Playstation 2 - Xenosaga Episode III

Format
Playstation 2
Publisher
Namco
Developer
Namco
Country of origin
Japan
Release date
August 2006
Genre
RPG

First Look at Xenosaga Episode III

By David Rasmussen
6th Aug 06

Oh dear god, somebody went and dug Xenosaga out of it’s grave again.
I prayed it wouldn’t happen, hoped and hoped beyond hope, but seeing as to how Namco/BANDAI (Why BANDAI?!? WHY!!) had to finish that series, now is as good a time as any to wrap it up (end the pain faster that way). So, without further ado, let’s end this by taking our first look at Xenosaga Episode III : Also Sprach Zarathustra… which hopefully doesn’t mean “Revenge of the Cutscene”.

Noted in the original article as “one of our most awaited RPGs of the year on any system”… really? Anyway, cough cough, delusional commentary aside, the third Xenosaga is finally coming. Set enough time aside for the long cutscenes and make sure you have your snack and drink of choice ready, you’ll need it.
Have you been wondering about KOS-MOS’s legend? Shion? The Invasion of Gnosis (not the Gnosis from Star Wars though)? No? Me neither, and yet here we are… lucky us.

It all started pre E3 2006, when a translated North American version was made available for consumption for the first time. According to the original article there had been improvements in Episode III over the previous game (which I will never finish as long as I continue to exist on this world).

As for the story? Wait… you don’t care, do you? Well if you do then read on, if not… read on, it won’t hurt you none since this isn’t spoiling nothing for you.

Episode III picks up a year after the end of Episode II, with the title’s Zarathustra giving narrative to get you up to speed on what’s going on in this game… oh, and it all sucks. Mankind is not in a good position, but then again it’s been in dire straits before in other games.
The Zohar (whoever that is) is supposed to be “somewhere it shouldn’t be”… hopefully near a taco stand.
The development of KOS-MOS is coming to a halt.

Shion quit her old job with Vector Industries because of the company’s involvement with the whole Gnosis phenomenon, and signed up with the obligatory underground society (called “Scientia” in this game). They’re helping her in her own investigation of Vector in an effort to resolve the Babylon 5 sized intergalactic pissing match going on.

At the head of the story is something called “T-elos”. This thing, “T-elos”, is Vector’s new anti-gnosis weapon that’s roughly (aka we’re guessing here) triple the power of the old KOS-MOS at her highest level… let’s hope it’s triple the personality of KOS-MOS while we’re at it!

I wouldn’t bet on it though, seeing how T-elos has a major attitude adjustment problem with a major overdose of EGO and “Curt”ness, which troubles the troubling KOS-MOS who is having a serious self-esteem problem… which may not work out well if her personality is still lame.
Still T-elos and KOS-MOS’s difficulties getting along is one of the things that drives this story, as to whether or not it drives like a drunken Doc Brown behind the wheel of the Delorean is another thing.

Next question, will it hurt not to have played Xenosaga 1 or 2?
First of all, if you haven’t played Xenosaga 1 or 2 then bless you, I envy you.
Second it’s supposed to not matter since there’s a previous recap of the games in the “Xeno Bible”… which is all well and good EXCEPT for the fact BANDAI has the whole character upgrading thing you remember from the (dot)hack games in this one (which I remember from Xenosaga Episode II), where you can download your progress from the end of the previous game into the next game… so if you don’t have the first two games you’re kinda missing out on that addition there.

Another new addition to the game is a “interesting puzzle-based mini-game” that can be played at any time… you know, to alleviate boredom. Known as the “Xenosaga Puzzle”, the 60 level “distraction” has been reported to “take hours” to complete on it’s own apart from the main storyline… so? What good is that? Will I gain something from all the time spent playing it?

Also the mini-game is supposed to allow users to create their own “custom” stages with a built-in map editor so that they can give themselves a few more things to do once the default map arenas are beat (now whether or not you can take your custom stages and swap them online with other players is something that wasn’t looked into in this first article).

So, then, now that we’ve gone into all of this where are most of the changes in this game?
Most of the “dramatic” changes are supposed to be found in the game’s combat system. Though the game promises that the system “shouldn’t feel foreign to veterans of the two prequels” (you know, those strong enough to actually sit through ANOTHER Xenosaga) there are supposed to be differences. So, wait a minute, most of the “dramatic changes” are supposed to be in the combat system, but it’s also supposed to be familiar to old time players of the franchise… what is it?!? Is it changed and new or familiar and old?!?

Zone battle is gone (I think I hated that from Episode II), and the old fashioned concept of to whack or not whack your opponent (that is the question) replaces it. Basic strike and Tech attacks make a comeback, and Ethers slash individual skill upgrade trees round out the combat field.
The resulting number of these abilities on the upgrade trees, gained for each combatant you used, is enormous (then again the last game’s one was enormous so this… ugh… hopefully not too unwieldy with the massive size) and the feeling of independence and player-customization is a lot greater, supposedly, than it used to be… then again there was abit of that in Episode II so how will that differ here?

Boost returns, and while it still allows players the ability to “gain ground’ in the progression of turns, “double combos” have been given the heave ho in exchange for character-specific special moves (which there are three to each character). These special moves are powered by a “tension-meter” known as the “Anima Gauge”… oh, joy, ANOTHER gauge to watch over.
This builds up the more your character hits an opponent or gets hit themselves, which (when used) is good for an experience bonus which should help those experience points rack up fast.

If you are a shopaholic you’ll note that the shops and money are back… shopping spree! (Now I know what I was missing in Episode II)! Also you get to play characters you couldn’t play in Episode II (or I probably).
Let’s see… Segment File sidequests, swimsuit hunts… (sexy?)… and Jehuty-like ES machines. That, of course, means nothing to me for only having played one Xenosaga… but the swimsuit thing… eh?

Now you can also set traps in dungeons at any time to stun opponents for a quick advantage.
Miyuki & Canaan are fuly playable characters from the start of the game (really?… who are they?)
Users can (yes) import that data from Episode II, which you knew was coming (right?)
That and… oh god… EIGHT HOURS OF CUTSCENES… to “help” the story… weird, I thought the game’s cutscenes were LONGER!!

E3 2006 came, and end, then June came, and at the end of June 2006 another Xenosaga Episode III update came to light.

The Zohar got eaten by a super sized Gnosis.
Shion and the gang has joined a mysterious organization.
T-elos (the replacement of KOS-MOS) is coming on line, but T-elos turns out to be a sibling hater by trying to kill off her “big sister” KOS-MOS… what a knob.
Otherwise the rest is about the combat system again, but that is best saved for the review itself since, well, playing the game will probably be better than telling you about someone else’s description of it… oh, no, do I HAVE TO PLAY THIS?!? Sigh…

Finally July had an update that started with this dubious statement…
“Since Xenosaga’s storyline is as deep as the ocean…”
So that explains the curious drowning sensation I had when I last played it.
But here’s abit more about the story of Episode III.

Let’s see… dumbed down to the lowest common denominator…
1-Game starts off with a couple of cutscenes featuring guys in long robes lugging a coffin about… guess somebody dropped last game.

2-Kevin, whoever that is, has become some sort of demigod… probably going to start his own religion next week… or become a scientologist… something.

3-Mechs play tag and chase each other about… somehow that seems to only sound cute when it’s nearly naked women… wasn’t that a gimmick they used to do on The Man Show once? That and women on trampolines… I think.

4-Entry into the database matrix (Keanu Reeves not included).

Now back to the boring part of our conversation, the endless prattle about the combat system!
The game is now supposed to feature a simplified (traditional in a sense) combat system. This is supposed to speed up fights, and make sure you move through these faster (than what you were bogged down with before -- though I don’t understand that since I basically button mashed my way through fights in EII).
You can booby trap areas, yeah, I think I did that in Episode II if I remember right. What else?

You have a database that features a ton of knowledge you’ll never touch unless you’re a major fan of the franchise because nobody likes reading tons of background info unless they’re really into it.
But one thing that may make me return is… NO MORE ETERNALLY LONG CUTSCENES!! Now the cutscenes are supposed to be more sporadic than in the first two games, which means that, you know, if you bought the game to play it over watch it then maybe this might actually make that a reality!

Some people are “Saddened” by this fact… oh, wait, that’s a lie! This game will NEVER EVER MAKE YOU NOT WATCH MORE THAN YOU PLAY (who am I kidding)!!
Case in point? In the first four hours of the game, according to the original article, you’ll go through two “dungeons” which take you an hour or less to clear (both, not singularly)… that means you’ll be, what, WATCHING THIS GAME FOR THREE HOURS?!?
People? Games should be like… oh I don’t know… sex for a lack of a better or more Politically Correct term I could have used here... I.e. watching sucks, hands on is the way to go.

Why oh why would you want to WATCH a video game! Making us watch (bleep)y movies based on video games is the most we should be forced to endure when it comes to watching a game! (like being forced to acknowledge the (bleep)tascularity of this year‘s Bloodrayne the Movie for instance), otherwise guess what! Me want PLAY game, not watch game! And, well, if Xenosaga is more watching than playing then… well… hey, who’s up for a copy of Final Fantasy XII or Dirge of Cerebrus : Final Fantasy VII!? I am! At least we won’t be bored out of our minds watching endless cutscenes.

If you made it to the end of this review it’s possible that you are infected with Xenosagaitis, and you are actually ready to play this game… I feel sorry for you if that‘s the case. But if you must, you must. From the above it’s safe to say that, yes person who e-mailed Morgan Webb & Adam Sessler on X-Play asking about Xenosaga Episode III that one time only to be mocked by them, Xenosaga Episode III may very well be the best Xenosaga game to date… and, yes, it’s also the last. No Xenosaga Episode IV people… unless, you know, BANDAI does the same to Xenosaga that they still need to do with (dot)hack, and come out with a new chapter for it… come to think of it, where’s the fourth (dot)hack game?!? I haven’t heard nothing about it in a long time already!! Where is it!!

Otherwise in August Xenosaga Episode III is coming, fear it’s release.
Oh, and in advance I’d like to thank people like Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb… because, you know, they end up having to review Xenosaga Episode III whether they want to or not. I can just point happily at my limited budget and totally pass on this game without bias… which I will, actually.
No more Xenosaga for me, thanks. I’m all Xenosaga’d out… (but if I can, er, rent it I’ll… sigh… review it.)

-- David Rasmussen 6th Aug 06

Playstation 2 Xenosaga Episode III Images