Introduction

Although it was originally planned to span across six games, Monolith Software's Xenosaga series came to a surprise ending with the release of Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra. In order to answer all of the lingering questions that the first two titles left us wondering, you can rest assured knowing that this release is packed with tons of cinematics and plot driven dialog to finish off one of the most engaging storylines in video game history. While there is certainly a ton of information to be taken in here, long time fans can expect this trilogy to finish off on a strong note.


Presentation

Visually, Episode III does a great job at setting the tone for the game with its inclusion of futuristic environments included hi-tech space ships, immensely decorated cities, and more neon lights than anybody could hope for. The character animations are well done, even though things do tend to get repetitive when you select the same basic attacks over and over again. Special battle attacks are supported by bright particle effects to add to the visual appeal as well. Above everything else, though, the cutscenes are easily the best looking part of the game.

With over eight hours of cinematic footage, Episode III's cutscenes should always grasp your attention. Although the cutscenes do have obvious lip-syncing issues and the in-game camera can get lost from time to time, overall you can expect to see an authenticate Japanese-themed RPG here. Oddly enough, all blood has been removed from this game to comply with the ESRB T Rating, and there are several instances in which the lack of blood looks downright absurd. This doesn't pose as a major problem, but certain scenes definitely need to be redone. Nonetheless, there are more technically powerful games out for the PS2, but you certainly won't get shortchanged in the graphics department here.


In addition, the voice actors and accompanying soundtrack have been revamped to improve upon some of the weaker points in previous releases. The generic sounding voice actors in Episode II have been replaced by the enthusiastic actors in Episode I, which can make the longer cinematics much more bearable. The levels are always buzzing with ambient noises from daily activity which is always a nice touch, but the high-caliber soundtrack is the best selling point here. There's nothing more epic than fighting a massive robot boss with an engaging symphonic masterpiece blasting in the background, and thankfully the music here is well composed and very fitting. Sound effects in battle can almost make you cringe when you hear just how painful your attacks really are. Although this game only supports 2.0 stereo sound, the audio team did a nice job regardless of their technical limitations.


Gameplay

Like its predecessors, Xenosaga Episode III sports a turn based RPG battle system, but this time around it carries more depth than ever. Several elements have been tweaked and added that challenges gamers to develop strategies for their party.

Exploring the world has both its good and bad points. Rather than requiring gamers to merely travel from Point A to Point B, the world is filled with various puzzles and hidden segments that reward those who don't follow a linear path. This overlying concept seems nice, but it could've been implemented a little better. For starters, the game is littered with random corridors that take a significant amount of time to walk down, making it frustrating to find that there was absolutely no purpose for going there in the first place. Normally such paths always have some type of gift for players who were willing to take the time out of their regular game to wander off, but here you should be prepared to get stiffed on occasion. That's not to say you shouldn't go exploring, however, because finding new enemies or secret items can help later on.


The most common battle types are initiated on foot. Instead of having fights randomly occur when you're traveling in a certain area, instead enemies can actually be seen moving around throughout any given level. Before you even start, you can gain the upper hand by running up to a foe from behind, which will grant you the first attack. Likewise, if an enemy manages to sneak up on you, then they will be able to strike without giving you a chance to defend yourself. Unfortunately, a few technical bugs make this strategic device hard to use because often times you can sneak up on somebody and not receive any benefits, and sometimes they will get to attack first too! Aside from these few minor instances, this feature will help you stay on your toes during some of the game's duller moments.


Once the fight actually begins, you'll see that each character has a basic melee attack, deadly tech attacks, and even special ether attacks. By successfully damaging your opposition, a boost meter will rise for each character that allows them to boost themselves and receive extra turns, or it can be saved up and be used to power magical attacks. Furthermore, the new break meter fills up every time somebody gets hit. Once the meter maxes out, then that character will have to sit out two turns and will be more vulnerable to critical hits. While this won't help if any of your characters have to sit out, the break meter can be especially handy in boss fights.

At the end of each of the nine chapters you'll have to face a variety of bosses that take a lot of effort to take down. In Episode III, a finite number of enemies are scattered throughout the environment, so there's no opportunity to power-level before a boss fight, and running past enemies will actually hurt you in the long run. Generally speaking, if you managed to defeat every enemy you come across then chances are the bosses won't be too powerful for you to defeat, but you'll definitely need to use reviving and healing potions during these lengthy bouts.


The new character customization system, while not too in-depth, allows gamers to select between two skill paths for each character. For the most part, one path will increase resistances, health, and matters of that sort while the other will power up your attacks and help your character deal more damage. You can earn points for each path, so you can decide to achieve the extremes in one direction or find a happy medium.

Aside from regular foot battles, there are also special battles that feature fighting E.S. mobile suit units. These massive space robots have typical melee attacks, but each E.S. comes equipped with a Vessel of Anima that allows it to cast an utterly devastating attack. Like boost attacks, the Anima meter is charged up by successfully hitting an enemy, making it worthwhile once you're ready to unleash an attack like no other. Strangely enough, E.S. machines cannot be revived like a fallen human, so you need to keep an eye out on their health meter at all times. As a whole, seeing these huge mechs fly around the screen as they blast lasers at each other is obviously a cool feature.

For those of you out there who haven't played the previous Xenosaga titles recently, or at all for that matter, don't need to worry because the database is back in all of its magnificent glory. The database is simply a collection of information that builds up as you progress, and while it's certainly a lot of information to retain for the average gamer, if you really need to brush up on the storyline, controls, or anything else relating to the game then this is the place to look. Furthermore, there are plenty of unlockables, including a swimsuit mode, that become available for those dedicated enough to complete the entire game.


Overall

Xenosaga III is an incredibly lengthy RPG that will take at least forty hours of solid gameplay to complete, which isn't including the eight hours of cinematic dialog either. Most games that can't be beaten in a day usually need an engaging storyline to keep people coming back for more, and the story is perhaps the best part of Xenosaga Episode III. Namco's classic trilogy can easily be compared to PS2 greats such as the ever-popular Final Fantasy series, but a few quirks here and there prevent from being a top tier title. This series was almost ahead of its time several years ago in previous episodes, but now it looks relatively dated compared to Final Fantasy 12 or Dragon Quest 8. Regardless, gamers looking for a captivating RPG experience that finishes up one of the most engaging storylines in video game history should definitely give Xenosaga Episode III a run for their money.