Here's my spoiler-free review of Xenosaga III: Also sprach Zarathustra. I don't usually write reviews, so this may be awful (in terms of covering what should be covered), so read this post at your own discretion (as it may be a waste of your time).

Before I begin, I'll tell you a little about my experiences with the series so you can gauge this review's bias level.
-watched the animation before playing any of the games
-purchased Episodes I and II so that I could play it on my cousin's PlayStation 2
-purchased a Japanese PlayStation 2 for the sole purpose of being able to play Episode III in Japanese (I and II were in English)
-all three games were played with walkthroughs since I only care about the story
-did not play Xenogears

Gameplay:
For the most part, I liked the gameplay and enjoyed the skills. The system wasn't as open as Episode II's, but it was straightforward. ;) Some of the boss battles were rather tough, but that's probably because I did not spend any time pondering over where to go next (which would in effect cause me to bump into enemies that would net me some experience). The battle system is decent, but I liked II's better personally. Players should be wary of the break gauge and try to make use of it whilst fighting bosses, although I must admit I rarely managed to break the boss before killing them.

E.S. battles were a lot of fun, but that may be because they were easier than the character battles. By the end of the game, I'd always use an ether that would break all of my enemies at the start of the battle to move things a little faster. Final encounters could last about 45 to 120 seconds depending on whether the enemy uses Medica or not.

Load times are good, but it's been a while since I played I and II, so I can't really compare. There were occasional jolts, but the longest it'd be is probably three or four seconds? This usually happens after an FMV sequence or voiced sequences.

Money is back as you may know, which I didn't really enjoy as that'd mean I'd have to use money and gauge who to upgrade and all that. This is probably a personal annoyance since as aforementioned, I only care about the story and only want to move on.

Music:
I am biased towards Kajiura Yuki, so I don't really have anything to say here. Just go download the Best Tracks Selection from gamemp3s if you want a listen, or check out the rips from a couple of posts above. In terms of comparing this work with her other works, there is a distinct change in style and she's actually using a little bit of brass for once.

Story:
My knowledge of Japanese is at an okay level, I speak and read Chinese, and have taken four years of Japanese in high school, but that's not really enough to understand everything that's going on. It seems a little rushed at times since you're wrapping up one loose end after another without much pausing. Things are answered for the most part in my opinion.

Length:
I started playing on Monday night or so, and pretty much kept playing all day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and finished on Thursday night. My play time is like 27 or 28 hours, and I was at level 57 before the final boss. This should serve as a helpful reference for those that are wondering what level they need to be to beat the last boss. Again, I used a walkthrough for the game, but the tips for the boss fights were non-existent, so I had to rely on my own for the most part, so it is probably possible to beat it at a lower level with luck, skill, and some cheap tricks (maybe)?

I've a somewhat odd question for you then, Hiro. You say you liked Episode II & III's battle system, but you didn't mention Ep. I.

I didn't like the battle system in Ep. II, but I loved I's. Knowing that, would someone like me enjoy the battle system from III or not so much?

Well, I have nothing against Episode I's battle system, it's just that I happened to find II's cooler with the "hit spots" or whatever they were called.

Well, I don't know how much of III's system you understand, but the whole "storing" of "action points" (or whatever they were called) is non-existent. To use a deathblow, you need to use your boost gauge's boost, so that alone is a rather major change (in my opinion) which may or may not be to your liking. I haven't really read any complaints about III's battle system, so it should at least be "okay" for you.

I don't think there has ever been a videogame series that has claimed to have a "final game" and stick with that promise, so it wouldn't be the biggest shock if Xenosaga continues after EPIII. A part of me is leary about the series going even further downhill (and further away from Takahashi's original vision), while another part of me is excited by the concept of a PS3 series that starts over, and gets things right from the start (no more fucking around with Takahashi's story).

Yeah, that article (and presumeably interview) screams, "IF XSIII DOES GREAT IN THE US AGAIN, WE'LL PROBABLY CONTINUE IT". It also looks like the US will get Missing Year.

I'm curious, what are the numbers for the JP version?

Probably around 150,000-155,000. Episode III is the worst selling game in the series, not counting I&II for DS. It's too bad too. It's the best in the series.

It's the curse of episode II the most horrible game in the series. III will sell more when people get wind of it being a better game. Fat chance of it meaning "IV". If that annoying ass battle system from epII is present, EpIII will flop in america, end of story.

There are a whole lot games out there which where more sucessfull outside japan so I'm not worried about that.

Is this game really out today? You wouldn't know it with the lack of discussion or hype.

I'm not that much excited for it, either. Sure, the general opinion says this is a far improved sequel, but I didn't like the criticisms that I heard either (1/2 the game dedicated to dungeon crawling, not all questions answered).

I just find myself depressed over the Xenosaga series in general. I keep thinking of all the great potential this series had, and how quickly it hit rock bottom in just the second entry. It's not that EPII was terrible, but the story was pathetically short, and they turned Shion from a kind, naive scientist to a major bitch in jeans (I still can't believe she downlplayed the Albedo situation, which involved the destruction of the entire universe, as "a typical spat between brothers.")

Well anway, I'll be torrenting this one, since as I mentioned with DoC, I'm on a budget until November. I'm just setting myself up for any likely disappointment regarding the final closure on these characters that grew on me.

At least tell me if Sherry Lynn is back as MOMO.

Unfortunately, it was poor reviews that made me basically stay clear from XSII. The first game I played through and it wasn't anything worth going bananas for, but at least it was worth my time (watching cutscenes, basically). After fighting the gnosis, I really didn't have much of an interest in seeing the continuation and conclusion, so when XSII bombed, then I folded that series, as a matter of fact I think I did trade in XSI. I honestly can't care less that this game is out.

LMAO.

Eh, I loved Ep II, and I have Ep III shipping today. Should arrive tomorrow.

Getting XSIII next week hopefully. I hope they have ditched the VA for Chaos in ep. II.

Also Spatula GTFO with Merv.

;________;

Alright just let me see when more reviews come in... maybe I'll change my mind. Is there some sort of cutscene disc with XSIII so I can see what happened in ep 2? As long as I can get some sort of idea what happened, plus my memory is foggy from the last time I played ep 1.

Nope.

I'm actually pretty excited for Episode III, which is a little odd considering how much I loathed Episode II.

No featurette disc, but supposedly there's a huge dictionary and reference menu in XS3 that chronicles the story and characters up to this point.

Would there be an online reference of basically what happened in a nut shell for XSII besides 1) online reviews, since they generally are spoiler free 2) something besides XSIII encyclopedia since I'd actually have to buy it first - an I'm not too too keen.

Perhaps I'll take another look at Gamefaqs to see any "summary" plots.

Gameplay aside, don't mean to be derailing this, but did XSII's story help with progressing the plot left at the end of the first episode? I keep reading from reviews that it actually detracted from the main story and went on it's own little route to expand on other mini plots. [/Idunnoguy]

Read up on it in Wikipedia. They have some pretty good articles on each of the various characters and plot points. It'll also fill you in on the gist of Pied Piper and the Missing Year.

it would be fun if someone rip all cutscene of XSII, because playing the game is a real torture >.>

anyway for some reason I also reallly think epIII seem a lot better et pretty good, but I really want all the story in epII before buying it...

haha I am your savior http://www.datorrents.com/download.a...scenes.torrent I just started getting it yesterday myself cause I wanna play 3 but didnt play 2.

Well, those cutscenes look to be just the short CG ones, meaning you'll get absolutely no storyline from that, really.

I agree that XS2 is horrible. I'm "playing" through it now (about half-way through), and unless I'm still missing how to play it properly (although I am stocking, breaking, and boosting), each battle is a long chore and I absolutely hate it. I just want a simple generic battle system where you can xp grind away if you're not doing that well and then smash through the rest of the fights.

What's the freaking point then? It's not like voicing a Tachikoma is eating up Lynn's time.

So now EPIII is going to be a hearing game to figure out which voices return from EPI, which ones remain from EPII, and which ones are all new altogether.

Fail, Namco.

And where's the torrent for this game already? :/

I don't think so, once cutscene I checked out wasn't CG and was like 5 minutes long. Plus XS3 will have a database which explains stuff from XS2. I am also awaiting the torrent for the game and Disgaea 2 hehe.

Who the heck is the English voice actor for MOMO in XSIII? I can't even dig up any information about it on the Internet.

You said Soldier -- Namco, you fail at LIFE. I admit, I'm very, very cautious about picking this up today. Shion looks like a whore, KOS-MOS, an ANDROID, looks like a whore, T-Elos looks like a whore and the voices are not entirely back to their original cast.

This would've been a much better trilogy if they had stuck with the same formula from the first game, no question. Ah well.

I do still plan to pick it up, if only to say "Hey I own all three." However, I don't plan on starting it until much later, as Okami comes out next Wednesday and I am WAY more excited for its release than Xenosaga 3's.