[PS2] Xenosaga III: Also Sprach Zarathustra

They finally announced a release date. It comes out July 6. There is going to be a playable demo too. Famitsu is giving away 10,000 copies of the demo to people that register for it.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Ashton

I demand a remake of XS2 while you're at it

That's what Xenosaga I&II is for.

Episode III is supposedly in Famitsu this week. It supposedly reveals

Spoiler:

Albedo

as the white Testament and

Spoiler:

Kevin

as the red Testament.

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Originally Posted by ZealPath

Well in any case, it's nice to see that it looks like there will be more playable characters, but I hope Jin is still around, he was definitely one of my favorite characters from 2 (I guess I just like Katanas).

So far, the playable characters we've seen are:

Shion
chaos
Jin
MOMO
Jr.
Ziggy
KOS-MOS
Allen
Canaan

Allen and Canaan are most likely temporary. Jin gets his own mech in the game too. It's called E.S. Rueben. It weilds two katanas as its weapon.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by vertigo

Spoiler:

-Still don't know who the girl is who kosmos is based off of

Most likely,

Spoiler:

Mary Magdalene.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by SOLDIER

L
Also, funny enough, there IS a picture of Shion in what appears to be a beach.

It looks like the Beach of Nothingness.

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/...127/ep3_24.jpg

I was speaking idiomatically.

I don't think Episode III will answer everything. Xenosaga I&II is supposed to answer some of the questions and it appears that Episode III is following the story of it instead of the PS2 games. Hopefully Namco will release it in America too.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Who said that there was going to be a different cast each episode? The current story was always going to take at least two games.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Emmanuel Lewis

Early articles reported that each chapter would have a different cast, excluding KOS-MOS and chaos. They would be the reoccurring party members as the story progressed.

Which wasn't true. The original Episode I was supposed to be Episode I and II combined. Episode III is the real Episode II. There was an interview a long time ago where Takahshi said that the series would take place in three time periods. If that was true and there were originally going to be six games, then they would do two games in each time period.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

A new playable character has been revealed. This time,

Spoiler:

Miyuki

is playable.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Mackey Hiromu

I think it'd really be a shame to end it at three, the story seemed like it was starting to pick up momentum. I was hoping to get much more story in XSII though seeing as it was two discs but I was kind of let down. I really would like to see more games that tied Saga to Gears though, maybe on PS3?

There was supposed to be much more story in Episode II. Monolithsoft cut quite a bit from Takahashi's script.



1. Soraya noted "Soraya has quit this series. No questions please." in very small fonts on her job history page in this site January 1st, 2005. She used the word "quit" for "to depart from", but not for "to abandon". It was simply her current job status.

2. January 19, 2005 morning (JST), Soraya received some threatening E-mails from upset people. Mails accused Soraya as if she were the traitor, deserter deserved to die.

3. Soraya wondered how the situation suddenly happend. An E-mail from North America has kindly let her know that several game-news sites reported her leaving. Some of those sites brought somewhat misleading views, without any confirmation of the facts.

4. Soraya decided to give answers to most frequently questions. The following are the summary of answers.

* Leaving was not Soraya's decision. Soraya was said goodbye same as in the case of other Episode I artists including Mr. Yasunori Mitsuda, Mr. Kunihiko Tanaka, and the Mr. you-know-who. (Please do not ask Soraya who he is.)

* Soraya is a freelance artist.

* There was no particular reason behind the displacement of old artists. The new director of Xenosaga II/III just wants the saga all new.

* The official advertisement says the new saga will have new sounds, new designs (as seen in Epsode II) and more easier story to read (as seen in the disc 2 of the Episode II).

* Soraya and Tetsuya Takahashi were marginally involved in the Episode II by contributing the first version of the script. (It was not a plot outline but a complete script including actual characters' lines.)

* Soraya's last contribution to the saga was the first version of the script for the Episode II and rewrites of The Pied Piper. (The game for Vodafone sold in Japan 2004)

* The shortened/adapted script of the Episode II is by Monolithsoft.

* You can see Soraya's mark she left to the Episode II in:

o The conversation between Juli and Ziggy

o Momo Encephalon (In first version, It was not Juli's idea of destroying Momo's memory, but a subcommitteeman's. Juli hesitated.)

o The story about U.R.T.V. (with the exception of the chapters after Momo Encephalon and young Albedo's verbal abuse/violent acts against Sakura. They were added by Monolithsoft.)

o Albedo's short speech about the higher dimension. (His last words "You look like you lost your sweetheart ... anyway I hate you both" were added by Monolithsoft.)

* Soraya doesn't know what the story of the Episode III will be like. The new writer of the Episode III will write a new story in his style. (The chapters after Momo Encephalon and Disc 2 are his style.)

* The new team has the right to change or ignore Takahashi's plot outline.

* Soraya wrote approximately half of of the script for the Episode I. She is responsible for:

o Ziggy and his family, Voyager, Momo, Mizrahis, Godwins, Yuriev, U.R.T.V.s, and the part of Shion during her stay in Durandal and the Kookai Foundation

* Soraya is not an expensive artist.

* Soraya has created no delay.

* The parent company is not responsible to the changeover.

* The first version of the script by Soraya and Takahashi was not religiously or politically sensitive. It had just harmless chapters like:
o Ziggy's past history (as seen in The Pied Piper)

o U.R.T.V.'s past history (as seen in the Episode II)

o Shion's past history with Febronia (removed)

o Jr's rapid growing (removed)

o Both juvenile and grown-up Jr. available in the battle (removed)

o The ghost of the old Miltia (removed)

o The death of Sakura (removed)

o Brief reunion with grown-up Citrine (removed)

o Gaignun vs Zohar emulators (removed)

o Jr.'s transformation/overdrive (removed)

o Jr. & Albedo vs U-DO vs KOS-MOS 3rd armament (removed)

o Shion's spiritual seeking/witnessing/awakening (removed)

o The truth about KOS-MOS (removed)

o Conversation between chaos and the red cloak man (removed)

o Conversation between Nephilim and the boy with the blocks (removed)

o An antimatter annihilation of Albedo (removed)

* Soraya has no intention of playing for attention. No one has to pay attention to this.

* Soraya has no option to come back. And she knows well the saga no longer needs Saga.

A message from Soraya
Thank you all who sent us heartwarming messages. I loved the Xeno universe and its wonderful fan base, that's what I'll miss the most. Forget about good old days and enjoy whole new saga.

Best wishes.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by YamiRuss

I heard about the extra game he had, but I never played nor had access to it, so I'd really appreciate some of that spilling over.

You can read a translation of the entire script of Xenosaga: Pied Piper at the following site.

http://zarathustra.kaisho.org/

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I assume the three hours is just for regular cutscenes and not counting the text boxes. I played the demo last night. There were quite a few text boxes in it.

The loading is MUCH better this time. It's almost instantaneous. No more 3-5 second waits like in Episode II. The only loading that I saw was right before the final boss of the demo, but that was only a second or two.

I really like how the traps are handled. They're actually going to be useful now that you can set them where you want.

One of the best improvements of the battle system is that a character can Boost on their turn. No more waiting for the next character to go before you can Boost. Boost is actually more useful now too. Each character special attacks. These attacks use Boost and are stronger than normal attacks. Characters also have Arts attacks that they can use with EP. It appears that Arts and Ether are gained by raising levels.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Sepharite

edit: Awesome. I just beat XSII. Did the trailers show who the guy in the white robe is? Albedo?

Yes, it did. It revealed the red and white Testaments.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ic/Albedo2.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...lic/Kevin2.jpg

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Yamamanama

Spoiler:

He does pilot Simeon, after all. The other ones have ES's too. There's Dan, a rather cool loooking black one (Voyager's), Naphtali, a blue one (Virgil's), and an unnamed red one (just guess). Wilhelm has one too. I'm going to guess its name is Jacob.

Spoiler:

Wilhelm's mech isn't an E.S.. All 12 have been accounted for. Ormus has 4, the party has 4, and the Testaments have 4. The only ones we don't know about are Levi and Judah and they belong to Margulis and Kevin. We just don't know who gets which yet. It breaks down like this:

Ormus:

E.S. Issachar - Pellegri
E.S. Gad - Most likely Richard
E.S. Joseph - Most likely Hermann
E.S. Judah or Levi - Margulis

Party:

E.S. Asher - Jr. and chaos
E.S. Dinah - KOS-MOS and Shion
E.S. Rueben - Jin
E.S. Zebulun - MOMO and Ziggy

Testaments:

E.S. Dan - Voyager
E.S. Naphtali - Virgil
E.S. Simeon - Albedo
E.S. Judah or Levi -Kevin

As for where the information came from, in I&II, Pellegri said that Ormus had four E.S.: Issachar, Gad, Joseph, and one that she doesn't name. She also mentions that the Anima from Gad and Joseph are installed into Plium and Scutum where the two are being restored.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

The E.S. are special because they're equipped with the Vessels of Anima.

Spoiler:

The Anima were discovered on Lost Jerusalem at the same time as the Original Zohar. In Xenosaga I&II, Wilhelm says that all of them originally belonged to chaos. chaos was their commander. Evenutally, the pilots of each E.S. were absorbed by each craft's Anima.

Yes, Kevin died. In Episode I, you saw that the KOS-MOS archetype killed him when it went out of control when Cherenkov tried to steal it.

FELIPE NO

The Anima Vessels are the spine things in the game's logo. We still don't know anything about them.

We don't know what happened to the Archetype. It's never said if the current KOS-MOS is an upgraded version of it or a completely new body.

No, KOS-MOS is not Shion's mother.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Spoiler:

That's Kevin's homeworld. In Xenosaga I&II, Kevin tells Shion that his mother and sister died when the Gnosis attacked his world. That's why he was so determined to make KOS-MOS.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Yamamanama

On the E.S.:

Spoiler:

Are Gad and Josef the same thing as Pilum and Scutum or did Hermann and Richard get some new ES's?

Spoiler:

In Xenosaga I&II, it's said that Plium and Scutum are borrowing the Animas from E.S. Gad and Joseph while the two are under restoration. It looks like Plium and Scutum were modeled after them.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ublic/0690.jpg E.S. Gad.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ublic/0696.jpg E.S. Joseph

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ublic/0691.jpg That's the remodeled E.S. Simeon.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ublic/0412.jpg This is Wilhelm's mech, Joshua.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Klonoa

am deeply sad they didn't bring Mitsuda back for this one.

Mitsuda said he won't work with Monolithsoft ever again.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Here are a couple magazine scans. It covers Wilhelm, the red, blue, and white Testaments, E.S. Simeon, E.S. Judah, and E.S. Naphtali. If you haven't seen the promo trailers that show the Testaments' identities, you might want to skip these.

http://img469.imageshack.us/img469/8...ni225052jn.jpg

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/1...ni225060qx.jpg

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

The first review of the game is out. Dengeki scored it this week. Don't know what each reviewer said about it yet though.

Xenosaga Episode III: Zarathustra wa Kaku Katariki (PS2, Bandai Namco): 80 / 75 / 85 / 85

I was speaking idiomatically.

Here's more of the review.

Xenosaga Episode III

80/75/85/85

Pros:

- Battle engine has good pace, there's some strategy involved, and the balance between character and mecha battles is good.

- The minigame "GeMix!?" is so indepth and expansive that it goes far and beyond what a bonus game normally is.

- The game systems are pretty simple (in a good way), and the story is advanced in a good pace.

- There are many movie sequences that do a good job of showing off the story. The worldview is very refined and is up there with the best.

Cons:

- If you've never played the previous games in the series, you'll be completely lost. Although there is a story review of the previous games available, it only merely summarizes the core details.

- Although you can see the enemy encounters on the maps, unfortunately the camera is fixed. If only the minimap showed enemy positions as well...

- While the battles have been simplified, it's also very hard to get much money.

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Originally Posted by Inhert

oh god I really don't like that >.< now it's just a simple rpg battle system with special ability and magic and everything like... most rpg out there.... I really miss the combo system of the first one ; ;

It's not as bad as it looks. It's really a pretty good system. It's A LOT better than the battle system in Episode II.

FELIPE NO

Famitsu gave the game 9/9/8/7.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Sir VG

[strike] Battles themselves are fast as well.

Until you get later in the game. In the last few chapters, battles usually lasted me three or four minutes each.

Jam it back in, in the dark.