Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse
Encyclopedia
is an RPG for the PlayStation 2
and the second title in the Xenosaga
series. Jenseits von Gut und Böse, literally "Beyond Good and Evil", is taken from a philosophical work
by Friedrich Nietzsche
of the same name. Episode II was directed by Tetsuya Takahashi
, director of the previous game and Xenogears
, a game that critics associate with the Xenosaga trilogy.
The second installment to the series features the same cast from Episode I, still focusing on Shion, KOS-MOS, and their friends. Episode II differs in that the plot follows the characters Jr. and MOMO closer than previously, exposing much of their past, which was kept secret during the first game.
In the present day, Margulis talks with the Patriarch of Ormus, explaining that Albedo will unlock the safeguard on the Y-Data and lead them to Old Miltia. The two also discuss the motives of Heinlein, Ormus's second-in-command. On Second Miltia, Canaan leaves the investigation disappointed once again; he must continue to be burdened by carrying Jin's undecoded data. Meanwhile, Shion Uzuki
and the rest of the party arrive at Second Miltia, where they part ways. Jr., MOMO, Ziggy, and chaos are chased by U-TIC operatives wishing to capture MOMO once again. However, the attacks are thwarted. At Second Miltia's Vector Industries headquarters, Shion, Allen Ridgeley, and KOS-MOS are briefed of the increasing Gnosis threat. Soon after, Shion is reunited with her brother, Jin Uzuki, who is now running a bookstore. Eventually, both parties are reunited during the Federation's analysis of MOMO in order to retrieve the Y-Data at the U.M.N. Administration Center. During the analysis, a trap planted by in MOMO by Albedo during his time with her on the Song of Nephalim is tripped and MOMO shuts down to prevent the Y-Data from leaking. The party performs an Encephalon dive to try to revive her personality. The party witnesses some important parts of Jr.'s past as a U.R.T.V. unit at the Yuriev Institute. They follow Jr.'s memories of himself, Albedo, and Nigredo on a mission to cure a disorder of Sakura Mizrahi, Joachim Mizrahi's daughter upon who MOMO was based. They eventually meet the real Albedo, who has also dived into MOMO's subconscious. In order to try to protect Jr., MOMO lowers her defenses and the Y-Data leaks to Albedo. Albedo uses the Y-Data to open the path to Old Miltia.
Seizing the moment, both the Federation and Ormus ("Immigrant") fleets launch their invasion into Old Miltian space with a mutual goal of seizing the Original Zohar. The Immigrant/Ormus fleet gains the advantage and quickly descends to Old Miltia. Meanwhile, Shion and Allen return to the Dämmerung to continue their duties with Vector Industries. On Second Miltia, Representative Helmer decides to launch an attack on Old Miltia in conjunction with the Kukai Foundation, Vector Industries, and S.O.C.E.; this way, the Original Zohar is apprehended by a neutral party. Shion has a vision in which Febronia once again asks he to free Febronia's sisters, which she suggests are on Old Miltia. Shion and Allen escape from the Dämmerung. Wilhelm, Vector's CEO, watches the escape and states that Shion is an important figure that cannot be lost, and KOS-MOS will be the key to absolute knowledge. Therefore, he decides to activate KOS-MOS secretly to assist Shion and Allen at Old Miltia. KOS-MOS merges her craft with the craft Shion and Allen stole to form the E.S. Dinah, which fights off an Ormus attack and rendezvouses with the rest of the party on the Elsa.
Reunited, the party launches another strike into Old Miltian space by flying between the two black holes of the Abyss, destroying an Ormus Stronghold along the way. After weaving through the space battle between the Federation and Ormus fleets, the Elsa lands a mostly-underwater Old Miltia and the party ventures to Labyrinthos. Inside Labyrinthos, Jin Uzuki analyzes the data he stored in Canaan and confirms his suspicions: Joachim Mizrahi was being used during the Miltian Conflict, the U-TIC Organization, Immigrant Fleet, and Hyams are all fronts for the Ormus society, and Joachim Mizrahi closed off Old Miltia in order to prevent the re-awakening of U-DO, a powerful wave existence related to the Original Zohar. In other words, Mizrahi was a hero who was initially manipulated by Ormus, the true organization behind U-TIC and the Immigrant fleet.
At the core of Labyrinthos, Margulis and Jin Uzuki face off once again. Afterward, Shion notices that Febronia's sisters—Cecily and Cathe—have been deformed almost beyond recognition as humanoid and have been built into a system attached to the Zohar. The Ormus Patriarch appears, and explains that Ormus are the original guardians of the Zohar and that Ormus must continue to guide humans for eternity. The Zohar begins to glow, and KOS-MOS aims to destroy Cecily and Cathe. Shion at first stops her, but then realizes what Febronia meant by "free", and allows her to destroy them. Even with this control system destroyed, the Patriarch still merges the Zohar with a giant mechanical form, Proto Ω—a weapon that could strike anywhere in space when combined with the Zohar. The Patriarch explains that he will use Ω to destroy the Gnosis and command the galaxy under Ormus. The party is then forced to escape as Old Miltia crumbles and is morphed into the Ω System. Meanwhile, the spirit of Dmitri Yuriev, the creator of the U.R.T.V.s, takes control of Gaignun Kukai's body. Margulis and a Hyams scientist, Sellers, betray the Patriarch in favor of Heinlein. The Patriarch is left in the Ω System to fend for himself.
Shion and her allies enter the Ω System and confront the Patriarch, who had previously defeated Albedo with Proto Ω. The Testaments defeat the Patriarch and revive Albedo so that he can morph Miltian space into a space-time anomaly. After Albedo does this, Jr. decides to confront his brother personally; he dives into the anomaly and is talked to by Albedo, who eventually asks Jr. to destroy him. Although the space-time anomaly is destroyed, the Original Zohar remains floating in space. Before the Durandal and the Kukai Foundation can rush to acquire it, a star system-sized Gnosis referred to as Abel's Ark appears. Abel's Ark retrieves the Original Zohar and vanishes. Both chaos and Wilhelm observe with deep interest; the latter also addresses the former as "Yeshua" (the original Aramaic name of Jesus Christ). chaos said he wouldn't hold back anymore while standing outside on the Durandal looking at the Dämmerung, apparently addressing Wilhelm. After these events, the party separates to try to lead normal lives, although Jin worries that the chain of events is not over. The game concludes with Wilhelm and his Testaments welcoming a new White Testament to the fold. Wilhelm calls this man the "Weaver of the Eternal Circle of Zarathustra."
One year later, Episode III
begins.
.
This episode introduced significant stylistic changes from the Episode 1. Of note are changes to the character designs, which deviated from the original anime style. Characters' change physically, too, as every playable character except Ziggy received costume changes. Other characters, like Shion, also received dramatic physical makeovers in the progression. In addition to the stylistic changes, Xenosaga Episode IIs battle system was modified from the one featured in Episode I. Episode II featured the "boost" command and introduced the "stock" system. The last significant change in Xenosaga Episode II from its prequel was game music. Composition of cutscene music was performed by Yuki Kajiura
, a newcomer to the Xenosaga project. The in-game music, including battle themes, was composed by another newcomer, Shinji Hosoe
.
This episode also marked several changes that bridged the gap between itself and the series' uncredited ancestor, Xenogears. A.G.W.S. units were replaced in Episode II by different robots known as E.S., which are equipped with Vessels of Anima that are similar to the Anima Relics which were featured in Xenogears. Battles in E.S. units were also separated from character battles, like most of Xenogears, and players may also use E.S. to explore dungeons as well.
Episode II sold below expectations. Several months after Episode II 's North American release, it was revealed that scenario writer Soraya Saga
, was removed from the series. Monolith's management elected not to continue using the services of Saga, who worked freelance for them on Episode I, Episode II and Xenosaga: Pied Piper. It was also revealed that Saga's contributions to the original script for Episode II had been heavily altered by the new team of writers and editors that Monolith Soft had hired on for Episode II's production. Saga described certain scenes, primarily the ones involving Albedo's childhood, as being edited to the point of being unrecognizable from her original work, while others like the scenes at the UMN Administration Center survived more-or-less intact. Most elements that were removed from the original Episode II script as described in Soraya Saga's online FAQ do appear in Episode III. The original chief character designer, Kunihiko Tanaka, also distanced himself from the project since Episode IIs production. He was given a "character illustration" credit for Episode II. Shortly after the American release of Episode II, Monolith Soft announced that the main Xenosaga series would be stopped at Episode III.
(cutscenes) and Shinji Hosoe
(in-game music). Kajiura's soundtrack consists of 40 tracks and features vocal pieces by Margaret Dorn, Deb Lyons
and Yuriko Kaida. The ending theme "Sweet Song" is sung by Margaret Dorn. The Image theme and its arrangements are sung by Deb Lyons all of which are composed by Kajiura.
did not return to score the music of Episode II, despite getting critical acclaim for his musical work on Episode I, disappointing fans of his work. The change in character art direction was also criticized.
Episode II has also come under serious fire because of distinct changes with the battle system. Some others argued the changes increased strategy required to win battles, others found that it was both unnecessarily slow and complicated. At the same time, the new skill tree was considered by some to have been vastly "dumbed down" from the skill system in the first game. Many of the skills are left unexplained as well, often leaving many players confused about their use.
In addition, Game Informer
called Episode II "a dropped ball of Devil May Cry 2
proportions," citing similar critical and fan disappointment expressed with the aforementioned game.
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and the second title in the Xenosaga
Xenosaga
is a series of science fiction video games developed by Monolith Soft and published by Namco Bandai. Xenosaga's main story is in the form of a trilogy of PlayStation 2 video games. There have been three spin-off games and an anime adaptation. The Xenosaga series serves as a spiritual successor to...
series. Jenseits von Gut und Böse, literally "Beyond Good and Evil", is taken from a philosophical work
Beyond Good and Evil
Beyond Good and Evil is a book by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, first published in 1886.It takes up and expands on the ideas of his previous work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, but approached from a more critical, polemical direction....
by Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
of the same name. Episode II was directed by Tetsuya Takahashi
Tetsuya Takahashi
Tetsuya Takahashi is currently the head of game software company Monolith Soft, Inc. In the past, Takahashi has worked at Square and on such games as Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger...
, director of the previous game and Xenogears
Xenogears
is a science-fiction console role-playing game developed and published by Square for Sony's PlayStation. It was released on February 11, 1998 in Japan and on October 20, 1998 in North America. The game was never released in PAL territories...
, a game that critics associate with the Xenosaga trilogy.
The second installment to the series features the same cast from Episode I, still focusing on Shion, KOS-MOS, and their friends. Episode II differs in that the plot follows the characters Jr. and MOMO closer than previously, exposing much of their past, which was kept secret during the first game.
Story
Episode II begins with a flashback of the Miltian Conflict, where Helmer orders chaos and Canaan to pilot E.S. Asher to Old Miltia and retrieve the U.R.T.V. units from the Realian rioting near Labyrinthos, the U-TIC Organization headquarters. Along the way, the two men encounter Federation officer Jin Uzuki, who is investigating the root of the Conflict. Uzuki believes that the entire Conflict is a set-up to turn U-TIC into a scapegoat, which, in turn, will keep the larger organization hidden in the shadows. He has data that he believes can prove this, but the data can only be decoded at Labyrinthos. The trio encounters U-TIC operative Margulis along the way, who demands that Jin return the U-TIC's encoded data. Uzuki defeats Margulis in a swordfight. Canaan is then entrusted with Jin's data before parting ways with Canaan and chaos, who then rescue U.R.T.V.s Rubedo and Nigredo.In the present day, Margulis talks with the Patriarch of Ormus, explaining that Albedo will unlock the safeguard on the Y-Data and lead them to Old Miltia. The two also discuss the motives of Heinlein, Ormus's second-in-command. On Second Miltia, Canaan leaves the investigation disappointed once again; he must continue to be burdened by carrying Jin's undecoded data. Meanwhile, Shion Uzuki
Shion Uzuki
is the female protagonist in the PlayStation 2 trilogy known as the Xenosaga series: Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht, Xenosaga Episode II Jenseits von Gut und Böse, and Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra. In addition, she was in the mobile game Pied Piper, Xenosaga I & II,...
and the rest of the party arrive at Second Miltia, where they part ways. Jr., MOMO, Ziggy, and chaos are chased by U-TIC operatives wishing to capture MOMO once again. However, the attacks are thwarted. At Second Miltia's Vector Industries headquarters, Shion, Allen Ridgeley, and KOS-MOS are briefed of the increasing Gnosis threat. Soon after, Shion is reunited with her brother, Jin Uzuki, who is now running a bookstore. Eventually, both parties are reunited during the Federation's analysis of MOMO in order to retrieve the Y-Data at the U.M.N. Administration Center. During the analysis, a trap planted by in MOMO by Albedo during his time with her on the Song of Nephalim is tripped and MOMO shuts down to prevent the Y-Data from leaking. The party performs an Encephalon dive to try to revive her personality. The party witnesses some important parts of Jr.'s past as a U.R.T.V. unit at the Yuriev Institute. They follow Jr.'s memories of himself, Albedo, and Nigredo on a mission to cure a disorder of Sakura Mizrahi, Joachim Mizrahi's daughter upon who MOMO was based. They eventually meet the real Albedo, who has also dived into MOMO's subconscious. In order to try to protect Jr., MOMO lowers her defenses and the Y-Data leaks to Albedo. Albedo uses the Y-Data to open the path to Old Miltia.
Seizing the moment, both the Federation and Ormus ("Immigrant") fleets launch their invasion into Old Miltian space with a mutual goal of seizing the Original Zohar. The Immigrant/Ormus fleet gains the advantage and quickly descends to Old Miltia. Meanwhile, Shion and Allen return to the Dämmerung to continue their duties with Vector Industries. On Second Miltia, Representative Helmer decides to launch an attack on Old Miltia in conjunction with the Kukai Foundation, Vector Industries, and S.O.C.E.; this way, the Original Zohar is apprehended by a neutral party. Shion has a vision in which Febronia once again asks he to free Febronia's sisters, which she suggests are on Old Miltia. Shion and Allen escape from the Dämmerung. Wilhelm, Vector's CEO, watches the escape and states that Shion is an important figure that cannot be lost, and KOS-MOS will be the key to absolute knowledge. Therefore, he decides to activate KOS-MOS secretly to assist Shion and Allen at Old Miltia. KOS-MOS merges her craft with the craft Shion and Allen stole to form the E.S. Dinah, which fights off an Ormus attack and rendezvouses with the rest of the party on the Elsa.
Reunited, the party launches another strike into Old Miltian space by flying between the two black holes of the Abyss, destroying an Ormus Stronghold along the way. After weaving through the space battle between the Federation and Ormus fleets, the Elsa lands a mostly-underwater Old Miltia and the party ventures to Labyrinthos. Inside Labyrinthos, Jin Uzuki analyzes the data he stored in Canaan and confirms his suspicions: Joachim Mizrahi was being used during the Miltian Conflict, the U-TIC Organization, Immigrant Fleet, and Hyams are all fronts for the Ormus society, and Joachim Mizrahi closed off Old Miltia in order to prevent the re-awakening of U-DO, a powerful wave existence related to the Original Zohar. In other words, Mizrahi was a hero who was initially manipulated by Ormus, the true organization behind U-TIC and the Immigrant fleet.
Shion and her allies enter the Ω System and confront the Patriarch, who had previously defeated Albedo with Proto Ω. The Testaments defeat the Patriarch and revive Albedo so that he can morph Miltian space into a space-time anomaly. After Albedo does this, Jr. decides to confront his brother personally; he dives into the anomaly and is talked to by Albedo, who eventually asks Jr. to destroy him. Although the space-time anomaly is destroyed, the Original Zohar remains floating in space. Before the Durandal and the Kukai Foundation can rush to acquire it, a star system-sized Gnosis referred to as Abel's Ark appears. Abel's Ark retrieves the Original Zohar and vanishes. Both chaos and Wilhelm observe with deep interest; the latter also addresses the former as "Yeshua" (the original Aramaic name of Jesus Christ). chaos said he wouldn't hold back anymore while standing outside on the Durandal looking at the Dämmerung, apparently addressing Wilhelm. After these events, the party separates to try to lead normal lives, although Jin worries that the chain of events is not over. The game concludes with Wilhelm and his Testaments welcoming a new White Testament to the fold. Wilhelm calls this man the "Weaver of the Eternal Circle of Zarathustra."
One year later, Episode III
Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra
is an RPG for the PlayStation 2, and the third game in the primary Xenosaga trilogy. Also sprach Zarathustra, literally "Thus spoke Zarathustra", is also the title of Friedrich Nietzsche's most famous work, which introduced the concept of the Übermensch...
begins.
Development
In June 2004, Namco released the long-awaited Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse. Player continue the story line of Xenosaga Episode I, once again assuming the roles of chaos, Jr. and Shion Uzuki. In true sequel fashion, Xenosaga Episode II answered some of the questions that Episode I introduced, including mysteries surrounding the U.R.T.V.s and the Miltian Conflict. However, most major questions were not answered or explored. Some examples include the true identities of chaos and Nephilim, the significance of Abel's Ark and the true nature of U-DO. These questions were saved for this episode's sequel, Xenosaga Episode IIIXenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra
is an RPG for the PlayStation 2, and the third game in the primary Xenosaga trilogy. Also sprach Zarathustra, literally "Thus spoke Zarathustra", is also the title of Friedrich Nietzsche's most famous work, which introduced the concept of the Übermensch...
.
This episode introduced significant stylistic changes from the Episode 1. Of note are changes to the character designs, which deviated from the original anime style. Characters' change physically, too, as every playable character except Ziggy received costume changes. Other characters, like Shion, also received dramatic physical makeovers in the progression. In addition to the stylistic changes, Xenosaga Episode IIs battle system was modified from the one featured in Episode I. Episode II featured the "boost" command and introduced the "stock" system. The last significant change in Xenosaga Episode II from its prequel was game music. Composition of cutscene music was performed by Yuki Kajiura
Yuki Kajiura
, born August 6, 1965 in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese composer and music producer. She has provided the music for several popular anime series, such as one of the Kimagure Orange Road movies, Noir, .hack//SIGN, Aquarian Age, Madlax, My-HiME, My-Otome, .hack//Roots, Pandora Hearts, Puella Magi...
, a newcomer to the Xenosaga project. The in-game music, including battle themes, was composed by another newcomer, Shinji Hosoe
Shinji Hosoe
, also known as MEGATEN and SamplingMasters MEGA, is a Japanese video game composer and musician most famous for scoring Ridge Racer, Keyboardmania 3rd mix and many early 1990s Namco arcade games. He also created the in-game music for Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse...
.
This episode also marked several changes that bridged the gap between itself and the series' uncredited ancestor, Xenogears. A.G.W.S. units were replaced in Episode II by different robots known as E.S., which are equipped with Vessels of Anima that are similar to the Anima Relics which were featured in Xenogears. Battles in E.S. units were also separated from character battles, like most of Xenogears, and players may also use E.S. to explore dungeons as well.
Episode II sold below expectations. Several months after Episode II 's North American release, it was revealed that scenario writer Soraya Saga
Soraya Saga
, also known by her pen name, , is a Japanese illustrator, designer, and video game story writer.She adopted as her pen name for several years before changing it to "Soraya Saga" circa 2001 . She worked for Square for many years, serving as a map designer on Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI...
, was removed from the series. Monolith's management elected not to continue using the services of Saga, who worked freelance for them on Episode I, Episode II and Xenosaga: Pied Piper. It was also revealed that Saga's contributions to the original script for Episode II had been heavily altered by the new team of writers and editors that Monolith Soft had hired on for Episode II's production. Saga described certain scenes, primarily the ones involving Albedo's childhood, as being edited to the point of being unrecognizable from her original work, while others like the scenes at the UMN Administration Center survived more-or-less intact. Most elements that were removed from the original Episode II script as described in Soraya Saga's online FAQ do appear in Episode III. The original chief character designer, Kunihiko Tanaka, also distanced himself from the project since Episode IIs production. He was given a "character illustration" credit for Episode II. Shortly after the American release of Episode II, Monolith Soft announced that the main Xenosaga series would be stopped at Episode III.
Censorship
As with Xenosaga Episode I, the US version of the game was censored in order to receive a Teen rating. Albedo attempts to explain regeneration and, in the Japanese version, he pulls a pistol to his head and blows it off. The Western release still featured the blood spatter but the gun was altered to be an orb of energy.Music
Episode II features a soundtrack with more contemporary sounds; compared to Episode I, Episode II features a large amount of synthesizer usage as well as vocal tracks. The development of Episode IIs music was split between Yuki KajiuraYuki Kajiura
, born August 6, 1965 in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese composer and music producer. She has provided the music for several popular anime series, such as one of the Kimagure Orange Road movies, Noir, .hack//SIGN, Aquarian Age, Madlax, My-HiME, My-Otome, .hack//Roots, Pandora Hearts, Puella Magi...
(cutscenes) and Shinji Hosoe
Shinji Hosoe
, also known as MEGATEN and SamplingMasters MEGA, is a Japanese video game composer and musician most famous for scoring Ridge Racer, Keyboardmania 3rd mix and many early 1990s Namco arcade games. He also created the in-game music for Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse...
(in-game music). Kajiura's soundtrack consists of 40 tracks and features vocal pieces by Margaret Dorn, Deb Lyons
Deb Lyons
Deb Lyons is a singer-songwriter from New York City. She is most associated with her work in Broadway, and is well-recognized for her multiple performances in clubs such as The Bitter End and The Bottomline....
and Yuriko Kaida. The ending theme "Sweet Song" is sung by Margaret Dorn. The Image theme and its arrangements are sung by Deb Lyons all of which are composed by Kajiura.
Reception
Episode II received criticism for most of its elements. Gaming Age complained that the game is shorter than Episode I. The new voice actors for Shion, MOMO and KOS-MOS were considered a downgrade by IGN. The site was similarly disappointed with the music, and that famed videogame composer Yasunori MitsudaYasunori Mitsuda
is a Japanese video game composer, sound programmer, and musician. He has composed music for or worked on over 35 games, and has contributed to over 15 other albums...
did not return to score the music of Episode II, despite getting critical acclaim for his musical work on Episode I, disappointing fans of his work. The change in character art direction was also criticized.
Episode II has also come under serious fire because of distinct changes with the battle system. Some others argued the changes increased strategy required to win battles, others found that it was both unnecessarily slow and complicated. At the same time, the new skill tree was considered by some to have been vastly "dumbed down" from the skill system in the first game. Many of the skills are left unexplained as well, often leaving many players confused about their use.
In addition, Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
called Episode II "a dropped ball of Devil May Cry 2
Devil May Cry 2
is an action game developed and published by Capcom in 2003 exclusively for the PlayStation 2. The game serves as a sequel to Devil May Cry and is, chronologically the fourth and final game in the original Devil May Cry series with Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, Devil May Cry, and Devil May...
proportions," citing similar critical and fan disappointment expressed with the aforementioned game.