Still more Xenosaga information

[06.12.01] » Game length estimate, music orchestration, additional character and world details uncovered.

   GameSpot VG has translated a recent interview with Xenosaga director Tetsuya Takahashi. In the interview, Takahashi confirmed that MonolithSoft plans to produce all six episodes of the Xenosaga story, including a new version of Episode V, which was the subject of the original Xenogears.

   Takahashi also explained the origins of Xenosaga Episode I's title. The German subtitle "Der Wille zur Macht" ("The Will to Power") is taken from the writings of well-known German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche; the struggle for power will be a key theme in Xenosaga.

   Expect Xenosaga to be significantly shorter than its 80-hour predecessor. Takahashi estimates the game will take players 20 to 30 hours to complete, with about a quarter to a third of that time devoted to story sequences.

   The interview also confirms that players will be able to customize their A.G.W.S.es (the equivelant of Xenogears' Gears) with new parts and weapons, though it's still unclear how players will be able to use them during combat.

   According to GameSpot, Xenosaga's Episode I will take place "several thousand years" in our future, not just the "one thousand" previously reported. While Episode I's time frame is still in dispute, a start several thousand years after Zohar's discovery would allow the game to deal with the construction of Deus, the most significant event between the Zohar's discovery and the start of Episode II. (And in the Xenogears version of the story, Deus was created during an interstellar war, which could well be the battle between the humans and Gnosis.)

   IGNPS2 has reported on an additional detail on the KOS-MOS android character. While KOS-MOS has no real name -- "KOS-MOS" is just the name of her class of android -- she is often refered to as "Chitsujo" ("Order") by the other characters. "Chitsujo" seems to be the opposite or counterpart of the existing "Chaos" character. Coupled with the news that the pair will be recurring characters through the series, it seems likely that Chitsujo and Chaos are somehow connected to the Anima and Animus forces.

   IGNPS2 also reported more details on how the Xenosaga's space travel functions. Starships travel through a series of "space portals" (wormholes, perhaps) that together form the Unus Mundi ("One World") Network, or U.M.N. The U.M.N. is yet another product of the Vector Corporation, which also produces the A.G.W.S.es and KOS-MOS androids.

   Finally, Namco's official Xenosaga site has confirmed that Yasunori Mitsuda's score will be performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

   New Xenosaga wallpaper and screenshots are also available.