[Xenogears Survival Guide]

Xenogears Survival Guide
1. Getting Started

The game will start with Fei, the lead character, in the village of Lahan. If this is your first time playing the game then I recommend spending some time in Lahan first. There are a lot of people in the village who can explain the various menus and features, and even battle control. There are also a lot of hidden items for you to find so be sure to check anything suspicious, and talk to all the people. This goes for every town or village you come across. Knowledge is power, and to aquire knowledge you need to talk to the people you come across.

2. Money Handling

Opposite to most RPGs you don`t earn money fighting monster in Xenogears. Only gears, robots and certain persons will drop money when you defeat them. In addition to this the items and parts you buy are very expensive, even in the beginning. So since money is scarce you need to avoid overspending. Don`t buy items that you don`t neccesarily need right away. Gear parts are often the most expensive things you buy. So instead of just buying everything you want right away you need to be careful. See how much money you have and calculate how much money you will need to buy the things you want. If there`s a small shortage then you can go out and fight (preferably gear battle). If there`s a huge difference then you need to buy only the most essensial parts. Also, because you will be fighting in a team you will need to update your friends’ gears as well. If you handle money carefully and save it up, you wll be able to buy the best parts and items later in the game.

3. Training

There’s no doubt that the characters of Xenogears posses awesome fighting powers but if you don’t train your team you will fall short in battle soon enough. So it’s neccesary to keep your fighters in shape. To do that you need to train your characters a lot. But often fighting the same enemies over and over again will get tedious and annoying, but there`s a way to avoid that. You need to set parameters for your team. Here`s an example: if your chracters are level 12 when they enter a new area with enemies you can train them untill they all reach a certain level, such as 15 or 16. This way you will keep them in shape and they’ll be able to fight more effectively when you encounter new enemies. So if you train at every new area or dungeon then there`s no need for hours training afterwards. And don’t forget to train the chracters you don’t use at the moment, because you may need them soon.

4. Deathblows

Deathblows are combinations of buttons that form a special attack in a battle. They are very powerful and are essensial for victory. The best way to learn these deathblows is to practise the accual button combination in battle. After the deathblow percentage meter (located in the character menu) has reached 100, the character will learn that deathblow. However sometimes you will need to be a certain level to aquire a new deathblow or a change in the storyline will allow you to aquire it. So if the meter has reached 100 and there’s still no new deathblow just be patient and continue playing. Not all characters have the same amount of deathblows but the button combinations stay the same. So if you have a new deathblow with one character you can try using the same button command with your other characters. So instead of using deathblows you’ve already learned on normal enemies you can try out new combinations, to see if you can learn new deathblows.

5. AP Gauge

The attack point gauge is located below a character’s EP gauge in battle. This gauge allows you to stock attack points. When you attack an opponent you are given a certain amount of attack points, starting at 3 AP at the beginning of the game and ending with 7 AP. Instead of using those attack points you can use part of it, for example when you have 6 AP, you use the 1 AP attack and then end your attack, the remain 5 AP will be stored in the AP gauge. After filling the gauge with points you will be able to perform multiple deathblows in one attack. Just select the Combo command in the second battle menu. This choose the deathblows you wish to use untill you have used up all your AP. Then select OK and your character will execute the selected deathblows at rapid speed. This technique is essential when fighting bosses. The AP Combo’s will stack huge damage and will be the key to victory in most character battles.

6. Gear Battle

Gear battles will play a huge part later in the game. The toughest bosses and levels will involve your gears. That’s why you need to know your gear, so that you know what you’re doing. Although powerful, a gear is useless without fuel. Normal attacks won’t use that much fuel but special attacks and boosters will consume large quantities of fuel. To avoid running out of fuel before you reach a boss you will need to be selective. Don’t rush into battle carelessly and attack all enemies with your gear. You can’t afford to fight too many enemies unless there’s a repair robot nearbye. Try not to use your gear’s deathblows, and finish the normal enemies with attacks that don’t cost much fuel. Only use booster when you’re fighting a boss and only if you have enough fuel. If you’ve used too much fuel and you have to face a boss then don’t worry. Find a weak enemy, or kill off a group of enemies and leave the weakest one alive. Then just use the recharge function and if neccesary the healing frame. This way you can stock up on your fuel and repair your gears. Without having to worry about your opponent.

7. Card Game

As in other Square RPGs, Xenogears also has it`s own card game. You can learn how to play on the Thames. It’s a game of quick thinking and quick button pressing. Although it may not appeal to you it’s certainly worth the try. If you defeat an opponent he/she will give you a reward, usually an item your character can equip. The items are very good and rare, meaning that you can’t buy them in the shops. A lot of people of the Thames play the card game, so be sure to beat them and claim your rewards.

8. Boss Battle

There are a lot of bosses in Xenogears, esspecially on disc two. Most of them can only be defeated in a particular way. If at first you can’t defeated a boss then try again with different attacks or weapons. Some gear parts give your gear protection from an attack or a special abillity. By changning your equipment you can prevent damage and by equiping weapons with certain element or status properties you can do more damage to the enemy. If you face a boss without your gears you should concentrate on using deathblows as well as filling up the AP gauge. When using your gear you can build up your attack level and use the gear’s deathblows to inflict a lot of damage. By using your gear’s boosters you can attack more quickly and build up those levels. And remember that the ether engine in your gear allows you to use abillities inside your gear. However they won’t always have the same effect on your gears as they have on your character. If your ether level is high enough, you can inflict great damage using your ether attacks. This way characters such as Elly and Emeralda can do great damage without using fuel and without having to level up their attack first.

9. New Characters

During the course of Fei’s adventure he will meet new friends, and sometimes enemies who will join his team. At first new characters may be weaker then the ones you already have in your team. But this is no reason to neglect them, because every character has their role in the story and you’ll need to fight with every one of them. So instead of ignoring new, or old characters you need to level them up and give them new equipment. Teach them new deathblows or upgrade their gears. If you don’t do that you might face difficulty when you need to take them with you later on. The key to winning the toughest battles is teamwork. Create attack patterns and work as a team, by healing eachother or using ether abilities to make up for a teammate’s weak spot and use the things they are good at to win the battle. Sticking to one team is not enough, use different teams for different areas and bosses. One team may not be able to win a battle but the other team could win instead. So pay attention to all of your comrads and fight like a team.

10. Going Back

After visiting towns and dungeons the storyline goes on, but that also means the story will effect the towns and other areas you`ve visited before. By checking back with old friends you may be able to find some neat items and go on side quests. On disc two there are several side quests you can do, and they are all worth the time.

11. Gear Battling

Along the line of the story Fei will get invloved in Gear battling. This is a special sort of battle which involves real-time fighting. Later in the game there’s the possibility of returning to the arena in Kislev to once again participate in these battles. By defeating gears you can earn points and prize money. By saving up these points you will be able to exchange them for items. Some of these items will greatly enhance your character’s statistics so it’s worth the fight. And you can also fight against another player by using the second joypad. Battling is fun and rewarding and should not be overlooked.

12. Most Importantly

The most important thing of all is to enjoy the game. Follow along with the story, listen to the great music composed by Japan’s Yasunori Mitsuda, and enjoy Square’s innovative battle and control system. If there`s one game that you must own then it would be Xenogears. For it is a masterpiece and it will capture the attention and the heart of it’s gamers in no time. So have fun with the game!

[Xenogears] [Games]