4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Walkthrough, without the spoilers, October 4, 2006
This review is from: Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra Signature Series Guide (Bradygames Signature Series) (Paperback)
This strategy guide did a credible job of helping me locate important items without spoiling the plot. Without this book, I would have missed out on most of the sidequests and optional battles. You can only access some of these extra features of the game during a specific point in the story.
This guide will offer less assistance to the player compared to your average walkthrough. However, I believe that was done in order to prevent spoiling the complex story of Xenosaga III.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Game Guides are always handy little things., January 5, 2007
This review is from: Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra Signature Series Guide (Bradygames Signature Series) (Paperback)
As far as game guides go, this one is all right. Though for its size, it's not as extensive as I expected. The layout is good, and I like the graphics. Very detailed and high quality, though the screenshots from the game itself are rather small. Though graphics also take up a lot of page space. The list of ethers in full is repeated for each character, when it could have been listed on one page. Not all the characters need to know every spell available in the game.
But as far as character info goes, there's some good information about how to customize your characters, but for me, it was only a spring board to really working with them. Don't hesitate to get creative.
The boss information is top notch, and if you follow the information, you won't get any surprises on the battlefield. A few fights recommended the use of Erde Kaiser ethers, which seem like an easy way to go, and not all of the characters are suited to actually casting Erde Kaiser, making it a waste of precious ether points. Luckily, the guide does offer alternatives to Erde Kaiser, which makes things longer, but more interesting.
As previously mentioned in other reviews, there are no spoilers unless you look ahead and are actually surprised to be going to, say, Abel's Ark. Locations shouldn't be a shock for anyone familiar with the Xenosaga fandom, and while I wouldn't recommend using Episode III as your introduction, it is possible.
There is complete information about the Segment files and where to find the doors, decoders, and what each item is inside. The same can be said for database updates, though my database is 2% short of being complete, and it's frustrating trying to figure out where my missing information might be.
While boss information is top notch, a little more detail about the area encounters would be helpful. Maps, too. Some of these areas can be a real maze. I spent a long time wandering around Labrynthos, and some areas near the end have confusing layouts, and I sometimes just walked in circles. Maps would also help in pinpointing the locations of items on the map.
A guide to the mini-game HaKox would also be appreciated. While I can only thing of one or two instances where you have to at least try the game out to advance the story, you can get some nice items (including Jr.'s ultimate weapon and Ziggy's swimsuit *shudder*) for completing certain levels. But some tips for making combos, or even levels in general, would have been helpful. There's nothing more than a paragraph on this particular part of the game.
If you're pretty familiar with the Xenosaga series and completed the previous games with some depth, you could probably get by without the guide. But if you're a stickler for finishing EVERYTHING, you may want the guide. It's also good thing to have nearby if you're new to the games.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
OK but not as good as Guide for XS2 (Xenosaga Episode II), June 13, 2009
This review is from: Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra Signature Series Guide (Bradygames Signature Series) (Paperback)
This is a helpful guide but since I just finished XS2
Xenosaga Episode II I have to admit that there are 2 things that I really really miss that was included in XS 2 Guide
Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse Official Strategy Guide (Signature) that are not available in the XS3 (Xenosaga Episode III) Guide. Which is why I only gave it a rating of 3.
1.MAPS!!!! It can get confusing trying to read the directions and make sure you are going the right way and play the game at the same time. Also some of the directions are not very clear. I personnaly prefer detailed maps with a good legend detailing things like treasures, save points and points of interest. That way I do not have read the walkthrough UNLESS I am having trouble. It helps to avoid spoilers and it a heck of a lot quicker to just glance at a map.
2. The other item I miss from Guide for XS2 is that in the beginning of each section, they had a quick glace guide for the enemies in that particular section and part of the info listed was the items that could be obtained for that particular foe. It saves you from having to flip back and forth between the chapter and the detailed foe list.
That said the guide is nicely put together with lots of information of the chracters, backstory, relatively spoiler free walk through and other info to get the most out of the game.
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