Xenosaga Episode II

[SoulBlazer]

So, did anyone else get this today? Thoughts so far? I'm off to the mall now to get mine. :D

I really did'nt think I'd like Episode 1, as I'd heard it was more movie then gameplay and Xenogears was a good but not great game in my mind. I rented the game one weekend a few months after it came out, though, and fell in love with it. Yes, there is a lot of movie scenes, but still a lot more gameplay. The main reason I play RPG's is for story anyway, so I liked the anime scenes. It was great hearing music done by the LSO, and the difficulty level was quite good.

I picked up the pre-order bonus of the DVD, with the movie scenes from Episode 1, this last weekend. It's okay, but they chopped something like a third of all of the scenes out of it. Still, if you have'nt played the game, it's good enough to allow you to grasp what's going on.

I've read Namco even threw us westerners a bone -- since Episode 1 sold better in the west then in Japan, they changed the charcters look in Episode 2 to a more 'realistic' style as opposed to the 'anime' style of the first game. But Kojima has also said that his MGS games have always sold better in the west also, and he tailored some parts of the games for that.

At least I know I'll be busy for a week or so. :D

[DynastyLawyer]

From what I've heard in reviews, Xenosaga II had reviewers pining for the days of yore (Xenosaga I.)

May God have mercy on your soul.

[Richter]

eh, waiting for a price drop. ep2 is less than 1/2 the length of ep1 -.-

[orangemage]

eh, waiting for a price drop. ep2 is less than 1/2 the length of ep1 -.-

what? is that true, why the hell would the cut the playtime down like that.

[Richter]

less movie watching?

[Daria]

I've read Namco even threw us westerners a bone -- since Episode 1 sold better in the west then in Japan, they changed the charcters look in Episode 2 to a more 'realistic' style as opposed to the 'anime' style of the first game.

That sounds pretty retarded... don't most people who buy PSX RPGs like that sort of thing to begin with (anime I mean). I haven't played either game so I don't know exactly how the characters were changed but that sounds like, although well meaning, a pretty degrading bonus feature.

[sisko]

From what I've heard in reviews, Xenosaga II had reviewers pining for the days of yore (Xenosaga I.)

May God have mercy on your soul.

My God thats horrendous. I didn't think it could get worse than ep 1.

I have no desire to play ep 2 after the gigantic letdown that ep 1 turned out to be, I only want to see how the story progresses. I'll end up snagging it when it drops to $15 used. If that takes two years, then so be it.

I really should go replay Gears......

[DynastyLawyer]

I really should go replay Gears......

Yes, yes you should.

[SoulBlazer]

I did'nt read any reviews and I have no intrest in doing so. I prefer to make my own judgenents, thank you very much. :)

The Xenosaga team went through major shakeup after the first game in the series was done -- look at articles on Kid Fenris website for more information. So I'm not surprised about the graphic changes. Personaly, since I don't like anime, I'd much rather have a more realsitic look (one of the things I really liked in FF8 and other RPG's that had realistic looking charcters). Shion looks TOTALLY different in this one as opposed to the first game, and many of the other people had other changes.

Xenogears was a good game, but like FF7, I think is overhyped.

Anyway, let's keep the thread to other people who bought or rented the game and have played it, please? :D

[maxlords]

Darn. I want to play it...but I'll probably just wait for the DVD synopsis you can preorder with Episode 3 LOL Easier...

[kainemaxwell]

So, how's it play folks?

[PDorr3]

I can only see myself buying this is the bargain bin in EB games as I did not enjoy the first one enough as like stated, theres not enough gameplay. I will get it eventualy as I do like the well developed characters.

[SoulBlazer]

And I got about 40-50 hours of actuall GAMEPLAY out of Episode 1, which is enough for me. :)

How does it play? Eh.....I keep getting called on to do other things then going to the living room where the systems are. LOL I'm heading over there now, promise! ;)

[djbeatmongrel]

i was so hyped for this game and it disappoints me a lot. although i will play through for the story and the cinematics, the most integral part of the gameplay, the battle system is crappy compared to EP 1. The characters dont have any personallity when it comes to their attacks and their learnable skills are accessible for everyone so every character plays relatively the same. :angry:

the new voice actors and the less anime like characters can be overlooked but the battle system is just bad. :shameful:

all i can say is play for the story and the cinematics, thats all this installment has going for it in my opinion.

[SoulBlazer]

Actually, I like the battle system. It's really not any different then in the first one. The one major change is that instead of the mechs being called on some stages are done as mech-only. Yes, it is a bit simpiler in structure then in the first game but that's fine with me, it's easier to use. ;)

I put in a few hours and like it so far. The graphics are even better then in the first game, the music is passable at least, controls are easy, plenty of optional things to do again, and the story picks up literaly right where it left off in the first game.

Yes, it does seem like most of the voice actors were repalced, sad to say. I think only the people who voiced Jr., chaos, and some of the NPC's are the same as the first one.

You still have the original six party members, plus you can also play Jin, the older brother of Shion, who uses a sword.

If you like the first game in any form (for story or gameplay) it's worth playing this one.

[Eternal Tune]

Yes, it does seem like most of the voice actors were repalced, sad to say. I think only the people who voiced Jr., chaos, and some of the NPC's are the same as the first one.

NOSE NOSE NOSE! I just picked up my copy a few hours ago and I keep wanting to bang my head against the wall due to chaos's new voice actor. I'm prolly one of the few people who enjoyed the voice over for chaos in episode 1. His new VA was the first thing I noticed and I can't seem to get over it. No emotion. I'm not really lusted over Xenosaga anymore....shame to cause I adore the original, cut scenes and all.

PS - Skill developement SUCKS. You should never change a good system that works.

/me cries

[SoulBlazer]

So it IS someone else. I was'nt sure but I thought it was the same guy. Still, three years later, I agree it's a shame that they can't get most of the same people back but understandable.

Once again I'm the only person who likes a game. Oh well. :P

[Eternal Tune]

So it IS someone else. I was'nt sure but I thought it was the same guy. Still, three years later, I agree it's a shame that they can't get most of the same people back but understandable.

Once again I'm the only person who likes a game. Oh well. :P

I'm sure I'll enjoy it, but I heard its pretty much a let down as far as clearing up "unsolved mysterious" from the first game. Wanna see what the deal is with chaos? Sorry gotta wait until episode 3. I think a lotta this story will focus on Jr and Albedo...or so thats what I read.

I have more of a chance to settle down and snuggle with the game this weekend and nitpick it somemore. Need to make an EB run and see if they got the LE strategy guides, since Gamestop isn't getting theirs until next week. Plus I'm a bit upset over Gamestop trying to screw me outta the preorder DVD. We shall see if they come in next week or if I should look up a customer service number. If anyone has an extras or whatnot, give me a PM, it would be most appreciated.

[SoulBlazer]

There was a LE strategy guide? I did not know that! :/ I bought the regular one with the game. Oh well.

The story is just as good as the first one, and the graphics are really great for a PS2 game. Yes, I agree the battle system is dumbed down in this one but combat is still fun. And from what I've seen, Jr. and Albedo do make up a lot of story -- but so do the strained relationship between Shion and Jin., the weird relationship between MOMO and Dr. Mizhari, and Allen continuing to lust after Shion like a puppy. :P

(I can't knock him too much though -- Allen was one of my most favorite NPC's in a game)

I should warn you -- the difficulty level of the game takes a HUGE leap upward not very far in. I don't think this is spoiling anything since you knew from the ending of Episode 1 that Albedo implanted something in MOMO to kick in next time she connects to the network. After the first easy couple of missions, you do a dive into MOMO and WHOA, these enemies kicked my ass all the way from here to Cleveland. :eek 2: I'm going to need to rack up some levels and skill points, I can see......

Well, at least I can't say it's as easy as the first one. :)

[EnemyZero]

not that episode 1 was HORRIBLE but i put alot on it since xenogears was so amazing. after i beat ep 1 i had to play gears to clense my soul, maybe i will buy ep2 when it drops in price

[kainemaxwell]

Must finish episode 1! AHHH!

[Eternal Tune]

not that episode 1 was HORRIBLE but i put alot on it since xenogears was so amazing. after i beat ep 1 i had to play gears to clense my soul, maybe i will buy ep2 when it drops in price

Thats the thing that always amazes me. Xenosaga is not Xenogears. No matter how many times people close their eyes and wish it to be, its never gonna happen. Why not just enjoy a very good cinematic driven game? Episode 1 had an excellent story, interesting characters and a unique skill system. Hell I adore Xenogears, but the fact that Xenosaga isn't "OMG XENOGEARS EP 1" isn't gonna make me look down on it and jump onto the fanboys cries of FEI FEI FEI.

[Bug]

g077A FINSH FIRS7 EPs0d3 FIR57!!! \/\/0\/\/!!

[SoulBlazer]

Well said, ET. :D

It's one thing if you don't like the game. Fine, I understand that. It's also one thing if you don't like Episode 2. Even I admit Episode 2 is a bit weaker then Episode 1, although still a great game. But games don't deserve to always get compared to others even when some of the same people work on it.

As for length of the game -- it does come on two DVD's this time....so it seems just as long as the first one, although right now I'm still working on my skills. :D

[djbeatmongrel]

i dont know about most but my comparison is between EP 1 and 2, xenogears is its own lil entity :)

[hezeuschrist]

I just finished this last night after an absolutely epic end boss battle (sans epic music though... that sucked). Three 25 minute tries and he finally falls! Seriously rewarding, as was defeating Orgulla (no spoiler, she's completely invisible until you fight her).

Anyways, the story and characters are as strong as ever, but the combat took a serious dive. It's certainly not as bad as some people are making it out to be, but it's rating at gamerankings.com is just about right. The game took me about 29 hours to finish over a couple weeks, and really I don't mind it being about 10 hours shorter than the first one. The game is intensely formulaic so I can only handle so much of, *half hour of story* *two hour dungeon* *half hour story* *two hour dungeon*. Some of the puzzles are intuitive and clever, but a good half of them are there for artificial endtime extension.

Speaking of artificial extension, what the hell is with those GS Quests? Jesus Hebrew Christ, those are the absolute worst fetch quests I've gone through ever, and they easily extended my completion time by over 5 hours. I wouldn't have bothered if some of the items you get from them weren't so damn nice. The Segment Files were alright and had plenty of backtracking to them as it was, but these were rediculous. One of them actually had me go from the Kukai Foundation to Second Miltia EIGHT TIMES. If you've played the game you know how annoying it can be to travel from place to place, you move like a fucking tank onscreen.

Anyways, if you're into it and aren't feeling it, stick it through to the end. The end of the second to last dungeon all the way through the ending had some of the absolute most fantastic visuals and plotlines I've ever seen in a game. The bland battle system was annoying up until the end, the skill sets SUCKED, 80% of the skills were totally worthless. I didn't use ANY level 4 skills and only used one level 3 skill, but the last dungeon had a great level of difficulty. Not so much a "JESUS CHRIST THATS TOTAL BULLSHIT" level of difficulty, but a "Oh come the fuck on!" level that upon conquering, was mighty satisfying. I almost gave up on the end boss, but I was able to search around the skills enough to manage a final stand. I don't know if I'd go as far to say that the final dungeon redeemed the whole game, but it certainly was the most entertaining portion of the game.

Absolutely looking forward to the third game.