Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra
The saga ends on a high note. A VERY high note.
Published: September 12, 2006
It really isn't fair. Xenosaga was supposed to be a massive, sprawling, epic that spanned six separate games all leading up to the events of Xenogears on the original PS one. Oh no, they aren't related -- not officially -- but every game started slipping more and more clues in to tie things together, and XS3 is filled with references.
It's also one of the best RPG experiences the PS2 has seen, which is saying something considering the number of amazing role-playing games to hit the system, and is made doubly painful when you're reminded that this is the last one we'll get. After two games that ranged from novel to downright hideous, Namco decided backing six games just wouldn't work, and told developer Monolith Soft to crap the four remaining games into a final chapter.
Ironically, Episode III feels like the game where the development team really hit their stride -- in every way imaginable; the battle system combines the best parts of the first two games, yet still adds in a new element to make it feel improved, the graphics are absolutely mind-bogglingly good at times with software HDR and phenomenal texture work, and the storyline, though as convoluted as ever (particularly near the end as the game races toward a climax), is helped by an in-game encyclopedia that you can spend hours reading.
All of these things added up to an experience I quite simply didn't want to end. This is in stark contrast to Episode II, which I prayed would end long before it actually did, mercilessly punishing me for playing it with a BS battle system that bosses regularly broke the rules for. This feels like the epic story that Monolith wanted to make from the start and now, as they finally meld cinematic storytelling with a solid battle system, it's all come to an end.
Trying to provide a description of the storyline at this point would probably triple the size of this review, and actually trying to chronicle the storyline in the game would be even more insane, which is why most players, even returning ones, will likely spend those couple hours mucking about the Xeno Bible just to catch up. Suffice it to say things are universe-threatening, and the former big problem that was the focus of the past two games (read: the Gnosis, aliens that can kill humans just by touch alone), take a back seat to the machinations of a few mysterious humans.
Everyone that appeared in the previous games; bespectacled whiner Shion Uzuki, her sword-slinging brother Jin, enigmatic chaos, Lolita-bot MOMO, her protector and cyborg Ziggy and of course the ass-kicking she-machine KOS-MOS all return. For the most part, the side stories take a back seat to Shion and KOS-MOS' true purpose in the universe, and throughout the story, what seems like a quest to solve the mystery of the Gnosis appearances that are quickening around the galaxy is really just the universe taking pre-ordered steps to come to a final, epic conclusion. Many, many people die, and by the end of the game, the universe quite literally hangs in the balance, with Shion and KOS-MOS playing key parts in its survival.
So yes, as Japanese RPGs go, it's fairly standard stuff. All the trappings are here; plot twists, side quests, the return of shops so you can actually, y'know, upgrade your characters (how that was left out of the last game I'll never know), mini-games (the prevalent one being an incredibly addictive puzzle game called HaKox), and tons of battles, though like the previous game, they aren't random, but instead initiated by the player and -- rarely -- by enemies charging you on the overworld map.
It's also one of the best RPG experiences the PS2 has seen, which is saying something considering the number of amazing role-playing games to hit the system, and is made doubly painful when you're reminded that this is the last one we'll get. After two games that ranged from novel to downright hideous, Namco decided backing six games just wouldn't work, and told developer Monolith Soft to crap the four remaining games into a final chapter.
Ironically, Episode III feels like the game where the development team really hit their stride -- in every way imaginable; the battle system combines the best parts of the first two games, yet still adds in a new element to make it feel improved, the graphics are absolutely mind-bogglingly good at times with software HDR and phenomenal texture work, and the storyline, though as convoluted as ever (particularly near the end as the game races toward a climax), is helped by an in-game encyclopedia that you can spend hours reading.
All of these things added up to an experience I quite simply didn't want to end. This is in stark contrast to Episode II, which I prayed would end long before it actually did, mercilessly punishing me for playing it with a BS battle system that bosses regularly broke the rules for. This feels like the epic story that Monolith wanted to make from the start and now, as they finally meld cinematic storytelling with a solid battle system, it's all come to an end.
Trying to provide a description of the storyline at this point would probably triple the size of this review, and actually trying to chronicle the storyline in the game would be even more insane, which is why most players, even returning ones, will likely spend those couple hours mucking about the Xeno Bible just to catch up. Suffice it to say things are universe-threatening, and the former big problem that was the focus of the past two games (read: the Gnosis, aliens that can kill humans just by touch alone), take a back seat to the machinations of a few mysterious humans.
Everyone that appeared in the previous games; bespectacled whiner Shion Uzuki, her sword-slinging brother Jin, enigmatic chaos, Lolita-bot MOMO, her protector and cyborg Ziggy and of course the ass-kicking she-machine KOS-MOS all return. For the most part, the side stories take a back seat to Shion and KOS-MOS' true purpose in the universe, and throughout the story, what seems like a quest to solve the mystery of the Gnosis appearances that are quickening around the galaxy is really just the universe taking pre-ordered steps to come to a final, epic conclusion. Many, many people die, and by the end of the game, the universe quite literally hangs in the balance, with Shion and KOS-MOS playing key parts in its survival.
So yes, as Japanese RPGs go, it's fairly standard stuff. All the trappings are here; plot twists, side quests, the return of shops so you can actually, y'know, upgrade your characters (how that was left out of the last game I'll never know), mini-games (the prevalent one being an incredibly addictive puzzle game called HaKox), and tons of battles, though like the previous game, they aren't random, but instead initiated by the player and -- rarely -- by enemies charging you on the overworld map.