Locke and I debate nonstop all the time on this.
In my opinion, the single most overrated game would have to be Xenogears for PSX. I just can't see why this gets so much praise, despite boring the hell out of you with it's 20 minute plus conversations that have no point to 'em. Here's a little rant I did a few months ago at a different board:
Xenogears is the slowest, most boring, and repetitive RPG I've played. I did a little rant about this on another message board one time:
To Manifest and Negative4:
I took the time to read the conversations and everything. I KNOW it takes the dialogue to tell the story. I appreciate a great storyline! The storyline is the most important part of an RPG! Chrono Cross and Phantasy Star IV have the best plots of the RPGs I've played.
Why do I bash Xenogears in that regard? Because it takes 5 - 10 minutes of senseless drivel just to get to the point! That and the damn character portraits fill up 1/4 of the conversation window, just makes the text go on longer. Also, they go on and on about something for four - six sentences, when it really could've and (should've) been told in only about two or three. I can understand having to have the lengthy conversations midway through, or towards the end of the game (as that's where all the plot's at), but to throw the player into them early on, when there is little to nothing of interest, it's just ridiculous.
To quote Jeromec's Xenogears review:
To quote Psycho Penguin a few times:
To quote Wutchaduntame:
Sure, it has the best battle system of any RPG I've ever played, and it has my preferred style of graphics. But when you factor the above in, the game just becomes a chore!
Xenogears is one of those games that you either love it, or you hate it.
In my opinion, the single most overrated game would have to be Xenogears for PSX. I just can't see why this gets so much praise, despite boring the hell out of you with it's 20 minute plus conversations that have no point to 'em. Here's a little rant I did a few months ago at a different board:
Xenogears is the slowest, most boring, and repetitive RPG I've played. I did a little rant about this on another message board one time:
To Manifest and Negative4:
I took the time to read the conversations and everything. I KNOW it takes the dialogue to tell the story. I appreciate a great storyline! The storyline is the most important part of an RPG! Chrono Cross and Phantasy Star IV have the best plots of the RPGs I've played.
Why do I bash Xenogears in that regard? Because it takes 5 - 10 minutes of senseless drivel just to get to the point! That and the damn character portraits fill up 1/4 of the conversation window, just makes the text go on longer. Also, they go on and on about something for four - six sentences, when it really could've and (should've) been told in only about two or three. I can understand having to have the lengthy conversations midway through, or towards the end of the game (as that's where all the plot's at), but to throw the player into them early on, when there is little to nothing of interest, it's just ridiculous.
To quote Jeromec's Xenogears review:
Xenogears can be described as an anti-player game. You - the player - are not allowed to interface with the game. Sure, now and again you use your joypad and see little people move. But the story is very linear and you never have an opportunity to take a break and explore the world a bit. Even worse, every two minutes, there is a 30-minute cutscene you cannot skip or even accelerate.
To quote Psycho Penguin a few times:
I feel the same way in this regard.Maybe SquareSoft should have decided to make a game instead of a book...
Call it The Xenogears Bug. I felt the story line was good, but how many 20-30 minute story scenes can you handle before you just pass out from total boredom?
I liked it early on in the game, like really early, before The Xenogears Bug kicks in. Actually, it kicks in right from the start, but I like the whole deal about your friend getting married, but once you get outside it all goes downhill from there.
However, I could not enjoy all of the stuff featured in the game as much as I expected to. Why is this? Well, it is because of the damn Xenogears bug. The story scenes in the game were way too numerous. It almost made the game feel like a book instead of an actual game. Every time you turned around you were thrust into another scene which usually meant nothing by the time you finished the game. After almost ever boss you would have to sit through a long scene.
To quote Wutchaduntame:
Fun 4/10 Well, basically what you do is talk for about an hour straight, fight a few guys, talk for another hour or so, fight a while, talk again, etc. It gets very repetitive and boring after a while. Then, when you finally think they're about to do something good, it turns out just to be another hour-long yak-a-thon, with a few fights in between.
Sure, it has the best battle system of any RPG I've ever played, and it has my preferred style of graphics. But when you factor the above in, the game just becomes a chore!
Xenogears is one of those games that you either love it, or you hate it.