For a moment I was close to giving up on any future games coming out for the Playstation 2 console. The last few games that came out entered my “why did I pay for this and didn’t just give my money away to a perfect stranger” list. But thankfully, this game had proven it has the will to power… my interest in Episode 2.

Xenosaga Episode 1: Der Wille zur Macht (The Will To Power), which from this point on will simply be called Xenosaga, is an exceptionally good game with one slight drawback. The game is beautiful in its presentation and plot but the length of the “cutscenes” or, as I call them, mini-movies are entirely too long. I sat down to watch one cutscene and had to go to the bathroom twice, make three phone calls, and fix a sandwich and it still was playing (okay, I over exaggerated about the phone calls, but you get the point). The fact that I’m still playing the game despite the long a$$ cutscenes should show that the game is truly worth something.

The story starts with the discovery of a mysterious artifact that leads to questions of its origin. If you have played Xenogears for the Playstation console then you may have an idea as to what it is. But I won’t talk too much about it so as to not ruin the plot.

Humanity is being threatened by a mysterious, ethereal alien menace called the Gnosis. Shion Uzuki is a young scientist heading up the development of a powerful female android whose main purpose is to dispose of these creatures. This brings into play a league of characters that are coincidentally heading towards the same goal for different reasons. Throughout the story, they will encounter many different types of Gnosis and obstacles.

Here is a brief character blurb from the manual about each playable character:

Shion Uzuki is the main character of Xenosaga. She is the Chief Engineer of the KOS-MOS project funded by Vector on-board the Woglinde. She is part of the elite First Division of R & D for Vector. Though a skilled scientist, Shion longs to be part of the less prestigious Third Division team. She currently is testing KOS-MOS in the Encephalon preparing KOS-MOS for a field test.

Kos-Mos the ubercyborg of any young man’s dreams. This cyborg is one kick-ass machine. Apparently Kos-Mos’s role in this game is on a much larger scale than it seems at first. KOS-MOS is a prototype for a new battle android weapon to combat the Gnosis. She is currently only being tested within the Encephalon and close to her first field test. She is the object of the KOS-MOS project lead by Shion Uzuki.

chaos (yes, it's a lowercase c, that's how mysterious he is) is a mysterious young boy whose past is unknown, perhaps even to himself. He seems particularly bright and ahead of everyone else as far as intelligence goes.

Jr. is a director of the Kukai Foundation of the Second Miltia. An uncommonly bright young man that offers practical solutions when others much older than himself are at a loss for ideas.

Momo (Multiple Observative Mimetic Organicus) is a prototype of the100-Series Observational Realian. She is viewed as a superior being compared to KOS-MOS because she is a Realian (a synthetic organism). She was created to combat the Gnosis.

Ziggy is a combat cyborg tasked with protecting MOMO. As a human he killed himself and was brought back against his will. Ziggy has an obsession with removing all that was once human in his body and replacing it with inorganic parts so he can be officially dead.

Related Links: Xenosaga Home Gamespy IGN

All in all, Xenosaga is an exceptional
game with an interesting story. This is a game to be had by all RPG players if they want their collection to be complete. You really cannot go wrong with this game. It is an experience all in itself. Bring on Episode 2!