Average Rating: 
Rating: - For the record, this is NOT a Xenogears prequel
Anyone playing Xenosaga with the hopes of it being directly related to Xenogears must be warned... it isn't.However, it IS the creation of the same force who created Xenogears, the husband and wife team of Tetsuya Takahashi (story, script) and Kunihiko Tanaka (story, character design.) It's VERY similar to Xenogears in many ways. They've taken the same backstory, themes, and ideas and laid an entirely new plot on top of it. Both deal with the discovery of the Zohar, humanity leaving earth (Lost Jerusalem) and seeking a new planet to call home (New Jerusalem) and a myriad of past events which are referred to by the characters in the story. However, the epic of which Xenogears was episode 5 centered around the creation and ultimate destruction of Deus, and Xenosaga doesn't even mention it. Anyone who's read the "Xenogears Perfect Works" book knows that Episode 1 of the Xenogears story was ENTIRELY ABOUT the creation of Deus. The remaining episodes were about different generations of humans which were created by Deus. If Deus doesn't even exist in Xenosaga, there's simply no way the two games are going to literally and directly connect. EDIT 1/6/2003: It recently occured to me that it would be interesting and cool if perhaps the entire Xenosaga series (6 chapters?) ended with the creation of Deus. I'm not predicting this, though. Nevertheless, Xenosaga is going to be instantly familiar and pleasing to Xenogears fans, it was definitely cut from the same cloth and shares a lot of common threads. "Spiritual prequel" might not be too inappropriate. Just don't expect to see Chu-Chu flirting with Fei when we get to Xenosaga Episode 5, 'cause it ain't gonna happen. Xenosaga is "smaller" than Xenogears. It's a shorter game, first of all. Xenogears took me over 80 hours to finish, while Xenosaga took me "only" over 50 hours. There are fewer locales to visit, with less variety (the entire story takes place in deep space, on spaceships and spacestations.) There are fewer playable characters. It doesn't have four entire chapters of backstory to be exposed through the course of the game, as Xenogears did. But while it can't quite measure up to the sheer epic scope of Xenogears, it's the beginning of a new story, a very complex and intriguing one. Xenosaga pushes the envelope of cinematic gaming. There are a couple of non-interactive sequences which are an 45 minutes to an entire hour long. If you're one of those who saying things like "I prefer to PLAY my games, not WATCH them" then you should steer clear. There's a lot to watch in Xenosaga. But the story and characters are interesting and the scenes are well executed and presented, so personally I had no problem with it.
Rating: - Buy xenosaga buy it buy it buy it buy it NOOOW!
Xenosaga looks like a rpg that may actually be able to compare to Final Fantasy X. Any Rpg nut like myself, probably already pre-ordered it but if not do it now! Everything about the game looks amazing if you don't believe me go to gamespot or ign then you'll now how amazing it is. Now stop reading the and go to ... The game's battle system is turn based. The battles have awsome speacial effects. The garphics are amazing. The game takes about 80 hours to be.
Rating: - Shaking, and re-shaping the RPG world
Xenosaga ( the spiritual prequel to Xenogears, which was released by Squaresoft on the PSX ) is an RPG of epic preportions. Like Xenogears before it, Xenosaga comes ready to provide its gaming audience with an incredible storyline, great character development, and stellar graphics. The game is said to be a 50 hour endeavor, and is certain to keep you interested as you trek through its huge tale ( complete with the longest cutscenes ever to grace a game - many exceeding 45 minutes in length ). This game is definately the second coming of the RPG; not since FFX has the gaming community seen a game with such high production values. The game also includes english voices ( which up to this point seem quite good ).As for the controvery concerning this games content, I will be glad to clarify. One scene ( that takes place fairly late in the game ) that involves the games villian and a main character has been altered to remove a suggested sexual relationship. Regardless of this one alteration ( which is being handeled by the game makers themselves ) the game retains its surprisingly over-the-top violence, language, and controversial religious themes. How namco was able to convince the ESRB to give this game a Teen rating is beyond me. Have a question? email me. gregs_anime@yahoo.com.
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