Xenosaga Episode I & II NDS

Xenosaga Episode I & II is a title referring to the series, known from the Playstation 2 console. On PS2 we had the pleasure to play Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht and Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse. These were cRPG games with manga graphics. The Xenosaga Episode I & II is an almost accurate transfer of these two titles to the NDS console.

The plot remained basically unchanged, as we are still dealing with well-known heroes: a woman, a scientist of Shion Complements and an android called KOS-MOS. There are also two additional characters - Realianin Alex and the villain Virgil. The only new threads are introduced in order to bring the plot of the game closer to the one known from the Xenosaga TV series.

The story begins with the training of combat skills to which KOS-MOS is subjected. Shion Uzuki uses Encephalon, a special virtual reality simulator. Android, introduced to the simulator, meets there Gnosis - an indestructible alien. This is the beginning of a long adventure, admittedly accompanied by a lot of fights, but moving, very rare in games, philosophical and existential motifs. The title, in its entirety, draws on the works of German thinker Friedrich Nietzsche.

These fights are played in turn-based mode, which is a combination of systems known from the Mega Man and Final Fantasy series. We fight in an area divided into sectors, which introduces a tactical element - we can approach and move away from the opponent, taking corrections on his skills and armament (for example, setting the weaker characters after the more powerful ones, allows to protect the former). Each character has three action bars. Two of them are renewed after each round. This means that in each queue we can perform a maximum of two actions - one attack with a distance weapon and one even, or two attacks of each type. Movement is not counted as an activity that consumes a limit on permitted movements. Selecting the Guard command or not performing any action in a given turn, we fill in the third action bar. When it reaches its maximum we can make an attack with the use of accumulated energy, which is much more powerful than the usual one. However, you should pay attention to your opponents' indicators, as they too can gather forces and make a special move. While moving around the game world we are not able to see enemy characters. They are hidden and appear randomly as in Final Fantasy. It's a bit cumbersome but, fortunately, we have the ability to record the state of the game at any time of the journey. You can also call up the Shop Menu at any time to get the necessary equipment.

Due to the capabilities of the equipment, the game had to undergo some changes. When it comes to graphics, we are dealing with a total 2D (both characters and environment). What was a very important part of the PS2 edition - long animations and films - was almost completely abandoned. The authors have replaced them with photographs with attached descriptions. The actions are viewed on the top screen, this touch screen is designed to display menus, battle options, check messages, etc. The actions are viewed on the top screen.

Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions regarding this description.

Last updated on 10 December 2007