We can only hope Namco(somehow) pick's this franchise up again and give's so many people what they so desperately NEED.

Even as this game may have been a bit long-winded, those that knew Xeno, knew it for It's story and the power it brought you.

Could this game have used work? Yes. However, it is still a great first episode and is STILL better than watching that god-awful graphic overdose bonus cinematic disk that came with the LE version of Episode 2.

I had the mixed reviews prior to getting this game, and I tend to side with the higher reviewers. It is like an interactive movie, but that's cool. Save points are in wierd places, but still quite frequent. The whole anti-gnosis concept infiltrating into the futuristic androids is a bit amusing. Am intrieged by this game and its humour and will most likely purchase the other 2 as well.

This game has an extremely engrossing story that involves a great amount of biblical and theological references. There is also so much detail in character development, we see why characters are the way they are, what events led them to walk the path they did. The graphics are anime style but are so smooth and look great. This review is short, but if you are very much satisfied by an in depth, well written, epic storyline with excellent character development, xenosaga must be given a chance by you. Although episode 2 does stumble and seems to step back a notch in story, the whole series, Episode 1-3, is of the most unique gaming experiences out there. Highly recommended!!

The fact that this game series did not fair as well as it should have may have something to do with the fact that it's in-depth storyline was above the head of probably 90% of those who played it. I do admit though, that the fact that this is more of an interactive movie may have turned off a lot of people. There are more and longer cutscenes than any other game I have played. This has to do with the fact that the story is the focal point here. The fact that we get to play certain parts of it is only gravy.

The complex storyline is hard to follow without repeated play throughs or trips to fan sites that help explain it. As a matter of fact the game contains a glossary of the many terms that are discussed throughout the game. If it wasn't for this the dialog would be too clunky from exposition to be enjoyable.

So what is the game about? So many things. Politics, religion, mankind's mortality, ethical issues concerning human beings and cloning, and on and on. The game's philosophical tone is highly influenced by the writings of Carl Jung and Nietzche. As a matter of fact each game in the series is named after one of his books. I don't want to go into too much detail as to spoil anything. The Zohar, an monolith artifact has been uncovered and everyone is after it for the power it will bring to them including Vector industries, a powerful military conglomerate, and U-tic, an undergroud organization with ties to Ormus, a fictional religious organization. All of this is built upon more in the later games in the series. This game is all about introducing our characters and the many organizations and terms that this series is about.

Sadly what was to be a 6 game series was cut down to 3 due to problems within Namco and lack of sales. The original creator was given leave after this game so while the other games have better graphics a lot of the magic seems to be lost. At least the series did it's best to close out the story line in a satisfying manner.

The voice acting isn't too bad. It's a lot better than most games, but can be grating at times. This game has the weakest graphics of the series but still is enjoyable. They were about on par with other games at the time, but many years have passed since it's release.

How about the game itself? Story aside, this is one of the better RPGs out there. The only problem being out short it is. Due to the long cutscenes there is really only 7 or so levels or dungeons, in the game. Way too short. Magic, or ether as it's called in this game, isn't as useful as it should be. There are very few attack spells and the way it's set up only one or two people can learn them and you have to use points to transfer them to other players. The support magic is very good though.

Go into this game knowing you will do just as much watching as you will actually playing. Don't be too quick to judge either. My bother hated this game at first and it's now one his favorites.

As screenshots and video clips and other Xenosaga media began to circulate, would-be fans all wiped the drool from their mouths in sync, as if part of the same collective mind. It would be the blockbuster that set new standards, not only in terms of story like its predecessor, but visually as well with luscious anime-esque character models rendered meticulously in real-time. Oh, it would be the second coming for sure...and best of all; it would only be part 1 of 6 scheduled games, ensuring a long-standing euphoria.

But was Xenosaga worth all the media and fan hype? That depends on your expectations. If you're open-minded to the idea of equal parts gameplay and cinema, and can tolerate uninspired and sometimes aggravating play mechanics, all for the sake of experiencing one of the greatest audio-visual presentations in gaming history, then Xenosaga is right up your alley. If graphics, music, and story are prioritized beneath the actual gameplay, then you may want to find a friend like that first type of gamer, and simply watch him or her play it. That way, you reap all the benefits, but suffer none of the annoyances.

Positive and negative aspects of this game:

+ Good, epic sci-fi story
+ Great anime art
+ Deep character advancement and combat system

- Really bad lip-synch

First off, this game has the MOST cut scenes I have ever seen in one game. The good news is, you can skip them if you like. Other than the extremly long cutscenes, the game is great.

This game is you basic turn based rpg which I rather enjoy. Gives me time to figure out what my next move will be. The enemies appear on your map so you always know if you're going to run into one. The enemies don't just pop up when you're walking around. I like that. Anyway, the characters are wonderful along with the graphics. Voice work couldn't have been better.

You learn cool techniques that you can even have your other team members learn. You can also transform into the really big machines(been a while since I've played it, I don't remember what they are called) but it's awesome.The side quests in the game are really fun also.

This games is really a must for any RPG lover. IF you can sit throught all the cutscenes and not get discouraged, this game is really great.

Ok....a cutscene here and there, ok........a cutscene every freakin time you move, that goes on for 45 minutes is NOT fun. My save game is clocked at 19 hours, and I'm sure I only played about 3 or 4 of those hours. And when I was playing all I was doing was running around!!!!!!!! How in god's name did you all give this game a 5?? You want a good game that's similart to this, Get shadow hearts (preferably 2) it's a THOUSAND times better. After playing that, you'll wonder how the hell you EVER gave this 5 stars, therefore convincing me to buy this AWFUL game.

I had more fun playing the Xenocard game than I did with the rest of it. And even that I got bored with.

Ok, I will start by simply saying I loved this game, it was a lot of fun, had a complex and compelling Sci-Fi story, and it had characters with depth to match the story. There has beeen an overwhelming shortage of decent Sc-Fi RPG's, and I'm happy to say this is the best one I've played since Star Ocean:the Second Story.

The layout of the game isn't complicated. The battle system is traditional turn based, and each charater has a different set of special moves that you can use to attack, and upgrade to cause more damaage. Encounters can be dodged by avoiding enemies and there special canisters in the environments that can be used to give you an edge against opponents. It doesn't seem like a wholee lot at firrst, but the turn based battle system became much more fun as I upgraded more and more special moves and soon had characteers that could devastate any enemy group. Even when my characters were this powerful, the game still posed a challenge. This is a place where the game strikes gold, it is one of the most balanced games in termes of ddifficulty. It is sharp enough to challenge you, but not so much as to have you breaking controllers off the wall. There are even some battles that you can't possibly win through brute force, and some of these encounters are done with very fragile characters. in these cases you'll have to use strategy too defeat your opponents, and this is something the developers did very well.

The story is absolutely incredible and very compelling. the story is very complex though, even I somtimes forgot what was going when i didn't play it for a couple of weeks. Still it has a deep richness of quality that the market is sadly lacking. The only reason i didn't givee this game aa perfect review is that the cinematic cutscenes suffer from Kojima syndrome. The cutscenes in this game rival and possibly excede the length of the cut scenes in the Hideo Kojima series Metal gear Solid. Metal gear Solid 2:sons off liberty had some of the most unruly and over extended cut scenes in game history. The cutscenes in thsi game are just as long, and some may be longer. With a story this complex, the long cutscenes are asking you to absorb a lot of information all at once. I didn't have a problem with this since I liked the story so much, but for the common gamer this is a bit of stretch. Despite tthis, it's a worrthy purchase

Beautiful graphics and an amazing story. What else would you expect from the former team that brought you Xenogears.

Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht has a challenging, but not overwhelming, battle system... in-depth character customization... interesting and memorable characters... and enough cut sequences to drive you bonkers. They're everywhere. There are more of these voice-acted invaders than there are Gnosis (a storyline-important type of monster) in some places. Fortunately, they're nowhere near as frustrating.

First, if you're really impatient or in danger of falling asleep without some serious Mountain Dew, you can always skip the cut sequences. That's a handy feature if you for any reason had to restart after watching fifteen minutes of cut scenes and would really rather not watch them again (of course, skipping isn't recommended if you haven't seen them before, as you may miss something important). Second, skip or no skip, you can still pause them. So if nature calls--or more like screams at--you, fear not. However, even with these very important and practical features, it sometimes feels like you're watching a movie, not playing a game. So how can you expect to keep entertained?

Well, even if some of the voices aren't top notch, and people's clothes and hair do materialize through other objects on rare occasions, the storyline and characters still make it feel like a good movie, not some made-for-video Disney sequel or something. The characters and plot are mysterious and captivating, and leave you hungry for more. Only the hardcore action-game-only gamers are likely to find the cinematics a major problem. But those types of gamers wouldn't likely pick up a turn-based RPG anyway.

That leaves just one more potential problem: if you buy this game, be prepared to buy II and III. It seems obvious from the title ("episode I"), but to be more specific, you will probably end the game with more questions than you started with. And it's the same way with the second one. So if you plan on playing any of them, you'll more than likely want to play all of them. The extra money involved in that is definitely something to keep in mind.

But if that's not an issue to you, I would encourage all fans of RPGs and good storylines to go ahead and pick up Xenosaga. It may seem like an interactive movie at times, but that's part of its charm.

I really like this game. nice drawn characters, descent story (looong cutscenes but thats a good one) but the end comes far too soon.
i played it within 50 hours the first time, including about 15 h of extra-leveling so netto playtime was about 35 h. therefore just 4 stars.

I have been a staunch Final Fantasy fan for years. While waiting for the newest release, which kept being pushed back, I tried out Xenosaga. Let me tell you, I am grateful I have!

This game is one of the most entertaining and interesting games I have ever played. The world is absolutely amazing and the characters are unique, not to mention a plot that has profound depth. You will fall in love....trust me. If you are looking for an rpg that will draw you in and keep you playing for hours, it is Xenosaga.

First off, as many people have said, the game is wonderful as a movie--less so as a game itself. I am not a habitual player of RPGs for the sake of their gameplay, however--I stray toward puzzle-solving and instant-action games along the lines of the Ecco the Dolphin and Metroid series, respectively--but I appreciate the intricate storytelling the genre allows for.

Xenosaga really goes overboard for the sake of its story--and there's nothing wrong with that. The game is pretentious, and open about being pretentious. The cast of characters are all, to a greater or lesser degree, mentally ill, from heroes to villains and back again. The story takes a sudden and whiplash-inducing turn in the last third of the game. The morality of decisions made are distinctly Nietzschean--which is to say, often amoral and confused. But--the critical but!--it's a wonderful story often BECAUSE of these facts.

If you'd like a good story to chew over and talk with your friends about (I'm still talking about it, three years after I was introduced to it!), buy this game. If you want instant action and a transparent storyline--eh, give it a try. It can't hurt anything. But understand--when you're going into it--that this is more of a movie than it is a game; the objective is to entertain, enlighten, and even disturb through the visual medium, not necessarily through the gameplay itself.

Oh, and, there's plenty of eyecandy for both the ladies and the gentlemen. Always a bonus. 8)

It's like a cross between Neon Genesis Evangelion and Ghost In The Shell. VERY COOL!!!!

Unfortunately Xenosaga I - Der Wille zur Macht is never come to Europe. But as the second Xenosaga (Jenseits von Gut und Böse) was released in Germany in November I was very happy.
So I played it and was impressed of this cool story and gameplay! I became a big Xenosaga-Fan. After that I imported the first part of the series from America.
Now I am playing it and I must say, that the first Xenosaga is much better than the second!!!! It's a great pity that Xenosaga Episode I never will be brought out in Germany and Europa!!
You Americans should be very happy, that so many RPGs come to your country ^_~

This game is good. It has an excellent story-line, great graphics, and an innovative battle system, but it is extremely difficult. It took me months to beat it, and I honestly can't recommend it. There was too much involved in beating it to really make me say it was worth it.

War has erupted between humans and an alien life force known as the Gnosis. Man is in danger if nothing is done soon. That's where Shion Uzuki, the designer for the Anti-Gnosis Weapons System known as KOS-MOS, comes in.

This game has a splendid opening, it really gets you thinking about life itself (the subtitle is also a book written by a philospher). Anyway, you start out on a space ship that is creating the ultimate weapon against the Gnosis. However, before completion the Gnosis attack your ship and KOS-MOS starts herself up by herself.

From then on, your basically thrown around to different areas, exploring multiple storylines and trying to figure out why everything is happening.

The graphics in this game are similar to that of an anime game. The characters have big googly eyes and look a little cartoonish (especially Shion). That's what really sets the mood for the game, though.

The battle system is really unique and unlike any I have tried. Basically you have physical or ether (like magic) attacks. If you choose to guard during a turn the AP gauge will go up, allowing you to do an extra, more powerful combo. Once you level up a lot, you'll gain more of these powerful end moves that will allow you to defeat stronger enemies. You're not limited to just the characters, you also have AGWS units, which are basically mechs.

I really was not disappointed in this game, I loved it better than any RPG (yes, even FFVII).

This a great game for the PS2 collection, I would highly recommend it.

I'm enjoying the game, it was in perfect condition when I received it. I haven't had the chance to play as much as I'd like, but I will!

it is very boring in the begining but it does pick up pace. if you are not a patient person like if you like a game like balders gate: dark allience. that game is packed with action. this is somewhat the opposite in the begining if you are a patient person like a harvest moon person then this will be a little more upbeat and well not so repetative. if you are patient get this game. if not...well you can try it but i don't know.

I just finished playing Xenosaga and I must say that it's one of the best RPG's I've ever played. Let me take you through my review of it....
Xenosaga is an RPG based in the future where mankind has spread and colonized the universe and battles internal strife as well as an alien race called the Gnosis. The best feature of Xenosaga is its story. It's huge, engrossing and simply amazing. It really is a surreal trip through an alternate reality. The next best thing are the characters. They are so well developed and each has their own backgrounds and history which are revealed through the story. There are no useless characters in the story; they all play a role and are brought to life through voice acting and dialogue.
Xenosaga's battle system is also a very nice change from the norm. It can be as simple or as complex as you want. It's filled with customizations, AGWS (giant robots), boosts, fiersome enemies, and some very nice features. The only thing that's unfair is that alot of the bosses way abuse the boost ability making it feel very cheap. And it's hard to use the various points and learn the ropes without really examining the various features, but it's still good once you get the hang of it.
One element of the game that's come under heavy fire is the cutscene method. You will be watching as much as you play. I guarantee it. But the story is so well done that I didn't mind. Xenosaga ain't for everyone: but if you want an amazing RPG with a one of a kind story, it's a crime not to play it. If only they had better integrated the movie and gameplay parts... but still, it's extremely impressive. The game graphics are still awesome after 2 years and the soundtrack is excellent even though I wish they would've played more of it over the course of the game.
The back of the Xenosaga case says that the game contains 80 hours of gameplay. Most gamers I have seen say it's around 60 hours, 40 if you're quick. I watched every cutscene, did alot of the side missions including most of the decodings, fought every boss and played through it all in only 30 hrs. Half the time alotted by gamers. Still, the game felt more than sufficiently long, and I was very happy with the ending.
My only complaint with it all that really irritated me involved the enemies. The enemies are almost always placed at the chokepoints so you're FORCED to fight them even though the idea of seeing them is that you're free to not fight them if you choose. Even if you're a good distance away, the warning sign goes off and the enemy chases after you, something I've never ever seen in any RPG that's use this system. It really becomes a game of cat and mouse as you try to outmanuever them and it becomes 5 times more frusturating when they catch you and you're forced into battle. Please follow the Chrono Cross model. This is absolutely ridiculous.
Xenosaga really is an RPG all on its own. It sticks to formulas, but mixes it up with its story. It's a must play. If you're scared, try it out anyway. I was scared of the cutscenes when I read reviews, but I never really noticed them because they were so well done. (Xenosaga movie anyone?)

Xenosaga the prelude to the Playstation game Xenogears is an excelent role playing game and sequel. If you have played Xenogears I highly recomend you get this game. This time its Shion playing the role of the main character in this incredible 3d adventure. Over 80 hours of amazing game play and hours of fun to watch FMV's. With detailed graphics and storyline and customizable characters makes this a fun and incredible game. For most RPGers out here this is far different from Final Fantasy. Some of the game tactics are the same but the fighting style is different and you can customize the characters to your own specifications. There are 6 differnt characters in the game along with things called A.G.W.S. there mobile fighting robot suits you get to contol. WOW! whats better than kicking the crap out of people with giant robots. The A.G.W.S are also customizable to your own specifications. So all in all its a well rounded game, you get a great story line, hours of fun game play, and best of all GIANT FIGHTING ROBOTS YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! So if your an RPG fan and your looking for something new i highly recomend Xenosaga Episode 1 Dur Wille Zur Macht.
I also highly recomend you play the whole series to fully understand the storyline, so also check out Xenogears for Playstation, and the recent release of Xenosaga Episode 2 Jenseits Von Gut Und Bose. I hope you found this review to be helpful.

Thank you and happy gameing.

first of all i like cutscenes...i even like long cutscenes...i like storys and movies so i like cutscenes...and i liked the cutscenes in this game but the thing that annoyed the hell outta me was the characters and design....Chaos: the skinniest anerexic looking boy ud ever seen..and he looks like a chick...AND HIS NAMES CHAOS...momo:a little robot girl that sometimes makes me wonder if she has the brain of an adult and wants to screw ziggy....and all the other characters have their little annoyances and none of them would really match being lead character...the only good characters were the ones on ur ship...the captain, the geek, and the one who hits on people...they were cool but if forgot their names..rpgs are all about story, dialog and characters...dialog is...idont remember the dialong(its been awhile)...story was "wat the hell is going on? why the hell am i doing this? why the hell is a scientist wearing a tight mini skirt"...characters was "damn thats a mini mini skirt...maybe if i duck my head under i can see her panties...even though shes not hot because i dont find women with eyes bigger than their head sexy, but im just perverted"

forgettable...oh and gameplay sucked..i hated the battles...the thing that kept me intrested was the enviroment..but now star oceans out..so screw this game

oh and did i mention the character jr?...hes a little boy with a cult following of women that call him little master..GAHHH, i hated this character most of all...EVER WANT TO GOUGE OUT A NON-EXISTANT PERSONS BIG EYES OUT???

(I'm really 15, but I forgot our password stuff.) Like I said in the title, the graphics ROCK. I've only been playing it for an hour, but, like one reviewer said, there are long cutscenes and I can tell that Namco (I think it is) really spent time and money on this game. I would have rated it four and a half stars, but they don't have those. The reason why I don't rate it five is because of the battle system. I'm sorry, but I just don't like turn-based battles. I mean, in a real battle, your enemies/you wouldn't wait until everyone got a turn, right? NO! It would be an all-out melee! The only PS2 game I've witnessed/have with a melee battle-system is Star Ocean III. (A great game, too, but the first disk is better than the second.) However, if you look past this flaw, it is really an awesome game. The opening scene is really great- it shows some of the backround of what happened to the planet. The graphics here, and at the other scenes, are FFX-grade. Yes, that's what I said. This game also has an ORIGINAL story-line. (Other reviewers- and the game summary- probably has this, so I won't elaborate.) Not your ordinary lets-save-the-world-for-the-1156765432nd-time-sort-of-game. Yes, yes, it probably runs along those lines (again, I'e only played this game for an hour, so don't blame me if I'm wrong) but the premises are really different.... I'll shut up, tho, with one last request- PLAY THIS GAME!!!! It's worth your twenty bucks and more.

This is a great game in my opinion, but not everyone will like it RPG fans will. I only say that becouse the cutscenes may be too long for some people. But of course you can skip them. This game has good graphics, a good innovative battle system. Oh yeah and if your in a big place in the game you might get lost and want to give up. I think this game is somewhat better than Final Fantasy becouse it doesen't have that "Random Battle" element. This game will keep you playing for awhile becouse the bosses take a while to beat. Over all this is a pretty good game, but remember its not for everyone.

After playing through Xenogears a few times on the PSX in the past, I must admit I was a bit sceptical when I first started to play Xeonsaga. Xenogears was a great game with one of the most interesting (and equally confusing) plots I felt ever had graced a video game. Unfortunately, the game was far what I would a truely "fun" experence, due to its sheer length and the level of player awareness it took to get the most out of it.

After I started to play Xenosaga, all my worries dissapeared. The storyline was amazing and on par with Xenogears, and I was pleased to see that it was free of that "cram this all this story in one game and/or disc" feeling that Xenogears had. While half the game is easily cut scenes, and the other half basically consisting battles, this didn't seem to bother me as much as some people.

The character development and the battle system seemed over-complicated to me at first, as having three kind of points to distrubute among your characters different abilities made me wonder if I could manage this, but it quickly became second nature. Battle itself is easy enough to learn, though the fact you only obtain money from certain enemies, while realistic, was somewhat annoying, as I had to build up my money every-so-often because I missed out on some of those investment e-mails.

The only thing I though wasn't up to par in Xenosaga was the soundtrack. Now don't get me wrong, there are some wonderful pieces, such as KOS-MOS' fighting theme, the final battle theme (that violin is just soothing), and the appearence the song Greensleves. The rest of the music, even boasting the fact it was performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra on the back of the case, just didn't do it for me. Also consider the fact the musical score doesn't play continously during gameplay like in most RPG's, as the world of Xenosaga is sometimes so quiet you can hear a pin drop. The music is ok, but one will quickly realize that Yasunori Mitsuda did more with less on Xenogears' wonderful soundtrack.

Before I wrap this up, I would really love to know how this game got a Teen rating from the ESRB. Not that I'm an advocate of the ESRB or anything, but honestly, there are some scenes (one in particular involving a non-player character strangling a little girl) that just makes me wonder how much money did Namco bribe the ESRB with.

All that aside, I would recommend Xenosaga to anyone that likes RPG's and has the time to kill. Don't let the complex character development system and complex story put you off.

This is the best PS2 game I have ever played.

The graphics are great. In other rpgs I noticed that the graphic are kinda "blocky". Not in this game!

The story is good AND original.

The characters are very original with their own stories and their own special abilites and personalities. There are mysteries that leave you very curious and you make your own theories.

The battle system is similar to the Final Fantasy games- you have a party and the good guys and the enemies take turns attacking. There are different skills that you can earn and there are awesome tech attacks.

The music is also very enoyable and is performed by a real orchestra.

Long story short, this is a game that any rpg lover should purchase. I was nervous about buying this and I wasn't sure if I would like but I was hooked in an instant. The music, graphics, characters, and the story all get 5/5.

I am going to keep this review short. This is a great game. Has interesting characters, deep story and I mean deep, and great music. The movie scenes are very long but since story and gameplay are very important to me, I don't mind at all. Falls short against the likes of Xenogears but then again, what doesn't. Looking foward to Xenosaga II.

Back in 1998, Square released Xenogears, a massive game that caused a stir due to its heavy religious and philosophical overtones. It was also a great RPG with some memorable scenes and a rather interesting but heavily complicated story. Flash forward couple years and Monolith announces that they're making a "prequel" to Xenogears, and it'll come out in 5 parts and probably span 3 systems by the time they're all finished. Reason why I say prequel in quotes is that it's not an official prequel like Resident Evil Zero let's say.

Story: The story picks up when archeologists find a massive artifact somewhere in Africa. Many many years later it's discovered in space and a ship captures it with some casualties due unknown energy. Meanwhile, Shion Uzuki is developing KOS-MOS, a Realian(basically human-like robots) that could fight off the Gnosis, a ghost-like alien race that absorbs the energy of whatever it touches and crystallizes them and shatters them. They're like ghosts so you can't shoot the things, so that's where KOS-MOS comes in. Of course, the Gnosis attack and they have to escape the ship and that leads them on a quest on finding out what was that artifact and what the Gnosis are after.

Graphics: Took a long time in development so the graphics don't have that finesse of Final Fantasy X but it looks pretty good.

Music/Sound: Done by Yasunori Mitsuda(Chrono Trigger/Cross, Xenogears) and with the London Philharmonic Orchestra so the arrangements are definately epic...whenever you hear them anyway. Levels tend to be devoid of music sometimes so all you hear is your footsteps going "clank clank".

Gameplay: Pretty much typical RPG-fare. Going into A.G.W.S(pronounced like eggs) take the replacing of gears and they're the same thing only different name. Unlike in Xenogears, enemies appear on screen and also there's damage effects where you can lead them somewhere, blow something up and the resulting explosion will provide a bonus for you in the fight.

As for the cutscenes? There's a LOT. Well, I'll put it this way: there's cutscenes but they're not like 50 5 minute ones, more like 20 15-30 minute ones. Seriously, some of these seemingly go on forever. You'll be hard-pressed to ask "oh, I can play now?" Then you play for 10 minutes and there's another one! Go you! You're watching a movie with some gameplay thrown in. But honestly? The plot's so interesting-and just like Xenogears, oh so complicated-that you wouldn't mind but then you start getting itchy fingers and want to play some more.

I often found books to be the best form to tell a story. You can be as long as you want like Wheels of Time, which still hasn't ended or short like Lord of the Rings with just 3 books. You can't see it and that's where games come in. With Xenosaga, this would be one of the most interesting and longest books in quite awhile, but because it's a game, you have to actually play it to get there.

This wonderful,innovative rpg is one of those games that will remembered through generations. Here is an analysis.

Graphics - the graphics of this game are done anime style and are done extremely well. Proper facial expressions are done accurately and details are wonderful. Even when moving in third person, the characters are designed beautifully.

Storyline - one of the best. Although a little difficult understanding the terms in the beginning, this does not take away at all out of the motion of the game. Many times through this game, you will sit back and wonder how the creators ever thought about all these specific details. The game remains on the storyline except for a few instances when you are able to do something extra.

Characters - The characters' lives are done with utter amazement. You will truly feel that you personally know these characters throughout the course of this game. And to think, this is only the first game out of several to come in this series.

Sound - This is the only logical thing that a citic can have something bad on. The music is not horrible, it just could of done better. You hardly notice it through the course of the game though.

Battles - The battle system is one of the most unique in rpg's. The battle sysem is based on "turns" like FFX. I personally like this usage over ordinary battles where everything happens "all at once". The reason being is that this way, you can plan your strategy accurately and therefore make the most use out of your battle options. I really enjoyed running into battles for the sake of exploring all the different techniques I could do in battle.

The only thing honestly I can say that should be improved besides the music is the lip syncing. The movement of the mouth does not quite match the dialogue. The voiceovers were terrific even though Shion Uzuki sounded ditsy. Other reviews may have denounced the religious part of this game, which I dont understand why. If anything, it gives the game a greater depth.
Overall, this is one of the best games ever created. One might say that this ranks as high an rpg as Halo does first person shooters. I advise you to not read the reviews that give this under 4 stars because they clearly cannot define a great game when they see one.

If your RPG has a character index and terms glossary built into the game, you can figure you've got a pretty complicated game. Unfortunatly, this doesn't always mean a -fun- game.

This game is a prequel in spirit to the PS1 rpg Xenogears, and features mostly the same combat mechanic of stringing together button presses to make combos. It also features long cutscenes with a heavy empathsis on foreshadowing and mentioning characters and terms who don't show up until hours later into the game.

The graphics are impressive, and the music is one of the few I've heard in an RPG that hasn't made me want to cut off the sound. (I wish I could turn off character voices, however). There's too much leveling up and enemy imbalance, though and the ending is mostly a let down.

Despite all that, the game feels longer than the 20-30 hours it takes you to play though (perhaps due to all the gambling for coin and leveling up needed). But is still a head-scratching, make you say huh?, enjoyment.

Ask yourself, why play RPG? I assume it's for the story. So what if they are long? I hope they are longer (and I REALLY hope the game will come out as a novel someday... After all, the person who wrote the story first wrote it as a piece for reading). The story is engaging; the characters are well protrayed; background music and vioce acting are nicely done; it is a masterpiece in every aspect. You cannot call yourself a RPG player without playing this game through and through. Play it, be engulfed, and you won't regret it. Moreover, since the game is in such low-price, what excuses do you have to refuse?? After you are done with the EPISODE I, the second EPISODE is waiting for you...

This game has it's good points; good animation, music, decent characters, original story line.
On the other hand, the plot is insanely complicated, and the voice acting is kind of silly. The boss fights aren't very hard, but there are many annoying little battles in each level. It must be reiterated, the cut scenes are very long and very boring. Therefore, what little time you actually spend in control isn't much fun anyway.
On a lesser note, the story is pretty dark. Which could be good or bad depending on what you like.
I don't think this is a bad game despite it's flaws. Don't expect a masterpiece, but it's entertaining enough to fill a weekend when you don't have much else to do.

this is a grait game. I can't what for epesod 2 to come out.

The increased use of drama is what made Final Fantasy 4 a successful formula, well over a decade ago. It encouraged a new type of RPGs never before experienced. I am truly surprised how well Namco was able to reenergize that essence. The events aboard the Woglinde are an amazing mix of storytelling and gameplay unlike any before. No doubt this will earn a lot of envy.

I've read many negative opinions about Xenosaga. None of them are true. RPGs have a long history of requiring patience--that's not a surprise. Some of the greatest RPGs had long intermissions, like Final Fantasy 6 or 7. They emphasized the story elements over anything else, and it worked!

However, I did notice that the second half of Xenosaga had a few too many ordinary battles between story events, which would become a little tiresome and dull, compared to the very energetic first half of Xenosaga.

Voice acting is very good, with voices of all characters well matched. There are a few obvious lip sync errors, but they are easy to overlook, especially since there is a lot of nonstop drama early on for many hours. The subtitles cannot be turned off, but I didn't find them disrupting.

I liked the battle music a lot. It was well matched to the setting of a cosmic RPG. I never tired of it. I expected it to change for the main battles, but that's only because every Final Fantasy game has done so in the past--no big deal. Some battles with main enemies were engaging, requiring all-out preparation and sometimes no-mistake tactics, which reminded me of some tougher battles of FF 4, like the Leviathan battle.

I respect Namco's willingness to write the story before making the series. If Capcom had written their general Resident Evil story more clearly sooner, they wouldn't have gotten themselves into such a deadlock over what to do next. They used up many interesting characters, only to recreate similar ones again, which makes the overall story look uncohesive and repetitive. The same problem goes for Konami's Metal Gear series. These companies need to write the story a few games ahead or risk getting into trouble later on.

The emails were a very nice comic relief. I noticed they were very well timed--a very nice touch. Yes, the spectacular cinemas can be skipped. This is useful, if you find yourself redoing a scene due to a lost battle. Ordinary battles can seem long only because it isn't obvious at first into which skills to invest. There are several ways to go.

The time to complete the game depends on the player. I'm not a big fan of side quests, so I only completed a few of them. Linear gameplay is the thing. It is what makes a great RPG, always has.

I respect Squaresoft a lot, especially for their FF X, but the first part of Xenosaga is actually what makes Xenosaga more spectacular than any Final Fantasy game I have ever played. I think of the first hours of Xenosaga to be much like the first minutes of FF X. Spectacular and involving. Namco will either stay with this successful original formula or steer Xenosaga 2 into a black hole. It all depends on who they listen to. Competition is welcome to have their opinions about Xenosaga too.