04/14/05 >> Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose

Genre: Console RPG

Developer: Monolith Soft

Publisher: Namco

Official Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose (XS2) is the newest installment in the Xenosaga series that Namco brought to America. The game picks up where the last left off.

 

Xenosaga is meant to be an epic expanded over a story of 6 episodes. Naturally one would expect the story to be vast and expanding. XS2 holds true to the story and progresses the plot at a steady rate. Note that if you didn't play the first game, you might be lost when playing XS2. It throws you straight into the game assuming you knew the characters beforehand.

 

 

XS2 has gotten almost a complete overhaul from the first game. They've eliminated the money system, save for one sidequest, and Monolith Soft decided to leave out the Unus Mundus Database, which explained a lot in the first game. Dungeons sometimes are long and often contain many puzzles which are more of a chore than any fun. For combat, even though the system was completely changed, still remains fun. Characters no longer have individual skills but learn from one skill set. Battle itself is divided into two types, robot combat and character combat. These two are separated; you cannot get into a robot during character combat like in XS1. Battles in Xenosaga are never easy battles you can finish quick, like in Suikoden or Final Fantasy, but actually emphasize on use of tactics.

 

Random battles can take as long as 10 minutes and you can breeze by these battles without thinking. Some boss battles are extremely hard, requiring you to prepare certain skills in advance in order to combat the boss and using many tactics during combat to defeat the boss. From my experience, battles can last an hour. (There was a battle that took me an hour an a half.) The Segment File side-quest still remains and a new sidequest, the Global Samaritan Campaign, has been added which requires you to help people around the world of XS2.

 

 

XS2's graphics have changed slightly from XS1, more notably the eyes, which have been changed to make it look less "anime" like. The graphics are still splendid; very few awkward motions. Some of the fine details need work, like the characters fingers, which was quite blocky. Emotions were displayed fine and the robots looked very detailed. Walking still seems a little off, but worked fine.

 

They've replaced some of the voice actors in XS2. Some of the character voices in XS2 seem a bit whinier and forced than in XS1. Battle noises sounded like it was actually happening and voices in combat were sort of awkward. Some lines were rushed and some were mumbled. Music in Xenosaga 2 still remains excellent like it did in XS1. Some songs were really excellent and really put you in the situation.

 

 

Overall it was a nice and challenging RPG for the Playstation 2. Not recommended for beginners of RPGs, you're better off starting with Final Fantasy. For veterans of RPGs, this game could really fit your bill. With few issues, Xenosaga 2 is a very good game to own if you enjoyed the first. If you didn't get the first game, I'd seriously recommend getting the first game before playing the second.

 

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Game Score: 8.6

Fans of the first XenaSaga should love this second outing. Newcomers may want to rent it first.

 

Developer Grade: N/A

 

 

 

Reviewed by Jesse/expertise626