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Shaking, and re-shaping the RPG world

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 95 / 109
Date: January 23, 2003
Author: Amazon User

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.

For the record, this is NOT a Xenogears prequel

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Anyone playing Xenosaga with the hopes of it being directly related to Xenogears must be warned... it isn't.

However, it IS the creation of the same force who created Xenogears, the husband and wife team of Tetsuya Takahashi (story, script) and Kaori Tanaka a.k.a. Clio Saga a.k.a. Soraya Saga (story, and SOME character design... not to be confused with Kunihiko Tanaka, who is the main character designer) It's VERY similar to Xenogears in many ways. They've taken the same backstory, themes, and ideas and laid an entirely new plot on top of it. Both deal with the discovery of the Zohar, humanity leaving earth (Lost Jerusalem) and seeking a new planet to call home (New Jerusalem) and a myriad of past events which are referred to by the characters in the story. However, the epic of which Xenogears was episode 5 centered around the creation and ultimate destruction of Deus, and Xenosaga doesn't even mention it. Anyone who's read the "Xenogears Perfect Works" book knows that Episode 1 of the Xenogears story was ENTIRELY ABOUT the creation of Deus. The remaining episodes were about different generations of humans which were created by Deus. If Deus doesn't even exist in Xenosaga, there's simply no way the two games are going to literally and directly connect.

EDIT 1/6/2003: It recently occured to me that it would be interesting and cool if perhaps the entire Xenosaga series (6 chapters?) ended with the creation of Deus. I'm not predicting this, though.

Nevertheless, Xenosaga is going to be instantly familiar and pleasing to Xenogears fans, it was definitely cut from the same cloth and shares a lot of common threads. "Spiritual prequel" might not be too inappropriate. Just don't expect to see Chu-Chu flirting with Fei when we get to Xenosaga Episode 5, 'cause it ain't gonna happen.

Xenosaga is "smaller" than Xenogears. It's a shorter game, first of all. Xenogears took me over 80 hours to finish, while Xenosaga took me "only" over 50 hours. There are fewer locales to visit, with less variety (the entire story takes place in deep space, on spaceships and spacestations.) There are fewer playable characters. It doesn't have four entire chapters of backstory to be exposed through the course of the game, as Xenogears did. But while it can't quite measure up to the sheer epic scope of Xenogears, it's the beginning of a new story, a very complex and intriguing one. Xenosaga pushes the envelope of cinematic gaming. There are a couple of non-interactive sequences which are an 45 minutes to an entire hour long. If you're one of those staunch types who say things like "I prefer to PLAY my games, not WATCH them" then you should steer clear. There's a lot to watch in Xenosaga. But the story and characters are interesting and the scenes are well executed and presented, so personally I had no problem with it.

Watch out Final Fantasy.....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 21 / 21
Date: April 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

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!!!!

The longest game you barely play in

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Back in 1998, Square released Xenogears, a massive game that caused a stir due to its heavy religious and philosophical overtones. It was also a great RPG with some memorable scenes and a rather interesting but heavily complicated story. Flash forward couple years and Monolith announces that they're making a "prequel" to Xenogears, and it'll come out in 5 parts and probably span 3 systems by the time they're all finished. Reason why I say prequel in quotes is that it's not an official prequel like Resident Evil Zero let's say.

Story: The story picks up when archeologists find a massive artifact somewhere in Africa. Many many years later it's discovered in space and a ship captures it with some casualties due unknown energy. Meanwhile, Shion Uzuki is developing KOS-MOS, a Realian(basically human-like robots) that could fight off the Gnosis, a ghost-like alien race that absorbs the energy of whatever it touches and crystallizes them and shatters them. They're like ghosts so you can't shoot the things, so that's where KOS-MOS comes in. Of course, the Gnosis attack and they have to escape the ship and that leads them on a quest on finding out what was that artifact and what the Gnosis are after.

Graphics: Took a long time in development so the graphics don't have that finesse of Final Fantasy X but it looks pretty good.

Music/Sound: Done by Yasunori Mitsuda(Chrono Trigger/Cross, Xenogears) and with the London Philharmonic Orchestra so the arrangements are definately epic...whenever you hear them anyway. Levels tend to be devoid of music sometimes so all you hear is your footsteps going "clank clank".

Gameplay: Pretty much typical RPG-fare. Going into A.G.W.S(pronounced like eggs) take the replacing of gears and they're the same thing only different name. Unlike in Xenogears, enemies appear on screen and also there's damage effects where you can lead them somewhere, blow something up and the resulting explosion will provide a bonus for you in the fight.

As for the cutscenes? There's a LOT. Well, I'll put it this way: there's cutscenes but they're not like 50 5 minute ones, more like 20 15-30 minute ones. Seriously, some of these seemingly go on forever. You'll be hard-pressed to ask "oh, I can play now?" Then you play for 10 minutes and there's another one! Go you! You're watching a movie with some gameplay thrown in. But honestly? The plot's so interesting-and just like Xenogears, oh so complicated-that you wouldn't mind but then you start getting itchy fingers and want to play some more.

I often found books to be the best form to tell a story. You can be as long as you want like Wheels of Time, which still hasn't ended or short like Lord of the Rings with just 3 books. You can't see it and that's where games come in. With Xenosaga, this would be one of the most interesting and longest books in quite awhile, but because it's a game, you have to actually play it to get there.

A game you can't put down

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: October 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have been a staunch Final Fantasy fan for years. While waiting for the newest release, which kept being pushed back, I tried out Xenosaga. Let me tell you, I am grateful I have!

This game is one of the most entertaining and interesting games I have ever played. The world is absolutely amazing and the characters are unique, not to mention a plot that has profound depth. You will fall in love....trust me. If you are looking for an rpg that will draw you in and keep you playing for hours, it is Xenosaga.

Worth the wait, lives up to the hype...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: March 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Yes, it lives up to the hype. Anticipated by many as it was created by Monolith who did the superb Xenogears on the Playstation, Xenosaga is the spiritual prequel. Although Xenogears was supposed to be part 5 in a series, and Saga is Episode One, the creators swear they are not related, and started anew. We'll see if this pans out many years from now if they actually complete all of the games. Regardless whether they are related in story or not, Saga takes all the good elements from Gears and then some.

A pure Sci-Fi RPG, there is no mention of magic or fantasy. All the "spells" can and are explained scientifically. This is of course a rarity in an RPG and is just one factor that separates it from the sea of others. The other being the battle system, which borrows heavily from Xenogears and is a welcome addition. The others are the fantastic story and music. The story is deep, and perhaps reaches deeper than Xenogears did. Controversial as well, I'm surprised this was released in the US with a "T" rating as some elements may offend some people with the religious references as Xenogears did. There is some bloodshed in the cut scenes as well, further making me wonder about the rating. Nothing horrible or too gory, but in this age, I'd almost expected the ESRB to rate it an "M". Speaking of the cut scenes, there are a lot of them. Let me emphasize a LOT of them. And they are long. Really long. Some span only minutes, but at times the story advances for over 45 minutes. 15-30 minute cut scenes are the norm here. However, as you progress through the game the amount of playing and watching is more properly balanced.

The characters in this game are fantastic. You will be drawn in to their world. You will come to care about them. I haven't seen another RPG that has done character development as well as this game has. Of particular note is KOS MOS, a battle android which is probably one of the coolest RPG characters ever. With amazing attacks and a cold "robot" personality to boot, she is head and shoulders above all the other RPG characters out there.
Like Xenogears, you also pilot mechs though they are less important in this game, and are more a background theme than being the focus.

Music was done by Yasunori Mitsuda and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and it definitely shows. While much of the game is just ambient sounds, whenever the music does take over it brings with it the magic of what a truly well composed and performed orchestrated soundtrack can do for a game. The graphics are well done, and animated very smoothly and the effects during battles are very pretty. Being a little older than some recent RPG's (Was released over a year ago in Japan and the translation took forever) the graphics seem slightly dated but they are still beautiful.

And now the bad news: For me this game possesses only one flaw in that the English dubbing of it is only average, sounding like a dubbed anime. Many characters are over acting and it pains me to see this in such a quality RPG. It doesn't help that during the cut scenes the dialogue is subtitled right along with the actors speaking the same language...which would be fine if they sounded better, but since they don't it's annoying to read it before they say it, and hear them say it with forced emotion or non at all. It is a minor flaw in a near flawless RPG. The other concern is the editing. There is one cut scene that was altered and it only involves the placement of a hand. Nothing to worry about.

For me, I lost interest in RPG's awhile back, with the Final Fantasy series having lost some of the magic that the old ones had. Phantasy Star and Lunar had that old magic that I remember which is absent from the RPG's I play today. Xenosaga has that magic (ironic since there is no "magic" in the game itself) and I recommend it to anyone who loves RPG's. If you can find the soundtrack and art book, I heartily recommend that you pick those up as well.

A Final Fantasy X Killer

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: August 21, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Xenosaga is the sequel to the game Xenogears (which I've Never played before). But lets get to the point Xenosaga is one of the hardest games I've played but it's one of my favorite games.The story has a lot of dept and some unpredictable twists in the story, The graphics beat the living crap out of FFX, the sound is top-notch and the music is done by the famous London Phillharmonic Orchestra. The only thing that bugs me is that X and O are switched around, but you will get it down.So anyways, Xenosaga Episode 1 is a must-have for any RPG fan. But still if your not into RPGs buy it,also buy the guide to (or you'll get lost.) My point is buy Xenosaga! I won't stop saying it until you do buy it.

Awesome RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: August 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Xenosaga is one those RPGs that doesn't get a lot of hype because they're not of a certain series that everyone's come to love, but its a damn good game. Although the cutscenes are extremely long, you can pause during them just in case. But the cutscenes are fun to watch. They help explain the storyline and it's almost like watching an anime (if you're into that). But enough about that. The combat system is fun, with a combo system performed by pressing certain buttons on the controller in a set pattern. By performing a certain move you'll open a different set of attacks than if you had performed a different move, and choices can differ depending on the enemy. Plus, the main character Shion can employ the use of A.W.G.S., whih are giant robots that are stronger than a normal character, but they attack less often. The music is good but inconsistent, and is usually not heard during points that should have music. But in any case, it is a good game that RPG fans will love and enjoy.

Overall: 9/10
Music: 7/10
Storyline: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Replay Value: 8/10

Awsome

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 10
Date: February 17, 2006
Author: Amazon User

It's like a cross between Neon Genesis Evangelion and Ghost In The Shell. VERY COOL!!!!

Buy xenosaga buy it buy it buy it buy it NOOOW!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 20
Date: January 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Xenosaga looks like a rpg that may actually be able to compare to Final Fantasy X. Any Rpg nut like myself, probably already pre-ordered it but if not do it now! Everything about the game looks amazing if you don't believe me go to gamespot or ign then you'll now how amazing it is. Now stop reading the and go to ... The game's battle system is turn based. The battles have awsome speacial effects. The garphics are amazing. The game takes about 80 hours to be.

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