Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Video Games: 31

31: Xenosaga – Episode 1: Der Wille zur Macht (PS2)
Developer: Monolith Soft
Year: 2003

Gonna get flamed for this one, and the fact that its so high up the list. But make no mistake, the first title in the Xenosaga trilogy is the best of the bunch and, in my opinion, one of the best, most though-provoking RPG experiences in my entire life. Few games have the scope, adventure, and high quality production values as this game, not to mention the wonderful soundtrack, excellent use of lighting effects (some of my favorite effects in any game, period), and a design that fit perfectly with the notion of playing a huge, wide-scoped sci-fi anime series based on the idea of killing God. Or, more or less, anyhow.

The plot of the first game has one thing going for it: no game before it to make sense of it all. The following two games in the series were OK and all (Episode 3 even appeared on this list), but had to wrap up a story that was too huge for just three games. Basically, Earth has been destroyed and humanity is now a space-faring species, with multiple homes and a huge number of people making up its whole. A military ship is attacked by the nasty-ass villains of the first game, right after they find a Zohar Emulator, a magical relic that is insanely powerful. From there, a number of factions fight to claim the rights to it, including some midget boys, robo-bounty hunters, and a science team led by series regulars Shion and KOS-MOS (one of the coolest robots in gaming history, I might add). Battles start and end all in the hopes of claiming this bright gold monolith. The plot is too huge, really, for a simple paragraph, and it wouldn’t serve it justice anyhow, seeing as how this game is set up for the remaining games in the series. Just know that its deep, character driven, and overly interesting. But how does it play?

The RPG elements shine through, here, with basic experience point accumulating and turn-based battles. One of the best parts about this game is that there are never any random battles. On the play field you will see every enemy before you. This means you can use stealth tactics to avoid tough fights, or utilize elements of the environment to assist you with perks and bonuses prior to engaging in battles (example: blow up a transformer near an enemy and they’ll take damage and be stunned, giving you a pre-emptive strike). Each character has a skill set and – coolest of all – the game features Xenogears’ awesome button-combo fighting moves. This means that each turn can present a different series of action commands, so that your team can fight everything before it with different styles, effectiveness, and damage totals. Special moves are also present for each character. Shops and the like show up, too, adding to the fantastic RPG-style gameplay.

Presentation-wise, this game is often times heavily criticized for having too many cut-scenes. Yes, its true; there will be times where 10-15 minutes will pass and the game will actually prompt you to save your progress in the cinema event. Then it will continue on. While not as bad as later games in the series (I think Ep. 3’s intro had you save twice?), it does take some getting used to. As mentioned, the lighting effects really bring out the awesomeness of the models and environments, however dated they may be now. Also of note, the sometimes-rock-sometimes-orchestral-sometimes-techno soundtrack featured here has some great themes and battle music, each one helping to create either a sense of tension, adventure, or solace. The voice acting, too, is pretty damn good, which is awesome since sometimes these guys talk for freaking ever during the 20-year cut-scenes.

All in all, I understand that Xenosaga: Episode 1 (and likewise, the rest of the series) is not for everyone. Its plot is heavy in detail necessity and the likelihood of forgetting characters, terms, and dates is high. But the gameplay is overly rewarding, the characters are very, very interesting, and the thrill of getting to know the story – only to have two more, 60+ hour games to follow is fantastic. While this game leads into the lackluster second episode (which has its moments, I’ll add), it does provide the foundation for the final arc of the story. Give this game a playthrough, seriously. I bet its on the cheap, now, too.

Classic Moment:
At the 1/9th point of the game you start playing as Ziggy, a cyborg bounty hunter on a job to rescue a little girl from a militant organization of jackasses. You save her and try to escape, her being of little use in battle (functioning as only a support character who can heal and do status effect spells). Then you get to the escape ship only to find…! A boss. And he’s hard as shit. You can lose this battle and press on, its true, but you CAN win it (with ample rewards). The fight is difficult as all hell, but winning gives you a sense of pride that is like nothing else any victory in the game can present you with. Well, aside from the fact that at the end level every battle encounter you have is ten times more difficult than the last…

Why Xenosaga 1 > Mario Bros. 2:
Epic, long gameplay. Also, KOS-MOS has this giant laser cannon that fires from her stomach. Every time you use it, you’re treated to a one second, blink-and-you’ll-miss it cut-scene in which her belly opens at the gentle touch of her hands, only to fire immediately afterward. For some reason, I would only ever use that stomach cannon, just to watch that happen over and over again. I’m a nerd. 

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Added March 28, 2017
I think I said it back at entry 100 when doing this archive, but I don’t think there would be more than one of these on the list if I was to do it, today, and this would be it. And it would likely be closer to the back than it is, now, too. Fond memories, but man. Would like to see an HD remaster at some point, but that is one that is mostly unnecessary.

Added October 30, 2017
Updated the title which previously didn’t note that this was a Facebook note, originally.