Xenogears text-speed code

[04.01.01] » New GameShark code puts the fun back into lengthy pretentious exposition.

   With the announcement of a true prequel in the form of Namco's Xenosaga, gamers who never had the time to play Square's epic RPG Xenogears may be wondering what all the fuss is about. But in today's harried, fast-paced world, do any of us really have time for a game that spans 10,000 years and over 80 gameplay hours? Or text that crawls by at the speed of a Romper Room sing-a-long?

   Thankfully, Xenogears' double-digit hours of dry exposition and heavy-handed foreshadowing can fly by with the help of what may be the most useful GameShark code ever created. Hacked out by the enterprising King Edgar 0, the code actually speeds up the endless procession of text boxes, potentially cutting the game's playtime in half.

   The code (300B21D6 000?) can be entered with a final digit of 1-8, with a value of 8 providing the default text speed and 1 giving the player near instantaneous messages. Entering a 9 for the final digit will result in nothing but question marks in place of the text, and should only be used by those who would like to experience the game's plot in "Very Hard" mode.

   As usual, thanks to Nick Rox for the heads up.