Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht

"A truly memorable experience"

First off, let me say that I think it's ridiculous to give a game individual scores based on graphics, sound, et cetera. When you pay $50 for a video game, you're not just getting graphics or sound or story, you're getting the entire package. With that out of the way, let me tell you why I think Xenosaga is worth every penny and more.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Xenosaga is truly mind-boggling. The character system is fairly complicated, but not so complicated that it's scary to use, like in some other RPGs. The idea is that you can completely customize your party, almost down to the last detail. After you finish a battle you are awarded not just experience points, but also tech points, ether points, and skill points. Tech points allow you to upgrade your tech attacks, which your characters get as they gain levels. You can make them stronger, faster, whatever you want. Tech points can also be used to raise your individual stats (HP, St, Eth, et cetera). This allows for amazing opportunities. Let's say for instance you wanted MOMO, a rather weak physical attacker, to have the same strength as Junior, who is super-strong. Just spend some (a lot!) of tech points, and you can make MOMO do insane physical damage! Ether points are used to upgrade your ether attacks (magic), in a tree-like fashion similar to Final Fantasy X. You pick an ether you already have, choose to upgrade it, and you get a choice of paths to take. The difference between this system and Final Fantasy X, however, is that you will actually learn every spell on the grid by the end of the game in Xenosaga. So what do you do with the extra ether points you're earning? More customization, of course! If you spend half the upgrade cost on a spell you already can cast, you can choose to transfer it to any other member of your party. There are of course a few exceptions, but just for really specialized spells that nobody else would be able to cast. Skill points are used to extract skills from accessories and armor, a little like the system in Final Fantasy IX. Say there's an accessory that prevents poison when you equip it, you just spend some skill points, extract and set that skill, and you are poison-proof! You don't even need the accessory anymore! Of course multiple characters can extract skills from the same accessory also, and still equip it after that as well. It gets really cool when you have an accessory that, say, raises your strength by 2. After you extract that skill and set it, your strength is higher by 2, right? Well then you go ahead and equip the accessory also, and the effect is doubled! Of course it doesn't make too much of a difference if it's only 2 in the first place, but you see how that could be used to your advantage.

The battle system is also really fun, albeit a tad complex. Of course you have to ask yourself the question: would you rather have a game where you could just hold ''X'' and win every battle, or one where you actually have to think things through. You decide. Anyway, there are no random battles in Xenosaga, the enemies are seen beforehand scurrying about on screen. If you've ever played Crono Trigger/Cross, you know what I'm saying. This is a good thing! How often have you been trying to solve some puzzle in an RPG, but you can't even concentrate because you get in a random battle every two steps? Really often, I'd wager (especially if you played Xenogears!). No more of that nonsense. There are also little canisters you can blow up next to enemies that give you the advantage, which makes just getting into fights a strategic affair. Once you're actually in the fight, there are several things to be aware of. One is your boost gauge, which allows you (or an enemy!) to automatically take the next turn when it is full. Another is a little slot thingy that spins at the bottom of the screen every turn. Whatever position this is in makes a difference on the entire battlefield. It can cause more critical hits, multiply your points at the end of battle, and more. Keeping track of this thing will definitely give you an advantage, but be warned: some enemies do a good job of keeping track also! As for actually battling, you've got a similar system to Xenogears. You press different combinations of triangle and square, with X to cancel, and O to finish up with a tech attack if you can. This all depends on how much AP you have and what level your tech attacks are on of course. You can also use items (or w/item), guard, use ether, do all the things you would expect from a battle system. At (almost) any time you can also board your A.G.W.S., which are sort of like the gears in Xenogears. From here a whole new set of options and strategy arise, and there are some fights where this is very necessary. You also have to be aware of various status effects, whether your enemies are in the front or back rows, and so on. It sounds complex because it is, but it will become second nature amazingly fast, and you won't be able to wait to get into fights just so you can mess up some monsters.

Story

This is one of the most important elements of an RPG in my opinion, obviously second only to the gameplay. Without a compelling story you won't care about any of the characters, and then why play through a game whose goal is to tell you about said characters? The story in Xenosaga is amazing, and only promises to get cooler throughout future episodes of the series. It's incredibly epic, and tells much more than just the story of the main characters. I really don't want to say too much here for fear of creating spoilers, but you should just know that you will be left filled with awe at the magnitude of this game. Of course I'm sure if you've read other reviews (like in EGM for one) you've heard how ''you watch Xenosaga more than play it''. I'd just like to say that is a load of BS. Reading the review in EGM almost made me not want Xenosaga, and I'm so glad I ignored their ignorant rantings. The beginning is slow, there are a lot of cutscenes, but just imagine the story they have to set the stage for. I mean come on, Final Fantasy IX was like 3 discs of CG and one of gameplay, yet nobody complained about that. Anyway, there are cutscenes sprinkled throughout the game, but all of them are completely enthralling to watch, and they only make the game more fun to play by further developing the amazing characters and story. I mean seriously folks, saying an RPG has too much story is like saying a survival horror game is too scary, or an action game is too exciting. If you're not looking for a great story, go play Diablo or some other PC hack 'n slash D&D ripoff.

Graphics

Let me say first that I think graphics are the least important part of any video game, and should have no bearing whatsoever on the final score, or whether you buy the game or not. That being said, graphics can do a good job of immersing you more into the gameplay, so it's a damn good thing the graphics in Xenosaga are freakin' amazing! The character models especially are really impressive, half the time I had to look twice just to make sure I wasn't watching a CG movie. I mean everything from the total inexpressive look on Ziggy's face to the subtle raytracing on MOMO's hair clips are perfectly done. The space ships all look incredible, with great effects throughout. The only problem I have is that some of the environments can get repetitive, especially in some of the ''dungeons''. It really isn't noticeable though, and like I said, it doesn't affect my final score at all.

Sound

Sound, unlike graphics, is very important to a game, especially an RPG. The sound in Xenosaga is really great, from the excellent music to the almost excellent voice acting. Even the little quips the characters say at the end of battles don't get annoying. To be honest, I found myself saying them right along with them! Anybody who doesn't chuckle when they hear KOS-MOS say: ''My external appearance is down 5%. Shion, I need to be cleaned.'' needs to have their head examined. Now, as for the voice acting, I always go into a game expecting the American voice-overs to be a little sketchy, just because they usually are. Xenosaga has a surprisingly skilled set of actors though. Notice I did say almost excellent up there just because there are a couple of points where they slip and say something silly, but that's really a rare occasion. The voices for the most part just make you feel more connected to the characters. The music is really great, although somewhat sparse. It's the same composer that did Xenogears, so you know it's all going to be good, right? The music always fits the ambience, even if the ambience calls for total silence, or just the humming of a giant space ship engine in the background.

Replayability

Replayability isn't a terribly high priority in an RPG, but it is certainly a bonus. Let me first say that Xenosaga warrants an almost mandatory second playthrough. If you're anything at all like me you probably will have missed a great deal the first time through, especially stuff near the beginning when you had no idea what was going on. Think of it this way: did you watch Fight Club just once and then never again, or did you go back and find you enjoyed it even more now that you knew exactly what was going to go down? There are also tons of little minigames and sidequests throughout, despite how linear most claim it is. The ''four exhilarating minigames'' advertised on the back of the case are just the tip of a very serious iceberg. I don't want to go too far into it because, again, I don't want to give anything away, but rest assured you are going to have your attention diverted from the main story line for a while. Of course you will miss a good deal of these things on your first playthrough, unless you use a walkthrough for every step of the game. Of course if you do that, then why even bother playing? Trust me, this is a game you'll find yourself playing through again, whether you want to or not.

Final Judgment

You'll notice I gave Xenosaga a perfect score of 10/10, and after reading through this review you should have a clear understanding of why. Based on the information above, I believe this is the best RPG you will find on the Playstation 2, and if you agree with anything I said up there, you will probably think so too. Just ignore EGM and the other skeptics and give it a shot, I'm sure you'll be happy with your purchase.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/04/03, Updated 06/04/03