"Aye Aye Captain!"

Fleets of ships? Check. Massive Mechs? Check. Killer android? Check. Traditionally speaking, I never really cared for Sci-Fi rpgs. But as of this moment, I'm going to have to bend the rule a bit. Xenosaga has opened my eyes to a new set of rpgs that I have shunned before. Don't get me wrong, as I love sci-fi movies and books, but rpgs is a whole different breed of animal. With Xenosaga bolstering such a strong storyline and a solid combat system, I find it hard fit to not like this game. This particular game has made a believer in me. While it certainly isn't the greatest rpg out there, Xenosaga's strong storyline is enough to make it an entertaining piece of software. And before anyone goes out of there way to bash me, I'll say it as I have always said it. I'm one of those people who play rpgs for the story, so if you don't share my affinity toward stories in rpgs, then go ahead and sue me.

What's our status Lieutenant?

In the far distant future, planet Earth is all but a distant memory. With its opening cut scene, Xenosaga sets up the story quite nicely. Humans now span the universe in great force showing what humanity can do with a little technology. With a brutal enemy that is seemingly invincible, the human race struggles to fight off the Zonar. Being such a powerful race, humankind is in a whole world of trouble. But luckily for humanity, they have Kos-Mos, a powerful weaponry, with its own predetermined task and emotions that is suited for battle against the Zonar. Despite her machinery roots, she is still packing with a personality. Packed with many twists, spread across many cohesive dialogue, Xenosaga sports an impressive storyline that not only entertains, but keeps you glued to the screen till the bittersweet end.

The game is filled with dialogue and plenty of cut scenes to further along the story. There are plenty of back stories that add drama and depth to the overall story. . As you progress through the game, bits and pieces of the characters will fall into place. This is certainly a nice way to tell you the story through a series of cut scenes. And while the story does feel a bit forced at times, it is nicely scripted for the most part. It has a mysterious and somewhat confusing storyline that you would come to expect from sci-fi type entertainments. Furthermore, the many vessels make for interesting scenarios during most of the game's story. Through the cut scenes, you will witness gigantic battles that improve the intense storyline.

Besides the strong emphasis on storytelling, one particular thing that stood out during my time spent with Xenosaga was the lack of enemy variation. A lot of the enemies were recycled and reuse. And on many occasions, I would practically go through a few set enemies for an entire section. More importantly, most enemies didn't provide much of a challenge once you figured out what type of attack they were susceptible to. The enemies for the most part were easy, and it didn't help, when you have characters like Kos-Mos and Ziggy who were powerhouses in their own right and did astronomical damage to any enemy, whether physical or tech. Despite, the lack of enemy A.I and enemy variation, the game's solid combat system does make battles a bit easier.

While the combat system isn't the strongest around, it is still a solid system that works well in this situation. The combat system is a turn base system, where you press 2 buttons to do an attack consisting of 2 hits. However, some situations, you can make it so that you can do a 3 hit combo, or 1 big hit. Also, you can mix up the tech and physical attacks. As mentioned before, certain enemies are more vulnerable to certain attacks. Once you find out what enemy is weak against what, the game becomes fairly easy.

Attacks can be classified into several categories. Normal attacks consist of physical attacks, where a character will get in attacks from close range and long range attacks that consist of a projectile weapon. Different enemies in the game are more susceptible to different types of these attacks. Then there are ether attacks or spells. Personally, most of the ether moves that I use are beneficial to the team, rather than causing damage to the enemies. However, there are some effective ether attacks. Furthermore, you have tech attacks, which can be achieved by ending a move early. For example, the normal attacks allow you attack twice, but if you finish your total set attack early (only attacking once), and then you can save that attack next time. When you have saved this attack, you can unleash a devastating tech attack that does more damage than a normal attack.

To further expand on ether moves, a player will have a certain amount of ether points that must be replenished when used. More powerful ether moves will obviously put more of a strain on your ether points. Ether works like magic, and the basis around this system is very much similar to many other Japanese rpgs. And like most rpgs, you'll probably have a main healer, who has to be constantly replenished with ether points, as she heals your wounded. As you level up, you will gain ether points that you can use to learn more ether moves. But like most rpgs, it's a fairly standard magic system.

Feels like Robotech…

While your characters can certainly do damage themselves, some of the characters also have the ability to go into oversize mechs. Dubbed as AGWS, these powerful machines can do severe damage on enemies. As you play through the game, you can also upgrade your machines through shops and stuff. As great as these mechs sound, I found it more conventional and convenient to just use my characters as they are. Namco didn't do a very good job to force you to utilize the AGWS. In essence, they felt useless, other than the sole purpose to look cool, while you are destroying enemies.

Like standard Japanese rpgs, the combat system is turn base. However, Namco has done away with random encounters in this game. Instead, they opted to put enemies on screen so that you can see them. This allows a player to more easily avoid battles that they don't want. However, leveling up is still crucial, so avoiding too many battles aren't necessarily a good thing. And that is perhaps why I prefer random encounters, as long as they aren't excessive, so they can force you to level up so to speak. However, Namco's implementation of enemies on screen still works well.

The main draw of Xenosaga is still its story. Even though the cut scenes can draw on a bit (some going upwards to half an hour), the overall emphasis on story makes Xenosaga a wonderful experience. It makes for a better experience, when a developer can take the time to developer a plot. Furthermore, I'll admit with no shame that a good story takes precedent over gameplay when it comes to rpgs. I'm sorry, but I cannot spend 40 plus hours on an rpg and be miserably disappointed by the story. While a good combat system is satisfying, all combat system, no matter how good, tends to become stale after a while, so it's crucial the storyline can keep you interested.

Perhaps the biggest gripe about Xenosaga is its linearity. Japanese rpgs in general are linear by core, considering that branching storylines aren't a forefront to storytelling and the exploration is minor compared to Western rpgs. However, a good Japanese rpg can always find the right balance of linearity without compromising the essence of a great rpg. For Xenosaga, it feels like a mixed bag. For one, the side quests and optional bosses are simply not important enough to explore. Also, each area of the game feels a bit small, with no emphasis on exploring or taking on side quests. Furthermore, the fictitious world of Xenosaga does not have a strong sense of cohesiveness.

With a bit of unbalanced difficulty involved, it further puts me in a position to try and determine where Xenosaga falls. The question arises whether this is a good game or a solid one. Towards the end, there is an ultimate weapon that basically negates the last few bosses. Without it, the bosses are as close to an impossible boss, as I have seen throughout all the rpgs I have played.

Although the story is one of its strong points, there are some excessive cut scenes. There was one scene that probably lasted over half an hour. I kid you not. While the story is good, at times it feels force. And at other times, the long cut scenes lead to a bit of boredom. The developers could certainly have gotten the same great story across, without having so many cut scenes. Despite that, the story on its own merits is still quite enjoyable.

The biggest problem with Xenosaga is how it drags on towards the end. I reached the second to last dungeon at 24 hours, and I finished the game at 42 hours. This is an interesting note, because the dungeons weren't very long, but the amount of deterrence was a nuisance. Enemies crawl throughout the last 2 dungeons, with most enemies packing a heavy punch. For the most part, leveling up is almost necessary when you are towards the end. The game's overall enjoyment fades a bit towards the end. It drags on with its long and numerous battles, and its somewhat confusing dialogue towards the end.

The character art is anything but exceptional. In fact, the character art almost put me off from committing my money. However, despite the concept art, the game runs incredibly smooth, and sports amazing cut scenes. Its in game graphics leave a bit to be desired, but the lengthy scenes are nothing short of breathtaking. The solid musical soundtrack helps make the transition into the game a fluid motion. The song during the ending beautifully matched the dire situation. By matching the situation, the music got one's adrenaline pumping.

Seven or Eight? Good or Solid? Choices...

While Xenosaga certainly does break my dislike for sci-fi RPG, it still isn't quite strong enough to push it over the top. It's rather enjoyable, but after seeing what so many rpgs have to offer, Xenosaga is simply not a top tier rpg. It certainly does not help, when the enjoyment of the game is slowly flushing down the toilet towards the end. After about 30 hours, I was ready to give this a good 8+ score, but after the tedious last 10 hours, the score started dwindling like a washed up ball player's popularity. Even with that said, Xenosaga is still a solid rpg that is worthy of anyone's time. But just don't go into it thinking it will rival Final Fantasy X or Shadow Hearts: Covenant. It'll have its moments, it might even surprise you here and there, and the storyline will definitely keep you in it, but in the end, it leaves a bit to be desired.

If you're a rpg fan, then by all means pick it up. If not, then renting it should satisfy your curiosity.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/17/06