Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose

 PlayStation 2
  • Publisher: Namco
  • Release Date: Feb 15, 2005
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 45
  3. Negative: 1 out of 45
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  1. Gaming Target
    90
    Namco, in trying to fix what wasn't broken to begin with, ended up loosening a few screws where the job wasn't needed.
  2. RPG Fan
    88
    Like its prequel, the game does not even try to convince the player it would be anything else but a classic, heavily story-driven RPG with a traditional turn-based battle engine. The visuals are currently among the best in the genre and at least the songs composed by Yuki Kajiura are solid.
  3. VGPub
    88
    I gauge a great RPG as one that sucks you in so much that you lose track of time. What may seem just a few minutes turns into a few hours. That is true of a few great RPGs, and Xenosaga II is one of them.
  5. Siliconera
    86
    Xenosaga Episode 2 seems to top Episode 1 in almost all aspects of gameplay, graphics and sound...If you liked Episode 1, you'll like Episode 2. Speaking more generally, if you like RPGs you'll like Episode 2.
  6. eToychest
    85
    Precisely what the second volume in a saga should be. It continues the story, and it develops the characters involved with the story... Hopefully, the next installment will propel the story forward a bit more.
  7. TotalGames.net
    84
    Xenosaga II is a worthy follow up with richly detailed characters and great battling, but it seems a little unfair to expect European gamers to jump onboard so late in the game.
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  8. Weekly Famitsu
    83
    8 / 8 / 8 / 9 - 33 gold [Vol 811; 2 July 2004]
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  9. Pelit (Finland)
    83
    A good RPG with a brilliant story and a great cast of characters. However, the battle system is too slow-paced and not very flexible. [Nov 2005]
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  10. My Gamer
    82
    While the game is still decent, it simply isn’t as great as the original installment. Though it still offers spectacular plot, it just isn’t as deep in its character customization as it once was.
  11. GamingTrend
    82
    If you are willing to stick with it, and accept that they may use terms that won't even get completely explained in this chapter, it is a decent science fiction story. It's just not simple to follow, and translation from Japanese to English probably did not help make things any easier to understand.
  12. GamePro
    80
    A beautiful composition, but restless gamers will have a hard time sitting throught the constant cinemas... Perhaps next time developers will seriously consider integrating the story through an increased amount of real-time gameplay. [March 2005, p.90]
  13. GameZone
    80
    The only problems are the longer-than-generally-accepted load times, and the long cutscenes.
  14. Inside Gamer Online
    80
    Some might be a little disappointed by its short sub-30 hour campaign, but most people will find it forgiving because this game has so much heart and soul that it will be remembered long after it’s beaten.
  15. Worth Playing
    80
    Monolith did attempt to reduce the ratio of movies to gameplay, and succeeded, to a degree, although they did also shorten the game by half or so.
  16. Warcry
    80
    A marvelous game. However, you may want to have some popcorn with you while you play. Xenosaga: Episode 2’s cut-scenes are long and plentiful, about four and a half hours in total.
  17. Just RPG
    80
    I’m not going to lie… this installment isn’t quite as good. Episode I had a few minor errors that I hoped would be fixed, and in some cases they were. But the game ended up leaving me unsatisfied. A pretty good game, but not as good as it should’ve been.
  18. IGN
    79
    Though its story kicked butt and its characters look better than ever, the focus wasn't broad enough to make use of its rich cast of personalities and unique combat like the first game did.
  19. Game Informer
    78
    This game is a dropped ball of "Devil May Cry 2" proportions. [March 2005, p.126]
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  20. GameSpot
    78
    Improvements to the game's turn-based combat engine, graphics, and its still-captivating plot ensure that fans of story-driven role-playing games and the Xenosaga series itself will still find much to appreciate about Episode II.
  21. WHAM! Gaming
    78
    Episode 2 should take only about 40 hours to finish, short by the standards of the genre today and half the length of Episode 1.
  22. Play Magazine
    75
    Episode II feels less grand than the original, almost like an epilogue to the first game. [Feb 2005, p.61]
    All this publication's reviews
  23. PALGN
    75
    It is just that the problems that are in Xenosaga Episode II are pretty unforgiving in today’s standards.

Awards & Rankings

89
#89 Best PS2 Game of 2005
53
#53 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2005

User Reviews

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User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 93 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 93
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 93
  3. Negative: 11 out of 93
  1. SamuelKneen
    May 30, 2013
    9
    Xenosaga Episode II. A flawed masterpiece. Yes, the load times are longer, yes the voice actors have changed, but underneath it all is anXenosaga Episode II. A flawed masterpiece. Yes, the load times are longer, yes the voice actors have changed, but underneath it all is an intelliegent, rich, emotional tale with an extremely deep (Albeit hard.) battle system.

    Among the improvements are new sleek menus, more intense cinematics, a streamlined skill tree system and a wider dungeon variation.

    However sometimes Episode II's desire to be brilliant holds it back. The sylistic changes in appearance are a matter of opinion, but the lo-res cinematics can look stiff in comparison to the hi-res events and the loading times can be particularly jarring trying to boot the games graphics and sound in battle. This leaves the experience slightly less polished.

    That said, if you can master the battle system, forgive the loading times, understand the religious references and lose yourself to the story, then there is hours of addictive role-playing to be had here. Overall, a beautiful Sci-Fi RPG.    … Full Review »
  2. AndrewC.
    Feb 8, 2007
    5
    Ouch...this here sequel to one of my favorite RPG's ever is a steaming pile of feces. The gameplay is terrible, the voice acting Ouch...this here sequel to one of my favorite RPG's ever is a steaming pile of feces. The gameplay is terrible, the voice acting practically ruined, the great soundtrack missing, the cutscenes uninspiring, and worst of all it just doesn't look good. Very, very disappointing.… Full Review »
  3. LUUQ.
    Jan 6, 2005
    10
    BEST!!!
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