"A great RPG that's way too short and easy!"

The name probably sounds familiar doesn’t it? If you’ve been around during the PSX days, chances are you would’ve heard or even more likely played an RPG called Xenogears. It was considered a milestone in gaming history due to its stance on religion and God. Don’t see the connection yet? Well, Gears was supposed to be the fifth in a line of RPGs. But before the series could be completed, key figures in Gears’ development team jumped ship from Square. Many thought that was the end of the uber RPG but then Xenosaga surfaced…

Gameplay: It’s an RPG so you guys should have an idea on what to expect…Basically; you talk to people, go into dungeons, fight bosses and repeat till end of game. Not the most enticing of formulas (or is it formulae?) is it? Don’t diss it till you’ve tried it!

You’ll level up as you play like in most RPGs but apart from the basic experience points that are used to raise your levels, you’ll also get Ether Points, Tech Points and Skill Points. Ether points are used to unlock spells or transfer existing spells from one character to another. Tech Points are used to power up Special Moves OR boost your stats. Skills points are used to unlock skills that can then be equipped by your characters.

What it leads to is a wonderfully customized party since you have control over every single aspect of every single member in your group!

Storyline: Normally, I ‘d bitch and moan but I’ll make an exception for Xenosaga. The story is WONDERFULLY crafted that I WANT to see cutscene after cutscene! It’s like a drug! Not once did I yawn or feel bored! I keep playing just to find out what would happen to so and so and who did what to who…The storyline is so engaging, it’s a shame this game hasn’t been made into a motion-picture (crosses fingers, feverishly hoping that it does). No wonder it’s called XenoSAGA! The storyline is truly worthy of the epic propotions it proclaims to have! Sure, impatient gamers will find that the ratio of cutscenes to action sequences is woefully overbalanced (to the former) but if you’re an impatient gamer, why the hell are you playing an RPG of all games? If there’s a genre for slow games, RPGs are it! I know some people may be wondering if you can skip the cutscenes…to those that are, I’m glad to say, “yes you can.” Just press start and then Triangle and you’ll skip the scene.

Still, as much as I like the Sci-Fi storyline, the game doesn’t answer a lot of questions regarding the storyline before it ends. Why does KOS-MOS’ eyes sometimes turn blue? What was the Miltian Conflict about? What’s up with the numbers on Jr’s and Gaignum’s hands? It’s these little niggles that stop you from feeling a sense of fulfillment as you watch the credits roll. Sure, I understand this is just Episode 1 but I want more to draw me in damn it! Not some plot holes or unexplained stuff!

Storyline: 8/10

Battle system: Xenosaga’s Battle System is just like FFX, meaning its turn based. At first glance, the system is terribly unintuitive. Everything seems to be squashed together and there’re so many different symbols and whatnot that it’s hard to keep track of stuff. Give it time… You’ll find that it offers more depth than FFX’s already awesome turn-based system. For one, the addition of the Boost Gauge is awesome! It gives you a tactical advantage by allowing any character with a full gauge to have his/her turn when the meter’s full. A truly excellent addition, allowing you to balance between attacking, casting Ether (magic) or summon A.G.W.S. (robots that are kinda like Gears in Xenogears although primitive in comparison). Attacking raises your boost but leaves you open to counter-attacks, Ether is good but doesn’t raise the Boost gauge and summoning the A.G.W.S. slows your speed down while giving you massive defensive powers…And the addition of a roulette type wheel is truly ingenious! It adds an element of unpredictability to a battle as the tide can suddenly change…One minute the wheel may enhance your boosting capabilities and the next, it could suddenly screw you over by giving your enemies a higher chance of dealing critical hits…

Each character has HP, MP and AP. The first two are self-explanatory so I’ll just come to what AP is for. Basically, each turn you get 4 AP (out of a maximum 6). When your AP’s at 6, you can do a special attack or use items that affect everybody. The trick is normal attacks eat up 2 AP per hit, so you if you want to use a Special move, you gotta only hit the baddies once or don’t hit them altogether. That way, the 2 AP that’s left over will be carried and added to the 4 you’ll get when you start a new turn. Specials are excellent in theory but are really not required. ALL the specials can be enabled as normal attacks (with no drawbacks) making charging AP in the latter stages unnecessary. Unless you use a special item called a Double Buster (allows you do execute 2 specials in a turn) charging AP during the late stages of the game is only useful to cure multiple party members at once.

And for those who hated Xenogears’ method of learning techniques, take comfort in the fact that in this game, Techniques are acquired as you gain levels, not repeated usage.

Drawbacks? There are a few…for one, the A.G.W.S. aren’t really that useful. In Xenogears, the Gears were indispensable but in Saga, their usefulness is found lacking. They lack attack power and speed compared to the characters! Hell, who wants a Gatling gun that deals a paltry amount of damage to a single baddie when EVERYBODY else has a NORMAL attack that can hit all the baddies in a single turn? Watch KOS-MOS’ X-Buster, Shion’s Rain Blade or even Jr.’s Mystic Nocturne. Those moves hit EVERYBODY (with the exception of the X-Buster, which only deals damage to the front row) and if powered up and pitted against selected enemies can deal more damage that ANY A.W.G.S. weapon in one turn. And speaking of specials, there’s a drawback as well associated with them. You can’t skip the animations for a special each time you execute it (the exception being KOS-MOS’ X-Buster). It WILL get boring having to watch the same sequence over and over and over, I will tell you that.

Another thing I dislike is the amount of spells in the game. Most of the Ether spells are either defensive in nature (healing, boost up) or affect the enemy indirectly (stealing from them, status effects like poison…etc). Rarely do you find spells that deal direct damage to an enemy. And since everybody can get any particular spell (except for the special spells like Jr.’s Magnum Joe), there’s no variety. Strangely, I don’t mind. It’s actually GOOD since you can create some crazy combinations and make whomever you wish into whatever you wish. Strangely I only found myself using 2 spells throughout the whole game…Medica All and Boost…

Battle system rating: 8/10

Graphics: Granted, Saga may not be the best looking game out there but it can easily keep up with the leaders. Wonderfully detailed character models, incredibly smooth textures (albeit rather plain and sterile at times) and a smooth frame rate.

The battles are filled with intense special effects for the moves…hell, the developers wanted to make KOS-MOS’ X-buster so spectacular they made it into an FMV! Everything you do the X-Buster, the game plays the FMV. Almost all of the moves involve some kinda unique effect. Shion’s Spell Ray has her charging her weapon and then blasting, Jr’s Angelic Requiem has him flying into the air (and growing angelic wings as well) before blasting the enemies.

Like I said earlier, the effects are nice but having to watch them over and over EVERY single time you use them grates…A feature to skip (or at least shorten) the animations would have been very much appreciated…

Graphics rating: 9/10

Sound: Voices…some people love them, others hate them. Xenosaga’s cast does a remarkable, though falling a bit short of stunning, job bringing the characters to life. Anime fans of Samurai X (not Rurouni Kenshi, the English dub) may find Jr’s voice to be strangely familiar…

While the main cast and most of the supporting crew did admirable jobs with the voices, some (like Albedo’s) are rather weak. I mean, for somebody with immense power like that, I expected a more solid voice…not the whiny tone that he has…

The music is good but when compared to the outstanding soundtrack found in Xenogears, it’s terribly lacking. While Xenogears (and nearly every RPG) and music in towns or rooms or whathaveyou, you’ll spend the majority of your time in Xenosaga in silence. Even in towns, you’ll hear NO music. The only sound you’ll be hearing is the footsteps of your characters. Damn, I really hate this aspect of the game. I was waiting to be blown away with awesome tracks like those in Xenogears (ah yes…the Nisan town song is still my favorite). I was sorely disappointed right until the last two areas. Only the final two dungeons had the riveting (and haunting) sources that befits and RPG of this caliber.

Sound: 7/10

Replay: One thing you may not associate RPGs with is short length. Here’s where Xenosaga REALLY disappoints. The box states that it offers at least 80 hours of play. That statement’s an outright lie let me tell you. Even with watching ALL the cinemas, getting every single secret and leveling up my characters, I finished the game in 47 hours 32 mins! What the hell is the short length about? Xenogears on the PSX was nearly TWICE as long (and that’s if you didn’t do sidequest!). To top it off, the game has a paltry number of sidequests and secrets when compared to recent games like FFX. And the ending comes abruptly as well! NONE (I repeat…NONE) of my characters even reached Level 50 (the closest was Ziggy who was at Level 46) when I finished the game! And guess what? I had no trouble breezing through the final battles… It’s a bit of a letdown…

Replay: 6/10

Summary: Xenosaga is a fine example of an excellent RPG. It has all the right ingredients for it is an awesome RPG and in its own right, it is more than that. But in spite of all the good things, the short length and the unresolved endings detract from the overall experience. Still, get Xenosaga in any case. After all, you’ll need the completed game save if you ever intend to play Episode 2…Don’t ask me what its gonna do, I’m dying to know as well…

Rating: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/28/03, Updated 06/28/03