Yeah, definitely gave up on Xenoblade part way through and Monolith for good along with it.
I remember buying Xenosaga 1 at launch all excited and after I finished it (at the time I finished every game I bought) just immediately started thinking less of it and steadily progressing downward from there over time. The lack of music was such hot garbage. Then everything I read about Xenosaga 2 pre-release put it in the no-buy category and I was done with the series.
I missed the Valkyrie Profile talk though, that's one of my favs. The only worthwhile game made by Tri Ace as far as I'm concerned.
VP2 is better than VP1 imo. The combat system, dungeon system are aaa-tier. The characters and story aren't bad, either. Seriously, play it. i think it's the winner of that generation in terms of jrpg gameplay.
really wish I had the patience to enjoy an RPG only for the combat, I'm sure it was great.
What was good/interesting about the dungeon system?
Puzzles. The puzzles are extremely well made. You freeze things with photons like in 1, but you can now switch places with them if you shoot them again. So let's say there's an enemy on the other side of a gap you can't jump across, you just switch places. It leads to a unique platforming and puzzle solving element to a genre that generally has dungeons that are mostly about risk and brute force. Much like with the original, it's refreshing. VP2 builds upon what 1 started and just goes to town with the wonders of 3d that they just couldn't do in 1. You need to freeze and trade places a lot in order to unlock the desired items and loot in each dungeon, such as seal stones.
Seal stones are initially locked into the dungeon. Let's say, one dungeon has 20% attack up. It's sealed into the dungeons alter. By being in the alter it affects enemies. You want it OUT of the alter, and you will be handicapped until you take it for your own and replace it with something else. Then dungeon are often unpredictable due to the seal stones. What one dungeons stones may be, will be different from the next, and the dungeons function as a kind of cat and mouse game of trying to topple the enemies or be wary of enemies depending on what stones are equipped. You'll be fighting an uphill battle if you don't have specific seal stones, so again, solving puzzles does wonders.
The battle system is a unique blend of strategy rpg, puzzle game, and standard VP. You can split up party members and lure enemies intro traps. You can hide behind environments for cover. You can dash. Let's say there's a pit of miasma. How do you get across? How can you use the miasma to help you benefit from the battle? Environment plays a huge role in VP2's battles, which again, is refreshing due to how static and non-interactive most rpg battles are.
Battles, dungeons, puzzle solving. The game combines all three so effortlessly and so flawlessly it comes ahead of the cream of the crop on the ps2.
The game still has a lot to offer than just combat. It's got tons of content, a brutal post-game, some cool characters, and astonishingly great presentation and dungeons. It ain't no Suikoden in regards to story, but it works. If it can be gotten cheap, give it a shot.
