[PS2] Xenosaga III: Also Sprach Zarathustra

One of the girls at Gamestop was dressed up as the main female character from this series and she was not bad lookin' I tell ya. :superhappy:

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by speculative

One of the girls at Gamestop was dressed up as the main female character from this series and she was not bad lookin' I tell ya. :superhappy:

LOL. I'd have asked to have my picture taken with her. To commemorate the day my favorite game series came to an end.

Quote:

She was such a bitch in EPII.

And she's still a bitch, even more so. It's like Miyuki is the new Allen. -.-

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

Well, I've had my 3-hour sit down of the game. And I gotta say, if nothing else, this is one hell of a beautiful game to look at.

The visuals are absolutely top-notch. Pedea Island is incredibly attractive -- the environment has been designed by someone who has a very clear vision of what the perfect island would look like. I can't even begin to describe the detail. If something like this appeared on the PS3...I could die a happy gamer. I've never been one to put graphics over gameplay, but I gotta say when a game looks this good, you almost forget you're even playing a video game! It's worth mentioning that Namco through in a bit of bragging rights -- there's a cave you can walk through, and at the exit is a cliff you stand on and the camera shifts to give the player that long-distance view over the ocean. Yeah, they knew what they were doin'.

Also, the First Business District in Fifth Jerusalem -- more specific, the park. At the very top, there's another overhang. The park itself isn't really anything to woo yourself over, but the view is. You get to see nearly the entire city in all its splendor, and it's truly an amazing sight. Just seeing the visuals in this game make my inner gamer burst with joy and sincerely pray that a Xenosaga is made for the PS3. I would LOVE to see something like this done on the PS3's power.

My memory's a bit rusty, but it does sound like the majority of the original cast has returned, although MOMO's voice is in fact brand new (doesn't sound like Ep. 2's, but I could be mistaken. Either way it's not Sherry Lynn) and chaos's VA from Ep. 2 returns as well. Miyuki's migh tbe different, but for such a minor role throughout the trilogy, it doesn't matter. Her VA is pretty good though, so concern should be minor.

It's good to hear Shion back to her old self though, I'll admit. I've yet to hear KOS-MOS....I just pray her Ep. 1 actress is back in full-form.

So, on to the burning question -- does the battle system suck? No, actually. It's much more reminiscent of Ep. 1's than 2's, thank God, visually as well as mechanically. With the exception of the two ES battle's I was put in, the battles came and went with no load times, but the game itself does contain a few, though nothing harsh. This time, your characters' special attacks consume Boost -- Shion, to this point, is the only one able to use a Special Attack, and hers requires 2 Boost. Boost is acquired by attacking the enemy. ES's have "limit break" style attacks. When they receive damage, their Anima gauge fills up, and they can activate the Anima and use Special Attacks from there.

I noticed something odd in the ES battles though -- occasionally, my other party members would join in on my attack. Now, I'm not complaining, but I've yet to determine is this is a random occurrence, or if it's controllable. Also, the game's tutorial says that so long as your Energy Gauge isn't empty, you can attack "consecutively." When I battled, it was just like a regular fight though. I never saw the Energy gauge actually go down, either. So I don't know what to think. Two battles wasn't enough to get everything together.

The battle system is much easier though, that's for sure. At least compared to Episode 2. If Okami weren't coming out next Wednesday, I'd continue playing this for sure.

As for my own opinion on the game as a whole...I think the Xenosaga trilogy, to date, would have succeeded to a much greater degree if it followed one of two paths -- sticking to the first game's design all the way through, or using the third game's design all the way two. Most people I've spoken with agree that Episode 2 is inherently flawed, but this game is not. It doesn't have that charming quality that Episode 1 had, but it's certainly much better than it's predecessor. This is what Xenosaga 2 should've been, in my opinion.

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

Originally Posted by SouthJag

The battle system is much easier though, that's for sure. At least compared to Episode 2. If Okami weren't coming out next Wednesday, I'd continue playing this for sure.

Well, you're in luck, since it's not coming out until the 19th. ;_;

I was speaking idiomatically.

I have to say, it's a damn shame this is going to be the last Xenosaga we'll see. They finally got so much right. Lots of excellent, emotional music, and high quality voice acting once again on the audio side. As SouthJag mentioned, there are next to no load times for most battles, though if there is a direct transition to a battle from a cutscene rather than on the field there is a load time, however it's nothing close to how bad XSII was and this type of transition isn't common.

They also fixed my biggest pet peeve I have with the Xenosaga series. Exploration areas FINALLY have some dialog and plot advancement mixed in making everything flow much better. No more plot ->Start at point A, get to point B ->Plot -> repeat formula for the entire game. Expect to be rewarded with some critical plot information while exploring in XSIII.

Battles are also extremely fast paced and character growth is handled much better where each person has a good set of unique abilities setting them apart in more than just aesthetics.

The real highlight for me is the ES battles. What a vast improvement in every aspect from style down to battle mechanics. The best way to describe the style of these battles is to think of a turned based ZoE2 game. The clunky Xenosaga mechs are gone, replaced by Anima equipped ES units that are finally on par with the Gears/Omnigears found in Xenogears.

I've only played the first few hours, but this is really feeling like the game Xenogears fans were looking for from the start. The strict sci-fi atmosphere has been replaced by one that feels a bit more like Xenogears while the ES units seem to be a critical plot device like the Gears in Xenogears were. Highly recommended to those Xenogears fans that have nearly given up on the Xenosaga series just as I did. You'll enjoy this one for sure.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

That tutorial ES battle. My god, it made me feel like it was xenogears all over again with the flow and all <333333333

I freaked out for a moment when i saw the gauge to the left, I thought it was the fuel meter once again, but it wasnt.

The visuals and scenery, HOLY SMOKES... like SouthJag said, the view from the park was so incredible, the island was beautiful, ahhh...

But question though, is it just me, or does it lag and slow down during some cutscenes? Ive had it happen to me a few times...

FELIPE NO

Well, I finished the Japanese version a couple of weeks ago, and I'd like to post some of my (I have to admit, very longwinded)thoughts. Note that they are based on the Japanese version, so there coul be some useless parts, like voice acting.

Spoiler:

Those who’ve read my previous review, know that I wasn’t too happy with the state of affairs in Episode II. Still, despite knowing better, I couldn’t help but getting more and more excited for Episode III, after seeing the few trailers that were released. Even though I knew that it could be a disappointment, I still couldn’t wait to get my hands on the game. After playing through it, I’d like to present to you my final conclusions. Please note that this review will contain inevitable spoilers for the previous two games.

Storyline
The story was one of the weakest points of the second game, but it was still one of the most awesome stories I’ve seen in an RPG in a while. The main criticism that I had was the lack of real story advancement, since the game mostly focused on background for Jr. and Albedo, Momo to a certain extent. After the announcement that this would be the last episode, I was a bit disappointed, since I feared that it would be a rush job. I’ve been proven both right and wrong in this point. Episode III starts one year after Episode II. The crew has been spread around, and it seems like everything has return to normal. Shion is still looking for answers, concerning KOS-MOS and the gnosis phenomenon. She has quit Vector, and has joined an anti-UMN organization, Scientia. Soon, she’ll realize that nothing has ended with Albedo’s death, and that the real plans have only just been set in motion.

For those who’ve played the previous games, you know that there are A LOT of questions to be answered, concerning nearly all the characters. The first disc starts out nice and slowly, as we are introduced to some new characters. After a lengthy introduction, we go through a long segment finally giving some more insight in Shion’s past. I was really pleased with the events up until the events at the end of the first disc, since it’s obvious that a lot of the characters get some (much-needed) development. The second disc, however, is still good, but doesn’t really live up to my expectations. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with the story which is still simply incredible, but the execution is a bit lacking. Since there are so many loose ends that need to be tied up, you’ll soon be fighting antagonist after antagonist, giving little room for their development. This also makes the game lose that epic feeling that it had on the first disc, making the final battle of the entire series lose some power, even though it’s still a pretty cool fight.

Most of this can be blamed on the cancellation of the rest of the series. It seems to me that the overall story was supposed to be a lot more wider, as is also shown with A Missing Year, a flash movie on the official website that ties the events from XS II to the ones of this game. Because of this there is quite a lot of new information to digest at the start of the game, which can be rather confusing. But once you are in the game for a few hours, you’ll know what’s going on, mostly thanks to the magnificent Database (more on this later). Still, it’s a bit annoying that you are kinda thrown into the deep. The cancellation also shows itself in the ending, even though it answers most questions, you feel like you are missing some essential background stuff. Luckily, there’s a final update on the database that gives some much needed background, but it still would have been nice if they had the time to develop this during the course of the game.

There are some fans who will disagree with me on what I’ll be saying next, but you have to look at the entire game in context. You can’t just ask “Is the final instalment a worthy ending?”, just like that, but you have to ask “Given the cancellation of the series, have they managed to create a worthy ending for this saga?”. I personally can say yes, since most of the questions have been answered, almost everything has been resolved, but they still left some room for a sequel. Even though it felt rushed, the ending still managed to strike an emotional cord with me. Of course, some aspects could have been handled better, but there has never been a game where I didn’t have complaints regarding the overall story (except Vagrant Story, maybe)

Characters
Character development is a bit unbalanced. Some characters have received sufficient development in previous games, namely Jr. and Ziggy (Pied Piper), and Momo to a certain extent. The character development in this game is almost entirely focused on Shion, who had, at least for me, the most interesting background to explore. Unfortunately, some of the most enigmatic party members, namely chaos and KOS-MOS don’t get nearly enough attention until the very end, but at time it’s a bit too late, in my opinion. KOS-MOS has one of the most interesting stories, and has been one of the main points that drew people into the saga, but her back story feels rushed, and could have been far more interesting if only they took the time to focus on it a bit more. The same can be said about chaos, and only if they paid a bit more attention to his development over the game, he would have had a major impact

The villains suffer from the same problem, even though some of them have a magnificent role, namely the Blue Testament and Dimitri Yuriev (you didn’t really think that he would be on your side), and for me personally they are the most interesting villains in the game. The rest of the Testaments get sufficient development, (especially White gets a memorable moment to shine), but the main antagonist, the one who has been pulling strings behind the scenes for three games gets not nearly enough light shed upon. He really had the potential to be one of the better characters that I’ve encountered in an RPG, but they just didn’t seem to find the time for some development. I was pretty disappointed with this, but then again, when looking at it with the cancellation in mind, it’s an understandable problem, although this doesn’t make up for it.

Once again, character designs have undergone some changes, not as radical as the differences between Episode I and II, but still serious enough for me to comment on. Several characters now have a better look, especially KOS-MOS, who looks pretty awesome in her upgraded outfit, but Jin has also changed out of his kimono, which actually bothered me quite a bit since it’s a bit too unrealistic to keep on battling in an outfit like that, and he now wears something that Xenogears fans will surely recognize as the Citan Uzuki outfit. Two designs disappointed me, namely Shion and Jr. Shion’s outfit in the second game was perfectly acceptable to me, but this time she looks a bit… cheap and skanky to me. Jr. hasn’t had a nice outfit since the first game, and they are really turning him into a cowboy-wannabe in this game, which disappoints me.

Graphics
Those who have read my review for Xenosaga Episode II, will remember how disappointed I was with the environmental graphics, which were bland and unoriginal. Luckily, the third episode gives us some of the most beautiful environments that I’ve seen in a PS2 game. From the huge city that is Fifth Jerusalem, where I immensely enjoyed myself by just looking at the landscapes, to the desolate Limestone Cave, all the environments are detailed, and have enough variation, unlike other RPG’s where most dungeons all look the same. I’m really glad that they made some improvements here, since it gives the whole game a rather majestic feel. As for battle effects, they aren’t better or worse than in the previous games, and since I didn’t have a problem with them then, I don’t see a need to complain now. The ES battles deserve a special mentioning, since they are just awesome. The regular attacks are already cool, but the real fun starts when you unleash your Anima attacks, which are visually astonishing. There’s nothing better to look at than your party battling some uber-mech.

Music
As for music, I was a huge fan of the Episode II Movie soundtrack, composed by Yuki Kajiura, and I was disappointed in the other themes composed by Hosoe. Knowing this, it can’t be a surprise if I say that I was excited when it became known that Yuki Kajiura would be responsible for the entire Episode III soundtrack. A comparison to Episode II’s music is inevitable, and the first thing that can be noted is that Episode III’s music has a darker, more subdued feeling than the previous OST, which could have been expected seeing what serious issues are coming up in this episode. The trailers released before the game already confirmed this, and the tracks used to accompany those can be considered some of the highlights of the game.

There are some incredibly powerful compositions in this game, that can easily rival with “Communication Breakdown”, or “Lamentation”. Some of my personal favourites are “Godsibb”, coincidentally the only track that doesn’t seem to be composed by Kajiura, “Promised Pain”, which is one of the best battle themes I heard in a long time, and “Hepathica”, the theme for KOS-MOS in this game. There are also some remixed versions of tracks that we heard in the second episode, like “Here She Comes”, or “Fatal Flight”, that are nice, but they essentially don’t add anything new.

One of the biggest fears that fans had was that Kajiura would screw up background music, for towns and dungeons. I’m glad to say that this is not the case, especially compared to the previous games (no background music in towns in Episode I, boring and repetitive tunes in II). The tunes are nice to listen to, they don’t linger in your head until they annoy the hell out of you, and they accompany the long treks through the dungeons or towns nicely. The battle themes are also a strong point, even though the general battle theme is a bit boring, this is easily overlooked as soon as you enter a boss battle with “Battle of your soul”, or even better, “Promised Pain”. Overall, I’m really pleased with this soundtrack, and it’s one of the strongest points of the game, just as it was one of the best aspects of the second episode.

Voice Acting
I consider voice acting one of the most important parts of a game with a story like this, especially since it can either really enhance certain scenes, or make them bland and boring, no matter how interesting the content is. Luckily, the Japanese cast does a stellar job, especially the various antagonists that your party encounters. Of course, we all know what Albedo sounds like now, so there’s no questioning his skills, but the real surprise had to be Red Testament, who does one of the best jobs I’ve heard in a long time. Dimitri Yuriev’s a personal favourite, just like Margulis, who both just sound deliciously evil. The only voices that bothered me a bit was Miyuki, who can sound a bit too whiny and childish, even though it fits her character, and Hammer, because he has the incredibly annoying habit of adding “su” to every goddamn sentence, but that shouldn’t bother the fans of the US version. But the rest of the cast, as we already know them is just excellent.

One thing that should be noted about the sound is that there is no option to turn off the background noise. During the entire game, the sound of footsteps and shooting will have the same volume as the background music, which can be a bit bothering during the dungeon crawling, but it gets really irritating during the battles. It really got on my nerves at times, when you are fighting a boss battle with a cool tune playing, and all of a sudden the boss uses a big attack with a lot of noise, and you can’t hear the music anymore. In the beginning this isn’t so bad, but there were moments later on where I got mad at the game for not having an option for volume control.

Battle System
When you ask someone why they didn’t like the second episode, they will most likely say that they were annoyed by the battle system. I’d have to agree with them, because even though there where plenty of different attacks available, the system was flawed so that normal attacks where the only useful ones. Luckily, it seems like Monolith has listened to it’s fans, and they have returned to a more traditional system combining various elements from the first two episodes.

From episode I, we see the return of the use of ether and arts. While they were useless in Episode II, they will be your main attack in the game. Ether attacks are divided into 4 different elements, fire, ice, thunder and beam, so you’ll have to check out an enemy’s weaknesses in order to successfully defeat it. Aside from the obligatory healing ethers, most of the ether skills can be divided into these categories, and almost everyone in your party possesses these same skills. It isn’t until the end of the game that there will be some character-specific ether skills, which are most likely the most skills that you’ll use

Arts are unique for each character, and have various uses. For example, KOS-MOS has a wide range of attacks, that can be used against a specific enemy (biological, machines and gnosis), while Ziggy’s attacks are most effective when used against humans. Although this may sound like you’ll be switching characters constantly in order to effectively exploit an enemy’s weak points, this is not the case, since you’ll combat is rather easy, and it isn’t until the end of the game that you’ll be switching characters, because enemy HP will be so high that you’d want to exploit enemy weaknesses to speed up combat.

A character can learn new ether or arts by levelling up, or by using the Styleline. After each combat, a character will earn style points, that can be used to buy new skills on the Styleling. This system is reminiscent of the skill tree in the first game, and it’s specific for each character. It’s not really a tree this time, since you only have two branches, each with slightly different focuses. The ether skills that everyone can learn are all the same, as I’ve said before, but the character skills are unique, although they can have the same effect. Aside from that, both branches offer various stat boosts (HP+100, Strength+2, …), and some passive skills, like counter skills or critical hits. Overall, it’s a pretty basic system, but it’s nice to have at least some customization for your character. It’s unfortunate that XSIII seems to suffer from the same problem that FFX had; near the end of the game, you’ll have so many skill points, that you will most likely turn the characters into cardboard copies of the rest, even though they still have some unique skills.

Another element that has survived since the first episode is the boost gauge. Every attack will fill up this gauge little by little, and you can use the gauge to get an extra turn, to heal or to obliterate the enemy before he gets a chance to attack. But there’s more; each character possesses so-called deathblows (I think that’ll be the English translation), which don’t consume any ether points, but it will consume the boost gauge. These are some of the more powerful attacks in the game, and as they level up the more you use them, the more powerful they’ll get. But that’s not their only use; if you kill an enemy using a deathblow, you’ll have performed a “Finishing Strike”, and you’ll get more experience, more style points, and more money, so it’s a rather good thing if you can use deathblows effectively.

There is only one element that hasn’t been present since the first game, and that’s the Break gauge, although it’s simplified compared to the second episode. Every time you attack an enemy or one of your characters get attacked, this gauge will fill up slowly, and when it’s full, the character will go in “Break” status, and he won’t be able to act for a couple of turns, and he’ll be more likely to receive critical hits. Now, this sounds nice, and you’d think that it would be useful during boss battles, but there are some flaws. First of all, the enemy’s gauge fills up real slow, and you’ll most likely have killed him before he breaks. There are some skills that can speed this up, but it’s till a bit too slow for me. Second, your characters will have a small break gauge, which means that they can be broken rather easy, making the whole system only a nuisance for you. A little bit more thought behind this would have been nice.

ES Battles
Now that I’ve discussed normal combat, it’s time to move on to ES battles, something that I really liked in the second game. The system has been simplified, and some of the flaws that were present in the second game have been taken care of. Each ES has it’s specific pilots, so no more switching like in episode II. Since equipment made a return (more on this further on), you can customize the various ES to a certain extent, but each suit will have it’s advantages and disadvantages. For example, Dinah (Shion and KOS-MOS) will have more beam attacks, while Reuben (Jin) can only carry one weapon, but he has a lot more power. In battle, there are most of the time 2 or 3 attacks to choose from. Each of these attacks will consume a certain amount of energy, and you can choose to put all the energy you have in one attack, or you can spread it and unleash 3 or 4 smaller, less powerful attacks.

That’s the basis of ES combat, but there’s more. Every time you attack, the anima gauge will fill up slowly. When the gauge’s filled up, you can awaken the Anima Vessel installed in your ES, which allows you to use an ES deathblow, or it gives you the option to use normal attacks for a lower energy cost. Just like character deathblows, the ES deathblows function as Finishing Strikes, giving you bonuses after the battle. The ES deathblows can be obscenely powerful, dealing more than 100000 damage, and what’s more, they can chain with other characters normal attacks, making an ES a very powerful weapon. Overall, I really enjoyed ES combat, more than character battles, and I only wished that there were more ES dungeons in the game. A minor point of criticism is that ES battles can take a bit too long near the end of the game, because the HP of certain enemies can be way too high.

Other Gameplay
Aside from the battle system, there have been some changes in the rest of the gameplay. For example, shops have made a welcome return, and you finally have the option to put equipment on your characters. It’s standard RPG equipping, nothing new, but it’s still a lot better than the painful absence in the second episode. I’ve heard people complaining about the lack of money, but I never had any problems buying what I wanted, until the end of the game when I made some purchases that weren’t needed.

There are some gamers who will be disappointed by the lack of towns to explore, since there are only two in the entire game, but I personally didn’t really bothered with it, since the dungeons are pretty awesome this time around. In episode II, they sent you from one end of the dungeon to another a few times, and combined with the lack of decent puzzles, and the painful battle system, dungeons where boring as hell. This time, dungeons are still huge, but at least you make some progress, and you don’t have to do a lot of backtracking. Most of the stuff’s straightforward, but I really didn’t mind it, since the designs were neat, and I loved spending my time looking at the environments.

Speaking of dungeons, traps have also made a comeback, and they are actually useful this time around. You have to purchase them from shops, and when they hit an enemy, you often get a pre-emptive attack, and a boost bonus (or anima gauge bonus when in an ES), so you have to take advantage of them. The only downside is that you can only have 10 with you, and since dungeons are huge, you’ll run out of them too quickly.

Optional Stuff
As for sidequests, they got rid of the Good Samaritan Campaign, a loss that I don’t regret. The Segment addresses make a return, which is nice because it was some of the coolest side quests in the first game. Not much has changed here, and you’ll still be using the EVS plate to go back to old dungeons. There is a rather big sub event in the cities, but it’s missable, and unfortunately, I missed it, so no comments on that. There are a few sidequests right for the final dungeon, mostly getting the ultimate weapons for your characters, but there are also a few optional bosses to fight, and they pose a nice challenge for you.

There is one more sidequest during the game, namely Ge-Mix. I haven’t really bothered that much with it, since the instructions are a bit confusing, but you can compare it to Lemmings, some old NES game, where you have to get your character from point A to point B, and you can only change the environment in order to get them there safe.

One of the most welcome returns is the return of the Database, an option that I really missed in the second game. It’s even bigger than the one in the first game, and it gives details on every aspect of the game. From the characters to the various organizations, to the most meaningless technical term, everything gets explained. There are several categories, and you if there’s a term that you don’t understand, you can quickly link to an explanation. I spent hours reading this, because of the interesting stories, but of course also because it’s filled with way too many kanji ^^. Aside from the database, there’s also a data option on the start screen. You can view past event movies, if you need a quick recap, but there are also options for character and enemy 3D models, which is a very nice addition if you want a close look at some of the ES for example. The further you get in the game, the more movies and models get unlocked, so it’s a really nice future.

Overall, is Episode III a worthy ending for a saga spanning 5 years? Given the circumstances, I’d have to say yes, but I still can’t help but wonder what it would look like if the original planning had been followed. I don’t think that there are many XS fans who will be disappointed with the overall story or the gameplay (best that the series has seen since its debut), but I think that they will share my disappointment whenever I think that there could have been more.

Also Southjag, characters will randomly assist eachother in ES battles, you can't control it, or improve the rate at what they'll do it.

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

Quote:

And she's still a bitch, even more so. It's like Miyuki is the new Allen. -.-

Well, Shion always did seem to be openly bitchty toward Miyuki. Supposedly Miyuki likes to take advantage of Shion's friendship by using her as a lab rat for her crazy inventions. You know, the usual anime cliche.

Quote:

My memory's a bit rusty, but it does sound like the majority of the original cast has returned, although MOMO's voice is in fact brand new (doesn't sound like Ep. 2's, but I could be mistaken. Either way it's not Sherry Lynn)

So it's 3 voice changes in a row. MOMO is the new Daisaku.

Maybe by the time I download and finish the torrent, I'll be able to get hyped up for this, but right now my expectations are so low it's shocking. Maybe I'm just depressed that this is the finale (at least for Shion and company), and I worry that they'll be able to wrap everything up on time without making it look like two stories crammed into one and played on fast forward (see X-Men 3).

Most amazing jew boots

Well considering that I just played for about 6 hours straight, with some copious Database reading, and I just arrived at the first non-tutorial dungeon, I'd say they certainly aren't rushing the storyline

I'm really enjoying the hell out of it so far. Agreed on most of the first impressions thus far. I'll add my own Good/Bads:

Negatives:
- Sample rate on voices is low, mainly because there's a TON. So, "ess"es get smudgy, but it's made up by their quality acting.
- However, a few new antagonistic characters have awkward voices - one's a bit too arch in his snideness, the other just has a really bad voice.
- "Facetime" cutscenes aren't as immersive as the directed/lipsynched scenes of the past, but given the sheer quantity of them it's forgivable.
- The gap between Episodes II and III is pretty vague without the flash animations from the JP website, but it's summarized well in several sources both ingame and in the database.

Positives:
- Graphics are vastly improved from the previous two titles. Environments in particular are amazing
- Dungeon design is top notch.
- Battle system is one of the most enjoyable RPG systems I've played in a while. Plus, there is NO loadtime. The transition between field and battle is quite literally instantaneous. (With a few exceptions, but it's nothing to complain about.)
- Music is hardfuckingcore, with really nice orchestral battle themes - a FAR cry from Mr. Riiiiidge Racerrrr's Episode II battles. (Just my opinion!) Also, for various BGM, there's some really nice jazz tunes. First dungeon is a great upbeat tune, and several interior locations have some nice downbeat tunes.
- Voice acting in general is very solid. Ep. I Shion & KOS-MOS = Happiness. Plus, I liked Ep II's chaos better than I's, so I'm glad he's back too.
- Storyline is progressing very well, probably even better in its method of storytelling than the previous two games. And according to IGN, the game has a very explosive and powerful ending. Hence, me literally glued to the screen and forcing myself to put it down to sleep tonight. Can't wait.

---

Is there a music rip from this game floating around anywhere? I've come across so many tracks ingame so far that aren't anywhere on the released OST, especially the piano pieces and most non-dungeon BGMs.

Most amazing jew boots

I didn't think about it until after Cetra posted it, but walking around in towns is certainly not a mundane task anymore.

I really like the fact that conversation boxes appear, and that NPCs will speak to each other -- pressing Square when it appears lets Shion butt in on the conversation. Really, it's handled quite nicely. I'd almost say that I've liked checking out the environments and listening to the people more than any other aspect of the game thus far.

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

On MOMOs voice actor:

After loading up XSII to check, I'm almost positive her XSII and XSIII voice actor is the same person. I think she actually just took some acting classes between recording the two games.

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

Well I'm loving the game so far, the ES battles are really cool as well as the regular on foot battles. The graphics are really nice and the music is good too, I can tell I will like this one the most outa all 3 so far.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Holy crap. Has anyone played the minigame HaKox very much at all yet? It's insane, and incredibly addicting. I just wasted 2 hours on it haha It's like... Lemmings... combined with Chu Chu Rocket... but with blocks, movable things, and lots of death if you aren't careful.

How ya doing, buddy?

Yeah, I played in the Merkabah museum. I'm not really too fond of it though. It's fun and all, but it's easy to see that at the harder levels, this is gonna bring frustration-a-plenty.

Spoiler:

According to the strategy guide, you must be the hardest level to get either Jr.'s or Ziggy's ultimate weapon. In fact, several of the levels have rewards similar to that.

Most amazing jew boots

Like I need anymore bad news with this game.

Quote:

Worst, the game is heavily censored. Namco Bandai, in its efforts to get a T rating, has sucked all of the blood out of the game. Normally it wouldn't much matter, but major plot points of this game center around brutal violence - including the climactic scene in which the biggest twist in the plot of the entire series is revealed. It's an insult to the fans that have tread the rocky path this series has taken.

That is goddamn bullshit. I was neutral with the whole Albedo thing in EPI, and the other Albedo thing in EPII, but now bloodless deaths? AND the "biggest twist" is going to suffer because of this?

I'm glad this is the final episode.

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

Originally Posted by SOLDIER

Like I need anymore bad news with this game.

That is goddamn bullshit. I was neutral with the whole Albedo thing in EPI, and the other Albedo thing in EPII, but now bloodless deaths? AND the "biggest twist" is going to suffer because of this?

I'm glad this is the final episode.

That's a shame, really. I honestly didn't know about the game's censorship until now. It'd have been better to find after I finished to game, but whatever. For once I'm not going to bash the game or the company for something like 'censorship.' At least they got everything else right with the gameplay, graphics, music and voice acting. I was upset enough when I found out this was the last game in the series. Frankly, that was the worse news I'd ever heard about Xenosaga and the censorship isn't much by comparison. Once I beat the game I'll just go to YouTube, I'm sure they already have all the take-out scenes up by now. The way I see it, Xenosaga Episodes III - VI have all been 'censored' into one game anyway. It shows in Episode 3 how alot of things were cramed togather by revealing so many plot elements at once.

The series came to a very premature end, which is as bad as it gets. But if you're a real fan you won't let something like a little censorship keep you from playing this last game. It's still damn good.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Not that I'm exactly happy about the censorship, but I hear the press is blowing the issue way out of proportion similar to the Xenosaga censorship. The scenes basically went from "blood fountains" to just "blood" in the censored version.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Cetra

The scenes basically went from "blood fountains" to just "blood" in the censored version.

No they didn't. The scenes went from blood to no blood. All the blood in the game is gone.

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

yeah they realy took ALL the blood from the game here's some screenshot that shows the JP and NA version

(some may be spoiler so look at your own risk)

Spoiler:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...llenCensor.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...EndCensor1.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...EndCensor2.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...EndCensor3.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...EndCensor4.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...EndCensor5.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...EndCensor6.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ionCensor1.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ionCensor2.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ionCensor3.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ionCensor4.jpg

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

I'm not going to look at the screens as I'd like to avoid spoilers so I'll take your word on it. I was going off of a friend who supposedly has played though both the JP version and was mostly though the English version. Obviously he's mistaken or lying.

Speaking of spoilers. Don't read the damned database as soon as you get new stuff! Jesus, that thing contains plot spoiler information before it happens in the game. When the Abel information is first unlocked is a fine example of this.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Inhert

yeah they realy took ALL the blood from the game here's some screenshot that shows the JP and NA version

(some may be spoiler so look at your own risk)

Spoiler:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...llenCensor.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...EndCensor1.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...EndCensor2.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...EndCensor3.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...EndCensor4.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...EndCensor5.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...EndCensor6.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ionCensor1.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ionCensor2.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ionCensor3.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ionCensor4.jpg

I was wondering why my Photobucket stats said I already had 5000 hits for the month.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

oh sorry I din't know, I found them on gamefaqs actually :\ I can remove them if you want...

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by SOLDIER

Like I need anymore bad news with this game.



That is goddamn bullshit. I was neutral with the whole Albedo thing in EPI, and the other Albedo thing in EPII, but now bloodless deaths? AND the "biggest twist" is going to suffer because of this?

I'm glad this is the final episode.

Um. Remind me again in private about the Albedo thing or could anyone explain this again? Silly me, this is the first I have ever heard of all this censorship nonesence.

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

About the changes:

Spoiler:

In Episode I, when Albedo goes digging inside MOMO for the Y Data he actually sticks his hand into her chest and starts feeling around. This was changed to him holding his hand above her head and visibly extracting data for the US version.

In Episode II, when young Albedo is showing Rubedo and Nigerdo his ability to regenerate body parts he shoots himself in the head with a gun in the JP version. For the US release, he conjures a ball of energy and blows his head up.

Both of those edits made some sense, but removing ALL blood from Episode III is just stupid -- particularly when Episodes I and II had more than there share of it. Were the scenes edited really heavy on the red stuff, moreso than I and II?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Motsy

About the changes:

Spoiler:

In Episode I, when Albedo goes digging inside MOMO for the Y Data he actually sticks his hand into her chest and starts feeling around. This was changed to him holding his hand above her head and visibly extracting data for the US version.

In Episode II, when young Albedo is showing Rubedo and Nigerdo his ability to regenerate body parts he shoots himself in the head with a gun in the JP version. For the US release, he conjures a ball of energy and blows his head up.

Both of those edits made some sense, but removing ALL blood from Episode III is just stupid -- particularly when Episodes I and II had more than there share of it. Were the scenes edited really heavy on the red stuff, moreso than I and II?

And yet get games like GTA or Dead Rise that's far worse than what Xenosaga offers. Go fig.

There's nowhere I can't reach.