As common (and disappointing) knowledge "Xenosaga" was originally supposed to be 6 games, titled Episodes (ala George Lucas) but sadly (yes, sadly) we only received 3. I was introduced to "Xenosaga" passively by my brother, I had acquired a Playstation 2 and mostly played wrestling games...somehow my brother acquired a bunch of games and among them was "Xenosaga". I don't play RPGs, I'm NOT an adventurous gamer (had "The Last Of Us" never come with my PS3, I'd have never purchased it) so playing an RPG game was the LAST thing I'd do. Sure, I've heard many laud the awesomeness of the "Final Fantasy" series, and while I'll admit they're worth the hype (some more than others), "Final Fantasy" always struck me as (and my hipster is showing) too mainstream.
I was curious about "Xenosaga". It was a game I had never heard of (not that I was out there looking at all the RPG games out there), the characters looked cool, the game came with a booklet that had the character's bios written in it, old school style! It sat amongst my games collecting dust until one day (out of boredom, no doubt) I decided to pop it in the ol' PS2 and see what's what. The story hooked me immediately and KOS-MOS is easily the hottest android ever (yeah, Android 18 and 2B can suck it, KOS-MOS is the real deal!). But the story was so fascinating that it hooked me into that I wanted to know more and SO much more about everything, EVERYTHING!
"Xenosaga" incorporated the psychological musings of Carl Jung, the philosophical musings of Fredrich Nietzsche, and sprinkled on top of it like so much confetti was Gnostic Christianity, being an aficionado of all these things "Xenosaga" hit me like a lovely aroma from the kitchen. Now to be fair, "Xenosaga" is ultimately (and unfortunately) "The DaVinci Code" with time travel, a very glib explanation but an explanation nonetheless, but it is SO much more. Let's talk about the mechanics. I HATE "Final Fantasy X", their EXP system or whatever you wanna call it is absolute bullsh*t, and modern RPGs have now all resorted to real-time, full-range movement combat or whatever they call it...I hate it and it sucks!
"Xenosaga" (each episode) had a smooth, linear combat system that was turn-based and their advancement system was so easy to understand ANYONE could figure it out. Building skills, leveling up and acquiring new abilities has NEVER been this easy in a game before, not speaking from experience BUT I'm gonna go out on a limb as say that what I'm saying is true. "Xenosaga" streamlined EVERYTHING and didn't make you feel stupid in doing so. People hated the combat system in Episode II, and while I found it strange at first I quickly got into it solely based on how well I was able to string attacks together for flawless combos. Saving Stock and Boosting allowed me to pull off some battles where none of my characters took damage.
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| Pummeling this clown is still a fond memory |
DEAR GOD, that's another thing! The characters! I was able to swap out characters for other characters so I'd have a team put together for certain things, I had my main team which consisted of Jr., KOS-MOS and chaos, and my other team which consisted of MOMO, Ziggy & Shion. KOS-MOS had enough close-range action to really mess baddies up and Jr. & chaos had that long-range game. Ziggy and Shion were back up for MOMO being my most underused character and this was merely Episode I, by Episode II MOMO quickly became one of my most trusted characters (still remaining the last spot though in terms of usage) Episode II introduced the ability to Air or Down your opponents, meaning you could knock them up into the air or to the ground and there they would stay and your attacks would deal more damage until your combo ended and if you can Stock up quickly you can keep them in the air or on the ground for a long time.
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| No reason to post this, just Miyuki's a cutie! |
OH and don't get me started on Episode II!! I LOVED Episode II! I really don't understand the hate Episode II gets, sure the redesigns were strange (KOS-MOS was still hot, I ain't complaining...although they did reduce the grandeur and damage of The X-Buster...unforgiveable). Episode II gave you 2 extra stories with it! All the side-quests, not to mention The Segment Doors, but not only the extra boss battles but the freakin' battle with Dark Erde Kaiser and the ongoing saga of The Professor vs The Dark Professor. Also, let me gush about The UMN, this thing is AMAZING! The UMN was a way to replay stages you've already beaten, the main purpose was to go through and collect things you couldn't before and while I did do that, I also used it to level up my team for the next battle. This is a trick I learned on my second playthrough and something I'd continue to use in "Dragonball Xenoverse" (Xeno...interesting).
The Segment Door side-quest was ALWAYS fun and ALWAYS fulfilling. You didn't get random doodads, you got awesome new gear, new skills and maybe a new attack. I loved doing The Segment Door hunt because the creativity as to where those things were located ALWAYS surprised me and left me begging for me and I'm so glad they continued it throughout the series. Episode III (unfortunately the final chapter) introduced the Break mechanic and this was a revelation. Like Air and Ground, Breaking meant that the opponent was stunned and your attacks would do crazy damage while they were in that state. My fondest memories is battling against the final big boss Zarathustra, breaking it, increasing KOS-MOS's damage output and hitting it with my strongest attack (D-TENERITAS!!) "Relinquish your pain unto me!" says KOS-MOS as she launches a ball of fire at her target that hits them with 4 digit damage 3 times over (YEAH, BAD ASS!). I'm rambling but there is so much I could discuss, let's talk about the soundtrack, BOOMING and GRAND, and this isn't just me looking through rose-colored glasses, I have the soundtrack on my playlist.
Let's talk about the stage design and GOOD GRAVY the stages are BEAUTIFUL! The soundtrack (especially in Episode II) enhanced the majesty of some of the landscapes you were exposed to, such as Labyrinthos, the stage it's self was simply a military facility but the soundtrack enhanced the mystery and legacy of such a location. The Kukai Foundation and all that entails, Vector Industries and my goodness, Episode III, the very first stage Vector's S-Line Division...man, this place is amazing, with flowing lights and smooth design, it boasts futuristic data center the likes of which most movies can't copy. The bonus stages take the cake, check this place out:
That's a bonus stage titled Heaven's Ruins which is basically a floating structure filled with gnosis and high atop the spire is one of the most frustrating bosses you'll ever battle in an RPG (Mad Skelter). Episode II had so many great things going for it (again the hate this game gets just baffles me).
Let's talk characters, "Xenosaga" boasts some amazing characters, frankly, the entire cast is noteworthy and even characters you interact with only once (like Mai Magus). The villains are complex and engaging (and one can even say aren't exactly villainous) and boss battles feel apart of the story. Albedo is easily one of the most stands out bad guys of the series voiced by Crispin Freeman. Albedo has all the makings of an amazing JRPG antagonist, sinister laugh, rambling monologues, psychotic demeanor, borderline pedophile and a penchant for self-mutilation (ya know, the usual stuff) and yet despite all of that Albedo is a sympathetic villain and his character arc is very well written (even in the short amount of games we were given).
Shion is an interesting character with a lot of baggage and far from a pushover. YES, "Xenosaga is spearheaded by 2 (count'em) TWO female leads (KOS-MOS and Shion, respectively) and neither are sexualized or put into a position to be sexualized, and neither adorn slutwear (not even in their bathing suits). A lot of people are annoyed by Shion but she's fine to me, not to mention some of her attacks pack wallop! chaos is easily the most interesting character for reasons that I can't get into due to spoilers and even though this game has been out for a while and your chances of playing it are slim to nill (without emulators...thank God for those things) I'm still not gonna spoil it for you. Easily the most fascinating character is Margulis, a central antagonist throughout the series.
The minute I saw this dude I knew he was bad news, sadly did not turn out to be the final boss in any of the games but still, his boss fighters were always enjoyable and his history with Jin Uzuki is just icing on the cake to an already well-decorated character. Call me a sucker but I love me a Well Dress Villain trope, the one man who holds all the keys, knows all the secrets, and just plays everyone like a fiddle and NO ONE embodies that more than the central antagonist and Vector Industries CEO Wilhelm. Soft-spoken and often just seen chilling behind a desk, Wilhelm is the central antagonist throughout the series, although you wouldn't know it since his motives are "Jenseits Von Gut und Bose" (Beyond Good and Evil). You can't help but wanna wipe that smug look off his face and while I wish the final battle was against him (one of my few gripes) I can acknowledge that Zarathustra was probably the most logical choice...although I'd have preferred Zarathustra to take a different form...another gripe.
Despite the MASSIVE edits the American version of the game had (reducing the violence and not showing blood...seriously... some scenes are just straight-up goofy without it), the game is none the less enjoyable. There is so much I could say about this game and the VERY sad news that this won't be receiving a remastered version is heartbreaking to say the very least. I love this series, not only did it teach me things about video game story structure and narrative combat, it made me reflect on my faith, it made me reflect on my own personal philosophies and many other things and it also introduced me to a friend. So in this final paragraph, I'd like to say Jynx, if you're reading this, I miss you, I think about you often and I hope you're doing well. You were a really good friend in a time where I was alone a lot. I hope to hear from you. U-TIC, run with us, run from us, or get ran the f*ck over!
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