(no subject)
This is my review for the final part of the Xenosaga Trilogy... This is based entirely on opinion and should not be taken as pure fact for everyone. Only this person...
Because of the length of these things, I intend to post it behind a cut. Thank you.
Story: A year after the events of Episode 2 Shion Uzuki has quite her job at Vector after disturbing rumors that they may be more involved in the Gnosis phenomenon then anyone could guess. Joining Scientia an anti-Vector underground Organization, she becomes intangled once again, in the fate of the universe, only this time she will find the answers she seeks...
This story will only make sense if one has played the events of Episode 1 and 2 or, if people read the ingame summary of the first two games. It weaves the fabrics of the first to games in an amazing close... Skillful translation of the dialouge helps the flow and pacing feel natural and prescise. It's a great ride all the way to the end, and this time all of your questions about the series will probably be answered.
Music and Sound: Originally in Episode 1 Yasunori Mitsuda composed all the music and it was a beautiful experience. In episode 2 Mitsuda didn't return, instead they nabbed Yuki Kajura for cinema scenes and another musician for the in-game music. Most people didn't like the new in-game stuff but loved Ms. Kajura's haunting and beautiful musics... Well in episode 3 Ms. Kajura returns, and she has found her niche' musically surpasing Mitsuda and giving us a wonderful soundtrack.
The voice work is excellent as well, with the return of Lia Sargent (Shion Uzuki) and Bridget Hoffman (KOS-MOS) and the rest returning from Episode 2 it could be called a Xeno Dream cast. Performances are belieavable and strong, with few innapropriate moments.
Graphics: Returning to the stylized look of episode 1 but with more detail, has given this game a much more pleasing look. The characters look great but the new backgrounds steal the show. Teaming with life and small details there always seems to be something new you'll notice in some of them. Cinemas are rich and wonderful, except for some occasional slowdown.
Playability: Less of an interactive movie then the other two games. Episode 3 combines and brings back a major contribution to the game... A fast and innovative battle system. Gone are Episode 2's long and convoluted "Air and Ground Combos" that took all of you boost and most of your time to set up (average set up time for a combo for me was around 5 to 10 minutes in Ep. 2) and since that had to be done for each enemy it became tedious. Also gone are the long animations for special attacks and techniques. The animations take no longer then a second or two (Literally) for most, while the bigger ones may last around 5 seconds. The longest in the game still clocks in at under a minute, making battles much quicker to get through and not as sleep inducing at previous entries. Without the "Break Zone" system and "Point System" from the first two episodes one is wondering what was included in it's place. The new "Break" system which allows one to make a character prone for 2 rounds. When a character is attacked they accumulate "Break" damage. When a character hits max "Break" they become stunned and unable to act for two rounds. During this time most attacks against them will be critical and the character cannot boost themself, allowing for some nasty damage to be accumulated in their weakend state. Fortunately this can be done to enemies as well.
Down Sides: Yep, no game is perfect. The game is much quicker and faster, but some will find this a turn off (I loved that though). There is some minor censureship in the form of the removal of blood from certain scenes, making one in particular totally ridiculous to look at but, thanks to the actors, is still moving and powerful.
Final Score: 9.5/10
Because of the length of these things, I intend to post it behind a cut. Thank you.
Story: A year after the events of Episode 2 Shion Uzuki has quite her job at Vector after disturbing rumors that they may be more involved in the Gnosis phenomenon then anyone could guess. Joining Scientia an anti-Vector underground Organization, she becomes intangled once again, in the fate of the universe, only this time she will find the answers she seeks...
This story will only make sense if one has played the events of Episode 1 and 2 or, if people read the ingame summary of the first two games. It weaves the fabrics of the first to games in an amazing close... Skillful translation of the dialouge helps the flow and pacing feel natural and prescise. It's a great ride all the way to the end, and this time all of your questions about the series will probably be answered.
Music and Sound: Originally in Episode 1 Yasunori Mitsuda composed all the music and it was a beautiful experience. In episode 2 Mitsuda didn't return, instead they nabbed Yuki Kajura for cinema scenes and another musician for the in-game music. Most people didn't like the new in-game stuff but loved Ms. Kajura's haunting and beautiful musics... Well in episode 3 Ms. Kajura returns, and she has found her niche' musically surpasing Mitsuda and giving us a wonderful soundtrack.
The voice work is excellent as well, with the return of Lia Sargent (Shion Uzuki) and Bridget Hoffman (KOS-MOS) and the rest returning from Episode 2 it could be called a Xeno Dream cast. Performances are belieavable and strong, with few innapropriate moments.
Graphics: Returning to the stylized look of episode 1 but with more detail, has given this game a much more pleasing look. The characters look great but the new backgrounds steal the show. Teaming with life and small details there always seems to be something new you'll notice in some of them. Cinemas are rich and wonderful, except for some occasional slowdown.
Playability: Less of an interactive movie then the other two games. Episode 3 combines and brings back a major contribution to the game... A fast and innovative battle system. Gone are Episode 2's long and convoluted "Air and Ground Combos" that took all of you boost and most of your time to set up (average set up time for a combo for me was around 5 to 10 minutes in Ep. 2) and since that had to be done for each enemy it became tedious. Also gone are the long animations for special attacks and techniques. The animations take no longer then a second or two (Literally) for most, while the bigger ones may last around 5 seconds. The longest in the game still clocks in at under a minute, making battles much quicker to get through and not as sleep inducing at previous entries. Without the "Break Zone" system and "Point System" from the first two episodes one is wondering what was included in it's place. The new "Break" system which allows one to make a character prone for 2 rounds. When a character is attacked they accumulate "Break" damage. When a character hits max "Break" they become stunned and unable to act for two rounds. During this time most attacks against them will be critical and the character cannot boost themself, allowing for some nasty damage to be accumulated in their weakend state. Fortunately this can be done to enemies as well.
Down Sides: Yep, no game is perfect. The game is much quicker and faster, but some will find this a turn off (I loved that though). There is some minor censureship in the form of the removal of blood from certain scenes, making one in particular totally ridiculous to look at but, thanks to the actors, is still moving and powerful.
Final Score: 9.5/10