Entry 589 - Xenogears

Style: Video Game Music

Primary Emotions/Themes: Definition of self, god vs. man, love, soulmates

Thoughts: This one is going to be exceptionally difficult for me to keep objective... actually no I don't need to make it objective at all. Xenogears is one of the most important games in my upbringing. It alongside several other JRPG's of the time solidified my love of the genre. Xenogears in particular made me realize how powerful of a story delivery mechanism an RPG can be. It left me stunned and slack jawed by the end.

The game starts out with a space ship that is getting destroyed by an unknown being. The captain destroys the ship while looking at a picture of his family. The intro is confusing and compelling all at the same time, it made me want to play the game to find out what was going on.

When I listen to these two records I'm taken back to my first playthrough of the game. There are so many mysteries as the game unfolds, and they are revealed one after another. This game is a masterwork of pacing (at least the first disc). Information is fed to you just a bit at a time, just enough to keep you going to find out what comes next.

The first record is a limited selection of the games music. It contains so many of the memorable songs on the soundtrack. The main theme that plays as you walk around Yggdrasil stays in my head for days. The fight and boss music is incredible as well. The village theme and the innocence that comes with it... before everything goes to hell. It's all here. And ending the record with the music box... perfection.

The second record is an arrangement of many of the same songs that were on the first record. Would I have liked more of the soundtrack to be included? Of course I would! That said the vocal tracks on the second disc are immaculate and warrant repeated listens.

My one complaint about this record is the inner groove distortion. On every single side right towards the end, the music distorts heavily. This is a real shame, because it's towards the end of the discs where some of the best music resides. I can live with it but god damn is it annoying sometimes. Oh well, it's an imperfect format, and this is one of those imperfections.

Xenogears is one of the best games I've ever played. Even though the second disc is a huge change of pace and offers some... interesting story choices, it's still a 10/10 game for me. The story alone is worth it, and the music... it makes everything that much better.

Written October 30 2023