Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht

Super underratted. Monolithsoft took a huge risk by centering this game's narrative with multiple women and girl characters.

Xenosaga: Episode I continues Xenogears' idea of grandiose, slow motion storytelling, while upping its sense of psychological brutality. The main draw lies in its cutscenes –monumental sections that altogether make up nearly half of the entire game, long cinematic passages that push the medium even further away from its roots. While a few cheesy scenes and characters border on ridiculous, Xenosaga succeeds best in its character development, aided by an increased dosage of philosophical/moral/psychological elements that evoke the harrowing introspective visions of early Persona. The protagonist in particular was a refreshing step away from the traditional heroic types of most JRPGs.

Another major plus is its combat system, a heavy expansion (not just refinement) on Xenogears’ combo/AP system with a wide assortment of battler customization mechanics, combined to produce a very free-form approach. Although, one may feel that the exact same issue was inherited from its predecessor: that despite the amount of details, the sheer scope of its non-gameplay aspects interferes with much of the gameplay’s potential.