse he endured. The same is true of other characters. Bart grows into his role as a possible King and the duties that entails. Elly takes upon herself one of the greatest responsibilities of all - the happiness and well being of nearly every person on the planet, and in doing so perhaps becomes one of the most powerful people in the game. Not in strength of arm, but in influence of her heart.
And what of the others? Krelian has his own reasons for his actions into finding God, Grahf has similar reasons - but for all the good intentions they may have, the two of them become monsters far worse than nearly any other in Xenogears's world.
"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you." - Nietzsche
Elly, first, I'm naked, and it's cold in here. Secondly, I just learned I'm shaped like a Ken doll. Third, Krelian deserves to suffer Death of a Thousand Paper Cuts and Lemon Juice. Fourth - are you naked too?
Both Krelian and Grahf set out to fight monsters, and in doing so, neglected the abyss inside their own souls. One thought that God abandoned him, the other that he lacked the power to save those he loved.
And both pretty much became evil bastards who didn't deserve to be spit on in their graves. From where I sit, neither one, no matter what their intentions were, deserve nor merit forgiveness for their crimes.
Or what of those who were manufactured from the beginning by "god" to fulfill his wishes? What freedom of choice did they have over all the pain and suffering that they caused? In the end, one at least attempted to atone for his sins, which makes me wonder - if one expressed the power of choice, then why not the others?
Miang fascinates me more than any other character. Shadowy, playing the pieces behind the scenes, she almost seems to relish her task at times. And when you finally see the totality of her actions, that such a pretty face could mask such evil deeds is probably the most pitiful thing of all. How much control over her actions did she have? Or do we only see the end result, when she has finally become so numbed to her forced actions that there's no room for anything in her heart but darkness?
It's a question that may never be answered, but should I ever play the game again, it's something I will probably watch even more carefully.
Game - or Story?
Instead of using computer generated graphics, the majority of Xenogears's major scenes are done in full animation.
I don't know who was in charge of synching up the English voice actors with the lip movements, but it was terribly done. Most of the time people's lips would stop moving before you heard their voices speak. Talk about not having a sense of timing.
But the fact that they took the time to animated scenes might make a person wonder if a game was truly the best format for Xenogears. Granted, by "a person" I mean "John Hummel", but that's beside the piont.
Some games, such as the classic The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time have stories that are rewarding in a way perfectly suited to gaming. There are few, if any, cut scenes. Even a game known for its rendered movie scenes, such as Final Fantasy VII does not have the complexity and amount of story in Xenogears.
Don't get me wrong - I love the story behind Xenogears, and going back to play it again will be a pleasure (just not now). But would the story have been better as an anime? 26 hour-long episodes would have eliminated the need for "random battles" and many standard RPG elements. We could have enjoyed Fei, Elly and Citan with their battles without making them fight the same monsters repeatedly.
Well, ok, that was kind of fun at times. Perhaps even as an anime people would complain of the story being too complex, and a book might have been better. Or perhaps no format is any good, since any would require sacrifices to tell the story right. So maybe a game, where you interact with the characters instead of passively watching their tale, is the right format after all.
But voice synching would have been nice.
