[PS2] Xenosaga III: Also Sprach Zarathustra

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.

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

The only thing this game has going for it is a non-loli M.O.M.O with black hose. I lost interest when the creators went back on their plans for a changing cast with each episode. Sure Albedo's cool, but he alone can't save a game or the series.

Where the hell is "Grahf." These Testaments are poor replacements.

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

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.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I don't really care about the Xenogears comparison, since I didn't play it until after I finished XSII. I like the Testaments a lot more than Grahf, who was a rather disappointing character imo, except for a few scenes (Solaris mainly). It seems that the testaments will get a lot more background, with Voyager starring in a seperate game, white being covered before, Virgil also seems to be worked out pretty well, and it hasn't ended yet. Red is the only mystery as to what his motivations are, especially since he seems to be second in command in the whole Zarathustra thing.

In the Trailer, there's a glimpse of an Omega weapon attacking. Was it ever explained what it was exactly, or who developed it (I really can't remember)?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by B.K.

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.

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.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Rydia

I just hope Kajiura changes her formula a bit for Episode III. I did find a majority of her tracks on Episode II good, but after hearing Mai Otome and others, I seem to recognize similarities in most of her work.

And I thought Yuki only did music for anime... This sure is a pleasant surprise.

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

I'm a little glad that they are ending with episode III on PS2. I like the series, but if it did continue it would probably have jumped to PS3 by episode IV.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

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.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Kensaki

I demand Yasunori Mitsuda and London Symphony Orchestra back! -.-

amen to that!

Most amazing jew boots

I'd prefer if they at least got back the original english cast. Who the fuck decided to replace Sherry Lynn? What kind of sick, tone deaf fool replaces one of the premiere female talents in the english dub pool? It doesn't matter that they kept Crispin Freeman, it meant that the glass was only half full.

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

The trailer looked impressive to me, and they bring back the gnosis. It seemed that ep. 2 all but failed to mention them. Honestly, I hope this isn't the end of the line for the series, the storyline is too good to have it cut to three games.

All and all looks like this is a must get for me this year, can't wait for July 19th now.

I was speaking idiomatically.

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?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Has Kajiura made any new compositions for the series yet (I haven't kept up with the trailers)? I'm aching to hear some of the new themes she writing for this installment.

FELIPE NO

The last two trailers had new remixes of her themes.

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?

You know it could be that they had to pack all those cut scenes in disc 1 and ran out of memory. Or maybe it was just for the hell of it. "Yea lets have disc 1 only last 2 hours".

I put Shion up there with Aya Brea and Claire Redfield on my list of outstanding female protagonists.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

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?

Oh how I love that they crap out an series because the story is to politically/religious sensetive and plot to hard to understand for some dumb ass kid.

May monolith soft go bankrupt and never be heard from again.

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

Why the hell do they keep adding some nobodies as playable characters? What good can those Vector people do? Aside from that, I personally am a bit disappointed with all the removals that were made from the original script; but it looks like some of these things will still be in the final game, which makes me anticipate it even more. Also, I'd be surprised if there would be people who had recognized this woman's touch in those few scenes.

I was speaking idiomatically.

They can thinker with the A.G.W.S? or something i dont know =p

But yeah ending it at Episode 3 is really disappointing since i love xenosaga 2, heck the story was nice.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Well you can imagine if Miyuki's playable, she'll probably end up playing exactly like Shion, and in those instances it probably means that she'll be a replacement party member while Shion is gone for some unknown reason.

FELIPE NO

I love Xenogears. It is my favorite video game of all time. The story is so long and involved, and nothing scores higher on a game for me than a really cool, complex story. That is why I thought Xenosaga would rock.

And it does for the most part. Xenosaga is nowhere near the level of Xenogears, but it is definitely a worthwhile series, and it got even better with the sequel. I liked the battle system more overall, and I really liked the rise of the E.S. in importance (since the A.G.W.S. was pretty useless). The only thing I really didn't like was the Good Samaritan stuff. It's nice to do sidequests for moves and items, but not so frickin' many of them.

I do miss Yasunori Mitsuda as composer, but Yuki Kajiura has some shining spots. Fatal Fight was my favorite tune from XS II, and for a while, I listened to it nonstop. However, some of the music is not so enjoyable and really wears on me after a while.

Of all things I really want out of Episode III, I really want to know more about chaos. The first episode raised a plethora of questions, and the second episode almost seemed to ignore him. I would really like more details on him and his history. More information about Ziggy would be nice, too. 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.

Like Citan Uzuki, Jin hasn't done anything yet that makes him truly intriguing as a character, but I'm just waiting for them to spring something weird, unexpected, but totally cool about him. I think he's got a lot of potential to be a great character if they get him a little more involved story-wise. Especially if we're going to have more showdowns with Margulis.

And I do miss the Grahf quality of evil, but Albedo is a fascinating character. I enjoy his level of psychosis. He seems confident, pure evil at times, but then at others, he seems lonely and upset. It would be cool to get some more information on him without putting too much of the game on him and Rubedo.


I'm looking forward to this game.

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/

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Just on a random note, according to the Wikipedia page on Ep III, it seems that Yuki Kajiura will be the sole composer for this episode, which is the most exciting news, if it is true that is. I really loved her songs for Ep II, and I really want to see how she'll handle battle themes. The remixes for the trailers don't disappoint either.

On a random note, does anyone know more about Scientia? In the first info released for III, it was stated that it was some kind of rebel organization against Vector, but it seems to have existed before that, working against the UMN dominating the world (as read in the Pied Piper script, which is an excellent read for more info on Yuriev, maybe I'll post thoughts later). Was Vector the driving force behind the UMN or what?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

American release CONFIRMED, thanks to RPGfan.

Quote:

Namco Bandai today announced that the third and final chapter of its epic RPG series Xenosaga, Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus spoke Zarathustra) for PlayStation 2 will be released on this side of Pacific sometime this fall. The game will be available in Japan on July 6th.

To get an idea of what to expect from the conclusion of Xenosaga, keep your eyes peeled for RPGFan's upcoming preview of the game.

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