Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht

 PlayStation 2
  • Publisher: Namco
  • Release Date: Feb 26, 2003
User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 148 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 116 out of 148
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 148
  3. Negative: 11 out of 148
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  1. David
    Jul 27, 2004
    7
    Xenosaga has an interesting storyline and the voice acting for the most part is not cheesy and very well acted. The game is riddled with cut scenes that are very purposeful: they add depth to the storyline. Despite the great story the gameplay does lack a little. There is plenty to do and I really enjoyed the battle card game and some of the poker. The battle system is enjoyable, however, Xenosaga has an interesting storyline and the voice acting for the most part is not cheesy and very well acted. The game is riddled with cut scenes that are very purposeful: they add depth to the storyline. Despite the great story the gameplay does lack a little. There is plenty to do and I really enjoyed the battle card game and some of the poker. The battle system is enjoyable, however, it could have used a little more development because it becomes repetitive and is more of a chore than a joy. Also, many of the environments in which the game takes place are simple and boring. The storyline is intriguing and makes up for many of the shortcomings in the gameplay. … Expand
  2. f_type
    Aug 18, 2011
    7
    I was excited for this game, seeing as how many of the people involved with Xenogears were behind this. But this game ends up a bit too convoluted. I didn't mind the long cutscenes but the story is a nonstop series of inconsistent tidbits, characters and details which do not make any sense until the final few hours of the game- and even then, you'll constantly find yourself referring toI was excited for this game, seeing as how many of the people involved with Xenogears were behind this. But this game ends up a bit too convoluted. I didn't mind the long cutscenes but the story is a nonstop series of inconsistent tidbits, characters and details which do not make any sense until the final few hours of the game- and even then, you'll constantly find yourself referring to the database to figure out what's what. The characters, even the lead, never develop beyond their initial personalities. Visually, the game is very good (especially the FMVs) and the music is great, though not Mitsuda's best. The gameplay is fairly tradition with towns to explore, secrets to find, dungeons to conquer, and bosses to beat. The battle system and character development systems are very complicated and contains so many different aspects that you will spend a vast majority of your time in trail in error to find what characters and attacks work against what enemies. The game is also incredibly inconsistent in terms of difficulty. Above all, the entire game just feels slow and tedious: the long and boring dungeons, the overly simplistic but tiresome puzzles and nearly every single battle just seems to drag on. Ultimately though, if you do make it to the end, you will see that it's only the beginning of a huge saga and it will pique your interest.… Expand
  3. Tubie
    Oct 3, 2010
    6
    I was a Xenogears fan and I was eagerly awaiting this game but it inevitably was doomed to let me down. It is not a Xenogears game only but for a few references.
  4. KojohoH.
    Mar 3, 2003
    7
    What a disappointment. the positives are a terrific battle system and some nice visuals. but the story is extremely disappointing (nowhere near the quality of xenogears) and after 22 hours of play, im tired of walking around on a bunch of similar looking spaceships. the fact that the entire game (or it seems so far) is set in deep space is also a turnoff. basically, if you like looking atWhat a disappointment. the positives are a terrific battle system and some nice visuals. but the story is extremely disappointing (nowhere near the quality of xenogears) and after 22 hours of play, im tired of walking around on a bunch of similar looking spaceships. the fact that the entire game (or it seems so far) is set in deep space is also a turnoff. basically, if you like looking at spaceships and a bunch of empty space with stars, you will enjoy it. go play the new breath of fire instead: its battle system (the best ever) makes up for most of its shortcomings.… Expand
  5. DragonKnight
    Apr 27, 2006
    7
    Now, this game is for a very very specific auidence. If you're expecting great, fast-paced, gameplay. Stop reading, and go play something else. The battle system for this game is seeping with mediocrity, but if you're interested in this game. Gameplay is not the reason you're considering getting this game. The main focus, no, excuse me, the only focus on this game, is the Now, this game is for a very very specific auidence. If you're expecting great, fast-paced, gameplay. Stop reading, and go play something else. The battle system for this game is seeping with mediocrity, but if you're interested in this game. Gameplay is not the reason you're considering getting this game. The main focus, no, excuse me, the only focus on this game, is the storyline, Which is incredibly deep and intriguing and if you're looking for a good story, this is your game, or Interactive DVD. The graphics aren't pushing the PS2 to it's limits but it doesn't look bad either. The voice-acting sadly, isn't impressive, it sounds pretty bad at times. Which is pretty annoying, since you're going to spend 99% of this game listening to people talk. Also, I lol'd everytime I got an e-mail from Namco trying to advertise their games to me. Remember; this is for a very specific audience, be careful when you buy this and be 100% positive you're looking for a game that'll give you a great story and a great story is all you want. Everyone else, will hate this, and should keep away. I enjoyed this personally, but I'm part of that specific audience.… Expand
  6. artificeprime
    Jul 15, 2017
    7
    Xenosaga has an excellent story that is truly unique, unfortunately, as a game it is mediocre. I think that any fan of imaginative storytelling should experience Xenosaga but I think you would probably be better off watching the game instead of playing it. The gameplay is not only mediocre it doesn't really fit with the story as a whole.

    If you like turn based RPGs you will probably    Xenosaga has an excellent story that is truly unique, unfortunately, as a game it is mediocre. I think that any fan of imaginative storytelling should experience Xenosaga but I think you would probably be better off watching the game instead of playing it. The gameplay is not only mediocre it doesn't really fit with the story as a whole.

    If you like turn based RPGs you will probably enjoy the combat well enough, it isn't bad but it is far from the best in the genre. Outside of combat gameplay is mostly limited to running down hallways and exploring confined spaces. There isn't a lot to interact with. There are a few stealth sections and little mini-games but overall I found the gameplay below average. My biggest problem with the gameplay though is that the abilities of the characters don't at all reflect their abilities in the story. For example, Shion is supposed to be a scientist with limited combat abilities yet somehow you can make her more skilled than Kos-mos, a super powered android that commonly wipes out entire fleets in cut-scenes. It is incredibly stupid and was a terrible creative decision that makes no sense.

    The story is clearly where the game shines. It is a very strange story but it is deep and thought provoking while also being entertaining to watch. It manages to blend so many elements that normally wouldn't fit together. It deals with religion, alien life, cloning, and genetic engineering. It also deals with more character driven elements such as artificially created beings trying to understand their identity and purpose. The story is one of a kind and even though it is a bit convoluted at times most of it is very well written. It does suffer from some anime tropes but never to the point that I found it unbearable. The story is very complex with many characters from different backgrounds with different motives. This is not a simple tale of good vs evil, it is a layered space drama that raises far more interesting questions than most movies or TV series.

    The characters are also unique and well thought out. Shion is far from a generic protagonist, she has an interesting backstory and evolves substantially as the story progresses. Nearly every character has depth and there is a very wide range. One character is a man who was a clone built for war yet his body does not age so he is trapped in the body of a child. Another character is a cyborg who wants to be turned into a robot so that he can forget his humanity. Each of the playable characters is explored in depth and each has an interesting backstory. The villains are just as good and there are several all with interesting and complex motives.

    The visual style is decent but nothing special. There are some really cool designs. Kos-mos is an iconic character and some of the spaceships are very unique looking. Environments are mostly uninspired though and aside from a few exceptions the characters are pretty standard anime designs.

    The sound design is pretty good. The voice acting was quite good for its time although some of the characters do sound a bit unnatural. The music is also appealing and almost always fits quite well within the story. It is a great blend of classic almost religious sounds and more futuristic sounding styles. It isn't the type of soundtrack that I would listen to much outside of the game but it adds a lot to the experience.

    I would recommend Xenosaga to anyone who is a fan of deep RPGs that focus mostly on story telling. For me it was a great experience but I didn't bother playing either of the two sequels, I just watched the cutscenes and honestly I think I enjoyed that as much or more than playing the game.

    Xenosaga is a great experience but a mediocre game.

    I give it 75%    … Expand
  7. EasyGamerBoi
    Aug 17, 2023
    6
    Xenoblade unexpectedly became my favorite game series of all time rather quickly, so it’s only natural for me to search up every little detail about the series’ history. Finding out it had a “sister series” from the PS2 era isn’t what I expected to discover, although it’s upsetting there’s no modern way to play these games on consoles aside from shotty emulation, playing on a regular PS2Xenoblade unexpectedly became my favorite game series of all time rather quickly, so it’s only natural for me to search up every little detail about the series’ history. Finding out it had a “sister series” from the PS2 era isn’t what I expected to discover, although it’s upsetting there’s no modern way to play these games on consoles aside from shotty emulation, playing on a regular PS2 with an HDMI upscaler works too! Jumping into Xenosaga blind was expensive to do (mostly because the PS2 from my childhood unexpectedly shorted itself out sometime in the last few years, plus Retro gaming is pricy) and risky to do. Would I like these games as much as the Xenoblade trilogy? The short answer is no, I didn’t. But Xenosaga is still worth remembering and experiencing. Episode I is controversially my least favorite of the trilogy for a variety of reasons & I can’t say I wasn’t very underwhelmed when I finished this game, knowing the pure PEAK of what Takahashi is known for nowadays (maybe a bit unfair since these games are 20 years old & his experience wasn’t nearly what it is today).
    Positives first, the cutscene direction is all around great. I can’t believe reviewers complained about them being too long & frequent, they never felt like that for me & I love being told a story. The graphics aren’t all that but I think they hold up for the most part. The soundtrack is more lowkey compared to Mitsuda’s other works, but he always does a fantastic job ESPECIALLY the two vocal tracks for the game courtesy of Joanne Hogg.
    I unfortunately have a lot of negatives though.. For one, it may have been a conscious decision to not have dungeon music until the last 2 dungeons but WOW does it make the game feel so lifeless. I’m glad the sequels fixed this problem because listening to loud footsteps for 20 hours was really not good at all. I know when this game came out it was part 1 of 6 as the developers didn’t know they would only get 3 games, but the story is just so.. inert. There are some great moments don’t get me wrong, but the entire game is basically an introduction to this universe that leaves almost everything up to interpretation or leaves things to be answered in another game. WAY TOO MANY cryptic sentences that don’t go anywhere until Episode 3 at times. Characters will almost always exclaim a term or noun like it’s a big deal, when the audience usually has absolutely zero context for what’s supposed to be this big deal. The writing in this game is quite literally like holding a treat in front of a dog’s nose while making it run after the treat on a treadmill for 25 hours. Like I said, I understand why it was made like this but that doesn’t make it any less irritating until you get context from later material. If I had played this game back in the day before Xenoblade was around it would have for sure deterred me from playing its sequels, that’s how miserable it can get at times. With added context from the sequels it holds up better but I still couldn’t see myself playing this game ever again, largely due in part to the snoozefest gameplay that drags this game down even further for me. This is part of the reason this trilogy needs some HD re-release, a speed up option would be a GODSENT. These battles & attack animations are so painfully slow & repetitive that I lost almost all interest before the halfway point of the game. Enemies respawn every time you leave a room, so if you need to backtrack (Spoiler: it happens a lot as there’s NO MAP feature in any of these games, seriously wtf?) Sooo get ready to do the same exact battles with the same exact 30 second attack animations until the end of time, bogged down by the slowest walking speed ever. If I ever hear the battle theme again I’ll probably tear my eardrums out. Oh yeah, they only gave us TWO BATTLE THEMES FOR THE ENTIRE 25+ HOUR JRPG. THE SECOND THEME IS ONLY FOR THE FINAL BOSS. All of the battle mechanics & customization options were poorly explained, I found them irritating to tool around in with the clunky menus. The AWGS system also feels like such an afterthought. I want to be forgiving because the devs were rushed but there’s just too much going against Xenosaga I. I’m glad the majority of these issues got fixed in sequels but I genuinely can never see myself replaying this game, which is something I can’t say for 2 & 3. I consider this game the only miss in Takahashi’s catalogue.    … Expand
  8. Sormon
    Jul 4, 2021
    5
    While Xenosaga Episode I's cutscenes and voice acting is well ahead if its time the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired. Battles encouraging you to just max out on specific attacks and spam them rather than work out the enemy's weaknesses make them boring. None of the minigames real stuck with me since I play JRPG's for the main game not the side content. Also music in gameplay sections isWhile Xenosaga Episode I's cutscenes and voice acting is well ahead if its time the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired. Battles encouraging you to just max out on specific attacks and spam them rather than work out the enemy's weaknesses make them boring. None of the minigames real stuck with me since I play JRPG's for the main game not the side content. Also music in gameplay sections is extremely bland and super repetitive (you need more than 1 battle theme). While I can praise the cutscenes and voice acting at the end of the day Xenosaga is meant to be a game and here i am quite disappointed.… Expand
  9. DarkwingSchmuck
    Jul 28, 2023
    7
    Several years after the release of Xenogears, we were finally given a follow up in the form of Xenosaga. This being a Namco game and not a Squaresoft game, Xenosaga is a spiritual successor, though it borrows ideas and concepts from its predecessor. Unfortunately, Xenosaga didn't fully live up to expectations.

    Xenosaga can feel like more movie than game, similar to its contemporary in    Several years after the release of Xenogears, we were finally given a follow up in the form of Xenosaga. This being a Namco game and not a Squaresoft game, Xenosaga is a spiritual successor, though it borrows ideas and concepts from its predecessor. Unfortunately, Xenosaga didn't fully live up to expectations.

    Xenosaga can feel like more movie than game, similar to its contemporary in Final Fantasy X, though it's even more egregious here. The game is extremely linear -- with long, drawn-out cutscenes. Thankfully, the battle system is still strong, the music (once again composed by Yasunori Mitsuda) is still excellent, and its story is still a major highlight -- though it does suffer from a hint of pretentiousness, which prevents it from reaching the heights of Xenogears.

    Xenosaga was also the first part of pre-planned 6 episode series, which would eventually be cut down to 3 games due to poor sales. If they had just focused their attention one game, instead of outlining an entire franchise before they even knew if it'd be successful or not, maybe Xenosaga would have been the successor that Xenogears deserved. As it stands, it's just all right.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Best PS2 Game of 2003
21
#21 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2003
14
#14 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2003

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. NTSC-uk
    70
    The narrative of Xenosaga dwarfs all of its other elements, which are under-developed in comparison.
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  2. Gaming Age
    100
    Xenosaga has that extra special something that has been missing from RPGs for the last couple of years, an enthralling, profound story that leaves you truly wanting more.
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  3. Adrenaline Vault
    80
    The brilliant story is enhanced by a beautiful score from Mitsuda and cinematic sequences which are stunning, to say the least.
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