TGS: Full Xenosaga impressions

[10.13.01] » Sixth playable character revealed; new battle and weapon details.

   As promised, we've put together a more in-depth set of Xenosaga: Episode I impressions to compliment our earlier brief impressions and screenshots.

   The demo had two scenarios available. One revealed the game's sixth playable character: Ziggy (unofficial translation), a Seifer look-a-like in a military uniform. In Ziggy's scenario, he infiltrates a base to rescue the captured M.O.M.O. He initially uses some sort of cloaking device to hide himself, but it fails early in the mission, forcing him to use stealth to avoid the guards. He appears to take orders from a mysterious woman who was previously married to a mass murderer; it's unclear at this point exactly how they are connected to the rest of the story. In the demo, chaos and Jr. fight alongside Ziggy, but the dialogue suggests they will not be present in the real game.

   The other scenario involves Shion running KOS-MOS through a series of tests which culminates in an A.G.W.S. battle. The story scenes show KOS-MOS being "called into existence," as well as Shion's emotional attachment to her creation. M.O.M.O. takes part in battles as well, but as with chaos and Jr., she's merely making a "guest appearance" for the demo.

   The A.G.W.S. battle at the end of Shion's scenario was the only one included in the demo, so it was difficult to learn much about the A.G.W.S.es use in battle. As with Gears in Xenogears, each A.G.W.S. appears to attack once per round, using one of the three attack buttons. While no "Fuel"-like parameter was obvious, each attack had numbers listed next to it, suggesting that some other statistic limits use of A.G.W.S. abilities. Also, it is possible for a character to get out of their A.G.W.S. during battle, unlike Xenogears (in which the change to a Gear was one-way).

   While the characters are on foot, moves are selected in mostly the same fashion as Xenogears. Characters appear to always get two attacks per turn; for each attack, players can choose one of up to three different attack types (some characters have only two, possibly depending on equipment). The attack types appear to differ not only in strength, as with Xenogears, but also in attributes, such as elemental affinity or slash vs. thrust. Particular combinations appear to activate Deathblows or other skills.

   The previously mentioned "BC gauge" increases with each attack, and each time the bar fills up, it empties and the counter next to it increases. What the counter indicates, however, is not yet clear.

   The window in the lower left corner shows not only which characters will take their turns next, but also (when selecting a target) the relative positions of each on the battle field and the remaining HP of the selected target. The "UP" icon next to the display appears to show elemental affinities for the current character or selected target -- for example, fire-elemental attack or weak against lightning. A "+" or "-" appears based on whether the element pairing will increase or decrease the effectiveness of the attack.

   Occasionally, killing an enemy will earn a "POINTS" message with a number in the lower-right corner of the screen. This appears to be related at least in part to killing enemies with special attacks, and likely nets players some of the T.Pts, S.Pts, and E.Pts shown on the battle victory screen. Interestingly, when getting a critical hit the words "HI-CRITICAL" appear in the same place, but from what we can tell the "HI-" is simply cuteness on the part of the developers, since it seems to appear for every critical hit.

   Each character's weapon is also now more certain. The riot shield-like item Shion carries has been revealed to be a giant robot arm manufactured by the Vector Corporation. She uses the arm to both smash enemies physically and fire various projectiles and energy beams. Ziggy wears a white metal glove on his left arm; the glove has a sword-like blade projecting from it with which he swipes enemies. KOS-MOS battles with various weapons built into her body, including a Mega Man-style arm cannon, while chaos simply uses martial arts. Jr., of course, uses a pair of pistols, as did Xenogears' Billy Lee Black. M.O.M.O. carries a rod, as previously reported.

   It was already known that enemies are visible on the map (though this doesn't always hold for bosses), but playing has revealed that those enemies have fields of vision--stay behind them and you're safe, but if they see you they'll chase after you. The minimap shows the direction each enemy in the vicinity is facing, so you can plan your passage through the area to avoid battles.

   It does not appear that characters can jump in Xenosaga, but certain obstacles on the map can be destroyed, occasionally revealing items or leading to secret areas. These obstacles flash when approached, so that the player does not have to try interacting with everything to find out what works and what doesn't.

   The menu screen has also been revealed. The various menu items are listed: Item, Ether, Deathblow, Skill, Status, A.G.W.S., Battle Formation, U.M.N., and Game Settings. Also note the wireframe box next to each character, which shows his or her position in the combat formation. Most of the menu items are self-explanatory, except for U.M.N. In the Xenosaga game world, U.M.N. stands for Unus Mundi Network, a interstellar communication system, but how the party will make use of this in practical terms is uncertain.

   We've got over 50 new screenshots, three brief movies, and details on the new Limited Edition release of the game.

   Thanks to Andrew Church for the impressions.