MOMO

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

MOMO was created by the famous scientist Joachim Mizrahi to resemble and replace his daughter, Sakura Mizrahi, who tragically died at the age MOMO now appears to be. For this reason, Jr. (who knew Sakura) has a special connection with MOMO. Before Sakura died, she asked Jr. to take care of her "sister", MOMO. Juli Mizrahi, the wife of Joachim and mother of Sakura, is unsettled by MOMO, because she is reminded of Sakura. MOMO is programmed to feel human emotion, unlike other Realians, and wishes desperately for attention from Juli, whom she considers her mother. The cyborg Ziggy (Ziggurat 8), assigned to protect MOMO, acts as a father figure for her (it was, in fact, MOMO who gave him the nickname "Ziggy").

But MOMO isn't just the sweet sidekick. When MOMO was created, Joachim Mizrahi planted something special inside her, called The Y-Data. This data is said to have the ability to affect the entire world, and is the object of desire for many organizations and people. In Episode II, Jin describes the Y-Data like this: I discovered that all manner of data from all existing phenomena is gathered together within an area of space. And beyond that lies a special place only described in the Y-Data. In episode II, Albedo gets hold of the Y-Data from MOMO and uses it to recover the hidden (and thought to be destroyed) Miltia, the place where the Realian uprising occurred (Miltian conflict) and where U-DO and the original Zohar reside.

[edit] Influences

In Japanese, "Momo" means peach or peach blossom. It should be noted that Sakura is japanese for cherry blossom. Furthermore, the series of Realians that were originally based on Sakura's form and used to create MOMO are known as "Kirschwassers". 'Kirschwasser' is a German word for cherry brandy (Literally, "cherry water"). Also, Albedo takes to calling MOMO, "ma peche", french for "my peach", partially in reference to her name, partially as a sinister nickname (the same pronunciation can mean 'sinner' in French).

In Xenosaga Episode I, MOMO seems to have been designed as an homage to the magical girl genre. Her outfit was made to resemble a futuristic Japanese schoolgirl's uniform, her weapons appear as magical rods and later as an Ether-based composite bow, and among her Ether skills is the ability to transform into a more powerful version of herself, complete with a colorful costume. When she transforms, it is accompanied by a henshin sequence. Even her name may be a pun on one of the early magical girl shows, Minky Momo or, indeed Namco's own Wonder Momo, and, referring back to her influence, Sakura, Cardcaptor Sakura. Also, her transformation sequences seem to be similar to Sailor Moon.

[edit] Transformation ethers

MOMO has access to transformation ethers in Xenosaga Episode I which are called Star Wind and Starlight. They use up 10 EP points. That may seem like a lot to pay when you lose the armor after 3 turns or when you attack or die, but they have special abilities. Star Wind provides her with a blue remake of her costume. It is very similar to her original outfit but each individual piece of clothing is different, including her hair piece, with now an aquamarine color. The special Tech that comes with it is called Magic Caster which steals a rare item from a boss. It seems like her wand turns into a fishing rod and she throws the line. When it flashes a picture of her eyes, it means she got the item and pulls back the line, including the item which looks like a present. It is a far range Tech. Her transformation sequence is as follows. She yells, " Star Wind ! Power up ! The background turns into a pink tye-dye and it shows her shoes. As the screen moves up, her clothes start to dematerialize. Her eyes are closed as she moves around her hands. It moves to her shoulders and her new set of clothes appear, as she opens her eyes and twirls about, smiling.

Starlight is her second transformation spell. She yells, "Starlight! Power up! "The background turns into the bottom of the ocean. It zooms in on her smiling face. Then one sees her shadow, curled up in a bubble as she gets farther away. It then shows the back of the bubble, and her gracefully floating out. It zooms in on her smiling face again. Many more people like this costume because it is very extravagant. Her hair ornaments are different again and she wears the beautiful top and skirt. Plus, she has a giant bow on her back. This costume is a flaming red and orange. Her special Tech for this ether is called MOMO's Kiss. She makes an outline of her face and a giant version of her head appears in front of her. She then wacks it and sends it hurtling through the enemy. The special thing about this is that whenever used, the damage is never below 400 damage! This is a far range Tech.

Both of them have their own sets of different spells and when the spell is used, all her attributes are alightly risen.

It has also been confirmed that MOMO can transform into a Kirschwasser. It can be found during the Song of Nephilim section. While playing through this section, make your way into the third tower. In here, you should be able to find and unlock the Kirschwasser Momo outfit. However, this only works in the Reloaded version of the game.

[edit] Weapons

As mentioned above, in Episode I MOMO's weapons are short metal rods with mystical powers. The rods could be used to hit the enemies or have the ability to shoot some sort of musical or petal themed laser beams at the enemies.

In Episode II and Episode III, as mentioned above, she has discarded the magical rods and replaced them with an Ether-Based Composite Bow. This causes all her attacks to become long range.

MOMO's Ether Bow in Episode II bears the name "LEGOLAS" on its surface. MOMO starts with her ether bow again in Episode III, this time the name of this default weapon is officially Compound VI.