If perfection had a name...it would be Xenogears.
I bought Xenogears when it was released, and my love affair with it has been ongoing since then.
Where to begin? The beginning I guess. The most important of any game is arguably the beginning. It has one chance to catch your interest, one chance to introduce you to a character that you can see yourself being for 40-80 hours, and one chance steal your heart. Xenogears does all of this and infinitely more. From the very start, you are introduced with fantastically well rounded characters, though simplistic in their early game personas, they none the less stir feelings within you.
As the introduction comes to a close you are already thrust deep into a imersive plot, full of intrigue, politics, religion, and a truly in depth look into world control.
For anyone who says the story is cheesy, and cliched...well...they're uneducated for one, and short sighted for another. The tones of religious control, and an all powerful organization controlling the world...well...its not far from the truth, and far more applicable than any story about saving the world from the Dark Lord.
The gameplay stands traditional rpg's on their heads, with the use of fighting game style combos meshed perfectly with turn based style gameplay. Also...Giant Mechs...how can you go wrong?
This is less a review as a rant I suppose, but if you're one of the sorry, unlucky sods who missed this game over the last ten years, though the weather under your rock must be warm, you need to come out from under it and play this game. Its worth every penny you'd pay for it on ebay, and worth the jail time if you decide to emulate it.
Cheers :)