An interesting take on the first two episodes of Xenosaga. I really don't prefer the story changes this makes but it's cool as an alternate version. Episode 1 is pretty similar but adds in elements from the anime series. Episode 2 is about half the same and the rest is pretty different. Both are generally just inferior but there are cool moments.
The combat is extremely similar to episode 1 with some elements from episode 2 sprinkled in and the entirely new formation mechanic. Episode 1 had a grid that wasn't really used much, here it plays a pretty important role in not getting hit, executing ranged deathblows and activating your formations.
By laying out your characters a certain way on the grid you'll activate a formation for as long as your characters stay in that position. This can activate effects like hp regen every turn, stat boosts or even remedy your boost gauge. The deathblows work a bit different here, you can execute a melee deathblow from anywhere on the grid and hit anywhere on the enemy grid, for ranged ones you must be directly in front of the enemy you're trying to hit, you'll only hit the first thing in your way. That said, most if not all ranged deathblows are aoe moves in some form, what aoe they cover varies.
Now for the things that trickled in from episode 2 you can execute duo moves by boosting with 2 characters at the same time. Other than that the ES combat is back and thankfully a slightly tweaked version of episode 2's ES combat pretty much fixed it entirely. It's essentially a simplified version of character combat, you can't do deathblows without charging up for a turn though, no upgrading them. You only get 1 deathblow on at a time which is determined by who is piloting the ES just like on PS2 but now you can very easily and reliably see how much damage each pilot combination will do.
Thoughts on the combat overall though... it's way too easy and exploitable but it is pretty fun anyway and both the character and ES battles are very well animated. For an early DS game it's pretty great. This game is also the only one where I didn't feel handicapped for using Shion. The gameplay is kept to a minimum for this game though, there's a lot less compared to the PS2 entries and way more dialogue.
The lack of full voice acting really makes this a hugely inferior version to experience the story besides me not liking the changes. While I praise the presentation as an early DS game it really can barely compare to the PS2 titles especially for a story that's this insane and grand scale. The music takes a huge hit too, Xenosaga 2 has my favorite Xenosaga soundtrack and Xenosaga 1 has a couple amazing tracks, here there's basically nothing even close to that quality but I didn't find it ear grating at the very least. There are some pretty good calm tracks.
Overall I can only really recommend this if you're a diehard fan of Xenosaga or Xeno in general. I enjoyed playing through this one but would never say it replaces the PS2 originals. Presentation and music go down the drain, combat is enjoyable, story is nothing more than a cool alternate scenario when it's modified.
The combat is extremely similar to episode 1 with some elements from episode 2 sprinkled in and the entirely new formation mechanic. Episode 1 had a grid that wasn't really used much, here it plays a pretty important role in not getting hit, executing ranged deathblows and activating your formations.
By laying out your characters a certain way on the grid you'll activate a formation for as long as your characters stay in that position. This can activate effects like hp regen every turn, stat boosts or even remedy your boost gauge. The deathblows work a bit different here, you can execute a melee deathblow from anywhere on the grid and hit anywhere on the enemy grid, for ranged ones you must be directly in front of the enemy you're trying to hit, you'll only hit the first thing in your way. That said, most if not all ranged deathblows are aoe moves in some form, what aoe they cover varies.
Now for the things that trickled in from episode 2 you can execute duo moves by boosting with 2 characters at the same time. Other than that the ES combat is back and thankfully a slightly tweaked version of episode 2's ES combat pretty much fixed it entirely. It's essentially a simplified version of character combat, you can't do deathblows without charging up for a turn though, no upgrading them. You only get 1 deathblow on at a time which is determined by who is piloting the ES just like on PS2 but now you can very easily and reliably see how much damage each pilot combination will do.
Thoughts on the combat overall though... it's way too easy and exploitable but it is pretty fun anyway and both the character and ES battles are very well animated. For an early DS game it's pretty great. This game is also the only one where I didn't feel handicapped for using Shion. The gameplay is kept to a minimum for this game though, there's a lot less compared to the PS2 entries and way more dialogue.
The lack of full voice acting really makes this a hugely inferior version to experience the story besides me not liking the changes. While I praise the presentation as an early DS game it really can barely compare to the PS2 titles especially for a story that's this insane and grand scale. The music takes a huge hit too, Xenosaga 2 has my favorite Xenosaga soundtrack and Xenosaga 1 has a couple amazing tracks, here there's basically nothing even close to that quality but I didn't find it ear grating at the very least. There are some pretty good calm tracks.
Overall I can only really recommend this if you're a diehard fan of Xenosaga or Xeno in general. I enjoyed playing through this one but would never say it replaces the PS2 originals. Presentation and music go down the drain, combat is enjoyable, story is nothing more than a cool alternate scenario when it's modified.