The spiritual successor to the flawed, but interesting Xenogears on the original Playstation, Xenosaga Episode 1 kicked off one of the more interesting JRPGs of the Playstation 2 era. Sometimes ambitious to a fault, like its predecessor, it still largely succeeds in crafting an intriguing universe with fun mechanics for a turn-based RPG.
Thing is, however, if a convoluted and incredibly cryptic story is not your thing, then the story and world of Xenosaga is going to be a huge turn-off, almost instantaneously. While maybe not as confusing and mysterious as Xenogears, that still is the bulk of its drama. References to things not yet explained, character connections that mean something but they don't tell you what yet, motives still vague and unclear: all of these contribute to one of the harder stories to grasp in a genre that is not short of confounding tales. The environments make it a tad more interesting than others, with the galactic setting giving it a space opera vibe that is a little more conducive for the muddled narrative.
The strength of the game is really it's relatively unique combat system. It's similar to its predecessor in that "combo" moves are a big part of it, but there are enough elements within to make it feel fresh. For example, a "boost" bar fills up as characters damage enemies. When it fills all the way, that character can than "boost," essentially skipping ahead for an earlier turn in a genuinely turn-based game (so none of the ATB stuff common in Final Fantasy). Characters also get two moves per turn, but if you "pass" on the second, you can perform three moves on their next turn. These two systems work well and allow for some gambles during combat. Each battle also has a rotating element that each character can take advantage of when it is their turn. There is an element that increases critical hits, one that increases the amount of boost, and one that increases the points earned. Much of the battles, then, involve players figuring out how they want to capitalize on those enhancements, as well as how to utilize their boosts.
Perhaps the biggest flaw in the entire game, however, is that not all of the rules apply to the enemies. In the instance of boosting, characters can only gain the ability by inflicting damage. That causes the bar to fill, and when it fills, then players can use that ability. With enemies, there is no rhyme or reason to when they can cast boost. They don't even need to attack you to boost. This results in battles that often feel unfair and cheap, since you can't predict at all when the game is going to decide that your enemies actually deserve six turns in a row. It's especially problematic in boss battles and late in the game, where there risk-taking might become more a part of your strategy.
The use of A.W.G.S. - this game's version of "gears" - is done in a way that is either terrible or perfect depending on how you liked them in Xenogears. For me, I hated the sections of the earlier game where you had to fight in the gears, so when Xenosaga basically allows a player to get through without actually using it at all, it was perfect! A bit strange that they included it but didn't put any attention into encouraging players to use it. Of course, if you liked fighting with the giant mech suits, then the game handles it poorly, offering no real incentive to use them. Keeping them upgraded can be expensive, and you don't get a lot of money throughout the game.
Character upgrades are a bit complex, but nothing too difficult to handle. Party members obtain skill, ether, and tech points which can then be used to upgrade traits, magic, and combo attacks. Skill points can be used to "extract" abilities from weapons and armor, but they don't go into much detail about how exactly it works. There is a "skill level," but they don't bother to explain how that increases. As a result, skill points will build up quickly, while much needed ether and tech points are both slower to accumulate and more valuable. Those will be exhausted rather quickly.
There's a lot about the game that feels influenced by anime, which makes it only fitting that it spun off into an anime series afterwards. The cryptic nature of the story might offset its unresolved arc to bring players in for the sequel. It's got a fun combat system for what is a purely turn-based game, and it provides some intriguing leveling mechanics. While I happen to like Xenosaga much more than I do Xenogears, it's hard to call it "great." Interesting, yes, but the cheap aspects of the game hold it back. It doesn't help either that it can take up to two hours to finish it when you get to the last save point. I'm not sure I will ever understand why RPGs tend to design their final stretches to be so time consuming. It makes it so that if you die on the final boss (or more like the second or third form of the final boss - because they can never just have it be one - it's wasted so much time that it's hard to convince yourself it's even worth it.
Not sure Xenosaga fits in the upper echelon of JRPGs, particularly of the '90s and early aughts, but it's worth checking out. (As an aside: I really, really wish Namco would release this to the Playstation Store. I found that my copy on PS2 would only work on the original fat PS2, and not the newer slim models. Make this game accessible, Namco! C'mon!)
REDUCTIVE RATING: Pretty Good
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