Xenosaga

This massive, three-part game (Der Wille zur Macht, 2003; Jenseits von Gut und Böse, 2005; Also sprach Zarathustra, 2006—North American release dates) bears a number of similarities to its spiritual predecessor, Xenogears. Although many of the creators were the same, the company changed, and so the concepts were revisited in a new light without directly connecting the two. The changes continued in the saga, however, as any number of people involved in the creation changed from episode to episode, resulting in occasionally inconsistant character design and some fogginess of overall plot. The conversion from Japan to North America also brought changes in some of the scenes: censored for blood or violence in order to reduce the rating. Also prone to change were the voice actors, resulting in at least one character going from a light tenor to a mellow baritone. Retaining from Xenogears the themes of gnosticism, philosophy, and psychology, Xenosaga heavily references Nietzsche and Jung in everything from the game titles to character names. Much like Xenogears, Xenosaga features long cinematic scenes that occasionally interfere with the feeling of gameplay, but fans tend to overlook the flaws in favor of the incredibly complex story and character relationships. Fortunately, there's an in-game database to help keep people, places, events, and terminology straight. It's a testament to the intricacies of the games that the database is necessary.

Major characters

Shion Uzuki: Lead developer for Vector Industries on project KOS-MOS, a brilliant young woman. I II III

Jin Uzuki: Shion's estranged elder brother. A gifted swordsman, but aimless in life. Professions have included medical doctor and bookstore owner. IIa IIb III

KOS-MOS: An experimental battle android with a fierce loyalty to Shion that trancends her programming. I II III

chaos: A mysterious young man with a gentle disposition that belies his abilities. I IIa IIb III

Jr.: Apparently a boy of about twelve, captain of one of the galaxy's most powerful battleships, and evident successor to the prestigious Kukai Foundation. I II III

MOMO: A prototype Realian—an artificial human—in the form of a young girl. I II III

Ziggy: Zigguraut 8, a cyborg charged with MOMO's protection. His price for taking the mission was to be allowed to die. I II III

Margulis: A fierce opponent and swordsman on par with Jin. They have a shared history.

Albedo: A white-haired, virtually immortal psychopath with a fixation on Jr.

Gaignun Kukai: The titular head of the Kukai Foundation. His relationship to Jr. is not immediately apparent, although the similarity of appearance is marked.

Broken down by individual game, all beyond the first entry will contain spoilers for the previous installments:

Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht

Sometime this century, an archeological expedition in Kenya uncovers a golden monolith known as a Zohar, with catastrophic effect. Fast forward a few millenia, to where humans populate over 500,000 planets, but no one knows the location of their original home, now known as Lost Jerusalem.

About fourteen years previously, Shion's home planet of Miltia was ravaged by malfunctioning combat Realians and lost in space-time following the emergence of the Gnosis—extra-dimensional creatures with the ability to crystalize organic life on contact. KOS-MOS is designed to combat Gnosis, but she's untested and unable to repel the attack on their ship which happened to be transporting a Zohar. Shion, KOS-MOS, and a couple of others are the only survivors, picked up by a salvage ship owned by the Kukai Foundation, of which chaos—retained for his ability to dissolve Gnosis with a touch—is a crew member. Along the way they pick up Ziggy and MOMO, the latter having been rescued from Margulis and wanted for the data encoded in her. When Jr.'s battleship is framed for the destruction of Shion's transport in an effort to claim MOMO, they must all work together to get themselves in the clear. Pursued and opposed by any number of factions that want possession of both the Zohar and MOMO, this is, to say the least, no simple task.

Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse

Continuing immediately after the events of the first game, this episode features largely around Jr.'s history. Jin Uzuki is introduced in the beginning in a flashback of the destruction of Miltia, where he meets chaos (physically the same as he is fourteen years later) and a Realian named Canaan, who are trying to find the source of the planet's troubles. Jin manages to give Margulis his distinctive scar at this point, Canaan stores encoded information in his brain until it can be extracted later, and they stumble over and rescue a couple of injured boys: Nigredo and Rubedo, A.K.A. Gaignun Kukai and Jr. In the present time, familial discord abounds as Rubedo and Albedo fight each other over the information still locked inside MOMO, Shion holds Jin to blame for the death of their parents, and chaos is revealed to have a connection to one of the galaxy's major players.

Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra

A year after the death of Albedo, Shion has left Vector and is working with an underground group of saboteurs known as Scientia. While looking for information about her father's possible involvement in the destruction of Miltia she's called upon by old friends. A section of Lost Jerusalem has appeared, floating in space, but was pulled into an anomaly along with the ship that rescued Shion the previous year. In an effort to save them, Shion and the others finally discover the whole truth behind the destruction of Miltia, the existance of the Gnosis, and the path of destruction that humanity has been nudged along for thousands of years.