Xenosaga: Ep 2 details

[kainemaxwell]

Speaking to someone at gamestop today, in-between Halo 2 calls, the guy was telling me a few gameplay details of Xenosaga: Episode 2:

-Movie to gameplay ratio about the same from Ep 1.
-Cannot use saved games from Ep 1 in Ep2: everything's gone! Only thing that transfers are the swimsuits(??)
-Attack system is something with combination attacks, I guess like Legend of Legia. ex: Fighting a boss, has a weak point. Char A does combo attack to hit, which sets up Char B to attack same weak point.
-Items, weapons and armor obtained from npcs and fighters. Which means conserving items is a must.
-Coming out Feb 2005.

[SoulBlazer]

So what's the point in having a Game Completed save from Episode 1? All that carries over are SWIMSUITS?????

x_x

Oh well. I really enjoyed Episode 1 and I'll happily get Episode 2 when it comes out.

[kainemaxwell]

What is the deal with the swimsuits excatly??

[Kilik Kurosawa]

not a hj but this made me think of Animal crossing and if i will loose my whole town with items and all....seems pointless sometimes having all of these full memory cards wishing for some backwards compatability.

[Daria]

Speaking to someone at gamestop today.

So basically this information might as well be treated as rumour. I wouldn't get pissed off about the save thing just yet.

[Promophile]

erm... the game IS out in JP. I believe transfering the swimsuits means you get swimsuit costumes for the female characters.

[Daria]

Oh right. That's what I get for posting under the influence of NyQuil.

[SoulBlazer]

Hopefully it's more then just that. You HAVE to be able to import your save for SOMETHING beyond that. Maybe it will get changed with the US release.

So yeah, I won't get excited about it yet.

I just hope in this one Alan gets the guts to tell Shion how he feels.

[Daria]

Hopefully it's more then just that. You HAVE to be able to import your save for SOMETHING beyond that. Maybe it will get changed with the US release.

So yeah, I won't get excited about it yet.

I just hope in this one Alan gets the guts to tell Shion how he feels.

I saw one cheat site that listed the save file swap as a means to unlock a bonus dungeon. But I don't have any idea if it's true or not.

[kainemaxwell]

And the guy I talked to is Asian, hense him playing Ep 2 already likely.

[Daria]

And the guy I talked to is Asian, hense him playing Ep 2 already likely.

O.o

Unless you live in Japan that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

[Promophile]

Hopefully it's more then just that. You HAVE to be able to import your save for SOMETHING beyond that. Maybe it will get changed with the US release.

So yeah, I won't get excited about it yet.

I just hope in this one Alan gets the guts to tell Shion how he feels.

Swimsuit costumes are enough for me. Swimsuits.... Mmmmmm.

[kainemaxwell]

Ok, floated over to IGN, what the Gamestop guy said was true on most.

IGN talks battle system:
http://ps2.ign.com/articles/509/509952p2.html

IGN's final thoughts on Jap release:
http://ps2.ign.com/articles/526/526053p1.html

[SoulBlazer]

Nothing mentioned on the IGN articles about the saves carring over.

Of course, some of that information seems wrong. Unless they changed it from the Japanese to American release, you COULD skip cut scenes in Episode 1.

The graphics do look very good, and the gameplay sounds as fun as the first one, but it sounds like, as true with GTA San Andreas, the PS2 is being pushed to it's limits.

Feb 15th is'nt far off from what I perdicted over a year ago -- Christmas 2004.

And swimsuits? I don't recall that being a option or a bonus in Episode 1. We DID get that nice scene of Shion in a bikini, a la DOA: XBV, but that was it.

[kainemaxwell]

Gameplay does sound really fun, and like Soulblazer said, Ep 2's gonna push the PS2 to its limits which is great. Only slight concern I may have is the aspect of obtaining items, reminds me alot of FF8.

[Promophile]

Nothing mentioned on the IGN articles about the saves carring over.

Of course, some of that information seems wrong. Unless they changed it from the Japanese to American release, you COULD skip cut scenes in Episode 1.

The graphics do look very good, and the gameplay sounds as fun as the first one, but it sounds like, as true with GTA San Andreas, the PS2 is being pushed to it's limits.

Feb 15th is'nt far off from what I perdicted over a year ago -- Christmas 2004.

And swimsuits? I don't recall that being a option or a bonus in Episode 1. We DID get that nice scene of Shion in a bikini, a la DOA: XBV, but that was it.

When Japanese sites were reviewing Episode 2 I read part of a translated section. In part 2 there ARE swimsuit costumes. I remeber something about getting them in a minigame. Now in episode 1 there WERE swimsuits, but when you wore them the character models didnt change.


Heres an interesting fact. In the Japanese version of Episode 1 you can rotate the camera while in the equip menu and look up the skirts / pants of the characters. In the US version it was taken out.

[DynastyLawyer]

Ever read Three Kingdoms? The hero's son, Liu Shan, could probably be a real hardcore dude and assist his friends to take over China after his father's death, but instead, he chooses to play chess and spend time with his harem, resulting in the forces of evil being victorious.

The Xenosaga franchise is kind of like Liu Shan, but instead of being distracted by the admirable pursuits of chess and women, it makes the target of it's interests laughable characters and technobable. The movie to gameplay ratio revelation is enough to make me want to wait until it reaches 15 bucks before I even consider watching it.

[SoulBlazer]

Yes, well, we've heard THAT argument enough times. I don't much care, I enjoyed the really nice movie scenes.

And I'm not surprised that camera was changed for the US release.