Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht

Written by Omer Ali on June 14, 2001

First Impressions: Is Darth Maul gonna be in this one?

The passing of Xenogears left all of its fans with a void in the RPG loving hearts. Since Xenogears release in '98, fans have been eagerly anticipating the release of a sequel or prequel or something to quench our insatiable hunger for this game. Well, keep waiting Сcause its not gonna happen. Xenosaga is neither a prequel nor a sequel; rather it's a totally new game from the same creative team of Xenogears. This time around, Namco is developing the game under their subsidiary company, Monolith Soft. As to why the team left Squaresoft is still unknown, but the Xenogears saga ended at Square. Tetsuya Takahashi, the director of Xenogears, is at the forefront of Xenosaga. Xenogears did not turn out the way Tetsuya Takahashi had planned, therefore spawning Xenosaga.

The full name of the game is Xenosaga Episode 1: Der Wille zur Macht, which is German for УWill to powerФ. This title will be the first of six titles. The game will start with the beginning of the universe and eventually lead up to its destruction. Xenosaga Episode 1 will introduce the players to an entity known as Zohar, a being that has been in existence since the birth of the universe. In the far distant future is when the character of Xenosaga will discover Zohar. At first the story of Zohar will be a sub-plot, which will eventually, by the end of the series, be the main plot. The story will focus on the human race in the far distant future after they have abandoned Earth, for reasons unknown, to seek out a more technological existence in space. Humans along with other races will be joined together by the Galactic Federation.

As in every story there is a group that is against all the other groups, the villains of Xenosaga are known as the Gnosis. Exactly what the Gnosis are fighting for or why they are against the Galactic Federations and the human race is still not known. The Gnosis fight the human race using droids that are neither biological nor mechanical. To counter the Gnosis the Galactic Federation sets up the Vector Corporation, which builds giant mech suits. At the center of Vector is where you will meet the main character, a female named Shion Uzuki. Shion is the chief engineer at Vector, but as to what role she will play in the Grande scheme of things has yet to bee seen.

The battle system and game specs have not been released yet, but if they're half as good as the Xenogears system, Ill be a happy camper. Graphically, the first screens of the game are visually stunning. The characters are smooth and well detailed. Only screen shots of the FMV's and cut scenes have been released thus far.