Xenosaga Episode 1

Xenosaga Episode 1

Certain game franchises never get a second chance to correct the mistakes made by the first game. While many RPG gamers felt that Xenogears was a wonderful gaming experience, some people even today felt the game was unfinished and flawed in some places, namely the second disk. After the Xenogears was released, many of the game developers had a major falling out with the then named Squaresoft Company. Many of them left Square and started a company called Monolith Soft, which was under the command of Namco. The development team decided to give Xenogears a type of “do over”. So, Xenosaga was born.

Xenosaga EP1 has a less complex battle interface than Gears, but it does retain certain fighter/action type mechanics. The robots in the games are completely useless and feel tacked on, they add almost nothing to the game. Despite this flaw, the battle graphics are pretty, and almost as colorful as FFX. The special attacks are also breathing taking. The battle music can get on your nerves. Most battles are not random and most can be avoid, but I wouldn’t recommend that. You can also revisit areas in a VR (holodeck) area through the fake online feature. (You can send e-mails and buy stock in this make-believe online world).

The biggest problem with Xenosaga Ep 1 is the extremely long cut-scenes, with one portion being nearly 30 minutes long. This may turn off some gamers while others will be into the whole story. And, the story is very complex and sometimes confusing. In the end, Xenosaga is a good, if flawed, game. Too bad Xenosaga ep 2 went in the wrong direction, and it would take Xeno 3 to get its mojo back.

Grade B

(BTW, Xenosaga 3 is the game that connects Xenogears to the series)