Xenosaga III
 

I'm just about finished now, and I have to say that this is a big improvment over II. E.S battles are much cooler, and while the normal combat system has been simplified somewhat, I find it a lot more bearable that II's (though I don't like it as much as in the first one). The plot is still good, and the cutscenes definitely remain Xenosaga's biggest strength. I know a lot of people don't like the heavy cutscenes, but I don't mind, so long as the game isn't tedious in between (I'm looking at YOU Star Ocean TtEoT). In any case, they aren't overly long in this one, but they're plentiful.

Character models are definitely improved this time around. It's nice to see KOS MOS in a body that doesn't look like it was sponsored by Crest toothpaste.

As far as difficulty goes, I find this one a lot better than II. It isn't easy or anything, but its a lot less tedious than I found II.

The references to Xenogears are a whole lot more blatant in this one. One boss is actually spoiler holding Weltall and Vierge. And you fight a bunch of bosses that look exactly like the omnigears, and Xenogears itself. Maria and Seibzehn also show up, along with a house that looks like Shevat. /spoiler

All in all, it's my second favourite of the series, though I was a little pissed off that, after surviving Xenosaga II, all I got for it was a crappy bonus armour for Shion. None of them really measure up to Xenogears though.

Has anyone else picked it up? If so, does anyone have any suggestions for beating that uber-Omega? My mechs are all upgraded as much as they can be at this point, but his Anima attack still kills everyone in one hit, save for MOMO's ES. I keep ALMOST killing him, but then he just kind of goes nuts at the end, and attacks like five times in a row.

Edit: Of course, it goes without saying how much it sucks that Mitsuda didn't compose the music.

I don't know. Here's how I feel about Xenosaga:

Initial thoughts about series--I loved Xenogears. I can't remember whether I played it before or after Xenosaga (think before). Anyhoo--I love Xenogears. I loved the universe. And I loved Xenosaga, too. I was disappointed that they severed all ties with "the original" (would have made it all a whole lot cooler), but I dealt with it. The original, while being pointlessly convoluted at times (stat-point system which didn't really amount to much), while the battles were interesting but got old fast...I liked it. I liked the environment, and the...almost trepidation you feel seeing these massive landscapes against space. I absolutely hated that they (enigmatic they) nigh-ruined the game with atrocious voice acting (I can't imagine the people doing the hiring as that incompetent. What's going on here?). But, I sat through it all. I actually was so impatient with the gameplay that I wanted a cinema scene when a dungeon was taking too long.

So, eventually, eventually...I played Xenosaga II.

This is related, believe me.

I played Xenosaga II, and I forced myself to play. They had taken anything Xenosaga had going for it and skullfucked it cruelly (as if skullfucking isn't innately cruel enough, I had to add an adverb people). The battle system was horribly implemented. The "chibified," trendy Anime style was so irksome in combination with the same shitty voice talent and the god-awful blaring MIDI soundtrack, that at one point while in the city doing god knows what, I just shut it off.

Sooo, all this leads me to be hesitant about Xenosaga III. Even if I hear good things. I want to hear at least one of these ills repaired. Also, the fact that they referenced Xenogears is...just cute? Or something? It's supposed to have 0 relation with Gears, so...not that they can't use elements, it just seems like cheap fan-service almost? More inhibition. So, I just don't know. Let me take a look at some screenshots.

ps: what occult magicks did you use to survive xenosaga ii? please tell me.

Unfortunately, I think that's just a matter of copyright. However, while the gears and saga technically aren't link, the references are so ridiculously clear that they might as well be. It doesn't exactly fit perfect works or anything, and it doesn't really show how Deus came about (at least, not yet; I'm just at the battle with Margulis). Basically, some of the links are there, and the ones that are COULD work without requiring any fanwankage, so it's sort of like they're saying "yeah sure, it's not linked" *wink wink*. Of course, some of that stuff was just to reference the original, and doesn't really play in plot-wise.

One thing I really loved about Xenosaga III as opposed to the others was how it dealt with all the individual characters. Everyone got closure, and everyone's closure was cool.

I agree completely, but that has more to do with the fact that there just aren't many good American voice actors. To their credit, at least some of the actors seem to have gotten better by III.

You haven't heard bad voice acting until you've played RAD (Robot Alchemic Drive). Awesome game, but my god the voice acting was bad. Like, REALLY bad. Find the most horribly dubbed anime you can, and I guarantee RAD is worse. The actors actually pronounced screams, rather than screaming. Like, if a character's text box said "HAAAAAAAAA" the actor would go "haaaaaaaaaaa," like they were half asleep, or something. And the accents, my god, the accents. There was this German scientist who just... I... no, I don't want to remember.

Honestly though, it's one of the coolest giant robot games I've ever played.

Sheer force of will, baby. Believe me, I feel your pain. I almost want to go back with my Action Replay MAX and just beat the everloving CRAP out of that game for what it put me through.

Anyway, if you were alright with Xenosaga I, you'll probably like this one. The gameplay has its ups and downs, but even at it's worst, it's not really bad, and the cutscenes are dispersed well enough that you're not playing for hours trying to get to the next one (I'm still looking at you, Star Ocean). The major thing this game achieved gameplaywise (aside from not being Xenosaga II), was a monumental improvement in the mecha combat system. It's actually fun using the E.Ss. While they aren't very central to the gameplay early on, you use them a lot as the game moves on. They've got something very similar to the hyper mode you had in Gears, but it's easier to get into, and they're a whole lot more customizable. I also liked that things would stop in the boss battles sometimes while the characters talked (without actually leaving the battle). Sort of like in-battle cutscenes.

And the character models look much better this time around.

Edit: One thing I was really disappointed in plot-wise, was that the battle between Margulis and Jin wasn't one on one. It had cool music and everything, but having the other party members there kind of cheapened the experience for me.

Anyway, if you don't mind a very mild spoiler, I'd reccomend taking a look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYCWzBR8xhY

Pretty much shows you what the character models all look like. One thing I really liked in this one as far as cutscenes go, is that there were a lot more fights in cutscenes, and they all looked really good.

Edit: One annoying detail was the censorship. You may have already heard about it, but blood, and even bruises were completely cut out, which lead to a couple of really wierd moments, like semi-spoiler young Shion staring at her non-bloodied hands, in shock, saying she has to put "it" back in her mother/spoiler

Best part of the game: Spoiler you get to beat the crap out of Shion

Edit: And now that I'm at the end of the game, I can definitely see some linkage between this and gears. There's even a good explanation for Deus. It doesn't all fit perfectly, but it's there. It's certainly possible that spoiler U-do could have been trapped in the Zohar, since it was made for the purpose of fighting him/it (or rather, as a power source for a bigger unit that did). The Gnosis all coming together at the end could wind up as Deus, while Abel and Nephilim would of course, go on to be Fei and Elly. They have a special connection with the Wave/U-do in both Gears and Saga. It doesn't exactly fit with what we were told about the past in Gears, but it certainly could allow for the Gears world to be produced.

The final thing holding me back, then, is...not having played Xenosaga II. I don't usually like jumping about in series like that; I like playing them the way they're "meant" to be played, or at least so you can understand the story fully.

I mean Xenosga I's was confusing enough. How am I gonna play III without knowing anything that transpired in II? I suppose I could read a FAQ...

The wiki could help too...

There's a database in your menu that pretty much has everything. It gets updated as you play the game, and actually explains the setting a bit more.

The problem with me and Xenosaga was that I didn't even really enjoy Xenosaga I, which means I'd probably hate II even more, and my opinions of III would (more likely than not) be mediocre at best.

The unfortunate truth is that I really do like Xenosaga's characters and story. I just despised the gameplay, even in the first installment. Whereas Xenogears was just 100% fun to play through, Xenosaga felt like a chore. I'd essentially be suffering through the gameplay experience just to get to the next cutscene.

Which brings me to my point, that I'd love to see movie clips of every Xenosaga cutscene from the series. It'd be a great way to avoid having to actually play the games in order to learn how Xenosaga is connected to Xenogears, and learn the fate of the characters, etc.

You'd probably miss a few things. I'd probably suggest the anime since it goes over the same things.

I think the biggest problem with the series is how long regular battles could take. Of course, there's also the lack of Mitsuda after the first game. I found that his music really added a lot to the experience, while there was only one particularly memorable song after Xenosaga I.

Actually, wasn't there some kind of bonus DVD that had only the clips? Or, at the beginning of Xenosaga II you could watch all the ones from I? Or...fan-made? I'm pretty sure I heard of it somewhere.

Solid Snake, you might want to consider Xenosaga I + II for DS (I think? Maybe GBA) that remakes them both into one game.