Xenogears Walkthrough - Chapter 1

When the game begins you'll find yourself in the Village of Lahan. You can get 200G from inspecting your bed and some Aquasol items from inspecting the barrels in this area too. Just like many RPGs of this era searching the environment will reward you with some items. I won't point out every single one but I will point out a few more in Lahan.

Head upstairs and try to leave to meet Dan, he asks you to come talk to him later but before we do that we're going to get some more items from the village. In the middle of the village you'll find a well, you can jump into it repeatedly to get some items. The first time you'll get an Eyeball, the second time you'll get an Aquasol S and the final item you'll get is a Power Ring. I had to jump into the well almost 10 times to get the Power Ring. Most of the time when you jump in you get nothing.

If you'd like more items and gold talk to all of the villagers, the only other thing I will point out is the Rock, Paper, Scissors guy. He is part of the 3 Badges Side Quest, if you can even call it a side quest. Beating him 5 times in a row will get you the Mythical RPS Hero Badge. When you're all done with collecting items it's time to find Dan and speak with him, then speak with Alice (his sister). Dan can be found walking around outside of a building, talk with him then enter the building nearby that the woman is blocking the doorway of. Head upstairs and talk with Alice next.

After speaking with Dan and Alice you're done in Lahan, it's time to leave town via the northern exit to reach the Mountain Pass. This is the first area of the game where you'll experience some combat and will learn how fighting works in Xenogears. Mountain Pass is extremely linear, the only complicated part is the running jump to get over the gap. Get used to jumping in this game, there will be some puzzles centered around it later.

Upon arriving at Citan's house you'll want to grab Midori's Ring before doing anything. To get this item you must jump over the flower bed and the inspect it (as pictured below). Midori's Ring won't appear in your inventory, but you can trade it later in the game for a ring that gives you 50% bonus EXP.

When you're done exploring the area and you're ready to proceed head inside of the door at ground floor and speak with Yui, she'll tell you that Citan is out back. Head out back to the building that's detached from the house and interact with the door for a scene. When the scene is finished head inside and interact with the Music Box for another scene. This scene is a bit longer, when you regain control of Fei it'll be night and you'll have to navigate through the Mountain Pass a second time to return to Lahan.

On your way back to Lahan you'll get another scene in the Mountain Pass, when you reach Lahan there will be another longer scene after which you'll be thrown into a battle. Unlike the previous battles in the game, for this one you'll be using your mech. When the fight is over there will be another scene, after which you'll regain control of Fei on the World Map.

Not far from where you regain control of Fei there will be a giant forest, run over to the forest and find the part that makes "Blackmoon Forest" pop up on your screen. Enter the forest at this location.

This is your first real dungeon of the game, you should take some time to get used to how dungeons and areas are designed because it's a bit different than other JRPGs of this era. Since you're able to jump in this game it means you can get over obstacles in your way and climb up to places in dungeons to collect items or find the right path. It takes a bit of getting used to.

Upon entering Blackmoon Forest you'll want to head south past two rocks, circle around until you reach the area shown below. There will be a hobgoblin here which will jump across the roots, you need to follow him.

Jump over the roots just like the Hobgoblin does.

You'll find a save location up here and a path to a log with another hobgoblin and a boulder. When you beat this hobgoblin the boulder will roll down the log which clears the way forward. Head down the log where the boulder came from and you'll get another FMV anime movie. There will be a battle and another scene before you regain control of Fei. We're also no longer alone, now we have a companion named Elly.

In the next area look for signs that point toward Aveh for the right way to go. You'll have to jump over some cliffs and follow the linear path until you trigger another scene with Elly. When the scene is over you'll be thrown into a boss fight with a big dinosaur. You can't win this just as Fei, so for now survive until Citan comes in with your Gear. Once you get inside of your Gear the real fight will start and you can beat the boss with a couple of hits.

When the fight is over there will be more scenes, Elly will depart for the time being and Citan will join you. In the morning you'll want to leave the Blackmoon Forest. Back on the World Map head straight for the town you see in the middle of the desert, this is Dazil.

Our first stop in Dazil will be the Workshop that Citan was talking about (pictured above). There will be a small amount of dialogue inside, after which you'll leave empty handed. Outside the Workshop you'll have a short scene with Citan after which you'll want to find the buggy that just pulled into town and inspect it for another scene.

Go into the building near the buggy and speak with the guy behind the counter, Citan will decide to drive the buggy into the desert and leave your party. Before we pursue him we should level up a bit and purchase some Aquasol from the item store. We'll need the extra healing; when you're done grinding rest at an Inn to recover your HP.

This game has a feature in combat called Deathblows, they are basically combo attacks that you can perform if you memorize the buttons to hit for them. At this point in time Fei can perform 2 (depending on his level). You unlock the first Deathblow at Level 6 and the second at Level 10. Below are the combos for each.

Fei Raijin Deathblow: Triangle, X

Fei Senretsu Deathblow: Triangle, Triangle, X

Tip: At Level 10 Fei also learns a new ability called InnerHealing. As the name suggests, you can use this to heal yourself (and others) both in combat and out of combat.

When you're ready to continue head northwest/west from Dazil and you'll enter another screen. Gears will be jumping across the desert when you arrive, we need to follow them. You will get a short scene each time you transition to a new portion of the desert followed by a fight with two Troopers then a boss fight against a Wyrm. To beat the Wyrm you'll want to choose the Ether Machine option in battle and keep using Guided Shot until you win. It only took me two shots when I was Level 14.

There will be a scene after the fight is done, when you regain control of Fei you'll want to talk with Citan twice and then go back to sleep. You will have another scene after which you'll be thrown into a timed event.

I strongly recommend you complete this event in two steps; first you'll run around and grab all the treasures while you learn the layout. Let the time run out and you'll "fail" and restart at the room shown above. You keep all the items you gathered so it isn't even really a failure... Once you've got everything and you restart with full time you can make your way out.

The hardest part is at the end when you get outside and you have to walk across the crane as it gets smaller and smaller. If you take too long you'll have to start over. After the crane part you'll have another Gear battle, this time it's against Bart (called Pirate during this encounter).

My advice is to use Guided Shot on him until you win, otherwise use Triangle or Square attacks. Once you deal enough damage to him you'll both sink into the sand. When you regain control of Fei you'll be piloting your Gear around in the cave. From where you begin, head southwest until Bart mentions the giant rock that blocks your path. The next few parts are linear, they'll lead you right to an Aveh Excavation mech which will give you some details. Use this guy as a landmark because we'll be coming back through this area a few times. Go through the tunnel behind the mech to continue.

You'll find yourself in a new room with a bunch of platforms we have to jump up to, your first time here Bart will point out a cave we can visit near a save point. Head to this cave and go inside to meet Balthazar, there will be some dialogue with him. When he stops talking speak with him again for more dialogue and again after that to get some Gear parts and fuel from him (if you need it).

When you're all done with Balthazar exit his home and return to the Aveh Excavation mech. From this mech you'll want to follow the path west until you reach the area pictured below. The first sensor we need is here along with a chest nearby that has an Iron Gwhip. Interact with the sensor to disable it, there's one more of these to do.

The next sensor is found by going up the platforms near Balthazar's cave. Return to his cave and then face north, jump up all the platforms you see until you reach a tunnel at the top... follow this to a new area. You'll have a very long but linear walk to the next sensor, it's technically found in the first room that we landed in... we're just taking a very linear path there.

After disabling the second sensor you'll want to return to Balthazar; I recommend you go back the way that we just came. Talk to Balthazar again and you'll have a scene which reveals important information about your mech. He will also drop the barrier preventing your exit. Continue through the now opened door and you will come to a platform with an elevator and a gondola on it.

Dismount your mechs and ride the gondola to the power station, switch the power on then return to the elevator and ride that down. In the next area you'll have to drop down into the quarry then climb back out before riding another elevator down. The boss fight happens in the area down here, it's the first difficult fight you'll have with your Gear.

You can increase your Attack Level by using abilities, 1 attack level means you can chain two attacks together for a Deathblow combo. I used Triangle Triangle on both of my characters for this boss fight and it did much better damage than Guiding Shot. Another tip is to use Booster on your Gears, that will give you Haste at the cost of Fuel each round.

Once the boss has been defeated jump ontop of the rock so you can reach the road above then exit the cave. There will be some scenes after which you'll regain control of your character on Yggdrasil (basically a giant sand crawler). Nearby where you start you'll find a gear shop (pictured below). I am pretty sure it's north of where you regain control of Fei.

Yggdrasil Gear Shop

I'd recommend you buy some upgrades for your Gear in there, it sells stuff better than what Balthazar sold. To advance the story you'll want to visit Sigurd in the Engine Room and speak with him. You'll have some scenes after which you will speak with Maison and get a tour through the ship from him. He'll take you to the cafe where you'll get some tea and a bunch more dialogue between him and Citan.

Bart will come back to you during your conversation with Maison and tell you to meet him in the Planning Room. When you leave the cafe area the Planning Room is basically across the platform on the other side, it's easy to find. You'll get another scene inside of this room, when it's finished you'll want to go down the stairs and into Bart's Room to grab the Iron Whip from the chest (you'll also get a short scene with Bart).

Return to the elevator and ride it down to continue. When you try to go down further Bart will intercept you and want to talk, there will be more dialogue with him. Don't go down the hatch he came out of, instead turn around and follow the catwalk around to a different elevator. You'll want to ride this second elevator down to the mechanic (our next stop). The mechanic is found standing in front of your Gear, you'll have to jump up onto his platform to talk to him. Sigurd and Citan will interrupt you and you'll have another scene with them and Bart.

When you're all done it's time to head over to the Residential Area so we can go to sleep. Ride the elevator up and go through the first door you see. In order to sleep you'll want to speak with the guy to the right of the door when you enter. You'll have a short scene after lying down, after which you'll need to run towards the hangar on Fei. Midway you'll find Citan and get a scene, after which it'll be multiple battles with Gears.

Once the battles are done there will be another short scene with some dialogue. When you regain control of your characters you should probably upgrade Citan's Gear (Heimdal) at the shop in the picture above. He can only use one item from there (the chest armor) but it's worth the trip if you wanna min/max him. If you got the Iron GWhip earlier, equip it onto Bart's Gear while you're at it too (if you haven't already).

To advance the story you'll want to visit Sigurd in the Planning Room aka the helm of the ship. Look for the door with the yellow wheel in the small room down the hallway from the hangar with the gear shop (pictured above). Tell him you want to leave the hideout and you'll enter the World Map in control of the Sand Crawler. Our destination is the town of Bledavik (Aveh).

Tip: On the World Map you can go NW to reach a place called Road To Nisan which has a vendor that sells some goodies.

Entering Bledavik for the first time will get you a scene involving Ramsus and Margie. When that's done head into the market and do some shopping for any upgrades you need. If you need money, do some fighting outside. Honestly, leveling up isn't too bad of an idea considering we're going to be doing a tournament here too. To get back into your Gears on the World Map enter the Sand Crawler then immediately exit again.

When you enter Bledavik you'll get the option to go to multiple parts of town, for now go to South Bledavik (the first green arrow). Shop at the vendors here and buy anything you need/want. Near the northern stairs you can talk to a lady who will accuse a kid of stealing... Follow that kid into the alley when he leaves and give him 1,000 gold. This will get you some good stuff later (the kid will open a shop) and it's an insignificant amount of gold anyway.

Before we leave this portion of Bledavik you'll also want to grab the H&S Badge, it's part of the 3 Badges Side Quest. The kid we need to find for this side quest is part of the main story anyway so, you may as well do it while you're here.

To Advance The Story:

1. On the west side of town, talk with the Nisan Nun inside of the hotel.
2. Go to the eastern side of town and talk with the two old people near the sewer grate then inspect it.
3. Find the kid involved in the Hide & Seek quest, when you talk to him he'll mention the well and the key needed for it.
4. Return to the old guy near the sewer grate and talk to him again. Tell him you're planning on rescuing Margie and he'll give you the key to open it.

Once you've completed those steps you can head north to Shakhan Square. Go to the northern most portion of this area and leave Bart behind, this will let you continue to Fatima Castle. All you need to do here is enter Fei into the tournament, this is the final trigger we need before we can return to the nun.

Return to the Nisan Nun in South Bledavik and speak with her. There will be some more dialogue after which you'll want to talk with Citan to rest for the night. When you wake up you'll want to head back to the area you entered the tournament and go inside. To advance the story speak with Dan inside one of the tents.

Next, you'll be in control of Bart and you'll have to enter the sewers via one of two different sewer grates. The first is by the old man who gave you the key in the eastern part of town. There's another one in the west by the Ethos Workshop (pictured below). I recommend you enter this sewer grate because it's closer to the treasures than the other one.

Enter the sewer grate outside of the Ethos Workshop in the western part of town.

For this next part of the game you'll be switching between Fei and Bart, Fei will provide a distraction in the tournament while Bart enters the castle. The amount of time a battle lasts in the tournament is the same amount of time you'll get on Bart while exploring the sewers. If you want more time, you can deliberately stall during battle to give yourself more time on Bart.

Our goal with Bart is to reach the northern most portion of the sewers, this is where you'll find the floodgate. You'll have to swim into it until it opens then it'll let you inside.

Semi-Finals: During the Semi-Finals you'll be fighting against Dan. For the best outcome don't attack him back, just defend and heal yourself. He'll run away after awhile. If you do it this way you'll get the WeddingDress from Dan. Beating him up means no item.

Hopefully by the time the Semi-Finals happens you'll already be inside the castle with Bart. If you get inside before the tournament ends, there will be less patrols to deal with. Once you defeat Wiseman you'll have to deal with a lot more guards. When you first arrive in the castle you'll be in a courtyard, on each side of the courtyard there will be 3 rooms. One side has a kitchen and dining room; you can ignore this side. On the other side there's 4 Iron Mail in one room (they're not in chests, instead they are on display.. interact with them to pick them up) and a Cobra Cracka inside of a chest in one of the "treasure rooms".

Cobra Cracka is an upgrade for Bart so I recommend you get it, especially if more guards spawned for you... because then you'll need it! To advance inside of the castle you'll need to go into the foyer and then upstairs. Doing this will bring you through the courtyard again, this time on the second floor. Cross the second floor of the courtyard and go upstairs again in the next area. You should be on the third floor now. The main door will go to a bedroom, one of the side doors will go to a hallway with Margie's room connected to it.

Upon trying to leave with Bart and Margie you'll run into Ramsus, this will turn into a boss fight. When fighting Ramsus the only thing you need to remember is don't attack him when he uses his Mirror Stance. Other than that, just unload on him with your strongest combo attack until he goes down. Fei will join the fight next and you'll have one more round with Ramsus.

When you beat Ramsus the second time Margie will help you escape into an elevator. Follow the linear path and you'll get a bunch of scenes after which you'll regain control of your team back on the Yggdrasil. Head below deck and find Margie in the room just before the Gear Hangar, we need to speak with her.Once you've spoken with her you'll have to go back to the bridge where her 'toy' was blocking the door. Enter the bridge and speak with Sigurd twice to advance the story.

 

Continue to Walkthrough Chapter 2