Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose

 PlayStation 2
  • Publisher: Namco
  • Release Date: Feb 15, 2005
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
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  1. Avey123Avey
    Mar 29, 2023
    3
    Xenosaga 2 is a light improvement over the original. The combat system is more focused and leads to some genuinely enjoyable boss encounters. The presence of music outside of cutscenes is a serious improvement and something the series never should have gotten wrong. And the story here feels waaaay less blatantly padded out and the game does a much better job at attempting to flesh out theXenosaga 2 is a light improvement over the original. The combat system is more focused and leads to some genuinely enjoyable boss encounters. The presence of music outside of cutscenes is a serious improvement and something the series never should have gotten wrong. And the story here feels waaaay less blatantly padded out and the game does a much better job at attempting to flesh out the original games flat characters. With all that said it's still not very good, is quite often boring, and with each babystep improvement it's counterbalanced with exacerbated problems . The game still suffers from a terrible encounter design for non boss fights, in fact with the new combat system these general encounters are even worse and feel even more padded out and repetitive. As the scope of the story broadens it becomes even more convoluted and incomprehensible (this series has an obsession with poorly thought out acronyms). And the largest egregious back peddle from the original is the terrible voice work. The original game had stilted/dated vocal delivery but this game is on a whole other level with some of the replaced voice cast and new characters. That all being said I am thankful for the shorter length, still a very mediocre JRPG, but at least one with a more reasonable length.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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
  1. 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.
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  2. Weekly Famitsu
    83
    8 / 8 / 8 / 9 - 33 gold [Vol 811; 2 July 2004]
  3. 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.
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