Customer Reviews

Xenosaga

5 star:		(139)
4 star:		(71)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Xenosaga ( the spiritual prequel to Xenogears, which was released by Squaresoft on the PSX ) is an RPG of epic preportions. Like Xenogears before it, Xenosaga comes ready to provide its gaming audience with an incredible storyline, great character development, and stellar graphics. The game is said to be a 50 hour endeavor, and is certain to keep you interested as you trek through its huge tale ( complete with the longest cutscenes ever to grace a game - many exceeding 45 minutes in length ). This game is definately the second coming of the RPG; not since FFX has the gaming community seen a game with such high production values. The game also includes english voices ( which up to this point seem quite good ).

As for the controvery concerning this games content, I will be glad to clarify. One scene ( that takes place fairly late in the game ) that involves the games villian and a main character has been altered to remove a suggested sexual relationship. Regardless of this one alteration ( which is being handeled by the game makers themselves ) the game retains its surprisingly over-the-top violence, language, and controversial religious themes. How namco was able to convince the ESRB to give this game a Teen rating is beyond me.

Have a question? email me. gregs_anime@yahoo.com.

I'm an avid FF fan, and tend to be pretty biased when it comes to RPG's. Xenosaga is the first RPG that I have ever found to be MORE exciting and intensive than the FF games. I couldn't put it down. I loved the battle system, even though it was complex, I felt I had control of leveling up my characters the way I see fit. The story line is amazing, even the long cut scenes are worth the watch, and I'd even play the game again to watch a few of them. The voice acting is great too, I'm usually not a voice over fan, but I felt the voices fit the characters perfectly! I beat the game in 60 hours, I obtained most of the items, though a few area's were left unplundered. I think my only beef is that the bosses weren't excessivly difficult to beat, but then again, I spend a lot of time boosting levels, so that could contribute to the ease I had beating the game. At any rate, I highly recommend this game to any serious RPGer. Even if you're not a "sci-fi" fan (which I'm not either), you won't be disappointed. I can't wait for the next one!!!!

Xenosaga is one of those rare great games that come out once in a blue moon. If you can handle the slow pace, you'll discover one of the best RPGs ever created.

The graphics in Xenosaga are top-notch. They're fully 3D and incredibly smooth. You'll be seeing a lot of cutscenes throughout the game, so it's a good thing the graphics are so good. Along with the graphics, cutscenes will also come with voice acting for the characters. Each has their own distinct voice that fits the character well, and none of them sound as bad and emotionless as Yuna from FFX.

The game itself of course tells a story, or rather, the beginning to a bigger story. The storyline in incredibly deep and complex. All the characters, even the sub-characters, have actual personalities. All their thoughts and feelings and actually believable.

The gameplay itself is very interesting. As you walk along the fields, you can destroy objects to reveal new paths or weaken onscreen enemies. And because you can actually see the enemy on the field before you engage in battle, there's a lot of strategy to be used outside of battle as well. You can sneak pass enemies to avoid battles you don't wish to fight. There's a lot to the battle system too. Unlike most RPGs where you can just hold onto the attack button for every fight, Xenosaga's battles requires much more strategy and thinking. Characters get 4 AP to spend each turn, and you have to decide how to wisely use it. For example, you can use all 4 AP to perform two attacks one turn, or use 2 AP to attack once, have 6 AP to work with next turn. For attacks with guns and cannons, you'll also have to watch your ammo count so you don't run out of attacks. And then, there's the AGWS. You can jump into one of these giant mechs, and there's a whole new fighting style to work with.

The graphics, story, and gameplay should already be enough to draw you in. And to keep you playing, there's also four great minigames, including a TCG-type card game (think Magic or Yugioh) and a 3D fighting game where you control the AGWS. Some even have two-player modes.

Overall, this is one great game you should get your hands on. Don't give up from the slow start, and you'll find yourself playing one of the best RPGs ever created.

I've always loved RPGs. But the first few role playing games that came out for the Playstation 2 console were...so horrible in fact, I drove twenty minutes back to my local videogame store and bribed the owner to erase them from my rental records (Ephemeral Phantasia, anyone?). Final Fantasy X was good, but that was last year. I wanted something fresh...other than those lame AD&D hack n' slash RPGs.

Xenosaga Episode 1: Der Wille Zur Macht, translated to "Will to Power" in German, the first out of a series of six video games, will be an instant classic. It's already IGN's game of the month. But I'm having a problem with the reviews those "professional" critics were writing. Unoriginal? Lame? Too much watching? Critics are always biased. The world is filled with educated and experienced derelicts (a.k.a. idiots). Xenosaga is not just a video game...it's a video game experience like none other. So I've decided I should give you a full, fair review, with both the game's up's and down's.

<Sound: 4.5/5>

I gave sound a 4.5 out of 5, not because of the quality of the music, but sometimes, the lack of it. There isn't that many background music during quest mode (explore mode), but when there are music, it's exceptionally good. The background music (when there IS music) was extremely well composed.

"Tell me about the voice acting, man!" Okay, I am not a fan of dubbed work, but Namco pulled it off surprisingly well this time. The voice acting is completely done in English, with English subtitles (for the deaf, I guess), which can't be turned off. I think the voice acting was great, perhaps even better than Final Fantasy X.

<Graphics: 5/5>

The graphics are not up to par with other recent video games, but you can't blame Namco for how long it took for the game to get to the United States. The Cinematic events (cut scenes, FMV's) are done in-game, much like Final Fantasy, and the character designs are great. Because this game is based heavily on anime, all the characters have the anime look to them. Everything is run on a smooth frame rate, and I can't remember any in-game slowdowns. Facial expressions, life-like movements, etc. They're all there. The only thing I had a problem with was how long it takes for the menu to load, but you'll get used to that soon enough. Overall, the graphics are top-notch.

<Game play: 4.5/5>

Game play...this will take a while, so go get some chips and a drink. Episode 1 consists of three different play modes: Quest Mode, Battles, and Cinematic Events. In the Quest Mode, you explore your surroundings and talk to NPC's (non-player characters). Some environmental objects (like boxes, crates, etc.) can be destroyed to clear your way. Some of the boxes and crates might have a treasure chest or an item behind it. Reaching certain areas will trigger e-mail events for the main character, with weapon upgrades, news, investment opportunities, and some will trigger a Cinematic event.

Thankfully, the random encounter system used in so many other RPGs was completely left out in this game. Instead, you will battle enemies only when you come into contact with them on the world map (Like Chrono Trigger or Seiken Densetsu). By beating the monsters, you get experiences points, and/or tech points, ether points, and skill points, which you can use to farther customize your characters beyond their usual limits. Be sure to save every chance you get, because some of the stronger monsters come at you when you least expect them to. I had no trouble with the battle system. The Anti Gnosis Weapon Systems are premature Gears, large humanoid mechas piloted by a single human. Unlike Xenogears, the AGWS' play a smaller role, which is good. Most battles could be won simply without the use of AGWS, unless you're a person like me and want to finish useless battles quickly to advance the story.

The cinematic modes are FMV's, and these take up an astounding eight hours of your game experience. Yes, you heard me, folks. Eight hours worth of cut scenes and thirty hours worth of game play (with another thirty hours if you take your time to go through all the side quests and leveling up) packed into one CD. So really, you can't really say anything bad about the graphics. No other games go into so much character development like this one. So game play gets a 4.5 out of 5 on my scale, only because if you are going to play this game, you have to be willing to sit down for a while to watch the long cinematic scenes.

<Story: 5/5>

I don't see how this game can get any more original than it already is. I really CAN'T tell you much about the story, because there are so many plot twists and changes, and by trying to explain it to you, I'll be causing more harm than good. You'll be lost in a state of confusion for the rest of your life, so I'll tell you the base plot of the game when you start playing.

Thousands of years into the future (four thousand to be exact), humans have left Earth to colonize other parts of the galaxy. But suddenly, the discovery of the Zohar, a powerful and mysterious artifact reputedly existing since the dawn of time, triggers a series of events that will ultimately lead to the discovery and the war against an alien race, called Gnosis. But why? Shion Uzuki, a scientist of Vector Industries, is shipped on a Federation starship Woglinde with their new experimental anti-Gnosis android, KOS-MOS. The recovery of the Zohar emulator on the Woglinde puts the two into a struggle to unlock the final mystery.

As for story, it gets a 5 out of 5.

<Overall: 5/5>

Rent or buy? If you are a true RPG fan, you can't miss this opportunity.

One single scene is being edited in the US version of the game. That's -edited-, not cut entirely. The edit in question was handled by the original developers themselves, surely to prevent angering American soccer moms, not to protect anyone playing the game. After all, there was nothing to protect anyone from. Every other aspect of the Japanese game will remain intact. Please disregard the reviewer who made it sound as if the game was going to be butchered in the localization process.

Xenosaga: episode I is without a doubt a masterpiece of a game. From a Soundtrack by the best of the best to awe inspiring graphics, to the deepest storyline in an RPG since Xenogears. Quite frankly there's not much to say but "Takahashi, you dog. You did it again!" :D

As if it's storyline and graphics weren't enough, Xenosaga: Ep I also delivers a soundtrack by none other than the best music composer out there; Yasunori Mitsuda (internationally known for his awesome work in games like the Chrono series and Xenogears).

Another Giant making a return is the personal favorite; character designer Kunihiko Tanaka, who's awesome way of bringing characters' emotions to life is a style that has always fascinated (and inspired those of us who are artists) fans throughout the globe.

Last but not least is Xenosaga's professional voice acting work. While many (myself included) feared that after the game's localization and translation it's voice acting would end up poor and generic, this was not the case. While more work could have been put on the movement of the lips for more realism, the voice acting work still exceeds that of Final Fantasy X's. So far every character's voice seems natural and right in place.

All in all the game offers nothing but high quality everything, leaving us fans in agony as we await the arrival of the next episode in the saga with great anticipation. What else is there to say other than your favorite review quote "Definitely a must get!"

Xenosaga is Namco's prequel to Xenogears, an RPG released on the original PS1 a few years ago. What sets Xenosaga apart from most traditional RPGs is it's futuristic theme and deeply philosophical story. Non-playable cut-scenes are plentiful, though perhaps at times overwhelming in length (some scenes run almost an hour without any breaks). However, story is a vital component in any RPG, so sitting through them isn't much of a chore if one keeps that in mind. Gameplay-wise, Xenosaga borrows some of the best elements of today's classic RPGs. Battles play very similar to how one might expect with standard attacks, magic, ect. Mech-type summons called A.G.W.S.s are an interesting addition as well (although not all that important in the later stages of the game). There is some conflict though...for such a linear game in terms of the path the player is forced to follow, the character and AGWS upgrade methods seem needlessly complex. It's seems there are different types of points to earn for every attribute, so it becomes easy to neglect upgrading certain aspects of your party if you're not careful. Another fault I feel needs to be addressed: Even though I know this was intended to be episode 1 of a long running series, the ending provides few answers to the storyline for the 60-70 hours of gameplay one must put in to finish it. Xenosaga is definitely an ambitious project, but those without much patience or experience regarding games of this type should probably consider a less complex RPG to start with. If complexity and a deep, meaningful storyline are what you're looking for however, by all means this is your game.

Graphics: For the most part the graphics are excellent. During battles they easily top FFX's battle graphics, as the tons of deathblows and ethers you can do all look gorgeous and have all kinds of cool effects and particles like feathers blowing around them etc. Animation is smooth as is the framerate. Cutscenes are also superbly directed, and definitely help move the story ahead. All in all, an absolutely beautiful looking game.

Sound - The music is great for the most part but there just isn't much of it. If you take out the hollywood type action cut-scene music, you could probally fit the music on to 1 cd, it almost feels like it's only about 1/6 of the amount of tracks that say Xenogears had. Also one thing that bugs alot of people, is the for 80% of the gameplay section (running around and dungeons) there is no music because Mitsuda thought it's more realistic to only hear sound effects, and that it makes the music have more of an 'impact' when you do hear it. But what is there is very nice.

Gameplay - The first five hours of this game is a intro movie, you really get no gameplay during it, and you mainly just watch cutscenes and nothing much happens right away. This isn't bad, it's just the game has a slightly slow beginning so be prepared and know that the game does open up. But remember, the Xeno series is like this. If you've played Xenogears you'll know what I mean. But, once the game really starts moving, the gameplay is very good. The battle system is one of my favorites I've ever played, the character management and development between Deathblows/skills/stats/equipment/AGWS is my #1 favorite character management system in any rpg in the last 10 years, it's very complex and really allows you to make the characters the way you want them. Luckily the game makes a save when you beat it which is only for loading into ep2 next year, so if your characters make it through ep1 alive then you can use the one's you've built up in ep2 probaly. Also the game has several mini-games which are completely seperate from the game itself. At save points you can use an item that just takes you into a different game, and you can't win anything to actually use in the real game. Also the AGWS are in the game. While your characters can Boost (Extremely important), heal (likewise), and attack for major damage starting around 1/2 through, your gears cannot do anything other than attack and guard. Their attacks do around a 1/3 of what any of your characters can do outside of AGWS's, and even there hp is only about 2x your character hp, and none of the bosses require you to use them since only 4 people of the 6 can even use AGWS's, the developers couldn't force you to use AGWS's since your party might not have them. Also there are only around 6 AGWS's (3 playable from the start, 2 buyable, 1 another character in the game uses) in the game, and only 1 really looks like a 'gear' . But this doesn't take away from the gameplay as there more of just an extra for fans. Also there are a good amount of side-quests and hidden scenes spread around the game.

The game's story does not stand on it's own period. Until the last 10% of the game, I thought it was turning into possibly one of the best rpg/anime/movie/novel stories ever. But then you realize at the last 10%, 'oh wait, there just going to end it there aren't they', and they do. Several of the characters in the main party do not even get more than 1 scene of development in the whole game, 1 character doesn't even get a single scene of character development, he's just 'there' for now. But I really loved the bits of story in the game as there are told with style (think Xenogears and the last 2eps of Eva), very artsy at times and cool. But the story has not even started. Expect to see lots of flashbacks and symbolism that makes no sense at this point. There isn't even enough story in the game to make theories yet. But again, this game is the first part of an on going Xenosaga series so expect the story to unfold during the upcoming sequals. The game took me about 47 hours including 4 hours of just non-stop leveling up in the middle which made the rest of the game pretty easy for me. The game does have a higher difficulty than say the FF series, but it's not the hardest rpg I've played. If you do all the side-quest stuff and get all the secrets I'd say the game will take you about 50 hours, plus the time if you want to play the mini-games. All in all, a great game and one of the better RPG's I've ever played and a series that is gearing up for an absolute epic adventure.

First off, as many people have said, the game is wonderful as a movie--less so as a game itself. I am not a habitual player of RPGs for the sake of their gameplay, however--I stray toward puzzle-solving and instant-action games along the lines of the Ecco the Dolphin and Metroid series, respectively--but I appreciate the intricate storytelling the genre allows for.

Xenosaga really goes overboard for the sake of its story--and there's nothing wrong with that. The game is pretentious, and open about being pretentious. The cast of characters are all, to a greater or lesser degree, mentally ill, from heroes to villains and back again. The story takes a sudden and whiplash-inducing turn in the last third of the game. The morality of decisions made are distinctly Nietzschean--which is to say, often amoral and confused. But--the critical but!--it's a wonderful story often BECAUSE of these facts.

If you'd like a good story to chew over and talk with your friends about (I'm still talking about it, three years after I was introduced to it!), buy this game. If you want instant action and a transparent storyline--eh, give it a try. It can't hurt anything. But understand--when you're going into it--that this is more of a movie than it is a game; the objective is to entertain, enlighten, and even disturb through the visual medium, not necessarily through the gameplay itself.

Oh, and, there's plenty of eyecandy for both the ladies and the gentlemen. Always a bonus. 8)

Square has always been known for making some of the most innovative, interactive, and interesting games in the video market today. Starting back in 1990 with Final Fantasy, the company has exploded into other RPG's, strategy, action, and even fighting games to thrill their audiences with. But when the designer of one of their popular titles "Xenogears," Tetsuya Takahashi, asked to make a prequel series of his project, he was denied. So, he did the next best thing, and turned it over to Namco, most famous for Pac-Man and the Tekken/Soul Blade series.

The game is hands-down gorgeous. If you're an anime fan, it will only heighten your experience, since the characters are designed in a very Manga-style fashion. A vast array of colors decorate clothing, backgrounds, and special effects to almost perfection. The characters move very fluidly, and though it's all game graphics (no CGI in this one), there's very little "overlap" choppiness that happens when graphics are placed in the same place simultaneously.

The storyline is phenomenal. You're dragged into the life of Shion, a young scientific engineer who has just created an android called KOS-MOS, designed to protect against the threat of an alien race known as the Gnosis. KOS-MOS uses a special energy transmission known as the "Hilbert Effect" to turn the Gnosis from ghostly, transparent apparitions to full flesh creatures that can be defeated.

There are a LOT of long cutscenes that feature dialogue between the vast array of characters in the game, but for those of you who played and liked Final Fantasy X, this shouldn't be much of a problem to you. If anything, I think this only increased the appeal as the story is unfolded in spoken dialogue, as opposed to having to read everything.

The combat sequences are just how I like them: traditional. It's turn-based, with a variety of commands, such as fighting, using "Ether" (Magic), defending, and changing position. The actual "fighting" is a combination of different types of attacks, which are either ranged or melee. Some types of attacks hurt certain enemies more than others. Plus, there are "special" attacks you can do which can hit one or multiple enemies.

Character customization is very innovative. You can learn skills by spending points to extract them from equipment, you can upgrade your "special" attacks by spending points, and you earn normal experience to level for gaining stats, HP, and Ether points. Plus, there's a variety of different clothing, armor, and accessory options your characters can choose from to help them out.

In addition to the normal game, which features an astounding soundtrack by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, there are side games you can play, including a very interesting, challenging, fun card game.

Two of the characters, Shion and Jr., bring along walking robot constructs called AWGS. Though they're seen a few times during the story, and you eventually get to both use and customize them, they're not a very important part of the overall plot. They don't regenerate HP when you rest, meaning you have to use items to repair them, and they don't have a huge variety of weapon choices. You'll find battling with the characters outside of the AWGS (pronouced "eggs") is a lot more effective.

Overall, this game is a 10 of 10. Right up there with Final Fantasy X, Metal Gear Solid 2, and Grand Theft Auto 3. A must-have for anime fans and RPG fans alike. You'll find yourself strangely attracted to this game, a sort of addiction you can't explain, but you'll enjoy the experience. If you don't already have a copy of this, get one today. After you finish it, get ready for the highly anticipated release of Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose, where the characters from Der Wille zur Macht come back to resume the fantastic story from where it left off.