In the first game, it was possible to outperform your giant mechs – whoops. In the second, they ‘simplified’ the game by removing money, which was an utter disaster. The 2nd and 3rd games both simplified the battle system, but this ruined the rhythm and skill one could enjoy, replacing it instead with the more direct level grinding solution. The last game overcame many of the 2nd’s immense faults, but instead of adding the tactical pleasure of using the mechs in normal battles, merely relegated them to its own battle system. Xenogears still holds the position for best game, despite its graphical shortcomings.

In the end, I find that my choice between level grinding and skill grinding is deciding which is harder/less boring. The first Xenosaga game was more fun when you learned the system, whereas the last two were solved by just grinding.