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LttP: Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra (Spoilers)

The Elite

The Elite

BOSS
Pinko Marx said:
>You'll never see the completion of the full Xenosaga...
Click to expand...

This is the same for Xenogears. Knowing there were all those other Episodes out there in the story was frustrating.

I still need to get around to playing the Xenosaga trilogy. I'm holding off until after I play the two Xenoblade games at this point.
 
S

ShadowSoldier89

Member
Episode 3 was great, but I still find episode 1 to be the best in the series (and one of my top 5 favorite games ever) 1 just had better pacing, better story points, and better character designs. The battle system in 1 was phenomenal, I loved coming up with the best ways to use the AP system, double X-busters!

If I were to rate them as you did
Episode 1: 5/5
Episode 2: 1/5
Episode 3: 4/5
 
The Elite

The Elite

BOSS
ShadowSoldier89 said:
Episode 3 was great, but I still find episode 1 to be the best in the series (and one of my top 5 favorite games ever) 1 just had better pacing, better story points, and better character designs. The battle system in 1 was phenomenal, I loved coming up with the best ways to use the AP system, double X-busters!

If I were to rate them as you did
Episode 1: 5/5
Episode 2: 1/5
Episode 3: 4/5
Click to expand...

How was Episode 2 handled in the DS version?

Did it still suffer from all the same problems that the PS2 version had?
 
RPGCrazied

RPGCrazied

Member
Love this trilogy. Even the 2nd game which I hated the battle system, but story and music was pretty good.

I really want an HD version of this, or hell I'd settle for PS2 classics on PSN. Throw us a bone Namco.
 
C

cwistofu

Member
ShadowSoldier89 said:
Episode 3 was great, but I still find episode 1 to be the best in the series (and one of my top 5 favorite games ever) 1 just had better pacing, better story points, and better character designs. The battle system in 1 was phenomenal, I loved coming up with the best ways to use the AP system, double X-busters!

If I were to rate them as you did
Episode 1: 5/5
Episode 2: 1/5
Episode 3: 4/5
Click to expand...
This about sums up my feelings for the series, though I'd give XS3 a 4.5. XS2 might get a 2 for its story but dear lord that battle system is tedious.
 
M

MaverickHunterAsh

Member
Yep, I'm in total agreement. Episode III is one of the best JRPGs I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing, and certainly one of the very best PS2 JRPGs ever. It's crazy just how much of an enormous improvement it is over Episodes I an II.
 
S

ShadowSoldier89

Member
DoctorWho said:
How was Episode 2 handled in the DS version?

Did it still suffer from all the same problems that the PS2 version had?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure. If they changed the battle system then it might have been saved. It was the only real problem with the game, but it was so mindnumbingly bad that it destroyed what was an otherwise decent RPG.

Randomly trying attack combinations on every mook is not fun. Its not even fun on bosses

It reminds me of what MMO encounters are like these days. There is no logic in what you need to do, its just randomly trying shit until something works
 
M

Mupod

Member
It's been a long time but I don't remember hating 2 like everyone else did. The battle system was definitely trying too hard to be 'different' which was a recurring problem in that era of RPG. But the rest of the game was fine.

3 on the other hand was pretty jarring after having played the first two games in a short time span. Particularly in how it shifted focus away from voiced cutscenes. The story itself felt much more rushed and compressed too, you could argue that 2 was slow-moving but 3 is just crazy by the end.

No arguments on the battle system and music though. They absolutely nailed those, and if they'd done so from the start then the series would be regarded much more highly overall.
 
Z

Z3M0G

Member
ShadowSoldier89 said:
I'm not sure. If they changed the battle system then it might have been saved. It was the only real problem with the game, but it was so mindnumbingly bad that it destroyed what was an otherwise decent RPG.

Randomly trying attack combinations on every mook is not fun. Its not even fun on bosses

It reminds me of what MMO encounters are like these days. There is no logic in what you need to do, its just randomly trying shit until something works
Click to expand...

I really don't remember it being that bad... the game remembered what break combination was needed for each enemy, didn't it? Each new encounter had ??/?? or something like that, and once you discovered the sequence it would keep it marked for you?

I don't see a problem with exploring to find out what works with each new enemy encounter... that logic applies to many RPGs out there...


I LOVE the battle system in Xenosaga II. It's my favorite of the series by far. I always boosted MOMO until she had max boosts stocked up... then I'd break the enemy defense, throw them up in the air (or knock them down depending on party combo), then unleash MOMO's boosts to do ultimate damage. Rinse / Repeat. Sure, it's pretty repetitive to do this sequence throughout the entire game (I used another damage dealer besides MOMO but forget who), but I found it very satisfying. And I steam-rolled the game without ever needing to grind.
 
A

Anko

Member
Oh, the music.

For fans of Godsibb, I bring you this:
Official live version of Godsibb as performed by the original singer, Itou Eri, and backed by FictionJunction, with Kajiura herself on keyboard

I'm also hoping to hear the live version of the Image Theme of Xenosaga II this weekend in Tokyo during Kajiura's fanclub live. The last time I heard it was when Kajiura visited Hong Kong in 2013. And it was glorious.

Also, no love for communication breakdown? Hey, we got a great PV out of it.

It's a shame the Xenosaga III arrangement of assault was not released. Doesn't stop fans from trying though.
 
B

BadWolf

Member
Great series, if I had to rate them:

X1: 4/5
X2: 4/5
X3: 5/5

X2 gets so much hate but I really enjoyed it personally, great story and just the right length.

The battle system wasn't that bad either, thought it was better than Xenoblade's.
 
W

witchedwiz

Member
Hepatica <3
But seriously..
Ep1 4/5 great lore, good execution, good music, glorious first episode of a saga, great ost
Ep2 2/5 great start, great ending, shit everything in the middle, cumberaome battle system, great ost
Ep3 5/5 great story, great bs, great ost, great everything..

Knowing that there IS something after ep3, but knowing i won't EVER see it..
That broke my heart.. Almost as xenogears fast wrap up, though at least that ending gave some finality to the story.. Ep3 ending is so frigging "something WILL happen. But not for you to know what"..

Sigh
 
B

B.K.

Member
DoctorWho said:
How was Episode 2 handled in the DS version?

Did it still suffer from all the same problems that the PS2 version had?
Click to expand...

The Episode II half of I&II is completely different than the PS2 version. The game's battle system is a modified version of Episode I's battle system and the story has been completely rewritten. It's a lot better than the PS2 version. I'm still waiting for the translation patch for the game.
 
D

Don_Tombery

Member
You at least got the whole series.

In PAL-World/Europe we only got Episode II (and they wondered it did't sell well).
I had to Import Episode I and III and get a NTSC-PS2 to play those.
But it was more than worth the effort.
The Xenosaga series as whole (since I think you just can't see any of the titles alone) surely is in my RPG Top5.
It's really a shame so many people missed this gem.

Edit. and now I'll get nothing done today but listen to the OST... Thanks NeoGAF ;-)
 
J

Jarlaxle

Member
B.K. said:
No they didn't.
Click to expand...

I thought the series was originally supposed to be 6 or 7 games and then after the 2nd one they decided to just end it in 3. I always assumed that they then compressed the resolution of the storyline into the final game. It made sense as to why II's pacing was so slow and why III's was so fast.

Is this not the case?
 
R

Ralemont

not me
2 had the best story, 3 has the best everything else (especially gear battles) while 1 is just kinda okay everywhere. Really wish shion's ep 2 VA had done the whole series, as the 1/3 one irritates me to no end.
 
B

B.K.

Member
Jarlaxle said:
I thought the series was originally supposed to be 6 or 7 games and then after the 2nd one they decided to just end it in 3. I always assumed that they then compressed the resolution of the storyline into the final game. It made sense as to why II's pacing was so slow and why III's was so fast.
Click to expand...

The original plan was for the series to have three separate story arcs that took places thousands of years apart from each other. The original plan was for each arc to take two episodes, but obviously that didn't happen. What we eventually got was the first arc of the series. We're still missing 2/3 of the story. The whole point of Episode III's ending was to set up the second arc of the series.
 
J

Jarlaxle

Member
B.K. said:
The original plan was for the series to have three separate story arcs that took places thousands of years apart from each other. The original plan was for each arc to take two episodes, but obviously that didn't happen. What we eventually got was the first arc of the series. We're still missing 2/3 of the story. The whole point of Episode III's ending was to set up the second arc of the series.
Click to expand...
Didn't realize that. That's pretty interesting. So, conceivably Namco could make more with a different team if they wanted to.
 
S

skLaFarebear

Member
Dragon said:
I'm not sure why Hepatica is not on the list of best music, as it is probably the best piece of video game music I've ever listened to. Some of it is the particular boss battle that it's injected into, but mannnnnn KOS-MOS!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZtcnVFFIO4
Click to expand...

Trust me, I would have wanted to put the whole soundtrack up there. Every song is just that amazing. Wanted to keep it short and didn't think about it that much.

Edit: I'll fix it just because that song is amazing and it playing during the last T-elos fight was just perfect.

Kanann said:
I hate you op
Making me wanna replay all 3
Click to expand...

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA. It was all a part of the plan!

Soriku said:
Testament is god-tier.

Also gotta post these tracks:

Outrageous (cool guitar!)

Search for Shion (excellent piano track, pretty catchy too)

Old Militia Forest (good moody track)


Also, READ THE PERFECT GUIDE! Makes the story and characters even better.
Click to expand...

Gonna listen to these songs now. Thanks.

And yes! My friends keep linking me to it, so I know its a must. This lore is too good. Also did the secret fight against Weltall and Weltall-ID which was the sickest throwback to Xenogears.

B.K. said:
The original plan was for the series to have three separate story arcs that took places thousands of years apart from each other. The original plan was for each arc to take two episodes, but obviously that didn't happen. What we eventually got was the first arc of the series. We're still missing 2/3 of the story. The whole point of Episode III's ending was to set up the second arc of the series.
Click to expand...

Yeah, from what I've heard the Xenosaga trilogy we got was actually supposed to be 2 episodes, then link to the next arc of the saga. Its a shame we'll never see that because it would have been awesome.
 
C

Chie Satonaka

Member
I'd rate each entry as follows:

XS1: 4/5
XS2: 3/5
XS3: 5/5

I really need to replay this series. It's not going to be remastered, there's no reason not to do it. It's been a long time since I touched a XS game.

I still wish 1+2 for DS would have been localized. :(
 
K

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Chie Satonaka said:
I'd rate each entry as follows:

XS1: 4/5
XS2: 3/5
XS3: 5/5

I really need to replay this series. It's not going to be remastered, there's no reason not to do it. It's been a long time since I touched a XS game.

I still wish 1+2 for DS would have been localized. :(
Click to expand...

Solid ratings.

I'm one of the few people who really enjoyed the combat system of Ep. II, so I'd give it a 3.5 personally.

Hey anyone run the Xeno games in an emulator?
 
C

Curufinwe

Member
I remember getting to the last location in Episode 3 and feeling the weight of the history of everything that happened in the series. It felt tangible, and I don't think a game had done that to me before.

Also Allen's swimsuit was hilarious.
 
T

Timeaisis

Member
I absolutely loved Episode I, but was turned off to Episode II. Never got around to playing III. I kind of hope for a PSN release or something...someday.
 
X

Xeno_V

Member
Since we 're all ranking the Xenosaga trilogy...

XS1: 3/5 ... when I first played I thought that it was a solid 4/5 at least but III was so much better that it wouldn't be fair to put those games so close together.

XS2: 1/5 ... This game almost made me lose my faith in the series and even JRPGs in general. The trauma was so big (this was also due to playing Star Ocean 3 around the same time with this major wtf plot twist) that I gave up on RPGs for 2+ years. The pacing was terrible, the battle system bad, the way of getting new skills also bad and I never got why the plot focused on such a small part of the whole XS universe. It wasn't bad or anything but I would expect a larger part of the arc to take place in XS2.

XS3: 5/5 ... I played this around 2009, after watching the FMVs from XS1/2 and reading some wikis as I wouldn't even consider replaying the previous games (EP2 actually). I knew that it would be good but it was much better than I would ever expect. The plot was at least on par with Xenogears, the OST was solid and the battle system was kinda simple yet fun. Great experience overall and I really can't stress enough how great the game's storyline was.
 
K

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Curufinwe said:
I remember getting to the last location in Episode 3 and feeling the weight of the history of everything that happened in the series. It felt tangible, and I don't think a game had done that to me before.

Also Allen's swimsuit was hilarious.
Click to expand...

Yeah me too man. No game has pulled off the gravity of the moment, like XS3 did as it came to its conclusion. Riveted isn't a strong enough word, for what it did to me.

I cried. Hard. Never had that happen due to a video game, and haven't since.
 
S

skLaFarebear

Member
Making my way through that Perfect Guide. Some really mindblowing stuff so far explaining U-DO and the multiple domains. Its a great read so far.

SoraanTribal said:
Seriously me too. I have other games to be playing, but now I want to replay the entire trilogy. :( lol
Click to expand...

Do it, you know you want to.

AmethystEnd said:
Ah, I remember talking to you about Xenosaga in the past, OP. Glad you loved III as much as I did.
Click to expand...

Yep, what a turn around lol. I'm really glad Episode III blew away all my expectations. I liked it from the first hour more than 1 and 2 and it was only uphill from there.
 
U

ubercheez

Member
Great thread! This game is so sadly under-appreciated. I loved the whole series, really -- even 2, in spite of its flaws. I was so excited for 3 that I asked my local game store for their promo poster. Still have it! And damn, did the game ever deliver. It was the release of all the built-up emotion from the first two, and it was amazing.

Now I want to play through the whole trilogy again...
 
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