Xenosaga, despite many high marks is dragged down by equally as many faults. It is unfortunate because I really wanted to like this game. One of the best things about Xenosaga is its story. Its mature themes is a welcome departure from other RPGs who are afraid to approach the issues brought forth by Xenosaga. The characters are also well fleshed out as their pasts play a prominent role in the game. Another fine point in Xenosaga is that random battles are replaced by visible enemies. This allows for some stealth elements to be incorporated. Overall you seem to have more control over the environment than in other RPGs.
Now to the bad parts. The characters appear to cartoonish, detracting from the mature story line, not allowing you to really take the game seriously. The characters take on an anime look with their overly exaggerated facial features such as the large eyes and small lips. Also the heads seem bulbous compared to the rest of the body. Strangely though only the female characters suffer from this lack of realism. However both the male and female characters lack any creativity in their design and come off looking generic. The characters are not the only things that lack in originality. The environments are sterile and undetailed. The ship and mech designs are also boring. Though the back of the case boasts music done by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the soundtrack is flat and unoriginal. It pales in comparison even to the music composition of Final Fantasy VII. Even though the music isn't all that great, it would have been nice if they played some during anything other than cut scenes and battles.
As to the actual gameplay itself, most of the game consists of running from one point to the next in order to get to the next cutscene. Having visible enemies means that most of the battles are optional. Once you do battle you'll find it uneven and overly complicated. While it is turn based, battles actions are dependent on action points, or AP. With only a maximum of 6 APs you are limited in what you can do. Also you are unable to cast ether attacks (read magic), use items and attack on the same turn and you can only attack one enemy per turn despite how many APs you have. To add to the frustration, enemy AI is uneven. In most cases, the enemies consistently attack one character only. In the off chance that they don't, some enemies have the ability to attack every party member for as much as 300 hp, basically half your life. If there are two or more of the same enemies, than they could potentially kill your party in one turn.
Xenosaga is saved only by its strong story and not much more. In some ways I believe the developers knew this. This could explain why some cutscenes run over half an hour. If you're prepared to suffer through this game a rich and fulfilling story is your reward. If not, don't bother with this game. There are better RPGs out for the PS2.
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