XG's in-depth Comparison to FF7 and FF8

After playing this game, all I can say is: wow. This game far exceeded all aspects of a good RPG. However, after beating this game I moved on to other great titles, including Final Fantasy 7 and then eventually Final Fantasy 8. All three games were amazing, so I have decided to compare these RPG giants in this opinion.

First off, for any game to be good the story/characters must be of excruciatingly high quality. FF8 had one of the best couples (Rinoa and Squall). Unfortunately the storyline was weak and the main enemy was too undefined. Edea just didn't strike me to be all powerful (I beat her in my first encounter by one regular blow with Squall). At the end of the 3rd disc out of four, They briefly mention the sorceress Ultimecia who is actually the final boss. ??????? What a horrible way to meet your final arch nemesis! Also the main characters were to similar to each other. In fact they were all pretty much the same race (white, brown hair), which adds to my list of complaints. Politically correct gamers like me want to see some variations among main characters! From 1 through 10, with 10 being the highest I rate FF8 5 in terms of plot/characters. Now in Xenogears case, the endboss is once again undefined, however you meet him/her (I won't give it away to those who have not played the game yet) early enough to now the knowledge and power he/she wields. Actually, there were so many mysterious characters to meet early on that they will keep you guessing to the very end of the game! The story was amazing, perhaps a bit religiously turbulent, but amazing nonetheless. The characters were all (well, maybe about 4 out of 5) of relatively high quality (yes, even the 'bad' ones). I give Xenogears a bold 9. However, FF7 was far beyond FF8, and even slightly better than Xenogears in terms of characters. Xenogears in my opinion still had a better story, but the setting of a dark and gloomy Midgar and a mystical yet somewhat recent world overwhelmed me. The endboss is the best I've ever seen, and the thing is that he is both incredibly hatable for his actions, yet you can't help but feeling almost sorry for his past. All the characters were good, and there was a lot of variety. I give FF7 a solid 10.

In terms of music, FF7 and Xenogears soared above FF8 with deeply mood-engrossing compositions. However FF7's orchestrations beat out Xenogears midi like tunes giving FF7 once again the 10 and the same ratings apply for both the others.

Now in terms of technicality, the gameplay was good, no, amazing on all three games. FF7's materia, limit breaks, and controls were incredible. Xenogears introduced a system with two styles (three including the Tekken-ish battle arena) which earned them a lot of brownie points as well. FF8's junctioning and card game were both top notch, but the level up system stunk (every 1000 exp. = level up). However, it was good enough to earn a perfect 10 as were all the others.

Overall, I give FF7 a groundbreaking 10, XG a 9.5, and FF8 a 6.5. It wasn't that FF8 was a bad game, but when compared to these supergiants, it was outmatched. Also, it took maybe a third of the time to beat as it did for XG or FF7.

Once again these are only my opinions. If you have any objections feel free to post a comment. I've also taken the liberty to post this opinion up for all three of the rated games, because i feel that all who love and play these games should read this. Also if you haven't played any of these, GO TO YOUR LOCAL TOYS'R'US OR BLOCKBUSTER AND BUY/RENT ALL OF THESE PRONTO!!!!!