Post by fenrir72 on Sept 16, 2005 15:56:23 GMT 8
This review is dedicated to our sister member twisted......fellow self admitted xenofan.
Xenosaga ep 1, the will to power
Publisher Namco
Developer Monolith Software
Genre RPG sci-fi
Console PS2
Director/writer: Tetsuya Takahashi and Soraya Saga (Mrs Takahashi)
Character design: Kunihiko Tanaka
Music: Yosinori Mitsuda ( Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, Xenogears and Shadow Hearts 1)
Synopsis: A mix of RPG/sci-fi space operatic drama with tons of biblical references to the existence of GOD and the purpose of man in the universal equation. A lot of questions on the purpose and meaning of life and lots of references to the teachings of Nietzchie (some german philosopher of the early 19th century).......
T
There are NO random battles but a lot of stat manipulation are evident.
Battle system is similar to that of FFX but here, you can only use three default characters(no tag teaming)
Character abilities can be shared with the exception of special moves inherent to certain individuals.
There are several minigames such as answering emails on preselected sites, a casino, Xenocard battle and AGWS battles(similar to Virtual ON)
In short, mix 25% Evangelion, 20% Ghost in the Shell, 10% 2001 Space Oddessey, 5% Robocop,5% Sailor Moon,15% Macross and 5% Gaogaigar and 15% Final Fantasy and you get Xenosaga.
The game is fairly old, released 2001, supposedly to come in 5 parts.
I have #2 copies of the game, the original Japanese and US version. Purchased it mainly for my love of Xenogears and the expected angelic soundtrack.
Differences in the US and Japanese version:
As usual, the cultural divide between japanese anime and US animation tend to rear its ugly head during the porting of the game. We all see how homosexuals are portrayed as humanly as possible ( in Sailor Moon, a gay character in R was turned into a woman for the US release), same analogy can be said of Xenosaga. A more conservative portrayal so as to ensure a wider audience base may have been the primary consideration `cause the game came with a Teen rating.
Let me start:
1. Less blood and gore during the Gnosis attacks.
2. Albedo`s symbol in the japanese was X, in the US......symbol of Half life
3. The breaking of the necks of the Kirschwassers were toned down.
4. Albedo`s self decapitation was blacked out in the japanese version ( he used a knife in the JP version) while the American version he just twisted it off. And the scene was not blacked out.
5. Jr used the catch phrase "go ahead make ny day", in the US it was "sayonarra baby"
6. The Albedo "psychic r@pe scene" with Momo was toned down and revised. In the JP version, to access certain data, Albedo stuck his hand into Momos abdomen/breast, in the US, his hand was near her head and the data transfer was sort of like a light coursing from the head to Albedo`s hand.
7. Interactive Robots in the Robot Academy were taken out of the US version ( refernce to Gigantor, Gundam,Zaku, Getter Robo and Mazinger Z)
Voice Overs:
The original japanese seiyuu came from renowned anime actors/actresses.....though the most famous I recall is Yumi Touma. She voiced (Deedlith/Leifang/Ivy)
Surprisingly, the US voice crew were equally high caliber in quality. Especially the psycho who voiced Albedo......really creepy and seems like he really enjoyed it.
Before I end this rant, I want to advise would be purchasers to buy episode 1 first and forget episode 2 like a plague.
Episode one,though mostly story driven, is more than just a satisfying experience. As a game, it is deep and indivolving with interesting and charismatic characters, as a story, you`ll be hanging in with baited breath for the next episode.
Sadly, some internal company politics changed the main thrust of the story in episode two resulting to the cr@p that was episode 2.
A gimmick was added wherein your data from Ep 1 could be carried to Ep2 (mainly stats upgrade, Kosmos`, Ziggy and the Professors` swimsuit. But frankly IMHO, it wasn`t worth it (ep 2)
Future developments?
Episode 3 has been confirmed with another massive character design overhaul, though I`m not as excited as before thanks to Monolith dropping the ball in Ep2. Noticed though that in Ep3, they went back to a more "anime" look.
GOOD NEWS!
Coming December? Or hopefully earlier, a PVC figure of Kosmos is coming ( her episode 1 design) hint,hint .............hope this one reaches our shores!
Xenosaga ep 1, the will to power
Publisher Namco
Developer Monolith Software
Genre RPG sci-fi
Console PS2
Director/writer: Tetsuya Takahashi and Soraya Saga (Mrs Takahashi)
Character design: Kunihiko Tanaka
Music: Yosinori Mitsuda ( Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, Xenogears and Shadow Hearts 1)
Synopsis: A mix of RPG/sci-fi space operatic drama with tons of biblical references to the existence of GOD and the purpose of man in the universal equation. A lot of questions on the purpose and meaning of life and lots of references to the teachings of Nietzchie (some german philosopher of the early 19th century).......
T
There are NO random battles but a lot of stat manipulation are evident.
Battle system is similar to that of FFX but here, you can only use three default characters(no tag teaming)
Character abilities can be shared with the exception of special moves inherent to certain individuals.
There are several minigames such as answering emails on preselected sites, a casino, Xenocard battle and AGWS battles(similar to Virtual ON)
In short, mix 25% Evangelion, 20% Ghost in the Shell, 10% 2001 Space Oddessey, 5% Robocop,5% Sailor Moon,15% Macross and 5% Gaogaigar and 15% Final Fantasy and you get Xenosaga.
The game is fairly old, released 2001, supposedly to come in 5 parts.
I have #2 copies of the game, the original Japanese and US version. Purchased it mainly for my love of Xenogears and the expected angelic soundtrack.
Differences in the US and Japanese version:
As usual, the cultural divide between japanese anime and US animation tend to rear its ugly head during the porting of the game. We all see how homosexuals are portrayed as humanly as possible ( in Sailor Moon, a gay character in R was turned into a woman for the US release), same analogy can be said of Xenosaga. A more conservative portrayal so as to ensure a wider audience base may have been the primary consideration `cause the game came with a Teen rating.
Let me start:
1. Less blood and gore during the Gnosis attacks.
2. Albedo`s symbol in the japanese was X, in the US......symbol of Half life
3. The breaking of the necks of the Kirschwassers were toned down.
4. Albedo`s self decapitation was blacked out in the japanese version ( he used a knife in the JP version) while the American version he just twisted it off. And the scene was not blacked out.
5. Jr used the catch phrase "go ahead make ny day", in the US it was "sayonarra baby"
6. The Albedo "psychic r@pe scene" with Momo was toned down and revised. In the JP version, to access certain data, Albedo stuck his hand into Momos abdomen/breast, in the US, his hand was near her head and the data transfer was sort of like a light coursing from the head to Albedo`s hand.
7. Interactive Robots in the Robot Academy were taken out of the US version ( refernce to Gigantor, Gundam,Zaku, Getter Robo and Mazinger Z)
Voice Overs:
The original japanese seiyuu came from renowned anime actors/actresses.....though the most famous I recall is Yumi Touma. She voiced (Deedlith/Leifang/Ivy)
Surprisingly, the US voice crew were equally high caliber in quality. Especially the psycho who voiced Albedo......really creepy and seems like he really enjoyed it.
Before I end this rant, I want to advise would be purchasers to buy episode 1 first and forget episode 2 like a plague.
Episode one,though mostly story driven, is more than just a satisfying experience. As a game, it is deep and indivolving with interesting and charismatic characters, as a story, you`ll be hanging in with baited breath for the next episode.
Sadly, some internal company politics changed the main thrust of the story in episode two resulting to the cr@p that was episode 2.
A gimmick was added wherein your data from Ep 1 could be carried to Ep2 (mainly stats upgrade, Kosmos`, Ziggy and the Professors` swimsuit. But frankly IMHO, it wasn`t worth it (ep 2)
Future developments?
Episode 3 has been confirmed with another massive character design overhaul, though I`m not as excited as before thanks to Monolith dropping the ball in Ep2. Noticed though that in Ep3, they went back to a more "anime" look.
GOOD NEWS!
Coming December? Or hopefully earlier, a PVC figure of Kosmos is coming ( her episode 1 design) hint,hint .............hope this one reaches our shores!