Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra

"Xenosaga goes out with a bang in its third, and final installment."

The Xenosaga series has had a rough and tumble timeline since its inception. A strong beginning raised many peoples hopes, but the second games general fumbling of the franchise in nearly all aspects tarnished a lot of gamers' hopes and dreams for this series. But, like truly smart developers, the fine people at Monolith Soft put together a game that incorporated the fans cries over the fumbles in Episode II, and do their best to end this series with a smile on the fans faces and a pleased feeling in their heart.

And this fan was smiling, and was very pleased by the end.

GAMEPLAY - 10/10

The best in the series. It combines the best elements from both of the first two episodes to make something truely enjoyable. Character specific skills remove the stagnat, mediocre feeling you got in Episode II while raising your characters. The "Style Line" system gives you different ways to take your characters. Two main Style Lines give your character two main ways to develop through the game, and of course, you could also mix and match and try doing both skill lines at the same time! Battles as well generally move a lot faster. The transition from area map into battle is less than a second in, what I consider to be the fastest loading times in RPG gaming.

Shops as well are back. Items, weaponry and equipment for both your characters and their hulking mecha abound. Numerous types of accessories and weaponry for both the characters and mecha give you a lot of room for customization and tinkering to find just the right spot for yourself.

Speaking of mecha, the battle system for when your characters hop into their beautifully designed robots has been finely tuned as well compared to the system used in the first two games. They move at a break neck speed; and though not as in-depth or deep as character battles, they add an enjoyable element to the gameplay and are generally just a joy to go through.

MUSIC & SOUND - 9/10

While Yasunori Mitsuda is an excellent composer(his works adorned the PSX Xenogears and Chrono Cross), his work in Xenosaga I and II left a lot to be desired. What I and II lacked, composer Yuki Kajiura makes up for in Episode III. The game has numerous masterpieces, some that even play during pivotal boss fights that add so much more to the epic feel of the game. The soundtrack is a masterpiece - the only thing that keeps the music from receiving a perfect ten from me is the fact that a lot of the time, sound effects awkwardly cover BGM and music and hurts some of the ambiance.

What I can say is perfectly done is the English voice work. Fan favorites Lia Sargent and Bridget Hoffman return to reprise their roles as Shion Uzuki and KOS-MOS. Nearly everyone who played their character in Episodes I and II return for III to send this series off in style. Though many fans are usually weary of dub work; I say there's nothing to worry about. This game has some of the best voice work in video gaming, period.

GRAPHICS - 10/10

Again, the best in the series. Sprawling cityscapes and world maps. Beautiful scenery and intense scenes of destruction. In most story scenes characters are modelled in fully real-time graphics and show some of the best polygonal model work in gaming, close to the level of the Metal Gear Solid series. Battle effects and enemy models in battle as well are finely detailed. There's really nothing bad to say about the graphics - purely masterful and well done.

STORY - 10/10

My word. If I could give this game a score higher than ten in this category, I would. I can't even explain it without getting into spoilers for the entire franchise, but suffice to say that the game does its best, and succeeds at adequately detailing a lot of the series' biggest mysteries. Though not everyone gets a great amount of screentime, those are mostly the characters whose subplots had already been resolved in Episodes I and II. Shion Uzuki's tale is told beautifully detailed in this installment. Another addition thanks to the thoughtful folks at Monolith Soft is the addition of the expansive 'Database' accessible in-game at any time you have control. This Database covers essentially every single character, item, location, and term in the Xenosaga universe in great detail, to make sure no fan is left in the dark.

EXTRAS AND REPLAYABILITY - 7/10

Once you beat the game, there's not much more beyond that. There are a few side quests, but they're relatively short. To do nearly everything I ended up clocking in at 50 hours, which isn't bad at all, to be honest. Beyond the main game there is a puzzle mini-game called "HaKox" which could eat up some time if you're into puzzles. It even gives you the option to make your own maps to test your friends with, which I'm sure some will find time consuming.

There is an extra section in the game that allows you to review seen game cinemtatics, as well as the models of characters, enemies, machines, and ships. It's an enjoyable feature to behold, and if you want to relive some of your favorite scenes or stare at a favorite mech, it's a nice feature to have. But in the end, it doesn't add too much to the replayability.

OVERALL - 9/10

This is a game meant for the fans who stuck through this series. If you haven't played Episodes I and II, you can get the lay of the land through two extensive summaries as well as the database, but it's just not as fulfilling had you actually played the previous two games. To fans who have stuck through, this game is a masterpiece of story-telling, and ends a trilogy we've known and loved for years on a wonderful note. As the conclusion of a trilogy, it's an epic finale at its finest. As a general RPG, it's a fun romp with some interesting themes to ponder, and a well thought out universe to read about in the Database. The only thing that keeps me from giving this game a solid 10, is the fact after you beat it, there's not too much else to do. Otherwise, this game is purely a joy to go through and complete.

If you're a fan of the Xeno-verse and have been worried thanks to Episode II, don't. BUY this game! If you're new to the series, I'd recommending renting, and seeing what you think of the universe they present to you. If you like it, check out Episodes I and II(despite II's gameplay, it's story is still top notch, and worth going through for that alone). Both should be pretty cheap by now and easy to get ahold of.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/14/06