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[JoshuaFH]

Aldaris: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5e6eG6bXAQ

Oh yeah! That's sounds like him exactly!

[wallish]

Best RPG ever? Xenogears.  Excellent story, and with one of the best combat systems in any RPG.  BUT... disc 1 > disc 2.

2nd place (but not by far): Chrono Trigger.

[JoshuaFH]

Isn't that the RPG that has something like 70 hours of cutscenes?

[Sowelu]

Metal Gear Solid 5: The RPG: The Movie: The Game: The Movie.

[umiman]

Everytime I hear the term "RPG" I always have to make a conscious decision on whether they're referring to rocket propelled grenades or role playing games...

[Ampersand]

Isn't that the RPG that has something like 70 hours of cutscenes?

You're thinking of Xenosaga.

[IndonesiaWarMinister]

Everytime I hear the term "RPG" I always have to make a conscious decision on whether they're referring to rocket propelled grenades or role playing games...

Ahaha...

Isn't that the RPG that has something like 70 hours of cutscenes?

You're thinking of Xenosaga.

Xenosaga was... good.
Eh, wanting to play Xenogears, but the whole

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 KILL GOD!!

part is a bit... too... much for me.

[Ampersand]

Yeah, well, for most of the final fantasy games, Square liked to use a lot of allusion to Christian mythology and literature to build the world and bosses and symbolism, and stuff, but it's more Christian mythology if it were a Manga. You get the idea.

Same for Xenogears and Xenosaga, only replace Christian mythology with the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche

[Keiseth]

One of my favorite RPGs, though I'm not specifically sure why, is Shin Megami Tensei, for the SNES. It suffers from a number of flaws (like *multiple random encounters* in a *single* step) but also oozes style with its storyline and art direction. The music, while often simple, is extremely atmospheric, as well. It's also set in modern times, which is pretty rare for an RPG, back then at least.

[umiman]

Finding a JRPG set in modern times is rare even for now.

Shin Megami Tensei is an Atlus game. They also made the Persona series. Check it out, if you have a PS2.

[wallish]

Yeah, well, for most of the final fantasy games, Square liked to use a lot of allusion to Christian mythology and literature to build the world and bosses and symbolism, and stuff, but it's more Christian mythology if it were a Manga. You get the idea.

Same for Xenogears and Xenosaga, only replace Christian mythology with the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche

It's not so much Nietzsche as it is Gnosticism.  Also, IndonesiaWarMinister, you should probably put that part in spoiler.  It's a big one...

[Ampersand]

Oh? Then why are all of the Xenosaga games named after Nietzsche's books?

Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht      The Will To Power

Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse       Beyond Good and Evil

Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra       Thus Spoke Zarathustra

[IndonesiaWarMinister]

I think it's both.
Hell, the only religion to actively oppose God is gnosticism, right?


Wait, I was talking about Xenogears, no Xenosaga.

[Ampersand]

Still.

I think it's both.
Hell, the only religion to actively oppose God is gnosticism, right?

It's not so much religion as it is philosophy. To take a quote from the Parable of the Madman from The Gay Science

"God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?"

To say that Nietzsche disliked religion and the idea of God or Gods is a vast understatement.

[wallish]

...snip...

Sorry, but the link to Nietzsche is fairly tangental.  This article (warning: super spoiler intensive.  Summarizes plot. ) explains how Xenogears (not Xenosaga) is heavily linked to both Gnosticism and Jewish Kabbalah (it also mentions that there are a few references to Nietzsche, but there are more to Carl Jung, so take that as you will).  Even Tv Tropes has this to say about Xenogears:

It is particularly remembered for a uniquely convoluted plot spanning ten thousand years, themes cooked out of Gnosticism, Jewish mysticism and Jungian psychology, and an atmosphere that was remarkably Animesque for its time, leading to the game's infamous hour-long cutscenes.

and

Gnosticism: The overall story of Xenogears is an almost exact re-telling of Gnostic mythology. Surprisingly averts What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic in the sense of how true the game stays to the original Gnostic religion. So many games mindlessly rip names and ideas from ancient religion without grasping the broader context; the creators of Xenogears obviously did their research.

(they also mention the Nietsche wannabe).

So, tl;dr, I'd say that while there are some inspirations taken from Nietzsche in Xenogears, to ignore the fact that almost the entire storyline is an allegory for Gnosticism seems disingenuous. (itsstillagreatgamethateveryoneshouldplay...)

*edit* Hell, the main enemy in Xenosaga is called the Gnosis! Not the Nietschites