Xenosaga 1-3

[Genjackson]

I just picked up the third episode. Having all three now I'm about to start playing them. Just wanted to know which one everyone thinks is the best.

[kupomogli]

Xenosaga 3 is by far the best in the series. The first game has a great storyline and it has XenoCard, the best mini game ever, but the gameplay sucks. The third has good gameplay and good story. The original Xenosaga and Xenosaga 3, whether it's dungeons or towns also have well designed worlds, where Xenosaga 2 is lacking in all respects, the world, gameplay, and the story.

[substantial_snake]

This is another series I would really like to see an HD collection. It came out around the time that I got outta gaming for a while but i remember hearing about how cut-scene heavy the first one was. I remember hearing that the later ones toned down on it a bit but little else outside of that.

I do however LOVE Xenogears and it sits as my favorite RPG of that generation by far.

[Jorpho]

I'm still hoping the DS version will get a fan translation eventually.

[NayusDante]

I thought it was redundant when they produced Xenosaga: The Animation.

When the first episode was released, I had just gotten a PS2 and I was kind of disappointed with Final Fantasy X. Xenosaga was a lot more impressive to me back then, though I never finished it. I don't know if it's aged very well, but I've been thinking about trying to play through it again. I think back and all I can remember is that one boss battle that you had to consistently boost your attacks or you'd have no chance.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

i keep forgetting i have all 3 games, i loved xenosaga 1 and been dying to play 3 but im one of those games that cant get into a series if i didnt play all of them in order...and 2 bores me to tears



i think im about to bite the bullet and just skip that shit and go straight for the money shot, is it possible to still follow the story in 3 with only have knowledge of 1? or should i suck it up and force my way through 2? the combat in 2 seems to take way way longer than it did in 1, also they seem harder, could just be that i havent played in a long time and forgot how to play tho, anyway what do you guys think?

[G-Boobie]

I'm still hoping the DS version will get a fan translation eventually.

Is that the one that contains all three games with super deformed assets?

[Jorpho]

It's only the first two games. I guess it's SD?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hPfu5Awp14

[kupomogli]

i think im about to bite the bullet and just skip that shit and go straight for the money shot, is it possible to still follow the story in 3 with only have knowledge of 1? or should i suck it up and force my way through 2? the combat in 2 seems to take way way longer than it did in 1, also they seem harder, could just be that i havent played in a long time and forgot how to play tho, anyway what do you guys think?

Yeah. Xenosaga 2 is pretty much inconsequential in all respects. It's mainly nothing more than backstory to Jr, Nigredo(Gaignun,) and Albedo, and a battle out in space between the federation and the enemy. You learn a little bit of background info on Margulis at the beginning, as well as Jin(Shion's Brother,) as well as an important enemy character to the story dies, but you'll learn all of that in Xenosaga 3 anyways, so it's also of no consequence. Another thing is that Xenosaga 3 includes backstory on what happened in Xenosaga 1 and 2 through a few pages of text.

The reason why the gameplay in Xenosaga 2 sucks is because you keep stocking each characters skills until each character has three, then when you can interrupt but boosting, you do that so all three characters can attack in a row knocking the enemy down and then taking off the extra damage. Every battle plays exactly like this, turning the gameplay into more of a chore than an enjoyable experience.

This is at the very beginning of Xenosaga 2. It's not really important, but a small part of it is pretty awesome. It also shows how Margulis got the cut on his face. Margulis is bad ass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLxe2knWI8Q

[Wolfrider31]

I just grabbed a copy of each from a local used games shop and I'm really looking forward to sinking my teeth into them. I powered on the first, wanting to obviously start and the very beginning, and I have to say it doesn't play nearly as well as I remember. I knew the game was somewhat "controversial" but I always attributed that to the length and frequency of the cutscenes. The gameplay, though, really weighs the game down (at least in the first one) and it's a struggle just to get through the opening dungeon. I'm sure I'll adjust to it eventually, but it does seem incredibly slow. Btw, how long - roughly - is each game?

[xelement5x]

I really enjoyed the third game the most, when I finished I took a break from games for about a month because I was so satisfied with how everything got wrapped up. However, Xenosaga 2 is definitely the weakest entry of the three, but I think there are also places online that you can download all the custscene videos from if you really want to get a feel for the story.

What someone else said about 2 where you had to chain attacks in certain ways to knock down enemies is true. There's one battle with Albedo that was a pain in the butt when I first played the game because you needed to do some specific attacks in order to disable him and actually finish the battle if I remember correctly. I recommend the games if you have the time to sink into them, as they still look pretty good and if played via upscaling on a PS3 look very nice.

[Shulamana]

Played through Episode 1 back in 2003, picked up 2 and 3 about four years back but still haven't tried playing them. I guess I just don't want to take the time to re-play Episode 1 again, I barely remember it other than it being very long and convoluted.

[kupomogli]

The storyline and exploration aspect is good enough in the first game to cover for the terrible gameplay, but here's the only good thing I got out of preordering Xenosaga 2. The Xenosaga Movie DVD. It's four hours of the original Xenosaga cutscenes, cut in a way to be a four hour long full length movie. There is a little bit that's cut out and there are some parts that are shortened, but overall it's a very well rendition of the storyline from beginning to end.