voted the 16th best video game of all time by its readers in a poll held in 2006. On a similar poll at GameFAQs, users of the website voted Xenogears the 32nd "Best Game Ever" in 2005. It was placed in the same position in IGN's "Top 100 Games - Readers Choice" feature in 2006, and as number 28 in 2008. Critical response Xenogears was met with critical acclaim. Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the story, characters, gameplay, graphics, and soundtrack. IGN described it as the "hands-down best RPG" of the year, praising the storyline, gameplay, graphics, presentation, and soundtrack. GameSpot described it as one of Squaresoft's best role-playing games, praising the story, gameplay, and audio, but criticized the lack of graphical polish. Allgame pointed out in a positive light that the character battles are "unlike most role-playing games from this company". The game's story and characters were well received. Electronic Gaming Monthly said it is "rich in story and character development." Game Informer and Next Generation agreed that the plot was one of the game's highlights, the former drawing comparisons to Star Wars, Star Blazers, the Old Testament, and many other Square games, making it "a game every RPG fanatic must play." IGN said the storyline is intricate, engrossing, "deep, complex, and once in a while even confusing, until more of the real underlying plotline is uncovered." GameSpot said the story is "excellent" and "thought-provoking" but said it can be "a little preachy at times", but went on to say that the religious and existential themes "enhance the story and [our] understanding of the game's deep characterizations". Game Revolution described the storyline as "epic" and "fabulous" with "many twists and turns" and a large cast of characters. RPGFan said "the story is unique and probably the most complex and interesting of any RPG", giving it a 99% rating for the story. Retrospectively, Edge praised the plot's scope and ambition and the protagonist as the "most complicated Freudian hero" in video games, but said it has a "flawed" script and "muddied" translation, as well as too many cut scenes, especially on the second disc, where the use of the world map is restricted for an extended period and the number of cut scenes increases. Years after the game's release, Jeremy Parish of Electronic Gaming Monthly called the game's plot "one of the wackiest game plotlines ever", but said that it "actually