(Writing this review pre-Xenosaga 2 and 3 so I am just going to write a brief review for now and then give this game a proper review after Xenosaga 3, opinions may (and probably will) change on a lot of things I will discuss here)
I personally think that Xenosaga Episode 1 is a solid introduction to this franchise. It aims to setup a lot of plot, character and story elements and I think it does its job amicably at this. The game absolutely keeps you invested and interested in its lore and story and makes you really like the characters featured in this game.
The combat systems of this game are also good and an interesting evolution on the Deathblow/fighting game input mechanics featured in Xenogears. This time around, you have Boost which enables a party member or an enemy to bypass everyone for the next turn which is a good mechanic actually. You can also enhance your moves, Ether attacks and Tech Attacks through their respective trees meaning you can be flexible in what you want your party members to do.
I think though besides all of that, there isn't really anything really all that noteworthy about this game. The music in this game is probably the weakest Yasunori Mitsuda soundtrack of all time. There are only two battle themes in this game guys and one of them is the final boss theme (and both are not good by Mitsuda standards). The game is also insanely slow and sloggy. Besides that, nothing really happens here. It's all setup and no payoff which is fine since this game was designed with 6 games in mind. I just wish this game was something more though.
I personally think that Xenosaga Episode 1 is a solid introduction to this franchise. It aims to setup a lot of plot, character and story elements and I think it does its job amicably at this. The game absolutely keeps you invested and interested in its lore and story and makes you really like the characters featured in this game.
The combat systems of this game are also good and an interesting evolution on the Deathblow/fighting game input mechanics featured in Xenogears. This time around, you have Boost which enables a party member or an enemy to bypass everyone for the next turn which is a good mechanic actually. You can also enhance your moves, Ether attacks and Tech Attacks through their respective trees meaning you can be flexible in what you want your party members to do.
I think though besides all of that, there isn't really anything really all that noteworthy about this game. The music in this game is probably the weakest Yasunori Mitsuda soundtrack of all time. There are only two battle themes in this game guys and one of them is the final boss theme (and both are not good by Mitsuda standards). The game is also insanely slow and sloggy. Besides that, nothing really happens here. It's all setup and no payoff which is fine since this game was designed with 6 games in mind. I just wish this game was something more though.