Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose

"The story continues in this absolute gem of a game"

Originally when I first bought the game, I never even played the first Xenosaga, and I had actually rented this game for a week. Low and behold I found a game that had one of the best stories gaming could offer. The next week I found myself buying both Xenosaga 1-2. I never expected in my 20 years of gaming to find any particular game or series that had such a great balance in all the various aspects of an rpg or any other game for that matter. I couldn't put the game down at all. Not to often that I find myself being completely hooked, but this one was just that good. If you ever played Xenogears, this one follows closely to the story and elements, but is not directly a sequel or prequel by any means. You will want to play Xenosaga Episode I first because there may be stuff you may not understand without playing the first. A definite treasure to play time and time again.

Story/Characters 10/10
What can I say, this is one of the most complex detailed stories ever thought of in an RPG. The story continues as chaos in the past trying to rescue people from the decaying Old Miltia, and to locate the original Zohar, an ancient artifact known to hold an endless supply of energy. Along the way they find the group of U.R.T.Vs a mysterious group of children who are supposed to be able to merge with the powerful entity known as UDO. The story then shifts to Shion and their continuing search for the original Zohar. The story in the game is absolutely amazing, not one did I find myself getting bored by any scene at all, and even if you somehow got bored at any scene, there was a scene skip feature which was convenient. The story doesn't even take very long to get going. Within the firs five minutes it already is fast paced. There is so much story packed into this gem, that there is no time to get bored. Not only the story will catch your interest, but the characters as well. Pure genius when it came to many of the characters. In fact Albedo is one of the best villains I have ever seen in any game or movie. He quite frankly scared me, just by the absolutely insane personality he had. He's not the only one though, there were many characters that just blended so well to the overall atmosphere of the game. And who can't fall in love with KOS-MOS or MOMO. Definitely worth taking the time to get into the story, you'll be hooked. There are also an broad amount of references the Xenogears as well. In fact I have never seen a game with so many references to another great title. Many names, areas, and other material was used. If you like a game with many plot twists you will love the amount in this title. It leaves you wondering the entire game, who is actually pulling the strings behind everything. Too bad though that the overall story is short, but remember that this is also a series of the same story and not just one.

Graphics 10/10
Absolutely amazing. There has to be some of the most amazing CGs ever put in a game. The game is chalked full of beautifully done CGs, which not only add eye candy to the game, but bring out the story even further. An it's noy only CGs that are well done, all the character models are done perfectly. KOS-MOS is absolutely amazing. Even for a robotic humanoid, she has so much detail, and the fact that she had so many hidden weapons located in her body. Facial Expressions were well done. Even Miltia, while only one of two towns were well done and had some pretty solid detail. For all the graphic and CG lovers you will not want to put the controller down.

Sound/Voice acting 10/10
Very excellent music scores round out the epic feel of this game, providing a great feel to the story and adding the perfect touch of emotions the game offers. There is a great mix of upbeat themes, to slow and sad themes for those events. The combat music is perfect. Unlike many rpgs where there is usually only 2-3 boss themes, there are many in the game that all are well written. Aside from the great music score was some of the best voice acting heard. There were many great voices from the hysterically insane Albedo, to the soft spoken MOMO to the very quiet and mysterious chaos. Everyone had the perfect voice actor for the roles they performed.

Gameplay/Extrs 10/10
If you like a good variety, then this is definitely for you. In the game there are actually two types of combat system. The first one you will battle as characters, and the second you will battle in giant mechs. Sounds fun doesn't it? In the game you will learn abilities through skill points, allowing you to customize you characters as you see fit. Battles are not won by sheer power in this game, but by exploiting various weaknesses enemies have. In character battles you use X, triangle and square to perform various moves and combos. You will need to adjust you characters and moves for each enemy, because what may be a good move against one enemy will be ineffective against another. Mech battles are very similar where you will have different move sets depending on who you have piloting them and who is co-piloting them. You may need to switch pilots around depending on the enemy fought. There is also a boost command which even allows you to "steal" turns from the enemies. Aside from the combat system, this game is chalked full of sidequest and other various extras, including 50 side missions you can get by taking on various quests from people around Miltia II and Kukai Foundation. Not only are they fun to do, but reward you with many new move sets and items. This game also hosts three bonus dungeons, that are very challenging and well rewarding. If you love challenges than you will absolutely love the challenge the bonus dungeons have to offer.

Replay Value 10/10
Normally I wouldn't rate a game this high without a new game + feature, but with the great story, and overall balance, I found myself immediately playing through again so I got a better grasp on the story. It can be slightly confusing at first.

Pros
+ Excellent story with a great cast of characters
+ Experience two types of combat systems, one with characters, and one with mechs
+ Over two hours of beautifully done CGs telling this superb story
+ Over 50 extra missions, that are challenging and well rewarding
+ Great music score
+ Excellent voice acting
+ Excellent post game with many challenging bosses and dungeons.
+ Transfer game data from Episode I to unlock extra features.

Cons
- Can be confusing because it is a continuing story over many game
- Is considered to be fairly short

To buy or rent
I would suggest you buy this game. It is so well balance that you will always find something to admire. You may want to invest in Xenosaga episode I as well, so you understand the story a little better. Well worth the money, and with more game for the series coming out there will always be reason to keep tha game around if you don't understand some of the elements in other Xenosaga game. You will regret not buying it later on as more people hoard it.

Overall 10/10
That's right a perfect score. With this game having such a great balance in everything, what more could one ask for. And with the other Xenosaga episodes out there, you will want this part of the collection. Hopefully they decide to put the whole series in a box set. Buy it hoard it, and love it forever.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/28/06